Last April, 12 WatchTime readers from five countries traveled to Switzerland to visit eight watch brands —a trip that turned out to be a “lifetime experience” for some of the participants.
The group was hosted by Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, Blancpain, Hublot, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Ulysse Nardin, TAG Heuer and Girard-Perregaux. One of the trip’s main objectives was not only to provide a comprehensive overview of watchmaking in general, but also to allow enough time to fully understand each brand’s own specialties, so that by the end of the week, every participant saw more or less “all of the pieces of the puzzle.” These specialties included design, prototyping, research and innovation, movement and case production, assembly, métiers d’art, grand complications, testing, and restoration.
Ulysse Nardin: Production
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Ulysse Nardin: Grand Complication Workshop
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Ulysse Nardin
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Ulysse Nardin: Production
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Ulysse Nardin: Grand Complication Workshop
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Ulysse Nardin: Production
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Ulysse Nardin: Production
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Ulysse Nardin: Production
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Ulysse Nardin: Assembly
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TAG Heuer: Museum
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TAG Heuer: Museum
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TAG Heuer: Grand Complication Workshop
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TAG Heuer: Design and Prototyping
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TAG Heuer: Assembly
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TAG Heuer: Museum
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TAG Heuer: Monopoly Studio
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Patek Philippe: Vintage Calatrava
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Patek Philippe: 5960R
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Patek Philippe
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La Chaux-de-Fonds
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La Chaux-de-Fonds
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La Chaux-de-Fonds
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MIH
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Museum
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Museum
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Museum
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Museum
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Grand Complication Workshop
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Grand Complication Workshop
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Watchmaking Masterclass
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Watchmaking Masterclass
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Watchmaking Masterclass
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Watchmaking Masterclass
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Museum
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Watchmaking Masterclass
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Atmos Workshop
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Jaeger-LeCoultre
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Jaeger-LeCoultre: Watchmaking Masterclass
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Hublot: Grand Complication Workshop
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Hublot: Case Production
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Hublot: Production
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Hublot: Stone Setting
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Hublot: Grand Complication Workshop
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Hublot: Grand Complication Workshop
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Hublot
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Hublot Case Production
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Girard-Perregaux: Hands-On
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Girard-Perregaux
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Girard-Perregaux: Grand Complication Workshop
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Girard-Perregaux: Production
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Girard-Perregaux: Hands-On
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Girard-Perregaux: Hands-On
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Girard-Perregaux
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Donzé Cadrans: Dial Production
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Donzé Cadrans: Dial Production
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Donzé Cadrans: Dial Production
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Donzé Cadrans: Dial Production
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Donzé Cadrans: Dial Production
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Blancpain
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Blancpain
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Blancpain: Grand Complication Workshop
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Blancpain: Grand Complication Workshop
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Blancpain: Grand Complication Workshop
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Blancpain: Fifty Fathoms Bathyscpaphe
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MIH
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The Participants of WatchTime’s 2017 Reader Trip in Front of Vacheron Constantin’s HQ in Geneva
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If you would like to participate in one of WatchTime’s upcoming reader trips or events (we are working on similar programs right now), we recommend you visit our event page, sign up for our newsletter or contact [email protected] so that we can add you to our list and keep you informed.