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WARNING: Free-flowing thoughts about horology. Read at your own risk!!!
Moderator Edit: Pic removed
Ok, sure, many of us laughed at the Elmo pic above, but what does that really say about not only us, but the horology industry and their clients AS IT RELATES TO modern times?
Look, many of us oldtimers agree classic Breguet timepieces are lovely, 'timeless', and a bargain in the secondary market even with all the stupidity and crazy MASSIVE bubble we just all endured. But if the old and original Breguet style that kinda sorta was the beginnings of horology-ish, then ask ourselves if the First Gen is now…. What about the generation after that?
Yes, the early 1900s up to, say the 1990s did bring advanced CNC, etc, and so the Next Generation of style after ‘classic’ Breguet. like we see in modern Omega, PP, etc are now just longstanding typical, which now after many, many decades has been sorted and done time, and time and time again.
(insert typical movements by VC, OMEGA, PP, Longines, AP, JLC, etc that, if we’re honest, the mass-produced ones are relatively easy to copy in 2025)
So what’s next?
Ahhh, this is where Elmo’s ‘humor’ may actually be reality-knocking. Can you hear it? If you are someone leading a forward-thinking company and wanting to advance to the Next Level....
Perhaps, since the original Breguet is done-ish and seen everywhere and not really part of the bubble at all, which says a lot YOU'D THINK... so the next-gen after that (including long-in-the-tooth 1960 Trinity brands) are now also old, dare we finally admit ‘outdated’. And if the original (Breguet) and secondary ‘popular’ decoration (VC, PP, AP, Longines, etc) types are now outdated, Elmo is indeed correct that 2010 and beyond marks the next generation of popular and highly desirable horology decoration / handcraftsmanship / style / design.
(insert MB&F, Armin Strom, Czapek, H. Moser, Rexhep Rexhepi, Kari Voutilainen, Simon Brette, etc)
So while some of us instinctively laughed about the Elmo pic, we are also instinctively moving horology to the next level of hand decorations and refinement / style. I love classic Breguet for what it was and the next generation of movement decoration in many olden-times brands in the market today. Thakfully we are at the early-ish stages of the Next Generation of timepiece decoration.
Jmho
We now return you to your thoughts on horology, which is already in PROGRESS…..
Moderator Edit: Picture removed. While I appreciate the warning in the title, a satirical American cartoon character engaging in risky behavior doesn't exactly translate well among the international base of readers and it wasn't entirely necessary to forward the author's point. Also, we are a family friendly website - not always perfectly so - but we try. By that family friendly standard, no major newspaper would have a graphic image on their front page; seizures of controlled substances yes, but actual use would be less likely. Thus, out of an abundance of caution, I've removed the picture. Thank you for your post. System requires me to put in a new picture so I've inserted a vintage Breguet movement photo. This message has been edited by patrick_y on 2025-01-02 17:19:36
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WARNING: Free-flowing thoughts about horology. Read at your own risk!!!
Moderator Edit: Pic removed Ok, sure, many of us laughed at the Elmo pic above, but what does that really say about not only us, but the horology industry and their clients AS IT RELATES TO modern times? Look, many of us oldtimers agree classic Breguet ti...
Guilty as charged
I have been totally utterly called out. I have Open Works by Moser, MB&F, Armin Strom, Romain Gauthier, Greubel Forsey, even a Christopher Ward Bel Canto, I keep looking at the Breguet and think "Hmm... kinda fits the bill" but then I just don't feel ...
Niiiice and major congrats, you have an exceptional collection driven by passion. []~(￣▽￣)~*
As we are well into the beginning of the 'New Generation', feeling that hard rush may also be a sign of progress in modern horology. Yes, we appreciate Breguet and others, but.....
I wouldn't limit my choices to only
micro independents. Rolex, Patek and the rest of the "establishments" still make desirable watches. A rational collector in my view possess a variety of watches in their collection and enjoy them on their own merits. ...
100% agree, no limits. A classic Rolex (and Breguet) is timeless. Thankfully, we live in a time when there are an abundance of choices.
And am grateful our choices are expanding. New watchmakers, new micros, more watchmakers going out on their own..... The 1900 are gone, the challenging 1970s/80s are gone... welcome to 2025. (〃￣︶￣)人(￣︶￣〃)
💯% agree with you on that .
While i started collecting indies many years ago and a majority of my collection are independent brands i also like to look at and sometimes buy the bigger brands tbh . Recently i am a sucker for older Breguet,s and hope to add a nice PP in the near futur...
Life is like a box of chocolates.
except we always know what we are going to get, when it comes to watches. Honestly, I like the old, I like the edgy and everything in between. If I stick to one thing that one thing eventually get's old. So it's nice to have choices from the plethora of c...
History
I think the men like Breguet, Patek, Constantin, Perregaux, Wilsdorf, Lange, Hattori and many others would say We have laid a solid foundation for you now go forth and create but never forget whence you came. That’s just me.
Exactly, never forget where it all began. Celebrate it, and the history through the decades and past generations.
Same goes for the early 1900s sports cars, ~1700s steam engine designs, how we first constructed tall structures... the Romans contributed to human progress. So do the Swiss Wonder what quantum computing might design in the future... or Stephen McDonnell....
I remember when it was about how many tourbillons can you fit into a movement/dial?
In the last years the new trend focuses (too much) on finishing. It's rare to see a new escapement and most of the time it's just an update or minor improvement of old escapements. Don't get me wrong, there's absolutely a great quality because hand finish...
Maybe
I personally love seeing how far finishing can be pushed - similar to an athletic feat. At the same time, I agree RE: maybe the focus drifting too far towards finishing, but I think MB&F is a good example of a brand that provides unique design, amazing en...
You both make very good points.👍
And agree, wholly love and respect where horology began, being key for more precise navigation, etc. And the 1900s saw more progress. Now in 2025 we have additive manufacturing, laser this, precision CNC that, or forget people and use robotics to make the...
IIRC Dufour told that it takes 5 hours to polish a screw
Nobody will ever look at these screws, except for the screw head, and they are so small that using a magnifying glass becomes extremely tiring after a while, unless you are looking through a microscope camera. All of which is to say that finishing doesn't...
While I agree we have gone too far in prioritizing finishing and finishing isn't watchmaking, I would also argue that maybe the industry was too focused on mechanics previously
In a world of cad and cnc, complications aren't the same summit they used to be and accuracy holds less value than ever. It's not too different with sports cars, while the traditional car makers keep going for more power, 800hp, 1000hp, 1500hp, etc the de...
Agreed, we're able to / it is 'getting crazy' nowadays. Tho there are crazies who love that style / genre of mechanical engineering. Thankfully, progress means moving forward to modern times and modern abilities.
Finally we can all relax since we no longer have to worry about accuracy. With a small bit of regulation effort on my part the $300 Timex here is quite accurate. Of course there will be fun 'retro' timepieces in the coming years, and what we one day may c...
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