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Watch Journal Celebrates Parmigiani Fleurier in Miami

Behind the scenes at one of the year’s finest collector events.

On Thursday, November 30th, Watch Journal celebrated Parmigiani Fleurier with an exclusive collector dinner taking place at the glamorous La Cava restaurant located at Faena Hotel Miami Beach.

La Cava’s hand-carved 22-seat private dining table by Frank Pollaro is surrounded by an outstanding collection of world-class wines.

Hosted by Ruggero Mango, the General Manager of Parmigiani Americas, and Stephen Watson, Editor-in-Chief of Watch Journal, the intimate dinner party brought together an elite group of watch experts and aficionados to view highlights from the recent Parmigiani collections.

Mr. Ruggero Mango made sure guests felt at home.

“During the SIHH watch fair in Geneva, Michel Parmigiani always reveals something special he’s been working on, a heavily jeweled table clock or a magically animated automaton, and you realize what a rare and special brand Parmigiani is,” says Watson.

From left: Vilena Antonova, Prince Percia Pietrolungo & Katie Reed

The warm Florida evening brought about a relaxed, tropical vibe, as Ruggero Mango made everyone feel at home by welcoming the guests to become part of the extended Parmigiani family.

The intricate sub-second detailing on the Tonda 1950 Tourbillon caught the eye of more than one guest.

On hand to view these special pieces: Prince Percia Piétrolungo, CEO of OWN Realty/OWN Financial; Jack Yeaton, CEO of the Yeaton Group; and collectors Matt Goren, Pat Gibson, David Hayes, and John Scarlatos.

From left: Michael Martirena, Jack Yeaton, Erica Corsano, Ivan Chorney

Also attending the dinner were two very special timepieces, direct from Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève: the Tonda Chronor Anniversaire, winner of the Chronograph Watch Prize, and the Toric Hemispheres Retrograde, winner of the Travel Time Watch Prize.

From left: Watch Journal’s Katie Reed and Stephen Watson

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EVENTS/STORIES

Breguet Opens New Boutique on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan

by Max Prince

One of the world’s most storied watchmakers celebrates a grand opening just in time for the holidays.

There’s always a hint of magic inside a Breguet boutique. Even brand-new locations come steeped in history, tracing lineage back to the original Geneva shop, which opened in 1775, and introduced the world to the first tourbillon soon after. That heritage is on display at Breguet’s New York flagship store on Fifth Avenue, adjacent to the St. Regis Hotel.

During a cocktail party celebrating the grand opening, collectors and select customers sipped champagne while exploring the new 2580-square-foot space. They discovered a Breguet craftsman demonstrating the art of guilloche on watch dials, as well as two specialty timepieces. The first was a replica of “The Turnip,” Winston Churchill’s famed gold Breguet pocket watch, created for the movie Darkest Hour starring Gary Oldman.

From 1817, a tourbillon crafted by A.L. Breguet, on display at the new store.

The other? Also an incredible pocket watch, this one as original as they come, made by A.L. Breguet in 1817. The piece represents one of only 35 tourbillons that the company’s founder personally crafted during his lifetime. It provided a neat segue to the Marine Équation Marchante Ref. 5887, the brand’s latest Grand Complication wristwatch. In addition to a tourbillon and perpetual calendar, it features a running Equation of Time, displaying the difference between mean solar time and true solar time. This is achieved through a differential gear, powered by two rotation sources, operating entirely independently: the rotation of civil minutes, and the lever in contact with the equation of time cam, which makes one full turn per year.

Horology buffs will appreciate that complexity. To everybody else, it might as well be magic.

699 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10022
(646-692-6469)

EVENTS/STORIES

Surface, Grand Seiko, and Nobu Matsuhisa Celebrate the October Travel Issue

by Stephen Watson

On Thursday, Oct. 26, Surface Media celebrated this month’s Travel Issue with famed chef and restaurateur Nobu Matsuhisa and Japanese watch brand Grand Seiko. The exclusive dinner party of 60 guests was hosted at Nobu Malibu in the exterior lounge overlooking the ocean, where guests enjoyed a sunset cocktail hour followed by a nine-course dinner of Nobu specialties. Joining Matsuhisa, Surface editor-in-chief Spencer Bailey, Watch Journal editor-in-chief Stephen Watson, and Grand Seiko Chairman Akio Naito were joined by Gregg and Madson Buchbinder, Brandi Garnett, Alex Israel, Annalynne McCord, and Sudhin Shahani.

MALIBU, CA – OCTOBER 26: Chef Nobu Matsuhisa attends Surface Magazine Presents The 2017 Travel Issue: Celebratory Dinner with Nobu Matsuhisa at Nobu Malibu on October 26, 2017 in Malibu, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for Surface Media)

The dinner honored Matsuhisa’s cover feature in the issue and commenced with a toast from Bailey. “Nobu is the first chef we’ve ever featured on the cover of Surface in its 24-year history,” he said, “[He] thinks very much like a designer in so many ways. Quality is at the heart of what he does and is at the heart of what we do at Surface, so featuring Nobu on the cover was a very natural fit.” Turning to Naito, Bailey continued, “Grand Seiko is a company that also appreciates quality, design, and craftsmanship. The way in which they incorporate Japanese culture into their watches—it’s that global perspective that is very aligned with what Surface values.”

Read the feature story on Nobu here, and get to know the cover star a little better here, and read more about Grand Seiko here.

Special thanks to Grand Seiko.

MALIBU, CA – OCTOBER 26: Chef Nobu Matsuhisa (L) and Surface Magazine CEO Marc Lotenberg attend Surface Magazine Presents The 2017 Travel Issue: Celebratory Dinner with Nobu Matsuhisa at Nobu Malibu on October 26, 2017, in Malibu, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for Surface Media)

MALIBU, CA – OCTOBER 26: Watches are displayed at Surface Magazine Presents The 2017 Travel Issue: Celebratory Dinner with Nobu Matsuhisa at Nobu Malibu on October 26, 2017, in Malibu, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for Surface Media)

MALIBU, CA – OCTOBER 26: (L-R) Lisa Harris, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, Bella Harris and Max Harris attend Surface Magazine Presents The 2017 Travel Issue: Celebratory Dinner with Nobu Matsuhisa at Nobu Malibu on October 26, 2017, in Malibu, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for Surface Media)

MALIBU, CA – OCTOBER 26: A general view of the atmosphere at Surface Magazine Presents The 2017 Travel Issue: Celebratory Dinner with Nobu Matsuhisa at Nobu Malibu on October 26, 2017, in Malibu, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for Surface Media)

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