New boutique edition presented by Hublot

The Big Bang Unico All Black was presented by none other than Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprint champion who broke the world indoor 100 metre record in Warsaw on 23 August 2014. At the Hublot boutique on New Bond Street, London, he chose his favourite, Blue, from the four versions available. The watch is a limited…

Grande Seconde Quantième Ivory Enamel by Jaquet Droz

There are some lucky watch brands that, to find new inspiration for a watch, only have to open the pages of their archives or brand museum and take a look. Jaquet Droz is a good example. The brand was founded by Pierre Jacquet-Droz (1721-1790), a brilliant watchmaker who became famous in part for his watches,…

The watches in Expendables 3

The 16 stars in the Expendables 3 cast notch up a total of 850 years’ age. Stallone, Banderas, Statham, Gibson, Ford and the others must have enjoyed making this film with its touches of comedy and irony amidst the tons of flying lead, and they also got the chance to wear a special edition of…

A versatile perpetual calendar from Bovet

It can be a wristwatch, a pocket watch, or a table watch, and the conversion from one pattern to another is so simple that the user can do it himself or herself without any tools. Bovet has presented its Amadeo Fleurier Virtuoso III 5-Day Tourbillon with Retrograde Perpetual Calendar. Dial indications are very clear, with…

HYT H1 Dracula, a watch powered by blood

The H1 by HYT was one of the highlights of Baselworld 2012, and it has been followed by the H2 and by colour variants of H1. The latest is the HYT1 Dracula, in which the fluid used to indicate the hours is tinted red. H1 is an interesting combination of a mechanical movement and a…

The C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic by Christopher Ward

Christopher Ward is a brand about people, and their ambitions and ideas. Founded in a boat on the River Thames in 2004, by Chris Ward, Mike France and Peter Ellis, the concept was about making quality Swiss watches accessible to a large sector of the population. While Chris Ward had the watchmaking expertise, Mike France…

A Hublot watch that predicts eclipses

The Antikythera Sunmoon MP-08 (reference 908.NX.1010.GR) by Hublot was presented as a limited edition of 20 pieces, price $272,000, at Baselworld 2013, and it’s an impressive piece of watchmaking. Its inspiration is the Antikythera, a mechanism found in the remains of a ship off the island of Antikythera in the early 20th century. Ever since,…

Tudor and the battle of the brands – Heritage Black Bay

You can’t talk about Tudor without talking about Rolex. Tudor was formed by Rolex specifically to make cheaper watches, and therefore cover the market segment below. It’s an area where a lot of battles are being fought, with new brands appearing right down at the entry level (such as SevenFriday), brands that are quietly expanding…

Ralph Lauren’s Sporting Classical Chronometer

Several fashion brands have taken watches very seriously. Bulgari, Hermès, Chanel and Cartier produce fabulous timepieces. Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana have launched into the area of mechanical watches. With the Ralph Lauren Watch & Jewelry Company, founded in 2007 in a joint venture with Richemont, the American designer is taking things equally seriously, with…

Rado and its fine touch in ceramics

Rado has long specialized in the use of high-tech ceramics, very tough and scratch-resistant, for its watches, and its new range Esenza Ceramic Touch adds something new. As you can see, there is no crown on these watches. They are adjusted using sensitive areas built into the case. You just have to touch the case…

Five things you didn’t know about Patek Philippe

1. Top in auction results. How many of the ten watches attaining highest prices at auction are Patek Philippe? Nine! The top is the Henry Graves complication, which sold for $11 million in December 1999 at Sotheby’s. It is a pocket watch with 24 complications, commissioned by U.S. banker and watch collector Henry Graves: it…

M1 and M2 by SevenFriday

SevenFriday is an interesting brand. It was founded in May 2012 by Daniel Niederer, who made no secret of the fact that his watches have movements by Miyoto, a Japanese company that is part of the Citizen group; that they have other components sourced from around the world; and that they are assembled in Hong…

Roger Dubuis Hommage Double Flying Tourbillon

The “hommage” (tribute) in the name is the name of a family of watches, as well as being a tribute. Georges Kern, CEO of IWC, was involved in the management of Roger Dubuis for a short time after its acquisition by the Richemont group, and so the organization of Roger Dubuis’ watches into five major…

Harry Winston Project Z8 Dual Time

A lot has been happening lately at Harry Winston. The jewellery brand was bought by Swatch Group in March 2013 for $750 million, plus the assumption of $250 million pro forma debt that brought the price tag to $1 billion. At Baselworld, the brand celebrated their new CEO Nayla Hayek, and announced something that made…

Parmigiani Pomellato Tonda

The partnership between Parmigiani Fleurier and Pomellato, announced in November 2013, immediately produced a capsule collection of four women’s watches, the Parmigiani Pomellato Tonda, combining some of the characteristics of both the Swiss watchmaker and the Italian jewellery brand. Parmigiani Fleurier was founded in 1996 in Fleurier, where Michel Parmigiani had been working since 1976,…