basel

Patek Philippe Calatrava Officier Ref. 5153 Watch

While there is a lot of appeal in this watch, is it OK that I am simply not taken with the design? For me, it looks too much like those sunray wall clocks from the 1950s and 1960s. This is of course just my personal opinion in regard to this Patek Philippe Calatrava Officier (Officer's) ref. 5153 watch that was just unveiled at Baselworld. The watch itself is meant to look retro ("traditional"), so the look is done on purpose and will inevitably appeal to at least some fans of the watch brand that 'can do no wrong.'

The 38mm case is in 18k yellow gold with a hinged caseback (in salute to pocket watches). Open the back and you get a view through the sapphire crystal into the Patek Philippe in-house Caliber 324SC automatic movement. The added date function does help modernize the look of the watch a bit, but just not enough for me. From a mechanical and refinement standpoint, this ref. 5153 has everything in the right place, but the design is just to antiquated to evoke that lusty feeling of desire that you should have when looking at a Patek Philippe timepiece. Price will likely be $30,000 - $50,000 when it is commercially available soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Patek Philippe Officier watch

Tags: 5153, basel, calatrava, officier, patek philippe, PatekPhilippe, timepiece, watch

Otium Trigulateur Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Take away some of the incredible glitz in new watch designs at Basel and you find some truly handsome and unique watches like this German Otium Triangulator - a company founded on the concept that each watch it makes will not display time in the traditional manner. Using a modified Swiss ETA manually-wound 6497-1 movement, Otium is able to place three subdials to tell the time (hours, minutes, and seconds) against a perlage polished dial. Design influence is classic race cars, but with an emphasis on luxury. I'd day that the best modern car to pair with watch with is the Dutch car maker Spyker, who has a similar use of colors, perlage, polishing and finely milled metal. While difficult to tell in this image, the three subdials are actually raised a bit like small portholes, really reminiscent of early race car technology and style. The actual layout of the dials is meant to resemble speedometers and accompanying gauges such as a tachometer.

With a 42mm wide stainless steel case and sapphire crystal (top and bottom), the Triangulator watch is available with white or black colored subdials and brown or black Louisiana crocodile straps. The crown has been oriented in a "lefty position" which might make it difficult to manually wind while still on your wrist, unless of course you wear your watch on your right hand. Overall the keen attention to detail and simple good looks of this Otium watch make it a winner in my book.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 2009, basel, baselworld, german, germany, otium, triangulator, watch

Greubel Forsey Quadruple Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Four tourbillons all work together with a differential to display the mean time between them all. That is the idea behind this Quadruple Tourbillon (also known as the "Experimental Watch No. 2") timepiece from watch novelty maker Greubel Forsey. Even though a watch only needs one escapement, this watch takes a few of them, and then basically rounds them all out (as they each deviate marginally from each other). Using this mean timing, Greubel Forsey indicates that this is of the most accurate tourbillon watches ever. That may be so, but this is a novelty watch if there ever was one. Consider it one of those parlor showpieces for the elite, and that is just fine. These creations are marvels to behold, and stunning examples of luxurious excess and quixotic engineering.

The four tourbillon movements are separated into two cages. Basically, each cage has a tourbillon within a tourbillon. A spherical differential takes all that power and transmits it to the movement in order to tell the time. There is a video located at Greubal Forsey's website showing what is hard to describe in words. The complex movement is manually wound and housed in a 43.5mm wide 18k rose gold case (which has side sapphire windows for more visuals into the movement. The watch dial is made of blackened gold, while the functions include the time with hours, minutes, seconds, and a power reserve indicator (nicely integrated into the subsidiary seconds dial. The larger tourbillon cage has a ring with numbers up to 240. This represents seconds, and counts 4 minutes; the time it takes the large tourbillon cage to make one revolution. Look for the official release at Baselworld soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: basel, baselworld, experimental, Greubel Forsey, GreubelForsey, quadruple tourbillon, QuadrupleTourbillon, timepiece, watch

Women's Bvlgari Bvlgari Moon Phase Watch For Baselworld 2009

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

The current economy has not been kind to Bvlgari, both in its watch and jewelry selling capacities. Not to be discouraged, Bvlgari has apparently returned to its roots with new designs that are attractive and conservative, though complex. A barrage of new models will be released at Baselworld in April, and the public reception of these watches will be an indicator of Bvlgari's short-term economic future.

New to the women's line is this updated "Bvlgari Bvlgari" (Bulgari Bulgari) Moon Phase watch. The classic name is taken from the double use of the brand name on the bezel. The dial is mother of pearl with diamond pavé decoration in a crescent moon shape. Opposite is the moon phase display also in mother of pearl. Other than the moon phase display, the complications are simple with just the time and a subsidiary seconds dial. Powering the watch is the automatic mechanical B77 movement, with applied Côte de Genève and perlage polish decorations.

The 38mm case is steel - as the company must remain a bit more modest these days - and is attached to a handsome white alligator strap with a folding deployment clasp. It is a fine luxury watch that is unmistakeably Bvlgari, exactly what the company needs right now. Availability starts in May at select Bvlgari boutiques.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 2009, basel, baselword, bulgari, bvlgari, moon phase, moonphase

Matthew Norman Revelation Mechanical Clock

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Matthew Norman's distinctive timepieces are stunning, especially his newest creation the Revelation Mechanical Clock made of Macassar ebony wood with inlaid pear wood accents. Inside its mechanical center the clock contains an eight day power reserve and beats at 18,000 bph. Understated and earthy yet refined and luxurious this clock gets my vote! Scan the gallery for other fantastic clock creations by Matthew Norman.

Gallery: More Matthew Norman Clocks