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Bulgari Daniel Roth Grande Sonnerie Quantieme Perpetual

Published by in Bvlgari on December 30th, 2011 | No Comments »

You may like to sit down before reading about this one.

Ready?

Ok – first the sticker shock (let’s get it over with): $1million.

Give or take, depending on the exchange rate :)

Now that’s out of the way let’s concentrate on the watch.

Absolutely … incredible.

As you may know, Sonnerie means ‘making sound’ or ‘ring’ in French.  Something this watch will do over 430,000 times a year if you’ll allow it.

The movement performing this is the in-house  automatic Caliber DR 5307.

It is made up of 923 parts and has 82 jewels (yes, 82).

The case is made from 18k pink gold and the watch comes shod on an alligator strap.

Still not sure about getting your monies worth though?

Check out the full list of functions in the technical specifications below.

Putting all this together takes a year .. per watch!

Hand-made to order of course.

Beautiful and stunning mechanically, but a million dollars sure is a lot of dough to spend on a watch, don’t you think?

Worth the outlay?

Technical Specifications

-Westminster Carillon chimes
-Four gongs
-Grande Sonnerie
-Petite Sonnerie
-Minute Repeater
-Silence mode
-Tourbillon
-Perpetual Calendar
-Leap Year Indicator
-Month indicator
-Weekday indicator
-Date indicator
-Moon phases
-Automatic winding for movement and striking system
-Silent centrifugal governor
-Power reserve indicator for movement (48h)
-Power reserve indicator for striking system (28h in mode « Little »)
-Secured striking mode (during striking, the time setting system is disconnected)
-Secured time setting (during time setting, the striking system is disconnected)
-Secured striking system (the minute repeater is disconnected during striking in « passing » and vice-versa)
-Striking mode selector “chimes/silence » (rotating water resistant selector with indication)
-Striking mode selector « little/grand » (rotating water resistant selector with indication)

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Hublot King Power Unico GMT

Published by in Hublot on December 27th, 2011 | No Comments »

I’m going to attempt to use a bit of the quiet holiday period to catch up with some of the backlog of posts I really should have done earlier in the year!

Unsurprisingly, given how many watches they pump out, there are a couple of Hublots on the list.

Thankfully, this one’s a corker, unlike some of their other recent models (**cough**).

The King Power Unico GMT has a rather nice trick up its sleeve – 24 timezones on one dial.

You need to line up the ‘angles’ to see local time around the world, courtesy of the four rotating discs around the bezel.

This is a 48mm piece and will come in either 18k ‘king gold’ or black ceramic.

Both versions have ceramic bezels.

The movement is a Hublot caliber HUB1220 automatic GMT with 72 hours of power reserve.

If you’re keen, this should be out early(ish) 2012.

Not long now! :-)

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Movado Red Label Calendomatic

Published by in Movado on December 26th, 2011 | No Comments »

Here’s hoping you’re having a wonderful festive season – of whichever persuasion you choose to celebrate – and Santa (or equivalent) bought you lots of nice new toys.

We’ll be posting somewhat infrequently between now and the New Year, when we move squarely into the big Swiss shows and the associated silly season!

Look out for the small dribble of posts prior to that though .. starting with this one.

Here’s the Movado Red Label Calendomatic (cool old-school name).

It’s a 42mm piece in stainless steel black PVD.

It has double sapphire crystals and is water resistant to 30 meters.

Movement is the Swiss automatic ETA caliber 2895-2 with 27 jewels and featuring a custom-designed rotor with red Movado “M” silhouette.

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Hublot Big Bang Boa Bang

Published by in Hublot on December 24th, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Ah, Mr Biver, what a funny fellow you are.

Perfectly capable of producing some really great pieces, Hublot are also not shy about throwing some shockers into the mix!

Welcome then the Big Bang Boa Bang.

We’ll see more of this one in January in Geneva, but until then here’s some tech specs.

You know, for those crazy stylish people who might quite like this one :-)

Technical Specifications

Case:
Boa Bang Steel Brown and Green: Diameter 41mm
Polished and Satin-finished Stainless Steel

Boa Bang Gold Brown and Green: Diameter 41mm
Polished and Satin-finished 18K Red Gold
Crystal: Sapphire with Anti-reflective Treatment
Bezel: Lug Black Color Composite Resin
Lateral Inserts: Black Color Composite Resin

Case-back: Steel Brown and Green Stainless
Steel Satin-finished with Sapphire Crystal Interior
Anti-reflective Treatment

Case-back: Gold Brown and Green
18K Red Gold Satin-finished with Sapphire
Crystal: Interior Anti-reflective Treatment

Crown and Pushers: Steel Brown and Green
Stainless Steel with Black Rubber Insert

Crown and Pushers: Gold Brown and Green
18K Red Gold with Black Rubber Insert
Screws: Titanium
Water Resistance: 100m or 10 ATM

Bezel:
Steel Brown and Green:18K White Gold set with 48 Fine Precious Baguette of Andalusite, Dark Smoked and Transparent Quartz

Gold Brown and Green: 18K Red Gold set with 48 Fine Precious Baguette of Light-green Tsavorit, Tourmaline and Light-green Sapphire

DIAL AND HANDS:
Steel Brown and Green: Boa Bang Color Dial with Rhodium Plated Appliques set with 8 Diamonds for 0.14ct Polished Rhodium Plated Hands

Gold Brown and Green: Boa Bang Color Dial with Gold Plated Appliques set with 8 Diamonds for 0.14ct Polished Gold Plated Hands

Movement:
HUB4300 Self-winding
Chronograph Movement
Date Trapezoid Window at 4.30
Oscillating Weight Hublot designed Tungsten
Openwork Rotor Coated in Black PVD
Escapement Swiss Lever Escapement
No. of Components: 278
Jewels: 37
Fréquency: (Hz) 4 (28’600 A/h)
Power Reserve: 42 hours

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Electro-labels

Published by in News, Random on December 23rd, 2011 | No Comments »

This is interesting.

If I’m reading this correctly the labels can be updated on the fly using an optional kit.

I wonder how many units / how many times you updated the labels it would take before this was cheaper than label printing, at current costs?

I guess over time the per unit price will inevitably come down.

At some point I’m sure we’ll see high-quality animated labels that are cheap and able to scroll through information.

Imagine a window full of those all moving at the same time!

Here’s the full story:

[Press Release] Electro-labels are digital screens which operate without any energy supply (no batteries or mains power) and are used to display product descriptions (brand, components, technical information, price). An updating system allows you to change the content indefinitely with just a few clicks.

Labels for product displays pose a challenge for brands and luxury retailers all over the world, raising issues such languages, printing lead-times, price, content and shipping. Retailers also need to consider what logo to display, where and how, not forgetting the high cost of these labels with relatively short lifespans.
In some cases, products are sold before the labels even arrive as a result of long production and shipping lead-times. Limited editions are more problematic in this respect than basic collections.

The electro-label system allows each brand, retailer or store to be independent. They can produce and update their own labels and those of the brands they represent regardless of language or country. A framework can be specified directly by the brands (logo at the top left, font, text size).

The digital screens are protected against UV rays and can be used in extreme conditions.

The application of an electric field causes a change of state in microcapsules containing positive (white) and negative charges (black). Following this change, they remain in this new state indefinitely.

This system also offers financial benefits. A digital label will cost around 150 Swiss francs. The management system (additional cost) is suitable for use all over the world via an interface and is available in all languages (Chinese, Japanese, Russian, etc.).

This means that the cost of the labels will be amortised very quickly while shipping costs, often more expensive than the actual labels, will no longer apply.

The lifespan of an electro-label is 5 years of around-the-clock operation.

Scheduled launch date: April 2012, in a limited run of 1,000 units.

This entire production run has already been reserved by our existing brand customers.

A preview video is available on the website www.dietlin.ch

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Edox Dakar

Published by in Edox on December 23rd, 2011 | No Comments »

Dakar kicks off its annual mad South American dash on January 1st, 2012 and here’s a timely release from Edox.

This is the rather nice ‘Dakar’ limited edition.  Full press release follows.

[Press Release] Swiss Jura-based watchmaker Edox has a history strewn with triumphs and records (some never equalled to this day) and is adding a string to its bow as the exclusive timekeeper of the Dakar Rally Raid for the next three years.

Founded in 1979 by Frenchman Thierry Sabine, the Dakar Rally Raid is incontestably the world’s number one car race and human adventure, every year attracting over 600 participants in the car, truck or motorcycle categories. It was initially staged on the African continent and relocated in 2009 to South America, its route crossing Argentina, Chile and Peru.

For over thirty years the Dakar Rally has lived up to its motto. “A challenge for those who go. A dream for those who stay behind”.

The new Edox Limited Edition Dakar watch possesses the brand’s much-prized values: strength, technical excellence, and a constant drive for perfection.

The tough 316L stainless steel timepiece has been built to withstand extremes of temperature, impact, sand and harsh weather.

A black carbon fiber dial with contracting bright luminous white hands and indices provides perfect visibility under the most adverse conditions.

This rugged timepiece is powered by an Edox 64 quartz movement, which is based on the top-of-the line Ronda 6004B.

With its solid 42 mm diameter, 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 beautifully sets off the white detail of the dial.

The “Dakar” is a 500-piece limited edition, each piece supplied in an exclusive presentation box. Every watch is individually numbered on a plate affixed to the side of the watch. It will retail for US$2,050.

Technical Specifications

Calibre – Edox 64, based on Ronda 6004B, movement height 3.3 mm
Functions – Display of hours, minutes, small second and big date
Case – Diameter 42 mm, thickness 11.8 mm
Finish – Stainless steel 316L, numbering engraved on plate on side
Dial – Black carbon fibre, 2012 Dakar road map, Chile, Argentina, Peru flags
Glass – anti-reflective, scratch resistant sapphire
Bracelet – stainless steel 316L, deployment clasp
Water Resistance – 330 feet
Warranty – 2 years

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Chopard Paul Miller Racing Limited Edition Mille Miglia GTXL

Published by in Chopard on December 23rd, 2011 | No Comments »

Chopard are celebrating their partnership with Paul Miller Racing in the American Le Mans Series, by introducing the ‘Paul Miller Racing Limited Edition Mille Miglia GTXL’.

Available in stainless steel (100 pieces, $9,650) or pink gold (25 pieces, $26,000).

Movement is a COSC certified automatic mechanical movement.

I quite like this, but I’m really not a fan of magnified dates (heresy, I know!).

What do you think?

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A. Lange & Sohne Datograph AUF/AB

Published by in A. Lange & Söhne on December 23rd, 2011 | No Comments »

An update on a modern day classic from A.Lange & Sohne now: their gorgeous Datograph model.

Now called the Datograph AUF/AB (up/down).

The original Datograph was named after conjoining the words ‘date’ (it’s got a big date indicator) and ‘chronograph’ (it’s got one of those too).  Those features remain of course – the big date is lovely!

An additional feature for this model though is a power reserve meter – the auf/ab feature if you prefer.

Head near the ‘ab’ end and it’s time to get winding the Caliber L.951.6 movement!  You do get 60 hours of power reserve for your winding efforts though – more than the original model.

The movement has 46 jewels (451 parts) and beats at a reasonably leisurely 18,000 vph.  It is decorated and assembled by hand, precision adjusted to five positions, plates and bridges are made of German silver and the balance cock is hand engraved.

This latest version has grown a couple of mm to 41mm, in a platinum case.  Personally, I prefer that size and you can never go wrong with a platinum watch (except for when it comes time to pay for one!).

There are front and rear sapphire crystals and it is water resistant to 30 meters.

The blue-grey strap is crocodile with a platinum buckle.

Out some time in 2012 if you can find (and afford) one.

Start saving!

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Girard-Perregaux ww.tc Patrizzi Pocket Expert Book

Published by in Girard-Perregaux on December 23rd, 2011 | No Comments »

Fans of Girard-Perragaux’s ww.tc models – and who wouldn’t be, they’re great pieces – may enjoy this new book by Osvaldo Patrizzi (founder and chairman of Antiquorum).

It’s available online for 30 Swiss Francs (roughly the same in US$ terms).

Here’s the press release:

[Press Release] Passion. The sentiment expressed by Osvaldo Patrizzi when he talks of his watchmaking collection, the timepieces that he appraises or the works that he publishes, including the famous Patrizzi Pocket Expert series.

This pocket-sized collection aims to offer collectors a summary and an exhaustive overview of the most important pieces in watchmaking.

After the Tourbillon with Gold Bridges, Osvaldo Patrizzi and his team of experts turned to another Girard-Perregaux icon, the ww.tc (world-wide time control), which has made its name as an essential reference among watches that display world times.

The book also recounts the invention of universal time from Copernicus’ ingenious heliocentric system to the universal standardisation of time.

Patrizzi Pocket Expert ww.tc is available in English/French and may be ordered online at http://www.opatrizzi.com.

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W & F Orient

Published by in W&F (Wei & Friends) on December 23rd, 2011 | No Comments »

It’s been a little while since we last heard from Prague based W & F (Wei & Friends).

They’re back now though with a limited (two models – 8 pieces each) edition, celebrating China and the Orient.

Utilising a very similar case design to their debut model, the two variants feature hand painted enamel dials by Czech artists Doris Oplova and Lalina Menslova.

W&F watches are hand-made and in this case hand-painted which means each model is likely to be subtly different.

They use a modified hand-wound ETA caliber 6498 movement, and – considering the limited and manual nature of their development – retail for what seems like a very reasonable 2,800 Euros.

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