IWC celebrated the launch of the new Da Vinci, and Leonardo himself, with a very special and exclusive play “The interrogation of Leo and Lisa”, produced by and starring Kevin Spacey. If Leonardo Da Vinci had been only one thing -- a painter, an architect, an engineer, an inventor -- he would have been the greatest painter, architect, engineer, or inventor in history. But the truth is, if he had been only one thing, he wouldn’t have been Da Vinci.What made Leonardo Da Vinci great was that quality of synthesis, of seeing the relations of all things, nothing separate from anything else.
With its crown uniquely located at either the ten o’clock or two o’clock position, and packaged in a handcrafted watch box wrapped in boar-skin leather, one can already tell that a Manometro timepiece would be different. Its creator, Giuliano Mazzouli would precisely want it that way as his dream of designing a watch unlike anything produced has been his most ambitious project.Before entering the ranks of making fine watches, the Mazzouli family business revolved around the Italian paper making industry, producing high quality paper products.
Even the company name might sound unfamiliar to many who think themselves abreast of the modern watchmaking world. Urwerk. A Geneva company which speaks not in gears, trains, and hands--but in carousels, satellites, and transporters. ONE LOOK AT THEIR WRISTWATCHES--and if you don’t already know them--you will definitely not forget them. Their pieces look like nothing else you’ve seen on a wrist. But that is exactly their point.
Ballon Bleu de Cartier One of the elements we have found in the watch industry that continues to surprise and delight us is the level of inventiveness, creativity and whimsy that pops up where you least expect it. Sometimes this is found in the pieces themselves, sometimes in the events surrounding them, sometimes just in the amount of fun people are trying to bring into their lives. The Ballon Bleu de Cartier books were designed by Jean-Luc Fromental and Michel Baverey Cartier decided to launch their new wristwatch line with, of all things, comic books.
Why care about about D&B’s “flying case”? You will--when you discover it is a truly revolutionary case design and contains one of the rarest movements in the watch market these days. Quite passé and trite to declare, but once in a while, a real gem in the cluttered and confusing world of wristwatches comes along and inspires a genuine flight of fancy.
This story begins decades ago in a bungalow with squeaky wooden flooring and military surplus desks; my grandfather’s office. It was by no means grand. It looked out into a veritable junkyard he called a machine shop, but to us, his grandchildren, it was a playground and adventure land. Step into his office and on his desk in a special desktop holder sat two glossy black pens with gold tipped ends. They were slim; modern yet reminiscent of those styluses used by scribes in the Middle Ages.
Richard Mille gives volume to his passion.If watchmaker Richard Mille were to say that he was making something unusual, people would probably do well to pay attention. The Richard Mille watchmaking company officially came into existence in 2001, as its founder wanted to create a watch company that would extend from roots in the Swiss villages of the industry's birth to the latest possibilities of high technology and materials. Richard Mille had been in the watchmaking industry since 1973. He joined the prestigious Mauboussin house in 1994.
When TAG Heuer started constructing their booth for this year’s Baselworld expo, it was obvious that it was going to be the epitome of the Swiss watchmaker’s commitment to the fusion of design and technology, both hallmarks of timepieces bearing the famous green and red logo. The man tasked to create the new booth, which embodies the brand’s commitment to avantgarde design and aesthetics was Italian architect Ottavio di Blasi.