The third edition of the sunny, COVID-19-friendly Geneva Watch Days came to a close on September 2, so of course we must talk about it. And this time we brought our friends Robert-Jan Broer of Fratello and Łukasz Doskocz of CH24! Please join this Quill & Pad round table discussion of what we did and didn’t like at Geneva Watch Days 2022.
Is it possible to make a watch providing a novel and entertaining display of time that is wearable in a variety of settings and will be respected years from now? GaryG believes that he owns such a piece: the Upside Down made by independent watchmaker Ludovic Ballouard.
The 2022 GPHG finalists have been announced and GaryG gives a shoutout to several of the entries that he feels are of special merit or interest. He suspects that some, but not all, of them will be his winner picks but reserves the right to change his mind when the annual round tables commence.
The H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton has a cylindrical tourbillon reminiscent of an exploded image. The fact that it’s in motion makes it all the better. But that’s not all, as Martin Green discovers.
Wilhelm Schmid, CEO of A. Lange & Söhne, thinks that the Hampton Court Concours of Elegance is a perfect fit for his brand. Here Martin Green explains why and looks at the unique piece 1815 Chronograph created in its honor that will be auctioned for charity.
The 2022 edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) has just published its list of shortlisted (“nominated”) watches in the runup to the eagerly anticipated red-carpet event in Geneva on November 10, 2022. Ian Skellern shares all of the finalist watches in each category here. Let us know your favorites!
While GaryG thinks it’s all the more impressive that designers continue to delight us with new looks, many watches are often very similar. And trying to describe the slippery slope from vague resemblance to outright theft is not a simple task. So he begins down at the lower end of the grade with so-called homage watches and moves up the GaryG Styling Statute of Limitations from there.
The first time Bhanu Chopra strapped a borrowed BR 03-92 Black Matte Ceramic on his wrist, he thought that it was the perfect Bell & Ross watch for him, checking all the boxes for the characteristics he expected from an aviation-style instrument watch. He bought one and it has been part of his core pilot’s watch collection ever since. This is why.
Osmium is so rare and dense, has such a high melting point, and is so hard to form or compress that it has very few practical uses. But earlier this year Czapek & Cie released the limited edition Antarctique Frozen Star S with an absolutely mind-blowing dial made of pure osmium crystals.
The retrograde indication is one of Joshua Munchow’s favorite “Because We Can” (BWC) complications. Gears are an amazing invention and have allowed watchmakers to make incredible creations. Simple gear systems leave a multitude of openings for creativity. Look at some great retrogrades here.