Results for Lug-to-Lug

Auctions: The 'Titanium And Ruby' Patek Philippe Collection, Coming To Auction This Summer And Fall From Christie's Hong Kong

Titanium's the word.

Business News: Swiss Watch Exports Forecast to Drop 25% in 2020

Swiss private bank Vontobel has just published its highly-regarded annual report on the luxury watch industry – the news for 2020 is grim. Put together by a team led by managing director Rene Weber, the Vontobel Luxury Goods Shop predicts a 25% fall in Swiss watch exports in 2020 – the biggest drop in 50 years as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. A proxy for the global luxury watch market, Swiss watch exports declined 22% during the 2008 financial crisis, and recovered swiftly the year after. But during the financial crisis there were no store or factory closures, and no halt to international travel. Since mid-March most watch brands, including giants Rolex and Patek Philippe, have shut their factories, or introduced short-time work, with between 60-70% of employees at Swatch Group working reduced hours. File photo of the Rolex factory in Bienne that’s gone quiet for now. Photo – Rolex At the peak of the pandemic in China, when practically the entire country was in lockdown, Vontobel estimated February sales fell 80%, something it expects will be repeated throughout the rest of the world. And even e-commerce is not enough to alleviate the situation substantially, because of logistical challenges. The report notes that as of mid-March,”the Swiss watch industry has come to an almost global standstill.” Unsurprisingly, the bank expects the pandemic to result in a steeper fall and slower recovery for the Swiss watch industry. The bank expects a s...

Business News: Sotheby’s to Start Weekly Online Watch Auctions

Having postponed its traditional April and May watch auctions till June and July respectively – no doubt with fingers crossed and a quiet prayer – as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Sotheby’s has just announced Watches Weekly, an ongoing series of online-only watch auctions starting April 1, 2020. The auctions will take place on a rolling basis, with each sale lasting a week, then followed by the next sale, and so on. Each auction be centred around a theme while being relatively compact – the first sale is made up of 19 watches by Rolex and Audemars Piguet. The subsequent auctions will be Patek Philippe Design and Horology from April 8-15, then something for bargain hunters, Swiss Wristwatches with no reserve on April 15-22. Sam Hines, Sotheby’s global head of watches, explained the move in the announcement: “[Clients] are also increasingly confident [of buying] important pieces online. This was demonstrated last week, when we set a new record for a watch sold online at Sotheby’s [162,500 Swiss francs for a Rolex Daytona “Paul Newman” ref. 6262].” According to Mr Hines, the newly-announced online auctions will “complement the calendar of live sales and other online auctions already planned for the rest of the year”, implying that the rest of the auction calendar will proceed as planned. Watches Weekly makes Sotheby’s the first mainstream watch auctioneer – its peers are Christie’s, Phillips, and to a lesser degree, Antiquorum – to s...

Hands-On: The Seiko Presage Homage To The Crown Chronograph

Three references capturing the Crown Chronograph’s design cues.

The Grey NATO: Ep 103: The Isolation Tapes // Work From Home Like A Pro

Weekly episodes start now.

Business News: Swiss Watch Exports to Hong Kong Post Biggest Fall in 20 Years

Trade body Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) just released its monthly export figures for Swiss watches – a proxy for the broader luxury watch market since Swiss timepieces dominate – and the February numbers are bleak. The month’s statistics illustrate two obvious trends that have shaped in the industry recently: the COVID-19 coronavirus is having a massive impact, and low-cost Swiss watches are being trounced by low-cost smartwatches. An Asian crisis, for now Compared with February last year, the value of exports globally declined by 9.2% – with export volume plunging 22.2% – but as the report notes darkly, the drop “does not yet fully reflect the actual situation in certain markets.” Unsurprisingly, the steepest declines were in the biggest Asian markets – China and Hong Kong – which suffered the worst period of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the first two months of the year. The biggest fall was in Hong Kong, where exports fell 42% – the largest monthly decline in 20 years. The city imported just CHF143m of Swiss watches, compared to CHF246m for the same month last year. Exports to China fell 51.5% to CHF73m, from CHF151m for February 2019. February was merely an acceleration of a months-long decline. For the first three months of the year, exports to Hong Kong have fallen 33% compared to the same period last year, while exports to China are down 22%. Though exports to other large markets like the United States, Singapore, and Germa...

Blancpain Kicks Off 2020 with Blue-dial additions to the Villeret Collection

Blancpain’s first novelties kicking 2020 off are two blue dial Villeret pieces, the Ultraplate and Quantième Complete

Happenings: The Horological Society Of New York To Hold Weekend Classes In Toronto

Moe Jaber & Ashton Tracy will serve as hosts.

Auctions: Jean-Claude Biver To Sell Four Masterpiece Pateks From His Personal Collection At Phillips This May

A quartet of legendary watches from a modern legend in watchmaking.

Photo Report: A Visit To Villeret And Le Locle With HODINKEE And Montblanc

Two locations, two different experiences of watchmaking.

Michel Perchin Timepiece #1: From Pens To Watches, Elegance Reigns

For the Michel Perchin Model #1, designer and brand owner Patrick Pinkston works with a well-versed goldsmith workshop in the United Kingdom that he describes as “literally fabricating one case at a time.” There, each 36 x 55 mm white gold case is hand-finished and engraved. What else makes this independently crafted timepiece notable? Nancy Olson has the full story.

Happenings: The Horological Society Of New York To Hold Weekend Classes In Melbourne & San Diego

Hosted by The Hour Glass and Passion Fine Jewelry.

Ep. #162: Horology Instagram Trends That Need to Die

Instagram has done a lot of good for the watch collecting hobby. But holy hell, it has its problems. Today, Kaz and Mike talk through some of their biggest issues with Instagram, trends that are taking the hobby by storm, and ways that the platform is harming growth overall.

Gem-Set GMT-Master Story - From SARU to Bruce Wayne

Once the humble reserve of the airline pilot, the GMT-Master has been iced more times than an Aeroflot jumbo’s wings

Swatch Group Cancels Time to Move 2020

Happenings: Our Own Cole Pennington To Lecture At The Horological Society Of New York

Continuing the search for the owners of watches worn by The Greatest Generation.

Business News: Grand Seiko To Open First European Boutique In Paris's Place Vendôme

For its first European Boutique, the Japanese watchmaker has chosen an address synonymous with Parisian luxury.

Closer Look: Bulgari Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon

Bulgari pushes watchmaking boundaries again with the smallest tourbillon on the market, housed now in the fantastic Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon

Closer Look: Bulgari Octo Finissimo in Steel

Bulgari knocks it out of the park, at LVHM Watch Week 2020 with their new Octo Finissimo in stain-polished stainless steel.

Look Back 2019: What’s the Latin Word for Horrible?

A fitful glance back at the peaks and dips of the year preceded, as we’re flung headlong without favour or mercy into the unknowns of 2020.

HODINKEE Radio: Episode 71: Jesse Johnson & How To Make A Limited Edition Watch

Some people are just collectors through and through.

In-Depth: Everything You Need To Know About Million-Dollar Rolexes

Forget the hype and celebrate the top of the top.

Happenings: NASA Engineer Evan Hilgemann To Lecture At The Horological Society Of New York

Science fiction meets spacecraft technology with a clockwork rover on the surface of Venus.

Review: An Aviator Returns to Life - The Blancpain Air Command Chronograph

A legendary pilot's watch comes back as a re-issue. Here, we bring you the details and our thoughts on the Blancpain Air Command Chronograph.

Historical Perspectives: A Collection Of Tutima Watches Issued To Military Units

Few people have seen these watches beyond the soldiers, sailors, and airmen that received them.

Shopping: LVMH Adding Tiffany to its Fold

LVMH buys iconic jewelry brand Tiffany for more than $16 billion.

Editors' Picks: Four Lots To Watch At The Upcoming Hong Kong Auctions

A few of the most interesting lots from this season's Hong Kong sales.

Bring a Loupe: A 1972 Rolex Explorer II, An Aquastar 63, A Breguet Triple Calendar, And A JLC To Stay Far Away From

Your weekly dose of watches from around the Web.

Happenings: You're Invited To The OMEGA + HODINKEE Meet-Up With Astronaut Nicole Stott This Tuesday In NYC

It'll be out of this world.

Sotheby’s to Sell A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Service Watch in Steel [Withdrawn]

Long before the Odysseus “sport-elegant” watch, A. Lange & Söhne already had a serially produced timepiece in stainless steel. In the late 1990s, just as the brand was rapidly gaining traction as the preeminent German watchmaker – remember that it had only unveiled its wristwatch collection in 1994 – the company rolled out the fabled 1815 service watch. (NB: Sotheby’s has withdrawn the watch from the sale.) The rationale behind the watch was simple: a loaner for clients who had sent in their Lange wristwatch for servicing. Staying true to the exceptionally high standards the start-up brand had established for itself, the loaner was not a disposable or cut-rate watch. It was a time-only 1815 that was almost identical to the standard model – with the same highly finished movement and solid silver dial – except the case was steel while the dial was black with white markings, a colour not available on the regular production watch. Note the case back engraving. Photo – Sotheby’s Reputedly around 80-120 of these service watches were made. They were produced in small batches over a period, perhaps over a handful of years from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. The number might not seem like much, but with the company being relatively new at the time, the number of watches returned for servicing was presumably quite small. The movement in the service watch is finished to exactly the same level as that on a standard watch. Photo – Sotheby’s The 1815 serv...