hands-on

Bulgari Serpenti Ladies Watch Hands-On

Easily one of the coolest watches around is the Bulgari Serpenti. I think it was soft-launched last year, but really is available now - and in many forms. The Serpenti concept is not new, as the watch that wraps around your wrist like a snake is a vintage concept for the Italian brand. Though Bulgari has re-released it in a new form. What impressed me most is the execution. The watch is essentially many from one long wrapped strand of steel or gold. Inside is a complex system to make it elastic. It feels refined, as though it would last for a long time - really nice engineering here.

The "snake head" is the watch dial, and again it comes in a few styles. There are a few different faces and the Serpenti models come with and without diamonds. There are also some very high-end versions that are totally covered in precious stones. These also require you to open the snake's mouth to reveal the watch face. In the past the Serpenti watches didn't use Bulgari watch faces, but where make for a host of other brands. Today, as Bulgari makes their own watch, there is more brand uniformity.

There are a few coil sizes I believe for different wrists, but concept is more or less "on size fits all." As a man I'd never be able to wear one of these, but I was impressed with how cool and elegant they look on women. I could easy see these watches as casual wear for the right lady. As a concept they are cool, as a watch they are refined, and as a style statement they are unmatched. Prices start at $4,050 in steel and $6,800 for steel and diamonds. More for gold, while the pictured model in gold with diamonds retails for $29,900 . Check out more images in the galley below.

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

Gallery: Bulgari Serpenti Watches

Tags: Bulgari, bvlgari, hands-on, review, serpenti, watch

Perlee Small Beaded Cross-Body Bag, Handbag of the Day

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags

Intricate beadwork like this always comes off as so wonderfully earthy and luxe at the same time -- not something that's easy to do. This cute little number is the Perlee Small Beaded Cross-Body Bag by Paul & Joe. It has a multicolor beaded "festival" print with tassels everywhere -- little beaded ones and big tan leather ones. It features nude leather trim on the top with white leather stitching detail, a white leather braided shoulder/cross-body strap, and it's fully lined in gray twill. It's open at the top, which fits the beautifully easy-going vibe. A steal at $315.

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Tags: handbag, handbag of the day, hands-on, paul joe, paul and joe

Romain Jerome Steampunk Tourbillon Watch Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Romain Jerome Steampunk Tourbillon Watch Hands-On

One of the more "interesting" options when it comes to acquring a high-end timepiece is to get something from Romain Jerome. The collection that put them on the map was the Titanic DNA range of watches -and this Steampunk Tourbillon is the newest flagship for that collection. Available in gold (as seen above), the watch is mixed with oxidized steel that is meant to look like metal harvested from the actual Titanic. According to Romain Jerome, a small percentage of the metal is actually from the sunken Titanic ship. This is why they use the "Titanic DNA" term.

The Steampunk collection takes the concept further to make the dial look inspired by the ship's engine room. There are piston-like elements on the highly detailed dial that look like a diorama. It is quite fun to inspect all the little details. The hands of the watch are meant to look like anchors. At 46mm wide, the case is still quite comfy although it is large. The polished 18k rose gold mixed with the oxidized steel makes for a very interesting look. Inside the watch is a Swiss Concepto made automatic tourbillon movement. Look to the back of the watch for another anchor - here done in gold as the rotor of the movement. Really an amazing talking piece and cool addition to a high-end collection. Price for this model is 169,000 Swiss Francs.

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

Gallery: Romain Jerome Steampunk Tourbillon Watch

Tags: dna, hands-on, review, Romain Jerome, steampunk, titanic, tourbillon, watch

F.P. Journe Sonnerie Souveraine $650,000 Watch Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

F.P. Journe watches have a very strong following among serious watch lovers. Including those people who can choose just about anything - and often opt for one of Francois-Paul's timepieces. I met with him and he showed me a few pieces including this Sonnerie Souveraine. I last wrote about this piece here when reporting that a pre-owned one went for $400,000 at auction. The retail price of a new one is 650,000 Swiss Francs (close to $650,000). The watch is one of a few evolutions of chiming watches from F.P. Journe, and is likely his most complicated yet. It took years of research and has about 10 patents in it.

The watch is a "Grand Strike clock and minute repeater-" aka, a "Grand Sonnerie." This means that on the one hand, it is a minute repeater (which allows you to activate a mechanism that "repeats" the time back to you in a audio code form), and features and a striking complication (sonnerie). A striking complication is what most people think about when they "hear" clock in their head. It is a function that performs various chimes at regular intervals. This watch "strikes" each quarter hour. During this strike, the sound again is an audio code that when read tells you the time It has two modes to do this "grande" and "petite." This is for a "full" sound with a bit more information (hour and quarter hour), and a "smaller" sound (with just the quarter hour indicated). The watch also has a silent mode if you do not wish to hear chimes each 15 minutes. You can see the mode selection dial on the bottom of the dial that says "G, S, P." The dial also features a power reserve indicator near the top of the dial. Time is displayed via an off-centered watch faces (with subsidiary seconds), and the dial also features a view of the hammers (the two of them are stacked) for the chiming mechanism.

Tags: FP Journe, grande sonnerie, hands-on, review, souveraine, watch

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Blancpain 500 Fathoms Watch Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

It was highly anticipated, as well as highly controversial. The 500 Fathoms was to be the much beefier version of the classic Fifty Fathoms model from Blancpain. But was it a good idea? I first wrote about the Blancpain 500 Fathoms watch here. The current iteration of the Fifty Fathoms was cherry. A beautiful watch, in a robust case, with a killer in-house movement. Rumors were that adjusted properly, the movement could be accurate to within about a second a day - a number that is very good for a mechanical watch. For whatever reason the 500 fathoms was borne. In a larger case at 48mm in size, the 500 Fathoms has a unique look with torpedo hands and a titanium case that is water resistant to 1000 meters (not exactly 500 fathoms). Since the watch was initially announced, the dial has changed a bit. Here you get to see exactly what the production version looks like. The dial is extremely retro diver with a twist. The almost sunburst pattern on the dial is a thematic modern interpretation of the atomic symbol that was on the original Fifty Fathoms watch. Large Arabic numerals on the dial are lume filled, together with the hands. As you can see, early worries about legibility problems haven't come to pass.

Gallery: Blancpain 500 Fathoms Watch

Tags: 500, blancpain, fathoms, hands-on, review, titanium, watch

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Pita Barcelona Oceana Watch Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

I was so happy to get my hands on this watch, but to bad lighting the images I snapped of the very cool Pita Barcelona Oceana timepiece wasn't ideal. So I will have to make due with what I have - I chose the best for this, and the other images in the gallery below. For more details and specs about the Oceana watches, you can refer to one of my previous Luxist articles here, as well as this other article on the Pita Oceana also by me. The 5000 meter water resistant watch become almost mythic for a while because lots of people argued that the unique design of the watch couldn't possibly put up with that type of pressure. Indeed, Pita wanted to make something totally different. A crownless watch that has no gaskets, and is super water resistant. The design is unlike anything else out there. To adjust the time you twist the back plate of the case. The little nubs around the ring help with grip, but also serve another purpose.

When the watch is worn on the wrist, the rubber strap hugs the nubs holding the back plate into place - ensuring that you don't accidentally adjust the time. A really clever little design feature. The construction of the case offers very few places for water to enter, and thus the watch has a gasketless design. A draw back is that the automatic movement does not offer hand-winding - only automatic winding. The movement is a highly modified Swiss ETA 2678, called the Pita-003.

Gallery: Pita Oceana watches

Tags: Barcelona, hands-on, Oceana, Pita, pita barcelona watch, review, Spain

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Urwerk UR-203 Watch Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Not too long ago Urwerk came out with a watch that they nicknamed the Hammerhead. Given this name because of its widening dial that makes room for the minute scale near the front of the face. In the tradition of Urwerk, time it told via an ingenious system of rotating hands that display the hour and follow a linear minute scale. The spinning central system has three such hands, each with four hour indicators on them. Urwerk calls these "satellites." The proper hour pivots into position to face you so that you can read the time. Seen in a visually pleasing, almost lime-green tone. Thus, in the image here it is about 7:30. The first such was was the UR-202, and seen here is the follow-up model, the UR-203. The 203 has some interesting differences, most notable are a few different complications, and a case in platinum that is covered in in black. An odd thing really - having a precious metal case that is covered so as to disguise the metal below. Urwerk doesn't seem to mind that no one knows the watch is in platinum. It is enough for them that the wearer does.

Reading the time is easier that you might expect - a reasonably alternative to hands. If you notice the little needle coming out of the hour indicator like a precision hand, you'll be impressed that the hand retracts back into the unit when it is time for the satellite to spin back around the case. One of the coolest things about the 203 is the view from the back. The automatic winding movement spins a duo of turbines on the rear of the watch. These spin as you move around the timepiece - showing that the automatic winding is functioning. A very nicely stylized part of the watch. There is a level on the rear of the watch (simply to use and refined to the touch) that will lock the automatic rotor in place. Two red bars appear in a window on the rear when winding is locked. Why would you want to lock the winding? So that the watch can put up with more shock resistance during strenuous activity. You can then unlock the rotor when you are done with your golf swing for example.

Gallery: Urwerk UR-203 Watch