DETAILS
2
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
DETAILS
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
C RA F T I NG E T E R N I T Y S I N C E 1 755 260 years of continuous history is reflected in the Harmony Collection. A new legacy has dawned.
HARMONY CH RO N O G R A P H
Geneva official watchmaking certification
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
EDITOR’S LETTER
WELCOME
“I’ve never known such an exciting time, from materials science to the advent of the smartwatch”
It’s a great privilege to welcome you once again to The Watch Gallery’s magazine – two issues in, and still spoilt for choice by the plethora of wonderful timepieces filling our windows and web pages this year. You’d think that a wrist-sized circle with three hands would lend fairly limited scope to watchmaking’s shy and retiring craftspeople, but the opposite seems to be the case; I’ve honestly never known such an exciting time, from the space-age materials being wielded by Audemars Piguet’s lab-coated boffins in the Jura Mountains, to Shinola’s revival of “American-made” at the hands of Detroit’s beleaguered kids, to the whole industry’s immediate and rich response to the advent of the smartwatch (more about that on page 47). The Watch Gallery itself has had, and continues to have a breathless year of everevolving horolo-retail. All 25 examples of its special-edition Hublot sold out in 27 days, and there are further hook-ups to come from IWC and Zenith. Meanwhile, Rolex’s revamped boutique within Selfridges’ Wonder Room has opened for business, doubling its previous space, and its One Hyde Park store has now become the UK’s most completely stocked. I wish you an enjoyable read, and warmly encourage you to enhance your experience with our additional interactive content, explained below.
THE TEAM EDITOR Alex Doak
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Emily Seares
ART DIRECTOR Laura Finnegan
HEAD OF PHOTOGRAPHY Hannah Kidushim
PHOTOGRAPHER & VIDEOGRAPHER Junior Monney Zoe Esfandiari Alex Denning (Intern)
POST-PRODUCTION Mariangela Garofalo
CONTRIBUTORS Laura McCreddie
MARKETING Camilla Richardson Ellis Hourshid
ONLINE WWW.THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
Alex Doak EDITOR
INTERACTIVE MAGAZINE 2
.................
1
.........................
.........
DOWNLOAD THE BLIPPAR APP
FILL THE SCREEN WITH IMAGE
3
UNLOCK ADDITIONAL CONTENT!
............
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
5
DETAILS
THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE.
WOMEN’S MILLENARY IN PINK GOLD.
6
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
DETAILS
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
7
DETAILS
8
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
CONTENTS
10
17
13
BIG PICTURE
PORTRAIT
DETAILS
31
26
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
SHINOLA
50
46
SMARTSWISS
HIS ’N’ HERS
20
WATERCOLOURS
34
PULLING RANK
38
PRIVATE VIEWING
56
UNDER £2K
61
64
THE ARTIST
ME TIME
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
9
DETAILS
10
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
DETAILS THE BIG PICTURE
POLE POSITION Exactly five years ago, a daring member of the Under the Pole expedition plunged into the freezing waters of the Arctic, enclosed by nothing more than a drysuit. What they witnessed was a side of our world that remains just as awe-inspiring, and sadly just as threatened by global warming. For 45 days, the team ski-trekked across the top of the globe in the Great Canadian North and dived again and again, bearing witness to an abundant but paradoxically hostile ecosystem. In their luggage: breathing gear, cameras, video equipment‌ and five Rolex Deepsea watches. Named after the experimental model that dived 10,916m into the Mariana Trench in 1960, this extreme production version of the Submariner is waterproof to 3,900m and remains a stalwart of professional exploration.
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
11
UNDER THE SKIN
CLOSE UP
WE PUT THREE OF WATCHMAKING’S MECHANICAL MARVELS UNDER THE KNIFE – THE ROLEX CALIBRE 3135, HUBLOT BIG BANG, AND JAEGER-LECOULTRE MASTER TOURBILLON – TO REVEAL THE INCREDIBLE ANATOMY TICKING AND WHIRRING INSIDE... THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
13
DETAILS
PREVIOUS PAGE: DISSEMBLED ON THE WORKBENCH AT ROLEX ONE HYDE PARK, THE CALIBRE 3135 IS ROLEX’S WORKHORSE MOVEMENT. THE RED WHEELS ARE TEFLONCOATED TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF THE AUTOMATIC WINDING ROTOR. THIS PAGE: JAEGERLECOULTRE’S MASTER TOURBILLON HINGES ON ITS TITULAR, MERRY-GO-ROUND MECHANISM, WEIGHING JUST 0.28G BUT MADE UP OF 78 PARTS.
If you ever hear anyone discussing whether expensive watches are really worth the money, try this true story on them. While snorkelling off the Great Barrier Reef some years ago, a chap wearing a Rolex inadvertently knocked it against an outcrop. Torn from his wrist, the watch tumbled into the depths, lost forever. Or so he thought. Eight years later it was discovered, almost fully swallowed up in the coral, by another diver. It was chipped out, reunited with its owner via the case reference number, and you know what? It still functioned perfectly. Its case hadn’t leaked a drop of seawater and with a quick shake, the winding rotor inside spun with a muffled whirr, sending the seconds hand on
14
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
its steady sweep of the dial once more. “Rolex have plenty of stories like that,” chuckles Peter Roberts, a Briton who started as a watchmaker at Rolex in 1972 and now teaches for the Swiss giant. “They’re incredible value for money, and the majority of that value is found in the movement. Compared with another watch around the £3,500 mark, the cost of the movement inside a Rolex will be four or five times – the number of checks is higher than anywhere else.” Rolex may be name-checked by rappers alongside Courvoisier and Cadillacs, but the kind of technology that survives under water for years is about a lot more than mere bling. Incredible skill is involved in
“It’s a major technical feat and wonderful to watch, majestically spinning on its axis” precision-machining, polishing, assembling, and adjusting the hundreds of components inside a mechanical watch. And then there’s the small matter of engineering that watertight case to within micrometre tolerances. Stripped down on the previous page, and ticking strongly since 1988 with barely any tweaks, is Rolex’s “3135” calibre – the
DETAILS
THIS PAGE: DISMANTLED AT HUBLOT’S SERVICE CENTRE IN MANCHESTER, THE FULL EXTENT OF THE BIG BANG CASE’S COMPLEXITY IS IMMEDIATELY APPARENT. LABORIOUSLY MILLED OUT OF TITANIUM, THE UNICO 45MM COMPRISES FIVE CASE COMPONENTS, NOT COUNTING THE CRYSTAL “GLASS”, THEIR ADJOINING SEALS, STRAP ANCHORS, PLUS THE BEZEL AND SIDE PANELS IN CERAMIC.
brand’s workhorse movement, found in everything from the Oyster Date to the Sea-Dweller 4000. At the hands of Rolex, One Hyde Park’s resident watchmaker Jamie Hardes, disassembly of a 3135 for servicing takes about an hour. “Re-assembly though,” he says, “including inspection of all parts, oiling and adjustments is up to two hours. Every component is checked for wear,” he explains, “with damaged parts replaced for new. It must be immaculate too – even the tiniest piece of fluff can stop a watch.” A similar, if not greater level of exacting eye for detail guides Hublot’s watchmakers, who must tackle the Big Bang’s multifaceted case construction before they
even get close to the movement itself - as you’ll appreciate from the above shot. “It’s intelligently designed,” says Hublot’s head UK watchmaker Darren Lee, “all the components are effectively bolted onto a central container, making it watchmakerfriendly. It’s titanium with anti-oxidisation treatment, and the sides are made from Kevlar, a highly durable material.” Things ramp up considerably in the case of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s master watchmaker in London, Richard Phipps-Carter, who’s qualified to service a tourbillon – arguably the ultimate “complication”; a mechanical tour de force that rarely costs less than £50,000. Invented by Breguet over two centuries ago, it tumbles the ticking
escapement over and over, evening-out gravity’s pull on the delicate hairspring – and despite weighing just 0.28g in the Master model above, comprises 78 parts. “It’s a major technical feat,” says Richard, “and it’s wonderful to watch, majestically spinning on its axis.” Indeed, by contrast, it’s almost a shame that Rolex hides its movements behind a solid-metal case-back. But it’s reassuring that the only person who does see them – your friendly local watchmaker – remains full of awe for something the average Rolex wearer probably takes for granted. “The 3135 is still one of the best gent’s automatic movements out there,” Jamie attests. “In fact, it’s what I wear myself.”
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
15
DETAILS
TAG HEUER FORMULA 1 CR7 Cristiano Ronaldo is born to break all the records. His motivation is to win at every occasion to challenge the human statistics. Like TAG Heuer, Ronaldo surpasses the limits of his field and never cracks under pressure.
16
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
PORTRAIT
“WE SHARE A VISION... THERE IS COMPLETE TRUST BETWEEN US”
BREMONT’S NICK AND GILES ENGLISH ARE TWO OF THE MOST WELL-LOVED FACES ON THE WATCH SCENE – AND PROBABLY THE HARDEST-WORKING They might have a French name, and use Swiss chronometer movements, but Bremont couldn’t be more British – from their no-frills, mug-of-teaand-a-biscuit, tally-ho, chocks-away aesthetics, right down to the aptly named English brothers, who embody their brand so thoroughly that if you cut them, they’d probably bleed royal-blue screws. “Charm personified” is generally the impression an encounter with Giles and Nick makes. The two exude irrepressible enthusiasm for their craft and, despite looking like chalk and cheese, complement each other with a conspiratorial glee only siblings can share. It’s just as well they get on so well, notes Nick with a grin, “as I can hardly fire him, can I?” Bremont is the most successful of Britain’s newly revived watch industry. Since bursting onto the scene in 2006, its rocksolid, no-nonsense pilot’s watches have won widespread acclaim – and not just from patriotic Brits. It certainly helps that the chaps are experienced pilots themselves – a pastime that, many moons ago, one stormy night, led them to force-land in a French pea field belonging to a farmer; one Monsieur Bremont, uncoincidentally. These days, Nick and Giles’s many other passions back on the ground means that Bremont is now the official watchmaker to Jaguar motor cars (this year’s “MkI” tribute to the E-Type is heartmelting). As of May this year, it is even timekeeper to the historic America’s Cup sailing contest in 2017,
as well as official partner to the Cup’s defender, Team Oracle USA. But if Bremont’s watchmaking clout was in any doubt, we’d recommend hitting the M40 and paying its shiny new Henley-On-Thames headquarters a visit. Situated in an Area of Outstanding Beauty, with chalet-style architecture housing sterile watchmaking workbenches, it’s a regular slice of the Swiss Jura, deep in the heart of bucolic England. All of Bremont’s watches are now assembled here, with Giles and Nick’s eyes set firmly on the horizon. They have recruited cleverly, deliberately populating their atelier with bona fide watchmakers, each of whom assembles a whole watch, rather than forming a production line. Plus, they’ve established a new engineering facility in Silverstone, which will allow Bremont to make more and more of its new, 100% proprietary “BWC/01” movement. The sky’s not so much the limit as the starting point where the English brothers are concerned: “Movement wise,” says Giles, “we have stepped up to a new level. We’re up to about 60 people at Henley now and we’ve got amazing machines that no one has ever had in the UK before.” But no matter how big Bremont becomes, its founding brotherly relationship will always remain at the core of the business, reckons Nick: “It was crucial at the very beginning when we set up in 2002, and still is. We share a vision and similar way of working that makes the design process and development of our business very easy. There is complete trust between us.” KEEN AMATEUR PILOTS, GILES (LEFT) AND NICK (RIGHT) POSE WITH BREMONT’S VINTAGE 1930 GIPSY MOTH BIPLANE
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
17
PORTRAIT
“I WILL BE THE
MASTER OF MY CHEESE, TILL THE LAST PIECE”
SAVIOUR OF BLANCPAIN, OMEGA AND HUBLOT; PART-TIME CATTLE FARMER AND CHEESEMAKER; NOW HEAD OF LVMH’S WATCH AND JEWELLERY DIVISION – IS THERE ANYTHING THAT’LL STOP JEAN-CLAUDE BIVER? Every industry has its characters. The automotive world had Gianni Agnelli; computing, Steve Jobs; in fashion, the flamboyant Donatella Versace. The watch world? It has Jean-Claude Biver. CEO of TAG Heuer and director at Hublot, but best known for nurturing the flimsy notion of a mechanical watch when even Switzerland itself had given up the ghost. Irrepressible, outspoken, yet refreshingly straightforward – the man has never been more relevant, despite proximity to his 70th year, and despite peddling a product whose very existence relies on the irrational and the out-dated. As if to underscore his place in the anachronism of watchmaking – increasingly an anachronism thanks to the efforts of aforementioned Mr Jobs – Mr Biver has one particularly well-publicised, irrational hobby: making cheese. He has a farm, cows, the lot, and his Emmental is reportedly sublime, with a floral note derived directly from his petal-strewn pastures. But you’ll never know, because he offers every year’s five-tonne yield only to friends, and never with a pricetag. “If I don’t sell it,” explains Biver, “then I will decide who gets it,” adding with typical gusto, “I will be the master of my cheese until the last piece!” But unlike Blur’s bass player Alex James, whose rock’n’rollness is so ridiculously undermined by the same pastime, there is actually good sense behind Biver’s decision to establish his dairy in 2004. “It is the watchmaking art!” he exclaims. “Watchmaking is born in the farmhouses of the Jura. They were all making cheese in the summer, then come the winter they were polishing wheels and pinions. So when I make my cheese, I connect to the origin of the watchmaking art. You always want to reconnect to the origin of your passions,” he says, drawing
a round of cheese in the air, “and the circle is round. I’m back to the start.” Its this nod to the “watchmaking art” and the origins of Swiss watchmaking that have defined Biver’s career, making him the erstwhile spokesman of an industry that now owes so much to his efforts and beliefs in the Eighties, when Far Eastern quartz had laid waste to the industry. It was 1981 when he and Jacques Piguet purchased the name “Blancpain” – all that was left of a firm that once supplied watches to American frogmen. Attracted by its claim to be Switzerland’s oldest watchmaker, they rebuilt the brand on the now famous slogan, “Since 1735 there has never been a quartz Blancpain watch. And there never will be.” Blancpain quickly established itself at the vanguard of the industry’s reincarnation, and after a similarly phenomenal turnaround at Omega, Biver joined Hublot in 2004. Despite being one of Switzerland’s younger brands, Biver was too clever to engineer a false heritage – instead, he embraced the collision of traditional watchmaking with the future, “fusing” high-tech materials like ceramic and titanium with mechanics, distinguishing Hublot as the ultimate contemporary watchmaker and attracting LVMH as its new owner. “Take this carbon-fibre Hublot tourbillon I’m wearing,” he says, gesturing exuberantly. “It pleases me because it is a steam locomotive, designed for the wrist. It is the barrier we used to stand on as kids, as the train rushed past. We are in front of a Christmas shop window watching the electric train inside. When you have Christmas every day and a dream on the wrist, what else is there?” As long as he doesn’t mix up his cheese as much as his metaphors, Mr Biver looks to remain the industry’s most inspiring figurehead for a while yet. PORTRAIT BY MAURICE HAAS FOR THE OFFICIAL FERRARI MAGAZINE, ISSUE 25
18
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
DETAILS
TUDOR
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
19
WATERCOLOURS
WATERCOLOURS SUMMER HOLS ARE HERE, WHICH POSES THAT ETERNAL QUESTION: WHICH WATCH? WE THINK VIVID HUES ARE THE ORDER OF THE DAYBED
SEVENFRIDAY
BREITLING
Those with a safe (or, let’s be honest, a sock drawer) full of watches are rightly reluctant to risk damaging their delicate heirlooms on holiday. And SevenFriday is just the answer: a great-value, but robustly built statement piece whose mechanics can be seen ticking away through a highly technical dial display, seemingly inspired by the rear end of a Lamborghini. The P3/01 will also translate from the beach to the bar for sundowners, without having to race back to the hotel for an evening option. Just remember to change out of those soggy bermudas.
It may be better known for its conquest of the skies, but Breitling has proper pedigree beneath the waves too, its Superocean dating from as far back as the late Fifties. This model is bona fide diver’s watch, with bold luminous numerals and a tough-asold-wellies Diver Pro II rubber strap. But that jolly yellow dial ring and Dan Dare typography hints at fun and frolics in the surf, more than serious SCUBA, which makes it the perfect beach buddy.
£825
20 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
£2,370
WATERCOLOURS
BURBERRY Burberry rarely do wrong, and the fashion brand’s recent dive into the Swiss watch game was no exception, despite its doubters. The Britain is just that right blend of laid-back statement style and respectable horological clout, framing its dial in a gorgeously crafted steel case.
£695
GUCCI
HERMÈS
Think Euro-chic, think Gucci – so make sure you opt for the glamourpuss brand’s Dive in steel, with a soft pastel-pink colourwash that’ll have you yearning for a dip in the Med’. Amazingly, it conforms, nay exceeds the ISO 6425 standard for a “proper diver’s watch” being good down to 200m, so you can paddle – sorry, dive – to your heart’s content.
You can’t wear a chunky watch all the time on holiday – certainly if your wrists border on dainty or you don’t intend on actually entering the water. In which case, Hermès is your one-stop shop, for a breezy slice of colourful Parisian whimsy, combined with long-lasting quality. The Heure H’s case is instantly iconic, and that leather strap – well, need we say anymore when it comes to Hermès leather?
£825
£1,550
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
21
WATERCOLOURS
ALPINA
88 RUE DE RHONE
Yet another great-value chunk of Swissmade goodness, from Frédérique Constant’s recently revived, outdoorsy sister brand, Alpina. The Seastrong case is beautifully engineered into that gorgeous cushion shape, capped by a midnight-blue bezel that clicks with addictive tactility. It’s not called Diver 300 Chronograph for nothing, either – it really will dive as far as you can, and its clever gaskets really do mean you can operate the stopwatch pushers while you sink
Rendered in a blue to suit the waters of the Côte d’Azur, with sunset-orange detailing, the Double Origin 8 lives up to 88 Rue du Rhone’s mantra of producing watches of accessible price that do not compromise on quality. Indeed, this under-sells such an exceptionally crafted timepiece, designed – it’s plain to see – with a rigour to make the big boys blush.
£890
22
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
£315
WATERCOLOURS
“Come the summer sun and lazy days by the pool, it’s time to forget you’re British and channel your inner Riviera fashionista. Your choice of watch is a good start...”
ROLEX One of the most collectable Rolex models of all time (bar the Daytona of course), the red and blue ‘Pepsi-dial’ dual-timezone GMTMaster II – first developed with Pan Am pilots in the Fifties – is back with a new and equally desirable black-and-blue Cerachrom bezel – inevitably dubbed “The Bruiser” as soon as it was unveiled. What’s more, it’s still a “steal” given the technology, pedigree, peerless quality and sheer weight of metal packed into this watch. Pair with a summer suit and a pair of Persols.
£5,950
PREVIOUS SPREAD: SUNGLASSES BY TAYLOR MORRIS AND KAFTAN BY MELISSA ODABASH. THIS SPREAD: HAT BY HEIDI KLEIN AND SUNGLASSES BY TAYLOR MORRIS.
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
23
DETAILS
DETAILS
PORTRAIT
TIMING IS EVERYTHING A CHEF, A VIOLINIST, AN F1 PILOT, AN AMERICA’S CUP SKIPPER… IN THEIR VASTLY DIFFERENT WORLDS, TIME IS THE ONLY CONSTANT – AND EVERY SECOND COUNTS
The F1 driver: VALTTERI BOTTAS A driver with the multi-championship-winning Williams team since 2013, Valtteri is a typically pragmatic young Finn with five podiums to his name so far. He wears an Oris Artix GMT Chronograph (£2,280).
DO YOU FIND TIME BEHAVES DIFFERENTLY IN THE COCKPIT? When you drive a new, quicker car for the first time everything seems to move really fast. But your brain gets used to it quickly, everything slows down and then you want more power and to go faster! When you are in the cockpit and really focused on driving, time seems to move faster than it really does. A two-hour race does not seem like that long for us. ARE YOU A PUNCTUAL GUY? Yes, I am always very strict with timings. If the meeting is 1 o’clock I will be there a bit before. I am the kind of person that is never late unless there is a very good reason. HAVE YOU ALWAYS WORN A WATCH, BEFORE YOU STARTED WEARING ORIS? I have always liked watches a lot. I think I got my first watch as a kid, it must have been a Donald Duck watch or something. But since I was about 14 I have always worn proper watches. It’s a habit and now without a watch I feel that something is missing. WHAT’S YOUR CURRENT CHOICE? I wear the Oris motorsport range and of course I really like the Williams F1 model. It’s really comfortable to wear and great quality.
26 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
PORTRAIT
“I play fast passages even faster on stage! All things related to time become more extreme on stage”
The musician: NICOLA BENEDETTI The MBE-appointed BBC Young Musician and Classic BRIT-winning violinist is already one of the most influential classical artists of our time, despite her tender age of 27. She wears a Raymond Weil Toccata (£1,695). DO YOU FIND TIME BEHAVES DIFFERENTLY ON STAGE? These are fascinating questions on a subject we rarely get to discuss, thank you! Yes, “tempo” is extremely relative and changes drastically depending on one’s heartbeat and sense of urgency. In most cases, fast passages I play even faster on stage. All things related to time become more extreme on stage. DO YOU LIKE THE STRICT TIMING THAT MUSIC DEMANDS, OR DO YOU PREFER TO BE MORE “INTERPRETIVE”? To capture both, freedom within a firm understanding of the strictness of time, is what I’m striving for. WHAT’S THE MOST DEMANDING PIECE OF MUSIC YOU PLAY? I am currently learning a newly written violin concerto by jazz musician Wynton Marsalis. Jazz musicians generally have a more complex, or at least very different understanding of time. I can already tell the rhythmical aspects of this piece will be some of its biggest challenges. HAVE YOU ALWAYS WORN A WATCH? I love the look and feel of watches but have to be very careful not to misplace a watch as I do take it off to perform. I will be particularly careful with my diamond-set Toccata now! HOW DID YOU AND RAYMOND WEIL CONNECT? My choice is mostly our connection through a shared interest in music and music education. A company that generally values culture is one I’m intrinsically linked to.
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
27
PORTRAIT
The yachtsman: JIMMY SPITHILL The experienced Australian skipper is leading Team Oracle USA into the 2017 America’s Cup to defend its 2013 title, with his team’s own special-edition Bremont GMT on his wrist. DOES TIME BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY ON DECK? I definitely find that, during the start and in pressure situations, time slows down, to the point of almost being able to hear the watch mechanisms ticking each second. DOES TIMING REMAIN CRITICAL DURING A RACE AFTER “JOSTLING FOR THE LINE” Timing is everywhere, such as getting to our virtual boundaries, timing and execution of the next manoeuvre, to making key tactical decisions.
The master chef: CLAUDE BOSI Flavour, simplicity and elegance are key to Claude’s craft – and continue to earn his Mayfair restaurant Hibiscus two Michelin stars. He wears a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms diving watch (£10,080). DOES TIME BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY IN THE KITCHEN? Time in the kitchen definitely goes faster, accentuated by the level of pressure inside. DO YOU LIKE THE STRICT TIMING THAT COOKING DEMANDS? Strict timing is imperative otherwise that is when chaos happens! WHAT’S MOST TIME-CRITICAL ON HIBISCUS’ MENU? Oakchurch Farm Raspberries, Clotted Cream & Matcha Green Tea. The egg content of this dish puts it in the same precision cooking that a soufflé does. Every second counts towards the overall taste and texture – getting it wrong could completely destroy the dish. DO YOU KEEP TIME WELL? Yes, I try to be as punctual as possible. SO WHY BLANCPAIN? Blancpain stood out to me as showcasing excellent craftsmanship. We share the same pure dedication and precision in our fields.
28 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
ARE YOU A PUNCTUAL GUY? Ha, I try! In this case I can’t blame the watch – it’ll be my fault! HAVE YOU ALWAYS WORN A WATCH? Yes, I was always fascinated with deep-sea diving and aviation and both are heavily reliant on time. Being a sailor, you simply can’t get by without a watch.
DETAILS
30 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
MOTOR CITY GRITTY OUT OF DETROIT’S ASHES RISES THE TIMEKEEPING PHOENIX THAT IS SHINOLA – A REVIVED BLUE-COLLAR BRAND REPLACING CARS WITH WATCHES AS MO’TOWN’S PROUDEST NEW EXPORT
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
31
IN THE FRAME own beyond the name, speak for themselves. It’s actually hard to comprehend how so much heft and downright stylishness is realised for such an accessible pricetag from the delicate pastel dials of the women’s Birdy to the railroad-inspired Brakeman and its bulky cushion case in steel.
“Conceived with the belief they should be built to last by Uncle Sam, Shinola’s are solid Swiss-driven watches, often less than £500” While Kartsotis’s creative director Daniel Caudill (former head of Adidas product design) insists that it is indeed all about this quality and quality alone, it’s hard to deny that Shinola taps keenly into the creative zeitgeist percolating those other former urban wastelands away from Detroit: Brooklyn’s Williamsburg district, Berlin’s East and, yes, the East End of London. But why not? The protagonists of these urban frontiers all possess a keen aesthetic sense as well as a desire for brand integrity, an appreciation for craft and built-to-last resilience. It’s a modern culture whose principles are actually worth cherishing. Each step of the manufacturing process is held to the highest industry standards, creating a timepiece of beauty and precision. As part of their commitment to quality, every watch is guaranteed for life under the terms and conditions of Shinola’s warranty. Buy one, wear it proudly, and never, ever be accused of not knowing your sh*t from your Shinola ever again.
HAND-BUILT BY DETROIT ARTISANS, SHINOLA’S BESTSELLING “RUNWELL” (£475) IS 41MM OF NO-NONSENSE, ROBUSTNESS, WITH A VINTAGE FEEL SPEAKING VIVIDLY OF THAT OLD-WORLD IDEAL: QUALITY THAT LASTS.
As any fan of Steve Martin’s The Jerk will attest, it pays to know your sh*t from your Shinola – the ancient all-American brand, whose shoe polish adorned many a pair of wingtips back in the Sixties, entering the profane parlance as the above counterpoint to just plain dumb. But along with pretty much all of Detroit’s auto-manufacturing industry, Shinola was consigned to dust decades ago. That is, until the whole city was declared bankrupt and one bright spark decided to capitalise on the much-publicised death of good ol’ American-made stuff. Conceived with the belief that their products should be built to last and made by Uncle Sam, the new incarnation of Shinola’s factory sits within the College of Creative Studies – a glorious slice of Art Deco industrialism that once housed General Motor’s research lab, now home to a new wave of industry in Detroit. It is the first company in decades to produce watches at scale in America and its founder, Tom Kartsotis – ex-chief at Fossil no less – has even brought master watchmakers over from Switzerland to
32
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
train their locally recruited workers in the art of fine watchmaking. The result? Solid, Swiss-powered watches, often for less than £500, bringing youngsters off the streets and onto a noble career path in the process. What’s more, it’s so hip it hurts. In a good way of course. Utilitarian, robust timepieces with a vintage feel? Check. Sideline in batteredleather journals and sit-up-and-beg bikes? Check. “Curated” lifestyle ephemera sold in an artisanal coffeeshop with exposed brickwork? Check, check, check. But despite the beards and check shirts, this is one revived American brand doing things properly and “just right”. With real respect for the Homeland’s disparate network of remaining artisans, it deliberately and honestly sources from people like the Hadley-Roma strap atelier in Florida (going since 1905) or the Horween tannery in Chicago and even Waterford Precision Cyles in Wisconsin, who make Shinola’s sister brand Filson’s two-wheelers. And the watches themselves, despite boasting no homegrown lineage of their
Montblanc Heritage Spirit Moonphase and Hugh Jackman Crafted for New Heights The new Montblanc Heritage Spirit Moonphase features the moonphase complication in the spirit of traditional fine watchmaking. Housed in a 39 mm 18 K red gold case, the self-winding Calibre MB 29.14 indicates the moonphase in a crescent-shaped aperture, making this refined timepiece a true lifetime companion. Visit and shop at Montblanc.com
PULLING RANK WAR: WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? WELL, WATCHES ACTUALLY, RECKONS ALEX DOAK, WHO TRACES THE ORIGINS OF MIL-SPEC WRISTWEAR AND TAKES HIS PICK OF THE MODERN PROTAGONISTS
FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: BREMONT WRIGHT FLYER (£17,950) BELL & ROSS VINTAGE WW2 REGULATOR (£4,300) BREITLING CHRONOSPACE (£4,310) ALPINA PILOT HERITAGE (£1,430)
34 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
MILITARY ISSUE
IWC PILOT’S WATCH CHRONOGRAPH TOP GUN MIRAMAR (£9,750) PANERAI RADIOMIR S.L.C. 3 DAYS (£5,700)
It’s a Hollywood “watch moment” that’s alltoo-often forgotten about – overshadowed by James Bond checking his Submariner in Goldfinger or Steve McQueen flashing his blue Monaco in Le Mans. About halfway through Pulp Fiction, with typically unnerving intensity, Christopher Walken’s Captain Koons coaxes a young Butch Coolidge from his cartoons by presenting him with his late father’s one precious heirloom: a gold watch, which Koons had hid in his rectum for two years in a Vietnamese PoW camp. Other than hoping that the Captain had since given it a thorough clean and service, the watchnerds amongst us will notice that Quentin Tarantino’s props team had done well, as Bruce Willis’s character and three generations of Coolidge men before had treasured a genuine WWI “trench” watch, with its signature wire loops soldered to the top and bottom of the case. For it was there on the Western Front that infantrymen crudely modified their pocket watches to allow a strap to be attached, freeing up their hands.
Since then, the theatre of war has remained an incubator for all manner of horological development, from luminescence (step forward Panerai and its dangerously radioactive radium dials of the Thirties) to the rotating bezel (take a bow, Blancpain with its immortal Fifty Fathoms diving watch of 1953). “For deployed ops, ruggedness and functionality are king,” an RAF flight sergeant tells us. “A lot of the commando or infantry’s wristwear – from the lowest ranks right through to the SAS and SBS – tends to be Traser [a little-known offshoot of a Swiss microtech firm] or Casio G-Shock.” “But when the boys and girls get their operational bonuses,” our sergeant says, “they tend to go higher-end. The Royal Marines considered it a real coup to get Bremont to make their 350th anniversary watches. And you’ll find Breitling on the wrist of every Tornado or Typhoon pilot.” Aviation, it seems, is just the right cocktail of Biggles-esque romance mixed with high-octane, Maverick coolness for
pilot watches to remain instrumental to military watch design and – arguably – watchmaking as a whole. Indeed, just six years after Wilbur Wright’s tentative efforts in North Carolina (commemorated last year by the very special Bremont pictured here), the flamboyant aviator pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont asked his friend, the French watchmaker Louis Cartier, to design him a timepiece that he could read quickly without fishing awkwardly for his pocket watch – making pilot watches instrumental to the wristwatch in the first place. When Zenith raided the archives a few years back, it was surprised to discover that it still held the exclusive rights to print the word ‘Pilot’ on its dials. As it transpires, this is a specialism that dates back as far as 1909 when none other than pioneer fly-boy Louis Blériot traversed the English Channel by air, in answer to a challenge set by the Daily Mail. On his wrist? A Zenith of course, “which I use regularly,” he reported, “and cannot recommend highly enough to people in search of precision.”
/CONTD
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
35
MILITARY ISSUE
ZENITH PILOT TYPE 20 GMT (£5,500)
The advance in flight pushed the advancement of aviation watches throughout most of Switzerland’s top brands, with the cardinal rules of crystalclear legibility, easy fiddleability wearing flying gloves and robust construction establishing themselves quickly; all qualities that apply to the rest of the military, from army “field watches” back on the ground, to naval diving watches below the waves. Officine Panerai was more used to manufacturing naval chandlery than watches before the needs of Italy’s elite frogmen in the Thirties led the Florentine kit supplier to start casing up Rolex pocketwatch movements into that immortal, chunky cushion shape – origins echoed by the “S.L.C.” Radiomir pictured, named after the slow-speed “Siluro a Lento Corsa” torpedo that the commandos rode en route to attaching limpet mines to ships’ hulls. Once WWII started in earnest of course, every Swiss, British, French, German and American watchmaker turned to making inexpensive military-issue wristwear for the troops. They were sturdy by their very nature and many have survived to this day, feeding a voracious collector’s market for vintage “milspecs”.
36 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
Post-war, lessons learned were applied to the burgeoning “field watch” genre, inspired by the plucky explorers, scientists and all-round boffins of the Fifties, who demanded precision, antimagnetism and absolutely no nonsense. The Rolex Explorer I has become the all-time classic, but don’t forget Tudor and this year’s North Flag descendant, or Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Geophysic. And with the advancement in SCUBA technology, frogmen started to go deeper and deeper, demanding hardcore diving watches. Hence the aforementioned Blancpain Fifty Fathoms – commissioned for the crack “Nageurs de Combat” unit in ’53 by the recently deceased Bob Maloubier, a rather dashing Frenchman who worked for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the war. Elsewhere in The Watch Gallery’s horological roster you can’t forget IWC and its Pilot’s range, which boasts limited editions officially approved by the real-life Top Gun US Naval School in Florida, but also more traditional pieces with direct lineage back to the Forties and Fifties, when the watchmaker divided its loyalties between the Luftwaffe (see the Big Pilot) and the RAF (see the Mark XVII).
Or – bringing us bang up to date – there’s Bell & Ross of course, whose stock in trade is professional watches and little else. Not only has this relatively youthful Parisian brand wooed the likes of bomb-disposal experts, modern Aéronavale pilots and Parisian SWAT teams, but the design is just so spot-on ice-cool that you’ll find as many Bell & Ross’s on the wrist of architects or hipsters as men of war.
“When the boys and girls get their ops bonuses, they go high-end. You’ll find a Breitling on the wrist of every Typhoon pilot” It’s the hipsters who’ve also brought back the trend for the woven-nylon “NATO” military strap – but that’s a whole other shooting match (sorry), which you’ll read all about in issue 3.
DETAILS
THIS PAGE, SHE WEARS: ZENITH HERITAGE ULTRA-THIN MOONPHASE (£12,800) THIS PAGE, HE WEARS: BREITLING TRANSOCEAN CHRONOGRAPH UNITIME (£23,410) FACING PAGE, LEFT: JAEGER-LECOULTRE GRANDE REVERSO SKELETON (£48,700)
38 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
FACING PAGE, TOP RIGHT: CARTIER SANTOS-DUMONT SKELETON (£37,600) FACING PAGE, BOTTOM RIGHT: ROGER DUBUIS EXCALIBUR FLYING TOURBILLON (£117,200)
PRIVATE VIEWING
TIME TO SHINE
WHEN THE STARS ARE OUT AND THE LIMELIGHT BECKONS, THE RIGHT COCKTAIL WATCH WILL MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
39
PRIVATE VIEWING
“A watch for cocktail hour needn’t be dainty or even dressy – so long as it’s bold and beautiful”
THIS PAGE: PANERAI RADIOMIR 10 DAYS GMT PLATINO (£41,600) FACING PAGE, TOP: MONTBLANC HERITAGE SPIRIT DATE AUTOMATIC (£7,700)
40 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
FACING PAGE, BOTTOM LEFT: HUBLOT BIG BANG UNICO WORLD POKER TOUR (£17,400) FACING PAGE, BOTTOM RIGHT: ROLEX COSMOGRAPH DAYTONA PLATINUM (£65,500)
PRIVATE VIEWING
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
41
PRIVATE VIEWING
“Colourful dials, skeleton movements or a sprinkling of diamonds – they’ll all add sparkle to a soirée, and make you feel like a star (paired with the right dress of course...)”
42 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
THIS PAGE: IWC PORTOFINO MIDSIZE AUTOMATIC MOONPHASE (£10,250) FACING PAGE, LEFT: PIAGET ALTIPLANO AUTOMATIC (£17,100) FACING PAGE, RIGHT, SHE WEARS: AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK LADIES (£24,200) FACING PAGE, RIGHT, HE WEARS: BREGUET TOURBILLON EXTRA PLAT 5377 (£106,800)
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
43
DETAILS
44 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
THIS PAGE: CARTIER RONDE LOUIS CARTIER (£37,900)
INSTORE. ONLINE. MOBILE WWW.THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
46 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
NEW MOVEMENT
SMARTSWISS THE AGE OF THE “CONNECTED” WATCH HAS ARRIVED, SAYS ALEX DOAK, AND SWITZERLAND IS PROVING THAT IT NEEDN’T ALL GO APPLE-SHAPED... “A watch that is made by hand,” enthused Jean-Claude Biver on CNN in February, “can be repaired in a thousand years; whereas a technological watch will be obsolete in probably five.” That as may be, but a month later the bumptious LVMH watch chief and erstwhile industry spokesman was on stage at the Baselworld trade fair alongside David Singleton, director of engineering for Android Wear, and Michael Bell, general manager of Intel’s New Devices Group. The big news being that LVMH’s sportswatchmaker TAG Heuer will soon launch a Swiss smartwatch in partnership with Google and Intel. Since dubbed “Wearable 01”, TAG has even promised that you will be able to keep the watch forever, updating the technology inside as it changes. “After all, let us remember that Chinese proverb,” Biver bellowed into his microphone, with typically gnomic glee. “The dying salmon, it swims with the current; the healthy salmon, however, swims against it.” In other words: Switzerland can’t be caught napping while Apple is poised to seize a large chunk of luxury’s lower-end market (and potentially some of the high end, assuming there are enough people out there happy to spend up to £13,500 on a gold version of a miniaturised iPhone). It happened in the Seventies, when cheap technology from the Far East laid waste to a third of Swiss watch jobs – colloquially known as the “Quartz Crisis”. And with exports now back up to around CHF21bn annually, it cannot happen again. If this year’s sudden flurry of “smart” – or, to use that more relevant moniker, “connected” – watches are anything to go on, a great number of brands more used to crafting high-end mechanical watches are already making sure they don’t suffer a Smart Crisis of their own; which has two
rather fortunate knock-on effects. For one, watch enthusiasts have never had as richer choice of horological delights gleaming from shop windows, from the high-tech to the high-craft. And with Switzerland getting in on the act, the kids in Silicon Valley are being forced to up their game when it comes to design, build and longevity. Remember the first Pebble Watch, roughly shaped and built like a placky USB stick? Exactly. The first hint that major lines of communication have opened between Switzerland and Silicon Valley was earlier this year at the SIHH fair in Geneva. There, Montblanc took everyone by surprise with its TimeWalker Urban Speed e-Strap, which combined a traditional mechanical watch with a separate OLED-screen Bluetooth dongle (sold separately for around €300), showing notifications and keeping track of your daily exertions. But it took until Baselworld for the advent of the truly integrated, connected luxury watch – the first being Frédérique Constant’s pre-Basel teaser: the so-called Horological Smartwatch (from £870). Of all the new launches, this captures the tone of “SmartSwiss” the best: a traditionally styled, traditionally crafted watch, which doesn’t try to compete with the tech giants’ smartwatches – rather, utilising Bluetoothconnected mobile tech in an alternative, but equally viable way, to enhance your lifestyle. In Frédérique Constant’s case, its new smart-tech factory in Geneva, set up in partnership with California’s FullPower Technologies, makes fitness-tracker watches with proprietary “MotionX” technology – already selling downstream to a third party (Mondaine’s Helvetica watches). Another, rather more likely entry to this brave new world of high-end connected watches is Breitling, which already makes
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
47
NEW MOVEMENT
THE HOROLOGICAL SMARTWATCH, EXCLUSIVE TO THE WATCH GALLERY (£870). POWERED BY “MOTIONX” TECH, IT’S A FITNESS TRACKER IN A PROPER, TRADITIONALLY CRAFTED SWISS WATCH, WITH THE COUNTER AT 6 O’CLOCK INDICATES THE PERCENTAGE OF YOUR GOAL
its own cutting-edge quartz movements to kit out a range of professional-spec, digital aviator watches. Indeed, its top-end B50 Cockpit is so packed with functionality that it was practically crying out for a mobile app that disseminated all the info and settings, rather than learning which crowns to twiddle where. And lo, the Breitling B55 Connected prototype was unveiled – a brilliantly intuitive “instrument for the wrist”, fully adjustable and controllable from your phone. Just make sure you don’t leave it till mid-sortie to calibrate, joystick in one hand, iPhone in the other. Elsewhere at Baselworld, Bulgari had everyone scratching their heads over a conceptual watch (there were a lot of “concepts” around, needless to say) that acts as an encrypted key to your secure digital data, stored in an actual Swiss military bunker. And on the other side of
48 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
the exhibition stand, we were even more surprised to discover Will.i.am, who was making his “voice” heard at Gucci. The Black Eyed Pea’s Los Angeles-based i.am+ enterprise has worked with the fashion brand’s Swiss factory on a new concept in wearable tech, in keeping with this year’s swathe of smartness. But speaking at the press conference, Mr Adams (as his bank manager knows him) reckoned the new concept could come to define the more fashionable end of the Swiss smartwatch category, adding yet more layers to the burgeoning “connected” onion by saying, “I coined the term ‘fashionology’; a merging of the worlds of fashion and technology.” What’s remarkable here is that no one – not even Monsieur Biver – knows whether watches connected to your phone are the right way to go yet. As someone who
“With Switzerland getting in on the act, the Silicon Valley kids are being forced to up their horological game” quickly limited his Apple Watch to the weekly jog after just a week of “time to stand up!” alerts (alerts, or nags?) I can safely say that a physical shackle to the ether can be more stressful than convenient. But what’s brilliant about Switzerland’s reaction to the concept has been its instant innovation, resourcefulness and imagination. Biver’s healthy salmon still has some swimming to do, but it’s in good shape.
DETAILS
HIS ’N’ HERS BACK TO YOURS OR MINE? WHEREVER THE NIGHT TAKES YOU BOTH, MAKE SURE YOU CREATE THE BEST IMPRESSION WITH WHATEVER ENDS UP ON THE DRESSER…
50 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
STILL LIFE
HE WORE: HUBLOT CLASSIC FUSION ROSE GOLD (£23,200) SHE WORE: VACHERON CONSTANTIN HISTORIQUES AMERICAN 1921 (£26,150)
STILL LIFE
“When it comes to co-ordinating with each other, think ‘complementary’, over ‘matchy matchy’...”
SHE WORE: ROLEX COSMOGRAPH DAYTONA (£25,100) HE WORE: AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK CHRONOGRAPH (£40,000)
52
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
DETAILS
SHE WORE: JUNGHANS MAX BILL LADIES QUARTZ (£475) HE WORE: MAURICE LACROIX ELIROS CHRONOGRAPH QUARTZ (£680)
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
53
DETAILS
54 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
DETAILS
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
55
BAUME & MERCIER CLASSIMA EXECUTIVE Clean, classic, with heritage and hardcore Swiss watchmaking at heart, it’s difficult to fathom how Baume & Mercier manage such a low pricepoint here, especially given that the automatic mechanical movement inside can be found powering watches three times the price. Perfect at the weekend, as well as at the office, so you’re almost getting a two-for-one deal too.
£1,550
56 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
AFFORDABLE ART
ALL ACCOUNTED FOR THE DAYS OF BANK-BUSTING BLING-BLING CARBUNCLES ARE NUMBERED – THESE DAYS THE SMART MONEY IS ON AFFORDABLE SWISS WATCHES… AND WE’VE BEEN WEIGHING UP YOUR OPTIONS UNDER £2,000 It’s easy to be wowed by the fireworks of haute horlogerie – as much by its top-end timepieces’ pricetags as the mesmerising acrobatics their exquisitely crafted micromechanics perform. But, as Tissot’s François Thiebauld is famed for saying, that’s all very well, but the baker only makes cakes on Sunday – for the other six days, he must make bread. Which isn’t to say that Switzerland’s “normal” output is as mundane as our daily staple – far from it, in fact. With our recent financial crisis, luxury consumers have not curtailed their shopping, but they have demanded more integrity, value and transparency from their brands. And the watch world has responded in kind, plundering the archives for simpler designs – mostly found in the Fifties and Sixties, which is clearly a Good Thing – as well as sourcing base movements more economically and letting you know where
these movements come from (a notoriously grey area in the closeted Swiss industry), plus generally being forced by competition to narrow margins and design more cleverly. As a result of these market pressures, the brands’ finest minds in R&D have been diverted from big-ticket pantomime projects to the entry-level collections. And with a budget in mind rather than a clever-clever headline grabber, you’re consequently getting a better-than-ever choice of proper Swiss watch for less than that psychological plimsoll line of £2,000. So here’s our pick of the pieces that’ll perfectly balance your chequebook with bang-for-your-buck, bona fide horology. /CONTD
ORIS DIVERS SIXTY FIVE
JUNGHANS MEISTER CHRONOSCOPE
Just out of focus here was, for many, a big highlight of this year’s Baselworld launches: a reissue of a 1965 diver’s watch, with gorgeously retro, “patinated” numerals and a crystal dome that curves voluptuously into the waterproof case. An automatic movement drives proceedings and the rubber strap is tough but soft on the skin. All of which makes the below number baffling.
The German manufacturer uses base Swiss movements to keep its pricetag low, but there’s always a premium with design this achingly cool… which doesn’t seem to have been applied here. First built in the 1930s and improved by further refinements into the 1960s today, you’ll score top rakish points with this on your wrist… especially twinned with a pair of tortoiseshell Wayfarers and Gucci loafers.
£1,150
£1,550
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
57
AFFORDABLE ART
ALPINA STARLINER PILOT CHRONOGRAPH
TAG HEUER AQUARACER
MONTBLANC STAR CLASSIQUE
It doesn’t always have to be clean and classic – while this butch piece from Alpina certainly serves a brutally functional purpose as a pilot’s instrument. Its pricepoint means that you can invest lightly into a fun statement piece that’ll switch up your watch wardrobe with bang-on-trend khaki military strap and “patinated” numerals. Biggles would be proud.
Jason Bourne and Steve McQueen wore TAG Heuers, so why should you question wearing one? Exactly. And what’s more, this example goes one better than either of the screen idols’ watches, being a proper certified diving watch – good to 300m below the waves, which is more than Bourne could manage before being shot.
With the arrival of former JaegerLeCoultre CEO Jerôme Lambert at the helm, Montblanc’s previously disparate watchmaking has never felt more coherent or “on brand” and this beautiful piece is case in point. Retaining the Germanic classicism that the Hamburg penmaker has perfected through its iconic fountain pens, the Swiss build combines with timeless elegance.
£745
58 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
£1,600
£1,605
AFFORDABLE ART
TUDOR HERITAGE RANGER
RAYMOND WEIL MAESTRO
Imbued with the pioneering spirit of the far north and epic tales of sled dogs braving frozen conditions, Tudor’s classic field watch gets a new lease of life with this robust bit of no-nonsense kit, fitted with a high-grade automatic calibre and paired perfectly with a chunky stitched strap that’ll gain a swarthy patina over the years.
Exquisitely refined, inspired as it is by classical music, the “clou de Paris” patterned dial, luxurious rose-gold-plated case and dapper black-leather strap all add up to a suave timepiece for the man about town. And despite all this packaging up a high-grade Swiss mechanical movement, you’re out by less than a grand. Impressive.
£1,940
£995
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
59
ROCK STEADY DIAMONDS ARE SO OFTEN SEEN AS MERE ICING ON THE HOROLOGICAL CAKE. BUT AS LAURA MCCREDDIE EXPLAINS, THE ARTISTRY IN GEMSETTING A WATCH OFTEN OUTSTRIPS HAUTE JOAILLERIE ITSELF
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
61
THE ARTIST Watch connoisseurs are generally suspicious of stones on a watch. For some reason, it isn’t deemed proper or befitting of a serious watch. Gemsetting is viewed as a flashy cabaret; a fur coat that presumes the metaphorical lack of knickers. (Knickers, in this case, being, say, a highend mechanical movement or innovative design.) However, as more maisons are choosing to incorporate precious stones into their “proper” watch collections, many customers are having to re-evaluate their prejudices. After all, it can take up to six years of training to acquire the dexterity and mastery required to perform complex settings such as snow-setting, says Stéphane Belmont, creation and marketing executive director at Jaeger-LeCoultre – a house that produces some exquisite high-jewellery watches as well as incorporating stones into its core collection to dazzling effect. A house, also, that has made huge strides to bring other, near-defunct handicrafts back in house and back to life, such as enamelling and engraving. “We don’t have any specific source where we hire our stone-setters from,” he says. “Some of them were already working for Jaeger-LeCoultre as watchmakers or in precision arts such as decorating or engraving, but we also hired stone-setters directly from jewellery makers who were looking for a new challenge. The only thing they have in common is their passion and talent for gemsetting.” And talent is certainly needed to perfect this craft. To go back to basics for a moment, in jewellery terms, the most common setting is the claw; if you have a solitaire engagement ring on your left hand, the chances are it will be set this way. The stone sits in a mount with four lengths of metal forming four corners of a square. The ends of these are pressed down on to the stone to secure it. The better the quality of the jewellery the more unobtrusive these claws will be. Although claw settings are used in watches, here the most prolific setting is “grain”, which you will invariably see on anything that has been fully pavé-ed. The stone sits on the base plate, the metal forming a perpendicular wall surrounding it and tiny claws, or “grains” are pushed in to secure the stone – just visible in between.
This is perfectly serviceable, but it doesn’t let the light enter the stone from behind, which limits its sparkle. To get that maximum sparkle means “invisible” settings – where grooves in the stone’s girdle (the edge where the top and bottom meet) lock into a metal framework making them appear to sit side by side creating a solid surface of stones. This is a technique that is hard enough when creating a bracelet but becomes infinitely more challenging when applied to the undulating contours of a watch case. On top of basic setting, the major differences between what works best on timepieces and what works with jewellery also come with their own particular challenges. Firstly the water resistance has to be preserved, while still making sure the stones are still placed on the dial in a way that is aesthetically appealing. Then, in the case of full-pavé, there is ensuring that all the stones fit, correctly spaced, into their predetermined holes, otherwise the work has to be unpicked and redone. If you’re a setter at Piaget, you have to contend with the brand’s passion for thinness, which, explains creative director Franck Touzeau, “means using the minimum amount of gold available, requiring more dexterity from the setter.” It isn’t as if modern technological advancements are making things any easier for setters, either. You may have better microscopes, but stones and the metals they sit in are still subject to nature’s vagaries. “There are many challenges with setting,” says Touzeau. “Pieces in platinum, for example, are more difficult as the material is more ‘sticky’. Coloured stones are also more difficult to set: emeralds
are softer and may break, while baguette sapphires, rubies or black diamonds also require more care and attention.” Then you have the added headache of watch brands wanting stones set into hardto-manipulate materials such as ceramic, which is what Chanel somehow achieved with its skeletonised J12, launched at this year’s Baselworld fair. “Imagining and producing a set watch is more constraining than a piece of jewellery,” says Belmont. “The creative process and the realisation of these kinds of watches are really complex. It becomes a delicate balance of teamwork between our stone-setters, watchmakers and designers.” Which is why many watch brands stick to a “one watch, one setter” ethos, especially when it comes to the more complex designs. So next time you’re out shopping for a watch and your attention is drawn to a piece covered in diamonds, maybe you’ll actually take the time to appreciate the craftsmanship, instead of just nonchalantly flipping it over to see what’s through the caseback.
SET PIECES You already know your baguette from princess, but what about those all-important settings..? SNOW SETTING
Where the stones themselves dictate the pattern in which they are arranged, meaning that it isn’t sketched out in advance but designed straight onto the piece. The stones, invariably different in size and sometimes cut, are placed side by side. You can also have a “chaotic” snow setting, where the stones are set at various angles. The effect it gives is as if the stones are melting into each other. As it is done “freehand”, one slip and the whole piece is ruined.
CLOSED SETTING
According to Belmont this is the most difficult to do on a watch. For this a thin metal strip has pockets put into it that hold the stone in place. No part of the stone below the girdle is seen. The stones have to sit in their specifically allotted spaces, so the design is mapped out in advance. It is called a “closed” setting because there is metal at the back of the stone.
CHANNEL SETTING
The stones are held in a grooved channel between two metal rails. This is great for stones that are uniformly cut.
PAVÉ
Caught you out! Pavé is a “paved” appearance, not a setting…
62 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
DETAILS
PREVIOUS PAGE: SETTING THE CASE OF JAEGER-LECOULTRE’S ICONIC, REVERSIBLE REVERSO. FACING PAGE: PIAGET’S LIMELIGHT AURA (£POA), ITS CASE ALONE SET WITH 26 EMERALD-CUT AND 14 BAGUETTE DIAMONDS. THIS PAGE: THE GEMSETTING ATELIER AT JAEGER-LECOULTRE’S LE SENTIER MANUFACTURE, WITH AN ENGRAVING TOOL SAT BY A REVERSO CASE. (PHOTO: JOHANN SAUTY)
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
63
IN THE FRAME
ME TIME: Adrian Maronneau Adrian is Director of Buying & Merchandising, at The Watch Gallery. He talks living between two cities and designing iconic watches... INTERVIEW BY EMILY SEARES HOME IS… I’m fortunate enough to divide my time between two frankly amazing cities: London and Paris. London has given me so much for which I shall be eternally grateful. The city has an edge, which combined with a wild pace, creates a buzz that I am just addicted to. Having said all that, as fashion editor Diana Vreeland once said: “The best thing about London is Paris!”
WHAT’S ON YOUR WRIST RIGHT NOW? I’ve been in the buying trade for over a decade, so I’m very lucky to have accumulated an eclectic collection of watches. I wear a stylish Montblanc Timewalker chronograph most days, which sometimes I neglect for an understated Maurice Lacroix Eliros chronograph. When I’m in a more ostentatious mood, I’ll rock a decadent Cartier Santos 100 or a statement Bell & Ross BR03.
64 THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
CAREER DEFINING MOMENT? I’m really proud of the wonderful limited editions we have curated for The Watch Gallery over the past 3 years. My passion is product, so for me to have a key part in the creation of a bespoke watch is just the most exciting part of the job. Orchestrating the opening of our Rolex boutique at London’s One Hyde Park, the largest in Europe, was also great fun.
“Working in the watch business is such a unique experience, but the real highlights are the people you meet along the way.”
FAVOURITE TIME OF DAY? Well, I’m French so it would be insane for me to try to deny that my favourite time of the day is not “aperitif o’clock”. This is roughly 7 pm, or when night falls, depending on which one comes first (and wherever I am in the world) about an hour later than “pub time”.
If I have to select one defining moment it would be this year at Basel. Marcus Margulies, an absolute legend in the watch world and a man I have been fortunate enough to have learnt so much from over the last 12 years, told me: “Adrian, it’s so nice to see you looking like a gentleman”. I must be doing something right.
DETAILS
ME TIME
THEWATCHGALLERY.COM
65
ROLEX, BY THE WATCH GALLERY, ONE HYDE PARK 100 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7LJ Tel: 0207 292 0345
THE WATCH GALLERY, SELFRIDGES LONDON 400 Oxford Street, London, W1A 1AB Tel: 020 7318 3830
THE WATCH GALLERY, WESTFIELD LONDON The Village - Westfield London, Ariel Way, London, W12 7GD Tel: 020 7292 1245
THE WATCH GALLERY, CHELSEA 129 Fulham Road, London, SW3 6RT Tel: 020 7952 2731
THE WATCH GALLERY, SELFRIDGES MANCHESTER 1 Exchange Square, Manchester, M3 1BD Tel: 0161 838 0660
WWW.THEWATCHGALLERY.COM