The COSC released their stats for 2008, and again it is a record year with an increase of 8.6% attestations from 2007 with a total of 1,599,588. While the increase in timepieces submitted was actually increased by 10.6%, this means that many more timepieces must have been denied attestation. The actual number of timepieces submitted was 1,676,515. Compare with COSC figures from 2006 and 2007.
Total mechanical attestations: 1,536,950
Total Quartz attestations: 62,638 (56,224 of which were Breitling!)
List of manufacturers in order of most COSC certificates issued:
Rolex (769,850)
Omega (377,514)
Breitling (234,021)
Panerai (46,446)
TAG Heuer (35,429)
Chopard (22,977)
Mido (10,870)
Ulysse Nardin (10,249)
Enicar (8,861)
Ebel (8,823)
Corum (8,801)
Chanel (8,407)
Bulgari (8,067)
Rado (5,807)
Ball Watch (4,312)
Tissot (3,767)
Titoni (3,513)
Movado (3,446)
Carl F. Bucherer (2,262)
Concord (2,224)
Porsche Design (2,217)
Montblanc (2,094)
Hermès (2,064)
Tourneau (1,485)
Sinn (1,478)
Bremont (1,466)
Waltham (1,283)
Invicta (1,069)
None under 1000 are shown. But that is actually quite a suprising list.. there are many brands on there that I am surprised even exist, let alone would make the list such as Waltham and Enicar. Mido and Titoni are revival brands but I am surprised they have so many… maybe they are more prominent in Europe.
I’ve been dying for a shell cordovan strap for a while… something about having horse-butt leather on a strap is appealing to me. Maybe its because Shell Cordovan has a unique look and sheen to it that leather does not.. or maybe its that it bends without ever making those micro-folds that leather always develops, or maybes its that it is more water-resistant than normal leather. At any rate, Shell Cordovan just has that mysterious coolness to it for me.
There aren’t too many companies that use shell cordovan to make watch straps and they always cost more… Nomos uses it for their watch straps, and there are a few other European companies that do as well. There is only one factory in the US that processes Shell Cordovan, and that’s Horween. Note: The material really does come from the butt-cheeks of a horse.
I ended up purchasing my shell cordovan strap from Europelli. Many of you who frequent Timezone know Europelli. They have a very broad range of straps for Panerai and many other types of watches. I picked up a 22/20mm Shell Cordovan to wear with my Graham Chronofighter, and it is great. I have to say that while it looks like leather to most, it is definately has a different feel to it and its own charm.
To supplement the Breitling The Book post I had earlier.. I have added a Breitling The Book video review for those that are interested in purchasing the book, but aren’t really sure what it is like given Breitlings some what limited information on it and highly stylized photographs that don’t really illustrate what it looks like.
Breitling released a new limited edition Cosmonaute, using the rigid Air Racer bracelet. This limited edition will be 1000 peices, and feature the Navitimer Cosmonaute 24-hour dial, in an automatic version. This watch uses the same Caliber 22 movement in current Cosmonautes, and really has very little difference besides the dial and bracelet. Same 41.5mm diameter case, and 30m water resistance.
This new dial is pretty nice, however. Note the addition of the “Swiss Made” Designation on the watch dial. Breitling is starting to re-incorporate this element.
