Ontario Government Passes Legislation to Make Daylight Time Permanent
“Ontario is now poised to lead the way on ending this outdated practice”
A Candid Audio Interview with Philippe Dufour
A living legend in the world of watchmaking, interviewed by a living legend in the watch journalism space, Jack Forster.
A nice overview of the UV-LIGA tech Rolex quietly introduced into their in-house 4130 chronograph caliber a few years back
w4t.ch
New-old-stock parts & vintage watchmaking tools.
Inside the Workshops of Akrivia
with the brand’s founder, Rexhep Rexhepi.
Unique, swiveling pocket watch case design by Seth Kennedy
Fingerspitzengefühl
Closing in on 300
One of the oldest watch brands in the world, 283-year-old Favre-Leuba is still ticking.
Inside 'The Collective’
An interview with Asher Rapkin from Collective Horology, a private forum of collectors with access to exclusive watch collaborations.
Storied Surrey Street Clock to be Restored by Norwich Watchmakers
Resonance & the Pursuit of Precision
From Christiaan Huygens & Antide Janvier to François-Paul Journe.
Reaching the Top
“Owning a Dufour practically means that there is very little, if anything at all, that could top such a watch." – Magnus Bosse
Watchmaking in Pandemic Times
Jordan Ficklin, former Executive Director of the AWCI, offers some thoughts on work-from-home for watchmakers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Last Cabinotier of Saint Gervais
Dutch graphic designer Sander Flink's playful typography makes clever use of negative space
The Rise of the Watch Museum
Keeping the Queen on Time
On the job with Windsor Castle's fourth horological conservator, Fjodor van den Broek.
Calgary's Historic City Hall Clock a Little Out of Sorts
500 Years of Watchmaking
A new exhibit showcasing centuries of watch-craft, in partnership with Vacheron Constantin, opens in Oxford, England.
Richard Mille Opens Its First Official Pre-Owned Boutique
Set in London's swanky Mayfair neighbourhood.
The Ultimate Speedmaster
Brice Goulard digs into Omega's reissue of the revered caliber 321, in its faithfully remastered stainless steel guise.
How Bond Made the Submariner Rolex's Most Iconic Timepiece
“Like Connery remains the most emblematic Bond, the Submariner remains Rolex's most emblematic model.”
The Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers
How a chance meeting between Roger W. Smith & Mike France, of Christopher Ward, brought Britain's horologists together.
A Literal Living Legend
Philippe Dufour’s latest ‘Simplicity’ sells for $1,500,000 USD. The most ever paid for a timepiece made by a living, independent watchmaker.
A rare peek inside Tudor’s design & manufacturing facilities
“Even James Bond couldn’t resist swapping his standard-issue Rolex for a Pulsar at the start of Live and Let Die”
Hamilton reissues its once groundbreaking LED watch, now with an OLED display.
Why Books Matter
Seth Godin digs into why books transcend both space and time, the value of their inherent focus, & the leverage they can imbue.
Philippe Dufour Rekindles the Beauty of Simplicity
The Blueprint Dial
A literally & figuratively transparent dial design from Zenith.
Armin Strom’s charming Lady Beat
Pragmatically, it would be better to have the dial on the right-hand side. However, aesthetically speaking, that would lend the watch a wholly different experience.
Lighting dials on fire at Donzé Cadrans
Inside one of the most famous & fabled of all the grand feu enamel dial manufactures in the industry.
The essence of innovation as practised by Rolex
Impromptu Storytelling
Storytelling is a powerful tool. According to this piece in Forbes, the power of story can even be used to overcome imposter syndrome.
Coral Gardening
Hope for our coral reefs.
At the turn of the millennium, the Richemont Group paid Audemars Piguet CHF 280,000,000 for their share of Jaeger-LeCoultre
A wandering mind is an unhappy mind
.pdf According to research by Daniel Gilbert et al, in stark contrast to flow, a mind bereft of purpose quickly devolves towards discontent
A technically & visually interesting evolution on the ETA 6498, by Keaton Myrick
A less simple Simplicity
Sustainably Scottish
Marloe Watch Company aims to bring watchmaking back to Scotland through an environmentally sustainable workspace on the outskirts of the Scottish Highlands.
“A new movement is often the overture to a symphony"
The latest in-house caliber from Oris boasts a 5-day power reserve along with a silicon pallet fork & escape wheel.
Phishers hack Instagram account of Jean-Claude Biver
An unusual & extremely minimal take on the concept of a wandering hours watch
The likewise novel & minimal strap attachment leaves lots of room for improvement.
Beyond Ken Kocienda's Solar face that shipped with the original Apple Watch, Geoff McFetridge's Artist face is one of the first to truly begin to explore the boundary pushing potential of the device
The first time that the thought of a constantly evolving watch face ever crossed my mind occurred while touring a small exhibit of digital works at the British Museum back in 2004, coincidentally, the exhibit also included a profile on Jony Ive & some of his design work for Apple up to that point
The Watchmaking Wizard Who Doesn’t Like Watches
The New York Times shines some long overdue light on the whirlwind work of Eric Coudray
Philippe Dufour Simplicity No. 100 Sells for $662,698
A Moderately Less Simple Simplicity
Dressing planned obsolescence up in a biodegradable outfit does not make it sustainable
The mechanism inside the Sistem51 is riveted together. It cannot be serviced. Its “single screw” is a misleading marketing ploy.
Interesting take on a mobile stud carrier for a free-sprung balance by Christian Lass
A secret 'man cave' under New York City's Grand Central Terminal
While not nearly as elaborate, this reminds me a little of the Untergunther's secret hideout used during the clandestine restoration of the Pantheon clock in Paris
Swatch Group temporarily shuts down several systems on the heels of a cyberattack over the weekend
The industrial design team behind Lego's new paper packaging
L.A.-based RKS
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
The Mother of Pulsars
A watch that runs on water
JLC Master Ultra Thin Knife Watch for the forthcoming film, The King's Man
The fixed bow to allow for the strap to attach securely at the 12 o'clock position, coupled with the manually wound watch caliber & tiny crown, is unlikely to make for a pleasant owner experience as an everyday watch
Closing the loop
Adventures in pinning down the correct size for Apple's new Solo Loop watch bands, by John Gruber
Solid tips—both literally & figuratively—for micro-engraving
If you're a company or manufacturer looking to make your products last longer (and you should be), iFixit is stepping up its game to help
Twelve
A dodecagon inspired watch by Naoto Fukasawa for Issey Miyake
Why we sleep
An antique scroll-map navigator small enough to fit on the wrist
The Plus Four Wristlet Route Indicator from the 1920s
The New York Times touches on the tip of the iceberg as to why the process of getting a watch serviced today has become unnecessarily arduous
Goodbye planned obsolescence, hello longevity
The Optimist Toaster
Beat rate & power reserve
The two main differences between ETA calibers 6497-1 & 6497-2
"Nothing piques the interest of the high-end collector like being told they can't have something"
Jack Forster delves into the groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind, not-for-sale, T0 Constant Force Concept Tourbillon from Grand Seiko
Time may fly & eggs may be forever, but the real question is which came first? The incredibly quirky, Egg Master Watch
Magnetic bracelets & watches do not good bedfellows make.
While this minimalist magnetic bracelet from Crossover Industries may be super handy for holding stitch markers when knitting & accessorizes nicely with a minimalist timepiece in the promo shots, it's pretty much guaranteed to kill the accuracy of—if not downright stop—the quartz watch it's pictured with.
“Escapement design is something horologists have been fiddling with for 500 or so years, but while many are called, few are chosen, and the timeline of horology is littered with the sad, silent, inert corpses of escapements which enjoyed, as it were, a brief moment in the sun”
Jack Forster takes a deep dive into the world of escapements
The IWC Cyberloupe
I hacked together my own version of this around 2009. IWC’s take in 2020 is much more compact & refined. I’m looking forward to where this goes as augmented reality tech develops further.
Jens Olsen’s Astronomical Clock
Restored by Soren Andersen
Affolter CNC gear cutting machines for the horological industry
An in-depth discussion covering their microbrand’s early explorations & experimentation with precision gear cutting at Nicholas Hacko in Australia
Inside the watchmaking studio of Luc Monnet
With insight into his frosting & polishing techniques around the 9:05 & 16:30 marks
Intriguing to learn that the alchemist, Maria the Jewess, was likely the first person to create niello (a black silver) as well as the invent the concept of a double boiler
Now 69, Jean-Claude Biver to begin scaling back his role overseeing Louis-Vuitton/Moët/Hennessy-owned watch brands TAG Heuer, Zenith, & Hublot
This counterfeit has a faux balance bridge glued in place over top of the actual balance cock, likewise for the “screw” at the center of the oscillating weight.
“I don’t know if that’s going to be dozens of lives or thousands, but no matter the number, that’s really a hell of a thing.”
John Gruber on the lifesaving potential of Apple Watch Series 4. I agree.
‘Matic’
A multi-script type family inspired by typography from vintage timepieces, thoughtfully crafted by Lee Yuen-Rapati
Thanks to Rene Ritchie’s insights & experience interviewing in this sphere, Episode 157 of Vector serves up an excellent compliment to Ken Kocienda’s new book Creative Selection
Vaucher seems to be the movement maker of choice for up-and-coming independent watchmakers as of late
RT @OffHours: EP 25: A Box of Bandaids
Chris’ first watch is taking shape. He and Jon chat through some of the process so far and where th…
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Still my favourite sundial
Dual processor chip architecture from Qualcomm promises to deliver always-on displays for smartwatches
Took me longer than it should have to diagnose that the position of this casing screw was what was keeping the minutes from chiming on this minute repeater
Far from the most important or insightful aspect of @elonmusk’s wide-ranging interview with @joerogan, it was interesting to catch a billionaire genius’ perspective on watches around 2 hours in
A magical episode of Talking Watches
After sales service is a challenging needle to thread. Few companies truly excel here. For the few who do, though, it pays dividends.
“This isn’t a great feeling as a customer — that they’re not only not taking my word that I didn’t do anything to it, but that they’re analyzing my Watch as if it were the Zapruder film.”
Some insight into the structure & manufacturing capabilities of Schwarz Etienne
A handy round-up of where to buy watch straps, by Paul Hubbard
RT @OffHours: EP 24: Renaissance Version of a Twitter Troll
Jon and Chris discuss follow up books to read, tricks for beating the Vatican…
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“Life is too short for boring stuff and too long for things that don’t last.” @JamesStacey on the rise of microbrands
Stoked to see such a glowing review from @AlmostStephen for the work of fellow Canadians, Charles Birchall & Brad Taylor, up on @HODINKEE today
A watch face like this seems like an inevitability when you put a man who oversaw the development Photoshop in charge of watchOS
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The name Nivachron seems to play a bit off of Rolex’s Parachrom, which boasts similar properties. However, the “chrom” in Parachrom is a nod to the spring’s deep blue colour, while the “chron” in Nivachron is a nod to time.
Nivachron A promising new hairspring alloy from Swatch Group subsidiary Nivarox
Impressive first piece by 21-year-old watchmaker, Remy Cools
"A truly wonderful podcast in which The Perfectionists is picked apart in the greatest detail and yet emerges unscathed"
In distinguishing between precision & accuracy: It is possible to be precisely wrong. It is not possible to be accurately wrong.
Craftsmanship. Prestige. Longevity. Three pillars of watchmaking A thoughtful commencement speech address by John Davis, for this year’s graduating class at Rolex’s Lititz Watch Technicum, peppered with the flavor of wisdom that only experience can bring.