the wAtch AficionAdo The discerning guide To fine Timepieces Tourbillons and Minute Repeaters: Two ultimate complications Time with a sparkle: Diamonds just adore telling the time Elegance and Style: CLASSIC makes a comEback 28 24 Contents 8 Editor’s note Thank goodness for Switzerland. 10 Watches with elegance and style In the face of a tough world economy, classical elegance and style are making a comeback. 16 Ultimate complications 16 Tourbillons and minute repeaters. 20 My first watch We asked important people in and out of the watch industry about their first watches, and their responses are touching and, at times, surprising. 24 Time with a sparkle There is no better way to decorate a woman’s 20 watch than with diamonds. 28 Mechanical mastery Getting a mechanical watch on your wrist doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. 32 Perfect timing How to buy the perfect timepiece. the wAtch AficionAdo Editor-in-chief: Keith W. Strandberg Special Publications manager: Roberto Hernández-Alende art Director: Rita Jaramillo aDvERTISING: advertising manager: Kristina Corrales 305-376-2801, [email protected] Special Sections coordinator: Yvonne Cloud 305-376-2861, [email protected] a SPEcIalty maGazINE PRoDucED by: 4 aFIcIoNaDo 2012 | THE mIamI HERaLD Editor’s letter Thank goodness for Switzerland I’ve been living in Switzerland for about six years Also, the Swiss are very measured, with a long-term now, covering the watch industry from my office just view of things. That’s why there is little panic during outside Yverdon-les-Bains, situated perfectly equidistant economic downturns, as many of these companies have from the Watch Valley, Geneva, Bienne and Basel. not just years of history, but centuries. Things don’t As a result, I have come to understand why the Swiss get done quickly in Switzerland, which can frustrate an character is perfectly suited for watchmaking. American living here, but they get done right. First and foremost, the Swiss are very proper. They And, finally, the Swiss understand balance in life and do things the right way. For instance, the honor system work. People here work hard and value their time off is alive and well here in Switzerland. The Swiss don’t — on Sundays, nothing is open to distract from family have tolls on the highways; they trust everyone to buy and relaxation, not even the supermarkets (and you are keith W. Strandberg a yearly pass. And everyone does. On trams and buses, not even allowed to mow the lawn!). And the watch Editor-in-chief riders are expected to buy tickets despite the fact that companies all close down for a month in the summer, so there are few-to-no checks. the employees can recharge for another hard-working So, who better to manage timekeeping, which has year. This approach keeps everyone clear headed and to be precise and where no corners can be cut, than the able to work at an extremely high level. Swiss? So, who better to manage timekeeping, which has In addition, the Swiss pay great attention to detail, to be precise and particular, with no corners being cut, another attribute needed in watchmaking. Those than the Swiss? postcard pictures of spotless Swiss villages with colorful I, for one, say: Thank goodness for the Swiss. flowerpots on all the windows of the houses? They are true and actual. The older lady across the street from my house spends several mornings a week sweeping the streets just so the village looks nice. 8 aFIcIoNaDo 2012 | THE mIamI HERaLD Watches with elegance andstyle 10 aFIcIoNaDo 2012 | THE mIamI HERaLD TaG Heuer carrera calibre 17 Jack Heuer 80th birthday. opposite page: corum admiral's cup Legend 42 annual calendar style In the face of a tough world economy, classical elegance and style are making a comeback. Even as recently as three years ago, some of the craziest watches were best sellers and collectors seemed to have more money than sense. THE mIamI HERaLD | aFIcIoNaDo 2012 11 Now, reason has returned and buyers are moving toward more traditional timepieces with designs that will stand the test of time . CLASSIC AND ELEGANT Dismissed a few years ago as boring and unexciting, these watches are becoming the staple they used to be — elegant, traditional designs that can stay in a watch brand’s line, and on your wrist, for years. Customers are turning back to tried-and-true timepieces as a backlash against the outlandish and as a hedge on the future. More and more high-end brands are addressing this need and bringing out great classic timepieces. Companies who already had a classical aspect to their brand are reaping the rewards, as they do not have to hustle to meet this market demand. Companies like Patek Philippe, Rolex, Montblanc, Baume & Mercier, Ulysse Nardin and many others were in a great position to take advantage of the current market trend toward classicism. Others montblanc Star came late to the party, but jumped in with both feet. classique automatic Nowadays, just about every brand has a classical and elegant timepiece, knowing that the demand is there and isn’t going away anytime soon. 12 aFIcIoNaDo 2012 | THE mIamI HERaLD ulysse Nardin classico 14 aFIcIoNaDo 2012 | THE mIamI HERaLD Rolex oyster Perpetual air king Victorious vintage There are so many Patek Philippe companies with vintage 5123 Revolution designs it’s hard to keep track of all of them. This is not to say everyone with a vintage watch is a bandwagon-jumper, as nostalgic, vintage-inspired designs make sense for a brand inspired by their own archival pieces or brands Patek Philippe with a long history. 5120 Revolution you have to admit a retooled vintage design is really cool, too. Though an actual vintage watch would be way too small for today, as 38mm was considered a big watch just ten years ago, companies coming FOR YOU AND THE NEXT GENERATION out with vintage-inspired The benefit of more traditional watches is that the designs are watches have mostly timeless and won’t look outdated or tired by next year. In fact, these increased the size a bit in a watches are designed to last for a lifetime or more. Patek Philippe’s nod to today’s watch styles. famous ad campaign says it best: “You never actually own a Patek Some of the watch Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” industry’s biggest names With regular maintenance and loving care, a high-quality, timeless have vintage-inspired watch from the better brands is designed to theoretically last forever. offerings, including brands like baume & mercier, TaG ELEGANTLY SIMPLE Heuer, Rolex, montblanc and One of the really great trends in watches is the rebirth and refocus more. on the elegant dress watch. Neither complicated nor cluttered with There’s something about busy displays, indications and point hands, these watches whisper a vintage design that is sophistication while those others scream for attention. And they’re really appealing. compared thin enough to slip under a tuxedo cuff. to the watches of today, It’s good news that high-quality classical and traditional watches vintage and vintage- are making a comeback. That doesn’t mean, however, that innovation inspired watches are cleanly and new ideas are dead – that’s for another segment altogether. designed, uncluttered and Luckily, the watch world is big and diverse enough for ALL sorts of evocative of a simpler time. Tommy bahama bali Tb1232 timepieces. ■ THE mIamI HERaLD | aFIcIoNaDo 2012 15 bell & Ross vintage minute Repeater Patek Philippe Ref. 5216 Grand complication (Tourbillon, minute Repeater, Perpetual calendar, moonphase, Retrograde Date) Ultimate complications Tourbillons and minute repeaters Two of watchmaking’s ultimate complications are the tourbillon and the minute repeater. TOURBILLONS: BEAUTY IN MOTION Turning. Spinning. Rotating. Revolving. Anyone who looks at a tourbillon will be drawn in and fascinated by the cage of the timepiece, which typically holds the escapement wheel, the escapement and the regulatory organ, the balance. All these small, complex parts are moving, turning and spinning constantly. Invented in 1795 by Abraham-Louis Breguet and patented in Paris in 1801, the tourbillon was created not for aesthetic reasons, but instead to solve the problems associated with the effects of the position of a pocket watch on the accuracy and the precision of a timepiece — as too often, a pocket watch was placed in one position for long periods of time (on a desk, on the night table, in a pocket, etc.). Breguet’s invention solved the positional effects by having the cage of the tourbillon rotate. With wristwatches, the problem of positioning is not so critical, as the timepieces move with the wrists of their owners. However, tourbillons have proven to be the most precise mechanical watches, as a Jaeger-LeCoultre tourbillon won the first International Chronometry Competition sponsored by the Château des Monts in Le Locle, Switzerland, and another tourbillon from the same company took second place. TaG Heuer The tourbillon cage — the heart of the tourbillon, if you will — is mikrotourbillon S an incredible feat of engineering. The tourbillon mechanism itself can 16 aFIcIoNaDo 2012 | THE mIamI HERaLD a view of the movement of the ulysse Nardin alexander the Great: Westminster carillon Tourbillon Jaquemarts minute Repeater have 50 or more parts, all weighing as little as possible (The entire tourbillon cage of the Patek Philippe 10 Day Tourbillon, ref. 5101, for example, is comprised of more than 70 different components yet weighs just 0.3 grams). Not just any watchmaker can assemble a tourbillon, either. Only a master watchmaker at the peak of his craft can handle the intricacies of creating and regulating such a complication.