Keeping it in the Family May 5, 2011 FOR the collector or connoisseur, accuracy in a watch really is most important,” says Thierry Stern, president of Patek Philippe, when asked about his company’s core values. “At this level and these prices, if you’re going to buy a watch it has to be absolutely accurate.” Obvious, right? Maybe on the face of it – [...]
Three crucial Patek Philippe watches May 5, 2011 REF 5119J, 2007 – THE PERFECT CALATRAVA Simple, classic and timeless (so to speak), the Calatrava collection is named after Patek Philippe’s trademark cross motif. Introduced in 1932, its elegant lines lend copious scope to play with numerals (Roman, Arabic, batons), dial decoration (guilloché, lacquer, silvered) and size. On every budding collector’s wishlist. REF. 3700, [...]
An awfully big adventure May 5, 2011 IN the entire American continent, the Darien Gap is pretty much the last place you’d want to find yourself. A 250-mile stretch of hellish jungle and mosquito-ridden swampland between Panama and Colombia, it’s a place even the region’s native Indians generally steer clear of – though it does have an itinerant population of guerrillas, drug [...]
Novelty ACTS May 5, 2011 IMAGINE an enormous aircraft hanger turned into Bond Street, repeat that several times, and you’ve an idea of what Basel’s annual watch industry knees up, Baselworld, is like. The March event has thousands of brands on show, and tens of thousands of dealers, buyers and industry executives (oh and the odd journalist) eyeing them up. [...]
Extreme engineering: TAG Heuer’s Mikrotimer May 5, 2011 BASELWORLD wouldn’t be Baselworld without a scene-stealing unveiling by TAG Heuer – a trend started back in 2004, when the rubber-belt-driven V4 concept was revealed to an incredulous crowd. Five years later, the concept was a reality, and we all learned to treat TAG Heuer as a serious player in experimental horology. Last year’s magnet-regulated [...]
BECAUSE IT’S WORTH IT May 5, 2011 IF YOU ever hear anyone discussing whether expensive watches are really worth the money that’s charged for them, try this true story on them. While snorkeling off the Great Barrier Reef some years ago, a chap wearing a Rolex inadvertently knocked it against an outcrop. Torn from his wrist, the watch tumbled into the depths, [...]
A truly useful, if less than sexy, resource for the novice investor May 5, 2011 HOW TO BUILD A SHARE PORTFOLIO BY RODNEY HOBSON Harriman House, £16.99 Phillip Salter IF you own a handful of UK shares but lack a strategy beyond: “I like to shop at Tesco, so I bought a few of its shares,” this book will help you build a financial future upon more secure foundations. Written [...]
Britain must vote No to AV tomorrow May 4, 2011 FIRST it was wedding bells that drowned out campaigning for tomorrow’s referendum – and then it was Osama bin Laden’s death. But the vote on whether to change our voting system is nevertheless a hugely important moment for Britain’s democracy. We urge all of you who care about the way we are governed to take [...]
EU is set for its own sub-prime crisis April 18, 2011 HUMAN beings have an infinite capacity for self-delusion, especially when it comes to matters financial. I still remember how, in late 2006 and early 2007, all too few investors, financiers, commentators and regulators wanted to believe that the US property market was in the early stages of a crash or that there was anything to [...]
How to be the perfect interviewee March 30, 2011 GET THE JOB YOU REALLY WANT BY JAMES CAAN Portfolio Penguin, £12.99 IF YOU were going to create a parody of an inspirational business book, it would look a lot like Get The Job You Really Want (the “really” is actually underlined on the book’s cover). It has all the hallmarks of an inspirational business [...]