tourbillon

Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon Jewellery Watch

Roger Dubuis keeps making versions of their crazy looking skeletonized double tourbillon watches. This newest one is going to be even more expensive - being a quasi jewelry piece with large baguette-cut diamonds on the inner bezel ring. In a 45mm wide 18k white gold case with an open dial, this is one of the boldest looking luxury watches around today. The skeletonized movement shows off the two tourbillon carriages, gear train and skeletonized mainspring barrel of the movement. The movement is very difficult to put together, and I imagine rather delicate. DO NOT drop this watch!

Like I said, what makes this "Jewellery" version of the Excalibur Double Tourbillon watch different is the 48 diamonds on the bezel. The watch by itself is shiny enough, and the diamonds will push it to a new level of bling - high horology bling that is. This Roger Dubuis watch will be limited to just 28 pieces and is matched to an alligator strap.

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

Tags: diamonds, double, excalibur, roger dubuis, tourbillon, watch

Blancpain Watches 'Showing' Event In Los Angeles

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Blancpain will soon have a watch showing event on October 19th, 2010 in conjunction with the Tourbillon watch store. Both are part of the Swatch Group. While the event will be hosted by the Tourbillon store that is on Rodeo, it will take place at the SLS Hotel on 465 South La Cienega Blvd. The event will be from 6-9pm. It should be interesting, and will likely show off some new pieces. Important for watch lovers is the fact that the Blancpain name will soon be applied to most of Swatch Groups best movements. Likely to be a nice event for Los Angeles based watch lovers.

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

Tags: blancpain, event, los angeles, show, tourbillon, west coast

Seal Wears His Parmigiani Watch In "Secret" Music Video

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Seal released the single named "Secret" along with a corresponding music video - which are part of his upcoming new album called "Commitment."The artfully filmed black & white video has Seal and his wife Heidi Klum in intimately in bed, wearing almost nothing. One thing that Seal is wearing however is a custom Swiss Parmigiani Kalpa timepiece made specially for him. You can see the custom tourbillon watch clearly in a few scenes in the music video. If you go to the "READ MORE" link below, you can see the video.

The custom watch is based on the Parmigiani Kalpa XL Tourbillon, but with a metal bracelet, and I believe a few other changes. An image of the standard model in rose gold is below. The watch case is 44.7mm tall and 37.2mm wide. It has the time, a power reserve indicator, a tourbillon. Seal is a well known watch lover, as is his wife. Seal is also known to have an existing large collection of Parmigiani timepieces.

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

Gallery: Parmigiani Kalpa XL Tourbillon

Tags: commitment, kalpa, ParmigianiFleurier, seal, secret, tourbillon, video, watch, wears

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Harry Winston Midnight Chrono Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

This watch feels like a hot mess to me from a design perspective. Sure, that is at first glance, and I haven't really given it a chance - but what is going on here and why?It looks like Harry Winston is trying really hard to made a watch that is like an Audemars Piguet Millenary, with Royal Oak style hands (that are more boring than Royal Oak hands). According the HW they are "capturing the essence of technology, creativity, and design." Are you kidding me? Who comes up with this garbage copy. I think that HW creates some spectacular designs. I love the Opus collection, and I love the risks that they take, but it sometimes feels like designs skip right by the "taste committee." I mean this is Harry Winston right? Or did I miss something? The case itself is fine. Offered in 18k rose or white gold (50 pieces each in the limited edition), the case is 44mm wide and certainly HW in character.

It is the dial where everything falls apart. This is an instance where asymmetry fails. The watch is too crowded on the right, and too sparse on the the left. The amount of gold color is a bit obnoxious (the lines are too thick) and the chronograph disc implementation seems like an afterthought. Yea, it has a nice looking flying tourbillon - but just because it can. This doesn't really add much to the design. Is it just me, or do the "12" and "6" Arabic numeral hour indicators feels like they don't fit in with the rest of the design? Overall, these elements taken together make for a watch that I feel should never have been. I am sure that the finish and quality of the watch are fine, and if you must have it, go ahead. But in this watch lover's opinion, this isn't a good looking timepiece - and not worthy of what Harry Winston typically puts their name. Look for it soon!

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

Tags: Chrono, Chronograph, Harry Winston, Midnight, review, Tourbillon, watch

Vacheron Constantin Malte Tourbillon Palladium Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Auctions

You've probably never seen one of these before. This watch came out a few years (2008) ago under the radar in the United States (only) with just 10 pieces in the limited edition. It originally sold for well over $100,000 and was mostly unknown to people outside of the dedicated Vacheron Constantin fan groups online and a few retailers (and their clients). Such tactics are smart when trying to appease collectors looking for exclusive pieces, and promoting future collectability. As such, one of these 10 pieces is going to be up for auction during Antiquorum's Sept. 15th auction in New York City. Yield for this Malte Tourbillon is very conservative with an estimated price of just $60,000 - $90,000.

The piece itself is beautiful. Set in a Malte style case, it is made from palladium (very rare as a watch case material), and features a totally skeletonized dial that has a great looking "black platinum" finish. Such finishes assist with contrast, allowing you to identify elements on the dial much better, and further appreciating the craftsmanship (and being able to see the hands most easily). The movement features a massive tourbillon cage with a bridge that looks like Vacheron Constantin's logo. There is a dedicated scale for the time (which is nice on a skeletonized dial), and the movement has a date disc, and power reserve indicator. Decoration is a mixture of modern and classic aesthetic, with a masculine twist. To see more images of it check out this post here on Vacheron Constantin's official forum.

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

Tags: auction, malte, palladium, tourbillon, Vahceron Constantin, watch

Roger Dubuis Excalibur Automatic Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Roger Dubuis' Excalibur now comes in a version with a front mounted flying tourbillon and exposed automatic micro rotor! Some watches lovers will rejoice. the high-luxury, high-style watch is the latest in the band's revitalization effort. Several years ago the brand was very popular, then things went south, and now with refined designs and improved mechanics, they are really fighting to come back and reassert themselves. I will give it to them that the new watches are certainly easy on the eyes and have some novel design features.

The highly complex movement here is the RD 520, that is in-house made by Roger Dubuis. The case is 45mm wide in 18k rose gold, with a standard (large) Excalibur style case. The dial has those great looking sharp Roman numerals complete with sharp hands. You've see thins look on other similar watches - but those had double tourbillons, while this has a single tourbillon and a solid gold micro rotor. The face has a fascinating asymmetrical look, but symmetrical versions of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur are also really nice. The dial is further decorated with mother-of-pearl elements. A nice watch, this one isn't at all cheap. Limited to 88 pieces, the Excalibur Automatic Tourbillon is priced at about $158,000.

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

Tags: automatic, Excalibur, Roger Dubuis, tourbillon, watch

F.P. Journe Special Edition "China 2010 Tourbillon Souverain" Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

As a reminder to its Chinese customers, of how much F.P. Journe appreciates their business, the high-end luxury watch brand has released five of these limited edition "China 2010 Tourbillon Souverain" watches. This coincides with the brand's opening of its Beijing boutique store. More and more high-end brands are opening up shops in China's wealthier regions. One of the reasons seems to be that Chinese customers take brands with their own stores more serious, as opposed to brands which are only placed in third-party stores. The China 2010 Tourbillon Souverain watch will be housed in a platinum case with a special dial that resembles the Chinese flag. Stars are placed along the power reserve indicator. Aside from the tourbillon on the dial, the watch features the time in an offset dial, as well as a subsidiary seconds dial. Pretty much the ultimate Swiss watch for the proud Chinese industrialist. Not sure about price of availability, like I said, there are only to be five of these models.

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

Tags: 2010, china, fp journe, souverain, tourbillon, watch

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Tourbillon Wild, Art Deco Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Each year luxury Swiss watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre releases a few so called "jewelry watches." These rare creations for both men and woman are experiments in (often) excess, and design. This is where to look if you prefer your watches diamond covered, but also where you'll find some beautiful artistic creations. For 2010 one of the haute jewelry watch from Jaeger-LeCoutlre is the Master Tourbillon Wild. In an 18k rose (also in white) gold case, the piece is really quite stunning. Decorated with diamonds on the bezel and the lower edges of the case and bezel, it fees like a building outlined with lights. The art deco style motif on the dial feels like an abstract cityscape to me. The buildings emanating from the tourbillon in the center. More diamonds decorate the ring around the tourbillon aperture, in addition to other places on the dial. Inside the piece is a in-house made Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 978 automatic tourbillon movement. Likely sized for ladies, this is a rare and beautiful creation.

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

Tags: 2010, art deco, jaeger-lecoultre, jewelry watches, ladies watch, master, tourbillon, watches

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

So many words in the title of this watch. I easily imagine a Frenchman with white gloves on presenting the watch to me while announcing its title as though it was as a lord of a French province. And for some reason I find myself bowing. What will be one of Jaeger-LeCoultre's rare creations is this almost magically marvelous looking Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication watch. A watch so grand, "grande" was used in its name twice. Highly limited in production, this piece will have a number of fascinating technical feats in addition to its awe inspiring look. The watch is limited to just 75 pieces and will come in a 44mm wide 18k white gold case. Announced earlier this year, the watch is closer to now being released.

Its dial is blue lacquer with an amazing astronomical and zodiac design. The only phrase I can use to describe it is "sky ocean." The dauphine hands are the right size and easy to read, while there is a chapter ring around the inner dial so that telling the time is possible. Inside the watch is the amazing Jaeger-LeCoultre made caliber 945 manually wound movement that is made up of 527 parts! It has a special "high audio" minute repeater exclusive to JLC, which also gives the watch 50 meters of water resistance (most minute repeater watches have little to no water resistance). On the dial you can see a one-minute flying tourbillon - that itself doubles as a sideral (true day) indicator. The tourbillon moves around the entire dial of the watch once each 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.091 seconds - the same time it takes the earth to turn around when viewing fixed stars in the sky. However, there is a true 24 hour indicator represented by the small sun on the dial. This moves around the dial once each 24 hours. Cool right? With the astronomical, tourbillon, and minute repeater complication, this is one amazing JLC watch that will surely be a hit with collectors in the years to come. Certainly priced well into the six figure range.

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

Tags: grand tradition, grande complication, Jaeger-LeCoultre, tourbillon, watch

Bovet Ottanta Tourbillon by Pininfarina

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Pininfarina may be best known for designing Ferraris – just about every one, in fact, for the past several decades – but the Italian design house has a growing portfolio that extends far beyond automobiles to include furniture, trains and much more. This, however, appears to be new territory for the coachbuilder.

Collaborating with Swiss watchmaker Bovet, Pininfarina has designed a highly exclusive tourbillon. The Bovet Ottana Tourbillon by Pininfarina incorporates the complex movement you'd expect from the name, plus a large date indicator, 80-hour power reserve meter and minute repeater, all incorporated into the brass-crafted, 514-piece Calibre 16BA01 movement. The skeletonized case can be mounted facing forward or backward to display the intricate movement, with a secondary time indicator on the reverse, or can be separated from the suede-like calfskin strap to be worn as a wristwatch or used as a desk clock.

Only 80 examples will be offered, in either DLC-coated steel and titanium or titanium with rose or white gold detail, with a price tag approaching $300,000.

Gallery: Bovet Ottana Tourbillon by Pininfarina

Source

Tags: Bovet Ottana, Bovet Ottana Tourbillon by Pininfarina, bovet pininfarina, Bovet Pininfarina Ottana Tourbillon, Pininfarina, timepiece, tourbillon, watch

Girard-Perregaux Bi-Axial Tourbillon Watch In White Gold

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Girard-Perregaux Bi-Axial Tourbillon Watch

While barely "news," this announcement from Girard-Perregaux lets me mention this watch once again. The luxury Swiss watch brand will release a (hold your breath), 18k white gold version of their interesting Bi-Axial Tourbillon watch mode. Previously in pink (or may red) gold, the interesting timepiece is not in a white gold case - still with pink gold bridges on the dial though. The amazingly straight forward execution of the design almost serves to gloss over the complex bi-axial tourbillon - that spins in two directions at once. It makes a full revolution around the main dial of the watch in 3 minutes and 45 seconds. The watch case is beautifully finished with minimal decoration (but check out some of the texturing of the dial) and is a large 45mm wide and 18.5mm thick. Sapphire crystals on both sides of the case give you a nice view of the manually wound in-house made GPE0201 bi-axial tourbillon movement (that has 72 hours of power reserve).

The watch dial is a lesson in sparsity, but not bare. While not a three bridge model, given the open nature of the flying tourbillon, the dial is modeled after the famous three gold bridges design (here with two bridges). To balance out the tourbillon, there is an exposed mainspring barrel at the top of the dial that spins when you wind the watch. Hands are large and elegant, and stand out even though they don't overtake the dial. The Bi-Axial Tourbillon watch will be limited to just 33 pieces when released by Girard-Perregaux soon.

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

Tags: bi-axial tourbillon, Girard Perregaux, tourbillon, watch

Remembering The Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Jackpot Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Things were grand in 2007 for luxury watches. Producing a timepiece with a price of over $100,000 was a decision to be made over coffee. The assumption is that someone would buy it. A few such watches actually reveled in their excess, and others simply played with the idea of money and excess. One such interesting watch was the Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Jackpot Tourbillon. A timepiece that combined a tourbillon with a working slot machine mechanism - complete with chimes. It cost oodles of money and was limited to just a few pieces a year in 18k rose or white gold.

The watch was placed in Girard-Perregaux's Vintage 1945 XXL case which roughly looked like the rectangular cabinet a slot machine might be placed in. The devilishly complex gambling mechanism made small for a watch has 125 possible combinations of images in the three windows. Operating it involved a small tug on the classic slot machine level arm on the right side of the watch cover the crown. It was a perfect little toy to distract that ultra-elite.

Combining the slot machine complication with the tourbillon seemed natural even though it was unnecessary. I am just happy the watch actually told the time. The Girard-Perregaux in-house made manually wound GPFAY08 movement is truly beautiful and visible through the sapphire caseback window of the watch. Forgive my finger smudges on the images I took here while meeting with Girard-Perregaux - but at least you get to see what the watch looks like. You can click on the "Read More" link below for a video I took of the watch in action. You can hear how the hammer and gong based chiming mechanism sounds-off each time a roller in the slot machine stops.

Looking at the Jackpot Tourbillon now after it has been in the wild for a few years make me a bit sad. Well, it proves that the watch industry had no ability to look anywhere but up. I believe that watch costs over $500,000 and is a novelty at best. None of what they were doing at the time was economically sustainable, and they believe the luxury market would surge for the foreseeable future. At least they had fun in the process though. Even though this is a serious watch, it does not take itself too seriously. In fact, it is a toy. An expensive toy, but still a toy. Girard-Perregaux still likely makes a few of these today, and the willing can still get them. One thing most people don't know about is the elaborate "gambling trunk" case that the watch comes in. Complete with a full set of Vegas style poker chips, playing cards, a curtain you draw to reveal the watch (complete with lighting), and other fun things (more toys). I think it is going to be a while before the watch industry releases horological items like this en masse again.

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

Gallery: Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Jackpot Tourbillon Watch back

Tags: girard-perregaux, tourbillon

Continue reading “Remembering The Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Jackpot Tourbillon Watch”

Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon With Three Gold Bridges Pocket Watch - Like Its 1889 All Over Again

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

With some watch brands being as old as they are, you can't blame people for forgetting their past achievements. So when a watch maker is proud of something they did back in the 19th century, they pretty much have to repeat whatever that was for people nowadays to know or care about it. Girard-Perregaux started the "three golden bridges" trend a long, long time ago But since no one around now was alive back in the 1880s. This Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon with Three Golden Bridges watch is a reissue of a model with the same name that won a Gold Medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889. Still looks fresh today right? Sorta. The three bridges tourbillon movement was patented in 1884, starting the beautiful tradition of the style in high-end Girard-Perregaux timepieces. In addition to the bridges, the movement also has a tourbillon and is totally hand-built and decorated.

One of the reasons the watch was awarded back at the Paris Exhibition was due to the movement's accuracy. Today's watch is COSC chronometer certified and over a period of 15 days of testing, it showed accuracy of about 0.1 second a day. That is pretty darn incredible for such a movement, or any mechanical watch for that matter.

The GP Tourbillon with Three Golden Bridges pocket watch is in an 18k rose gold hunter-style case that is 60mm wide and 20mm wide. The traditional style piece has several opening doors operated via pushers. The simple, but classic dial is white enamel with blued steel hands. Not necessarily a limited edition i think, but given the time involved in making the watches I would imagine a very limited production (requiring an almost unlimited budget if you want one, I am sure).

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

Gallery: Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges Pocket Watch

Tags: bridge, Girard-Perregaux, golden, pocket, tourbillon, watch

Tony Stark Chooses Jaeger-LeCoultre Watches In Iron Man 2 Movie

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Tony Stark has two sidekicks in Iron Man 2, War Machine and Jaeger-LeCoultre. The popular luxury Swiss watch makers watch selected as the timepiece of choice on Robert Downey Jr.'s wrist as he played character Tony Stark in the newest installment of Iron Man. In the sequel, when Iron Man is not in his sophisticated mechanical suit, he is wearing a sophisticated mechanical watch. There are at least three different Jaeger-LeCoultre watches adorning Downey Jr.'s wrist in the film. Paramount of which is the new limited edition AMVOX3 GMT Tourbillon watch in platinum. See my other post on the matter for the other Jaeger-LeCoultre watches Tony Stark gets to show off in Iron Man 2 here.

The AMVOX series of watch is part of a partnership between Jaeger-LeCoultre and Aston Martin, but none of those cars are in the movie - as the film features Audi automobiles. Regardless, the style and pedigree of the AMVOX3 fits in perfectly well with the character's technical aptitude, flamboyant demeanor, and preference for mechanical goodness. The only disappointment to most movie viewers is the good looking watch is for the high-luxury buyer owner. At least Iron Man's timepiece is technically within reach as his suit of armor is only available in Hollywood form (for now).

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

Gallery: JLC AMVOX5 Platinum Watch

Tags: 2, amvox, amvox3, iron man, ironman, jaeger-lecoultre, movie, tony stark, tourbillon, watch

Antoine Preziuso Monumental Tourbillon 65mm Wide Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Antoine Preziuso Monumental Tourbillon 65mm Wide Watch

Many of you will likely have not heard about the Antoine Preziuso watch brand. They are an interesting breed, catering to the mega-wealthy. New for 2010 is this beast of a timepiece they call the "Monumental Tourbillon" (sometimes called the Mega Tourbillon). The watch has a very interesting case architecture made out of 18k red gold and titanium. It is quite literally a "mega" watch being 65mm wide and 25mm thick (made in Switzerland). I don't think you can quite appreciate that size just seeing the measurement. I personally saw the watch in Geneva and can attest to the fact that it more like a desk clock with a wrist strap than a watch. Yes, I realize that the industry is, and has been about "big and bold," but what exactly is supposed to be impressive about this piece? The watch industry get's excited about the ability to make smaller and smaller pieces, as well as miniaturization. This watch just takes a manually wound tourbillon movement and makes it bigger. I must admit, the mega sized tourbillon carriage is great to watch, but isn't a feat of complexity. The movement has just the time with a subsidiary seconds dial.

This watch is all about design, and the ability to boast that it is the "largest tourbillon watches around." Is it wearable? Not really, but is that the point at all? The style is interesting, but you'll have to strap it around your upper arm for it to look natural. When your friends ask you what the watch is, you can just say Monumental Tourbillon limited edition (of five pieces). I still can't properly pronounce the last work in the Antoine Preziuso brand name. I love the Monumental Tourbillon watch exists and that I got to see it, but I can't ever see myself getting one. Especially at the price, which is 340,000 Swiss Francs. It is literally too little in too large a package.

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

Tags: 65mm watch, Antoine Preziuso, mega, monumental, tourbillon, watch

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