8 jours

Blancpain L-Evolution Phase de Lune 8 Jours Watch

I must attest to the fact that I have no idea what this watch design is all about. In fact, the entire concept of the Blancpain "L-Evolution" collection more or less evades my understanding. That being said, I highly appreciate the brand's willingness to experiment versus just re-hashing what worked in the past. This quite fancy version of an already fancy watch has the well-made in-house made mechanical movement visible through the dial. Though much of what you see are discs through a sort of semi-opaque treated sapphire crystal.

Still, the mechanics are fascinating. The Calibre 66R9 movement is an automatic with 192 hours of power reserve, has an annual calendar with the date, month, and day of the week, as well as a moonphase indicator. The latter doubles as a subsidiary seconds dial. The L-Evolution collection attempts to mix sport with class (I think), which might explain the large Roman numeral "3" and "9" o'clock indicators that appear comically large. The watch case itself is 43.5mm wide in 18k white gold - being matched to a black reptile strap. I am glad to know that the case is water resistant to a respectable 100 meters.

Even with all the crazy stuff going on the dial, Blancpain made sure that the watch had full, lumed hour markers. I have a feeling that this Blancpain L-Evolution Phase de Lune 8 Jours watch will be easier to read in the dark - than in the light. Price is $43,900.

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

Tags: 8 jours, blancpain, de lune, l-evolution, phase, watch

Eberhard & Co. 8 Jours Grande Taille Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

This collection of watches from Swiss Eberhard & Co. is a re-release of their classic 8 Jours (8 Days) model. The model has been rethought to appeal to today's watch size and style requirements. It starts with the formidable Eberhard 8 day power reserve manually wound movement, based on a Peseux caliber 7001. The larger 41mm wide 18k rose gold case is classically designed through and through, complete with a thin bezel and thin functional lugs. A large crown for easy winding is thankfully included.

Two dial designs are offered for the 8 Jours Grande Taille watch. First is a more simple version with Arabic numerals, and the second offers a more designer look with a multi-finish face and Roman numerals. Both versions come complete with a subsidiary seconds dial as well as power reserve indicator. If you had to have a manually wound watch, in my opinion it should be something like this. With potentially 8 days between winding, plus a power reserve indicator, you don't have to get all OCD about winding it obsessively. Flip the watch over and Eberhard & Co. presents a small window into the movement with a cut-away section on the mainspring barrel with a bridge cut and polished like a number 8. Even with 8 days of power reserve, the watch contains only one (very long 125cm in length) mainspring barrel. The view is a nice touch giving this easy to live with, but high-quality watch some needed personality.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 8 days, 8 jours, 8Days, 8Jours, Eberhard Co., EberhardCo., grande taille, GrandeTaille, timepiece, watch