In a year that opens with the launch of the Apple iPad, which does everything except make you breakfast (trouble with the beans, apparently), it is worth pondering just how much gadgetry the ordinary decent citizen can stand in a single device. Watchmakers have certainly never been immune to the thrill of multi-tasking. They may be a traditional bunch in many ways, especially at the luxury end of the market where art and engineering meet, but the…

Read this article | 8 February 2010

Thinking about it, chocolates and flowers are rubbish valentines presents. No, seriously; they are the lazy man’s way out of a tight spot and into a lady’s....good books. Well, I think you get my drift! I mean, what worse present is there that conveys the message of eternal love than one that lasts about a week, if that?At least give her something that will see you through to the end of the month, or until she starts to look like her…

Read this article | 5 February 2010

If you want to stay on top of your trends, you’ll keep your eyes peeled for the new range of Welder watches. From the designer of U-Boat watches, Italo Fontana has created the ‘Welder’. With exactly the same design concepts, the main difference between the two ranges is that the U-boats use Swiss movement, whilst the Welders house Japanese quartz movement – a slightly cheaper alternative!!Military-inspired, the original…

Read this article | 4 February 2010

There are those who think U-Boat a less than felicitous name for a watch brand. Whatever one’s feelings on that score, the identification with one of the brand leaders of German militarism does not seem to have done U-Boat watches any harm at all.    Oddly enough, the brand’s genesis was apparently not with the German Navy at all, but with the Italian Navy pilots of the Second World War.    The story…

Read this article | 3 February 2010

Chocolate, to eat, to melt ..to er…wear?Along with the cupcake rage recently, it seems our infatuation with all things sweet is endless.We are obsessed with chocolate. We crave it and honestly we just like looking at it.While you could do some unmentionable things with chocolate – the reality is – strapping on a mars bar, or dairy milk is probably not a good idea.Instead, take a cue from the latest fashions in timekeeping and…

Read this article | 2 February 2010

Okay, so we're a bit late on this celebrity watch sighting but we feel it's still worth noting the power and panache of director, Guy Ritchie who stepped onto the red carpet at the premiere of his latest film ‘Sherlock Holmes’ wearing Chopard’s Prince of Wales watch featuring 271 diamonds (5.61 carats) and a white gold buckle with a further 24 diamonds. Must have been one hell of a divorce…

Read this article | 1 February 2010

IWC has declared 2010 the year of the Portuguese. Here's the new IWC Portuguese Yachtclub which houses the new IWC movement.This luxury watch comes in stainless steel on a black or white dial and in 18ct rose gold with a slate dial.Don't be fooled by the name, you do not need to be able to operate a boat to wear this watch.It makes a beautiful addition to the iconic range. The red second hand and subsecond details, combined with a trendy…

Read this article | 29 January 2010

You might not know it from its image, which combines sportiness and technological prowess in pretty much equal measure, and you certainly wouldn’t know it from its sleek, polished advertising, but Tag Heuer is 150 years old this year.Well, the Heuer bit is at least, and if there is a little white lie in the claim that this is a joint anniversary, there is nothing duplicitous about the long-standing focus on precision timepieces and the…

Read this article | 28 January 2010

Think of the watchmakers least likely to wash their dirty linen in public and Baume & Mercier would probably figure there or thereabouts. The venerable firm has a well-earned reputation as a purveyor of classically styled, even conservative, timepieces, occasionally with a very modest twist. Tabloid headlines and candid confessionals have never been its style, any more than outlandish fashion statements in its core collection. But as it…

Read this article | 27 January 2010

It takes a lot to coax me onto a plane to a country that’s colder than mine, has no tropical beaches and doesn’t even serve Caipirinhas with little umbrellas in them. So it was with some trepidation that I flew to Berlin last week where it was -8, snowing and they hadn’t seen sunshine for 17 days in a row!Bread and Butter is a twice yearly fashion tradeshow held in Berlin Airport-Tempelhof. This year the show coincided with…

Read this article | 26 January 2010