Credits: Article and images by @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/10/14/why-im-all-about-that-case-that-case/
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What makes a case distinctive?
As I assembled my personal picks for a sampling of “interesting” watch cases among those I have photographed over the past few years, I began to see some patterns: the pieces that made the cut were distinctive on one or more of five dimensions: form, design, fabrication, function, and decoration.
Shapes from the past: form watches from the author’s grandfather
Let’s start with form, which I’ll define for our purposes here to mean the physical shape of the case or major elements such as the bezel. The Royal Oak fits into this category for me, as does its likewise Genta-designed relative, the Patek Philippe Nautilus.
And so do several of the watches that I inherited from my grandfather (see My Grandfather, The Watch Collector), which may help to explain my interest in this topic, as well as the distinctive shape of my own first-ever watch purchase might (see A Watch Collection Begins: GaryG And His Bucherer Chronometer), shown in the photo below.
GaryG’s first watch purchase, a Bucherer chronometer
A more recent example in the form category is MrsG’s F.P. Journe Elégante with its registered “tortue plate” case shape.
The “flat tortoise” case shape of the F.P. Journe Elégante
The design category overlaps a bit with form, but here I’ll focus on traditional (that is, mostly round) pieces where careful attention has been given to creating visual interest. I could pretty much sit all day looking at the textures and shapes of my Patek Philippe Reference 5370’s platinum case (see Why I Bought It: Patek Philippe Reference 5370P).
Case details, Patek Philippe Reference 5370P
Another favorite of mine in this category is the Upside Down from Ludovic Ballouard: everything from the organic curves of the case and integral lugs to the crown guard and deeply engraved crown makes sense to me.
And, as a bonus, the concave sides of the case provide the viewer with an “upside down” image of him- or herself when viewed directly (see Why I Bought It: Ludovic Ballouard Upside Down).
Case-edge view, Ludovic Ballouard Upside Down
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Credits: Article and images by @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/10/14/why-im-all-about-that-case-that-case/
