This year, 2007, is the 25th anniversary of the current Omega Constellation model. It all started in 1952 of course, but in 1982 Omega had enough of all those different 1970s Constellations and introduced this ‘Manhattan’ model to get the Constellation back on the map again. After 25 years, a lot changed, but the original ‘Manhattan’ design is still recognizable!

Update: I have seen in articles about the Patek Nautilus that Gerald Genta also designed the Omega Constellation. However, they do not mention which Constellation he has designed. If someone could tell me more about this, that would be great!

I just finished a small write-up on the Omega Constellation! Click here to read!

Watch fanatics will instantly recognize this slogan. Perhaps, even their significant others will do too. Patek Philippe, considered to be the best watch brand, uses this slogan since 1996. Besides this campaign, Patek Philippe also has separate one for women which started in 1999 for their “24″ collection and was refined in 2006.

As more than ten years after it was first presented, the “Generations” campaign enjoys continued and unprecedented success. Only a few theme campaigns of such longevity exist. According to Tim Delaney, the Chairman of Leagas Delaney and the creative mind behind the campaign, this timelessness originates primarily from its central message: “Patek Philippe expresses a universal truth, an emotional realm that is valid for every father and every son in every culture….”

Personally, I love the campaign and everytime I see it I wished my father has a Patek he could pass on Well, he has not, which means I have to save up for one myself to pass on to the next generation. No problem, because I already know which Patek Philippe model will be passed on to the next generation (if I can make it to save up for one). Last weekend I was able to handle a Patek Philippe Nautilus (ref.5711/1A), which has a waiting list even more absurd than for the stainless steel Rolex Daytona. Designed by Gerald Genta, who also is responsible for the IWC Ingenieur, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Omega’s Constellation and Seamaster, the Nautilus was introduced by Patek Philippe in 1976. Based on either Disney’s Nautilus or the US Submariner called ‘Nautilus‘, Patek remains silent about the origin of the Nautilus name.

To me, the ref.5711/1A is the ultimate luxury sportswatch. If you handle this watch, you will instantly notice that this is a whole other level than the Rolexes, Omegas and IWCs in this world. The watch silently screams craftmenship in the best way you will be able to get. At a list price of over 15.000 Euro, no discount possible, it is probably also one of the few watches that nobody will get unless you are a real watch addict/admirer. There is no gold, no complication and no other sign to show off your wealth. Holding a watch like this, staring at it, admiring its movement and fine crafted bracelet, case and dial… my brain starts to calculate immediately what kind of funds needs to be raised. How long will it take? Do I need to do some selling or trading?

No I don’t. My current modest collection has been built over a period of almost a decade. If I sell or trade anything, I will certainly regret it. There is no other option than to save and to restrain from buying other fine watches when I am half way…

NicoH, posted a picture of his new watch strap on TimeZone. Nothing special you think.

Looks even a bit ‘old’, you might think. You are right. It is about 50 years old. This strap has been made out of leather from a Mercedes Benz 300 SLR dated 1956. It gets even better. The car belongs to Jean Todt, who is the executive director of Scuderia Ferrari, the Ferrari company’s Formula One constructor.

His car needed a new leather interior and a strap maker could lay his hands on the original leather interior and decided to make some straps out of it. 40 straps have been made, individually numbered and ’stamped’.

Click here to read the full story, including more pictures.

The 14th edition of the German Armband Uhren Katalog (2008) is available! I picked-up my copy at Horloge Platform Nederland. This catalogue covers more than 1250 watches in 408 pages with 1500 full color pictures. The English version will be out soon as well.

The Rolex Reference Page by John Holbrook has been updated. The new lay-out has made it easier to navigate and to find the articles John has written (or photographed). I especially enjoyed the Travel Articles and the Rolex Wallpapers section. John has also written great articles on various Rolex models. Either for his own website or for watch magazines like Chronos (US Edition), IW Magazine and InSync. All three of them are hardly for sale in Europe, but some of them have John’s articles on-line.

Did you buy a wrist watch without papers? Do have have watch papers from a former collectors piece and have no need for them anymore? WatchPapers.com can help you out in both situations. For example, your vintage Royal Oak Jumbo bought without papers at a watch fair.. Just enter your watch brand and serialnumber, and WatchPapers.com will check their database for the original matching papers. If you still own the papers of your long sold Rolex Sea-Dweller ref.1665 and have no use for them anymore, you can make some money by putting them into the WatchPapers.com database and wait until the current owner of the watch enters the serialnumber of this watch. Matching original papers to a vintage Rolex, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre or AP can be worth quite something for the serious collector.

Horomundi is an on-line community for watch addicts that have special interest in complications or high-end watches in general. Recently a number of members of the Horomundi community organized an event in Maastricht, The Netherlands. The meeting started at Leon Martens, a high-end jeweler in Maastricht (who will be celebrating their 100th anniversary soon). One of the attendees, Tom, created a nice pictorial of the meeting which gives us a clue about the discussed topics during the meeting

Click here for the pictorial

Photos by Tom @ DeZinVanLuxe.

Kiber launched their new watch line, Gran Specchio, which means ‘big mirror’. This obviously has something to do with the mirrored edge combined with carbon look silver dial. These watches come in a luxury wooden box, an extra leather handmade Kiber Race band and a spring bar tool. All pushers and crowns have a screw attachment – the watch is 5ATM water resistant – and the stainless 48mm case has a sapphire front glass and a see through glass on the back. The chronograph has an automatic mechanical movement, based on the famous Valjoux (ETA) caliber 7750. The non-chronograph has an automatic mechanical movement based on the ETA 2824-2 caliber. The chronograph is available for Euro 1390.- and the non-chrono has a price tag of Euro 590.- You’ll find more specifications and a list of world wide resellers over at http://www.kiber.nl/.