Posts Tagged ‘Haute Horology’
0023 Blancpain Villeret Flying Tourbillon
Nineties Blancpain is a distinct beast entirely, from all of horology. Famously, toward the ceasefire of the quartz crisis, Blancpain ran ads claiming ‘since 1735, Blancpain has never produced a quartz watch and we never will.’ Jean-Claude Biver and Jacques Piguet may not have quite singlehanded dragged Swiss mechanical watchmaking into the modern era, but that…
Read More16/1860/2 Chopard LUC Calibre 1.96
I simply cannot get enough of the calibre 1.96. As I’m not picking one up anytime soon, this is my love letter. It is possible for something to be expensive and massively undervalued. Much in the way that a multitude of collectors have only recently begun to acknowledge the exceptional watchmaking in early CPCP pieces…
Read MoreRose-on-Rose FP Journe Centigraphe Souverain
For many years, FP Journe’s Centigraphe remained one of the finest ever chronograph movements to be largely unrecognized, speaking volumes to François-Paul’s maniacal approach to complication but minimally popular. The concept was borne between conversation between FP and Jean Todt (then executive at Scuderia Ferrari and later president of the FIA), but something François-Paul had…
Read More4th Series 3970EP Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph
Patek’s 3970 has enjoyed one of the sharpest upward trajectories in collectability of anything this side of a Cosmograph in recent years. The rise to appreciation has been a culmination of many factors: scholarship in the form of excellent reference guides such as by A Collected Man and Collectability, greater desirability of what we now…
Read More3357 Breguet Tourbillon in White Gold
Breguet: the name itself is enough to weaken the knees of those who care about history. Yet, when I said Breguet, what came to mind? Chances are it was one of two things: either the Marie-Antoinette pocket watch and other unimaginably unattainable relics of horology’s blossoming or things like the Chaumet-era 2310 chronographs. Perhaps even…
Read MorePatek Philippe 130 in Double Yellow Gold
The Beatles are not remembered as they are today for their outright technical skill. Nor are they forever loved simply for being handsome, though they certainly had that in spades. The Beatles aren’t even remembered as they are for merely innovating, treading new musical territory. The Beatles are the most influential band ever because when…
Read More447.X.70 Daniel Roth Skeleton Master’s Chronograph
Daniel Roth is to independent watchmaking what the 911 GT1 is to modern Porsche products. He was there at the start, did it better than most with many accolades, paved the way for an entire category, and yet is recognized today with extremely high regard only by those who appreciate historic context. I overuse the…
Read More101.325 Lange 1 ‘Stealth’ PT on Wellendorff Bracelet
This is not an everyday occurrence, or even a yearly occurrence. Chances to pick up a Lange 1 are plentiful, even for rare variants like the early solid-back, Darth, or 1A. Chances to acquire a fully factory, fully platinum Wellendorff bracelet version with accompanying reference and documentation are vanishingly slim. Ordering this option and reference…
Read More1 of 2 Known, Blue Dial 3940P-027 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 More5396G Patek Philippe Annual Calendar
There are many watches whose technical merit is beyond reproach, but whose design may fall subjectively. Equally, there are watches whose design and technical merits both fall a bit flat (how is the 11.59 doing these days anyway?). However, it is the rare watch whose design and technical merits are, to my understanding, unarguable. Patek…
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