Stopping a Tourbillon - Monochrome Watches
The tourbillon is often regarded as one of the most prestigious complications and a demonstration of the skill and craftsmanship of the watchmakers capable of manufacturing this captivating mechanism. Invented by Breguet in 1801, its aim is to negate the influence of gravity on the regulating organ of watches. Changes in position have significant effects on the way watches keep time. In a tourbillon, a mobile carriage rotating at slow speed (most often once per minute) houses the balance, balance-spring and escapement to average out positional errors. Tourbillon watches are, therefore, built to keep time with superior precision, but, until very recently, they had one significant drawback. It was impossible to set the time with to-the-second accuracy with a classic stop-seconds function. Indeed, it would seem logical and obvious to be able to synchronize the movement to a time signal.The ability to stop the balance wheel and the seconds hand of a mechanical movement is critical. Traditi

The Collector's Series - Charles and his fascinating Gronefeld Parallax Tourbillon... In Titanium - Monochrome-Watches
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of sitting down with?distinguished?collector and?contributor to the Deployant Blog,?Charles Sutanto.?As an engineer, Charles tells me it was really a?fascination?with mechanics that drew him to watches. ?His horological journey started approximately 15 years ago with the purchase of Jaeger LeCoultre Master?Memovox. In his early days of collecting he?found himself appreciating?creations?from the likes?of both?Audemars Piguet and Panerai. It is fair to say that as time went on, during?2007 and the Tempus, Charles went through somewhat of a transition in his collecting focus. This was the period in which he was introduced to the world of independents and haute haute horology. Voutilainen, De Bethune and other independents became the core of Charles' focus. With this in mind, I?thoroughly?enjoyed discussing a watch you rarely see in the wild…a Gronefeld Parallax Tourbillon (in titanium).When did you first get into watches?I guess what ignite my in

Hands-On: The Gerald Genta Designed Credor Locomotive
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Credor, a brand that began as Seiko‘s high-end line, offering timepieces crafted from precious metals. Today, Credor is renowned for its commitment to superior craftsmanship and aesthetic sensibility, which is evident in every aspect of its watches, from design to the intricate movements made up of countless minute components, as highlighted on the newly launched English version of the Credor website. Credor has unveiled several special models to celebrate this milestone: the Goldfeather Limited Edition, a special edition of the Eichi II, and the Locomotive. The Locomotive, a re-creation of the Gerald Genta-designed timepiece launched in 1979, has sparked a flurry of opinions since its public debut in June. Now, it’s time we share our impressions after a hands-on experience.How did the renowned Swiss designer, whose portfolio by the late 1970s already included the Polerouter, the revamped Constellation, the Royal Oak, the Nautilus, an

The Chopard Full Strike Wins the GPHG 2017 "Aiguille d'Or" (And all the results of the Grand Prix)
As you’ve probably seen through the live feed we provided to you, today was the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve, also known as the Oscars of the Watchmaking Industry, celebrating the best watches (via 12 different categories, for 16 different prizes) of the year. While in 2016 the “Aiguille d’Or” (the prize for the best watch of the year) went to Ferdinand Berthoud and their superb FB1 watch. Well, if a brand can’t win twice in a row the GPHG, the?“Aiguille d’Or” will, however, remain in the hands of the?Scheufele family, as the winner of the GPHG 2017 is Chopard and the impressive?Full Strike.Grand Prix/Aiguille d’Or – Chopard?L.U.C Full StrikeLet’s start with the big one, the watch that has just been awarded as the “best watch of 2017” with the Aiguille d’Or prize, the Chopard L.U.C Full Strike. This watch, an extremely complex piece (as usual with the Grand Prix) is somehow the vision of the

Opinion - The 35mm PRX that Tissot refuses to give us
Tissot started out with a 40mm size PRX, and it was good. Then came more colour variants, and they were good. After that came luxurious fluted gold bezels, and they were pricey but still good. This was followed by a PRX Chronograph, which was very good! But then… nothing? Ever since Tissot launched the incredible platform that is the PRX, there has been a public outcry to introduce a smaller, more compact mechanical version, next to the smaller quartz-powered model. And it’s finally here! Albeit not exactly how any of us might have expected it to be, since it comes with a gold bezel and diamond-studded dial. So what gives Tissot? Why won’t you give us what we all want… A classic-looking PRX Automatic 35mm with a waffle-like dial.The Tissot PRX is a smash-hit for sure, as it combines that cool 1970s retro vibe with all the key elements of a really good luxury sports watch with integrated design. And it does so at an impossible-to-ignore price point, and with a pr