brummell horology
DESCRIPTION
Watch issue of Brummell MagazineTRANSCRIPT
horology 2011
Like clockworkspecial watches issue / latest technological advances / building a collection
chic women’s timepieces / greg norman dives with sharks / the flying watch men
the little black book for the city
Watch in titanium ceramic, a new highly scratch-resistant material.Its unique colour and shine are obtained by the addition of titanium to ceramic and diamond powder polishing.
Self-winding mechanical movement. 42-hour power reserve. Water resistant to 200 metres.ww
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CONTENTS | BRUMMELL 09
Foreword
Appearances still matter, says David
Charters, so it’s worthwhile indulging in
a timepiece of quality... or, two
BeaumondeNews
The All Blacks meet Bulgari; a watch-
sourcing app; new boutiques and more
Technology
Revolutions in design and manufacture
promise a healthy future for the industry
One-stop shopHarrods’ new Fine Watch Room offers one
of the world’s biggest dedicated spaces
Fashion timepieces
How Dior and other haute couture houses
have raised their game in watchmaking
Watches for women
White creates a classic statement in the
finest timekeepers for women
Watch fair
SalonQP is more than a meeting place
for the horologically minded
After the City
Nick and Giles English abandoned the
daily commute to make a distinctly British
mark on the world of watchmaking
FeaturesCollecting
Failsafe foundation pieces for a classic
gentleman’s treasury of watches
Diving watchesAustralian golf legend Greg Norman comes
nose to nose with another great white shark
Watches for menSix of the finest – and most stylish –
examples of the watchmaker’s craft
Choosing a timepiece
Discover what the wristwatch you wear to
a meeting tells your colleagues about you
Style
As so often in life, the crucial edge comes
from the final detail, especially your watch
By George
King of complications Franck Muller
is horology’s hallowed maverick
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Contents
Brummell editorial: Show Media 020 3222 0101
Editor
Joanne Glasbey
Art Director
Dominic Bell
Associate Editor
Henry Farrar-Hockley
Chief Copy Editor
Chris Madigan
Assistant Editor
Sarah Deeks
Picture EditorJuliette Hedoin
Copy Editors
Cate Langmuir, Ming Liu,
Rupert Mellor
Fashion Director
Tamara Fulton
Stylist Pop Kampol
Creative Director
Ian Pendleton
Managing Director
Peter Howarth
Advertising & Events Director
Duncan McRae
07816 218059
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Cover illustration by Ben Newman
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FOREWORD | BRUMMELL 11
There are some situations where being just
30 seconds early – or even 10 seconds –
can matter a great deal. We’ve all been there.
Well, some of us have.
Timing, as they say, is everything. Comedians,
lovers and super-fast systematic traders all
know it. So important is it that an entire craft
has been established around it. In an age when
all of us carry electronic devices that, among
many other functions, can also tell us the time
to the second, we still wear watches.
For men in the City, your watch is one
of the few genuinely personal and distinctive
touches you can apply to what is otherwise a
working uniform of tailored suit and designer
tie (oh, and black shoes).
When you meet a stranger across a
conference table, one of the only potentially
meaningful clues you can look for to help
measure the man behind the suit, is the watch
on his wrist. Forget vulgar, flashy jacket linings
– the ‘I may look like a grey pinstripe on the
outside but when my jacket hangs open you can
get a tantalising glimpse of the real me’ shiny
turquoise or dazzling scarlet. Yeah, right.
And definitely forget red socks, or God
forbid, white ones. Waistcoats and bow ties
look contrived and self-consciously eccentric
and, far from impressing people with your sense
of individuality, are likely to get you dismissed
as a nerd. Watches, ties and possibly cufflinks
are where it’s at.
From a fashion perspective, the pendulum
has largely swung back from the dress-down
days when everyone was making so much
money that we could all relax in identical polo
shirts and chinos, and for fun – to show how
laid-back and funky we were – strap a brightly
One of the only potentially
meaningful clues you can look
for to measure the man behind
the suit is the watch on his wrist
coloured piece of plastic to our wrists. In these
more serious times we are concerned – quite
rightly – that if we don’t wear a suitable watch
clients might think we are not successful and
can’t afford one. In fact, there was a time, at the
height of the crunch, when a lot of people really
couldn’t afford one. At least not a proper one.
People often say that investment banking
is the triumph of form over substance, but
appearances do matter, never more so than
in hard times. A classic watch projects an
image of success; quiet, unflashy confidence;
taste and style. You may have none of those
qualities but, until people know you better,
there is a good chance they will be taken in
by first impressions, and for some of us that’s
worth quite a lot.
I wear two watches. I have a Patek Philippe
Calatrava for everyday work. It is refined,
stylish, subtle, the antithesis of bling, yet the
craftsmanship is superb and insofar as I meet
people who know their watches, it cannot fail
to get a nod of approval.
And, of course, I’m a sucker for the brilliant
advertising that tells you that you never actually
own a Patek Philippe, you just look after it for
the next generation. I really do like to think that
one day my son will wear it – though hopefully
not too soon. And last but definitely not least,
Appearances matter, and never more so than in hard times. A classic
piece of the watchmaker’s craft (or, better still, a number of pieces) is an
indulgence that will last, through times bad and good
Wrist
AnAlysis
it was a present from my most recent ex-wife,
so it comes with special memories.
For play, I have a Rolex Submariner, the
ultimate diver’s watch that can go deeper than
I would ever wish to. It is chunky, robust,
masculine, and has what in my case are purely
aspirational connotations as far as being an
action man on the beach or off the piste.
But I could easily have a dozen watches.
A lazy afternoon window shopping in Mayfair
could lead to four or five purchases, none of
which I’d regret. As indulgences go, let alone
vices, these are ones that will rarely haunt you.
In fact, compared to almost anything else
I could do that would cost as much money,
this really is pretty harmless.
Does this mean I think we are all shallow
and materialistic? Well, it might, but why else
do we work the hours we do and make the
sacrifices we have to? Not for the glory. If we
want the best it’s because we have put in the hours.
I have said (and written) before: compromise
is the enemy of achievement. The finer things
in life really should be ours. The City might be
keeping its head down while firms pursue a low
profile and try to defer to the unappeasable
green-eyed commentariat in the press and
our detractors in parliament, but I’ve had a few
successes this year and I’m spending again.
It feels good. And these things last. Art may
come in and out of fashion, hedge funds might
crash and burn, high-end clubs might soar and
fail, but a classic piece of craftsmanship on my
wrist will last. See you in New Bond Street.
The Ego’s Nest, the fifth novel in the Dave Hart
series about life in the City by David Charters,
is published by Elliott & Thompson, price £6.99
Words David Charters Illustration Brett Ryder
NEWS | bEAumoNdE 13J
ae
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ou
tre
A classic watch reborn, a surprising sporting partnership and a nifty way to avoid wind-ups
Flip Reverso To honour the enduring appeal of
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s classic Art
Deco timepiece the Reverso, three
new versions have been created by
the Swiss watchmaker in the year
of its 80th anniversary. The Grande
Reverso Ultra Thin, modelled here
by brand ambassador and
Hollywood actress Diane Kruger,
the Grande Reverso Duo and the
Reverso Répétition Minutes à
Rideau all pay tribute to the original
design of 1931. And the charm is in
the story. Invented for polo players
whose watches could not withstand
the impact of the game, the
Reverso’s neat mechanism allows
the case to flip over, thereby
protecting the glass and revealing
a metal back – proof that logical
engineering and great style never
go out of fashion. This time around,
the reverse of the watch can be
personalised via an online service,
which offers buyers a broad range
of details, illustrations and finishes.
jaeger-lecoultre.com
App turn The next time you’re in a luxury watch boutique
wishing you could call on some impartial expert
advice to make an informed purchase, the
solution could be in your pocket – or your
phone, to be precise. The Watch Enthusiast app
(available on iPhone and Android handsets, as
well as the iPad 2) is a critical buyers’ guide
comprising almost 1,600 watches from 85
different brands, with each model awarded
a rating based on a number of criteria from
design credentials to value for money. It also
includes detailed photos, videos and useful
background information on each manufacturer.
£13.49; thewatchenthusiast.com
Sphere factor What do you get when you assign five years
of R&D to creating a timepiece inspired by
a famous seafaring explorer’s compass?
The Zenith Christophe Colomb Equation of
Time, naturally. The centrepiece of this watch,
a 75-piece limited edition, is a prominent glass
globe that houses a gyroscopic gimbal; its
purpose is to keep the all-important escapement
completely horizontal at all times. The result?
Consistently accurate timekeeping – whatever
the angle of your watch arm. Just don’t call it
a tourbillon. £154,000; zenith-watches.com
Retail detail
The watch business is booming
in London, as Rolex, Omega and
Hublot all open new stores in
the capital. Rolex has launched
a boutique at One Hyde Park, the
Knightsbridge landmark, with
an on-site watchmaker. Official
Olympic timekeeper Omega’s
latest location is in Westfield
Stratford. And where better for
Hublot’s new store than New
Bond Street? Designed by Peter
Marino, the boutique is worth
a visit for the artwork alone.
rolex.com; omegawatches.com;
hublot.com
Wish list
An exciting new arrival in
Burlington Arcade is Almar,
launched by watch magnate
Marcus Margulies. The boutique
will stock timepieces from some
of the most important watch
houses in the world, including
Audemars Piguet, Blancpain,
de Grisogono and Piaget. But
here’s the interesting bit – the
store will sell models that are no
longer in current collections,
and will therefore be discounted
by a minimum of 30 per cent,
with some models reduced in
price by as much as 70 per cent.
Almar offers the opportunity to
purchase the watch that you
wish you’d bought when it first
launched. A must for the address
book of any savvy collector.
020 7493 1409; almarwatches.co.uk
NEWS | bEAumoNdE 15
black beauty You would be forgiven for thinking that an Italian
fine-jewellery house and rugby union’s new
world champions might not have a lot in
common – but in the case of Bulgari and the
New Zealand All Blacks, you may be surprised.
Both were born in 1884, and in 1905, as Rome
saw Bulgari open its iconic boutique, the Kiwi
team competed in the Northern Hemisphere
tour that gave rise to the All Blacks legend.
Historical similarities aside, this partnership is
built on shared values of technical excellence,
style and resistance. A special-edition Bulgari
Endurer Chronosprint All Blacks launches the
partnership, and elegant design merged with
cutting-edge performance is sure to make this
very special timepiece a collectors’ favourite.
£9,350; bulgari.com
The complete wind-up A mechanical winder is a handy
accessory for anyone who owns
one or more automatic watches.
By rotating your wristwatch a set
number of revolutions per day,
these devices keep its power
reserve ticking over, so you don’t
have to wind and reset it time and
again. Our favourite example
emanates from Geneva-based
SwissKubik, whose 10-cubic
centimetre winders come in a
number of colours, finishes, and
configurations to meet your
horological needs.
From £425; jurawatches.co.uk
Street smart Touch-screen technology is commonplace in smart phones and tablets, but, courtesy of Swatch’s new collection Swatch Touch, you can expect to see it on a wrist near you soon. This sporty collection presents a unique LCd with a touch-screen zone operated by finger taps and sideways scrolls in place of push buttons. Available in five colours – black, white, turquoise, pink, purple –plus a camouflage print, this stylish watch combines Swatch’s Swiss-made quality with canny digital innovation. £100; swatch.com
As mechanical watches go, many would argue that Abraham-Louis Breguet did not leave much to be discovered. Throw in the achievements of Harrison, Ellicott, Arnold, and a few other British geniuses two or more centuries ago, and the mechanical watch was pretty much perfected.
So, when George Daniels – aka the World’s Greatest Living Watchmaker – convinced Omega in 1999 to put his co-axial escapement, rejected by the rest of the industry, into production, it marked the most significant design advance since Mudge, another English genius, invented the lever escapement in the 1750s. Daniels’ design uses virtually no lubrication, erasing one of the few flaws in the centuries-old technology, and co-axial movements now power nearly all automatic Omegas.
Such technological leaps are rare. More likely to grab the attention of enthusiasts, pundits and manufacturers are new materials. For watchmakers, silicon has almost magical properties: eliminating the need for lubrication; immune to extremes of temperature; and shapeable with incredible precision. It is as if all of the craft’s curses disappeared simultaneously.
From pioneering applications by niche brands such as De Bethune and Ulysse Nardin, to more potentially mainstream applications from the likes of Omega, silicon is revolutionising movement design. Patek Philippe, one of its staunchest supporters, recently upped the ante by increasing the number of silicon components used in its latest movements.
Patek’s latest silicon-enhanced advance is the GyromaxSi balance wheel, made of gold and the silicon derivative Silinvar, which the brand calls ‘the final piece in a puzzle’. It joins the other recent advances, Spiromax and Pulsomax, in an ensemble Patek dubs the Oscillomax. Protected by 17 patents and/or patent applications, this triumvirate brings together every Patek silicon component engineered so far.
Silinvar sprang from research begun in 2001, when discussions between the Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM) and Ludwig Oechslin – now curator of the Musée International d’Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds,
THE TIME MACHINE
Some of the most exciting recent advances in watchmaking marry revolutionary materials with traditional construction
Switzerland – led to trials with silicon balance springs. The material is hard, antimagnetic, lightweight – some 3.6 times less dense than conventional balance materials – corrosion- and shock-resistant, and uniform in its mass distribution, making it a watchmaker’s dream.
Patek Philippe has continued to find new uses for it. In 2005, the company was first to present a Silinvar escape wheel that required no lubricant, eliminating a major weakness in mechanical watches. The next year, it launched the Spiromax balance spring with improved isochronism, which affects accuracy. And in 2008 came the Pulsomax, the first escapement made entirely from Silinvar. And more silicon- based progress is on the way, ‘particularly in increasing reliability, power reserve and the energy efficiency of the movements, allowing for ever smaller mechanisms and components,’ explains Jean-Pierre Musy, the brand’s technical director.
The need to tackle purely mechanical challenges continues to inspire radical solutions. TAG Heuer, which recently developed a watch that replaced gears with microscopic drive belts, has developed the MIKROTIMER Flying 1000 Concept Chronograph, which throws down the gauntlet to electronic timekeeping.
It has long been held that no mechanical device can match electronics’ speed and precision. For decades, the most critical timing has been managed using computers, optical sensors and other aids lacking springs, gears, levers and bearings. This did not stop TAG Heuer from attempting something previously possible only with electronic devices: to produce the world’s first-ever mechanical chronograph capable of measuring and displaying one thousandth of a second – making it 125 times more accurate than most existing mechanical chronographs.
Quartz may have dealt a serious blow to the mechanical wristwatch back in the Seventies, but the patient recovered and is in robust health, as these developments show. Now, when will the industry point out how much more environmentally friendly mechanical watches are than those powered by batteries? Words Ken Kessler
BRUMMELL | TECHNoLogy16
Investingin futures Embracing high-tech materials,
traditional watchmakers are
powering the craft’s most radical
revolution in many decades
Portuguese Perpetual Calendar. Ref. 5032: One thing at IWC always remains the same: the desire to get even better. Here is one of the finest examples, with the largest automatic movement manufac-tured by IWC, Pellaton winding and a seven-day power reserve. The perpetual calendar has displays for the date and moon phase as well as the year in four digits until 2499. In short: a watch that has already written the future. Mechanical IWC-manufactured movement | Pellaton automatic winding system |
7-day power reserve with display | Perpetual calendar | Perpetual moon phase display | Antireflective sapphire
glass | Sapphire-glass back cover | Water-resistant 3 bar | 18 ct red gold | IWC. Engineered for men.
IWC Portuguese. Engineered for navigators.
Jubi lee Place, 45 Bank Street, London, E14 5NY. Telephone: 020 7538 2332
4–6 South John Street, L iverpool. Telephone: 0151 708 1140
28 St Ann’s Square, Manchester. Telephone: 0161 834 0217
www.davidmrobinson.co.uk
what’s in storeWatches exclusive to
Harrods’ new Fine Watch Room include, from far left,
the Zenith El Primero Striking 10th; Vacheron
Constantin Patrimony Contemporaine; Blancpain
Carrousel Sapphire; and IWC Portuguese Tourbillon
Hand-Wound Squelette
beaumonde | ultimate boutique18
If you’re in the market for luxury watch shopping,
a stroll down Bond Street does the job efficiently
– it is the UK HQ for many watchmakers, and their
boutiques are a cog’s throw apart. However, for
the convenience of finding the top names under
one roof, including unique brands and dedicated
boutiques, head for the Brompton Road.
Harrods has doubled the size of its previous
departments to make two new dedicated haute
horology and haute joaillerie rooms covering
more than 1670sq m – the world’s largest such
retail space. The Fine Watch Room offers a
well-curated selection of innovative, interesting
and covetable timepieces in a contemporary
environment designed by Eva Jiřičná, and there
are 13 own-brand boutiques, among them UK
firsts for Vacheron Constantin, IWC, Panerai
and Richard Mille. In the centre, three circular
counters display more high-end names, including
those already at home in Harrods, such as Cartier,
Van Cleef & Arpels, Chopard and Boucheron.
In the Fine Jewellery Room, meanwhile, a
Piaget boutique opens later this month. ‘We’re
making a distinction between the two spaces,’
explains Abigail Rainer, director of accessories
and fine jewellery. ‘Although both sell watches,
the Fine Jewellery Room focuses on brands whose
creativity draws on a high-jewellery heritage and
the Fine Watch Room on the “purist” watchmaker,
for whom technical innovation is paramount.’ The
addition of new arrivals John Isaac, Philip Stein,
Bremont, Frédérique Constant and Roger Dubois
As befits its motto ‘All things
for all people, everywhere’,
Harrods this month launches
the world’s largest retail space
dedicated to luxury watches
Room atthe top
takes the number of brands to 35. They take in
the gamut of the world’s best watches from the
classic to the innovative to the futuristic, with
more complications, tourbillons and other bells
and whistles than either a casual enthusiast or
a connoisseur could shake a rotor at.
To mark the opening, several limited-edition
pieces have been created. Vacheron Constantin
has produced 10 of its Patrimony Contemporaine
watches with an engraving of the Harrods building
on the reverse and, similarly, there are just 10
of Zenith’s El Primero Striking 10th in platinum.
Eight of IWC’s 25 skeletized and hand-decorated
Portuguese Tourbillon Hand-Wound Squelette
in red gold will be available at Harrods. Other
exclusives include Blancpain’s Carrousel Sapphire
in tantalum and Breguet’s Queen of Naples on
a ruby-set bracelet. Corum, meanwhile, has
created a new Golden Bridge Automatic in rose
gold and Jaeger-LeCoultre will showcase
a number of limited-edition high complications.
As Harrods is a theatre of retail, expect a few
multidisciplinary events: ‘While watchmaking is a
serious subject, we want our clients to have fun,’
Rainer says, ‘Our new Fine Watch Room is located
above the wines, spirits and cigars departments.
I can foresee clients combining an evening viewing
of new watch collections with a wine tasting or
bespoke dining experience.’ It’s a one-stop shop
of the highest order.
harrods.com
words Joanne Glasbey
beAumonde | CouTuRIeR WATCHeS20
It strikes me that even the most metrosexual of
European gents seem somewhat shy about
wearing a fashion-house wristwatch, preferring
to stick with more manly dial names such as
Rolex, TAG Heuer, Omega and so on. In other
parts of the world, however – notably South
East Asia – males are proud to sport a watch
adorned with a name that might seem more
at home on the lining of a well-cut suit.
The reason for their enthusiasm is that
they have cottoned on to the fact that the term
‘fashion watch’ no longer refers only to those
tinpot, battery-powered, badge-engineered
efforts that emerged from the bad old days
when licensing agreements were ten a penny.
Nowadays, the best fashion watches have
genuine horological credentials. The brands
are well and truly back in charge and, with
standards to uphold, they ensure that their
timepieces are made in Switzerland, not China;
that they contain mechanical movements, not
quartz ones; and that they are not just about
fashion but innovation and imagination, too.
Look, for example, at the Hermès Temps
Suspendu, which features a mechanism that
appears to suspend time; Dunhill’s Black
Diamond Classic with a meteorite dial, and
Ralph Lauren’s daring Slim Classique Square,
With men’s timepieces that
now boast a host of genuine
watchmaking credentials,
fashion houses have upped
their horological game
Fashion
forward
leading the way in the return to small-sized men’s
dress watches with a case just 27.5mm wide.
Louis Vuitton, too, has upped its horological
ante with its stunning Voyagez and Volez men’s
chronographs in round Tambour cases, while
the latest tailoring firm to get its name stamped
on a wristwatch dial is Ermenegildo Zegna,
which has joined forces with the revered house
of Girard-Perregaux to create the new
Monterubello collection in ‘three-hander’ and
chronograph guises.
I would not be ashamed, either, to don one
of Chanel’s hugely successful J12 watches,
originally designed by the brand’s late artistic
director Jacques Helleu. The line’s Marine dive
watch that appeared last year is entirely
covetable – and wearable – as is this year’s
J12 Chromatic, with a shimmering, metallic
case made from the new, diamond powder-
polished material ‘titanium ceramic’.
Strangely, however, it is the brand that
might be regarded as having the most feminine
agenda that is offering some of the most
interesting – and masculine – men’s watches.
I refer to Christian Dior, or simply ‘Dior’ as
its watches are labelled. Frankly, I do not know
many blokes who would not shy away from
wearing the Dior name on their wrists but, if
you can cast macho prejudices aside, you will
find a range of interesting products.
The watch line was introduced back in
2004 when Hedi Slimane was the brand’s
artistic director. He created the first Chiffre
models, which were available as a simple,
time-only automatic; a chronograph with
an ETA movement; and the range-topping
Irreductible, powered by one of Zenith’s superb
El Primero movements. The latter gave the
pieces instant kudos, and Slimane’s design
signatures, such as asymmetrical cases and
mismatched push-pieces, were interesting
and genuinely original.
The Chiffre Rouge collection has been a
strong seller for Dior ever since and has grown
to include a nifty dive watch, white and yellow
gold versions of the Irreductible and, introduced
last year in an edition of 100 examples (which
quickly sold out), the T01, an extremely clever
time zone watch with a revolving satellite subdial
that enables local time and those in eight different
cities to be read simultaneously.
This year, the limited-edition party piece is
the Chiffre Rouge M01 in which the automatic
winding weight, usually found at the back of a
watch, forms part of the dial. This time, 200 will
be made, costing £5,700 apiece.
The entry-level man’s watch from Dior,
meanwhile, remains the simple, £2,000, 36mm
automatic, which is now available with a variety
of dial colours, including a pleasingly retro
shade of ‘golden sand’ – although, for £1,200
more, you could have the 38mm A02
chronograph in deep blue.
The question is, are you man enough to
wear such a stylish timepiece?
dior.com
Words Simon de Burton
GRAnd deSIGnS The mechanical and style credentials of dior’s Chiffre Rouge A02 chronograph should satisfy any man
EL PRIMERO by Zenith, inventor of the
high-frequency self-winding chronograph
ZENITH, THE PIONEER SPIRIT SINCE 1865
www.zenith-watches.com
EL PRIMERO TOURBILLON
pale & interestingClockwise from near left: J12 29mm, £6,725, Chanel; chanel.com. Women’s 38mm GraffStar, price on application, graff; graffdiamonds.com. H Hour PM, £5,600, Hermès; hermes.com. Léman Moon Phases, £18,590, Blancpain; blancpain.com. Possession, £8,050, piaget; piaget.com
stylist’s assistant Fay Lamchaiprasert
BrUMMell | woMen’s watCHes22
There is nothing quite like a touch of white
to brighten up a winter wardrobe. These
sparkling women’s watches will make
a statement this season, pure and simple
WOMAN
IN WHITE
photography Bruce Anderson styling Pop Kampol
beAumonde | wAtch FAIR24
Celebrating its third year with
a bigger venue and many more
brands, watch fair SalonQP is
more than just a meeting place
for the horologically minded
Show
and tell
Jo
hn
Qu
inte
ro;
Ke
n K
es
sle
r
experience,’ says Gurney. So they have.
SalonQP, now in its third year, is a horolophile’s
dream. As an indication of demand, 2009’s
inaugural event saw some 26 brands show their
wares, drawing 2,000 visitors; this year, 42 brands
will be there, with 6,000 visitors expected.
Having outgrown its original location at
Number One, Marylebone, the event is hosted
this year at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery,
Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road, SW3, between
10 and 12 November, and presents the latest
from the sporty likes of Panerai and TAG Heuer,
and revered masters such as A Lange & Söhne
and Jaeger-LeCoultre, as well as offering a
platform to intriguing young brands – Meccaniche
Veloci and Nomos Glashütte, for example. It
seems SalonQP is right on time.
‘There wasn’t enough interest a short while
ago to warrant such an event, but in the UK that
interest has blown up over the past decade,’
explains Gurney. ‘Before then, a watch was far
less meaningful than it is today. You would meet
someone wearing great shoes, a fantastic suit
and a plastic watch. You don’t see that often
now. It’s partly self-fulfilling: there is more
media interest, more shops and so on. But it’s
also because people are generally much more
interested in what they consume.’
The UK industry has changed too, Gurney
says. Traditionally anonymous, the people
behind the timepieces – Roger Smith, George
Daniels and other great British watchmakers
– are now applauded. As the industry has
grown, smaller niches have also become viable,
with better, more accessible technology
allowing new brands to emerge. Making its
debut this year, SalonQP’s new independents’
gallery reflects this, showcasing brands such
as the young English company Schofield.
‘The fact is, there is a lot more to say about
watches now: the craft, the extreme technology,
the designs, the brands, the history,’ points out
Gurney. ‘There’s so much about watches to
be interested in.’ This also provides a range of
entry points for those looking to get into the
subject. SalonQP may draw serious collectors
– they are the ones poring over the exclusives
the event often features, from last year’s
unveiling of Cartier’s iD One concept watch to
a new piece from hot British brand Bremont.
But, with exhibition, lecture and watchmaking
masterclass components, it also serves as an
educative experience for the casual enthusiast
ready to upgrade his plastic timepiece.
One thing visitors may not want to try on for
size is John C Taylor’s Chronophage clock – ‘an
engineering marvel’, says Gurney – which will
be on display. It is a pendulum-driven clock with
a silicon brain that allows the clock to slow down,
stop and even run backwards, although quite
why this is desirable might only be appreciated
by hardcore watch buffs. The top of the clock is
also home to a giant, fanged insect that appears
to eat time. Yes, it is crazy. It is also three metres
high. And who has the wrist for that?
salonqp.com
words Josh Sims
Imagine the world’s best watch shop. It would
sell not only the obvious brands, but smaller,
more esoteric ones too. There would be no
pressure to buy – in fact, looking around would
be more like visiting an expertly curated
exhibition of the latest models. And it would not
just be a chance to check out some fantastic
new tourbillon in a glass case – the man who
designed it would be there to tell you all about it.
When James Gurney launched QP magazine
in 2003 – it has just celebrated its 50th edition
– he did so to provide the UK with a market-
leading specialist title all about watches. ‘But
that intention – to capture as much as we can
about what’s exciting in watches – can only go
so far. We wanted to deliver that in a live
About FAce
This picture and centre: SalonQP brings together enthusiasts with industry professionals. Bottom: Daniels London is one of many UK brands gaining long overdue recognition
beAumonde | After the city26
In an industry dominated by centuries-old Swiss
craft, an English luxury watch brand launched
less than five years ago is a rarity. Even more
unusual is the success and cult following that
Nick and Giles English, founders of Bremont,
have quickly garnered.
‘We’re really proud of what we’ve achieved,’
says younger brother Giles. 'I opened up The
Sunday Times a few weekends ago to see a big
interview with Hugh Laurie, and I suddenly
realised he was wearing a Bremont. He hadn’t
been given it – he must have gone into a shop
and bought it. That was lovely to see.’
Founding a British watch company was
never originally part of the brothers’ plans.
A plane crash in 1995 killed their father, Euan
English, and left Nick with more than 30 broken
bones. This horrendous accident served as the
As they take on the world’s
watchmakers, Bremont’s
Nick and Giles English are
ticking all the boxes
Words Sarah Deeks
Photography Ivan Jones
Brand of
brothers
catalyst for the business, as Nick and Giles
decided to leave their City jobs to pursue their
shared lifelong passion for watches.
‘It’s easy to get on the Tube every morning
and go to work, and before you know it find that
four or five years have gone by,’ says Nick. ‘It
can take something of real magnitude to push
you over the edge, and make you take a risk,’
adds Giles. ‘I think we both realised that we
weren’t going to go any great distance in the
City, so it wasn’t a difficult decision to leave
our jobs. But it was a big jump.’ Nick, who
worked in accountancy at PwC, and Giles, who
was in corporate finance with Williams de Broë,
still talk about their time in the City with some
reverence. ‘Working in finance was a very good
background for setting up our own company,’
maintains Giles. ‘The professionalism and
discipline is incredibly valuable. It’s a bit like
doing National Service!’
After five years in development, Bremont
launched its first watch in 2007, as the industry
sat up and took notice of a British brand that
specialises in mechanical watches. And
although they cannot claim a watchmaking
heritage, engineering is in their blood.
‘The mechanics of a watch are what
fascinate us,’ enthuses Giles. ‘Our father was
an aeronautical engineer, and he spent his life
building things. As children we spent six months
living on a boat he built, and we still fly a plane
he built, too.’ They also have a thing or two to
say about so-called Swiss tradition. ‘The Swiss
watch industry is powered by marketing,’ says
Giles. ‘A lot of watch brands haven’t been
around for 300 years. They were around for
200 years, defunct for 90, then resurrected.’
Nick asserts that this was never the path for
Bremont. ‘We could have bought a brand name,
and said we’d been around since 1782. But
anyone who knows about watches would see
straight through that. We didn’t want to create
a bogus history; we wanted to be ourselves.’
The English brothers have certainly done
that. Bremont watches have become firm
favourites with those in the know; not only for
their aviator-inspired style and carefully
selected materials, but also for the level of
engineering and development that goes into
making them. A labour of love indeed.
bremont.com
time With the fAmilyNick English (left) and brother Giles put careers in the City behind them to create great British watches
The Regent Beau Brummell
Titanium set with ideal cut diamonds
113A Jermyn Street, Mayfair, London, SW1Y 6HJ
www.backesandstrauss.com
ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE DIVER
Designed and developed for deep-sea exploration, the Royal Oak Offshore Diver is equipped with
a dedicated divingscale on an inner rotating dial ring and meets the demanding criteria of the
Swiss watch industry diver’s watch norms. Water-resistant to 300 metres. Stainless steel case.
Proprietary selfwinding calibre 3120, all parts finely decorated; oscillating weight engraved with
the AP monogram as well as the Audemars and Piguet family crests.
������������ ������� , Te l : +44 (0 )20 7659 7300 - ������������������ ����
A QUEST FOR DEPTH.
LEOPARD
For a list of Hublot stockists in the UK, please telephone
0207 343 7200 or e-mail [email protected]
Hublot TV on: www.hublot.com
COLLECTABLE WATCHES | BRUMMELL
Collecting watches is not a hobby. It’s a hunger, and if you’re not careful it can become an obsession. I don’t call myself a collector as the word carries such a cultural payload, implying intellectual rigour and academic study. So while Charles Saatchi is a collector, I am not. But buying a timepiece need not be as daunting as curating your own horological Saatchi Gallery. The big benefit of watches over art is that you can wear a watch – while you can go swimming in your Rolex I wouldn’t recommend taking a dip with a Tracey Emin strapped to your wrist. On the following pages is a purely subjective wardrobe of masters old and new…
Presenting the cornerstones
of a classic gentleman’s
wristwatch collection
Timekeepers
Words Nick Foulkes
31
BRUMMELL | COLLECTABLE WATCHES32
AUdEMARS PigUETRoyal Oak The octagonal profile of the
pumped up Royal Oak
Offshore models has become
a familiar sight wherever
playboys gather, from Costa
Smeralda to St Tropez. But
the original Royal Oak was a
thin two-hand watch on a steel
bracelet and next year it
celebrates its 40th birthday.
It’s a hugely important watch
in that it started the trend for
the oversized luxury steel
sports watch with integral
bracelet that now typifies
the top end of sport-luxe
timekeeping. It is supremely
wearable too – if you’re after
a watch that can take you from
beach to boardroom, this is it.
audemarspiguet.com
HUBLOTKing Power Oceanographic 48mm 4000 Hublot watches are functional
but fun, and this combination
of technicality and good-times
styling comes from Jean
Claude Biver, an industry
legend who first revived
Blancpain, then revved up
Omega and now finds himself
running Hublot. Coining the
mission statement ‘the art of
fusion’, Biver has made Hublot
the reference point when it
comes to rugged horology that
makes use of the latest tech in
materials. With this model, he
also holds the current depth
record with a piece that can
withstand the pressures of life
4,000m underwater.
hublot.com
A. LAngE & SöHnEdouble Split In 19th-century watchmaking,
Lange was a name to drop
alongside the great houses of
Switzerland, but the DDR
years rather dented its
reputation for high-quality
timepieces. Undaunted, after
the Wall’s fall, the founder’s
great-grandson Walter Lange
picked up where his forebears
had left off. Today A. Lange
& Söhne (A. Lange and Sons)
is the reference for high-end
German watchmaking and its
quality ranks it alongside the
best in Switzerland. The
Double Split is a great watch
that can time two separate
events that might start
simultaneously but end up
to half an hour apart. Truly
a superior timepiece.
alange-soehne.com
JAEgER-LECOULTREgrande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 The watch that can be flipped
over on the wrist was a
typically functional product of
the Art Deco period. Inspired
by polo players whose fragile
watch glasses kept breaking,
this was the watch behind the
spectacular revival Jaeger-
LeCoultre enjoyed in the late
20th century. Today there are
dozens of different iterations
in the Jaeger line-up,
including some very ritzy
complications, but for a watch
that looks as good on the
wrist as in a museum you’ll
find it hard to beat this year’s
80th-anniversary model.
jaeger-lecoultre.com
FACE TO FACEClockwise from top left: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak; Hublot King Power Oceanographic 48mm 4000; A. Lange & Söhne Double Split; Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931
The Levi’s 501 of watches, just like the classic denims, a Rolex gets better with age and there are plenty of styles to choose from. Personally, i would always go for a vintage sports model, but other aficionados tick the boxes with an Explorer ii with orange second hand aka the ‘Steve McQueen’, or a ‘Paul newman’ daytona. given that this is Rolex, it’s excusable to go for a bit of bling and take a gold watch on a gold bracelet – try an early gMT 1675 in 18-carat gold (watch the beginning of Easy Rider very carefully and you’ll see a prototype example gracing Peter Fonda’s wrist). interested? danny Pizzigoni of Watch Club (watchclub.com) on Royal Arcade, just off Old Bond Street, will sort you out. rolex.com
Rolex
Vintage GMT-
Master 1675
Born in the air, defined in the cockpit, created in England, realised in Switzerland: Bremont mechanical chronometers are made by professionals to exacting standards... for the rest of us.
bremont.com | facebook.com/TestedBeyondEndurance | twitter.com/BremontWatchCom
ALT1-C/CR
BRUMMELL | COLLECTABLE WATCHES
PATEk PHiLiPPECalatrava 5119 In the watch world, the
Calatrava cross that is the
mark of this storied family-
owned brand arouses the
same sort of passions as
Ferrari’s prancing horse. Its
legendary ‘You never own a
Patek Philippe…’ ad campaign
and domination of auction
rooms’ upper reaches have
made its watches investment-
grade products – if only the
world’s financiers had
invested in Pateks, perhaps
we wouldn’t be in such trouble
today. If you don’t quite have
the $800,000 or so needed
to start the bidding on a first-
series 2499 from the late
Fifties, why not start with an
elegant Calatrava 5119, with
a clous de Paris bezel?
patek.com
BREgUETClassique 7137BA/11/9V6 Breguet’s rise marked the
culmination of the 18th-
century tradition that saw
watchmakers not as creators
of mechanical toys, but as
scientific researchers. If there
was a problem to do with
timekeeping, Abraham-Louis
Breguet, also a master
salesman, could be relied
on to come up with a raft of
solutions. Breguet popularised
the tourbillon, but it is
guilloche engraving that is
its most recognisable visual
signature, and this watch
features a lovely example.
breguet.com
giRARd-PERREgAUxTourbillon with three gold bridges Girard-Perregaux is one of
those recherché brands that
makes only 20,000 or so
watches a year and is seen
on discriminating wrists only.
In 1992 the firm was taken
over by Luigi ‘Gino’ Macaluso,
who was a towering figure in
the watch world – an architect
and former rally champ, too.
Alas, he died in 2010, but
his legacy is the portfolio of
classic watches that bear his
name. This model is based on
a 19th-century pocket watch,
and as well as a technical
tour de force is that rare thing:
a watch that can be recognised
across a crowded room.
girard-perregaux.ch
VACHEROn COnSTAnTinHistorique 1954 ArondeVacheron Constantin has
always been there – in 2015
this firm will be an incredible
260 years old. Vacheron can
minute-repeat and tourbillon
with the best, but for heritage,
its back catalogue is second
to none. In recent years the
brand has taken the
commendable step of
revisiting its past, and this
watch from the Fifties, a
surprisingly racy period in
watch design, is a true beauty.
If you are after a big statement
then cross this off your list –
this is a recondite, individual
and sophisticated timepiece
that demands similar qualities
from its wearer.
vacheron-constantin.com Nick Foulkes is the editor of
Vanity Fair On Time
OnES TO WATCHClockwise from top left: Patek Philippe CaIatrava 5119; Breguet Classique 7137BA/11/9V6; Girard -Perregaux Tourbillon with three gold bridges; Vacheron Constantin Historique 1954 Aronde
Richard Mille is one of the people who defined the direction taken by luxury watchmaking in the 21st century: a futuristic aesthetic executed in avant-garde materials – carbon nanofibre is something he’s particularly fond of. Although Mille is best known for the tonneau case shape, it’s his straight-sided RM 017 that is particularly appealing – extra flat, as is the trend these days, and available in titanium, white gold or red gold. richardmille.com
RichaRd Mille
RM 017 Extra Flat
Tourbillon
34
Information: Bell & Ross UK +44 207 096 08 78 . [email protected] . e-Boutique: www.bellross.com
Pocket Watch VINTAGE PW1 49 mm
Wristwatch VINTAGE WW1 45 mm - Alligator strap
Caliber rM 021
“AERODYNE”
Manual winding tourbillon movementBaseplate of honeycombed orthorhombic
titanium aluminide / carbon nanofiberPower reserver: circa 70 hours
Torque indicatorPower reserve indicator
Function selectorVariable inertia, free sprung balance
Fast rotating barrel (6 hours per revolution instead of 7.5 hours)
Winding barrel teeth and third-wheel pinion with central involute profile
Barrel pawl with progressive recoilModular time setting mechanism
fitted against the case backFree sprung balance with overcoil
Wheel based time setting system (back of the movement)Closure of the barrel cover by excentric screws
Ceramic endstone for the tourbillon cageCentral bridge in rigidified ARCAP
Spline screws in grade 5 titanium for the bridges and case
a r a C i N G M a C H i N e O N T H e W r i S T
www.richardmille.com
At one time, golfer Greg Norman had two nicknames: one he liked and one he could have lived without. He relished being known as the ‘Great White Shark’ and flinched when people called him ‘Unlucky’ Greg Norman. Both nicknames have their origins on the pro golf circuits that were his trophy-hunting grounds for more than 30 years.
The phenomenally gifted Norman certainly doesn’t think he has been dealt a bad hand by fate. ‘Listen,’ he says, ‘I was born lucky. I was brought up in paradise, although I maybe didn’t appreciate that at the time. We lived on the edge of the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef. There were white sandy beaches, clear coastal waters and pristine rainforest. We rode bareback along the beach with the dogs, surfed and camped out under the stars. Life was about having fun. It was there I had my first encounters with sharks, in Nelly Bay, when I was spearfishing and they would come over to take my catch. If you have a two-metre shark coming towards you, you let it eat whatever is on the end of your spear.’
So how did he get named after the fish that used to steal his lunch? ‘The Great White Shark thing started in 1981 when I was leading The Masters,’ he says. ‘The media didn’t know who I was or anything about my background and started asking questions about the unknown, blond-haired Aussie with an
DRIVE MASTER
Years before his aggressive game earned him the ‘Great White’ tag, Greg Norman was taking lessons from sharks in his native Queensland, Australia
aggressive style of play who used to swim and dive with sharks. Headlines along the lines of ‘Great White Shark To Win The Masters’ suddenly started appearing in the press. And the name stuck.’ Not that he minded: a decade later, he created and copyrighted the shark logo that has been his trademark ever since.
Does he still dive? ‘You bet. We live in Florida now, but I probably go back to Australia three or four times a year. I always try and get up to the Barrier Reef and go out with the family on a boat. We all do it; in fact, my daughter is a qualified divemaster. I have only really got into trouble once, at Riding
GREG NORMAN | BRUMMELL 37
Greg Norman earned his
‘Great White Shark’ nickname
on the golf course. But does
he have the nerve to go nose
to nose with his namesake?
Words Robert Ryan
Water
hazard
© O
me
ga
Rock, one of my favourite spots in the Bahamas. I had damaged part of the regulator on an outcrop and my air ran out. I was 25m down. You mustn’t panic. Kick slowly. Don’t rise faster than your bubbles. I got the minor effects of the bends, but I didn’t have to go through re-compression. Nothing like that has ever happened to me since. But you have to respect that things can go wrong down there.’
That realisation did not cause a moment's hesitation, however, when we asked Norman to go nose to nose with his namesake – Carcharodon carcharias, to give it its full scientific name – to test Omega’s new Seamaster Planet Ocean Chrono watch. ‘We went to the Neptune Islands in South Australia’s Marine Conservation park,’ he says of the trip, ‘where some of the footage of real sharks in Jaws was filmed. There are only a couple of dive outfits you can go with nowadays, because the great white is a protected species, as it should be. And it has certainly recovered strongly – we had six or seven circling us, big ones, too.’
Did he regret his mission at any point? ‘Absolutely not. Even though I’d seen great whites up close before, it’s still a pretty
astonishing feeling to be in the water, face-to-face with them. I was very lucky to get that opportunity.’
There is that word again. The alternative nickname came from a string of near-misses and unfortunate breaks on the greens (such as his cruel 1996 defeat at the US Masters by Nick Faldo) and there is a feeling that he never quite achieved his full potential out there. In fact, he still appears in top-10 lists of unluckiest sportsmen. Ask him about it now, and he is sanguine. ‘Obviously, there are some things I wish had gone differently. But, like a shark, you have to keep moving forward.’
Remember, this is a man who has won 91 professional titles (including two Open Championships and 20 wins on the US PGA tour), was world number one for 331 weeks, owns a successful global golf-course design business, a clothing line, a restaurant and a thriving wine label, is reputed to be worth many millions and has former US Presidents and business moguls on speed dial. To paraphrase another high-achieving Aussie: I should be so unlucky. Seamaster Planet Ocean Chrono by Omega, CHF6,600; omegawatches.com
WHITE KNUCKLE RIDE
Clockwise from above: Great White meets great white; Greg Norman on the boat to Australia’s Neptune Islands; Omega’s Seamaster Ocean Chrono; Norman in action on course
BRUMMELL | GREG NORMAN38
GIRARD-PERREGAUX Full calendar
Pink gold case, sapphire case back,
Girard-Perregaux automatic mechanical movement.
Full calendar with date, day of the week,
month and moon phase indicators.
London 165 SloAnE StREEt +44 (0) 20 7752 0246
Paris 50 RUE PIERRE ChARRon +33 (0) 1 47 20 72 40
CannEs 50 boUlEvARD DE lA CRoISEttE + 33 (0) 4 93 68 47 73
www.arije.com
class of 2011From left: Villeret Vintage Pulsographe, £30,100, Montblanc; montblanc.com. Vintage Rally collection, £2,280, frédérique constant; frederique-constant.com. Classique Retrograde in white gold, £15,600, Breguet; breguet.com. Rose gold Capeland, £12,990, Baume & Mercier; baume-et-mercier.com. Radiomir 42mm in steel, £4,400, Panerai; panerai.com. Imperiale collection self-winding movement in 18ct rose gold, £14,980, chopard; chopard.com
Classic and elegant, these luxury watches combine
innovation and beautiful design for perfect timekeeping
Photography Tif Hunter styling Pop Kampol
Finest
hours
MEN’s WaTcHEs | BRUMMEll 41
BRUMMELL | hoRoLogicaL tRiBEs42
It’s 9am sharp on a Monday and the six partners of private equity fund Lever Ridge Byatt are having their monthly get together to decide what to snap up next. The problem is, most have more or less lost interest in business – well, there’s no fun in it now, not like it was in Brown’s ‘boom not bust’ economy when everyone thought the cash would keep on flowing and it was considered dereliction of duty not to replace your Aston Martin with a new one every three months.
No, things just aren’t the same, what with ‘QEII’ bumping up inflation and the feeble pound making overseas buyouts a bit pricey. And as for those silly new rules about having to tell the Revenue what you’ve got in your Swiss bank accounts… well, I ask you.
No wonder everyone has looked at his watch half a dozen times by 9.10 and, distracted by their choice of timepiece, allowed his mind to drift off to a place he’d rather be.
Henry is longing to be back home at his Oxfordshire pile, checking out the little beauties in his motorhouse. His collection of classic cars has proved to be one of the best investments he’s ever made, especially the four Ferraris. His personal favourite is the 750 Monza which is now worth the thick end of £2m – not a bad return on the 50 grand it cost as a basket case back in the early Nineties. He used it to take part in the legendary Mille Miglia – a 1,000-mile dash across Italy for classic cars in which every driver is given a special Chopard ‘MM’ chronograph. According to Henry’s, this bloody boring meeting has now been running for 13 minutes and 23-and-three-tenths of a second.
Patrick has made enough money to be able to indulge in all the expensive hobbies he could wish to pursue - but his schooling at Gordonstoun gave him a taste for the rugged outdoors and caused him to develop a passion for mountaineering. He spends most of his time these days in central and southern Asia
No wonder everyone has looked
at his watch half a dozen times
by 9.10 and, distracted by his
choice of timepiece, drifted off
among the great peaks of the world - he’s made his way up Everest, K2 and Cho Oyu and, since he’s back in Europe for a spell, thought he might have a go at some climbs in the Alps. While passing through the airport, he was rather tickled to discover the Montblanc pen company also makes some rather fine watches, so he bought the Vintage Pulsographe in rose gold to remind him of life at 15,000ft.
Gary joined the fund after making a mint on the trading floors during the ‘loadsamoney’ years of the early Eighties – and he’s been letting everyone know about it ever since. Not for him the low-key approach, he believes in living the moment and flashing the cash, so he wears all the best labels, drives an acid-green Lambo and lives in a Candy & Candy penthouse. He’s struggling to keep awake in this meeting, not just because it’s so dull but because he emerged from Boujis only about two hours before it started – and the dazzling glint from his limited edition Backes & Strauss Beau Brummell
wristwatch is not doing his emerging headache any favours. Maybe 347 ideal-cut diamonds is a bit over the top even for Gary in the daytime, and he should reserve it for evening wear.
Clifford is the old stager among the group, having come up through the City ranks in the traditional way, reached the status of chairman and then taken early retirement in his early fifties - having, of course, secured a useful string of directorships and consultancy roles to ensure his handsome pension pot need never become too depleted. His desire to spend his latter years amid sun and sea led to him buying
Fairly or not, the watch you wear says a lot about you. Through it you can express
reliable judgement, claim dazzling success or suggest you’re climbing K2 next week
Words Simon de Burton illustration Brett Ryder
Which watchare you?
a magnificent yacht, which he has expensively crewed with a team of six tanned and muscular 20-somethings who have brought Clifford and ‘A Minimis Incipe’ (‘From The Smallest Beginnings’) a considerable measure of success at classic races in the Med and Caribbean – at the last of which he won the Panerai Luminor
Submersible Regatta wristwatch, which, as the meeting drags by, is making him long for the feel of spray on his sea-weathered face.
Gordon studied engineering and always expected to end up as a small cog in a big machine, perhaps designing cup-holders for Audi or girders for futuristic buildings. But as luck would have it, his idea for a new type of lid for bottled water went down a storm with all those people who are obsessed with perpetually re-hydrating and now he’s virtually swimming in cash. He’s still fascinated by the mechanics of things, however, so his Breguet Classique
Hora Mundi wristwatch and its instant-jump time-zone display system with synchronised date, day and night and city indications is keeping him pleasantly distracted from the mind-numbing proceedings of the meeting.
Giles made his money at a sufficiently early age to still have enough functioning grey matter to enable him to achieve his boyhood dream of learning to fly planes and helicopters. Now, he enjoys the jet-set life to the full, with his own Robinson R44 chopper for commuting between his Battersea penthouse and Cornish manor house, plus a VLJ (that’s Very Light Jet) for the longer trips to his villa in Antibes and the chalet in St Moritz. All his aircraft are equipped with the latest avionics, but Giles would never leave home without his Breitling Navitimer watch (as promoted by plane-mad John Travolta) with its nifty circular slide rule for navigational calculations. So, instead of paying attention at the meeting, he’s got his head in the clouds trying to work out how much fuel it would take to fly the Robinson from Cannes to St Tropez at 130mph into an eight-knot headwind.
BRUMMELL | StyLE44
hand SELEctEdThis page: Ballon Bleu PG watch, £14,500, cartier; cartier.com Navy two-button suit, £2,190, Ermenegildo Zegna. Shirt, £75, and green and blue striped tie, £59, both thomas Pink
Opposite: Portofino hand-wound eight- days watch, £13,500, IWc; iwc.com Two-button suit, £970, canali. Shirt, £110, hackett. Shoes, £890, angelo Galasso
The suit is sharp, the shirt crisp and the leather on the shoes burnished.
Now it’s down to the final touches, particularly the slickest of watches
Photography Bruce Anderson Styling Pop Kampol
The last detail
BRUMMELL | styLE46
pockEt acEsTop: Carrera Calibre 16 Heritage Automatic Chronograph 41mm steel and gold watch, £3,450, taG Heuer; tagheuer.com Coat, £649, Emporio armani. Shirt, £195, Ralph Lauren. Cufflinks, £109, Brooks Brothers
Bottom: Tourbillon pocket watch RM 020 with titanium chain, £328,000, Richard Mille; richardmille.com Black tourmaline two-button suit, £1,935, Bottega Veneta. Charcoal grey waistcoat, £249,
Emporio armani. White and green shirt, £75, thomas pink
Opposite: Captain Winsor watch, £6,300, Zenith; zenith-watches.com Jacket, £1,075, alexander McQueen.
Shirt, £95, paul smith. Cufflinks, £650, angelo Galasso. Trousers, £305, Ralph Lauren. Briefcase, £740, Bally
BRUMMELL | styLE48
sLEEVE NOtEsTop: Millenary self-winding watch in white gold case, £23,680, Audemars Piguet; audemarspiguet.com Double-breasted suit, £895, DAKs. Jumper, £540, Alexander McQueen. Constellation T touchscreen phone, £4,300, Vertu
Bottom: Vintage BR 123 Original watch in satin steel with black dial, £1,600, Bell & Ross; bellross.com Black two-button suit, £1,120, Alexander McQueen. Red jumper, £165, Pal Zileri. White shirt, £275, Burberry.
Suit-stripe cufflinks, £95, Paul smith
styList’s AssistANt Fay Lamchaiprasert
FaShiOn STOCkiSTS DeTaiLS On page 50
Contac. Argento Fine Producs T. 020 7722 24 38 . www.frederique-constant.com
Live passionyourwih Maxime Manufacure
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Famed for the ingenuity of his mechanical complications, Franck Muller is both maverick and master watchmaker
Second
to none
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Well no, in the sense that the epicurean pleasure derived from a fine mechanical watch is shared by many. And yes, in that in the watch industry, a little madness (or genius, subject to the jury’s verdict) goes a long way.
Among the visionary architects of the current fascination with haute horlogerie is Franck Muller, a man universally acknowledged as one of the greatest living exponents of the art of traditional watchmaking – and as one of its saviours.
Muller, 53, hails from the Swiss watchmaking Mecca of La Chaux-de-Fonds, trained at the prestigious École d’Horlogerie de Genève (Geneva School of Watchmaking) and made his name in the Eighties restoring top-end complicated watches for collectors and auction houses.
At the time, the watch industry was on its knees – because of the influx of cheap quartz movements from the Far East – and watch brands were frequently going under, taking their tools, their people and their expertise with them.
In 1983, Muller presented his first watches – complicated pieces that appealed to a clientele still hungry for elite craftsmanship, unsatisfied by mass-produced offerings from mainstream brands. Inspired by their success, he created ever more complex watches, inventing bizarre movements with functions no one had ever seen before.
His zany Crazy Hours timepieces, for example, display the hours in the wrong order around the dial. Where an hour hand would normally progress serenely around, on a Crazy Hours watch it points to the correct time by skipping around the face. Such an unconventional watch is not for everyone, not least given the potential for confusion, but there’s no denying its unique artistry or the brilliance of the mind behind it.
Because of this, Elton John once called Muller the Picasso of watchmaking, while others refer to him as the rock star or enfant terrible of the industry. He’s more commonly known as the ‘Master of Complications’. Each moniker applies – Muller’s current collection is typified by the large, fruity Arabic numerals on the dials of many of his watches (mostly in the conventional order), oversized square or tonneau-shaped cases, and the remarkable complications housed inside them. At one point, Muller’s career-defining Aeternitas Mega 4 was the world’s most complicated watch. With 36 complications, including an equation of time and a 1,000-year calendar, it cost $2.7m.
Not every Franck Muller carries an astronomical price tag, mind. His dual-time travel alarm clock is one of the few Muller creations powered by a quartz movement. Featuring the familiar dancing coloured numerals on the dial and weighing enough to suggest most buyers are more likely to use it as a table clock (or ask someone else to carry their suitcases), it’s available for £2,500. Franck Muller’s timepieces are available
at Marcus Watches, 170 New Bond
Street, London W1; 020 7290 6500;
marcuswatches.co.uk
Words Robin Swithinbank
The luxury watch industry is full of eccentrics – it could be no other way. Think about it. First, there’s the money. To create a mechanical watch from scratch costs millions and there is never a guarantee you’ll make it back. Then there’s the time-consuming fiddliness of putting one together. You could write an epoch-defining novel in the time it takes to assemble and test the hundreds of tiny parts that make up a grande complication model.
And for what? To make a device that tells the time, a quotidian job that was simplified years ago by the introduction of highly accurate, battery-powered quartz. Logic dictates you’d have to be slightly mad to even contemplate going into the traditional watch business, right?
BRiGHT AnD EARLY Franck Muller’s signature
dancing coloured numerals now feature on this
dual-time alarm clock
Linear-winding automatic movement, 18K red gold
case with sapphire crystal sides and back.
Hand-engraved gold version of the first CORUM
automatic baguette-shaped movement.
+44 (0) 1932 574 674 • [email protected] • www.corum.ch
H E R M È S S E L L I E R – H E R M È S H O R L O G E R
ARCEAU GRANDE LUNESteel case, mechanical self-winding
movement, moon phases, alligator strapCrafted by Hermès watchmakers in Switzerland
www.hermes.com