Nice to know … about watches

Nice to know … about watches

There are lots and lots of interesting facts and figures to be told when it comes to watches. We have been digging and present you with some of them. Enjoy this week’s Nice to know … about watches!

Most complicated watch ever

That would be a mechanical pocket watch made by Vacheron Constantin, as shown in this image. They finished it after 8 years of researching, prototyping, and manufacturing. 85 protypes were created! The watch itself has over 2800 components and it shows off 242 jewels. It also offers 57 complications and with these come 33 hands placed on two faces. One face just wasn’t enough! It is said to be worth more than $10.000.000.

Faking is as old as the mountains

Did you know that already 200 years ago people made money with fake watches? And that that in fact as one of the things that killed the British watch industry? Watch manufacturers living at the Swiss-French borders started to reengineer the famous British watches sold in those days but offered them against a far cheaper price.

Glashütte

This little village in Germany has the highest concentration of renowned watch makers in the world, all gathered at the town square. Just walk around there and you will find A. Lange & Söhne, Nomos, Moritz Grossmann and Glashütte Original. Not even in Switzerland you will find this representation of “Haute Horlogerie”-brands clustered together.

Swiss trains

The Swiss Railways platform clock was designed by the famous minimalist Bauhaus. Everyone who has ever travelled by train in Switzerland knows these trains leave exactly on time. To make sure the drivers can leave on the exact minute, the red seconds hand buys them a little bit of extra time; it pauses 2 seconds at 12 o’clock.

Self-supporting Seiko

Just a small note, but quite interesting: Seiko absolutely wants to be as independent as possible from other suppliers. Therefore, they even grow their own quartz crystals.

Cars and watches

We all know, there is a deep connection between watches and cars. Ferrari and Hublot, Red Bull and Tag Heuer are just some examples. And then there is Chopard. Over more than 30 years they have sponsored the famous Mille Miglia Race in Italy. A very glamourous 3 days event in which 400 vintage cars drive 1000 miles, from Brescia to Rome and back. Amongst the participants you can find the co-president of Chopard, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, driving his silver Porsche 550. Each driver gets a nice present: a special-edition Chopard Mille Miglia chronograph. Last year’s watch is shown at the top of this blog.

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