To mark the 80th anniversary of the Reverso, Zep has designed and personalised an enamel dial for a Reverso à éclipse in pink gold: a one-off work of art. The celebrated Swiss artist drew his inspiration from a visit he made to the Manufacture last April.
Enamelling, like engraving, is one of the rare crafts carefully honed by the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture. Today’s enamelling workshop is staffed by three experts, who offer a wide range of personalisation options for the watch Reverso itself, but also for enamel dials. The unique works created by these craftsmen at the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture are a testament to an expertise combining tradition and inventiveness. They make use of cutting-edge techniques that are then unveiled in each year’s collections.
This unique Reverso watch, designed by Zep, will be sold at the Artcurial auction house on 29 November 2011 in Paris, with the proceeds benefiting the muscular dystrophy charity “Association monégasque contre les Myopathies”.
The Brand also had the honour of unveiling a special preview of the design at the Veytay Polo Club during the finals of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polo Masters Geneva.
“I’ve always been fascinated by miniaturisation and the aesthetics of mechanical movements. The idea of slipping Titeuf in amongst the complex and subtle cogs of a Reverso seemed obvious. It’s also a nod to the character ‘Charlot’ in the film ‘Modern Times’. I only hope that my personal touch doesn’t upset the legendary accuracy of his Reverso…” said Zep, whose real name is Philippe Chappuis.
This is a very cool one-off piece by ArtyA, a watch company that specializes in unique pieces. Since I have a casual interest in firearms, this piece caught my eye. The little bullets inside the case are an uncommon cartridge called a 6mm Flobert. The diameter is equivalent to a .22 and while not designed for that, can be shot from some guns chambered in .22lr. Nonetheless, an interesting cartridge that fits into the case well.
As you can see, the bullets are suspended with copper wire. I would have liked to see the bullets more evenly spaced and more “perfect” in their placement. Perhaps the imperfection is part of the charm for the person who comissioned the piece. The 47mm case features crosshairs to complete the theme.
Above you can see the rotor is also visible, featuring the backs of three .38 Special casings to enhance the look. I wonder how it spins when the weight is so evenly distributed. Would love to see this watch in action. The little movement is quite well contained in the central housing.
As you can see, the back is marked 1/1 Unique. Swiss Made. Notice the lugs have screws inset to hold the strap. The fine machining work on the case is apparent from the rear shot, showing nice crisp lines and nice hand rubbed finishes.
Well, before I was able to get a Breitling Caliber 01-based watch, my buddy picked one up. He snagged a Chronomat 01 with the Roman Numeral Dial… awesome. I love this combo, though I have to admit that the watch has a level of “bling” to it that previous Chronomats did not have. Somehow the new polished bezel really takes the shiny level up.
I love the way the roman numeral dial looks on this model, with the numerals staying upright all the around, as opposed to the way they looked on the older Crosswind. While I still like the Crosswind, I think the Chronomat 01 has a more modern looking dial. I know that there are a lot of old school Breitling fans out there that do not like this new direction that Breitling is taking. While I don’t necessarily approve of all of their recent releases, this is one that has grown on me.
The dial features some of those square elements with faint striping that a lot of the people seem to dislike, but don’t bother me too much.
There she is head on.. as you can see, same double AR coating as always. The 43.5mm diameter, while slightly smaller by .2mm, actually seems to wear a bit larger to me. I am not sure why, but it might have to do with the bezel design and shape.
The new 01 movement is an absolute piece of genius and features just about everything that I could hope for in a Chronograph Movement:
- Amazing power reserve at 70 Hours
- Column Wheel Chronograph
- Auto-Centering Reset Hammers
- Customizable Index Regulator System
- Instantaneous Date
With the 01, Breitling moved back to fully polished bezels. The previous Chronomat and Evo models had brushed bezels, but prior to that, older Chronomats had fully polished bezels as well. As we all know, trends are circular and the Chronomat is no exception. The rider tabs are much more subdued than previous, but still feature the same quality screwed-in construction, as does the bezel.
Breitling also changed the Chronomat 01 Bracelet to have swing lugs rather than fixed lugs. This is common with their larger watches such as the Breitling for Bentley Motors, but new for the Chronomats.
Overall a Killer watch in my opinion. Perhaps not a natural progression for Breitling and while the style may seem a bit forced, I feel that the watch is settling into the majority of its new design statements. I really dig the Breitling 01, and would probably have myself one of them if I weren’t getting so distracted by the multitude of other watches out there catching my fancy!
Video review of the sweet Omega Chronodiver with the tri-compax layout. Posted this in Youtube but didn’t get a chance to pop it on here til now just to make sure you guys see it. This is the one that uses the Omega Calibre 3301 movement, not the 7750 based movement in the Bond Style Chronodiver. Enjoy.
Vacheron Constantin has launched a new website to commemorate the opening of their first US boutique located in New York. A very informative website that charts all the major milestones throughout the history of the esteemed brand, and also allows you to add your own bit of history to the timeline. You can actually create a profile and make a post about your Vacheron Constantin story and have it added to the timeline! At the moment, I see only one story… I think they have to be approved by the V-C moderation team, which is obviously more scrutinous than our own moderation team here at the BreitlingSource forums
Yet another new addition to the world of Online-based specialty dive watch companys.. enter Armida Dive Watches. Armida watches is a Hong Kong based designer of Dive watches that features both Swiss and Japanese movements. The choice is yours! The Swiss costs more, of course.
Currently the company makes two watches, the A1 and A2 Divers. The A1 is a more unique product with a very cool domed sapphire crystal and 1000m water resistance, whereas the A2 is more of a Submariner clone in a larger 42mm size and 500m water resistance. The A2 is also available in PVD black.
While there isn’t a whole lot here to excite me personally, there is some potential. Many of these boutique online-only companies put out some pretty cool stuff like Korsbek and UTS… but many fall into oblivion. I wonder which category Armida will fall into?
Boys’ toys – fast race cars and exclusive watches are typical status symbols of the mostly male MANSORY clientele. But until now, the refining specialist for luxury cars could only fulfil automobile dreams. Yet, with the presentation of the GRAHAM Chronofighter Oversize MANSORY, MANSORY changes this big time. And the name says it all – with 47 mm steel case diameter and the left hand fast-action start /stop trigger which is so iconic for GRAHAM watches, the Chronofighter Oversize MANSORY chronograph impressively accentuates its features. This instinctive mechanism activated by the thumb, guarantees a great precision with the most direct response of the chronograph functions.
Kourosh Mansory, CEO of the MANSORY Holding & Design GmbH: “The co-operation with GRAHAM-LONDON derives from my long-term friendship with Eric Loth, founder and board member of GRAHAM-LONDON. His passion for dynamic automobiles and my enthusiasm for high-quality chronographs are perfectly combined. The GRAHAM MANSORY Chronofighter Oversize confirms this in a very impressive way.“
Following the automobile core competences of the MANSORY Group, the dial is made of carbon, a material typically used for sports cars. The “Clous de Paris” decorated steel bezel echoes the artistic performances of MANSORY concept cars. On the case back, a smoked see-through sapphire crystal with MANSORY logo, allows an insight into the clockwork Calibre G1734 with 48 hours power reserve. The black rubber strap is “Clous de Paris” decorated and adorned with the GRAHAM and MANSORY logos.
Limited to 50 watches, the self-winding automatic chronograph developed by GRAHAM, is exclusively available from MANSORY or one of its world-wide sales partners.
Functions: Chronograph (seconds, 30 minutes counter), Date at 7 o’cloc, kHours, Minutes, seconds Calibre: Calibre G1734, automatic bi-compax chronograph, 28’800 A/h (4Hz), Incabloc shock absorber, 27 jewels
Power reserve : 48 hours Case: 47 mm steel case Steel with black PVD left hand fast-action start / stop trigger and steel reset pusher with “Clous de Paris” high grip pattern, Steel bezel with “Clous de Paris” decoration, Domed sapphire crystal, anti-reflective coating on both faces, Smoked sapphire crystal case back with MANSORY logo and serial number
Water resistance: 330 feet / 100 m / 10 bar Dial:
Black carbon dial with black snailed minutes and seconds counters
Black minute scale rim with red numerals
White MANSORY inscription at 5 o’clock
White Super-LumiNova hours and minutes hands, red chrono, minutes and seconds hands Strap: Integrated black rubber with “Clous de Paris” decoration and GRAHAM and MANSORY logos
Limited edition of 50 Watches Price: 8,900 € incl. German VAT
Many of you guys know that I am a sucker for a good PAM Strap, and now that I’ve got a Bell & Ross, I’m a sucker for a good B&R strap too! The thing is, more so than any other watches out there, Panerai and Bell & Ross are characterized by their straps. Without a good strap, the watch just doesn’t look as good as it should.
One of my recent acquisitions is a French Ammo Canvas strap by Micah of Vintagerstraps. I reviewed this recently on Paneraisource, and it is certainly worth a look if you are interested in something different:
The French Ammo Pouch Canvas is mounted on a medium-soft leather backing and looks amazing. I have to say this is one of the most fun straps I’ve worn in a while. Micah is a true artist.
Below is a strap by one of the most creative minds in modern strapmaking today: Shane Delaurian. This one is one of his tamer models, the Easy Rider. The tale is folded over on this model, which gives the strap a subtle uniqueness to it. Something about old school leatherworking gives these straps tons of personality and makes them a joy to wear.
Shane’s straps are always hand-signed on the back or the side of the strap!
This last one here is one from the famous ABP-Paris, which is considered the finest aftermarket strapmaker on the planet. They do custom EVERYTHING, and make Aftermarket OEM replacements for nearly every single watch available. A great choice if you’re having trouble finding a strap for a watch with odd lugs. ABP straps will cost you, however – a typicaly strap costs around $350-500.
Mounted happily on a Panerai PAM90. I love my Panerai Straps!!
