Timepieces / Watches

Breguet Marine Tourbillon Ref. 5839 High Jewellery Chronograph Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 15th 2011 at 12:02PM

In the watch world diamonds seem to make just about everything better. This Ref. 5839 Marine Troubillon High Jewellery watch is a diamond encrusted version of the Ref. 5937 from a few years ago. Breguet outfitted the watch case and dial with an impressive amount of diamonds, but still was able to retain that signature Breguet Marine watch look.

The 43mm wide 18k white gold case as about 11.77 carats of stones on it. One of the neatest parts is how Breguet was able to maintain the coined edge of the case using specially cut diamonds. Also not the unique pattern the diamonds create for the bezel. On the dial smaller diamonds are set in the middle of the dial and don't overshadow the hands. The dial itself is silvered 18k gold. Overall Breguet did a great job giving a men's jewelry watch a functional face.

Inside the watch is a Breguet caliber 554.4 manually wound tourbillon movement with the time and a chronograph complication. The watch has 50 hours of power reserve with special features that include a silicium balance spring and escapement wheel.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 5839, 5839BB6D9ZU DDOD, breguet, diamonds, high, marine, tourbillon, watch

Girard-Perregaux Cat's Eye Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 14th 2011 at 12:01PM

For half a million dollars you can get a lot of watches or this lovely new high jewelry watch from Swiss Girard-Perregaux. The Cat's Eye Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie timepiece has an 18k white gold case and is 32mm wide by 38mm tall in the typical Cat's Eye oval shape. It has a stunning amount of large diamonds all over it. According to Girard-Perregaux the watch required over 700 hours of work to create, containing over 20 carats of diamonds. The precious stones come in various cuts and are placed all over the case, crown, and dial.

Inside the watch is a Girard-Perregaux in-house made caliber GP09700-0006 manually wound tourbillon movement. The Tourbillon escapement is visible on the dial using a traditional GP style bridge. The movement has a power reserve of about three days. Attached to the strap is a gray satin strap with a white gold buckle... and more diamonds. Price for this very impressive haute joaillerie watch is $490,000.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews website aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: cats eye, diamonds, girard-perregaux, haute joaillerie, tourbillon, watch

DeLaneau Open Magic Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 13th 2011 at 12:02PM

Open Magic is the newest collection of luxury timepieces for women from DeLaneau. I have a deep level of respect for the brand and am waiting for them to hopefully design a men's watch - not sure if that will ever happen as they seem pretty dedicated to be a watch for sophisticate women, by a sophisticated woman. The Open Magic watch comes in a few styles. The main designer elements include the unique strap and lugs system. A gold coil connects to the satin strap - that on the other end has double straps. The attractive case is almost Bell Epoque and art deco in style.

The watch dial itself is done in black onyx with triangular segments in mother-of-pearl (or vice versa). It has dauphine style hands and diamond hour markers. Diamond are found all over the bezel and case - with varying amounts of stones available as the Open Magic watch is offered with about 1.56 carats of diamonds to 5 carats of diamonds. Inside the watch is a Swiss mechanical movement. Really a stunning item and worthy of the Delaneau name.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: DeLaneau Open Magic

Tags: delaneau, open magic, watch, watches

Chopard Happy Sport La Vie En Rose Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 12th 2011 at 12:07PM

Chopard expands on its Happy Diamond Sport collection with a summer offering called the Happy Sport La Vie En Rose. The famous Edith Piaf song lends itself to these timepieces that have silhouette style roses on the dials - with or without diamonds. Perhaps this is also an unofficial watch from Chopard to its fans in France.

The 36mm wide watches are in steel or 18k rose gold (or steel with an 18k rose gold bezel). The loveliest models have rose colored sapphires set in the bezel - as well as diamonds mixed into the decor on the dial. Like all Happy Diamond watches, a few floating diamonds are sandwiched between two sapphire crystals and move around freely over the dial. The collection has a few dial styles and straps to choose from, presumably all in tones that will match rose colors. The entire Happy Sport La Vie En Rose collection will be limited to about 525 pieces total. Inside the watches are Swiss quartz movements. Look for them soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: chopard, diamonds, happy, la vie en rose, sport, watch

Jaeger-LeCoultre Launches Online Service To Personalize Reverso Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 11th 2011 at 12:02PM

A few years ago this would have never been something a high-end conservative watch brand like Jaeger-LeCoultre would have dreamed of doing. Traditionally, services like watch customization and personalization were to be done in a chic boutique with an authorized dealer over a glass of champagne and cookies. Now that model has changed and brands realize that people want to shop at home online.

The iconic Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso has a case that flips around to reveal a solid caseback - offering a perfect palette for personalization. The new Reverso customization website allows customers to pick a watch and create any number of custom engravings and art on the back of a Reverso watch. This includes a large number of pre-selected options, as well as truly customizable engravings and enamel work. Options include having initials, a special message, coat of arms, imagery, or anything else that fits on the space. You can even have precious stones set in the back of the watch case.

The website uses a Flash based application for navigation and is rather straight forward. Really a fun thing to play around with and choose your ideal personalized Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso watch.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews website aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: customization, jaeger-lecoultre, personalization, reverso, review, watch, watches

Certina DS Action Diver Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 10th 2011 at 12:01PM

The best new Certina watches for 2011 were the "Action Divers." The name of the collection sounds as youthful as Certina wants the watches to be. Certina once made very impressive diving watches and are seemingly trying to return that image a bit. While intended to be for the mainstream buyer, these DS Action Divers are a nice watch and a good value that are also diving capable. They come in a few styles and colors, and on metal bracelets or straps. Size is just right at 43mm wide for most people. The dial is an amalgamated look from a range of successful high-end divers from brands such as Rolex and Omega. Certina sort of melded a few together to come up with this attractive look. The same concept applied to the steel case and bezel - not wholly original, but satisfying.

I love the clean integration of the date. None of the hour indicators needed to be removed, and the date disc is black to match the dial being placed between hour indicators. The watch case has a sapphire crystal and is water resistant to 200 meters. Inside the watch is a Swiss ETA 2824 automatic movement. Overall a great daily wear at a price that feels comfortable in the $800 - $1000 range.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: action diver, certina, dive, ds, watch

Longines, Official Timekeeper Of Kentucky Derby, Gifts Watches To Race Winners

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 9th 2011 at 9:00PM

Longines, now the official timekeeper of the Kentucky Derby and its home track Churchill Downs, recently was able to award the winners of the 2011 Kentucky Derby with a Longines Column-Wheel Chronograph watch. Longines recorded a winning time of 2.04 minutes as the running time for "Animal Kingdom" the winning horse. The Swiss brand rewarded the horse owner Barry Irwin, jockey Johnny Velazquez, and trainer Graham Motion each with the classically inspired timepiece. The link above will take you to a previous article that discusses the piece further along with Longines' involvement with them famous horse race. Participation with the well-known high-society event is important to the historic brand that is fighting for a larger share of the US high-end watch market. It is also part of an overall trend of watch brands taking more of a key role in popular US cultural events.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Longines Kentucky Derby 2011

Tags: 2011, kentucky derby, longines, timekeeper, watch, winner

Hublot King Power Red Devil Watch For Manchester United

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 8th 2011 at 12:02PM

For the third time Swiss watch brand Hublot and UK Football team Manchester United come together for a special limited edition watch. The two have been in a long standing partnership, and the fruits of their efforts should appeal to more than just sports fans. This new watch however should be a particular treat for Manchester United fans. For one thing, part of the watch comes from the actual Old Trafford stadium. Look closely at the hour markers - these applied elements are a bit green in tone. They are actually made of the famous grass from the stadium. Hublot experimented with how to do this and finally came up with a process that involves freeze drying and then lacquering segments of the grass. They almost look like "sod crystals."

The 48mm wide watch is based on the King Power collection and comes in two case materials. A limited edition version of 500 pieces comes in black matte ceramic, while a 250 piece limited edition will come in 18k King gold. Don't know what King gold is? Neither do I, but it is likely some new gold alloy that Hublot will be using on its King Power timepieces. One new element to the case design is the chronograph pushers that now have a special security bar over them for style and protection.

Inside the watch is a special chronograph movement for measuring soccer game halves. It is the HUB4245 skeletonized automatic chronograph with centrally mounted chronograph hands. Plus, the chronograph measures up to 45 minutes - the length of a football game half. The dial also has a bright red Manchester United Devil mascot figure that looks great with the overall theme. Attached to the strap is a new style of rubber bracelet with fun red strip in the middle. Each of the Hublot King Power Red Devil watches will come specially signed by Manchester United's own Sir Alex Ferguson - this is probably one of the best watches ever for a soccer team. Look for them soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews website aBlogtoRead.com

Gallery: Hublot King Power Red Devil Watch

Tags: 716.CI.1129.RX.MAN11, hublot, king power, manchester united, red devil, watch

Equipe Big Block Watch For 100 Years Of Chevrolet

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 7th 2011 at 12:01PM

Equipe watches has produced a special edition watch to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Chevrolet. It makes sense that this is celebrated via a watch as Chevrolet was started by a man who was Swiss. Both out of Detroit, Equipe and Chevrolet come together for this unique version of the "Big Block" watch. The 12 o'clock indicator is the special 100 Years of Chevrolet logo, which the automobile brand's logo plated in gold.

The watch itself is in steel, in a rectangular shape is 42mm wide (49mm wide with the pushers). It has a Japanese Miyota quartz chronograph movement and attractive looking dial meant to please car-loving gear heads. The case itself is actually meant to evoke the look of an engine block, with the crown and pushers being pistons. The watch is attached to a rubber strap that looks like tire tread. Not sure on the pricing, but this watch was just released and should be available soon where Equipe watches are sold.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 100, big block, chevrolet, chevy, equipe, watch

Ball Trainmaster One Hundred Twenty Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 6th 2011 at 12:01PM

Ball's 2011 lineup of wrist watches includes a compelling mixture of both very modern watches, and those which are retro inspired. One of the latter is this Trainmaster One Hundred Twenty - a watch that is meant to celebrate 120 years of Ball watches. The story of the brand is linked to the American railroad industry. Ball watches were among the original innovators of an on-time and safe railroad system.

The Trainmaster One Hundred Twenty is a classic looking timepieces with modern components typical to the brand. The most noteworthy of which is the very shock resistant and antimagnetic case (here in 18k rose gold and 39.5mm wide), as well as use of tritium gas tubes in the hour markers and hands. These tubes are filled with a naturally glowing material for perfect darkness reading for about two decades before the light begins to dim.

The dial of the watch is slightly domed and comes in gray or silver with 18k rose gold hour markers and hands. The watch has a sapphire crystal and is attached to brown or black crocodile strap. Inside the Trainmaster One Hundred Twenty is a Swiss ETA 2892 automatic movement.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com

Tags: ball, one hundred twenty, trainmaster, watch

Tag Heuer Formula 1 Gulf Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 5th 2011 at 12:03PM

I have had a love affair with Tag Heuer Formula 1 watches for a long time. The most modern ones are the best Formula 1 watches ever in my opinion. A new special model for 2011 celebrates an historic partnership that Tag Heuer enjoyed, as well as the furtherance of the F1 collection. This is the Formula 1 Gulf Edition watch, which presents itself in a similar manner as the range of Tag Heuer Monaco Gulf watches does in partnership with Gulf Oil and auto racing.

The base watch is the steel 44mm wide Tag Heuer Formula 1 Big Date watch. It contains a Swiss quartz movement with the time, subsidiary seconds dial, and big date indicator. The dial is black with a light gray cross-hatching pattern. You then see the Gulf racing stripes (with a thinner orange bar) and the Gulf logo. I think the racing stripes and dial pattern are a really neat edition. Not only is the piece attractive, but it will be particularly attractive to Tag Heuer collectors. The watch will be available on a steel bracelet or rubber strap. I don't believe the piece is a limited edition, and prices should be in the $1,000 range when it is available in a few months.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: formula 1, gulf, tag heuer, watch, watches

Fortis Spaceleader Volkswagen Design White Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 4th 2011 at 12:03PM

Last year my favorite new Fortis watch was the Spaceleader. The futuristic chronograph watch was designed by the Volkswagen Design team and offered as a special limited edition of 2,012 pieces. I first wrote about the Fortis Spaceleader watch here. For 2011 Fortis is offering two additional limited edition versions of the Spaceleader Chronograph. Each have white dials and are great looking in a sort of "Omega Speedmaster evolved" sense. One model has a white rubber strap and the other models has a black rubber strap. The case is in polished steel and is "wrapped" by the strap structure. Fortis and Volkswagen really hit on a good design and I think these new color variations will be just as popular as the original Spaceleader watch. Inside the watches are Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750 automatic movements. Look for these timepieces soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Fortis Spaceleader Volkswagen Design White Watch

Tags: chronograph, fortis, limited edition, spaceleader, watch, white

Gustafsson & Sjögren Stockholm Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 3rd 2011 at 12:02PM

One of their loveliest creations, the Stockholm is the newest limited edition model from Swedish watch makers Gustafsson & Sjögren (GoS). It will be limited to just five pieces total. Four pieces will have rich mother-of-pearl dials and one model will have a blue lapis lazuli dial - each set in a 42mm wide steel case.

Dials epitomize the art and skill of the knife and watch maker's use of Damascus steel. The hour indicator ring, hands, subsidiary seconds hand, and crown are all in Damascus folded metal. The dial makes for a lovely presentation of this aesthetic, and is still very legible. Inside the watches are restored vintage movements, being manually wound Alpina 592R Swiss calibers. Over the dial is a sapphire crystal and each of the watches will be fitted to an alligator strap. For the lapis lazuli dialed model GoS will place a blue alligator strap. Overall these are finely makes pieces and quite rare - a fantastic example of "out of the box" thinking independent watch makers.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Gustafsson & Sjogren Stockholm watches

Tags: Gos, Gustafsson Sjögren, Stockholm, watch, watches

Bertolucci Volta II Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 2nd 2011 at 12:02PM

Coming in loads of colors and styles. The Volta II collection is a bright new range of women's pieces from watch brand Bertolucci. More playful and decorative than the original Volta range, the Volta II has an off-centered dial for the time, and other a pair of hears or clover designed as the seconds hand. The hearts or clover on the dial spin around whimsically as the time passes. Inside the watches are Swiss quartz movements.

The cases are large at 42mm wide (for women) and comes in either steel or 18k rose gold. The watches themselves come in a large variety of colors. All have diamond studded bezels and more diamonds as well as other precious stones on the dials. The watch is matched to a colored alligator strap. Pretty fun pieces that still say "luxury watch" when worn.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: bertolucci, collection, volta, watch, watches

Wrist Regalia: What It's Like To Wear Ultra Luxury Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 1st 2011 at 12:06PM

Anyone who claims that timepieces are merely for telling the time simply hasn't worn enough nice watches. Even before watches were able to measure the time in a halfway decent manner they were made out of precious materials and dutifully decorated. It seems that the timepiece and luxury have been cooperating since the very beginning. It was not until the 20th century that the watch became mainstream through mass production - and even modest wage earners could afford one. Rather than destroy the elite status of having a watch, all this did was strengthen the high-end watch market as timepieces at this level needed to try even harder to separate themselves from their distant, more affordable cousins.

Writing about very expensive timepieces and the world that conceives them has been an interesting journey for me as one with no elite upbringing or sense of entitlement to the "nicest things life has to offer." This have given me a unique perspective on wearing luxury watches and the people that consume them.

Tags: experience, high-end, luxury, ultra, watch, watches, wearing

Continue reading “Wrist Regalia: What It's Like To Wear Ultra Luxury Watches”