The Summer issue of WOW arrives on newsstands, digital and physical, by virtue of good luck and no small measure of perseverance. Some of the work that went into the WOW Summer 2021 issue cannot be seen via bylines, but all of it can be felt. For some relevance, think of it as you would a watch. What you have on your wrist is much more than a collection of parts, put together by industrial and artisanal magic. According to the leaders in watchmaking, more than a few of whom we spoke with for a variety of stories, it is about the people who make the watches. 

The reason for all these conversations is the recently concluded Watches & Wonders 2021 digital show – there are a lot of new watches to consider. To be sure, there were 2021 models in our Spring issue, but that was just a teaser. Even the LVMH brands broke out the big guns for the Geneva show. For all of the highlights, see our prior coverage right here.

Panerai Chief Operating Officer Jerome Cavadini

Check out our conversation with the new CEO of Parmigiani Fleurier, the COO of Panerai and the Head of the Manufacture at A. Lange & Sohne for some words of wisdom, and remarkable clarity of purpose. Interestingly, all of them have a reputation for staying the course in their roles – Guido Terreni might be new at the Fleurier manufacture but he spent 20 years at Bvlgari prior to this. All three of these colourful individuals – and the comments we received for our stories on lightness in watchmaking – put us in a hopeful mood once again. I hope they do the same for you, in some small way. 

WOW Editor-in-Chief Ashok Soman comments: “Watch brands hardly ever discuss why you should care about the weight of your watch, unless they happen to have made the lightest watch, and so on. We knocked on a lot of doors to get some answers.”  

Turns out there is a lot to say about the weight of watches, going far beyond 30 pages, and touching many different sections in the magazine. We were pleasantly surprised that so many brands  weighed in…In one of those strokes of good fortune mentioned upfront, our cover watch happens to be a wonderful dive watch in titanium, the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Tribute to Ref. 844. Titanium is renowned for its strength-to-weight ratio and is an excellent choice for any sort of tool watch. 

With that, we invite you to lean into our collective love of watches, and discover what 2021 has in store for us.