Luxury Swiss Watches

Things to Consider When Choosing a Luxury Watch

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:44:47 +0000

By Joe Thompson

SPLURGE OR NOT? Luxury watches range from just under $1,000 to $100,000 and more. Among the most expensive are the prized tourbillions, which only an elite group of master watchmakers has the skills to produce. (The two-hundred-year-old mechanism consists of a revolving carriage that holds the balance wheel and escapement and makes a complete turn every sixty seconds to average out timekeeping errors caused by gravity.) A watch is inevitably a status symbol, and it's up to you to figure out what kind of status you want to symbolize. If you're really serious, luxury watchmakers are ready to accommodate.

ROSE, WHITE, OR YELLOW GOLD? The tint of a piece of gold depends on the proportion of copper and silver mixed in with the pure yellow gold. Yellow will always be stylish, but you might consider one of the myriad rose-gold options that received all the attention at this year's trade show in, where else, Switzerland. Rose has the most copper of the three golds, which gives it a soft, pinkish hue. Not all men go for that, butif you've got the cash for a rose-gold watch, you've probably got the brass to back it up.

STEEL OR TITANIUM? Luxury watchmakers are turning out product in high-grade stainless steel, which is strong and shiny and highly resistant to rust and corrosion. But the next major trend seems to be titanium, which is 30 percent stronger and 50 percent lighter than steel, more corrosion resistant, antimagnetic, and even hypoallergenic. A titanium watch does feel amazingly light and comfortable on the wrist, but the trade-off is a subdued--some say dull--gray watch that, for all its strength, scratches easily.

MECHANICAL OR QUARTZ? The movement, which is the engine of the watch, measures time in one of two ways: electronically or mechanically. In an electronic watch, a paper-thin piece of quartz is given an electric charge that causes it to vibrate 32,768 times per second. This makes it accurate to within a minute per year. A mechanical watch has a mainspring whose gradual unwinding moves the watch's hands. Mechanical movements are either hand wound or automatic (also called "self-winding"), meaning the movement winds itself using arotor that spins in response to the natural movement of the wearer's arm. Mechanical watches lose an hour a year.

SIMPLE OR COMPLICATED? In watchmaking terms, a complication is any function beyond simple time telling in a mechanical watch, such as a calendar or a moon-phase indicator (which is coming back this year). Usually, though, the term refers to sophisticated mechanisms like perpetual calendars and split-second chronographs, which contain hundreds of tiny parts hand assembled by the world's most accomplished watchmakers. Because they're so labor-intensive, complicated watches are expensive and prized for the feats they perform.

BIG OR BIGGER? Over the last few years, men's wristwatches have grown as if on steroids; they broke the forty-millimeter-diameter barrier a few years ago and are still pumping up. The reason? Mostly style. The current trend was largely inspired by the recent reissue of an old Italian diver's watch, which was originally designed large so it would be visible in the murky Mediterranean. These days, if your watch looks like a hockey puck on your wrist, you're horologically chic, if a bit showy.

ROUND OR SQUARE? Round is still the most common face shape, but a revival of alternatives is afoot. The tonneau (shaped like a barrel) is leading the nonround-watch pack at the moment, but your options include rectangles, squares, and ovals, among others. Many people will size a man up by his watch, so consider that an uncommon shape might set you apart from the masses.

DO I NEED A CHRONOGRAPH? Most guys prize chronographs--timepieces with a stopwatch function--thanks to the macho, sporty look of all those buttons and subdials. They are also functional and can time an event to one fifth of a second for mechanical chronos and to one hundredth of a second in digital quartz chronos. But unless you've just signed up for the Ironman, they're mostly for adornment.

DO I NEED A CHRONOMETER? A chronometer is a high-precision watch whose accuracy is verified by an independent agency called the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Bureau. Watch companies send uncased movements to the bureau, which subjects them to a battery of tests, after which they're certified as official chronometers. A status symbol, sure, but a nice distinction for the hardcore connoisseur.

FIVE BARS OR TWENTY? Watches have different levels of water resistance, indicated on the dial or case back. Pay close attention to that fine print, because the depth units are anything but universal. Most companies give water resistance in meters. Occasionally you'll come across ATMs (for atmospheres) or bars, both of which are equal to ten meters. Once you've done the math, choose a depth based on your needs. Water-resistant to fifty meters means you can wear it in the shower. Sports watches generally have hundred-meter (swimming, snorkeling) or two-hundred-meter (recreational scuba diving) water resistance. You don't need more than that unless you intend to wear the watch deep-sea diving. And a watch marked simply "water resistant" can withstand your lighter summer showers.

NightTIME. A survey of the season's hot new rose-gold watches, Evidenza automatic watch with crocodile band ($5,100) by LONGINES; Dressage watch with alligator band ($14,000) by HERMES; eighteen-karat Gondolo mechanical-movement watch ($10,300) by PATEK PHILIPPE; silver guilloche-dial watch with crocodile band ($13,900) by ZENITH; La Scala watch with crocodile band ($3,990) by CONCORD; chronograph with alligator band ($7,995) by RAYMOND WEIL; Tortue watch ($10,900) by CARTIER; Monza watch ($7,900) by TAG HEUER.

DayTIME. A slew of the new titanium watches, Seamaster 300M America's Cup chronograph ($3,995) by OMEGA; Sport Pro 20 chronograph ($395) by TOURNEAU; Capeland S chronograph with steel-and-slate dial applique' indexes ($3,295) by BAUME & MERCIER; perpetual-calendar chronograph ($14,700) by IWC; Thoroughbred chronograph ($3,750) by DAVID YURMAN; Avenger M1 chronograph with yachting countdown timer ($2,885) by BREITLING; Luminor automatic watch ($5,400) by PANERAI; sport multifunctional watch ($2,900) by MONTBLANC.

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Bulova Accutron

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:16:15 +0000

Bulova Accutron combines their knowledge and understanding of the latest technology with an unparalleled eye for up-to-date aesthetics and trends.

Through the use of only the finest materials, techniques that have been researched and perfected over the decades and the industry's leading technology in movement, each timepiece released by Bulova Accutron benefits its wearer with precision accuracy and beauty.

Bulova Accutron's newest addition to the Mirador Collection brings the sporty timepieces to a level of true extravagance and luxury. With the same technology that has made the brand a leader and innovator of the industry, their new designs continue to raise the bar of excellent watch making.

The white ceramic and stainless steel bracelet is reminiscent of its sister watches in the collection: one in the same white ceramic and another in feminine pink. But where the others stop at just 39 diamonds set on the case, the new design soars with an incredible 652 individually hand-set pavé diamonds.

Sporty touches such as the rotating bezel, screw-down crown and screw-back case remain to tie the new watch to Mirador's existing pieces, but giving you the choice of elevating your all-day style timepiece to a level appropriate for day-to-night wear.

With almost 135 years behind it, the Bulova Corporation has tirelessly pushed the envelope of watch making to places no one thought possible. Founder and father of the brand, Joseph Bulova, began selling and designing timepieces from a small jewelry shop on Maiden Lane in New York City in 1875 and watched as his brand accomplished extraordinary feats.

Accutron's innovation has covered the spectrum, from ingenious creation of Accutron, the world's first electronic watch, to changing the way customers acquire lavish timepieces with time-payment plans, and the brand shows no signs of stopping. You can be sure that each new design will be more remarkable than the last while the brand continues to change the way we tell time.

WATCH BAND BROWN GENUINE LEATHER CROCO18MM MODEL Y113
US $7.99

BULOVA ACCUTRON TORINO MENS SWISS QUARTZ WATCH 28B66
US $230.00

Vintage Bulova Accutron Minature Clock NICE
US $399.00

Vintage Bulova Accutron Watch M8 Tunning Fork 214
US $349.00

Vintage Bulova Accutron Brand New Old Stock WOW
US $100.00

bulova accutron railroad approved mens watch runs 1978
US $15.25

Antique Jewelry & Watch Show slated for Las Vegas MGM Grand

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:28:27 +0000

This year is the 15th edition of the Annual Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show, an annual event for the antique and estate jewelry, and dmg world media is organizing the event in a new venue, MGM Grand for its better accessibility, reports say.
The annual trade-only event, is slated between June 3-6, 201, opening a day prior to the JCK Show and is lining up over 300 nationally and internationally renowned antique jewelry and watch dealers, showcasing rare and historical antique and vintage pieces, gemstones, and watches. “We’ve always prided ourselves on having the best annual trade-only show for the antique and estate jewelry industry. From our new location, we are confident that our exhibitors will continue to bring highly coveted and fine quality jewelry, watches and gemstones,” said Andrea Canady, fair director for dmg world media’s Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show.

The exhibits will feature famous brands including Cartier, Rolex, Tiffany’s, Harry Winston, David Webb, Patek Philippe and Van Cleef & Arpels, most pieces being signed and many bearing extensive provenances detailing previous ownership by celebrities or royalty.
To excite participation to the event, MGM Grand is offering exceptional discounted hotel room rates to dealers and trade visitors.

Breguet Classique Grande Complication 5347 Twin Rotating Tourbillon

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:14:03 +0000

Exactly three years after the original Twin Rotating Tourbillon’s launch, Breguet offers a follow-up to the highly sought-after model featuring a pair of tourbillons on its silvered dial. This time, the watch comes in a case made of rose gold instead of platinum, but it still retails at a price of a Bentley limmo.

Just like the original model, the Breguet Classique Grande Complication 5347 Twin Rotating Tourbillon watch features a hand-wound mechanical movement with a pair of tourbillons traveling around its dial. Coupled by a differential gear, the little turbines balance each other, doubling the watch’s accuracy. The tourbillons rotate at a speed of one revolution per 12 hours so that their connecting bridge can act as an hour hand. It has a standard centrally mounted Breguet piece for the minute hand, though.
It’s been exactly a decade since Swatch Group acquired the Breguet brand from a Bahrainese investment company. During these ten years, Breguet is gradually returning to its roots, forgetting the era of constant financial troubles and slowly replacing sporty but tasteless chronographs with grand complication models. After all, it was Abraham-Louis Breguet who designed and crafted the first tourbillon watch.
Breguet Classique Grande Complication 5347 Twin Rotating Tourbillon watch’s specifications:
Price range: About €300,000
Movement: Cal. 588, Breguet overcoil, 16 1/2 lines, 69 jewels, 2.5 Hz, hand-wound
Complications: Twin tourbillon design
Power reserve: 50 hours
Case material: Rose gold, 18kt, transparent caseback
Case dimensions: 44 mm
Case height: N/A
Dial: Silvered, hand decorated
Water resistance: Yes, but not known yet
Strap: Dark Brown leather
Crystal: Sapphire

BREGUET Classique Alarm Le Reveil du Tsar 5707 BA
US $20,990.00

BREGUET 18K Classique Serpentine Power Reserve 3680 Y
US $14,990.00

Breguet Classique Ladies Diamond 18k Gold watch
US $11,475.00

HARD COVER BREGUET TIMEPIECE GUIDE MARINE CLASSIQUE
US $28.00

Ladies Breguet Classique 18k Gold Diamond Ruby Watch
US $11,995.00

Breguet 5307 Tourbillon Automatic Regulator in Platinum
US $90,000.00

Raymond Weil Freelancer Ladies’ Chronograph

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:06:22 +0000

An elegant date chronograph, in fuchsia or white versions.
With modern women showing more and more interest in watchmaking technique, Raymond Weil is delighted to unveil the latest jewel from its mechanical freelancer collection: a fresh, elegant date chronograph whose harmonious blend of original design and watchmaking skill is sure to enchant today’s women.

Urban and contemporary, sober and elegant… this dazzling, amazingly zestful 2009 Ladies' chronograph is a startling new addition to the freelancer collection.

Perfectly blending originality with mechanical sophistication, the new model displays all the aesthetic and technical qualities for which the collection is famed.

The functions of this new, exceptional watchmaking jewel are clad in delicate, ultra-feminine tones. With their delightfully original colors, the subdials (12 hours at 6 o'clock, 30 minutes at 12 o'clock and 60 seconds 9 o'clock) offer the last word in feminine refinement. The central chronograph hand, and the day- and date-windows at 3 o'clock, complete the innovative dial in great style.

The circular bezel and the brushed/polished 42mm steel case are both studded with diamonds, carefully chosen for their purity and further underlining the exclusive appeal of this Spring-fresh timepiece. Who could resist the sparkle of 86 or 235 diamonds – depending on the model – twinkling irresistibly against the dial's shimmering colors?

A final touch of class is the full-skin crocodile strap with saddle-stitching that matches the glamorous tones of each model, and fits snuggly to the wrist thanks to its folding clasp with double push-piece security.

Raymond Weil watches are renowned for their perfect balance between technique and design – and the Geneva watchmaker has paid meticulous attention to the aesthetic appeal of the freelancer collection's first Ladies' chronograph, while again giving full rein to its outstanding watchmaking savoir-faire. Beneath the multi-toned dial, and protected by a sapphire crystal with double-sided anti-glare treatment, the heart of the self-winding mechanical movement oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. Two characteristic push-pieces activate the chronograph functions: start, stop and re-start at 2 o'clock; reset function at 4 o'clock.

In love with watchmaking sophistication – or passionate about creative finesse? Thanks to this exceptional timepiece, women will no longer need to choose…
Movement
Mechanical, 28 800 vibrations per hour
Circular-graining

Winding:Automatic
Power Reserve: 46 hours
Jewels: 25 rubies

Functions
Chronograph
- start, stop & re-start by push-piece at 2 o’clock
- reset by push-piece at 4 o’clock
- central chronograph hand
- 30-minute subdial at 12 o’clock
- 12-hour subdial at 6 o’clock

60-second subdial at 9 o’clock

Day & Date: 3-day date & day windows at 3 o’clock
Day & date change by winding stem at 3 o'clock

Case
Round – polished, brushed steel – diameter 42mm
Set with 169 diamonds (1.18 carats)

Bezel
Polished steel
Set with 66 diamonds (0.62 carat)
Crystal: Sapphire with double-sided anti-glare treatment
Dial: Iridescent mother-of-pearl with white mother-of-pearl subdials

Indexes: Polished & nickelled, in relief, with white luminescent highlights

Hands
Hour / Minute: Bâton diamond-tipped hands with luminescent highlights
Subdials: Bâton diamond-tipped hands
Chronograph: Bâton hand with counterpoise

Diamonds: A total of 235 (1.8 carats)
Case-back: Sapphire crystal

Strap
White, genuine, full skin crocodile strap with saddle-stitching
RW folding clasp with double push-piece security

Water-resistance: 10 ATM

FREELANCER Ladies- 7730 PAV 46001

Movement
Mechanical, 28 800 vibrations per hour
Circular-graining

Winding:Automatic
Power Reserve: 46 hours
Jewels: 25 rubies

60-second subdial at 9 o’clock

Day & Date: 3-day date & day windows at 3 o’clock
Day & date change by winding stem at 3 o'clock

Case
Round – polished, brushed steel – diameter 42mm
Set with 169 diamonds (1.18 carats)

Bezel
Polished steel
Set with 66 diamonds (0.62 carat)
Crystal: Sapphire with double-sided anti-glare treatment
Dial: Fuchsia with white subdials
Indexes: Polished & nickelled, in relief, with white luminescent highlights

Hands
Hour / Minute: âton diamond-tipped hands with luminescent highlights
Subdials: Bâton diamond-tipped hands
Chronograph: Bâton hand with counterpoise

Diamonds: A total of 235 (1.8 carats)
Case-back: Sapphire crystal

Strap
Fuchsia, genuine, full skin crocodile strap with saddle-stitching
RW folding clasp with double push-piece security

Water-resistance: 10 ATM

Raymond Weil Freelancer Womens Watch 2430 ST 97081
US $989.10

Raymond Weil Freelancer Womens Watch 2410 ST 97081
US $971.10

NEW LADIES RAYMOND WEIL FREELANCER WATCH 2430 ST 97081
US $1,075.50

NEW Raymond Weil Freelancer Lady Diamond Auto Watch
US $1,162.00

NEW Raymond Weil Freelancer Lady Watch 2410 ST 97081
US $968.00

RAYMOND WEIL FREELANCER LADIES Diamond NIB 2430 ST 9701
US $51.00

Raymond Weil Freelancer Gold Chronograph

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:30:28 +0000

The Geneva watchmaker Raymond Weil is delighted to announce a prestigious new addition to the freelancer mechanical collection: the freelancer pink gold date chronograph. With its refined aesthetics, blending modernity and technical know-how, the new chronograph symbolizes the Brand’s spirit of elegance and distinction.

A sober dial in matt black, and a case in brushed, polished 18-carat pink gold, give this new version of the freelancer a daring, original look. Along with the geometric contrast between the sharp-angled indexes and circular subdials, the choice of pink gold adds to the timepiece’s distinguished appearance. Extra dynamism comes from curved arc date-window at 3 o’clock, flanked by a horizontal aperture for the days of the week.
Each of the three subdials (minutes at 12 o’clock, hours at 6, small seconds at 9) has its own personality, differing in size and surround (applique or diamond-studded). Although it is the smallest dial of the three, the small seconds subdial stands out with its pink gold applique and accompanying screw, which reinforces the chronograph’s innovative visual appeal.
The mechanical movement, with circular graining to the oscillating weight, has a 46-hour power-reserve and 28,800 vibrations per hour. To start (or stop) the chronograph function, simply press the push-piece at 2 o’clock, then re-set by using a second push-piece at 4 o’clock.
The freelancer pink gold date chronograph has an impressive 42mm diameter case and a dark brown, full-skin alligator strap with saddle-stitching, complete with folding clasp with double push-piece security.
The freelancer pink gold date chronograph: a masculine watch with a refined design and sophisticated finish – a timepiece full of style and temperament!
FREELANCER Gents: 17740 G 20001
Movement : Mechanical, 28 800 vibrations per hour – Circular-graining – Winding Automatic
Power Reserve 46 hours – Jewels 25 rubies
Functions: Chronograph – start, stop & re-start by push-piece at 2 o’clock – reset by push-piece at 4 o’clock – central chronograph hand – 30-minute subdial at 12 o’clock – 12-hour subdial at 6 o’clock – 60-second subdial at 9 o’clock – Day & Date 3-day date & day windows at 3 o’clock – Day & date change by winding stem at 3 o’clock
Case : Round – Polished, brushed 18ct pink gold – diameter 42 mm
Bezel : Polished 18ct pink gold
Crystal Sapphire : crystal with double-sided anti-glare treatment – Dial Black – Indexes 18ct pink gold-plated, in relief, with luminescent highlights
Hands: Hour / Minute Bâton pink gold-plated hands with luminescent highlights – Subdials Bâton pink gold-plated hands – Chronograph Bâton pink gold-plated hand with counterpoise
Case-back: Screwed, with sapphire crystal
Strap : Dark brown, genuine full-skin alligator strap with saddle-stitching – RW folding clasp with double push-piece security, pink gold-colored PVD coating

NEW RAYMOND WEIL FREELANCER AUTO CHRONO 7730ST20101
US $2,234.43

Raymond Weil Freelancer Steel Mens Watch 2720 ST 20001
US $899.00

NEW MENS RAYMOND WEIL FREELANCER SS WATCH 2710 ST 20001
US $1,195.00

RAYMOND WEIL Freelancer Mens Stainless Steel Watch
US $1,099.99

Raymond Weil Freelancer Automatic Watch 2720 ST 05207
US $939.00

Baume & Mercier Women’s Riviera Mini Diamond Watch

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:31:29 +0000

Baume & Mercier Women's Riviera Mini Diamond Watch

The elegant geometry of the Baume & Mercier Women's Riviera Mini Diamond Watch is enhanced by its slim, feminine dimensions, two-tone design, and diamond-accented dial. Constructed with an 18-karat-gold-and-stainless-steel case, the watch includes a dodecagonal diamond-and-18-karat-gold bezel, and an 18-karat-gold-and-stainless-steel link bracelet secured with a simple deployment clasp. A scratch-resistant-sapphire window shields the mother-of-pearl dial, which features diamond hour markers with golden Roman numerals at three, six, nine, and 12 o'clock. Slim black minute indexes and golden watch hands complete the look. In addition, this Swiss-quartz-movement timepiece is water resistant to 165 feet (50 M).

In 1973 the Riviera revolutionized the aesthetic watch-making characteristics by being equipped with a dodecagonal case--12 sides for 12 hours, or the geometric expression of a clever dose of innovation, classicism and creativity. Today a highly contemporary design that highlights the pure lines of this legendary watch, indissociable from Baume & Mercier's rich history.

Product Description
Solid 18kt yellow gold and stainless steel case and bracelet. White mother-of-pearl dial with 8 diamond hour markers. Diamond bezel. Scratch resistant sapphire crystal. Deployment buckle. Case diameter 22mm. Quartz movement. Water resistant at 50 meters (165 feet). Baume and Mercier Riviera Diamond Two-Tone Gold and Steel Mini Ladies Watch 8550 / MOA8550

Baume & Mercier Women's Riviera Mini Diamond Watch #MOA8550
List Price: $4,490.00
Sale Price: $2,159.07

Description

Solid 18kt yellow gold and stainless steel case and bracelet. White mother-of-pearl dial with 8 diamond hour markers. Diamond bezel. Scratch resistant sapphire crystal. Deployment buckle. Case diameter 22mm. Quartz movement. Water resistant at 50 meters (165 feet). Baume and Mercier Riviera Diamond Two-Tone Gold and Steel Mini Ladies Watch 8550 / MOA8550

The elegant geometry of the Baume & Mercier Women's Riviera Mini Diamond Watch is enhanced by its slim, feminine dimensions, two-tone design, and diamond-accented dial. Constructed with an 18-karat-gold-and-stainless-steel case, the watch includes a dodecagonal diamond-and-18-karat-gold bezel, and an 18-karat-gold-and-stainless-steel link bracelet secured with a simple deployment clasp. A scratch-resistant-sapphire window shields the mother-of-pearl dial, which features diamond hour markers with golden Roman numerals at three, six, nine, and 12 o'clock. Slim black minute indexes and golden watch hands complete the look. In addition, this Swiss-quartz-movement timepiece is water resistant to 165 feet (50 M).In 1973 the Riviera revolutionized the aesthetic watch-making characteristics by being equipped with a dodecagonal case--12 sides for 12 hours, or the geometric expression of a clever dose of innovation, classicism and creativity. Today a highly contemporary design that highlights the pure lines of this legendary watch, indissociable from Baume & Mercier's rich history.

Features

Precise Swiss-Quartz movement
Scratch-resistant-sapphire crystal
Case diameter: 22 mm
Steel-and-18k-gold case; Mother-of-pearl dial
Water-resistant to 165 feet (50 M)

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The minute repeater, the Mount Everest of watchmaking

admin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:51:55 +0000

Jack Forster
ForbesLife Magazine

In some quarters of the Russian Orthodox Church, church bells are still believed to have almost supernatural powers. Traditionalists contend that they can keep demons at bay, for instance, by sanctifying the area in which they are audible. For this reason, bells are still christened with holy water and anointed with holy oil.

Timepiece connoisseurs feel a like reverence for the minute repeater and sonnerie, watches that chime the time on tiny gongs fitted inside the case. Of all complicated watches, they are the most challenging to make.

In fact, chiming watches defy horological history, which in broad strokes is a story of decreasing manual labor and increasing automation. Today mechanical watches can be made entirely by robots; the first pair of human hands to touch such pieces is typically the buyer's.

Chiming watches, however, are in principle impossible to make satisfactorily through purely industrial means. The repeater, which chimes the hour, quarter hour, and minute "on demand" when a slide in the case is pressed, and the sonnerie, which, like a mantel clock, chimes the hour and quarter "in passing," require both a musician's ear and a surgeon's hand to construct and adjust. As watchmaker Donald de Carle wrote nearly 50 years ago in his famous manual on complicated-watch repair, the repeater, more than any other type of watch, necessitates a mind that is "calm, cool, and collected." Absent the human judgment involved in the final adjustment of the mechanism, repeaters would function poorly, if at all. That gives them an aura that no other complication watch can match--and a price tag as well. It usually starts in the low six figures.

The finest repeaters are works of art but were born of necessity: to enable the owner to tell the time in the dark. They come down to us from the era of candlelight, when most houses were nearly pitch-black after nightfall and the majority of people heard the time from the town clock tower. (Many early clocks, having neither hands nor dial, also marked the time by chiming. In fact, the word clock comes from the Medieval Latin clocca, or bell.)

What makes a repeater special is that it chimes on demand. Pushing the slide set into the case activates mechanical feelers that read the time from the position of the gears that drive the hands--akin to a blind person reading Braille--and then ring the hour, the quarter hour, and the minute in succession, and in a different tone for each unit of time.

Englishman Daniel Quare is thought to have invented the repeater in the mid-1680s. His first ones sounded the hour and the quarter hour on demand, and in 1687 King James II granted him the patent for the quarter repeater. More than 20 years passed before the five-minute repeater, which chimes to the nearest five minutes, appeared, and it would be 40 more years before the first true minute repeater appeared. No one knows the exact date or even whether the credit, usually attributed to Englishman Thomas Mudge, is correct.

It took the great A.L. Breguet, who counted among his clients the court of Louis XVI, to evolve the species decisively. Repeaters before Breguet were ungainly because the dome-shaped bells occupied a lot of space. He streamlined the watch by using gongs made of tempered-steel wire, which could be wound more than once around the inner circumference of the case. The result: a flatter, more elegant watch with good sound quality. Wearing one really is "like having the mind of a genius in your pocket," as Sir David Lionel Salomons, history's most ardent Breguet collector, once said. (Although today the Breguet Classique Grand Complication Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar would be on your wrist.) The final step in the repeater's maturity, the creation of a wristwatch repeater movement, was accomplished by Audemars Piguet in 1892.

The repeater and sonnerie are still a challenge to make. It requires incredible precision to craft a mechanism that can translate time into music within an accuracy of one minute. Giulio Papi, the complications master at the helm of Audemars Piguet Renaud et Papi and one of the world's top repeater experts, explains, "The repeater is an audible indication, and as such, the user expects the time being struck to correspond closely to that shown by the hands. While that seems obvious, it implies complex mechanical processes and the watchmaker must correct even the slightest eccentricities…to guarantee the closest possible match between the chimes and the hands." Still, even the best repeater may have up to a five-second discrepancy.

Then there's the fact that the repeater and sonnerie are musical instruments. It takes a Stradivarian watchmaker to craft both, as controlling the chiming tempo, a key element to a connoisseur, has to be done by ear as well as by hand. That reaches the apex of complexity in a sonnerie such as Gérald Genta's Octo Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon, which has four gongs (most repeaters have two) and rings the Westminster Quarters melody at each quarter and on the hour. As a master watchmaker at Patek Philippe has remarked, "the final hand setting of the regulator governor [which controls the speed of the chime] is instrumental in the resulting sound…allowing the unique, pure sound of the gong to remain the focus point when the mechanism is activated." The company takes chime quality and tempo so seriously that for decades the chairman, Philippe Stern, has personally approved every minute repeater and sonnerie before allowing it out the door.

Repeater manufacture has long been more art than science, with a dash of alchemy, too, like the persistent legend that the gongs must be tempered in horse urine in order to obtain the best-quality sound. (Watchmakers have told me this was actually done in the past.) But lately, high-tech innovation and outside-the-box thinking have conspired to produce a new breed of repeaters.
Iconoclast watchmaker F. P. Journe tossed out centuries of conventional wisdom to create his extra-flat Journe Repetition Souverain, a minute repeater with a movement barely four millimeters thick. (That's thinner than most modern simple automatic watch movements.) He achieved this in part by eschewing traditional wire gongs, which are round in cross section, for triangular ones, which are flat in cross section, thus taking up less room inside the case. He also crafted the case out of stainless steel, a material far superior to gold and platinum in resonance and sound transmission.

But it's still handwork that makes the Souverain a sonic beauty. "All the adjustments," says Journe, "have to be mastered one by one. Strength of the springs, hammers--there are many parts, and therefore many effects that have to be manually adjusted." That also means that production is necessarily low: Journe expects to create fewer than 20 Repetition Souverains per year, and only five Sonnerie Souverains. (Production of repeaters at other makers is equally low.)

A gong doesn't just ring a pure tone; it generates numerous overtones as well, and a badly made one will emit sounds that are not in tune with the dominant one. (In other words, the gong will sound out of tune with itself.) Gérald Genta claims its new Arena Metasonic Grande Sonnerie, made of a secret alloy whose lightness and rigidity supposedly outclass even steel, has the problem licked. Each watch is subjected to frequency spectrum analysis worthy of a physics lab--in fact, one at a French university developed the software with Genta--and the first time I heard it chime, its eerie clarity had the hypnotic quality Bram Stoker ascribed to the tingling, water-glass-like voices of Dracula's brides. Jaeger-LeCoultre's Master Minute Repeater goes at the sound problem by affixing the gongs directly to the sapphire dial crystal, which resonates more efficiently than a case.

Nonetheless, it's touch more than tech that makes a great repeater the subject of near-animist reverence. "Manual adjustment is what elevates the production of minute repeaters to an art form. It's what makes each timepiece unique," says the Patek Philippe master watchmaker. Even the ultra-high-tech Grand Complications Caliber 89 has to pass muster with an expert's golden ear before it's released. Machines made modern watches dependable, but it's the hand and ear that make the repeater inimitable.

Gérald Genta Octo Grande Sonnerie Tourbillion

It rings the time in passing and on demand by playing the Westminster Quarters, the same melody rung out by London's Big Ben. $810,200.
www.geraldgenta.com

Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Minute Repeater with Jumping Hours

A stunning Art Deco–style jumping hour repeater from the company that in 1892 put the repeater on the customer's wrist for the first time. $231,100
www.audemarspiguet.com

Patek Philippe Ref. 5074R

A perpetual calendar that adjusts for length of the month and for leap year, combined with a minute repeater. Patek Philippe chairman Philippe Stern still insists on hearing and approv-ing each Patek repeater personally. $518,500 (subject to change)
www.patek.com

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Minute Repeater

One of the new breed of repeaters that mix high mech and high tech: The gongs are attached directly to the sapphire crystal for unparalleled bell-like clarity and volume. $142,000.
www.jaeger-lecoultre.com

IWC Portuguese Minute Repeater

For the connoisseur who likes big secrets: The sapphire caseback shows off the pocket-watch movement that gives this 43-millimeter watch its heft, but only the slide in the case band--and the ringing of its gongs--reveal its musical heart. $86,000.
www.iwc.com

F.P. Journe Repetition Souverain

Both a hard-core traditionalist and a game-changing iconoclast, François-Paul Journe has done it again, creating the world's thinnest minute repeater. $165,400.
www.fpjourne.com

Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle Calibre 2755

In full court dress, this masterpiece combines a tourbillon, minute repeater, and perpetual calendar, and with its open dial, wears its heart on its sleeve. $585,000.
www.vacheronconstantin.com

Men Citizen Calibre 9000 Minute Repeater BL9000 59F ss
US $209.99

Men Citizen Calibre 9000 BL9002 53E perp calendar watch
US $219.99

JAEGER LECOULTRE VINTAGE WATCH WWII BRITAIN BROAD ARROW
US $351.66

NIB Breitling Aerospace Repetition Minutes
US $1,561.00

BREGUET PLATINUM MINUTE REPEATER Ref 3637 BOX PPR
US $120,000.00

VINTAGE MINUTE REPEATERCHRONO GOLD SCELETON WRISTWATCH
US $9,900.00

A Swiss Watch Will Make a Great Gift Your Special Valentine

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:06:59 +0000

Nothing says “I love you” on Valentine’s Day, or any other time for that matter, like a luxury Swiss watch. Every man and woman should own at least one very nice watch and in some cases three or four. There are various names that are considered to distinguishing in the watch industry and while some are more affordable than others the meaning behind a nice watch says a lot. You can’t go wrong with the classics. Below are some men’s and ladies Swiss watches in varying price ranges.

For Him:
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner
Unveiled in 1953, the Submariner was the first watch water-resistant to 330 feet. Its combination of unparalleled elegance and spy-friendly versatility appealed to Sean Connery’s James Bond. MSRP $5,175

Omega Speedmaster
The first watch to go to the moon (Buzz Aldrin and his Apollo 11 colleagues were wearing them when they touched down on July 20, 1969). Sporty and sturdy, this automatic chronograph is among the most accurate and affordable you can buy. MSRP $3,000

TAG Heuer Monaco
Issued in 1969, this stainless-steel classic was the first automatic chronograph to feature a water-resistant square case. MSRP $3,195

IWC Portuguese
Developed in 1938 in response to Portuguese tradesmen’s request for an oversized watch with precise, pocket-watch movement, this is IWC’s signature model. Available in every imaginable iteration, from the classic automatic chronograph to a “perpetual calendar” model, which features a moon-phase indicator that varies by only one day every 577 years. MSRP $19,400.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
The Swiss company revolutionized sport watch design when it introduced this model, with its octagonal case and eight visible screws, in 1972. The automatic, stainless-steel Royal Oak is now available with all kinds of bells and whistles, from chronograph to tachymeter, and is a big hit with golfers like Vijay Singh. MSRP $15,700

For Her:

Ladies Rolex Presidents

The Ladies’ Rolex President stands as a representation of one’s accomplishments and status. A prime choice of female politicians, executives, and actresses alike, the President watches are adorned with varying amounts of diamonds which sparkle magnificently on any wrist. Rolex Super President models differ from traditional Ladies’ Presidents with the additional diamonds which are set on the band and lugs, creating a timepiece which makes a bold statement regarding a lady’s refinement and distinction.

La Grande Classique de Longines
Capturing the soul and the style of Longines’ earliest design tradition, La Grande Classique de Longines watches have until today largely retained their original appearance and proportions. Changing expectations and technical advances have now prompted Longines to update their design, not least by introducing a larger case size and offering an even broader choice of subtly refined dial faces. But the slim, sleek La Grande Classique de Longines case profile remains unchanged, as does the cool elegance that gives this collection an appeal as enduring as the classic tradition itself.
L4.191.7.11.6

L4.191.9.11.0

Omega New Constellation
Omega has re-designed its iconic luxury watch line – Constellation collection which was created in 1982 and developed into a milestone in 1995 when super model Cindy Crawford started worked as Omega Ambassador. Constellation collection is one of the world’s most recognizable luxury timepieces with the famous “claws” that look beautiful and firmly hold the sapphire crystal together with the case.

The 2009 Omega Constellation watches are highly anticipated by global Omega fans as there has not been a new Constellation in years. And these fresh Constellation watches with dynamic and contemporary look can live up to expectations of their fans. They fully present new design features and technical innovation while respecting Constellation’s precious heritage. If you like matching his and hers watches Omega also has a men's line of New Constellation watches.

A fine Swiss timepiece is an excellent way to say "I love you" and every time that the timepiece is viewed. Notice all prices are the manufacturer’s suggested retail price ( MSRP). You will find all of these fine Swiss watches at substantially reduced prices at the Luxury Swiss Watch Shop

The difference between a $500 watch and a $50,000 watch

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:02:31 +0000

Jack Forster, Forbes Magazine

The difference between a $500 watch and a $50,000 one is often in the movement.

The ground floor of the Roger Dubuis factory, a top-tier manufacturer specializing in artistically extroverted timepieces, comes as a shock. This is one of Geneva's temples of haute horlogerie, a place where you'd expect the loudest sound to be the nearly inaudible cricket-song of a hand file against brass. But in this gigantic room blue- and white-coated technicians tend enormous, sleek machines. The air is redolent of oil and coolant, the ceiling is strung with pipes and conduit, and, here and there, warning signs and bundled cables testify to the huge amounts of electricity being consumed.

It's in a room like this that virtually every watch, from the humblest $100 automatic to the costliest limited-edition mechanical marvel, starts its life. The components are made by supersophisticated industrial robots--computer-guided automatic milling machines and spark-erosion fabricators. Which brings up a question: If this is so, why do watch prices range from less than the cost of a decent lunch to more than that of a comfortable suburban house?

The answer lies one floor up, where those raw parts undergo a dramatic transformation. Here the workers wear blue or white coats, too, but otherwise you've gone back in time. There are no robots, only tools that would be recognized by a watchmaker from a century ago. At one workbench, a woman uses a spinning boxwood disk to polish a delicate sine wave curve into the flanks of tiny brass-gear teeth. Nearby, another woman passes a movement repeatedly under a spinning disk charged with jeweler's rouge. As she does so rows of gleaming parallel stripes appear, like ripples in a frozen pond; these are the famous Geneva stripes, or Côtes de Genève, one of the signature movement decorations of the Genevan school of watch decorating. At yet another workstation, a young man works with painstaking slowness to give a tiny irregular movement bridge a beveled flank so that it catches light like the facet of a diamond. Each stroke is done with the care of a vascular surgeon stitching shut a hair-thin blood vessel.

These are the finisseurs (finishers), and it's their time-consuming, labor-intensive work that holds the answer to the question I posed earlier. The art of movement decoration has been part of watchmaking since the first table clocks were made during the Renaissance. Over the centuries national style developed: the reserved gilt-and–blued steel stolidity of English chronometers; the glitteringly sensuous Genevan approach; the superbly flat dress pocket watches of France, made as thin as possible so as to avoid disrupting the tailored fit of a waistcoat. Whatever the style, the finish of a watch movement was one of the purest expressions of a craftsman's pride, as in most cases nobody but the watchmaker himself even knew it was there.

Which is still the case: An appreciation of finishing is an insider passion even today. But a basic understanding of it can give the nonfanatic a new perspective on the price-value relationship of timepieces. Here are key points to remember.
Respect the robots. A modern CNC cutter or spark- erosion machine can turn out parts that without further finishing can be assembled into high-precision micromachines. The 'bots make possible entry-level mechanical watches from Swatch, Seiko, Citizen, Orient, and Timex of a precision that would have been impossible at such a price point (often less than $500) a few decades ago.
More finishing does not mean more accuracy. Top-grade hand-finishing is really the connoisseur's delight--beauty in the eye of the beholder who knows how to recognize it.

Quality of finish and price tag don't always parallel. If a particular model becomes a collectors' darling (like the stainless steel Rolex Daytona chronograph), or if a brand is just plain hot, price follows suit, even if the watch has little or no hand-finishing.
Precious metals and gemstones change the equation. A machine-finished watch with one or both can cost more than one that is hand-finished. Rarity and peculiar provenance can make a watch expensive regardless of finishing.
Absent those factors, higher price means more finishing. A $10,000 watch, as a rule, has more hand-finishing than a $6,000 one.
At the high end, it's the finisseur. His painstaking work bestows a pedigree price. A $1,000 chronograph with industrial finishing becomes a $25,000 one with hand-finishing.

Above that, complication comes into play. At the very high end, it drives price as much as finishing.
Finally, finishing is a three-tiered cake: basic (robot), machine, and hand. Mechanical watches that sell for less than $1,000 compose the base. They have little or no finish beyond that produced by the robots that manufacture the movement. In the middle ($1,000–$12,000) are mechanical models with varying degrees of machine-executed decorative finish: attractive beveling, blued-finish screws, gleaming countersinks, and engraving. Watches at the upper end of this layer also have some hand-finishing. In the top tier ($12,000 and up) hand-finishing starts to predominate. North of $20,000, you're getting the full-on haute treatment, horology's equivalent of haute couture. A premium-grade movement like Vacheron's caliber 1400, the caliber 215 from Patek, or the caliber 3120 automatic from Audemars Piguet, is a singular object: The hand-finishing means no two are exactly alike.

And the expense is huge. The finest haute horlogerie brands train most of their finisseurs in-house. Just learning how to bevel a flank properly can take anywhere from one to one-and-a-half years. Learning how to black-polish steel to a mirror finish, hand-engrave a rotor, or apply Geneva stripes of just the right depth requires a touch that has to be passed down directly--there are few manuals to go by.

It's fair to ask why a top-notch timepiece is so expensive. But when you multiply the number of hours it takes to hand-finish just one part--more than half a day in some cases--by the number of components in the movement and then by the number of years it takes to learn how to finish a piece of metal the size of a fly antenna, it's easier to see how the price starts to add up. It's the hundreds of hours of human skill concentrated in a cubic centimeter.