Tabla de contenidos para Issue 34 en REVOLUTION WATCH

The issue of Revolution you are holding in your hands is an important one for me. First, it demonstrates our determination to continue to publish the print edition of our magazine even as we’ve significantly grown our content creation online, on social media and, yes, using the Zoom platform, which I’m pretty sure now has all of our conversations stored forever on their cloud to be sold to foreign governments for data mining. I joke, of course. Why was this so important? Because my time during lockdown, self-isolation, quarantine, shelter at home or whatever you want to call it, has reaffirmed one thing to me. Reading something on paper is a damnably welcome reprieve from the constant daily assault of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Instagram and TikTok. And, please, for all…

OK, what’s the coolest, newest release of 2020? Hands down it is the Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Skeleton. And, because I’ve been limited to 800 words for this introductory article, I shall henceforth replace that exceedingly long name with the simple sobriquet, “Baby.” Why is Baby so cool? Well, she’s cool on many different levels. First, let’s talk about movement. Baby’s predecessor, the 222, was launched in 1977 to do battle in the integrated bracelet, sports chic arena, with Audemars Piguet’s 5402ST Royal Oak that kicked things off in 1972 and Patek Philippe’s Nautilus 3700/1A introduced in 1976 (understanding something about new-model lead time, it is clear the 222 was developed in parallel with the Nautilus). Like the other two watches, the 222 exuded a strong and appealing…

PORTUGIESER AUTOMATIC 40 The 1930s were turbulent times for the world at large. Aside from the economic instability, politically too there was great unrest. The watch industry in this timeframe, was no less spared. The response by the International Watch Company (IWC) at the time was to push the envelope, and to be innovative and ambitious. A proposition was made by two wholesalers from Lisbon for a watch for their market. They wanted a wristwatch with all of the functions of a marine chronometer. IWC took this as a propulsion to innovate, and this resulted in the creation of the family of watches we now know as the Portugieser collection. Given the current state of the world in 2020, it’s oddly poetic that IWC — by sheer coincidence — had…

There are a number of marques who will tell you they pioneered the first modern dive wristwatch, but any true disciple of horology will point to Blancpain as the original underwater explorer. The 1950s marked a time of great exploration by humanity. It was not only the dawn of the Space Age but oceanic explorations were also greatly expanded during this decade. The first Fifty Fathoms was launched in 1953, originally designed for French military divers but the watch proved to be so robust and popular that it was soon adopted by Navies around the world — trademarked as “Aqualung” in France, “Tornek-Rayville” and “Mil-Spec,” short for military specifications, in America. Civilians too, enjoyed the watch, most famously Jaques Cousteau, who sported the Fifty Fathoms on his dives in the…

This season, the tireless horological ingenuity that Stephen Forsey and Robert Greubel inject into their watchmaking finds a new episode in the QP à Équation, now with a warmer appearance. This perpetual calendar with equation of time display was first released in 2017, and it is now dressed in the cozy shades of red gold and a warm chocolate dial. When Greubel Forsey debuts a “new invention,” the world stops in its tracks to pay attention. Since the irruption of this firm in 2004, Greubel Forsey has reestablished the parameters of extreme horology, not only because of the apparent technical richness of its pieces, but also because of the guiding concept that gives life to each one of them: the search for maximum precision. That’s why when the QP à…

I feel like I often read about the similarities between collecting watches and collecting cars. The mindset, appreciation for heritage and aesthetics combined with the enjoyment of the pursuit of a long sought-after piece for one’s collection, are all commonalities between both arenas of collecting. There are myriad parallels that we could unpack, but today I want to draw a comparison that is important for both disciplines — the use of coachbuilders and casemakers. In the 1930s, Italian coachbuilder Battista “Pinin” Farina established his own independent coachworks “Carrozzeria Pinin Farina.” Pininfarina went on to become one of the most celebrated car designers, creating designs and body work for Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, Ford and Maserati to name a few. This meant there were similarities between the different manufacturers’ cars,…

To me, the following conversation was something that was important to share with the entire watch community and beyond. When I first thought about it and when I saw the reprehensible way many human beings were acting up to, and during, the pandemic, Mr. Biver’s words reminded me of the harsh indictment of humanity made by Agent Smith to Morpheus in The Matrix, “[Human beings are] not actually mammals. Every mammal instinctively establishes an equilibrium with the surrounding environment. But you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is?…

Despite his impressive track record as Cartier’s CEO — he’s been the man responsible for the brand’s turnaround since 2016 — Cyrille Vigneron is charmingly understated and humble about his accomplishments, preferring to let the results of the brand he steers steadfastly speak for themselves. But what is undeniable is that shortly after his coming on board, all of a sudden, Cartier started to make exactly the right watches. Which is to say timepieces that perfectly expressed the maison’s unrivaled ability to exude elegance and style in a way that was at once a graceful homage to the past, yet perfectly at home in contemporary culture. Vigneron perfectly reconnected the aristocratic leanings of Cartier with its tradition of design audacity, eschewing an overreliance on technical watchmaking for its own sake,…

When Nicola Andreatta joined Roger Dubuis at the end of 2018, it was on the heels of the dynamic Jean-Marc Pontroué, who was beginning a new stint at Panerai. Pontroué, who had been at the helm for six years, was one of the major forces behind the brand’s shift from purely a watchmaking standpoint to one that straddled the worlds of high watchmaking and motor sports. It may be a tough act to follow, but Andreatta was undaunted; he had a clear vision of where he wanted to lead the company, and he would do so, with an infectious smile and affable charm. Andreatta’s connections with Roger Dubuis run deep. His father’s company Timeo SA, of which Andreatta also managed from 2003 to 2013, was a supplier to Roger Dubuis…

There are some watches that will be forever linked with cars and famous characters on the small and big screens. The examples that come to mind are under-the-radar and not famous links, but are well known to the army of watch geeks towards whom this tome is generally aimed! If I say a Ferrari 308 GTS and Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum P.I. you immediately think of what? Correct — the “Pepsi” Rolex GMT-Master reference 16750. How about a Porsche 908 and Steve McQueen in Le Mans? Well done you — a blue-dial Heuer Monaco! OK, now time for a difficult one. A white Ferrari Testarossa and Don Johnson as James “Sonny” Crockett in Miami Vice? Anyone…anyone? Good answer — an Ebel 1911 Sport Classic Chronograph! The 1980s series Miami…

Piaget debuted its first extra-thin movement, the 9P, in 1957 and went on to hold the world record of the thinnest mechanical watch in 2014 with the launch of the Altiplano 900P that was just 3.65mm thick. And so, when Piaget gave us a glimpse of the prototype of the Altiplano Ultimate Concept in 2018, we were all intrigued. Breaking all sorts of records, the watch was a gossamer thinness of 2mm only, standing at the same height as the caliber 9, or about the same thickness of a 1-Euro coin. What began as an experiment in micro-engineering has now become a fully-fledged product. The new Altiplano Ultimate Concept features the same base construction as the 900P to achieve ultra-thinness. The miniaturisation process starts with removing the movement baseplate and…

Across the long history of watchmaking, independent agents have always played a part in its development. But the cottage industries of old have given way to young, energetic entrepreneurs in the industry, heading up boutique indie brands today. Edouard Meylan of H. Moser & Cie. is one; Maximilian Büsser of MB&F is another. Büsser in particular has long been a firm believer in partnerships, even before the founding of MB&F. His time at Harry Winston is well known, and Max Büsser & Friends (MB&F) literally injects the idea of partnerships into its very name. By using the term “Friends” in place of “Frères,” he’s turned heritage in watchmaking into friendly competition, at a time when collaboration projects are thriving. But this has always been his nature. Even at Baselworlds past,…

From 1995-2003 Roger Dubuis created some of the most beautiful chronographs the world has ever known under the Hommage family which also included non-chronograph models. These watches received the Geneva Seal and were certified as chronometers at the Observatory in Besançon. Today they have become some of the fastest rising collectable modern vintage watches. Much of this has to do with their design which, as the name “Hommage” implies, was heavily inspired by the Patek Philippe reference 130 as well as the reference 1463. As this issue of Revolution is dedicated to these two Patek references I saw wonderful synergy in including this excellent article created by A Collected Man here so that comparison could be made between the Patek Philippe and Roger Dubuis watches. The Hommage was made in…

The Royal Oak comes in various sizes, you can find the self-winding model offered in 37mm, 39mm and 41mm. That said, if one were hankering after the smaller sizes, like the 33mm, it may come as a slight disappointment as the 33mm model was powered by a quartz movement. But now, disappointment no more; Audemars Piguet has dropped a new small model in their most iconic lineup. The new model is in 34mm, just a hair larger than the previous 33mm, and features, for the first time, a mechanical self-winding movement. Audemars Piguet launched the new collection with little fanfare, but at our recent visit to AP House, we were given the opportunity to view and photograph the new piece. The 34mm Royal Oak comes in four versions: in steel…

SPIRIT OF THE PAST Clearly excited about the launch of Chronomaster Revival Manufacture Edition, Zenith CEO Julien Tornare kicks off his Zoom video presentation (the new “norm”) saying, “I remember it like it was yesterday. It was mid-November, 2018. I was in a marketing meeting here [at the manufacture] and suddenly I got a phone call from two of my colleagues, ‘Julian, can you come to the attic? We found something very interesting [that you must see].’ “I replied saying, ‘Are you sure? I mean, I’m in a meeting right now.’ But I know that [they’d] never pull me out of a meeting like this if it wasn’t important. I put down the phone and ran to the attic.” When Julien got there, his colleagues held out a small box…

Roger Dubuis’ #DaretobeRare philosophy in its watchmaking has seen CEO Nicola Andreatta and strategic product director Gregory Bruttin exploring how to make classic high complications edgier. At SIHH 2019, the brand released a number of impressive design feats, from carbon-fibre movements to gem-set tourbillon cages. That’s not forgetting the Blacklight series with sapphire tubes that light up in the dark. In Shanghai late 2019, our editor Sumit Nag was privy to the launch of a Roger Dubuis minute repeater in a carbon-fibre case, a unique piece developed by Bruttin. It’s interesting that the movement itself originates from one of the first high complications Roger Dubuis developed for the brand — the minute repeater appeared early in Roger Dubuis’ watches. But Bruttin has introduced new innovations to the repeater. Carbon fibre…

Laurent Ferrier’s work speaks for itself. First encounters with his watches bring back a heady sense of ’60s and ’70s classicism, a rakish world where clean, pure lines in design and style ruled, and a certain rigour was practiced in dressing and etiquette. Despite that, his watches do not look out of place in the 21st century — if anything, like a good mid-century modern design, they feel even more suited to our era, and eras forthcoming. One great example is the Grand Sport Tourbillon, which is definitely a sport luxe or sports chic watch that stands right along the greats of the genre, such as the Nautilus and Royal Oak. Though Laurent Ferrier did spend some 37 years at Patek Philippe, eventually ending up as head of the creative…

Whether you want to call it a miracle, or a genetic alignment of cosmic fortitude so inspiring that it provides irrefutable evidence of a greater Creator, there are certain women that are so beautiful that they transcend description. And it goes beyond their sheer physical beauty. It has to do with poise, elegance, an unexpected huskiness of voice, a forthright intellect and a barely self-contained passion. To me, the most beautiful woman of all time is French actress Dominique Sanda, or “la Sanda” as she was called, winner of the 1976 Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actress, a Knight of France’s Legion of Honour, and Officer in its Order of Arts and Letters. Her 30-second biography goes like this. After modelling for Vogue, she was hand-picked by French director…

We believe that a beautifully made mechanical watch is meant to last a lifetime and beyond. As such what we identify as the period of first ownership for any timepiece might only represent the very nascent stage of its life span. Accordingly we want to ensure that every pre-owned watch is treated with the correct dignity and accorded the correct narrative and emotional empowerment to connect with its new buyer and find its new home. But the problem with the pre-owned watch market is that it is often unregulated. On sites that amalgamate listings from second hand dealers or private sellers, and even the most popular auction and e-commerce sites, there is little protection for the buyer. Which means if the watch you’ve purchased is not as described, damaged or…

OK, let’s get this out of the way so there’s no confusion. A Cartier Santos, or Santos de Cartier, is a watch on a bracelet featuring screws on both its bezel and its bracelet. While it was clearly derived from the Cartier Santos-Dumont, the very first known luxury men’s wristwatch designed for Alberto Santos-Dumont by his friend Louis Cartier, it was actually conceptualised by a legend in the watch industry named Alain-Dominique Perrin, Cartier’s CEO from 1975 to 1998. Understanding that he was at the helm of Cartier during a turbulent era beset by both the Quartz Crisis as well as the OPEC Oil Embargo and the global economic recession of 1973 to 1975, he knew he had to think out of the box. Riding on the massive hit represented…