Romain Gauthier HMS Ten in white gold

Romain Gauthier Celebrates Ten-Year Anniversary With HMS Ten

“This is a kind of homage for me,” Romain Gauthier explained as he showed me his superbly finished HMS Ten at Baselworld 2015. Gauthier celebrates a milestone with the appropriately named wristwatch: ten years of his company’s existence as a boutique watch brand. While this watch appears solidly classic in style at first glance, don’t be fooled by that. It contains a number of elements that are bound to make it an interesting evergreen in the years to come: compelling movement design, intriguing dial design, and great crown placement.

Hublot private concert at Baselworld 2015 with singer Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), guitarist Tommy Thayer (Kiss), bass player Jack Blades (Night Ranger and Damn Yankees), and keyboard player Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis, who has toured with Guns N' Roses

Hublot Celebrates 10 Years Of Big Bang With Rock Concert Featuring Members Of Kiss, Skid Row, Night Ranger, And Guns N’ Roses

In honor of ten years of the Big Bang, Hublot brought five bona fide rock stars to Baselworld 2015 to play a small concert for its clients to celebrate this grand achievement, thereby forming an extraordinary ‘80s supergroup: singer Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), guitarist Tommy Thayer (Kiss), bass player Jack Blades (Night Ranger and Damn Yankees), keyboard player Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis, who has toured with Guns N’ Roses, and watch aficionado and drummer from Kiss, Eric Singer.

The glow-in-the-dark bat symbol of the Romain Jerome Batman DNA

‘Batman v Superman’: DC Comic Hero Immortalized By Jaeger-LeCoultre, Romain Jerome, And Montegrappa Timepieces

The long-awaited recent release of the ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ trailer delights me to no end (it is also nice to see that Ben Affleck might actually turn out be a decent Batman; the few seconds of him in the trailer were shockingly good in my opinion). Without further ado, I’d like to call to memory a few timepieces that have commemorated Batman in recent history by Jaeger-LeCoultre, Romain Jerome, and Montegrappa.

Zenith Academy Christophe Colomb Hurricane Grand Voyage II

Time For Adventure: Zenith Academy Christophe Colomb Hurricane Grand Voyage II

Adventure and exploration happen every day and everywhere; there just happen to be explorers who make a little more noise about their exploits. And for that reason we know some of them by name – like Christopher Columbus.
Released this year, the Zenith Academy Christophe Colomb Hurricane Grand Voyage II outfitted with a gimbaled zero-gravity escapement and chain and fusée continues that path in a grand manner.

Dior VIII-Grand Bal "Cancan" in white ceramic

Dior’s 2015 Grand Bal VIII With Dial-Side Rotor And Scarab Beetle Elytra

An automatic watch’s oscillating weight, or rotor, is what winds it up. It does so using the motion of one’s wrist. In many automatic watches, the rotor’s activity is clearly visible via a see-through case back. But in the Dior VIII Grand Bal, this essentially functional component is transformed into a gorgeously decorated focal point of the dial.

LM101 Frost by MB&F

LM101 Frost By MB&F: It’s Surprisingly Warm

MB&F’s Legacy Machines are the avant-garde brand’s take on traditional complications. With the limited-edition LM101 Frost, MB&F has added a new string to the brand’s traditional bow, which until now had been strung with reinterpretations of traditional complications and mechanisms: finish.

Rolex Yacht-Master

Give Me Five! A Radiant Rolex Rainbow At Baselworld 2015

Rolex had a very interesting Baselworld that included updates of many much-loved standards, in particular a very handsome facelift for the Yacht-Master, and – almost unbelievably – springtime coloring on the dials of the new Oyster Perpetuals. Funky colors! That’s what hit us squarely in the eye when regarding both the new Oyster Perpetual and the Datejust Pearlmaster 39 models.

The Ulysse Nardin Anchor Tourbillon on the wrist

The Ulysse Anchor Tourbillon By Ulysse Nardin

Ulysse Nardin was expected to introduce the Ulysse Anchor Escapement in a production watch. And with the Ulysse Anchor Tourbillon, the brand did not disappoint. In fact, this constant-amplitude escapement is now housed within a one-minute tourbillon for an added pinch of technical virtuosity.

Le Garde Temps, Naissance d’une Montre (unfinished prototype)

Le Garde Temps Project With Greubel Forsey And Philippe Dufour: Where It’s At And Where To Next

The Le Garde Temps, Naissance d’une Montre project separates true lovers of watchmaking from the chaff: there is no big brand name on the dial, celebrity ambassadors, or expensive marketing campaign. It is pure watchmaking for it’s own sake to perpetuate traditional crafts and skills. There is, right now, in this universe, a watch that features the names Greubel Forsey and Philippe Dufour on its dial.

Detail view of the Roger Smith Series 2’s dial

Behind The Lens: Roger Smith Series 2

Roger Smith holds a special place in the pantheon of independent watchmaking, both on his own merits and as the man who worked most closely with the legendary George Daniels. While any Smith watch is rare, the particular Series 2 that you see photographed in this article is in fact unique: it’s the only such watch in stainless steel that Smith has yet produced.