Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i CROWN

So, where were we this time last year? Did being on the cusp of a new decade fill you with hope and fire you up with new ideas for work, self-improvement, relationships enrichment, travel plans, coveted watches and… and… And, well, we know what happened. Thing is, even as our best laid plans were pretty much obliterated in 2020 to make us feel that the past 12 months had been, in the words of so many, “wasted”, it is not wrong to still think we all deserve a pat on the back. Sure, the watch trade saw its biggest slump in modern memory. Despite a late rally thanks to surges in domestic consumption, particularly in China, sales figures still made for sore reading. But on the flip side, we witnessed…

Although Vacheron Constantin is recognised as the world’s oldest running watch manufacture, the 265-year-old company is right on the cutting edge where technology is concerned. And we are not just talking about the state-of-the-art machinery that aids its creation and preservation of traditional haute horlogerie. Two years ago, Vacheron Constantin was among the first in the watch trade to enlist blockchain technology to authenticate its timepieces and protect its customers against counterfeits. Originally used for its Les Collectionneurs range of vintage watches, the brand’s blockchain-based ‘digital passport’ will be extended to all of its timepieces by end of 2021. A database system based on encryption-secured information, the ‘digital passport’ substitutes paper-based authentication for a digital certificate of authenticity that follows a watch throughout its entire lifespan, even as it passes…

There are a few words that come to mind when one thinks of the Maison Cartier. ‘Luxurious’, ‘glamorous’ and ‘artistic’ are certainly some of them, but the alluring thing about Cartier—what seduces you into that beguiling world of the Maison—is that it is as much a rebel as it is a star. And who doesn’t love a wild child? From the Crash watch, said to be inspired by a deformed Baignoire Allongée damaged in a car crash (hence the moniker), to 2020’s new-and-improved Pasha featuring its iconic square within a circle design, Cartier delights in breaking the rules. In fact, it is this unencumbered creativity that has helped conceive some of Cartier’s most inspired timepieces. Gentleman’s Club The same approach drives Cartier’s revived Privé collection. Introduced in 1998 as a…

Amongst Abraham-Louis Breguet’s many game-changing creations, the tourbillon is probably his most technically erudite. Breguet originally invented the tourbillon to counter the effects of gravity on regulating mechanisms inside pocket watches. However, the complication has taken on a life of its own in modern watchmaking, its purpose and influence extending far beyond just improving timekeeping. The technical skills and experience required to construct a tourbillon, as well as the mechanical poetry it invokes, has elevated the tourbillon into something more akin to a badge of honour, one that’s coveted in equal measure by watchmakers and watch collectors. Given so, it is only appropriate that the name Breguet is synonymous with the tourbillon. But even more signficantly, it is befitting that the brand that invented the mechanism has stayed renowned today…

Among the few non-Swiss brands to successfully challenge the country’s horological hegemony, Japan’s Grand Seiko watches command cult status amongst in-the-know collectors who appreciate its heritage, authenticity, and innovative spirit backed by full in-house production capabilities. Even so, Grand Seiko, previously an upscale collection under Seiko’s wider repertoire, had pretty much been an open secret amongst collecting communities at best, as the timepieces were originally reserved for the Japanese domestic market since its launch in 1960. It wasn’t until 2010 when Grand Seiko started retailing globally. Suffice to say, its profile and stature have spiked since, exemplified by a milestone win at the 2014 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, with the Hi-Beat 36000 GMT bagging the ‘Petite Aiguille’ prize. Recognising the potential, the Japanese company’s powers-that-be decided to carve out…

Introduced in the 1960s against the back of a boom for dive-ready wristwatches heralded by the likes of Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms and Rolex’s Submariner, Rado’s original Captain Cook was a no-frills automatic tool-watch, sized at a sensible 37mm, housed in stainless steel, and water resistant to 220m. Subsequently, though, having ventured and made a name for itself in the field of high-tech ceramic watches in the 1980s, Rado seemed to have stored the Captain Cook deep in its archives. Dive watches were never Rado’s strong suit, anyway, as the brand concentrated on rolling out increasingly varied scratch-resistant dress watches that featured the best of cutting-edge ceramic alchemy. The wave of demand for retro-style timepieces in recent years, however, nudged the powers that be at Rado to dust off the blueprints…

Of the non-traditional materials that infiltrated contemporary watchmaking, carbon composite has proven the most effective in firing up the imagination of watchmakers and collectors. Unlike, say, bronze, with a patina-changing quality that is aesthetically intriguing but not particularly functional, or silicon, a synthetic material that revolutionised movement production but still remains very a niche interest for technical watch buffs, carbon composite is capable of being both sexy and substantial. Carbon composite entered public consciousness in the 1980s, with the use of carbon fibre sheets on the chassis and components of Formula One cars. Sporting glossy black, weave-like patterns, the material accented the race cars with a futuristic, sporty look. More importantly, though, it endowed the racers with unparalleled rigidity and lightness. The material’s high strength-to-weight ratio - carbon composite is…

A true icon of contemporary watchmaking, Corum’s Golden Bridge celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and the brand behind the wholly original creation is issuing two limited editions to mark the milestone. Recognised by its baguette-shaped movement, where all the components are arranged in a linear fashion, the Golden Bridge’s mechanical architecture and characteristic design remains as distinctive and fresh today as it did decades ago. This is demonstrated by the two commemorative models: the first in white gold that is limited to three pieces, and the second in rose gold, limited to 40 pieces. The Golden Bridge Rectangle 40th Anniversary in 18K white gold is capped at three units in tribute to the three co-founders of Corum. Engraved with floral motifs on the case and lugs, the acanthus and…

Ratified by professionals, paraded by celebrities and coveted by watch lovers all over the world, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner occupies a special place in the canon of modern watchmaking as an icon that is as much a symbol of prestige, as it is a no-nonsense tool watch. Making a splash when it was unveiled to the world in 1953, the watch’s expressions of luxury and performance continue to be exemplary decades on, demonstrated by the new Oyster Perpetual Submariner and Oyster Perpetual Submariner Date models. This year, we are treated to a full-fledged repertoire of the legendary collection, spanning different case and dial executions, as well as upgrades from the inside-out. The 2020 line-up comprises an Oyster Perpetual Submariner in Oystersteel with a black Cerachrom bezel insert and black…

People who encounter Urwerk’s watches for the first time inadvertently react in a familiar pattern. First, shock and awe. Followed either by extreme confusion, or an Eureka moment, as they wade into the world of avant-garde horology. Whether they like the watches or not, there’s no unseeing how far-out mechanical watchmaking can be. As bona fide disruptors of modern watchmaking, the co-founders of Urwerk - third-generation watchmaker, Felix Baumgartner, and watch designer, Martin Frei - delight in making us think about time, as much as they challenge us with new ways to tell the time. And they’ve made it a mission since the brand’s launch in 1997, with sci-fi looking timepieces that eschew typical hour and minute hands, for a unique rotary satellite display system that employs anything from rotating…

The brazenly regal and virile sports watch is well and alive. As maligned as it was at its birth in the late-1970s, when Audemars Piguet debuted the Royal Oak and drew flak for a steel watch that was too expensive and loud, the luxury sports watch has since gotten flashier, larger, more complex and more popular. In some instances, the modern luxury sports watch even seemed like a distant cousin of its pioneering models. Lately, however, a retro-inspired revival appeared to be underway with a proliferation of timepieces bearing designs that hark back to the heydays of the late-1970s and 1980s, of which Chopard’s Alpine Eagle is an enthusiastic proponent. The latest addition to Chopard’s watch line-up, the Alpine Eagle, released in 2019, rocks the throwback sports-luxe demeanour well, brandishing…

The first thing that convinced Nick North, the US Navy SEALs’ procurement officer, when he was considering Luminox as watch partner to create tool watches for the special forces’ night missions back in 1993, was the brand’s expertise in the area of luminosity. Luminox uses a Swiss-made, self-powered illumination system comprising tritium gas capsules that lasted for 25 years and was visible in low or no light conditions. Housing this technology in rugged sports and adventured-themed watches that are as robust as they look, the hard-wearing and highly legible Luminox timepieces proved perfect for the US Navy SEALs’ needs. Since that first contact, Luminox had been the official watch licensee of the US Navy SEALs, producing countless models that bear the special forces’ insignia and spirit. They range from hefty,…

A. Lange & Söhne • #02-05A Ion Orchard Tel: 6509 1712 Audemars Piguet • #B2-207, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Tel: 6688 7595 • #01-03, liat towers Tel: 6836 4918 Ball Watch For enquires, please call 6235 1811 Baume & Mercier For enquires, please call 6510 2767 Bell & Ross • #01-15 Mandarin Gallery Tel: 6884 6471 Blancpain • #B2-237 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Tel: 6634 8771 Breguet • B2M-236 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Tel: 6638 6006 Breitling • #01-03/04, Palais Renaisance Tel: 6732 8582 Bulgari • #B2-200 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Tel: 6634 8313 • Level 1, Takashimaya Department Store Tel: 6735 6689 Cartier • #B1-39A, #B2-38 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Tel: 6688 7388 • #01-20, #02-10 Ion Orchard Tel:…

Switzerland-based non-profit foundation, Origyn, announced that it is launching an app in 2021 that will help watch manufacturers and customers eradicate the pitfalls of counterfeit timepieces. By simply firing up the app on the smartphone and taking a picture of the watch, the technology will be able to identify and authenticate the product, as well as understand its provenance, history and ownership. The identification technology boasts an algorithm that combines artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to process the information, which includes a myriad of reference points ranging from the images to audio signatures of its mechanical movement. “It’s like Shazam, but for watches instead of music,” says Vincent Perriard, co-founder of Origyn. “Furthermore, our solution is non-intrusive for the luxury industry (meaning no changes need to be made to…

Is time eternal? Does it have a beginning and an end? Will it exist outside of science and human perception? While we do not have the answers, we certainly try to grasp and enshrine these thoughts whenever we can. The mineral dial on the Jaquet Droz Loving Butterfly Automaton wristwatch – ‘Chinchilla Red’, it is called – is cut from a piece of petrified wood that is said to be almost 150 million years old. A product forged of fir trees aged in volcanic ash and by the passing of many, many wars, evolutions and seasons, this tiny slice of earth’s history is now preserved in a wristwatch that celebrates centurie-sold horology, at a moment where time is told on technologically advanced mobile phones. Certainly, the hues and grains on…

1953 Rolex launches the Submariner, the first professional divers’ wristwatch that is waterproof to a depth of 100m. 1954 The pursuit of waterproof technology continues, as Rolex increases the Submariner’s waterproofness to 200m. 1969 Rolex introduces the first-ever Submariner Date. 1984 The Submariner Date’s evolution continues with significant enhancements over the years with the introduction of the Triplock winding crown (1977), sapphire crystal (1979), increased waterproofness to 300m (1979), and applique hour markers (1984). 2010 Rolex launches the Submariner Date in Oystersteel with a black dial and black Cerachrom bezel insert. 2020 The Submariner and Submariner Date come with redesigned cases and lugs, as well as new generation movements at the forefront of watchmaking technology.…

The great Italian film director, Federico Fellini, once mused, “All art is autobiographical. The pearl is the oyster’s autobiography.” Poetic and poignant, Fellini’s words brilliantly encapsulate the essence of art, laying bare the intricacies of the complex journey it takes to deliver a beautiful work of creativity and imagination. In the same way, the Pearlmaster collection is an unequivocal treasure that tells the story of Rolex’s myriad achievements—the perfect autobiography of its expertise in craftsmanship and technical excellence, fused together in a scintillating timepiece that soars above the ebb and flow of fickle trends and fashion. Material Allure Launched almost three decades ago in 1992, the Pearlmaster exemplifies a delicate balance of elegance and style, thanks to its elegant lines and precious materials. Made exclusively with Rolex’s proprietary gold alloys,…

Some of the most fervent watch fans that we’ve had the pleasure of encountering are Paneristis – a globally connected, self-christened fan base that is utterly and genuinely devoted to Panerai. A Singaporean Paneristi who was a guest on this magazine’s ‘live’ chat session on Facebook couldn’t help himself plugging the brand. Years ago, we interviewed Alan ‘Hammer’ Bloore, an Australian Paneristi i who said that Panerai saved his life, after he snapped his spinal cord in a jet-ski accident and had to endure the pain and multiple surgeries. “Doctors call it diversion therapy,” he said. “The brand and the watches bring me to a beautiful place that transcended physical pain.” So what it is about Panerai that draws these e people? Well, some are enamoured by the 160-year-old brand’s…