Posts Tagged ‘Haute Horology’
3751 IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Rattrapante
Patek may indisputably own the perpetual calendar chronograph, but IWC contested the 5004 Perpetual Calendar Rattrapante in the same year it debuted with this: the ref. 3751 Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Rattrapante. It included the most infamous advertising campaign any watch has ever braved, almost unimaginable today, which began in the early 90s with the…
Read More5240 IWC Portuguese Minute Repeater
When this IWC sold new in 1995, it had an MSRP almost identical to a top-of-the-range BMW 5 Series (thanks @alteuhrener for that excellent bit of trivia). Today, it’s far less than half that. And yet, today as back then, it’s one of the most elegant minute repeaters ever designed. It’s the IWC ref. 5240,…
Read MoreMoritz Grossmann Tremblage
The award-winning documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a meditation on dedication to craft and the constant chase of perfection across generations. What seems like a simple piece of raw fish, seaweed, and rice has had more attention given to just its rice, what seems like the simplest of details, than all of Benihana’s menu.…
Read MoreSalmon Dial 25661BC Audemars Piguet Quantième Perpétual
Some watches just seem to burrow into your soul. This is the epitome of that paradigm. It’s a ref. 25661 in white gold with what AP call a rosé dial, salmon to us plebeians. Just 32 examples of 25661 were made in white gold, they’re hard enough to find as is. But with this dial,…
Read MoreTime Æon Naissance d’Une Montre 2
As a general rule, Marvel movies bore the will to live out of me. I see a bunch of attractive people in tight clothing making jokes that all feel like they’ve been through several focus groups. Creative narrative does not tend to arise from these ingredients. However, it seems at various points in my life…
Read MoreMother of Pearl Dial 217QRS Voutilainen Retrograde Date
Only 30 217QRS, Karis’ Retrograde Date, have ever be made, in an even split of platinum, white gold and rose gold. But this? This is the very last one produced, 30. And the material combination here is something outrageous: teal mother of pearl dial, green guilloché hour track, and white gold case. It’s no surprise…
Read More‘Ruri’ Dial Credor Eichi II
For decades, it seemed like Seiko never knew exactly what to do with Credor. The subsidiary brand was invented in 1974 in order to take the fight back to the Swiss in high-end watchmaking (quartz and mechanical). But hang on, wasn’t that the purview of Grand Seiko already? Or King Seiko maybe? The answer is,…
Read MoreBrass Movement FP Journe Chronomètre à Résonance
Patek owns the perpetual calendar chronograph. If I say GMT you’re thinking of the soda company synonymous, not Omega. MB&F invented, and now owns, the double chronograph (not to be confused with split seconds). Almost every watch complication has a luminary entrant that dominants enthusiast headspace. FP Journe may have started with the tourbillon, but,…
Read More3940G Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar
When John Reardon states that ‘for the price, there is arguably no other watch that encapsulates all that defines Patek Philippe’, you listen. In gross understatement, the man knows Patek Philippe. Further, when nearly every notable collector starts referring to the 3940 as Patek’s quintessential calendar, you know we are at the outset of a…
Read More‘Paris Platinum’ Cartier Crash
Walking around any major city with a truly exceptional watch on wrist is a bit like walking down the street holding a Van Gogh above your head. Without wishing to be ostentatious, in many respects you are doing someone a very slight favor by adding a degree of culture to an otherwise very ordinary day (for…
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