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Sandra Lane

Articles by Sandra Lane

LIST: Six of the best, my pick of Cartier’s women’s watches
Lists
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LIST: Six of the best, my pick of Cartier’s women’s watches

In order to think about the best women’s watches, we must first ask ourselves: “What is a women’s watch?” At Cartier, the answer is particularly…
INTRODUCING: The Montblanc Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph
Introducing
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INTRODUCING: The Montblanc Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph

At SIHH 2019 in January, Montblanc will launch two new versions of the Nicolas Rieussec chronograph that it introduced last January: one in tone-on-tone of…
LIST: 7 cool things I discovered at the Seiko Museum
Lists
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LIST: 7 cool things I discovered at the Seiko Museum

If you’re ever in Tokyo, I strongly recommend making time for a detour to Sumida. Where? A residential area north of Tokyo Skytree – a…
HANDS-ON: Chanel’s Code Coco – a fashion watch that’s so much more than a fashion watch
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: Chanel’s Code Coco – a fashion watch that’s so much more than a fashion watch

As someone whose love of watches is focused entirely on mechanisms powered by springs, the word quartz normally evokes the immediate cry of “Next!” So…
INSIGHT: Flipping perceptions – why Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo is so significant and such great value
Watch Reviews
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INSIGHT: Flipping perceptions – why Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo is so significant and such great value

Every now and then, among the hundreds of new watches I get to see and handle each year, one will stop me in my tracks.…
OPINION: Watches – just an insecure guy thing?
Opinion
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OPINION: Watches – just an insecure guy thing?

When I talk with other women about watch collecting, the most common reaction runs along the lines of, “Oh, that’s just a sad guy thing”…
HANDS-ON: The Chanel J12 Untitled
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: The Chanel J12 Untitled

So deeply has Chanel’s J12 become embedded in the canon of 21st-century design, it’s easy to forget that it was introduced only 18 years ago.…
LIST: Why these 3 Seiko Cocktail Times are perfect for a woman’s wrist – and what to wear them with
Lists
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LIST: Why these 3 Seiko Cocktail Times are perfect for a woman’s wrist – and what to wear them with

It’s little wonder that when Seiko released its Presage Cocktail Time watch to the international market last year (until then it was available only to…
INSIGHT: Exploring Chanel’s watchmaking – the movements
News
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INSIGHT: Exploring Chanel’s watchmaking – the movements

It’s seven years since Chanel Horlogerie decided to start developing its own movements in-house and in the last three of those years it has launched…
INSIGHT: A brief history of time – as seen by Chanel
Pop Culture
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INSIGHT: A brief history of time – as seen by Chanel

It’s a paradox that a luxury house as conspicuously feminine as Chanel should always have had a gender-bending streak. So here comes a quick bit…
HANDS-ON: Chanel’s exceptional Boy.Friend Skeleton
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: Chanel’s exceptional Boy.Friend Skeleton

Gender-fluid. If you were born yesterday or became acquainted with pop culture only last year, you could be forgiven for thinking – based on the…
HANDS-ON: The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Sandblasted – same Octo, completely new look
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Sandblasted – same Octo, completely new look

Bulgari blew us away last year with their Octo Finissimo Automatic – that mind-boggling thinness; the incredible lightness of being at one with its titanium…
HANDS-ON: The Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5740 – the Nautilus we had to have
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: The Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5740 – the Nautilus we had to have

One of the big surprises of Baselworld 2018 was Patek Philippe’s decision to add a grand complication model – specifically a perpetual calendar – to…
HANDS-ON: Titanium case and a new style dial – the Breguet Marine 5517
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: Titanium case and a new style dial – the Breguet Marine 5517

Last year, Breguet gave us a first taste of their new design for the Marine collection. However, the new look didn’t get the massive attention…
HANDS-ON: The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Day Date 70s
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Day Date 70s

We’ve come to associate Fifty Fathoms with minimalistic dials, so this Day Date model – one of three new pieces released at Baselworld 2018 to…
HANDS-ON: The Omega Seamaster Professional 300M – An all-time classic gets fresh
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: The Omega Seamaster Professional 300M – An all-time classic gets fresh

We all love a birthday. And watch brands love them as much as anyone – an excuse to celebrate, a hook for a new collection.…
INSIGHT: The craft of Van Cleef & Arpels
Watch Reviews
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INSIGHT: The craft of Van Cleef & Arpels

Van Cleef & Arpels have long been recognised as one of the world’s most creative high jewellery houses. Taking inspiration from nature, magic and fairy…
HANDS-ON: Cartier’s incredible Révélation d’une Panthère
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: Cartier’s incredible Révélation d’une Panthère

Over the past decade, while earning its chops as a serious technical watchmaker, Cartier has demonstrated time and again its mastery of the artistic crafts…
INSIGHT: Designing A. Lange & Söhne – part 4, colour, material and finish
Watch Reviews
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INSIGHT: Designing A. Lange & Söhne – part 4, colour, material and finish

Think of Lange’s colour palette and the word ‘sober’ probably springs to mind. Or restrained. Limited. Calm. Muted. Subdued. Discreet. Anything but vivid and daring.…
INSIGHT: Designing A. Lange & Söhne – part 1, design approach & method
Watch Education
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INSIGHT: Designing A. Lange & Söhne – part 1, design approach & method

“Money likes silence.” Several years ago, a Russian collector by the name of Nikolai (he prefers not to publish his surname) was telling me why…
HANDS-ON: The Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Planétarium 
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: The Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Planétarium 

While we all know that Van Cleef & Arpels love a bit of poetry, I get the feeling that they also have a major thing…
HANDS-ON: The A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Outsize Date
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: The A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Outsize Date

While the rules about how a man should dress for formal occasions are more relaxed than in the past, they are still governed by the…
HANDS-ON: The Panerai Luminor Base Logo 3 Days Luminor Acciaio (PAM00775)
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: The Panerai Luminor Base Logo 3 Days Luminor Acciaio (PAM00775)

Not a Radiomir to be seen this year at SIHH; lots of new Luminor Due variations (including a very good 38mm). However, with Angelo Bonati…
HANDS-ON: The green-dialled Montblanc 1858 Monopusher Chronograph LE … in steel
Watch Reviews
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HANDS-ON: The green-dialled Montblanc 1858 Monopusher Chronograph LE … in steel

As SIHH kicks off, I’m prepared to bet – yes, even on the opening day – that this chronograph will emerge as one of the…
WATCHSPOTTING: The exceptional watches of Dubai Watch Week
Pop Culture
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WATCHSPOTTING: The exceptional watches of Dubai Watch Week

While the sun kept shining (of course, it’s Dubai), it rained – rained watches – for the five days of Dubai Watch Week. Organised by…
LIST: Pretty Big Bang – 6 Hublot watches perfect for women
Lists
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LIST: Pretty Big Bang – 6 Hublot watches perfect for women

“Girls just want watches that look pretty.” So we are told. Of course, most of us want things that look good (and, ah, don’t men…
INSIGHT: 3 questions about Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona, answered
Interview
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INSIGHT: 3 questions about Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona, answered

When I had the opportunity, in Geneva this past summer, to get my hands on the 20th century’s most famous wristwatch and talk about it…
LIST: Ultimate transparency — Hublot’s sapphire evolution, in 13 watches
Lists
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LIST: Ultimate transparency — Hublot’s sapphire evolution, in 13 watches

First things first, what is sapphire crystal? Essentially, it’s the same stuff used to make a watch ‘glass’ and display casebacks, formed by crystallising aluminium…
INSIGHT: The 100 year history of the Cartier Tank, and the people who made it famous
Pop Culture
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INSIGHT: The 100 year history of the Cartier Tank, and the people who made it famous

For any designer, regardless of product type, the holy grail is to create an object that so perfectly balances form and function and so elegantly…
INSIGHT: Why the Hublot Haters have it wrong
Opinion
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INSIGHT: Why the Hublot Haters have it wrong

So, in some parts of the watchosphere, it’s fashionable to be a Hublot Hater. While I’m not a HH (professional detachment, there are other, better…
HOW TO: Build a potentially profitable vintage watch collection with a budget of $3000-$12000 per piece
Opinion
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HOW TO: Build a potentially profitable vintage watch collection with a budget of $3000-$12000 per piece

A few years ago I attended a talk called, ‘How to Start a Collection’. The focus was on vintage rather than modern and the speaker…
OPINION: Buying a new watch? Don’t even think about investment value
Opinion
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OPINION: Buying a new watch? Don’t even think about investment value

Being in the watch writing line of work it’s no great surprise that friends and acquaintances often ask me for watch-buying advice. Call it an…