In 1878, Longines made a pocket watch with its own 28 calibre movement, the first of its chronograph movements. It was used on American racecourses, and from the start this was its intended use, as shown by the engraving of a horse and jockey on the caseback. The remarkable thing about that pocket watch is…
All of the watches by Angelus have a high content of originality, from the U10 launched in 2015 that marked the company’s return to business, to this year’s three models. It is above all with the U30 Tourbillon Rattrapante that Angelus and its new owners are saying “We are here.” The U30 is a show…
The dream of a totally transparent watch For the classical watchmakers, there was a parallel between the movement of the watch and the orbits of the planets and their moons, and so perhaps today some watchmakers still secretly dream of a movement in which the gears and hands are floating in space, silently revolving like…
The historic brand Angelus is now part of the La Joux-Perret stable, and it marked its return to watchmaking with last year’s U10 Tourbillon Lumière. This year, it presents three new tourbillon models, including the U40 Racing Tourbillon Skeleton. Designed as an “everyday tourbillon watch” or “a tourbillon for all,” it has a carefully-engineered structure…
When a watch brand starts using the words Ultra Thin, you know that they’re after a world record even though they may not admit it. Most of the thinness records are held by Piaget, but Jaeger-LeCoultre have also ventured into this area, and more recently Bulgari have been creating some excellent super-slim watches. Arnold &…
This is what happens when a watchmaking company has the capability to design and build its own movements, and also possesses a healthy sense of creativity. You get something that – at last – looks completely different. It’s a different approach to the trade: instead of buying a ready-built movement from ETA, Sellita or Miyota…
The Eight-Day Royal Navy by Arnold & Son is a watch in steel with – considering most of the brand’s timepieces – a relatively accessible price. It probably reflects the trend, visible throughout watchmaking, of widening price range to include a wider market segment. The watch is an example of the company’s objective of celebrating…
The 1966 Skeleton by Girard-Perregaux is one of the watches celebrating the company’s 225th anniversary. The case in pink gold, 38 mm in diameter and 9.27 thick, is perfectly dimensioned for the 1966 movement which is 30 mm in diameter. Notable features of the exposed movement are the balance at 12 o’clock, the rhodium-plated gear…
Company profile: There are lots of watch brands of relatively recent foundation who have purchased the right to use the name of a historic watchmaker or a long defunct company. It gives them some instant history, and some even go so far as to put “Since 1860” or whenever on the dials of their new…
The Girard-Perregaux Esmeralda Tourbillon, reference 99275-52-000-BA6E, is based on a watch in the brand’s Museum collection shown in the photo below. The new piece is not a limited edition, but only one or two watches can be produced every month, so it’s never going to be a high-production watch. Each piece is assembled by a…
Girard-Perregaux‘s numerous connections with Italy are exemplified by Laureato, a watch whose name was suggested by the company’s Italian distributor in 1975. It is the Italian name of the film The Graduate starring Dustin Hoffman. Those years were the time in which octagonal bezels and integrated bracelets were arriving from Gerald Genta (Audemars Piguet Royal…
Girard-Perregaux launched the Cat’s Eye women’s watch in 2004. It is hallmarked by the oval case, horizontal or vertical. This year’s models, in steel, steel and gold, and pink gold, have a case with 60 brilliant-cut diamonds on the narrow bezel, with dials in fan-shaped sunray or guilloché decoration. The hour markings comprise two or…
This year marks Girard-Perregaux’s 225th anniversary, and the brand have presented Place Girardet, a watch named after the location in La Chaux-de-Fonds where the company was founded and still operates. Girard-Perregaux have taken the idea of a limited edition to a new level: not a numbered series from 1 to 225, but from 1791 to…
The Girard-Perregaux Competizione chronograph is made in two variants, Stradale in steel, Circuito in carbon. As suggested by the name, they are road-racing-inspired watches, with piston-shaped chronograph pushers, dials with three subdials, and tachymeter scales on the Stradale versions. The Circuito is the sportiest, with titanium-carbon case and carbon-effect leather strap. Both are powered by…
The Chamber of Wonders series began in 2015, with intricately-painted dials. Three new pieces have been introduced for 2016, all limited editions of 18 pieces. They are based on the Girard-Perregaux 1966 pink gold watch, with in-house self-winding GP03300-0060 movement. This runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, 4 Hertz, has 205 components: 26 jewels, and a power reserve of…
The Tissot Couturier Day-Date is part of the Couturier family that also comprises three-hand and chronograph watches. This piece is a low-cost addition to the day-date genre that isn’t exactly overcrowded. It is basically a new version of the Tissot T-One Day Date. This piece has a simple dial design, with a symmetrical arrangement of…
At a time at which many watchmaking companies are suffering to a degree – Swatch Group will be announcing a 12% drop in sales for the first half of 2016 for the group, with a 50-60% drop in profits – entry-level watches in 1960s style seem to represent an ever-popular option (other examples include the…
Double tourbillons is something that reminds you of Roger Dubuis, Greubel Forsey and Speake-Marin, but the 1770 Micromegas is a bit different. The two tourbillons have different speeds of rotation, 1 rpm and 10 rpm (take a look at the video futher down on this page) and different balance speeds, 28,800 vibrations per hour (4…
The Voltige Plume Noir (or Black Feather) by Manufacture Royale is a delight to watch. The balance, large at 14 mm diameter, oscillates at 21,600 vibrations per hour, and it is accompanied by the escapement just below. The assembly’s hypnotic movement is the epitomy of mechanical watchmaking. At the bottom of the dial, a subdial…
Theatrical balance With the 1770 Haute Voltige, Manufacture Royale transforms time into performance art. It selects the most significant parts of the movement – the 14mm-diameter balance wheel and the escapement – and puts them above the dial, in isolation from the rest of the movement which is hidden below. The geometry is beautiful, with…