Jack Forster

POSTS BY Jack Forster

Less Is More : The Art of the Ultra Thin Watch

What goes around, comes around –call them ultra thin or extra flat, thin dress watches are back, and a rose by any other name would be just as elegant. Though a newcomer to fine watchmaking in recent years might be forgiven for not knowing it, making a thin watch (and wearing one) was for decades considered an indispensable sign of sophistication. Only a top watchmaker could make a very thin watch, because a very thin watch needs a very thin mechanism inside, and during the golden age of the wristwatch –the period just after the end of World War II READ MORE

Haute Living Sits down with Jacob the Jeweler

Jacob Arabo doesn’t just make timepieces. He adorns the arms of the rich and powerful. Arabo’s flawless attention to detail and consistent execution of his unique timepieces has established Jacob & Co. as the most sought after jewelry and watch manufacturer for top clients around the world. The brand’s hugely diverse clientele, first made popular by athletes and rappers, has grown to include royal families, Hollywood celebrities, musicians, politicians, business leaders and true timepiece connoisseurs. This highly powerful client base has chosen Jacob & Co. as their go-to for high-end watches, jewelry and diamonds for more than 25 years. His READ MORE

The Collection With a Cause

The Only Watch charity auction is more than just a gathering of over-the-top timepieces made by watchmaking’s elite and the wealthy buyers who bid for them. This Antiquorum auction is the story of one man’s heroic dedication to fighting a disease that has afflicted his son and his connection to a man that, in watchmaking circles, is considered equally heroic. Luc Pettavino, president of the Monegasque Association against Muscular Dystrophies (AMM), conceived the biennial Only Watch Auction in 2005 to help find a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a debilitating neuromuscular disease that affects one in every 3,500 men. “When READ MORE

PATRIK P. HOFFMANN : The Legacy Lives On

Patrik P. Hoffmann is stepping up. Hoffmann has taken the helm at renowned timepiece manufacturer UlysseNardin as the successor of beloved President and CEO Rolf W. Schnyder, who passed away unexpectedly in April. “He left an extremely healthy company behind,” Hoffmann said of his predecessor. “He was a radiant guy. He was never short on words.” And he left behind a prosperous company. “[With] some companies, new management comes and they have to turn things around,” Hoffmann said. “We don’t have to turn anything around. We can keep going the way it was done. There will be changes, but it’s READ MORE

Talking watches with Ronald and Ellen Lee, of Chong Hing Jewelers

Once upon a time, two Hong Kong jewelry store veterans met in Los Angeles. Sparks flew, and Chong Hing Jewelers was born. And everyone lived luxuriously ever after. Since Ronald and Ellen Lee opened Chong Hing Jewelers in 1970, it’s been a California sanctuary for high-end jewelry and top-of-the-line timepieces. Such great success comes with years of experience and practice on both ends. “My father had a jewelry store and her father had a jewelry store,” said Mr. Lee. “So we opened one on our own and developed the name Chong Hing.” Mrs. Lee elaborates, “Chong Hing means good READ MORE

Haute Time: Patek Philippe Introduces New High Tech Heart for Limited-Edition Perpetual Calendar 5550P

For hundreds of years watches were made with just three materials: brass, steel, and ruby bearings. Patek Philippe is often considered the guardian of watchmakng’s most elegantly conservative high craftsmanship (with prices that match its peerless quality). But with its new limited-edition 5550P perpetual calendar, it’s taken a bold leap into a high tech future. The 5550P uses components made from silicon, a material usually associated with integrated circuits, into the very heart of the watch: the escapement, the part of the watch that actually keeps time. Using cutting edge fabrication techniques, the new escapement–dubbed the Oscillomax by Patek–incorporates ultra READ MORE