Hermès Carré H with gray and black dials

DNA Approved: How Swiss Watch Brands Are Getting Back On Track

What is the most precious element of any watch brand? Its manufacture? Its skilled employees? Its brand ambassadors? Its boutiques? Martin Green thinks that it’s none of those, because the most important asset of a brand is its so-called DNA. Here he explains how brands better used their DNA at the 2018 SIHH.

Fitting Rolex balance wheel and Parachrom hairspring

Is Silicon Here To Stay In (Rolex) Watch Movements?

Hairsprings are miniscule. Generally no more than one centimeter in overall diameter when coiled, they are roughly 50 microns thick and 150 microns wide. Tiny they may be, but insignificant they are not. In fact, they are so significant that Rolex refers to them as “the guardians of time.” But what do silicon hairsprings bring to the table? Watchmaker Ashton Tracy explains why he went from skeptic to fan.

Panerai Luminor Due 3 Days Automatic Acciaio

Panerai Luminor Due 3 Days Automatic Acciaio: Good Things Do Come In Smaller Packages

One of the big surprises for me at the 2018 SIHH was Panerai’s new releases of some – I guess I would call them – small watches. I’m not talking about delicate models under 35 millimeters in diameter when I say small, but a respectable 38 millimeters for the smallest model. Yes, you read that correctly.

Urwerk AMC (Atomic Mechanical Control) wristwatch slave movement

Urwerk AMC: Atomic (Clock) Mechanical Control Is A 21st Century Version Of Abraham-Louis Breguet’s Sympathique Clocks But Much, Much Better (Geiger Counter Not Included)

Here’s a prediction by Ian Skellern: the relatively nondescript AMC movement Urwerk presented at the 2018 SIHH will not only become one of the horological highlights of the year but will take its place among history’s most significant timepieces. Ever. That’s a bold statement, he knows. Especially when all we have at present from Urwerk is the slave watch movement. Here Ian explains why he thinks AMC is so significant.

F.A. Lange Watchmaking Excellence Award winner Timothé Raguin presented this watch with independent jumping seconds

Motivation To Achieve: The 2018 F.P. Journe-FHH Young Talent Competition And F.A. Lange Watchmaking Excellence Award And Fantastic Watchmaking

At SIHH 2018, two competitions highlighted creative young watchmakers: one by F.P. Journe in collaboration with the FHH and one from A. Lange & Söhne. Each of these competitions has a specific focus, but both are aimed at giving young watchmakers an opportunity to find the spotlight for their talents. Judging by the finalists, there is plenty of creativity to keep mechanical watchmaking alive for the next generation.

Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Planétarium on the wrist

Video: Elizabeth And Ian Discuss SIHH 2018 Standouts With The Watches TV

On the last day of SIHH 2018 in Geneva, Elizabeth and Ian met with Marc André Deschoux of Watches TV to discuss what we had seen during the second part of the fair.

SIHH 2018 logo

The Times, They Are A Changin’ At SIHH And Why That Matters: Observations From A Third-Timer

Łukasz Doskocz has no problem being quite frank with anyone when it comes to watches: he enjoys every watch fair and looks forward to seeing what comes next. This year, unlike the years before, it seems to him as if brands have started to listen to collectors, finally appreciating what we want for our money. Which is why the SIHH 2018 mattered to him greatly . . . well, that and a few other things.

Haldimann Central Balance Pure H12

The Case For Steel: Here’s Why Stainless Steel Is The Most Precious Metal For Watches (Archive)

In the world of watches, especially with regards to collecting, rarity is a large factor contributing to the cost of a luxury timepiece. The reason is because rarity is almost always an implied condition that seems beyond control – like it just happens. In this article Joshua explains why he thinks that out of all the metals, especially the white metals like platinum and white gold, stainless steel is the most precious metal.

Girard-Perregaux Laureato Chronograph 33 mm on the wrist (photo courtesy ch24.pl)

Sensible Case Sizing: How The 2018 SIHH Showed Us We Are Heading Back To The New Normal

There is a certain sense of irony in it: while trying on a new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore I realized during the 2018 SIHH that current trends seem to favor smaller watches. It seems that the watch world has finally returned to its senses with smaller sizes. And that is a good thing!

A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Annual Calendar from 2010

Second-Row Stars: A. Lange & Söhne’s Saxonia Model Family

It sometimes escapes notice, but between A. Lange & Söhne’s Lange 1 and Tourbillon Pour le Mérite resides the Saxonia, whose name refers to the federal state in which Glashütte is located: Saxony. Here, Sabine Zwettler provides a rundown of the history of one of the German brand’s understated second-row stars.