Marco is in Switzerland
by Marco Gagliano on July 20, 2009
tagged as: watches graff omega rolex patek geneva switzerland
My First visit to Geneva
Geneva is not a a very big city, but is packed with things to see. If you are a watch enthusiast, then the points of interest are endless. Since I am neither a good organizer nor an early riser, I did not plan any specific route. We parked the car and walked around for the entire day stopping in a few places for lunch, coffee, and drinks.
The first thing that struck me when entering the centre of Geneva was the famous view. Many important brand names have signs over the buildings that border the Lac Genève (as people from Geneva call it) or Lac Léman (as everyone else calls it). I always thought that these signs were fitted atop the manufacturers' offices or stores, but I found out that this is not necessarily true. Only a few buildings are used by the brands whose names adorn them. Most signs are just fixed atop residential buildings while the actual factories and offices of the brands reside elsewhere in the canton.
The shops in Geneva are numerous. High-profile stores such as Les Ambassadeurs carry all the brands, while the single brand stores try to wow you with exquisite architecture, interior design and impressive collections. Two stores impressed me the most. The Graff London store as always offers a glimpse at some magnificent - and giant - diamonds and emeralds. The second is the Patek Philippe Salon. It is situated in a 19th century historic building on rue du rhône. Once inside, the salon area is where all the collections are displayed in museum style. It is decorated with marble and a beautiful chandelier. Behind this room, the sales room is an impeccably restored showroom where you will be attended to at a private desk by a personal sales representative. The Patek site offers a presentation about their salon, which which will give you a better image then my description. Click here to see it.
Patek Philippe also has their watch museum that I will have to visit on an other day. I am sure that there will be some impressive pieces in there. Not to be outdone, the Swatch Group also opened their own attraction called the Cité du Temps. It offers special expositions pertaining to their watch brands in a historic building built on the water.
40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing
by Marco Gagliano on July 16, 2009
tagged as: neil armstrong professional anniversary nasa apollo 11 speedmaster omega
40 Years Since Mankind Took a Giant Leap while Wearing an Omega Speedmaster
July 16th 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11 set to land on the moon. The trip from Earth to the Moon and back took a total of eight days, and the crew of Apollo 11 only walked on our cheesy-faced satellite for only two and a half hours, but as Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin stated: "In (that) one moment, the world came together in peace for all mankind."
Aside from Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin, becoming household names since the Lunar landing, the Omega Speedmaster also took its place as a legend of space flight. In order to find the most suitable watch for their missions, NASA purchased several models from local jewellers and subjected them all to very strenuous tests. I've read articles in the past stating why the Breitling Cosmonaut, for instance, should have been used. These articles made some good points, but the Speedy was the only watch in the collection that included Rolex Bulova, Breitling, Longines and a few others, to pass all the tests satisfactorily. Omega decided to append the word "Professional" to its Speedmaster after hearing about this performance.
Today, watchmaking technology is way beyond what it was in the sixties. Watches like the Bell & Ross BR-02s would probably fare better then the Speedy Pro did during the high humidity, extreme pressure, and extreme temperature tests. Many NASA astronauts continue to use the Omega Speedmaster Professional.
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