"Keep calm and carry on" is the phrase written on the rear of the upcoming Britannic watch by Industrial North Design. The term is the famous slogan of the British Ministry of Information. Quintessential British machinists and designers have created two quintessential British watches with the Britannic and Vanguard-Precision. Each is limited to just 15 pieces, and will be hand-made in England. Some people know that England used to be what Switzerland is today for watch making. The country is still ripe with talent and mechanical know-how.

Seen here are pre-production prototypes, with final designs yet to be cemented. The cases and dials are in high-grade steel and precision-cut. Size is 46mm wide. While the movement's are Swiss automatics, the watches are purely British. As such, you'll find things like rare 10BA screws used in the watches to secure the case together. These are "British Association" screws that are no longer used and originated back when Britain was an empire.

The Vanguard-Precision watch has the phrase "come into the factories" engraved on its caseback. This along with the textile pattern dial is meant to remind one of the cloth mills in northern England. Dials are cut sterling silver, and the seconds hand is double-sided. The watches will each have hand-made calf leather straps that are a wide 26mm wide. Watches with great personality, and to me feel like what a English Panerai would be like. Keep an eye on Industrial North Design for the watches to be released soon.

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

History and jewelry meet watch making once again at Angular Momentum with this Belle Epoque Eternal Time watch. The Belle Epoque era occurred before the Art Deco era, and was located mostly in the newly modernizing Europe of the late 19th century. The style combined classical elements with new forms of industrialization inspired decoration. It was edgy for the time, and certainly a bit baroque.

This new watch from Angular Momentum (as part of the Time Galley collection of timepieces) captures some of that look in this 18k white gold 41mm wide case decorated with an impressive number of diamonds. Two larger baguette cut diamonds sit at 12 and 6 o'clock. Time is told via the two gold colored orbs set behind the white gold and diamonds star medallion in the center of the watch. The larger orb is for the hours, while the smaller orb is for the minutes. Inside the watch is Swiss automatic mechanical movement. Quite an interesting and rare jewelry piece of horological art.

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

Triumph and TAG Heuer have joined forces to create a one-of-a-kind Bonneville Heuer motorcycle. Inspired by Steve McQueen and the Porsche 917k that the famous actor, racecar driver and motorcycle rider piloted in the classic film Le Mans, the Bonneville Heuer is painted up in the classic Gulf Oil blue and orange scheme and will be used for promotional purposes.

McQueen famously wore a Heuer Monaco watch in the aforementioned race film and was a renowned Triumph enthusiast. Says Neil Morley, Triumph's Head of Brand Communications:

We are delighted to play our part in this exciting project. The Triumph Bonneville and TAG Heuer Monaco are both timeless masterpieces, celebrating their respective 50th and 40th anniversaries this year. We also both have a natural connection with Steve McQueen, who famously wore a Monaco watch in the film Le Mans and was renowned for his love of our bikes, making this a very natural collaboration.

As much as we'd like to tell you this will be an optional color choice for the production Bonneville, that's not currently the case. If you like it as much as we do, perhaps a phone call to your local Triumph dealer is in order.



[Source: Triumph]

With an official debut soon at SIHH 2010 in January here is a peek at two new Vacheron Constantin watches - the Historiques 1955 (round dial) and 1968 (square dial). Both watches are going to be smaller in size and much thinner than what we are used to. The 1955 is 36mm wide and the 1968 watch is a 35.2mm wide square. Vacheron Constantin is on this "vintage kick" lately. so expect to see more of these retro-themed watches. They don't have the wow factor you are used to when looking at them, but they are comfy to wear, and surprisingly easy to read - trust me. Worth the big prices though? Maybe, if you are a brand enthusiast.

Most of the appeal is inside the watch as they each have 100% in-house made movements. Each is super thin, and manually wound. The Historiques 1955 has a caliber 1003 movement, while the 1968 has a caliber 1120 movement in it. Interestingly enough, the movements are in 18k yellow gold. The watch cases themselves are in something called 4N gold. The alloy is somewhere between yellow and rose gold in color. The watches will be officially unveiled in January in Geneva, and I will be there to take lots of paparazzi style pictures.

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

A few years ago a watch brand I quite liked declared bankruptcy to be gone forever. This was before the big luxury bubble burst occurred, and I was quite sure that the demise of Ventura watches was a sign of what was to come - it was. But Ventura wasn't some overinflated pseudo luxury brand. They made fine and unique watches with a distinct modern, minimalist, and Bauhaus twist to them. They are likely most famous for their MGS (micro generation system) watches that use an automatic rotor to generate electricity for a quartz digital movement, just like a Seiko Kinetic watch works. Seen above is one of those watches.

Recent reports show that the Ventura brand is back, and with its original founder Pierre Nobs at the helm. New funding will get the brand up and running again soon. Ventura is known for their luxury quartz and mechanical watches - so it is unclear what some of the first models will be. Likely a new release of existing popular models with a few new things as well. Good news is that Ventura will be a modern brand, meaning they will make their watches available online from their (not yet released) website. This is good news to the many people who prefer to buy watches online (myself included). Prices for Ventura watches was (and will most likely be) about $1,500 - $5,000. No specific time line to their revival, but I'll keep you updated.

Via WorldTempus.

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

Remember Las Vegas? Audemars Piguet sure does. The important city to the brand (due to the many watch stores) now gets and important watch collection from the brand. In black and red tones, the new collection of Royal Oak model based watches are suitable wrist companions for nights of luxury and excess in the hottest city in the desert. The popularity of Vegas comes and goes, but you can't deny the importance of a fantastic watch while spending time on the Strip.

Most most exclusive of the watches in the collection is the pictured Audemars Piguet Las Vegas Strip Manual Wind Tourbillon with Chronograph watch. It is limited to 35 pieces and comes in a blackened steel case. Other models include two diamond studded automatic chronograph versions (for men or women each limited to 60 pieces), and a more standard automatic chronograph without all the decoration (limited to 400 pieces). Each has that signature look meant to match your casino attire. Sure it is a bit silly, but in Las Vegas you feel the need to go all out.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com

Those people familiar with the shops at Bal Harbour knows how each luxury brand situated there feels the need to one up each other. This makes sense given the locations ability to attract the wealthiest Floridian buyers, as well as those who travel to the shopping center from around the world. Over the last few year Audemars Piguet has been playing with a new type of marketing campaign dedicated to enhancing the artisan-like feel of the brand. This essentially means that they want you thinking that watch makers time traveled from 1875 to the present day, and are hand-making Audemars Piguet watches in candle light somewhere in the heart of Switzerland. Most of this is true - save for the candle light.

Selling ultra luxury watches is as much about selling the final product as it is about selling how they were made. For this purpose, the Audemars Piguet Bal Harbour boutique has been temporarily transformed to include watch movement sketches, work tables, tools, and other items of traditional watch making construction. The good news is, that if you visit an actual Swiss watch making factory, all of these same tools are pretty much used - though maybe modernized a bit. Audemars Piguet does take much pride in the fact that they practice "traditional watch making" techniques. The display is a good idea , because it attempts to show a manufacture made mechanical watch in its natural element. If you are in the area, check it out. The window display will be up through the end of the year at the Audemars Piguet store at the Bal Harbour stores in Miami, Florida.

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

New from Piaget comes a fresh Limelight watch collection for 2009. Each Exceptional Limelight collection watch is known for being a serious haute joaillerie item of art. With Piaget's requisite level of beauty (and diamonds) the watches are interesting, original, and most important, beautiful. Brilliant-cut diamonds cover every surface of the timepieces (as much as is possible), and materials like mother-of-pearl make up the watch dials. The cases and bracelets themselves are each done in 18k white gold.

Literally hundreds upon hundreds of hours are dedicated to putting together each watch. This has to do with the copious amounts of time required to cut and set the diamonds, as well as craft the timepieces. Piaget does a remarkable job making metal look flowing. This is real horological art and passion - and again you see their penchant for making the watches "secret." Many Piaget Limelight watches prefer to cover the watch face when not being used, so as to give the pieces a dual watch and jewelry character. Inside, the watches have Piaget caliber 56P Swiss quartz movements. The timepieces have an intense amount of diamonds with weight up to 40 carats, and hundreds of stones per timepiece. These women's watches are marvelous to look at, exceedingly rare and exclusive, and of "word-class" expense. Look for them at select Piaget boutiques around the globe.

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

You know that when a watch model is comprised of this many words, the company behind it means business! New from Alpina is the Avalanche Extreme Chrono Double Digit watch, and name the obfuscates what is just a nice looking 30 minute chronograph watch. The Double Digit part of the moniker comes from the back that the hour indicators have been replaced with 5 minute indicators - a look popularized by certain aviator watches from the past. The idea is to make the watch dial appear more aligned with the fact that the minute hand is the one going over these markers. Usually this is combined with a smaller hour ring in the middle of the dial for the hour hand to follow - not here though.

The watches look pretty nice and sporty. You see the two versions that have a combination of steel and PVD coated steel on the 46mm wide cases. I like the large screws on the bezel as well. Sapphire crystals are placed on the the front and rear of the cases, which are 100 meters water resistant.

Movement is the Alpina caliber AL-850, which is a modified Swiss ETA automatic movement. In addition to the chronograph, there is an "open" date window. The version with the red subdials is the most stunning, but suffers from the thin skeletonized hour and minute hands which I imagine would be a pain to read. The all black PVD version has nice wide gray color hands that don't suffer from this problem. Probably a few thousand bucks, available soon.

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

Louis Vuitton has just released two new Monogram watch cases. While Louis Vuitton has been making watches for a while, it is not clear whether or not they have previously made watch cases. Though it makes total sense for the luxury bag and luggage maker to do so. One case is trunk style, and suitable for 8 watches. While the other is more like a roll case, and sized for 3-4 watches. Each are made in France, with the brand's usual style and noticeable exterior.

The inside is made of a microfiber material that should be nice on your watches, while pads are used for the watch themselves (which are removable). The smaller case has a brass buckle, while the larger mini-trunk case uses a lock and key. They both make good travel cases - something which is hard to find for watches as most travel cases take up more space than they are worth. Louis Vuitton also suggests that the cases are ideal for storing watches in while they are in a safe. I'm sure you'll think of all sorts of good ways to show these Monogram cases off. Prices are up there - $620 for the 8.3 inch wide smaller case, and $4,070 for the 13.4 inch wide mini-trunk.

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

Here is a taste of extreme luxury with the Sarcar Carrousel. The name refers to the large diamonds placed in the dial that freely move around the circular path around the watch face - a similar concept to what you find in the free floating diamonds in Chopard Happy Sport watches. The difference is really in the size of the diamonds. The Carrousel has 12 half carat diamonds set in gold, which rotate freely against a mother-of-pearl backdrop, not to mention the many other diamonds that decorate the dial and 18k white gold (or red gold) 40mm wide case. There are a total of 13.21 diamonds on the watch - 399 of them.

The watch dial itself is small, but visible and powered but an automatic mechanical movement. Nice contrast with the black hands against the diamond dial. The crown is off-centered a bit and fitted with a nice diamond cabochon. Strap is crocodile with a gold folding clasp. At 40m wide, the watch is probably sized for a man, but suitable for a woman. Anyone lucky enough to brandish a decadent number like this should at least wear it once in a while. A luxury watch truly of the excess and fortune ilk. The materialistic personification of "if you got it, flaunt it." Prices at $300,000 each. Want one? Call (954) 600-9492 or e-mail info@crossbowintl.com.

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

Out of all the luxury watch brands I know, I feel like Harry Winston comes in first a giving their women's watches odd names. They certainly aren't the weirdest names, but they just feel the most awkward. No better example that the "Talk To Me, Harry Winston" line of watches. This version being the Talk To Me, Harry Winston Snowflake. I can't tell if it is a question, a phrase, a term of endearment, or just someone who doesn't speak English making up watch names.

This new Talk To Me, Harry Winston watch takes the same case style and adds a diamonds-as-snowflakes dial. The dial is available in either a black or silver tone with 111 set diamonds in a falling snowflake display. The dial is rotatable, and the entire disc is moved via turning the disc that is accessible on the side of the watch case. A little thing, but something to play with nonetheless. The white gold case is 33mm wide and 40mm tall. The case itself is lovely in shape having strips of polished surface space to serve as the hour indicators, while the rest of the case is covered with 164 more diamonds. Then another 24 diamonds on to rotating ring, and still another 29 diamonds on the white gold buckle attached tot he black satin strap. Total diamond weight for the watch is 4.1 carats. The movement is Swiss quartz. Price is yet unknown, but in the ultra luxury range, of course.

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

I recently mentioned how the Vacheron Constantin Historiques 1921 won the jury prize in Swiss Montres Passion's 2009 Watch of the Year Award. Well this Parmigiani Pershing Asteria watch won the Prix du Public (publicly voted award) for 2009, in the same magazine. I find it so interesting that the editors at the magazine itself would choose such a quirky classic watch, while the public would vote for a thoroughly modern in appearance sport watch - a women's version at that. Of course the Parmigiani Pershing comes in male variants as well.

This is one serious sport women's watch. The 42mm wide case is in white gold with a mother-of-pearl dial - and has all the hallmark features of a diving watch. Inside is a Parmigiani manufacture made 002 Chronograph automatic movement. On the dial there are two charming little features that compliment the easy to read chronograph subdials. At the end of the chronograph seconds hand is (not able to be seen in this image) a small octopus as the counterweight, while the seconds hand/dial for the time itself is a stylized, spinning sea star (starfish).

The luxury watch is also available with various levels of precious jewel decoration. I believe it is a winning watch because the public appreciates its sporty exterior, charming design accents, manufacture made movement, luxurious construction, and modern looks. Quite a departure from what the editors of the Montres Passion magazine took into consideration when giving their award.

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

One of my favorite watch designers, Alain Silberstein has paired up with one of my favorite independent watch makers MB&F to create this limited edition of 8 pieces Horological Machine 2.2 (HM2.2) "Black Box" watch. It uses the existing HM2 watch and adds Alain Silberstein's special character. The telltale signs of his involvement are the three multicolor shapes on right-hand dial, the shapes of the hands and indicators, and the character rick face of the moon phase. You also have both MB&F (Max Busser & Friends) and Alain Silberstein's signature or logo on the rear of the watch.

This HM2.2 Black Box version of the HM2 watch is done in black PVD coated titanium and silicium. The combination of design cues makes the watch look like a nice little Bauhaus inspired instrument. If you've worn one of these watches you know how large it is - but cool looking. 59mm wide and 38mm tall. Relatively thin for a watch like this at 13mm thick. Movement is an automatic (with a blue 22k gold version of the signature battle ax rotor) and has two distinct faces. On the left is a small moonphase indicator and retrograde date. On the right is the time via retrograde minutes an jumping hour. I actually feel like this HM2.2 version of the watch is more legible than the original, and certainly presents a unique presentation on the already unique watch. Really nice, and just for a few people who can get one of the eight MB&F "Black Boxes" out there.

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

While the Jaeger-LeCoultre Hybris Mechanica Sonnerie may be the most complicated wrist watch in the world, this Patek Philippe Caliber 89 pocket watch made in 1989 remains the most complex timepiece in the world. With a staggering 33 complication, both side of the dial are filled with hands and subdials. The pocket watch is very thick and weights1.1kg! The case is done in 18k yellow gold. It was made to honor the 150th anniversary of the important Swiss brand. While I am not prepared to engage in list making, you can learn all the Caliber 89's functions here.

Coincidentally, for auction house Antiquorum's 35th anniversary, a Patek Philippe Caliber 89 pocket will be auctioned off. Even in these rough times, record amounts for Patek Philippe watches have been achieved at auction. So perhaps it is a good time to auction the Caliber 89 off. In 2004, this same watch was sold at auction for $5 million. The watch took 5 years to research and 4 years to make. It is estimated to yield between $4.4 - $5.4 million, but has an estimated value of $6 million. The auction will be held on November 14-15, and the Patek Philippe Caliber 89 will be lot 364, the final lot of the auction.

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