Limited Edition

This is the 9th installment of Omega's Museum Collection watches that are modern re-issues of classic watches from Omega's past. This Milestone 1941 Collector's Piece is based on a watch released back in 1938. Omega is certainly taking vintage to a new era with this one. The original it is based on was know as the CK 2080. While this new version looks super retro, it is actually quite modern aside from the looks. Inside the watch is a modern Omega Caliber 3203 Co-Axial manually wound movement in a 38mm wide 18k white gold case. The movement also has a column wheel for the chronograph complication.

The retro techy instrument dial would have been all the rage of "atomic scientists" back in the early 40s no doubt. Omega claims the original was popular among high grade military personnel. The dial features a tachymeter, telemetre, and a 30 minute chronograph aside from the time. The watch dial itself is thrown in the middle. A busy dial, but cool and functional. Lume on the hands and dial is SuperLumiNova. The case and lugs are also old fashioned in style - though still handsome. Attached is a black alligator strap with a simple buckle in matching 18k white gold. A truly nice, niche watch in a limited edition of just 1,941 pieces.

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

As predicted, here is yet another "vintage" watch model from a popular Swiss luxury watch brand (that is coincidentally French owned). Zenith underwent new direction recently and this may be one of the first models to stem from that change. There are high hopes for the brand that was for the last few years making interesting, but unbuyable watches that lacked soul or clear purpose.

This new model is certainly a change, but I don't think it is for the better. the Zenith Vintage 55 watch has all the right things in the right places but nevertheless feels uninspired. There are better options with a very similar design from brands such as Chopard, Union Glashutte, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and others. The Vintage 55 simply lacks the character that people are looking for when buying a new watch meant to evoke feelings of some amorphous "retro past." At least it is somewhat trendy with a now "in" vintage look and brown dial.

The watch is in a 40mm wide 18k rose gold case with matching hands and hour markers. A tasteful subsidiary seconds dial and dauphine hands meld logically with the arrow hour markers that have one of the watch's only unique features - center "cuts" in the indexes. A single Arabic numeral is used for 12 o'clock to orient the dial. Likely the most enticing aspect of the Vintage 55 watch is the Zenith caliber 689 automatic (with 22k gold rotor) in-house made movement that is very thin at just 4mm thick and is COSC chronometer certified. Unless the price for the Zenith Vintage 55 watch is particularly inviting, I just don't see what makes the watch differ from the competition unless you are a "Zenith only" person. As one more possible incentive (or realization on Zenith's behalf), the watch will be as a limited edition of 100 pieces.

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

It seems like only yesterday that I spoke about the last ultra luxury camouflage timepiece that will never (ever) be worn in a dangerous combat environment by a soldier. Maybe by the high profile guy they are escorting while he is wearing his weekend commando gear. Plus, I totally see an 80's era Arnold brandishing this watch on his sweaty wrist while lighting a cigar on the set of Predator. That would have been sweet.

Hublot's latest Bang is this Commando Bang watch that will come in a brown and green style of camouflage. You could also call those desert or khaki and jungle camo styles. The patterns are the old school style camo and are present on the dials and straps. The cases (probably around 44mm wide) are in some fancy type of wear and fire resistant material that is black. Probably a lot of matte ceramic and fancy metal alloys, also Kevlar (per the standard Big Bang watch case material list). The straps are fiber and something called NOMEX. Even though these are clearly just more derivative Hublot Big Bang watches, they are cool! Very neat to look at, and I think that most guys would have no problems wearing them around. The layered look of the camo on the dials is particularly neat looking.

Inside the watch is likely Hublot's standard adoption of an ETA 2894-2 automatic movement. The Commando Bang line will be a limited edition (not sure of how many pieces or the the price). Cool looking watches yet again from Hublot - that Big Bang style just refuses to age thus far.

Via Watch Happening.

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

Belvedere, the all natural super premium vodka from Poland, has come out with a limited edition silver bottle for the holidays perfect for gift giving or festive occasions.

Available only until the New Year, the Belvedere Silver bottle features the brand's signature design set against a mirrored background for a modern, celebratory look.

Using only Dankowskie Gold Rye grown solely in the sweeping plains of Poland's Mazovia region, water from a pristine artesian well, and a proprietary purification process, Belvedere is distilled four times to uncover the vodka's strength of character.

The preciseness of the distillation process allows the distinctive notes of the vodka to come through without stripping away the subtle nuances, resulting in a smooth, creamy, peppery taste with a clean finish.

The limited edition Belvedere Silver bottles are available in four sizes: 375 ml, 750 ml, 1 litre and 1.75 litre, with the 750 ml size retailing for $35.

I need to have a social life like a Russian oligarch soon. I feel as though there is so much more about this watch (and ones like it) that I should be excited about, but just don't have enough "new money" socialite parties to attend and show the watch off at. Walking down the street I'm afraid the "lay people" just aren't going to get it. Of course I am being somewhat facetious, but not really. It is true that it takes a special sort of luxury loving audience to get giddy about stuff like this. Maybe that is part of the point. With a name like "King Power Chrono Flying Tourbillon," Hublot is obviously aiming at some manner of... royalty.

The watch is all black in tone and a biggie at 48mm wide. Most notable on the dial is the large flying tourbillon (has no top bridge) with its rubies and spinning glory. The watch is a mixture of mostly ceramic and black PVD coated titanium with some composite resin materials thrown in the mix. Movement is the manually wound HUB1400CT with 120 hours of power reserve. Not that the movement isn't cool, but it does not excite me as it might have once done - you just see this type of thing too much from Hublot these days. Still, the watch excites some people, as it just won the 5th Premier Middle East Watches, Jewelry, and Pens Award. Not sure why it was competing against jewelry and pens. Plus, the locale of the awards is probably a hint as to where most of the 28 pieces in this limited edition set are finding homes. Price is probably just a few tankers worth of unrefined oil.

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

I recently spoke about Arnold Schwarzenegger visiting a Franck Muller store. He might have gone in to check out a watch such as this. Right out of a financially troubled Franck Muller comes this beast of a luxury timepiece. I've never seen anything like it from the brand, and this Conquistador Singapore Grand Prix watch certainly is aimed at one of the few places right now where you can bet on luxury watch sales still taking place.

There are other versions of this new style Conquistador watch. The dramatic colors and design are what really get me. It is like Franck Muller is targeting Roger Dubuis in some odd manner it seems with these "talk to me designs." This particular watch looks like a perfect compliment to Batman's The Joker attire. Don't you think?

Case comes in two forms. Either titanium and ergal (a type of aluminum alloy - think the red color on the watch case) or titanium and 18k rose gold. Size is 48mm wide by 62mm tall, and 14mm thick. Front and rear crystal is sapphire, of course. Inside the "statement rich" timepiece is an automatic Franck Muller FM caliber 7000 chronograph movement. Notable is the high level of decoration and platinum automatic rotor in the movement. The watch is limited to 80 pieces in the titanium and ergal, and 80 pieces in the titanium and gold.

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

This seems to be the year of pocket watch from haute luxury watch makers. Something about a "return to classic tradition and heritage of the brand." Say that out-loud in an obnoxious ambiguously European accent for the "full effect." From Glashütte Original comes the lovely limited edition Pocket Watch No. 1. Maybe it is their first pocket watch, at least I think it is in the modern era.

Really the pocket quite is quite classic, in most every design sense. Details are still thin, so I can't tell you about the price or size yet. Expect that it is "of average pocket watch size." I do know that the case is in 18k rose gold, with hinged lids on both the dial and caseback. The dial is enamel, with blued steel hands, and painted Roman numeral hour markers. It has a tasteful looking subsidiary seconds dial as well.

Movement is the hand-wound 84-10, newly design caliber movement that has a few nice features. In addition to the time, the movement has a quarter repeater mechanism. Activating a lever on the side of the watch enables the watch to repeat the time back to you in an audio form, that is accurate to the closest quarter hour. The movement also features a zero-reset mechanism for the seconds hand, which resets the seconds indicator when you pull the crown out for accurate setting.

The Pocket Watch No. 1 comes with a matching rose gold chain. The watch looks very handsome, but carrying around a pocket watch these days is certainly an acquired taste. Glashutte Original is making just 25 pieces in this limited edition, that will be officially unveiled at Baselworld in March.

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

You may know Herman Miller as a chair and furniture maker, but the company also makes items for the home. As people buy less products made in America, I think that Herman Miller takes prides in the fact that it is an American company, and enjoys releasing uniquely American products. Another side of Herman Miller you may not be familiar with is Herman Miller Select. The point of Select is to align with important designers and create one special product at a time. The first Herman Miller Select product was an Eames inspired chair, and now it is a set of toy tops.

The set of three tops was designed by New York city based design firm Klein Reid. If you are familiar with their work, you'll see the similarity in these tops. The design is inspired by famous designers Charles and Ray Eames (think, the Eames chair). The Eameses themselves looked to toys for inspiration in their work. Herman Miller currently produces Eames designed furniture, so it makes sense for them to offer these limited edition tops.

Made of high-quality turned solid Walnut wood, to me the tops each represent different periods of American design aesthetic - from ornate decoration to stark modernism. The tops arrive together as a set and are each between about 4 - 4.75 inches in size. They work too, but you have to use two hands to spin them. The look of wood and soft edges make the tops attractive pieces of decorative art, evoking imagery of toys from a simpler time as well as pure Americana. A good gift idea. Production is limited and will cease forever in April 2010. Price is $199 per set and available at select Herman Miller dealers and retailers. You'll need to locate a Herman Miller dealer or retailer here if you want to get a set.

Arriving in a limited edition of just 25 pieces is another throw-back style watch model from German Glashutte Original. This is the Strasser & Rohde Regulator watch, which is just that - a traditional style regulator watch. A regulator is a watch where the minutes scale takes charge, filling up the whole dial, while there are subsidiary dials for the hours and minutes. The name refers to the fact that these were historically produced as extra-accurate clocks that were used to "regulate" the time on other smaller clocks and watches. The layout you see is the most typical look for this type of watch.

The hand wound Glashutte Original GO 49-04 watch movement is new and totally in-house made by Glashutte Original. The watch case is 42mm wide and in 18k rose gold. The movement is completely viewable through the rear sapphire caseback window and is stunning to behold. Glashutte Original really did a nice job designing it and decorating it. The dial itself is highly minimalistic, but not in the modern sense. Despite just telling the time, the watch has the added visual interest of subdials, a reason why regulator style watches are so popular these days.

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

This watch has to have one of the most detailed Chopard watch cases I have ever seen. The image here doesn't do this fact justice, but look at the sides and rear of the watch and you get a visual treat. This limited edition of just 500 pieces 18kt gold watch steps both forward and back with a refreshing look at the Chopard racing chronograph watch line. Case size is about 48mm wide (big for the brand!) by 15mm thick. It is water resistant to 100 meters.

Likely the brand's more popular collection are the Mille Miglia watches. The nomenclature burst open a bit so that the Mille Miglia name isn't applied to all of their racing themed watches, but fans "in the know" understand the heritage. One of the most fun elements is the gold three spoke racing steering wheel that is placed on the side of the rubber coated crown. The sides of the case are all nicely milled and cut with an interesting horizontal striping. The large screw columns intentionally protrude a bit giving it a very technical feel. The crown guard and rubberized integrated chronograph pushers are nicely done in a unique style. The black on rose gold tones are extremely contemporary.

Chopard never lets down with the dials on its racing watches. The hands (in gold) are always large and have a high contrast with the dial. Three overlapping chronograph subdials are subdued, but legible. The dial itself enjoys a vertical pattering which is new to the collection, while the minute marker scaled chapter ring is futuristic and retro at the same time. Inside the watch is a base ETA automatic chronograph movement that has been COSC Chronometer certified. Lastly, no Chopard racing watch would be complete without the requisite Dunlop tire tread rubber strap. Price is about $24,000.

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

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.

These watches are beautiful, elegant, highly exclusive, and a pain to actually read. The idea is actually not that they are primarily used as watches (the wearer likely has other means for that) but that these watches are jewelry. The Bertolucci Gioco watch, nicknamed "Hypno" by Bertolucci themselves, is limited to just 5 pieces in either 18k rose or white gold. The dials are a vision of vertigo, with a twirling stepped segmentation of gold layers until you get to the mother-of-pearl face below. The curious dimensions of the case are fantastic, and make for reading the time most frustrating.

The case is on the bigger side at about 42 by 49mm in size. Certainly a wrist borne statement. The exterior of the case is set with 177 Wesselton cut diamonds equaling 3.85 carats. There is also a version with diamonds on the dial as well as on the case. The small dauphine hands on the face are either gold or rhodium plated, and the watch has an AR coated sapphire crystal with a metallization engraved "Bertolucci" on its lower edge.

Inside the watch is a Swiss ETA quartz movement, and an array of leather straps in different colors are available. The crown of the watch is located on the caseback. There is a matching gold buckle on the strap. The top-of-the-line version has 527 diamonds all over the watch. I must admit that the timepiece design is intriguing and I'd feel inclined to speak to any woman I encountered that was wearing it. Shame that with such few pieces of this watch out there, that opportunity will likely never come.

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

This little number came out a few years ago, but a few are available floating around on the net. A watch like this is the very definition of fake militarism and merely attempted style. Apparently camouflage isn't out of style, at least where ever most Ulysse Nardin watches are sold. This limited edition of 50 pieces watch takes everything you know about the Maxi Marine Diver and tries to hide the dial! Naw, you can still see it. I must admit camouflage looks sorta cool, even on a watch, but more in a gimmicky sense. I simply can't stomach the idea of taking a luxury dive watch, and making just the dial (or any of it really) "camoued" out.

Ulysse Nardin tried to further "harden" the look by making 43mm wide case steel and black. If I didn't know better I would say the watch is cool - but only if you are a bad-boy type with an obese trust fund. Inside the watch is the Ulysse Nardin automatic caliber UN-26 movement with a power reserve indicator and subsidiary seconds hand. It also also been certified as a COSC chronometer. The hour and minute hands, as well as the hour markers are thick and easy to read. Certainly a unique and easy to love (or hate) watch. Original retail price was about $7,000 and prices now are somewhat more or less given the highly limited state of the watch.

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

Sport Luxury (or is it "luxury sport") watch maker Linde Werdelin will release a new version of its SpidoLite SA watch in 18k rose gold with a black DLC (diamond like carbon) coated dial. The watch is a stunning union of luxury and the unique merits that the SpidoLite watch line provides. Plus, I feel that the high contrast between the gold hands and the black dial make for improved legibility.

The SpidoLite SA line is known for its Svend Andersen ("SA") decorated vintage automatic mechanical movement (with a special blue gold automatic rotor), as well as the special skeletonized Biformeter case. All in all a great watch, further enhanced by the look and luxury of rose gold. Price for the gold version is not actually that much more than the standard titanium version. There is also a new version of the SpidoLite watch in all black DLC coated titanium, which is very nice (that version has metallic blued hands). Prices for the all DLC coated version are 9,800 euros, while the pictures rose gold version is 15,800 euros. Each is limited to just 88 pieces. Available very soon.

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