Bohème is the name of the new Montblanc collection of women’s watches, jewellery and pens, launched in Shanghai on 28 August 2014. CEO Jérome Lambert, with personalities Chris Hemsworth, Elsa Pataky, Ana Beatriz Barros, Chiara Ferragni, Dennis Nieh, Liu Tao, Dong Xuan, and the new Brand Ambassador Gwai Lun Mei, were present at the event,…
At the 71st Venice Film Festival, Al Pacino was photographed wearing a steel Bulgari Octo Velocissimo. The name of the watch “Velocissimo” is not just cool marketing. Bulgari’s chronograph has an automatic movement, Calibre BVL 328, running at a higher frequency than usual, 36,000 vibrations per hour, ensuring precision for the classic chronograph functions. The…
This is what Peter Stas, founder and CEO of Frederique Constant, said in his definition of the brand concept during the presentation of his company’s record first half-year results for 2014. “It clearly proves that our product proposition – accessible luxury – continues to have great potential. The initial concept behind the brand was to…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
Jaeger-LeCoultre has a remarkable heritage of pieces that have achieved fame rivalling that of the company name. “Reverso” for many years was even more familiar than Jaeger-LeCoultre. The story is by now familiar: the invention of a watch with a case that could be reversed to protect the watchglass, specifically for British colonial army polo…
Romain Jerome is the brand that gives its watches a form of authenticity by putting rare materials into them. Examples include moondust and parts of the metal from an Apollo spacecraft, flakes of meteorite, and parts of the metal from the Titanic. The watches have a powerful design look, and they are powered by movements…
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…
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…
Ressence is an independent Belgian brand based in Antwerp, currently making two models, both of which are perhaps one of the most unusual concepts in the display of time. The dial is shaped like a flat circular pebble, and the indications seem to float magically, right on the top of the watch surface. The large…
Certina is a brand with a long and prestigious history, running back to 1888 when it was founded in Grenchen, Switzerland. By 1955 they were making about 1,000 mechanical watches a day, and they developed their unique selling point with a concept by designers Hans and Erwin Kurth, “double security”, DS, increasing the durability of…
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…
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…
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…
1. The chromatic alchemical day indicator Many watches have an indicator for the day of the week, but they often include a perpetual calendar that provides a lot of information, and so the day is shown in a small window that can be difficult to see without putting on your glasses. This watch is designed…