Category: Special Features
A Tribute to George Daniels: Creator Of The Co-Axial Movement (VIDEO)
Georges Daniels – 19 August 1926 – 21 October 2011 – © Omega
George Daniels built his reputation restoring and repairing the exceptional creations of Abraham Louis Breguet and, like his predecessor had a century before him, made it his life’s work to constantly search for ways to improve watchmaking.
Wow Watch Wednesday: Urwerk UR-1001 Zeit Device
When you’ve broken as many rules and blurred as many lines as Urwerk has, you really need to do something special to make your fans sit up and go ‘wow!’ And this is exactly what the innovative watch-maker has done with the official unveiling of their mind-blowing UR-1001 Zeit Device, a time-telling device that at first seduces you with its apparent simplicity and then completely baffles you with its stunning complexity.
Gerald Genta – Who Will Remember?
Dear Manufacturers,
It has been all over the web these past few days: much-loved watch designer Gerald Genta sadly passed away on August 16th aged 80. There is no need to recall here how he contributed to the design of some of the most iconic watches of this past third of a century, from the Royal Oak of Audemars Piguet, to the Nautilus de Patek Philippe, through to the Ingenieur of IWC and Omega’s Constellation.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Tribute to Deep Sea Memovox (Warning: Contains Serious Watch Porn!)
They say fashions go in cycles; it seems classy retro is in these days. Not 60s psychadelia or 80s electro pop, but more along the lines of the elegant art deco period and slightly more restrained postwar period. This year at SIHH 2011, hot on the heels of the Reverso 1931, JLC introduced homages to their first, and the world’s first, underwater alarm – the 1959 Deep Sea.
The Incredible Story of Raketa Watches
Got some spare money taking up space in your bank account? And some free time to spend on your passion; watches? Then come with us, we’re going to show you how to rebuild a brand.
What’s Next For TAG Heuer?
TAG Heuer likes paradox. On the one hand the brand continues to move in leaps and bounds towards true watchmaking, while at the same time reinforcing its low-end quartz portfolio. They invest a lot in R&D, but the end-consumer mass market has not reaped the benefits of it (yet). They seemingly have the desire to reduce watchmaking to its most simplistic form, whilst at the same time they are responsible for some of the most significant advances in knowledge and efficiencies of the last decade.
Roland Iten For Bugatti – CALIBRE R22 MARK 1 “BUGATTI”
True connoisseurs of haute horology will no doubt be familiar with the name Roland Iten. Although not a watch-maker himself, Iten is a well-respected pioneer in fine mechanics and has been commissioned by several master watchmakers such as François-Paul Journe, Greubel Forsey and Jaeger-LeCoultre for the creation of watch buckles that embody the concepts of contemplated calibration and fitness for purpose.
Sticks And Stones – Watch-Making In A 2.0 World
“Before we start discussing your topic, Olivier, let me tell you how hard it is, sometimes, to read what I read on blogs & forums about my work”.
That’s how Mister X, a famous master watchmaker, started one of our recent interviews. I say interview but really they have become more or less weekly chats as opposed to formal Q & A sessions.
“What Time Is It?” With Jerome Pineau On What Time Radio
A little over a month ago I decided to create a new web radio project and called it “What Time Is It?” – It’s a web radio show live on the air every Thursday afternoon at 4:30PM Swiss time (7:30AM PST and 10:30AM EST). It stands out as “the first live international web radio show [...]
Marvin Watches Gives TWL’s Ian Ellery Center-Stage At GTE (Video)
A few weeks ago at the Geneva Time Exhibition the ever innovative Marvin Watch Co. invited several prominent watch bloggers (including TWL’s very own Swiss Correspondent, Ian Ellery) to share their thoughts on the changing face of the industry in a series of short videos shot on-site. In the video above Ian identifies a couple [...]
The Great Return of Bespoke Watches?
Centuries ago the creativity of manufacturers was limited only by their technical capabilities. And, much like those of their clients, their ideas and ambitions, although not always feasible, were truly spectacular. It was during this time when the concepts of ‘series’ or ‘collections’ were still yet to be born, right up until the beginning of the 20th century, that the very lifeblood of the industry was the realization of custom made pieces commissioned by wealthy clients.
Le grand retour du sur-mesure ?
La créativité des manufactures est sans limite. Mais celle des clients l’est aussi. A une époque où les séries n’étaient pas nées, jusqu’au début du XXème siècle, l’industrie horlogère n’existait que par la réalisation de pièces conçues à la demande. Progressivement, la tendance s’est inversée, et le sur-mesure s’est raréfié. En 1908, Henry Ford construit [...]
What People Are Saying