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TAG Heuer Launches Gold Carrera Chronograph

TAG Heuer concludes its year-long celebration of Carrera with a classy ode to a much-coveted gold-cased Carrera Ref. 1158 CHN from 1972.

The new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph with gold case and dial.

The new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph retains the original’s 39mm 18-karat gold case and integrated lugs, adding a modern chronograph movement and pushers, all set under TAG Heuer’s new domed and ultra-curved Glassbox crystal.

Heuer Carrera Ref 1158 (left) from 1972 and the new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph.

You may recall that TAG Heuer added the Glassbox crystal design to many models in the 2023 Carrera collection earlier this year.

The new design’s curves, more acute than earlier examples from the 1970s, are amplified with an equally curved flange that enhance’s the dial’s visibility while also simplifying the ability to read the 60-second/minute scale.

TAG Heuer also maintains the original’s luxe appeal with a yellow gold-plated dial and all-new contrasting black sub-dials at the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions, recalling the original’s reverse panda configuration.

 

Inside TAG Heuer fits its excellent in-house chronograph movement TH20-00,  boasting bi-directional winding and an impressive 80-hour power reserve.

TAG Heuer attaches the watch to a black perforated calfskin leather strap and yellow gold pin buckle. 

Price; $21,500. 

Specifications: TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph (gold case)

(Ref. CBS2240.FC8319)

Movement: Chronograph caliber TH20-00, automatic with date and 80-hour power reserve.  

Dial: 18-karat 3N yellow gold-plated vertical brushed dial and flange, with 60 second / minute scale, 3 counters. 18-karat 3N yellow gold-plated facetted, polished hour and minute hands with white SuperLumiNova. Black lacquered central hand, Black TAG HEUER printed logo, 6 o’clock date.


Case: 39mm by 13.9mm 18-karat 3N solid yellow gold fine-brushed, polished case with Glassbox domed sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective treatment, solid yellow gold standard crown at 3 o’clock, fine brushed, polished solid yellow gold round push button at 2 o’clock. Fine brushed, polished solid yellow gold round push button at 4 o’clock and yellow gold screw-down sapphire caseback. Water resistance: 100 meters. 


Bracelet: Perforated black calfskin leather strap, fine brushed, polished yellow gold pin buckle, TAG Heuer shield.

Price: $21,500. 

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The Watches

Ulysse Nardin Adds Glitter to Two Nautical Dials

Ulysse Nardin adds the sparkle of aventurine to two of its nautically themed watches, adding natural glitter to a dive watch and a marine chronometer. 

The new Diver Starry Night and the Marine Torpilleur Moonphase Aventurine each now display an artisanal dial created at the watchmaker’s own extensive dial making facilities.

The new Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Moonphase Aventurine.

A limited edition of 300, the new Marine Torpilleur Moonphase Aventurine is a 42mm steel watch powered by the excellent UN-119 manufacture automatic caliber, a movement equipped with an anti-shock silicon balance spring and a DIAMonSIL escapement wheel and anchor.

On this watch, the moon phase display is especially fitting within the celestial pattern of the aventurine dial. The watch is water-resistant to fifty meters and is attached to a blue alligator strap with folding clasp. Price: $13,600. 

The Ulysse Nardin Diver Starry Night.

The new Diver Starry Night also displays an aventurine shimmer, but adds several brilliant components. Here Ulysse Nardin’s artisans superimposed two plates, one in iridescent mother-of-pearl and the other in blue aventurine glass, to compose this dial. In addition, note the row of diamonds set around the bezel and to indicate hours on the dial.

Even the hands and the 12 o’clock hour marker glow as each has been generously coated with SuperLuminova.

Inside Ulysse Nardin fits its own Caliber UN-816 that features an anchor and escapement wheel in silicon.

The polished and satin-finished 39mm steel diver’s watch is water-resistant to 300 meters and is attached to a dark blue textured rubber strap or a white alligator strap. 

Price: $14,700. 

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The Watches

Franck Muller Launches 2023 Colorado Grand Series  

As the Official Timepiece sponsor of the Colorado Grand classic car charity tour, Franck Muller annually introduces special limited edition watches to commemorate the race.

Held during September for the past thirty-four years in its namesake state, the five-day race features one-hundred vintage pre-1960 automobiles that gently compete to finish first as they traverse 1,000 miles of scenic Rocky Mountain passes and bypasses, starting and finishing in the ski mecca of Vail.

One of four new limited edition Franck Muller Colorado Grand 2023 watches.

Race organizers raise funds for numerous local causes, including the Colorado State Patrol, and generate well over $500,000 annually for small Colorado charities, including college scholarships and medical facilities in small towns.

This year Franck Muller offers four new Colorado Grand watches, each limited to thirty-four examples (to celebrate the 34th anniversary of the event).

The new watches of the Franck Muller Colorado Grand limited edition expertly utilize the classic 45mm Vanguard tonneau-shaped case and dial as a canvas, creating dials inspired by automotive art and the technical details of vintage cars.

Notable is the silver perlage that graces each dial of the four-watch set. Set with bold hand-painted numerals, these dials recall vintage car dashboards. Four models are available, each with a colorful rendering of the numerals, crown-protector and minute track just inside the bezel.

Prices: $24,500 (rose gold case with blue accents), $13,000 (steel case with black accents), $13,000 (steel case with red accents) and $13,000 (titanium case with green accents).

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The Watches

Frederique Constant Celebrates Tourbillon Anniversary with Meteorite Dial 

Frederique Constant marks both its thirty-fifth anniversary as a watchmaker and the fifteen years since its debuted its first tourbillon with the release of the Classic Tourbillon Meteorite Manufacture, a stunning limited edition 39mm watch cased in platinum.

The new Frederique Constant Classic Tourbillon Meteorite Manufacture.

The Geneva-based watchmaker stresses the individualized nature of the thirty-five piece limited edition. As its name suggests, each hand-finished watch features a meteorite dial with a “Heart Beat” cut-out at the 6 o’clock location exposing the firm’s own tourbillon.

Frederique Constant explains that two of its watchmakers spent weeks finishing each of the commemorative watches, using traditional instruments and tools.

These included a buff file for beveling, a hammer and punch for hand-punching and nine-micron sandpaper for the fine charbonnage finishing of the bridge and the base of the tourbillon cage.

To finish each bridge requires two to three days of work.

The high-end finishing extends to the unique meteorite dial cut from a meteorite sourced from Gibeon, Namibia. Again, fine hand-finishing is required to cut out a flat, smooth disc without damaging it as well as to polish it.

Artisans then protect each dial with a coat of ruthenium, enhancing its natural color while also shielding the surface from oxidation.

The finished meteorite provides a spectacular frame for the tourbillon’s escapement wheel and anchor, both of which are linked to the anchor pallet. A hand atop the tourbillon cage indicates the seconds.

On the back of the watch Frederique Constant fits a brass and tungsten oscillating weight coated with ruthenium, which delivers power to the Manufacture FC-980 tourbillon movement.

You may recall the watchmaker first developed this movement in 2008, fitting it with a silicon escapement wheel and anchor, both of which are visible thanks to the clear sapphire back. 

Price: $44,994. 

 

Specifications: Frederique Constant Classic Tourbillon Meteorite Manufacture

(Ref. FC-980MT3HPT, a limited edition of 35) 

Movement: FC-980 in-house caliber, automatic, finished with chamfering (anglage),hammering, circular graining (perlage & cerclage), flanks drawing and mirror polishing. All decorations made in-house. Silicon escapement wheel and anchor, 38-hour power reserve, 28,800 vph.

Case: Polished platinum 39mm by 10.99mm three-part case, scratch-resistant and anti-reflective convex sapphire crystal, see-through case back, water-resistant to 30 meters.

Dial: Grey meteorite, hand finished.Applied diamond cut indexes, hand-polished silver color hour and minute hands, opening at 6 o’clock with 60 seconds tourbillon, silver color seconds hand.  

Strap: Black alligator leather with matte finishing.

Price: $44,994. 

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The Watches

Porsche Design Revives Military Chronograph 

Porsche Design revives a late-1970s military flyback chronograph with the new Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition, the watchmaker’s first titanium carbide chronograph not connected to a specific Porsche sports car.

The new Porsche Design Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition.

By making the new watch using a titanium carbide case instead of a steel case like the original model, Porsche Design makes the chronograph’s case more scratch-resistant, much lighter and hypoallergenic.

But by remaking the matte black dial and using same easy-to-read font of the original, the watchmaker has created a technically updated ode to that 1979 design. 

While the dial of the historical model (which was made for the flying squadron of the U.S. Air Force) featured a tiger’s head, the new watch offers a screaming marmot image between 4 o’clock and 5 o’clock.

The “Mankei” (marmot) name on the dial also refers to the Mankeiwirt, Ferdi Porsche’s newly opened destination for car enthusiasts located near Studio F. A. Porsche in Zell am See, Austria. 

In addition to the font and technical features, the Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition also pays homage to its historical model in several other ways. 

A new “TiC” logo is placed in the characteristic position between 1 and 2 o’clock on the dial referencing the use of titanium carbide, and is a modern reinterpretation of the 3H symbol (for tritium) of the military model. Tritium is here replaced by bright blue SuperLuminova.

The watch also features the historic Porsche Design logo on the dial and winding crown. Two dots on the dial at 12 o’clock provide a clear orientation of the displays in the dark.

The new watch (right) with the original model from 1979.

There are few differences of course, most critically the new movement and the larger case size. Originally 38mm, the new watch measures 42.7mm in diameter.

The watch is powered by a COSC-certified Porsche Design WERK 01.240 chronograph caliber that retains the flyback function of the original watch.

The back of the the new Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition, showing the aviation style leather strap.

Also new: a thicker seconds hand and a larger minute hand.

Porsche Design attaches the new watch to a slate grey ‘Bund’ strap made of Porsche vehicle leather with a quick-release mechanism. As an additional option, the chronograph also comes with a white textile strap with a badge on which the coordinates of the F.A.T. Ice Race are printed.

The watch also comes with a white textile strap with a badge on which the coordinates of the F.A.T. Ice Race are printed.

Collectors can pre-order the Porsche Design Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition now for $13,000. The watch will be available in stores starting January 15, 2024.

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