The Mori Art Museum has organized a special exhibition on Versailles starring Marie Antoinette. This is the very first retrospective exhibition on the life and times of the young queen to ever take place in Japan, and it does so using more than 150 items from the French castle. Additionally, two beautiful unique piece creations were launched in celebration.
What sells watches? This is the 20 billion Swiss franc question in today’s challenging economic climate.For at least part of the answer to what sells watches (and how to buy them in down markets), we can learn a lot from two of the steadiest performers in the watch industry.
The Fabergé Lady Compliquée Peacock got lots of kudos at Baselworld 2015, even winning the prestigious Ladies High-Mech prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève that same year. The Lady Compliquée Peacock Emerald’s tail, embellished with hand-applied green lacquer marking the minutes in the most beautiful way imaginable.
I had the pleasure of curating a special exhibition on métiers d’art at SalonQP 2016, comprising specialist brands in their fields demonstrating the arts and crafts that they have become famous for. But what else did I particularly enjoy there? Read on to find out.
Dubai Watch Week just closed the sun-soaked doors of its 2016 edition during which much of the watch world enjoyed discovering new watches, interesting opinions, the culture of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ fastest growing city, and the immense hospitality of the Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, who staged the incredible show.
Please enjoy these 7 outstanding new watches launched during the 2016 edition of Dubai Watch Week.
One of my favorite complications is the moon phase, and an appropriately magnificent example is the Arnold & Son HM Double Hemisphere Perpetual Moon. This watch is among the biggest and boldest moon phase watches in existence, and it is one of my favorite pieces from Arnold & Son.
Recently, a good friend and avid collector gave me the mouth-watering opportunity to photograph two splendid Patek Philippe minute repeaters: the 5074P and 5078P. If you’re one of those people who believe in wearing a watch with your tuxedo, I don’t think you’d ever go wrong in pulling the 5078P out of the safe to wear. What else is interesting about it?
In 1974 Dutch watchmaker Christiaan van der Klaauw founded his own workshop making astronomical clocks, then soon similar complications for wristwatches. He retired in 2009, passing his baton along to Daniel Reintjes, who is now in charge of the world’s only watch brand completely dedicated to astronomical watches. Quill & Pad’s Martin Green sat down with Reintjes to get a feel for where the brand is now.
While there may be other categories in the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) with more complicated watches and more sparkling watches, the category that the still predominantly male mechanical watch buying public pays most attention to, is “Best Men’s Watch”. And in 2016 that prestigious award went to the Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire.
MB&F’s Legacy Machine Perpetual took the prize for Best Calendar Watch at the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève and I thought it deserved that accolade and more. LM Perpetual has rewritten the architecture of the perpetual calendar, transforming this oft troublesome complication into a virtual masterpiece.