REVOLUTION WATCH In Time : Best of 2021 (Annual)

Greetings. Wei Koh, your intrepid reporter here. And what I have to say is that watches have exploded in popularity beyond the wildest imagination of even our most stalwart industry veterans. To quote the legendary Jean-Claude Biver, “In my almost 50 years in the industry, I’ve never seen a market like this!” So, why is it that our once-niche, slightly nerdy underground hobby has become the hottest method of self-expression for rappers, sports personalities, Instagrammers, movie stars and hedge funders the world over? More than that, why is it that every person with a few shekels of disposable income now wants to become a watch collector? What’s behind the stratospheric surge in popularity for Rolexes of any kind, anything Audemars Piguet with an octagonal bezel, any sports Patek, and pretty much…

We are now living in times where “phygital” shows that connect the physical and digital worlds for an enhanced and interactive user experience seem to be the order of the day. Even though the world is trying to inch back to pre-COVID normalcy, and countries are slipping in and out of lockdowns, traveling for watch fairs still seems like a distant dream for most. Still, there are some outliers offering a glimmer of hope for the rest of us stuck in front of our screens. As in the watch fairs of yore, this year’s Geneva Watch Days 2021 focused on in-person introductions and meetings. Conceptualised last year in the midst of a raging pandemic, thanks to the initiative taken by founding brands — Bvlgari, Breitling, De Bethune, Gérald Genta, Girard-Perregaux, H.…

From Norse mythology to leprechauns to Kermit the Frog’s iconic ditty, rainbows have long occupied a special place in culture. The brightly coloured atmospheric phenomenon is a symbol of hope, optimism — and often — spirituality. So, it makes perfect sense that, in COVID-locked cities around the world, rainbows started popping up in windows as symbols of solidarity. The last year has also seen an explosion of colours grace our wrists — with rainbows, which have been threatening to make the jump from outlier to mainstream for some time, finally becoming a certified trend. Before we dance through the spectrum, though, let’s discover why we can’t talk about rainbows on products without talking about pride. The six-striped rainbow flag, the symbol of LGBTQ pride, was designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, and…

acked with some phenomenal novelties, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s line-up for the Reverso’s 90th anniversary celebrations this year includes a double-faced complication offered in the Reverso Tribute Nonantième. Equipped with a “semi-instant” jumping hour and minute display on its swivelling case, the Nonantième takes the Reverso’s elegant profile a notch up with a gorgeous presentation of the indications on its pink gold case. Made at Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Atelier des Métiers Rares, the Nonantième offers an exquisite display of the night sky sprinkled with golden stars, with day/night indication brought out by the applied golden sun and moon on the watch’s caseback. Framed within a figure eight and encircled by rectilinear gadroons also seen on the upper and lower edges of the case, the jumping hours are revealed via a small round aperture, while the minutes…

Singer, songwriter and guitarist John Mayer has been seen wearing his IWC Big Pilot reference 5002 on tour since he chose it as one of his earliest luxury watch purchases in 2002. He now has amassed quite a watch collection, and has said often that this incredible watch began his love affair with horology. When he won his first Grammy in 2003, he celebrated by buying another IWC. His love for the Big Pilot was so deep, that tour managers began to call him “Big Pilot”. These days, his collection includes all his favourites from the modern lines, but he also has a very special centrepiece: one of the original B-Uhren style Big Pilot’s Watches from the 1940s. He was able to secure one of the remaining pieces from the original…

David Seyffer joined IWC in 2007 and he has not looked back since. His first job with the company was to organise the corporate archives into a professional business archive. After three years, he was promoted to museum curator. But, as he admits, “My heart is with the archiving, the historical records and the certificates of authentication that have become so important in today’s market.” In an interview with Revolution USA editor-inchief Bhanu Chopra, he offers an insider’s view of the IWC Pilot’s Watch. Is military issued Mark 11 considered the inspiration for the civilian Pilot’s Watches? Yes, we can discuss Mark 11, but we should really go back a little to 1936 with the Special Watch for Pilots. The owner at the time, Homberger, had a son who had become a…