Photo Report: A Haute Horology Hangout With Friends At Watches Of Switzerland’s SoHo Boutique
For the wide world of watches, there may be no more exciting time than the months following Watches and Wonders. With a ton of new releases dropping, there’s always plenty of interesting new pieces to see. But while we all can understand the gripes with watches we would love to buy but are in short supply, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of options out there that are worth a closer look.
With that in mind, Watches of Switzerland (which owns Hodinkee) put on an event at their New York City boutique in SoHo this past week, effectively turning the space into a “discovery center” for a number of brands, including Blancpain, Gerald Charles, Girard-Perregaux, Glashutte Original, Parmigiani Fleurier, Ulysse Nardin, and others. And that’s music to the ears of a lot of collectors, who turned out in force with some of their own great pieces while taking the chance to see some of this year’s freshest releases. Of course, the event was only a few blocks from our office, so the Hodinkee team was there as well, with cameras in hand to capture the scene (and, of course, the watches).
Before we got in the door, I spotted my friend Greg wearing a F.P.Journe Chronomètre á Résonance.
A Direnzo Wandering Star.
A Bovet Sportster.
A familiar wrist wearing an Audemars Piguet Ceramic Royal Oak Chronograph. Who might that be?
How about this, his better half was wearing a vintage 33mm yellow gold Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar.
That’s Ben Clymer with the RO Chronograph and Cara Barrett (not shown) wearing the perpetual calendar.
People got to try out the latest watches from many of the big brands.
Czapek Antarctique Tourbillon “Glacier Blue.”
The unusual display of the new super-light Ulysse Nardin Diver Air, which weighs 52 grams. So what makes the display so unusual?
The lightweight diver is actually being held up by three helium-filled balloons.
A Greubel Forsey Balancier Contemporain which the owner told me is his daily wear.
A Rolex Daytona that was the owner’s first serious watch purchase. Don’t let it be said it’s impossible.
A Jacob & Co. Epic X Tri-Compax Chronograph in white ceramic.
For another take on the white ceramic chronograph, here’s an IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph TOP GUN Edition “Lake Tahoe”
A Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5726/1A
An Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Openworked.
A TAG Heuer Aquaracer.
A Zenith Defy Skyline with diamonds.
A Cartier Panthere.
Speaking of Cartier, here’s a nice vintage piece paired with a vintage Submariner.
There were different displays for skeletonized, gem-set, tourbillon, and perpetual calendar watches.
H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner in purple goes well with…
An MB&F LM101 with a purple dial.
The SpaceOne Tellurium.
A brand new Fleming in Tantalum.
An F.P. Journe élégante.
And another, this time with diamonds.
Checking out the vintage displays.
A little vintage Patek Philippe action.
Another vintage piece, this time an Eternamatic.
How about a modern watch that hasn’t changed that much (at least on the outside) since it was released decades back, the Omega Speedmaster.
Another similar story, the Patek Philippe Nautilus.
Patek Philippe 5212A.
Rolex Yacht-Master in RLX Titanium.
And another take on the Yacht-Master.
The Ulysse Nardin Diver Air on the wrist.
A yellow gold Rolex Daytona on Oysterflex bracelet.
Hodinkee
