The Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres, or COSC, plans to upgrade its standards for chronometer certification and is vowing to be more transparent as it faces increased competition. In a rare interview, COSC director Andreas Wyss says the organization aims to be more consumer-focused and will improve the accuracy requirements for COSC-certified movements to less…
The TAG Heuer Formula 1 was bright, colorful, and exceedingly popular when it debuted in 1986 – but its true origin story has never been told. In a conversation with vintage Heuer enthusiast Jeff Stein, Eddy Burgener, who designed the watch, reveals to us the surprising backstory of how the Formula 1 got its colors,…
Happy Friday, and welcome back to Bring A Loupe! With Watches and Wonders kicking off next week, today's article will be your last dispatch from the land of vintage, for now. We'll be skipping our weekly column next Friday amidst the madness. If anything amazing pops up on eBay or elsewhere, I'll be sure to…
LVMH has appointed Jean-Christophe Babin as CEO of LVMH Watches, taking over the role previously held by Frédéric Arnault. Babin will oversee LVMH watch brands – TAG Heuer, Hublot, and Zenith – and will remain CEO of Bulgari, Stéphane Bianchi, LVMH Group Managing Director, said in a statement. The move indicates LVMH will continue to…
A story I wrote a while back called "Five Things I Still Can Not Believe Are A Thing In High-End Watchmaking" really seemed to strike a chord with our audience. It was one of the most popular – and shared – stories we've published in years. Which is great, because it was basically just me whining…
What We Know
Over the past few years, we've watched the rise of Raúl Pagès, from our first "Intro" on his Régulateur à Détente RP1 to the Hands-On to his win at the inaugural Louis Vuitton Watch Prize For Independent Creatives. Part of the benefit of the win at the LV Prize was…
A few weeks ago, Yohan Blake's Richard Mille RM38 Prototype came up for auction. This watch, which he wore during the 100m final at the 2012 Olympics when he was racing the fastest man ever, Usain Bolt, holds quite a bit of provenance. Yohan Blake was the reigning world champion going into the 2012 Olympics…