Editorial

At first glance, the Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier looks like your archetypal Swiss watchmaking manufacture. Bright, modern white rooms play host to advanced machines, exquisite movement decorations are proudly displayed in all their glory, employees pose by solar panels citing sustainability pledges. Yet, beneath this spotless exterior lies a complex and highly sought-after entity within the…

When Zenith presented a diver's watch at Watches & Wonders in April this year, my first assumption was that the brand wanted to expand its range, which is quite logical. After all, diver's watches – at least their mostly strikingly masculine design elements – have been in demand amongst watch enthusiasts for decades, fuelled not…

From the picturesque La Côte-aux-Fées with its lush green pastures to the dazzling fashion capital of Paris – within 150 years, the watchmaking workshop founded by Georges-Édourard Piaget on his family’s farm has come a long way. An established institution for haute horlogerie and haute joaillerie, Piaget has been manufacturing countless elaborate pieces for more…

In an interview with Swisswatches, Ulysse Nardin's Managing Director, Matthieu Haverlan, talks about the origins of the collaboration with Wempe for the Wempe Signature x Ulysse Nardin Diver NET and the criteria he personally bases his passion for collecting mechanical watches on. It is immediately clear that Haverlan is not one of the grandiloquent characters…

Fewer and fewer collectors are carrying out a reality check when buying new watches. Yet, this is essential before deciding whether you like a watch or a brand. A big mistake, says Joern Kengelbach. He conducted his own personal experiment with the limited edition Wempe Signature Collection x Ulysse Nardin Diver NET at a pool…

When Omega was first appointed as the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee in 1932, a lone watchmaker travelled from Biel to Los Angeles with 30 split-second chronographs to measure the times of the 1,334 participating athletes. Over 90 years and 30 Olympic Games later, Omega is heading to Paris…

The German watch brand Stowa has undergone an impressive range of developments over the course of its history. Around 1937, ten years after its foundation, Stowa began manufacturing watches in the Bauhaus style – a rarely implemented design at the time. Its original manufacturing building was completely destroyed by a bombing raid in 1945, but…

As any watch enthusiast will know, it is often not just the aesthetic of a watch that enamours us: it's the story behind it. Cue the Reverso Travelling Collection, which is currently making a stop at Jaeger-LeCoultre's boutique on the prestigious shopping street Maximilianstrasse in Munich. The story behind the Reverso is a tale well-told,…

From complicated Chinese calendars and ground-breaking diver's watches to serene Villeret moonphase models, Blancpain has long been a master of not only horological finesse, but also design. Now, the brand is opening a new chapter with the introduction of three new Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet Phases de Lune variations, alongside additions to its three-hand…

Most of the thinnest watches out there are time and date only right? I mean if you’re trying to prove how thin your brand can make watches, why would you go and add a complication which makes it more difficult to reach that achievement? Well, whilst that mindset makes sense, these are the greatest and…

Building the thinnest watch in the world is undeniably one of the most competitive and impressive record chases in modern day horological engineering. Whilst many brands have produced thin watches, only a few brands have ever been truly in competition for the trophy – predominantly Bulgari, Richard Mille and Piaget. In this article, I will…