Chronoswiss deftly adds a guilloché spiraling leaf pattern to one of its best sellers, creating the eye-catching Open Gear ReSec Jungle.
The new Chronoswiss Open Gear ReSec Jungle.
The 44mm watch, with the familiar Chronoswiss multi-layer regulator dial, knurled bezel and onion crown, features a separate hour hand and a prominent central minute hand. Named for its premier function (ReSec stands for Retrograde Seconds), the watch’s jumping seconds hand along the lower half of the dial operates in a half-circle, leaping from the thirty seconds position back to start its arc to complete counting each minute.
For this new limited edition of fifty pieces, Chronoswiss coats handcrafted wavy guilloche with a green chemical vapor deposition. The combination creates a color-changing effect that appears much deeper than it is.
“The wavy, moiré pattern on this timepiece is emotionally inspired by what you would see in that situation, its vivid colors changing seamlessly from racing green to silver blue and shadowy black,” says Chronoswiss owner and director Oliver Ebstein.
He explains that Chronoswiss artisans create the watch’s distinctive multi-layer effect by stacking the dial within black galvanized bridges, subdials and skeletonized gear train wheels – all framed by an internal (luminescent) marker track.
“With many patterns you can create 4–5 waves by simply changing the diameter with a switch, explains Chronoswiss designer Maik Panziera. “But with the palm leaf-inspired moiré pattern it’s a different story.”
He adds that the brass wheels that guide the movement of the machine must be changed after each wave is cut.
“But it is worth it – in the end you have such a great pattern that you cannot compare with CNC-made products. To produce guilloché by hand really excites me, because it gives every watch an individual soul,” he adds.
Chronoswiss powers its 44mm Open Gear ReSec Jungle with the automatic Chronoswiss Caliber C. 301. Price: $9,700
Patek Philippe underscores its reputation as the source for the finest minute repeaters with a new model, the Ref. 5750 Advanced Research Minute Repeater, an extra-loud chiming wristwatch that utilizes a new sound amplification system.
Patek Philippe will make fifteen 40mm platinum-cased Ref. 5750 Advanced Research Minute Repeater watches.
The Geneva watchmaker says its new watch delivers dulcet time-telling tones that can be heard up to 180 feet away from the wearer’s wrist.
Patek Philippe’s new system, dubbed ‘Fortissimo ff,” consists of a sound lever, or metallic ‘blade,’ that oscillates a sapphire crystal wafer located on the back of the watch. Patek Philippe’s Advanced Research arm has spent several years developing the Fortissimo ff and will place it into fifteen 40mm platinum-cased Ref. 5750 Advanced Research Minute Repeater watches.
The watchmaker says its new system, for which Patek Philippe registered three patents, essentially builds a novel pathway for the sound to reach the wearer’s ears. The hammers on the new model, built directly from the design of Patek Philippe’s famed caliber R 27 PS (from 1989), strike in a traditional manner on a titanium ring. Then the new ‘Fortissimo ff’ module takes over to amplify the tones.
The new design transmits the gong oscillations to the sapphire wafer, which, unlike a traditional repeater, is not connected to the case and vibrates on its own. This effectively amplifies the sound, sending it out through four openings at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock in the titanium ring. A dust filter protects the movement.
As noted, the resulting chimes can be heard up to 180 feet away from the watch, according to Patek Philippe. Traditional repeaters become difficult to hear approximately when listening thirty feet from the watch.
Platinum case and components
Since the sound waves created using the new ‘Fortissimo ff’ technology never touch the watch’s case, the case metal for the watch does not affect the sound.
However, Patek Philippe did make several metal changes to the movement design when compared to the slide-activated Ref. 5178 minute repeater, which served as the inspiration for the new Ref. 5750.
A mini-rotor in platinum replaces the original model found on the Cal. R27. With its greater material density, the platinum version delivers the same winding power but with a thinner design.
The watchmaker replaced the steel hammers found on the Ref. 5178 minute repeater with platinum hammers, which produce a softer strike. Furthermore, a mini-rotor in platinum replaces the original model’s gold rotor. With its greater material density, the platinum version delivers the same winding power but with a thinner design.
Contemporary dial
Patek Philippe tops its new watch with an openworked dial of contemporary design that differs considerably from the watchmaker’s generally classical minute repeater dials.
The watchmaker says spoked wheels of 1960s automobiles inspired the watch’s skeletonized dial. The primary dial is inset with a seconds subdial with a similar pattern. And in another break from Patek Philippe tradition, the seconds dial indicates seconds using a rotating disc rather than a traditional hand.
The watch is set with a shiny orange alligator strap with black seams and a platinum fold-over clasp. Patek Philippe will make fifteen platinum-cased Ref. 5750 “Advanced Research” minute repeaters. Price upon request.
For additional technical details and several excellent videos about the Patek Philippe Ref. 5750 Advanced Research Minute Repeater, click here.
Technical Chronology
Below we list the technical achievements of Patek Philippe Advanced Research division since its first results in 2005.
2005: Silinvar, a novel, patented material based on monocrystalline silicon. It was developed in collaboration with Rolex, the Swatch Group, and CSEM in Neuchâtel, and is suitable for applications in watchmaking. Also in 2005: First escape wheel in Silinvar. This new part improves dependability because it requires no lubricants. It also reduces the mass to be moved (better efficiency), is corrosion-resistant, and remains perfectly concentric.
2006: Spiromax balance spring in Silinvar, which optimized rate accuracy by improved isochronism thanks to concentric breathing (expansion and contraction) of the balance spring.
2008: Pulsomax escapement in Silinvar, which optimized geometry of escape wheel and lever and increased energy efficiency by 15%.
2011: Oscillomax ensemble (Pulsomax escapement with GyromaxSi balance and Spiromax balance spring) .
2017: Optimized Spiromax balance spring. Also, correctors with compliant mechanism in steel. This utilizes the elasticity of materials in microstructures and replaces articulations with pivots and leaf springs. This technical development offers numerous advantages: simplified assembly (12 parts as opposed to 37 previously), flatter design, no mechanical play, no friction, no arbor wear, which results in totally lubricant-free functionality and excellent energy efficiency.
Frederique Constant pays tribute to the Heart Beat model the Geneva-based watchmaker launched twenty-two years ago by introducing a special edition watch that reinterprets that initial design.
The new Frederique Constant Highlife Heart Beat Heritage.
The new Highlife Heart Beat Heritage, issued as a limited edition of 222 pieces, generally echoes the appearance of watches in the original 1999 collection. The new model measures 41mm in diameter and retains the Heart Beat opening at the top of the dial. This aperture revealed the inner workings of the ETA-based FC-310 automatic movement and the rotation of its ‘heart beat’ balance wheel.
You might recall that when Frederique Constant first debuted the open balance wheel, the young brand neglected to protect what was at the time a novel design. As it was never patented, numerous watch brands have copied the concept of the Heart Beat aperture.
The new blue Arabic numerals are inspired by the original oversized markers, as are the blue hour and minute hands. Underneath these vintage elements Frederique Constant here adds an engraved globe, replacing the crests of the original model.
Finally, Frederique Constant has added a new interchangeability to the integrated ostrich strap it continues to attach to the watch. A quick release system allows the wearer to change the look of according to the day or mood.
G-Shock adds a colorful new limited edition G-Steel model with the GM110RH-1A, the second watch made in collaboration with NBA star Rui Hachimura, the first Japanese player ever to be taken in the first round of the NBA draft (2019).
The new G-Shock GM110RH-1A is the second watch made in collaboration with NBA star Rui Hachimura
G-Shock started the new design by adding a polished copper bezel to its GM110 case. Then, inspired by the colors of the national flag of Benin, where Hachimura’s father was born, G-Shock added yellow, red, and green accents to the dial and band loop on one of the GM110RH-1A interchangeable bands. The yellow hour hand, red minute hand, green inset dial and Y-shaped bridge offer a particularly high level of visibility.
G-Shock includes two interchangeable rubber straps with the watch. One is a black textured band with a metal copper IP buckle. The second is inspired by a West African Kente-cloth motif. Kente are specially woven festive ritual cloths used in West Africa. Finally, G-Shock engraves Hachimura’s signature Black Samurai logo on the back plate, band loop and packaging. This combines the Japanese character for 8 and a Japanese sword.
“The watch draws inspiration from my roots in Benin and Africa, which are very important to me,” says Hachimura. “The band design and watch face evoke elements of Beninese culture and I am delighted at how Casio brought my ideas to life.”
G-Shock includes two interchangeable rubber straps with the watch.
Of course the new G-Shock GM110RH-1A comes with the full range of G-Shock’s technical attractions, notably its superior shock resistance, magnetic resistance and 200 meters of water resistance, a full auto calendar, a three-year battery, world time display and 24-hour countdown timer.
Price: $420, available at select G-Shock retailers, the G-Shock Soho Store, and gshock.com.
The new fully translucent Bell & Ross BR 01 Cyber Skull Sapphire.
The new watch might look a bit familiar as Bell & Ross earlier this year created a Cyber Skull Sapphire Only Watch 21 for the Only Watch charity auction.
That model also boasted an impressive sapphire crystal, but did so as it framed an orange-tinted skull. That watch sold at Only Watch for CHF 220,000 (about $240,000), all of which is donated to battle Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Bell & Ross calls the new BR 01 Cyber Skull Sapphire the “general public” version of that unique piece. Instead of the orange-tinted skull within its 43.5mm by 45mm full sapphire case, the faceted skull is almost as clear as the case.
The well-defined edges of the sapphire case create both reflections and refractions play with any nearby light, which will undoubtedly animate the watch on any wrist. The metallic skull and crossbones appear to float between the case’s two sapphire crystals.
Bell & Ross explains that its designers drew on several sources of inspiration when designing the new case. The include avant-garde design (note the somewhat pixelated skull), origami and, of course, the brand’s historic eye on military shapes. Bell & Ross says the “case is shaped like the fuselage of an American F117 stealth bomber.”
While that latter jet design inspiration is meant to make the Stealth bomber disappear from radar, the shape and makeup of the BR 01 Cyber Skull Sapphire create a watch that, even when worn with its clear rubber strap, is quite unlikely to avoid attention.
Inside Bell & Ross fits its BR-CAL.209 manual-wind automaton movement specifically developed for the watch. The plate and bridges are built to create skull shape, which are held by metallic and sapphire crossbones. And while many watchmakers refer to the spring balance as the ‘heart’ of their mechanical calibers, Bell & Ross calls the exposed balance on the BR 01 Cyber Skull Sapphire the ‘brains’ of its unusual caliber.
