Twenty five years ago when I ventured into luxury watchmaking, I was fortunate enough to connect with the wonderful world of Piaget. I spent a great deal of time interviewing Yves Piaget– dignitary, philanthropist and horticulturist (yes, the man even has his own uniquely cultivated rose)—and traveling with the brand to celebrity polo matches and on other enlightening journeys. A couple of years ago, I ventured with Piaget to Iceland for the unveiling of its Paris/New York collection, and I’ve had the privilege of visiting both of Piaget’s state-of-the-art workshops in La Cote-aux-Fees and in Plan-les-Quates (Geneva), where it creates exceptional feats.
Piaget is one of just a handful of companies in the world with expertise so ubiquitous that it can offer a wealth of technological advances, complicated technical movements and high-jeweled accomplishments. So I guess you can see why I am not at all surprised by the stunning new creations unveiled to demonstrate the brand’s expertise in high-jewelry watchmaking. Part of the Limelight collection, the remarkable new models include a feminine “secret” watch – wherein the watch dial is hidden from view until one presses a button that operates a mechanism to reveal the watch case. The Cascade Inspiration Secret cuff features alternating lines of baguette- and brilliant-cut diamonds, each ending with a pear-cut diamond. The magnificent feat of 18-karat white gold, and 43 carats of diamonds houses the 56P Piaget quartz movement. The cuff watch took Piaget’s watchmakers 950 hours to develop. It took the brand’s gemsetters 110 hours of painstaking work to masterfully set the more than 400 diamonds.
This second watch in the new line is the Couture Inspiration and resembles a seductive, partially unzipped zipper – a tantalizing work of art. The watch is set with more than 1,200 brilliant-cut diamonds and trapeze-shaped black spinels. This beauty took Piaget’s masters nearly 500 hours to develop and its craftsmen 140 hours to set. Time at Piaget is definitely what they make it. http://www.piaget.com/.
Weekend Sojourn: Happy Halloween
It was high time I made my own timepiece! See what can be accomplished with a Spooky pumpkin, 20 minutes and a kitchen knife? Ok, well it may be crude – but here’s the thing – this is just the start of a great tradition here at Atimelyperspective.com. Beginning next year, we’ll be running a pumpkin timepiece carving competition – complete with a panel of judges and a watch giveaway as the prize to the submission voted best. All rules and competition regulations will be posted beginning in early October 2011 – so start carving now to hone your watchmaking skills.
Time Capsules: Product – Hautlence, Round and Round
Pure, unbridled spirit and master watchmaking prowess are the defining terms when it comes to Hautlence. This luxury brand that has captured collectors’ hearts and even souls with its geometrically influenced designs built according to the strictest and most ingenious standards, recently unveiled the round HL(Q) — designed for those who really didn’t care for the cushion shape of the previous Hautlence watches.
Using the same jumping hour and retrograde minute time display method it embraced for its first caliber (the patented HL mechanism), Hautlence presents the new caliber with a date function in the form of a calendar disk that is engaged with the minute hand axis via a sectoral gear and calibrated toothed pinion. For date setting, there is an instantaneous corrector smartly placed at 12:00 on the case.
In terms of design, Hautlence once again focuses on geometrics, particularly on the repetitive circles of life and infinity. The 44mm case is reinforced by the round dial displays and concentric designs. The various models include 18-karat white or pink gold, titanium black PVD and pink gold, titanium and black PVD steel, titanium and — all ranging in price from $47,500 to $56,600. www.totallyworthit.com.
Time Capsules: Product — Crocodile Everywhere
Franck Muller has pulled out all the stops with its new Croco collection — crating a croco-inspired case and dial that –when paired with a genuine crocodile strap – gives one the true feel of a croco on the wrist! Better you wear it than it wears you!! The first watches in the line were recently unveiled at the World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie & Jewellery at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
I had the pleasure of attending the WPHH and of handling these watches personally. Essentially, what the Franck Muller brand has done here is engrave and etch the cases in the croco pattern and then immerse them in 
the PVD black coating. The dial is also croco-inspired for overall appeal. The Cintree Curvex watch is available in three sizes and retails from $11,800 to $14,300.
My thoughts: Why didn’t someone do this sooner? It’s a great way to capitalize on the croco craze and it offes depth and diemension. Retailers seemed to like and I loved the way it looked and felt. It should be a winner. http://www.franckmullerusa.com.
Video: Inside the Alarm Watch
The alarm watch is a timepiece that features an alarm trigger system – coupled with the hour wheel – that is designed to produce an audible acoustic sound to wake one up – or remind one of an important meeting or moment in time. A complex system inside the case, the alarm watch has undergone a host of evolutions – as watchmakers struggle to produce stronger, better, more melodious sounds inside the various metal cases: steel, gold, platinum and today’s newer alloys. Here, thanks tohttp://www.awjonlinetv.com/, and http://www.hautehorlogerie.org/, we get a peek into the making of the alarm watch, a few of the challenges and developments and a little listen.
Time Capsules: Product — Breitling for Bentley in British Racing Green
For years now Breitling had been building the Breitling for Bentley line of timepieces. The collection has ranged from tourbillons to custom-created pieces wherein Bentley owners can even match the burled wood in their cars, to technically complex chronographs and even in-dashboard instruments. Now, Breitling (http://www.breitling.com/) for Bentley turns a bit more British than usual and dons the British Racing Green cloak for its new Bentley GMT Chrono Limited Edition watch.
Created in celebration of Bentley’s launch of the powerful Continental GT coupé, Breitling for Bentley takes o the road with this exclusive1,000-piece version distinguished by a racing green inner bezel and rubber strap. The multiple time zone watch houses the Breitling Calibre 47B COSC-certified chronometer with chronograph that times to 1/8th of a second, and offers 6-hour, 15-minute and 30-second totalizes. The 24-hour second time zone is indicated with a red hand and there is a 24-city time zone scale on the inner chapter ring of British Racing Green. The second time zone is adjustable via pushpiece integrated into the left side of the case. The watch, which also offers a calendar, is water resistant to 100 meters. The watch is also available with a black rubber strap for those less daring souls. It retails for $9,275.
My thoughts: I haven’t worn it yet, but I’d like to. Better yet- I’d like to wear it while driving the coup – then hold on to it for a few weeks to test drive it – or both…. What about it Breitling?
Trend Report: Platinum Watches
Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle Calibre 2253 with perpetual calendar and equation of time that indicates the difference between real solar time and average solar time. It is a 457-part movement with 30 jewels and 14 days of power reserve. www.vacheron-constantin.com.Ok, well it may be difficult to say the rarest metal on earth is a trend – but let’s face it, some of the finest watchmakers in the world know how to use platinum to its best advantage when it comes to creating a watch case. Thanks to the Platinum Guild, which recently released its report: Time Machine, Platinum Watches 2010-2011—we are privy to nearly two dozen of the top watch brands that really know how to use platinum for their luxury watch cases and do it in style. Sorry I can’t show them all, but for more information, you can visit http://www.preciousplatinum.com/.
Breguet Tradition. Reveals the movement, with tourbillon regulator and silicon balance spring, powered by constant force torque using a chain transmission. The time is displayed on a small guilloche dial. www.breguet.com.Blancpain Villeret Ref .6639-3431-55. Day, date, month, moon-phase automatic with 8 days power reserve. www.blancpain.com.Meanwhile, there are a few things I would like to share with you about platinum before I tell you about these special timepieces. To begin with, not only is this metal 30 times rarer than gold, but also it is much harder, less easily scratched, and much more difficult to work with. It is 95 percent pure, 
Cartier Rotonde Grande Complication in a limited edition of 30 pieces, offers perpetual calendar and chronograph, as well as tourbillon escapement. www.cartier.com.heavier than gold and considered the ultimate metal for a complicated watch. Herein lay just a handful of platinum watch beauties.
Patek Philippe Ref. 5951P features a coussin case that was popular during the art deco period. The watch houses a 400-part movement and is the slimmest movement with monopusher chronograph and perpetual calendar. www.patek.com.
Ulysse Nardin El Toro COSC-certified chronometer, perpetual calendar with second time zone created in a limited edition of 500 pieces. It features the brand’s patented forwards/backwards rapid adjustment system. www.ulysse-nardin.com.
Time Capsules: Product — ArtyA’s Spider
As the creative and original Yvan Arpa, director of ArtyA, continues to draw on his own experiences and interests for his unusual watch designs, the world continues to receive high-end wonders such as this 
new Spider – just in time for the Halloween festivities. In this work of art and craftsmanship, Arpa blends conceptual art with watchmaking. The case is subjected to an electrical charge of anywhere from 100,000 to 1 million volts. The dial is bedecked with silver and gold leaf filaments and then accented with spider legs and body – making the watch a one-of-a-kind work. The watch sports a Crazy Frog tanned toad skin strap. The three-hand watch houses an automatic movement and the case is crafted in black PBD-treated 316L steel. There are several unique pieces in the collection.
Time Capsules: News – A mansion unlike any other — Ralph Lauren Opens US Watch & Jewelry Salon in Stunning Madison Ave Mansion
When it comes to Ralph Lauren, the world expects style, sophistication and savoir faire. Last week when he held the grand opening of his spectacular first-ever US Watch & Jewelry Salon at 888 Madison Avenue – he stunned even those who were expecting grandeur. The mansion, which was two years in the building and decorating phases, was – to put it mildly – over the top. Not over the top lavish or ridiculously overdone – but just superbly beautiful in only the way Ralph Lauren could do it.
The 22,000-square-foot, four-floor mansion, which is the flagship store devoted to the brand’s women’s collections and luxury home goods (and is directly across the Avenue from the men’s goods store), is decorated with marble, limestone, wrought iron, crystal chandeliers, floor-to-ceiling damask black drapes, wood paneling, amazing flower arrangements, balconies and more. It is the envy of all mansions, and the fitting place for the unveiling of the new Ralph Lauren Fine Jewelry collection – which boasted pearls, diamonds and stunning motifs of classic elegance and updated style.
In fact, the collection is inspired by brilliance and tradition, and revolves around several themes, including the Ralph Lauren Diamond Link Collection, Equestrian Collection, Monogram and Chunky Chains series – all offering glamour and classic elegance. Even the newest Ralph Lauren Stirrup 
Collection of diamond watches with a sophisticated all-diamond bracelet shimmers ever more brightly in this setting. All of the Ralph Lauren Watches house only the finest movements from Piaget, IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre.
That night, at the Grand Opening event, Mayor Bloomberg presented Ralph Lauren with the Key to New York City, which Ralph Lauren graciously and warm heartedly accepted – praising the city and his customers for his success. The new Watch & Jewelry Salon complements the dedicated watch areas opened last year at Ralph Lauren boutiques in Chicago, Dallas, Beverly Hills, and Greenwich, as well as in Paris earlier this year.
Weekend Sojourn: TF Cufflinks – Statements on Time
For men of taste – and let’s face it, watch collectors are all of sophistication and taste or you just wouldn’t be collecting watches – it’s time to re-think what you’re wearing on your wrist. Well, not the watch, but the cufflinks. (Maybe the watch, too?)
These TF EST 1968 cufflinks are made in the heart of the watchmaking capitol of the world: Geneva. Elegant accessories targeted for watch aficionados, these cufflinks feature actual watch movements in mesmerizing glory. Designed by T. Freddy who was born in – yes- you guessed it – 1968 – TF Est. 1968 cufflinks are engineered so the cufflink acts as a case to hold the balance wheel. Each cufflink is 20mm in diameter and the parts are contrasting in colors and textures for bold appeal. The back is carbon fiber, the wheel is brass, there is a nickel-plated bridge and blued screws – all encased behind a sapphire crystal. The cufflinks currently come in four styles – including polished, brushed or PVD steel with black carbon or silver backing, or in rose goldplated with silver carbon backing. They retail from $390 to $440. www.Totallyworthit.com.