Chopard Introduces Its First Jump-Hour Watch With An Imposing 8-Day Power Reserve
Complicated watches have very little secrets for Chopard. As a true manufacture, the brand has created a wide variety of them, from perpetual calendars to minute repeaters. However, one thing they have never made is a jump hour watch. With the introduction of the L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25, this all changes. With its 40mm case in ethical rose gold, and dial made from Grand Feu enamel, has the timepiece a classic look. The railway track and Arabic numerals underscore this, as does the brown alligator leather strap.
By Martin Green
Van Cleef & Arpels Makes Time Magical With New Lady Féerie Watch
Van Cleef & Arpels has a long-standing tradition when it comes to fairies. Already in the early 1940s did the brand made clips featuring these magical figures, which represent hope and joy. One of the signature features was that a rose-cut diamond formed the head, above which a headdress further marked their magical appearance. Van Cleef & Arpels introduced these fairies on their watches in 2007 with the first Lady Féerie watch, of which now a new model is joining the collection.
Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight Heure d’Ici & Heure d’Ailleurs; Timeless Appeal With A Twist
If there is one thing that Van Cleef & Arpels excels in, it is in creating classic watches with a twist. Even this twist is often subtle but sets the watch apart from others. An excellent example of this is the legendary 'Pierre Arpels'-model, which is essentially a very classic wristwatch, yet by fitting it with Vendome-lugs, it obtained a timeless appeal that still lasts today. The same can be said of the Midnight Heure d'Ici & Heure d'Ailleurs, yet with this watch, the twist can not only be found in its design but also in its movement.
Digital Displays: Jump Hour Watches
Rather than a traditional hour center hand that sweeps around the dial pointing to 12 indexes, jump hour watches use a digital display (not to be confused with modern digital watches) to indicate the current hour. This particular mechanical watch complication dates back to 1883 when Josef Pallweber patented his invention using rotating discs for hours and minutes and displayed the time numerically via a pair of windows. Over a century later, Pallweber’s innovation is still alive and well as illustrated by these three brilliant examples of jump hour watches.
Haute Complication: Blancpain Villeret Tourbillon Heure Sautante Minutes Retrograde
With its double-stepped bezel is Blancpain's Villeret collection not only instantly recognizable but also a true classic. Its details are subtle, but because of that, all the more powerful. Such a case also forms the perfect framework for the Tourbillon Heure Sautante Minutes Retrograde, which takes the purity of the Villeret-design to the next level with a tantalizing combination complications.
Haute Complication: Christophe Claret Angelico
With the Angelico has Christophe Claret created yet another masterpiece. In his own unique style, he puts the mechanical aspect of the watch on center stage. The result is a watch that is very modern in appearance, although many of the technical ideas behind it are rooted in the history of watchmaking. Christophe Claret often reinvents them, refines them, or gives them an unexpected twist. This avant-garde approach has become his signature and is also clearly visible in the Angelico.
Welcome Back Mr.Genta!
Gérald Genta is a man to who many brands owe a great debt. As a designer, he gave Audemars Piguet the Royal Oak, Patek Philippe their Nautilus, and he worked on the Pasha for Cartier, as well as many iconic designs for other brands. What not everybody knows is that he was next to a designer also a watch manufacturer and, in fact, a pioneering one. It was already in 1969 that he founded his manufacture and as could be expected it turned out innovative watches. With the 'Gefica' did Genta introduced a bronze case before it was cool, but that was not all.
Jump For Glory: Four Jump Hour Watches That Set The Pace
The jump hour is a complication loved by many, yet only a few brands have one in their collection. One of the reasons for this is that it is difficult to make. The jump hour is a volatile complication in which power is build up in a spring during the hour to be released upon the hour. Not only does this require superb power management within the movement, but there is also to challenge to achieve perfect alignment of the hour disc after the jump has taken place.
Haute Complication: Bovet Récital 18 Shooting Star
There is no shortage of complicated watches in the collection of Bovet. Where most brands follow more traditional guidelines regarding design and the composition of the complications, Bovet walks to its own beat, with as a splendid example the Récital 18 Shooting Star!
Five Watches For Father’s Day
Father's day is coming up and what better way to surprise that rock in your life than with a watch? Functional, practical and very personal: it is in many ways the perfect gift. But which watch to get him? That depends on the type of dad you have!
Monsieur de Chanel: A Watch Connoisseurs Choice?
It might raise a few eyebrows: using the words "Chanel" and "Watch Connoisseurs" in the same sentence. Yet the Monsieur de Chanel seems to have everything worthy of a watch connoisseur's attention.