In a world where automation and mass production dominate, the beauty of handmade watches reminds us of the enduring value of craftsmanship, artistry and the human touch. While watches primarily serve a practical purpose for time telling, they have perpetually served as canvases for artistic expression. With the skilled hands of artisans, watches become works of art that capture the essence of time itself rather than being just timekeepers.
Though mass production may be frowned upon by purists, the merits of mechanical monotony still play an essential role in contemporary watchmaking. Even the best in class harness it to their benefit. Essential and complex calibre components benefit from the precision a CNC (computer numerical control) machine-controlled cutting tools offer, especially when tolerances are measured down to mere micrometres. Crafting such parts by hand — while possible — are painstaking as they already are, but replicating them consistently in volume borders on being impossible.
The same rings true when working with high-tech materials such as milling sapphire blocks for watch cases and crystals (the former notoriously requires at least one hundred hours and diamond bit drills to mill) or sintering ceramic components (the pieces are sintered in furnaces well above 1000°C) — machines still play a pivotal role in the manufacturing process where the human hand lacks.
Yet despite it all in the watchmaking industry more than any other, computer-aided designs and other cutting-edge technological processes confirm the capital importance of the human touch (or eye). Only a gimlet eye can discern and interpret the nuances and minute final details which will go on to make each watch such a unique object.
Preserving Tradition
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Time Splitter
The TAG Heuer Monaco's latest incarnation at Watches & Wonders Geneva personifies Haute Horlogerie D'Avant-Garde.
One More Dance
Dior heads to one of Venice's most important bays for the Naumachia Ball, designed as the maison's third tribute to the glorious Italian city.
Life, In A Slow Dive
Despite the contradictions and opposing forces acting against Slowdive, the shoegaze pioneers have reunited a little more comfortable in their skin, a little surer in their voice, lifting their chins up a little higher to look into the bright-eyed, blissed-out audience that stand beyond their feet.
Turn A New Leaf
ZEGNA documents its essence in Born in Oasi Zegna: The Book-a vessel for legacy, a conduit for conversation through time, and a plethora of nature's amusements to inspire generations to come.
Setting The Scene
The introduction of the M Social brand in Europe makes staying at century-old European hotels anything but a stuffy, old-fashioned experience. Their secret? A refurbishment in 2021 that has varnished historical, opulent spaces for the interest of the youth, as seen at M Social Hotel Paris.
Italian Decadence
For its second instalment of Kingdom Collection, Royal Salute pays tribute to the magnificence of Italy.
Razor Thin
Piaget demonstrates their technicity in ultra-thin watchmaking with the Piaget Ultimate Concept Tourbillon.
Grade 2x-5
Bell & Ross renders the Bell & Ross BR X-5 with a monochromatic black and grey take.
Nature's Affinity
Grand Seiko's dressy variant of the much-loved \"White Birch\" materialises at Watches & Wonders Geneva with an alternate dial motif.
In Conversation With Laurent Lecamp
Montblanc Watch Division managing director Laurent Lecamp dissects the underlying message of this year's novelties.