A timepiece has to at least aim for timelessness – apropos Patek Philippe, there’s no point looking after a watch for the next generation if they are not going to be interested. The tortoise to the fashion world’s hare, brands need to produce watches that will resonate decades into the future and that’s why broader aesthetic and even architectural movements are so influential. It’s not always deliberate and acknowledged, but you can see how the zeitgeist helped to shape horology down the decade

Spare a thought for the production developer who has what must be one of the hardest jobs in the watch business. All the kudos and praise goes to the watchmakers and designers, but the anonymous production man or woman deserves a little limelight. He or she has to find a way to make that case reliably water-resistant, shave a few tens of francs off that dial, and generally keep both designers and accountants happy. This is especially important when they are working at brands such as Ball, Cert

There was something about Minerva, the storied Swiss watch manufacturer acquired by Montblanc in 2007, that didn’t quite fit with its new parent brand. Still best known as a maker of fine pens, Montblanc had only been making watches for a decade and it was unclear what part Minerva would play as the watchmaking arm found its feet, as it were. Until, that is, one of the more Technicolor partnerships in watchmaking took on the challenge. Davide Cerrato arrived at Montblanc as managing director of