Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2018 i CROWN

As debate rages over the appropriateness of online retail for traditional brick-and-mortar shops, one of Singapore’s biggest luxury watch retailers has taken the leap of faith with the launch of its online sales portal. Sincerewatch.com went online in January this year, making it the first e-commerce platform to be rolled out by a major watch retailer in Singapore. The brands listed on the website hail from the entry-level to mid-luxury categories, ranging from $200-plus for a quartz watch from Jacques Leman to about $5,000 for a mechanical offering from TAG Heuer. Besides watches, the online store also stocks watch winders from Boxy, which cost less than $200 each. The palatable price proposition is a definite draw for customers, and for Sincere Watch, a good testbed to gauge the appetite of…

The young don’t want grandpa’s watch. The average age of our customers is now between 20 to 35 and they want to buy a very traditional watch but don’t want something boring, and that’s where Moser comes into the picture. But we try not to think, “What does the customer want?” Instead, we do what we think is nice and speaks to us. But that’s also a difficulty for independent brands because everybody wants something new all the time. And if one year you make a product that is not up to standards, then you might fail. We believe in humanised products. We have great people and we do everything in-house because we believe that each product must have personality and soul – and that comes from the people making…

What went through the team’s minds, even before the first sketch? We knew we had to outdo ourselves with this watch. The making of this watch is the latest chapter in our work with automatons, and it must be far better than the last. What are the objectives, in broad strokes? The idea was to play with optical illusion and bring one of nature’s most beautiful birds – the hummingbird – to life. We want the animation to inspire emotion and astonishment. The watch needs to be a ‘living painting’ for the owner, who will never tire of its charms. Tell us about the most challenging elements of the watch. For a start, the minute repeater is the most difficult watch complication to achieve. On top of that, we have…

For all the great technical inventions that centuries of horology have given us, it can be puzzling how sometimes, it is the stuff that seem almost inconsequential by comparison that brands will be remembered for. A tiny magnifying glass for the date (Rolex’s cyclops lens); a case that can be flipped over (Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso); a watch that looks like a ship’s porthole (Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak). To that end, even though Franck Muller has killed it so many times with mind-blowing complications that echo the most revered traditions of high-end watchmaking, it would be a ‘fun’ watch with jumbled hour numerals that would be the brand’s most effective calling card. ALTHOUGH THE CRAZY HOURS ISN'T FRANCK MULLER’S MOST COMPLEX WATCH, IT CERTAINLY IS ITS WILDEST When its eponymous founder came…

FROM THE AUTOMATIC MOVEMENT TO MINUTE REPEATERS, ABRAHAM-LOUIS BREGUET HAS HAD A HAND IN THEIR EVOLUTION On 26 June 1801, Abraham-Louis Breguet made history when he was finally granted a patent for the tourbillon regulator. This was the device that solved the problem wrought on the balance spring by the pocket watch’s number one enemy: gravity. Today, the tourbillon is not only synonymous with Breguet, it is also a symbol of high watchmaking. Yet this much-celebrated invention wasn’t his only important contribution to watchmaking. Far from it. Before the tourbillon, Breguet, sometimes with his associates, conceived and patented a staggering number of technical solutions, all of which vastly improved the quality and performance of mechanical timepieces. Many of them – if not most – are still in use today. More…

Of the many times that Rolex made history, its record-setting feat on 26 October 2017 raised the most eyebrows. A vintage Daytona once owned by actor Paul Newman (Ref. 6239) went under the hammer at a Phillips auction for a world record of US$17.75 million. It is now officially the most expensive wristwatch ever auctioned, beating out the previous record holder, the stainless steel Patek Philippe Ref. 1518, which went for US$11.1 million in 2016. No doubt the entire Daytona family will now enjoy yet another surge in demand, likely extending the already infamously long waiting list by a few more years. Hard to believe that Rolex’s most well-known chronograph – and indeed one the most famous of its kind in the world – was once laughably unpopular. THE DAYTONA…

This may be the year where Swiss luxury brands are officially mounting an assault on the pre-owned watch market. At the recently concluded SIHH watch fair in Geneva, Audemars Piguet announced that it would be implementing the sale of second-hand watches this year in selected boutiques in Switzerland, after a successful trial run last year. While Audemars Piguet is the first major luxury watch brand to wade into pre-owned watch retail, some smaller independent brands such as H. Moser & Cie and MB&F, have stated that they are interested to do the same.…

Introduced in 1953 on the Datejust, legend has it that the cyclops lens was made for founder Hans Wilsdorf’s wife, who found it hard to read the date. The lens enlarges the date display by 2.5 times, and like all things Rolex, has undergone several small but significant improvements. Earlier models feature cyclops lens that are moulded on a single piece of Plexiglas dial cover. In modern versions, the cyclops lens is made of a separate piece of sapphire crystal, which is affixed to the rest of the sapphire crystal dial cover. For many, this is what makes Rolex, Rolex. The cyclops lens is the watch brand’s equivalent of Superman’s cape - unique, indelible, and a triumphant flourish on an all-powerful creation.…

When it was announced that 35 brands would be taking part in SIHH 2018, up from 30 last year and 16 three years ago, there was a palpable sense of excitement amongst those in horological circles. Would this year be the turning point for an industry that has been going through challenging times? Certainly, the record number of visitors (almost 20,000 in total) seemed to attest in part to that. But more importantly, the watches themselves told a very promising story. This year, we saw more accessibility and variety in price categories. Haute horlogerie continues to be an important fixture but there were also many options in less eye-watering price brackets, in addition to entry-level collections. We also spied more options for women, with playful complications, métiers d’art and case…

With a new chief pilot in the incomparable Georges Kern charting its course, Breitling is set for some big changes. Speculation has been rife since Kern left his post as the Richemont Group’s head of marketing in July last year, vacating a position that many saw as the luxury conglomerate’s watch division’s second-in-charge. When it was subsequently revealed that he did so to head Breitling as its new CEO—in which he now holds a minor stake, after the erstwhile family-owned company was sold to CVC Capital Partners for a reported US$912 million—the questions started to really mount, of which the most consequential is: how would Breitling evolve under Kern’s leadership? Kern has a reputation for being a visionary and a clinical businessman in equal measure, distinguished by his no-holds-barred decision-making…

Gorilla Brainchild of Octavio Garcia, previously Audemars Piguet’s chief artistic officer. Gorilla’s hyper-sports watch machismo is anchored by its innovative use of case materials, combining forged carbon, ceramic, titanium and aluminium in a power-packed statement. Lum-Tec This family-run, Ohio-based brand is a collectors’ favourite. The watches’ hardy design complements their performance-driven ethos that result in top-notch precision and, as the name implies, optimum lume. Gruppo Gamma A four-year-old Singapore-born brand, Gruppo Gamma watches are distinguished by their solid build and throwback military styling. Expect large cases, chunky profiles and robust functionality. Mr Jones Watches It is hard not to be piqued by Mr Jones Watches. They ooze fun and whimsicality with capricious dial designs, using jumping hour mechanisms and rotating disc modules to animate time.…

This mono-pusher chronograph movement drives Montblanc’s 1858 Pocket Watch Limited Edition. Inspired by old Minerva pocket watch movements, the manually wound, hand crafted calibre comprises 252 parts, beats at a slow but steady cadence of 18,000 vibrations per hour, and offers 50 hours of power reserve. The chronograph function features column wheel control and horiztonal coupling for smooth activation, and the calibre’s gorgeous architecture is accentuated by refined finishing, including circular graining on the main plate, Côtes de Genève on bridges, and hand-chamfered edges.…

We could do with more of such news. One of the largest watch conglomerates, the Swatch Group, posted positive figures to close 2017 on an optimistic note, setting the tone for the months to come. The overall picture was one of modest growth, netting almost 28 per cent increase in net profit last year. Contrary to widespread belief, though, it wasn’t the mid-luxury brands like Calvin Klein and Mido that fueled the charge, even though they were reported to have resigstered “good growth”. Instead, it was the luxury segment that proved to be the best performers, with Harry Winston and Omega flagged for their “extraordinary performance” towards the second half of the year.…

YANG MINXIANG, ENTREPRENEUR Yang Minxiang is one of those rare guys who have the knack for turning passion into practical pursuits. As co-founder of Watch Wonderland, a multi-brand watch boutique, he flies the flag for under-the-radar independent brands. It is a watch category he feels strongly for, being an avid collector of these marques himself. Even in his previous careers, first as an army regular in the reconnaissance unit, and subsequently as an entrepreneur in the F&B industry specialising in top-drawer whiskies, Yang tells us that he has always delved headlong and wholeheartedly into his chosen paths. As for his interest in watches, it goes without saying that Yang calls helming his own watch store “a dream job”. His interest in watches started when he was a kid, intrigued by…

The key to good storytelling, according to Stephen King, is ‘teleportation’. The ability to invite and immerse the reader into another world, he says, is one of the most precious gifts a storyteller can have. King ought to know. He chalked up almost US$350 million in book sales at last count. Although we don’t like making tenuous links at this magazine, it really is kind of the same with watches. A good watch isn’t necessarily the most expensive, famous or complicated. It is one that gives you an out-of-body experience. Take away the logos, price tags, and marketing spin, a good watch, really, is one that makes you feel something beyond yourself. The joy or heartache of a memory, perhaps. Or a sense of being an elevated version of yourself.…

If the Saxonia collection were an office colleague, he would be that long-serving staff who clocks in early, never calls in sick, meets all the KPIs, and keeps everything humming without fuss. But if you’ve been lucky to have laboured alongside such a co-worker, you’d also quickly realise that his unassuming work ethic can also work against him. Nobody really pays enough attention to that guy and oftentimes, he never gets the credit he deserves. In an A. Lange & Söhne universe dominated by superstar collections, the Saxonia, especially its core collection, can fade into the background. And not without reason. The Saxonia watch is defined by its stripped-down aesthetics; a purity of form that exemplifies the gentleman’s dress watch at its coolest and most austere. Features-wise, one’d recognise its…

As much as we know that first impressions count, there seems to be a nagging feeling that, in the world of horology, inner beauty is often prized over aesthetic allure. No matter how often aficionados are bowled over by amazingly unblemished enamel dials, or impossibly intricate engravings that demand superhuman concentration, talk almost always inevitably turns to the next groundbreaking complication. With technical virtues taking precedence over pretty much everything else in high-end watchmaking today, watches that feature decorative dial art, while stunning, can seem like a novel sideshow. But that can’t be further from the truth. For instance, technical watchmaking has, and can be, democratised. Just look at the perpetual calendar and rattrapante chronograph. Decorative dial art – the highest level of such artistry being metiers d’art, which translates…

What comes to mind when we say: “German watch”? Don’t think too hard now. Solid? Classic? Complicated? No-nonsense? Ok. What about party-friendly? Yeah, we didn’t think so, either. Which was why we couldn’t pass up the chance to test the Glashütte Original Senator Chronograph Panorama Date’s party credentials, after getting well-acquainted with its technical virtues. For those who are unfamiliar with Glashütte Original, it is one of the top German watch brands on the planet today. Its roots date back to 1845, and the company is famous for making some of the most exquisite, elegant and technically accomplished wristwatches to rival the best the Swiss have to offer. As for the Senator Chronograph Panorama Date itself, the watch is a sporty upgrade of the classically inspired Senator collection with its…

What makes a mechanical watch tick? Beyond marketing rhetoric that tells you that it is “legacy” or “poetry”, the literal and most reliable answer to that would be “the escapement”. All timekeepers have escapements of some sort, from early water clocks to the pendulums found in tower clocks. An escapement is a mechanical device that acts as like a traffic controller. It is a transmission centre, if you will, between a watch’s energy source and the rest of its components. To break things down even further: the watch’s power source comes from the mainspring. This power is transmitted via a set of wheels to the regulating component called the balance. In between the balance and the wheels (or gear train) is the escapement. Without an escapement, the power from the…