Quill & Pad
To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the United Arab Emirates, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons worked with Bovet to create an exceptional version of the 19thirty that stands out in its use of color. Martin Green thinks the green-and-orange color combination works so well he wonders why it isn't seen more (and why he didn't think of it himself).
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The GoS Blue Norrsken (whose name is Swedish for “northern lights”) is a masterful three-way collaboration honoring the fantastic displays of the aurora borealis as seen in the boutique brand’s home country Sweden.
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For the Panthère UAE Limited Edition, Cartier set the bezel with 44 brilliant-cut rubies. These stones surround the distinctive bezel screws that are one of the hallmarks of the Panthère model and add a generous dash of color, making this limited edition a true eye-catcher for Martin Green.
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How much time could one survive in space without a suit? Are there truly 24 hours in a day? Why could dinosaurs not live in the present day (shock: 'Jurassic Park' is complete fiction)? Where are most of the volcanos on earth? Is there a river beneath the Amazon? How long has it been since it has rained on the driest place on earth? And what percentage of the world’s species we have discovered? Here are 50 things you should know about the planet we live on.
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As might be expected from a collaboration between De Bethune and Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the UAE Hawk is absolutely stunning. In essence, it’s a DB27 Titan Hawk in a seven-piece limited edition but it is a touch more classical. What are the other differences? Martin Green takes a closer look.
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It’s easy to compare the Bell & Ross BR 05 collection to other steel sports watches, a market segment that is definitely a crowded one. But not all watches get better when they are crafted in gold. Joshua Munchow thinks the BR 05 Skeleton Gold really pops in the precious metal, though. See for yourself!
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Peter Gago has what many people in the wine world think is the best job on the planet: he is chief winemaker for Penfolds, one of Australia’s oldest wine producers. Here Ken Gargett shares the history of Penfolds and Peter Gago and reports on tasting Penfolds' latest flagship wine, the G5.
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Diver’s watches are meant to be rough, tough tool watches, and limited editions are made to cash in on a model’s popularity. The Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Full Lum is both, yet disproves these paradox presumptions as Martin Green discovered after wearing this watch for a while. What did he think? It's lit!
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Many of you are likely to have come across at least a few heated discussions of “finishing,” a topic that seems to fascinate, and divide, watch enthusiasts. Like many people, GaryG's starting point for serious watches was with a well-priced brand long known for its expertise in developing movements, justly viewed as offering good value for money – but not necessarily for the refinement of its movement finishing, at least on its less expensive pieces. Read on to discover what he has learned since then.
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The Bovet Ottantasei Tourbillon is the brand's sixth timepiece designed by Pininfarina, and the years of experience that the two brands now have working together shows. It truly is a sensational watch, but here Ian Skellern focuses on Pininfarina, a name evoking mystical status among anyone interested in world-class design and sensational cars.
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If you were there, you won’t forget it soon. And if you weren’t, you are still going to be hearing about it for a very long time indeed. GaryG posits that the November 2021 Geneva auction week will be remembered as the point in time at which either the value of collectible watches reached a new plateau from which they only continued to climb or the bubble in prices for pieces from certain makers reached its most outrageous dimensions before deflating or imploding. Here's what happened.
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An email arrived: would Ken Gargett be interested in tasting an original prestige champagne from the popular house of Piper-Heidsieck? This is the sort of invitation he would crawl over broken glass to be part of and he shares his experiences here. Spoiler alert: Ken rates the 50-year-old champagne 99/100!
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The most striking thing about the Zeitwerk is its incredible look that combines much that is familiar about A. Lange & Söhne and some that is less familiar. The Zeitwerk was a watch to fit the times 12 years ago, a new era of complicated watchmaking, inside the Saxon brand and elsewhere. And now comes the Zeitwerk Date, a complicated sibling with new-and-improved technology.
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While every one of this boutique brand's watches is a testimony to Louis Moinet's horological storytelling, the 8 Marvels of the World do this perhaps even more intensely. These eight watches each pay tribute to a unique historical structure highlighting the heights of human civilization. Louis Moinet worked with a large team of artists to capture these feats of human engineering in the most artistic and engaging ways.
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Ineichen Zurich announces special auctions of rare timepieces to be hosted simultaneously in Zurich and online November 20-21, 2021. On offer are a some very desirable watches from A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Breguet as well as independents including F.P. Journe, De Bethune, Vianney Halter, Urwerk, Konstantin Chaykin, and Svend Andersen. Have a look at our picks here.
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The new Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater is a fitting tribute for the 150th anniversary of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s first minute repeater and the 90th anniversary of the Reverso. When the repeater is in operation, its mechanics are an aesthetic ballet!
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With the recent announcement that Greubel Forsey will be instituting a new program called Renaissance d’une Montre as of 2023, which will allow collectors to change anything they like about their watches, Tim Mosso finds it a good time to revisit what is perhaps the brand’s most underrated ultra haut-de-gamme option for collectors of modern watchmaking, the Double Tourbillon 30°.
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Can you imagine buying a watch bracelet and then searching for the right watch to pair with it? Seems a bit far fetched, but that’s exactly what a good friend of GaryG's did a few years ago. And it led to him purchasing two beautiful 1815 Chronograph models from A. Lange & Söhne.
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The Phillips' Geneva Watch Auction: XIV in November 2021 was one of the watch auctions of the decade. Here are the eye-watering results raised by the four historical Philippe Dufour watches.
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In this final 2021 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève round table discussion, we discuss the evening of November 4, 2021 and what we thought of the big night’s winners. Plus, we reveal how we did in our predictions for the event. Sadly, not that well.
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The Battista Tourbillon is slightly different from the previous Pininfarina collaboration models that Bovet has issued in that it puts more emphasis on the car it was inspired by. And what a car the Pininfarina Battista is! The all-electric hyper GT marks a significant moment in Pininfarina’s history. Check out both watch and car right here.
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You may be asking yourself why Ken Gargett is reviewing yet another 2008 vintage champagne. For starters, he's doing it because 2008 is a great year. But also because the Taittinger Comtes de Champagne just might be the best of the 2008s. This champagne has a litany of high scores – most range from 98 to 100 – and praise from critics (including this one).
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Following the record-breaking weekend comprising the Phillips and Only Watch auctions, the vintage world turns to the remaining houses yet to stage their auctions this season. And so our pals at The Watches TV went hands on with a few lots of Zurich’s Ineichen auction house from the year's final auction to be held on November 20 and 21, 2021.
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The iconic Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, one of the most emblematic timepieces of all time, endlessly renews itself in countless embodiments, even 90 years after its birth. Here Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle reports on the 'Reverso: Timeless Stories Since 1931' exhibition in Paris, which just opened and will run through December 24, 2021.
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A sense of unity and purpose evident throughout the latest edition of the biennial Only Watch auction, which took place on November 6, 2021, yielded a number of interesting results for the 53 participating watches. Here are those results listed in order of their generous bids.
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Daniel Roth lives on in Bulgari in the Octo Roma Central Tourbillon Papillon, an incredible watch showcasing the results of creative combinations in both business and design. Joshua Munchow takes a closer look.
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Despite all its scholarly technology, Elizabeth Doerr finds Antoine Preziuso's Stella Polare Tourbillon Muonionalusta to be far more wearable for slimmer wrists than some of his other creations. Not only that, this watch is the culmination of the independent watchmaker's journey to capture a shooting star.
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Montegrappa is revisiting Harry Potter in a new limited edition pen aptly named Harry Potter: Hogwarts L.E. Nancy Olson reports on the collection comprising a fountain pen and a rollerball, each honoring the world’s most famous fictional school of witchcraft and wizardry.
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The 2021 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève was full of surprises. Check out the complete list of laureates here and let us know what you think about the night's winners and losers.
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The 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève is scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm Central European Time on Thursday the 12th of November. Follow the big night on Quill & Pad and let us know your thoughts on the winners (and losers) in the comments.
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