The Seiko watch company has a compelling story behind their latest watch the Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk launched at Baselworld. The watch has been engineered to withstand the extreme environment of outer space and will be worn on the wrist of Richard Garriott, the sixth private-citizen space explorer, when he takes his trip this fall. Garriott, a video game designer and the son of a NASA astronaut, will pay $45 million for his trip and plant to viisit the International Space Station and become the first private citizen to do a space walk outside of it. He will be wearing the Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk outside of his spacesuit and so the watch has to be able to survive zero gravity and an environment where temperatures can get as low as negative 22 degrees Celsius. Battery-powered watches aren't viable for space and the spring drive was chosen over a mechanical watch for safety and accuracy. The watch was designed to be light and recesses on the sides of the case save weight. It also has a dial with a Lumibrite treatment for readability. The case is air tight and made of high-intensity titanium. The watch is a limited edition of 100, three will go with Garriott on his October adventure and the other 97 will be available in December and will retail for $25,000.
Every year the watchmakers and jewelers converge on Basel, Switzerland in the spring for Baselworld and the SIHH show. It is the place where exhibitors display some of the most dazzling luxury goods in the world. But this year, fears over the U.S. economy may be dampening the usual excitement.
The show, like fashion shows, is one that looks ahead, trying to sell buyers on the goods they will want in their stores in September and October for the holiday season. Many are already predicting that the Christmas business of 2008 will be bad news for both the U.S. and Europe. The annual event has over 2,000 exhibitors and attracts around 100,000 buyers. According to Jacques Duchene, president of the BaselWorld Exhibitors Committee quoted in National Jeweler, last year was a boom year for Swiss watches: Swiss watch exports reached about $15.75 billion last year which was a 16 percent increase over the previous year, and a rise of more than 50 percent over the previous four years.
In this Reuters article, Rolf Schnyder, the chief executive of Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin is quoted as saying that the slowdown in the U.S. market will generally affect the mid-range products. This reflects the general trend we have seen where luxury consumers at the top of the market are spending but those that are at the lower end of the affluence spectrum are cutting back.
For those who make watches and jewelry, bright spots can be found by looking east. Increased demand in Asia, Russia and the Middle East will likely provide most manufacturers with market growth even if other economies continue on their gloomy course. One thing that I will be curious to see is if the change in consumers will change the products. The big spenders in these markets often have particularly lavish tastes and a taste for diamond and jewel-covered watches as opposed to more subtle watches with elaborate complications. I wonder if in the next few years, the major manufacturers will be shifting their output to attract these customers.
Maurice Lacroix has unveiled the romantic designs in their Starside series in advance of the Baselworld watch show.
The Maurice Lacroix Starside Eternal Moon has a 38mm stainless steel case and sapphire crystals. The watch shows hours, minutes and seconds indication with hands, date indication with central hand, weekday and month indication in windows at 5 and 7 o'clock, moon phase indication with disc at 12 o'clock. The softly beautiful dial is lacquered in pink and black or beige and black, set with 32 diamonds with a metallized sapphire crystal for moon phase indication.
The Maurice Lacroix Starside Magic Seconds has a 38mm stainless steel case with a bezel and crown set with with 65 Top Wesselton diamonds. The movement is the automatic caliber ML161 with 31 jewels and the dial is white mother-of-pearl and silver color or lacquered in dark blue and silver color, set with 30 diamonds.
The Maurice Lacroix Starside Sparkling Date with In-House Complications is a limited edition of 250 pieces. The movement is the automatic caliber ML127 with 30 jewels with special complications module designed in-house by ML. It has an indication of hours and minutes, retrograde date indication with diamond in a shaped window at 6 o'clock, moon phase indication with eccentric disc revealed by a cabochon of moonstone at 3 o'clock. The 38mm case is 8K white gold and the bezel and lugs are set with 82 Top Wesselton diamonds. The crown set with 9 diamonds and the dial is lacquered in purple and black.
Today we are taking a look at some of the gorgeous new watches from Vacheron Constantin. Whether you like complex watches with intricate mechanisms, the retro fantastic or watches that are simply artistic, they have created something for every type of watch lover.
The Masque watches are part of a collection that will span three years with twelve masks, 25 pieces of each. Each timepiece is uses the automatic Calibre 2460G4 movement. The time is read without any hands: by means of four discs that indicate the hours, minutes, days and date in windows, leaving the center of the dial free for the masks. The use of specially-treated glass creates the impression that the masks are floating. Each sapphire crystal has a different tint to show off the color of the mask. The 40mm case is fashioned in white gold for the Alaskan mask, pink gold for the Indonesian mask, yellow gold for the Chinese mask, and platinum for the Congolese mask. There are 25 boxes, each with the four watches representing four different continents (The Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania), for a total of 100 individual pieces.
Does it take some of the fun out of owning a tourbillon watch if no one can see the tourbillon? The Greubel ForseyDouble Tourbillon 30 Degree Secret may say tourbillon on the front but it is nowhere in sight. Instead the double tourbillon is on the back, an innter tourbillon angled at 30° and an outer one that rotates every four minutes . The large subdial at the 6 o'clock position shows the four-minute rotation of the outer cage of the Double Tourbillon 30°. The dial also displays the power reserve. The watch uses the mechanical hand-wound movement, GF Calibre 02j. There are front and back sapphire crystals. The watch is done in white gold and just 11 are being made.
After the jump, a look at a very different Greubel Forsey watch where the tourbillon is on full display.
It was inevitable, after all, Hublot has been steadily adding diamonds and gemstones to their Big Bang models for a while now. But the Million Dollar Bang outpaces them all. The watch includes a tourbillon and uses a "mystery" setting so that you don't see the settings, only the stones (493 of them to be precise). A traditional setting is used around the flying tourbillon. The Bunter SA workshop partnered with Hublot on the one-of-a-kind watch which took 2,000 hours to create. The case is 18K white gold and the watch uses a mechanical workshop-crafted movement. Don't get out your wallet for this piece it has already been sold. If you've got a Hublot craving they are introducing a few other new watches, the other are after the jump.
Watch bloggers have been all abuzz about the Bell & Ross BR01 Instrument Tourbillon. Bell & Ross, a company which is famed for big square watches that take their inspiration from a plane's clock has joined the rest of the watchmaking world in creating a watch with multiple complications including a tourbillon. The new watch includes a tourbillon, precision indicator, regulator and a power reserve indicator. It has carbon fiber bridges and a black carbon finish. The Trust Index (which had earlierbloggers thinking it might be a thrust indicator) shows the accuracy of the movement in accordance with the tension on the barrels. The watch as white photo-luminescent coating on the hands, numbers and index in contrast with the black dial. The regulator features an hour counter and a large minute hand. A removable caseback reveals the movement through a sapphire crystal. The watch is sold with two straps in rubber and black alligator. Not everyone is a fan of this watch, Chad the Watch Guy likens a tourbillon in a Bell & Ross to putting an Hermes saddle on a donkey.
This is one pricey action figure! Platinum plated and diamond studded, this shiny little robot worth $250,000 can do some serious damage...to your wallet. Not sure if it's for sale, although it is planning to make an appearance at Baselworld in Switzerland this month so if you're interested you might want to head in that direction.
I'm going to be really honest and say that I'm half impressed by such a classy looking "toy," and I'm thinking it's sure to bring some positive upscale press to the Gundam brand, but I'm also half laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Come on, diamonds for eyes? Hilarious.
The watch Maurice Lacroix is taking to Baselworld is a new version of the Masterpiece Le Chronographe in stainless steel using the ML 106-2 manufacture movement, which was developed by Maurice Lacroix' technical department last year. The watch uses a reinterpretation of the chronograph sequence, which Lacroix has sought a patent for, to help prevent incorrect time or date if the watch receives a shock. The watch also features a stop second so that when the crown is pulled out, the balance halts and the seconds hand stops so the watch can be set accurately to the second. The watch has a 45mm case with front and back sapphire crystals. The dial is sterling silver with an anthracite finish and Superluminova coating. Compare this watch to the original Le Chronographe as seen on the Lacroix website, this is essentially a more masculine version and rugged looking version, swapping out the rose gold case and the white dial for something a little more in line with recent trends toward tough guy watches.
Time Zone reports that Hermes is bringing this simple and elegant watch to Baselworld 2007. It is a new version of their Cape Cod model with a full calendar and moonphase. It uses the automatic Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier caliber H1929 movement with 32 jewels and twin barrels to give it a power reserve of 55 hours. The moonphases will be precise over 122 years and 46 days. The case, in 18K white or rose gold measures 37mm X 36.5mm and has front and back sapphire crystals. It is a limited edition of 170 pieces.
Swiss company Oris has released pictures of two new watches from their Artelier collection that they will be displaying at Baselworld next month. The Oris Artelier collection watches have a sleek Art Deco look with elegant triangular indices. The Artelier Point Day watch has a 45mm stainless steel case with a sapphire crystal and a mineral display back. It uses an automatic Swiss ETA movement modified by Oris. The day hand rotates anticlockwise over the hour indices and the minute circle.
The Artelier collection will also include a 40mm stainless steel skeletonized model with bluish screws and Louis XIV decorative engraving. It has a silver patterned dial ring with nickel-plated indices and double sapphire crystals. The picture is after the jump.
Ventura, a Swiss company known for its digital watches has two new models they are bringing to Baselworld next month. The first is the v-tec Kappa designed by Swiss architect and designer Hannes Wettstein. It has a titanium case that is put under a vacuum and submitted to high pressures and heat then cooled by liquid nitrogen and then given a liquid glass coating to protect it from scratches. The watches uses Ventura's VEN_04 movement which has a single scrolling cylinder that allows access to all functions. And the watches have an display that uses numbers with 229 segments rather than the basic seven segments for a smoother look. The Kappa will sell for around $2,000.
The v-tec Zeta was designed by Paolo Fancelli, who also designed the v-tec Sigma. The Zeta is meant to be a smaller version of the Sigma to be worn by women or men who want less of a wrist dominator. Some Zeta versions will feature composite-cases, combining Durinox steel and Bakelite-like resin. It uses the same VEN_04 movement caliber with the single scrolling cylinder and sells for around $1,600. Pics of the Zeta and the black version of the Kappa after the jump.
Time Zone has pictures of the new Hamilton Sea Queen which will debut at Baselworld in April. The newest watch from the venerable U.S. company is available in a 32mm or 37mm case. It uses a Swiss ETA quartz movement and has a sapphire crystal. Important style details include the canteen-style crown which features a mermaid charm, the spray of diamonds that arch over the bezel, and the galuchat strap.
Blancpain has given watch lovers a preview of some of the watches they will be showing off at Baselworld in April. The watch above is the Blancpain Ultra-Slim Lotus for women. The latest addition to Blancpain's Lotus line features 220 diamonds on a black dial with a sunray guilloche design. There are also two rows of diamonds on the double-stepped bezel. The 34mm white gold case is on a black satin strap. The watch uses the Blancpain Calibre 1150 movement. This mechanical self-winding movement drives the central hour, minute and seconds hands, as well as the date appearing through a window at 6 o'clock. The watch's 188 parts can be seen moving through the sapphire crystal case-back.
The Anniversary 160 watch by Ulysse Nardin debuted at Baselworld this spring. This big-date chronometer uses the automatic UN Caliber 160 movement with 52 jewels which beats at 28,800 bph. The watch has hour and minute functions, small seconds and a two digit big date. The watch is made in a limited edition of 500 pieces in rose gold and 500 pieces in white gold.
