There is something about precious metals that speaks to me, so in a departure from our usual practice in this section, I will close things off with my own opinion. On that note, some disclosures are necessary. First of all, our usual section for opinions is Agenda, but I wanted to tackle the hot mess that is the MoonSwatch there. Second, the bulk of serious watches in my own collection are steel and titanium pieces. Of course, the world of precious metals is much wider than watches, and wearing objects in these materials is something many of us have in common. I have the unhappy condition of not being able to wear reactive metals so my go-to has always been gold…which was my gateway to appreciating the virtues of platinum.
As implied in the previous segments, you will most likely encounter platinum in the form of rings, and perhaps more than a few of you have platinum wedding bands. If you made this particular decision - and you likely did it over white gold - then you have probably found all sorts of reasons to love platinum. Indeed, you may not even need reasons.
Sometimes the facts alone will not do, and a discussion of precious metals in watchmaking is also one of those times. The reason is simple enough, yet I will begin counterintuitively. Consider for the moment something we all know – that some watches in steel are valued as highly as, or even higher than models in gold. I trust I need not point out the specific examples as every year since 2016 has seen these examples trotted out far too often. One consequence of this has been the reinforced perception that steel is a precious metal, or as good as one anyway. On that note, Joshua Munchow’s Here’s Why article for QP early last year on this subject inspired this riposte of sorts, but I digress.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 65-utgaven av WOW Singapore.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Worth Its Weight
TAG Heuer scored an unexpected win with the Carrera Chronograph Skipper in the recent past, so the brand returned it to regular production in steel last year. For 2024, red gold marks the Skipper's triumph
When Imitation Is Criminal
In the second part of our special on the phenomenon of counterfeiting in watchmaking, we look at some surprising reasons behind consumer demand
The Conversation: Greater Expectations
With Geneva Watch Week behind us, the editors exchange views on the novelty showcases, the novelties themselves and all the watch news that is fit to print and some that is not)
GOLDEN HOURS
The first timekeepers may not have been cased in any precious metal but, given how precious time is, gold and silver soon made their marks here
FINE TIME
Precious metals promise to put the fine’ back into fine watchmaking, after years of being overshadowed by more prosaic materials. This special section continues the journey we began last issue, with a deep dive into that most desirable of all metals, gold. Of course, platinum is also back...
RED DAWN
Grand Seiko celebrates the 20th birthday of Spring Drive with a special edition Chronograph GMT SBGC275 with a unique dial
NEW DEPTHS
Breguet surprises with the gem-set Marine Chronograph 5529, opening up new vistas for the collection
NEW AND NOTED
As you might expect, we have been covering Watches and Wonders Geneva since it began as a physical fair in 2022 and of course when it was confined to the ether, from 2020.
OPEN SEASON
The world's biggest and most important watch fair gets a little bigger and a little better. As for the watches, they got more than a little precious...
GREAT LEAP FORWARD
With the Portugieser Eternal Calendar, WC demonstrates its mastery in the realms of the calendar and moon phase complications