Van Cleef & Arpels turned their gaze upwards, towards the planets and the sun, with their Midnight Planétarium, and with another piece, they continue their voyage of what they describe as “Poetic Astronomy.” The Lady Arpels Heures Filantes is a 38-mm watch in white gold, with a circular section on the front of the dial…
It’s not surprising that watches appear in a lot of films. They are accessories that we use in everyday life and so in films they sometimes play a significant role. Just think, for example, of Apollo 13, and the Omega Speedmaster used by the astronauts during their journey home. Or Drive, in which Ryan Gosling…
With their latest model in the Pilot’s Watch family, IWC Schaffhausen continue their series of watches that are tributes to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The Big Pilot’s Watch Edition “Le Petit Prince,” reference IW500908, confirms IWC’s status as one of the few high-end brands still making watches that recall the German wartime B-Uhr watches that have…
The Tonda 1950 Squelette by Parmigiani Fleurier is interesting because the same watch is made in two different versions for men and women. The men’s version has a completely transparent dial, revealing the skeletonized movement and even enabling the rotor on the back to be glimpsed, while the women’s version has a frosted dial so…
It’s outlandish, different, intriguing, magnetic. Maximilian Büsser describes the initial idea for the Horological Machine No. 6 Space Pirate, a spaceship from a Japanese manga TV series called Captain Future, in the form of a large sphere with a long connecting tube, and four arms. He and his team combined this with influence from the…
I am always interested in new functions for watches, and so was intrigued to come across this piece, the Reconvilier Hercules Golf Master. It looks like a normal watch, 44 mm in diameter, albeit a bit thicker than most, with an automatic movement providing hours, minutes and seconds. But it hides a transformation: the watch…
I would say that Ferrari is definitely a luxury brand, and so I was puzzled when I received an email with the latest Scuderia Ferrari watches. No problem with brand extension as such, but I find it hard to understand why such a brand links its name to a whole series of watches that look,…
For those who like watches with more than just the date, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Calendar and the Montblanc Star Quantième Complet could be an interesting choice. They fill the gap between watches with just a date window and perpetual calendar watches that start at a much higher price. Both these models have the date shown…
This piece won the prize in the Ladies’ Watch category of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), for which the results were announced on 30 November 2014. Personally I think it is a lovely piece and a good choice on the part of the GPHG Jury. In terms of appearance, it blends sophistication with…
With about ten weeks to go until SIHH (19-23 January 2015) and a few months before Baselworld (19-26 March), some brands are already presenting their previews of watches that will be highlighted at these events. SIHH is restricted to just the Richemont Group brands (A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Greubel…
1. Origin of the California dial. The watch shown here, the Radiomir 1940 Chronograph Oro Rosso PAM 519, has an unusual layout with Roman numerals at the top and Arabic numerals below, an arrangement now known as the California dial (apparently because some companies in California, such as Kirk Rich, specializing in restoring dials, provided…
Many of Breitling’s models are seriously technical, usually with chronometer movements and lots of indications on the dial. This piece is large at 44 mm diameter, and more relaxed, in line with other models in the Galactic collection. It has two features that immediately appeal to me: a date window with good legibility, and a…
You’ve got to love it, that furry strap and skull at the centre are just so way out! Not even Roberto Cavalli would do something so extreme. Cvstos is a young and exuberant watchmaking brand, founded in 2005, and this piece is a good example of their approach to watch design. The name Cvstos comes…
1. Omega was chosen by NASA after a gruelling series of tests. The Omega Speedmaster is the only watch approved by NASA for manned space flights. In the early 1960s, the Omega had already been in space, worn by Wally Schirra on his Mercury flight in October 1962, and NASA were considering a watch for…
Watch brands are already looking forward to 2015, and Ralph Lauren has presented the Automotive Chronograph, inspired by the dashboard of Ralph Lauren’s Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic Coupe, shown below, image courtesy of http://www.conceptcarz.com/ It is a large piece at 45 mm diameter, 12.2 mm thickness, but the actual dial with the indications is on…
‘Skeleton watches’ seem perfect for Halloween, and so here is a small selection of watches on the skull theme. The motif has been around for a long time, more in art than in watches. Damien Hirst’s diamond-encrusted skull ‘For the Love of God’ is probably the best-known work on this theme, in platinum with 8,501…
The BR-X1 chronograph by Bell & Ross looks exciting, with its dark interior workings providing the backdrop for glimmering steel hands and subdials, in the brand’s classic square-shaped case inspired by cockpit instruments. While the BR-01 launched about ten years ago, and the more recent BR-03, were very close to the classic pilot’s watch design,…
Pilot’s watches, with their inherent simplicity, are a perfect introduction into the world of mechanical timepieces, and a fair number of brands make pilot’s watches costing under a thousand euro. Here are my top 10 pilot’s watches for under €1,300, in descending order of price. 1. The Longines Heritage Military 1938 The Longines Heritage Military…
Jeanrichard was relaunched in early 2013 with two ranges, Terrascope and 1681, and these were soon followed by Aquascope and Aeroscope. Each is linked to a certain attitude to life, with Terrascope expressing travel, the 1681 the brand’s tradition, and Aquascope and Aeroscope being self-explanatory. The Aeroscope by Jeanrichard is a reinterpretation of pilot’s watches,…
Snyper is a Geneva-based company founded in 2008 by a group of people whose enthusiasm for watches is combined with a military background. This is the origin of their ultra-military name and the rugged character of their timepieces, presented on a website that has recently been renewed. “Targets are met when time is under control” is…