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1 week ago | 
quillandpad.com | Tim Mosso
This video explains the full history of watchmaker De Bethune from its first watches to the latest models from the brand’s factory in L’Auberson, Switzerland. Over its first 23 years of history, the brand co-founded by watchmaker Denis Flageollet has created a vast array of innovative watches that belies its relative corporate youth.
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1 week ago | 
quillandpad.com | Tim Mosso
Any watch combining “Russia” and “Audemars Piguet Code 11.59” has an uphill battle on its hands. But – hang on! – I promise this gets better. On both counts, there’s more to recommend this watch than the premise suggests, and while the Code has had more than its fair share of detractors, this one deserves a champion. The unlikely combo succeeds beyond expectations, and this may be the best dress watch AP has built in ages.
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3 weeks ago | 
quillandpad.com | Tim Mosso
Ulysse Nardin might be the the watch landscape’s most interesting and least appreciated brand. Large enough that it’s not some kind of cottage shop, and small enough that its products remain comparatively rare, UN often gets lost in the shuffle between the luxury majors and the fashionable upstart indies. And that’s a shame because watches like the Sonata Cathedral deserve top billing on merit alone.
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3 weeks ago | 
quillandpad.com | Tim Mosso
Greubel Forsey has made waves over the last year for returning to its roots. High mech is back and sports watches have been demoted to the undercard. From the founders’ reclamation of the controlling shares to the company’s renewed focus on cost-no-object tech, the Greubel Forsey of early 2025 feels much like the Greubel Forsey of 2010. That year, the firm launched its Double Tourbillon 30° Edition Historique, a machine whose name says it all.
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1 month ago | 
quillandpad.com | Tim Mosso
The 2004 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gyrotourbillon wasn’t the first wristwatch to feature a tourbillon with more than one axis, but the totality of its innovation was staggering. Engineered by tourbillon savant Eric Coudray, the Gyro rocketed to GPHG recognition and collector esteem. It had only one problem: an anonymous shape. Cue the 2008 Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2. Supercharged by JLC’s iconic reversible case, the Gyro 2 left nothing on the table.
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2 months ago | 
quillandpad.com | Tim Mosso
French-built watches are historically pivotal but recently scarce. As with many former watchmaking powers, France’s era of volume production and engineering leadership lapsed long ago. But at the indie level, its watchmaking is experiencing a renaissance. French watchmakers in Switzerland such as Daniel Roth, F.P. Journe, and Denis Flageollet helped to blaze a trail of invention that’s led back to the mother nation itself.
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2 months ago | 
quillandpad.com | Tim Mosso
The Amelia 2022 was my first experience, and it left an impression. In fact, it left such a mark that one article cannot encompass the entirety of the experience. Explore my initial Part 1 retrospective review of Amelia Island ’22 for a primer on the type and variety of cars that turn out for a premier event like Greenwich, Pebble Beach, and The Amelia. Once you’re up to speed, this installment delves even deeper into the scope of classic machinery on the field during my visit.
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2 months ago | 
quillandpad.com | Tim Mosso
The Amelia Island concours d’elegance – “The Amelia” – has been held annually in the Florida region of the same name since 1996. Local climate offers an agreeable escape from northern weather during the late days of winter, and it’s for precisely this reason that America’s finest classic cars and their admirers make the trip each year. The diversity and quality of the classic metal on display demands both respect and reflection; this is a rare pleasure.
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Feb 22, 2025 | 
quillandpad.com | Tim Mosso
Thank goodness for Tim and Bart Grönefeld. If not for the self-styled “horological brothers” from Oldenzaal in the Netherlands, I’d probably forget the keyboard prompt to generate an umlaut, but I digress. We’re here to appreciate the Grönefeld One Hertz Titanium, and there’s more to it than meets the eye. Deadbeat seconds is a subtle complication, and this machine goes about its business with stealth sophistication. It is a watch that reveals its charm by charismatic degrees.
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Feb 17, 2025 | 
quillandpad.com | Tim Mosso
Grand Seiko often is discussed as a price advantaged Japanese rival to stalwart Swiss luxury mainstays such as Rolex, Omega, and Breitling. But the stunning scale of Seiko Group Corporation translates to a vast scope of watchmaking both below and above the Swiss mainstream. While there’s always room in the world for the humble Seiko 5, it’s the opposite end of Seiko’s price spectrum where the most intriguing options emerge.
