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The Watches

Oris Fires Up a 3D-Printed Case for Limited Edition

Oris teams with Canadian aerial firefighters Coulson Aviation to create the Coulson Limited Edition, a Big Crown ProPilot watch with an unusual 3D-printed carbon fiber case and a fiery gradient orange dial.

The Oris Coulson Limited Edition, a Big Crown ProPilot watch with an unusual 3D-printed carbon fiber case.

Oris created the 41mm case with the assistance of Switzerland’s ETH Zurich university (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). Researchers there utilized a high-grade polymer PEKK developed for the aerospace industry. Technicians weave the material with carbon fiber to create a rigid, ultra-lightweight material.

According the Oris, the process is so precise that you can create a pattern on the case. Most carbon fiber watch cases develop random patterns.  

Oris then finishes the watch with a grey-PVD-plated titanium fixed bezel, screw-down crown and case back and a black textile strap. The watch and the movement together weigh a wispy 65 grams.

The fiery dial is meant to recall the work of Coulson’s firefighting pilots, who rush toward blazes while others turn away. Inside Oris fit its excellent and equally innovative COSC-rated Caliber 400, an anti-magnetic movement with a five-day power reserve.

In conduction with the release of the Coulson Limited Edition, Oris is promoting a documentary called “Birds of the Fireline.” Oris produced the fourteen-minute short-form documentary in-house.

Coulson Aviation in action.

Coulson Aviation is a Canadian-based family-run independent company that sends pilots, planes and equipment to areas of the world affected by wildfires.

Oris will make 1,000 Coulson Limited Edition watches. Each is price at $4,500.

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The Watches

TAG Heuer Launches Retro Gold Carrera

TAG Heuer launches a special edition, gold-cased Carrera chronograph with a debut dial design that echoes the famed Heuer reference 1158 CHN. Collectors might also spy a two-tone color palette of the John Player Special livery from Formula 1 in the 1970s and 1980s.

The new 18-karat gold TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph.

The new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph sports a 42mm yellow gold case with matching gold pushers and crown. Its impressive black sunray brushed dial plays nicely with prominent gilded dial elements. The most spectacular of these elements are the two gilded gold chronograph sub-dials at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock. TAG Heuer also plates the hands and indexes with matching yellow gold to heighten the retro luxury factor of the entire piece.

Through the clear sapphire back TAG Heuer makes visible its own Calibre Heuer 02, which is decorated with a customized black oscillating mass. With a vertical clutch and column wheel, the movement provides a power reserve of an impressive eighty hours. Finally, TAG Heuer matches the gold watch with a black alligator strap with a gold pin buckle. 

Price: $21,500.

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American Brands

RGM Commemorates Yellowstone Anniversary with Enamel Dial

Mt. Joy, Pennsylvania-based independent watchmaker RGM commemorates the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone National Park by launching a new watch with a hand-made cloisonné enamel dial that depicts a scene from the park.

The new RGM Yellowstone Model 25.

The new RGM Yellowstone Model 25 is an automatic model from the watchmaker’s Model 25 series that RGM builds using American-made 40mm steel cases with distinctive ribbed sides, a contoured bezel and curved lugs.

Its large dial opening depicts a mountain view fronted by a buffalo, an image inspired by a Work Projects Administration (WPA) poster from the 1940s.

The WPA posters, now in the Library of Congress, were designed to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia.

RGM explains that cloisonné (‘to partition’ in French) is an enameling technique in which the outline of the design is formed by first adding compartments to the dial using wire. The wires remain visible in the finished piece. The artisan then adds the ‘cloisonné’, which is made with enamel powder made into a paste and kiln-fired.

The RGM Yellowstone Model 25 is a three-piece limited edition and the fourth watch RGM has released in celebration of its own thirtieth anniversary in 2022. Price: $13,900. 

Specifications: RGM Yellowstone Model 25 

Movement: Swiss-made automatic RGM-modified Caliber 1120 with RGM-made solid gold winding rotor, 28,800 vph, rhodium finish, Cote de Geneve and perlage finishes. Power Reserve of 42 hours.

Case: 40mm by 10.4mm American-made 316L stainless steel, sapphire crystal front and back, water-resistant to 50 meters, steel crown with Keystone insignia. 

Dial: Cloisonné center with Breguet line guilloche on chapter ring. Rhodium hands are matte-finished. 

Strap: Light brown alligator leather. 

Price: $13,900.

 

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The Watches

Zenith Teams With Fusalp for Ceramic Defy Classic

Zenith and French ski-wear maker Fusalp have teamed to create a pair of 41mm ceramic-cased Defy skeleton watches. Each model pairs Zenith’s signature star and Fusalp’s French tricolor hues on an inventive skeleton dial.

The Zenith Defy Classic Fusalp Black Ceramic.

One model, the Zenith Defy Classic Fusalp White Ceramic ($11,000) will be offered as a limited edition of 100 pieces, while the Zenith Defy Classic Fusalp Black Ceramic ($10,000) will be made as a limited edition of 300.

For its part, Fusalp will launch a matching skiwear collection, complete with a black and white theme, the French tricolor and the snowflake motif.

Zenith devised the new open-work dial for the collaborative series. In addition to the Zenith star and tricolor frame around the dial, the new watch’s cleverly drafted dial deftly exposes Zenith’s high-frequency Elite automatic movement, which powers each watch.

The Le Locle watchmaker also created a custom rubber strap for the special editions. The unusual rubber material in the strap features a fabric-like structure with a raised motif of concentric rectangles. The idea, according to Zenith, is to complement the skeleton dial with a similar graphic element.

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The Watches

Chronoswiss Roars With a Tiger-Themed ReSec

With the new Open Gear ReSec Tiger, Lucerne-based Chronoswiss continues its impressive roll-out of inventive dial treatments within its regulator-layout Open Gear ReSec collection.

The new Chronoswiss Open Gear ReSec Tiger.

For the latest example, Chronoswiss artisans create the illusion of a tiger fur pattern in guilloché using a rose engine turning machine from 1924. Paired with a blackened three-dimensional regulator components, the unique, deep-cut dial almost roars with its dramatic orange and black hue.

The dial, which is actually part of the automatic Chronoswiss C.301 movement, highlights the regulator’s large central minute hand that crosses atop the prominent hour display at 12 o’clock.

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. The leaping hand echoes ‘the ‘danger of the solitary hunter’, as Chronoswiss vividly explains.

The 44mm Open Gear ReSec Tiger, with the familiar Chronoswiss knurled bezel and onion crown, is a limited edition of fifty.

Price: $11,000. 

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