Gift Guide - Gloffke

insiDeR
“... a specially designed dial or an
exception movement that is 100%
in-house made, and cannot be copied.”
80 AFFLUENT PAGE LUXURY INDEX | DECEMBER 2010
named for the firm’s longtime home in Geneva, on an island
in the middle of the Rhone River, the Tour de l’ile was one
of the most complicated wristwatches ever produced, with 834
parts and 16 horological “complications” — that is, horological
features such as day, date, and moon-phase indicators; stopwatch
features; hour-and-minute chimes; perpetual calendars that
automatically account for leap year (thanks to one tiny gear
inside the watch that turns every four years); and gyroscope-like
tourbillons, which turn about once a minute to compensate for
gravity’s pull (and which add between $40,000 and $120,000
to the tab).
after the Tour de l’ile won the coveted L’aiguille d’Or
(Golden Watch Hand) at the watchmaking “Oscars” in Geneva
in 2005, Vacheron constantin did not rest on its laurels, but
instead tackled the newest challenge facing 21st-century luxury
watchmakers: a market flooded with some 40 million fakes
annually, some of them, superficially, at least, attempting to be
more-than-creditable copies.
The solution was to allow for personalization. in 2006, the
atélier cabinotiers special-order division was created
(cabinotiers were the early Swiss watchmakers), making fully bespoke
watches. These contain a specially designed dial or an exception
movement that is 100 percent in-house made and cannot
be copied. Later came new personalizable models of the Tour
de l’ile that are nearly as counterfeit-proof as Swiss banknotes:
the Quai de l’ile date Self-Winding and the Quai de l’ile daydate
and power-Reserve Self-Winding in 2008, followed by
the Quai de l’ile Retrograde annual calendar in 2010.
Go to Geneva, to the Maison Vacheron constantin itself;
specify your preferred elements, metals, colors, finishes, and
functions; and the Vacheron constantin atélier cabinotiers
special-order master watchmakers will do the rest, creating and
hand-finishing your unparalleled, personalized watch.
Copy of a Thomas Crow
Wilmington, Delaware Tall
Clock made circa 1775.
In an outstanding
Philadelphia case. Features
hand engraved brass
and silver dial, with moon
phases and weight driven
American made movement.
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ANDERSEN & STAUFFER
FURNITURE MAKERS, LLC
Authentic Period Reproductions
55 North Cedar Street, Lititz, PA 17543
(P) 717-626-6776
(F) 717-626-7677
www.andersenandstauffer.com
ANDERSEN & STAUFFER FURNITURE MAKERS, LLC, is proud to announce a new licensing
agreement with WINTERTHUR, AN AMERICAN COUNTRY ESTATE, and will
be offering a select group of reproduction American tall clocks from the
renowned collection.
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