VIDEO: Vacheron Constantin 2017 collection – the most complicated of SIHH
Vacheron Constantin bucked the trend this year at SIHH. While many of their fellow exhibitors played it safe, bringing out crowd-pleasing steel models and revisiting their greatest hits, Vacheron Constantin walked another path, with a collection focused at the very highest end of horology. Not only did they offer mind-numbingly complex astronomical grand complication and a grand sonnerie model, they also offered some sculptural (yet still super complex) Métiers d’Art options. Oh, and they threw in some handsome new takes on existing models for good measure. Definitely not playing it safe.
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BASEL BUILDUP: One of the great things about Basel is the interviews. All the key players are in one place, and to use sporting parlance, when the doors open and the cameras roll, it is game on. We didn’t know it at the time, but this interview with then-President of Omega Stephen Urquhart at Baselworld 2016 was to be one of his last. A couple of weeks later, in April, he announced his retirement, a story we were also involved in breaking. This casts the interview in a different light – and it might also explain why he more freely tackled topics such as Rolex’s redefined Rolex Superlative Chronometer certification (in episode one), the mistake he made with the introduction of the Co-Axial movement and the watch he wore on his most recent wedding day (both in episode two). This is viewing not only for hardened watch enthusiasts and Omega-maniacs but also for those looking for a more human face behind the rhetoric and braggadocio of watch industry leaders.
In the market for a watch strap that doesn’t exist yet? It’s time to dial into the feed of Drew Boen, watch collector and custom strap maker. We hear he’s in such high demand that you may need to exercise a little patience while you wait, but while you do, enjoy some of the best wristshots on Instagram. NAME: Drew Boen OCCUPATION: Full-time private jet manager, part-time maker of custom watch straps. HANDLE: @_Aboen FOLLOWERS: 23.7k LOCATION: San Francisco Bay Area You make watch straps. Tell us about that. I LOVE straps – all my watches are on straps 99.9% of the time, and I think a nice combo makes the watch pop. Although I do appreciate a good bracelet, personally I just don’t like wearing them. I’ve been making my own straps since 2009, when I couldn’t find many all-canvas straps; they all seemed to have leather backing back then. When I first started, I used some techniques I learned in aviation when I worked as a sheet metal mechanic. It kind of worked! The quality of my work definitely improved after I took several weekend leather-working classes. You’ve made straps from old belts, attache cases, rifle slings – where…