limitededition

Ladoire Roller Guardian Time Punk Rock Watch

Newer "cool & pricey" watch brand Ladoire Geneve has a new ultra limited edition watch - the RGT (Roller Guardian Time) Punk Rock Limited Edition watch. It will come in a set of just three pieces. Started in 2007, the brand headed by namesake Lionel Ladoire, makes less than 50 watches a year. Last year it was just 38 pieces I believe. Even with such limited production the brand has recently been injected with some serious outside funding to expand as sales are good, and almost as important - interest in the brand is high.

I met with Lionel Ladoire in January at the Geneva Time Exhibition. While he personally makes a lot of the components of the Ladoire watches, he is far from the typical watch maker. The timepiece design and naming of it are really an extension of his personality. A young, almost counter-culture looking guy, you'd expect to see him at a concert as opposed to sitting at a watch maker's bench. After meeting him, things like the "Punk Rock" part of this watch's name, or the spider web engraving on one of the discs in the watch start to make sense. In the image gallery you can see two images I took myself of his watches. A good guy overall, I look forward to seeing what his talents come up with next.

Gallery: Ladoire Roller Guardian Time watches

Tags: Ladoire, limited edition, LimitedEdition, Punk Rock, PunkRock, RGT, Roller Guardian Time, RollerGuardianTime, Swiss, watch

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Alpina Extreme Tourbillon Regulator Manufacture Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

As a limited edition of just 36 pieces (18 of each version) Swiss Alpina will release this new Extreme Tourbillon Regulator Manufacture watch. What exactly is extreme about it? No idea. Perhaps use of the term "extreme" is extreme. Though I do know this watch stems from a long line of "extreme" Alpina watches. Unique in the world of tourbillon movements are regulator watches, which this timepiece is. This is all part of Alpina's own caliber AL-980 automatic tourbillon movement. It has got a silicium lever and escapement wheel in the movement - if that doesn't mean anything to you, don't worry. Though those are good talking points for a luxury watch. The watch will come in two versions. Each has a 48mm wide case. One comes with a brushed titanium case and a pink gold bezel, and the other with a black ceramic bezel and a pink gold case. On the dial you get the large minute style hour markers and skeletonized 'bubble baton' hands in brushed steel for an intended sporty look. The simple style is one of those looks that appears best while being worn. In such a limited edition, pieces like this exist in a large sense to promote Alpina's more reasonably priced timepieces.

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

Gallery: Alpina Extreme Tourbillon Regulator Manufacture watch

Tags: Alpina, Extreme, limited edition, LimitedEdition, Manufacture, Regulator, Tourbillon, watch

Milus Minute Repeater TriRetrograde Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

The TriRetrograde gets loud with a new minute repeater complication. Milus takes their Tirion TriRetrograde watch case, makes some changes, and adds a much more complicated movement for the upcoming Milus Minute Repeater TriRetrograde watch. While the original Tirion models were very nice and suitable as daily wears, the Minute Repeater goes into the collector's zone - meaning it will be much more expensive and likely a bit more delicate. Problem with minute repeaters (can be activated to "repeat" the time back to you in an audible format) is that the little 'time code' songs they play is not very loud. Sure you can hear the dance of the hammers on the gongs in a quiet room, but in public? Forget about it.

The Tirion style 46mm wide case is 14mm thick and in 18k rose gold. Inside the watch is a new movement for the brand to use (I believe). It is the hand wound caliber M08-35RM with a large 90 hours of power reserve. You can see the impressive movement through the watch caseback. Very nice look for a minute repeater with an interesting bridge design. Interestingly enough this movement has been COSC Chronometer certified, super rare among minute repeater watches.

The dial design has been changed just a bit. Notable is the centrally mounted hand for the date dial, as opposed to the previous watch that had the date at 6 o'clock (which I liked better). A bit more decoration on the dial itself for the Minute Repeater, as well as fancier movement decor through the partially open dial. Like I said, for a daily wear the much more reasonably priced automatic Tirion model makes a better choice, but the Minute Repeater will be a good collection marquee. The piece will be limited to 50 pieces.

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

Gallery: Milus Minute Repeater TriRetrograde watch

Tags: limited edition, LimitedEdition, Milus, Minute Repeater, MinuteRepeater, TriRetrograde, Watch

Breitling Avenger Seawolf Chrono Blacksteel Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

breitling avenger seawolf chrono blacksteel watch

Coming up from Breitling is a new ultra accurate quartz watch with a lot of the fancy engineering that makes up for this watch not being mechanical. This is a necessary thing to point out as most watch lovers see quartz as reason to not buy an otherwise high quality timepiece. All Breitling quartz watches come with thermo-compensated quartz movements. They call this "SuperQuartz," reference number for the movement is the Breitling calibre 73, and it is further COSC Chronometer certified. Such movements are often accurate to within a few seconds a year. The difference aside from the high quality components and construction is a special quartz regulator that makes necessary adjustments during changes in temperature. Such changes are the leading cause for variations in reliable rate results for quartz watches. They are also much more expensive to make than normal quartz watches. Another cool features is Breitling's magnetic chronograph pusher system. This was introduced by them about two years ago and makes it so that you can use the chronograph underwater (something that is generally forbidden to do). I wrote more about Breitling's magnetic pusher system here a while back.

Another interesting feature the watch has is a "directional memory" system. Note the compass degree markers on the flange. I am not sure how this works, but you can set a specific direction you are headed into the watch, and you can set the watch to recall that specific direction on command. Other features include the time, date, and split second chronograph. The watch itself is in steel with what looks to be a DLC (diamond like carbon coating) and is 45.4mm wide. The case has a domed sapphire crystal and is water resistant to 1000 meters. It comes on a black rubber strap with "portholes." A very manly looking watch that most any guy can easily see himself enjoying, the Avenger Seawolf Chrono Blacksteel watch will be part of a limited edition of just 2,000 pieces and priced a bit high at $5,015.

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

Tags: Avenger, Blacksteel, Breitling, Chrono, limited edition, LimitedEdition, Seawolf, Watch

Girard Perregaux Laureato Quartz Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Think you know high-end quartz? This is high-end quartz. Girard Perregaux wasn't the first to make a quartz watch, but they were among the first Swiss brands to have a quartz watch. In 1970, one year after the quartz watch was initially released by Seiko, Girard Perregaux helped set the quartz movement frequency standard at 32.768 hertz. This is still used today by most quartz watches, and promoted on the dial of this new limited edition Laureato Quartz watch.

Inside the the watch with its familiar Girard Perregaux sporty octagon dial shape is a hand-assembled caliber GP13500 quartz movement that is probably the nicest decorated quartz movement out there. You can see it through the sapphire caseback window, note the gold cap over the battery compartment. The watch box is a cool retro space presentation box, but the real allure of this watch is as a testament to the quartz watch revolution. At first I was skeptical about who might spend this type of money on a quartz watch, but then again I realized that a good many collectors love this type of thing. At the same time, the watch is super accurate and easy to love. It is very readable, with an attractive high quality dial. The case and bracelet are in steel and very well made. So while I though initially the 40 of these watches might be too many, now I realize it is really not enough. Price will be a bit over $11,000 for this very rare type of high-end Swiss quartz watch.

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

Gallery: Girard Perregaux Laureato Quartz

Tags: Girard Perregaux, GirardPerregaux, Laureato, limited edition, LimitedEdition, Quartz, SIHH, swiss, watch

Bremont Supermarine Descent Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

One of my favorite modern dive watches (that is coincidentally retro themed) is Bremont's Supermarine 500. A neat looking British designed (Swiss-made) watch, the Supermarine combines the function demanded by diving watches with an ageless romance that gives the watch line a good story. The watch design is inspired by classic aircraft such as the Supermarine S6B Schneider Trophy Seaplane and the Supermarine Spitfire. The dial has lots of lume and is a good mix between modern and classic style, that is still totally "a diver." While the look isn't for everyone, I am a fan. This limited edition Supermarine Descent version of the watch will be limited to 407 pieces and has a 42mm wide steel case that has been coated with DLC (diamond like carbon) for hardness and scratch resistance. The bezel retains its attractive look being covered with a sapphire crystal.

Bremont is known for their highly shock resistant "Trip-Tick" cases that are made up of several pieces and are also highly anti-magnetic. The case is even still curved a bit for comfort and water resistant to 500 meters. Inside the watch is a modified ETA 2836-2 automatic movement that has been Chronometer certified. Functions include the time, day, and date. A nicely conceived watch with loads of style and an aggressive demeanor. Priced high though at about $5,000. Available soon.

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

Tags: Bremont, descent, dlc, limited edition, LimitedEdition, supermarine, watch

Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Butterfly Watches Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Last month in Geneva, luxury watch brand and jewelry maker Van Cleef & Arpels was nice enough to invite me into their world and spend some time telling me about their brand and unique perspective on watch making. I had the opportunity to see an artistic side of the haute horology watch world that I didn't know existed. High-end art watches are particularly interesting to me because they are functional art ( they tell the time in addition to looking good).

I previously discussed the Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Butterfly watches here. After praising them, I thought it would be a good idea to follow up after checking them out myself. Note that these are of course women's watches, sized at 38mm wide in 18k white gold, and liberally decorated with fine, large diamonds. Each of the watch dials is totally hand done, and each of the five watches comes in a limited edition of just 8 pieces. After seeing the watches, this makes sense. To capture the high level of quality you just can't mass produce these things. The dial colors really jump out at you - thanks to the special type of enameling that is done like stained glass. Note the metallic framework, with the enamel applied between the lines (literally). In the pictured watch, you can really get a good visualization of the stained glass look in the brown and yellow butterfly as well as the adjacent flower. For any woman with means, and an appreciation for talent and details, this is an impressive collection.

As a play on the collection being like a set of actual pinned butterfly specimens, the box the watches come in has a sliding magnifier that gives you a closer look at the watches, just as an enthusiast would look over his or her butterfly specimen collection. Each of the watches is top quality in feel and construction, which should be expected with their high price points. Inside the watches are mechanical Swiss movements. In all, a really impressive line if luxury items should you ever be interested in high-end watch watches with a artistic and jewelry feel to them. The rest of us can simply enjoy their beauty. Price for the Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Buttery watch collection is an extraordinary $495,000. I look forward to experiencing more and more visually pleasing luxuries from this brand .

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

Gallery: Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Butterfly Watches Hands-On

Tags: 2010, butterfly, enamel, extraordinary, limited edition, LimitedEdition, sihh, van cleef arpels, VanCleefArpels

Rock Candy Beauty & The Beast BLK Edition Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

I've never heard of either Rock Candy or Chouette - but together they have released a new set of two watches, the "Beauty," and the "Beast." Apparently Chouette is "Hong Kong's premier watch and lifestyle brand." I don't know anything about that, but I will take their word for it - neither do I care, because these watches pretty much speak for themselves. As ladies' watches go these are both quite dark and still feminine. There is a playful aggression to them that will strongly appeal to some women. My top choice is the Beast watch in all black but with its bright, hot pink hands.

Technical details on the watches are scant. They are in black coated steel cases with custom silicon straps and quartz movements. The "spiked" bezels have repeated pyramid shapes on them, while there is a black crystallized Swarovski Elements stone as a cabochon in the crown. The Beauty version of the watch has an addition 502 Swarovski stones all over the dial under the grayish colored hands. Dial design is almost like a stripped down diver's watch - and that helps with the clarity. While Beauty has a subdued and aggressive jewelry feeling to it, the Beast looks like what a biker or rocker chic would wear on days she is otherwise not dressed as a biker or a rocker chick. I think the hot pink accent is really going to be the part of the watch that helps bring together the "strong enough for a man, but made for a woman" style of the case and dial. Oh, and the future of "phantom" all black watches is this, having an all dark case and dial with hands that are legible.

Each of the two watches will be available as a limited edition of just 300 pieces. The Rock Candy Beauty watch will retail for about $900, while the Beast will retail for about $640.

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

Gallery: Rock Candy Beauty & The Beast BLK Edition Watches

Tags: beast, beauty, black, Chouette, hong kong, HongKong, limited edition, LimitedEdition, pink, Rock Candy, RockCandy, watch

Girard-Perregaux Ermenegildo Zegna Centennial Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Timepieces / Watches

Another fashion designer chooses a real watch maker to produce a special timepiece for them. This is a better option than them branding something cheaper with their name on it. It is a win-win situation for both sides. This watch is meant to celebrate the 100th year of everyone's favorite "too many syllables" Italian designer. To me, Ermenegildo Zegna is a name that looks awesome written down, but the second you try to pronounce it, things go down hill. The Girard-Perregaux name isn't shared on the dial with Zegna, but the style of the watch should tip off most fans of the Swiss brand involved.

Placed in a 40mm wide 18k pink gold case the watch contains the in-house made Girard-Perregaux Caliber 3300-0042 automatic movement. It has an annual calendar and an eccentric display of dials on the watch face. A disc underneath a crescent shaped window reveals the month, while a dial is used for the date while another dial indicators the seconds for the time. In modern Girard-Perregaux fashion, each of the small indicators is in a soothing blue with a different shape hand to help them stand out. In fact I really like Girard-Perregaux's use of this blue mixed with gold. It is a very regal look in my opinion. Fans of the Zegna fashion brand will clearly enjoy this timepiece, but I think most Girard Perregaux fans will flock to other more complex timepieces in this watch collection range. When I look at the dial I am now seeing an odd side skewed smiley face with the month indicator as the mouth and the subdials as eyes. Does anyone else see that?

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

Tags: Centennial, Ermenegildo Zegna, ErmenegildoZegna, Girard Perregaux, GirardPerregaux, limited edition, LimitedEdition, watch

Infiniti Europe presents FX Limited Edition

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Opportunity knocks but once. Or so the saying goes. But that might need some revision, because Infiniti has come around again with another opportunity for those who missed theirs to buy the FX Millionaire Edition.

Like the Millionaire, the FX Limited Edition can be ordered in scratch-resistant Obsidian Black or White Moonlight paint. It features a host of special touches inside and out, from the dark graphite trim and 21" turbine-shaped rims to the Alcantara and carbon fiber trim on the interior. It comes with all the options. Only 100 will be made, and they'll only be available in Europe.

Fortunately for European customers, the pricing is significantly more attractive – about $46,000 more attractive, in the case of the range-topping, V8-engined FX50S Limited Edition, which sells for £62,035, with the V6-powered FX37S Limited Edition coming in at a more attainable £55,855.

Gallery: Infiniti FX Limited Edition

Source

Tags: europe, infiniti, infiniti europe, infiniti fx, infiniti fx limited edition, InfinitiEurope, InfinitiFx, InfinitiFxLimitedEdition, limited edition, LimitedEdition, special edition, SpecialEdition

Girard Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar Palladium Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

SIHH 2010 had a unique offering of new watches from Girard Perregaux. Very much on the "retro revival" trend, the big news for them were watches their 1966 collections. Here is one of my favorites, the very easy on the eyes Girard Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar Palladium limited edition watch. A pure classic in all ways, the watch is made from the very rare and hard to work with metal palladium, that is related to platinum. Unlike gold for instance, palladium does not require rhodium plating, and is also tarnish resistant. The 1966 Full Calendar will only have 199 pieces available.

Inside the watch is the in-house made Girard Perregaux GP033M0 automatic movement that provides the triple calendar information as well as the time and moon phase indication. The movement is viewable through the rear of the watch where you can see the gold automatic rotor. At 40mm wide, the case is also very thin. It wears so comfortably with the thin yet supple alligator strap. The dial has a soft brushed finish to it and is in gray. At first I though the watch complications where a bit bunched up in the middle of the dial, but I quickly realized that this layout assists with giving the dial a more minimalist feeling and enhancing legibility. Otherwise the watch would have felt smaller in size to the eyes. The dial itself is slightly domed around the edges and the markers and hands are all in style with the "1966" look of the collection. With its classy looks, comfortable size, useful function, and appealing Swiss pedigree, the Girard Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar Palladium watch is a sleeper hit of 2010 for the brand. Price will be $19,800.

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

Gallery: Girard Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar Palladium Watch

Tags: 1966, 2010, full calendar, FullCalendar, Girard Perregaux, GirardPerregaux, limited edition, LimitedEdition, palladium, sihh, watch

Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre a Quantieme Lunaire Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

For 2010 the mighty Jaeger-LeCoultre has a brand new foudroyante style watch with the Duometre a Quantieme Lunaire. An update to previous models, the watch adds a moonphase indicator (done visually as well as via a hand on a dial for better precision in reading it), and some partial skeletonization of the dial. Aside from the date, moon phase indication, and time, the foudroyante complication is a strange beast. The watch is dedicated to the ability to precisely set the time (simply speaking it resets to zero when you pull out the crown as well as lets you see when to start it again properly). The lower subsidiary dial is a crazy contraption as it has a hand that moves around the dial in 1/6 of a second increments. Thus, the little hand moves around the dial once each second! Meaning that it is always moving really fast. The large hand in the center of the watch is the second hand for the time moving around the dial each minute. You then have the time itself show smaller on the right of the dial.

Because of the enormous amount of power required by the constant movement of the foudroyante complication, the Duometre a Quantieme Lunaire Watch has two power reserve indicators for different mainspring barrels. One is for the foudroyante, and the other is for the rest of the watch. The power reserve indicators are viewable through the skeletonized part of the dial. Proud of this in-house movement, Jaeger-LeCoultre places the movement name of "Cal. (caliber) 381" on a little plate right on the dial. This place is used to indicate the limited edition number in those pieces) The case is 42mm wide in either a limited edition of 300 pieces yellow gold model, or a standard pink gold model. The Duometre a Quantieme Lunaire Watch is indicative of a purist Jaeger-LeCoultre watch model in form and complication. Certainly a unique style of watch for serious horology fans or collectors. Price is about $35,000.

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

Tags: 2010, Duometre a Quantieme Lunaire Watch, DuometreAQuantiemeLunaireWatch, jaeger-lecoultre, limited edition, LimitedEdition, sihh

Omega Central Tourbillon Co-Axial Platinum Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

In a time when ultra expensive watches aren't doing as well as well-designed moderately priced ones, it is funny to see Omega release a clearly expensive limited edition tourbillon watch in platinum. But with only 18 pieces their motive isn't likely profit here, but street cred. There is a growing tendency among mainstream level luxury watch brands to assert themselves technologically. Meaning, prove that they have what it takes to build very complex modern watches, with the hopes that this conceptual perception will seep its way into consumer's minds who wish to purchase everything from a Speedmaster to a Seamaster. Yes of course it is true that the movements in those watches came way before this the new Omega manually wound Calibre 2636 in this Central Tourbillon Co-Axial Platinum watch, but we are talking "perception" not necessarily reality.

The whole techno point of this new Omega tourbillon watch is to have a centrally mounted tourbillon. As you can see it is placed in the middle of the watch dial. This hasn't been done before in just such a manner, but there are other watches that could claim to have centrally mounted tourbillons - such as the new Thomas Prescher Mysterious Automatic Double Axis Tourbillon watch (square case though). What Omega can claim is that everything here is centrally mounted (sort of). Because there is no place for the hands to be mounted in the middle of the watch, they are actually printed on sapphire discs that move around the dial. This gives it a "mysterious" look meaning you can't easily see how the hands are attached to anything.

Each tourbillon carriage is hand made meaning it is a bit different from the last. A master watch maker dedicates 100s of hours to making each one. You can see the seconds hand placed over the 60 second tourbillon as it doubles as a seconds counter. In Omega fashion, this tourbillon is certified as a Chronometer (for accuracy) making it a bit unique among tourbillon watches. Aside from the tourbillon you have a nice open dial showing you the movement. The platinum case is De Ville style (from that current watch line) and is matched to an Alligator strap. The watch isn't the most attractive novelty I have seen lately, but is probably pretty impressive in person. Surely Omega will find 18 collectors who "gotta have it." Not sure about price, but it won't be affordable.

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

Tags: central, limited edition, LimitedEdition, Omega, platinum, tourbillon, watch

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

The Vatican's Secret Archives Open For New Book

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books

The Vatican's secret archives have been the subject of lore for centuries and have spawned plenty of movies and novels. Now some of the Vatican's documents have been revealed in a new book, The Vatican Secret Archives. The 252-page book is full of color photos and represents a chronological journey through the meandering history of the past centuries starting with the Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum, an old book containing formulas in use by the Papal Chancellery dating back to the end of the 8th or the beginning of the 9th century. Other documents include a letter from Mary Queen of Scots to Pope Sixtus V, a letter from Pius X to Hitler, and works from saints include St. Teresa of Avila.

The regular book is available from Amazon.com and other sources for around $100. But for the truly dedicated collector there is a limited edition of 33 which is handbound in the studio of the Vatican Secret Archives. The books will be printed on felt and handstitched with leather ties. Collectors editions will be numbered, stamped and certified. Each book will be made by request and can be ordered in Italian, English, French or Dutch and can be personalized. It sells for € 4,950. A press release from VdH Books states that there is also the possibility of paying a unique visit to the Vatican Secret Archives for the 33 buyers.

[via The Toronto Star]

Tags: archives, books, limited edition, limited edition book, LimitedEdition, LimitedEditionBook, special edition books, SpecialEditionBooks, vatican