Our favorite Master Calendar to date was just released by Jaeger-LeCoultre. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Calendar ref. 1558421 automatic watch presents the different information of its calendar in a harmonious and extremely clear manner: day, month, date and moon phases. Its design is inspired by the historical watch with calendar by Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1945. Fitted this time with a striking beautiful meteorite dial, every piece comes with a very unique look due to the material used in its creation. Fitted with a stainless steel or rose gold case measuring 39 mm in diameter, this elegant timepiece is one that will for sure conquer your pocket. Faithful to the aesthetic codes of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control line of watches, this model combines a pure, refined design with exceptional technical performances, all in gently reduced proportions, allowing it to suit all wrists.
SIHH 2015: Introducing the New Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 15400SR 'Two-Tone'. The Return of Our Favorite Royal Oak. Live Pics and Pricing.
Ladies and gentleman, may we present the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 15400 in stainless steel and 18K rose gold. This novelty marks the return of one of our all-time favorite Royal Oaks phased out in the 1990s and originally launched under reference 5402SA as a 'Two-Tone' Royal Oak Jumbo in 1976. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo 'Two-Tone' ref. 5402SA was only produced for a few years and only 951 were ever created. This new watch highly reminiscent of its predecessor will be available in 41 mm and in a 33 mm ladies size with diamond encrusted bezel. Later today, we will bring you more pictures and our full review with wristshot of this new timepiece.
SIHH 2015: Introducing the New Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver in Stainless Steel with White Dial and Display Case Back. Live Pics and Pricing.
Following the release of the other four Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Divers —stainless steel with black dial, forged carbon, black ceramic and white ceramic—, the Manufacture that turns 140 this year is releasing the Royal Oak Offshore Diver in stainless steel now with a striking white dial and a display case back. The Royal Oak Offshore Diver in stainless steel with black dial, like all its counterparts, will now be fitted with a display case back moving forward.
SIHH 2015: Live Coverage from Geneva, Switzerland. The Salon Opens at 8:30AM Geneva Time on January 19th.
We have arrived in Geneva, Switzerland for the 25th edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. With sixteen manufactures presenting the novelties for the year, this is one of the top watch events in the world. We will begin our coverage tomorrow January 19th, 2015 as soon as the Salon opens at 8:30am Geneva Time. Make sure you follow all our updates via Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and here.
We are excited to see the novelties from all the brands but particularly from Audemars Piguet who is celebrating its 140th anniversary this year, Vacheron Constantin celebrating 260 years of uninterrupted history, Jaeger-LeCoultre, A. Lange & Söhne who wowed us last year with the amazing Terraluna, Panerai with their historical inspired timepieces, Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels, Richard Mille, Greubel Forsey, IWC who had a wonderful repertoire last year with the revamped Aquatimer line, Roger Dubuis and Piaget amongst others.
Ladies and gentleman stay tuned for the best coverage of the SIHH 2015 starting tomorrow.
News: Pre-Baselworld 2015 Linde Werdelin Presents the Oktopus Double Date Carbon Green. A Limited Edition of 88 Pieces.
Today, Linde Werdelin presents to you the Oktopus Double Date Carbon Green, a sporty and refreshing take on the Oktopus dive watch. Featuring champagne gold detailing, it revitalizes the Linde Werdelin collection of revolutionary diving timepieces for an active lifestyle. A numbered limited series of just 88 pieces has been individually crafted using 3DTP™ —Three-Dimensional Thin Ply—, the first ever carbon technology conceived for Swiss watchmaking, engineered to sculpt the iconic and angular Oktopus case by layering thin layers of carbon into a mold to give the finished product it's ultra-unique appearance with those horizontal lines, just like the rings inside a tree trunk.
News: Audemars Piguet Opens Boutique at the Shops at Crystals in Las Vegas. A Partnership with Westime.
Audemars Piguet announces the arrival of its third boutique in the United States with the opening of an elegant new location at The Shops at Crystals in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 1,270-square-foot boutique, situated on the first floor between Tom Ford and Louis Vuitton stores showcases an original concept design that captures the 140-year old brand’s core values: origins, artistry and extraordinary relationships.
The new boutique in Las Vegas is the newest project developed between Westime and Audemars Piguet, a partnership that dates back to 1994. “We are proud to further reinforce our relationship with Westime through the opening of the Audemars Piguet boutique at The Shops at Crystals. Las Vegas has always been an exciting market for Audemars Piguet and with the new boutique we are better able to present the brand’s complete collection offering while reaching one of the most diverse international audiences," explained Xavier Nolot, CEO of Audemars Piguet North America.
Pre-Baselworld 2015: Arnold & Son Unveils the Golden Wheel. World's First Wandering Hours and True Beat Seconds Watch.
With a rich British watchmaking heritage that dates back to the 18th century, Arnold & Son masterfully reinterprets history with a visionary eye to the future. Underscoring its watchmaking prowess, Arnold & Son regularly unveils complicated watches with a unique twist. The patented Golden Wheel deftly reflects the brand’s ingenuity and commitment to Haute Horlogerie. The Golden Wheel timepiece is a unique three-dimensional interpretation of the ancient wandering hours complication that has roots in table clocks of the mid-17th century. In fact, the first implementation of the wandering hours complication in pocket watches was most likely made in England at the beginning the 18th century. Thus, it is a fitting complication for the Arnold & Son watchmakers —inspired by British watchmaking heritage— to reinvent anew, perpetuating the long tradition of wandering hour watches.
News: Presenting the New HYT Skull. The Hydro Mechanical Horologists Do it Again.
The Skull, HYT’s new extraordinary and unprecedented creation, breaks all the rules. You don’t need to be an expert to appreciate the power of its design. Even at first glance the Skull makes a striking impression, simply because it epitomizes and at the same time breaks away from everything that HYT represents. It is provocative, unique and has a bold design supported by the fluid mechanics that have become the brand’s signature style. The Skull speaks for itself. Its development, however, was anything but obvious. The use of a capillary, which carries a fluid to act as the hour marker, is a concept that is already mastered by HYT and its partners. However, any significant changes in form require extensive background work. For the Skull, the skull shape of the tube, which measures less than one millimeter in diameter, was a significant challenge in itself. The issue centered on the capillary’s four angles, two of which are almost 90° at the base. These curves meant that bending the glass was a particularly delicate task.
News: Pre-SIHH 2015 Presenting the New IWC Portugesier Annual Calendar. Five Years to Develop and Simply Stunning.
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the birth of an iconic watch —the IWC Portuguese— IWC continues to enhance its Portugieser watch family with new eye-catching complications. After the minute repeater in 1995, the 7-day power reserve in 2000, the perpetual calendar in 2003, the Tourbillon Mystère in 2004, the constant-force tourbillon in 2011 and the recent 8-day hand-wound movement presented in 2013, consolidated the Portugieser watches’ reputation as one of the leading lights of haute horlogerie. In 2015, the Year of the Portugieser, IWC’s newly developed annual calendar is another interesting additional feature to complement the perpetual calendar. The complication is powered by the new IWC in-house 52850 calibre. Both are found for the first time in the Portugieser Annual Calendar Ref. 5035. The watch thus symbolizes the launch of an IWC initiative to produce further series of in-house calibre families in the years ahead.
Insider: F.P. Journe Chronomètre Souverain Boutique Edition. The Watch that Made Us Break a Promise.
They say that one of the principles of good journalism is to be objective and neutral about what or who you write about. Considering the circumstances between the brand F.P. Journe and our publication, we will do our best to keep this post as objective and neutral as possible. Sometimes, no matter how nice you are to people and how hard you work, you still run into arrogant executives in the watch industry that disrespect you or that think that because they work for a very special brand, you as a watch publication are obliged to take their attitude and still write about their watches.
Back in 2013 during the SIAR, we promised the F.P. Journe brand that we would never write about them as long as we owned this website. Today, we are breaking this promise just to pamper a very close and dear friend of ours that recently acquired the only F.P. Journe Chronomètre Souverain Boutique Edition ref. CS that has made it to the American continent. Not only our friend wanted for us to do a special review of this special timepiece that he now owns, but we also felt that this watch is well worth talking about.
Insider: MB&F Legacy Machine No. 2. An Exceptional Timepiece with Dual Flying Balances.
Admiring one of these timepieces in person is what we consider a true horological experience. The adrenaline rush we experienced while taking these pictures was just something we only feel when we are in the presence of true horological masterpieces and all we can say is that the new MB&F Legacy Machines are wondrous reinterpretations of significant horological inventions by the greatest watchmakers in history.
This exceptional timepiece is only available in 18K white gold with dark grey dial, 18K rose gold with silver dial or in a limited edition of 18 pieces in 950 platinum with blue dial. Now, remember that this majestic timepiece is best admired from the side thanks to its marvelous and beautiful high domed crystal, so honestly the color of the movement base plate that conforms the dial, is like a cherry on top of a delicious birthday cake.
Experience: Merry Christmas to Each and Everyone of You. A Collection of Christmas Inspired Images with an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.
Most people outside of the U.S. in Europe and Latin America celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. Since we also share the tradition of celebrating on Christmas Eve, we decided to prepare a small collection of Christmas inspired images today, to wish each and everyone of you a very Merry Christmas. May you and your families be blessed with health and may all your dreams come true.
Hopefully your Christmas tree is keeping one of these Royal Oaks nice and warm inside a gift box for tomorrow morning.
Enjoy!
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon Titanium. Up to Par and Almost as Pricey as a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept was first launched in 2002 as ref. 25980AI.OO.0003SU.01 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the launch of the iconic Royal Oak in a limited edition of 150 pieces. That first Royal Oak Concept, was fitted with an ultra rare sculpted-shaped case made of Alacrite 602 with a hardness of 430 vickers and a titanium bezel. The Alacrite 602 is a super-alloy composed of 57% cobalt, 31% chrome, 5% tungsten and the remaining 6% of carbon, silicon and iron.
While the first Royal Oak Concept did feature a tourbillon, it didn't come with a GMT function. Alternatively, it was equipped with a dynamograph, a power reserve indicator showing the number of turns of the barrel and a Kevlar aramid fiber strap.
News: Pre-SIHH 2015 Presenting the Greubel Forsey GMT Black. Even More Stunning than its Predecessor.
Pre-SIHH 2015, Greubel Forsey is pleased to announce the launch of the GMT Black exploring a new design with a titanium case and treated with vacuum deposited ADLC. This is a unique edition of 22 pieces worldwide. The timepiece features a case measuring 43.5 mm in diameter housing a GF05 in-house movement with 24 second tourbillon inclined at a 25 degree angle, GMT function, three-dimensional globe for day/night indication, rotating disc with 24 different time zones, daylight savings indication, and 72 hour power reserve. This watch is the exact same watch as its predecessors in platinum, rose gold or white gold GMTs reviewed here but with a DLC Titanium case. The 25° inclined Tourbillon '24 Secondes' cage at 5 o'clock is one of Greubel Forsey’s major patented inventions. The single inclined tourbillon cage undergoes rapidly changing positions with a high angular velocity, thus minimizing the effects of gravity on the regulating organ and maximizing timekeeping accuracy.
Experience: Patek Philippe ref. 5975 Multi-scale Chronograph. Taking Delivery of one of Patek's 175th Anniversary Limited Edition Pieces.
Two months ago on October 12th, 2014, Patek Philippe presented 25 timepieces to celebrate its 175th anniversary as reported here. One of these 25 commemorative timepieces is the Patek Philippe ref. 5975, a Multi-Scale Chronograph available in three precious metal variations and with a dial fitted with a tachymeter, telemeter and a pulsometer. With these chronographs Patek Philippe has returned to the source of the chronograph by creating a multiple-scale instrument whose face combines technical panache with finesse. Patek Philippe has always accorded a prominent role to the chronograph. Between 2005 and 2012, reaffirmed its know-how and supremacy by developing a range of eight chronograph movements built entirely in its own workshops. They extend from the classic manually wound chronograph with column wheel and horizontal clutch to the self-winding chronograph with vertical disc clutch and to the highly complex split-seconds chronograph, with or without perpetual calendar.
Experience: Omega Soirée in Miami's Design District. In Preparation for the Upcoming Boutique Opening.
This past Wednesday December 10th, 2014 we had the pleasure to join our friends at Omega for a very special celebration in lieu of the upcoming opening of its Miami Design District boutique. The Miami Design District and its Aranda/Lasch-Designed space is soon to be the mecca of watch boutiques in the Miami area. This wonderful evening with a red carpet soirée that drew stars and socialites including actress Camilla Belle, along with nearly 400 of Miami's influentials was hosted by Omega's Vice President and Head of International Sales, Raynald Aeschlimann. This tasteful and elegant celebration had its main focus on paying homage to Omega's Master Co-Axial technology —the world’s first industrialized anti-magnetic movements with all non-ferrous components that are more prevalent across a wide variety of Omega timepieces. For sure, an evening filled with delicious hors d'oeuvre, Omega signature cocktails, celebrities, beautiful women and stunning timepieces. As usual, our drink of choice for the evening was our usual Negroni.
News: MB&F Legacy Machine No. 1 LM1 Goes Platinum. As if White and Red Gold Were Not Impressive Enough.
Wild, extreme, outrageous, unrestrained: all might be used to describe MB&F's futuristic Horological Machines, but traditional, classical, round? With its monumental central balance; superlatively finished movement; completely independent dual time zones; unique vertical power reserve indicator and elegant annular case, Legacy Machine No. 1 —LM1— is a tribute to the great innovators of traditional watchmaking; and above all, an authentic three-dimensional MB&F Machine. Legacy Machine No. 1 was conceived when Maximilian Büsser started fantasizing: "What would have happened if I had been born in 1867 instead of 1967? In the early 1900s the first wristwatches appear and I would want to create three-dimensional machines for the wrist, but there are no Grendizers, Star Wars or fighter jets for my inspiration. But I do have pocket watches, the Eiffel Tower and Jules Verne, so what might my more traditional machine look like? "It has to be round and it has to be three-dimensional: Legacy Machine No. 1 was my answer."
Insider: Girard-Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar in Platinum. A Timeless Timepiece in a 100-Piece Limited Edition.
Constant Girard (1825-1903) and Marie Perregaux (1831-1912), whose surnames united in 1854 still form the Girard-Perregaux corporate name to this day, passed the baton to their son Constant Girard-Gallet (1856-1945), who in 1906 would buy up the Old Bautte Firm. The three brothers of Marie Perregaux, Henri (1828-1893), François (1834-1877) and Jules (1838-1903) also joined the business, Henri and Jules by representing it in the Americas, and François in Asia. Constant Othenin-Girard (or Girard) began his watchmaking career initially in partnerships, under a variety of collective names. In 1854 he married Marie Perregaux (1831-1912), the product of a watchmaking family from Le Locle, and together they founded the Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds which to this day bears their combined surnames (1856).
Insider: Audemars Piguet Millenary Minute Repeater in Pink Gold. A Noble Horological Complication.
The Audemars Piguet Millenary Minute Repeater ref. 26371OR.OO.D803CR.01 in pink gold —presented at the Watches and Wonders Salon in Hong Kong last year— is fitted with an 18K pink gold oval shaped case —measuring 47mm in diameter and 15.79mm in thickness— with enamel off-centered hour/minute dial at 3, an off-centered seconds sub-dial at 7 and minute repeater lever at 9 o'clock. This Millenary Minute Repeater features the Audemars Piguet Direct-Impulse Escapement and a flat double balance-spring.
The beautiful white enamel dial features Roman numerals with blued hands and the finely tuned blued steel gong is fully visible around the circumference of the face of the watch. A perfectly balanced dial with very intricate and nicely finished touches.
Insider: Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 XXL Large Date Moon Phases Squelette. Stunning Art Deco Timeless Design.
Today, we bring you our hands-on review of the Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 XXL Large Date Moon Phases Squelette ref. 25882-11-222-BB6B. This new timepiece from the legendary manufacture from La Chaux-de-Fonds features a first time ever sapphire dial that reveals the beating heart of the Vintage 1945 XXL watch. The Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Large Date Moon Phases Squelette is a perfect example of the Art Deco inspired timepieces released during the mid-century era in the 1900s. The new Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Large Date Moon Phases watch fully reveals the complexity of its movement for the first time, thanks to a transparent dial carved in sapphire. This new timepiece available in stainless steel or 18K rose gold features a rectangular —almost square— 'tonneau' shaped case measuring 36.10mm in length and 35.25mm in width.
