Water
THE
ISSUE
Editor’s Let ter
Water is the enemy of mechanical watchmaking
but ever since the 1920s, when the far-sighted Hans
Wilsdorf decided to publicise the water resistance
of his Rolex watches by having one tested by cross-
channel swimmer Mercedes Gleitz, watchmakers
have been on a mission to create timepieces that do
not, to misquote a famous advertising slogan, leak
under pressure. As this issue of Vanity Fair On Time
confirms, water obsesses the industry more than ever.
What started out as a way of overcoming a problem
became an entire product sector, and some of the
most desirable wristwatches on the market today are
those that first vaunted their water-tightness back
in the 1950s. They were launched to meet the needs
of a new breed of underwater adventurers called
Scuba Divers and in these pages we tell the stories
behind the creation of some of today’s best-loved
dive watches that have their roots in the golden age
of the “toolwatch”: Rolex’s Submariner, Omega’s
Seamaster, Jaeger LeCoultre’s Memovox, Tudor’s
Black Bay and Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms et al.
The 1970s belonged to the grande-luxe water-
resistant steel watches designed by Gérald Genta,
and Dr. Jack Forster compares Genta’s two great
masterpieces: the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak,
as it heads for its 50th birthday in 2022, and Patek
Philippe’s 43-year-old Nautilus. The latter was
commissioned by Philippe Stern, the softly spoken
genius who skippered Patek Philippe through the
turbulent seas of the 1970s and 1980s to the clear
waters of the horological revival of the early 21st
century. But, as well as captaining a metaphorical
vessel, Stern was a champion yachtsman who
competed frequently in regattas on Lake Geneva.
Today many CEOs take after him, as Ming Liu finds in
her account of watch bosses’ love of water sports.
Indeed, to judge from the large number of
yachting-specific watches that Tracey Llewellyn has
uncovered, ocean racing would appear to be one of
the industry’s favourite pastimes. Bill Prince finds out
that free-diving comes a close second. Later this year
Panerai will be taking select clients to do some free-
diving while another exclusive group of Paneristi will
be training with the Italian Navy’s Special Forces. If
they want to know what they are in for, Vanity Fair On
Time was granted exclusive access to the top-secret
facility where this training takes place. Meanwhile
our portfolio embraces life and watches 10,928 metres
below the waves and high above the clouds on Alpine
glaciers (after all, ice is just very cold water).Copyright © 2019 The Condé Nast Publications Ltd, Vogue House, Hanover Square, London W1S 1JU. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. Not to be sold separately. The publisher has endeavoured to
ensure that all information is correct at the time of going to press, but does not accept any responsibility for errors and omissions.VANITY FAIR On Time
Editor Nicholas Foulkes
Managing Editor Holly Ross
Art Director Scott Moore Deputy Art Director Anja Wohlstrom Designer Samantha Totty
Photo Editor Zoe Gahan Assistant Photo Editor Tanjya Holland Parkin
Chief Copy Editor Sarah Edworthy Copywriter Jessica Burrell Junior Sub-Editor Rose Washbourn
Associate Publisher Clare Schifano
Head of Partnerships Lucie Burton-Salahuddin Senior Advertisement Director Emma Heuser Jewellery Advertisement Director Emma Samuel
Fashion Client Manager Emily Elliott Health & Beauty Client Manager Octavia Saugman
Account Managers Emily Goodwin, Natasha Gresh Business & Partnerships Manager Charlotte Taylor
Partnerships Project Manager Hazel Byrne Partnerships Executive Hara Mavrogiorgi Events Sales Manager Victoria Furse
Senior Production Controller Helen Crouch Acting Production Controller Sappho Barkla Acting Production Co-ordinator Lottie Smith
Publishing Director Kate SlesingerNICHOLAS FOULKES, Editor18 VANITY FAIR ON TIME AUTUMN^2019