Posts Tagged ‘Haute Horology’
Mother 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…
Read More5240 IWC Portuguese Minute Repeater
Discretion is something of a lost art to much of modern watchmaking. In many ways, a relatively thin, time-only minute repeater could be said to be the antithesis of an orange RM or rainbow Daytona. There’s nothing wrong with outward flamboyance, but it’s a breath of fresh air to see something so understated yet so…
Read MorePiece Unique Roger W. Smith Series I
With every day that passes, the horological marketplace which consumes my attention becomes a more diverse and interesting place. It would be callous of me not to discuss this development. A Collected Man, the long established leader in independent retail, recently changed the game by announcing ‘exceptional’ auctions. These single lot auctions will exist to…
Read More3417 Patek Philippe Amagnetic
I would be willing to bet a great bottle of Glenrothes that, if you asked industry luminaries for their top five most beautiful Patek Philippe references of all time, the 3417 Amagnetic would feature in the majority. This is an elegant Calatrava belying the soul of a steel tool watch. It’s like seeing Tom Ford,…
Read More1 of 10 Romain Gauthier Insight Micro-Rotor in Black Titanium
Romain Gauthier make some of the most intimidating watches of any modern independent. This is due to their immense finishing, masculine proportion, precise manufacturing, and, perhaps most of all, industrial aesthetic. There’s also the fact that RG produce just a few dozen watches per year, far fewer than almost everyone else. Seeing one in the…
Read MorePhilippe Dufour Simplicity
What ink remains to be spilled on behalf of the Simplicity? This is it, as good as watchmaking gets, independent or otherwise. Where Patek Philippe are undisputed masters of their craft, that is an effort of some 1600 people to elevate watchmaking to an art. The Simplicity is one man’s effort to distill heaven into…
Read More