Monthly Archives: April 2017

longines record collection

LONGINES – RECORD

Longines

185 YEARS: A LONGEVITY “RECORD”

To celebrate its 185th anniversary, the watchmaker from Saint Imier has unveiled a complete collection of steel watches with an automatic movement, and officially certified as chronometers by the COSC.

Longines has now been in business for 185 years: 185 years since the birth of the brand from Saint Imier – a town famous for its pool of watchmaking talents – and 185 years of mastery in technique, timekeeping and aesthetic appeal. If we had to sum up Longines in a few words, we would mention timeless elegance, efficient mechanisms and attractive prices. The watchmaker’s two main strengths are the wide range of its watches and accessibility. This 185th anniversary is the occasion for a new collection of watches named Record and equipped not only with an automatic mechanism, but also a chronometer certified by the COSC.

longines record collection

This line of Record watches includes a large variety of steel models available in several different diameters (26, 30, 38.5 or 40mm) and adorned with a wide range of dials. Some of these models, mainly those designed for women, include a bezel decorated with diamonds.

The various colours on offer on the dials are quite traditional: opaline mother-of-pearl, lacquered black and studded with a diamond index, matt white featuring Roman numerals, silvered with a sunburst finish and decorated with triangular hour markers, or black, blue or silver featuring an hour rim made up of Arabic numerals and index, to mention just some of the designs. At the centre of each dial is a couple of metallic or blued steel dauphine-style hands displaying the hours and the minutes, along with a second hand. To round things off, the date appears in a window at 3 o’clock.

The hour and calendar functions are driven by the calibre L592.5, based on an ETA design, an automatic mechanical movement that has been officially certified by the COSC and provides a power reserve of over 60 hours.

Priced from 1 850 CHF (steel, 26mm) to 4 260 CHF (steel set with diamonds, 30mm)

By Sharmila Bertin

chopard happy ocean diamonds

CHOPARD – HAPPY OCEAN

Chopard

LET’S GO TO THE BEACH!

As summer draws near, Chopard takes us to meet the ocean wildlife with four new sports watches with a main colour – deep blue – poetically evoking the sea world

Spring has not yet ended, but Chopard is already getting ready for summer. The brand from Geneva has unveiled four new watches with a blue theme to join the Happy Sport collection first launched in 1993, with two dressed in steel and two covered in precious stones. The blue colour evokes the ocean wave but also the turquoise waters lapping against fine sand beaches and multi-coloured fish dancing around coral reefs.

chopard happy ocean diamonds

Decorated in deep blue with a matt finish, the dial features five mobile diamonds with a harmonious dance that has forged the reputation of the Happy Sport collection. During their gleeful round, the sparkling gems pass over an hour rim made up of rounded and rectangular indices. The centre of the Happy Ocean dial houses two sword-shaped hands with a luminous coating. The minute hand is lined with turquoise or pink, depending on the model chosen. The white Super-LumiNova® used here gives out a blue light for the indices, the dots at the end of the second hand and the hour hand. The minute hand, however, emits a green gleam when the watch is plunged in darkness.

Since Chopard is a synonym of jewellery, the brand based in Geneva has also produced a pair of Happy Ocean watches with precious stones. The white gold case is crowned with a bezel paved with diamonds and sapphires, joined by rubies and topazes, and all in baguette size. The dial, where the five moving diamonds revolve, features a navy blue mother-of-pearl disc.

Price: 7,800 CHF (Steel) – 49,000 CHF (Blue diamonds) – 54,330 CHF (Pink diamonds) chopard.com

By Sharmila Bertin

tag heuer autavia closeup

TAG HEUER – AUTAVIA

Tag Heuer

THE PAST IN THE PRESENT

A feature of Formula 1 racing since the 1960s, the Autavia model by TAG Heuer has been reborn 55 years after the original watch, but equipped with contemporary aesthetic and mechanical codes

In 1933 Heuer produced its first Autavia chronograph, used as an on-board counter in car races. Its name comes from the contraction of “automobile” and “aviation”. It reappeared 30 years later when Jack Heuer created the first Autovia chronograph wrist watch in 1962. Much appreciated by racing drivers, especially by the German-Austrian F1 driver Jochen Rindt (1942-1970), whose last name was given to the watch as a nickname, the Autavia timepiece has been brought to life for a second time this year.

tag heuer autavia closeup

In 2016, TAG Heuer organised a kind of online contest during which 50 000 participants were asked to choose which watch to recreate from among 16 Autavia models. And it was the Autavia “Rindt” from 1966 that won the vote. But although it has kept some of its more striking signs, such as the revolving bezel and the white counters, other elements make it different to the fifty-year-old version, especially the size of the model and the mechanism inside it.

The steel case of the Autovia has gone from 39mm in diameter to 42. It is topped by a notched and revolving bezel, including a black aluminium ring inscribed with a 12-hour scale. The watch is waterproof down to 100m, and the case back is fitted with a sapphire glass window partially unveiling its mechanism. This an automatic mechanical movement made by TAG Heuer, the calibre Heuer-02, which provides the various hour, calendar and chronograph functions while supplying a big power reserve of 80 hours.

On the black dial, with its white second markers, the applied metal indices have been highlighted with a luminous beige coating. The hour markers are crossed by two stick-type hands showing the hours and minutes. The seconds are set apart, in one of three white and blue counters, brought together with the date at 6 o’clock. The chronograph, meanwhile, is shared out between the seconds at the centre, the minutes at 3 o’clock and the hours at 9 o’clock.

Price: 4 800 CHF (leather strap) – 4 950 (steel strap) www.tagheuer.com

By Sharmila Bertin

blancpain villeret jour date closeup front and caseback

BLANCPAIN – VILLERET DAY DATE

BlancPain

THE PURITY OF TIME

The latest addition to the Villeret collection, this steel timepiece made by Blancpain and presented at BaselWorld, transcribes the march of time with elegant purity, including the day and the date

Named after a Bern municipality in the Jura mountains, well known as a major watchmaking centre and notably the hometown of Blancpain, the Villeret collection embodies the essence of the classic watch, the pure beauty of watchmaking. Its physical characteristics are easy to identify: a double pomme case with the bezel and sides forming two slim gadroons, an immaculate dial, generally featuring Grand Feu enamel, an hour rim with delicately rounded Roman numerals and leaf-shaped hands.

The newest addition this year to the timeless Blancpain watch collection is a refined piece, in line with the family tradition, with a double window showing the day and the date: the Villeret Day Date.

blancpain villeret jour date closeup front and caseback

The dial presents a white matt disc with a finely textured and powdered appearance. The silver hour rim extends its Roman numerals in a circle round the chapter ring, where two openwork hour and minute hands mark the time. The seconds, meanwhile, are offset, ticking away independently in their own counter at 6 o’clock. On the right-hand side of the dial on the Villeret Day Date, two open windows display the day of the week and the date. The day changes instantaneously to the next day, while the date changes semi-instantaneously. Both can be reset using the crown.

The rounded double pomme steel case measures 40mm in diameter and is 10.44mm thick. The back is equipped with sapphire glass, revealing the dance of a yellow gold rotor decorated with a honeycomb pattern. The rotor is part of the calibre 1160DD, an automatic mechanical movement made by Blancpain. The calibre drives the hour functions (hours and seconds in the centre, seconds at 6 o’clock) and calendar functions (day and date at 3 o’clock), while providing a strong power reserve of over 70 hours with the help of its double barrel.

This new Villeret Day Date is available with a black alligator or a Milanese mesh steel strap.

Price: 10 200 CHF blancpain.com

By Sharmila Bertin

oris big crown 1917 limited edition caseback

ORIS – BIG CROWN 1917 LIMITED EDITION

Oris

THE ARCHIVES, SOURCES OF TREASURE

One of the models unveiled by Oris at Baselworld takes its inspiration from two vintage timepieces in the brand’s archives and, despite the limited number of pieces made, was a big hit at the opening of the trade fair.

It’s impossible to deny the heart-stopping feeling I experienced when Rolf Studer, the CEO of the Oris brand, gave me this new model. It is hard to restrain your emotions, even though journalists should always try to be impartial. But my love had bloomed for this treasured object delicately placed on one of the tables of the Oris at Baselworld. Its name? The Big Crown 1917 Limited Edition.

oris big crown 1917 limited edition caseback

The dial on the Big Crown 1917 Limited Edition is decorated in a lightly grained, silver grey tone, and features an hour rim with large Arabic numerals coated in beige Super-LumiNova®. In the centre are two luminous, blued, openwork and leaf-shaped hands, identical to the ones found on the first pilot’s watches in the 20th century, displaying the hours and minutes.

This new watch made by Oris is available with a chocolate brown leather wrist protector, as well as a travel pouch with a “simple” second strap, also made of brown leather.

Price: 2 400 CHF

By Sharmila Bertin

jaquet droz grande seconde quantieme satin brushed closeup

JAQUET DROZ – GRANDE SECONDE QUANTIEME SATIN-BRUSHED

Jaquet Droz

RAYS OF STEEL AND RAYS OF SILVER

The watchmaker from Chaux-de-Fonds has released two new versions of its famous Grande Seconde Quantième – available in two diameters – with dials coloured silver grey and steel grey.

Two of the typical hallmarks of Jaquet Droz watches are at the heart of this Grande Seconde Quantième duo. First of all, although the dials are neither “Grand Feu” enamel nor mineral, as they generally are in the watchmaking collections by the Chaux-de-Fonds brand, they still have all the purity that gives them their elegance. No excess flourishes or sense of narrowness – just space. A great deal of space. Secondly – and this is one of the symbolic strengths of the Swiss watchmaker – a large 8 formed by the fusion of two counters extends its loops over the dial with masterful sophistication.

This Grande Seconde Quantième Satin-Brushed duo, introduced at BaselWorld 2017, was a success from the very opening of the trade fair. All the aesthetic codes and mechanical power of Jaquet Droz are on display in these two watches with prices under the threshold of 10 000 Swiss francs. Another attractive element for the Grande Seconde Quantième Satin-Brushed that will widen its clientele even more.

jaquet droz grande seconde quantieme satin brushed closeup

In fact, this model model has two faces – one silver grey and the other steel grey – and two diameters – 39 and 43mm. Theses choices will also help attract more customers and fans of Jaquet Droz.

Each dial is adorned with a satin-brushed finish and fine sunburst engravings, with rays beginning not at the heart of the dial, as is the case in most watches, but near 6 o’clock, where the long second hand and the varnish-tipped date hand are centred. These two displays are, in fact, grouped in a single counter, with lowered edges to house the date, encircled by the second markers. At the 31st day of the month (shown in red), this sub-dial interlocks with the hour and minute counter to form the magic number 8.

Ringed by white markers against a black background, the hour rim, made up of applied indices, is the setting for a couple of silver or blue lancine-style hands, displaying the hours and the minutes.

At the heart of the steel case, measuring 39 or 43mm in diameter, is housed the JD2660Q2.P calibre. This automatic mechanical movement has a double barrel, and provides 68 hours of power reserve, while driving the hours and minutes (offset at 12 o’clock on the dial) and the seconds and the date (brought together at 6 o’clock).

Price: 9 750 CHF jaquet-droz.com

By Yannick Ortolan