The 2019 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève Calendar and Astronomy category is for mechanical watches comprising at least one calendar and/or astronomical complication. And this year all six watches have strong chances at the prize. Our panel isn’t unanimous in selecting a winner, but close to it: the moon wins!
The Armin Strom Minute Repeater Resonance marks the first time in history that the resonance phenomenon has been combined with a chiming watch (a full minute repeater!). Thanks to the clever development of the resonance mechanism several years ago, the doors to this incredibly complex and technical creation opened for the Swiss brand. And the result is like angels singing!
We recently received a message from a reader considering buying a stainless steel Rolex Daytona with ceramic bezel. He seems to have found a nice piece, box and papers, unworn, at a (seemingly) reasonable price. However, he asks, is it sensible to buy at double the retail price?
The most striking thing about the Zeitwerk is its incredible look that combines much that is familiar about A. Lange & Söhne and some that is less familiar. The Zeitwerk was a watch to fit the times ten years ago, a new era of complicated watchmaking, inside the Saxon brand and elsewhere. And now comes the Zeitwerk Date, a complicated sibling with some new-and-improved technology.
When most people think of Patek Philippe, they think of the evergreen models that roll off the lips of enthusiasts all over the world: Nautilus, Gondolo, Calatrava, and perhaps even that delectable worldtimer that appeared in 2013’s new Patek Philippe offerings as Reference 5130. But one of the many elements that I personally adore about Patek Philippe is its love of the handcrafted arts and the perpetuation of them in highly aesthetic ways.
The era of the master visionary and maker may be dead and gone in many other industries, but to create a beautiful watch, like composing a beautiful string quartet, you need a Beethoven, a Haydn, or a Brahms not a committee of brainstormers dreaming up target groups. Paul Gerber is up there with the giants, and Marton Radkai explains why.
The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève’s 2019 Chronometry category awards mechanical watches comprising at least one tourbillon and/or a special escapement and/or another development improving chronometry (precision timekeeping). Our panel clearly wishes that there were more empirical evidence for the claims of high precision and is split on the winner. What’s your favorite?
Elegant steel dress watches indicating the time and possibly date also make a serious statement on the wrist as the new crop of great models in 2019 highlight. Here are three of Sabine Zwettler’s personal favorites from Chopard, Omega, and Montblanc.
While these days community building in the enthusiast realm seems increasingly the domain of brand-agnostic organizations, there remain old-school organizations whose members are devoted to the watches of a single maker. One such example is the Journe Society: a small, low-profile group of enthusiast collectors. GaryG sheds some light on the group and its specially commissioned group watch.
The GPHG Chronograph category is interesting this year thanks to the mix of the old and the new, including a brand-new futuristic material in one and a record-breaking thinness in another. Our jury is split on choosing a winner, but not quite split down the middle.