Quill & Pad
Welcome to the 2021 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève predictions in which the team picks favorites and explains why. Here we try to predict which watch will take the prize for the best ladies watch of 2021. While our panel isn't quite unanimous, a clear favorite has emerged.
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Konstantin Chaykin is widely known for incredibly complicated horology and the amusing Joker collection. Here he decided to honor the myth of the Minotaur with a variation on the Joker line, which instantly became Joshua Munchow's favorite iteration to date: the Konstantin Chaykin Wristmon Minotaur represents a mechanical and aesthetic shift that reignites Joshua's desire for one of Chaykin's limited creations.
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Did you know that Batman Day is actually a thing? In honor of Batman Day on September 18, here are five stories Quill & Pad has done over the years invoking either the image or the name of one of DC Comics’ highest-grossing franchise characters: Batman!
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Elizabeth Doerr recently had the extraordinary opportunity to spend some time with the McLaren Speedtail hypercar and the Richard Mille RM 40-01 McLaren Speedtail watch, both of which are very rare. Her experience with these two cult objects was exhilarating!
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The Hermès Arceau has been used as the canvas for many remarkable artistic dial techniques, including wood marquetry, glass art, leather, and miniature painting. The Arceau Toucan de Paradis Nancy Olson highlights here uses vibrant silk thread and enamel to tell its colorful and exotic story.
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After Colin Alexander Smith recently noticed John McLaughlin wearing an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak in live footage from the 1990s along with various other interesting timepieces, he somewhat cheekily asked him for an interview to discuss his watches rather than his music or his guitars, to which he kindly agreed. Not surprisingly they ended up discussing all three in this riveting interview spanning decades' worth of music, stories, and timepieces.
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For its 25th anniversary, Parmigiani introduces the new Tonda PF, a collection consisting of four watches, three of which are offered in either stainless steel or pink gold with a fourth in platinum. The new Tonda PF might be best thought of as the more elegant sibling of the Tonda GT, sharing the same streamlined look, knurled bezel, and integrated bracelet but is differentiated by a much more understated appearance.
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The 2021 edition of Geneva Watch Days was by most measures a successful event as the watch world slowly gets back to a modicum of normality. The presentations proved exciting as we could finally handle real watches instead of looking at them on a screen. We saw old friends, made new ones, and remembered why we love spending time talking watches. Here are our personal picks for "best of" in a number of categories. What were yours?
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A generous friend offered GaryG the opportunity to shoot his white gold Kari Voutilainen Masterpiece Chronograph II so that Gary is able to share delightful photos of both his custom pink gold Chronograph II in comparison with his friend's custom white gold version.
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The 2021 edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) has just published its list of shortlisted (“nominated”) watches in the runup to the eagerly anticipated red-carpet event in Geneva on November 4, 2021. Ian Skellern shares all of the finalist watches in each category here. Let us know your favorites!
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GaryG turns his attention and camera to three watches developed by collector and industry veteran William Massena, two of which are co-branded collaborations and the third a piece with origins in a conversation among a bunch of friends.
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Independent watchmakers and brands have experienced an unbelievable uptick in not only business and sales during 2021 – despite, or even perhaps because of, the pandemic – but also in recognition and general respect and understanding. During Geneva Watch Days 2021, Elizabeth Doerr moderated a live panel discussion hosted by Phillips exploring in detail this new and unexpected position in the luxury watch industry. Please enjoy the recorded discussion here.
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The Hublot Big Bang Integral Tourbillon Rainbow might look a bit whimsical at first, but it delivers joy in a very high-end way. Hublot has quite a reputation to uphold when it comes to rainbow watches after having launching its first in 2017, and this new watch feels like the brand has upped its game substantially. So embrace your guilty pleasure and find your pot of gold!
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During a visit to D.Dornblüth & Sohn in eastern Germany, Bhanu Chopra noticed a new matte black ceramic dial in the workshop and loved the look so much that he asked the independent watchmaker to replace the more standard silver dial on his Dornblüth 99.1 with the new black one. And he's very pleased with the result.
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Cohiba Lancero is arguably the most famous cigar of all. It is, however, a cigar that is talked about far more than it is smoked. Why? With measurements of 7½ inches and a ring gauge of 38 (not to forget the little pigtail at the end), it falls smack in the center of what the old timers call the “long and skinnies.” Ken Gargett explains why it's worth a puff.
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Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie, says of the new Streamliner Perpetual Calendar, “Looking at this piece one might think it is a three-hand watch with a date, yet it is the most practical perpetual calendar ever developed." Nancy Olson explains why he is quite right.
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Bovet offers a new take on its formidable Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two, which the brand introduced in 2020. And when Bovet says that it reimagined the Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two, you can take that literally: the designers didn't exactly “improve” it, rather they took the same ingredients and served them up differently.
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Martin Green is no Gérald Genta groupie charmed by everything the designer created, but he appreciates greatness. While some may favor the Genta Gefica or Grande Sonnerie as the master's definitive design, Martin makes a case for the Retro. Find out why here.
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One of the big introductions of 2015 in the collector’s world was A. Lange & Söhne’s Zeitwerk Minute Repeater: a watch that both shows and chimes off the time using a “decimal” format of hours, tens of minutes, and minutes rather than the more traditional hours, quarters (15 minutes), and minutes. But the first decimal repeating wristwatch to reach the market wasn’t the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater. It was by independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen.
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No one buys a Corum Bubble to hide underneath a jacket sleeve; it's a watch that makes its presence felt. And with a luminous layered x-ray image of the human skull smiling out from under the bulbous sapphire crystal dome, the Bubble X-Ray is no exception.
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A collector got in touch with Martin Green about an engraving project on a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classique that he was planning. What caught Martin's attention was that the collector was collaborating with an engraver very close to his home, so he seized the opportunity to follow the project as it unfolded. He shares his experiences and photos here.
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I know of only three watchmakers making watches completely (no CNC machines) by hand today: Greubel Forsey with its Hand Made 1 and Dominique Buser and Cyrano Devanthey, who are hand-making watches they call l’Instant de Vérité under the umbrella of their own micro brand Oscillon. And what a watch this is!
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The second edition of Geneva Watch Days (August 30 through September 3, 2021) is upon the Quill & Pad team, and among the many brands Ian has looked forward to catching up with is one of his all-time favorites: De Bethune. Here are six watches the brand has recently released as seen through Ian's lens, including the brand's unique Only Watch 2021 piece.
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Celebrating its 175th anniversary, Ulysse Nardin unveils several new models in the Marine Torpilleur collection during Geneva Watch Days 2021: two timepieces with date and power reserve, a moon phase models offered in two dial colors, a chronograph with an annual calendar, and a rather special flying tourbillon with a lustrous enamel dial.
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Greubel Forsey's GMT Earth takes its last trip around the globe with a final version of 11 pieces. For this new variation, Greubel Forsey not only crafted the case in titanium but also focused on a darker finish. This makes the final version of this watch distinctly different from its siblings, not only in looks but also in feel.
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“The M2 Pioneer is a pilot’s watch,” Gustavo Calzadilla, Tutima’s U.S. president, stressed to Chris Malburg, explaining that it was not meant to be a diver’s watch. “True,” he countered. “But how often do watch fans ever get into the cockpit or strap on a scuba tank and jump into an 30-degree, gin-clear lagoon?” And that is just what Chris did. Dive in with him right here!
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The now nearly iconic HM Perpetual Moon with a nearly full-dial moon phase display was previously Joshua Munchow's personal favorite moon phase watch from this brand until the Luna Magna came along (he is a sucker for three-dimensional moon phases). What makes the new Luna Magna that spectacular?
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The Louis Roederer NV champagne is to be discontinued and replaced by a new NV dubbed Collection 242. Ken Gargett thinks that this new Roederer is a joy to drink, immaculately balanced, and delightfully fresh. But that's not all.
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After nearly 20 years, Breitling and Bentley are parting ways. What started in 2002 when Breitling designed the dashboard clock of the Continental GT and was last renewed in 2018 is now coming to an end. Martin Green takes a look at the good and bad watches having emerged from this long partnership and speculates heavily on the future.
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Rolex has never called out to Joshua Munchow as a watch that he must have or that would be the pinnacle of his collection. He thinks that this is because of the downsides to it being the most widely known watch brand in the world: forgeries and overexposure abound. So what is it about 2015's Rolex Day-Date 40 that turned him into a convert? Read on to find out.
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