Monthly Archives: October 2014

Audi Sport Limited Edition

To celebrate its official partnership with Audi Sport for the FIA World Championships and for the German Super Tourenwagen Cup, Oris has launched an automatic chronograph, styled with a range of design codes that evoke those of the German automotive manufacturer. This 2,000-piece limited edition features a crystal-clear metallic face, carved with two sub-dials (the chronograph minutes at 12 o’clock and the hours at 6 o’clock), displays the date disc at 6 o’clock. A retrograde seconds counter is set at 9 o’clock. The hour chapter, encircled by a tachymetric scale on the flange, is designed with large, luminescent applique Arabic numerals over which hover two polished nickel hands, also luminescent. The minutes are engraved in the rotating bezel, fashioned in tungsten trimmed with black rubber for optimal wearing comfort. The 44 mm diameter titanium case houses an automatic chronograph movement that offers a power reserve of 48 hours. Price: 3,550 CHF

BLANCPAIN – Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Chronograph Flyback

Blancpain is continuing its commitment to protect the world’s oceans by supporting the National Geographic Society’s “Pristine Seas” project for a 4th consecutive year. The aim of this initiative is to guarantee the conservation of flora and fauna in marine areas and by donating 250,000 Euros to it from sales of its Bathyscaphe (1,000 Euros per watch based on a total of 250 pieces). The 43.6mm diameter ceramic grey case is topped with a rotating bezel also made of ceramic material featuring Liquidmetal® blue inserts and markers. The lightweight case contains the F385 automatic calibre which provides 50 hours power reserve and drives the time functions (hours and minutes in the centre and small seconds at 6 o’clock), the chronograph (30min and 12-hours counters at 3 o’clock and 6 o’clock respectively) and date (aperture at half past four). On the blue sunburst dial, the hour indexes are in different forms and the two main watch hands are filled with luminescent material. Price: 18,800 CHF

BR-X1 Skeleton Chronograph

With its close ties to the military aviation world, the Parisian brand has drawn inspiration from the story of the first experimental plane to break the sound barrier in 1947, the Bell X-1, to create a chronograph (almost) as light as air.  Its titanium case, both square and rounded, is a hallmark of Bell & Ross and measures 45mm in diameter. It is finished with ceramic and rubber inserts, particularly the buttons, to protect them from scratches and provide better ergonomic handling. Its lightly smoked mineral glass dial offers a view of the automatic movement. This drives the time functions (hours and minutes in the centre with the second hand at 3 o’clock) and the chronograph (seconds in the centre with the counter positioned at 9 o’clock) as well as the date (window at 6 o’clock). The main watch hands are filled with Super-LumiNova® while the chronograph features (including the side-mounted buttons at 2 and 4 o’clock) are finished in bright red. Price: 18,200 CHF

Terrascope “Le Cabinet des Curiosités of Thomas Erber”

Following in the footsteps of Paris, London, Berlin and New York, the annual exhibition created in 2010 by the journalist and trendsetter Thomas Erber takes up residence this time around in Bangkok. The concept, of course, remains the same: to showcase the exceptional work (or hyper-limited series) of highly-talented, audacious creators in several fields including watchmaking. JeanRichard takes part, presenting its world-renowned Terrascope, reinterpreted in the colours of the Thai flag. Its 44 mm diameter blue aluminium case encircles a dial, which is also blue, engraved with a motif, halfway between camouflage and herringbone. The dial features an assortment of indexes, punctuated by red luminescent dots, and embraces a discreet minute tracker. Two large blue hands, with red phosphorescent highlighting, display the hours and minutes, whilst a date aperture is set at 3 o’clock. These functions are powered by the automatic JR60 calibre, which offers a power reserve of 38 hours. Price: 4,600 CHF

CHRISTOPHE CLARET – Margot

Christophe Claret is totally in tune with the times. To start with, Margot is the first-ever model that the master watchmaker from the Neuchâtel Mountains has created exclusively for the ladies – and, yes, another watchmaker takes the plunge; secondly, its self-winding mechanical movement unveils a delightfully romantic complication: a “he love me, he loves me not”, petal-picking daisy; or rather, a flower, a highly in-vogue design-icon this year, which is extolled in all its splendour here. When the push-piece at 2 o’clock is gently pressed, one or two petals vanish whilst a crystalline chime resonates. Instantaneously, an aperture set between 4 and 5 o’clock displays the ancestral refrain “I love you – a little – a lot”… When all twelve titanium-composed petals have disappeared, a gentle touch on the push-piece at 4 o’clock brings the flower back to life. The white-gold case is adorned with 68 baguette diamonds, totalling 5.2 carats. The flower’s stigma is fashioned in citrine. Four versions of this model have been designed, each proposed as a limited edition of 20 pieces. Price: 278,000 CHF

PATEK PHILIPPE – Grandmaster Chime ref. 5175

To celebrate its 175th anniversary, on 13 October, Patek Philippe pulled out all the stops and presented the most complicated wristwatch of its collections to date. Among the 20 functions proposed, two are unprecedented world firsts: firstly, an acoustic striking alarm, reproducing the full tone sequences of the minute repeater, and including programmed alarm time; secondly, an on-request date repeater, which sounds a double high-low strike at ten-day intervals and a high strike for the other days. The 18 other complications, including a grande and petite sonnerie, a minute repeater, an instantaneous perpetual calendar with 4-digit year display and a 2nd time zone, are interspersed over the two faces of the reversible 47.4 mm diameter case, which is 16.1 mm thick. Over 100,000 hours of work were required to develop, manufacture and assemble the 1,580 components – including 214 for the case alone – of this model, limited to 7 pieces. Price not disclosed

ZENITH – Academy Christophe Colomb Tribute to Felix Baumgartner

When he jumped into the void from the ballooned capsule which took him to the edge of the stratosphere, Austrian parachutist Felix Baumgartner had no idea how many records he had smashed or that he’d written his name in history. The supersonic skydiver’s feat has been celebrated by Zenith, famous for its passion for explorers. Baumgartner is the ambassador of the brand and is immortalised on this watch’s dial; his sculpted gold effigy on the stratospheric aventurine background seems to look down on the sculpted turquoise Earth before taking the leap. The hours and minutes are off-centre near 12 o’ clock, the power reserve at 3 o’ clock whilst the small seconds is at 9 o’ clock. The gyroscope at 6 o’ clock is what really grabs your attention beneath its glass bubble. The self-winding El Primero 8804 movement brings everything to life from within the 45mm platinum case coated in black DLC. Price: 250’000 CHF

Heritage Twenty-Four Hours Single Push-Piece Chronograph

Military and civil aviation spread its technical wings during the Second World War and in the 50s. Reliable, accurate and sturdy watches were specially designed to be worn by pilots and were often seriously put to the test. Longines has a new aviator chronograph in its Heritage collection with the details you’d expect of a pilot’s timepiece: large diameter (47.5mm), large notched crown and easy-to-read dial. The 24 hour track and graduated minute track run around the silver dial beneath blue hands. The small seconds lies at 9 o’ clock and the date display at 6 o’ clock. Use the pusher in the crown to start the central seconds to see the chronograph seconds. These functions are brought to life by a self-winding mechanical movement inside the steel case which also provides a power reserve of up to 54 hours. Price: 4’000 CHF

Artix Date Blue

Life isn’t always black and white. So why not choose to see life in another light, maybe blue. But not just any blue: midnight blue, which is not quite blue but not quite black either. Calming and dreamy midnight blue. Striking yet subtle midnight blue. The midnight blue on the Artix dial swirls with its grooved central disc along the ring bearing the luminescent indices. The hour numerals interspersed in a slim minute track lie on the chapter ring and the date at 6 o’ clock. Two hands coated in Super LumiNova® track the time and are powered by a self-winding movement which you can see through the back of the 42mm steel case. The Artix is at its best on the blue imitation crocodile leather straps. Also available with a steel Milanese strap. Price: 1,450 CHF (leather) – 1,650 CHF (steel)

Elégante

It has taken eight years to design the electromagnetic movement for F.P. Journe’s first ever ladies watch. The result is a lesson in design and technology! On the mother-of-pearl and luminescent dial there’s a mechanical motion detector at 5.30 which recognises when the watch is no longer being worn; the watch goes on standby after thirty minutes and automatically sets itself to the right time when it is back on the wrist. This unique technology is housed in the titanium Tortue case (34x35mm) with a rubber partition (available in 7 colours) and finished off with a diamond paved bezel. Large Arabic numerals and a slim minute track lie in the centre beneath blue-tone hands whilst the small seconds stands at 6 o’ clock on the dial. Price: 15’120 CHF