Table of contents for Vol 26 in REVOLUTION WATCH

I HAVE ALREADY MADE CLEAR MY perspective on how I see the print magazine of the future. With the rapid proliferation of information blitzing its way through the internet and social media, and with the capacity for Instagram stories to engage in a way the static page never can, print media will become an emotional tool. It will be a coffee-table book, an object of art, a collectable that celebrates all those things that the internet and social media can’t achieve. It will be all about great, long-format writing with an edifying approach to journalism and the expressive use of the English language in polar opposition to the short-format, hash-tagged ephemera that has our aggregate attention span diminishing with alarming rapidity. The one sub-category of media that I feel has…

Following in the footsteps of its two predecessors, the secretive, invitation-only “Issued 3” saw another gathering of hard-core Rolex and Tudor enthusiasts. The bi-annual event was founded by renowned vintage Rolex and MilSub experts Mike Wood and Jed McCormack and is focused, primarily, on Rolex watches that were actually issued. In attendance, along with Revolution’s Rolex and Tudor Editor-At-Large, Ross Povey, were devotees from the UK, Holland, Belgium, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, France, Sweden, Singapore, the US (with New York, Texas and Florida well-represented), and many other countries. countries. In celebrating all things Rolex and Tudor, as well as a few other “cool” brands, the focus was issued watches including military pieces, professional tool watches and commemorative timepieces. British MOD-issued MilSubs, Comex Submariners and Sea-Dwellers, Tudor MilSubs and Middle East…

A. LANGE & SÖHNE TRIPLE SPLIT CHRONOGRAPH MOVEMENT Manual wind Calibre L132.1; 567 components; 55-hour power reserve CASE 43.2mm white gold STRAP Black alligator leather with deployant clasp Oddly, when horolophiles compare relative manhood via their watches, one of the most complex and – unlike many of the rest – useful complications is ignored. They blather on about repeaters (why, are they blind?), moonphase (why, are they werewolves?) or, more absurdly, tourbillons, which aren’t even complications at all. Never do you hear about flyback or split-second chronographs – let alone a combination of the two. Chronographs actually do have a use: to time events. A. Lange & Söhne has taken this function to a new level with the magnificent Triple Split. “The first mechanical split-seconds chronograph in the world that…

BULOVA ARCHIVE SERIES OCEANOGRAPHER “DEVIL DIVER” MOVEMENT MOVEMENT Automatic Miyota movement CASE 44mm stainless steel; water-resistant to 200m (or 666ft) STRAP Stainless-steel bracelet As part of its on-going “Archive Series”, and following on from the Lunar Pilot Chronograph and Chronograph C “Stars and Stripes” re-issues, Bulova last year held a public vote in partnership with online retailer analogshift.com, to determine which vintage charmer to revive next. The people spoke, and the winner was the Oceanographer Devil Diver. Beating the Chronograph A Surfboard and Bullhead chronograph to the chequered flag, the Oceanographer is a self-winding, 40mm, stainless-steel, cushion-cased dive watch dating from 1972. Notable features found on the Oceanographer include a crosshair-design dial and plastic hour markers held in place by jewellery-like prong settings. The memorable “Devil Diver” nickname comes from…

GRAFF MASTERGRAFF GYROGRAFF DRIVE MOVEMENT Hand-wound calibre; hours and minutes; double-axis tourbillon, three-dimensional moonphase; 65-hour power reserve CASE 48mm white or rose gold; 30m water resistance STRAP Alligator-leather strap with deployant buckle Based in London and distributing around the world, Graff Diamonds has been synonymous with the finest gemstones in the world since it was founded in 1960. Quickly becoming as well-known for its high-end watchmaking as it has always been for its quality diamonds and exquisite jewellery design, the house’s success at Baselworld keeps growing year-on-year. Proving that even those involved in the highest of horology can have a sense of fun, Graff’s latest GyroGraff watches take motoring as a theme – a pastime close to the hearts of the Graff family. The three, new, hand-decorated and hand-painted dials…

PARMIGIANI FLEURIER TONDA ANNUAL CALENDAR MOVEMENT PF339 self-winding manufacture movement; annual calendar; 50-hour power reserve CASE 40mm rose gold or white gold STRAP Hermès black alligator leather with folding buckle in rose or white gold With a background like Michel Parmigiani’s, involving a lifetime immersed in the mysteries of five centuries of watchmaking, his attraction to calendars is unsurprising. In the past, timekeeping was based more on the seasonal and the cyclic than on the charting of the smaller segments of time that rule us. And the elegance of registering longer periods of time would seem to voice Parmigiani’s philosophy. He says as much. “The calendar is a man-made system designed to be in balance with the seasons and phases of our planet. The rotation of the earth around the…

It all started one clear, unseasonably warm and hospitable evening in February last year in Milan. Little did I know I was about to embark on a horological journey that would last the better part of a year and a half. But the end result is worth the peripatetic, highly international, at times amusingly circuitous journey that has yielded one of my favourite timepiece collaborations for my other magazine, The Rake. The gentlemen gathered in the historic stone courtyard of Il Salumaio di Montenapoleone were familiar figures to the readers of The Rake: one Lapo Elkann, grandson of Gianni Agnelli; Luca Rubinacci, scion of Naples’ most fabled eponymous tailoring dynasty; Augusto Capitanucci, Brand Director of Hublot, Italy; and, with apologies, yours truly. The occasion was a gathering of friends following…

It is fair to say that the UK has not always been famed for its success in gymnastics. A sport dominated through the 1970s and 1980s by China, Russia and the Eastern Bloc, the 1990s was a time when the US came to the forefront, but London 2012 and Rio 2016 saw the tide turn and witnessed a new generation of British gymnasts taking their place on the winners’ podium. As for what suddenly made our athletes so good, opinion is divided, but a new belief post-2012 that anything was possible definitely played its part. “I think success breeds success,” says Max Whitlock, referencing the incredible GB medal haul at the London Olympics. “When I was young there were no gymnasts to look up to, but when people see what…

It seems like Gucci has been around forever, but Gucci watches have only been part of the brand since 1972. That year, the great Severin Wunderman introduced Gucci’s first collection of fashion watches, which was ground-breaking at the time. For those of you who have been following this extraordinarily successful company, you will know that the brand has been reborn under creative director Alessandro Michele. As a result, the watches have been inexorably linked to the company’s overall aesthetic, just like it was under Wunderman. More than ever before, Gucci is involved, whether that means with E-Commerce, social media or in partnerships with artists and influencers like GucciGhost, Coco Capitán and Dapper Dan. The watches have gone through many changes over the past years. Can you explain why? Gucci is…

Has there been a single conversation among those in the watch business during the past three years that hasn’t included E-Commerce, pre-owned watch sales or other threats to traditional bricks-and-mortar retailing? Every new wristwatch ever sold, since the first Cartiers that appeared a century ago, probably found its owner through a store. Pre-owned/vintage/used/second-hand watches (delete the terms that offend you) used to be offered only by specialists or auction sales. But all that has changed forever. As one who bought, traded and sold watches in the years before the internet, an enthusiast using this method to amass a collection rather than as a livelihood, I witnessed the birth of wristwatch-only auctions and auction houses. When I started scouring shops for old pieces – the new watches I coveted were always…

Sandro Baebler is a Swiss portrait, advertising and editorial photographer. He studied graphic design in Zurich and it was during this time that he discovered his passion for photography. His work has appeared in Elle, GQ and L’Officiel Hommes, and he has developed a strong following for his portraits of notable people and celebrities. In addition to photography, Sandro has started to complement his projects with videography and today splits his time between Europe and the US. During a home stay, Sandro shot Kurt Klaus and Christoph Grainger-Herr of IWC for this issue’s cover story on page 58. Christopher Beccan is a freelance writer and photographer known for his fondness of vintage watches and whisky. He is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Bexsonn.com a successful blog specialising in all things…

Known for their reliance on timing and subsequent love of watches, it is no surprise that so many chefs are watch ambassadors. And Hublot has recently joined the ranks of brands that are stepping into the kitchen with the formal announcement that Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno has become a friend of the brand. Holder of three stars, Alléno is widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest living chefs and currently heads up 16 restaurants across the globe from Paris to Taipei. With particular relevance to both Hublot and Alléno, the Alpine Courcheval 1850 ski resort was chosen to play host to the announcement. Alléno’s connection to the region lies with his renowned Le 1947 restaurant in the Cheval Blanc hotel, whilst Hublot’s association with Courcheval, and the Alps in…

“I do not live in the world of sobriety,” said actor Oliver Reed of his role as top drunken dog in the era of hell-raising British leading men such as Richard Harris, Richard Burton, Peter O’Toole and Peter Finch. On paper, Reed, the grandson of RADA founding-father Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, was acting royalty and yet he never underwent any formal training, refused to act on stage and squandered his talent by turning down potentially career-defining roles in The Sting, Jaws and A Clockwork Orange. Reed also infamously lost the role of successor to Sean Connery as James Bond in 1973 because of his drinking and womanising. Starring roles in Oliver! (1968), Women in Love (1969), The Devils (1971), The Three Musketeers (1973) and Gladiator (2000) were eclipsed by Reed’s…

BREGUET MARINE CHRONOGRAPHE 5527 MOVEMENT Self-winding Calibre 582QA; central hours, minutes and seconds; date; chronograph; 48-hour power reserve CASE 42.3mm titanium or white or rose gold; water-resistant to 100m STRAP Blue or brown leather; blue or black rubber As the proud owner of a Breguet Type XX, I have no problem equating the brand with chronographs, despite that particular model appearing a century-and-a-quarter after Abraham-Louis met his maker. Then one is reminded that, along with the tourbillon and the pare-chute shock-protection device, he devised the split-seconds chronograph, which is soon to celebrate its first two centuries. (Let’s assume that Breguet has something up its sleeve for Baselworld 2020…) That said, the Marine Chronographe 5527 is not a split-seconds chronograph but a no-less-desirable three sub-dial model housed in the new, dressy…

CARL F. BUCHERER MANERO TOURBILLON DOUBLEPERIPHERAL MOVEMENT Automatic CFB T3000 manufacture calibre; peripheral rotor; peripherally mounted tourbillon carriage; 65-hour power reserve; COSC-certified CASE 43.1mm rose gold; water-resistant to 30m STRAP Hand-stitched Louisiana alligator leather in dark brown; folding pin buckle in rose gold Founded in 1988 in Lucerne, Carl F. Bucherer remains one of the few Swiss watch manufacturers still in family ownership. Without the pressures of group dynamics or the watchful eyes of anxious shareholders, the company has the time to research and develop gems of time such as the new Manero Tourbillon DoublePeripheral. Representing a world first, the elegant new watch by the brand houses the manufacture CFB T3000 calibre, which combines a peripheral automatic winding system with a rotor that moves around the edge of the movement,…

MONTBLANC 1858 GEOSPHERE MOVEMENT Automatic MB 29.25; hours and minutes; date; second time-zone; worldtimer CASE 42mm bronze (limited edition) or stainless steel STRAP Black fabric NATO-style strap, cognac-coloured aged calfskin strap with beige stitching, or brown Sfumato aged calf leather Bund strap In honour of the 160th anniversary of its Minerva manufacture in Villeret – a place that provides the inspiration for its 1858 collection – Montblanc has created the Geosphere. Much like the rest of this year’s timepieces from the 1858 collection, the Geosphere – which was envisioned specifically as a mountaineer’s watch – draws inspiration from alpine pursuits and the professional tool-watches produced by Minerva during the 1920s and 1930s. Available with either a limited-edition bronze, or standard production stainless-steel 42mm case, the Geosphere is powered using the…

TUDOR BLACK BAY FIFTY-EIGHT MOVEMENT Self-winding Calibre MT5402; central hours, minutes and seconds; 70-hour power reserve CASE 39mm stainless-steel; water-resistant to 200m STRAP Steel bracelet; aged leather; or black fabric with gold centre stripe Not everyone wants to wear a huge watch – recognising that, Tudor has revealed the Black Bay Fifty-Eight in a smaller size of 39mm (the original models being 41mm). The name references the year Tudor introduced its first dive watch capable of going 200ft under water, the ref. 7924 Oyster Prince Submariner “Big Crown”. The crown tube of the Black Bay Fifty-Eight is stainless steel, as is the rest of the case, while the large crown itself presents an evocative detail with the engraving of the rose emblem, which harks back to the design of vintage…

“Life offers you these opportunities and sometimes you don’t know how big they are. I fell into this space through someone who loved watches. I started getting fascinated with them as I burrowed deeper into the rabbit hole and it was so intense that it really captured my attention. I quit my day job to dedicate my life to watches. It is such a fascinating and interesting place to be. I guess in a way it could have been cars or something else, but it just happed to be watches. I didn’t really appreciate this when I was younger because I was never introduced to any interesting watches. It was much later on, as I matured, that I started to make these connections to timepieces. For HQ Milton, I am…

The relationship Rolex has with equestrianism dates back over 60 years to its first Testimonee, British showjumper Pat Smyth, a pioneer for women in sport who inspired the generations that have followed. The sport of showjumping and Rolex have developed in tandem through their long-lasting bond, safeguarding their complementary traditions of horsemanship on one side and craftsmanship on the other, whilst ensuring that every opportunity of innovation enables the sport and the relationship to grow and to become the pinnacle of equestrianism. It was no surprise to see six Rolex Testimonees on the riders’ list for the Royal Windsor Horse Show – Rolex has been the official partner since 2016 – elevating it to one of the most highly regarded Grands Prix in the world. Revolution sat down with two…

If you spend any time on Instagram or frequent the watch blogs, you will without doubt have come across the discussion that the Rolex Daytona has become a brand within a brand. There are Rolex collectors, and then there are Daytona collectors. Spearheaded by the Italians, the Daytona has become a power play like no other watch has ever really managed. As an illustration of this, the market is still reeling from the explosive result last October of “Newman’s Newman” becoming the most expensive wristwatch ever sold. As we go to press, another sale has just closed, again as per the Newman’s Newman, conducted by the magician Aurel Bacs and dedicated entirely to the Rolex Daytona. But there were no illusions, only world-record prices for blue-chip investment watches. Christie’s May…

What was your route into car design? After school, I enrolled on the Transport Design course at Huddersfield University. I looked at Coventry, which is where so many car designers study, but it was a huge course with 100 students and the teaching at Huddersfield just seemed to suit me better. One of my tutors was ex-Royal College of Art (RCA) and his teaching method was always to push you to be brave, preferring to challenge you and really bring out your creativity. At the time, I didn’t know much about the RCA, but I asked my tutor and found out more about the Masters in Vehicle Design. I visited the final show and realised it was amazing – a hot bed for design covering all elements from art, printing…

TSUKURIWAKE: YAMAZAKI MIZUNARA 2017 Yamazaki was one of the first Japanese distilleries to be built. Established in 1923 and situated in the vale of Yamazaki, the whisky is born from the natural craftsmanship and climate of Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital, an area of dense bamboo groves at the foot of Mount Tennozan. It is said that in the early-1940s, the blenders at Japanese brewing and distilling company Suntory began small-scale experiments with indigenous mizunara oak. But it wasn’t until the end of the Second World War, when it became difficult to import wood, that Suntory truly began to focus on mastering the art of the mizunara cask – the perfect expression of “Tsukuriwake”, the art of diversity in whisky making. The Yamazaki Mizunara 2017 Edition is made from a precise…

In good time for summer, Oris has opened its first London pop-up store. Situated on Mayfair’s South Molton Street, the store is Oris’s first solo retail space in the UK and was also the first outlet to carry the brand’s 2018 Basel collection after the global flagship Maison Oris in Switzerland. Speaking of the takeover space, Oris Chairman Ulrich W. Herzog says: “London is a world city and one of the most culturally and historically significant places on earth. It is home to one of the most dynamic watch retail markets and attracts a wealth of domestic and international customers who know and love their watches. That’s why we have chosen to open Oris Pop-Up London and to take our 2018 collection to London straight after Baselworld. We look forward…

CHARLIE CASELY-HAYFORD CO-FOUNDER OF CASELY-HAYFORD “I studied at Saint Martins followed by the Courtauld Institute and then apprenticed under my father, who had previously run a fashion brand with my mother. The company was put on hold when my dad took the position of Creative Director at Gieves & Hawkes, but in my final year at university we decided to form a new family business. Now in our 10th year, Casely-Hayford is predominately a menswear brand and very much high fashion. When we started, we saw a gap between Savile Row and the more fashion forward labels that London is known for; I’d like to think we comfortably sit between the two. Our goal has always been to design for a stylish guy who knows himself well enough that his…

BULGARI OCTO FINISSIMO MINUTE REPEATER CARBON MOVEMENT Hand-wound BVL 362 minute-repeating calibre, 42-hour power reserve CASE 40mm Carbon Thin Ply, water-resistant to 10m. STRAP Black titanium bracelet Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon is a new and stunning version of the pretty amazing Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater that was presented two years ago at Baselworld. A record-breaker, being the thinnest watch of its kind, the original had a case made of satin-finished titanium. The same material was used for the innovative dial, with cut-out indexes to help amplify the sound of the chiming mechanism, for which a number of new patents were filed. The watch is stunning for a number of reasons. Firstly, the sheer genius of being an ultra-thin movement where every part has been made to its minimum…

CHOPARD L.U.C FULL STRIKE WHITE GOLD MOVEMENT Manual-winding Calibre 08.01-L; hours and minutes; small seconds; minute repeater; 60-hour power reserve CASE 42.5mm Fairmined white gold; water-resistant to 30m STRAP Hand-sewn black alligator leather with a cognac-coloured alligator leather lining dyed with plant pigments Winner of the Best of Show Aiguille d’Or prize at the 2017 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), the Chopard L.U.C Full Strike is now available in a new grey colour scheme that perfectly matches the technical nature of the watch. This is the second striking timepiece created by the brand, the first being the Strike One, which was presented in 2006 and chimed the hours. Strike One was followed by the Full Strike that took six years of research and development to perfect. The sophisticated chiming…

VACHERON CONSTANTIN OVERSEAS CHRONOGRAPH MOVEMENT Automatic, in-house Calibre 5200; hours and minutes; small seconds; date; column-wheel chronograph with 30-minute and 12-hour counters; 52-hour power reserve CASE 42.5mm stainless steel; soft iron casing ring for anti-magnetic protection; screwed-down crown and quarter-turn screw-lock push-pieces; water resistant to 150m STRAP Interchangeable steel bracelet, black Mississippiensis alligator-leather strap and black rubber strap VACHERON CONSTANTIN OVERSEAS SELF-WINDING MOVEMENT Automatic, in-house Calibre 5100; 4 Hz; hours, minutes and central seconds; date; 60-hour power reserve CASE 41mm stainless steel; soft iron casing ring for anti-magnetic protection; screwed-down crown; water resistant to 150m STRAP Interchangeable steel bracelet, black Mississippiensis alligator-leather strap and black rubber strap It is now a full 22 years since Vacheron Constantin’s symbol of the 1970s, the 222, was transformed into the Overseas – a…

Baselworld 2018 was a defining moment for the House of Wilsdorf as the siblings were brought together by three letters – GMT. For many years Tudor has fought to forge its own path and has wanted to distance itself from the older brother. The older brother is, however, rightfully proud of the sibling, and while Tudor is the “Shield that protects the Crown”, this was the time for an aligned adventure. And the joint project was the simultaneous launch of steel GMT sports watches. And they are both beautiful. Even the most casual observer could not help but have noticed that the big news from Basel this year was GMT. It was Rolex’s flagship novelty and it had been a long-anticipated addition to the horological Goliath’s sports line. The ceramic…

There are certain things that identify a genuine watch enthusiast. Some might think that a quick glance wristwards is all it takes to flag a member of this tribe, but that is too wide a filter to be useful. After all, lots of people buy watches, and even more people choose to wear them. There is the ability to casually drop phrases such as “polished internal angles” or “manufacture base calibre with Dubois Dépraz module” into conversation, or the facile, usually superfluous scattering of reference numbers. But that is mere jargon – anyone can digest a glossary and appear watch-savvy (I know I did when I first started out). To identify a genuine watch enthusiast, you need access to the true shibboleths, the stuff that gets you admitted to the…

George Daniels, whose Coaxial escapement has been used by Omega for almost 20 years, didn’t necessarily consider that escapement as his best. He used the Double Impulse Chronometer in many of his masterpiece pocket watches, including the “Space Traveller”. This was his development of Breguet’s échappement naturel, doing away with the geared connection between the two escape wheels, allowing each wheel to be driven by its own train. Aware of its limitations, he never tried to combine it with his other favourite complication: the tourbillon. He firmly believed that it couldn’t be miniaturised sufficiently for use in a wristwatch. Daniels’ great friend, colleague and rival for the title of Britain’s greatest watchmaker was Derek Pratt, the technical director of Urban Jürgensen. They would spend hours on the phone, talking through…

Professional watch journalists are some of the most curmudgeonly bastards on the planet. With each watch launch – following our business-class round-trip, suite-with-a-view invitations to various junkets in the most exotic locales on Earth – we gush effusive praise to the face of varying brand owners, CEOs, technical directors and watch designers. But behind closed doors, watch journalists love nothing more than to lambast, poo-poo and heap a steaming pile of malignment on the very horological finery we were praising 10 seconds ago. So, how can you gauge when a watch journalist is actually genuine in his praise? Well, it’s simple. Because your watch journalist’s irascibility is exceeded by only one other quality – and that is his cheapness. And, quite honestly, who can blame him? I mean, here you…

Breitling’s first Baselworld under Georges Kern has brought some interesting new concepts to light. Some, like the Navitimer 8 collection, are an easy step away from what we have seen before. Others, like the colossal Navitimer Super 8, are a little more challenging. The Navitimer 1 family would seem to be familiar territory, the dial layout being what we would expect, even if the logo has been tweaked; but buried amongst the references is a quite unexpected watch, the Navitimer 1 Automatic 38mm. Originally trailed as a “women’s” watch and then sensibly updated to be “unisex”, this is a Navitimer without a chronograph function. This is not the first three-hander to bear the name, but the only previous example was a 1950s dress watch with a date window and no…

On 12 May 2018, Phillips brought Rolex Daytona lovers the ultimate watch auction – quite literally – in the form of Geneva’s Daytona Ultimatum. And on 30 April, bespoke shoemaker Stefano Bemer, in association with Phillips and Revolution, presented a preview of some key pieces from the auction at its East 67th Street in New York City. The wet spring evening did not put a damper on the turnout for such a special evening, which was hosted by Paul Boutros, Head of Americas & International Strategy at Phillips; Tommaso Melani from Stefano Bemer; and journalist and Revolution contributor Matt Hranek. It seems that shoes, like watches, tell the world a bit about who you are – or at least how you want to present yourself – and Melani felt an…

Tell me about Fairmined gold and your recent announcement that going forward Chopard will only use ethical gold. We first used Fairmined gold in 2013 and launched the L.U.C Tourbillon QF Fairmined in 2014. But our interest in ethical causes started long before, with the Animal World collection that we launched for our 150th anniversary in 2010. I really love animals and wanted to help the natural world, so we started with this collection of 150 unique pieces to raise funds for the WWF’s conservation work. But eventually we realised that we needed to start at the beginning with the raw materials that we use. As beautiful as stones and precious metals are, we need to keep the whole process beautiful. So how did you start? I met Livia Firth…