collection

Bertolucci Volta II Watches

Coming in loads of colors and styles. The Volta II collection is a bright new range of women's pieces from watch brand Bertolucci. More playful and decorative than the original Volta range, the Volta II has an off-centered dial for the time, and other a pair of hears or clover designed as the seconds hand. The hearts or clover on the dial spin around whimsically as the time passes. Inside the watches are Swiss quartz movements.

The cases are large at 42mm wide (for women) and comes in either steel or 18k rose gold. The watches themselves come in a large variety of colors. All have diamond studded bezels and more diamonds as well as other precious stones on the dials. The watch is matched to a colored alligator strap. Pretty fun pieces that still say "luxury watch" when worn.

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

Tags: bertolucci, collection, volta, watch, watches

Longines Master Collection Retrograde Moon Phases Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Watch dials that make use of a number of retrograde hands that display a lot of information are hard to pull off. They simply end up making dials look cluttered and really hard to read. So when a brand designs a watch with a dial that has a few retrograde hands, and it looks good - then there is reason to take notice. I first noticed the good looks of the Longines Master Collection Retrograde Moon Phases at Baselworld 2011 where it was being debuted. It immediately "spoke" to me, and I think others will like it as well.

Longines will offer the watch in a 41mm wide or 44mm wide steel case with a black or silvered dial. The dial is engraved with a decorative pattern. Inside the watch is a Swiss automatic movement that has four retrograde hands. These are for GMT time, the date, day, and seconds. The watch also has the time, moon phase indicator, and a day/night indicator. Really a lot going on, but it isn't intimidating to look at. The watch is available on a black or brown alligator strap with a price of 3,500 Swiss Francs.

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

Tags: collection, longines, master, retrograde, watch, watches

Frederic Jouvenot Solar Deity Collection Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

One of my favorite independent watch maker pieces of the year is the Helios by Frederic Jouvenot - which I fully profile with video here. I recently learned that the Helios will be part of a set of watches Frederic Jouvenot called the "Solar Deity Collection." The pieces are based around a "sun center" with the middle of the watch having a minute indicator and the sun rays being the hour indicators. In addition to the DLC black coated titanium model (the Helios), there is a polished steel (or titanium) model (known as the Amaterasu) as well as a women's model (in steel or white gold) with diamonds and a flower motif on the dial (known as the Suryia). The collection is really spectacular with each of the pieces having a distinct personality and appeal.

The names of the Suryia and the Amaterasu are of Japanese origin. Frederic Jouvenot gave the watches Japanese names in honor of the Japanese people and their bravery during the tough times they have endured now and may have to ahead.

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

Tags: collection, deity, Frederic Jouvenot, helios, solar, watch, watches

Holiday Shopping Guide: Collectible Cognacs

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Forget about wine (just for a second): this season's gift to have and to hold onto is cognac. With its stately maturity and supple, refined flavors, a well-chosen bottle of cognac doesn't just reward your giftee for 2010, its an investment in their imbibing future. If your bottle remains unopened next year it's not because they didn't approve, it's because they deem it an heirloom.

Pierre Ferrand Collection Privée 1914

World War I was in its first year when this Grande Champagne cognac began its long journey. Scoring a perfect 100 in France's Gilbert & Gaillard 2010 wine guide, the 1914 vintage ($1,500) is exceptionally developed with yeasty, dark fruit flavors and plenty of woody sweetness. For the rare book collector on your list.

Tags: cognac, collectibles, collection, france, holiday gift guide

Continue reading “Holiday Shopping Guide: Collectible Cognacs”

Million-Dollar Supercar Collection for Sale Linked to Sultan of Brunei

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

An unprecedented collection of exotic sportscars has gone on sale in the South Pacific which reports link to the world's top collector, the Sultan of Brunei.

The collection, which is being brokered out of New Zealand and thought to be currently located in Singapore, contains a dazzling array of European exotics. Among those being offered are 3 Lamborghinis, 2 lightweight Porsche 911 Turbos, a Jaguar XJ220, one of only eight Cizeta V16s ever produced, the ItalDesign BMW Nazca and no fewer than 25 Ferraris. Included in the latter are an Enzo, an F50, an F40, and a custom 512 TR Spider.

The cars are all worth in the six and seven figures, and many of them have never been driven beyond the original factory mileage. They may belong to the sultan himself, or possibly his brother Prince Jefri who has been the subject of controversy of late. Follow the link to the collection's dedicated sales site and peruse the image gallery below for a closer look.

Gallery: 25 Ferraris, 3 Lamborghinis, 2 Porsches and more

Source

Tags: brunei, cizeta, cizeta v16, collection, exotics, ferrari, italdesign, italdesign nazca, jaguar xj220, lamborghini, nazca, new zealand, prince jefri, singapore, sultan of brunei, supercars

Breil Milano Automatics Collection Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

It isn't often that Breil watches comes in mechanical form - but they do offer a few of these pieces in their "Automatics Collection." Newer there is this automatic version of the popular Breil Milano watch. It comes complete with its almost kinky looking strap (which is done in crocodile leather) with cross stitching on it, and a 45mm wide steel case in steel with some IP applied rose gold tone treatments on the bezel, as well as for the hour markers and the hands.

The designer treatment of the watch is interesting and will appeal to certain fashionista types. My personal preference for a more manly watch is the Breil Manta collection. At 45mm wide, the Breil Milano automatic is something that will appeal to men and some women who can bear the size. The brown and gold tones go smoothly together. I like how the pushers and crown are in brown as well.

Despite the chronograph subdials, the watch is pretty easy to read - though the watch hands should be longer. Oddly enough the text of the date and day of the week indicators seems to be in a different font. I do like the curved flange ring around the dial with the large applied hour markers that supplements in the inner dial. The watch has a sapphire crystal and is water resistant to 100 meters. Inside the watch is a Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750 automatic movement. Price is tad high for what you are getting, but is $2,625.

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

Tags: automatic, automatics, breil, collection, milano, watch

Grand Seiko 50th Anniversary Collection Watch In Platinum

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

This is probably the first time that an over $25,000 platinum Seiko watch was been offered in the US - so it will take us some getting used to. I recently discussed Grand Seiko's entrance into the world market here. If you aren't familiar with their high-end timepieces, then this sounds like a diamond encrusted Toyota. Ironically enough, this watch is part of a new collection from Seiko that celebrates the 50th Anniversary of their high-end Grand Seiko watch collection. So Seiko has had 50 years to refine this collection. The style is all about tradition, and the movements are superbly made. The dials each have the gold Grand Seiko lion logo on the dial and on the 18k gold automatic rotor (save for the quartz model).

For the 50th Anniversary model collections, the watches each have a similar style but come with three different movements and different sizes. At the top of the heap is this limited edition Grand Seiko Spring Drive in solid platinum (Ref. SBGA065). It has 40.2mm wide case with crocodile strap (with platinum buckle). Inside the watch is a Caliber 9R15 Spring Drive movement. Price is a whopping 2,100,000 yen (just over $25,000) and it is limited to just 30 pieces. The Spring Drive 50th Anniversary watch also comes in a 41mm version in steel with metal bracelet that is about $7,000 limited to 300 pieces (the pieces in the collection are generally limited to either 300 or 500 pieces).

In addition to the Spring Drive models, the Grand Seiko 50th Anniversary collection is offered in a pure automatic mechanical version as well as a quartz movement version. These are in steel and range from 37-40mm wide. Prices start at about $3,800. You can read more about these classy high-end Japanese watches here via Seiko press release here.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Grand Seiko 50th Anniversary Collection Watches

Tags: 50th, anniversary, collection, grand, platinum, seiko, watch

Corum Vintage Collection Watches: Golden Tube & Chinese Hat

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

As part of a series of three vintage re-releases, these are the Corum Golden Tube and Chinese Hat women's jewelry watches. I will discuss the third watch in the new Vintage collection soon. Around the mid 20th century you could get away with a woman's watch shaped like a can of beans in gold covered in diamonds. You could also get away with a watch nicknamed the Chinese Hat (because it sort of resembled that). Corum is likely going to using the French word for that which is "Chapeau Chinois."

Both of these watches are going to be limited editions, coming in either 18k rose or white gold, and with mother-of-pearl or diamond studded faces. Even the MOP faces have diamond hour markers. Each of the versions is limited to just 30 pieces per style. The Golden tube is 30mm wide while the Chinese Hat is 34mm wide. Both are certainly elegant (in their own retro way), and have Swiss quartz movements, lots of high-quality diamonds, and thin alligator straps.

Between these two I like the Golden Tube more. Probably because there are so many things to compare it to. Tin can is one thing. It could also be a beer can, and my favorite, the large side-mounted fuel tanks on a big rig. Keep on truckin' "diamond style" Corum...

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

Tags: chinese hat, collection, corum, gold, vintage, watch, watches

Items From Architect Philip Johnson's Archive To Be Sold

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Celebrity Design, Architecture & Design

Items from Architect Philip Johnson's Archive To Be Sold

Legendary architect Philip Johnson has never swayed far from the public's eye, even though he's been deceased since January 2005. He's back, this time with the news that a group of items from his archive, including his hand-drawn sketches for towers that helped define postmodern architecture, are to be sold. They had been held by one of Johnson's former partners, Raj Ahuja, who had them in storage for years. The cache contains more than 25,000 design sketches, working drawings, renderings, and photographs from the second half of Johnson's architectural career, covering more than 120 projects from 1968-1992. See this New York Times slideshow for a bit more info.

Source

Tags: architecture, auction, collection, Philip Johnson, sale

Raymond Weil Maestro Mechanical Collection Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

While not exactly unique, these are classic in style. Given the watch industry's big backward turn this year - as dozens of "throw-back" and traditional style pieces are released - Raymond Weil is trying to get their fill with some good ol' Breguet style dials. That means guilloche machined engraved metal and blued steel pomme hands. In addition to being attractive, this dial design benefits from being quite legible as well. The soft curved steel cases are 39.5mm wide, and quite thin at just 9mm thick. Dials have either Roman or Arabic numeral dials, and attractive engraved patters on the dial interiors. While dozens of brands have watches like this, few of them have the large distribution network that Raymond Weil has.

In addition to the central seconds models, there is also a subsidiary seconds version. As the name suggests, the watches contain Swiss Sellita SW200 automatic movements. The Maestro collection features a style that won't quit, and is relatively timeless. If the price is right, I imagine they will do well in sales. Look for them soon.

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

Tags: collection, Maestro, Raymond Weil, watch

Swann Galleries Vintage Posters Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Swann Galleries has announced that its average annual summer auction of Vintage Posters will be held on August 4 in New York City. The auction offers fine selections of summer resort and beach posters, World War I and II and other propaganda posters and Mather Work Incentive posters. There are also posters advertising tourism to Bermuda, ocean liner and airline posters, Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company posters and some lovely Art Deco works.

Most of the works are estimated to sell for several hundred to a few thousand dollars making them an affordable way to invest in artwork. The posters are also an interesting anthropological study giving clues into the concerns and delights of past generations. The Mather Work posters Incentive were created in Chicago in the late 1920s to boost employee productivity and safety. Some of the summer resort images featuring idyllic seaside scenes would be great artwork for a beach house or a summer home. The posters will be on public exhibition at Swann Galleries starting July 30 and an illustrated auction catalogue is available for $35. Shown at right is N.C. Wyeth's work for the Pennsylvania Rail Road, circa 1929. It is estimated to sell for $1,500-2,000.

Tags: art, collectibles, collecting, collection, posters, swann galleries, vintage posters, vintage travel posters

Comprehensive Baseball Collection Seeks New Owner

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

Baseball is still America's pastime and baseball memorabilia remains popular but one collector has amassed what has to be one of the most incredible collections gathered by a single person. The Jason Savas Baseball & Football Memorabilia Collection is practically a museum on its own. The collection took over 45 years to put together and includes thousands of objects dating from the 1860s to the present. The most expensive items have been auctioned already. These included tobacco tins and cigar boxes that fetched $10,000 to $20,000 each. There is still much more to choose, lighters, cigarette packs, replica gloves, swizzle sticks, baseballs, key chains, bobbleheads and photographs that depict generations of players and tell the history of the sport.

A special section of over 500 items tells the story of the effect of Babe Ruth on the nation. It's one thing to know that Ruth had a great impact on the game but quite another to stare at shelves stuffed with full-cheeked depictions of the legendary Yankee. Too big for shelves, there are 37 coin-operated sports-themed penny arcade games and gum ball dispensers that harken back to a more innocent time. A muto-scope offers a staccato look at the long-ago players in motion.

"Unlike my baseball card collection which was neatly organized and tucked away in shoe boxes in the closet, I was able to display my stadium concessions on shelves," says Savas. "What started as a hobby evolved into a passion over the next 45 years. Over the subsequent years, the sports memorabilia hobby has seen an immense increase in interest in displayable collectible items. Collectors all across the country have found that these display type items can be enjoyed on a full-time basis as they decorate their basements, offices, and dens."

The total value of the collection is $600,000. The owner is paying a 10% commission to whoever finds a buyer. To arrange a viewing in New York City email theamazingcollection@yahoo.com. Check out images from the collection here or view more YouTube videos here.

Tags: baseball, baseball memorabilia, collectible, collectibles, collecting, collection, Collections, football memorabilia, memorabilia, sports collectibles

Perrelet Titanium Collection 3-Hand Watch For 2010

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

There are going to be a lot of new Perrelet timepieces this year at Basel. Based on the incredible success of the ultra cool Perrelet Turbine watches, Perrelet is expanding its more basic Titanium collection of watches with some visual cues to remind of the powerful Turbine models. Here is the new Titanium Collection 3-Hand automatic. It has a Swiss automatic movement in it (other versions with additional complications will have Perrelet made modules, or even in-house movements soon). Check out some images here of the Turbine watch to see what I mean by them having visual similarities.

Perrelet goes a great job at designing cases that are masculine and modern, but still hearken back to classic design elements. While this is a serious men's watch, look at the lugs and the shape of the hands to see some traditional design elements. Elements on the dial are meant to be reminiscent of the rotating turbine vanes on the Turbine watch, and the date disc is partially skeletonized. Even though there are some designer looks on the face of the watch, it is still very functional. The case is in titanium and 43.5mm wide - attached to a rubber Perrelet strap with a folding titanium deployment clasp. Not sure about price yet, but look for this and other new Perrelet watches soon.

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

Tags: 2010, 3 hand, 3Hand, automatic, collection, Perrelet, Titanium, watch

Omega Wants Constellation Watch To Be Flagship Lady's Model

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

In the recent past I discussed the new Constellation models from Omega for women (here once again) . It has now become clear that Omega sees the Constellation line of their primary lady's model given the sheer variety and models available. Not to mention that its current female brand ambassadors (such as Cindy Crawford who has been working with Omega since 1995) are often seen wearing constellation watch models. The watches come in no less than five sizes! 38, 35, 31, 27, and 24mm wide. Colors are endless with versions in steel to gold, and in purple or champagne to black or white. It is very clear that a brand intends for a model to be a global flagship piece then they are offered in steel with quartz movements, to versions in gold with diamonds and a mechanical movement.

Movements in the higher end models are clearly Omega Co-Axial automatic calibers such as the 8500/8501, 8520/8521, down to the caliber 2500. Quartz models have Swiss caliber 1376 or 1523 movements. In each size, the Constellation retains the iconic look of the angular case with side mounted "claws." Really I think that "claws" are a terrible way to discuss the aesthetic features on the side of the case, but that is Omega's terminology.

One of the elements that is so connected to the classic Constellation watches is the seamless look of the bracelets. Using large links with no gaps, the watches have a very distinct look with the large and simple, though tapering and complex in construction bracelet. New for today and never part of the original line are colorful rubber straps that emulate the looks. Trying telling Omega that they would be pairing diamond covered gold watches with a rubber strap back in 1982 and they would likely laugh you out of the room. How times change.

I do agree that the new lady's Constellation watch models do make for an excellent lady's watch - really Omega has nothing else in the elegance department. Their ladies Planet Ocean watches for example, are simply shrunken down men's versions and too sporty looking for many women. With a high level of utility, beauty, and available luxury, the new Omega Constellation watches for women is an ample and flattering choice. Prices will likely start at a few thousand to upwards of $10,000 - $15,000 (or more) for top-end models.

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

Gallery: Omega Constellation Lady Quartz 27mm watch

Tags: 2010, collection, Constellation, ladys, Omega, watch, women

Montblanc Collection Villeret Vintage 1858 Chronographe Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

This is a peek at one of the new Montblanc watches due for release in a couple of weeks in Geneva. For 2010 comes the Montblanc Collection Villeret Vintage 1858 Chronographe Watch. A distinct homage to retro chronograph watches that exhibited the characteristic spiral or "snail shell" tachymetre scale. This was often done to allow for a telemeter scale to be placed on the periphery of the ring - two measuring devices so vintage themselves that most people have no idea how to use them or what they are to be used for. But who cares, they look pretty cool.

Dials should be more than lovely to look at being in a high-quality enamel that typically makes the numerals and scales pop in a crisp and colorful manner. Montblanc of course added their characteristic font for the Arabic hour markers. The hands are in blued steel. Inside the watch is a retro Minerva caliber 16-29 manually would column wheel chronograph movement. Note that the 30 minute chronograph is a monopusher operated via a pusher in the crown. Montblanc owns Minerva. There are two versions of the limited edition of 116 pieces watch - both are in large for the style 43.5mm wide cases. Half of them in 18k red gold (with brown alligator straps) and the other half in 18k white gold (with black alligator straps).

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

Tags: 1858, 2010, chrongraphe, chronograph, collection, limited edition, LimitedEdition, montblanc, sihh, villeret, vintage, watch

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