In late July, on our second day on the Isle of Man, we pulled up, unannounced and a bit jet-lagged, to the George Daniels estate. Arthur, somewhat bashfully, knocked on the front door, and when the current owner appeared, he said, as casually as one can, “Oh right, I’ve been expecting you – I’ve been following you on HODINKEE Live.”
It was at that point that I snapped-to, realized just where we were, and that we were doing something special. Soon Mauro would be piloting the drone up and over the Daniels’ estate – and then over our loaner Bentley as it cruised the famed Isle of Man TT course, above green meadows spotted with sheep and centuries-old castles overlooking the Irish Sea, and finally over the workshop of the great Roger Smith, where inside Roger and his team were handcrafting some of the most coveted watches made today.
The video that came out of this, The Road Through Britain: Episode 1, is probably the piece I’m most proud of this year. But there were many more – on The Road Through Britain we would go on to see the seminal Harrison clocks at the Royal Observatory of Greenwich; earlier in the year we visited NOMOS in Glashütte and Berlin; we looked at 140-plus Heuers on Jeff Stein’s kitchen counter in Atlanta; we talked watches and cars in a Santa Monica airport hangar with Spike Feresten; and in the HODINKEE offices we sat down with John Mayer to chat IWC Big Pilots and with Howie Kendrick to talk about his wide-ranging vintage collection.
And to put a neat little bow on our 2016 videos, here’s a year in review, with the introduction for each video from the story itself. Enjoy!
A Week On The Wrist: The Omega Speedmaster ‘First Omega In Space’
“This Week On The Wrist is the Omega Speedmaster “First Omega In Space,” a watch inspired by a historically important model worn in space on October 3, 1962, by U.S. astronaut Walter Schirra – an event to which the new model owes its name. We raved about the FOIS when it was introduced in 2012. An affordable manually wound chronograph with great history, it seemed to hit a chord with both the nostalgic, and those new to the brand. It certainly looks the part, but how does it feel on the wrist?”
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Jacob Arabo And Luca Soprana On The Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon, A Tiny, Glittering Cosmos For Your Wrist
“Not for nothing is Jacob Arabo, founder of Jacob & Co., known for his jewelry and also for his diamond-set high jewelry watches. He’s also famous for having been the first to mine the intersection between high luxury and pop culture, and though celebrities have been an appendage to luxury marketing for as long as there have been celebrities, it was really Jacob who was responsible for making luxury watches aspirational for pop music celebrities and their fans – as well as for film stars, supermodels, and other major media figures. Over the last 10 years, however, he’s also moved into horology in a more technical way, making mechanical timepieces featuring unusual complications that really do manage to be dramatically different from what anyone else is doing.”
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Talking Watches With Phil Toledano
“You don’t meet people like Phil Toledano often. In fact, I can’t say I’ve ever met someone quite like Phil Toledano, ever. By name, you might think he’s a working-class guy from Jersey. He’s not. Born in London to a French-Moroccan mother and American father – an artist himself – Toledano is a conceptual artist of some note. His razor sharp wit and jovial sentiment – the type that produces one-liners by the minute – has made Toledano something of a cult hero in the art world. He’ll say things like, “I’m English, so I’m not frightened by death, or the shame of a large urine spot on my trousers,” one minute – ever the light spot in any conversation – while simultaneously creating haunting, and truly personal work that reveals a much deeper look at the world around him. He’s also a watch, and car, collector.”
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The Road Through Britain Episode 4: Somlo Antiques
“If you want to purchase a vintage Omega timepiece from an authorized dealer, there’s literally only one shop in the entire world that can help you: Somlo Antiques & Omega Vintage. The little shop located at the northwest corner of the Burlington Arcade has very little to do with British watchmaking – other than the fact it’s owned and operated by an Englishman with a penchant for British pocket watches – but we just had to make a stop in London to see why it’s the destination for everything vintage Omega.”
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Inside The Manufacture: A Visit To NOMOS Glashütte, From Design To Production
“Late last year, our trusty producer, Will, and I had the joy of traveling to Germany to visit the folks from NOMOS Glashütte – a brand that is no stranger to us at HODINKEE, or you, as readers of HODINKEE. NOMOS is a small independent watch brand of roughly 260 employees based in Berlin and Glashütte with a very simple goal – to make (mostly) in-house, affordable, and well-designed wristwatches. No quartz, just good old-fashioned well-made movements that range in cost, for the majority of the collection, between $ 1,500 and $ 4,000 – a noble goal if there ever was one. We know all this, but I wanted to know more, so that in detail, I could answer the questions “who or what is NOMOS?” and “how do they do what they do?”. In this special Inside The Manufacture, I’ll answer this for you. First, check out the video above, and then read on.”
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MakerBot Founder Bre Pettis Launches A Watch Company Based In The Brooklyn Navy Yard
“When 3D printing pioneer Bre Pettis set out to make a watch, he wanted it to be more than a watch. He wanted it to be, in his own words, “a gold medal of friendship” that he could hand to the most important people in his life. Well, it’s been a few years since that initial thought, and after much development, and some partnerships with a few unlikely manufacturers, we have the Bre & Co. Origami Watch.”
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John Mayer Talks Original IWC Big Pilot, The New Big Pilot Collection, And The Infamous Letter
“One of the most popular videos we ever did here on HODINKEE was Talking Watches With John Mayer. It was, in actuality, supposed to be a one-off – a look at a well known watch lover’s favorite pieces. That video aired all the way back in October of 2013, and to be totally frank, we were just winging it – two guys talking about a few watches with Will there to film it. Now, 22 episodes later, it’s safe to say Talking Watches is one of our benchmark editorial products; and so we thought it might be kinda fun to bring back our original guest – Mr. John Mayer – to pick up the conversation and focus on just one of his many horological passions – IWC.”
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Talking Watches With Howie Kendrick
“If you’re a fan of vintage watches, and you happen to be on Instagram, then you likely know the username “HKendrick47.” You might not, however, know who this vintage-watch-loving, Leica-shooting man really is. Howie Kendrick, or Howard Kendrick, as his friends call him, is truly one of the friendliest guys you’ll ever meet, inside or outside of watches. After spending nine years with Major League Baseball’s Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels, he moved across town to join the Dodgers in 2014. He’s a fan favorite in Los Angeles for his always-positive disposition, family-first mentality, and his genuine interest in interacting with baseball, photography, and watch lovers all over the world. Howie Kendrick is also, as far as we know, the only professional baseball player to truly collect vintage watches. This is your official HODINKEE Talking Watches with Howie Kendrick of the Los Angeles Dodgers.”
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The Road Through Britain Episode 3: Bremont Watch Company
“Until now, this series has focused on watchmakers with a rather small audience. But there are others In Britain hoping to convince greater numbers of clients, and perhaps even challenge the Swiss in the long term. One such company is of course, Bremont. In this week’s episode, we visit the company’s facilities in Silverstone and Henley-on-Thames, to find out just how close they are to bridging that gap.”
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Inside The Overseas Collection With Vacheron Constantin Artistic Director Christian Selmoni
“This year at the SIHH, Vacheron Constantin introduced a major update to their Overseas Collection. Please join us, and Vacheron Constantin’s Artistic Director, Christian Selmoni, as he explains the importance of the collection to Vacheron, and how it expresses the company’s connection with its past and expectations for the future.”
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Talking Watches With Jeff Stein
“There aren’t too many people in the watch world like Jeff Stein. Sure, there are true lovers of a single category – but few dedicate so much passion, so much energy, and so much time to any one single type of watch, and have done so for as many years and with as much vigor as Jeff Stein. Stein is the founder and owner of OnTheDash, the undisputed champion of vintage Heuer online. The resource hosts an active forum, original stories (most authored by Stein), and an unparalleled level of information about all things vintage Heuer. It won’t come as a surprise that Mr. Stein is, in fact, a Heuer collector of some note. This is your official Talking Watches with OnTheDash founder Jeff Stein.”
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Watch Shopping Chicago: A Visit To The New Marshall Pierce
“It seems as if the idea of the family-run, multi-brand, authorized watch store is going the way of the dodo, as luxury groups push to control every aspect of distribution (including the margin) via factory-owned boutiques. What we as consumers miss with these hyper-controlled selling environments is the opportunity to see watches from multiple brands next to each other, and to establish a relationship with the people behind the store itself. If independent and family owned is a big deal for a watch brand, shouldn’t it be for a retailer?”
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The Road Through Britain Episode 2: Robert Loomes
“For some years now, one of the most popular graduation gifts for students living in Stamford, England, has been a mechanical watch. I’m serious. But not the kind made by Rolex, or Omega, or any other Swiss manufacture for that matter. No, teenagers have been taking their parents to the town’s local watchmaker, Robert Loomes, instead. The Robin (for men) and the Robina (for women) have been high on their most-wanted list since the Englishman started putting watches in shop windows back in 2011.”
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How To Service The 234-Component Caliber 1861 Inside The Omega Speedmaster
“Over the past 18 months – really since the introduction of that watch from the fruit company – people have asked myself and my colleagues how big of a threat these new types of watches will be to the traditional mechanical timepiece industry. Sure, modern watch sales are down year-over-year, but is that really due to the introduction of the Apple Watch and its digital brethren? Doubt it. There is a myriad of threats to the Swiss watch industry, ranging from luxury taxes in China to an aging baby-boomer generation to a macro-level economic downturn.
But one thing the watch industry can do something about and isn’t, is the gross, gross lack of servicemen and women able to fix the millions of watches pumped out of Switzerland each year. Consider that there are significantly more old watches that need service each year, than there are new watches that need to be made – and yet, though the Swiss invest so significantly into watchmakers for creation, the industry as a whole seems to barely consider after-sales service. In this video, we head up to Manfredi Jewels in Greenwich, CT, to talk about this, and see why now more than ever we need qualified repairmen via a detailed look at servicing one of the most iconic timepieces in history – the Omega Speedmaster.”
View the original article and video here
A Week On The Wrist: The Breguet Classique Chronométrie 7727
“Here’s the thing. When most watch folks think of the best and brightest in high-end watchmaking today, we most often mention names like Patek Philippe, A. Lange & Söhne, F.P. Journe, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron Constantin. For some strange reason, the name Breguet doesn’t usually make an appearance. Why? It’s hard to say, because Breguet, at least the historical brand, is absolutely the most important in all of watchmaking. But is Breguet of today the rightful heir to the brand that Abraham-Louis built, or is it simply another name chosen by a group of savvy investors from the headstone of a Swiss (well, French in this case; Breguet’s buried in Père Lachaise, in Paris) graveyard? This watch, the Breguet Classique Chronométrie 7727 answers this question – and resolutely. Breguet is here to play, and produce absolutely fascinating watches today. Let’s get into what I mean.”
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Reference Points: The Complete History Of The F.P. Journe Tourbillon, As Told By Francois-Paul Journe Himself
“There is not a more fascinating watchmaker in the world than Francois-Paul Journe. He is indisputably talented, a savant-style technical genius who cares not for the traditional pleasantries that are typically associated with being a watch industry executive. This is likely because he is not in fact a watch industry executive at all – F.P. Journe himself sits on the upper level of his downtown Geneva manufacture, far away from the marketing and operations managers, with all the other watchmakers. He’s charming when he wants to be, abrasive when he doesn’t. F.P. Journe is a special man, and the tourbillon is something special to him. Today, we take you through all of F.P. Journe’s tourbillons to date. And, to narrate the story? Mr. Francois-Paul Journe himself. Obviously.”
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Talking Watches With Spike Feresten
“If you know comedy or if you know cars, you know Spike Feresten. Spike has been a mainstay of the American comedy scene for upwards of two decades – getting his start as the receptionist at Saturday Night Live (where he earned the nickname “Spike”) before becoming a regular writer for SNL, focusing heavily on the then Dennis Miller-hosted Weekend Update. He would go on to write for Late Night With David Letterman and eventually end up as the author of several of the most iconic episodes of the most iconic sitcom in history. I’m talking about Seinfeld, and Spike’s episodes include “The Soup Nazi,” “The Wig Master,” and “The Muffin Tops,” just to name a few. Like I said, iconic.”
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The Road Through Britain Episode 5: The Royal Observatory Of Greenwich
“Sadly, every journey must come to an end, and ours was no exception. After spending 12 days on the road, covering more than 1,000 miles across Great Britain, including quite a few parked in a ferry across the Irish Sea, the finishing line was in our sights, and lucky for us, it was conveniently marked on the ground. The Greenwich Meridian would signal the end of an epic road trip.”
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In Depth: The Patek Philippe 1518 In Steel
“This weekend in Geneva, Phillips will auction off the Patek Philippe 1518 in stainless steel – arguably the most desirable wristwatch in the world. This special piece is clouded in mystery and could fetch North of $ 5 million when the hammer comes down. Little is known about its history, but today, our founder Ben Clymer, sheds a little light on the subject with three video interviews and a detailed history of each example of the world’s most collectible watch.”
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A Week On The Wrist: The Blancpain Villeret Ultra-Slim Complete Calendar In White Gold, A Modern Take On The Complication
“At the time when Blancpain was busy developing the first true dive watch – the Fifty Fathoms came before the Submariner, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise – triple calendars with moon phases were all the rage. In the 1950s, it seemed liked every company had one in their portfolio, including Rolex. Today, you could say the opposite is true. Dive watches are everywhere while Blancpain is one of a smaller group of manufactures with a complete calendar and moonphase still in its line-up. I spent a week with the Villeret Ultra-Slim Complete Calendar in white gold, the modern incarnation of a classic, and the results were nothing if not interesting.”
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Talking Watches With Roni Madhvani
“You know, since we started Talking Watches some 21 episodes ago, we’ve featured some incredible and varied collections – “varied” being the key word here. Sure, all of the collectors we’ve spoken to have had some variation on a theme that drove their interests, but today, we take a look at a man who has a singular focus in collecting – that of shaped, time-only watches from the great brands of the 20th century. Roni Madhvani has been collecting watches for over 30 years, and though his home country of Uganda has little in the way of a collecting community (#redbarkempala coming soon?), he has built long-standing friendships around the world in his travels. His collection is special, folks. This is your official Talking Watches with Roni Madhvani.”
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The Road Through Britain Episode 1: Roger W. Smith
“If it wasn’t for the beautiful coastline that appeared as we drove up the Mountain Course, or the evidence of the island’s most famous race, the legendary and sometimes-fatal Isle of Man TT, found in the form of warning signs at every narrow bend, it would have been easy to think we were driving towards La Vallée de Joux. The road that leads to Roger W. Smith’s remote workshop is not so different from the one that leads to Philippe Dufour’s. It is solitary, cutting through fields that stretch as far as the eye can see, and appears to be going in the direction opposite civilization. But while the Swiss can blame tradition for their isolation, this Brit’s exile appears to be self-imposed.”
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