TimeTexas

https://monochrome-watches.com/zeitwinkel-maks-series-with-colourful-dials-small-seconds-188-hands-on-price/

https://escapementmagazine.com/articles/zeitwinkel-181/

https://www.ablogtowatch.com/zeitwinkel-273-saphir-fume-wrist-watch/

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-zeitwinkel-273-saphir-fume--a-low-key-favorite-gets-a-s

https://www.fratellowatches.com/examining-the-zeitwinkel-273-saphir-fume-watch/

https://escapementmagazine.com/articles/zeitwinkel-273-saphir-fume-watch-review/

https://usa.watchpro.com/zeitwinkel-reveals-its-most-complex-and-zingy-dials-in-the-maks-188-collection/

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/hands-on-with-the-zeitwinkel-273-an-under-the-radar-independent Zeitwinkel produces watches that straddle the design sensibilities of Swiss and German styles and that contain its own in-house movements – certainly nothing to scoff at.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/independent-thinking-kasper-from-vitreumwatches-enamel/id1498839718?i=1000630445123

I posted all the nominations with photos here. From GPHG: With that as my guideline, here are my choices. Men's Xhevdet Rexhepi Minute Inerte The minute hand is completely inert and instead jumps to the next minute. The seconds hand turns in 58 seconds before stopping for 2 seconds. You can check out the movement of the hands here: https://thehourmarkers.com/news/minute-inerte/ It is the second photo if you scroll through. This is truly innovative and remarkable and that's why its my pick. Men's Complication Voutilainen CSW WorldTimer Tough choice between this and the PF Tonda Minute Rattrapante which offers a unique take on a countdown timer. But the Voutilainen has such an incredible and clean aesthetic, especially for a worldtimer. Plus it has the WorldTimer advance integrated into a pusher in the crown. In the end, I went with the cushion-case, surprising absolutely nobody. Iconic IWC Ingenieur It doesn't get more iconic than Gerald Genta and this iteration of the Ingenieur is simply gorgeous. This would absolutely be my next non-independent watch. I just love this design. This is a tough category but the IWC is the standout for me. Tourbillon Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon I'll be honest, other than a change to the color of the dial, I don't know that this is significantly different than the model released in 2020. That being said, since I first laid eyes on this watch it has been one of my favorites and would truly be a grail piece if I ever win the lottery. Calendar and Astronomy Felipe Pikulik Moon Phase I Truly a stunning timepiece. Felipe has long talked about his dream of creating his own Moonphase. The movement is completely self-designed and hand crafted. Truly an amazing accomplishment. The moon is created using white and black rhodium. This is a stunning watch and encased in a wonderfully understated watch that in my mind highlights the mysteries of time and space. One of the most beautiful timepieces I've seen. Mechanical Exception Hautulence Sphere Series I This is truly a mechanical exception and unlike anything else. A jumping hours complication using a sphere to indicate the hours. You can see it in motion here. Chronograph Petermann Bédat Chronographe Rattrapante Made from Platinum, the Petermann Bédat Monopusher split-seconds chronograph with jumping minute counter is a work of art and technical craftsmanship. Sports Gronefeld DeltaWorks The first sports watch from Grönefeld and imbues the spirit of Grönefeld into a sportier timepiece. I love this watch. Some tough competition with the Chopard Alpine Eagle Cadence and the IWC Ingenieur. Artistic Sarpaneva Näkki Inspired by the artwork of Mr. Ville Tietäväinen's. the Näkki I think best caputres the spirit of the artwork but maintains a truly Sarpaneva aesthetic. The Piaget and the Andersen Genève are also beautiful. Petite Aiguille Christopher Ward Bel Canto While my heart is with the Habring² Chron-Felix Top Second, the Christopher Ward Bel Canto is truly an amazing achievement. Challenge Kurono Tokyo GMT 1 This is a wonderful art deco design. The Timeless HMS 003 is really an excellent design as well, but the Kurono design captured something special with this GMT.

Oligo Friday!

Today with the Settimana Fifth Wrist Edition

Copying from my other comments here. I've been thinking more and more about the LVMH/Akrivia LVRR-01 collaboration and the planned 4 additional collaborations. If you haven't read the article from King Flum here, go do it now --> https://www.screwdowncrown.com/p/sdc-weekly-17 I keep trying to wrap my head around what this means for the independent watchmaking industry as a whole. From a Robb Report article. https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/louis-vuitton-rexhep-rexhepi-akrivia-1235332874/ LVMH is the 4th largest fashion brand in the world, essentially tied with Adidas for 3rd and only behind Nike and Gucci. And the LVMH group has an enormous advertising and marketing budget which has expanded dramatically over the last several years. *Chart/Data provided by https://www.statista.com/statistics/410677/lvmh-group-s-ad-spend-worldwide/ Despite a slowdown during the Covid year of 2020, the advertising and marketing spend from LVMH has gone up by 50% since 2019 and was nearing $10B in 2022. I imagine 2023 will see continued growth. To generate trends to support fashion products, advertising and marketing is vital and LVMH is a powerhouse. The quote above from Arnaut indicates LVMH is looking to continue to support independent watchmaking going into the future. While a lot has been made about how this impacts LVMH and Rexhep Rexhepi, I think the bigger story here is the impact on the independent industry as a whole. This will have an enormous impact to independent watchmaking going forward. Independent brands saw a surge of interest during Covid and the meteoric rise of hype brands like Patek Phillipe, Audemars Piquet, Rolex, and even Vacheron. This hype filtered down to many of the higher-end, popular independent brands as people who previously collected the big names realized gains by selling pieces and also due to the near impossibility of getting allocations. The business practices, which in my opinion, were discreetly supportive of the grey market pricing also left a bad taste in many collector's mouths. With time to spare surfing the internet, there was increased awareness of independent watch brands by the watch-buying public and a year ago I wrote a post about how Independent brands were in danger of becoming unobtainable. The slowdown of the madness and hype has seen a somewhat return to normalcy. Yet the increased awareness and interest in independent watchmakers has made the availability of these pieces to newcomers relatively difficult. I think indie brands are still struggling with how to manage the increased demand to keep existing customers happy while also catering to new collectors. As to the impact of LVMH, as they become more integrated into high-end independents and haute horology, the marketing and awareness of independent watches will increase significantly. But for a few of the very well known independents, these watchmakers don't have marketing and advertising budgets of any significance. Much of the awareness is spread through word of mouth and if you know, you know. The demand for Akrivia watches was already crazy and a limited edition piece of 10 watches will be unattainable. LVMH has a monetary incentive to allocate these 10 watches to people who will promote the watch and the brand and increase awareness of LVMH's desire to be more than simply a fashion brand, but a brand that has serious watchmaking bonafides. There isn't a better way to do it than with Rexhep Rexhepi and the following four watchmakers who are to be a part of this project. With the release of the Tambour, Arnaut explained a completely different approach to watches within LVMH. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jean-arnault-louis-vuitton-watches-times-luxury-3rzv05fsx This is not a short-term strategy or money grab to simply ride the previous Covid-generated hype. As the director of watches, this is a fundamental shift away from fashion and into high-end watchmaking. The hype for Rolex and PP and AP was based on the perceived unavailability of these watches. I say perceived, because they were available, just limited to people who could afford the outrageous aftermarket prices. It was a flaunt of wealth and excess. But the number of Rolexes and PP/AP/VC is orders of magnitude greater than the availability of small haute horology independent brands. There is no perceived unavailability. They are unavailable simply because the numbers aren't there because they are made by hand and they take a signficant amount of time by extremely skilled and talented watchmakers. With the focus of LVMH on haute horology, it only makes sense these Akrivia pieces will be allocated to highly visible celebrities and renowned collectors who get a fair share of the spotlight. The goal from LVMH's standpoint is in part to support independent watchmaking and to establish itself as a true watchmaker starting with the Tambour. But what happens when the world at large is introduced to Rexhep Rexhepi and Akrivia through the wrist of Jay-Z or any of the other numbers of celebrities Jean Arnaut is personal friends with? What happens when LVMH partners with other haute horology brands? We know there will be at least four others. I expect this may increase as well depending on the success. The boon for these brands is obvious and significant. But the effect on independent watchmaking as a whole is the bigger story. As these select brands are introduced to the world, they will be nearly impossible to purchase and those that become available will be one of 10 or 20 or 50 watches, meaning the demand will far outweigh the supply. Prices for these on the grey market will skyrocket. The demand will be less about bling and flex, but exclusivity. Yes, the flaunt of wealth will still be there as prices rise, but having something so completely unattainable and exclusive will be the main driver. And supply for any single watchmaker that gets this exposure will dry up nearly immediately causing demand to filter down to the next brand and so on. This is a sea change for independent watchmaking. A tipping point that will take independent watchmaking from the confines of knowing collectors and thrust it in front of the world to see. Interested in your thoughts. Am I overstating the potential impact? More on this soon.

Agreed, any attention is good in this case. There might be some pushback from purists, but from initial accounts, it sounds like the watchmaker has artistic license to create what they want. It did say the case used by Akrivia was a highly modified version of the Tambour. I hope that something like that isn't a requirement going forward as it could be limiting. Other than that single concern, I do believe the impact to independent watchmaking will be extraordinary. These brands are completely unknown outside of the watch world and even independent watchmaking is nearly completely invisible. Covid offered an opportunity for people who already enjoyed watches to discover new brands, and that resulted in a significant increase in demand for many independent brands. It also allowed smaller, some would say entry level brands, to begin to take the opportunity to begin rising their prices. There has been some cooling down as the overall hype market surrounding Covid and 2020 and 2021 slowed and retreated. But this is a much bigger deal, imo, and a much more sustainable driver of interest in independent brands. I also think this will create some incredible challenges for watchmakers which I'll probably address in the other thread I started here: Rise of the Independents The winner of the contest will likely be the second watch made, with 3 semi-finalists chosen thereafter. The list of semifinalists is extremely impressive and an excellent representation of independent watchmaking creativity and skill. I was unaware that Grönefeld struggled that much at the beginning. Interesting, but just shows the growth in the industry.

Turning back the clock and making Thursday Wensday.

I've been thinking more and more about the LVMH/Akrivia LVRR-01 collaboration and the planned 4 additional collaborations. If you haven't read the article from King Flum here, go do it now --> https://www.screwdowncrown.com/p/sdc-weekly-17 I keep trying to wrap my head around what this means for the independent watchmaking industry as a whole. From a Robb Report article. https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/louis-vuitton-rexhep-rexhepi-akrivia-1235332874/ LVMH is the 4th largest fashion brand in the world, essentially tied with Adidas for 3rd and only behind Nike and Gucci. And the LVMH group has an enormous advertising and marketing budget which has expanded dramatically over the last several years. *Chart/Data provided by https://www.statista.com/statistics/410677/lvmh-group-s-ad-spend-worldwide/ Despite a slowdown during the Covid year of 2020, the advertising and marketing spend from LVMH has gone up by 50% since 2019 and was nearing $10B in 2022. I imagine 2023 will see continued growth. To generate trends to support fashion products, advertising and marketing is vital and LVMH is a powerhouse. The quote above from Arnaut indicates LVMH is looking to continue to support independent watchmaking going into the future. While a lot has been made about how this impacts LVMH and Rexhep Rexhepi, I think the bigger story here is the impact on the independent industry as a whole. This will have an enormous impact to independent watchmaking going forward. Independent brands saw a surge of interest during Covid and the meteoric rise of hype brands like Patek Phillipe, Audemars Piquet, Rolex, and even Vacheron. This hype filtered down to many of the higher-end, popular independent brands as people who previously collected the big names realized gains by selling pieces and also due to the near impossibility of getting allocations. The business practices, which in my opinion, were discreetly supportive of the grey market pricing also left a bad taste in many collector's mouths. With time to spare surfing the internet, there was increased awareness of independent watch brands by the watch-buying public and a year ago I wrote a post about how Independent brands were in danger of becoming unobtainable. The slowdown of the madness and hype has seen a somewhat return to normalcy. Yet the increased awareness and interest in independent watchmakers has made the availability of these pieces to newcomers relatively difficult. I think indie brands are still struggling with how to manage the increased demand to keep existing customers happy while also catering to new collectors. As to the impact of LVMH, as they become more integrated into high-end independents and haute horology, the marketing and awareness of independent watches will increase significantly. But for a few of the very well known independents, these watchmakers don't have marketing and advertising budgets of any significance. Much of the awareness is spread through word of mouth and if you know, you know. The demand for Akrivia watches was already crazy and a limited edition piece of 10 watches will be unattainable. LVMH has a monetary incentive to allocate these 10 watches to people who will promote the watch and the brand and increase awareness of LVMH's desire to be more than simply a fashion brand, but a brand that has serious watchmaking bonafides. There isn't a better way to do it than with Rexhep Rexhepi and the following four watchmakers who are to be a part of this project. With the release of the Tambour, Arnaut explained a completely different approach to watches within LVMH. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jean-arnault-louis-vuitton-watches-times-luxury-3rzv05fsx This is not a short-term strategy or money grab to simply ride the previous Covid-generated hype. As the director of watches, this is a fundamental shift away from fashion and into high-end watchmaking. The hype for Rolex and PP and AP was based on the perceived unavailability of these watches. I say perceived, because they were available, just limited to people who could afford the outrageous aftermarket prices. It was a flaunt of wealth and excess. But the number of Rolexes and PP/AP/VC is orders of magnitude greater than the availability of small haute horology independent brands. There is no perceived unavailability. They are unavailable simply because the numbers aren't there because they are made by hand and they take a signficant amount of time by extremely skilled and talented watchmakers. With the focus of LVMH on haute horology, it only makes sense these Akrivia pieces will be allocated to highly visible celebrities and renowned collectors who get a fair share of the spotlight. The goal from LVMH's standpoint is in part to support independent watchmaking and to establish itself as a true watchmaker starting with the Tambour. But what happens when the world at large is introduced to Rexhep Rexhepi and Akrivia through the wrist of Jay-Z or any of the other numbers of celebrities Jean Arnaut is personal friends with? What happens when LVMH partners with other haute horology brands? We know there will be at least four others. I expect this may increase as well depending on the success. The boon for these brands is obvious and significant. But the effect on independent watchmaking as a whole is the bigger story. As these select brands are introduced to the world, they will be nearly impossible to purchase and those that become available will be one of 10 or 20 or 50 watches, meaning the demand will far outweigh the supply. Prices for these on the grey market will skyrocket. The demand will be less about bling and flex, but exclusivity. Yes, the flaunt of wealth will still be there as prices rise, but having something so completely unattainable and exclusive will be the main driver. And supply for any single watchmaker that gets this exposure will dry up nearly immediately causing demand to filter down to the next brand and so on. This is a sea change for independent watchmaking. A tipping point that will take independent watchmaking from the confines of knowing collectors and thrust it in front of the world to see. Interested in your thoughts. Am I overstating the potential impact? More on this soon.

This has a quick set date, but you have to use a toothpick so I often don't end up changing it. But it's a great feature when I do take the time to do it.

I can see why. Really an excellent, clean design and that ice aqua color is . Also love that pairing on the red strap! Congrats on the new pickup.

If you don't follow @kingflum on IG and on his blog at https://www.screwdowncrown.com/ you absolutely should. Fantastic insight and perspective as well as being very well written and thought provoking. He's also funny as hell. The article is here: https://www.screwdowncrown.com/p/sdc-weekly-17 The article discusses the Akrivia collaboration with LVMH is a great look at the behind the scenes thought process, primarily from the perspective of LV. Here's the main takeaway from the article: I tend to agree that this is a big first step in the overall plan to move from a fashion brand to high-end, haute horology. I also tend to agree with his summation this is bigger for LV than Akrivia but this will be an enormous boon to Rexhep Rexhepi as well. But I think this is also going to mean an incredible increase in interest in the high-end independent haute horology watch industry. It will change the face of the independent industry because no single independent haute horology brand can handle the influx of interest that will be gained from this. No 20 brands will be able to handle the demand. The industry won't be able to handle it and I believe this will filter down to many other brands such as Moritz Grossman, Gronefeld, Czapek, Moser, Laurent Ferrier, etc. These brands that are virtually unknown outside of watch circles but are widely considered some of the best watchmakers in the world. And quantities dictate that demand will have to go somewhere and that will be an enormous boon for the watchmakers, and likely a cause of concern for collectors who may begin to find it increasingly difficult to procure timepieces. More on this soon, but I'm definitely interested in your thoughts. But first, go read the article at Screw Down Crown and support one of the best blogs out there - well worth the nominal cost.

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