The Coolest Auction Is Coming To HK!

If your a watch, pocket watch or clock collector you gotta be in Hong Kong On June 7 2008. This event is being put on by auction extraordinaire Antiquorum, This will take place in the Hong Kong Club Building in Hong Kong and will feature 400 hundred of the most outstanding and rare timepieces in the world spanning over several centuries. The roster will Include the likes of Rolex, Patek Phillipe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantine, A Lange @ Sohne, Panerai, IWC, Jaeger Le Coultre, Hermes, Bell @ Ross, F.P. Journe and many others. If you can not attend this auction in Hong Kong, you owe it to yourself to go on Antiquorum’s website and view their online catalogue of all the watches that will be present, which is guaranteed to blow your frigging mind. I was thoroughly impressed with how detailed and informative it was with prices and descriptions in Dollars,Euros and HK Dollars. If you are as passionate about watches as me, then you will definately be taken back by knowing that the most important and extensive watches of all time are going live on Auction under one roof in Hong Kong in only one week!

pic courtesy of http://www.antiquorum.com

Hip To Be Square

At this point you may/may not know I don’t hold back on my opinions with regard to what I think about watches. I have never been the biggest Roger Dubuis fan in the world. I have always respected their in house movements and how incredibly well finished they are. Their cases and dials have been quite questionable and ornate over the years and lets face it people they are not the most rock solid investment. Now that being said there is one watch they make in particular that I think is just incredible. Their 28 piece limited edition Golden Square with sub-seconds at 6 o’clock is probably the coolest square watch in a precious metal that I have ever seen. The attention to detail is amazing with their solid 18 karat white gold square case. The exploded roman numerals on a silver dial are very well laid out and proportionate and everything is brought together by the amazing contrast of their steel blue hands. This mechanical self-winding movement may be viewed through a circular window made out of sapphire in the middle of the Caseback and has been finely adjusted in 5 different positions and is made in house for ultimate quality control and finishing, bearing the infamous Cotes De Geneve motif and the Poincoin De Geneva Hallmark. This movement is comprised of only 172 individual parts with special features of hours,minutes and sub seconds at the 6’o’clock position with a 48 hour power reserve. To give this watch the ultimate in swank it is fitted with a jet black perforated crocodile strap truly making this watch hip to be square!

Movement pic courtesy of http://www.rogerdubuis.com
Watch pic courtesy of Monica L

What A Concept!

Tag Heuer renowned for their entry level sports watches and Steve McQueen Monaco series watches has delivered a very interesting concept for this years Basel 2008.This year they have teamed up with Japanese car designer Ken Okuyama, but for the first time in the history of cars and watches a car is inspired by a watch and the watch is used in the dashboard at the same time. Tag must be doing something right as they have been doing nothing but covering serious ground with their spokespeople such as golf great Tiger Woods and Pulp Fictions own Uma Thurman as well as their incredibly cool products over the last 5 years.This Grande Carrera Caliper Chrono is 43mm case smothered with a black titanium carbide finishing, making it the only mechanical automatic watch to display and measure 1/10th of a second in conjunction.The watch features the new caliber 36 Rs movement with a power reserve, showing off two black gold systems displaying the chronograph minutes at the three o’clock position and the chronograph hours at the six o’clock position.This piece of well engineered machinery is adorned with a titanium carbide and coated bracelet which is a technical breakthrough! Even though I would never wear one of these and personally I think its a cross between the Zenith defy and an Omega Speed Master, their attention to detail makes me think What A Concept?

pic courtesy of http://www.tagheuer.com

A Historic Investment

In the year 1940 Panerai was called on by the Italian Navy to make a more heavy duty watch than the Radiomir which was cushion shaped case and had wire loops for the strap. Panerai’s answer was what became and is now probably one of the most influential and recognizable watches in the world with the Luminor Case. At the time Rolex was still making Panerai’s cases and they were able to develop a much more stealth case while Panerai was simultaneously working on their patented device protecting the crown that would ensure water resistance to 200 meters as well as shock resistance. The movement was a bigger 8 day Angelus movement 240 that would be fitted into this new monsterous case. In 2005 Panerai released their special edition PAM00203 which by far has shattered all sorts of box office records.

This watch was a 47mm !950 Stainless Steel Luminor case with a black sandwich dial,gold hands, sub seconds at 9’o’clock position with the vintage non connecting numeral 9 as well which became its defining character trait from the Radiomir in the 40’s and 50’s, the eight day power reserve that would say eight days in Italian like some of the original Panerai’s like the submersible made for the Egyptian navy. Get this, the case was equipped with an original Angelus 8 day 240 movement that was originally used in the 40’s that was completely restored to original specs of which only 150 were recovered and made for the world. With the retail price of $19,800 in 2005 and today commanding up to a waping $150,000 its no wonder why The PAM00203 has become The Historic Investment Of This Decade!

pic courtesy of http://www.panerai.com

A Golden Opportunity For The Ceramic Fashionista

The time is now. Following up my article on Chanel and Audemars Piguet. The fashion giant who has reinvented themselves in watchmaking with their iconic J-12 ceramic series has changed the watch world especially with the J-12 Tourbillon, which has taken their fashion core values of black and white to another level. It amazes me to see a company like Chanel gets so much props and respect from watch collectors even though they are still new on the watch block. They have created major waves. The J-12 is worn my men/women around the globe and stands for luxury and status without being cliche. I was really skeptical about the affiliation with AP and Chanel but Ill tell you its really smart for Chanel and its A bold Move on the part of AP. For AP its nice to get a movement they manufacture without getting the old farty boring Royal Oak offshore case. For Chanel its nice to get A 42mm watch in black Ceramic and gold even though in my opinion it should have been 18k rose gold because lets face it people yellow gold is just plain tacky even if its brushed. The movement is a Chanel AP collaboration 3125 caliber. The rotor is ceramic and 22k yellow gold rhodium plated which sits on ceramic ball bearings, the bridges have gorgeous Cotes De Geneve finishing, 60 hour power reserve and water resitant to 50 meters with a sapphire crystal see through case back. Chanel is getting even more recognition and accolades to have one of the most legitimate prestigious watch movements in the world in their ceramic case assuring that this watch is literally Bullet Proof!

pic courtesy of http://www.thewatchquote.com

ITS ABOUT TIME FOR HISTORY!

Depending what part of the world you are in some of you are barley waking up scrathing your ass and some of you are taking a nap recovering from the weekend. Those of you interested in watches and have a passion, I feel that I must enlighten you in case you don’t already know about the highest form of watch making that is the Tourbillon. The Tourbillon was patented by Louis-Abraham Breguet in the year 1795. This was originally a device used in pocket watches to counter gravity. This is accomplished by taking the escapement and mounting it in a rotating frame which immediatley voids the effects of gravity when the escapement is rotating at 180 degrees. At that time pocket watches were the only tool to measure time besides sundials and clock towers. Pocket watches were always in one or two positions not having continuous motion affecting the accuracy. By having a Tourbillon countering the effects of gravity the watch became much more accurate. A wristwatch in itself today is a Tourbillon, but the technical construction, exclusivity and finishing are amongst the most prestigious forms of watch making revered by collectors throughout the world. These incredibly well finished watches are a huge mechanical challenges for which they command hundreds of thousands of Dollars depending on the brand. Today every one and there mother claims to make a good Tourbillon which is absolute bollucks. If I am going to buy a Tourbillon I am only going to go the source, the Inventor of the Tourbillon which is the original that is Breguet!

pic courtesy of http://www.breguet.com

Make Room For The Manometro S

Seems today that most sports watches that are desired are platinum stainless steel or ceramic, with the exception of the new Manometro S for this years Basel 2008, which infuses 18k rose gold and carbon fiber. This watch sits 45mm in case diameter thats part carbon fiber and the bezel is available in polished or brushed rose gold. The case is crafted without using a metal frame and incorporating similar technology to formula 1.The case back and crown are a mixture of rose gold titanium and carbon fiber. The dial is carbon fiber and has the basic arabic numeral dial layout of 1-12 with white hands and a gorgeous red arrowed second hand.To complete this ultimate sports luxury the watch is equipped with a rubber strap and rose gold buckle. Manometro was introduced in 2004 and means pressure gauge in Italian. If you look at the dial, crown and case it looks just like a tire pressure gauge.The fact that makes this watch so unique and distinguishes it from its competitors is the case has no lugs, they rest under the strap allowing ultimate comfort and timeless style.So in an age where all sports watches today are quite sparse and have become somewhat predictable its cool to see that a little rose gold and carbon is why you need to make room for The Manometro S.

pic courtesy of http://www.europastar.com

The Definition Of Classic

To be classic in anything you must be timeless versatile and be able to sustain change whether its a watch,car or even a beautiful women. A clear represention of this Is the 40mm Automatic Vacheron Constantine Patrimony in 18k white gold. The versatility of this beauitful timepiece also availabe in rose gold and yellow gold is evolked in its history and simplicity but also in its high level of finishing with a sapphire see through case back with their own in house caliber hallmark de Geneve movement.This texbook definition of a wristwatch is not to be overlooked because it can definately withstand the test of time as the only manufacturer to have 250 years of uninterrupted watch making, now how is that for defintion of a true classic?

pic courtesy of http://www.vacheronconstantine.com

A World Chrono Pushed To The Extreme!

In 2006 Jaeger Le Coultre unleashed their secret weapon The Extreme Extreme World Chronograph in stainless steel. This watch changed JLC’s image forever by single handedly repositioning the brands identity. This watch is a ragging 46.3mm three part case constructed out of titanium and steel.A chronograph that shows hours,minutes and seconds with a black dial being able to display the time in all 24 time zones around the world. The patented quick release strap system allows from going from a huge perforated rubber strap sports watch to black crocodile strap with double stitching sophisticated dress watch in a matter of seconds.By JLC pushing this chronograph to extreme limits it has caused a euphoria amongst collectors around the world to covet this rock star icon for years to come!

pic courtesy of http://www.jaeger le coultre.com

Jump To The Next City !

I got to admit, I am a sucker for all the technically complicated stuff in the watch industry but sometimes I like simplicity and something easy to use. In watchmaking today, there certainly is this extremity of too simple or too technical. One watch that happens to be a nice mixture of both extremeties is Les Douze Ville by Jacquet-Droz which happens to be one of my favorite watches. This is a 12 city world timer jump hour. With the click of a button you have literally jumped to another city and timezone. This is a Swatch Group Owned Brand and has heritage of making the most amazing enamel dials in the late 1700’s. This one of a kind watch comes in white gold and comes in various interesting dial treatments like quartz, onyx and enamel to name a few. The beauty of this watch is that is made in a limited series of 8 or 88 pieces for the world. The reason being the number 8 is an auspicious number in the chinese culture for health prosperity and fortune. So i am sure this year will be christmas in August on 08/08/08.

pic courtesy of http://www.jaquetdroz.com