Conversation pieces

Conversation pieces

THE WATCH FILES

Conversation pieces

Are these timepieces works of art destined ultimately for museums? Some of them, perhaps. Or are they conversation pieces, worn with affected casualness and keen attention as to their effect? Whatever their true status, present or future, these watches – most of them costing a fortune – all affirm that watchmaking is very much alive; they represent a challenge, propose improvements and in some cases even pave the way to the future.

TAOS, beautiful beginnings

TAOS, beautiful beginnings

Watchmaker Olivier Gaud, artisan Olivier Vaucher and artist Dominique Vaucher are the founders of TAOS. Together they create artisan watches that show off (...)

Jacob & Co. targets the next generation with the Jean Bugatti

Jacob & Co. targets the next generation with the Jean Bugatti

The new Jean Bugatti watch marks a departure from the XXL style of Jacob & Co, while still being extremely complex to build. Its launch coincides with (...)

Chopard: the consecration of L.U.C.

Chopard: the consecration of L.U.C.

STORY

Chopard’s “brand within the brand” celebrates its 25th anniversary this year with a trilogy of chiming watches that showcase the expertise acquired over a (...)

Vianney Halter: the Deep Space Resonance Prototype

Vianney Halter: the Deep Space Resonance Prototype

Vianney Halter introduces a new technical breakthrough at the heart of his 3-axis tourbillon with the Deep Space Resonance. The “space and time travel” (...)

When Hermès lets out an Aaaaaargh!

When Hermès lets out an Aaaaaargh!

HUMOUR AND HAUTE HORLOGERIE

Having uttered a frightening “Grrrrr!” then howled an “Awooooo” to the moon, Hermès has just let out a wild “Aaaaargh”! The horological bestiary of one of the (...)

Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer

Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer

Bernhard Lederer, inceptor of numerous breakthroughs in watchmaking and creator of extraordinary tourbillons, returns to center stage with a new collection (...)

Konstantin Chaykin Mars Conqueror Mk3 Fighter Project

Konstantin Chaykin Mars Conqueror Mk3 Fighter Project

One way or another, sooner or later, in order to survive, humanity will have to expand out into the universe - and the prospect of flying to Mars has never (...)

Jacob & Co. introduces the Opera Scarface

Jacob & Co. introduces the Opera Scarface

Brian De Palma’s Scarface from Universal Pictures had an incredible impact on entire generations of people all around the world. Memorable lines from the (...)

Jacob & Co. Astronomia Fleurs de Jardin Rainbow

Jacob & Co. Astronomia Fleurs de Jardin Rainbow

Long seen as a beacon of hope at the end of a storm, rainbows have prevailed throughout history as the universal symbol for optimism. Look to the future (...)

Jacob & Co. X Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon

Jacob & Co. X Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon

Ever since the first automobiles competed for the fastest times, watches and cars have been inexorably linked. Car aficionados love watches, reveling in (...)

Chopard: the flight of the Alpine Eagle

Chopard: the flight of the Alpine Eagle

NEW COLLECTION

Launching a new collection is always a delicate exercise. With the Alpine Eagle – inspired by a watch from 1980 – Chopard intends to further expand its range (...)

Vacheron Constantin Twin Beat

Vacheron Constantin Twin Beat

CONVERSATION PIECES

A perpetual calendar is meant to show at least the hours, minutes, date, month and leap years up to 2100, theoretically without human intervention. Except (...)

Richard Mille Bonbon Collection

Richard Mille Bonbon Collection

CONVERSATION PIECES

What a diabolically clever man, this Richard Mille. While for most watchmakers, the arts and crafts perpetuate a very outdated, eighteenth-century-style (...)

TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph

TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph

CONVERSATION PIECES

“R&D is about creating Substance,” - Guy Sémon speaks about the highly innovative carbon nanotube hairspring of the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T (...)

Bovet 1822 Récital 26 Brainstorm® Chapter One

Bovet 1822 Récital 26 Brainstorm® Chapter One

CONVERSATION PIECES

Watches are designed to write the time before our very eyes. So why not base its shape on a writing slope?

Jaeger-Lecoultre Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpétuel

Jaeger-Lecoultre Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpétuel

CONVERSATION PIECES

Jaeger-LeCoultre gets straight to the point: “We have created a truly wearable Gyrotourbillon, bringing high complication out of the watch safe and onto the (...)

F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Vertical

F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Vertical

CONVERSATION PIECES

At first glance, you might think that this tourbillon, fixed vertically in a “light shaft” pierced through the dial, is a simple choice of aesthetics, as we (...)

Chopard L.U.C Flying T Twin

Chopard L.U.C Flying T Twin

CONVERSATION PIECES

Karl-Friederich Scheufele is a man of determination and takes all the time necessary to achieve his objective. This much is evident from the gradual (...)

Hermès Arceau L'heure De La Lune

Hermès Arceau L’heure De La Lune

CONVERSATION PIECES

With its Le temps suspendu watch in particular, which has become uniquely emblematic of a manner of playing poetically and philosophically with the very (...)

Dolce & Gabbana graduate to alta orologeria

Dolce & Gabbana graduate to alta orologeria

STRATEGY

Having divested themselves from the D&G fashion watches that were manufactured by the Binda Group, Dolce & Gabbana have moved into the high-end (...)

Hermès: less stress, more emotion

Hermès: less stress, more emotion

SLIM D’HERMÈS L’HEURE IMPATIENTE

With Le Temps Suspendu, and then L’Heure Masquée, Hermès introduced us to a new way of coping with time, by suspending the inexorable march of the hands (...)