Table of contents for Issue 1 2024 in CROWN

Experiential boutiques are a retail trend that started several years ago. Today, we’re seeing more and more monobrand stores designed to immerse customers in a brand’s identity. Patek Philippe is fully on board, having opened several boutiques across Southeast and East Asia with notable retailers in the region. The latest are in Singapore and Bangkok, both of which are operated by Cortina Watch. The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Patek Philippe has had a boutique in Marina Bay Sands since the shopping mall opened, but in recent years, the mall has tried to re-organise itself, creating a ‘Watch Avenue’ dedicated to fine and high watchmaking. The watchmaker’s new boutique is strategically located at the junction where the casino, hotel, and retail mall meet, and premieres a brand-new façade for the…

Every year, Pantone names a Colour of the Year that describes the state and mood of our world today. It has a meticulous selection process for this annual project, with researchers looking for new colour influences across different industries, from fashion to travel and design globally. The winning hue for 2024 is Peach Fuzz, which exudes a warm and comforting undertone. It brings hope and renewal in a time of constant change, a nurturing colour for this time. Watchmaking doesn’t move as swiftly with colour trends as fashion, but peach or peach-adjacent hues have had a natural place in this field. In fact, rose-hued salmon dials date back to the early 20th century. It quickly gained popularity for its distinctive appearance and has enjoyed a bit of a revival in…

Ultrathin Tourbillon Skeleton The concept of creating a watch where the movement seamlessly blends into the case has suffused ultrathin watchmaking for decades. While Piaget and Bulgari probably led the way in designing such timepieces, Arnold & Son’s Ultrathin Tourbillon Skeleton offers a more traditional look. The rose gold coloured brass baseplate and bridges of the movement, which are decorated with Genevan striping and skeletonised as much as possible, blend into the inner bezel of the watch, which is set into a watch case with an ultra-slim bezel. (The rose gold model truly looks like the movement and case are one creation.) The circular design of the movement, starting with the crown and barrel on the right to the time display at the top and the gear train on the…

In February, a week after the LVMH Group’s watch brands showcased their 2024 novelties in Miami, watch journalists and affiliated industry participants rushed back across the Channel to attend the inaugural Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives award ceremony. At the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Jean Arnault, the youngest son of LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault, announced the winner, Raúl Pages, to the 250 guests in attendance. Along with a bespoke trophy, Pagès wins a €150,000 grant as well as a one-year mentorship from La Fabrique du Temps. With the guidance of Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, Pagès intends to develop a new chronometer movement that would be a follow-up to his winning timepiece, the RP1. The RP1 is an impressive watch with a regulator display and a manually wound…

In a glittering celebration of opulence and innovation, Swiss jeweller and watchmaker Jacob & Co. opened the doors to its newest boutique in the vibrant heart of Hong Kong. This storefront is the first Jacob & Co. boutique in Hong Kong and solidifies its presence within the region and the fine and high watchmaking industry as well. The Hong Kong boutique is its third in Asia (after Malaysia and South Korea) and the ninth globally. Managed by Cortina Watch, the boutique is located on the ground floor of The Peninsula (Tsim Sha Tsui, Shop W5 Ground Floor, Salisbury Road, Hong Kong). While the colour code of black and white with silver highlights remains the same across all its stores, each has distinct elements based on its location. The Peninsula boutique…

In this issue, you will notice two major trends that are emerging in 2024 – the colour green and the dragon motif. While the former is a trend that has been around for several years, it really exploded in 2024, with numerous green-dialled watches in the first two months of the year alone. The dragon motif naturally follows the Year of the Wood Dragon, which we are now in, and heralds a year of prosperity, peace (hopefully), and blessings for the year ahead. In Vacheron Constantin’s Les Cabinotiers – Récits de Voyages collection, which was released late last year, one particular model captures both trends with a generous dose of artistic craft. The Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon watch celebrates the brand’s history and long association with China. Thus, the…

It is hard to say if Laurent Lecamp, the global managing director of Montblanc’s Watch Division, knew just how successful the 1858 Iced Sea collection would be when he launched it in 2022. He was certainly aware that he had tapped into a motif that stayed true to the brand’s identity and intrigued watch enthusiasts across the board. The gratté-boisé technique used to create the visually arresting dials of the Iced Sea is not only authentic but also unique to Montblanc in watchmaking, and the Mont Blanc massif it emulates is core to the brand’s identity – its very logo represents the snow-covered glaciers of the summit. The following year demonstrated that the Iced Sea was no one-hit wonder. Even as the brand introduced various colourways for the three-hand watch,…

In the age-old competition between German and Swiss watchmaking, one material is used by the Germans in a distinct manner. This is mallechort or German silver, an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc. Also known as nickel silver, the alloy is a Chinese invention from the 16th century, though its nomenclature does not hint at this fact at all. It was essentially used as a dupe of silver, which was expensive, difficult to mine, and tarnished over time. German silver is harder, more durable, and can be easily electroplated for use across numerous industries. The Germans would develop their own alloy composition that mimicked the lustre of real silver in 1823 while maintaining the valuable qualities of nickel silver. They are used untreated for various purposes, including homeware and watchmaking,…

Inspired by the precise movement of the stars, Omega’s Constellation was first introduced in 1952 as a chronometer for men. Then, it underwent countless technical and aesthetic evolutions through the decades, from the iconic ‘Pie-Pan’ dials in the mid-20th century to the incorporation of quartz movements in the 1970s to finally establishing its signature look with the Carol Didisheim-designed Constellation Manhattan in 1982, complete with the now-famous ‘claws’ at either side of the case, scalloped case shape, and integrated bracelet. Ranking among the watchmaker’s longest-running and most successful lines, the Constellation now has literally hundreds of references, but that isn’t stopping Omega from adding another 20 more, all touting meteorite dials to reinforce its stellar theme. Before we talk about the watches, let’s delve into the dial material, as brands…

If auction results are a measure of the state of the world, we’d be celebrating based on Christie’s performance in 2023. In the Americas, its Important Watches sale under the annual Luxury Week live auctions achieved over US$11.2 million, with a sell-through of 96 per cent of the 107 lots presented. Nine of the lots reached above a quarter of a million, and two in particular – a Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref. 5002P-001 sold for US$1.562 million, while a Richard Mille RM 018 Hommage à Boucheron went under the hammer for US$1.26 million, well beyond its expected US$500,000 price. This particular auction also featured one of the Patek Philippe Ref. 3448s owned by Andy Warhol, which sold for US$378,000. But it is in Asia where the auction house…

Data. Too little of it is bad; too much of it is overwhelming. In the watch industry, data remains elusive, from how we factor or value certain watches to how prices evolve. Until recently, most systems that captured evolving prices of iconic models were either in analogue form or proprietary to the businesses that sold these products, either at auction or on the pre-owned market. This meant that that information was mostly restricted to individuals with influence or access to these platforms, and even then, that data was limited to each organisation. As of last December, however, an industry-wide solution exists to track the pricing of over 500,000 watch references. EveryWatch is an AI-powered aggregator that allows you to examine the real transaction figures of pretty much every watch that…

The global events of the last four years have taught business owners one important lesson: Business continuity is crucial to the long-term viability of any company. The founder of Rolex, Hans Wilsdorf, had the foresight to prepare his business for a future without him or any descendants to pass it down to. The Rolex Foundation, led by its board of directors, strives to constantly improve not only its watches but also its environmental performance and social impact in its quest for excellence. Rolex has consistently advocated for and supported social, cultural, and scientific programmes since its founding. In 2020, it introduced the Impact and Sustainability initiative to reinforce its work in promoting sustainability. In addition to the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, it has committed to being a responsible manufacturer of…

LVMH Watch Week is here, and as usual, it takes the temperature of the year ahead, giving us some idea of what to expect. This year is particularly significant as in the first week of January, the group offered a slew of announcements on C-Suite level changes. Frédéric Arnault, the youngest son of Bernard Arnault, was promoted from CEO of TAG Heuer to the CEO of LVMH Watches, a new title created just for him. Arnault now reports to Stéphane Bianchi, the President of LVMH Watches & Jewellery, while overseeing all the other watch brands in the group. As for TAG Heuer, Julien Tornare is now helming its operation, and taking over Zenith in this musical chair situation is Benoit de Clerck, formerly from Panerai and IWC. Even without any…

If you recall anything from your GCSE Physics, you may recall that there are some absolute physical constants in our universe which set the limits that define our existence. These include the masses of subatomic particles, the gravitational constant, and the speed of light. A photon of light travels at a speed of 299,792,458 km/s. It is the maximum speed that any object can travel at. Albert Einstein’s famous equation for converting mass to energy relies on this value, c, to determine the energy released. In astronomy, we quantify distances using light as a measure based on how far it’s travelled, which is where time comes into play. Since distance covered is speed multiplied by time, astronomers use light second, light-minute, light-hour, light-year, and more to create a scale to…

THE TIFFANY TAXI IS NON-LIMITED, BUT ONLY 100 WILL BE PRODUCED ANNUALLY. IT IS PRICED AT S$73,000 AND CAN BE ORDERED FROM ANY TIFFANY & CO. BOUTIQUE The mid-century aesthetic is one that remains highly appreciated in interior design, film, architecture, and automobile design. One icon in New York, apart from the many skyscrapers that emerged in the city at the time, is the Tailfin Fender taxicab. Tiffany & Co. is appropriating this icon for its latest timekeeping object, the Tiffany Taxi. The aluminium taxi frame sports a Tiffany Blue paint job, with a silvered license plate bearing its logo and a little yellow taxi sign above the windshield. The rims of the wheels are also in matching Tiffany Blue. The Tiffany Taxi houses a clock with two independent movements…

Across all of Asia and Latin America, one particular gemstone has held cultural significance for millennia – jade. The exquisite stone comes in many different forms, and it takes an experienced eye to identify the emerald-green jadeite favoured by jewellers. As a material in watchmaking, however, jade is rarely used because of its fragility. It’s also rare to find a large stone that’s perfectly even in colouration and clarity that can be cut for use in horology. That’s why H. Moser & Cie’s latest edition of the Streamliner Tourbillon has caught our attention. The watch has a jade dial that’s sourced from Wyoming, USA. While jade deposits are relatively common in North America, the majority of high quality jadeite today comes from Myanmar. Moser’s choice of American jade makes this…