Horolonomics

I have to admit that, until today, I never really knew why Colonel Sanders, the infamous purveyor of fried chicken, was a colonel. I think I believed Sanders may have served in a branch of the military and earned that rank. Turns out I was very confused on that point. It probably would have been more accurate to describe Sanders' "rank" as one held by many "Kentucky Colonels." That type of colonelship is bestowed by the governor of Kentucky as an honorific for "noteworthy accomplishments, contributions to civil society, remarkable deeds, or outstanding service to the community, state, or nation," (source: Wikipedia). Harland David Sanders, the founder of globally-known brand Kentuck Fried Chicken (KFC), was twice commissioned as a Kentucky colonel. In 1935 Governor Ruby Lafoon dubbed Sanders a colonel and later, in 1950, he was "re-commissioned" by Governor Lawrence Wetherby. At this point you might be asking yourself, "what does all t...

According to Instagram, I started following watch brand Lebond sometime during the month of January this year. The Lebond Attraction watch, photo courtesy of Lebond. I'm not entirely certain how they came to my attention. I believe one of their watches appeared in the "Search & Explore" menu as a suggestion from the algorithm. I took a closer look, saw what I liked and decided to follow the brand. Sometimes the algorithm gets it right. It was clear from just this first pass that Lebond is a design-forward brand. The Lebond Siza, black dial. The first reference which came to my attention was the Siza. The watch case is shaped as a square rotated 45% with truncated (flat) vertices. Attaching a strap to that shape is not straightforward but Lebond executes Vendôme lugs to do so. The case is titanium, the strap is FKM (Fluoroelastomer) leather, there is a display caseback, and the movement is both Swiss and automatic. There are two dial options, both featu...

Amidst all of the Watches and Wonders frenzy this month, Rolex released a teaser video on their web page marking the 100 year celebration of the Oyster case design. A screenshot from the Rolex teaser video. The image may represent a black hole. Superimposed atop the video was the text "Join us on 12 May 2026." Hat tip to @niccoloy for bringing the video to my attention. Esquire has some good guesses about what might be afoot, including a new date complication or perhaps even a celestial complication. I have my own guess about what's going on. I could absolutely be wrong, but that's always a risk when trying to anticipate a move by one of the world's most secretive watchmakers. Even if I'm wrong, though, I think I will draw attention to something that has not really been covered by other publications, as near as I can tell. Rolex is now a contractor for the European Space Agency (ESA). But let's back up a bit and cover some recent developments. L...

I admit that when I first read about the Vacheron Constantin Concours d’Élégance Horlogère I did not understand the concept. Maybe that isn't entirely accurate. I understood parts of the concept, like the fact that it is an official collaboration between a brand and the watch department at auction house Phillips. And, it was clear that the concours will award prizes to registered participants. There is also a jury. The prizes part had me stumped, though. I guess I didn't understand why owning a watch would somehow qualify you for a prize. In retrospect, I misunderstood what the prizes were for (more on that in a minute). Additionally, I think I've figured out that I didn't understand this effort because I am not a car collector or enthusiast. There were a number of pieces from a heritage private collection on display during a recent concours event. In that world, owners of vintage cars can participate in somewhat regular events and win awards. Many honors go to...

Just before the holidays I published a post in which I shared my thoughts on efforts by investor Steven Wood to influence the direction of Swatch Group governance. I didn't mince words in my post. I had some doubts about the effort and I laid them out. Swatch Group had already provided a comment for my piece but at the time I published I had not heard from Wood even though I offered him a chance to comment. Not long after I published I received a response to my query. A Swatch Irony Chrono "Run Time" reference YCS1009S watch. The watch commemorates the Athens 2004 Summer Games. This example is in the Swatch museum. Wood was interested in commenting. I have to give him credit, he wanted to communicate even though I may not have been fully sold on his efforts. Some people will just shut you out in those circumstances. But Wood and his team were professional and prompt in communicating with me. I decided to invite Wood to participate in a question and answer exchan...

Regular readers who have been with Horolonomics for a while may well recognize the name Lovell Hunter. Dial close-up of Lovell Hunter's Love 1 prototype watch. I've posted a few articles about Lovell and his career in watchmaking, you can find those here and here and here. The TLDR from those posts is that Lovell is a professional watchmaker who worked, for many years, in the service center of a major Swiss brand. Recently he struck out on his own and founded his own independent brand, Love Hunter watches. His workshop is in Connecticut and he has worked with apprentices in the past. A good number of weeks ago, a watch event in New York City showcasing independent watchmakers crossed my feed. It's called Indies.NYC . MAD Editions, Kross Studio, Ondrej Berkus and a number of other brands participated alongside Love Hunter Watches. Lovell texted me now and then to share his progress on the development of his first watch. The Instagram photo which alerted me to ...