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The watch nerd that WMMT is, he rarely immediately wears his new watches, putting them aside for a few days and letting the anticipation grow. When it finally came time to wear his new Rolex, he took it out of the box and proudly put it on his wrist. And then horror struck: he didn’t feel anything, not a thing! Zilch, nada, niente! What to do?
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As part of its classy offering at the world’s remaining trade fair for luxury watches, A. Lange & Söhne revisited the Grand Lange 1 with a successful refresh in which the brand managed to shave close to a millimeter off the height of the watch. How did the team do it? Technical director Anthony de Haas lets us in on the magic in this video.
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In recent years, the world of high-end watches has become a far more colorful place. We have evolved from decades of conservatism in which a blue dial was daring to a kaleidoscopic era where anything is possible. And now red arrives, which has the advantage of a richness of hues. Here Martin Green looks at four new red-dialed watches from Bell & Ross, Oris, Rado, and Omega.
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Diver’s watches rank among the most popular timepieces, which is not surprising considering that they combine cutting-edge features with bold, sporty looks. At Watches and Wonders 2022 Montblanc joined the ranks of sports watch manfacturers with a refreshing take on the diver’s watch called the 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date.
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Piaget's Altiplano Ultimate Concept unique piece introduced at Watches and Wonders 2022 is nothing if not contemporary in its construction, but it is also an ode to history, telling the story of the Altiplano Ultimate Concept in notable detail, the watch that was for several years the thinnest mechanical in the world. Nancy Olson takes a look at this world record-setting ultra-thin marvel.
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At Watches and Wonders 2022, Chopard unveiled another Alpine Eagle, this time with a sophisticated escapement: a flying tourbillon. While not too long ago the high-end market seemed to be flooded with this tiny whirlwind, that no longer seems to be the case. And Sabine Zwettler thinks that there could not be a better place for a new flying tourbillon than the “Aletsch” blue dial of the Alpine Eagle.
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True solar time is measured by the position of the sun and can run up to 16 minutes ahead of and 14 minutes behind the time shown on our clocks and watches. Our friends at The Watches TV spent a day with Philippe Dufour to have a look at this phenomenon in a personal way.
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Anyone who expresses even so much as a fleeting interest in great wine will soon come across Krug, for many the greatest champagne of all. There are champagne lovers and then there are devotees of Krug: Krugists. Ken Gargett doubts that any other champagne, or wine, has a word to designate its adoring fans. Here he explains why.
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This year heralds the perfect version of A. Lange & Söhne's Grand Lange 1, a watch that is able to win over even the staunchest fans of the classic 38.5 mm size (like our Elizabeth Doerr). Take a look, she's sure you'll agree.
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As with the best of traditions, Jaeger-LeCoultre perpetuates the iconic Atmos regardless of consideration for trends. And in 2022, JLC introduces two new models, the Atmos Infinite and the most complicated Atmos to date, the Atmos Hybris Mechanica Caliber 590 (Tellurium).
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When contemplating German pen making, if your mind immediately turns to such brands as Pelikan, Lamy, Montblanc, Faber-Castell, and other storied companies, it’s time to add Otto Hutt to the list. Nancy Olson takes a look at the brand's design c and and design 08 writing instruments, which set a new course for the traditional German pen maker.
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While we might be confronted with a plethora of different gins these days, aside from a few standards from the big producers there are a couple of favorites that are enjoyed around the world. Hendrick’s is definitely one of these. Ken Gargett explains why and shares his tasting notes on four different Hendrick's products. Cheers!
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In case you need a reason for watch shopping (Sabine Zwettler sure doesn't), here are five wallet-friendly suggestions that might just represent the ultimate wish list for her.
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Dandies and Piaget have always enjoyed a natural alliance. There are several reasons for this: precious metals and manufacture movements that are as small and thin as possible – allowing nearly unprecedented freedom for the brand’s designers. Martin Green takes a look at some dandy Piaget models from now and then!
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Corum has released several new Admiral timepieces for 2022, including six new Admiral 42 models, one of which offers an interesting “grenadier fendu” pattern that was entirely designed in-house at Corum. But the pinnacle of these new additions is the novel Admiral 45 Openworked Luminescent Carbon with a glow-in-the-dark carbon fiber case.
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What does Tasmania's Lark Rare Cask Series Para100 Whisky taste like? Ken Gargett reports an immediate impression of an array of nuts, caramel, apricot kernels, quality chocolate, raisins, dark berries, and a hint of a Christmas pudding doused in maple syrup with unabridged power. A wonderful whisky, not for the fainthearted. For him it’s 98. But the price might make your eyes water, even if the whiskey's rarity precludes it.
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Elizabeth Doerr was (and remains) one of Baselworld’s staunchest supporters. For purely selfish reasons, of course: the fact that practically everything was in one location made her life as a watch journalist so much easier. Here she reflects on why she misses Baselworld and why Watches and Wonders isn't enough to maintain balanced journalism.
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Montblanc’s earliest history is in pen making, and each of the lifestyle products that followed – watches, jewelry, leather, fragrance, and more – in some way acknowledges the foundational writing instrument. The new Meisterstück leather collection is no exception, paying very evident respect to the pen whose name it shares as Nancy Olson relates.
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Ian Skellern generally likes relatively restrained, traditional, high-end watches that are not too big for his small wrists. So with its large, high case, blingy, spinning “LOOK AT ME!” rotor on top, and mass-market Miyota movement, the M.A.D.1 ticks all of the boxes on his “may be interesting, but not for me” list. Here he explains why he bought one anyway and his first impressions.
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In 2021 MB&F; celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Legacy Machine collection and, fittingly, introduced a brand-new model to mark this milestone. While that watch is definitely increditastic, Joshua Munchow takes us on a journey through all the models, looking at key points and how the concept has evolved over the years before ending up with MB&F;'s piece for the anniversary, LMX.
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Ineichen Auctioneers’ first auction of 2022, aptly entitled “La Vie en Rose,” took place in Zurich and online on March 12, 2022. As the name of this auction professed, all 40 of the watches offered in the white glove sale were encased in pink – “rose” – gold. Here, Elizabeth Doerr brings you the results, including five of the less “mainstream” independent offerings and one rarity from an established brand that interested connoisseurs.
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It’s all about the people! And right now people in Ukraine and refugees in its border areas are displaced – and, even worse, hungry. Some people in the watch community are stepping forward to help, and all of us at Quill & Pad are united in support of their effort: the #WatchFamForUkraine Solidarity Auction takes place from March 25 to March 28, 2022. Get the details here!
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While the increasing popularity of green dials contributes to a more colorful universe of watches, Martin Green sometimes finds the use of this color a bit much these days. That said, the following recently introduced watches are home runs for Martin because their green dials are just right!
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As GaryG prepares for his trip to Switzerland for Watches and Wonders 2022, the demise of Baselworld is very much on his mind. It seems to him that the era of all-inclusive mega watch shows is rapidly coming to an end. The natural implication is that Watches and Wonders Geneva will be the next exhibition to change radically or that it will even cease to exist. Here he explains why.
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Best Australian wine of all time? There are a few options, but for Ken Gargett there's a clear winner: Penfolds Bin 60A 1962, a wine that was never commercially released. And whether the Bin 60A 1962 is indeed the GOAT of Australian wine hardly matters. He does suggest, though, that if the opportunity to try it ever comes up, cross oceans to do so. You’ll never regret it.
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One of Ian Skellern's highlights during Geneva Watch Days 2021 – in fact one of his highlights of 2021 altogether – was meeting a new young independent watchmaker called Vincent Deprez, who showed him an early prototype of his first watch, the Tourbillon Classique. Ian was immediately impressed by both Deprez’s obvious passion for traditional watchmaking and the extremely high quality of his watch.
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Ineichen Auctioneers’ first auction of 2022, aptly entitled “La Vie en Rose,” takes place in Zurich and online on March 12, 2022. As the name of this auction professes, all 40 of the watches offered are encased in pink – “rose” – gold. Here, Elizabeth Doerr highlights five of the less “mainstream” independent offerings and one rarity from an established brand that will certainly interest connoisseurs.
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Early American historian and Harvard professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich titled her 2008 book 'Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History.' Ulrich would probably be very interested to know about three famous Swiss and French brands whose very first wristwatches were made for – and in a way by – women. Their watches have made history as some of the first examples of wristwatches in history, too.
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Join Alp Sever of Langepedia, collector Michael Hickcox, WatchBox’s Mike Manjos, and our very own Elizabeth Doerr as they discuss A. Lange & Söhne in some depth, examining the German brand’s history and its extraordinary rebirth in the 1990s. This WatchBox Studios video was recorded during Dubai Watch Week 2021 and we bet you learn some things you never knew before.
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The Vault V2+RCT is a very modern creation, yet grounded in old-school craftsmanship and the desire to bring it to a higher, more contemporary level. It is the latest technology combined with the oldest skills – understated by day and extroverted by night. And it is a unique piece made for an industry insider.
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