Horological Meandering

David_S
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Long read – an analysis of my collection, and some thoughts on brands

Friends,

First a warning: this is a long read and I will not feel bad if you skip it altogether! Hopefully, some may find it interesting.

I got the idea from one of you, who recently, in a post about my new RO asked if I could expand on my collection. I started to think about it overall to try to decide if it was coherent and really reflected my needs and desires. It also got me thinking about where to go next and what, after 10 years of collecting various brands, I thought of each.

So here we go.

The collection:

This is where it stands. I’m very good at buying, not so good at selling… I only sold one watch, a Blancpain Lemain Perpetual Calendar in steel, that was my first serious foray into high-end horology. I was a beginner and bought it for the wrong reasons, and even if it defined somewhat the kind of watches I would continue buying, it provided me with little pleasure at the end. I had to let it go.

As you can see, with a couple of exceptions, I follow three main themes: perpetual calendars, chronographs and dual time zones. Perpetuals because I think it’s the purest expression of form and function in a watch, time zones because I travel a lot and it’s a genuinely useful function and chronographs because it’s a function that lets you interact with the watch, even if it serves little purpose in the modern world.

I also want to state that all these watch have been bought retail, at ADs or brand boutiques, sometimes with a long wait, sometimes not.

So let’s look at them one by one from top left to bottom right:

A. Lange & Söhne Triple Split – white gold

I first saw this watch at SIHH when it came out and instantly fell in love. This may have been my purest purchase as it came at first only from an emotional place. I was not seeking something like this or actually seeking to buy anything. I saw it, I had to have it. The brain part came in after the purchase and only served as a validation of my decision.

As a watch, I think it represents both the pinnacle of what the industry is all about and certainly the pinnacle of my collection. Limited to 100 pieces, the TS is the only watch on the market to split the seconds, minutes, and hours, allowing you to time two separate events up to 12 hours. Does it serve any real-life purpose? No. It serves the purpose of demonstrating that it’s possible to achieve this in a wristwatch.

The only drawback of the TS is the size, which at 43mm in diameter and 15.6mm high is not insignificant. However, it does wear a bit smaller than it should and is quite comfortable. I may have preferred it in platinum, but it’s already fairly hefty, so I make do with the white gold.

Patek Philippe 5270P – platinum

Another somewhat impulsive purchase. It happened like this: I went to SIHH to see the novelties this year. I met the Lange team that told me that my TS was delayed. I finished visiting SIHH in frustration, stop by the Patek Salons in Geneva and ordered the 5270…

I think it’s my most elegant watch. It’s 41mm but wears much smaller. The dial color is very beautiful and gives it an almost vintage look. The hands, Arabic numerals and markers are a beautiful caviar black.

The movement is very well finished but lacks the sophistication and depths of the TS. It also could benefit from a few inward angles, but otherwise, it’s flawless. I also prefer Lange’s approach to the column wheel, over Patek’s decision to hide it below a polished cap. But I really like the mechanism of the instantly jumping minutes on the chrono counter. I find myself activating the chrono and turning the watch around to look at the small ratchet mechanism in action. I’ve lost several hours doing this over the past few months J.

IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Chronograph 75th Anniversary – pink gold

Ok, I’ll grant you, this is not the most discreet watch… But I really had to buy it. Here is why: I saw it in the boutique just before my 43^rd birthday. It’s a limited edition of 75 (I was born in 1975) and this particular piece is number 43. When the universe sends you so many signs, you listen.

As you can tell form the rest of the collection, I’m not so much of a colored gold guy, but something really appealed aesthetically to me on the front side. The beautiful black of the face, the awesome date indication arrangements, the pink gold Arabic numeral, it all works very well. Actually, I believe it’s the most readable perpetual on the market. Also, it has no correctors to change the calendar settings, which is great. Everything is synchronized with the crown. I don’t miss the moon phase indication, as it is not a function that I find very useful. Finally, it has the best strap in the industry, made by Santoni (it looks like a pair of Berlutti shoes…).

On the back side, things are not that great. The movement finish is clearly behind what Lange and Patek are doing. It’s a fairly rough finish, which you could complain about at this price point, until you realize it’s a fraction of the cost of the 5270 with the same functions. It doesn’t get a lot of wrist time, but whenever I decide to wear this watch, it still puts a smile on my face.

A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone – platinum

My first Lange and one of my three travel watch (which I mostly take on business trips as a travel/dress watch). It’s great functionally, but a bit hard to read as the second time zone indication is really small (it’s a bit better since I started wearing glasses, strangely enough…). I also wish that the time indication would be on the right side, like on the Lange 1 Daymatic. It would avoid the time display being covered by the shirt cuff. The silver dial treatment is very Lange and very beautiful.

On the back side, the finish is, as per Lange’s habit, flawless. The movement is less sexy than the TS, with its three-quarter plate, but still very, very nice to look at. I was initially thinking of selling this watch when I got the TS, but I think I will hold on to it as it’s a really practical function-wise.

Patek Philippe Nautilus 5990 – steel

This is probably the watch that sees the most wrist time. You can tell by how beat up it looks (I don’t mind so much as it looks a bit like Jon Snow at the end of the last episode of GoT), which gives it some sort of brawny quality. I may have it polished at some point if it gets much worse.

The 5990 really is a jack of all trades. Great as a travel watch, fantastic with a suit, perfect in shorts and t-shirts. The feature set is great and the GMT function very convenient. On the down side, the GMT pushers on the left side are sometimes activated accidently, which is a bit annoying. Also, it seems to attract cuts and bruises like no other watch I own. I don’t know if it is because I am less careful with this steel watch than with others or if it gets hurt more easily, but nevertheless there isn’t a hard surface I will not bang it against…

The dial is great looking, with a serious grey that always reflects the light in interesting ways. The overall design spirit of the Nautilus is maintained despite the chrono and GMT pushers, which I think have been integrated quite smartly into the case. The movement is nice, but not out of this world like the 5270, RO or the TS.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked – steel

I won’t expand too much on this, since I wrote a review in the AP forum a few days ago. Let’s just say for now that I have been wearing it for a week and it’s worth the multi-year wait.

Vacheron Quai de l’Ile – titanium

This is an interesting watch. When VC launched the Quai de l’Ile collection back in 2008, it came up with two new ideas, that ultimately didn’t stick, but that I still think were fresh and new. The first was configurability. You could back then design your own, mixing and matching different metals, in a semi-bespoke way. To my knowledge, the only manufacturer that still does that, and pushed the concept farther by letting you choose the metal of some movement components, is Armin Strom.

The second idea was designing the watch in collaboration with Orell Füssli Security Printing, a company specialized in marks to prevent the counterfeiting of banknotes. The result is a series of small tricks on the dial that makes it very hard to copy the watch. For example, the lines around both the date and day sub dials are actually text. The markers next to the hour indication spell out each number (one, two, three…) except for 3/6/9/12. There is an impossible to copy small sun burst mark between 1 and 2. I think it’s a neat idea that was well incorporated into the watch design.

Apart from that, it’s a cool looking watch, but the finish is nice (despite it being the low end of VC’s catalogue then, before the Fifty Six). Unfortunately, the watch is somewhat uncomfortable to wear as the sharp lugs tend to dig into the wrist. I still wear it occasionally, but not for very long stretches.

Panerai Luminor Chrono Monopulsante 8 Days GMT – black ceramic

Despite the ridiculously long name, I enjoy this watch quite a bit. It’s a nice weekender, beach vacation or motorcycle riding piece. I recently dressed it with an army green canvas strap, which furthered my bad boy illusions when riding my Harley... Otherwise, I take it often on relaxed vacations. The triple combo of monopusher chrono, GMT and 8 days power reserve works well together for these occasions.

The front is typical Luminor, with not much to add. At 44mm, it’s not small or svelte, but it wears ok. The movement, a manual wound inhouse P.2004, is a cut above what Panerai usually does, with decent anglage and a visible column wheel for the chrono. I received it as a gift from my wife and I’m very happy with it. My one complain is that it’s a hassle to rewind the full 8 days reserve when it’s completely flat.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Flyback Chronograph Ocean Commitment I – grey ceramic

Well, this one beats the Panerai for the title of longest name… I also received it as a gift. The generous giver was aware of my passion for scuba diving, so that worked out well. I’ve never actually dived with it, but it got its share of ocean water submersion.

The front is quite nice with a blue sunburst treatment, and blue ceramic insert in the bezel. I also very much like the grey ceramic of the case and it’s damn near indestructible… Overall, a very nice tool watch.

On the back side, you have typical entry-level Blancpain finish, which is decent if nothing to shout home about.

Final thoughts

Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with the state of the collection. It’s diverse, while still mostly following a few themes. I know some of you have much more focused collections, but I’m happy with playing around different brands and different use cases as it reflects my lifestyle well.

When it comes to judging the major brands (at least those that I own), here are my thoughts. To me, the real leader of the pack is Lange. Firstly, they do not compromise on finishes (which is at the top of the industry if you ignore some of the independent like Greubel Forsey and Kari Voutilainen). You will find the same attention to detail in an 1815 or Datograph as you would in a Triple Split or Tourbillon. No corners are cut. Secondly, it’s also the most appealing catalogue to my taste. I think I would be happy to wear almost all their models. And finally, it’s the best blend of brand coherence and innovation. All their models are instantly recognizable as Langes, but they still manage to innovate regularly (see the Triple Split, Zeitwerk Date, Lange 31, etc.). That is something special and it really fits with the brand’s history and identity.

Then comes Patek. They come up with some truly amazing pieces, especially in the Grande Complications range, which I really, really love. However, the quality across the range is less consistent. My wife has a simple Nautilus, and the finish is far from my 5270. There are also more than half of the catalogue that do not appeal to me. But when it comes to classic pieces, they are certainly unbeatable. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dissing PP. I truly love mine and think they are exceptional watches.

Obviously, Audemars Piguet is whole different ballgame. We all understand how they suffer under the weight of both their history and their reliance on the RO and the RO Offshore. I applaud them for trying something new with the CODE, but I think they missed the mark, especially in the dial design. There are very few models in the range that I find appealing, outside of a few ROs. But it’s a brand with huge potential when they are at their best, with incredibly movement design capabilities.

Vacheron clearly has, in my mind, the problem of a much too wide a range. I think brand identity gets a bit lost in a catalogue that has 9 different lines… The Overseas will always be perceived as derivative of the RO and the Nautilus, even if the have some very nice models (Girard-Perregaux suffers the same fate with the Laureato). The Fifty Six is an interesting proposition for entry level and they do, I think, the best-in-class simple dress watches in the Patrimony collections. But at the end of the day, they need to simplify the catalogue to avoid diluting themselves to much. The Métiers d’Art line is truly unique, and while it doesn’t appeal to me, I can see its value as a differentiator. The Twin Beat they launched at SIHH this year is a masterpiece of innovation, but again doesn’t appeal to me aesthetically.

I’ll say a quick word on JLC, even if I don’t own one. They do the amazing feat of being among the best value at the low end, with amazing price/quality ratios and coming up with both impressive technical innovation and masterpieces, like the recent Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpétuel (in a smaller case than my IWC!). So kudos to them.

So, dear friends, I’ll end with a question. Where do I go from here? I basically see two paths forward for my collection: continue to buy Patek and Lange, as they provide me with the most pleasure today, or start investigating the independent brands. I’m intrigued by Romain Gauthier, FP Journe, Berthoud and H. Moser. I would also be very happy with a Voutilainen. Or I could sell a kidney or two for a Greubel Forsey, although I’m not sure I would actually wear it...

I would be happy to hear your thoughts or criticism on this collection, at least from those of you that survived this, I now realize, enormously lengthy rant. I apologize to all for my logorrhea.

Best, David

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