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The man on the cover is not your typical celebrity. Wynton Marsalis is a jazz and classical musician, composer and educator who has not only been awarded nine GRAMMY® Awards, but also has an impressive resume that reflects his dedication to education and community involvement. A student of The Juilliard School in New York City, and a native of the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans, Marsalis’ rise to fame is of no surprise.

hr: Single Copy 11.2

Buy one copy of hr: watches & luxury lifestyle magazine. Issue 11.2. Cover story: Carroll Shelby - The Hot Roddin’ King of the Road. $9.95 with Free Shipping US and Canada.

Being raised in the New York area, I can tell you confidently that the favorite non-color of most residents of that particular metropolis (as well as a few others around the globe) is black. You see men, re-inspired recently by Regis Philbin, dressed in mono-chromatic outfits of black pants, black shirts and black blazers, while women sport black boots beneath black mini-skirts (or skorts, in some cases) with black negligee-esque shirts worn beneath black silk jackets. One thing about black - it’s timeless.

In the past couple of years the watch industry has been taking note of this desirable uh, “color” and finding ways to incorporate it into the look of the Portable Timepiece. Initially, glossy black straps on watches with black dials were the easiest way to fulfill the criterion, “I want a black watch.” Lately, however, the industry has been finding ever-more creative ways to mix metals with various alloys to reach the desired shade.

What is it about mechanical watches that so fascinate men? Is it the seconds hand that sweeps across the dial in contrast with the spastic ticking of a quartz-driven seconds hand? Is it the heartbeat of the balance wheel, visible through a pane of sapphire glass on the back of the watch? Gazing at the steady swing of a balance through an exhibition back surely has an hypnotic effect. It becomes even more so when you don’t need to take off your watch to see the balance because the dial has an aperture exposing it from the front. It turns an otherwise soulless piece of assembled metal parts into a living, breathing, time-telling mechanical miracle.
However, mechanical watches are no longer solely the domain of male watch connoisseurs. For well over a decade, a few of the traditional watch houses have been providing the fairer sex with delictatious delights and formidable feasts for the mechanically minded. This has been a reversal of the trend set in the late 70’s and early 80’s, when the Swiss industry was producing almost entirely quartz watches in an effort to simply stay alive.