Any performance automaker worth its logo has got to have a wristwatch to match. And while a carmaker's choice of wristwatch – think Panerai and Ferrari, Breitling and Bentley, Parmigiani and Bugatti – is meant to reflect the company's image, in some cases (like this PVD titanium one) it's more a reflection of the brand's aspirations. Because Abarth has always been about punching above its weight and taking on vehicles twice its size and ten times its price. So it should stand to reason that, even though its performance hatchbacks sell for relatively modest sums, the Abarth chronograph goes for more than €4,900, or the equivalent of some $7,300.

The timepiece is crafted by none other than Bernard Richards Manufacturer, a watchmaking atelier already known in motor racing circles for their inspiration from automobiles. To top the racing-themed design of the stock V12-T-44 chronograph, BRM has further differentiated the Abarth special edition with such custom touches as chrome hands and red stitching on the Nomex wrist-strap. Only 49 examples will be made available exclusively from BRM's website, making this timepiece considerably more exclusive than the cars its made to accompany.

New for the holiday season from Marvin watches is the M114 collection of watches. Pictured is the PVD pink gold version, while a steel case version (with a white or black dial) is also available. The watch takes the curious shape of the Marvin M014 watch and adds an open face dial with a view of the Sellita SW 200 automatic mechanical movement's escapement. The top and bottom of the dial are decorated in a nifty checkered pattern, while the M114 has an interesting take on a large subsidiary seconds dial. It actually uses a centrally mounted seconds hand to beguile the wearer into thinking the watch has a unique half circle subsidiary seconds dial creating a really interesting perspective.

As rectangular watches go, the M114 is a good mix of style and legibility. You also see signature Marvin touches such as the red color applied to the 8 o'clock hour indicator and the black with red back (not seen in this image) leather strap. The various red tones on the watch do spice it up a bit. The watch case has a sapphire crystal and is water resistant to 50 meters. Size is quite wearable at 38mm wide and 50mm tall. All Marvin watches carry a two year warranty. Prices are 890 euros for the steel version, and 990 euros for the PVD pink gold version. Marvin watches aren't available in the US yet, so for now you'll need to find them in Europe or elsewhere.

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

Out of all the luxury watch brands I know, I feel like Harry Winston comes in first a giving their women's watches odd names. They certainly aren't the weirdest names, but they just feel the most awkward. No better example that the "Talk To Me, Harry Winston" line of watches. This version being the Talk To Me, Harry Winston Snowflake. I can't tell if it is a question, a phrase, a term of endearment, or just someone who doesn't speak English making up watch names.

This new Talk To Me, Harry Winston watch takes the same case style and adds a diamonds-as-snowflakes dial. The dial is available in either a black or silver tone with 111 set diamonds in a falling snowflake display. The dial is rotatable, and the entire disc is moved via turning the disc that is accessible on the side of the watch case. A little thing, but something to play with nonetheless. The white gold case is 33mm wide and 40mm tall. The case itself is lovely in shape having strips of polished surface space to serve as the hour indicators, while the rest of the case is covered with 164 more diamonds. Then another 24 diamonds on to rotating ring, and still another 29 diamonds on the white gold buckle attached tot he black satin strap. Total diamond weight for the watch is 4.1 carats. The movement is Swiss quartz. Price is yet unknown, but in the ultra luxury range, of course.

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

While the Jaeger-LeCoultre Hybris Mechanica Sonnerie may be the most complicated wrist watch in the world, this Patek Philippe Caliber 89 pocket watch made in 1989 remains the most complex timepiece in the world. With a staggering 33 complication, both side of the dial are filled with hands and subdials. The pocket watch is very thick and weights1.1kg! The case is done in 18k yellow gold. It was made to honor the 150th anniversary of the important Swiss brand. While I am not prepared to engage in list making, you can learn all the Caliber 89's functions here.

Coincidentally, for auction house Antiquorum's 35th anniversary, a Patek Philippe Caliber 89 pocket will be auctioned off. Even in these rough times, record amounts for Patek Philippe watches have been achieved at auction. So perhaps it is a good time to auction the Caliber 89 off. In 2004, this same watch was sold at auction for $5 million. The watch took 5 years to research and 4 years to make. It is estimated to yield between $4.4 - $5.4 million, but has an estimated value of $6 million. The auction will be held on November 14-15, and the Patek Philippe Caliber 89 will be lot 364, the final lot of the auction.

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.

What feels like a follow up to the Van Cleef & Arpels Viscount watch comes the Vicomte collection. This piece is not a wrist watch at all, but a neck-borne timepiece for women. Lovely as a piece of jewelry, the timepiece continues Van Cleef & Arpel's tradition as a maker of beautiful, if not extravagant jewelry timepieces. The piece is part of their Les Jardins collection and looks more like something from 200 years ago than a modern foray into the hearts of luxury lovers. I think the venture is a move toward the special place people have in their hearts for antiquity. If you look closely, you can tell that the dial design almost looks like a fountain of water flowing upwards. This is more or less the theme of the watch, with the "fountain" being made up of a series of large sapphire jewels as well as different cuts of diamonds.

The dial itself is inlaid mother of pearl, and I love the classic styling of the 18k white gold and diamond designs under the 36mm wide watch face. Van Cleef & Arpels calls the piece the Vicomte Watch Pendant Necklace, but I find the name to be rather dull to say out loud. Interestingly, the watch case itself can be detached from the necklace and worn separately. A nice timepiece for the classic lady (or the one in your life).

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

I've never quite seen before luxury watches that employ plaid or argyle pattern designs right on the face like these watches. Sure there are a few Burberry watch out there, but I would hardly call them luxury, and they don't look like this. BlumLux is a very new brand, and their first watch, the "Louie Quattro," has three models. These are the Wisdom (light plaid), Integrity (argyle), and Strength (dark plaid). Overall, the line is certainly a style that you will either immediately know works for you, or doesn't.

The watches are in steel at 40mm wide by 53mm wide and very curved. A substantial watches, but not too large. I like the rectangular case style that has the flared ends. Not distinct to BlumLux, but an interesting look nevertheless. Diamonds are used for the hours markers at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock, while the Wisdom and Strength models have another 46 diamonds on the bezels.

Inside the watches are decorated Swiss ETA 2892-2 elaborate automatic movements, that are visible through the sapphire caseback window. The watches come on several colors choices of calfskin leather or crocodile (brown or black). It is risky in these economic times to verge in to the luxury arena, but BlumLux certainly has their niche. Personally, I ignore some of the less than serious sounding model nomenclature and engraved case text and focus on the interesting individual style they bring to the table. Prices range from about $4,500 - $5,500 each.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com

After teasing me for months with a simple placeholder movie on their website, the CONFRÉRIE HORLOGÈRE website is finally ready for action. The Confrerie Horlogere is new watch making arm of BNB Concept, one of Switzerland's best complex watch movement makers. One of their first watches was sold as a one-off piece for the sum of 280,000 euros. The brand combines the talent of enthusiastic young watch makers with the engineering prowess of a movement making powerhouse. One of the best things about the watches is that many of them carry lifetime warranties.

The new website is just as interesting and daring as some of the timepieces. Like a skeletonized watch, the website is also skeletonized. In website design, a navigational map or tree is often made to explain how the site will work, and how pages are connected to one another. In a unique move, the Confrerie Horlogere made the finished site to look like this. You literally navigate around the tree as new areas pop up. I've personally never seen anything like it before, and I like the concept. It isn't perfect, but it is a novel way of checking out the website of an interesting brand. They could use the addition of a more traditional navigation bar in addition to the system they have, and of course they need to flesh the site out with more content. Overall I think you'll be impressed with the courage and dedication the brand has with not only their watches, but with their media presentation as well.

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

I thought this rare S3 Bichrono timepiece interesting as it employs two distinct chronograph movements in one watch. While I have seen watches with more than one movement, I have never seen one with two mechanical chronograph movements in it. I am not surprised at all though - especially with this combo coming from deLaCour. You can easily see what they have done to make it work. What looks to be two ETA 2894 automatic movements are placed side by side. The movement on the left seems to be "upside" done, so that the pushers can be placed on the left side of the case. This allows for minimal modifications to the movement, explaining why the chronograph subdials are placed in the upside down position. Of course deLaCour altered the starting places for the chronograph hands so that they act in a natural manner for the two 12 hour chronograph complications available to the wearer.

The size of the watch is about as big as you would imagine given the space needed for two movemenst - that being 55mm wide and 53mm tall. Not terrible at 14mm thick. The case is done in 18k pink gold against titanium. Notice the textures surfaces on the chronograph pushers. The dial is really straight forward with deLaCour's typical spark of color and relatively easy to read dials. The chronograph subdials are partially skeletonized, which is an interesting touch. The date complication is retained on only one of the movements of course, to avoid confusion. The front and rear of the watch have sapphire crystals and the strap is a sporty rubber. An interesting watch from the watch maker who enjoys defying conventions. Expense is on par with the materials and the fact that it is an "individually crafted" timepiece.

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

Vacheron Constantin recently opened up a new boutique in Hong Kong. To celebrate, they have also released three new limited edition Dragon watches. There will only be nine of each of the three watches made in this highly limited edition. The dragon motifs are each hand made, involving an incredible amount of delicate work. in addition to the hand applied decoration, there is also a fair amount of guilloche machine engraving that also requires a very skilled artist to apply.

Each of the three watches is done in a different shade of gold, along with a different image of the Chinese style dragon. Vacheron Constantin is well versed in artistic watch creations such as this. The Mask collections come to mind when thinking of their talents here. Inside the watches is a manufacture made Vacheron Constantin movement, and each is attached to a high quality black alligator strap. Vacheron Constantin is serious about China, not just Hong Kong, as the country is poised to breed a new generation of watch buyers given the current economic growth there in comparison to the rest of the world. Plus, Hong Kong remains one of the most important watch market capitals of the world - so the opening of the new "Flagship Boutique" by Vacheron Constantin there makes sense. I suspect it is the only place that these watches can be acquired.

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

New from Christian Bedat, formerly of watch maker Bedat & Co, comes RED8. The new watch concept that shakes things up a bit in the luxury watch world. The watch is a true sign of the times. Better priced that most luxury watches, it also revels in the fact that it is manufactured in Asia (designed "in the world"), and plays with these concepts in an interesting manner. This is while many other brands hide the fact that they have extensive manufacturing roots in Asia.

There are enough colors and styles of the watch to suit mother, father, and child - along with various "messages" around the bezel. The pictured four words being but one of a few options. Visit their site and suggest your own four word combo for the dial and you could win a free watch. Currently there are at least 11 styles of the RED8 watch to choose from.

At about 42mm wide (including the large red crown) the size is good enough for a man, and sized for the woman who likes a large watch. Funny how in black the timepiece appears very masculine, and then with pink tones the same design suddenly has a feminine quality to it. The strap is rubber and goes through the back of the case like a NATO strap. The case is in steel, and available in various PVD applied tones. Inside the watches uses an Epson I-Matic quartz movement with a rotor that charges a battery, so that it does not ever need a battery change. Many of you will know this same movement as a Seiko Kinetic.

Prices for the RED8 watch are $880 without shipping, you can see a full review with video of the RED8 watch here.

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

This is the new Legend Racer watch line from prestigious Swiss watch maker Golay Spierer, and it looks nothing like their previous watches. The Legend Racer logo is done in a Blade Runner like font, and the watches themselves are totally race car inspired. On one hand they look like expensive Tissot racer style watches, and on the other hands they are cool looking luxury sport timepieces. Perhaps a little bit late in the game for Golay Spierer, but still nice.

Race car inspired design cues abound. The caseback looks like a wheel, while the seconds subdial is meant to look like a brake disc moving through a caliper - pretty cool actually. There is carbon fiber all over the place (just like on most race cars), and the chronograph pushers look like drilled metal pedals. Then you have the clasp on the hand-made calf leather and carbon fiber strap that is meant to look like a perforated exhaust manifold. The case is 46mm wide and done in carbon fiber with either steel, titanium, or gold.

Golay Spierer uses a Soprod RM 7750 movement inside the watch with a titanium automatic rotor fitted with gold for the needed weight. The movement is essentially a modified Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement that has been fitted with a power reserve indicator. Here of course the movement has been decorated as well.

From modern race cars to those vintage ones of past, the Legend Racer watch is meant to pay homage to them all. The timepiece will be unveiled in Le Castelett, France next month.

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

I love it when someone get's to the point of wealth and taste in their life when "starting a watch brand" seems like a good idea. Who wouldn't like their own watch brand anyway? Shows good taste - at least I think so. Well that is more or less what Stefan Johansson did. So here is the Stefan Johansson Växjö Mark VII collection, which has about 15 watches to choose from. It is Stefan Johansson Växjö's largest line, and is a luxury racing inspired watch if I have ever seen one.

Stefan Johansson is a European race car Driver and this shows in the watches. For example, the hour indicators are all racing flags, and little touches on the speak of sport racing. Interestingly enough, unlike some other auto sports watches, the timepiece focus more on racing as a sport than just the cars. This is an interesting touch as most of race watches have design elements all over them meant to look like pieces of cars. Here it is a bit different.

The watches come in a wealth of fun colors and themes. With two movement options, the automatic ETA Valjoux 7750 and 7751. The 47mm wide steel cased watches have a variety of dials, some being perforated, and some have carbon fiber - all embody the track theme well. There are a few women's versions of the watch, but they are also 47mm wide, for the lady who likes things big (with diamonds too)

The hour indicator for the chronograph has a double ring so that you can feasibly measure 24, instead of just 12 hours. Maybe something connected with Le Mans, that Stefan Johansson was a participant in I understand. The watches can also be customized with your name on the caseback sapphire window, and further comes in watch winder boxes. A cheeky collection of timepieces that incorporate some popular elements in a nicely cohesive manner. Average price for the Stefan Johansson Växjö Mark VIII collection watches is about $10,000.

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

The watch and fashion worlds have always had an odd relationship. For the fashion world it is all about look and style, and fitting into some trend. While watch companies sometimes conform to the terminology or even product release cycle of the fashion or clothing brands, true watch makers have a different way of making products. Instead, it is about brand heritage, function, technical excellence, and creating things that collectors are looking for, as well as competition with other watch makers. Unlike watch companies that try to satisfy what watch lovers watches want, the fashion world is trying to tell consumers WHAT they should be looking for.

For at least the last five years, there has been a trend in watch sizes quickly going up in size to the limitation of what you can reasonably wear on your wrist. Many watches went further than that... such as with 55-60mm watches that look silly on most ANY wrists. Watches really did get to some silly sizes, and have settled with a good median size of about 44mm wide for a standard man's watch. Sizes range commonly now down to about 40mm wide and up to about 48mm wide - being the range for most men's watches. This is at least the case in the US and Europe. Asia and South America still see some smaller sizes (such as 36mm wide being typical for men's watches). The consumer love for what some now call "large" watches is not about to change.

A new [proposed] trend seems to be telling us that the watches should be small again. You hear whining about how 50 years ago a standard man's watch was about 35mm wide, sometimes smaller. That today's watches are "too big." Recently, there was a New York Times articles on the matter of small watches. The writer makes some good points, but bless him, he does not keep as serious an eye on the watch industry as I do. He points out that the shrinking back of the economy has led to a psychological shrinking back of many things, especially luxury items. While men's watches use to be smaller, it was part of the game back then when watch companies were trying to make smaller and thinner watch movements. It was a matter of who has the smallest and thinnest watches, that could still function properly. Eventually that game got silly, and by the 1960s watch sizes started going up again. Why? Cause little watches looks dainty and feminine on men. Just because you have a large watch does not mean you are pompous or showy, just that you enjoy a nice looking instrument - which is what a watch is, before it is anything else. Surf over to the NYT articles and you'll see there an image of Frank Sinatra from "back in the day" wearing what looks to be a woman's bracelet. It is not becoming of a modern man.

You might hear voices from various directions about how the trend in watch is going back down. It is true that the surging of sizes has stopped, but it has settled at a place now that is about 4-6mm larger on average that 10 years ago, at least for luxury watches. Of course it depends on the watch. Fashionistas need to fuel their trade by "developing" new trends, while hurting watch companies need to cut costs by reducing the costs involves in making the larger more expensive watches. When you cut your work force in half, it diminishes the level of complexity you find in watches. My belief is that fashion voices and watch companies are trying to push this trend because change creates new needs, that create sales, and because smaller more simple watches are just plain cheaper to make - which watch companies need these days to feel comfy moving forward. Feel no shame in liking a "big" watch, and don't think there is some magical move back down to 35mm timepieces. I'll never consent to it at least. By the way, the pictured watch is the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse that in some styles comes in as small as 31mm wide models.

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

Watch companies always align themselves with sports or culture events to get more street cred. You almost always see a watch brand name at events for tennis, golf, racing, polo, art, music, food, etc... I like it when a brand sponsors something interesting and out of the norm. I was amused to see modestly priced Austrian watch maker Jacques Lemans sponsor the age-old sport of tree abuse. I mean Stihl Timbersports! Jacques Lemans will be their official timer.

In a sick way, Timbersports are sort of fun to watch. All of the events surround some manner of cutting up wood the fastest. All the changes is how much wood, how your stand, and what tool you use. Nothing is more satisfying though than the ol' 'axe to the stump.' Participants are judged on how quickly they are able to cut through the wood. Is there no manlier sport? Best of all, the contestants aren't wearing plaid. They are fashionable weekend-only lumber jacks. During the week they mainly spend their time manicuring their facial hair.

Via Europa Star.

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