Worldtempus

11/08/2026

Ba111od Chapitre 7 Skeleton through the lens of of our deputy chief editor Anders Modig Davin.

Read Simon de Burton’s story about this young brand challenging existing business models of the watch industry, link in bio.

11/08/2026

Anyone who has ever owned a perpetual calendar knows the pain. Recessed pushers, special tools, adjustments that can only be made at certain hours, and a moon phase that requires you to count to 29 without any scale to guide you.

David Chokron has been waiting for someone to solve this properly. IWC just did.

The new Perpetual Calendar ProSet, built around calibre 82665, uses LIGA-manufactured wheels with flexible blades to create what Chokron calls a mechanical computer. The result is bi-directional calendar setting, operated entirely through the crown, with no pushers and no restricted adjustment window. Two crown positions. That is all.

Full article on WorldTempus.com : https://en.worldtempus.com/article/watch-knowledge/iwc-and-solving-impossible-qp-equation-iwc-schaffhausen-82804.html

10/08/2026

When the Monaco debuted in 1969, its square water-resistant case, blue dial, left-hand crown and automatic Caliber 11 made it unlike anything else on the market. It proved a commercial failure and disappeared after only five years. Even Steve McQueen wearing it in Le Mans in 1971 failed to change its fortunes. Only after its return in 1997 did it begin its second chapter.

That history shapes every decision TAG Heuer has made with the 2026 update. Eliot Aviat examines what changed and what could never change. The Monaco Chronograph moves to a 39mm Grade 5 titanium case with curved flanks. The Evergraph goes further with a 40mm case, slimmer side profiles and a completely redesigned chronograph mechanism — two bistable flexible components replacing almost every traditional lever and spring, developed over five years. Weight is reduced. Ergonomics are improved. The square case, the left-hand crown, and the bold personality remain untouchable.

Easier to wear. Impossible to mistake.

Full article on WorldTempus.com: https://en.worldtempus.com/article/watch-knowledge/tag-heuer-monaco-refining-icon-without-taming-it-tag-heuer-83037.html

08/08/2026

08/08/2026

Gen Z is now the largest generational slice of the global population — 25%, or 2 billion people — and watch marketers are working hard to reach them. But what does the most extensive research ever carried out on Gen Z and luxury actually reveal?

Anders Modig Davin examines reports by Geneva school CREA and Parisian agency l'amour, the extreme group. The findings challenge assumptions. Gen Z's apparent doom scrolling is in fact a structured four-step process: discovery via social media, learning via AI, fact-checking via Google and official sources, and finally seeking validation from an expert. That expert can be human — or a luxury print magazine. "Gen Z has become actors of transmission. It is not the older generation transmitting to the younger, but the opposite," said Capucine Delaunay, co-author of the l'amour extreme report.

And yet, as Anders Modig Davin notes, when he tried to include Gen Z voices in this article, no one got back to him despite multiple attempts. The generational shift is coming. But where, exactly, is Gen Z?

Full article on WorldTempus.com: https://en.worldtempus.com/article/business-news/gen-z-will-teach-me-something-when-82978.html

07/08/2026

In mechanical watchmaking, everything begins with rotation. The mainspring, the gear train, every pivot — all turn continuously. A retrograde complication breaks that logic entirely.

Rather than circling a central point, a retrograde hand progresses across an arc and then snaps back to its starting position in a single motion. The mechanism must guide the hand forward, store energy throughout the journey, and release it at exactly the right instant. Eliot Aviat explains how Roger Dubuis and Jean-Marc Wiederrecht approached this challenge from a different angle beginning in 1989, replacing traditional blade springs with balance springs positioned directly on the hand pinions. The closer the return mechanism is to the hand it controls, the more accurately the movement can be regulated.

On the Excalibur Bi-Retrograde Calendar, that solution appears twice — for the day of the week and the date — unfolding across two generous sectors animated by angled, skeletonized hands, above the openworked RD840 caliber in cosmic blue.

Full article on WorldTempus.com: https://en.worldtempus.com/article/watch-knowledge/how-do-you-make-hand-move-backward-roger-dubuis-82959.html

06/08/2026

"When I first saw the Golden Ellipse by Patek Philippe, I thought it was antiquated, weird looking and even a bit lazy." David Chokron wrote that. He also admits he would happily steal one given the chance.

In this piece for WorldTempus, David Chokron reflects on two watches that changed his mind the moment he put them on: the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse and the Daniel Roth Ellipsocurvex. Both share the ellipse silhouette. Both defied his expectations entirely on the wrist.

What follows is a precise, personal breakdown of two very different design philosophies built around the same rare shape, and a broader reflection on what prejudice costs us as watch lovers.

Full article on WorldTempus.com : https://en.worldtempus.com/article/watch-knowledge/ellipse-enigma-patek-philippe-82783.html

05/08/2026

Geneva Watch Days has come a long way since its launch in 2020 by eight founding brands. The 2026 edition, running from September 2 to 6, brings together 70 participating brands and a programme that extends well beyond new watch presentations.

Benjamin Teisseire previews what's in store. Daily Power Breakfasts tackle subjects including in-store hospitality, attracting tomorrow's talent, watchmaking as an investment, and brand communities. Symposiums go deeper, addressing craftsmanship versus industrialized production, gender divides, and the concentration of 63% of watch sales among just six brands. A philosophical session on the nature of time features 2019 Nobel Prize winner Didier Queloz alongside physicists Katie Mack, Janna Levin and Thomas Hertog. The FHH Brunch & Quiz returns on Saturday, and a charity auction conducted by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo closes Thursday evening.

Evenings run from the Official Opening on September 2 to the GMT Party on September 3 and the Garden Party on September 5.

Full article on WorldTempus.com: https://en.worldtempus.com/article/events/geneva-watch-days-must-attend-event-83031.html

04/08/2026

Richard Mille and Colnago share the same obsession: pushing the limits of lightness, strength and mechanical performance. With the RM 64-01 Tourbillon Colnago, limited to 50 pieces, these two worlds come together naturally.

Eliot Aviat examines how deeply the collaboration runs. The grade 5 titanium skeletonized baseplate and bridges form a tubular structure reminiscent of a bicycle frame geometry. The upper bridges, with their star-shaped design, reference Colnago's Master frames from the 1980s. The tourbillon at 7 o'clock takes the place of a cassette, the barrel at 1 o'clock answers it like a drivetrain component, and the going train between them evokes sprockets and chainrings. The case is made from white Quartz TPT, while a new azure blue Quartz TPT on the bezel is inspired by the Colnago C68 color palette. The fast-rotating barrel delivers a 65-hour power reserve, optimizing torque transmission just as a bicycle drivetrain seeks to reduce energy loss.

Two disciplines, one vision of mechanical performance.

Full article on WorldTempus.com: https://en.worldtempus.com/article/new-watches/when-watchmaking-starts-pedaling-richard-mille-83030.html

03/08/2026

Every watch lover has a detail that makes their heart flutter. For David Chokron, it's tourbillon carriages — and one in particular stands out: the flying tourbillon carriage used by Glashütte Original across the Senator Tourbillon, the PanoLunarTourbillon and the Senator Chronometer Tourbillon.

Three arms reinforced by a 220-degree arch, an elaborate curved attachment point resembling a bishop's cross, a diamond endstone on the main axis, and arms so thin they create a stroboscopic effect once in motion. The carriage traces a direct line to Alfred Helwig, the Glashütte watchmaking school professor who in 1920 first removed the upper bridge from a tourbillon to reveal the entire cage to the eye — inventing what we now call the flying tourbillon.

Thinness in a tourbillon carriage is not only visual, David Chokron argues. A heavy carriage defeats the original purpose of the tourbillon by placing undue weight on the gear train. Glashütte Original translates that mechanical requirement into something that looks, in his words, magnificent.

Full article on WorldTempus.com: https://en.worldtempus.com/article/watch-knowledge/carrying-torch-carriage-glashutte-original-82958.html