Earlier this year, Cartier introduced a new watch for men, Calibre de Cartier. A few years ago, Cartier introduced the Santos 100 to fulfil the demand for a more masculine watch, the Calibre de Cartier is their next-gen masculine watch with in-house movement. And perhaps this new model does the trick even better!I tried on the Calibre de Cartier during one of their events and I must say that I was quite impressed by the look and feel of this watch and perhaps just as important, the price tag. A list price of just below 5K Euro makes this watch an interesting competitor for the ‘usual suspects as a stainless steel , in-house Panerai or IWC. However, what does it mean to be a Cartier ma...
This is not an elegant dress chronograph, this is a bruiser of a tool watch and likely will not fit under anyone s shirt cuff unless you have a wrist the size of Michael Jackson s and are wearing Arnold Schwartzenegger s shirt. – Chuck Maddox (27th of May, 2003)Photograph by Chuck MaddoxA few weeks ago I was in New York City and met with Bill Sohne (collector of fine time pieces and moderator of the Omega forum of PuristsPro) for a coffee and a small chat about watches. We discussed a lot of watches, including this Omega Seamaster Professional Chronograph in titanium (ref.2298.80) he bought, also known as the SeMPC Ti. Bill told me that during his long friendship with the legendary Chu...
Since Omega started making in-house movements (again), you could say that they stepped up a bit on the horological ladder. Their Hour Vision is a very interesting watch, not only because the caliber 8500 movement, but also because of the classic case design that resembles their 1960s models. Furthermore, their Hour Vision has this nice sapphire centre part in the watch case, enabling you to look at the movement when wearing the watch.I just noticed that there is one for sale via one of the Dutch watch forums (DeZinVanLuxe) and Chrono24 for just over 2500 euro. The sellers asks more through Chrono24, but that gives you some room to bargain, I guess. Perhaps because the local (Dutch) forum see...
Fratello has some nice give aways coming up, and this Mario Paci MP XVIII strap is one of them! Together with TC Straps and ViaPaneristi, long time friends of FratelloWatches, I can offer you this great give away for your Panerai time piece.Leave a comment with your name and a valid e-mail address, and a winner will be picked on the 15th of July. You will be contacted in order to ask you what colour strap and which size you prefer. The following sizes are available (width at the lug & buckle and long part length & short part length):24/24 115/7524/24 125/8024/24 130/8526/26 125/80The MP XVIII strap will be available in the following colours: Camel, Cappuccino and Nero (as seen below...
Swatch Group Press Release:Biel/Bienne, 28 June 2010 – With deep sadness and regret we inform you that Mr. Nicolas G. Hayek, Chairman and Delegate of the Board of Directors of The Swatch Group Ltd. unexpectedly passed away today due to heart failure during work at his beloved Swatch Group.Mr. Nicolas G. Hayeks greatest merit was his enormous contribution to the saving of the Swiss watch industry and the foundation and the commercial development of the Swatch Group. Mr. Nicolas G. Hayeks extraordinary vision enabled him to realize and ensure the sustainability of a strong watchmaking enterprise with high Swiss added value. He is rightly recognized as a leading entrepreneur in this count...
Since the introduction of the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A in 2006, the watch has reached a mythical status. Especially during the last few years, it seems this watch has been picked up by a larger audience than ever before.With a retail price of?26.810,- Euro, not an easy sell for an all stainless steel watch with no complications other than a date. Wrong! These watches have a long waiting list today, and a pre-owned Nautilus 5711/1A is not a cheap alternative with prices starting at around 40.000,- Euro. It is the watch craze we live in today I am afraid, but it has gone to extremes with the Nautilus.Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700/1A and 5711/1A TodayThis article is a comparison between t...
Thomas Prescher did create excitement amongst watch collectors, he created a mechanical timepiece that is absolutely unique. A triple-axis tourbillon movement in a wrist watch. The Triple Axis Tourbillon Regulator, as the watch is being named, is again one of these great inventions of Thomas Prescher, since he started working for himself in 2002 and joined the AHCI in 2003.Before 2002, Thomas Prescher followed an appreniceship at IWC, followed by a great carreer at Audemars Piguet where he earned his Master Watchmaker certificate. Just before Thomas Prescher opened his own atelier, he was hired as a Production Manager for another big name in Swiss horology, Blancpain.Tourbillons seem to be t...
When I just started out liking and looking at (serious) mechanical watches, Ebel was one of the brands that I really liked. Especially their chronograph with Zenith El Primero movement was particularly interesting, easy to recognize as these models have a snap-on case back. Over the years, the movements changed (from Zenith to Ebel s in-house caliber 137) but the characteristic case shape with the 5 screws and nice satin finish stayed. Although I wouldn t mind having the Ebel chronograph with El Primero movement (Ebel caliber 134 based on Zenith s caliber 400) – actually the same one as Don Johnson was wearing in Miami Vice – the new 1911 BTR Chronograph models are more up-to-dat...
About two weeks ago, I spoke to Dimer (friend of the show and eCommerce Manager at AceJewelers) and he showed me his recently acquired IWC Ingenieur from their Vintage collection (as shown below). Since I have a weak spot for the Ingenieur series, I tried this Vintage Collection Ingenieur a couple of times already and am very enthusiastic about it. So it is bound to happen that there will be one in my collection at some point.Anyhows, Dimer told me that he did some research on the web about the true source of inspiration for this Vintage Collection Ingenieur. It seems like IWC is directing us towards the wrong watch in their media campaign. In their media campaign, IWC refers to their first ...
This year Hamilton is releasing some excellent watches for women. These are well designed, high grade, mechanical timepieces that bring to women the value and vintage-like, classic style that is at the base of the company s success.There are many mechanical watches for ladies to choose from in more expensive price brackets. This is not so in Hamilton s set range of CHF 500 to CHF 1,500 for which the market of female watch enthusiasts is under-served. Hamilton, who holds perhaps the strongest position at the entry price level for luxury watches, is coming to the rescue. After seeing Hamilton s new JazzMaster Medium, Seaview Medium, and RailRoad 38mm for myself, it appears as if they will succ...
About a year ago, I wrote that the Royal Oak Date ref.15300 could be more interesting than the famous Royal Oak ‘Jumbo Ref.15202 (click here for the article). Not long after that article, I decided to pull the trigger on Royal Oak Date. On the 24th of December 2009, I did a trade-up to the Jumbo because it crossed my path.Now, I just received a message from John over at WatchUseek writing the following (left out some non-relevant information for this blog post):I? have read your articles comparing the Jumbo and the 15300. First of all, congratulations on a very nice review. It was well written and very informative. In fact, your blog was one of the reason I am now in the hunt for a 15...
The Watch Lounge asked for a short story about my favorite watch and for what reason it is my favorite watch. Although this watch has been covered here numerous times, it might be a nice read for my fellow AP Royal Oak adepts and Gerald Genta disciples. ??Click here to read the article over at The Watch Lounge....
Bas van Dorp, friend of the show for many years now, is always keeping his eyes open for a cool chronograph. He found this vintage Cyma Watersport chronograph from the 1940s in a watch shop in Maastricht, in the southern part of The Netherlands. Cyma is a brand with a history dating back to 1891, however they didn t survive the quartz crisis in the 1970s only to be reborn in 2005. The current Cyma company has nothing to do with the one that stopped about 40 years ago.Bas s Cyma Watersport is a classic looking round chronograph with a tri-compax dial lay-out, which means it has the sub dials at 9, 6 and 3 o clock. In my opinion, the perfect chronograph design symmetry-wise. A fairly large wat...
I had this Breitling Navitimer 92 on a blue monday. Admitted, a stainless steel / gold combination with a blue leather shark strap wasn t probably the best choice I had made in a long time. After a week I flipped it (and advertizing with that type of watch is good for a few anecdotes itself) for another watch. Although I was pretty sure I was very Navitimer-ish, this 92 model in gold/steel didn t do the trick. Should have gotten the regular Old Navitimer or the vintage ref.806 model instead. Chances are big I still would have it in my collection.Long gone but not forgotten is a Navitimer ancestor, the Breitling Aviastar. This watch was only in production from late 1996 till 1998 and actuall...
Between the 5th of June and the 2nd of July 2010, the (Europe s very first) boutique in Berlin is showcasing their most important or better yet, meaningful watches of their 105 years of existence. The watches are chronologically displayed starting with their oldest timepiece dating 1905 and includes their first Oyster watches, produced in 1926 and worn by Mercedes Gleitze while she swam the Channel in 1927.Also on display, the very Oyster Perpetual that Sir Edmund Hillary wore during his 1953 climbing adventure on the Mount Everest and the Deep Sea Special prototype from 1960 with the crazy domed crystal. This particular watch was taken to a depth of 10916 metres, being attached on the hull...
Cabestan proudly announces a partnership with Ferrari to celebrate the oldest and still existing Formula 1 racing team in the world, Scuderia Ferrari. With their debut in Formula 1 in 1950 (Grandprix of Italy), the Scuderia Ferrari team is active in Formula 1 for 60 years now. The Scuderia Ferrari One time piece by Cabestan has been created by Jean-Francois Ruchonnet, who is deeply passionate by high performance cars and car races, such as Formula 1.Mr. Ruchonnet created the Scuderia Ferrari One to embody the excitement, the innovation, the technology, the style and the attention to details of Ferrari. A time piece that will only be made available to the clients of the Italian prestige car b...
Last year in Basel, during the BaselWorld 2009 show, I was introduced to Jean Dunand by my friend Frank (Monochrome), Suryia Hill (Sparkle) and Ian Skellern. Truth to be told, I had not taken the time to read about Jean Dunand time pieces and boy did I regret that. Luckily, Thierry Oulevay (owner of Jean Dunand Pieces Uniques) had enough patience to explain about Jean Dunand and his exceptional time pieces. The Tourbillon Orbital he showed me was a master piece that was simply stunning. I covered the Tourbillon Orbital Confucius in an article last year (click here) on FW.Photo courtesy of Jean Dunand. Standing is Thierry Oulevay, sitting behind his desk is Christophe Claret.This year, Suryia...
Last week, I was browsing through the monthly stash of watch magazines that enters my house. I don t know about you, but unlike the advertizements in other type of magazines, I actually like looking at watch advertizements. One of the advertizements that stopped me from quickly flipping pages was this Audemars Piguet advertizement. Since I own one of their watches, I am extra vulnerable for their ads in magazines ??I was immediately catched by the great combination of the cream dial, brown sub registers and blue hands, hour markers and (internal) bezel. The brown croco strap with blue stitching completes the watch. Although I wonder if I will still like the blue accents in 5 years from now, ...
I am a huge fan of watch winders. The practical ones that is, the ones that don t take up too much space and do the job right. Now, I have written on winders before (a 2009 watch winder review and one in 2005) and always wrote that you should be on the look-out for a programmed or programmable winder. This means that the winder will work a few programs in such a way that your watch gets enough excercise to keep on running. Although I can t imagine that you are still able to overwind your watch, a running watch is still better than a watch that stands still. This probably has something to do with the synthetic oil that thickens a bit after a long period of non-wear.Anyway, the Leather One Wat...
Are you looking to buy an Omega Speedmaster but don t know where to start? We re here to help! Over the past 65+ years, Omega has created many variations of one of the world s most famous chronographs. The classic 42mm Moonwatch has been in the collection since 1965, and to the novice eye, little has changed since then. But if you look a bit closer, you will find that the Speedmaster evolved quite a bit in the decades that followed.In this Speedmaster guide, we ll give you an overview of the most important references of the Speedmaster (Professional) and some of its variations. Although this article isn t meant as a pricing guide, we will give some hints, of course. If you re already a knowl...
