Summer readings / Letture estive

ENGLISH (il testo italiano è in fondo alla pagina)

Looking for something serious to read during the Summer? The right answer is one of Marco Strazzi’s Watch Books.

 

The Museum Collection is a selection of 100 milestones of 20^th Century watchmaking. The technology, design and style of the more and less well-known models that made the history of timekeeping from 1900 to 2000. Click here to learn more.

Watch Ads 1900-1959 and Watch Ads 1960-2000 take the reader through a century of communication. The thousand or so featured images are living history and a faithful testimony of how design, styling and the public’s tastes evolved. Click here to learn more.

Rolex 1905-1960 focuses on the company’s first half-century - the years that shaped its identity and paved the way to worldwide success. Timeline, watches, movements, ads, patents, documents. Click here to learn more.

The publisher has a recommendation for fiction lovers, as well. The historical novel Wingwatch tells the story of a wristwatch, lost on D-Day and rediscovered 70 years later in an auction house catalog. Click here to learn more.

 

ITALIANO

Cerchi qualcosa di interessante da leggere durante l'estate? La risposta giusta è un volume della collezione Watch Books di Marco Strazzi.

 

Orologi da Polso 1900-1959 è la prima parte della nuova storia enciclopedica dell’orologio da polso. Lo stravagante braccialetto con orologio deriso dai conformisti diventa uno strumento indispensabile. Clicca qui per saperne di più.

Orologi da polso 1960-2000 conclude la cronistoria del Ventesimo Secolo. Dall’orologio elettrico al rinascimento della meccanica, passando attraverso la crisi del quarzo. Con un’appendice sul ventennio 2001-2021. Clicca qui per saperne di più.

Watch Ads 1900-1959 e Watch Ads 1960-2000 accompagnano il lettore lungo un secolo di comunicazione. Un migliaio di annunci pubblicitari raccontano l’evoluzione del design e dei gusti attraverso i decenni. Clicca qui per saperne di più.

Rolex 1905-1960 è dedicato al primo mezzo secolo della Casa: gli anni che ne hanno definito l’identità creando le premesse di un successo planetario. Cronologia, orologi, movimenti, pubblicità, brevetti, documenti originali. Clicca qui per saperne di più.

L’editore ha un consiglio anche per gli amanti della narrativa. L’Orologio con le Ali racconta la storia di un orologio smarrito il 6 giugno 1944 (D-Day) e riscoperto 70 anni più tardi nel catalogo di una casa d’aste. Clicca qui per saperne di più.

 

 

New releases – Schwarz Etienne Geometry Black

 

Created in collaboration with designer Eric Giroud, the hand-guilloché geometric patterns of arcs and reliefs found on the dial are executed using a variety of finishes : fluted lines, azuré, clous de Paris and fine sandblasted finishes. The polished 39 mm stainless steel case houses the in-house ASE 200.02 automatic caliber with a microrotor and a double barrel offering an 86-hour power reserve. 

 

 

New releases – Dennison A.L.D. Collection

Established in 1874, the original British company was a renowned casemaker for top Swiss brands. Now the Dennis Watch Company returns to watchmaking with a series of eleven timepieces signed by Swiss designer Emmanuel Gueit and inspired by the cushion shapes of the 1960s. The A.L.D. Collection was named after the initials of the company’s founder (Aaron Lufkin Dennison). This model features a 33.65mm case in stainless steel, a midnight aventurine stone dial and a Ronda quartz movement. Price: $ 690 before tax. 

 

Vintage ads - Hamilton (1937)

ENGLISH (il testo italiano è sotto l'immagine)

'Hamilton accuracy is an invaluable guide to United’s pilots – checking position in the air, calculating air speed, timing radio communication with airports along the way …' In 1937, United Airlines introduced the Douglas DC-3 Mainliners. With a range of 1,500 miles, they flew from New York to San Francisco in less than 16 hours with only three stops along the way. The ad pays tribute to this unprecedented feat, while pointing out that Hamilton – for a long time presented as 'the watch of railroad curacy' – was now a 'watch of airline accuracy', as well. Finally, the text reminds that 'Hamilton makes no watches with fewer than 17 jewels, no watches cased in less than platinum, solid gold or gold filled'.

Do you like vintage watch ads? Visit the page about Watch Ads, the one and only two-volume pictorial history of communication and design in 20th Century watchmaking. Do you wish to know more? Watch the video clip about the publication and download the preview of Volume 1. 

The vintage ads presented in this website are not featured in the Watch Ads books.

 

ITALIANO 

“La precisione Hamilton è un punto di riferimento essenziale per i piloti di United, che la usano per il controllo della posizione, il calcolo della velocità, la gestione delle comunicazioni radio con gli aeroporti durante il viaggio …” Nel 1937, United Airlines presentò i Douglas DC-3 Mainliners, che con la loro autonomia di 1.500 miglia volavano da New York a San Francisco in meno di 16 ore e con appena tre scali durante il viaggio. L’annuncio rende omaggio a questa impresa senza precedenti, sottolineando che l’orologio Hamilton – a lungo pubblicizzato per la sua “precisione ferroviaria” – possedeva ora una “precisione aerea”. Infine, il testo ricorda che “Hamlton non crea orologi con meno di 17 rubini e casse di metalli meno preziosi del platino, dell’oro massiccio e del placcato oro.”    

Ti piacciono le pubblicità d'epoca? Visita la pagina su Watch Ads, l'unica storia illustrata in due volumi della comunicazione e del design nell'orologeria del Novecento. Vuoi saperne di più? Guarda il video sull'opera e scarica l'anteprima del Volume 1.

 

New releases - Doxa Sub 350T Divingstar

The brand brings the GMT function back into the Sub Collection. The 40mm stainless steel case features a patented unidirectional bezel with diving scales, a screw-down crown and water resistance to 250 metres. The Divingstar model seen here is easily recognisable by the yellow dial and FKM rubber strap, available as an alternative to the classic stainless steel ‘beads of rice’ bracelet. The Swiss automatic movement has a 50-hour power reserve. Price : CHF 2,390.

 

Watches at auction

Here are a few highlights from the auction Phillips swill hold on 7-8 June in New York.

 

 

Offered for the first time in nearly 40 years, this yellow gold Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 retains its original factory finishing with full, thick lugs indicative of hardly any use and showing no signs of a previous polishing. The dial shows no aging or any signs of prior interventions Estimate : US$ 400,000-800,000

This pink gold Patek Philippe Ref. 530 has never been seen at public auction. With a production timeline spanning from 1937 until 1962, only approximately 140 examples of this chronograph are believed to have been produced, all of which were offered to important clients, never appearing in the brand’s catalogues. Estimate : US$ 300,000-600,000

 

Only four examples of a stainless steel Ref. 570 with large Breguet numerals and three-tone dial are known to the public, of which this is the fourth. Purchased at a National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors’ “watch mart” in the early 2000s, its custodian for the past two decades is a former military watchmaker and avid collector. Estimate: US$ 200,000-400,000

 

 

  

The Ref. 3970 was the first Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph to indicate leap years, and the first to add a 24-hour indicator. Only a very small number of 3970s are known to be fitted with this specific matte golden dial. Estimate: US$ 150,000-300,000

 

 

Zenith El Primero - The revival

The launch, near-end and comeback – the first 20 years of a legend

Enjoy the brand-new mini documentary from the 10e10.ch by Marco Strazzi You Tube channel ... and do not forget to subscribe!

Zenith El Primero - La rinascita

Gli inizi, la fine prematura, il ritorno: i primi 20 anni di una leggenda.

L'ultimo mini-documentario dal Canale YouTube 10e10.ch by Marco Strazzi.

Buona visione ... e non dimenticare di iscriverti!