Watches and Politics

Some watch manufactures build watches. A few build the foundations of modern horology . In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: WatchBooks , I explore The Story of the Grande Maison , one of the most important books dedicated to the history of Jaeger‑LeCoultre . Known throughout the industry as “La Grande Maison,” Jaeger-LeCoultre earned this title because of its extraordinary technica...

Most watch books tell the story of a brand. Some tell the story of a watch. This one tells the story of two movements . In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: WatchBooks , I explore Calibres 2253 & 2260 , a rare and highly technical publication from Vacheron Constantin . These two calibres represent some of the most ambitious modern watchmaking undertaken by the Geneva manufacture...

Who writes watch history? The brands that make the watches? The scholars who document them? The collectors who discover them? Or the auction houses that eventually place certain objects before the world and declare them worthy of attention? Alexandre Ghotbi has occupied almost every side of that question. Originally trained as a lawyer, he became part of the emerging internet watch culture when he...

Some watch brands trace their origins back a few decades. A very small number can trace them back more than two centuries . In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: Watch Books , I explore Breguet — Watchmakers Since 1775 , a book that presents the long story of one of the most influential names in horology. The journey begins with Abraham-Louis Breguet , a watchmaker whose inventions r...

Some watch books are written by brands. Others are written by historians. This one is written by a collector . In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: Watch Books , I explore Jaeger-LeCoultre: A Guide for the Collector , the remarkable reference work by Zaf Basha , one of the most respected collectors of Jaeger‑LeCoultre watches. Rather than presenting the brand through marketing narra...

Some watchmakers chase innovation. Others chase perfection. For Vacheron Constantin, that pursuit has lasted more than two and a half centuries. In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: Watch Books, I explore The Quest, a book that reflects on the long journey of one of the most historic maisons in haute horlogerie. Rather than presenting watchmaking as a sequence of finished achievemen...

Who decides what the mechanical watch becomes next? Collectors can determine what becomes desirable. Brands can shape narratives. Markets can assign value. But beneath all of them lies another form of power: the ability to change the mechanism itself. Carole Forestier-Kasapi is one of the defining technical minds of contemporary watchmaking. Across a career spanning Renaud & Papi, Ulysse Nardi...

What makes a watch exceptional ? Is it price? Craftsmanship History? Or the cultural impact a watch leaves behind? In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: WatchBooks , I explore Exceptional Watches — From the Rolex Daytona to the Casio G-Shock , a fascinating book by Clément Mazarian that highlights 90 watches that changed the landscape of watch culture . What makes this book unique is...

Some watch books tell the story of a watch. Others tell the story of a watchmaker. The World of Vacheron Constantin tries to do something bigger: it presents the entire cultural and historical universe surrounding one of the oldest watch manufactures in continuous operation. In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: Watch Books , I explore this book dedicated to Vacheron Constantin, a Ma...

Some watches survive decades. A few survive a century . The Reverso is one of those rare designs that never stopped evolving. In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: Watch Books , I explore Reverso — The Living Legend , a book by Manfred Fritz that documents how one of the most distinctive watch designs in history continued to reinvent itself across generations. Originally introduced i...

Every great watch manufacture has its public history. But behind that history lie the secrets — the techniques, traditions, and craftsmanship that rarely appear in catalogs or marketing. In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: WatchBooks , I explore Secrets of Vacheron Constantin , a book that reveals the inner world of one of the oldest and most respected watchmakers in existence. Fou...

How do you tell 500 years of watchmaking history ? Through a timeline? Through brands? Through inventions? The book 500 Years, 100 Watches takes a different approach: it tells the story of horology through 100 extraordinary timepieces , each representing a moment when watchmaking changed direction. In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: Watch Books , I explore the book by Alexander Ba...

Some watch companies produce watches. A very small number produces history . In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: WatchBooks , I explore Patek Philippe Genève , the monumental book written by Alan Banbery and Martin Huber , which documents the evolution of one of the most influential watch manufacturers in the world. For collectors and historians, this book has long been considered...

Few names in watchmaking carry the weight of Breguet . For more than two centuries, the brand has stood at the intersection of science, craftsmanship, and artistic refinement . In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: WatchBooks , I explore Breguet: Art and Innovation in Watchmaking , a book that presents the story of the Maison through its most important inventions, aesthetic codes, an...

Most watch books tell the story of a brand. Some tell the story of a watch. This one tells the story of a movement . In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: Watch Books , I explore Vacheron Constantin: Calibre 2755 , a book dedicated to one of the most sophisticated mechanical movements ever created by the historic Geneva manufacture. Introduced in the early 21st century, Calibre 2755...

Some watches become icons because of complications. Others become icons because of design clarity . The Bvlgari Bvlgari watch is one of those rare cases where a simple idea changed the visual language of modern watchmaking. In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: Watch Books , I explore Bvlgari Bvlgari Collection , a book dedicated to one of the most recognizable watch designs to emerg...

What happens when watchmaking stops chasing precision… and starts pursuing beauty ? In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: Watch Books , I explore Time Is Art , a book published by Vacheron Constantin that examines the relationship between watchmaking, artistic craftsmanship, and cultural expression . Rather than focusing only on complications or engineering, this book highlights the...

What makes a watch collectible ? Age alone is not enough. Rarity alone is not enough. In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: WatchBooks , I explore The Collectibles , Jaeger-LeCoultre’s remarkable book dedicated to the vintage watches that helped define the identity of the Grande Maison. But this is not simply a catalog of old watches. It’s a book about heritage as strategy . Through...

Behind every extraordinary watch is not just a brand — but a person . In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: Watch Books , I explore Watchmakers: The Masters of Art Horology , a book that shifts the focus of watch history away from companies and toward the individual craftsmen whose ideas shaped modern horology . This is a book about people who refused to follow the rules . The watchm...

Some watches follow fashion. Some follow engineering. The Cartier Tank followed history . In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: WatchBooks , I explore The Cartier Tank Watch — a book dedicated to one of the most recognizable and culturally influential watchdesigns ever created. Introduced by Louis Cartier in 1917 , the Tank did something almost unprecedented: it translated the geomet...

Before time was optimized, quantified, and monetized, it was contemplated . In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: WatchBooks , I explore The Beauty of Time — a book that approaches horology not through brands or complications, but through art, culture, and the human relationship with time itself . This is not a technical reference. It’s a cultural meditation . In this episode, we dis...

The structure of watchmaking has changed. For decades, authority flowed in one direction — from brands to media, from media to collectors. Today, that flow is no longer linear. Collectors have become creators, platforms have become institutions, and influence is increasingly decentralized. Halim Trujillo, founder of Watch Collecting Lifestyle, represents this shift. What began as a collector-drive...

Some watchmakers build machines. Others build culture . In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: Watch Books , I explore Vacheron Constantin: Artists of Time — a book that frames watchmaking not as industrial production, but as artistic authorship practiced over centuries . This is not a technical manual. It’s a meditation on craft, continuity, and creative identity . In this episode, w...

Some watch books document history. Some celebrate design. Hybris Mechanica documents something rarer: what happens when a manufacture removes its own limits. In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: WatchBooks , I explore Jaeger-LeCoultre — Hybris Mechanica — a book that serves as both archive and manifesto for one of the most ambitious complication programs in modern watchmaking. This...

Some watch books tell the story of a brand. Others tell the story of a watchmaker. A Voyage Through Time tells the story of a collector’s eye . In this episode of Watches and Politics — Series 3: Watch Books , I explore A Voyage Through Time: The Masis Collection of Horological Masterpieces — a book that documents one ofthe most important private collections of historical watches ever assembled. T...