Higher Standards Parmigiani raises the performance bar in mechanical watchmaking with the Qualité Fleurier certification. When brands talk about quality in watchmaking, they tend to rely on vague terms and ambiguous concepts that aren't defined by any objective standards. Over the years, various watch certifications have endeavored to quantify quality, but none satisfied Michel Parmigiani, the founder of Parmigiani Fleurier....

The pioneering partnership between Ulysse Nardin the United States Navy began in 1905, when the Washington Naval Observatory organized a competition for “Precision Torpedo Boat Timepieces.” The goal of the competition was to supply the U.S. Navy with the best available on-board chronometers. These precision timepieces, given to superior naval officers, were meant to provide the torpedo boats with an...

In the post-war years of the late 1940s and 1950s, aerodynamic principles were just beginning to take root in the field of automotive design. The boxy, carriage-like shapes of previous decades were melting into something more streamlined. At the same time, curvilinear forms became more prominent, carrying the immediate promise of power and speed. The sophisticated computer modeling and wind-tunnel...

Fascinating, mysterious: People have always found the moon captivating. With the Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept model, H. Moser & Cie. pays remarkable homage to the lunar body. With two resolutely contemporary models, H. Moser & Cie. reinterprets the most poetic complication ever; showcasing the eye-catching moon in a large window at 6 o'clock, in all its splendor. A perpetual moon,...

Urwerk’s departures from its signature theme of wandering-hour indications have always been spectacular, and the self-winding UR-111C is no exception. This latest exercise in complex micro-mechanics is a worthy rival to the brand’s other "Special Projects" line, in both originality and mechanical virtuosity. For the independent company’s 17 dedicated team members, the UR-111C proved a fiendishly difficult puzzle to solve....

Congratulations to Moritz Grossmann for having its Tefnut Twist nominated for this year's Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). The Tefnut Twist with the Grossmann strap winder makes it possible to wind the watch in no time. Grossmann's watchmakers fulfilled a long-standing wish when they created the new winding mechanism for the Tefnut. The quest for a robust alternative to...