The Breitling Watch Blog

Video review of my Ebel 1911 Automatic Chronograph, with the Ebel Calibre 137 Movement. This is such a great under appreciated watch, and if it were on the bracelet I would be wearing it a lot more. Great 40mm size, and available in larger versions as well. Exclusive movement developed for Ebel keeps accurate time and is COSC Certified. Enjoy the video!

Chronoswiss, contrary to what the name might suggest, is a German-based watch manufacture founded by Gerd R. Lang. While the company is German, the watches are all hand made and finished completely in Switzerland. Ever since I saw my first Chronoswiss, I’d wanted one.. I didn’t care that the watch was a smallish 38mm, I just loved the case and dial work. Which lead me to the purchase of my Chronoswiss Kairos!

Look at at that beautiful hand guilloche dial! Amazing solid sterling silver dial, with absolute attention to detail. Even the blued steel hands show absolutely perfect. In the price that you can get the Chronoswiss watches used, there is probably NO watch that is finished quite as nicely. The Kairos has been in production around 10 years, so its no spring chicken.

So nice I had to post two photos of the dial. The case is a three-piece design with a knurled bezel and sapphire crystal front and back. I remember reading somewhere that the polished breguet style hands on the Chronoswiss are hand-polished and take several hours to finish.

The onion crown is absolutely perfect, with its finely cut and machined grooves perfectly formed without any machining marks you see on inferior levels of finish.

The lugs screws are also perfectly fit and require two screwdrivers to remove. Since the watch has fairly wide 20mm lugs it gives the impression of being a bit larger than its 38mm case diameter might suggest. The Chronoswiss Alligator straps are also padded and of extremely high quality, adding to the luxurious feel of the watch.

And then there’s the movement! While its a relatively common ETA 2892 base movement it has a fantastic look and level of fininsh to it as well. The beautiful cut rotor looks amazing set against the steel bridges. One of the prettiest 2892’s I’ve ever seen.

And here’s the requisite wrist shot. 38mm Chronoswiss on my 6 3/4″ wrist. Not too shabby… looks pretty darn good if you ask me! I absolutely adore the Chronoswiss watches. While their larger timemaster seems to be more popular with the crowds these days, I still love the 38mm watches and wouldn’t hesistate to add another to my collection!

Blancpain introduces a Piece Unique with the Villeret Grand Decoration for the “Only Watch 2011” Charity Auction that is taking place on September 22, 2011. This is an incredible piece of craftsmanship with fully hand-engraved bridges on the Caliber 15B movement.

The watch measure a stout 45mm in diameter and features a Solid 18KT Red Gold case with exhibition back showing off the incredible engraved movement by Marie-Laure Tarbouriech.

Frederique Constant is a relatively young watch manufacture, formed in 1988 by Aletta Bax & Peter Stas. The company is based in Switzerland and produces luxury Swiss automatic and has been very forward thinking with manufacturing silicon escapement wheels and creating a tourbillon movement. This Persuasion Automatic isn’t one of these iconic award-winning masterpieces from Frederique Constant, but it is a fine, entry level luxury Swiss Timepiece in its own right.

The beautiful white, textured dial is reminiscent of Cartier’s due to the oval Roman Numeral layout, but still retains some sense of identity without looking like a copy of some sort. The double-beveled Persuasion case is classic, yet has a touch of modern to its overall look.. not much, but just a touch – enough to let you know it was made in the last decade.

The stainless steel, 40mm diameter watch come mounted on a faux Crocodile leather strap, which is appropriate for this price range. With a retail price around $1800, Crocodile usually isn’t supplied. Otherwise, its a great quality strap, with a good buckle on it. Handles are blued steel, and there is no lume to be found on the dial. Date is located at 6 o’clock, and the crown at 3. The Swiss Made marking is also located at 6 o’clock under the date.

The watch features a curved AR-coated sapphire crystal front, and an exhibition back. Water resistance is 60m, and the crown is not screwdown.

The movement is an ETA 2824-2 base, with 25 jewels. It isn’t really decorated and has a gilded rotor, engraved with the Frederique Constant signature.

Here’s the watch in the oversized leather-look box, which is quite nice for a watch of this price. These can be found online for around $1100, and seems like a decent price given the quality. The casework is excellent and the deep engraving on the caseback is a nice touch. Overall an excellent watch for those looking for a dress watch from a slightly more obscure brand that you won’t see on too many other people’s wrists.

When I saw these watches, I got pretty excited. Romain Jerome has licensed the Space Invaders name from Taito Corporation in order to produce two 78-piece limited edition watches – 78 is a tribute to the year the game was introduced.

Absolutely stunning and awesome at the same time. This definately calls out to the kid in me.

Specs:
Case: PVD Coated Stainless Steel
Diameter: 46mm
Strap: Rubber
Crystal: Sapphire
Water Resistance: 30m
Movement: Romain Jerome Caliber RJ001-A, 23 jewels, 28,800 vph, 42 hour Power Reserve