Traditional (but): I've rated Christophe Claret as a Contemporary brand because of the wilder models, but this independent has a foot in both camps and I rate this Soprano as Traditional, or perhaps "Traditional with a twist"

Want To Launch A High-End Watch Brand? What The 9 New Independents At SIHH 2016 Teach Us

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Post-SIHH reports indicate that the inclusion of the so-called indies was a big success for both visitors and the small brands alike, but also that there was a little grumbling from some of the large established SIHH brands generated by the fact that visitors to the fair remarked − with justification − that there were more interesting watches in the Carré des Horlogers than in the rest of the SIHH altogether. What can the industry learn from their inclusion in 2016’s first fair?

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MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual on the author’s wrist at SIHH 2016

Collectors Speak: Picks And Pans Of SIHH Week 2016

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It’s already been six consecutive years that I’ve had the delightful experience of going through SIHH week with several of my closest friends. Our closing discussions centered around four questions, which were focused more tightly on SIHH itself this year due to the inclusion of nine independent watchmakers: what watch did you think was best of show at SIHH? What was the worst watch of the show? What watch displayed at the show would you buy if money were no object? What watch did you see on display that would you buy with your own money?

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Lume shot of the Urwerk EMC2

Presenting EMC2 Time Hunter By Urwerk: Ugly Duckling Takes First Step To Swanhood

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The original EMC was designed from the outset to be a platform for validating Urwerk’s mechanical/electronic hybrid concept; to be a technical instrument rather than a full-fledged conventional wristwatch.

But EMC2 now looks like a wristwatch. I still wouldn’t call it pretty, not while sober anyway, but “good looking in a macho way” isn’t so much of a stretch.

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A Urwerk UR-106 would be a welcome addition under any horophile's Christmas tree

Christmas Heartbeat: The Urwerk UR-106 Lotus

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It’s kind of a Christmas present, isn’t it? Right now I’m wearing this gorgeous little piece of Urwerk UR-106 horological technology and will be publishing an in-depth review in a few weeks. But for now, I just want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an interesting and seasonal view of this little Christmas present as much as I do.

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The Urwerk EMC Pistol on the wrist

Urwerk Of Art: The EMC Pistol

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The Urwerk EMC Pistol, an extremely limited edition of just five pieces, features a very intricate mix of hand-engraved artistry and groundbreaking technology. The EMC Pistol is an edition of the watch that closes the EMC line, which is really a test bed for the hybrid technology inside rather than a fully finished wristwatch.

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H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Black Tourbillon at SalonQP 2015

SalonQP 2015 Roundup With A Few Of My Favorite Watches From The Fair

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The Saatchi Gallery on Kings Road in trendy Chelsea has played host to SalonQP in London for the past four years. It is a fantastic venue and a great place for the brands attending to showcase their wares.

What an eclectic mix of brands and watches on show this year, too! Come with me on a virtual tour.

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Vianney Halter Antiqua perpetual calendar in white gold

Is Independent Creative Horology Dead?

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In the early 1990s, I was facing the same dilemma as today: should I buy modern or vintage? The problem was that the modern watches actually all looked vintage, right down to the sizes. There was something lacking, and watch shopping at times almost felt like perusing the yogurt section in a Soviet supermarket.

I’m obviously exaggerating here, but in general it seemed to me that creativity was more or less an afterthought.

Enter Vianney Halter in 1998 with the Antiqua Perpetual. And then what happened next: the birth of ICH (“independent creative horology”).

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The Time Bandit concept for the Opus 5 had a slot machine type indications. The time would display after pulling the handle and the rollers stopped spinning around

The Urwerk Opus 5 For Harry Winston That Almost Was

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The Opus 5 by Felix Baumgartner/Urwerk for Harry Winston is one of the best of this series of exceptional timepieces. But, as this drawing by Urwerk designer Martin Frei from June of 2003 shows, one of the original ideas behind Urwerk’s Opus 5 was a digital display in a model christened with the working title “Time Bandit.”

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2005: Harry Winston Opus V by Urwerk

The Harry Winston Opus Series: A Complete Overview From Opus 1 Through Opus 13

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Following the Swatch Group’s takeover of Harry Winston, a continuation of the Opus series with an Opus 14 seemed in doubt to me, though at Baselworld 2015 Dr. Nayla Hayek, chair of the Swatch Group’s board of directors and CEO of Harry Winston, quietly let it be known that a Harry Winston Opus 14 is forthcoming. What better reason to take a look back at the history-making timepieces of the Opus series.

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Urwerk UR-1001 Zeit Device starring in "Easy Rider 2"

The Urwerk UR-1001 Zeit Device Goes ‘Easy Rider’

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“It’s not a pocket watch,” Felix Baumgartner, Urwerk’s co-founder and chief watchmaker, emphasized to me, “It’s a ‘Zeit Device’.” This ultra-complicated calendar-cum-pocket watch is one of the most unique timepieces in the horological world today. Enjoy its starring role in this new ‘Easy Rider’-style video.

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