Toys

Toys

The Old Razzle-Dazzle

Watches & Wonders 2025 was all about the spectacle. And why not?

If Watches & Wonders 2024 was all about America’s Cup boats, 2025 was the year of the F1 car. On the IWC stand it appeared smashed and smoking – an actual crashed car from Brad Pitt’s summer blockbuster, F1. TAG Heuer went for a more traditional approach, giving it some stand space, while Tudor opted for suspending it, so passers-by could admire its chassis. If this had a message, it was that, for some brands at least, quiet luxury is out, and excess is in.

Simone Ashley, co-star in the F1 movie, and IWC Schaffhausen CEO, Chris Grainger-Herrat, at Watches & Wonders Geneva 2025.

Some context – in December 2024, Sean Monahan, founder of trend-forecasting group K-HOLE and the man who gave the world the terms “normcore” and “vibe shift”, decreed, in his Substack newsletter wittily titled “8Ball”, that for 2025, logo-less Brunello Cucinelli baseball caps were out, now it’s all about the “boom, boom”. Monahan described this as an “aesthetic [that] plays with the muscular patriotism of Americana”. It summons the animal spirits: performance and profit.” In reality, that meant real fur…

Toys

Go ahead and jump!

The fall and rise of the “wandering hours” complication

We tend to think of digital watches as a purely 70s phenomenon, the logical next step after the introduction of quartz at the beginning of the decade, the last stop before the future arrived – or at least that’s how I felt when I first strapped on my Texas Instruments LED (finished in leather-effect plastic […]

Toys

Patek Philippe at Watches and Wonders 2025

Tradition, transformed

Every year at Watches & Wonders Patek Philippe dazzles with its new releases. At the 2025 edition of the fair, the Geneva-based watchmaking powerhouse launched a series of pieces sure to delight even the most demanding of its clients. Among the new 15 references there was an exceptional new Calatrava model and an intricate Quadruple […]

Toys

Vacheron Constantin – Tribute to Traditional Symbols

The Metiers d’Art collection incorporates the Seawater Cliff Chinese motif in four limited-edition watches

Vacheron Constantin Tribute to Traditional Symbols is the last series in the Metiers d’Art collection, paying homage to the culture of Ancient China and its emblems, specifically the Seawater Cliff motif, which proliferated from the 14th century until the end of Imperial China in 1912, under the Ming and Qing dynasties. Based on two designs, […]

Toys

Asprey Master & Serpent Bar Cart

The classic drinks trolley elevated to fine art

Award-winning Irish design studio Zelouf & Bell has created an extraordinary bar cart for Asprey London, drawing inspiration from three different icons: the “Streamline Moderne” luxury ocean liner SS Normandie, launched in 1932; the famed Hotel Normandie in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Stephen Webster London’s Master & Serpent brooch. Bar carts originated in the […]

Toys

Holland & Holland – Innovation in Colour

A new bespoke offering for clients of the “Royal” portfolio.

Holland & Holland, the leading gunmaker, has been aiming for perfection since 1835. Now the company has hit the target again. For the first time in its 191-year history, Holland & Holland is offering clients the opportunity to add colour to the engravings that adorn the sides of its world-renowned bespoke sporting shotguns. A ground-breaking […]

Toys

Based Upon Twist/D Piano

The art of sculpting sound

Based Upon, a leading creative house producing beautiful and highly desirable luxury artworks has hit a sweet note with its revolutionary new contemporary instrument, Twist/D. Created from scratch, Twist/D offers a unique twist on the conventional piano. This very innovative instrument crosses art with functionality and experience. A truly pioneering work of art, it sets […]

Toys

H. Moser & Cie. and Alpine F1

A rare and fast-paced partnership

Now under the ownership of the Meylan family, H. Moser & Cie. has joined the racing grid with a collaboration with Alpine F1. Two limited-edition versions of its Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton Alpine have been produced, one in French racing blue (100 pieces) and the other in the Alpine F1 pink of its main sponsor, […]

Toys

SpaceOne Tellurium

Theo Auffret’s science fiction flight

Looking around his atelier, you might think that Theo Auffret is an horological double agent. On one side of the workshop is his traditional watchmaking; on the other, his work for the SpaceOne pieces, which are the product of wild imagination, owing more to futuristic dreams than to classic manufacture. The latest product of his […]

Toys

Pop-Colour Sport Watches

A bright summer on your wrist

Vibrant, impactful and always fun, pop colours brighten up any look and are a great way to show your personality. Somehow, they have always found their way into fashion and this season, the trend has extended to our wrists. Following the most popular hues this summer, we bring seven striking sports watches, unapologetically bold. Show […]

Toys

IWC celebrates 10 years of partnership with Lewis Hamilton

An immersive experience at Battersea Power Station

It’s been 10 years of partnership between luxury watch brand, IWC Schaffhausen, and Lewis Hamilton. The collaborations was most auspicious from the beginning. Out of the seven F1 world championships won by Hamilton so far, six have taken place since his venture with IWC. In fact, the season they joined forces (2013-2014), Hamilton finished top […]

Culture, Toys

Tissot and Le Tour de France

A story of passion, endurance and time-keeping

Le Tour de France is rightly billed as the world’s most famous, and toughest cycle race. In the 121 years since its debut race (1903), Le Tour has been a source of extraordinary sporting achievement, controversy, and even death. The overall winner is the cyclist with the lowest combined time, hence the importance of having […]