Two British sporting institutions, one Swiss timekeeper April 17, 2014 SLIGHTLY off-kilter sports brand JeanRichard (sister to better-known Girard-Perregaux) has certainly been getting its claws into the UK sporting scene recently. At the end of January, it announced that it was going to be the global and official watch partner of top-flight football team Arsenal. This partnership led to the launch of two limited-edition Aeroscope [...]
Curtain to be raised on Watches of Switzerland’s Regent Street “theatre” April 17, 2014 Billed as “not a store…[but] theatre”, Watches of Switzerland’s new space at 155 Regent Street promises to take the watch buying experience to another level. When it opens in June, it will house over 20 luxury watch brands, 12 individually branded in-store boutiques for the likes of Rolex, Patek Philippe and Jaeger- LeCoultre, and carry [...]
Harrods goes retro April 17, 2014 Knightsbridge’s legendary emporium, and home to the sparkling Fine Watch Room, has announced the launch of its Vintage Watch Collection. Reflecting the recent boom in collectables from Rolex and Omega at both auction and the likes of Watchfinder.co.uk, Harrods’ new enterprise focuses exclusively on the two grand maisons’ rarest and most covetable pieces, from 1939 [...]
Pedal to the metal April 17, 2014 The husband-and-wife team behind Struthers London and the new Morgan Motors’ watch could be the coolest on the British watch scene, reckons Laura McCreddie I LOVE taking a movement that looks like junk and then making it useable again. It may gain 30 seconds a day but at least I got it working,” says Craig [...]
Three other plucky brits | Struthers London aren’t the only watchmakers flying the red, white and blue… April 17, 2014 Bremont The unflagging elder statesman of Britain’s modern horological revival teams up with Boeing this year, taking rare advantage of the aeronautical giant’s Sheffield University-based materials research facility to hone its burgeoning in-house-manufacturing capabilities in Henley and deploy ever-more-durable case engineering. The first Model 1 Boeing watch is available in custom aviation-grade 465 stainless steel [...]
Three’s a trend April 17, 2014 The Baselworld watch and jewellery fair was bigger than ever this year, with over 150,000 visitors thronging this indoor city of gleaming brand pavilions. But among the pizzazz was some rare subtlety and charm, from frothy colourways to rose-tinted trips down memory lane… GO FOR GREEN The vitrines of Baselworld were a riot of technicolour [...]
London Time: You don’t have to be an elitist to appreciate a decent watch April 16, 2014 A CERTAIN newspaper, which shall remain nameless, last weekend highlighted a continuing problem in the perception of the watch business – namely that owning a decent watch immediately puts you in an elitist club. It featured a fashion special that included just one watch: an orange-plastic, £170 Uniform Wares creation, which is apparently appropriate for [...]
Keeping watch April 16, 2014 Cartier UK’s new managing director tells Alex Doak how he made the unlikely transition from investment banking to top-end luxury goods IN THE year that Cartier is choosing to focus afresh on its men’s product, it makes plenty of sense for the London arm of Richemont Group’s flagship brand to recruit a regular wolf of [...]
While Cartier mans up, women get more of what they want April 16, 2014 Chanel Première Triple Row The Première was the first watch created by Chanel back in 1987, its case referencing the stopper of the No. 5 bottle and, by extension, the footprint of Place Vendôme. This year, its strap mimics that of the iconic 2.55 bag. Layer with bracelets or, if you boast a midriff of [...]
The new school of cool April 16, 2014 From Nomos Glashütte’s Berlin to Shinola’s Detroit, we’re experiencing a fresh wave of watchmaking that combines metropolitan sophistication, crisp, contemporary design, and hip-to-the-game urban credentials (without a hint of irony) LET'S GET one thing straight: Shinola do not make “hipster” watches. Nor do they make vintage-inspired “hipster” bicycles, and nor are the baristas in plaid [...]