Following the recent article on silicon balance springs by watchmaker Ashton Tracy called ‘Is Silicon Here To Stay In (Rolex) Watch Movements?’ Timothy Treffry decided to take a closer, more technical look at the intriguing silicon material from which the components are made.
Neither round nor square, the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse introduced a bold and sensationally slender watch with unmistakable style 50 years ago. And it just got even better with the anniversary edition featuring a surprising dial color.
Waxing poetically about moon phases has gotten me excited enough to take a trip through certain “phases” of engineering excellence . Here we bring you the eight most accurate moon phases currently fitted into a wristwatch. Join us on this odyssey through space and time.
A good friend of mine owns a cream-dialed Reference 2526, and I’d often admired it over the years but hadn’t really understood the role that the 2526 plays in Patek Philippe’s history until talking with him and other watch pals and doing some late-night online research. Read on to learn why I bought this special “Gobbi Milano” edition from 1954 on an exciting spur of a moment.
Silicon, long in use as a material in the electronics industry, has many advantages for mechanical watchmaking: it is 60 percent harder and 70 percent lighter than steel; non-magnetic; resistant to corrosion and shock; and generally needs no lubrication. These qualities motivated Patek Philippe to declare in 2005 that, “Silicon is the fabric of the future” and to found its Advanced Research department. Meet all five limited edition Advanced Research pieces right here.
As read by you, here are the top 10 most viewed articles on Quill & Pad for 2017. There are likely to be a few surprises. Drum roll, please: in no particular order, our top ten most viewed articles of 2017 were . . .
One of the high points of my visits to Baselworld each of the past few years has been the opportunity to tour the display of new introductions from Patek Philippe. Concluding our visit in March 2017, our host asked each of us to name our favorite new Patek Philippe piece, and for me the answer was obvious: the stunning Reference 5170P that had me standing slack-jawed in front of its display case long after the rest of the group had moved on to the other new pieces. Here’s why . . .
As the resident gentleman of Quill & Pad, I feel that the time is soon approaching to write an obituary announcing the death of the dress watch. It is not that we didn’t see this coming, nor is it an isolated event, but it still hurts.
The Only Watch auction takes place on November 11, 2017 in Geneva. Here are all the 50 unique piece watches on offer with their estimated prices. Let us know your favorite watch or watches!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past several months, you are well aware that on October 26, 2017 Phillips conducted an auction in New York City at which the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona owned by Mr. Newman himself was sold for more than $17.5 million, a record price for a wristwatch of any kind. I was fortunate to attend the auction and its attendant events: there was much more to see and some lessons to take away, about both the current state of the vintage market and bidding at auction.