Category

Watches

05/07/2018

Looking Back: The History of the Iconic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.

“It takes more than money to wear the Royal Oak” A quote from Audemars Piguet’s marketing scheme for their Royal Oak in the 1970’s. The early 1970’s was a tough time for the Swiss watch industry. The “quartz crisis” crafted by the Japanese and their production of accurate, reliable and affordable battery watches held the Swiss watch industry in a head lock, with none of the Swiss brands having any idea of how to stop the dire drop in sales. Even the largest commercial brands such as Omega, Heuer and Rolex... Read More

02/08/2017

A Moment on the Wrist: the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk

“There’s something one should expect not only of a watch but also of oneself: to never stand still.” Walter Lange – The Honorary Chairman of A. Lange & Söhne who sadly passed away in January 2017. A. Lange & Söhne are a brand that require no introduction. Their history as the best producer of precision watchmaking that Germany has to offer and one of the best watchmakers in the world dates all the way back to 1845. In the quiet and secluded village of Glashütte, Ferdinand Adolph Lange took on 15 apprentices... Read More

20/04/2017

Our New Brand: Analysing a Selection of In House Manufacture Movements from Frederique Constant

“Fully conceived, developed, produced, assembled, adjusted and encased in our workshops in Plan-les-Ouates, Switzerland, the manufacturing process requires extensive work –mostly done by hand.” – Frederique Constant on their in-house manufacture movements. Here at O&R Frederique Constant can be referred too as “the new kid on the block”. Having only stocked the brand for two weeks now, we are all new to the horological world of Frederique Constant. In these two weeks however we have been nothing but pleasantly surprised. The first thing that struck me was how young the... Read More

23/03/2017

A Moment on the Wrist: The Raymond Weil Freelancer Diver

“Watchmaking and sailing share the same values and requirements, such as performance, precision and innovation…” Elie Bernheim – CEO of Raymond Weil and Son of Raymond Weil Raymond Weil are a brand that always seem to be fighting a cause and stretching the horological margins that have been set for centuries. They do not apply to the traditional rule of “the more we add, the steeper the price” and offer some amazingly priced pieces, not many Swiss brands offer a gentlemen’s automatic steel watch for less then £1000, specially a... Read More

16/02/2017

SIHH 2017: O&R take a look at the all new Clifton Club from Baume & Mercier

SIHH 2017 Following on from our previous article where we looked at the new Royal Oak chronographs from Audemars Piguet (click here to give it a read) we now venture further into the revelations from SIHH and take a look at the beautiful, robust and all new “Clifton Club” collection from the historical watchmaker Baume & Mercier. Baume & Mercier Baume & Mercier have crafted watches since 1830, originally under the name of  Frères Baume. The original company was founded by two brothers, Louis Victor and Celestin Baume. In the year 1918... Read More

02/02/2017

SIHH 2017: O&R take a look at the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronographs launched at SIHH this year

SIHH 2017 Every year thousands of plucky watch enthusiasts and shop owners alike flock to Geneva for the annual SIHH (Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie), a show dedicated to the beautiful craft of fine watches which has been successfully running for the last 27 years.  Matthew (Our manager here at Owen & Robinson) was lucky enough to visit the show to have a sit down with some of our fantastic brands such as Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Richard Mille, A. Lange and Sohne and Baume and Mercier.  Today, in our... Read More