Black

Fortis B-42 Flieger Black Cockpit GMT Watch

Night and day! No really, the black and white on this watch dial are meant to evoke just that - night and day. Does it do it with year round precision? No, but the idea is that when the hour hand is in the above section it might be night-hours, and vice-versa. None of that make a lot of sense unless this is a GMT watch - but it is. Rather than use a GMT hand, it uses a disc that peeks out of a window at about 9 o'clock. Does this GMT indicator style go with just such a black/white dial? No, but let's leave that alone for the sake of thematic style.

This is Fortis' new B-42 Flieger Black Cockfit GMT watch - and from a visually perspective it is certainly eye catching. The case is 42mm wide in PVD black steel with a super high-contrast black and white dial with a serious aviator spirit. I think it lacks a bit of the legibility found in other Fortis watches for it to be taken as seriously by die-hard aviator professionals, but it will certainly garners its share of attention. The case is water resistant to 200 meters and has an AR coated sapphire crystal.

Inside the watch is a Swiss ETA 2893 automatic GMT movement, and the simple watch case comes matched to a simple rubber or leather strap. Not a spectacular watch, but decent nonetheless. Fortis is making it as a limited edition of just 2,012 pieces. Look for it soon.

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

Tags: 672.18.11, b-42, black, flieger, fortis, gmt, watch

Black & Gold Jewels Shine Bright for the Holidays

by Marsha Reid (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Black and gold is a striking combination. The contrasting colors and subtle golden shimmer produce a rocker's edge aesthetic with a dash of sexiness. The color palette allows for versatility and complements a wide array of outfits from casual to formal.

With the onslaught of upcoming holiday dinners and parties, it's the perfect time to showcase some of our favorite black and gold jewels that will complement your holiday attire.

First up is a gorgeous angular dark wooden ring ($2070) by Fern Freeman. This impressive statement ring has a large base and is adorned with a golden sun shaped overlay underneath rhodium silver and a sparkling pave diamond dome. Freeman's ring would be a head turning and dramatic finish to casual chic and formal outfits.

Browse below for additional jewels that will help you shine bright for the holidays. Have tips or suggestions? Contact me @marsha712

Gallery: Black & Gold Jewels Shine Bright for the Holidays

Gurham Gold and Diamond Multi-Oval Tuft Long Necklace

Source

Tags: anthropologie, black, bracelet, diamonds, earrings, elva fields, fern freeman, gold, Gurham, holiday, Jamie Wolf, jewelry, Kenneth Jay Lane, Lee Angel, necklace, Pippa Small, rings, Tito Pedrini, wood

Derek Lam Albertine Leather Clutch, Handbag of the Day

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags

The Derek Lam Albertine Leather Clutch is a fabulously modern purse, but perhaps it was inspired by the abstract architecture of Vienna's Albertina.

We love the diagonal line the zipper-edged flap creates in a gleaming goldtone, adding edge to this otherwise quite simple black clutch. This 10"W X 5½"H X 1½"D bag is made with soft Italian calf leather and is lined in a pretty peach tone. The zipper isn't the closure; it's a front pocket. The purse actually opens and closes with a magnetic snap.

Asymmetry is best when it's balanced, and this purse achieves that beautifully with a soft calf leather tassel banded in gold. It may just be a rectangular black clutch, but this purse will definitely turn heads.

The Derek Lam Albertine Leather Clutch is available from Saks Fifth Avenue for $690.00.

Tags: Black, clutch, Derek Lam, Handbag of the Day, purse, tassel

Marc Jacobs Carnaby Patent Leather Bag, Handbag of the Day

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags

The Marc Jacobs Carnaby Patent Leather Bag is a spirited offering from the house of MJ, featuring a whimsical floral adornment which makes for a bold statement.

Surely inspired by London's cooler than cool Carnaby Street area, this bag mixes classical style with cheeky flair, achieving a deliberate and stylish look. The bag is small (8¾"W X 6¼"H X 2"D), which ensures that the flower doesn't look vulgar, and we love the mixed leather and goldtone chain link strap, which gives this bag just a hint of expensive-looking color.

The bag is lined in an unassuming beige cotton and has several interior pockets. The Italian patent leather is flawless. We'd love to see this paired with black -- or white! -- patent shoes and a great colorblock dress.

The Marc Jacobs Carnaby Patent Leather Bag is available from Saks Fifth Avenue for $795.00.

Tags: black, Carnaby Street, Handbag of the Day, Marc Jacobs, patent leather

Ebel Beluga Chocolate Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

What about Beluga caviar? No, Ebel opts for the sweeter (less salty) Beluga with a new limited edition line of women's watches called the Beluga Chocolate. Coming in three colors the watches feature dials that resemble bricks of chocolate (are the watches also scented?) The names of the specific models? You guessed it "Dark (Black) Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and White Chocolate."

The Beluga is actually an older watch line name that is being reintroduced after its debut in 1985. The watches are 37.5mm wide in 18k white gold that are decorated with 68 precious stones around the bezel and lugs. Based on the watches, the stones are either black, brown, or white diamonds (about 1.08 carats per watch).

The luxury watches contain Swiss ETA quartz movements, have AR coated sapphire crystals, and come with matching satin straps. Ebel even worked with chocolate maker Max Chocolatier to create special Beluga chocolates in honor of the collection. Not sure how man pieces will be in this limited edition or the price. Look for them soon.

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

Tags: beluga, black, chocolate, ebel, milk, watch, watches, white

Maurice Lacroix Pontos Chronographe Réctangulaire Full Black Watch & Their Bering Strait Expedition

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Sports

Maurice Larcroix is now sponsoring kiteboarding. It is like surfing, only you have a large kite that pulls you across the water. It can be dangerous on many levels. The Swiss luxury watch brand is sponsoring "The Bering Strait Expedition." During which, two athletes, Geza Scholtz and Troy Henkels, attempted to set a few new world records by kiteboarding across the Bering Strait? Why? Well just to see if they can. This was in July, and I think the brand will continue to work with kiteboarders in the future - "Maurice Lacroix, choice watch for windy water sports!"

Maurice Lacroix fitted the kiteboarders with their new Pontos Chronograph Rectangulaire Full Black watch (which I previously wrote about here). Not exactly an "extreme sports watch, but not too bad as matched to their outfits. It was a great endurance test for the timepieces as well. Seeing if they could put up with the water, wind, and potential shock. The watches also proved to be good timing instruments of the kiteboarders. Not my first choice but they did make without failure. The watch itself is in a special ceramic black coating over steel case with a rubber strap. Not too large at 38mm wide, and it contains a Swiss ETA 7750 chronograph automatic movement. We will see what other bouts of harshness Maurice Lacroix can put their timepieces through next!

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

Tags: bering straight, black, KiteSurfing, Maurice Lacroix, pontos, watch

Mido Multifort PVD Special Edition Chronograph Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

How special is the Mido Multifort PVD Special Edition Chronograph? Pretty special. It looks really cool for the price. I've been a fan of the "new" Multifort (dumb name for about 50 years or more now) watch (in both three-hand and chronograph models), but this black with orange marker and hands edition is pretty cool. The orange is mostly all lume, and the design of the hour markers is very attractive. The watch has a satisfying combination of sportiness, utility, and cool avant garde style. At a price under $2,000 for a Swiss watch - that isn't too bad!

The case is 44mm wide in a PVD black coated steel case with a sapphire crystal (double AR coated). Water resistance is 100 meters and it comes on a comfy rubber strap. You can also get the watch is a more simple non-black, non orange version (but it wouldn't be as "Special"). The dial also features the look of Geneva stripes (cote de Geneve) that is a decoration usually reserved for movements. Speaking of which, the Mide Multifort Chronograph has a Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750 automatic chronograph movement - pretty straight forward. Pretty cool and worth a look with a price of about $1,700 - $1,850.

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

Tags: Black, Chronograph, Mido, Multifort, Orange, watch

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

Naked Rolex! Black Out Concept Skeletonized Daytona Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

A stripped Rolex, don't you feel naughty gawking at it... While skeletonized dial watches are popular, you don't see too many skeletonized Rolex watches. Actually, this is the first one I have seen where the dial has be cut away to display the movement. Rolex movements aren't super glamorous, even though they are hardy as a tank, and known for quality. Regardless, the brave people at Black Out Concept (known for making black colored or otherwise modified Rolex watches) gave a Rolex Daytona watch the skeletonized treatment.

The dial was cut away as much as possible, leaving only the hour markers, chronograph seconds scale, and subsidiary dials for the seconds and chronograph registers. They then applied peralge polish to the movement plate, and of course being Black Out Concept, gave the entire watch case and bracelet a DLC black hard coating. Cool looking? Depends on who you ask. Certainly not for first time Daytona watch owners. Black Out Concept says that this is the first time anyone has offered a skeletonized Daytona, and I am sure it will appeal to some people. Personally, I like the black Rolex concept, but I will stick with the stock dial, Rolex actually does that pretty well.

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

Tags: black, concept, Daytona, DLC, Rolex, skeletonized

Tutima Grand Classic Black Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

My favorite new for 2010 Tutima pieces are the new black version of the Grand Classic watches. They come in two versions, are are officially called the Tutima Grand Classic Black, and Grand Classic Chronograph Black watches. One thing you can't learn from images is just how wonderfully smooth the black PVD application is. Almost looking like a dark gunmetal tone, the process leaves the dark coated steel feeling so soft to the touch - there is almost nothing else like it out there. The PVD process is also very scratch resistant on these Tutima watches.

The watches represent the firm classic aviation styling that Tutima is best known for. This comes from the fact that they actually made watches like this in the early 20th century. So while materials and sizes have been modernized, the look of a classic Tutima pilot watch looks remarkably similar to their modern timepieces. Both the watches are 43mm wide and fit beautifully on the wrist. I highly recommend going with the bead-style link metal bracelet which is luscious to the touch and remarkable well fitting on the wrist. Each watch is also available on a black leather pilot style strap.

Each version has a Tutima style coined-edge rotating bezel and hands right out of 1920 - though they look great and are lume covered. The dials have perfect contrast due to the sharp black and white tones - making them very easy to read, and very bold at the same time. The domed crystals are sapphire and AR coated. The Grand Classic Chronograph has a modified Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750 automatic movement - with the subsidiary seconds indicator (for the time) removed for a more attractive dial. If you want to measure the seconds, simply use the chronograph. The more simple Grand Classic has a Swiss ETA 2836 automatic movement with a day and date indicator (thankfully with matching black calendar discs). Price for the Grand Classic Chronograph Black is $4,100 and the Grand Classic Black is $1,700. Click on the "READ MORE" link below for a couple of more images. Truly gorgeous watches fitting the proud Tutima name.

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

Tags: Black, Chronograph, Grand Classic, review, Tutima, watch

Continue reading “Tutima Grand Classic Black Watches”

Graham Chronofighter Trigger "Back in Black" Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

All-black is all but out. Mostly black is pretty much in. After people realized that what Hublot started with the black on black fad, only seemed to work well for Hublot (in my humble opinion), they started to add some color again to the dark hued trend watches. Maybe so that they could actually be read with any comfort. So now we see lots of watches that are black with "a touch of..." something. Here Graham has introduced the Chronofighter Trigger "Back in Black" (was it black before and has now returned?). Here however the hands of the watch are in black, so the little red color you see only applies when using the split second chronograph feature.

The watch is 46mm wide in black PVD steel with Graham's iconic chronograph trigger under the large crown. Above it is a reset button and on the opposite side of the case is a pusher to activate the split second chronograph hand. Both that pusher and the hand are in coordinating red colors. The split second (rattrapante) function is somewhat useful combined with the 30 minute chronograph. Inside the watch is an automatic Graham caliber G1743 movement that also has a useful power reserve indicator located at 12 o'clock. Price for the watch is $12,400, which is pretty steep in my book. While the watch is cool looking, you need to be either really into dark watches, and/or really into Graham to jump aboard one of these.

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

Tags: black, chronofighter, graham, trigger, watch

Bertolucci Bella Costa Chronograph Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

This new watch is a weird dive-style watch, but I still like it. Not sure why. I consider it more artistic that anything else. An playful designer homage to the diver - with interesting luxury watch elements applied. Almost all Bertolucci watches I see describe themselves as being "Mediterranean inspired." They use this term so often I am not necessarily sure what it means anymore. The most interesting part of the 41mm wide steel case is the asymmetric bezel and inner flange. They compliment each other so that the watch dial itself is perfectly centered, but they are purely artistic - likely making the bezel non-rotatable. Also, the case is water resistant to 50 meters only, so this is certainly only a "dive-style" watch. The pieces comes in an orange and textured white dial, as well as a black version with diamonds. Interesting how the black version with diamonds actually looks more feminine than the orange version.

An interesting design feature is the "peninsula" where the date window is located that is in steel with Cotes de Geneve striped polished applied. One area that Bertolucci did very well is with all of the lovely lines on the case. Like it or not, you can't deny that Bertolucci designers know elegance - even if it is weird sometimes. Check out the curves on the lugs, the rounded crown and pushers, and the graceful shape of the watch hands. Inside the watch is a Swiss ETA quartz G10.711 chronograph movement. Strap is silicone and grooved for style. The Bella Costa watches aren't bad if you like the avant garde looks and the upbeat character of the designs. Serious sport or diver watches they are not though. Hopefully the quartz movement, steel case, and silicone strap mean that the Bella Costa watch (at least the non diamond version) won't be too expensive.

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

Gallery: Bertolucci Bella Costa Chronograph Watch

Tags: Bella Costa, Bertolucci, black, diamonds, orange, watch

MCM North/South Leather Hobo, Handbag of the Day

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags

The MCM North/South Leather Hobo is fabulous bag with a versatile look.

Somehow, MCM managed to make this bag look as though it was accidentally atomically reassembled incorrectly. This tumultuous, jumbled, twisted style is artful and deliberate, and delightfully expensive-looking without being too flashy.

This suede-lined work of buttery black leather is 17"W X 12"H X 5"D, and includes an inside zipper pocket, three open pockets and one magnetic flap pocket, as well as a magnetic closure. We love the bright silvery hardware and long tassel which add to the bag's unusual mystique.

This bag is like an M.C. Escher; I feel like I could stare at it all day and not quite figure it out.

The MCM North/South Leather Hobo is available from Saks Fifth Avenue for $995.00.

Tags: black, handbag of the day, hobo, MCM

Valentino Glam Tote, Handbag of the Day

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags

The Valentino Glam Tote is one of those unmistakable Valentinos -- it's amazing how varied, yet recognizable the collection is.

This "Glam" tote has a beautiful, iconic rose embellishment crafted from glittering crystals. The soft, buttery nappa leather has two modest top handles and flirty drawstring ties at the sides. The bag itself has a magnetic closure, as well as metal feet to protect that gorgeous Italian leather from wear.

At 19"W X 11"H X 7"D, this satin-lined bag is perfect for work -- and no one will accuse you of appearing too feminine (with the floral detail) when your bag is obviously this expensive. A bag like this is so pretty, it's powerful.

The Valentino Glam Tote is available from Saks Fifth Avenue for $2,390.00.

Tags: black, crystals, Handbag of the Day, valentino

Valentino Lacca, Handbag of the Day

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags

The Valentino Lacca is a classy bag for a dame of extraordinary style.

The traditional shape of this fabulous bag is turned on its head with a masterful gathering of the black patent leather creating an effect similar to expert-level napkin folding. We love the generous handles and the deep, roomy top-zip body, as well as the classic Valentino logo plate on the side, of course.

This 15"H x 19"W x 6 1/2"D bag is lined in satin and includes a zipper pocket for a little extra organization. This is one of the finest, most sophisticated bags large enough for work we've ever seen, carried off with a supremely feminine flair. It's one of those bags which announces itself with a stately, "I'm important" presence. We could see Audrey Hepburn carrying this just out of frame in one of her iconic black-and-white photos -- it's that glamorous.

The Valentino Lacca is available from Neiman Marcus for $1,195.00, and also comes in a pink so bright it will burn your eyeballs.

Tags: Audrey Hepburn, AudreyHepburn, black, handbag of the day, HandbagOfTheDay, patent leather, PatentLeather, Valentino