Horozima

Mühle-Glashütte Terranaut I Trail

2012-02-11T00:45:00.000-06:00

Terranaut I Trail is on the go: its design embodies excitement, dynamic power and the charm of adventure. It carves out a truly unique path, nestled between the elements. With Terranaut I Trail, Mühle-Glashütte presents an energy-charged instrument watch with a down-to-earth design.

The uncompromising instrument-like character of Terranaut I Trail is evident at first glance. Instead of having a small seconds display, this chronograph with pilot’s watch characteristics comes with a large rotating and luminous function display. With the help of this display, the timepiece confirms that it is functioning reliably and reveals its fundamental philosophy: combining the earth and skies to create something completely new. The rotating triangle gives the watch its pulse rate, breathes life into it and creates its unmistakeable character.

To ensure that time can be adjusted to the exact second using the function triangle, an arrow-shaped marker has been added to one of the tips. This corresponds to the 15-second markings in the form of a grey cross. The latter is a design element which also features in other models within the watch family.

At the heart of Terranaut I Trail is the chronograph movement MU 9408 with its woodpecker neck regulation, the Glashütte three-quarter plate, the characteristic surface refinements and a 48-hour power reserve. The patented woodpecker neck regulation from Mühle ensures that the movement remains unaffected by any knocks or uneven terrain and guarantees a high level of accuracy even under difficult operating conditions. The same applies to all the watches in the ‘Trail’ family. The 44 mm robust case in brushed stainless steel is also available with a black PVD coating and leaves no room for scratches.

Terranaut I is equally uncompromising when it comes to implementing the ‘trail’ concept in terms of design and colour. The hands, numbers and indices come in a luminous sand tone, ensuring that they stand out clearly against the black face. Together with the minute graduation, this colour distinction guarantees optimal readability of the time at a glance – by day and night.

A week day and date display at the 4 o’clock position complete the scope of functions offered by Terranaut I Trail. The distinguished design is also continued in the black Russia leather strap which comes with a stainless steel clasp.

Just like the other members of the Terranaut Trail family, this timepiece strives for the outdoors. Here in a place where paths are called ‘trails’ and the boundary between the earth and the sky is blurred. Terranaut I Trail has a resilient construction, functional appearance and lively nature. A characterful timepiece which goes its own way.

Movement
MU 9408, automatic with woodpecker neck regulation, Glashütte three-quarter plate and characteristic surface finishes, quickset mechanism, stop second, 48-h power reserve.

Case
Brushed stainless steel or stainless steel with black PVD coating. Anti-glare sapphire crystal. Transparent
case back. Screw-in crown. Ø 44,0 mm; H 13,6 mm. Water-resistant to 5 bars.

Strap
Russia leather strap with stainless steel pin buckle.
Stainless steel strap with butterfly clasp

Dial
Black. Hour markers and hands coated in Super LumiNova

Price
2,350 € (stainless steel)
2,450 € (stainless steel with black PVD Coating)

GRIEB& BENZINGER, Rolls-Royce Motorcars and Revolution Magazine presented the three heaviest platinum watches in the world valued at a combined 1,200,000 euros (US$ 1,500,000)

2012-02-11T00:36:00.002-06:00

In an exclusive preview in Singapore, select guests from Rolls-Royce Motorcars and Revolution Magazine had the opportunity to marvel at two world firsts in the BLUE DANUBE(a unique skeletonized minute repeater split-seconds chronograph) and the BLUE WHIRLWIND(a unique tourbillon minute repeater)as well as the legendary BLUE SENSATION(the only split-seconds skeletonized regulator chronograph on the market) by GRIEB & BENZINGER.

Each of these unique watches is based on a rare Patek Philippe caliber, which has been fully disassembled, modified and recreated in the typical style of GRIEB & BENZINGER. More than twelve months of lavish restoration using classic horological crafts were invested in order to create these one-of-a-kind pieces in solid platinum cases with a combined total value of 1,200,000 euros / US$ 1,500,000.

Unforgettable highlights among these watches are the refined guilloché, hand-skeletonization and hand-engraving as well as the skeletonized Sterling silver dials with original Breguet frosted finish as only GRIEB & BENZINGER does. Once again the company proves that the complicated masterpieces of GRIEB & BENZINGER are just as much objets d’art as simple watches. Like the most desirable works of art, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or van Gogh’s Sunflowers, the timepieces by GRIEB & BENZINGERPlatinumare one-of-a-kind, which will increase their collector’s value in the future.

The BLUE DANUBE is a unique skeletonized minute repeater split-seconds chronograph powered by a base movement that was made in about 1890 and fully restored. Keeping in mind that this movement is already about 120 years old, the detailed restoration of the more than 400 components of this movement required intense attention. The result, housed in a 43 mm-diameter solid platinum case, is doubtlessly a sensation and a tribute to historic watchmaking. It retails for about350,000 euros orUS$450,000.

The BLUE WHIRLWIND is a unique tourbillon minute repeater based on the legendary Patek Philippe Caliber RTO 27 PS. This very same movement recently caused a giant sensation as it sold within a one-of-a-kind Patek Philippe Tourbillon Minute Repeater in stainless steel, which was donated to the ONLY WATCH charity auction in Monaco 2011. The result was literally sensational: the hammer fell at 1.4 million Euros. This is a really breathtaking timepiece as it is the world’s first watch powered by a visible tourbillon movement by Patek Philippe. In addition, a mysterious wheel visible on the back replaces the original gold drive wheel for the tourbillon. Who else would be brave enough to rework such a movement if not the folks at GRIEB & BENZINGER? With a value of 650,000 euros (about US$850,000) this was without any doubt a highlight for the watch connoisseurs present.

The third one-of-a-kind piece, BLUE SENSATION, isthe only split-seconds skeletonized regulator chronograph on the market with a base caliber that was manufactured in1890 and fully restored and technically modified. With a 49-millimeter diameter and a total weight of 230 grams, it is the giant among these ultra-luxurious watches – though the most affordable one with a value of 200,000 euros (US$ 260,000).

These astounding timepieces are once more confirmation of GRIEB & BENZINGER’sdetailed concept, which includes the masters’ the outstanding abilities to create such astonishing watchesand the world’s heaviest platinum watches.In fact, this is not just restoration, it’s art at its finest. And only for one lucky collector worldwide.

Blancpain Villeret retrograde small seconds (PRE-BASELWORLD 2012)

2012-02-11T00:26:00.002-06:00

In 2012, the Villeret collection welcomes its first model featuring a flinqué lacquered dial. Several layers of translucent blue lacquer applied to the dial create an incomparable depth effect. Blancpain adopts a subtly balanced approach by introducing this original touch while preserving the pure lines of its most classic collection.

Housed within its 40 mm-diameter white gold case, the ultra-slim Calibre 7663Q with its 244 parts and 34 jewels has a three-day power reserve. This new self-winding movement powers hour and minute hands as well as an equally central serpentine date pointer, while the retrograde seconds appear at 6 o’clock. The under-lug corrector at 5 o’clock enables fast date adjustment, while the sapphire crystal caseback reveals the collection’s distinctive guilloché oscillating weight.

This new model, water-resistant to 3 bar, is accompanied by an alligator leather strap with an alzavel lining, matching the dial colour and fitted with a folding clasp to ensure enhanced wearer comfort.

Ref. 6653Q-1529-55B

Franck Muller Group announces partnership with Roberto Cavalli

2012-02-11T00:17:00.002-06:00

For its 20th edition, the World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie (WPHH) took place in
Genthod from Saturday 14th to Saturday 21st January. The event brought together the Franck
Muller Group’s nine brands - Franck Muller, Backes & Strauss, Barthelay, ECW, Martin
Braun, Pierre Kunz, Pierre Michel Golay, Smalto Timepieces and Rodolphe - as well as its
jewellery line, Franck Muller Jewellery, Valmont, the leading Swiss cosmetics brand and
partner of the Rodolphe brand, and, finally, the young and innovative horological brand,
Cvstos.

Over 7 days, the exhibition received more than 2,500 professionals, distributors, retailers,
journalists and brand representatives from around the globe. These visitors had the
opportunity to discover and enter into the creative and innovative worlds of the exhibited
brands as well as to view the highly skilled jewellery and watchmaking craftsmanship
displayed throughout the collections.

On the occasion of the WPHH, on Sunday 15th January 2012 the Franck Muller Group
announced a partnership with the Roberto Cavalli Group. The exclusive licence agreement
was signed by Mr. Roberto Cavalli, Mr. Franck Muller and Mr. Vartan Sirmakes, CEO of the
Franck Muller Group, in the presence of Mr. Gianluca Brozzetti, CEO of the Roberto Cavalli
Group, in front of an audience of press members and guests. The first "Roberto Cavalli by
Franck Muller" models will be unveiled and released during the course of 2012.

In order to highlight its new high complication, the Franck Muller brand presented a new
“Giga Tourbillon” area that was particularly well received by visitors, as was the exceptional
timepiece itself, which, with 6 versions featuring different movements, instantly captivated
the expert audience. The outcome of this year's event is very positive with an increase in
attendance and growing business volume. The next World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie in
Genthod will take place in January 2013.

Blancpain Saint-Valentin 2012

2012-02-11T00:11:00.001-06:00

Faithful to its annual rendezvous, Swiss luxury watch brand Blancpain once again presents an exclusive creation for Valentine’s Day.

This limited series of 14 watches, each set with 2.95 carats of precious stones, offers a fresh take on the refined aesthetics of the Blancpain Women collection, while associating it with the technical subtlety of the flyback chronograph.

With its diamond-set bezel and lugs, caseband set with four diamonds and a heart-shaped ruby, crown adorned with a diamond and pushpieces covered with cabochon-cut rubies, the white gold case of this Saint-Valentin Chronograph 2012 sparkles with dazzling splendour. Its engraved mother-of-pearl dial, featuring a marquetry-work motif composed of three white mother-of-pearl hearts and set with 8 diamonds, highlights the exquisite craftsmanship of the master-dialmakers of the Manufacture. In an additional nod to Cupid, the heart-shaped counterweight of the central sweep seconds hand is delicately hand-painted with a feather, thus endowing it with a distinctive convex shape.

The sapphire crystal back of the 36 mm case reveals the complexity of the movement with its 308 parts and 37 jewels, along with the oscillating weight clothed in pink mother-of-pearl.

The Saint-Valentin Chronograph 2012 houses the self-winding Calibre F185 that drove the very first ladies’ flyback chronograph model. It features central hour and minute hands, seconds shown on a subdial at 6 o’clock and the date appearing through an oval aperture at 12 o’clock. The chronograph function is displayed by a central sweep seconds hand, while the elapsed minutes and hours are counted off on totalizers at 3 and 9 o’clock. Two pushpieces serve to control the measurements: the first at 2 o’clock starts and stops the chronograph, while the other at 4 o’clock handles the flyback function. A single press on the latter pushpiece stops measurement of the first time interval and resets the hands to zero, and the timing begins again as soon as the pushpiece is released.

This delightful model, fitted with a white alligator leather strap and presented in a precious wooden box delicately lined with white nappa leather, is available exclusively from Blancpain boutiques.

BENTLEY GMT "V8" by Breitling for Bentley

2012-02-10T23:15:00.001-06:00

To celebrate the launch of the Continental GT V8 with its ultra-powerful new 4.0 V8 engine – the latest tour de force from the Bentley engineers – Breitling has created a 250-piece limited series of the Bentley GMT chronograph. Its signature feature is the mobile inner city bezel distinguished by a metallic red shade creating a powerful and sporting contrast with the black dial. This vivid touch of colour reflects the red background of the Bentley emblem that sets the Continental GT V8 model apart from other models by the British carmaker. The original and daring design of the steel case with its asymmetrical lugs is teamed with a bracelet or a rubber strap exclusive to this model.

A natural-born traveller, the Bentley GMT boasts an ingenious multiple timezone display system. It is equipped with a red triangulartipped additional hour hand completing one rotation every 24 hours. The pushpiece housed in the left side of the case serves to move this hand forward in one-hour increments in order to display the second timezone – while distinguishing between day and night hours. Thanks to a rotating inner bezel bearing the names of the 24 cities, the user can also instantly read off the time in all the world's timezones in relation to that shown by the 24-hour hand.

The selfwinding chronograph movement, chronometer-certified by the COSC, offers another technical asset exclusive to the Breitling for Bentley collection: a “30-second chronograph” with a sweep seconds hand making one full turn of the dial in half a minute and thus enabling readings accurate to the nearest 1/8th of a second. With the Bentley GMT “V8”, it's definitely time for performance.

Gergé Type-M Series Metropolis automatic mono-pusher Type-M3 chronograph, C.O.S.C

2012-02-10T23:11:00.000-06:00

Gergé Swiss Timepieces, the Neuchâtel-based brand developed its expertise deep in the heart of the Jurassian arc and is now proud to present for the first time in Switzerland, the Metropolis collection. The name is inspired by Fritz Lang’s cult movie and the description applied to the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since June 2009.

The C.O.S.C. certified Metropolis Type-M3 chronometer, like the other Type-M1 and M2 in the family, celebrates the contemporary and embraces the eternal. The ultra-complex cases, which like most of the watch components, hails from Swiss industrial territory. It enhances a design that combines affordability and elegance. Natural shapes such as square, circular or oval, slender lines and curves without beginning or end. Like the sleek highways of an urban metropolis suspended in time, herald the coming of a new era of inescapable truths, a return to watch making basics and a projection beyond time itself. Its architectural and urban flavor gives a new look and classicism to make it a pleasing antidote to the ordinary everyday watch… …

Gergé Swiss Timepieces and the Metropolis Collection also deliver another promise: to uphold the age-old values of a watch making industry born essentially of Jurassian soil, from the coast through the mountains of Neuchâtel to the outer reaches of the Jura. It is to this land of expertise, overflowing with sites of interest for watch making technology and precision industries in the perpetual pursuit of the perfectible, that the timepiece attributes the subtlety of its finishes, such as the unusual vertical lines of its guilloché Côte de Genève decoration on a dial accented with luminescent marker.

The 45mm diameter timepiece houses the workshop-crafted 13 ! “ Concepto 2021 caliber with automatic winding. It is water-resistant to 100 meters, and apart from a variety of chronograph functions operated by a mono-pusher, also boasts a date feature between 4 and 5 o’clock, a power reserve of 46 hours and a chronometer certificate awarded by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (C.O.S.C).

New Edox "Dakar Limited Edition"

2012-01-11T08:25:00.001-06:00

The new Edox Dakar Limited Edition timepiece possesses the brand's much-prized values: strength and technicity.

Boasting the attribute of the perfect sporting vehicle, the new Dakar Limited Edition is imbued with the same steel as are the nerves of the Dakar drivers.

With its solid 42mm diamter, the quartz movement is robust, made to withstand extremes of temperature, impacts, sand and earth. The dial faithfully depicts the route of the South American tour. The black back offers perfect visibility, and sets off the white detail of the dial magnificently.

The Dakar is a 500-piece limited edition, each piece supplied in an exclusive presentation box.

Edox is the official timekeeper of the Class-1 World Powerboat Championship and official timing partner of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).Edox is the official timekeeper of the Dakar Rally Raid in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Technical Specifications:
Functions: Display of hours, minutes, small second and big date
Calibre: Edox 64, based on Ronda 6004B
Movement Height: 3.3mm
Case Height: 11.8mm
Diameter: 42mm
Water Resistance: 100 meters / 10ATM
Finish: Stainless steel 316L, numbering engraved on a plate affixed on the side of the case
Dial: Black carbon fibre, white details (2012 Dakar road map, Chile, Argentina and Peru flags, indices) Glass: anti-reflective, scratch resistant sapphire
Bracelet: stainless steel 316L, deployement clasp
Available worldwide January 2012

Exhibit Artists Series by Ecko UNLTD

2012-01-11T08:16:00.000-06:00

Unlimited expression has always been the point. Now, Ecko UNLTD. unveils a fresh canvas for creativity: its own product line. Ecko UNLTD. introduces the street inspired Exhibit Artists Series. The Exhibit Artists Series features the original artwork of top graffiti artists representing countries and cultures around the globe, articulating a cohesive story through this urban art form.

The Exhibit Series showcases timepieces, t-shirts, footwear, hats, backpacks and an assortment of items across the Ecko UNLTD. product categories. Exhibit Series timepieces feature eight leading graffiti artists' original designs. Each artist worked with one color using a tone-on-tone format to tell their distinct story. Collaboration with the global fashion brand, Ecko UNLTD. will give the artists more visibility and more opportunity to make an impact on the unlimited generation.

For UNLTD. timepieces, each artist will display their art on the newly launched Tran, a street inspired timepiece that displays its cool factor through translucence. The simplicity and transparency of the Tran makes it the perfect platform for artistic expression. The timepiece features a lightweight integrated plastic and metal case with soft silicon straps. Its 48mm thermoplastic case is framed by a metallic top-ring. Simple 3-hand movement and subtle hour markers give the artists a clear space to work.

HERE ARE THE EIGHT ARTISTS FEATURED IN THE EXHIBIT TIMEPIECE COLLECTION. Askew One: One of the driving forces behind New Zealand's graffiti art scene, his color story is green.

Superblast: Berlin-based graffiti artist, worked with groundbreaking artists and companies. Superblast is feeling blue.

Cope2: From the Bronx, NYC, internationally recognized for his distinctive "Wildstyle." Based in black.

SUIKO: From Hiroshima's streets to the UK, Brazil, LA and NYC, he's tagged the world. Working in red.

PEZ: Born in Barcelona, known for the good vibrations of his infamous smiling fish. In yellow, of course.

KENOR: From Spain. Color, life, parallel worlds, smiles and light create beauty wherever he goes. Purple works for him.

ERMS: Based in Paris, ERMS is an artist and graphic designer colored by the hip hop and skateboard scene. Pink.

123KLAN: From France, this innovative graphic team birthed a brand new visual movement. Shades of Gray.

Jordi presents its “Icons of the World” collection at GTE 2012

2012-01-11T08:06:00.001-06:00

On the occasion of the Geneva Time Exhibition(GTE 2012), Swiss luxury watch brand Michel Jordi is unveiling a new facet of the JORDI Swiss Icon brand concept. Because icons know no borders, the brand pays tribute to legendary locations around the world through a collection enriched with eight exceptional watches, each limited to 3 unique pieces.

JORDI, founded in Geneva in 1988, is a brand of passion for watchmaking, bold creativity combined with Swiss tradition, as well as a concern for detail and for excellence.

For the Geneva Time Exhibition, JORDI Swiss Icon is introducing a Fine Watchmaking collection named “Icons of the World” and which pays homage, through beautiful designs and horological complications, to some of the world’s most legendary places.

To create this exceptional collection of eight models, each produced in a series of three unique and signed watches, Michel Jordi has called upon the talent of the brilliant watchmaker and developer Jean-François Mojon from Le Locle. Awarded Best Watchmaker Prize at the 2010 Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix, he is known for his ingenuity in a wide range of exceptional horological creations.

For the “Icons of the World” collection, he has created an original gong-striking alarm movement. Instead of the traditional vibrations of the case-back, a hammer strikes the gong at the low rate of one impulse per second. In this instance, Jean-François Mojon’s art consisted in slowing down the striking mechanism to the point where it echoes the characteristic cadence of a mountain chapel bell. The finely crafted anthracite hand-wound movement with complication features superb finishing with black and red engravings. Visible through the sophisticated multilayer openworked dial, it radiates a truly harmonious visual appeal.

The design, bearing the signature of Christophe Moinat, reflects the key identity codes of the JORDI Swiss Icon collection: the domed sapphire crystal evokes the shape of a Rhone River pebble, the source of inspiration for the collection and the cylinder-shaped crown housing a decomposed Swiss flag. The art of paper-cut design, the popular Swiss art revived and updated by JORDI Swiss Icon, lends a subtle touch to the dial while making a powerful match for the resolutely contemporary design.

On each “Icon of the World” watch, the moon-phase display creates a surprise by revealing the place or the monument that gives a country iconic stature: the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, Mount Fuji, the Sugar Loaf Mountain of Rio de Janeiro, the Kremlin in Moscow, while Switzerland is represented by Interlaken with the Eiger and the Jungfrau, and Geneva with the “Jet d’Eau” water fountain and the Mont-Blanc. The USA are closing the scene with the iconic Statue of Liberty. The combination of titanium and red gold for the case accentuates the unmistakable strength of character of this chronograph. It is fitted with a dedicated “Icons of the World” genuine leather strap.

Each year, JORDI Swiss Icon will introduce an original and innovative complication model, so enthusiasts can already look forward to following the ongoing parade of authentic icons.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire 40.5

2012-01-10T08:52:00.000-06:00

Running an elaborate complication such as a calendar within a classic watch always has a detrimental effect on the precision of the time indications. However, the highly experienced watchmakers at legendary Swiss watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre now come with a Dual-Wing concept, an instrument capable of creating a perfect alchemy: a calendar watch that was as accurate as a chronometer.

Arranged on the elegant and easily readable dial, the hours, minutes, seconds and moon-phase displays appear to make the Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire a classic watch model. But inside the case and partially hidden from view beats Calibre 381, a prodigious movement boasting unprecedented precision based on the Dual-Wing concept and which propels the watch firmly into the spheres of Haute Horlogerie. The truly extraordinary appearance of the watch lies in the actual concept behind the Dual-Wing movement, which is distinguished by the presence of two independent energy sources: the first, regulated by the escapement and the balance, is entirely dedicated to the precise measurement of the passing of time; whereas the second source of energy is devoted to the display of the functions: hours, minutes, seconds, calendar and moon phases for both hemispheres. Their synchronisation is ensured by the jumping seconds hand mechanism. This Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire brilliantly illustrates the extreme research undertaken in the laboratory-workshops of Jaeger-LeCoultre: this watch reaches the heights of precision with a jumping seconds hand moving in sixth of a second increments while displaying the date and the moon phase on a separate subdial. Through in-depth study and a willingness to challenge the fundamental principles of horological theory, the Jaeger-LeCoultre specialists have succeeded in creating a calendar watch in accordance with the Dual-Wing concept – a principle featuring exceptional characteristics that enable a degree of rating precision that was previously the exclusive preserve of timepieces free of any complications. Movement • Mechanical manually-wound Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 381, crafted, assembled and decorated by hand • 21,600 vibrations per hour • 50-hour power reserve • 367 parts • 40 jewels • 7.25 mm thick • 33.70 mm in diameter • Two independent barrels Functions • Hours, minutes, seconds, and jumping stop seconds with zero/reset system, date, age and phase of the moon (for both hemispheres), power reserve • Regulator power reserve Dial • Crystalline grained • Pink gold appliques Hands • Hours and minutes : “leaf” type • seconds : baton type with pear-shaped counterweight Crowns • One crown to wind the watch and adjust the hours and minutes • One push-piece to adjust the date • One corrector to adjust the moon phase Case • ø 40.5 mm, thickness : 13.07 mm • 18-carat pink gold • Polished and satin-brushed finish • sapphire crystal, cambered on the dial side, hardness no. 9, glareproofed on front and back • water resistance : 5 bar Strap • in chocolate-toned alligator leather with 18-carat gold pin buckle Reference • Q6042521, 18-carat pink gold

T-Fun collection by TF Est. 1968

2012-01-10T08:19:00.000-06:00

Swiss watch brand TF Est. 1968 presents The T-Fun collection, boldly coloured watches on a carbon ground. The global brand TF Est.1968, a figurehead of flawless Swiss quality and affordable luxury, has launched T-Fun, a colourful, bang-on-trend collection of watches, available in 2 versions: a three-hand automatic (high-quality decorated Swiss movement ) and a chronograph. Signature identity codes include dials and bezels sporting a genuine carbon finish and highly luminescent hands and logo … Enjoying worldwide distribution thanks to its famous cufflinks housing a Tourbillon style watchmaking mechanism, the lifestyle brand TF Est.1968 has moved into the field of watchmaking armed with some highly convincing arguments and a particularly seductive colour palette, not to mention attention-grabbing aesthetics. A member of the mechanical family, the T-Fun automatic, water-resistant to 150 metres, 45 mm in diameter In an exceptional move for a mechanical timepiece available at an incredibly affordable price that will test anyone’s powers of resistance, this T-Fun timepiece houses a 100% Swiss made decorated and circular-grained, Côtes de Genève finished three-hand automatic calibre. Personalised down to the surfaces of its oscillating weight, the movement is open to view through a transparent back. Fitted with a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, water-resistant to 15 atm, the case crafted in 916L steel or 5N gold plate transcends even the eye-grabbing chocolate brown and apple green colour scheme, shot through with flashes of vivid orange or white. Genuine carbon coats the dial and the circular grained matching bezel. The virile screw-down crown, struck with the identity-rich TF logo, makes a proud linear statement. > Swiss made automatic calibre, Côtes de Genève finish and circular-grained decoration, personalised oscillating weight open to view through the transparent back. Screw-down crown.

Interchangeable straps, the ultimate finishing touch. The models come with Two straps, one in felt-touch rubber bearing the TF stamp, rounded off with an Ardillon buckle sporting the TF Est. 1968 brand colours, the other a NATO style nylon strap. A ring echoing the chosen colour extends and highlights the bezel surround in a particularly attractive aesthetic touch. A great watchmaking success for a global lifestyle brand that stands out from the crowd. Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, transparent back. Recommended retail price: CHF 1,450.00 T-Fun chronograph watches, sporty timepieces, 45 mm in diameter, bold colours, seductive aesthetics, water-resistant to 150 metres!!!

> The T-Fun collection goes for bold colour pops for the chronograph version, making it sporty and aesthetically desirable. Highly luminescent indices and logo, sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, Swiss Ronda quartz movement, screw-down crown struck with the TF logo, matching carbon back and bezel, water-resistant to 150 m. Comes with 2 straps: felt-touch rubber strap and NATO style nylon strap. Recommended retail price, CHF 890.00

RenaissanceTourbillon Minute Repeater by Speake-Marin

2012-01-10T08:00:00.002-06:00

Independent luxury watch maker Speake-Marin unveils Renaissance, an open-dial, tourbillon minute repeater that announces the time as spectacularly as it announces an important new dawn for Speake-Marin. Renaissance incorporates an accumulation of knowle-dge and experience, and takes the classical Speake-Marin elements to another level: another level of ele-gance, with its slim design; another level of mechanical complexity, with its tourbillon and minute-repeater; and another level of aesthetic sophistication, with its open-dial architecture featuring harmonious bridge design and superlative finishing. Back of each Renaissance movement is decorated with a different intricate hand-engraved design making each one a unique piece. With this Renaissance timepiece, Peter Speake-Marin has embarked on his own intellectual journey of redisco-very to harness the classical elements of Speake-Marin and reinterpret them to extraordinary effect.

In Renaissance tourbillon minute repeater, all of the quintessential Speake-Marin qualities are there to behold, qualities that go right back to the Foundation Watch, the very first timepiece to bear the Speake-Marin name. Renaissance features the iconic Piccadilly case; cha-racteristic pleated crown; signature Foundation hands; intricate hand-engraving; and, as with the Foundation Watch and many subsequent models, the signature Speake-Marin topping-tool motif, here in the form of the tourbillon cage. In addition to retracing all that he has worked on and developed since the inception of the eponymous Speake-Marin brand over a decade ago, Peter Speake-Marin has also drawn on his formative years working in an-tique timepiece restoration in Piccadilly, London where he worked extensively on minute-repeaters.

Tourbillon The Renaissance movement was developed to Speake-Marin’s specifications by La Fabrique du Temps in Geneva. The 60-second tourbillon at 5 o’clock maximises timekeeping precision by averaging the effects of posi-tional variations caused by gravity. But the tourbillon provides esthetical as well as technical benefits as it rotates, catching the light and the eye thanks to the fine finishing of its topping-tool shaped cage, with a heat-blued hand indicating seconds. Timekeeping precision is also ensured thanks to an isochronism-improving free-sprung balance and the lightweight, energy-effi-cient silicon escape wheel and anchor. Minute Repeater The minute repeater, activated by a slider on the case band at 9 o’clock, chimes the hours, the quarters-hours and minutes after the quarter-hours so enabling the ‘reading’ of the time without having to look at or see the dial. The Renaissance minute repeater features an all-or-nothing mechanism, found on the highest-quality minute repeaters, which avoids the incorrect time being chimed if the slide is incompletely activated. The regu-larity of the chimes are silently and precisely controlled by a centrifugal inertia regulator, that can be apprecia-ted through the display back thanks to its large trans-parent sapphire bearing. The display-back also reveals the repeater hammers and gong with ‘London-Geneva’ engraved on the repeater mainspring bridge, while the straight drum-like sides and form of the Piccadilly case and the open dial act as the perfect amplifier for the crystalline chimes. Open-dial architecture The technical, visual and aural theatre of Renaissance’s tourbillon and minute repeater is complemented by a daring open-dial architecture in which the Speake-Marin bridge and component designs are in full resplendence. And where carefully-contoured curves are juxtaposed with straight-angled lines, all parts beautifully hand-be-velled and superlatively finished. Superb legibility for reading the time is provided by heat-blued Foundation-style hour and minute hands coupled with engraved indices on the chapter ring with engraved and lacquered Roman numerals at 12, 3, and 9 o’clock. Unique hand-engraved movement If the open dial – with its exposed micromechanics, repeater and tourbillon – is a horological work of art, turning over Renaissance reveals more superb artwork in the form of unique intricate hand-engraved designs on the movement back plate. Speake-Marin designed the back movement bridges so that the whole of the surface of the back of Renaissance is like a canvas where the master watch maker himself could fully maximise the possibilities of engraving. It has given him the liberty to be able to explore many different artistic avenues. For him these unique hand engravings complete Renaisance on both technical and aesthetic levels. Engravings of this sort are also a classic Speake-Marin element. Many of the early pieces he created were dragon-orientated, working with either Japanese artists or European engravers but often in an Asiatic style and first two Renaissance pieces bear beautiful dragon engravings. Every Renaissance Tourbillon Minute Repeater is a unique piece.

Features and indications: • Foundation-style, heat-blued hour and minute hands • Heat-blued second hand on tourbillon cage at 5 o’clock • Open dial revealing finely-finished movement Dial and hands: • Hours, minutes and small seconds (on tourbillon cage) • Minute repeater featuring an all-or-nothing mecha-nism and centrifugal inertia regulator • 60-second tourbillon • Each piece features a unique, hand-engraved mo-vement Case and Strap: • Iconic Piccadilly design • Dimensions: 44.0mm x 11mm • Three-piece case crafted in 18k red gold • Two-position Speake-Marin crown • Minute repeater slider on case band at 9 o’clock • Sapphire crystal treated with anti-reflective coating • Water resistance: 3atm/30m/100’ • Display-back • Case-back circumference engraving: “Speake-Marin - Minute Repeater - The Pic-cadilly- Tourbillon” • Strap made from natural alligator skin with gold tang buckle Movement: • Dimensions: 32.4mm x 5.36mm • Power reserve: 100 hours • Jewels: 29 • No. of components: 330 • Speake-Marin signature motif topping tool design tourbillon cage • Tourbillon cage: 13.59mm • Free-sprung balance • Balancefrequency: 21,600vph / 3Hz • Balance diameter: 8.8mm (9.6mm with regulating screws) • Balance inertia: 10mg/cm2 • Silicon anchor and es-cape wheel • Two-hammer minute re-peater featuring all-or-nothing mechanism • Speake-Marin bridge design and hand-finishes • Unique, hand-engraved motif on back plate • The latter includes “Speake-Marin - Piece Unique Gravée Main” • Minute repeater chime mechanism engraving: “Ge-neva-London”

Tiret Gotham Power Reserve with Floating Diamonds

2012-01-10T07:30:00.001-06:00

This new addition to Gotham Power Reserve family has floating yellow diamonds. Diamonds float freely in special oil through each section throughout the bezel. Declaring an art deco aura with its unbroken flow of definition, linear curves, geometric motifs, color palette, mixed materials and extended capabilities, the Tiret Gotham Power Reserve is a lyrical performance of time. Its purpose is its essence, its philosophy an admired lifestyle. Luxuriate in what you treasure with the comfort of knowing accuracy is certain for a marked duration. The ability to attend to all the fine details of an upscale agenda is a genuine gift in time management. Relying on superb mechanics offers a freedom to enjoy it all. Such a pleasure exists in the Tiret Gotham Power Reserve, 42 hour with automatic winding. Elegant strength in a continuous flow and sweeping imagination fill a definite 2,520 minutes of bliss.

A combination of amazing and pristine Swiss engineering contained in a timepiece filled with your personal delights makes a very expressive landscape for the wrist. Enjoy your priorities with a relaxed contentment knowing that inside this generous yet poised silhouette reliability has been perfected for Tiret. TIRET GOTHAM POWER RESERVE Movement: ETA 2897 Power reserve; rhodium; visible Tiret New York engraving; additional train wheel bridge with Tiret New York engraving on side; oscillating weight surface smoothed, with engraving SWISS 21 JEWELS.

Bell & Ross BR 03-92 GIGN

2012-01-09T09:59:00.001-06:00

The exceptional men and women of the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN) specialize in combating terrorism and organized crime. United and experienced, they are the National Gendarmerie’s elite unit and are at the forefront of international high-risk operations. Having decided to create a watch bearing their insignia and embodying their values of cohesion and professionalism, the GIGN naturally approached the Swiss watch brand Bell & Ross to produce a special edition timepiece. In France and abroad, the GIGN’s « Super Cops » confront extremely dangerous situations. The missions they are sent on require total commitment and special training. Their equipment must be ready to face every danger. Bell & Ross is a designer of functional instruments for professionals working under extreme conditions and manufactures watches with a high level of reliability that are recognized for their unparalleled qualities: easy-to-read, functional, precise and water-proof. This makes them perfectly suited to the needs of the GIGN. For these professionals, a watch is not only a tool to assist them in their work, it is also a constant ally and part of their identity. Air force pilots, bomb-disposal experts, professional divers and counter-terrorism experts already work with the Bell & Ross brand, which is proud to be producing another prestigious product for the men and women of the GIGN whose values and courage inspire respect. Bell & Ross has always designed watches for professionals and its creations are based on an immutable principle: functionality drives design. The clean lines of the watches in the Instrument BR collection – which have become the brand’s iconic models – authentically echo the design of a plane’s cockpit clock. Designed for men of action looking for precision and ruggedness, they are extremely readable as well as highly reliable. The 42-mm diameter BR 03-92 is a functional watch par excellence, the ideal, discreet tool for professionals for whom each second may be a matter of life or death. Perfectly readable day or night because of its matte black dial, anti-glare sapphire crystal and imposing photoluminescent hands, the BR 03-92 GIGN is also water-resistant to 100m and powered by a high-precision Swiss mechanical movement with a power reserve of 40 hours. Simple and discreet, it is fitted with a black rubber or heavy-duty canvas strap guaranteeing durability and comfort.

The dial of the BR 03-92 proudly and elegantly bears the GIGN insignia, placed at six o’clock. More than just a logo, this emblem is the symbol of membership in the National Gendarmerie’s elite. It is built on six core values. • The circle represents the cohesion of the operational unit and its ability to tackle every aspect of a crisis situation. • The crosshair symbolizes the primary discipline practiced by members of the GIGN: shooting accurately and effectively. • The parachute, which is inside the circle, represents the GIGN’s membership in the military family of airborne troops. • The blue of the emblem’s background is a subtle reminder of the unit’s skill and ability underwater. • The carabiner represents the elite unit’s skill in various high-risk climbing techniques including the hazardous practice of rappelling. • The two stars between the words « Gendarmerie » and « Nationale » symbolize the « second generation » GIGN after the 2007 reforms. Produced in a limited edition of 200 units and engraved with a three-letter acronym or certification number of each recipient, the BR 03-92 GIGN instrument is exclusively available to members of the Gendarmerie Nationale’s elite unit. Technical details Movement: mechanical automatic with power reserve of approximately 40 hours. Functions: hours, minutes, seconds. Case: satin-brushed steel with a 42 mm diameter. Dial: matte black with GIGN insignia at six o’clock; numerals, index and hands covered in a photoluminescent coating. Crystal: anti-reflective sapphire. Water resistance: 100 meters. Strap: black rubber and black heavy-duty canvas.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 1931 Rouge

2012-01-09T09:46:00.001-06:00

The Grande Reverso 1931 Rouge pays tribute to the many artists and intellectuals who, during the period of intense effervescence surrounding the birth of the Reverso, proudly wore a red dial on their version of this model, thereby asserting their dandyism and their uncompromising liberty of style. Since 1931, the Reverso watch has consistently reinvented itself, while never betraying its identity. Interpreted through classic, sporting, Grande Complication and jewellery versions, it has housed over 50 in-housed made calibres. It has also featured several hundred dials displaying a wealth of nuances that continue to stir the passions of collectors and devotees of fine objects. The Grande Reverso 1931 Rouge pays tribute to one of the rarest and most sought-after historical Reversos. In the 1930s, the Manufacture offered a broad palette of dial colours. The vast majority of those acquiring a Reverso opted for white, cream-coloured, black or gold-toned dials. The reversible nature of their watch, its instantly recognisable Art deco aesthetic, and its personalised back, all vividly expressed the elegance tinged with originality that such individuals were seeking. Even during this period referred to in French as the “Années Folles” (Crazy Years), it took a distinctly non-conformist attitude to add a colourful dial. Whereas only a very small number of people chose chestnut brown or blue, those who opted for red displayed an exacerbated dandyism, thereby asserting their pioneering nature and their sense of well-assumed elegance tinged with a hint of casual charm and freedom – because red is a definite eye-catcher. Positioned at the far end of the colour spectrum, it conveys powerful symbolism embodying life, blood, desire, power, danger, love and fire. The Grande Reverso 1931 Rouge reinterprets the red dials of the 1930s. Equipped with manually-wound Calibre 822, it features an extremely large yet extremely slender case, and offers an unprecedented blend of passion, classicism and originality. Just as in the 1930s, it expresses uncompromising stylistic liberty. After a preview showing at the new Jaeger-LeCoultre boutique in Milan, the Reverso Rouge will find exactly the setting in which to express its personality pervaded by unique style and Italian-inspired elegance.

Technical details Movement • mechanical hand-wound movement, Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 822 • 21,600 vibrations per hour • 21 jewels • 2.94 mm thick • 134 parts • 45-hour power reserve Functions • hours, minutes Dial • red lacquered • silver-toned hour-markers Case • steel • 46 mm long • 27.5 mm wide • 7.27 mm thick • “1000 Hours Control” indication on the caseback • water resistance: 3 bar Boutique edition

Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin Tribute to “Mad Men” edition

2012-01-09T09:32:00.000-06:00

Jaeger-LeCoultre, known for aesthetic influence and refinement in the world of watch-making, announced today the creation of a special limited engraved design of their iconic Reverso watch for a Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin Tribute to the award-winning AMC series “Mad Men.” Twenty-five custom-created and numbered pieces of The Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin Tribute to “Mad Men” will be available in February 2012. Honoring Jaeger-LeCoultre’s legacy of design expertise and the iconic style of “Mad Men,” the limited edition will be presented in a distinctive, custom-designed walnut commemorative box featuring the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce logo embossed on the top as well as hand-inscribed on the back of each numbered piece. Additionally, each piece includes a personalized commemorative letter from Roger Sterling, several high quality Jaeger-LeCoultre advertisement reproductions, pictures of the Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin Tribute to "Mad Men", and a copy of Roger Sterling’s book “Sterling’s Gold”, autographed by show creator and executive producer, Matthew Weiner.

The Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin Tribute to “Mad Men” edition tells a story like no other timepiece. In 1931, a technically advanced watch was developed for polo players with a dial that could flip, protecting it from damage while also offering a personalized engraved case-back. Protected by patent, its art deco style and solid functionality was received with instant praise. The Reverso has evolved over the past eighty years with new faces, sizes and complications. Today, wearing one is an entry to an exclusive world – in terms of watch-making history and aesthetic refinement. Since its premiere in 2007, “Mad Men” has established itself as one of television’s most honored series. It reigns as the only cable series in history to ever win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe® Award for Best Television Series - Drama for three consecutive years. “Mad Men” is produced by Lionsgate and premieres its fifth season on AMC in March, 2012.

Blancpain Saint-Valentin Chronograph 2012

2012-01-09T09:18:00.000-06:00

Faithful to its annual rendezvous, Swiss luxury watch brand Blancpain once again presents an exclusive creation for Valentine’s Day. This limited series of 14 watches, each set with 2.95 carats of precious stones, offers a fresh take on the refined aesthetics of the Blancpain Women collection, while associating it with the technical subtlety of the flyback chronograph. With its diamond-set bezel and lugs, caseband set with four diamonds and a heart-shaped ruby, crown adorned with a diamond and pushpieces covered with cabochon-cut rubies, the white gold case of this Saint-Valentin Chronograph 2012 sparkles with dazzling splendour. Its engraved mother-of-pearl dial, featuring a marquetry-work motif composed of three white mother-of-pearl hearts and set with 8 diamonds, highlights the exquisite craftsmanship of the master-dialmakers of the Manufacture. In an additional nod to Cupid, the heart-shaped counterweight of the central sweep seconds hand is delicately hand-painted with a feather, thus endowing it with a distinctive convex shape. The sapphire crystal back of the 36 mm case reveals the complexity of the movement with its 308 parts and 37 jewels, along with the oscillating weight clothed in pink mother-of-pearl.

The Saint-Valentin Chronograph 2012 houses the self-winding Calibre F185 that drove the very first ladies’ flyback chronograph model. It features central hour and minute hands, seconds shown on a subdial at 6 o’clock and the date appearing through an oval aperture at 12 o’clock. The chronograph function is displayed by a central sweep seconds hand, while the elapsed minutes and hours are counted off on totalizers at 3 and 9 o’clock. Two pushpieces serve to control the measurements: the first at 2 o’clock starts and stops the chronograph, while the other at 4 o’clock handles the flyback function. A single press on the latter pushpiece stops measurement of the first time interval and resets the hands to zero, and the timing begins again as soon as the pushpiece is released. This delightful model, fitted with a white alligator leather strap and presented in a precious wooden box delicately lined with white nappa leather, is available exclusively from Blancpain boutiques.

Perrelet Turbine XL Gold

2012-01-09T09:05:00.000-06:00

With the new Turbine XL Gold, Perrelet is lending a touch of chic to its provocative 50 mm-diameter creation. The daring Turbine, with its slanted blades, is poised to cre-ate a sensation. Carved in solid rose gold, like the case, it is transfigured by the sun as soon as it starts to move, lighting up the dial with rays shining beneath an inner bezel ring bearing black Arabic numerals standing out against a gold-toned background. The red and white hands and hour-markers provide a contrast ensuring the perfect readability of the hours, minutes. The self-wind-ing P-181 Double Rotor movement, visible through the back of this watch fitted with a rubber strap, is adorned with Côtes de Genève admirably revealed thanks to the open-worked rotor with its polished and black lacquered surfaces. This 77-piece limited edition features an har-monious blend of eccentricity and elegance.

Technical details MOVEMENT : mechanical self-winding, P-181 Double Rotor, a Perrelet exclusive FUNCTIONS: central hour, minute and seconds hands CASE -(4N) rose gold -50 mm in diameter - 14.30 mm thick anti-glare sapphire crystal on both sides DIAL : black background, Turbine in 4N rose gold, inner bezel ring with black numerals on a gold-toned background and red and white hour-markers matching the hands WATER RESISTANCE : 5 ATM STRAP:natural black rubber, steel pin buckle with black DLC coating

FORTIS MARINEMASTER VINTAGE LIMITED EDITION

2012-01-09T08:57:00.000-06:00

Mechanical FORTIS watches branded with the name “Marinemaster” were first distributed at the beginning of the 1940s. Thenceforth the Marinemaster was one of the most popular watches from FORTIS. Instead of updating the design of the watch, the Marinemaster always reflected the contemporary design and therefore the watch always looked different. As a tribute to this collection and especially on the occasion of the centennial of FORTIS, the Marinemaster from the 70s is re-editioned. The position of the subcounters with the permanent small second at position 3 o’clock and the chronograph function hands at position 6 and 9 o’clock as well as the typical blue or orange design provide the retro look. By the use of a special chronograph module, the MARINEMASTER VINTAGE combines classic and at the same time fresh design from the past with the experienced technical expertise from today. Remarkable design and a state-of-the-art in technology guarantee the unmistakable character of both edition models, coming in a limited edition of 500 pieces per execution celebrating the companys‘ 100th anniversary.

Technical details Chronograph automatic Steel highly polished and brushed Ø 40 mm Domed PMMA crystal with special coating Diver bezel black (120 divisions) Water-resistant 50 m / 5 ba

Christopher Ward C70 DBR1 COSC

2011-08-31T03:58:00.002-05:00

Christopher Ward's C70 DBR1 COSC builds on one of the most successful watches ever made by the luxury British watchmaker. The original C70 DBR1 was created to celebrate Aston Martin's famous victory at Le Mans in 1959 and the new watch shares the design details of the winning car's livery while taking accurate timekeeping to the very highest level.

A mechanical watch which is 99.9% accurate can still lose or gain a minute and a half in only 24 hours - more than the gap which determined first and second place in many a Le Mans race. The C70 DBR1 COSC is accurate to within one second a month and has been certified by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (the institute that measures the accuracy and precision of watches in Switzerland) - an honour bestowed on only 3% of Swiss watches.

The C70 DBR1 COSC has only been made in an extremely limited edition of 200 pieces worldwide. Each model features an upgraded ETA 251.232 quartz movement which has an additional 4th chronograph hand that measures minutes allowing the chronograph eyes to measure hours, minutes and tenths of seconds. The COSC certification which accompanies this C70 testifies that the watch is one of the most accurate watches in the world.

Christopher Ward has used no less than five stepping motors to ensure the watch's accuracy. The tiny motors which convert electrical energy are normally used to control lasers or welding robots. When used in timepieces, stepping motors provide extremely accurate movements of the gearing and hands, and the more that are used the more accurate the watch will be.
In 1959, the two co-drivers of the winning Aston Martin, Roy Salvadori (British) and Caroll Shelby (American), completed 323 laps (about 2,700 miles) in the 24-hour race – finishing just ahead of a second Aston Martin DBR1, and some distance ahead of four Ferraris 250 GTs an AC Ace and a Lotus Elite. Of the other 45 entries only 13 cars finished the race. Although Aston Martin has never managed to win Le Mans again, the marque renewed its quest for a second victory in 2009.

The striking design of the C70 DBR1 COSC reflects many of the details of the winning car. The British Racing Green bezel mirrors the colour of the car and the dark charcoal trim of the winning Aston Martin provides the background colour for the face and three dials. Even the watch’s hands pick up on the DBR1’s white needles on the speedometer and fuel gauge and its red rev counter. The large numbers on the dial reflect the giant numbers in white circles that were on the side of every 1959 Le Mans car.

The highly collectible watch will launch in October 2011 at a price of just £575 replacing the original C70 DBR1 which sold out in record time!

Bell & Ross opens its first store in Beijing China

2011-08-31T03:51:00.003-05:00

Bell & Ross, the Franco-Swiss brand that creates watches for professionals inspired by airplane instrument panels continues to pursue its international development.

The brand announced today the opening of its first boutique in Beijing China, a strategic step for the brand that attests to its dynamic international growth.

After a series of openings in Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau that signaledits expansion strategy into the Asian market, the brand goes one step further by establishing itself in the Chinese capital.

Bell & Ross celebrated this event byintroducing three exclusive and limited editionsto the delight the many collectors and enthusiasts of the brand in China.: blue versions of Bell &Ross‘ iconic models: BR01 Radar, BR01 Compass and BR01 Airborne, limited to a hundred pieces each.

The store perfectly reflects the identity and principles that defineBell & Ross watches: pure lines and timeless elegance. The boutique’s glossy black trimmed windows coupled with Wenge wooden panels set the tone, a modern yet intimate atmosphere.

Customers are invited to make themselves comfortable in leather armchairs so they can discover the entire Bell & Ross collection ranging from the BR Instruments to professional and vintage lines as well as limited editions.

The store also has a black light display, providing an optimal setting to view photo luminescent models in the dark.

Jaeger-LeCoultre presents 80th Anniversary of the Legendary Reverso Unique Reverso personalized by ZEP, Famous creator of “Titeuf”

2011-08-31T03:42:00.003-05:00

Swiss luxury watch manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre presents a unique Reverso born as a result of its encounter with Zep, a famous cartoonist of “Titeuf” comic series.

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Reverso, an iconic model of the Grande Maison in Le Sentier, Switzerland, Zep personalized a dial in enamel of a Reverso à eclipses in pink gold. This artistic execution will be issued as a unique piece. Zep, a renowned Swiss artist, drew his inspiration from a visit to the Manufacture last April. Enamelling, along with engraving, is one of the rare crafts developed by Jaeger-LeCoultre. Today the enameling atelier located on the Manufacture’s site comprises three persons. They perform a wide variety of personalization offers in enamel on the Reverso’s case-back and also on the dials. These artists execute unique pieces using skills that combine tradition with the spirit on invention, developing new techniques that are revealed each year in the new collections.

The unique Reverso customized by Zep in enamel and pink gold will be auctioned by the Artcurial auction house on November 29, 2011 in Paris for the benefit of “Monaco Association against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy”.

A long time ago, back in 1931, in a dusty vortex and to the accompaniment of horses’ hooves hammering, an idea was born: a watch with a dial that could protect itself from shocks, all the while offering a personalized engraved case-back. Eighty years later, the Reverso, the one and only truly polo watch in the world, has progressed from watchmaking icon to cult status. The Grande Maison is honored to introduce the new creation to the public at a preview in the Veytay Polo Club in Switzerland during the finals of Jaeger-LeCoultre Polo Masters Geneva.

RAYMOND WEIL "jasmine"

2011-08-26T10:10:00.004-05:00

Swiss watchmaking Brand, RAYMOND WEIL presents "jasmine", the new exclusively feminine collection.

jasmine, a name from a far-away place, from Asia and the Orient, embodies the absolute femininity of its wearer. Whichever interpretation you prefer, whether it be the Chinese first name, “Jian Ming”, the first part of which represents the good and the beautiful; or the queen of the flowers in India’s gardens, where it has been cultivated since the dawn of time; or the soft and ever gentle thorn that pierces the heart of lovers chosen by Kama, the Hindu god of love, the name “Jasmine” already speaks for itself…

In the Brand’s purest tradition, the new jasmine collection combines all the elements of RAYMOND WEIL’s feminine watches: a voluptuously rounded, curved case; horns merging perfectly with the bezel in its most discreet version, or submerged in the brilliance of its diamonds in the set version; bracelet wrapping harmoniously around the wrist in refined elegance; dial embellished with blue-tinted, leaf-shaped hands - jasmine exuding modernity, classicism and exclusivity is the perfect reflection of the RAYMOND WEIL woman.

However, the RAYMOND WEIL woman is as varied as the flowers in a garden. In its automatic or quartz version, with a 29 or 35mm diameter, with or without a diamond setting, in stainless steel or pink gold, the jasmine will light up women’s eyes from East to West. In its version on a leather strap, the new-born from RAYMOND WEIL would be perfect for an evening in town with its pink gold case and its diamonds reflecting like Bengal lights.

Technical details

Ref 2629 STS 00659
Movement: Mechanical – RW2000
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 38 hours
Jewels: 25 rubies

Functions
- Hours, minutes and seconds
- Date: Round window at 3 o’clock

Case
- Round – Polished steel set with 28 diamonds
- Diameter: 29mm
- Thickness: 9.6mm
- Crown: Fluted steel with blue sapphire dome
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal with dual-sided antiglare treatment

Dial
- Silver, snailed central décor
- Indexes Black transferred Roman numerals
- Hands: Blued steel type, leaf-shaped

Case back: Sapphire crystal
Bracelet: Polished steel with folding RW clasp with double push-piece security system
Water resistance: 5 ATM

Ref 2935 S5 00659
Movement : Mechanical – RW4200
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 38 hours
Jewels: 26 rubies

Functions
- Hours, minutes and seconds
- Date: Round window at 3 o’clock

Case
- Round – Polished steel
- Diameter: 35mm
- Thickness: 9.7mm
- Crown: Fluted in rose gold PVD 5N with blue sapphire dome
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal with dual-sided antiglare treatment

Dial
-Silver, snailed central décor
- Indexes: Black transferred Roman numerals
- Hands: Blued steel type, leaf-shaped

Case back: Sapphire crystal
Bracelet: Two-tone polished steel and rose gold PVD 5N. Folding RW clasp with double push-piece security system
Water-resistance: 5 ATM

Ref 5235 STS 00659
Movement: Quartz
Jewels: 7 rubies

Functions
- Hours, minutes
- Date: Round window at 3 o’clock

Case
- Round – Polished steel set with 29 diamonds
- Diameter: 35mm
- Thickness: 7.9mm
- Crown: Fluted steel with blue sapphire dome
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal with dual-sided antiglare treatment

Dial
- Silver, snailed central décor
- Indexes: Black transferred Roman numerals
- Hands: Blued steel type, leaf-shaped

Case back: Sapphire crystal
Bracelet: Polished steel with folding RW clasp with double push-piece security system
Water resistance: 5 ATM

Ref 2935 PCS 00659
Movement: Mechanical – RW4200
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 38 hours
Jewels: 26 rubies

Functions
- Hours, minutes and seconds
- Date: Round window at 3 o’clock

Case
- Round – Rose gold PVD 5N set with 29 diamonds
- Diameter: 35mm
- Thickness: 9.7mm
- Crown: Fluted rose gold PVD 5N with blue sapphire dome
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal with dual-sided antiglare treatment

Dial
- Silver, snailed central décor
- Indexes: Black transferred Roman numerals
- Hands: Blued steel type, leaf-shaped

Case back: Sapphire crystal
Strap: Black, full skin, saddle-stitched alligator, equipped with a rose gold PVD 5N folding RW clasp with double push-piece security system
Water-resistance: 5 ATM

URWERK UR-1001 Zeit Device

2011-08-26T09:45:00.005-05:00

Time-measuring instruments have marked significant epochs in history for millennia. Six thousand years ago, the shadows cast by obelisks in the Sumerian city of Ur revealed the passage of the sun; two thousand years ago, astronomers in ancient Greece used the Antikythera mechanism to calculate the positions of the sun, moon and planets in the heavens; and in the 18th century, John Harrison's H4 clock enabled safe and accurate navigation by sea.

Swiss luxury watch maker URWERK now endows the 21st century with its own epoch-defining time – or Zeit in German – measuring instrument: The UR-1001 Zeit Device.

In our fast-paced lives we often describe time as 'fleeting' and our timepieces reflect this perception by measuring relatively short intervals – by geological or astronomical scales – i.e. seconds, minutes and hours. A few watches take a longer view and track days, months and years, some even leap years.But rarely do timepieces do justice to a universe measured in billions of years – as a true Zeit Device should.

The UR-1001 is a true Zeit Device: It is a grand über complication both measuring and quantifying the era in its entirety, from a solitary second to an astronomical millennia. Exuding force from a case seemingly carved from a block of solid metal, the UR-1001 marks the passage of time in seconds, minutes, hours, day/night, date, month, years, 100 years and all of the way to a monumental 1,000 years!

The Zeit Device houses a constellation of indications, including orbiting satellites and a comet-like flying retrograde. Dials, springs, satellites, carrousels, retrograde spiral spring were all manufactured in-house by URWERK, as were most of the components in the Zeit Device's complications and indications.

The AlTiN UR-1001 is a limited edition of 8 pieces in AlTiN treated steel with titanium elements.

Dial side
1. Hour Satellite Complication
The Hour Satellite Complication of the Zeit Device is a ‘flying’ design in that there is no top bridge supporting the carrousel. The mechanism requires a bottom support only, which allows maximum appreciation of the satellite hour and retrograde minute complications.

The complication comprises a rotating central carrousel supporting three hour satellites, each cubic satellite marked with four hour numbers on their four faces. As the carrousel turns, the satellites not telling the time rotate on their vertical axis so that their top number has the new hour ready to replace the old. Hours and minutes are able to be set backwards without affecting the calendar functions.

2. Retrograde Minute Hand
The Retrograde Minute Hand is fixed to a sprung ring around the circumference of the satellite complication. This ring is pushed along a guide rail by the hour satellite. A swan’s neck spring on each arm of the carrousel engages two coaxial star-cams that slide along the guide rail carrying the minute hand. When the minute hand gets to the end of the rail at 60 minutes, the star-cams trip over to release the minute hand, which springs back to zero at the start of the scale where it rendezvous with the next satellite hour.

A small bar of platinum on the sprung ring acts as a counterweight to the minute hand pointer. A safety device ensures that the minute hand cannot rotate past 63 minutes, even in case of a shock.

3. Day Night and Power Reserve Indicator
The Day/Night indicator is a rotating disc marked with Black Super-LumiNova for the night, white brushed-ruthenium for day and a striped mix for dusk/dawn. While useful in its own right, the Day/Night indicator comes into its own when setting the calendar mechanism to ensure that the date changes at midnight rather than midday.

The Power Reserve indicator monitors the amount of power in the mainspring up to 39 hours and features a red warning zone to remind the owner when the Zeit Device needs refuelling.

4. Revolving Satellite Calendar
The Revolving Satellite Calendar is a original – both technically and graphically – calendar complication completely developed in-house by URWERK. Visually it is in the same family as the hour satellite complication, with months and date replacing hours and retrograde minutes. However, whereas the hours rotate across the minutes with unchanging 60-minute regularity, the month automatically adjusts the last date on the calendar complication according to whether it has 30 or 31 days.

At the end of 30 day months — April, June, September and November — the date advances automatically to the 1st of the following month. The date wheel has 93 teeth and goes around in three months carrying the three-armed carousel. Mounted on the date wheel are three Maltese crosses, each corresponding to a satellite of four months at the opposite end of the date wheel. At the end of the short months, a finger on a Maltese cross intervenes to make the date wheel advance two days to the next month.

Back side
Turning the UR-1001 over and flipping over the protective cover reveals an alternative universe of longer timescale indications to those on the front. The dominating feature through the display back is the underneath of the hour satellite complication and retrograde minute mechanism, its dark surface set off by bright ruby bearings. The Oil Change, 100-year and 1000-year are longer-term indications lying under a protective cover on the back of the Zeit Device and are driven by the operation of the movement.

1. Oil Change indicator
The shortest time interval measured on the back is the 5-year Oil Change indicator at centre right, which alerts the user when a service is due after three years when the dial changes from white (years one to three) to red (years three to five). This is counter is reset to zero when the timepiece is serviced.

2. 100-year indicator
The 100-year indicator advances in 5-year increments and acts like the odometer of a car. Where a car’s odometer keeps track of the total distance number at vehicle has driven, the 100-year and 1000-year indicators of the UR-1001 register the total running time of the movement.

3. 1000-year indicator
When the hand reaches the 100-year mark, the small pointer at the bottom of the 1000-year indicator on the left takes a small – small for the Zeit Device, but a giant leap for mankind – 100-year step upwards on its imperceptibly slow, but deliberate journey to a new millennium.

Case
The case of the UR-1001 is in AlTiN coated stainless steel. AlTiN – Aluminium Titanium Nitride – is an industrial surface treatment originally developed to reduce the wear of machine cutting tools. The very properties that make AlTiN suitable for industrial applications, e.g. increased oxidation resistance and hardness, coupled with its semi-matte black colour make it an ideal high-tech coating to protect the Zeit Device.

Fine finishing
The fine finishing and decoration throughout the case, dials and components of the Zeit Device are a harmonious blend of the contemporary and the traditional, echoing URWERK’s ethos of 21st century watchmaking based on a solid foundation of the very best in traditional horology. Circular lines engraved into the top of the case give hint to the fact that the form of the Zeit Device’s case is actually a circle with cut sides. Clous de Paris guilloche on the dial provides both a rich texture and a pleasing contrast with the flat surfaces on the indications. The satellites and their hands feature diamond-cut bevels that reflect light during the day, while flush embedded white Super-LumiNova ensures legible reading of the time at night. Clous de Paris guilloche surfaces continue on the back of the timepiece and in a tip of the hat to URWERK’s home, Geneva waves are engraved on sections of the bridge supporting the base of the Hour Satellite Complication.

ARCAP
URWERK is one of a very few watch brands – perhaps the only – making extensive use of ARCAP is their timepieces. ARCAP alloys are a proprietary group of alloys that do not contain iron and so are non magnetic. They have very high tensile strength and they are resistant to oxidation – unlike the commonly used brass that has to be plated – chemical corrosion, low temperatures and are stable under temperature changes. And compared to brass, ARCAP is more stable when machined and does not retain tension, which makes it able to be machined to higher precision. ARCAP’s advantages do not come free of charge and it wears machine tools out at a 5X higher rate than brass. In the UR-1001, the mainplate, baseplate, carrousels, satellites, dials, bridges, retrograde spiral spring and retrograde u-springs are all in ARCAP.

Winder/Display case
The combined automatic winder and display case of the Zeit Device is in polished, solid walnut with buffalo leather lining. The case can sit on a desk with the timepiece securely held (push-fit) in a vertical position with the dial side in full view. Every 10 or 15 minutes – the interval is adjustable according to whether the timepiece requires fast winding or maintaining winding – the Zeit Device is rotated 185° and slowly oscillates to rest, causing a winding rotor to charge the mainspring. Keeping the Zeit Device wound in this way minimises the necessity of having to reset the calendar functions after the movement has stopped.