watch

Nivrel Deep Ocean Diver Watch

German based Nivrel is finally back with a new dive watch for 2011. It is called the Deep Ocean (not a super creative name by today's standards), and has a nice sporty, yet conservative look. While Nivrel quality is high, their prices are very fair compared to some of the competitors. A few years ago Nivrel has a really awesome lineup of dive watches. Those seemed to have gone away in favor of more classic pieces, but for 2011 Nivrel couldn't hold back their sport collection any longer.

As a tool watch the 43mm wide steel Deep Ocean is an attractive piece. It has a carbon fiber dial and combo of applied Arabic and circle hour markers mixed with sword hour and minute hands. Each of them slathered in SuperLumiNova luminant for darkness viewing. The watch is made in Germany and has 500 meters of water resistance and a sapphire crystal over the dial. I love dive watches and enjoy that Nivrel has offered a sober utility watch with just a hint of style - perfect for today's conservatively dressed guy who wants a watch that hints to an active sense of adventure. The watch comes in a metal bracelet along with a rubber strap. Inside the Deep Ocean is a Swiss ETA 2824-2 automatic movement.

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

Tags: deep ocean, nivrel, watch, watches

Chaumet Dandy Chronograph El Primero Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Aside from having an interesting and artistic dial, this special limited edition Chaumet Dandy contains a high-beat Zenith El Primero automatic chronograph movement. Zenith sometimes offers El Primero movements to good brands, and having one in a designer Chaumet is a sweet deal for watch lovers and fashionistas alike.

This piece is in all platinum, and has the Chaumet Dandy cushion style case. The dial is fascinating and done in Grad Feu blue enamel. The design is meant to look like Chaumet store fronts - which was designed by J.M. Wilmotte. I like the matching blue stitching on the black alligator strap. This rare piece will be limited to just 12 watches in the limited edition set.

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

Tags: chaumet, dandy, el primero, watch

Casio Baby-G Watch For Married To The Mob Designer

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Casio's latest special edition women's watch is this special Baby-G piece made in collaboration with fashion brand Married to the Mob by Leah McSweeney. Casio's durable G-Shock and more feminine Baby-G collection of pieces have proved to be highly malleable designs when it comes to creating special models.

Fashion designer Married to the Mob is an energetic urban themed clothing and fashion brand for young women who thrive on asserting their unconventional sides with hip, rebellions looks. According to McSweeney, there had been demand for a special Married to the Mob themed Baby-G watch for some time. Produced in limited quantities, the Married to the Mob Baby-G watch is based on the existing Casio ref. BG5600 line and is here called the BG5600MOB-4. It has a metallic pink/purple design with Married to the Mob branding on it. The LCD screen is done in a silvered style, while the gold toned case back has the signature Married to the Mob "lips" logo
engraved on it. Further Married to the Mob (MTTM) branding is on the strap. It is a very fun looking watch that will appeal to brand enthusiasts as well as others who enjoy the power purple look on the case and strap.

The watch itself has a series of functions found in most Baby-G watches including the time, calendar, stopwatch, alarms, world time, and more. The watch will be available at select Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, and Macy's stores starting about now for the price of $99.

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

Gallery: Casio Baby-G Married to the Mob watch

Tags: baby-g, casio, married to the mob, watch, watches

Groomstars.com Review - Formal Gifts For Men

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Men's Style, Luxury Shopping

The website Groomstars.com is founded on an interesting idea - that being the concept that men are hard to shop for (especially when it comes to gifts for special occasions). As the name of the site implies, the focus of the site is offering gifts for the men who participate in weddings (not like routinely or anything). Along with the fact that guys are not super easy to shop for, most gift websites usually have items that either appeal only to women, or are gifts guys don't normally want. Groomstars strives to offering an enticing selection of male-minded gifts, and like many other gift based websites, Groomstars also features most (if not all) of their products as being personalized.

Featured products including a range of decent quality pens, holders, valets, watch cases, clothing accessories, hobbyist goods, nice tools, and other things men usually like, but wouldn't normally buy for themselves. I actually appreciate the selection a lot. It is as though someone waded through most of the obvious (and many non obvious) gifts a man would like and presented them in an easy to navigate place.

A lot of people will likely enjoy the site when shopping for groomsmen, a best man, the father of the bride - or anyone else who may be a friend, boss, or relative. Prices aren't cheap, but part of what you are paying for is the curated content. One such item that is nice is the Groomstars Striped Wedge Wood Watch box. It contains space for a few watches and related accessories, while the inside is cloth lined to prevent scratching. It comes in a nicely veneered closing box case with a personalized plate near the push-button opener. The inside is lined with soft cloth and quality is better than you might expect (or perhaps I simply have jaded expectations). Their watch boxes also come in a few different finishes and retails for $265 - all of course available for purchase online.

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

Gallery: Groomstars watch box

Tags: box, case, gifts, groom, groomstars, men, personalized, watch, wedding

Christiaan van der Klaauw Real Moon 1980 Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Probably best known for his "astrological" watches, Christiaan van der Klaauw presents a stunning new model for 2011 called the Real Moon 1980. The "1980" segment of the name refers to the fact that the highly limited watch is meant to be an homage to a clock that he constructed in 1980. The piece is stunning, and contains a few complications that I personally have not seen before.

The movement starts with one of Christiaan van der Klaauw's base CK1094 automatic movements with the Real Moon module on it. Note the sophisticated looking highly customized automatic rotor that has a realistic looking piece of the moon on it. The movement complications include the time, date, month, moon phase on turning orb, solar and lunar eclipse hand, and declination of the sun indicator. Wow, talk about yet another way to construct a fascinating astrological complication timepiece.

The solar and lunar eclipse hand indicates if there is a solar or lunar eclipse going on somewhere on earth - this dial is near 3 o'clock. Using the Christiaan van der Klaauw logo, the sun declination indicator has the logo rise and lower to show the relative position of the sun on the horizon based on the time of year. The dial with two hands at 9 o'clock are used for the calendar functions.

A modern looking dial gives way to a classic looking case. It is 40mm wide and offering in 18k white or rose gold - with matching alligator strap. Christiaan van der Klaauw will also offer a platinum version with an all hand-made dial as a limited edition of just 8 pieces. Look for these stunning new Real Moon 1980 watches soon.

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

Tags: christiaan van der Klaauw, Real Moon 1980, watch, watches

Longines Column-Wheel Chronograph Watch For Winner Of Kentucky Derby

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Longines is now the official timekeeper and timepiece maker of the Kentucky Derby and its track Churchill Downs. For this year's esteemed horse race Longines will present one of their newer Column-Wheel Chronograph watches to the winner of the race.

Longines - part of the Swatch Group - worked with ETA (also part of the Swatch Group) to develop a special movement for Longines that captured the classic nature of the traditional watch brand. The movement is an automatic chronograph, but one that uses a historic column-wheel transmission system in the movement. Column-wheel chronographs are those found in many of the best chronograph movements.

Set in a steel case, the Ref. L2.733.4.72.2 Longines Column-Wheel Chronograph is extremely classic in its execution and design. The case is 39mm wide in steel, with a brown alligator strap. The exclusive movement inside of the watch is the mechanical caliber L688.2 which provides the tricompax chrono subdial layout. The dial design is extremely classic. In fact the entire watch is more or less a recreation of a classic Longines watch design. The dauphine hands have thin strips of lume, and there are applied hour and minute markers. For a bit of nostalgia the piece is very nice, price is $2,850.

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

Tags: colum wheel, kentucky derby, L2.733.4.72.2, longines, prize, watch, winner

Girard-Perregaux 1966 Blue Chronograph Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Girard-Perregaux's 1966 Chronograph watch gets bathed in blue for this 1966 Blue Chronograph version of the attractive retro-inspired timepiece by the high-end Swiss brand. The 40mm wide case in in 18k white gold with a sunburst style metallic blue dial that is very attractive. Blue just happens to be quite trendy in 2011 for watches. The chronograph subdials engravings are "snailed," which results in pleasantly contrasting visual with concentric circles. It also helps with legibility when wanting to see the chronograph info easily.

On the dial the hands and hour indicators are applied and in 18k white gold. Inside the watch is an in-house made Girard-Perregaux GP030C0 automatic column wheel chronograph movement that is decorated and visible through the caseback window. The watch will come either on a black alligator strap, or an all 18k white gold metal bracelet. Prices for the 1966 Blue Chronograph are $29,700 on the strap and $51,850 on the gold bracelet. Look for this attractive watch soon.

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

Tags: 1966, blue, chronograph, girard-perregaux, watch, watches

Longines Master Collection Retrograde Moon Phases Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Watch dials that make use of a number of retrograde hands that display a lot of information are hard to pull off. They simply end up making dials look cluttered and really hard to read. So when a brand designs a watch with a dial that has a few retrograde hands, and it looks good - then there is reason to take notice. I first noticed the good looks of the Longines Master Collection Retrograde Moon Phases at Baselworld 2011 where it was being debuted. It immediately "spoke" to me, and I think others will like it as well.

Longines will offer the watch in a 41mm wide or 44mm wide steel case with a black or silvered dial. The dial is engraved with a decorative pattern. Inside the watch is a Swiss automatic movement that has four retrograde hands. These are for GMT time, the date, day, and seconds. The watch also has the time, moon phase indicator, and a day/night indicator. Really a lot going on, but it isn't intimidating to look at. The watch is available on a black or brown alligator strap with a price of 3,500 Swiss Francs.

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

Tags: collection, longines, master, retrograde, watch, watches

Mo Eden Digit Timepiece Ring

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Timepieces / Watches

You don't need to be limited to the wrist when wishing to wear something to display the time - and I am not just talking about pocket watches. Alternative options include pendants and rings. Watch rings have been around for a while, but never cease to fascinate me. I really want to see how people pull these off. A new ring watch is the Mo Eden "Digit." This model is the #26 - most of them are custom made for the customers.

This model is done in 18k white gold and is covered in diamonds. There is a sapphire crystal that is facet cut over the dial which allows you to see the watch face easily. You can get the Digit rings with various colors stones and styles. Mo Eden will make the watch with a quartz movement or a small manually wound mechanical movement. Price for the Digit # 26 is about $16,000.

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

Gallery: Mo Eden Digit Watch Ring

Tags: digit, mo eden, ring, watch

Piaget Altiplano Full Pave Dial Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

For a truly elegant watch you can always rely on the Piaget Altiplano. It looks good on both men and women, and comes in a variety of styles - each in a thin, round case. For 2011 the Altiplano gets a full pave (diamond covered) dial with matching diamond covered bezel. The diamonds are brilliant-cut and applied in a concentric circle pattern. Depending on the model, the pieces will have between 574-735 diamonds on them.

What are the two versions? Piaget offers the Altiplano Pave Dial watch in a 34mm wide or 38mm wide 18k gold case. The 34mm wide version is clearly a women's model, while the 38mm wide version is for either men or women. There are so many diamonds on the dial that the sheer level of the sparkle is almost distracting! Piaget even had to apply their logo on the bottom of the sapphire crystal as there was no room on the bejeweled face. Still, the dials are legible thanks to the white gold baton style hour markers and dauphine hour and minute hand. The design offers a pleasing mix of jewelry and minimalism.

There are more diamonds on the buckle of the white or black alligator strap. As is the case with all Altiplano watches, this one is very thin. The Piaget made calber 430P manually wound movement is just 2.1mm thick, and the case is not that much thicker. Showy, but still elegant, the Piaget Altiplano Pave Dial watch is a great item for special occasions or when you are try to be less than subtle on a first date.

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

Tags: altiplano, pave, piaget, watch, watches

Hublot Big Bang Leopard Watch for Your Wild Side

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Hublot's main intent behind their women's pieces is to shock and tantalize. I find it fascinating that they employ a very unique approach to making women's watches versus men's watches, as many brands have women's watches that are just mini versions of their men's collection.

One of Hublot's more noteworthy lady's line piece for 2011 is the Big Bang Leopard -- a new look for the 41mm Big Bang that is influenced by Hublot's appreciation of leopard print skin designs that exist in elsewhere in pieces such as one particular Rolex Daytona from a few years ago with a similar leopard print dial and strap. Hublot takes the concept and applies it to their 41mm wide Big Bang collection watches. If are drawn to the look, the piece is actually rather cohesive. The strap is actually leopard print denim with a matching dial style. On the dial are 18k red gold hands and yellow diamond hour markers.

The case itself is 41mm wide and done in 18k red gold. A large size for many women, but small for many Hublot timepieces. Around the bezel are jewels means to compliments the leopard print. There you'll find a mix of smoked quartz, andalusites, and citrine stones -- all in baguette cuts. Inside the watch is an HUB4300 automatic chronograph movement. No doubt the piece is highly polarizing, but you know the right person will be able to pull off the look wildly.

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

Tags: animal print, big bang, hublot, leopard, leopard print, luxury, watch, watches

Vacheron Constantin Historiques Aronde 1954 Watch Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

What a strange bird. This is the Vacheron Constantin Historiques Aronde 1954 watch for 2011 (and I suppose also for 1954). This retro revival has the name of an avian and "wings" on the side of the case. This is 1950's era watch design experimentation in full force. My favorite part of the watch is the dial - that has vertical or horizontal lines that go in a few directions.

The oddly shaped case is however comfortable on the wrist. It is 31.20mm wide by 44.50mm tall. It has a curved sapphire crystal and is done in 18k pink gold. Inside the Aronde is a Vacheron Constantin made caliber 1400 AS manually wound movement. The alligator strap is very high-quality and brand lovers will appreciate the Maltese Cross buckle. While interesting, aside from being a vintage redo, there isn't much to say about the Aronde watch. It will not satisfy all people's tastes, but that is OK. Enough retro watch lovers will appreciate the historic design and Vacheron sense of quality to peck these timepieces up.

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

Gallery: Vacheron Constantin Historiques Aronde 1954 Watch

Tags: 1954, aronde, historiques, review, vacheron constantin, watch, watches

DeWitt Academia Quantième Perpetuel Sport Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

"Sport" and "perpetual calendar" (they use the french "Quantième Perpetuel") usually aren't terms you hear in the same sentence when discussing high-end mechanical watches. But to be ballsy, that is what DeWitt did with the Academia Quantieme Perpetuel Sport watch. The amazingly loud design of the case and dial is sporty and bold. Certainly not for everyone, a good amount of people will appreciate the architectural complication that the design offers.

The watch isn't new, but this red bathed version is. Logically this watch should not look good. If you explained the concept of it to someone on paper, you'd be describing a mess. Though it does in fact seem to be greater than the sum of its parts. It comes across as cool - certainly more so that the original Academia Quantieme Perpetuel watch.

Tags: AC.7888.030A.M095, academia, calendar, dewitt, quantieme, sport, titanium, watch

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Ellicott Majesty Automatic Chronograph Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

One of Ellicott's new watches this year is the Majesty Automatic Chronograph and I think it does a good job of mixing regality and sport - a good watch to bear the "Majesty" name. The watch is a mixture of DLC black coated steel and 18k rose gold. The colors mix nicely and I quite like the cushion/tonneau style case shape. Ellicott seems to like large pushers and elements on their watches to make them a bit cartoony. As such you have large chronograph pushers on the left of the case and solid looking crown. The dial is bold, but still highly legible. I've always like the brand's signature hands and the chronograph function is integrated well. At 42mm wide, the case isn't actually all that large in person. Inside the watch is a Swiss automatic with an 18k gold rotor. The shiny black alligator strap rounds out the look - nice piece Ellicott.

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

Tags: chronograph, ellicott, majesty, watch, watches

Graff BabyGraff Collection Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Cute watches such as this are deceptively expensive. Graff does amazing things with precious stones and this one is charming and extremely feminine. The cases of these BabyGraff watches by Graff are 21mm wide in white gold. The straps or bracelets are very thin and done to emphasize the bracelet like quality and delicate nature of the design. If you opt for a strap they are matching galuchat (stingray) or lizard skin. The more luxurious models have the full diamond and precious stone bracelets that match the motif of the case and dial.

The cases are available in a few styles that emphasis either only diamonds, or diamonds and rubies, sapphires, or emeralds. The time is displayed via a pair of dauphine style hands and a Swiss quartz movement. There is a triangular cut stone in each as the 12 o'clock marker, and more more hour indicators in a small flange ring around the dial. I appreciate the extra effort used to make the as legible as possible. What is also interesting is that the watches feature an array of stone cuts, including baguette, princess, trilliant, trapeze, and triangle. Look for them soon where Graff watches are sold.

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

Tags: babygraff, diamonds, graff, watch, watches

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