Philippe Dufour is setting salerooms alight; WatchBox has invested in De Bethune; Chrono24 has secured LVMH-backed funding; Watchfinder is presenting all the James Bond watches in its Paris showroom; Richard Mille has launched a certified network for its pre-owned watches… for watch fans, the moving and shaking is on the pre-owned market.
Even without sun, you can still be bronzed. Simply wear a watch in the latest must-have metal. Choosing a bronze watch is to choose the unpredictable (oxidation) over the conventional (gold), to prefer Danny Wilde over Brett Sinclair, and to rally behind climate activist Greta Thunberg and her message to Make Green Great Again.
Brands imagine their watches as objects of desire, intended to appeal to our emotions. When adding method to these emotions, they have two means at their disposal: the addition of complications and words that sell.
Sometimes history can give an entirely different colour to an event. Vacheron Constantin's presentation of its Patrimony perpetual calendar ultra-thin took on a completely new dimension following the sale at auction, just days earlier, of the Don Pancho, a remarkable calendar watch made by the Manufacture in the 1930s.
The Canadian cutie plays Deadpool, Marvel's wisecracking superhero - a guy in a burgundy leather costume and a mask that wouldn't look out of place on a Mexican wrestler. We asked the "merc with a mouth" about his favourite watches.
Patrick Dempsey is rated for his acting talent and as a racing driver at the head of his own team. As a TAG Heuer ambassador since 2014 and watch collector, he has worn the cream of the Swiss brand's timepieces. A diehard fan of James Dean, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman, he explains how watches and race cars have a lot in common.