The Breitling Watch Blog

Thin is in. At least at JLC it is. SIHH 2013 releases from JLC and several other brands tell us that Thinner, sleeker watches are back in vogue. Check out some of the ultra-thin offerings from JLC for 2013:

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Jubilee

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin 41

Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Duoface

In addition to the ultra-thin models, we have some updates and absolute masterpieces as well. One of the pieces that I really think is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Chronograph Cermet, which features a case made of an “aluminum matrix” reinforced by Ceramic particles and topped with a 40 micron thick ceramic coating.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Chronograph Cermet

Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Cylindrique à Quantième Perpétuel Jubilee

Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Celestial

Just a little snippet of some of the cool stuff that JLC has in store for us this year. Lots of thin, and lots of bling. Only time will tell of this ultra-thin craze will stick!

An interview with Jerome Lambert, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre, while he is driving around in his Aston Martin Rapide in Geneva Switzerland. Very cool! Interview is by Wei Koh of Revolution Magazine. He talks about the relationship with Aston Martin, the Spherotourbillon and Clive Owen.

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.

While most automobile brands that associate themselves with watch brands tend to be exclusive in their partnerships, Mercedes seems to suprise with every new watch venture they embark on. Some of the brands that Mercedes has associated themselves with: IWC, Graham, Tag Heuer, Fabien Cacheux, Ulysse Nardin, and their own Brand created with Tourneau. There are very possibly others that I have missed too!

Most recently is the addition of Graham to the mix to celebrate the Mercedes GP Petronas Formula 1 Team. The Mercedes watch they introduced is kind of ugly in my opinion. Designed more in the style of Graham than Mercedes, and features lots of discord with the mix of design elements making a watch that is overall not too tasteful.

While Mercedes has chosen to associate themselves with so many brands, they have for the most part made tasteful watches. However, unlike Ferrari by Panerai and Breitling for Bentley, the watches have very little association with each other.

Personally, I think the most successful and tasteful Automobile and Watch team-ups would be Breitling for Bentley and Jaeger LeCoultre and Aston Martin. The most Epic Fail Automobile Watch brand would be Tonino Lamborghini. Why would you license your brand out to a company that cannot market your product properly? Didn’t the 80’s and 90’s teach companies anything about licensing your brand – now we see Tonino Lamborghini products fill the shelves in discount stores and ebay.

Here is a gallery of some of the Mercedes collaboration watches out there:

So, Sly Stalone wins this award for “Glory to the Filmaker” in September, which is some sort of visionary filmaker award. Stalone has admittedly been putting out some damn good films lately, and the Upcoming movie “The Expendables” looks awesome… but an award with a JLC Reverso? Not that I have anything against those Ugly-gotta-have watches, but Sylvester is a dyed-in-the-wool Panerai Loyalist… Will he ever wear this?

At any rate, it is a huge honor for Sly to be awarded this at the Venice Film Festival awards, especially given that most people thought he was a one-dimensional actor with little talent. The last Rambo movie was an excellent film, and most of his recent stuff has been as well.