Quill & Pad
Why have icons like the Lange 1 and the Porsche 911 looked practically the same since first launching decades ago? Here, A. Lange & Söhne CEO Wilhelm Schmid discusses such design icons with Ted Gushue, editorial director of 'Petrolicious,' and Wei Koh, co-founder of 'Revolution' and 'The Rake,' in a conversation presented by Dr. Carl Naughton.
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A discussion with fellow collectors that is bound to elicit interesting responses is two-tone watches. People tend to either love them or hate them. The lovers consider them the perfect mix between a sporty looking watch and a dress watch. People who don't care for them may think of them as a weak compromise at best. What do you think?
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As with every aspect of our lives, the world of wine and spirits is heavily regulated. Growing grapes, making the stuff, distilling, selling, even (perhaps especially) drinking it. Here Ken Gargett takes a light-hearted look at some of the newer and crazier laws and regulations around the world.
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The new Carl F. Bucherer Manero Minute Repeater Symphony features a very cool peripheral winding rotor, but it also has a few more tricks up its sleeve including a tourbillon and a minute repeater. There's also much more here than meets the eye as Joshua Munchow explains.
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You may be familiar with numbers such as 18,000 vph, 28,800 vph, and even 36,000 vph describing the frequency of a watch’s regulator, but few really know what those numbers mean. Watchmaker Ashton Tracy explains why watch frequencies matter, but he oscillates in choosing a winner. Follow the discussion here.
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Why watches? Ask what makes a watch enthusiast tick and the idea of the “soul” of a watch might well feature in the response – the idea that something elevates the watch from a cold object of engineering to something of greater import. Here Ryan Schmidt tracks "soul" down and gets contemplative on its nature along with some very special imagery.
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Despite the virus restrictions, GaryG has managed to venture out from time to time for brief, top-secret rendezvous in parking lots and on park benches to receive and return the generous loans of friends’ watches to photograph. Recently, he had the chance to shoot a true classic: a second-series Reference 3450J perpetual calendar made by Patek Philippe, which he shares with us here.
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There is, quite simply, no other wine in the world quite like Seppeltsfield's 1918 100-Year-Old Para Vintage Tawny Port-style wine. Where else could you hope to find a wine whose current release is the 1918? It exists, but only thanks to the extraordinary vision of one man.
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A grail watch can be pretty much anything. But one thing a grail watch always is is personal. Very personal. Martin Green was introduced to his personal grail watch by a close friend who had recently treated himself to a new watch: a pre-Collection Privée Cartier Paris Louis Cartier Tank in platinum. Here's the story of how Martin got his grail.
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Geneva’s second round of pandemic-era May auctions brought some fascinating offerings out of the woodwork. And people are buying watches at auction like there is no tomorrow. While Rolex and Patek Philippe models brought in most of the high-roller results, the three main houses with auctions running over the second weekend in May 2021 – Phillips, Christie’s, and Antiquorum – also generated fantastic results for watches by many other brands, including the independents.
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Alexandre Ghotbi takes a rather in-depth look at the more than 100-year history behind the high-precision Vacheron Constantin Chronomètre Royal . . . which came up because of a conversation about "the Batman." Find out what that means right here.
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Innovations and complications are what makes A. Lange & Söhne watches tick. Here, Anthony de Haas, head of product development at A. Lange & Söhne, discusses pushing limits and taking watchmaking to the next level with journalist Gisbert Brunner and SJX, founder of Watches by SJX, in a conversation presented by Dr. Carl Naughton.
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Throughout history, hundreds of talented watchmakers have left their mark on the science and industry of timekeeping. For the inaugural edition of WOHS (Watchmakers of Historical Significance), Joshua Munchow highlights an engineer that has used technology to push forward since his beginnings, creating a company that is not only a leading brand among independents, but also a supplier to many established brands: the incredible yet humble Romain Gauthier.
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“Dress watches” were initially just “watches.” While their popularity may have dwindled over the years as more casual and sporty watches have taken off, many brands have stayed faithful to the concept of the dress watch as Martin Green highlights here with five beautiful new examples.
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The main focus of the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL is the technology behind the shock absorber, so the watch itself is a simple, three-hand, time-only piece with an ultra-clean dial and generally restrained aesthetic minimizing unnecessary distraction. Joshua Munchow dives in to take a closer look at the progressive compliant technology.
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Tenuta San Guido's 2015 Sassicaia was a warm vintage but an exceptional one, and that is reflected in the wine. It is considered to have similarities with the sensational vintage conditions of 1985, which Ken Gargett has tasted twice and has rated 100 points standing on its head both times. Sassicaia is one of the most famous wines of Italy, and often one of the country’s very best.
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Sit back and enjoy as Quill & Pad co-founder and editor-in-chief Elizabeth Doerr, freelance journalist Roberta Naas, and Barbara Hans, head of marketing at A. Lange & Söhne, talk with Dr. Carl Naughton about their experiences as women in the predominantly men’s world of mechanical watches.
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The most common choice for classic dress watches has to be gold, but have you ever wondered where that gold originally came from? And by "originally" Ian Skellern isn't referring to a gold mine on earth but the original source of the gold before it even arrived on our planet. Spoiler alert: it involves an explosion, a very big explosion!
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What appeals to Elizabeth Doerr about Jaquet Droz is that within the Swatch Group's 190 separate companies (including 18 marques), the brand operates very much like an independent watchmaker and its artful timepieces reflect this. Here she goes deep into the history of one of the Swatch Group's oldest brand names, celebrating the 300 years since the birth of its founder.
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Before Joshua Munchow realized that he loved watches he was sure that he loved mechanical things and stood in awe of the many mechanisms and contraptions that he saw over his young life. Joshua eventually became aware of watches and the amazing marvels that they held within. To him, the Corum Golden Bridge stood out as an example of perfect horological exhibitionism. And the automatic version is even better to him!
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Lot 434 in the Antiquorum auction on May 9, 2021 is an ultra-rare A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 in stainless steel. A. Lange & Söhne never officially launched a stainless steel watch before the recent Odysseus, but there are a few steel Lange 1s in existence and they are quite sought after by collectors. Elizabeth Doerr explains why here.
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Following the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and the isolating feel of digital fairs, the prospect of a bright, sunny, warm, and welcoming in-person Dubai Watch Week warms our hearts immensely! And we are in for a real treat this time around for more reasons than simply celebrating a return to normality and the ability to touch and feel new watches and meet with old and new friends as Elizabeth Doerr explains.
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One of the problems with having an iconic wine among your offerings is that other, equally worthy wines are often overlooked or diminished in the eyes of wine lovers. But such is life. With its latest releases, Australian superstar winery Henschke has moved to align the vintages of several of its top wines, all Shiraz: Wheelwright, Mount Edelstone, Hill of Roses, and the legendary Hill of Grace. Ken Gargett tastes.
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Joshua Munchow recently had the opportunity to spend some time with the new slate-grey Tutima Flieger Automatic, a simple three-handed pilot's watch with date that comes in at an incredibly affordable price. He shares his thoughts here.
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GaryG recently took a deep dive into the world of digital art, auctioning a few of his photos of a rare Patek Philippe Reference 2526 Gobbi Milano as an NFT (non-fungible token). Here he shares the complete mechanics and thoughts behind his futuristic experience. And he's encouraged enough to do it again!
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Once upon a time in a small watch shop in a (relatively) small California town before GaryG really knew much at all about Vacheron Constantin as a brand and company. there was a display case. And a watch: the Vacheron Constantin Malte Squelette.
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Lot 165 at Phillips' Geneva Watch Auction: XIII on May 8-9, 2021 is one of the most important prototypes in the history of IWC. A true rarity and a true piece of watch history. It is Richard Habring’s personal Portugieser Split-Seconds Chronograph prototype. Elizabeth Doerr shares its history and meaning here. And why its creator is parting with it.
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What qualifies a watch to be "made in Glashütte" or "made in Germany"? Sabine Zwettler explains the similarities and differences.
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Recently GaryG took a deep dive into the world of digital art, auctioning a few of his photos of a rare Patek Philippe Reference 2526 Gobbi Milano as an NFT (non-fungible token). Here he shares the complete mechanics and thoughts behind his futuristic experience.
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Sit back and enjoy as Quill & Pad resident collector GaryG and Alexandre Ghotbi, director of the Philipps Auctions watch department for Europe and the Middle East, and A. Lange & Söhne CEO Wilhelm Schmid talk about watch collecting with Dr. Carl Naughton in this engaging video.
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