There is a very special place in Milan, Italy that few locals even know exists. Casa Campanini is a quiet place, deliberately so, but it has recently become well known to fashionistas the world over since its opening in September 2015 as the Ralph Lauren Palazzo. Follow me in for a visit!
Believe it or not, this Rube Goldberg/Jean Tinguely-style contraption is actually an astronomical clock by A.H.C.I. member Miki Eleta that displays retrograde minutes, jumping hours, day of the week, a three-dimensional moon phase, and world time. And it’s all regulated by Eleta’s own constant force gravity tourbillon with chronometer escapement.
But the question I’m asking here is: what might this assembly of gears be and/or be doing if it wasn’t a clock? Please leave your ideas (fun or funny also welcome) in the comments.
The prevailing financial atmosphere may be pointing toward Spartan classicism in some areas of life, but fortunately for us the worlds of art and beauty – which include haute horlogerie – still express joyful color. Enjoy the bursts of vivid hue in these five time-telling rainbows we found at Baselworld 2016 from Kari Voutilainen, de Grisogono, Chopard, Ulysse Nardin, and Fabergé.
It is with a bit of trepidation that I turn my attention to independent watches from Baselworld 2016 that are now on my “desire” list; we’ll see whether any of these watches from Sarpaneva, Grönefeld, Voutilainen, Akriva or even Renaud & Papi make it onto my wrist as a result! In the meantime, enjoy these gorgeous timepieces.
I recently went to a boutique opening thrown by Richard Mille in Munich. Sounds like fun, but think about it for a minute: who opens a standalone boutique in a country filled with really, really traditionally minded collectors – in this financial atmosphere? And, there was a surprise in store, in this case it was a new ambassador. Meet world rally champion Sébastien Ogier.
Hybrids in the watch world are rare, but in general perform the same way as hybrid automobiles, with chronometric performance improved significantly thanks to the quartz. For many it was a bit unexpected for Piaget, the “king of ultra-thin watches,” to introduce the Emperador Coussin XL 700P in 2016, but it did not emerge from thin air; it is the latest in a 40-year legacy of quartz innovation.
Kim Djapri, a watchmaker with Lang & Heyne and boutique manager at Tempus Arte in Dresden, exhibited at the A.H.C.I.’s Baselworld 2016 booth a micro-brand and a timepiece all his own. His new brand Bélier is the banner under which his new watch, christened Reverse, has been built. This watch is perfect allegory for reflection in a timepiece.
André Kusni is only 17 years old, yet the teenager already owns several horological masterpieces and plans on collecting many more. Kusni first came in contact with fine watches when his grandmother gifted him a Rolex Submariner Deepsea Sea-Dweller. Since then, the fortunate teenager lives his passion, now mostly attracted to rather rare watches made by independent boutique brands.
Watches from the upcoming Phillips Start-Stop-Reset auction of 88 stainless steel chronographs made a stop in the auction house’s London Mayfair location for several days, which gave me the opportunity to view them in the metal and even try some on. The auction, due to take place at La Reserve in Geneva on May 14, 2016, is sure to be a spectacular event not only for the picturesque location, but for the amazing timepieces for sale.
Hermès has set the bar extremely high with the exquisite artistry in the enamel work of Arceau Tigre Email Ombrant, whose name refers to a new enamel-and-engraving approach inspired by an old lithographic technique used in the Limoges region of France.