Editorial

Of all the luxury brands out there, Cartier is surely the most resplendent. The Cartier insignia, glowing in gold and set against lavish red, represents decades upon decades of history, jewels, fashion, kings, queens, actresses – and, most importantly for us, watchmaking. Understatement and refinement are important: style is vital. Allow us to paint you…

With the help of a sophisticated marketing concept and innovative technologies, Richard Mille has set out to shake up the watch industry. Since the company was founded in 1999, the brand has set itself the goal of uniting top-quality craftsmanship and futuristic watch design, while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of technical innovation. It all began…

The Louvre, Paris. Once the residence of French kings, it is now the most visited museum in the world. It is home to a collection consisting of several hundred thousand works, based on the passion for art by a few. Among them are King Francis I (1515 - 1547), a patron of Leonardo da Vinci,…

Phillips has been a first port of call for auctions of classic wristwatches for the past seven years. This success can clearly be attributed to the work of Aurel Bacs, whose catalogues already set standards during his time at Christie’s. No other individual has had a greater impact on the market over the last 15…

2023 is already proving to be a great year for chronographs. Whether technically revised, flaunting a new design, appearing as an anniversary model, or completely redeveloped, there really was something for everyone in the most popular category of mechanical wristwatches. This includes for the chronograph collectors among Swisswatches’ readers. Therefore, when our team came to…

LOT 100 It was obvious that lot 100 would be the most expensive Rolex Yachtmaster sold so far. Going for €1.82 million, Patrick Heiniger's platinum watch remained within the auction house's estimate. For the successful bidder, however, the bill came to over €2.3 million (net), so the final price can certainly be considered a success.…

Honestly, we aren’t often ones for rankings, but after numerous questions from our fans online, on Instagram, alongside countless discussions during the fair, we can't seem to resist. We all want to know: what are the most important mechanical watch innovations to emerge from Watches and Wonders 2023? Sit back and enjoy a very personal…

Fans of classic wristwatches always get their fill in spring and autumn, because in May and November, the biggest houses hold their auctions in Geneva. Phillips, Christies, Antiquorum and Sotheby's each hammer out hundreds of watches, meaning it’s guaranteed that there will be something for everyone. For the past three years or so, however, the…

Looking back on the past is a habit that mankind has grown fond of. Because the future is always uncertain, because the experiences of the past have shaped us, and because once familiar times begin to fade from memory over the years. Moreover, we live in a time in which the designs of Gérald Genta…

Discussing prices may be frowned upon in haute horlogerie, but taking a look at the figures helps to illustrate how wide the range is in the Patek Philippe portfolio, and how diverse the expectations of its clientele are for the annual novelties. In 2023, the price starts at 37,219 Swiss francs and ends at 4,264,995…

If you want to use an altimeter when mountaineering or hiking, you can of course do so with countless electronically operated gadgets. But it gets exciting when the display is built into a purely mechanical wristwatch. The watch manufacture Oris from Hölstein took on this challenge when it launched the ProPilot Altimeter, the world's first mechanical…

This year, coinciding with the official press opening of the new Tudor manufacture, Tudor is introducing several new models to the following collections: the Black Bay, Black Bay 54 and Black Bay GMT, and Tudor Royal. As well as adding some new spins to the dials, Tudor is also treating us to new straps as…