MB&F rarely introduces objets d’art so visibly rooted in horology as Kelys & Chirp: the Geneva-based independent watchmaker generally specializes in exotic and futuristic shapes. Kelys & Chirp doesn’t tell the time: it is an automaton – and most automata grew from advances made in horology in the 1600s.
From a technical point of view, skeletonizing makes no sense: watchmakers go to great length to create a stable and robust movement, only to have others saw away pieces of its components. Skeletonizing is one of those instances when form takes over from function, bringing it even closer to being art.
Every year people working in the watch industry pass away, and brands come and go. This year I’d like to highlight a few of those we’ve lost, but will always remember.
As read by you, here are the top 10 most viewed articles on Quill & Pad for 2017. There are likely to be a few surprises. Drum roll, please: in no particular order, our top ten most viewed articles of 2017 were . . .
The ‘perpetual’ Atmos by Jaeger-LeCoultre is made even more interesting by collaborations with celebrated designer Marc Newson; the Swiss manufacture and the Australian designer have done three Atmos variations together. I had a chance to speak with Newson upon the release of the latest collaborative clock, the Atmos 568. And some of his answers to my eager questions were a bit surprising.
Here is a story of neglect, replacement, and resurrection in Hollywood spanning nearly a century and involving Hugh Hefner, eBay, and the last American watch manufacture, RGM. It’s a fascinating journey leading to where we are now, and it is chock full of truly American entities. Meet the Hollywood 1923 watch by RGM, which incorporates a piece of American history.
During a visit to the Big Apple, GaryG had the chance to meet Analog/Shift’s founder, James Lamdin, and was pleased to sit down with him for a talk and borrow a couple of watches to take home and photograph.
This is a bit of an unusual article, but the story surreptitiously fell into my lap(top) just days before Christmas, and I thought that there is no better time of the year for publishing good news. Charris Yadigaroglou, MB&F head of communication, told me the happy ending to a scary incident earlier in the year at the MB&F M.A.D.Gallery in Geneva.
There was a small horological polemic recently out of Geneva caused by an employment advert from a high-end watch brand looking for a “chargé d’industrialisation métiers d’art.” First they industrialized horological crafts, now it’s the arts. What’s next?
Unlike many tourbillon watches that come in fairly straightforward round cases, the Ballon Blue Flying Tourbillon de Cartier combines high-end watchmaking with a more daring and very comfortable case design. It also has quite a story to tell about the brand’s complicated pieces in the modern era.