Happy Fish by Chopard was first launched in 2002, itself one of the many variations on the Happy Diamonds theme created in 1993 by Caroline Scheufele and featuring diamonds free to move between two sapphire crystals. In this 25-piece limited edition, the fish is sculpted in mother-of-pearl, with hand-applied gold leaf decoration and jasper eye.…
This piece in the Chopard Mille Miglia GTS collection differs from the three-hand Automatic and the Power Control, which have in-house Chopard movements, because the Chrono has a third-party movement, the ETA Valjoux 7750 automatic chronograph calibre, providing 48 hours power reserve, and a COSC-certified chronometer. The Chrono is a millimetre wider than the other…
This three-hand chronometer by Chopard is one of the three redesigned Mille Miglia GTS models introduced this year. Its style is all about motor-racing, and more specifically that very genteel and classic style of motor-racing that is the Mille Miglia which now sees vintage car owners (including Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, co-President of Chopard) and their personality…
The Mille Miglia collection has been an important part of the Chopard range from its launch in 1998, and this year it has been extensively revamped. For the first time, Chopard in-house movements are used. There is a lot of red on the dials, providing a strong sense of family identity, along with the powerful…
This is a special limited edtiion by Chopard marking Porsche’s return to Le Mans for the LMP1 Endurance World Championship, after 16 years absence. The 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans will be held on 13-14 June at Le Mans in France. The watch has “919” on a red logo at 9 o’clock, and its…
Company profile: Chopard is a rare example of a watchmaking company that has remained an independent, family-run business from its origins up until today. Chopard was founded in 1860 in Sonvillier, Switzerland, by young watchmaker Louis-Ulysse Chopard. His watches soon became successful, and in 1921 his son Paul Louis Chopard opened another branch in La…
Italian brand Locman stakes a claim for having made the world’s first watch with a carbon fibre case, back in 2003. Whatever, there is no doubt that their Stealth diving watch is one of their best sellers. It is now available in an automatic version, Stealth 300 Metres Carbon, with all-carbon dial and case. Its…
Once again, Omega has produced a special Seamaster watch celebrating their support of Emirates Team New Zealand in the 35th America’s Cup. Even though the movement is the same Co-Axial calibre 3330 as used in last year’s ETNZ watch, and it has remained basically the same since its launch in 2012, the watch itself has…
This is a kickstarter project, and by today, with three days still to go it had received 2,035 backers, raising $746,682 pledged with respect to a goal of $50,000. Xeric is a company that has already promoted its watches successfully on Kickstarter (the Xeriscope, 2013), but the success of the Halograph invites a bit of…
The first thing you notice about the Dietrich OT watches is the case, with a rounded hexagonal shape enclosing a deconstructed dial and four struts in an X-shape that seem to be supporting the central hour and minute hands. The extremities of the struts are close to four hexagonal screws on the bezel. The striking…
Company profile: The brand was formed recently: the company was founded in 2010, with Emmanuel Dietrich as managing director from 2011. Emmanuel Dietrich was born in the French watchmaking town Besançon in 1969, and he studied design in Paris and became a watch designer, working for important watch brands for about twenty years. He founded…
Locman has extended their Aviatore range with some automatic models; previously the range comprised quartz models. At €525, the Aviatore Automatico is a low-priced automatic, comparable to the Mondia 1946 Aviator and the German brands Laco, Archimede and Stowa. The Locman Aviatore has a very nice case, with graceful lines and two interesting colours, navy…
Montecristo Chrono Auto by Italian brand Locman is an automatic chronograph developed by S.I.O., Scuola Italiana di Orologeria (Italian watchmaking school), founded in Milan by Locman as a centre for research and certification. For the movement, S.I.O. worked with DePa Swiss Movements to create a robust and reliable calibre, SIO/DPch 88, visible through the transparent…
Company profile: Locman is an Italian watch brand founded in 1985 on the Isle of Elba. Its name comes from the names of its founders, Fulvio Locci and Marco Mantovani. Initially it worked principally as a supplier of leather straps to other brands, and later went on to develop its own watches. Locci left the…
Lots of people like pilot’s watches, and luckily, IWC like them too. While awaiting SIHH 2016 which (I think) will see IWC renewing its pilot’s watches collection, they are offering new versions of existing watches. Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Edition “Le Petit Prince” The Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Edition “Le Petit Prince” is dedicated to…
Company profile: Vacheron Constantin was founded in 1755 by watchmaker Jean-Marc Vacheron in Geneva. He was 24 at the time, and the date of 17 September 1755 is the day that he took on his first apprentice, as proved by a contract. According to other sources, the 1755 document is in fact a record declaring…
Company profile: Ralph Lauren (whose real name is Ralph Lifshitz) began his career in the fashion industry back in 1967, launching a range of ties that he named “Polo,” drawing on his own sports interests. “It was exciting,” he said, “that tie grew into a whole industry.” His fashion ranges were joined by fragrances (1978),…
Perrelet introduced its double rotor watches in 1995, and this year it is presenting the First Class Double Rotor Skeleton for its 20th anniversary. The dial-side rotor is connected to the oscillating weight on the caseback side; it has a practical function because the total mass of the rotors is higher and so increases the…
Company profile: Perrelet places the date 1777 below the brand name on the watches it makes. This is based on a date in the history of founder Abraham-Louis Perrelet: the year in which he completed the first self-winding movement, with a rotor that moved with every movement of the wearer and transferred energy to the…
This is a special edition presented at Baselworld 2015, a mechanical automatic watch with a COSC-certified Calibre 80 movement providing 80 hours power reserve. It is distinctive for its touches of orange (now the brand’s signature colour) and for its dial design with the external part of the dial bearing the minute indications sloping downwards.…