Nine years ago, in a piece in the BHI’s Horological Journal, Derek Pratt FBHI set out a history of double-wheel escapements. The article encapsulated many ideas and approaches, from Breguet’s échappement naturel, to Daniels’ Independent Double-Wheel and Co-Axial Escapements, and described Derek’s own work to further develop these ideas into the Soluthurn* pocket watch in 1997. …
Nostalgia is generally defined as a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time. I doubt I’ll feel much nostalgia for 2017, but I am increasingly feeling nostalgic towards earlier, perhaps simpler times. While the …
Disclosure: there is no financial relationship between the #watchnerd and Andersen Genève. I paid for my own travel and accommodation during my visit to Geneva in January 2017. If you wander away from the centre of Geneva along the Rhône, past the big hotels and the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices, you might stumble upon Andersen Genève’s atelier. …
Disclosure: there is no financial relationship between the #watchnerd and Time4APint. Sometimes it’s best just to admit when you’re wrong. And I’m almost *always* wrong. As way of apology, here are a few links, errata and other information to assist you in navigating through the mess I created of Chris Mann’s rather lovely podcast series, …
Disclosure (click for Disclosure statement): no money, services or payment in kind was received in return for writing this completely unbidden ‘blog post. The Ocean 2000, designed by Ferdinand Porsche and released by IWC in 1982, is one of a dozen or so truly iconic dive watches*. With its offset crown and pebble-like titanium case, there’s a strange other-worldly characteristic to the …
Disclosure: I received a Press Pass for SalonQP 2015. In November 2015, during Salon QP, Ian Skellern moderated a discussion between three independent watchmakers: Stephen Forsey; Bart Grönefeld; and Roger W Smith. What follows is a brief account of what was said, with thoughts, illustrations and links that some might find interesting / helpful. Putting …
Disclosure: there is no financial relationship between the #watchnerd and Agenhor SA. I paid for my own travel and accommodation during my visit to Geneva in January 2017. During the visit, I was presented with a jar of Cenovis; I also presented Jean-Marc with a jar of Marmite. It appears that we have a shared love …
Disclosure: there is no financial relationship between the #watchnerd and MB&F. I paid for my own travel and accommodation during my visit to SIHH in January 2017, having been provided with a two-day Visitor pass by the Richemont Group. In the latter part of the 19th century, as museums became more popular, their curators struggled to portray the …
There’s a thread that runs through many of my posts, but one I rarely mention: luxury. Luxury is often defined as an “inessential, desirable item which is expensive or difficult to obtain”, but over the past decade, it’s become less about the money (perhaps) and even less about the materials. Rather, luxury appears to have regressed, …
It started, as it always seems to nowadays, during the final weeks of the previous year: pre-SIHH announcements littered December, as the Richemont brands clambered to fill the dead space of the Holiday Season. IWC updated the Aquatimer range with new colour ways, while Jaeger-LeCoultre teased the Reverso Tribute Duo for the 85th anniversary of …