FRIDAY WIND DOWN: 9th September, 2016
Felix Scholz
I’d like to start this week’s Wind Down by asking you all to stop what you’re doing and give a big round of applause to Melbourne’s weather. Seriously, non-denominational weather gods – you have delivered the goods this week. If you’re reading this in the Sahara or on an Antarctic research base, we apologise, but for once Melbourne is a better place to be; it’s been mild and marvellous. And clearly the best way to celebrate the warmth of the sun is enjoying some tapas on a rooftop bar with a pint of cider by your side. Or you could be in the office writing the Wind Down with a luke-warm beer to hand #timeandtidelife Either way, here’s what happened and what mattered this week in the world of watches.
What happened
Hawthorn small defender Taylor Duryea popped into the office on his day off this week, ostensibly to talk about watches. But really we wanted to know how he was feeling about the upcoming finals. Well, remarkably calm as it turns out – which maybe shouldn’t have come as such as surprise given that he’s already won two premierships (and has the Tissot Premiership Watch to prove it). We also dug into Taylor’s collection, and what’s next on the list for him, but we’ll talk more about that in weeks to come.
What really mattered
It’s that time of the year again. Apple unveiled the latest generation of products to love and get frustrated by in equal measure, and a centrepiece of the event was the new Apple Watch. Aside from some added functionality and upgraded software not much has changed. There’s a new white ceramic model, which replaces the outgoing (and frankly ridiculous) golden Apple Watch Edition, which now appears to have never existed, with no mention of it on Apple’s site. Perhaps it was a figment of our fevered imaginations? The other news is that Apple rates itself as the second biggest watch brand in the world (after Rolex) in terms of global sales. No risk of Apple hiding their light under a bushel any time soon!
Beth Doerr over at Quill & Pad reckons it’s time for the watch industry to get serious about women’s watches – and points to the inaugural Eve’s Watch Awards, as well as six women in the 24-member GPHG jury.
We were honoured and privileged to spend some quality time, both in and out of the public eye, with Montblanc CEO Jérôme Lambert. The highlight of the meeting, aside from Andrew hosting a Q&A with Jérôme, was putting his knowledge to the test by concealing a range of Montblanc watches under a black silk cloth and asking him to identify the exact model by feel alone. The results were, well, intense. Best of all, they were captured on film. Stay tuned!
The week in numbers
1: Epic wink in Adam Craniotes’ video guide to watches in NYC.
5: Top-notch dads (and their equally top-notch kids) we featured in our Father’s Day watchspotting special.
6: Water-cooler worthy watches in Andrew’s list of ultimate work-appropriate wrist choices.
4: Watches featured in the fiendish horological challenge we devised for Montblanc CEO Jérôme Lambert.