Time Capsules: News –Motorcycling and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor

One of the world’s most demanding motorsports races, the Dakar Rally, is taking place now in Argentina and Chile – across extreme conditions that include desert and tundra. Famous Greek motor biker Vasillis Orfanas is participating for the fifth time this year, and is wearing the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor extreme World Chronograph.  

 This world time watch houses the automatic Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 752 equipped with a patented shock absorber system protecting the self-winding chronograph movement from vibrations and jolts — even through heat, water and sand that the watch will be facing during the 16 days of the Dakar Rally. The watch is a big, bold sports piece that defiantly makes a personal statement about its wearer.

Time Capsules: SIHH News – Piaget’s Newest Ultra Thin is Ultra Superb

While today’s hottest trend may be ultra-thin watches, and even ultra-thin complications – Piaget has been a master of ultra thins for more than half a century. This brand holds records for ultra thin and ultra light movements, escapements and carriages. In fact, it has held a pioneering role in this field since 1957 when it rocked the world with its super slim caliber 9P. Thus it comes as no surprise that one of its hot new pre-SIHH (the big exhibition coming up in Geneva in just about two weeks) unveilings would be an ultra-thin watch.

However, this ultra-thin will have you reeling. Piaget sets a new world record with the release of its first Ultra-thin Automatic Tourbillon in the stunning Emperador Coussin case.  This is the world’s thinnest self-winding tourbillon– measuring 10.4mm thick – or thin! Of course, the watch– offered in its rose gold or white gold Coussin case – measures 46.5 mm in diameter – making it a large, flat, powerful beauty.

The Ultra-thin Automatic Tourbillon combines prowess from two of the brand’s prized calibers: the 600P, which was yeas in the making and is the world’s thinnest hand-wound tourbillon movement; the Caliber 1208P – the world’s thinnest self-winding movement with a micro-rotor. The new caliber is the 1270P and measures just 5.35mm thick. The result of three years of development, the haute horlogerie movement features a gold micro-rotor amidst its complex 200-part mechanism – some pieces of which are so extensively honed as to measure a mere 0.12mm thin. The watch features an etched sapphire crystal for viewing of the stunning tourbillon escapement, micro-rotor and off-set hour and minute hands. Though not yet priced, we know this baby will be up there … maybe in the $200,000 range. We’ll keep you posted.

Time Capsules: Product – Everyone Loves Pirates, especially Cuervo y Sobrinos

 Cuervo y Sobrinos – the Swiss watch brand with Cuban heritage that has stolen so many hearts since its re-introduction to the world in 2002 – has rounded it outs beloved Pirata collection with the newest Pirata Chronograph with complete calendar. While this watch was shown to the world earlier in 2010 – it has made it to the stores and is available for sale now- at a keen price of $9,500.

  So, what makes this watch so cool? Well, first, it’s part of the Pirate collection and, well, come on – we all just love the pirates ever since the making of Pirates of the Caribbean with Johnny Depp. Second, the complicated and innovative 45mm modular case combines bronze, titanium and burnished steel for a great look – and there are very few cases on the market using bronze. (Let’s not forget: It was Genta who used bronze for the very first time way back in the early 1980’s for his Safari watch –and that was a real collector’s piece.)

  At any rate, back to this great Cuervo y Sobrinos Pirata Chronograph with Complete Calendar, once we get past the name and the case, there is still a whole lot of sport watch here – a captivating chronograph (offering hours, 30 minutes, small seconds) with calendar (displaying date, day of week, month and moon phases).

 The chronograph houses the automatic 25-jewel Valjoux 7751 base, with 42 hours of power reserve. The watch, water resistant to 5 atm, is fitted with a screwed see-through caseback to view the unique “Pirata” emblem engraving. It is fitted with a black rubber strap with bronze-colored stitching. In all, it is a fitting tribute to the brand’s Caribbean origins.

 

Trend Report: High-Tech Ceramic Watches

Today, more and more timepieces are made of high-tech ceramic. What’s more, this non-metallic compound is being used in the ultra- high-end for superb looks in colors that range from black to white to blue and more.
Rado is credited with pioneering in the ceramic watch world as far back as the early 1980s, but as innovative new processing techniques have developed, many other brands have jumped on the ceramic bandwagon.  Modern ceramics typically have elements in them such as silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, or aluminum oxide. These elements, and the preferred one today – zirconium oxide – also help produce a finished ceramic product that is strong and less likely to be brittle or shatter if dropped.  The materials are engineered to meet very strict specifications. They are created via heating and subsequent cooling processes, and typically have extremely high melting points (most can withstand temperatures from 1,800 degrees F and higher).
Ceramic watches are particularly appealing for sports pieces because they withstand chemical erosion and are extremely scratch resistant. Additionally they possess antimagnetic properties.  What’s more, ceramic watches look really cool on the wrist!

Weekend Sojourn: Discover the Wonder of Wander

Elegant walking canes intricately designed and bedecked with diamonds and gemstones.There are jewelers, and there are jewelry designers. Robert Wander for Winc Creations is a jewelry designer extraordinaire with a free spirit and amazing heart who absolutely knows how to think outside the box. Living in Hawaii, Wander is inspired by nature. He sees things from a different perspective and interprets them in a way just different enough that makes his jewelry truly stand out from the rest. His first creations were of bejeweled bugs – and were winners. Before then, no one had brought such ugly creatures to life in such stunning motifs. Caterpillars carved of onyx and set in gold became brooches, lizards and dragonflies set with multicolored gemstones have become icons of Wander’s collections. Time and again, he offers reinterpreted nature and surrounding life in whimsical glory – setting industry trends. He has even carved the head of a cane in the likeness of a parrot – complete with 18-karat gold, diamond beak and entirely gem-set head.
More recently, Wander has moved into larger, individually cut gems of the earth in their rough, imperfect beauty to emulate other delights – with his Crystal Candy series. Thereafter, he unveiled the elegant Stiletto line of shimmering multi-faceted Fancy-cut ultra-long shapes that are set in gold and offer alluring and uniquely beautiful looks.
Stunning gemstone-set 18-karat gold lizard brooch rests on a coral twig. Yes, Robert Wander is a designer of many sides, with multi-talents and inviting techniques. He finds the most scintillating of colors in the gems he uses, from natural emerald, green beryl, aquamarine, yellow beryl, morganite, imperial topaz, tourmaline and others for his collections — and infuses them with his creativity.

Alluring green beryl Stiletto pieces accented with diamonds
Alluring green beryl Stiletto pieces accented with diamonds

It is hard to pick a favorite collection from Wander, let alone a favorite piece. This is a designer from whom we are always waiting to see “What’s next?”  When asked, he usually just smiles and winks … We have to wait for the season’s unveiling in June …. Then we’ll bring you more.

Celebrating New Year’s Day: 1/1/11

New Year Card, courtesy MB&FThis is the start of an exciting new year of wonderful timepieces, enthralling new technology, innovative direction and inventions from brands big and small. We at Atimelyperspective.com look forward to bringing all the newness in fine watches, jewelry and travel, as well as other luxury goods to the forefront this year – in surprising formats and with unique viewpoints.
For today – kick back and relax. The excitement starts ticking soon!
Happy New Year!
 

Time Capsules: Product – Blancpain Brings Globe Trotters Delight

In this sneak preview of BaselWorld 2011—we bring you an inside look at Blancpain’s first ever dual time-zone watch with half-hour intervals for those who travel to certain parts of the world (such as India) where time differences are in half-hour increments. Part of the classically elegant Villeret series, the Villeret Demi-Fuseau Horaire enables the wearer to adjust the second time zone by the half hour.
User friendly, the watch houses the Calibre 5254DF, a 321-part self-winding movement with 72 hours of power reserve. The half time zone and seconds is indicated in the center, and a day/night indicator for the reference time is at 9:00.  The Villeret Demi-Fuseau Horaire features a half-hunter case in red gold with a sapphire case-back for viewing of the movement and its guilloché-worked oscillating weight. This watch is both a technical feat and an elegant showpiece.

Time Capsules: Product – Concord’s On the Radar

The new Concord C1 Big Date Radar watch is a big deal. Retaining the distinctive personality of the Concord C1 watches, this timepiece is bold and identifiable but offers more personality than ever thanks to its assertive design. The black PVD treated steel cased watch features a calibrated display of time with raised hour markers for a three-D effect and easy readability. The watch sports a bezel interspersed with black rubber-clad protective tabs, and a 3.3mm thick sapphire crystal. Luminescent elements include the hands, the date and the small seconds’ disk.
The runway-inspired pilot-style watch houses a COSC-certified self-winding chronometer movement (caliber 3532 La Joux-Perret) with 44 hours of power reserve. The rotor of the 26-jewel movement is designed with a vertical ribbed Cotes de Genève motif that is visible through the transparent caseback. The khaki-colored strap is technofiber. It is water resistant to 200 meters — though you’d probably rather take to the skies with it than the water.

Time Capsules: News — Watch Design Contest Yields New TAG Heuer Monacos

TAG Heuer and Parsons The New School for Design revealed the winners of a 10-week competition called the “Art of Watchmaking,” that charged eight teams of Parsons product design students with reinterpreting TAG Heuer’s classic Monaco chronograph. Three winning teams were selected by a panel of judges, and TAG Heuer has the potential to produce one of the first-place designs as a limited-edition piece.
For the competition, each team showcased three concepts, and discussed their inspiration, target consumer and design philosophy. First-place honors were for a sleek, black model with a shield over the watch face and edition numbers to appeal to collectors; second-place honors were for a black ceramic timepiece with neon accents; and third-place honors were for a piece with naturally grown crystals in its dial.
The partnership and competition—a first for TAG Heuer—began in early September, when TAG Heuer presented the 24 students with  a comprehensive overview of the Monaco, which was first introduced in 1969 as the world’s first self-winding automatic chronograph movement and waterproof square case. Students were able to decide on material choice, color and design of the dial, subdials, and more, but could not alter the distinctive shape of the Monaco’s case.

Trend Report: Diamond Delights for the Holidays

BulgariWith the holidays here, parties and social events abound. Today’s finest watchmakers make getting dressed up for black tie soirees is a snap, too! Diamond-adorned watches come in all shapes and sizes this holiday season and sparkle to the tens!  The breathtaking beauty of these jeweled time tellers will have all eyes on the wearer.  

Certainly since the first diamond was unearthed, nature’s bounty has captured hearts and souls. Diamonds cast a spell Diorthat few can resist. Recognized as symbols of power, religion, wealth and even victory, they are said to have qualities that are akin to spiritual aids, and are prized for their romantic appeal. It is no wonder, then, that watchmakers would turn to these stones to adorn their treasures.

 The first timepieces dressed in diamonds appeared in the 16th century, and were most likely in reaction to the fact that John Calvin banned his followers from wearing jewelry. To save their trade, many gem setters and goldsmiths combined their craft with the clockmakers and cabinotiers – as clocks were still allowed – and began adorning these instruments with elaborate gemstone detailing. Within a few years, clocks and pocket watches were transformed into pieces of jewelry.

 Today, the finest watchmakers excel in diamond settings for timepieces – and some brands, including Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Chopard and Jaeger-LeCoultre, even created their own setting techniques, some of which haveCartier become legendary in the watch world. In the mid-1900s, Van Cleef & Arpels developed the now-famed invisible setting, where the gems are cut in a manner so that when they are set together they interlock, essentially forcing the stones together with no visible metal.  

 The actual setting of the gemstones is a tedious job that requires much skill. Often, one of the most elaborately set pieces can take months to complete.  Diamond cuts predominantly used for watches include brilliants (round), marquis, pear, and trapeze for fancy cases such as floral shapes, carre’ (square) and baguettes (rectangles). No matter what the cut or the setting though, one thing has remained true throughout the centuries – diamonds are a girl’s best friend.