Most of Stepan Sarpaneva’s timepieces involve the moon in some way. And of one thing Elizabeth am certain: it is surely Sarpaneva’s stylized rendition of the earth’s satellite that has drawn her to his work in such a powerfully magnetic way.
The moon seems to draw Sarpaneva himself in, but this trademark element came about in a bit of a surprising way, with much less advance planning as one might think. And, surely this is how the best things come about.
Van Cleef & Arpels is known today in the haute horlogerie realm as the “maison” producing Poetic Complications, little love stories on the wrist. It has always produced beautiful items of the highest quality, but in recent years the Richemont-owned brand has sincerely added high watchmaking to its goals as a luxury house.
Which is where Agenhor enters the picture since the lion’s share of the Poetic Complications line is developed in collaboration with Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and his specialist company, Agenhor, which develops complications and – now – movements for an exclusive clientele.
The wonderful relationship between Van Cleef & Arpels and Agenhor – a bit of a love story itself – has resulted in many amazing timepieces and accolades from the industry. Wiederrecht was asked to work on an extension for the Pierre Arpels line, which has largely remain unchanged since its eponymous inception in 1949.
The result, as you will see, is one of the most poetic and functional dual time watches that I have ever seen: the Pierre Arpels Heure d’ici Heure d’ailleurs.
The RM 038 is made of an extremely strong and light alloy called magnesium WE 54. The tourbillon movement has been developed for a particular emphasis on shock protection (a good thing if playing golf with it).
Bubba Watson is a professional golfer and Richard Mille ambassador. He one the US Masters Tournament in 2012 and is one of the longest drivers on the PGA Tour.
“This is, of course, the most important watch museum in the world,” Ludwig Oechslin says unapologetically as I sit across from him with my steaming cup of espresso during a jovial chat in the museum’s conference room. If there is one thing Oechslin does, he tells it like he sees it.
Toys! For almost every person in the world, toys are a staple of childhood. Depending on your place of birth and socioeconomic background they may have been the newest video game, hottest action figure, or a hand carved figurine passed down from a grandparent.
Whatever they were, the toys of your childhood helped you develop your imagination, motor skills, and understanding of complex concepts only discoverable through play.
GaryG’s first rule when it comes to collecting is to avoid setting too many exclusionary rules. With watches, I believe that it’s the passion that separates collectors from investors and accumulators. Which brings him to another rule: deriving the full enjoyment from the things you own.
If you have been around the horological block a few times, you will certainly be aware of GaryG, a frequent poster on prevalent watch fora. His love of the art of luxury watchmaking is unmistakable, and his interest, intelligence and enthusiasm on the subject downright infectious. We are sure you will also love what he brings to the Quill & Pad table.
For those living in the Northern hemisphere, which I guess is the majority of you, here are a few photos that will hopefully help chase away the winter chill and damp, at least for a few minutes anyway.
Not everyone has had the extremely good fortune to be able to attend the Olympic Games in Sochi, which are due to close this weekend. Luckily for the watch world, however, a fortunate few from the industry were able to go, allowing the rest of us to get a more personal view of the Games from their social media accounts.
Konstantin Chaykin, the Wonderboy Russian Watchmaker – my name for him, hopefully he doesn’t mind – is a serious contender for being crowned one of the most progressive and talented watchmakers alive right now.
Previous models like the Levitas, Lunokhod, and his incredible clock creations that feature Jewish and Islamic calendars show that he is both creative and a top-notch complication specialist.
With his most recent creation, the aptly named Cinema watch, he stumped and astounded me with a creative direction that did not leave me wanting. The Cinema features an animation, or more correctly, stop motion recording of a horse at full gallop.
The mechanism used to create said animation? Why that would be his own miniaturized version of Eadweard Muybridge’s Zoopraxiscope. (One of the most awesome names for any machine ever; it even rivals one of my own wordinations!)