1. The Real Story Behind The Stepan Sarpaneva/Kari Voutilainen/8848 Ti Chinese Phone: Yes There’s More, Much More
Recently, the Internet was buzzing with the news that Kari Voutilainen is collaborating with Chinese phone maker 8848 to create a limited-edition phone. Kari Voutilainen is, of course, one of the most respected watchmakers in the business today. And naturally, many were amazed, puzzled, and even disgusted that he would get involved in such a partnership. But, as it turns out, things aren’t what they at first seemed. This partnership isn’t just some lame branding exercise, Kari, along with Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva, both play a huge role in the design and manufacturing of the phone. In addition, the phone, which is crafted out of titanium, is made by the same case maker that makes titanium cases for high-end Swiss brands. In short, there’s much more to this story and you should definitely read this to find out exactly what’s going on.
Source: Quill & Pad
2. Tudor and its Heritage – How the Vintage Submariners inspired the Tudor Black Bay
Even watches are not immune to fashion trends and fads, and the biggest trend of the past couple of years has been vintage-inspired watches. And when it comes to vintage-inspired timepieces, few are as handsome as Tudor’s Heritage Black Bay watches. First unveiled in 2012, the Heritage Black Bay has gone on to become one of the most popular bang-for-buck watches that money can buy. To be sure, it’s a really handsome piece, but how did the inspiration for it come about? For that, we have to look at vintage Tudor Submariners.
Source: Monochrome Watches
3. The Truth about the PAM 203
Some of the most desirable Panerai watches are those outfitted with NOS (New Old Stock) movements. The legendary PAM 21, which is outfitted with a NOS vintage Rolex 618 movement is an example. Only 60 pieces were ever made, and today these watches can go for over five times their original selling price – and that’s if you can even find a willing seller. Another example is the PAM 203, which has a NOS vintage Angelus 240 movement. But how much of the movement in these kinds of watches is actually authentic, and how much of it has been changed to fit into the watch? This article takes an incredibly detailed look at the PAM 203 and its vintage Angelus 240 movement.
Source: Perezcope
4. The Fonts of Time
Typography is the art of arranging type (text) in ways to make language legible and appealing. Often taken for granted, typography actually plays an important role in how we see the world. The most easily appreciated example is this: imagine the font in your daily newspaper replaced with Comic Sans. Could you take it seriously? How would you feel to read news about important business or political subjects with such a playful font? The same applies to watches, and this articles takes a close look at the relationship watches have with the fonts used on their dials.
Source: Revolution
5. Watch the Type
Still on the subject of typography in watches, this article takes a close look at one of my favorite brands – A. Lange & Söhne. Being German, it is not surprising that A. Lange & Söhne does things in a way that goes against the grain. The Lange One is one fine example. The asymmetric dial and outsize date display was unorthodox for its time, but is now generally regarded as a modern icon of watchmaking. But, what makes it a design icon is more than just the placement of its dial and the size of its date. The choice of font plays a big part too, and that’s what we are going to focus on in this article.
Source: &Larry