The Rake

There’s something to be said for persistence and consistency. They are qualities personified by this issue’s cover star, the extraordinary Bill Nighy, who made his London debut at the National Theatre in 1977 and since then has forged a career for hi

It is hard to fully express the madness involved in founding a magazine dedicated to craftsmanship during a global financial crisis. There was not a number-crunching financier or even a money launderer anywhere in the world who would have backed it,

There’s a scene in the 1993 movie Addams Family Values — the antic sequel to the earlier smash hit showcasing the ghoulish clan who reside at 001 Cemetery Lane — in which Gomez, played by Raul Julia, twirls Anjelica Houston’s Morticia around in a tan

Dónal Finn is incredibly generous with his time when I chat to him at the Soho Hotel in central London. Interviewees are often quick to the point, with pre-planned answers they know will tick the journalist’s boxes. But Finn is thoughtful with every

Posthumous reputations are seldom unequivocally fair. Some take an embarrassment of achievements to the grave and are then recognised for a single contribution to posterity (Nicolaus Copernicus enriched our understanding of the cosmos in uncountable

Production of Bentley’s heroic W12 engine will end in 2024, meaning this year is your last chance to invest in a showroom-fresh 6.0-litre from Crewe. An electric model is imminent, but for now we continue to bask in the glory of the Continental GT, w

The Enlightenment-era sage Immanuel Kant asserted that revolution was an inevitable step towards a higher ethical foundation for society. It was an erudite socio-historical interpretation — at the risk of dragging bathos into darkly flippant realms —

The Bespeaker is captivated to the point of obsession by beautiful, entrancing and wonderful things. Nothing is too authentic to this man: his eye is drawn to beauty and imperfection alike, so his is a discerning and exacting custom. If a craftsman r

Revolution Magazine presents multi-faceted views of the work of genius that is the mechanical watch. Enjoy interesting, insightful long and short format stories curated for today’s sophisticated watch collector. Hear from industry insiders on the sta

To quote the savant that is Will & Grace’s Karen Walker: “Coulda, shoulda, Prada.” It’s always a fanciful exercise to wonder what would have happened if certain actors had not turned down parts that later became celluloid legend. Before we tell you w

The phrase ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ springs to mind when it comes to the nicknames the watch community applies to iconic timepieces. One would think the marketing bods at Rolex would shy away from anything that conflicts with the house’s m

Timing is everything. A marriage proposal, a punchline, a cover drive all require its mastery. Two of the above I’m not bad at. My timing with tailoring, on the other hand, needs work. Given my profession as a hoary theatrical, I’ve got three differe

Contrariness can be a wonderful innovator. The greatest romantic novels — Shelley’s Frankenstein, Austen’s best-known bouts of barbed gentility, the Sunday-night screen adaptation fare of Hugo and Tolstoy — always raised a middle finger to the formal

As far as I can tell, Bill Nighy likes to keep things simple. I approve of this attitude — people who want to make the world more complicated than it needs to be give me anxiety, and I’d rather avoid being anxious, if that’s O.K. Simplicity got him t

Michael Browne has a particular sense of mission. His love of shape and precision has made him famous across the world. His training began in 2008 at Paul Smith Bespoke, and continued in 2010 with the masters of statuesque tailoring, Joe Morgan and R

As a self-employed oenophile, I admit I do my fair share of work from bed. It turns out I am in great company, as the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild agreed to a collaboration with Robert Mondavi from bed in 1978. It was a collaboration that brough

GROOMING: TYLER JOHNSTON AT ONE REPRESENTS FASHION ASSISTANT: HELLY PRINGLE MODELS: O’SHEA AT SELECT AND ROBERTAS AT CHAPTER ■

Grail seekers of a horological persuasion are rather more spoiled for choice than anyone doggedly holding out hope of unearthing from a Cornish allotment the chalice that once held our saviour’s blood. The Patek Philippe 2499 seen on the wrist of Joh

Sometimes things just work out. They align, often looking and feeling effortless. No, I’m not talking about me on the dancefloor aged 16; rather, Piaget as a global brand and watchmaker in 2024. No maker has enjoyed such incredible momentum, which, i

When this issue’s assignment was presented to me, I wanted to shift my gaze from the U.K. and immerse myself in other cultures and architecture. What I discovered was that the most attractive places to live manage to harmonise architecture with the n

Writing about cars for 25 years has enabled me to get behind the wheel of some decidedly exotic metal, from one of the first Bugatti Chirons ever built to the legendary Bentley Speed Six ‘Old Number One’ that twice took the chequered flag at Le Mans

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Self-sacrifice of any kind is an inherently rakish act, and voluntarily meeting one’s maker so that the human race can continue to exist is surely an act of sacrifice in its purest form. At the very least, it makes perfecting sabrage, customising a 1