Our Take of SalonQP in Photos -Part Two…

 
Well if you follow us on Twitter and Facebook you will know we have been out and about at SalonQP at The Saatchi Gallery in London from Thursday evening through to yesterday, The Watch Review Site has already brought you some shots from the event, here are a few more to get to grips with.

So where shall we start today, well maybe with a few photographs of the event itself,

and here we have the Bell and Ross Stand with Community Ambassador Simon Cudd and Danielle…

and another

And this is Simon Cudd doing what he does best…. No not the one above but the one below on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram getting the Bell & Ross name out there as always.

moving on from B&R to the Bremont Stand at SalonQP

With a Bremont Pocket Watch, I do have to say they do put together a good stand at Bremont, Innovative, always something to look at and friendly as pie…

It’s a really nice piece we think… and here are a few more of the Bremont stand

and Don’t Forget the Bremont Victory on my Wrist…

and here is another taster of the Victory Watch, we will be issuing a detailed analysis of the Bremont Victory soon on The Watch Review Site

Moving on from our friends from Bremont Watch Company to DeBethune and William and Son of London who represent a number of brands and watchmakers out of their Mount Street Outlet.

and now for the De Bethune DB28, a nice watch not dissimilar in shape to the ZR012 Experiment Nitro Glycerine, or URWERK UR-200 series with their strange case lug fitments is that a far as they go in similarity, bearing in mind the movements and independent background of the later two… We have had the hands on pleasure with all, yes all including the Nitro Glycerine and UR-210.

Looking at it again, OK the crown is on the top and Lugs are different but that’s really it in comparison’s, anyway here are a few more pic’s of the DB28

and the back

We will do a more personal review on the De Bethune DB28 later on in the coming weeks… For now here are a few more De Bethune timepieces on show at SalonQP.

And now for a treat for the attendees at SalonQP, Vacheron Constantin had an engraving and enamelling positions within there stand and allowed the general public to even get to grips with the engraver and bearing in mind it is one of only 5 (I think that is what they said) in the world, it is something to be very proud of for Vacheron Constantin and SalonQP for getting it here to the event. We managed to get some photo’s for you of the engraving machine and enameller

and here is a little close up..

and a member of the public using the engraver

and now for the enamelling

I think that will be enough for now, but look out for more tomorrow on our adventure at SalonQP in pictures, we have a little hands on with the new Meridian Watches, British hand made watches and sticking to the British theme we have some great shots of the Robert Loomes offerings, and that is fully British made even down to the movement, we have not seen this for over 40 years… Along with a little more form our friends at Schofield Watch Company and even some Jaeger-LeCoultre and the link with Aston Martin.

Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporaine reference 81180 – Do we need more?

Written by Martin Green
Sometimes high end watch making seems like an endless challenge of making watches as complicated as possible. Especially in the last decade we’ve run out of complications to combine, since everything has already been tried. So we come up with different ways of showing the time or speeding up hands to such an extent that probably in a year of two you can hear a loud bang from under the crystal of your watch, created by a hand that went through the sound barrier as soon as you engaged its chronograph.

A crown for the wrist

By Michael Karam on March 05, 2012

The perception and prestige of Explorers, Submariners and Air Kings

Ask anyone on the street what he or she thinks the world’s most luxurious watch brand is, and they will probably say Rolex. They’d be wrong. But perception is everything, and the timepiece that is regarded as the sign that you have made it — a person to be reckoned with, a person imbued with a hint of rugged glamour — is indeed a Rolex. There are more accurate watches, more expensive brands and more prestigious brands, but Rolex has captured our imagination like no other.

Don’t get me wrong. There is no sleight of hand here. They are not, in luxury watch terms at least, overpriced (unlike some brands I could name). They are supremely well made and they will last forever. I should know; I have a steel Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust made in 1963. It still keeps immaculate time and has been serviced a maximum of four times in its life. It also looks almost identical to the current model — the only difference is an extra 2mm in the diameter, a sapphire glass and a quick date changer. So in a global luxury watch market that has gone bonkers in the last 20 years, Rolex has both pedigree and consistency.

The company was founded in London in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis and moved to Switzerland in 1919 after the First World War. By 2003, Rolex was earning revenues of $3 billion annually, according to Stern Business, with BusinessWeek ranking it the 71st most valuable brand in the world in 2007. Like Patek Philippe, arguably the most prestigious watch brand in the world — and unlike other luxury brands such as Vacheron Constantine and Jaeger Le Coultre, both of whom are owned by the Richemont Group — Rolex is still a private company, a factor that arguably adds to its aura of distinction.

So what is it about Rolex’s enduring appeal? Luxury aside (Rolex caters to all tastes, even producing some eccentric designs for those who like a bit of diamond-encrusted bling), I would wager it is the fact that no other watch has as much history, glamour, sex appeal and adventure, allied to reliability and looks, wrapped up in one brand.

Take the Rolex Submariner, the iconic diving watch that was worn by Sean Connery’s Bond on a fabric NATO strap — to lady-killing effect — or the Explorer, the equally famous black-faced chronometer. You aren’t just buying a watch, you are buying into the very fabric of 20th century achievement. Omega is the only watch brand that comes close to matching this heritage (its Speedmaster was famously worn on the moon) but Rolex, with its functional designs and almost onomatopoeic name, has captured more of the public’s imagination, allying itself with sports stars, musicians and scientific pioneers the world over. Not surprisingly, Rolexes are among the few brands with a strong resale value, especially for the iconic Daytona Cosmograph with its famous Zenith “El Primero” movement, and the other professional models.

But at the end of the day, it’s all about owning the item that you love. And as my wife found out, Rolex watches are very desirable. She does not share my obsession with watches, but over the years has faithfully tramped round showrooms or stood patiently as I peered in shop windows like an excited schoolboy. For her a watch is a watch. It tells the time. Who cares if it’s manual, automatic or quartz, or if it’s a 36mm or a 45mm? But on New Year’s Eve, while I tried on a new Explorer II (now 42mm and with an orange 24 hour hand, if you must know) in the Rolex showroom in Beirut, she pointed to an Air King in brushed steel with subtle blue numeral batons on an off-white face. “I like that a LOT,” she said. It was the first time she had ever really expressed a genuine interest in a watch. What could I do?

Source: http://www.executive-magazine.com/getarticle.php?article=15215