Monthly Archives: November 2016

ulysse nardin marine chronometer closeup

ULYSSE NARDIN – MARINE CHRONOMETER MANUFACTURE

From Switzerland to the sea

Ulysse Nardin is famous for its pocket watches and has unveiled two new pieces from its star Marine Chronometer Manufacture collection.

Ulysse Nardin began designing marine chronometers in the late 19th century during the boom in international maritime trade. Its goal was to ensure ships always arrived safe and sound. The invention of the high precision astronomical regulator enabled Ulysse Nardin to focus on designing pocket chronometers. The brand became famous for its chronometers over time and now, with 170 years of experience, it has unveiled two new heirs to the Marine Chronometer Manufacture collection.

ulysse nardin marine chronometer closeup

The new models are fitted with the UN-118 calibre that’s made entirely in-house using cutting-edge materials such as silicone and DIAMonSIL. The movement brings together technological advances in the DIAMonSIL anchor escapement with the exclusive oscillator and patented Ulysse Nardin spring. The future-forward self-winding calibre fuels the 60-hour power reserve, hour, minute and small seconds hands. The dials feature a power reserve indicator at 12 and a small seconds counter at 6. The Roman hour numerals, cathedral hands and notched bezel on the stainless steel case are classic Marine Chronometer Manufacture features.

There are two versions of the 45mm chronometer. The first is classic yet contemporary with white markers and cherry red details on a blue sunburst dial. The second oozes marine chic in shiny white lacquer with blue numerals and hands. The Marine Chronometer Manufacture is waterproof to depths of 200m and has undergone thorough testing to get the COSC certification and Ulysse Nardin performance certificate.

Price: 9,800.000 EUR

By Inès Aloui

tissot v8 alpine closeup

TISSOT – V8 ALPINE A460 LIMITED EDITION

A fresh tribute to racing

Tissot has had a strong bond with motor sports since the 60s. With this in mind, the Swiss brand has once again joined forces with Alpine to design a watch in tribute to motor racing. The collaboration has produced 460 of the Tissot V8 Alpine A460 limited edition.

Long-standing partners Tissot and Alpine teamed up for the Alpine victory at the Monte-Carlo Rally and World Rally Championship in 1973. The brands got back together in 1978 for Alpine’s scratch victory at Les 24 Heures du Mans. Following these milestones, Tissot and Alpine have joined forces again to bring out an original timepiece with a nod to motor racing: V8 Alpine A460. It’s packed with features such as pushers that look like engine valves, a carbon dial and unique carbon-look leather strap that brings to mind vintage car materials.

tissot v8 alpine closeup

The 42mm steel case is waterproof to depths of 100m. The tricompax (with three counters) dial is shielded by anti-glare sapphire crystal and displays the small seconds at 6, 30-minute counter at 10 and 1/10th of a second counter at 2. The watch is true to Alpine’s colours: blue markers and central seconds hand and orange counter hands with a luminescent coating to glow in the dark. Tissot and Alpine are in the driving seats!

Price: 460 euros tissot.com

By Inès Aloui

tag heuer connected rose gold both views

TAG HEUER – TAG HEUER CONNECTED ROSE GOLD

Winter glow for Christmas

The TAG Heuer Connected Rose Gold smartwatch has been given an 18 carat rose gold coat for the festive season.

True to its brand identity, TAG Heuer wanted to bring out a new model pairing modern materials such as titanium and precious metals such as rose gold.

TAG Heuer has been tackling the smartwatch to make a piece that looks like a classic TAG Heuer but houses connected technology. TAG Heuer worked closely with Intel and Google to design a watch that blends connectivity and Swiss watch expertise to achieve its goal. Intel delved into the watch’s intelligent side with TAG Heuer to give it performance and myriad connection options including audio feed, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi whilst enabling wearers to use a wide range of functions fuelled by the Android Wear system.

tag heuer connected rose gold both views

The 46mm TAG Heuer Connected Rose Gold looks like a real watch. The TAG Heuer Connected has 4 GB of memory, a last generation lithium battery with a 1-day battery life, a small microphone so you can communicate with it using Google Voice control and a sapphire crystal touchscreen (a vital addition to the control pusher at 3). The IP67-approved piece is waterproof for everyday life and has a contact charger to charge it up. Like all the brand’s watches, the TAG Heuer Connected comes with a 2 year warranty and TAG Heuer gives every TAG Heuer Connected owner the chance to swap it for a mechanical watch for 1,500 USD when the warranty expires.

Price: 9,900 CHF tagheuer.com

By Inès Aloui

zenith academy tribute cohiba closeup

ZENITH – ACADEMY CHRISTOPHE COLOMB TRIBUTE TO COHIBA

A TALE OF TOBACCO AND GOLD

Zenith has sealed its partnership with Cohiba with a second watch for the premium cigar brand’s 50th anniversary.

 We introduced the limited edition El Primero Chronomaster 1969 Cohiba Edition in May 2016: 50 rose gold pieces and 50 steel watches whose dials were awash with tobacco brown and the signature Cohiba yellow, white and gold pattern to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the habanos brand. Zenith is doing it all again with just 5 of the exclusive Academy Christophe Colomb Tribute to Cohiba, again in tribute to Cohiba’s 50th anniversary.

zenith academy tribute cohiba closeup

The dial on this new watch brings to mind textured and creased tobacco leaf. The gold disc is shot through with tiny veins which are hand-engraved and enamelled. The hours and minutes appear off-centre at 12, the small seconds at 9 and power reserve at 3. The hour rim features Roman numerals and rose gold dots beneath a pair of spear-shape rose gold-plated hands.

The bottom of the Academy Christophe Colomb Tribute to Cohiba dial is filled with a sapphire crystal ball covering a gyroscopic module that holds the regulator horizontally. It controls gravity by protecting the mechanism from earthly forces of attraction that tend to affect a watch’s function and precision.

The displays, 50-hour power reserve and additional module at 6 are fuelled by the El Primero 8804 calibre. The manual wind movement made by Zenith runs at 36,000 beats per hour (5Hz) inside the 45mm rose gold case that’s 14.35mm thick (excluding the sapphire sphere).

Price: 220,000 CHF zenith.com

By Sharmila Bertin

audemars piguet millenary hand wound closeup

AUDEMARS PIGUET – MILLENARY HAND-WOUND

TAKE A WATCH ON THE WILD SIDE

When the Vallée de Joux watchmaker tames a wild animal, they unleash a precious and rare watch with personality for women who know what they want.

If you take a close look at the Audemars Piguet collections, you soon see that the Brassus brand likes to gives its pieces personality just like the famous Royal Oak by Gérald Genta. The Millenary Hand-Wound model epitomises watchmaking imbued with strong design. It’s designed for 21st century women, is multi-facetted and plays on paradoxes with its feminine, maternal, oval curves and raw exposed mechanism. Soft yet strong, wise yet mad, traditional yet anti-conformist: the Millenary Hand-Wound is certainly a rule breaker.

To enhance its ambivalent personality, Audemars Piguet has given it a wild side but that doesn’t mean it’s fierce; everything comes together naturally on the Millenary Hand-Wound dial. Its look is certainly eye-catching but pleasingly so with slim stripes, clashing bubbles and black and white contrasts. To sum up, it’s a wild and complex animal occupying the entire territory embodied by the dial including the mechanism.

audemars piguet millenary hand wound closeup

The zebra’s coat covers almost all the dial apart from an oblong display running from 8 to 10 which leaves part of the balance wheel bridge hanging in the air. The glittering hide alternates between wide monochrome onyx strips and stripes paved with 140 brilliant-cut diamonds. Two bevelled white gold discs camouflaged by the two-tone design lie off-centre and seem to collide. Two yellow gold spear-shape hands at 3 display the hours and minutes whilst the seconds tick down in their own counter at 6.

The time functions and 49-hour power reserve are fuelled by the manual wind 5205 calibre inside the white gold diamond-covered oval case and crown with an onyx cabochon.

Price: 67,000 CHF

By Sharmila Bertin