Tick tock you don’t stop November 6, 2013 Robin Swithinbank is seduced by full calendar watches that won’t need adjusting for a century or more A perpetual calendar watch, that will give you the correct date without adjusting for the next hundred years or more, is the ultimate prestige item, says Robin Swithinbank Not every watch aficionado appreciates a date window on a [...]
Front & back November 6, 2013 For collectors at the seriously high end, mechanical aesthetics can be as important as engineering brilliance A Lange & Sohne 1815 Up/Down, £18,700 A century ago Germany’s A Lange & Sohne made some of the finest pocket watches in Europe. Its modern pieces retain the classic character of those past masterpieces, while taking finishing aesthetics [...]
Well worn November 6, 2013 Having a watch is one thing; collecting watches and wearing them well is quite another. So allow the editors of The Prodigal Guide, the watches and lifestyle site, to offer guidance on the best wrist stance for sophisticated gents 1 Let’s dispense with the obvious stuff from the off, shall we? In one fell swoop, [...]
Going once… three classic watches going under the hammer soon November 6, 2013 Omega Speedmaster Professional Mark II Estimate: £700-900 Outlandish shapes and dial designs appeared in 1970s sports watches, and such pieces are gaining popularity right now. This 1970 Speedy with a “racing dial” is an early classic of the era. On the block: Fellows auctioneers, 14 Nov fellows.co.uk Patek Philippe Reference 533 chronograph Estimate: £15,000-£20,000 The elegance and [...]
Embrace the lunar tick November 6, 2013 Designers of women’s watches are understandably drawn to the expressive beauty of the moonphase complication. Laura McCreddie looks at three brands offering this adornment across different price points Heritage Zenith Star Moonphase – £3,200 Zenith tends to be perceived as a rather masculine brand – it had a watch on Felix Baumgartner’s wrist when he [...]
Win a place on a gem-setting masterclass this weekend, with Jaeger-LeCoultre November 6, 2013 As discussed on page 24, the UK’s premiere exhibition of fine watches takes place later this week at the Saatchi Gallery on the King’s Road. At the event, Jaeger-LeCoultre will be hosting gem-setting masterclasses, in which visitors can learn the intricate (by which we mean really very tricky) art of decorating watches and jewellery with [...]
Nomos hits a high note November 6, 2013 For the newbie connoisseur, and now for the heavyweight collector, Germany’s Nomos is a very serious contender If you’re unaware of this, then take note; and if you’ve heard it before, it’s worth hearing again: Nomos, the independent German firm based in Saxony’s watchmaking mecca, the village of Glashutte, makes probably the best-value mechanical watches [...]
Return of the Master November 6, 2013 The classic travellers’ watch from Rolex is back in favour THERE’S an argument sometimes trotted out by fashion “aficionados” that blue and black simply don’t go, whatever the outfit, and should never be worn side by side. That’s a theory Rolex is putting to the test with the latest update to its long-standing duel time [...]
A masterclass from IWC in the art of watchmaking November 6, 2013 Watch newbie Alex Dymoke visited an F1 team HQ to try his hand with tweezers and loupe Shortly after my grandfather died, my dad told me I was to inherit something. He handed me a small wooden box, which contained an elegant watch with a black leather strap. I knew nothing about watches, but no [...]
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