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News
Editorials
When Swatch announced its unprecedented collaboration with Omega last year, it triggered criticism, curiosity, but above all, surprise. Surprise that Omega, a brand that usually stands for watches in the higher-priced segment, was launching a significantly more affordable watch. The…
At the British Museum in London, not too far along from hallowed halls housing Egyptian mummies and Ancient Greek amphoras, there is a Clocks and Watches Room, with artefacts dating from 1300 AD to the present. From decorative domestic clocks…
A couple of shots as a car backfires abruptly break up our interview. With a smile, Wilhelm Schmid apologises: “James Bond sends his regards.” Next door, collector Fritz Burkhardt is showing off one of the most famous Aston Martin Coupés…
Victor Lance Vescovo is a special person in many ways. While visiting the Greek island of Mykonos for the 75th anniversary of the Omega Seamaster, Swisswatches met this titan of a man; slender as a whip, with a white beard…
The Swiss watch manufacture celebrated a summer festival of superlatives on the trendy Mediterranean island of Mykonos. This summer, Omega celebrated 75 years of the Seamaster, honouring the anniversary of the model with the introduction of no fewer than eleven new…
A vast structure of concrete and glass forms Cartier’s manufacture in the UNESCO World Heritage Site watchmaking town of La Chaux-le-Fonds. Across the panes of glass, which reveal only the subtlest glimpse into the world of watchmaking on the other side, the unmistakable cursive Cartier logo spreads…
Manufacture
The first mention of Tudor dates back to the year 1926, when Hans Wilsdorf first had the trademark ‘The Tudor’ registered. Six years later, the name would start to appear on several watches. Then, in 1936, Wilsdorf had the actual…
While it is an extreme privilege to have been inside pretty much every Swiss horology house, at some point, a picture automatically forms in one’s mind as to what to expect when visiting yet another manufacture of mechanical watches. What…
Being at the top is always nice, of course. But here, with such famous names as Piaget, Rolex, Harry Winston and Patek Philippe as neighbours, it is just as delightful to be at the bottom. Only physically, of course, on…
Anyone who leaves school at the age of 9 is either clearly not suited to academia, or has already realised what their calling is. George Favre-Bulle must have been a visionary even as a child, because he had bigger plans…
CEO Talks
A couple of shots as a car backfires abruptly break up our interview. With a smile, Wilhelm Schmid apologises: “James Bond sends his regards.” Next door, collector Fritz Burkhardt is showing off one of the most famous Aston Martin Coupés…
Matthias Breschan, the CEO of Longines – one of the most successful watch brands in the Swatch Group – travelled from Zurich to Sylt, Germany’s northernmost island, especially for this day. The occasion was the brand’s new pop-up installation, taking…
Ben Küffer, CEO and co-founder of the Norqain brand, is the wunderkind of Swiss watch start-ups. No other young watch brand has been able to establish itself so successfully so quickly. Only founded in 2018, Küffer was already able to…
A name to pass on through the generations: Jean-Claude Biver Having lunch with the man who bears this name is a sensation in itself. Not because Jean-Claude Biver doesn’t take the time. The grand master of the Swiss watch industry…
It was exactly five years ago that Zurab Zazashvili, founder of Swisswatches, first met Raynald Aeschlimann, then newly appointed CEO and President of Omega, for an interview. He had been in office for 22 months and the brand was celebrating…
Collector's Choice
Kristian Haagen is a self-described “Barbour-wearing, ’67 Series 2A owning, middle-aged watch collector” with eight published books under his belt to date. To the rest of the watch community, Haagen is a renowned Danish photojournalist, collector and auction house consultant.…
Respected as a man, gentleman, and businessman, George Glasgow Junior is the mastermind behind George Cleverley, the renowned shoemaker of Old Bond Street’s Royal Arcade. But George’s style extends far beyond bespoke shoes; he is also the proud and passionate…
When he received his university tuition fees and a few months of rent from his family in advance, he invested it in an OMEGA Speedmaster watch. Fortunately, his application for a scholarship was granted, and his education and accommodation were…
Having lived on the West Coast his entire life, it’s not surprising, that his first watch was a Nixon, the epitome of a surf watch. As nobody in his family was ever interested in watches and he never inherited a…
Who can actually claim to have owned a watch from a Hollywood icon? When @bzabodyn214 bought his Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5065A from a local dealer, some research quickly revealed that the original owner was none other than Charlie Sheen and…
Guides
Most of the young watch collectors of today are looking for the names of famous watch models. This is perfectly fair, given these names were created to be remembered. But anyone who takes a closer look at superstars such as…
Swisswatches is delighted to present the watch community with the industry’s very first ‘Boutique Travel Guide’. In this new segment, we will share not only the very best watch boutiques in town, but also the other most exciting things available…
Looking closely at the remarkably innovative spirit of Patek Philippe, one comes to the conclusion that the slogan of the Geneva-based manufacture should be “Vorsprung durch Technik” (or in English, “Innovation through technology”), Audi’s catchy mantra. But the horology house’s…
Swisswatches is delighted to present the watch community with our very first ‘Boutique Travel Guide’. In this new segment, we will share not only the very best watch boutiques in town, but also the other most exciting things available in…