Revolution
2005: The Chopard L.U.C Lunar One, First Modern Perpetual Calendar Wristwatch with Orbital Moonphase
Chopard’s L.U.C Lunar One perpetual calendar is the culmination of over three decades of design experimentation by the maison.
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Revolution
Chopard’s L.U.C Lunar One perpetual calendar is the culmination of over three decades of design experimentation by the maison.
SJX Watches
Having given the J12 a thorough revamp last year, Chanel has just dropped the most astonishing iteration of its signature watch in the lead-up to Baselworld 2020 – the J12 Paradoxe. Conceived to mark the 20th anniversary of the iconic watch, the J12 Paradoxe looks like a digitally doctored timepiece at first glance. In fact, the stock images of the watch would pass for an abstract J12 ad. But J12 Paradoxe is actually two-tone – two thirds of the case in white ceramic and the remainder in black ceramic. Rely on the same concept but more valuable materials, Chanel is also rolling out the uber-extravagant J12 Paradoxe Diamonds combining black ceramic, white gold, and diamonds. While ceramic is about four times harder than steel, the hardness makes it brittle and delicate to machine, making a ceramic watch case slightly more challenging to fabricate than the same in steel. Produced by G&F; Chatelain, the buckle and case-maker owned by Chanel, the case is essentially two sections of ceramic anchored to an inner steel frame. Each section is secured to the frame with two screws, which are visible on the back of the watch. And the movement is also contained with the frame. Because of the multi-part construction of the case, the water resistance is 50 m, instead of the 200 m of the standard J12 that has a single-piece ceramic case. The dial and bezel insert continue the colours of the case, but each component is a single piece that’s been treated to create a two-colour fini...
WatchAdvice
Introduction French micro-brand Baltic first popped up on my radar back in 2019 after making a splash on social media, and across watch media. What caught my attention was how this entry-level brand seamlessly entered the collection’s of several high profile watch collectors, and onto the wrist’s of a couple of highly-respected watch editors. Intrigued initially by the Instagram hype and drawn in by the rave reviews from trusted friends, I knew it was time to take a closer look. Being an unapologetic fan of the dive watch who was entering the peak of Australian Summer, I thought it only appropriate to get my hands on the Baltic Aquascaphe. Of the combinations offered, I opted for the Black and Silver, with both a bracelet and additional rubber strap. The Dial and Hands Interestingly within Baltic’s Aquascaphe collection, the brand offers two dial variants – a grain finish and a sunray finish. The grainy dial (WHICH THIS ONE HAS) adds lots of texture, which combined with the ‘sandwich style’ markers, brings a lot of character to an otherwise subtle watch. The cleanliness of the white super-luminova markers offer contrast to the textured dial. The double-domed sapphire crystal gives perfect clarity as you gaze at the pebbly black dial, whilst oozing vintage charm. Baltic’s use of sapphire extends to the unidirectional black bezel to add some extra-depth, and emulate the bakelite bezels of yesteryear. The curved sapphire crystal across these two important watch ...
Hodinkee
Does the bronze Captain Cook get the gold seal of approval?
Revolution
In “Watch I Love”, Revolution editors take turns to pick their fave timepieces. Here, Stephanie Ip presents the Must de Cartier.
Revolution
For centuries, perpetual calendars placed pushers on the case. In 2004, Blancpain change all that.
SJX Watches
Switzerland has a well-earned reputation for producing high-quality machinery and engineering, mostly produced by small and medium-sized businesses making equipment like machine tools, printing presses, and lifts. For the same reasons, Switzerland boasts world-class watch companies, most of which share the same prowess in manufacturing and engineering. As it happens, a Swiss company was an industry leader in cryptography machines for several decades in the late 20th century. Founded by a Swede in Switzerland, Crypto AG sold mechanical encoding devices to some 120 countries, including Iran, India, and the Vatican. Although digital cryptography has now rendered cryptography hardware obsolete, such machines were once crucial to international diplomacy, intelligence, and espionage. Crypto AG was a key producer of these machines, helped by the fact that Switzerland is a neutral country. But a recent investigation by the The Washington Post and German public television network Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) have revealed that since 1970, Crypto AG was secretly owned by the CIA and Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany’s federal intelligence service. The news has since spiralled into a scandal in Switzerland – where neutrality has been a national policy since the 19th century – with the government setting up an inquiry to investigate just how much former officials knew. Building in backdoors According to the Post, Crypto AG founder Boris Hagelin had once hoped to pas...
Revolution
The latest period-correct recreation from the Breitling vault is the new AVI Ref. 765 1953 Re-Edition, once again in consultation with Fred Mandelbaum
SJX Watches
Almost exactly a year after Breitling announced the Navitimer Ref. 806 remake – a spot-on remake of the first Navitimer and a smash hit – the watchmaker has applied the same formula for the AVI Ref. 765 1953 Re-Edition, a limited edition of 1,953 watches in steel. Introduced in 1953 and produced in several variants until 1965 when it was rebranded the Co-Pilot, the AVI ref. 765 was typical of mid 20th century pilot’s chronographs, with large Arabic numerals, syringe hands, and a steel rotating bezel. In fact, it is reminiscent of the Type 20 chronographs supplied by Breguet, Auricoste and other firms to the French navy and air force during the same period. Remade exactly And the AVI ref. 765 was oversized for the era, with a case measuring 41.1 mm. According to Breitling, the AVI Re-Edition replicates the original to the smallest detail, down to the tenth of a millimetre of case diameter. The steel bezel is even secured by three screws in exactly the same spots as on the original. Only two external elements on the remake have been changed: one is the removal of “Geneve” from the dial, a necessity given Breitling’s location; and the other is the increased water resistance of 30 m. That being said, modern production techniques and materials mean that rather than being perfectly identical, the replica is probably better in fit and finish than the original. The lacquer-filled engraving on the bezel, for instance, is more precisely done on the modern version. The vi...
Revolution
With its steampunk style that was ahead of its time, the Vianney Halter Antiqua was one of the most important perpetual calendars of its time.
Revolution
The Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique 5367 includes all of Breguet’s best bits in one watch.
SJX Watches
Slim, elegantly and typically Breguet in style – the gently off-centre dial echoes asymmetric pocket watches – the Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat 5367 was originally launched with a guilloche dial, before being given a white, fired enamel dial. And last year Breguet debuted a striking variant with a fully skeletonised movement decorated in a surprisingly elaborate manner. For 2020 Breguet has returned to its traditional look, albeit with a twist: the dial has been transformed into deep blue enamel for a boutique-only edition. Similar to the makeover applied to the time-and-date Classique 5177, the blue dial is grand feu enamel – vitreous enamel set by firing it in an oven at temperatures over 800°C. The dial starts as a disc of solid gold, which is then painted with a mixture of enamel powder, water and oil. It’s then baked in an oven, and the process repeated several times until the deep blue colour is achieved. The surface is then ground down by hand to give it a mirrored finish, before undergoing a final trip to the oven. The star and lozenge minute track is inspired by the same on vintage pocket watches Then the markings on the dial – including the symbols of the minute track and Breguet numerals – are printed in powdered silver, which gives them a granular, metallic sheen. And faintly etched by laser just above the tourbillon is the Breguet “secret” signature, a feature devised in the 19th century to distinguish genuine Breguet pocket watches from ...
SJX Watches
An annual edition now in its 14th year, the “Laureus Sport for Good” helps support the foundation of the same name, which promotes sport amongst disadvantaged and disabled children around the world. In a departure from the norm of using a current model as the base, the 2020 edition is a brand-new reference that’s not yet in the catalogue (though it probably will be by Watches & Wonders 2020), the Portugieser Monopusher Chronograph “Laureus Sport for Good”. The Portugieser Monopusher Chronograph is an unusual watch: a manual-wind, single-button chronograph with a long power reserve of 192 hours, or eight days. It’s powered by the cal. 59360, which has a notably thin chronograph mechanism built over the cal. 59000 eight-day movement. The movement, however, not actually new. It was last used in 2015 inside the Portofino monopusher chronograph, but subsequently absent until now. (Reputedly the movement had kinks that required fixing, particularly in terms of timekeeping while running the chronograph.) The cal. 59360 with its thin chronograph mechanism; note the wide and flat column wheel The movement is wide and relatively flat, resulting in a large watch that’s 46 mm wide and just shy of 14 mm high. Given the traditional Portugieser design of a wide dial and narrow bezel, the size of the watch is particularly pronounced. As is traditional with the Laureus edition, the dial is a deep, metallic blue with ample space for the two chronograph registers as well as the...
Revolution
The latest Luminor sees the old case in a new case material.
SJX Watches
Reviving a name once used for a line of tonneau-shaped women’s watches, Vacheron Constantin has just unveiled the Égérie, now a round watch with an unusually positioned crown. Translating as “muse”, Égérie is a slightly larger and more casual automatic watch for ladies, setting it apart from Vacheron Constantin’s current offerings for ladies, which are mostly downsized or quartz versions of men’s watches, as well as pricey, high-jewellery timepieces. That also sets it apart from its namesake, introduced in 2003 with a tonneau case, which lasted several years in the catalogue but never quite took off. Inspired by haute couture according to Vacheron Constantin, the new Égérie line is centred on two models, with either a moon phase or date. Each is offered in pink gold or steel, as well as a fully diamond-set version in white gold, for a total of five models. Égérie Self-Winding (top row), and Égérie Moonphase All models share a fully polished case with a diamond-set bezel, with a silver opaline dial featuring an offset sub-dial at two o’clock that sits just beside the crown, topped with a moonstone cabochon. The dials are decorated with a pleated, radial guilloche done the traditional way, with a hand-operated rose engine. The engine-turning is intersected up by a chapter ring with spherical markings for the minutes and applied gold hour numerals. Specially designed for the collection, the numerals are a modern take on traditional Breguet numerals...
SJX Watches
Auction catalogues often offer early 20th century pocket watches of impressive, refined quality that bear the names of unfamiliar Geneva firms. Amongst the most prominent are Agassiz, Ed. Koehn, Haas Neveux, and Touchon. Despite their obscurity now, these brands were once amongst the best in the world – arguably the equals of Patek Philippe or Vacheron Constantin, producing or retailing highly complicated and extra-thin timepieces. All of them, save for one, are now defunct and long forgotten. In fact, most went under long before the Quartz Crisis. A single name has survived and prospered while remaining a family business, by evolving its business over the centuries – Golay Fils & Stahl. A familiar name As an avid reader of auction catalogues, I had come across Golay Fils & Stahl on several occasions, and the name stayed with me because of the high quality of firm’s pocket watches (Haas Neveux being another). Then in November 2019, Phillips sold the Patek Philippe ref. 3652 minute-repeating wristwatch. Not only was the watch relatively recent, having been made in 1985, it was a unique reference powered by a reworked vintage movement – and signed “Golay Fils & Stahl” on the dial. Few retailers get their name on modern Patek Philippe watches, let alone a one-off, custom timepiece. It piqued my curiosity. The ref. 3652 – essentially a Calatrava ref. 96 minute repeater By sheer chance that curiosity was satisfied when Melissa Wolfgang Amenc got in touch after see...
SJX Watches
Having unveiled the vintage-inspired Presage Automatic Chronograph ref. SRQ031 in October 2019, Seiko has returned to the same historical wristwatch with the Presage Prestige 2020. Comprising of three variants – SPB127J1, SPB131J1, and SPB129J1 – the new Presage is once again modelled on the “Crown” chronograph ref. 5719A-45899 that was unveiled in 1964 to mark that year’s Tokyo Olympics. The vintage original was a mono-pusher chronograph with basic functionality, featuring a central, elapsed seconds hand and black plastic bidirectional bezel for recording times of over a minute. Last year’s Presage chronograph was a step up from the original with three counters, but this year’s Presage Prestige does away with the chronograph altogether. But since the original had a plain dial without registers, the new Presage Prestige manages to look pretty much the same. The original “Crown” chronograph from 1964 All three versions of the Presage Prestige differ only in dial colour, and are otherwise identical in terms of dimensions, design and movement. Because of the styling of the “Crown” Chronograph, the Presage Prestige manages to be fairly faithful to the original. Nearly all of the elements of the dial, from the chapter ring with the applied hour markers and oblong “lume” plots to the dauphine hands, are a close-enough replica of the original. Granted it has been modernised with the usual tweaks found in remakes, including a slightly larger case and ...
Quill & Pad
Jaeger-LeCoultre supports ‘The Supermarket Of Images,’ the latest exhibition at the Jeu de Paume arts center in Paris, which exhibits and promotes all forms of mechanical and electronic imagery. The exhibition’s central premise is that our lives are increasingly saturated with images. The impact of this is the story that this exhibition tells.
Revolution
High fashion inspires the latest high horology collection from Vacheron Constantin, the Égérie.
Quill & Pad
GaryG once wrote on Quill & Pad about his relationship with the world’s greatest mass luxury brand in 'Why I’ve Never Owned a Rolex – And Why I Might Yet.' Well, to know him is to know that if he says he “might yet” buy something it’s likely only a matter of time. So, too, with this Rolex: the GMT Master II BLNR “Batman” with black-and-blue bezel.
Quill & Pad
Dedicated ladies’ watches are a relatively surprising turn of direction for Zenith, which has primarily concentrated on men’s watches up to now. Elizabeth Doerr takes a look at the fresh new feminine additions of the Zenith Defy Midnight And Elite Classic collections for 2020.
Revolution
Sinn introduces two new pilot watches, the 158 Pilot Chronograph inspired by the Sinn Bundeswehr and the 104 St Sa A B E in a radiant blue.
Revolution
TAG Heuer dedicates its 160th anniversary to the Carrera, a watch birthed from the mind of the one and only Jack Heuer.
Revolution
It’s a leap year, and in the run-up to that special day Feb 29, Revolution takes a look at some of the Perpetual Calendars that mattered.
SJX Watches
The new Sinn 158 is unusual in being a remake of a vintage watch originally produced by another company, but due to a quirk of history, simultaneously a Sinn. In the 1960s and 1970s Heuer supplied the German armed forces, or Bundeswehr, with the 1550 SG flyback chronograph. Though typically military in style, the Heuer 1550 SG was fairly distinctive, with a black-coated rotating bezel and oversized sub-dials. A favourite remake In the 1980s, Sinn was contracted by the Bundeswehr to refurbish the 1550 SG watches, resulting in some having a Sinn-branded dial. At the same time, decommissioned or surplus watches were also acquired by Sinn, which then sold them to civilians. Having become something of a cult favourite due to its design, size, and affordability, the Heuer 1550 SG has been the subject of several past remakes by Sinn. Named the Sinn 155, the earliest remake was for the Japanese market in 2007, and later editions included a 155 for German department store Manufactum. A Heuer 1550 SG “Bund” from the 1970s. Photo – TAG Heuer Because of its hands, the 158 is the most modern-looking of the remakes, but still retains all of the key elements of the original, most notably the four screws to secure the inner case to the outer case, as well as the flat step where the lugs meet the bezel. Like the original, the 158 has a bead-blasted steel case with a bidirectional, black-coated aluminium bezel. The case is 43 mm like the 1550 SG, but slightly thicker at 15.15 mm high ...
Hodinkee
It's the 100th episode – party to follow.
Revolution
For its second one-off for Mr Porter, Roger Dubuis’ CEO himself will hand deliver watch to buyer along with an exclusive trip to the Italian Alps to test drive Lamborghini’s entire fleet.
Hodinkee
Hosted by The Hour Glass and Passion Fine Jewelry.
Revolution
John Goldberger schools REVOLUTION on Patek Philippe’s rarest perpetual calendar ever made: the ref. 3449 (of which only 3 examples exist).
Time+Tide
Hollywood’s night of nights, the Oscars, was just yesterday, and while most of the noise around this year’s event was Brad Pitt finally scoring his first ever gong for his supporting role in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (and shedding a tear… oh, Brad!) for us watch tragics it was a great chance to … ContinuedThe post Four watches worn at the 2020 Oscars that point to a new dress watch direction appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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