Horological Meandering

Underdog: Someone who is hardly noticed (The Urban Dictionary) I’m sure many of us have brands we think of as over-hyped and overrated (names will not be mentioned ;-D), but perhaps likewise some that we admire and feel worthy of more attention and respec...  

Speake Marin is/was a brand that seemed to fly under the radar. Possibly so was Ulysse Nardin. ...  

I think they deserve credit for their individual and idiosyncratic design language, though I wonder if that also impedes their popularity. Ulysse Nardin is an interesting case, I think. I felt that they were much more in the public eye a couple of decades... 

Depending on perspective this could apply to many brands. As you say, Chopard in many ways still lags in perception behind the quality of watches. The LUC line generally sports nice and horologically sound pieces, the AE fully fits the current era / custo... 

Regarding Chopard, I agree that the Mille Miglia line seems like an adipose appendage at this point. I also think that the jewelry watches in the Happy Diamonds mode may continue to damage the perception of Chopard as a serious player in the mechanical wa... 

I guess Blancpain is where Biver’s journey and the resurrection of mechanical watch making started but the creative drive has now long petered out 🤷🏻‍♂️ Another one I could mention is Montblanc. The Villeret pieces remain underrated for what they are and ... 

They are one of the few houses in the Richemont portfolio, along with the utterly tragic Roger Dubuis, where I question the conglomerate's brand management. I've been impressed by some of the Minerva-derived higher end pieces they've released, and the Nic... 

Not that familiar with RD but see your point. The one that worries me somewhat is JLC. Hopefully Jerome Lambert can instill a period of positive experimentation again, reinstalling the brand as the watchmaker’s watchmaker. I am probably only marginally ab... 

Surely a sign of ongoing cognitive decline, but I just realized I'd conflated Svend Andersen with Christiaan van der Klaauw. My bad. Both underappreciated, nonetheless.

Both under appreciated 😊👍🏻

My favourite one is the Nebula 41 on steel bracelet. ...  

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