REVOLUTION WATCH Issue 32

When it comes to codas for one’s life there are few as poignant as the one spoken by dying replicant Roy Batty played by the incomparable Rutger Hauer in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.” I sometimes wonder what mine may be. “I have been shatted on by one thousand head of cattle whilst wielding a bovine anal prod when working on a ranch in Montana. I have seen grown men felled by an abundance of drink and other vices, in need of resuscitation by a flaxen-haired beauty from Doctors Without Borders and…

Confession: I’m a little obsessed with pub quizzes and trivia nights, but in no way am I remotely good at it. Which is a terrible thing, because editors are, as I’ve told friends in the past, professional Internet surfers and jacks of all trades, but masters of none. Theoretically I should be, at the very least, decent at Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy!. However, after watching endless episodes of Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, I’ve come to the conclusion that I would be living on the streets if I had to rely on that for a living. My mind is not nearly as limber as I would like to believe. Today’s idea of publishing, more so than ever, requires flexibility and the ability to pick up new skills on the go — many…

Last month saw numerous collectors, brands and auction representatives convening at the Four Seasons Hôtel des Bergues Geneva for the eighth edition of the Only Watch Auction and its most successful yet. The biannual event, organised in benefit of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and under the patronage of HRH Prince Albert of Monaco, reached soaring heights as collectors raced to outbid each other for one of 50 pièces uniques under the careful eye of auctioneer Luc Pettavino (pictured above right), the founder of Only Watch and president of the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies. Pettavino, who was honoured earlier in the month at the Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève with a Special Jury prize, and certainly the hostus with the mostus, led the entire room through a two hour fury…

BIG SEAN IN THE “BEZERK” MUSIC VIDEO Big Sean dropped his trippy music video for “Bezerk” featuring A$AP Ferg, Hit-Boy and a giant Jacob & Co. Five Time Zone reimagined as a clock tower. One of the maison’s iconic and heritage pieces, the watch is powered by a Swiss quartz ETA with four subdials showing four other timezones. POST MALONE IN HIS “ST. TROPEZ” MUSIC VIDEO Diamonds aren’t just a girl’s best friend, as seen here with Post Malone in his “St. Tropez” music video sporting his personal 18K white-gold Patek Philippe Nautilus with factory-set diamonds. A favourite among rappers, including Drake and 21 Savage, the dial alone is fully set with 255 diamonds and three baguette diamond hour markers on an 18K gold dial plate. It might be flashy but it perfectly…

In 1896 Henri Mazel applied the term la synergie sociale in his argument against Darwin’s theory of evolution, which he felt did not take into consideration “social love,” or the capacity for two human beings to, together become greater than the sum of their individuality. Anyone seeking proof of Mazel’s definition for social synergy need only look at the relationship between Wilhelm Schmid the CEO of A. Lange & Söhne and his wife Yvonne. Because it is not every spouse that shares your passion for vintage automobiles so sincerely that she will accompany you in an open-top AC Bristol, navigating flawlessly in the middle of the bone chilling British rain. Yvonne Schmid laughs about this as she recalls the rally besieged by rain and cold, in the days leading up to…

The keeper of the story of the Excalibur Spider Unique Series minute repeater is none other than the brand’s product strategy director, Gregory Bruttin. Because if it weren’t for him sticking to his guns to insist that Roger Dubuis should go ahead to create this timepiece, this timepiece would never have been. “The minute repeater is a very important complication for Roger Dubuis,” Bruttin begins. “In fact, it was a very important complication for Mr Dubuis himself. Its mastery is an integral part of our legitimacy in the world of high watchmaking. This is why it was important that we should continue to practice executing the complication, but in a way that would make sense for the brand we are today.” When Roger Dubuis was established back in 1997, one of the…