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Results for Jean-Claude Biver

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Jean-Claude Biver

The CEO who rescued Blancpain, Hublot, and TAG Heuer; founded JC Biver in 2023.
Hands-On: Panerai Radiomir 8 Days 45mm PAM 992 SJX Watches
Panerai Radiomir 8 Days 45mm Dec 17, 2019

Hands-On: Panerai Radiomir 8 Days 45mm PAM 992

Panerai has gently eased itself towards a focus on more civilian sports watches, as opposed to retro-navy diver instrument remakes, since chief executive Jean-Marc Pontroué took the helm in 2018. So its most recent releases this year include the extra-thin Luminor Due in titanium, along with commemorative editions for the America’s Cup yacht race. But Panerai is still keeping one eye on its Marina Militare heritage, exemplified by the pair of Radiomir watches unveiled last month, the most interesting of which is the Radiomir 8 Days 45mm (PAM00992). It has a vintage-esque style – not really a one for one remake – combined with an in-house, eight-day movement and a relatively accessible price of US$8,500. Most unusually, the steel case has a faux aged finish that Panerai is trying for the first time. Marina Militare The new Radiomir is not a remake of a vintage Panerai, but rather it’s a mix-and-match of various elements, including the engraved logo and “8 Giorni” emblem at three. Traditionalists might find it impure, but that was essentially the founding formula for the modern Panerai company. The result is a good-looking watch that approximates the look of a vintage Panerai while offering modern conveniences like a long power reserve. Even though it’s a large watch – the case is 45mm – it’s smallish by Panerai standards, since the military-style Panerai watches are usually 47mm. But it is big enough to look like a Panerai, and it wears well for a 45mm...

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What Sealed The Deal - James’ Vertex MP45 chronograph Time+Tide
Vertex Dec 4, 2019

What Sealed The Deal - James’ Vertex MP45 chronograph

Vertex is a brand with a wonderful history. Founded in 1916 by Claude Lyons, the brand produced watches for Allied troops in the Second World War, following the specifications of the British Ministry of Defence, alongside 11 other brands (a group of manufacturers now known by collectors as the Dirty Dozen). The brand continued to … ContinuedThe post What Sealed The Deal – James’ Vertex MP45 chronograph appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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Bulgari CEO drops an Octo Finissimo Chronograph on the ground to make a point Time+Tide
Bulgari CEO drops Nov 24, 2019

Bulgari CEO drops an Octo Finissimo Chronograph on the ground to make a point

I like interviewing Jean-Christophe Babin. There is a playfulness to the Bulgari CEO; in fact, I’d go so far as to say there’s a wickedness to his personality that makes the exchange unpredictable. You don’t know what’s going to happen, or what direction the conversation will take. But wherever it goes, it’s almost always with … ContinuedThe post Bulgari CEO drops an Octo Finissimo Chronograph on the ground to make a point appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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Panerai Introduces the Radiomir California PAM 931 & Radiomir 8 Days PAM 992 SJX Watches
Panerai Introduces Nov 19, 2019

Panerai Introduces the Radiomir California PAM 931 & Radiomir 8 Days PAM 992

Panerai’s new launches this year have so far been inclined towards civilian sports – including the Luna Rossa trio and Mike Horn edition – which is a key part of chief executive Jean-Marc Pontroué’s strategy that also emphasises “experiences”. But with its two new launches – the Radiomir California 47mm (PAM 931) and Radiomir 8 Days 45mm (PAM 992) – the brand returns to the old school Marina Militare style – both have a familiar look that’s heavily inspired by wristwatches Panerai made for frogmen of the Italian navy in the 1930s and 1940s. Radiomir California 47mm PAM00931 Notably, both watches have steel cases with an “aged patina effect”, essentially a surface coating that reproduces the look of the vintage originals. The Radiomir California 47mm (PAM00931) revisits a design that Panerai has reproduced several times in the past – modelled on the ref. 3646 of the 1930s – but now with a “tropical” dial in graduated brown that mimics the look of aged dials on vintage Radiomir watches. It has Roman numerals on the upper half and Arabic numbers on the bottom, a design originally meant to aid legibility by clearly distinguishing the upper and lower halves of the dial. The crystal is domed PlexiGlas, while the movement is the extra-large, hand-wound P.3000 with a three-day power reserve. The second model is slightly more interesting, since the design is more novel (in other words having not been done before, at least in the exact same con...

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Interview: Patek Philippe Museum Curator Dr Peter Friess on Restoration SJX Watches
Patek Philippe Museum Curator Dr Peter Oct 1, 2019

Interview: Patek Philippe Museum Curator Dr Peter Friess on Restoration

The epic Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition Singapore 2019 was massive not just in scale and numbers, but also in the Patek Philippe executives who travelled halfway across the world from Geneva to Singapore just for the event. All of the company’s top management is the town for the event, including president Thierry Stern, chief executive Claude Peny, and commercial director Jerome Pernici. But perhaps the most interesting personality for a hardcore watch geek is Dr Peter Friess, curator of the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. A studied man who’s spent his life in museums and cultural institutions, Dr Friess is an art historian by training but also a true horologist. He’s the sort of guy who gets deeply excited over the “new old stock” 369-year old Cremsdorff pocket watch the museum recently acquired, and is familiar with the catgut used in 16th century chain and fusee mechanisms. Dr Peter Friess at the Singapore exhibition, with a portrait of Antoine Norbert de Patek behind him The first ever Patek Philippe wristwatch; importantly, it was not conceived as a bangle with a pendant watch movement bolted on, instead it is a timepiece for the wrist Unsurprisingly, the German native is also a professional watch- and clockmaker. Dr Friess joined the Patek Philippe Musuem as Director and Curator exactly seven years ago. Before that, he was President of the Tech Museum of Innovation in California, as well as a curator at the Smithsonian where he put tog...

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Introducing the Trilobe Les Matinaux SJX Watches
De Bethune Dream Watch 5 Affordable Jul 4, 2019

Introducing the Trilobe Les Matinaux

Jean-François Mojon, founder of complications specialist Chronode, has a client list that reads like a who’s who of independent watchmaking: from establishment names Hermès and MB&F; to revived brands like Urban Jurgensen. His latest creation, however, is one of the most affordable to date. Constructed for Trilobe, a start-up founded just three years ago by former banker Gautier Massonneau. The brand’s first collection, Les Matinaux – “The Morning” in English – derives its name from a poem written by French author René Char.  Novelty aside Built at Chronode’s Le Locle facility, Les Matinaux is designed to subvert traditional time-telling. Instead of conventional fixed indices and moving hands, the hands, or rather pointers, are fixed but the markers – on three separate chapter rings for the hours, minutes and seconds – are constantly in motion, and rotate counter-clockwise to boot. The concept is not entirely new, of course. This type of time display is most often used on digital-style dials with numerals shown either in a single line or within a window, as on the De Bethune Dream Watch 5. Affordable brands have done the same with quartz movements, including Klokers, which is sadly now defunct, as well as Lip with its Mythic Jump Hour Watch. In contrast, Les Matinaux does not have its indicators arranged in a linear manner. Instead, the trio of trefoils – trilobe is French for trefoil – seem casually scattered across the dial, so i...

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Up Close: Cartier Astromysterieux SJX Watches
Ulysse Nardin Freak Piaget Tourbillon Relatif Jul 4, 2019

Up Close: Cartier Astromysterieux

In 2016, Cartier unveiled one of the most dramatic examples of an orbital regulator – the Astromysterieux – in which the entire movement was suspended in the oculus of the watch dial, mysteriously unencumbered by any visible support. The Astromysterieux sits in the same class of exotic regulators as the Ulysse Nardin Freak, Piaget Tourbillon Relatif, and Jean Dunand Tourbillon Orbital – and unsurprisingly, three of the four were conceived by the same watchmaker. Previously only available in palladium, the brand has now introduced a striking pink gold version with a black guilloche chapter ring. The dimensions of the watch remain unchanged – 43.5mm in diameter with a thickness of just 12mm, making it one of the thinnest, most elegant watches with such an unusual regulator. In the new pink gold version, the black guilloche chapter ring is paired with polished pink gold roman numerals and black Breguet-shaped hands, creating a remarkable contrast. But the true brilliance of the watch lies in the ingenious cal. 9462 MC, for which three patents were filed. The secret to the floating, mysterious movement is in the invisible gearing that is hidden behind the chapter ring. The movement is essentially baguette-shaped, with the minute hand fixed to the barrel bridge, and completes a full rotation on the dial in an hour. The central, carrousel tourbillon The basic idea of a tourbillon is to install the escapement in a mechanically driven platform in order to cr...

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Introducing the Akrivia Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch” SJX Watches
Patek Philippe Star Calibre 2000 pocket Jul 1, 2019

Introducing the Akrivia Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch”

Akrivia’s entry for Only Watch 2019 is a unique variant of its critically acclaimed Chronomètre Contemporain but with an added bonus – the platinum case is made by storied case specialist Jean-Pierre Hagmann. The first outing at Only Watch for Akrivia and its founder Rexhep Rexhepi, the unique Chronomètre Contemporain is equipped with a dial made of grey-blue fired enamel featuring white enamel markings. But the dial is unusual for having a hand-hammered finish, a decoration typically only applied to gold dials, giving it a granular surface. The view from the back of the 38mm platinum case is identical to that of the standard model, save for the “JHP” hallmark on the lower right lug. It’s short for Jean-Pierre Hagmann, a semiretired case maker who was responsible for some of the most exquisite watch cases of the 1980s and 1990s. Amongst his work is the incredibly complex case of the Patek Philippe Star Calibre 2000 pocket watch. The Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch” is the first watch to emerge from the recently inked collaboration between Akrivia and Mr Hagmann. Stay tuned for more on this. The Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch” has an estimate of 40,000-60,000 Swiss francs, and will go under the hammer on November 9, 2019 at Christie’s in Geneva.  The complete Only Watch 2019 collection can be seen on onlywatch.com.  

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INTRODUCING: The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms ‘Nageurs de Combat’  Time+Tide
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms ‘Nageurs de May 17, 2019

INTRODUCING: The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms ‘Nageurs de Combat’ 

Like it or not, the origin story of Blancpain’s famous diver is inseparable from that of naval warfare. The development of the original watch was driven by two men, Captain Robert Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud, who were in charge of a newly formed French unit, the Combat Swimmers - or Nageurs de Combat. They … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms ‘Nageurs de Combat’  appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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Baselworld 2014: Blancpain Carrousel Phases de Lune - The Sophistication Of Signature Complications United In Elegance Revolution
Blancpain Carrousel Phases de Lune Apr 2, 2014

Baselworld 2014: Blancpain Carrousel Phases de Lune - The Sophistication Of Signature Complications United In Elegance

Ever since the resurrection of Blancpain by Biver and Piguet in the 1980’s, the moon has played an important part in the history of the brand. Their first full calendar model with moon phase was a classical beauty, whose legacy lives on until today. The same can be said for the carrousel (karrussel) that Blancpain […]

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