A dual Swiss-Italian national who studied at the College of Business and Economics in the “Watch City” of Biel/Bienne, graduating in 1975, Walter Ribaga started his career in sales at IBM Switzerland. He quickly moved to the watch industry, however, joining Certina, a company of the Swatch Group in 1981 to manage sales for Europe and Latin America. His experience in sales subsequently took him to other Swiss watch brands such as Omega, Zenith and Movado. At TAG Heuer Mr Ribaga was part of a team that helped to relaunch the brand worldwide and increase sales in Latin America fivefold over a period of five years.

How long does one second last? Who decides what time it is? The scholarly quest for precision has been at the heart of watchmaking innovation since the 17th century. Oscillators are key to developments in this field: the pendulum, the spring balance and, later, quartz, have all increased timekeeping accuracy. From the Second World War, physicists took over from astronomers and horologists in the pursuit of accurate time measurement. From 1967, the second was no longer defined via astronomical observations such as the passage of the sun across the zenith, but by measuring a microscopic phenomenon: the oscillation of caesium atoms.

On June 4th 2018, the first stone of the new Hôtel des Horlogers was laid in Le Brassus, cradle of the Audemars Piguet Manufacture in the heart of the Vallée de Joux. The ceremony, followed by a cocktail, was held in presence of Jasmine Audemars, Chairwoman of the Audemars Piguet Board of Directors, Olivier Audemars, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and François-Henry Bennahmias, Chief Executive Officer of Audemars Piguet. The main partners of the project, Danish architects BIG, and Swiss architects CCHE as well as the authorities of the Vallée de Joux and of the Canton of Vaud also attended.

On Wednesday 6 June, at Depeche Mode's concert at the Barclays Center in New York, Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot, and Depeche Mode officially presented charity: water with a check for $1.7 million raised since 2017 over the course of the third partnership between the band and the Swiss watchmaker. The money was raised over two years from the proceeds of two different models: first, the Hublot Big Bang Depeche Mode watch released as a limited edition of 250 pieces in 2017, then the collection of unique Big Bang Unico Depeche Mode The Singles Limited Edition watches in 2018.

Since 2009, Frederique Constant has collaborated with the Riva Historical Society: a Milan-based association founded in 1998, dedicated to the preservation and restoration of classic Riva boats. Piero Mario Gibellini and Carlo Riva founded this non-profit organization, whose purpose is to preserve the worldwide patrimony of the established Riva heritage.

On the occasion of the World Oceans Day, Blancpain and its President & CEO, Marc A. Hayek, unveil their third series of Blancpain Ocean Commitment (BOC) limited edition diving watches. By purchasing one of these 250 timepieces, each client contributes to Blancpain's participation in the cause of ocean protection. The brand commits to donate 1,000 euro for the sale of each watch, implying a total of 250,000 euro added to Blancpain's much larger support.

Watches and photography go together like cheese and wine. Both are worthy products in their own right but coupling with their respective companions can add an extra dimension. Just as a glass of Fendant is the perfect accompaniment to a fondue and port goes well with stilton, the right framing and background to a photo can really bring out the character of a watch that might be lost with a simple packshot.

It’s the 240th anniversary of John Arnold coining the term chronometer this year…
I prefer to speak about a commemoration rather than an anniversary. Arnold & Son does not date back to 1764. The brand was established in 1995 so there is quite a gap between the two. So we don’t celebrate anniversaries but we commemorate certain dates. In 1778 John Arnold submitted his pocket watch to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to have its precision tested for marine chronometer certification. The watch passed all the tests and over a year and a half the variation in rate was just two and a half minutes, which is an average of 0.5 seconds per day. The requirements for today’s COSC chronometer certificate are between -4 and +6 seconds per day. So Arnold’s watch was ten times more precise than the chronometers of today and a thousand times more precise than the pocket watches of the time. Not only was this a huge technological breakthrough at the time, John Arnold even explained what he had done and offered his watch at an affordable price. He was so pleased when he received the confirmation from the Royal Observatory that he wrote a letter explaining his product and how happy he was, referring to the watch as a “veritable chronometer”. So it was the first pocket watch to be called a chronometer.

Since 2016, a dozen or so major watch brands have joined forces with Bucherer to pay tribute to the retailer’s signature colour – blue – through exclusive watches available only through Bucherer stores. Chopard, Audemars Piguet, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, Panerai and Piaget, amongst others, have developed wristwatches with certain specific features for Bucherer’s Blue Editions collection, which today numbers around 20 pieces. Just under one month ago, another exceptional fine mechanical watch – the Harley-Davidson Blue Edition – was added to the collection. Designed in collaboration with the watchmakers of Carl F. Bucherer and the jewellers of Bucherer, this stunning machine is the first motorbike to come equipped with its own high jewellery watch and precious stones (l).

Richard Mille is the official partner of Le Mans Classic since its creation in 2002. Awarded with Two Motoring Event of the Year prizes at the International Historic Motoring Awards in 2014 and 2016, Le Mans Classic gathered together some 123,000 spectators, 8,500 European clubs, 1,000 drivers from around the world and 200 exhibitors on the French circuit over the weekend in 2016.

On Sunday, June 10, 2018, the city of Zurich has become the stage for an Olympian motorsport race. Inside their single-seater electric vehicles, 20 drivers travelled the urban circuit along the Limmat as part of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. Those who took part included Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi, as well as Nelson Piquet, Edoardo Mortara and Nick Heidfeld, and the race was won by Lucas Di Digrassi from Audi Sport Abt Schäffler, followed by Sam Bird (+7.542 seconds) and Jérôme D’Ambrosio (+16.822 seconds).

On Friday, 8 June, 2018, on the eve of the 80th edition of the Bol d’Or Mirabaud, marking the sixth year in which Hublot has been the partner and official timekeeper of the event, the brand officially inaugurated its new boutique in Geneva. At the junction with Place Longemalle, just a stone's throw from the lake, the boutique now boasts one of the finest locations in Geneva, surrounded by the most prestigious of neighbours.

An enthusiastic crowd attended Belmont Park cheering loudly for the chance to watch history unfold. After a quick start, Justify set the pace to win the Belmont Stakes and secure the Triple Crown. His exciting run will be remembered for years to come - cementing 2018 as an important season in the history of horseracing. 

Carl F. Bucherer announces a partnership with the Swiss national soccer player Ricardo Rodríguez. Tenacious left-back with Spanish and Chilean heritage, Ricardo Rodríguez grew up in Zurich. He signed his first professional contract with FC Zürich in 2010 before moving to VfL Wolfsburg (Germany) in 2012. He has been a regular on the Swiss national team since 2011 and, in 2014, was voted Swiss player of the year. His talents soon brought him to the attention of Europe’s leading soccer clubs, and he signed with Italian giants, AC Milan, in 2017.

This Frédérique Constant Manufacture Perpetual Calendar limited edition is sold exclusively by Bucherer in Paris, the world’s biggest specialised haute horlogerie store. It’s a steel version – with blue dial and silvered hands and markers – of the Frédérique Constant perpetual calendar that made such a strong impression on its launch at Baselworld 2016, largely because of its highly competitive price tag of not much over 8,000 Swiss francs. 

The Bol d’Or Mirabaud, the world’s biggest inland regatta, was founded in 1939 by Pierre Bonnet. At the first event, twenty-six crews lined up for the start. By 1987, not long before the event’s 50th anniversary, the milestone of 500 entries was reached. In 2018, more than 500 boats and 3,000 crew members participated in the 80th edition of this prestigious sailing regatta.