Dear Editor,

I have been an avid reader of Augustman since 2008 and feel that it is the best man mag available in the market.  What attracts me is mainly are the articles on horology and fashion. Your latest issue that features 80 pages on horology was a great treat for me and I enjoy scrutinising every page, looking at the details of each and every watch.

There was this Patek Philippe watch Ref. 5339 on page 179 (August 2010 issue) that puzzles me. There is wording printed at the bottom of the watch, it says ’email’ and I wonder what does ’email’ have to do with this watch. Hope you can enlighten me on this.

Regards,
Ken Khong

Email on a Patek Philippe Watch Dial

Hi Ken,

What does ‘email’ have to do with the Patek Philippe 5339 you ask?

The confusion is perfectly understandable. “Email” as we know in the English language is actually the short form for the more precise term “E-mail”- electronic mail.

However, in French, the word “Email” translates to “enamel”.

When buying a luxury watch, this enamel is found applied over the guilloche (those fine patterns and designs on the watch face) to give it its luxurious lustre.

For more of your burning questions answered, please feel free to join the Augustman.com network or drop me an email at jonathan.ho@crmedia.com.sg. I hope this helps. Thanks for your letter!

Jonathan G. Ho
Editor

Jonathan Ho writes for Augustman.com and maintains a column while covering the watch beat for the print magazine. August Man and Augustman.com is property of CR Media Pte Ltd. You can visit http://www.augustman.com for stylish men’s fashion, luxury brand and high end watch reviews, travel stories, social commentary, trendspotting and motoring.