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Orbita Bergamo 40 Watch Winder Furniture

The more automatic watches you get the harder it is to store and keep track of them. Serious collectors end up buying more and more watch winders, but at a point you just want a few massive winders to house your collection (versus dozens of smaller ones). The good news is that a few select companies make high-capacity watch winders, and they are serious invenstments unto themselves. New from US-based Orbita is the Bergamo 40 range of watch winder cabinets.

The Bergamo 40 starts with a very simple concept - a watch winder for 40 watches that can disguise itself as piece of fine furniture. The rear part of this cabinet can raise or lower and contains 40 individual watch winders (that have their own motors and are individually programmable). Via a remote or switch on the unit, the winders can lower into the cabinet - which from the front then looks like just a cabinet. If you want to showcase your watches in an office or room that might have people walking in it, it is a good idea to be able and "hide" your collection. The cabinet itself is made in Italy, and can be ordered in a variety of woods, finishes, and styles. Consultation with Orbita is required to get one, and each is custom made. Prices for the Orbita Bergamo 40 watch winder cabinet starts at about $60,000, and each takes about 3-4 months to make.

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

Gallery: Orbita Bergamo 40

Tags: 40, bergamo, cabinet, furniture, orbita, Orbita Bergamo 40 Watch Winder Furniture, watch, winder

Corum Admiral's Cup Black Chronograph 40 Watch For Women

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Corum releases a new version of their Admiral's Cup watch for women in a more petite sized case of their standard Admiral's Cup watch that is usually 44mm and up (with some exceptions). At 40mm wide the piece is still large on a woman's wrist - but manageable. The case is in PVD black steel - matched to a black rubber strap. Style is basic monochromatic Admiral's Cup, with the jewelry look of diamonds around the bezel. Corum places 66 stones around the dial, which makes for a sober, stylish look.

Inside the watch is a Swiss automatic chronograph movement that carries a COSC Chronometer certification for accuracy. Forum has designed the dials on these watches nicely, making them mostly sport, being a feminine watch without too much of a feminine touch. The black dialed version of the Corum Admiral's Cup Black Chronograph watch is limited to 355 pieces, while the white dialed version is limited to 155 pieces. Should be available soon.

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

Tags: 40, Admirals Cup, black, chronograph, Corum, watch

Omega Speedmaster Professional Moon Watch 40th Anniversary Limited Edition: Now In Platinum

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

The quintessential function-first, tool watch has finally gotten a healthy dose of gaudiness. It was only a matter of time before Omega decided that it needed to price a version of the Omega Speedmaster Professional Moon Watch out of its core consumer's spending threshold. Available starting at Omega's new flagship 5th Avenue store in New York City - 69 pieces of the new 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Apollo 11 Moon Watch, in platinum, will tempt collectors. The watch case, bracelet, and hands are done in platinum. An 18k gold engraved plate on the caseback, and as the seconds subsidiary dial, are emblematic of the successful 1969 moon landing mission. The gold plate on the dial pictures an eagle landing on the moon, to celebrate the historical statement made famous by event stating, "the eagle has landed."

Even after 40 years, the watch remains very true to the original. Size of the case is 42mm wide, while the crystal is made out of an acrylic compound called Hesalite. Why not sapphire? Because the plastic is shatter-proof (even though it can scratch), and a shattered sapphire crystal in a space shuttle would be a disaster. The movement is a still manually wound Omega Caliber 1861 movement. Again, this has to do with the fact that an automatic movement would be worthless in a gravity-free environment.

The platinum version is in addition to a stainless steel version of the 40th Anniversay watch, which will also be in a limited edition, but of 7,969 pieces instead of the 69 pieces for the platinum version. From afar, the only thing telling the watches apart from is the color of the engraved plate on the dial - which is gold for the platinum watch, and sterling silver on the steel version. I would guess that price for the platinum version is $100,000 plus. Still a good looking watch, but did they take it too far? We will only know after seeing what Omega comes up with for the important 50th anniversary in another 10 years.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 40, 40th, anniversary, moon, moonwatch, omega, platinum, professional, speedmaster, watch