chrono

I need to have a social life like a Russian oligarch soon. I feel as though there is so much more about this watch (and ones like it) that I should be excited about, but just don't have enough "new money" socialite parties to attend and show the watch off at. Walking down the street I'm afraid the "lay people" just aren't going to get it. Of course I am being somewhat facetious, but not really. It is true that it takes a special sort of luxury loving audience to get giddy about stuff like this. Maybe that is part of the point. With a name like "King Power Chrono Flying Tourbillon," Hublot is obviously aiming at some manner of... royalty.

The watch is all black in tone and a biggie at 48mm wide. Most notable on the dial is the large flying tourbillon (has no top bridge) with its rubies and spinning glory. The watch is a mixture of mostly ceramic and black PVD coated titanium with some composite resin materials thrown in the mix. Movement is the manually wound HUB1400CT with 120 hours of power reserve. Not that the movement isn't cool, but it does not excite me as it might have once done - you just see this type of thing too much from Hublot these days. Still, the watch excites some people, as it just won the 5th Premier Middle East Watches, Jewelry, and Pens Award. Not sure why it was competing against jewelry and pens. Plus, the locale of the awards is probably a hint as to where most of the 28 pieces in this limited edition set are finding homes. Price is probably just a few tankers worth of unrefined oil.

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

Worn by Miss Switzerland, the Balmain Madrigal Chrono Lady Oval watch is a good looker with other attractive qualities. Price and convenience being among them. Many women can benefit from changing watch straps often. This not only dramatically enhances the look of the watch, but also helps keep the design fresh. However, changing a strap is not always easy, and can often require small tools, and patience. So Balmain gave the Madrigal line of watches a nice quick release system making it easy to change the watch straps at your whim. When getting the watch, it comes with three watch straps (white and black leather, as well as the steel bracelet).

The steel case is a gentle oval while the watch has a Swiss quartz chronograph movement. The bezel comes with 74 diamonds, and the dial is available in various colors as well as in mother-of-pearl. The curved numerals and decorated make for a diversely functional watch which also comes with a good price of about 690 - 1,500 Swiss Francs. Crystal is sapphire, and the case is water resistant to 50 meters. A good value from Balmain, and you can know that Miss Switzerland 2009 herself is also enjoying one of these watches herself.

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

A new diver styled watch will be released from watch maker Rodolphe. The timepiece is nice, but notice that I mention diver "style" watch. A true diver watch is water resistant to 300 meters, while you don't really want to submerge anything in water that is tested less than 100 meters water resistant. However the Paninaro Diver Chrono watch is only 50 meters water resistant. So enough to watch your hands a bit more, but I'd rather Rodolphe have called it the "Paninaro Wading Chrono." Pretty nonetheless.

The watch is in steel in black PVD and 44mm wide. For all intents and purposes it should be more than 50 meters water resistant. weakness might be in the crowns or chronograph pushers. The watch uses an automatic Swiss movement with a chronograph mechanism and big date. The dial is handsome with applied features making for a nice and clear, yet three dimensional look. It also has an inner rotating diver's bezel. From a pure style perspective the watch does a good job at adding the Rodolphe trendy forward thinking and brand characteristic design to the diving watch genre, but the watch does seem to lack in the durability department.

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

A good idea from luxury watch maker Leon Hatot is this heart-shaped dial watch for the ladies. The face has been designed to allow for a heat-shaped sapphire crystal to sit over the identically shaped face. The look is still subtle enough to not look too cheesy - and the rest of the face has been dedicated to branding space. Leon Hatot is another high-end brand under the Swatch Group umbrella. This model, the Chrono Heartbreaker has nothing broken about it. In the direct center of the watch is the petite face showing the time. The three subsidiary dials for the chronograph are placed in an overlapping fashion that help form the heart shape. The dial includes a pretty array of colors and fine machine engraving. Blued hands complete that "you know this is from a traditionally themed luxury watch brand look."

The case is large for a woman's watch at 41mm wide with a fine amount of polishing and is likely done in steel. Inside the watch is an automatic ETA movement (of course as ETA is also Swatch Group owned) and the timepiece is available with dial and strap color options including silver face with a white strap, black, and chocolate. The matching straps are alligator with an inner rubber lining that should prove interesting to wear - will likely make for a very secure fit, but still look chic.

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

Cvstos is one of those low flying luxury watch brands that quietly releases interesting timepieces. While not wholly original in execution, the Challenge-R High Fidelity Chrono watch is based on some well received trends set by brands such as Audemars Piguet, Zenith, and Richard Mille. Cvstos picks and chooses from key models in these and other brands and imbues its own character into the Challenge-R watch. The technical aspects of the watch resemble novelties we have recently seen in Tag Heuer watches. The case itself is a large 50mm wide and done in grade 5 titanium with some rubber accents. The dial also uses titanium but uses tungsten as well for the dark gray skeletonized areas.

While the layout of the chronograph looks familiar, it uses dial discs that themselves spin to indicate the recorded time rather than hands. A date and power reserve indicator balance out the dial with the time telling hands themselves being strong looking. The colors on the dial are all customizable by the owners, as is much of the watch. With the technical features being interesting to observe, this is a graceful yet bold watch if there was every such a thing. The idea being that although it makes a bold statement, it will age more gracefully than many of the "interesting today, garish tomorrow" watches that are often released. The movement is the Cvstos Calibre 577 automatic mechanical movement. Most things about the watch are quite nice, but it is obvious the name was not chosen for US audiences as it sounds like a racing video game title - not a luxury sport watch.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

2009 has been mostly about "tradition" in new watch releases - at least from most of the major brands. Thus, in a definite departure from the "modernization" of the Mille Miglia watch over the past few years, Chopard has released this more classic looking model of their best selling men's line of watch. This is the Chopard Mille Miglia Chrono Limited Edition 2009 watch, and will come in a 42mm wide steel case with an automatic COSC certified Chronometer chronograph movement. The limited edition will have 2009 pieces available, and I am sure you can figure out where that number came from.

For me, aside from the handsome race inspired face, it is the tire tread inspired rubber strap that has always appealed to be in the Mille Miglia watch series. Modeled after Dunlop tires from the 1960s, the strap says "racing" almost too well. Despite the iconic look, the Mille Miglia is still an understated sports watch. It has everything in the right place, but is not a "loud" design. It is for the enthusiast who wants a heritage rich sport watch that has a subtle, lasting quality to it. Updated numerals on the dial are lume filled and easy to read in their no nonsense retro appeal. The dial of the watch is made from ruthenium, for the glossy gray look (which also has a hard to see sunburst finishing). Look for the watch soon at prices that I predict will be between $4,000 - $7000 .

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

This aggressive overhaul of the Chopard women's Happy Sport Chrono watch line is a powerful departure from the line's 'cutesy' demeanor. If it wasn't for the floating diamonds and Happy Sport name, I might have mistaken this for a men's watch. The rounded links in the bracelet have been made more angular, while the deeply grooved rotating bezel is a reminder of how hard this woman's watch can punch. It is a pretty bad-ass watch for something with the word "Happy" in the title. Although price will be over $5,000, this Chopard Happy Sport Chronograph watch will feature a Swiss quartz movement and be in stainless steel (a bit pricey if you ask me). The diamonds literally move around freely - though they are placed in a metal setting - in a middle plane between two sapphire crystals. The dial with the chronograph subdials is below.

Something about the fact that Chopard chose to place this type of watch against a pink background amuses me. It certainly does suffer from some degree of gender confusion. I don't know if the pink color choice is Chopard trying to convince themselves, or trying to convince us - that this is a girly watch. It's OK, either way I accept you Chopard Happy Sport Chrono watch, whatever you are.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.