A gear is a toothed wheel that meshes with a similar toothed wheel or rack to create rotational movement. Ever since the first Maurice Lacroix Roue Carrée with non-circular gears came out in 2010 I have lusted over the odd set of gears visible above the dial, so being able to finally have some time with an example was very cool for me.
Many of you are likely to have come across at least a few heated discussions of “finishing,” a topic that seems to fascinate, and divide, watch enthusiasts. Like many people, my starting point for serious watches was with a well-priced brand long known for its expertise in developing movements, justly viewed as offering good value for money – but not necessarily for the refinement of its movement finishing, at least on its less expensive pieces. What have I learned since then?
We keep making the moon phase complication because we love to look at the moon. One timepiece that keeps that romance alive, not to mention beauty, is the Jaquet Droz Perpetual Calendar Éclipse. This watch captured my heart when I first saw it, and it continues to hold sway over me.
On December 11, 2014, TAG Heuer CEO Stéphane Linder announced the resignation of his position after only 18 months at the post. Having been at TAG Heuer for 21 years, Linder was elevated to his current position after previous CEO Jean-Christophe Babin relocated to sibling brand Bulgari. What is the master strategy behind this and other moves at LVMH as orchestrated by Jean-Claude Biver?
Art Basel Miami is not just contained to an indoor fair hall but spread around Miami’s South Beach, adding another colorful layer to this glitzy, at times glamorous, city in south Florida. Collins Park is also filled with colorful art. Take a look around Art Basel Miami with me now and see my original photography.
Audemars Piguet is much more than a sponsoring partner of the Art Basel fair; at the Miami Beach Art Basel exhibition, the brand from Le Brassus staged a spectacular exhibition of Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests right on the famed beach.
The high-frequency 6 Hz Audemars Piguet Escapement burst onto the block in more ways than one. First off, and probably most significantly, it is of the direct impulse variety. This latter element was only made possible thanks to improved precision now available in manufacturing combined with a two-hundred-year-old design inspired by Robert Robin’s escapement of 1791.
Making the nib of a fountain pen – the point of the instrument that directs the ink – does not differ much from working precious metals to be used as watch components, but it does entail a heck of a lot of work done by hand. The nib alone needs about 40 steps until completion; making a whole pen, including barrel, cap, feed and, of course the nib, takes about 200 individual steps.
Quill & Pad speaks with Guillaume de Seynes, member of the Hermès family and now managing director in charge of manufacturing and equity investments, to understand the brand’s corporate philosophies and history in watches a little better. De Seynes, previously in charge of the timepiece division, was the force behind supplier acquisitions such as the group’s stake in movement maker Vaucher.
While $450,000 (give or take a bit of change) isn’t a sum that even the richest among us is likely to scoff at, it’s quite possible that a more expensive belt buckle exists that I don’t know about. However, it’s very unlikely that any buckle exists that comes even close to the high levels of sophistication and engineering found in the Roland Iten R822 Predator. The diamonds really are just the icing on the cake.