The 2010 Lakers Championship Rings made by Jason of Beverly Hills are a huge success

                                                             

                                                             

It was an incredible night for the Fakers Lakers for many reasons. Before they came back to bash the shiz out of the Houston Rockets, they had a really cool ring ceremony for the 2010 championship. As much as I am not a Lakers fan, I am really happy and proud to report that world renowned jeweler, Jason Of Beverly Hills. for the second year in a row has now had the esteemed honor of being the jeweler to make the Lakers Championship ring. Most championship rings can look look tacky like your high school class ring, but Jason has made this an iconic piece of history that is so sought after by everyone you can imagine, including cock  pop star, Justin Bieber.

A lot of thought, ingenuity, timing and persistence went into making this legendary ring. The part that I am impressed most with is that Jason was resilient and passionate enough to truly carry out his vision by trumping last years ring by making this a historic occasion, with the help and direction from Lakers owner, Dr Jerry Buss, Jason was able to procure the game winning ball from The Game 7 Final against the Boston Celtics.  He took that ball cut it up precisely and used it on the underside of each ring, so that every player and everyone within the Laker organization would literally be touching history!      

I am glad I am not wearing the ring because I am a huge Celts fan, and one side of the ring actually has the final score of Game 7, 83-79.  This would drive me nuts, but is still a very cool historic detail to have on the side of the ring to mark the Lakers triumphant victory, even though the Celtics got finger banged screwed in the process.  The ring is made out of 16K yellow gold to mark the sixteen championships they have won and on the other side of the ring, each players face and number is literally etched into the ring and sweet sixteen is etched directly underneath that. There are a total of 3 karats of diamonds to make this ring fit for a king.          

I am not a fan of jewelry, but this ring is something I must say I wouldn’t mind wearing, only if the Celtics were written across the front, but hey, you can’t win them all. On my behalf, I would like to congratulate Jason and his team and the Lakers for making history!

Please watch the video for the making of this Cult Iconic Championship Ring.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

My Interview with Peter Speake Marin Part 5 ( A Chapter) is here

In My Interview with Peter Speake-Marin Part 5 ( A Chapter) we discuss Maitres du Temps and the economic down turn and how I think he is the next FP Journe.

Please watch the video

Retraction 101

I pride myself on writing interesting, witty, factual information on the watch industry. I recently wrote an article entitled “Baume & Mercier lose the classiest man in the watch industry”, Rudy Chavez, which I have since taken down because of it’s validity. I have several sources of reliable information. I recently spoke with a certain boutique director, who I trust, told me that Rudy is no longer with the brand. I conveyed this message to the public as I thought it was true and coming from a good place. Let’s just call this boutique director “Mr. you Didn’t hear it from me”  I would sincerely like to apologize to Rudy and I would also like to know the motivation behind this false information from “Mr you didn’t hear it from me” and I will think long and hard before I ever take this man’s word seriously.

Is Fortis losing their minds with the new Andora Emotions Chronograph?

It’s amazing to me that watch brands have to do all sorts of stunts to draw consumers in, especially when they are dying brands. They waste truck loads of money and commission all sorts of pedestrian garbage to get reactions. I don’t think I have seen anything as tree loving hideous as the new Andora Emotions Chronograph by Fortis. This is something that should have been a Swatch partnership, because let me tell you right now, nobody that has taste is going to buy a watch like this. No disrespect to the Artist Andora, it’s just not the right fit. Even if this watch was over $200, it would be way too much money. I understand the watch world is competitive, but this is an all time low for Fortis. Pop Art, in my opinion doesn’t belong on a mid-priced stainless steel watch, it belongs on latex plastic.  Thank God there is only 100 of these made, but even that’s too much. I appreciate the efforts but really don’t like this watch. If the artist wanted to commission Fortis to make a watch for him to sell to his collectors, that might be easier to digest.

The artist, Andora has been making really tacky interesting Pop Art for the last thirty years and is known in smaller exclusive art circles. It’s great exposure for the Artist to do a piece like this, but at the same time it makes me as the question Is Fortis losing their minds with the new Andora Chronograph?

Details:

The case, is titanium, measures 42mm. It has an AR-coated sapphire crystal and is water resistant to 200 meters. It features an unidirectional turning bezel in red, green, blue and yellow with different human expressions (120 divisions) and a dial with the text: “Tradition does not mean preserving the ashes but pass on the fire” in a circle.

Movement is the Swiss automatic ETA caliber Valjoux 7750 with 25 jewels, 28,800 vph and a power reserve of 42 hours. It has an Incabloc shock absorber. 

Chronoswiss goes green with their new Pacific watch

                                                                            

I am pleased to announce that for the first time since the launch of the Chronoswiss Opus, I actually like a Chronoswiss watch. Finally right? Well, it’s been difficult to stomach like ethiopian food because of the garbage that they have produced in the last 15 years. One of the biggest problem I have had with their watches is the offensive looking penis onion crown. Chronoswiss has finally made a change for the better with the release of their new Pacific watch which will be available sometime next year in 2011.

To me this watch looks perfectly balanced and combines tradition with modernity. The Pacific has a real vintage feel yet the subtle accents of green around the chrono pushers and subdial hands allow this watch to have it’s own identity. The price is right at under $4,000 and having both the day and date function is a nice touch. The watch is available in two dial choices of grey which would be my choice because of it’s rich aesthetic and incredible contrast with the green accents or subtle silver which is equally nice but lacks personality. The obtrusive crown has been shaved down and still has the machined refinement as well as the pushers.  If Chronoswiss keeps making timepieces like these, I will keep writing about them because they are an exceptional value and well made.

Details:


Chronoswiss Pacific Watch
43mm steel case, chronograph, day and date functions, black alligator strap
Dials available in Grey and Silver

IWC promotes their new boutique edition Big Pilot. Is this really necessary?

I am really glad that we have Facebook to promote our shiz and raise awareness globally. It’s one of the greatest ways to communicate without really stalking talking. I have always been the biggest fan of IWC and their bold and simple add campaign’s that say so much with only a few words. I am having a really tough time with accepting some of IWC’s choices in the last 5 years because it just feels like they have abandoned their original identity of less is more and compromised their integrity somewhat all in the name of making a dollar. It’s good to reinvent, take risks, keep things exciting but not when you become practically unrecognizable.

To promote their new Smurf watch  Big Pilot boutique edition with blue numbers and hands which is gross interesting, IWC have put an old style IWC add on their Facebook Page with their infamous writing to help promote this one of a kind Beverly Hills boutique edition. I am all for promoting products especially if they are good. I wouldn’t have even minded if they came out with some clever campaign to promote this, but the verbage is sometimes more important than the timepiece, especially in adds like these. I hope they sell them all, because I love the brand and believe in it, but you don’t have to reinvent the wheel if it’s already spinning.

My interview with Peter Speake Marin Part 4 ( A Strategy) is here

My interview with Peter Speake-Marin Part 4 (A Strategy) is here. I talk to Peter about the importance of social media, the economy and Timex? Please check it out.

Audemars Piguet has the Audacity to launch their own blog

For the first time, limited edition watch maker of the Royal Joke Oak, Audemars Piguet launches their own blog appropriately titled Audacity.  This site was launched Monday October 18, 2010. In conjuction with the official http://www.audemarspiguet.com website, the Audacity.ch site will cover brand news: technical innovations, limited editions, sponsoring, AP icons, new product launches and boutique openings. Basically everything the AP website doesn’t include.

The site will be available in French and English and though there is no place to comment, there is always Facebook for that purpose. As much as I am not a fan of this tired and boring brand, I respect that they are forging ahead into the 21ST century and understand the global importance of having a blog to reach out to the public,collectors and the press.

ARod disgraces the cover of Cosmopolitan Bachelor issue, wearing the new IWC Yacht Club

                                                                
IWC has had a star studded year gracing the wrists of celebrities around the world. For the cover of the current November issue of Cosmopolitan,  I know I cut his head of from the magazine, but this was the best I could do. ARod is on the cover wearing the new IWC Portuguese Yacht Club in Steel on rubber strap. He is on the cover for male gigolo Bachelor of the year. This watch is way cool with the exception of it saying Yacht Club on the dial. I am glad that IWC is getting so much press and has really built their brand, especially in the US over the last 20+ years, but come on AROD? Really? Do you really think he  knows or appreciates the first thing about movements or sophistication? Don’t get me wrong, he is a phenomenal athlete who loves steroids has super natural strength, but at the end of the day he just knows wood and balls, professionally and privately. It’s great for watch brands to have these tie ins with celebrities because it brings more mass appeal to their products, but if you get it on the hands of the wrong people, your just selling yourself out like any hooker looking for a twirl.

                                                                  

Details IWC Yacht Club


Case material: stainless steel
Bracelet/Strap: black rubber strap
Features: Mechanical chronograph movement, Self-winding, 68-hour power reserve when fully wound, Date display, Stopwatch function with hours, minutes and seconds, Hour and minute counters combined in a single totaliser at 12 o’clock, Flyback function, Small hacking seconds, Screw-in crown, Sapphire glass, convex, antireflective coating on both sides, See-through sapphire-glass back, Water-resistant 6 bar, Case height 14.5 mm, Diameter 45.4 mm
Dial color: silver-plated
Shape: round
Movement: self-winding
Calibre: 89360
Jewels: 40

My least favorite retailer Tourneau is having a 50TH anniversary Rolex Deep Sea Event

 

                                                                               

Tomorrow, October 21, 2010, Super Market  Super watch retailer Tourneau and Rolex are having a 50TH anniversary Deep Sea Party at the tackiest watch store in the world Tourneau Time Machine at 57 Madison Ave, NYC. This event is to commemorate the 50TH anniversary of the release of the Rolex Deep Sea. The original watch was a diving vessel worn on the wrist and survived 7 miles underwater.

Along with viewing the original Deep Sea and other current Rolex model watches, you will be able to meet US Navy Captain Don Walsh who piloted the Bathyscaphe submersible to 35,180 feet under water – apparently the deepest recorded dive in history. Even though Tourneau is not really my favorite retailer, I must commend them because, they are probably the biggest and most powerful Rolex account in the US and have a strong enough partnership to host an event like this because Rolex doesn’t do events. So if you want to see history and meet someone who broke records RSVP by calling (212) 758-7300 .