arctic

Swiss watch brands are almost universally against replica watches... unless that is, if they make the watch themselves! For 2010 Longines will offer a special edition re-release replica of a watch used by French scientists during a mission to the Arctic in Greenland. This was back in 1947, and they needed the right watch for the job. Two of the members of the Expéditions Polaires Françaises wore these special Longines watches that were made for the excursion. Unique features at the time included luminant on the watch dials, a centrally mounted seconds hand, as well a shock absorber system in the movement. The French team was led by scientist Paul-Emile Victor, whose name is part of the watch title.

The reissue model is very similar to the original. With some differences that help the new version feel more modern, including an ETA 2892-2 automatic movement, as well as an AR coated sapphire crystal. The hands and hour indexes are now coated with SuperLumiNova. At 38.5mm wide in a steel case, the watch isn't exactly large - or pretty for that matter. It does have a certain nostalgic appeal to it, and it is highly legible, but it isn't going to win and beauty pageants. Just a decent retro looking watch with some interesting heritage, that people will likely mistake for a vintage. If that fits the description of the next watch that you want, them look out for this piece from Longines soon.

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

Wish summer would never end? Then why not extend it by traveling to a place where the sun shines nearly all day during the summer months? Yellowknife, capital of Canada's Northwest Territories, is not only the land of the midnight sun but also a place with its own spirited culture. Plenty to explore from the Old Town to local artwork, shops and cafes to lots of scenic beauty, and nearly endless light-filled hours.

The Great Canadian Travel Company is offering a unique "Arctic Discovery" package to Yellowknife and other points in the great north. The seven day/six night adventure includes a fish fry and dinner cruise on Great Slave Lake, the ninth largest lake in the world. On one day you'll take a flight from Yellowknife to Rankin Inlet, on the northwestern coast of Hudson Bay in Canada's Nunavut Territory. Another day sends you off on a guided boat tour to Marble Island the place where the ill-fated James Knight expedition of 1721 met its end. The remains Knight's island home and ancient graves can still be seen. The journey winds up with a day in Winnipeg. "Arctic Discovery" is available June-September, with departures on Fridays and Sundays. Cost is $2650 per person based on double occupancy not including flights.

What do Norway, a Hamam, the Arctic, a hot tub, Zen, fish, and high-diving have in common? The Vulkana, that's what, a former fishing trawler turned haven for seaborne sybarites. The 75-foot vessel, dating from the fifties, is permanently based in the northern Norwegian city of Tromso but can be hired for polar excursions for up to 12 people.

In addition to the Hamam, hot tub, Zen lounge and 7-meter-high diving board, also on-board the Vulkana are a galley-restaurant, a sauna, three double-berth cabins and one six-berth cabin, women's and men's dressing rooms with separate showers and a make-up room for women, and a man said to be the best sushi chef in all of Scandinavia.

Taking full advantage of the ship is done with an Arctic cruise and deep-sea fishing, or a trip to the polar lands for off-piste skiing and mountain trekking. It's not a bad karmic twist for a former herring-getter, and the calm you'll feel during an evening of hot-tubbing under the Northern Lights while you snack on 5-star preparation of the day's catch might give your karma a little boost as well.

Recently the news was abuzz with pictures of Lewis Gordon Pugh swimming at the North Pole in temperatures of - 1.8°C. To celebrate this unique accomplishment, Villemont, which acted as timekeeper for the challenge, has produced a limited edition of watches to mark the occasion. The company will be donating a proportion of the proceeds from the sale of watches to support WWF's fight against global warming, and in particular, their mission to save these polar regions. The "Arctic Explorer Limited Edition Lewis Pugh is an automatic chronograph and was the model that accompanied Lewis Gordon Pugh throughout his voyage to the North Pole. Th watch is limited to only 50 pieces and has the Solar Navigator®navigation system that allows easy orientation based on the position of the sun and shade. All 50 watches traveled to the North Pole and function well after withstanding the extreme temperatures. The watch has British racing green straps and around the dial and cost $9,900.

[via Professional Watches]

With global warming proceeding briskly along, a collected polar-themed library might be even more of a precious relic. On May 24 Swann Galleries in New York will auction off 160 items from the Polar Library of Dr. John M. Levinson, a past President of the Explorers Club, who has assembled an collection of works on Arctic and Antarctic exploration. One of the star lots in the auction is one of only 65 extant copies of the first book published in Antarctica, Ernest Shackleton's Aurora Australis, 1908. This copy of the book is known as the "Veal" copy because boards from a packing crate containing veal were used to create its cover. This book is inscribed to expedition member George Buckley and signed by Shackleton and others and estimated to sell for $50,000 to $75,000. Other lots include other books by Shackleton, a complete set of first editions of all three of James Cook's Voyages, in nine volumes, copies of The South Polar Times, the first Antarctic newspaper, edited by Shackleton, Louis Charles Bernacchi and Apsley Cherry-Garrard, Charles Swaine's rare Account of a Voyage of Discovery of a North-West Passage from 1748, a set of first editions of each of William E. Parry's four Voyages, and artifacts such as a message buoy used on the 1901-02 Baldwin-Ziegler Expedition to the North Pole via Franz Josef Land and silver and china from various expeditions.