SwissWatch

Girard-Perregaux Launches New Pen Line

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Writing Instruments

Swiss watchmaker Girard-Perregaux has been making fine timepieces for well over 200 years, but 2009 marks the first time they've manufactured a writing instrument. The firm, founded in 1791, is debuting a luxurious new line of pens based on their famed Three Bridges gold tourbillon watch. There are three models of writing instrument, adorned with precious metal engraved with delicate guilloche work, based on a vintage 1945 Three Bridges Tourbillon, a famed Girard-Perregaux model. The clip on the caps is double-arrow shaped, like the bridge on the watch.

Three openings on the pen body showing the ink level refer to the timepiece's power reserve indicators. Fountain pens come equipped with an exclusive high-capacity double reservoir system preventing leakage. There are three models available: a piston fountain pen in guilloche silver and resin (above), limited to 999-pieces; a piston fountain pen in guilloche pink gold and resin, limited to 99 pieces; and a rollerball in guilloche silver and resin, limited to 999 pieces. A matching set comprising the silver fountain pen and rollerball is also available in an edition of 199 pieces.

Tags: Fountain pen, FountainPen, Girard-Perregaux, Pen, Swiss watch, SwissWatch, switzerland

Frederic Jouvenot Chronographe Evolution I

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

One of the most innovative new timepieces to debut at the Salon International de la Haute Horologerie (SIHH) in Geneva this week is this watch by young French-Swiss watchmaker Frederic Jouvenot. The automatic Chronographe Evolution 1 (above) is billed as the first classic chronograph with a fully visible automatic winding mechanism on the face. It features a 44mm case in either 18-karat white or rose gold with black gold detailing, and is limited to only 88 pieces each. Waterproof to a depth of 50 meters, it has a massive bi-directional gold central winding rotor, 50 hour power reserve, and a sapphire exhibition window on the reverse revealing the complex mechanism.

Tags: Frederic Jouvenot, FredericJouvenot, Geneva, SIHH, Swiss watch, SwissWatch

Euro Billionaire Commissions $6.5 Million Watch

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Wealth

Apparently not everyone is feeling the bite of the recession. A European mogul has commissioned luxury Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin to create a one-of-a-kind $6.5 million timepiece that will instantly become one of the world's most expensive watches. The design, which may take years to complete, will be many times more precious than Vacheron's Tour de l'Ile timepiece (above) created for the company's 250th anniversary in 2005. Only seven examples of the Tour de l'Ile timepiece, billed as the "world's most complicated double-faced watch", were made for an astounding $1.5 million apiece. A few more commissions of this sort and the luxury watch industry will have nothing to worry about.

[via Affluent Page]

Tags: Swiss watch, SwissWatch, Tour de lIle, TourDeLile, Vacheron Constantin, VacheronConstantin

The Classicist: Alpina Watches, from Alps to Ocean

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Sports, Men's Style, The Classicist

Alpina, the Geneva-based high precision sports watchmaker whose history dates back to 1883, has just introduced their very first underwater timepiece. The Alpina Extreme Diver 1000 Meters (above) employs similar technology and aesthetics as their line of mountain climbing watches such as the Avalanche Extreme Regulator, made for conquering the heights of the Swiss Alps. It's heritage however goes back much father.

From pocket watches, early wristwatches and timepieces commissioned for military use, Alpina, whose enthusiasts were known as "Alpinists," evolved its first sports watch, the steel Blockuhr, in 1933. This early model became the Alpina 4 in 1938. The "4" stood for the four major qualities of an Alpina sports watch: 1. Anti-magnetic, 2. Waterproof, 3. Anti-shock, and 4. Stainless steel. The sports watches were a tremendous success, and at its height in 1958 the company exhibited 1000 different models.

Gallery: Alpina Watches

Tags: Alpina, Alpina watches, AlpinaWatches, Swiss watch, SwissWatch

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DeWitt Acedemia Seconde Retrograde and Double Fouseau

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Check out the latest beauties from DeWitt which recently appeared on TimeZone. These two watches are the Academia Seconde Retrograde and the Academia Double Fuseau. Both measure 43mm. The Academia Seconde Retrograde is now available in a version with 302 brilliant-cut diamonds over the dial hour-markers and Arabic numerals and around the bezel. It uses the automatic DeWitt caliber DW1102 with 21 jewels movement and comes in 18K rose or white gold with a dial of either Mother-of-pearl,ruthenium or carbon-fiber with guilloché section depending on the version. The Academia Double Fuseau has the automatic DeWitt caliber DW2002 with 21 jewels, beating at 28,800 bph and with a power reserve of 42 hours. The dial is mother-of-pearl is available in white or rose gold.

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Tags: chronograph, dewitt, swiss watch, SwissWatch, timepiece, watch, wristwatch