Stories

Motorsport and time recording cannot always be viewed entirely separately. Stopwatches and chronographs have enabled motorsport since the very first races; consequently, they are a functional necessity. Designing watches that resemble cars is a modern trend that is anything but functional. Is this new design direction an enrichment or an expression of creative poverty?

Those with a penchant for the finer things in life know about the L.U.C collection by Chopard. The manufacture in the Swiss town of Fleurier builds unique movements that have no trouble at all competing with the established names in haute horlogerie, and has been doing so for 20 years.

A Casio G-Shock that will fetch 10 grand? It's only a few years away. A mechanical movement in a Casio? Who knows. A visit to Casio is a shocking experience in more ways than one. The Japanese watch giant doesn't exactly hide its pride, dynamic and ambition under a bushel. A report from Japan.

The next-generation Oris Aquis is not a clunky tool watch. Although still highly functional this watch is more a stylish and crisp interpretation of a diving watch than an actual instrument you take with you underwater. Style is the key in the new Aquis.

This year Montblanc won the award for the best chronograph at the prestigious Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève with its 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter Limited Edition 100. The highly classic mono-pusher chronograph in its steel 44mm case with blue dial was inspired by models from the 1930s, and that is easy to see in the layout of the dial and the rounded bezel. The steel model won gold, and now a bronze variant has been added to the collection.

What do you think of the two new Nautilus models? We expect you have an opinion about these two anniversary models of the renowned sports watch - everyone does! Whether that opinion is positive or negative makes no difference because some things in this world are simply a given, impervious to opinions.

With the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance the company takes up the challenge to create a highly accurate movement. If the principle of resonance is applied properly it creates a very stable motion, which results in high precision, energy savings, a large power reserve and the exclusion of negative effects on the time measuring. Shocks do affect the two balances used, but because of the resonance they quickly recover their rhytm.

Yours truly was quite taken with the Da Vinci models which were presented in scenic Firenze. Not only because it has the round lines of the very first model from 1985. But also because the new Da Vinci line offers one especially good-looking Perpetual Calendar Chronograph model. A complication made by the master watchmaker Kurt Klaus in midst of severe horological crisis.

What do you prefer: waking up to the pre-programmed tones of your smartphone or to the buzzing sound of your own watch? Jaeger- LeCoultre has made it possible since 1950, with the Memovox. The latest variant of this alarm watch is a steel version with a historically inspired dial. Unfortunately it's limited and exclusive to the ‘JLC’ boutiques. We have no trouble overlooking the fact that the watch doesn't have a snooze function.

Nothing feels quite as ‘Seventies’ as an old advertisement for luxury products in a German magazine. The feel of a ‘Krimi’, a TV crime show, set in the wealthier areas of a city like Munich. The young wife of an art dealer is found dead behind the wheel of her Maserati Merak, a gold Rado DiaStar on her lifeless wrist. Not a watch given to her by her husband, but by the tennis coach who also wears a gold DiaStar … So, the DiaStar.