It was a question, less than a decade ago, if the highest ability of A. Lange & Söhne could ever seriously challenge the apex complicated models of the Swiss. The comparison is useless, the two manufactures approach watchmaking with such distinct philosophies. But, if there were any remaining doubt, surely...

When a young Philippe Dufour loves your watch so much that he saves up to buy one, later calling it the ‘finest chronograph ever made’, you know you’re doing something right. However, Dufour couldn’t afford the platinum in period. So, he saved up and bought the ref. 403.031 in pink...

If Moritz Grossmann had an equivalent to the Simplicity, this might be it. However, there are even fewer of them. Moritz Grossmann’s entirely independent watchmaking is renown, from the traditional clear-jewel Glashütte style to innovation like the Hamatic. However, through that time, one constraint has held many collectors back: proportions....

In 2001 The Lange 1 became fit for an evening outing, courtesy of a mother of pearl dial. This is the ‘Soirée’, a slightly more expressive (about as expressive as Germans get) Lange 1 with one big different. The flat white mother of pearl dial debuted in two variants, this...

A dial can make a watch. Off catalogue except to just a handful of Middle Eastern retailers, this is the Eastern Arabic Historiques American 1921 in platinum. It was not shouted about, not in the press, and only just coming to light in recent months. No one knows the production...

There aren’t many watches in the Thierry era that one can honestly say are 10s. But this is one, and the buzz around it is pretty quiet. The 5370 was introduced in 2015 to much fanfare, but that was objectively before half the people currently reading this were into watches...

The first Overseas QP, or sporting QP of any kind from VC, debuted in 2016. This was, notably, some time after 1984—which is when the Royal Oak QP came out. This is the first Overseas QP, a very recent addition to the catalogue by comparison. This forced the hand of...

Everyone is wondering what history will make of the 5970. You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again, this is the last of the Lemania ébauches; 5270 that followed axed that tradition. Further, the 1mm case different is not insignificant either. The 5970 was only in production for about...

Up until 2022, the final boss of the Overseas range was either the QP Skeleton or Dual Time Everest, inarguably. The true genius of the QP was not just complication, but complication with more thinness. Normally, the greater a component count in a calibre, the larger the height. Here, that...

Finds. There are just a handful of über-Lange 1s, ref. 112.046 is one of them. It is a direct descendent of the 112.021 Lange 1A, the very first guilloché dial Lange of any model line. Except this later iteration, the ‘Floral’ (as this 112.046 has come to be known, for...

Here’s something almost wrong: a Lange where the wearing view is more beautiful than the caseback. 414.049 is reference not likely to ring any bells, and that’s because it’s a piece unique. Lange have a long tradition of sponsoring automotive concours, specifically Villa d’Este. They don’t necessarily indulge in one-offs...

Before the Datograph Honey-Lumen or Handwerkskunt, there was this. It doesn’t fall neatly into any normal Lange category despite debuting in the 1815 collection. And it was out of chronology, Lange did the advanced homework first. They conquered the Double Split (splitting minutes and seconds) in 2004, Pour Le Mérite...

The Ellipse case might just be one of the most timeless shapes the 1970s produced, the age of the Jet Set and turmoil simultaneously. This ref. 3738 is one of the longest-lived references in Patek Philippe, arguably the height of Ellipse. It spanned 1984 until around 2009 and four main...

If I were Günter Blümlein and someone suggested that they were going to revise the Lange 1 by adding a tourbillon, I'd tell them to zieh leine and stop being obtuse. You can't improve upon the Lange 1, surely? Well, if time has taught us anything, it's to trust the slow...

Calling Simon Brette one to watch is like calling Joe Satriani a promising guitarist. Sure, but we’re kind of past that. And this is the first time that one is coming to auction. Brette is the conductor of an orchestra of many artists, each quite adept at their craft. The...

As if a TN Tourbillon Souverain weren’t special enough, François-Paul went and made 11 of these in 2019 and 2020. Two .45mm thin pieces of ruby heart are mounted on a rhodium-brass dial here, set against a 50% grey ruthenium inner dials. Stone dials are not new for FP Journe....

What happens if you’re an independent watchmaker and you’ve sold your company to great success? What if you no longer have access to use your own name? Do you retire to the Maldives? Well, not in this instance. This says Jean Daniel Nicolas on the dial, but it is in...

The Chronomètre Bleu represents FP Journe’s best ability under pressure. This context still is not talked about enough. It was conceived in the midst of the 2008 financial meltdown. Precious metal values were skyrocketing. Demand was all but nonexistent. No one was thinking about supporting independent watchmaking, in fact it...