AP lays a Blackened Egg For Quincy Jones to Endorse!

FUGLY!

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?

When I think of the name Quincy Jones, I immediately think of one of the most powerful, recognized, brilliant, genius, mogul, record producers in the world, who has worked with legends like Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson. He is iconic, philanthropic, wildly successful and at the age of 76 his is still pimping his craft like no other mofo out there. So it makes sense why renowned recycled watch maker, Audemars Piguet would want to team up such a legend to endorse one of their latest watches as their brand ambassador. The Millenary collection has always been for the most part, the dog turd in AP’s collection, that no one wants to piss on. I just can’t understand why Quincy Jones, who usually has vision would team up with AP on such a hideous watch.

I am sure he doesn’t need the money? Ah, but then again, AP did contribute 1,000,000 to the Quincy Jones foundation for the very tragic Haitii relief. It doesn’t matter how pathetic or disgusting a product is, if money is donated to charity, especially one that is closely tied in with any celebrity, they drop their pants and become the ultimate whore’s. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great cause in that through his personal foundation, The Quincy Jones Foundation raises awareness and financial resources for initiatives that support global children’s issues in areas of conflict, malaria eradication, clean water and efforts to restore the Gulf Coast (post-Katrina). Philanthropic partners include Malaria No More, Millennium Promise, and Usher’s New Look Foundation. I just wish that AP was classy enough to represent MR Jones with a watch that was well suited for his stature and achievements. Here are the watch specs.

Limited Edition of 500 Pieces

The case, in blackened stainless steel, measures 45mm x 40mm. The crystal is sapphire and the caseback bears the inscription Millenary Quincy Jones – Limited Edition. It is water resistant to 20 meters.

The dial is done in black with two zones, an off-centred hour zone with white gold applied Roman numerals, a minute circle with black piano-key motif and openworked white gold hour and minute hands with central seconds hand.

Movement is the automatic AP, in-house caliber 3120 with 40 jewels, 21,600 vph and with a power reserve of 60 hours. It features Variable-inertia balance with eight inertia-blocks and flat balance-spring; Geneva-type mobile balance-spring, stud holder, three-position winding stem. All parts are finely decorated; mainplate circular-grained; bridges rhodium-plated, chamfered, snailed and adorned with Cotes de Geneva decoration.

Diamond-polished jewel sinks; wheels with chamfered arms and diamond-polished; chamfered screw rims and slots. The rotor is done in 22kt gold, engraved with the AP monogram and the Audemars and Piguet family crest.

The strap is hand-sewn black leather with blackened steel AP folding clasp.

Why Doesn’t Girard Perregaux Do this For Themselves?

Girard Perregaux confuses the shit out of me. They are an old historic brand known for their Triple Bridge Tourbillion, Vintage 45 and various others, and yet every year they come up with novelties that are variations of what they did the year before. The really sad part is that they are always struggling for great ideas and It seems like the pieces they have done worth mentioning are always in partnership with other brands watch related or not. I am totally like Fuck Off! There was only one great piece that GP did for this years SIHH 2010 , the 1966 Pink Gold Chrono which is a reproduction of a vintage piece. It seems that used to be hot clothing designer, Ermenegildo Zegna, has teamed up with GP to make a watch to mark their 100 year anniversary. The only problem, the watch says Zegna on the dial. Even though there is watch making heritage in the Zegna family that dates way the fuck back, it doesn’t mean that they will be respected as a watch maker, even if they are marking such a bold and momentous occasion. The Irony is the watch is absolutely gorgeous, but it belongs in the GP arsenal. The watch is definitely a GP design from the sixties, has a very clean JLC master look to it. Here are the Specs on this watch for your pleasure!

Reference: 49537

Case: Pink gold case

Diameter: 40 mm, Height: 10.74 mm

Sapphire case-back adorned with the Ermenegildo Zegna centenary logo

Water resistance: 30 metres

Girard-Perregaux 3300-0042 automatic mechanical movement

Functions: Hour, minute, small second, annual calendar

Power reserve: minimum 46 hours

Alligator strap with clasp buckle stamped with the Ermenegildo Zegna logo

Limited and numbered edition of 100 pieces

The watch will be sold at a designated 20 Zegna stores around the world. Even though this is a great attempt between merging the worlds of fashion and horology, I just don’t quite understand why GP doesn’t do this watch for themselves.

A Cool Basel 2010 novelty for under $700

This is definitely something I normally don’t do. I feel kind of dirty doing it, but hey why the fuck not. I am always stumped when my clients or friends ask me “Hey Johnny, What Kind of Watch Do you Recommend for under $1,000”. My answer is always the same, “save your money and buy yourself a real watch”. This year I am heartened to say that Tissot, or Toss it as I have often referred to it in the past has made a very cool watch for this years Basel 2010 and it’s under 700 bucks and automatic? WOW!

As you may or may not be aware, Tissot is a Swatch Group brand and has made precious gems such as the Touch myself watch I mean the T-Touch. This new watch for Basel 2010 is known as the Visodate. The watch was originally made in 1957, clean simple and vintage looking. Very straight forward day/date automatic 40 mm stainless steel case, sapphire crystal front and back and really easy to read. Tissot is the best pure value in the industry for your money. So go and get one if your cheap ,or if you just don’t have the cake to get something a lot more expensive.

Hello Senator, Glashutte Original puts a Panorama date on the Senator Sixties for Basel 2010?

If You remember it’s been three years now since Glashutte launched the Senator Sixties Line. This very classic streamline homage to a vintage piece raised my respect levels and something else for the brand if you know what I mean! This year for Basel 2010, Glashutte Original have done something I am not quite sure that I like. They have taken the clean vintage reproduction piece that was always simple and added and panorama date above the arabic numeral six which is just stupid!. This is kind of a douche move on their part because now the watch is not symmetric at all. That was the beauty of this legend, symmetry. Sometimes, you don’t need to fuck with a classic to diversify your product line, you just need to market it differently because otherwise it comes across as desperate. It’s almost like sports on TV when they show the LA Clippers vs. The NJ Nets, Really? Who doesn’t like watching basketball but to put the two worst teams on the air just for the sake of watching sports is humiliating. This is a clear case of I don’t know what the fuck to do and I have run out of great innovative ideas.

Here are the specs of the watch anyway. I think this is one that I am going to have to really try on and wear and bone with it on, otherwise for the moment it’s like Hello Senator?

Reference:

39-47-01-02-04 (silver dial)
39-47-03-02-04 (black dial)

Details:

Stainless steel case;
diameter: 42 mm / height: 12.4 mm; waterproof up to 3 ATM
Sapphire crystal (on both sides anti-reflective);
Bottom: Sapphire crystal (inside anti-reflective)

hands rose or white gold with luminous spots on the hours,

Automatic Movement Caliber 39-47

Hour, minute and second central, panorama date at 6 o’clock;

diameter: 30.95 mm / height: 5.9 mm

Oscillating frequency: 28.800 A/h; Power reserve: 40 hours (+/- 5%);
flat spring, Incabloc shock protection,

beveled edges, polished steel parts, Glashütte three-quarter plate with stripe finish, skeletonized rotor with 21-ct gold oscillation weight, swan-neck fine adjustment.

Breguet keeps The Tradition alive with the new 7047 for Basel 2010

To me, Breguet is like any fine work of art. The more you look at it the more you appreciate it, especially for those highly finished subtle details. The Russians fuckin love Breguet as they are civilized art historians who have the most cultured perspective for the finer things in life, when they aren’t killing people. This article is not about the Russians, it’s about how Breguet is horological poetry in motion. For this years Basel 2010 which officially kicks off March 18TH and runs through the 25TH, they have executed a Tourbillion for the Tradition collection, ref 7047. which is just as traditional in appearance as a Richard Mille, yeah right!. This watch is fantastic. – 41mm platinum case, anthracite color, except now with silicon balance spring. The movement is a Breguet Cal 569 – manual wind with 50 hrs power reserve. This watch has a Tourbillon complication with Silicon balance Spring. What’s so special you ask about a silicon balance spring? Well, typically balance springs are made out of metal for starters, Breguet has developed Silicon which is not affected by magnetic fields or temperature or other variants that could throw off the balance spring, which is an integral part of making this watch run.

The size is perfect at 41 mm and combines artful mastery that identifies this watch as a Breguet fused with the most modern of elements catapulting this watch into the future of Breguet manufacturing. What I love most about this watch is that everything is so cleverly placed that the Tourbillon is not the main attraction. The minimalism of this future concept allows for all these well machine parts to have a synergy and be just as important as all the other parts to complete one of the most outstanding Tourbillons I have ever seen. Let’s face it people more and more Tourbillion’s are becoming better known as a symbol of craftsmanship but also as a symbol of wealth which is really fucking pretentious, but by doing this complication with the assistance of the very rare and complex fusion chain system the inventor of the Tourbillon, Breguet keeps the Tradition alive.

It’s unofficially official!

HAHAHA, I am invincible!

I don’t know how official this news is, but according to one of my many credible sources, just before this past SIHH 2010, Phillipe Bonay of Panerai, Breitling. Roger Dubuis, and A lange & Sohne fame has become the newest North American President for Jaeger Le-Coultre. This is probably the right step for him seeing that he has run the gambit of Richemont Group brands. I don’t know if his objective is to do a full circle to get back Panerai or if his dream is to Run Purdee Shotguns, Who the F** K knows? Phillipe’s mentor, Ronnie Wolfgang, former JLC president, has groomed him long enough over the years to get the job done and I am sure he will be consulting him regularly. This is good for JLC, because the brand is basically turning into a more complicated Panerai with their new models and Phillipe is very familiar with most of the staff, that it should be a smooth transition. I hope he is able to hold onto this job, If this doesn’t work out for some reason, I heard they are looking for Simon Cowell’s replacement for American Idol. Come on! stranger shiz has happened.

Go get your Immodium AD People, Before looking at the Roger Dubuis SIHH 2010 collection because it could cause you to have the runs!

God!
I don’t even know why I am writing about this. I guess this may be the only little bit of press Roger Dubuis may get for SIHH 2010 even though it’s completely atrocious. Thank God Mr Dubuis has moved on to a different Chapter because since acquiring the brand almost 2 years ago The Richmont group has made this brand go from bad to worse! How can anyone buy these watches with confidence when half of them look like Concord Impressario Tourbillions. I am outraged ,upset, confused and looking at these pictures has caused me to have the runs. The King Square looks so fucking cheap that Al bundy from married with children would feel dirty selling them and he sold ladies shoes in the show!

PAM00029: Panerai Brings Back the Tuxedo To SIHH 2010

Panerai has pulled all kinds of shit at this years 2010 SIHH. It has just been amazing. To see all kinds of new models in the most futuristic of different ways and at the same time adopting things from their heritage that hasn’t changed since their inception is like taking the first drag of a big phat joint, it’s mind enhancing! This reminds me of the Panerai of old. They are very clear on which direction they are headed which in this day and age is something to truly applaud, especially in the watch world. As you may or may not know, before Panerai was purchased by the Richmont Group in 1997 which was then known as Vendome, all the models before Richmont took over were known as Pre-Vendome. The Panerai PAM00029 was a 44 mm GMT with a tuxedo dial.

The dial was a black pinstripe dial known as the Tuxedo dial and the 24 hour GMT numbers were engraved on the outer brushed bezel. This year they have brought the Tuxedo back to SIHH 2010. I love this watch because it really reminds me of a vintage Rolex Explorer 2 which is of course the inspiration for this watch.I think it’s only going to further legitimize the older model and make this one more sought after in the process.

Personally, even though this is a reproduction of the original in some ways it’s better cleaner and more modern and yet still maintains the identity of the original. Here are the product details. Enjoy, and I urge you to write to me and here your thoughts on the return of this true classic?

Unique edition of 500 units
PAM00029

Movement: automatic mechanical, ETA calibre, 11½ lignes, 21 jewels, Côtes de Genève decorations on the bridges. Monometallic Glucydur® Balance, 28,800 alternations/hour. Incabloc® anti-shock device. Power Reserve 42 hours. Chronometer Certificate (C.O.S.C.).

Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date, second time zone.

Case: diameter 44 mm, AISI 316L polished steel.

Bezel: brushed steel with 24hours indicator.

Back: screw, brushed steel.

Device protecting the crown: (protected as a Trade Mark) polished steel.

Dial: black with stripes. Luminous hour markers and Arabic numerals. Small seconds dial at 3 o’clock.

Crystal: sapphire, formed of corundum, 2.5 mm thick. Anti-reflective coating.

Water resistance: 30 bar (300 metres).

Strap: PANERAI personalised leather strap and polished steel buckle. Supplied with a steel screwdriver and a second interchangeable strap.

PANERAI Rocks SIHH 2010 With The Composite Radiomir Marina Militare

SICK! I Gotta Have This.

I have had the fortunate luxury of owning many Panerai watches over the years. I started my addiction with a PAM00090 The Luminor Marina power Reserve about 10 years ago and finished with my most recent purchase a couple years back of the holy Grail Panerai PAM00127 The Panerai 1950 which was stolen from me. Thank Christ I had the foreskin and the forsight to file a police report and send it to Panerai. Hopefully I will get it back soon. In the Intirum I have basically worn all kinds of shit. I even owned a PAM00183 Panerai Radiomir Black Seal in Steel 45 mm. I will be honest the Radiomir to me seemed way too dressy for everyday use and not as masculine. I felt that maybe it should have come with a bottle of estrogen pills. Today I am blown away with what Panerai has done for this years SIHH 2010. They have finally done justice to the Radiomir and made it a real man’s watch by cutting off the tits and attaching balls. This watch is called the Radiomir Composite Marina Militare.

Movement: Hand-wound mechanical, Panerai P.2002/7 calibre, executed entirely by Panerai, 13 ¾ lignes, 6.6mm, 21 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 28,800 alternations/hour. KIF Parechoc® anti-shock device. Power reserve 8 days, three barrels. 191 components.

Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds.

Case: Diameter 47 mm, brown Panerai composite material, with removable wire loop strap attachments (patented). Winding crown personalized Panerai.

Bezel: Panerai composite material.

Back: Panerai composite material.

Dial: Brown with luminous Arabic and Roman numerals and hour markers. Small seconds at 9 o’clock.

Crystal: Sapphire, formed of corundum, 1.9 mm thick. Anti-reflective coating.

Water-resistance: 10 bar (100 metres).

Strap: PANERAI personalised leather strap and largesize brown Panerai composite material.

Reference: PAM00339

So this composite material is harder than ceramic. This material gives the case a nice deep brown color and makes it look so difinitive vintage an miliatry alongside the brown vintage sandwich dial and distressed miliary strap. The eight day movement is very much a part of their history dating back to the 1930’s. Overall Panerai has done a stellar job this year and has definately Rocked SIHH 2010 with the Radiomir Composite Marina Militare!

Can someone Please Tell Me Why?

I think I am going to be Sick!

So, It seems that IWC had to ruin a near perfect SIHH by making the dirty Da Vinci even dirtier with the new Ceramic Chronograph abortion they just released. Who the F**k is going to wear this? I am sorry guys this watch is hideous. I don’t care if you put Rolex or Patek on the dial, it still smells like crap! To be honest I prefer the older Da Vinci ladies moonphase in steel than this thing and that almost sent me to the hospital when I first saw it. The new Da Vinci case is a huge mistake and Leonardo is doing back flips in his grave because this a major insult. Just in case your done being sick and you want to know a little more, here are the specs on this.

The Movement is a Calibre 89360 which Beats 28,800/h. 68 hour Power reserve automatic self-winding movement. The Case
Materials zirconium oxide central section, titanium grade 5 bezel and back, black calfskin strap,folding clasp in stainless steel
Dial black, with a réhaut volant Glass sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides.
see-through sapphire glass back
screw-in crown
Water-resistant 3 bar
Case dimensions 44352.8mm
Height 15.1mm
Da Vinci Chronograph Ceramic
Ref. IW3766

So can someone, anyone please tell me why?