Last year, I have been posting a lot on Rolex watches. A brand you can’t ignore in my opinion. However, this year I promised myself to have a good look around for other interesting watches and brands. Earlier this year, I bought myself an IWC Ingenieur and a vintage Titus chronograph in 18kt rosé gold (very very thin ;)) and now I am investigating other watches for a possible future purchase. I had my share of impuls purchases in the past, and most of them ended-up on the various sales corners again.

A while ago, I read an article about the Girard-Perregaux (GP hereafter) Laureato. GP is a brand that you won’t see much, perhaps because their name isn’t as known as the Rolex, Patek, IWC or Audemars of this world, I don’t know. However, GP is one of the few brands that can call itself a manufacture. I assume that most of you visitors here, know GP, so I don’t have to further introduce the brand itself. The full history can be found on their website.

The model that caught my attention is the Laureato Evo³ chronograph. It is the third generation of the Laureato series (considered by GP as sport classique) which was initially introduced in 1975.

The Evo³ ref.80180 was launched in 2004 and has been upgraded to the current standards of watch design, without losing touch with the initial Laureato. The Evo³ chronograph has an inhouse movement, caliber GP 033C0. This automatic winding chronograph is ticking at 28.800 beats per hour, has 52 jewels and a powerreserve of 52 hours. The watch has, besides chronograph functionality, a day/night indicator and a date sub-register. As regular readers may know, I have a weak spot for integrated bracelets, and this watch has one as you can see on the pictures below! I’ll put this watch on the list

Pictures by Bernard Watch Co.

This 43mm giant has a list price of over 14.000 USD. Bernard Watch Co offers a BNIB for 8395 USD.

Today, Roger Ruegger pointed out to me that The Crossing is being presented by IWC on their website. The Crossing has been played in front of 1700 guests during a gala night organised by IWC at the SIHH watch fair earlier this year.

The text below is a short summary of the official press release by IWC:

“IWC presents the short film of a multimedia performance by the Sydney Theatre Company, interpreting the story of how the watch manufacturer was founded and starring Cate Blanchett and Joseph Fiennes. The watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen is celebrating the online premiere of “Minutes of a Separation”, with the lead roles played by Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and Hollywood actor Joseph Fiennes. The “Making-of”, which contains interviews with Cate Blanchett, the director and other actors, provides a fascinating look behind the scenes.

In the film, Oscar winner Cate Blanchett is the pregnant wife who is left behind by IWC founder Florentine Ariosto Jones, played by the British actor Joseph Fiennes. Joseph Fiennes plays an adventurous watchmaker and engineer struggling to succeed in his bold vision, which drives him into European exile in an attempt to raise the manufacture of watch movements to a new and cheaper level of production.”

Have fun. Click here to go to IWC’s microsite ‘The Crossing’.

About seven years ago, in 2001, I had this Bulova Accutron Spaceview wrist watch. I wrote a review on that watch and posted it here.

I bought it off eBay and wore it for about a year or so before I traded it again. I remember that I was too afraid of damaging the movement, which would result in having a useless watch in my drawer. Repairing an Bulova Accutron is expensive and time consuming. Good spare parts are hard to find. However, there is hope. The Watch and Clock Forum created an Accutron forum. Perhaps I should have kept it and wait until there was this Accutron community The nicest Accutron Spaceview I’ve ever seen is a triangular cased 14ct white gold version on a leather strap. Beautiful.

Have fun!

Just very recently, I noticed the website of Maximilian Büsser (and friends). Maximilian has been working in the past for prestigious brands like Jaeger LeCoultre and for Harry Winston Rare Timepieces (as a managing director) being responsible for the Opus haute horlogerie watches of the latter brand.

Maximilian Büsser

In 2005, Maximilian started his own brand (MB&F) to assemble dedicated collectives of talented artisans, artists and professionals to design and craft each year a radical horological masterpiece. And if you take a look at the MB&F website, you’ll see that these masterpieces are radical indeed! The MB&F watches are being called ‘Horological Machines’ and are successively numbered (for each year a new model is introduced). Horological Machine No.1 for example, has four barrels in parallel and is the first to have the regulating system receive energy simultaneously from two different sides (two barrels on each side). Its automatic winding movement consists out of 376 parts, 81 jewels, 4 mainspring barrels, a 7-day power reserve and an elevated central tourbillon.

The MB&F website gives information on every Friend that helped constructing and building each Horlogical Machine. The watch is delivered with a black hand-stitched alligator strap with an 18ct gold folding clasp. Horological Machine No. 2 – also an incredible radical designed wrist watch – features an instantaneous jumping hour, concentric retrograde minutes, a retrograde date and a bi-hemisphere moon phase. The automatic movement of the HM2 consists out of 349 parts and 44 jewels. HM1 is made in 18ct white gold and red gold. HM2 is made in 18ct red gold combined with titanium and 18ct white gold with titanium, limited to 125 pieces each. Prices are unknown and I really wonder if that is of any importance to the MB&F clients, this is a whole different level of the watch making art.

HM No.2

The packing material of both watches is as ‘radical’ as the watches are. HM1 comes in a very impressive wooden case with an extra alligator strap (brown) and a screw driver to be able to change it yourself. I would not forgive myself if I would scratch the case with a screw driver in an attempt to change the strap. The wooden case is safely tucked away in a pin striped flannel and leather carrying bag by Etro. HM2 comes in a leather case with brushed aluminum sides. One side of the case includes a thermometer.

HM No.1

MB&F has 15 selling points world wide, by 8 selected dealers. The MB&F website gives a personal introduction of each dealer. One of them is The Hour Glass in Singapore, a well known high-end watch store in Singapore. I have been to Singapore two months ago, but I didn’t visit The Hour Glass shop on Orchard Road, which I really do regret now I have seen the MB&F website…

HM3 will be introduced late 2008.

Thanks to Mr. Büsser of MB&F for some corrections.

The 24 Hours Le Mans is over. Audi wins the 76th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008. The Audi trio consists of Kistensen (wins for the 8th time in 9 tries), McNish and Capello.

What has this to do with watches you ask? Besides Steve McQueen wearing his Heuer Monaco in the 1971 movie ‘Le Mans‘, Rolex is long time sponsor of the event. Every year, Rolex presents a stainless steel Rolex Daytona to personalities who embody the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This Daytona has ‘Spirit of Le Mans’ engraved in its caseback.

Picture by J. Holbrook, from his wallpaper collection @ The Rolex Reference page.

This year, the “Spirit of Le Mans” Rolex Cosmograph Daytonas will be presented to Yves Courage, constructor and driver who has competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1982 (Lola-BMW), and Martin Birrane, a former 24 Hours of Le Mans driver, who is celebrating his 50th birthday this weekend.

With this limited Daytona (with engraving and background story), their funding for their early-retirement is secure.

I recently had an e-mail exchange with Dave Bruno, who used to have a website dedicated to the Sinn 142 model (with Lemania 5100 movement), and he wrote “now I’m on a Seiko kick (recently purchased the SBGE001….my grail !)”. The SBGE001 is a GMT watch of the Grand Seiko range. The top of the bill watch line of Seiko. Until recently, the Grand Seiko was something you wouldn’t see outside of Asia. When Seiko introduced their spring drive technology, they start to market it world wide. The SBGE001 is a 44mm diameter watch and has a 14.7mm thick case. It weighs 177 grams, wow!

Both pictures by Dave Bruno

What does it offer for almost 3500 euro (approx 5350 USD)? Dual timezone, 72 hour power reserve and 20 atm water resistant. Maybe even more important, a very well built quality watch. I wonder if watch collectors are ready to spend 3500 euro on a Japanese watch. Looking at the pictures that various people have put on the internet and reading the reviews written by Seiko enthusiasts, I am starting to think that the avid watch collectors may add a Seiko Spring Drive to their collection sooner as I thought. I have handled the first Spring Drive Seikos at an authorized dealer when they got introduced here in The Netherlands, and I was quite impressed. Only the price set me back from thinking that collectors would be jumping into the Spring Drive.

More pictures can be found here: http://www.ittc.ku.edu/~jgauch/watch/spring/SBGE001.html and http://jimmyfu.com/sbge001.html

Dave wrote me that he compared it to the Rolex GMT-Master II, and that it was no comparison in favor of the Grand Seiko SBGE001. That makes me curious about this watch. And curious about its movement, caliber 9R66. I haven’t seen pictures of the Seiko Spring Drive movement that’s inside this watch.

What do you think? Would you add a 3500 Euro Grand Seiko to your collection if the same money would buy you a nice Swiss watch with the same functionality? Even if the Seiko would be better crafted (bracelet, case etc)?

On the 11th of June 2008, there are several occasions to celebrate! One of them is watch portal WatchUseek turning 10 years old! Ernie Romers, director of WatchUseek will also turn 50 y/o that day! A double celebration! Make sure to visit WatchUseek on the 11th of June since the forum sponsors are being very generous that day with cool presents (to win!).

Another anniversary is being celebrated by Michael Friedberg and his official IWC Collector’s Forum. This slow, but with in-depth posts, forum about IWC watches is turning 7 years old this coming wednesday the 11th of June. As I am only fan of the Ingenieur and only few other models, I find myself hardly posting on that forum, only lurking. Perhaps the 8th year of existence can be celebrated with new forum software that will be a bit more user friendly :).

Anyway, WatchUseek, Ernie and IWC: Congratulations!!

As most of you probably are member of LinkedIn, please join the ‘Passion for Watches’-group! If you are not a member of LinkedIn, consider signing up.. it’s a great (free of charge) platform to stay in touch with business partners, former colleagues, to search for people (either recruitment or subject experts) and for business opportunities.

Anyway, let’s get together in the ‘Passion for Watches’-group and see what other watch enthusiasts are doing. Perhaps you have more in common than your passion for watches!

Click the LinkedIn logo above or the URL below to join the Passion For Watches-group!

http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/56533/4DEF84174391

Master watchmaker Franz Wolff (Lottermann & Söhne) created the Crazy Planet. With “Crazy Planet” - developed and produced entirely in house - Blancier is once again introducing a watch of unparalleled world class.

The most important wheels of the Crazy Planet are laid out in a planet orbit formation. In normal mechanical watches, all wheels are invisible, hidden under the watch face. Blancier has made wheels visible by displaying the workings on top of the watch face. This Tourbillon-like design, in which wheels have actually been incorporated into the hands, makes Crazy Planet not only technically impressive but also aesthetically attractive.