The Corum Golden Bridge is one of those watches that emerges every now and then and wows the world of horology. The creative genius of Mr. Vincent Calabrese.
The Golden Bridge is an attention grabbing timepiece - with the in-line bridge the "Centre of Attraction." This piece has since been discontinued.
When I first saw the piece on the wrist of a friend, I knew I had to get one some day. Little did I know I would end up with one for my wife instead. She loves this piece and more so after we changed the strap to a tanned croc strap from JnS Handcrafted Strap.
Lange has always made good chronograph and the Datograph is a dream watch on many collectors' list. I like the Datograph too but I finally settled for the 1815 Chronograph.
Two reasons I chose the 1815 chrono - as a chronograph, it is more "pure" to have no date. And additionally, they Lange does not have the Datograph in White Gold. And actually a third reason - price. For the date, one has to fork out a lot more… Hence the 1815 chrono over the Datograph. A clean and "pure" chronograph.
I have always liked the Lange chronograph - a clean display. And the white gold example is my favorite - unless of course Lange comes out with the grey dial version of Datograph… The white gold cased white dial version is clean and "unobtrusive". I love the look.
The lovely blued hands are an attraction in itself. Visually appealing and extremely matching to the dial, this was the clincher for me.
And that is a Lange without looking at the movement - a work of art!
Unlike many other chronographs, the Lange example features a jumping minute counter. And the aesthetics on the movement is amazing! Another winner for me.
The blued steel screws and jewels add to the aesthetics of the movement. The movement features a column wheel chronograph.
And the signature hand engraved balance cock. A true work of artisanship.
My only one gripe about the 1815 chrono is the small winding crown. Lange could have made it a little larger for I find it a little hard to wind - I have rather fat fingers. The chrono pushers are smooth and responsive.
My next search is for the rose gold black dial version of the 1815 chrono. And then the "set" will be one more step "complete". I have to check with the good guys at Lange as I understand that there was a yellow gold version too.
It took me awhile to understand how to tell time on the Upside Down Watch by Ludovic Ballouard. The complication is to marvel at and the finishing on the watch exquisite.
Once in awhile, you come across an unusual timepiece and I was lucky enough to be able to see the Upside Down in platinum on a previous trip to Bangkok. Pardon the poor quality of the pictures as these were taken on my smartphone.
At first glance, the watch displays the Arabic numerals upside down, hence the name of the watch. But take a closer look at the numbers…Notice that the 12 is right side up and with a dot? The rest of the numbers one to eleven are all displayed upside down. When the minute hand passes the 60 minute position, the number 12 will flip around (and display the number 12 upside down) and the number 1 will flip around displaying the numeral 1 correct side up and with the dot. The jump is instantaneous.
The movement side looks complicated but well finished. The manual winding Calibre B01 has a power reserve of 36 hours.
The buckle is hand engraved and in platinum and the strap is hand-stitched blue alligator. Comes with an alligator travel pouch too.
And then two months later, I come across the Harry Winston Opus 13 which is also developed with Ludovic Ballouard. We were shown the non-working prototype at the Harry Winston Boutique in Singapore and I had the privilege of taking some photos although it is rather difficult to capture a good shot given the "bling" centre.
Notice the outer ring has pivoting hands? 59 of them to be exact and eleven have red tips? The eleven red-tipped ones are representing of the 5 minute marker. A little more difficult to see is the Eleven O'Clock hour "hand" that has flipped forward to point at the eleven o'clock position. Every time the one minute is up, the minute hand will pivot to the "straight" position. This watch is displaying 11.03. Telling time will be difficult and I believe HW needs to make some adjustments to the final piece to make it more legible.
The movement side is easier on the eyes but no less complicated than the Upside Down.
At the hour, the pivoting minutes hands will all "dance" back to the slanted position. and the twelve o'clock will feature the "HW" logo. Cased in white gold, the watch comes with a white gold folding clasp on black alligator strap. Limited to 130 pieces.
So can we call Mr. Ballouard the new master of complications?
Ever since I handled the watch back in 2008 I was taken by the beauty of the JLC Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2. It has remained one of my dream watch to own… if I could ever afford one. And recently, I had the chance not only to handle it again but also to photograph the watch.
First of all, I love the Reverso range. So when they made the Gyrotourbillon in a Reverso case, that was it! My dream watch. Thanks to JLC for the invite to the recent Hybris Mechanica exhibition, I managed to handle this watch again.
One of the many feats of the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 is the fact that the multi-axis tourbillon actually improved the accuracy of the watch. In today's crowded tourbillon segment, many are there for aesthetic purposes and does not improve the accuracy of the watch as it was originally intended for. So it is a change when JLC developed the Gyro 2 which in effect improves the accuracy as well as looking great. The watch a sight to behold. Perfect symmetry.
The tourbillon uses a cylindrical balance spring which is found in marine chronometers and are difficult to make especially to miniaturize into a wristwatch. A close up of the tourbillon mechanism.
The back of the watch is equally mesmerizing. The back face also has a power reserve indicator - 50 hours.
This Reverso Gyro 2 is something. Enjoy another view of the watch! Good looking front and back!
A massive watch no doubt but definitely wearable. I think one can stare at the movement the whole time just being mesmerized by the tourbillon. If money were no object, this would be one watch I would acquire!
Longitudes and Latitudes? What has that got to do with the MIH watch?
La Chaux-de-Fonds is a Swiss city of the district of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel and that is where the Musée International d’Horlogerie is located. Up until now, I had no idea the exact location of where the MIH is. Then I turn the watch buckle upside down and that was when I saw the engraving on the back of the buckle!
It actually shows the latitude and longitude of the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds. 06° 49' 48" E and 47° 06' 03" N. Who would have known the exact location was engraved on the back of the buckle. Did you know that?
Here, take another look at the watch. For more information, please visit my MIH blog.
The Musée International d'Horlogerie or The International Watchmaking Museum, as one can imagine houses all things associated with horology. And to their credit, developed the MIH Watch - proceeds from the sale of the watches are then channelled to the museum to fund their activities. This is my Feature of the Month.
The watch is created jointly by the curator of the museum Ludwig Oechslin, master watchmaker Paul Gerber, industrial designer Christian Gafner and Lucerne watch specialist EMBASSY. Probably the most affordable Annual Calendar watch and possibly the most minimalist in design, the MIH watch is great for one's collection.
On top of an annual calendar, the watch also comes with a mono-pusher chronograph. But that is hardly used as the chrono display is at the back of the watch. The watch comes encased in titanium.
Originally, the watch comes with a rubber strap but I had Jason of JnS customize a black calf with red stitching to match the chrono sweeping hand tip.
A perfect match - watch and strap!
For those not in the know, the MIH looks like a normal watch. But a closer examination of the display at the 3 O'Clock position reveals a little more. You will observe the presence of the Date, Month, Day and a am/pm indicator.
The two red dots represent the am/pm - one dot indicates morning (am) and two dots indicates afternoon (pm). The base movement for the watch is the ETA-Valjoux 7750 complemented by the annual calendar module developed by Paul Gerber. Other than the month of February, the watch does not need to be adjusted for the right date regardless whether the month has 30 or 31 days.
A close up shot of the black dial. Hands and markers are luminous.
My only peeve about this watch is the sweeping chrono seconds hand. After some usage, it does not reset to 12. I know it can be easily fixed if you bring it to a watch repairman but I rather keep it the way it is - unique I guess.
For more information about the watch, please visit MIH http://www.mih-watch.ch/index.php?langId=2
This post was originally from eddie-sng.blogspot.com
The IWC Portuguese Jubilee. One of may favorite timepieces and one of my dream watches too. Glad to say I have one now.
Simple watches are probably the most difficult to make - how to make an iconic and instantaneously recognizable three handed watch? Well to mark their 125th Anniversary, IWC came up with the Portuguese Jubilee featuring the Calibre 9828 pocket watch movement. I am sure IWC did not start out to create an icon but the watch has garnered much success since.
Reference number 5441, this beauty was made in limited numbers to commemorate 125 years of IWC watchmaking. Released in 1993, one thousand were made in steel, 500 in rose gold and 250 in platinum.
The pocket watch movement is well decorated and well finished. Calibre 9828 manual winding movement beats at 18,000 vph.
The front crystal is plexiglass which gives the watch a vintage look to it but also adds height to the watch. The encased watch is relatively slim for a watch this size - 42mm. Back in the 1990s, a watch sized at 42mm was considered huge. And I believe it was not an instant hit till much later. The Jubilee is a very close replica of the original Portuguese.
This watch is a keeper for me. I actually had the luck to own one, sold it off and bought another one back within 3 months.
I saw the Lange One Mother-of-Pearl dial once at the retailer Sincere and for the longest time, would have loved to buy that for my wife - the Little Lange Version. But then again, its not cheap especially when it comes with a diamond bezel.
I was lucky to acquire the Lange one Mother-of-Pearl (MOP) for a friend of mine and was able to briefly photograph the watch.
Some say the Lange 1 MOP is rather feminine but I think the watch is versatile - good for both sexes. This example comes in a white gold case with white gold hands and markers.
The engraved MOP dial is a work of art - truly!
The way the color reflects off the MOP dial is also beautiful.
And as one would expect, the hands and markers are well finished to the highest standards.
Honestly, I can wear this any time. I don't find this too feminine at all. A well engraved MOP dial can only bring out the best in the Lange One. Check out my post on my first dream watch, the Lange One.
