Editorial

The French language sounds just as pretty like a chanson from Edith Piaf. A rather uncharming word like ‘cow horns’ turns in French into an elegant ‘Cornes de Vache’. This example is not chosen by accident: it is the nickname of a very special watch from Vacheron Constantin, that in 1955 appeared by the simple…

Let’s start with the obvious, basically there, where this story will eventually end: the name of this special edition? It’s problematic. The new “Pride of Germany” – that sounds like a cruise ship christening at best. At worst however, the combination of ‘proud’ and ‘Germany’ leaves room for discussion in this country, due to very…

From a Rockstar point of view, IWC’s ‘Big Pilot’ watch has at least two advantages. First: being on tour, you can easily turn it into a bedside table clock due to its size and strong luminous power. Second: if you’re looking at pictures from past gigs one day, it just takes one glimpse onto the…

Davide Cerrato, Managing Director of the Montblanc Watch Division, has once again gone on a treasure hunt. He is one of just a few who have access to the holy halls of Minerva, the archive in Villeret, searching like an archaeologist for treasures from the 160-year-old brand that was acquired by Montblanc in 2007. In 2018, for the…

We recently spent a great day with Steve Guerdat, his horses and a historical Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona at his stables in Elgg, located around 40 kilometers east from Zurich. Not only that Steve is a very pleasant and grounded person, he is also the current world’s best Show Jumper. Although Steve knows much more about horses than…

In the world of architecture, there are constructs where you ask yourself, how they can withstand the enormous weight by a seemingly fragile method of construction. A similar example from watchmaking has just been introduced by Breguet with their Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Squelette 5395, where all supporting elements have been reduced so heavily, that they almost seem…

Where would the watch brand Audemars Piguet stand today without the Royal Oak? For some time, the name Royal Oak was more famous than the brand itself. They even considered to establish a second brand. The newest model of the Royal Oak has caused another level of excitement. But what makes this watch so iconic?…

The new OMEGA Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary model has exceeded every reach of any watch we published so far. Only just launched, it has already become the talking piece of the watch community and will hit the stores in July. Just a little bit of time left for some history class. 50 years of lunar landing…

There still is a strong desire for vintage-style on the watch market. Hence, there are hardly any brands that don’t offer heritage models in their collections. They meticulously follow design codes from the original models – colours, dials, straps are copied as detailed as possible and some recent models have even been reproduced almost identically.…

Perpetual Calendar watches have a special status at Patek Philippe. The major reason for this might be, that in 1925 they equipped the first wristwatch ever with this mechanism, the reference 97 975. The function however reaches back to watchmaker Thomas Mudge, who produced the first pocket watch with Perpetual Calendar in 1864. Also watch…

For over 20 years, the collection ‘Historique’ by Vacheron Constantin is regularly extended by historically relevant watches of the Maison, models like the Cornes de Vache from 1955, the American from 1921 or the Fine from 1955. Since a crucial horological passion of founder Jean-Marc Vacheron has been in the technical making of calendar watches, it was about time in 2017…

To name a brand after a ‘long meadow’ sounds just as fairytale-like as the history of the watch brand Longines. The brand from the idyllic village ‘Les Longines’ in Saint-Imier literally means ‘long meadow’. Established in 1832 by Auguste Agassiz, the brand has headed skywards just as consistently as the long meadow-grass of the lush…