To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the House of Boucheron jewelers, the company has commissioned a variety of special commemorators of the occasion. To start with, they have opened a new store on the rue du Rhone in Paris to showcase the firm's famous designs.
The company has also created unique objects in collaboration with international brand names such as Vertu, jewelry designer Harumi Klossowska, la Maison du chocolat and Richard Mille. From Mille comes the Hommage à Boucheron RM 018 timepiece, in which the gear-train of the movement is manufactured from precious and semi-precious stones. The tourbillon watch has a case and movement produced by Richard Mille and features the precious and semi-precious stones selected and elaborated by Boucheron. The 18K white gold watch is limited to 30 pieces and each piece will have a different combination of stones.
The first watch from new brand Maitres du Temps is the Chapter One and it's practically a book unto itself. The new brand was founded by Steven Holtzman the ex-distributor of Roger Dubuis in North America and will showcase designs from Christophe Claret, Roger Dubuis and Peter Speake-Marin.
Their first model is the Chapter One which is thickly stuffed with complications including a tourbillon, mono-pusher chronograph, retrograde date, retrograde GMT, and two rolling bars at 6 o'clock and 12 o'clock, indicating the day of the week and phase of the moon. A small window between the day roller and tourbillon allows a peek at the gyrating tourbillon cage. The watch is done in an 18K red gold case and has some pretty hefty dimension, 62.60 mm x 45.90 mm
Watchmaker Ulysse Nardin has introduced their new watch for Baselworld. The Sonata Silicium Limited Edition watch is a limited edition of 300 pieces (in an 18K white or rose gold case). Nardin is now using silicium in all its new models. The movement is the automatic UN caliber 67 with a power reserve of approximately 42 hours. The functions include hours, minutes, seconds, large date, dual time system with instant time zone adjuster, countdown, cathedral gong alarm. The case is 42mm and it has front and back sapphire crystals with an alligator strap. It's handsome enough and I'm sure the alarm sound is beautiful but I find the yellow hands a bit jarring on such an elegant watch.
The latest watch in Piaget's Polo Tourbillon Relatif series will delight fans of the city of Paris. The new watch, which will be shown at the upcoming SIHH 2008 watch and jewelry show has a mechanical hand-wound one minute flying tourbillon and uses the Manufacture Piaget caliber 608P movement. The dial features names of famous Parisians. The coolness factor here though is on the sides of the watch. The sides of the watch are decorated with amazingly intricate etchings of the city. The design shows monuments such as the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and others. No details on price or production are available yet.
There are some who say you shouldn't mess with a classic, the limited edition Movado Museum Watch which will be shown at Baselworld this year blows that theory out of the water. The classic watch has a 45mm 18K rose gold case with a sapphire crystal caseback window showing the ETA-Unitas manual winding movement which is engraved with a "Movado Factories" inscription. The hot stuff happens on the front, a small red-framed dial cutout with an M-shaped bridge that bears the sub seconds hand. It looks like a superhero symbol and I wish I could give it to everyone whose name starts with the letter M. There will be 25 pieces manufactured.
In 2005, Omega spent $350,000 on the Ultra Thin Omega watch that belonged to President John F. Kennedy. Now they are making the most of their investment with the launch of a limited-edition timepiece that will be virtually identical to the "Ultra Thin" Omega that Kennedy wore during his January 20, 1961 inauguration and throughout much of his presidency. There will be 261numbered commemorative timepieces available for purchase this spring. The watches will have the same 18K gold casing and black leather strap as well as the gold stamp of the word "Omega" and the company's symbol both on the original. Each wristwatch will retail for $8,250 and will be available for purchase in time for Father's Day. Given the recent comparisons between the two in the media, it would be the perfect gift for Barack Obama.
Watchmaker Franc Vila has announced a limited edition that is truly limited. At Baselworld 2008, Franc Vila will unveil the FVa Nº 6 Tourbillon Planétaire Skeleton SuperLigero Concept. The watch's movement has been built for the first time ever in an Aluminium-Lithium based alloy christened ''lightnium''. The new material is an extremely low density metal that is light and has high tensile strength, By using an extremely low density material and reducing the movement to its minimum expression, it is made into a skeleton and the lightness of this new material means that the movement is less affected by inertial forces making it one sporty skeleton tourbillon. There will be just eight of these made.
The Magellan watches are named after the explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who is famous for completing the first circumnavigation of the world proving that the earth is round. The watches pay homage to that feat with a distinctive dial that is shaped like a half globe and is under a scratch-resistant anti-reflective sapphire dome. Thhe watch uses an automatic movement (a de-centric weight winds the main spring) with the crown fully incorporated into the case and the hands curved with the circumference of the dial. It also has a 24-hour hand which indicates the longitudainal position of the sun at any given time.
Their latest model is the Magellan 1521golf series which uses an actual golf ball. A section is cut from the ball and mounted in a bronze support. The cool thing is that you can get a custom edition made using your own golf ball (providing it is a solid core ball). What a perfect way to memorialize a hole in one. The gallery below has pictures of the rest of the Magellan watches including their classic line with the dial as the top part of a globe and the diamond version which has the same map done in diamonds and gemstones. There is also a Lady Magellan necklace.
Chanel and watchmaker Audemars Piguet have collaborated on a new version of Chanel's popular J12 collection. The J12 calibre 3125 is done in 18K yellow gold and black ceramic. The 42mm case is done in ceramic and 18kt yellow gold and it has a ceramic bracelet with a gold buckle. The watch also has a sapphire crystal and display back. The movement is the automatic Audemars caliber AP3125 with 40 jewels, beating at 21,600 bph and with a 60 hour power reserve.
The latest watch from Formex is the cube-like Formex 5750 Limited Edition. The watch has a titanium and stainless steel case with an anti-reflective-coated sapphire crystal and a display back. The movement is the automatic ETA caliber 7754 with a power reserve of 48 hours. The watch is a limited edition of 499 pieces and sells for 3,195 euros.
Wow. This pair of women's watches is absolutely mouth watering. The double-beveled edge filled with round diamonds, the unique design within the face itself spilling diamonds between Arabic numerals, and the two distinct color choices are more than enough to get me to drool. It will even hug your wrist with a satin band. Feminine but not shy, these timepieces would fit into any wardrobe... so when do I get mine?!
The newest watch design comes from Gabor Kanabe, a 46-year-old watchmaker from Zurich. His new watch is called the 8-Dance because the face resembles a sideways eight. The hour and minute hands are each placed in their own circle forming the numeral and the circles slowly rotate around the dial with passing time. His website has an animation that shows watch in action.The dial's rich look comes from a tropical wood called "Cocobolo." The watch has an 18K white gold case which measures 38mm and there is a sapphire crystal display back. It uses an automatic movement and has an alligator strap with rubber elements. The 8 Dance, is a limited edition of 23 pieces and sells for 12,000 euros.
The latest creation from Blancpain is absolutely stuffed with diamonds. The Tourbillon Diamants has 480 diamonds for a total of 58 carats. The dial sparkles with a brick-like arrangement of baguette diamonds. The watch uses the Blancpain Calibre 25A movement, a mechanical self-winding movement made of 239 parts with a seven-day power reserve. The 40mm white gold case is water resistant. The white gold bracelet is set with 42 carats of diamonds.
Watchmaker Louis Erard has introduced their first ladies collection, Emotion. The watches are slightly feminine and not overly dainty. They have a 36mm case and are available in either stainless steel or 18K rose gold. It comes in brown, black or white versions, each of which is available with a diamond bezel. It uses the ETA 2895 automatic movement. The steel version sells for 1,295 Swiss francs, steel with diamonds is 2,695 Swiss francs, rose gold is 4,595 Swiss Francs and rose gold with diamonds is 6,750 Swiss francs.
The Kalla Lune is the latest haute jewelry line of watches from Vacheron Constantin. The Kalia Lune Large model has 816 baguette-cut diamonds, 23 brilliant-cut diamonds and one rose-cut diamond for the crown for a total weight of 42.61 carats. The stones are hand-cut and hand-set to work perfectly with the case. The 18K white gold and diamond bracelet is set with baguette cut diamonds set so that they seem to flow across the wrist. The watch is available in either a 41mm or 36mm case size. The watches uses the manual-wind Vacheron caliber 1410 with Geneva Hallmark movement which has 22 jewels, beating at 28,800 bph and with a power reserve of 40 hours. The watches feature a moonphase indicator.
