The Breitling Watch Blog

This is a little crazy looking for me, but hey, I’m sure there are many folks out there willing to shell out $16,500USD (15,000CHF) for an iridescent watch. Nothing like taking what is already a pretty funky looking watch, and making it funkier!

From Graham:
The multitude of colours is hypnotic. The iridescence of the Swordfish Booster Iris, similar to the most beautiful natural wonders, is eye-catching. Do you know what Iris means in Latin?

Rainbow.

This rainbow effect is not due to pigment but interferences of light. It means that light waves interfere with one another on a surface refracting parts of the spectrum which create the iridescent colors. You have probably already seen it in a soap bubble or in an oil stain on a wet pavement but it results from a high-technological process.

The change of colours is also due to the extremely complex composition of the layers’ oxide. The steel case and components have been placed in big vacuums producing plasma reaction.

This unique coating contains multi-layered structures that provide thin-film interference. The thickness across the surface causes changes of colours in reflected light. Iridescence adds a new dimension to “surface”.

Graham Swordfish Booster Iris

Functions
Chronograph (seconds, 30 minutes and 12 hours counter) Hours, minutes, seconds

Calibre
Calibre G1710, automatic bi-compax chronograph, 28’800 A/h (4 Hz), Incabloc shock absorber
34 jewels
Power reserve: 48 hours

Case
48 mm steel case with black PVD coating and interferential substrate (iridescent effect) with two portholes at 3 and 9 o’clock
Steel right hand control pushers with “Clous de Paris” high grip pattern
Steel bezel with black PVD coating and interferential substrate (iridescent effect)
Flat sapphire crystal, anti-reflective coating
See-through sapphire crystal case back, screwed-down case back

Water Resistance
330 feet / 100 m

Dial
Black mother-of-pearl dial. Hours and minutes black snailed counters. Counters are magnified by 15%.
Skeleton central hands with black tip, black numerals and indexes, black seconds hand, grey hours, minutes counters’ and chrono hands

Strap
Integrated green croco
Black ceramic pin buckle

Price
15’000 CHF

In the wake of the break-up of Ferrari and Panerai, many wondered who would be the next to carry the Ferrari logo on their watches. This has been answered: Hublot.

The partnership between Hublot and Ferrari far surpasses the typical licensing and sponsorship agreements that Car companies often forge with Watch companies, thich one is described as a “genuine exchange between the two brands, a pooling of resources and information.”

Hublot becomes the exclusive watchmaking partner in the full range of Ferrari’s activities including the “Official Watch” of Ferrari, “Official Timekeeper” of Ferrari, “Official Timekeeper” of Scuderia Ferrari, “Official Watch” of Scuderia Ferrari, “Official Timekeeper” of the Ferrari Challenge, and partners in Ferrari special events.

“Exclusivity, technology, passion, style: Hublot and Ferrari share many core values and this new partnership between two such highly prestigious brands is an important milestone for both,” said Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari.

“This collaboration, rich in a host of synergies, gives Hublot a massive boost along the road,” added Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of Hublot.

I picked up my second JOA Homage model recently. It is a PAM249 homage model, the black dial California dial 47mm Radiomir. I’m a big fan of the JOA Homages as they are very well done and have great dials and lume, quality cases and crystals, and can be fitted with great ETA movements. This one is no exception, and comes exactly as advertised.

As you can see above, the 47mm Radiomir Homage features a black Cali-style dial with blued steel hands. Lume is fantastic, though unfortunately I did not capture a shot. The dial also has the words “Swiss Made” on it, not sure if the dial really is Swiss made, but it is very well made and has great detail under a 5x loupe.

Watch features a slightly domed Sapphire Crystal, without front AR coating. I think there might be AR coating on the inside as it appears to have some degree of AR. Crown is an unmarked crown, not a Brevet-marked crown.

Back is solid and without any markings. I kind of like having the solid caseback on this model as it feels a bit nicer on the wrist, and gives a bit more sense of strength to the case. The stock Unitas movement in the back isn’t anything especially pretty anyway!

The case is fully polished, and slightly thicker and has a higher bezel than the original. Not something I am too concerned with as I am not trying to pretend… just like the style of the watch and enjoy the large, clean dial.

Finally, the wrist shot. I think the 47mm sits nicely on my wrist, but there are many that feel it too large. To each his own, I say.. otherwise we’d all look like lemmings and carry iPhones. Better every one have their own sense of style and preference!

Color me a Doxa fan, but recently, much of the re-issue pieces are absolutely atrocious. However, this Shark Ceramica line is absolutely outstanding, and the XL limited edition model even more so. The watch is a limited edition of 1200 pieces, and features a Shark Motif on the dial. The style of the watch case more closely resembles an Omega Seamaster to me than a Doxa however. The ceramic bezel and gigantic 46.5mm case diameter really make a showstopper out of this watch!!

The watch was announced in March, and was only mentioned on the Asia site and appears to be an Asia model. I’m not familiar with how the Doxa brand is marketed in Asia, as it does seem to have significantly more models available there than they do in the USA.

The watch comes in all black as well as an orange and black version as you can see. The basic specs are as follows:

Movement: ETA 2824
Outer Case Diameter: 46.50mm
Crystal Diameter: 35.00mm
Thickness: 14.27mm
Details: Black Ceramic Bezel Ring Insert, Worldwide Limited to 1200 pcs., with Certificate
Crystal: Scratch Resistant Sapphire
Case: Stainless Steel
Buckle: Stainless Steel Pushers folded buckle
Water Resistant: 300M

Overall an outstanding watch from Doxa that has some design cues taken from Omega’s Seamaster and perhaps a little bit of Oris thrown in there as well. I would really like to own one of these!

With just 12 pieces to go around, this is a timepiece for the truly entitled (that’s not me). An absolutely stunning masterpiece, like all Urwerk timepieces. If only I had the money….

With its orbiting satellites and arrow-shaped time-indicating torpedoes, the UR-110 ZrN Torpedo is a truly stellar timepiece. Its radiance has been maximized thanks to a coating of Zirconium Nitride on the bezel, which provides the distinctive pale gold hue that gives rise to the “Champagne Supernova” nickname.

Zirconium Nitride is a high-performance ceramic machine tool coating, commonly used for industrial parts and aerospace components. While only a few microns thick, it is extremely hard (2,000 Vickers) and provides superb scratch, wear and corrosion resistance, while exhibiting excellent lubricity and ductility.

The UR-110 ZrN Torpedo is an Édition Spéciale of just 12 pieces, each distinguished by a red satellite hour numeral. Available exclusively from Chronopassion (Paris), Marcus (London), The Hour Glass (Singapore) and Westime (Los Angeles).

Model: UR-110 ZrN Torpedo

Case: Titanium with bezel in 316L sandblasted stainless steel treated with *Zirconium Nitride (ZrN); caseback in titanium; surface finishes micro-sandblasted

Movement: calibre UR 9.01 self-winding, unidirectional winding rotor coupled to twin turbines

Indications: Revolving satellite complication with rotating hour/minute modules mounted on planetary gears. Control board: day/night indicator, “oil change” indicator and running seconds

Dimensions: 47mm x 51mm x 16mm

*Please note that ZrN (Zirconium Nitride) is an industrial treatment that can result in variations in and the colour/hue on the bezel and between individual models.