jumping

Raymond Weil Don Giovanni Jump Hour Watch

The case, in 18kt rose gold, or stainless steel, measures 38mm x 50mm x 13mm. It has an AR-coated sapphire crystal and is water resistant to 30 meters. The movement is the automatic RW caliber 1400 (base ETA 2892) with 21 jewels, beating at 28,800 bph and with a power reserve of 42 hours. It features a jumping hour complication.

Popular Swiss watch maker Raymond Weil releases a new jumping hour watch that will likely be reasonably priced given the type of complication it features. Jumping hour watches comes in different styles and are often difficult to pull off from a design standpoint. The challenge comes in keeping enough of the watch dial sufficiently occupied, while at the same time allowing the display of the time to look natural. The hardest part of any jumping hour watch in my opinion surrounds the placement and style of the digital hour window. It is necessary to ensure that it is properly "framed" (meaning it is not just a hole cut in the dial), as well as done in the right size and positioned in a comfortable manner. This is all limited by the fact that there must be a disc underneath the dial with all 12 numbers on it.

This Don Giovanni Jump Hour Watch works pretty well. In a nice curved rectangular case, the dial is filled with round shapes and a tapered hour window that has a hint of a frame on it. As is common to jumping hour watches, the seconds are placed in a subsidiary dial. The case is offered here in 18k rose gold or stainless steel and is 38mm by 50mm in size and 13mm thick (due to the curvature of the case). Powering the movement is the automatic RW Caliber 1400, which is a modified version of the ETA 2892. An item to notice in jumping hour watches is whether the hours truly "jump." On many such watches, the hour indicator is between two different hours at the end and beginning of each hour. The best quality jumping hour complications have what are known as "instant" jumps. I am not totally sure how this watch functions in regards to that. Something to ask of course. You can also see that the watch is available with a leather strap or a highly polished metal bracelet. The Raymond Weil Don Giovanni Jump Hour should be available now.

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

Tags: don giovanni, DonGiovanni, hours, jump hour, JumpHour, jumping, raymond weil, RaymondWeil, watch

A. Lange & Sohne's New Lange Zeitwerk Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

The new Lange Zeitwerk watch is a clever and refined attempt from German luxury watch maker A. Lange & Sohne to combine the tradition and quality they are known for, with the modern outlook that their watch makers and designers have. In essence you have an extremely high quality mechanical watch, that dispenses with most of the analog components that classic watches are known to have - instead embracing the tone of the digital generation. My opinion is that this watch is A. Lange & Sohne's secret attempt to reach a perhaps younger, more "now" focused audience while maintaining the character that the brand is known for. In all this I think they have succeeded. Let's take a closer look at the watch.

The Lange Zeitwerk uses a brand new in-house manually wound L043.1 calibre movement. The movement incorporates a "constant force" escapement complication. This is very important for this type of watch because it has two "jumping" complications, one for the hours and one for the minutes. The nature of the movement requires specific amounts of force to be used, but not all the time. For this reason a constant force escapement situated with the balance wheel ensures that the same amount of force is released all the time ensuring good rate results. If you don't understand this, that is OK. Just know that A. Lange & Sohne has been testing this watch for a long time, and the complication is unique to them, and highly refined (which is a term I use to describe Lange a lot, because it just fits). The heart of the allure behind the watch is the dial layout and functionality. This is an almost purely digital watch displaying the jumping hours and minutes - that change instantly. The seconds dial is still present, and there is a useful power reserve indicator as well. The dial is constructed in part from sterling silver. All very innovative and beautiful to look at.

The 42mm wide case is just 12.5 mm thick. The case is available in four materials. 18k white, yellow, or rose gold, and in platinum. Not too sure on price or availability yet, though it will be at least several months before it is released, and the price is likely to be in excess of $50,000 - $60,000 for the gold versions of the Lange Zeitwerk.

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

Gallery: A. Lange & Sohne Lange Zeitwerk watch