The Serpenti has been an integral part of Bulgari’s history for decades. This stunning timepiece was introduced in the 1950’s as a tubogas bracelet watch and has since been re-introduced in all its glory as a high jeweled masterpiece. The two-twirl bracelet is crafted in 18-karat pink gold and ends with a secret-watch serpent head that opens to reveal the watch dial.
The magnificent piece is set with diamonds, prink sapphires and amethysts. The snake eyes are lapis lazuli. The dial is also set with gemstone to match. The movement is a customized Bulgari movement. In total the watch features 244 diamonds, 288 pink sapphires and 229 amethysts … for a total carat weight of 31.46 carats. Wearing this baby not only shows you can tell time in style, but also helps you get a little weight lifting in, as well.
Recently, while joining A. Lange & Sohne in Salzburg, Austria, where the original Glashutte watchmaking brand sponsored the Whitsun Music Festival, I got the privilege of touring this wonderful city – with an emphasis on the sites where the well-known 1960’s movie “The Sound of Music” was filmed.
It was an interesting tour that led us to the house in which the Trapp family was filmed, the gazebo of several famous love scenes, the fountains of Salzburg, the Mirabell Gardens and even one of the oldest cemeteries (where anyone who knows the movie will remember the family hid while trying to flee).
Salzburg’s Old Town, where many outdoor scenes were filmed, has a rich baroque architecture. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this is one of the most beautiful and best preserved old city centers. The birthplace of Mozart, the town’s past is full of political, religious and cultural interests.
If you want a superb look at a price you can afford, then maybe the Krieger Gigantium Streamliner Skeleton special edition watch is for you. Inspired by the Art Deco era, it’s a lot of look for not a lot of money. It is crafted with rose gold accents and retails for $5,950.
If you’ve got a secret mission … this is the watch for you. Also for professional underwater explorers: the stainless steel Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver is water resistant to 300 meters and is resistant to extreme pressures, shocks and magnetic phenomena. A diver’s watch in all its pristine simplicity, it is equipped with the 278-part Manufacture Audemars Piguet selfwinding movement: Calibre 3120. Built according to the NIHS Swiss watch industry norms that comply with international diving codes, the Royal Oak Offshore Diver is equipped with a host of features and functions that qualify it to be a dive watch. Among them:
Time preselection device: It features a dive scale on an inner rotating dial ring that is activated via a unidirectional click mechanism linked to the 10:00 crown. In compliance with the 92-11 norm, the device features a minutes scale on which five-minute periods are clearly highlighted.
Visibility: The time, the time measured on the inner dial ring and the movement operating indication must be readable in the dark from a distance of 25 cm. The watch meets this requirement thanks to the luminescent coatings.
Water tightness and resistance to salt water: The 92-11 norm demands water tightness to at least 100 metres. The caseback screws, the intermediate bolts and the distinctive Royal Oak Offshore hexagonal screws seal the case as securely as a submarine hatch – to 300 meters.
Antimagnetic property, resistance to shocks and to thermal variations: The movement of the Royal Oak Offshore Diver is protected by an antimagnetic strongbox-type case construction.
Resistance to external forces: The attachments must be able to withstand forces of up to 200 N. The size of the pin buckle has been specifically increased to ensure such resistance.
It retails for $17,000.
See the video below for just how cool this watch works for day time to dive time.
This is not a watch industry born timepiece but it is definitely one that wows the watch industry. Never have I had to take off my watch more than in the month I wore this Devon Tread 1 timepiece. Don’t bother to read on. Watch the video below to see how this bold beauty works, and then come back for the technical details.
So fun times wearing the watch aside, the technology is cool, too. The Devon Tread 1 watch features a patent-pending system of interwoven Time Belts ™. The belt assemblies are mounted on a central chassis that allows enough room for the moving parts. Four compact micro-step motors (driven by a microprocessor) drive the movement of the four belts (one for the hours, two for the minutes and one for the seconds) with exacting accuracy. The lubricant-free pulley system moves freely thanks to the integration of jeweled bearings. It is all a neatly orchestrated dance of pulleys, treads, numbers and flowing time — that ticks loudly enough that it definitely reminds the wearer that time is passing by (this could be good or bad, depending on your viewpoint).
The case is a five-piece CNC– cut and produced work of high-grade stainless steel combined with polycarbonate scratch-resistant, anti-reflective crystal. The Tread 1 is powered by a rechargeable lithium polymer cell that is supposed to run for up to two weeks on a single charge – IF the seconds are NOT continually running. This was a little something I had issue with when wearing the watch because everyone wanted to turn it on and off, and play with the seconds, so the power reserve was not always up to par. Carrying the charger around the world (I show the charger in the above video) with me was also a bit too much for me, so this watch doesn’t suit me for long trips. BUT – this is definitely the watch to wear to get people to notice you. No matter where I went, people stopped me, from business functions, to shopping malls, sports events and even on the security check at the airport – all to have a closer look at the Devon Tread 1. It retails for a relatively trendy $15,000.
Grab your sunglasses, camera, binoculars and a blanket (and of course a great snack) and head to one of the many scenic spots around Narragansett Bay next week for one of the summer’s most anticipated sailing events: the TR2011 – Transatlantic Race. Beginning Sunday June 26, with a warning signal at 1:50 pm, each of three starts will be set in motion: an eclectic fleet on Sunday June 26; luxury boats on Wednesday June 29; pure racing machines on Sunday July 3.
289 foot Perini Navi Maltese Falcon will be setting sail in Start 2, Wednesday, June 29The luxury boats include the 289-foot Maltese Falcon and the racing machines include the Farr 80 Beau Geste, the maxi Rambler 100 and a host of others. The 2,975 nautical mile race (from Newport, R.I. to the Lizard, U.K.) will see 26 entries hoping to sail into the history books.
The event is sponsored by racing enthusiast Rolex, which has been sponsoring yachting events for years. This brand has a natural tie-in thanks to its superlative Oyster Perpetual Yachtmaster watches. Other sponsors of the TR 2011 are Thomson Reuters, Newport Shipyard, Perini Navi and Peters & May.
During my recent visit to the Saxony region of Germany with A. Lange & Sohne, we stayed in lovely Dresden, the capitol city of the Free State of Saxony, where one afternoon, Lange took us on a stunning walking tour of the city that was once behind the Iron Curtain. Nearly totally destroyed during World War II, Dresden is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, and has a long history as the center or religion and royalty for this region – all of whom filled it with culture and artistic splendor prior to the Wars.
Architects and designers salvaged what they could of the stones and blocks of besieged buildings and entwined them with new ones in the rebuilding of the inner historic city. Some buildings remained – luckily the stunning hand-painted tiled wall of the Furstenzug (which shows the Saxon sovereigns depicted in Meissen porcelain) was one that made it through the centuries.
The city is a mix of architecture spanning Baroque, rococo, Renaissance and Classical styles – all in a walkable distance and incorporating a rich history of Protestantism and of Augustus the Strong who flopped to Catholicism in the name of expanding territories (he wanted to be king of Poland). Since the German reunification in 1990, Dresden has regained some of its importance as a cultural and political center. It is a wonderful city well worth visiting.
Ok, so it may be a little too high priced for the kids to run out and buy it for you for Father’s Day but you can definitely get it for yourself! At a sweet $17,400, this Panerai Pam 336 Radiomir Oro Rosa 42mm is super cool. Crafted in satin-finished 18-karat pink gold with a polished gold bezel — it is actually almost a steal…. It houses the new 154-part in-house caliber- the Officine Panerai hand-wound Radiomir P. 999 mechanical movement (designed and produced at the Neuchatel Manufacture) with 19 jewels and 60 hours of power reserve. The workings of this beauty are regulated by a swan’s neck device that allows for micrometrical adjustment of the spring. This new movement is thinner, allowing for the overall case design to be slightly smaller than historic Radiomir watches: 42mm — offering a lighter, thinner — dare we say – more elegant – Panerai. Another great twist: This watch features a dark brown dial instead of the traditional black, but fear not – it is still exceptionally legible in the dark thanks to its sandwich structure with the luminescence placed between two metal layers, , the top one perforated in correspondence with the numerals and indexes. The hands are also luminescent. This must-have Radiomir is water resistant to 100 meters – but hurry – only 500 numbered pieces are being produced as part of the brand’s Historic Collection.
So it isn’t often one finds something really different in the sports watch arena for Dad at Father’s Day – but this watch definitely says “forget buying dad a tie!”
The new Corum Admiral’s Cup Challenger 44 Chrono Rubber watch is a COSC-certified chronometer automatic chronograph that is crafted in an all-new high-tech rubber case! It features a 44mm 12-sized rubber case with rubber bezel and vulcanized rubber crown protector – and comes in a few cool colors – including racing red and nautical blue. Each is created in a limited edition of 100 pieces and features a 12-sided (dodecagonal) sapphire crystal with antireflective treatment.
The CO753 automatic movement offers hours, minutes, small seconds, date and chronograph. It beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and offers 48 hours of power reserve. The special Corum rotor is engraved and colored in blue, red, black or white. The watch is water resistant to 100 meters. It retails for a slick $8,150 – and it looks like a fortune on the wrist.
This year, on September 22 in Monaco, the well-known Only Watch 2011 Charity Auction will take place. This highly esteemed event, which Atimelyperspective attended in 2009, has been held every other year since 2005 concurrent with the Monaco Yacht Show. This is the venue where luxury watchmaking and medical research come together, and is held For Research on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The auction is held under the high patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco and jointly organized with Antiquorum auction house, as well as the Monaco Yacht Show.
More than 40 timepieces – typically unique in some way – are donated by the most prestigious watch manufactures to be put up for bidding. Prior to the event, the collection makes a world tour. In the weeks to come, Atimelyperspective will begin to unveil some of the special pieces that will be donated, such as this one-of-a-kind Petite Heure Minute Jaquet Droz watch, created especially for this auction. It features an ivory Grand Feu enameled dial adorned with details from one of the principality’s most renowned landscapes. It takes a master artisan at least a full week, with one eye to the microscope, to complete the dial of this masterpiece. The watch houses a self-winding mechanical movement, a double barrel and a 22-karat white gold oscillating weight. The starting price at auction for this watch will be 37,000 CHF (Swiss francs).
The Serpenti has been an integral part of Bulgari’s history for decades. This stunning timepiece was introduced in the 1950’s as a tubogas bracelet watch and has since been re-introduced in all its glory as a high jeweled masterpiece. The two-twirl bracelet is crafted in 18-karat pink gold and ends with a secret-watch serpent head that opens to reveal the watch dial.
