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Blancier Desert Wolf ‘Bullhead’

Robert-Jan — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:25:09 +0000

Normally, my coverage on quartz driven watches is second to none, however, I’ll make an exception for this special timepiece. The Blancier Desert Wolf is dedicated to the Dutch troops in Uruzgan.

The watch case of the Desert Wolf has a 45 diameter and a hard PVD finish. The buckle of the strap also has this PVD finish. As you can see, the dial of the Blancier Desert Wolf is marked with the coordinates of the Dutch Uruzgan camp. The orange markers and hands refer to the Dutch heritage.

The crown and chronograph pushers are located on the 12 o’clock position of the watch, which makes it a ‘bullhead’ watch. Something we’ve seen in the past on Omega and Seiko watches (and a few more). Other specifications of this watch are:

water resistant to 100 meters (10ATM)
sapphire crystal (double side anti-reflective coating)
1 year (limited) warranty
price tag of 345 Euro, of which 10 Euro will go to the Anjerkinderen fund (kids of veterans)

More information and photographs can be found at www.blancier.eu

BaselWorld 2010: 12 Faces of Time: Book Signings with Watchmakers

Robert-Jan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:36:35 +0000

Already ordered your copy of 12 Faces of Time?

Either if you did or are planning to, make sure to visit the book signing sessions in BaselWorld!

When: Saturday, March 20 and Sunday, March 21 at 14 h / 2:00 pm

Where: Messeplatz, directly in front of Hall 1.0, in the book hut run by Watchprint

Who: Elizabeth Doerr (author), Ralf Baumgarten (photographer), 11 of the watchmakers portrayed in the book: Philippe Dufour, Vianney Halter, Felix Baumgartner, Thomas Prescher, Volker Vyskocil, Paul Gerber, Beat Haldimann, Dr. Ludwig Oechslin, Kari Voutilainen, Roger Smith, and François-Paul Journe.

U-Boat U-51 Rattrapante Complicated Watch – An Amplified Masterpiece

Marco — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:56:59 +0000

Italo Fontana has very well figured out how to design big watches. U-Boat watches are between 45mm and 55mm in diameter and even reach 65mm in the particular case of the U-1942. One thing that has not been associated much with these gargantuan timepieces, however, are complications. Showing that they are at the height of more traditional watchmakers to produced complicated watches, U-Boat released the U-51 Rattrappante complicated model.

With a complex system of levers, springs, and pinions, the “rattrapante” or split-second chronograph movement is one of horology’s finest mechanisms. Its function is to allow the user to mark a time measurement without stopping the ongoing timer. This is done by overlapping two independent seconds hands. After starting the chronograph as usual, a third chronograph pusher can be used to stop one of the overlapping second hands and allow the user to take a reading. This can be used for timing lap times for instance. The English name for this type of chronograph is derived from the action of splitting the hands. Once the button is pushed again the hand that had stopped catches up to the primary chronograph seconds hand instantly. This gives the function its French name: rattrapante.

Mostly you will find such fine mechanisms in more traditional and elegant watches, but the U-51 is nothing like these. The colossal case is 51mm in diameter without counting the impressive crown cap and pushers. It is undeniably based on military styling with a protruding, protective bezel, five visible fastening screws, and a matte satin finish. Although the exact measurement is not known yet, the thickness of the case is evident. The screw-locking crown protector – on the left as always with U-Boat watches – has been greatly reworked from the company’s more basic models. So have the hinge system that secures the crown cover to the case and the start/stop pushers. A final, subtle touch of style is created by abandoning the lugs, making the strap seem integrated with the case.

What makes the U-Boat U-51 Rattrapante special is that every part of it has been amplified. Even the strap has been adorned with the most extravagant alligator leather and fortified with a rubber border. All these extras earn the U-51 a price tag of roughly US$15,000, which places the watch amongst the most expensive stainless steel U-Boats, but it is also amongst the rarest. The U-51 will be produced in very limited quantities and is in its own category amongst the U-Boat watch collection.

Written by Marco Gagliano. Marco is a specialist of U-Boat watches at Matt Baily.

Dream Watch Alert! AP Royal Oak Equation of Time 26603ST

Robert-Jan — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:12:05 +0000

As you probably noticed already, the SIHH 2010 expo results in a lot of new and impressive timepieces by numerous manufacturers. Unfortunately, I could not make it to the SIHH and GTE myself this year, but at least I am able to track all new releases via WatchUseek, Perpetuelle, TimeZone and WorldTempus.

Audemars Piguet is also exhibitor at the SIHH in Geneva and was actually the first brand that I kept an eye on, since I’ve seem to be bitten by the AP bug. The ‘regular’ Royal Oak timepieces suits me best and not the Offshore models. These are too bulky for me and I am not too sure about all the exotic materials AP uses for these watches. This year, I am lucky, because Audemars Piguet introduced a variety of interesting Royal Oak watches, including a non-limited skeletonized version of the 15300 model and an all new Royal Oak Equation of Time in stainless steel. Also available in gold of course, to match your yacht when you hang out in Saint Tropez.

The 42mm diameter case houses an incredible complicated movement, caliber 2120/2808, consisting out of 423 parts. Base caliber 2120 is only a mere 2.45mm thick, including the rotor and all the complications added to this movement (hence the 2808 addition in the movement number) add another 2.90mm to be able to show the Hours, Minutes, Date, Day, Leap Year, Equation of Time, Astronomical Moonphase Display and the Sunrise and Sunset times for a given location.

Although the equation of time probably doesn’t come to mind when thinking of a neat complication for your timepiece, at least not in my mind, it is a very impressive functionality to measure the difference between our conventional time and true solar time. For instance, if you’d measure time using a sundial, it will become apparent that it doesn’t indicate the same time as your watch, the differences can add up to 16.25 minutes. This variation is due to the earth’s elliptical path around the sun as well as its tilted rotation axis. For convenience, modern societies have calculated an average of all the days of the year and defined the mean solar day as comprising 24 hours, corresponding to so-called legal time.

Photo courtesy of Horomundi.com

AP explains as follows:
“The mean solar culmination point depends on your exact location, on the longitude of a given location on the globe. The equation of time read-off system developed by Audemars Piguet takes account of this specific place. Unlike most other equation of time mechanisms, it is not set to a given time zone selected by the manufacturer, typically corresponding to 15 degrees longitude. The “world standard time” system divides the world into 24 time zones and takes the Greenwich meridian as the zero point. While the official time is thus the same across the width of each time zone, true solar time varies by four minutes per degree (15 degrees=1 hour). Therefore, although the clocks on the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich and on the Rue du Rhône in Geneva indicate the same time, true noon – the point in the day when a sundial shows no shadow, or put another way, the sun is exactly directly overhead, can be observed a few minutes earlier in Zurich than in Geneva.

Not only does the Audemars Piguet mechanism take into account this local variation, it also enables one to read off the solar culmination time at any time of the day. To do so, this exceptional mechanism is personalised and adjusted according to the degree of longitude chosen by its owner. The name of the chosen city and the solar zenith in this place are engraved on the ring (such as 12.36 for Geneva). The ring also bears a graduated scale running from -15 to + 15 minutes. The zero point of the graduation is located exactly at the mean solar culmination time in the chosen place. The equation of time hand continuously displays the difference between the two values. When the hour hand corresponds to the time indicated on the graduated ring and the equation of time and minute hands are superimposed, the owner of the watch knows that the sun is exactly at its zenith. It’s exactly as if he had a sundial on his wrist, and there is no need for any mental arithmetic!”

The perpetual calendar and sunrise and sunset complications probably need no introduction, however, the combination of all these features make this one hell of a complicated timepiece. All this, without losing the original 1972 octagon shaped bezel and case design. Audemars Piguet did an excellent job, demonstrating their master watchmaker skills and using their proven Royal Oak concept. Although some people complain that Audemars Piguet is almost equal to Royal Oak (and admitted, they have plenty of other interesting collections currently), this one stands out and is hard to dispute with. No Offshore-ish design, no rubber or high-tech materials such as carbon or ceramics, just back to basics with their stainless steel case that represents the original Royal Oak model and a superb complicated mechanical masterpiece. I love this timepiece.

Photo by Paul Boutros @ TimeZone

The 26603ST (stainless steel) and 26603OR (gold) are only available on a leather strap, for now. The AP folding clasp has the famous AP monogram and comes in either stainless steel or gold. Prices will be probably published later on, when they are bound to appear in the AP boutiques and at authorized AP dealers.

Good work Audemars Piguet! Besides the Equation of Time and the before mentioned skeletonized Royal Oak Date ref.15305, there are a number of Offshores in the new programme. A Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix Collection, Offshore Diver, Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph and an Offshore Chronograph in 37mm, intended for men. Uhuh, we all know where the 37mm Chronograph is going to end…

SIHH2010: Ralph Lauren Slim Classique

Robert-Jan — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:33:13 +0000

Last year, during SIHH2009, Ralph Lauren introduced a line of watches that definitely can be considered haute horlogerie. Some of the Ralph Lauren boutiques carried vintage watches (by Rolex, Patek Philippe etc) for quite some years now, but now they have their own impressive line-up.

This year, Ralph Lauren introduces the Slim Classique Collection. So if you think that Ralph Lauren is fashion only, think again.

The Slim Classique is a 42mm diameter timepiece and only 5.35mm thick. Last week, I blogged about the thinness factor over at Vacheron Constantin with their Ultra-Fine watches but it seems that more brands follow this trend this year at SIHH (Salon International de Haute Horlogerie) in Geneva.

This timepiece uses a movement by another king of thin, Piaget. A mechanical handwound movement (caliber RL430) with a thickness of only 2.1mm is ticking inside this RL Slim Classique. Although the caseback of this watch is solid (and therefore ideal for engraving purposes), the movement inside has a Côtes de Geneve and circular graining finish (click here for my article on movement decoration). The guilloché dial and Breguet style hands make this watch a classic and sophisticated looking timepiece and up to standards with the 42mm diameter. This will not look bad at all in the board room!

The watch itself is available in rosé gold, white gold and platinum (Pt950). The 192 diamonds (total amount of 1.11 carat) are optional for this wristwatch. Of course, you’ll wear this timepiece on a black alligator strap!

Below a close-up of the guilloché dial and Breguet style hands.

Prices are unknown at the time of writing this post. My guess is that they won’t come cheap and why should they? Although the brand name might remind most people about their Polo shirts, the used movement, used materials for case, crown and strap and the perfectly finished dial and hands are proof of the fact that they are really a true watch brand as well.

MB&F’s Horological Machine No2-SV (Sapphire Vision)

Robert-Jan — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:16:19 +0000

Today, MB&F unveiled the Horological Machine No2-SV (Sapphire Vision) according to plan. Since early 2008, I am following Maximilian Büsser and Friends with great interest and have reported several times on their extreme cool creations. My personal favorites are MB&F’s (including Sage Vaughn) HM2 contribution to the Monaco Only Watch event and the recently introduced HM 2.2 BlackBox model that MB&F created together with Alain Silberstein.

On the 6th of January, MB&F announced the upcoming introduction of a 25 piece only HM2, which is today, on January 12th of 2010. The HM2 SV edition gives away part of the secrets and inner workings of their Horological Machine Number 2 by using sapphire crystal to cover the entire front of the timepiece as you can see on the picture above.

Sapphire’s hardness is second only to diamond, which makes the whole top half of the case (the most exposed half) extremely scratch-resistant. This is a timepiece that will keep its good looks for a very, very long time. The 3.6mm thick sapphire crystal consist out of a top plate that has been constructed out of three separate parts. It takes up to 55 hours to create just a single top plate of sapphire. Actually, Stettler in Lyss (Switzerland) was the only manufacturer of sapphire crystals that accepted the challenge and managed to fulfil this task in a perfect way, so I guess they are worth mentioning here

To ensure maximum light and visibility through to the movement, the two dials – minutes and date – are also in sapphire, sapphire disks lightly brushed to a perfect translucency ensuring full legibility of the polished silvered numbers while allowing maximum light through to the engine beneath.

The movement of the HM2-SV, has been developed by master watchmaker J.M Wiederrecht, it feature an instantaneous jump hour, concentric retrograde minutes, retrograde date and a bi-hemisphere moon phase. One of the technical highlights of this timepiece is the highly energy-efficient jump hour/retrograde mechanism developed by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, which uses his exclusive (and patented) asymmetrical-tooth gear wheels to ensure high precision and play-free functionality.

The price of the HM2 – SV is unknown yet, but I am pretty sure it won’t be in my personal collection any time soon. At least I have some specification of this watch for you:

Movement:

Jean-Marc Wiederrecht/Agenhor designed functionality regulated and powered by a Girard-Perregaux oscillator and gear train
Balance oscillating at 28,800 bph
Blued 22k rose gold Battle-axe automatic winding rotor
Number of components: 349 including 44 jewels

Functions:

Left dial: Retrograde Date and Bi-Hemisphere Moon Phase
Right Dial: Jumping Hours and Concentric Retrograde Minutes

Case:

Sapphire/titanium limited to 25
Dimensions (exclusive of crown and lugs): 59mm x 38mm x 13mm
Water resistant to 30 meters (3 ATM)
Number of parts: 120 (case only)

Sapphire crystals:

Sapphire case top and crystals over the dual dials treated with anti-reflective treatment on both faces. Display back with anti-reflective treatment on single face.

Dials:

Brushed sapphire and metallic blue disks

Strap & Buckle:

Black hand-stitched alligator with 18k white gold & titanium folding buckle

Presentation box:

Precision engineered aluminium and leather instrument case featuring an integrated Rüeger thermometer

MB&F unveiled their HM2-SV on Facebook

Robert-Jan — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:02:30 +0000

Today, Maximilian Büsser and Friends unveiled the first image of the Horological Machine No.2. – SV on their Facebook page. There will only be 25 pieces world wide of this haute horlogerie time piece!

The official unveiling will be on January 12th 2010. I will keep you posted.

Click here for the MB&F website.
MB&F on Facebook.

All Black SpidoLite SA

Robert-Jan — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:23:09 +0000

Although I have mentioned the Linde Werdelin SpidoLite SA All Black before (click here), I never really published about it, since I don’t want to become too biased. On the other hand, this blog represents my own interest in watches and brands, so why not? Fellow Dutchman Martin Wilmsen’s website (WristWatchPhoto), normally dedicated to Panerai watches, mentioned the SpidoLite SA All Black a few days ago. I was blown away by the pictures he took and he told me I could use them for my own blog if I wanted to. Well, here you go. The full set of pictures can be found at his other web initiative, PaneristiPix.com.

The SpidoLite SA All Black DLC version was introduced on the 15th of October 2009, retailing at 9.800 Euro. This DLC’ed titanium watch is limited to 88 pieces world wide, and is available for pre-order via the Linde Werdelin website or through one of their distributors. Like all SpidoLite SA versions, the movement is a A.Schild caliber 1876 modified by Svend Andersen. The rotor, made from blue gold, is engraved with both the LW and Andersen Geneve logo. Svend Andersen is an independent watch maker, based in Geneva, and respected member of the AHCI (Horological academy of Independent Creators). Actually, Andersen is one of the founding members of the AHCI, an initiative from 1985 for (master) watch makers to demonstrate that watch making is more then meets the eye. Michael Clerizo covered Svend Andersen in his recently released book on watch making, Masters of Contemporary Watchmaking.

The SpidoLite has been designed to fulfil the need of professional mountaineers, to have a light weight wrist watch. Like all other Linde Werdelin time pieces, this one can also be extended with The Rock instrument for mountaineers or skiing fanatics. This All Black version has been coated with DLC (the normal version has a titanium grade 5 watch case) and features blued hands.

I think it is important to stretch that despite its size (dimensions: 46mm (w) by 49mm (l) by 12mm (h)), the Linde Werdelin watches wear very comfortably on the wrist.

Also, if you are Dutch, please visit www.horloge.com for more information on Linde Werdelin. Horloge Platform Nederland recently became Linde Werdelin’s official retailer in The Netherlands.

Photos courtesy of M.Wilmsen.

Book Signing at Salon Belle Montres in Paris

Robert-Jan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:13:45 +0000

In the weekend of 27, 28 and 29 November, the Salon Belle Montres is being held in Paris, France. During these two days, the author of Masters of Contemporary Watchmaking, Michael Clerizo, will be signing his book. Amongst others, the 11 master watchmakers that he has written about in his book, will be attending the Salon Belle Montres in Paris as well. I reviewed Michael’s book some time ago, which you can read (again) by clicking here.

This book signing is being organized by the biggest on-line watch and jewellery book retailer, called WatchPrint. WatchPrint is also the bookshop present at Baselworld, SIHH, Belles Montres Paris and EPHJ.

Salon Belle Montres in Paris will also host a lot of other watch brands during the weekend of 27th, 28th and 29th November. What to think of A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Grönefeld, JLC, Maitres du Temps, Richard Mille, Vacheron Constantin… and more. Last but not least, Rolex will also be present on the Salon Belle Montres. A full overview of exhibitors can be found here. A big event and I wish I could be there… better luck next time.

100 Years of Rolex for iPhone

Robert-Jan — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:17:13 +0000

About a year ago, I wrote about Mondani’s book ‘100 years of Rolex’, which is a must have if you are a (serious) Rolex passionate. Now, especially for the iPhone user, Mondani Editore created an iPhone app (Apple users like to use this shortcut for ‘application’) that contains 182MB of information about Rolex wristwatches. Since Rolex, and especially vintage Rolex, is booming – this might be a well-aimed shot from the creators of this iPhone [killer] app.

For a fraction of the price of the book (which is around 299 Euro), you will buy your own electronic copy of 100 years of Rolex, which contains over 500 high quality pictures, updated prices and enables you to search Rolex models on model, production year, reference and value. This iPhone app costs 9,99 Euro and is available through Apple’s AppStore.

The application has categories on Years, Model, References, Movies and the aforementioned search option. Let me show you a few examples of what this application does, using some screendumps I just made with my iPhone.

First of all, you can flip to the most important years of Rolex’s history, starting in 1908 ofcourse, when Hans Wilsdorf registered Rolex.

However, being a Rolex enthusiast for years and owning several nice publications on the subject, I quickly skipped to the Models section. This Explorer section for example, period and reference numbers show the various models made. Clicking the latest 114270 model shows the following:

A nice close-up photograph of the ref.114270 Rolex Explorer and some additional model information.

Interested in the vintage Rolex GMT-Master ref.1675? Currently quite popular amongst collectors (sold mine too quickly for too little money).. When clicking the blue icon (telling us it has 7 pictures inside), you will see the following:

A nice close-up of the Rolex GMT-Master ref.1675 on a Jubilé bracelet. As you are used from Apple’s iPhone, using your fingers to either zoom-in or zoom-out, also perfectly works with this ‘100 years of Rolex’ app.

The Movies category shows you in which movies you can see a Rolex wristwatch. I think Ed Heliosz started this hype – of listing watches used in movies – in 1998, and it became the sub-hobby of many of us watch nuts (including Jake’s ).

I think Guide Mondani Editore did a very nice job on this 100 years of Rolex app for iPhone. Yet another great iPhone app for many watch enthusiasts, since the Uhren Katalog and Jaeger-LeCoultre iPhone applications. World Watch Report (IC-Agency) did some research on iPhone applications and the world of sheer Luxury, which you can find here.

The 9,99 Euro can make people a bit hesitant to buy this app, but you have my recommendation (for what it’s worth). A true killer app (for Rolex fans)!!

Click here to download ‘100 years of Rolex’!