Celebrating One Year Calibre Podcast
Stories AT YOUR SERVICE BEYOND THE BEZEL FIRST LOOK INSPIRATION
AT YOUR SERVICE
BEYOND THE BEZEL
FIRST LOOK
INSPIRATION
Podcasts
Videos
OUR BRANDS A.LANGE & SÖHNE AUDEMARS PIGUET BAUME & MERCIER BREITLING BLANCPAIN BOVET BREMONT BULGARI CARTIER CHOPARD GIRARD-PERREGAUX GRAND SEIKO GUCCI HUBLOT IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN JACOB & CO JAEGER-LECOULTRE LONGINES MONTBLANC NOMOS GLASHÜTTE OFFICINE PANERAI OMEGA ORIS PATEK PHILIPPE PIAGET ROGER DUBUIS RADO ROLEX TAG HEUER TUDOR ULYSSE NARDIN VACHERON CONSTANTIN ZENITH
A.LANGE & SÖHNE
AUDEMARS PIGUET
BAUME & MERCIER
BREITLING
BLANCPAIN
BOVET
BREMONT
BULGARI
CARTIER
CHOPARD
GIRARD-PERREGAUX
GRAND SEIKO
GUCCI
HUBLOT
IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN
JACOB & CO
JAEGER-LECOULTRE
LONGINES
MONTBLANC
NOMOS GLASHÜTTE
OFFICINE PANERAI
OMEGA
ORIS
PATEK PHILIPPE
PIAGET
ROGER DUBUIS
RADO
ROLEX
TAG HEUER
TUDOR
ULYSSE NARDIN
VACHERON CONSTANTIN
ZENITH
A Guide To
Shop WATCHES OF SWITZERLAND MAPPIN & WEBB GOLDSMITHS WATCHES OF SWITZERLAND USA MAYORS
WATCHES OF SWITZERLAND
MAPPIN & WEBB
GOLDSMITHS
WATCHES OF SWITZERLAND USA
MAYORS
About Us
Calibre Podcasts
Calibre Stories
5 minute read
The Watches of Switzerland Group
We are extremely excited that it’s been one year since we launched our successful series of podcasts featuring an array of wonderful expert guests. We were honoured to have been able to bring our listeners discussions on all things horological from the likes of the CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, Breitling and Panerai. The episodes featured in-depth stories of the brands, to our history series of divers and pilot watches.
Take a look at our best moments…
One of our most popular downloaded episodes was The History of Rolex, which was joined by James Dowling who is one of the most respected authorities in horology, especially when it comes to Rolex. James is the author of ‘The Best of Time Rolex Wristwatches: An Unauthorised history’ and sat down with our CEO, Brian Duffy to discuss the iconic Rolex brand.
James delved deep into the beginning of how the brand was born, and the founder of Rolex; Hans Wilsdorf. He talked about the invention of the oyster case and how the wristwatch came to became common practice. In the second part of this podcast, James ventured further to explore the major breakthroughs of Rolex, and how it became one of the most recognisable luxury watch brands in the world. Both Brian and James discuss Rolex’s recent product developments, their iconic models, as well as the brand’s association with the sea and exploration.
You can listen to part I here and access The History of Rolex Part II episode here .
Patek Philippe are known for their most aesthetically beautiful, luxurious timepieces. Esteemed author and journalist Nick Foulkes sat down with our CEO Brian Duffy on the history of the Patek Philippe brand, from how it all started to how it became such an iconic brand today.
Nicholas Foulkes is the author of a selection of books on the arts and history. Throughout the episode, Nick talked about his career from how he started as a journalist to the wonderful story he wrote about the brand as the author of Patek Philippe: The Authorized Biography.
The episode talked through the history of the brand, from the founding of the company, through to the early part of the 20 th century where wristwatches became popular, up to 1932 when the Stern family bought the business, and what makes Patek Philippe the brand it is today.
Listen to the full episode here .
Aimee Fuller exemplifies TAG Heuer’s motivational slogan, ‘Don’t Crack Under Pressure.’ She is recognised as a British slopestyle snowboarder who represented Great Britain at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics, and is the perfect individual to partner with luxury watch brand TAG Heuer.
We were honoured to have had this incredible opportunity to sit down with Aimee to discuss how she started snowboarding, her training for the London Marathon and how her favourite TAG Heuer timepieces (Carrera Calibre 9, Black Link Ceramic, Connected) typified her career.
Aimee was always a fan of sports and began thrill seeking from an early age. She’s been hitting the slopes from four years old.
“It’s amazing if you set your mind to something how achievable it can be with a little bit of graft and hard work”
Find out more and listen to this episode here .
Within our history series, the vast rich history of pilot watches span over 110 decades and since 1909, they have been a prominent timepiece that over time have been refined and perfected by some of the world’s most leading watch manufacturers. This episode looked at the history of pilot watches discussing Rolex, Patek Philippe, Zenith, Cartier, Breitling and more.
The episode was led by CEO of The Watches of Switzerland Group, Brian Duffy and joined by David Lindsay, Head of VIP Sales and Mark Toulson, Head of Watch Buying, covering the inception of the Pilot’s Watch up until the present day.
The episode starts in 1904, where Louis Cartier created the Santos-Dumont model for aviator and friend of Cartier, Alberto Santos-Dumont.
The remarkable story of how Breitling’s Navitimer came to be in 1952 was also discussed, how it had utilised the slide rule mechanism, and how the founder of Navitimer, Willy Breitling, wasn’t necessarily interested in the aviator watch but the demand from clients encouraged him to introduce the timepiece into the market.
This is truly an interesting listen and you can find out more here .
The invention of the diver’s watch combines functionality, luxury and practicality all in one so that the watch can be worn to unfathomable depths. Our panel of watch experts Faye Soteri, Senior Watch Buyer for International, and Mark Toulson, Head of Watch Buying chats to our CEO, Brian Duffy about the staple timepieces that have evolved through the years. From the birth of diver’s watches to the development of the first Panerai Radiomir prototypes and Breitling ’s Superocean were discussed in this episode.
In 1926, Rolex invented the first-ever wristwatch that was truly water and dustproof – they named this watch the Oyster. This watch has since been the foundation of Rolex’s iconic line up of Oyster timepieces. Panerai, Blancpain, Omega , IWC Schaffhausen and Breitling, to name a few, are all brands that have also introduced a diver’s watch into their extensive catalogue of luxury timepieces.
Listen to the episode here.
We were privileged to be joined by George Bamford who is the founder of The Bamford Watch Department. It’s the first company to offer personalisation to some of the world’s most treasured timepieces that allow clients to wear their watches that are individual and exclusive to them.
George launched his company in 2004 from a desire to re-discover the lost art of personalisation in an age of mass production. It has become a sensation in the luxury world, collaborating with some of the most prestigious watch brands including Zenith, TAG Heuer and BVLGARI.
Our CEO, Brian Duffy sat down with George and discussed everything you need to know from setting up a business to the innovations within the horology world and what was next to come.
He also explored his love and history with timepieces, having been gifted a Breitling Navitimer at eleven years old. He subsequently took the watch apart to teach himself how it worked. Listen to this episode featuring George Bamford here .
We will be broadcasting many more episodes to come featuring a diverse range of watch experts, and the latest watch news so make sure you subscribe through Apple Podcasts or Spotify .
Features
Audemars Piguet: Code Breakers
Discover Stand Out New Piaget Pieces
Patek Philippe: Experts in the exquisite
New In: OMEGA Constellation Men’s Collection
New TAG Heuer Carrera Collection
OMEGA Seamaster Diver 300M ‘007’ Edition The 25th instalment of the James Bond film series, No Time to Die will land in cinemas in April 2020. OMEGA reprises its role as the super-spy's watch of choice,…
First-Timer: Choosing Your First Watch Whether you’re looking for a simple watch to tell the time or a full-blown horological investment to pass on to your future generation, here are our top tips for first-time…
Introducing: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Red Bull Quartz The TAG Heuer F1 collection has been widely recognised for its affordable and colourful designs, and this variation follows suit. Based on the racing colours of the Red Bull F1…
New In: Rolex Submariner This month sees Rolex introduce several new models to their existing collections, including the reintroduction of familiar faces. By the 1940s, Rolex had claimed its place as one of the…
Rolex: Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master 42 Rolex is billing 2019 as a year of consolidation, and launching a number of new and updated classics, each with a new-generation movement and a subtly redesigned case. Of these,…
Input your search keywords and press Enter.