Company profile: Hautlence was founded in 2004 by Guillaume Tetu and a group of friends, with the mission of making watches that tell the time in a different way. They achieve this by means of innovative design, created by a sleek and flexible structure. In fact the company consists of just ten people, including two watchmakers…
This top 10 watches list is a subjective selection of the most interesting watches presented in 2015. 1. Stowa Rana This is a watch that shows how good design can give a completely new look to a watch with a classical ETA movement. It was born from a collaboration between Hartmut Esslinger, German-American designer now…
Manjaz is a Swiss brand that has been in operation since 1996 (the brand itself dates back to the 19th century), and it has particularly strong links to the Chinese market, where it has over 600 points of sale. It is expanding rapidly in Europe, and even here its principal customers are Chinese tourists visiting…
This is a limited-edition watch dedicated to Frank Sinatra, part of the Raymond Weil Maestro collection. The watch is a classic three-hand automatic, with hands, indices and the edge of the date window highlighted in blue, against a silver dial. The very classical design, with the 39.5 mm steel case just 9 mm thick, makes…
This watch is the top piece in the Raymond Weil range, with a price (39,000 Swiss francs) that makes it possibly the most accessible Swiss tourbillon watch, just under the price of Montblanc’s Heritage Chronométrie ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph. It expresses the musical inspiration that underscores many watches by Raymond Weil: CEO Elie Bernheim plays the…
Company profile: In 2016, Raymond Weil celebrates its 40th anniversary. It was founded in 1976, during the quartz crisis that was driving many Swiss brands out of business, by M. Weil, whose basic concept was for affordable timepieces. It has been a family-owned company all along, for three generations. Raymond Weil’s son-in-law Olivier Bernheim joined…
About 15% of Perrelet’s watches are models for women, and the Diamond Flower line, first presented in 2008, now comprises this model, Diamond Flower Amytis, named after the wife of Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar (famous for the hanging gardens). The watch is commendable for its in-house movement, at a relatively low price, starting from €5,450 for…
There are not many mechanical watches for women costing less than €3,000. Many brands are convinced that most women prefer a quartz watch so that it keeps going autonomously for a couple of years before having to change the battery. Here are some watches for those women who like the idea of a self-winding mechanical…
My selection of ten of the finest tourbillon watches presented in 2015. 1. Cartier, Rotonde de Cartier Astrotourbillon This is the skeletonized version of the Rotonde de Cartier Astrotourbillon, a watch that was presented in 2010. It is powered by the in-house Calibre 9451 MC movement in which the tourbillon has an elongated carriage that…
This is a watch that was presented back in 2010, but I’m writing it about it today just because it is a good illustration of the fact that, even in a mature industry such as watchmaking, real innovation is still possible, and when you see it, it brightens the day of any watch lover. There…
Ferrari is one of the most powerful brands in the world, and Hublot have been enjoying their partnership with the racing-car marque since 2011. At Baselworld they presented four new Big Bang Ferrari watches, two with a case blending carbon and metal, in King Gold and titanium versions, and two with gaudier striped straps and…
For the 10th anniversary of the Big Bang Chronograph, Hublot have presented their first perpetual calendar chronograph, a watch that also includes a chronograph and a moon phase display. The information is combined on the dial in a design that expresses complexity, with skeletonized movement visible beneath the sapphire dial. The subdials combine different functions…
This is the most complicated watch released to date by Hublot, and it demonstrates their desire to move in the direction of making all their own movements. CEO Ricardo Guadalupe said, “Several years ago, our objective was for Hublot to the join the ranks of the most prestigious brands by producing almost all new materials…
In this 2015 selection of mechanical watches priced at under €1,000, the watches are listed in ascending price order. 1. Charlie Watch This watch, sold online by French brand Charlie Watch, provides an idea of what the minimum price of a self-winding mechanical watch could be. It has a calibre 9015 Miyota automatic movement made…
This is the operation that was announced by Hublot in November 2014 and presented at Baselworld 2015: the Hublot Big Bang Unico Italia Independent is the result of a partnership with Lapo Elkann’s company Italia Independent whose core business is eyewear. The Big Bang flyback chronograph is Hublot’s classic Unico, but with a case and…
At Baselworld 2015, Hublot presented three new Big Bang Unico models to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the watch that was pivotal to the brand’s success. The Full Magic Gold version is made with a case and bezel in scratch-resistant Magic Gold, an alloy created from 75% gold and 25% ceramic. The bezel has the…
Company profile: Hublot was founded in 1980 by Carlo Crocco, who named it after the French word for “porthole.” Crocco’s initial concept was for a watch with a case having a flat bezel with exposed screws (the porthole appearance) and a rubber strap, at the time something of an innovation, and made using a substance…
Go on, have a cigar this Christmas, James Bond-style, with this tough-looking gadget-equipped watch. Snyper’s timepiece Snyper Two can be fitted with a windproof cigar lighter that clips onto the bars on the left-hand caseband, and the lighter, 52 mm in length, has a cigar cutter in the bottom end. The watch itself looks tough enough…
Company profile: What is it about Patek Philippe that sets it above and apart from other brands? Auction results alone show that watches by Patek Philippe have an extraordinary power to retain and increase their value. Perhaps the answer lies in one word: family. Their current advertising campaign has the slogan “You never actually own…
This watch looks a bit like a 1960s clock radio, with its long rectangular case, and the brand Angelus mentions, amongst its design inspirations, televisions by Richard Sapper and Marco Zanuso for Brionvega and record players designed by Dieter Rams for Braun. In this tourbillon watch, a stainless steel case has seven sapphire glass windows,…