mechanical

Watches in rings have been done before, but not quite like this. This is a new approach and quite interesting. The Digit Watch is design to appeal to both men and women, and given its high level of customization - the company can make one for you. Produced in London, the Digit Watch takes existing mechanical watch movements from major luxury watch brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Breitling, Blancpain, and others (buyer can choose), and places them inside of an 18k white gold ring with an Aquamarine jewel face, decorated with 142 diamonds. The ring has a watch face on it, and a crown for winding and setting the movement.

The concept is nifty for women who want something different, and as a second timepiece on ones hand for men who want the bling of a pinky ring. That rhymed... "Yo, look at my ring... I'm talking here!" I like who the movement is actually special and often a bit unique. It would have been easier to just put in a quartz movement, but that is not what the designer wanted to do. You can see in the image gallery who the small 17 jewel manually wound movements are inserted into the watch. An interesting idea and available starting at about 8,000 British pounds.

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

Match this with your $100 Seiko, I dare you. Actually, Seiko makes some VERY nice stuff. Most Americans have never heard of Grand Seiko, or their luxury brand Credor, but Seiko does some remarkable things when it comes to luxury and telling the time. Most of these more expensive watches and clocks are not available or really hard to come by in the US though. Seiko figures most of you won't take a $1,000 plus Seiko seriously. Well I do, cause I know better. Still, this $40,000 plus Seiko Decor Collection Perpetuity Mantel clock might be a bit overkill.

The clock sits on a wood and brass base. Much of the brass is gold plated. The housing is glass and brass with stainless steel as well as aluminum. The movement is totally mechanical with an 8 day power reserve manually wound mechanism. The big clocks weighs about 35 pounds and is anything but diminutive at over 15 inches wide and 19 inches tall. While the movement is mechanical, it does have a quartz regulator just like the Seiko Spring drive movements. This gives it the allure of a mechanical movement with the accuracy of a quartz movement. Everything is made using Seiko's highest level of quality (which is pretty high). Being part of the Decor Collection, the clock is meant to be a serious statement of class and taste in ones home (according to Seiko that is). Still wondering what the other $30,000 - $35,000 is for though.

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

I was a bit surprised to learn that the smallest mechanical watch movement in the world wasn't something new. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 101 mechanical watch movement watch originally designed and put into watches in 1929. It's purpose was to be a technical achievement as well as a movement small enough to be placed in the fashionably tiny women's jewelry watches of the time. Years later the Calibre 101 movement is still around only having undergone minor changes over the past 80 years. The movement now contains more parts in the same small area - 98 to be exactly, and has more typically been fitted with gray gold bridges and decorated surfaces.

The movement is quite little. 14mm long by 4.8mm wide, and only 3.4mm thick. Of course the movement is manually wound. The Calibre 101 movement is very rare. Only about two dozen of the movements are made by Jaeger-LeCoultre each year. Not just anyone can put the tiny miracles together as it requires extreme care and skill. When I first learned about the movement I wondered by no one has made a smaller movement since? Surely it is something we can do even if it is not practical. Well, that is the point I think. Making a mechanical movement smaller than the Calibre 101 makes no practical sense - all. If you need to go smaller just go with quartz. No one is even going to wear a watch so smaller it requires it. I have been watch faces on rings, and they obviously use a quartz movement as it is so much more practical. Imagine winding a ring watch. Thus, unless some enterprising watch maker feels it is their life mission to innovate into the unwise, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 101 is going to be the smallest mechanical watch movement around for perhaps another 80 years.

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

A lot of people ask me if there are devices that will help them keep their manually-wound (hand wound via the crown) mechanical watches wound, so that they don't have to wind them each day or so. Automatic mechanical watches have all sorts of winders that mimic the oscillation needed for the watches to be wound - that would occur as though you were wearing them. Automatic watch movement winders are easy to find, and devices that wind manually wound watches are more rare, and of course expensive.

Manually wound watch winders all pretty much look the same. The watch is placed into a vice like grip, and an adjustable claw of sorts is hooded over the crown. This claw is attached to an arm that spins in the right direction to wind the watch. The machine must be capable of sensing resistance so that it can stop spinning, so as not to damage the movement with over-winding.

The whole point of a watch winder is to be convenient, so that you don't have to wind the watch yourself if you are not wearing it. Thus, it is utterly ironic that the beautiful Bernard Favre Crown Winder must be manually wound itself. That's right, the Crown Winder device, is a manually wound watch winder for manually wound watches. This is starting to sound awfully ironic and perplexing. The nature of the device requires that you wind it yourself, so that it can wind your watch, itself. Yea, I don't quite get it either. Even if the power reserve in the Bernard Favre Crown Winder is longer than your watch's power reserve, it still has the same downfall. Though I don't think this is the case as I believe it has a 24 hour power reserve cycle.

The Crown Winder looks great, and I have no doubt is of a high quality commensurate with the luxury pricing, but is it just me, or did the designers completely gloss over the point of why people even want to invest in manually wound watch winders in the first place?

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

This set of Mechanical Watch Movement Cufflinks set in 18K gold is designed for timepiece collectors or creators, or just for lovers of history as they are created from gears, levers, and jewels taken from watches of the early to mid twentieth century. A mix of antique and modern appeal, each authentic vintage cuff link will have slight variations in shape and size. Gift boxed complete with authenticity certificate, set shown here in gold available for $1404. Also available in sterling silver, and if you like this look also check out the mechanical watch movement pendant and chain.

Via BornRich

The interesting object shown here is the world's most expensive doll. Known as L'Oiseleur (The Bird Trainer) it is a four foot tall figure of a young man holding a flute and dressed in Renaissance clothing. The doll, which has an asking price of $6,250,000 was created in a Swiss workshop. Once wound with a golden key, the doll plays the flute, blowing "Marche des Rois" by Georges Bizet. His fingers play the instrument and his eyes move back and forth. Two birds, one on his shouler and one on his hand, sing along, opening and closing their beaks, turning their heads and flapping their wings. Most amazingly the entire show is powered by tiny cogs and gears (no batteries or other power source). The doll has 2,340 parts and took 15,000 hours to create.