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Philipp Plein’s Hexagonal Luxury

A year after Philipp Plein launched its first luxury watches, the Lugano-based  edgy fashion and design house adds the Crypto King Hexagon and the Crypto King Flying Tourbillon to its collection of bold, tonneau-shaped timekeepers.

The Philipp Plein Flying Tourbillon Dragon Fire
The Philipp Plein Flying Tourbillon Dare Devil XII

While Philipp Plein’s debut entries into the luxury watch market turned the the brand’s signature skull into a three-dimensional dial on last year’s Crypto King, the new models play with the brand’s double P logo, which dominates the skeletonized dial of the Crypto King Hexagon and serves as the 12 o’clock marker on the four new Crypto King Flying Tourbillon watches.

The Philipp Plein Flying Tourbillon Ninja Panda.

The tourbillon models, imaginatively named Dare Devil XII, Ninja Panda, Dragon Fire and Night Wolf, each sport distinctive colors and intricate patterns on a 55mm by 46mm forged carbon case.

The Philipp Plein Flying Tourbillon Night Wolf.

Each retains the namesake hexagonal pattern throughout the watch, with the six-sided shape visible throughout the case and as the head pattern of the ten steel or gold screws around the dial. The same hexagon pattern infuses the collection’s transparent PU and colorful silicone straps.

The brightest color combination is found on the Dare Devil XII watch, which features white stripes across a bright red carbon case. A black and orange pairing dominates the Dragon Fire while the black and white Ninja Panda offers a more classical color combination.

For the fourth entry, the Night Wolf (above), Philipp Plein enhanced the watch’s luxury quotation with a set of 18-karat rose gold screws, gold markers, hands and logo and a gilded crown. 

The skeleton ‘dial’ is essentially a look into and through the flying tourbillon movement with its blackened, hexagonal-shaped bridges and multiple spline screws portraying a very contemporary movement design.

Each watch also portrays Philipp Plein’s distinctive brand personality on the back, where you’ll see the designer’s smiley face and skull images, along with the watchmaker’s signature initials. 

Produced in limited edition, each Crypto King Flying Tourbillon is powered by a highly customized PWL100LPP flying tourbillon movement made for Philipp Plein by Swiss movement maker Landeron. 

Crypto King Hexagon

Less complex than the flying tourbillon models, the series of colorful Crypto King Hexagon debuts still offers bright hues and a full slate of Philipp Plein icons, including its signature hexagonal motif.

The Philipp Plein Red Phantom Crypto King Hexagon.

Framing the PP logo at the center of the skeletonized dial, the hexagon shape dominates the case sides, bezel, strap and back. The case side and case back are particularly open, each showcasing a partial view of the Swiss-made Landeron automatic movement.

The Philipp Plein Crypto King Hexagon measure just a bit smaller in width than the flying tourbillon model, measuring 45mm across compared to the 46mm flying tourbillon width.

The coloring here is also somewhat subdued when compared to its larger sibling, with solid case colors (black, clear and a terrific transparent red color) rather than a striped pattern. 

Prices on request.  

 

Specifications: Philipp Plein Crypto King Flying Tourbillon

Case: Forged Carbon 55mm x 46 mm with hexagonal pattern, see-through caseback. Double dome sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. Water resistance: 30 meters.

Movement: Landeron PWL100LPP manual-winding flying tourbillon coaxial with hours and minutes, 18 jewels, frequency: 28,800 vph, lift angle: 52 degrees, power reserve is 42 hours.

Dial: Open-worked, three-dimensional. 

Strap: Transparent PU or silicone strap.

 

Specifications: Philipp Plein Crypto King Hexagon 

Case: 55mm x 45 mm with transparent effect and hexagonal pattern. Crystal is  double dome sapphire with anti-reflective coating, see-through caseback. Water resistant to 50 meters. 

Movement: Landeron 24 skeletonized automatic.

Dial: Double-layer see-through with Hexagon PP logo.

Strap: Transparent PU or black silicone strap.

 

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Casio

G-Shock Enhances MT-G with Carbon Fiber

G-Shock just made its already hyper-secure steel-cased MT-G series even more resistant to sudden shocks.

With its new G-SHOCK MTGB2000 Casio reinforces the collection’s metal core with a one-piece carbon fiber frame on two new MT-G watches. The new technical pairing takes full advantage of carbon fiber’s light weight as well as its rigid nature.

The new G-Shock MTGB20000D-1A

G-Shock calls this melding of materials a “Dual Core Guard.” Yet, despite the addition of the carbon fiber ring, these new MT-G debuts retain the metal-case appearance that drew G-Shock fans to the premium-priced, mid-sized collection if the first place.

G-shock is debuting the new design with two models initially. One, the G-Shock MTGB2000D-1A, features a black bezel and dial with a composite bracelet made of resin and metal (which is about 15% lighter than previous metal bracelets).

The second watch, the G-Shock MTGB2000B-1A2 features a black dial with blue accents and a blue bezel. This model arrives on a soft urethane strap.

G-Shock has also enhanced the new models’ electronic components. Both watches now utilize the same three dual-coil motors we’ve seen on other G-Shock models. When activated by radio-wave time-calibration signals via the G-Shock app, the hands will reset almost instantly.

Other features include G-Shock’s own Triple G Resist anti-shock platform (shock resistance, vibration resistance and centrifugal force resistance) and the watch will automatically adjust to the local time when crossing time zones. True to MT-G, the new watches retain complete calendar, world time, alarm and stopwatch functions.

For a full list of features, and to learn more about the new Dual Core Guard enhancements in these latest MT-G models, click here.

The G-Shock MTGB2000B-1A2 ($950) and the G-Shock MTGB2000D-1A ($1,000) will be available in November at G-SHOCK retailers, the G-SHOCK Soho Store and gshock.com.

 

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Watch Of The Day

Franck Muller Accelerates Openworked Debuts

With multiple debuts during the past year, Franck Muller has shifted its skills at fashioning dynamic openwork movements into overdrive.

The Franck Muller Vanguard Revolution 3 Skeleton

Most recently, the independent Geneva-based watchmaker debuted a stunning Vanguard Revolution 3 Skeleton triple-axis tourbillon, the first time we’ve seen this mesmerizing movement inside the best-selling tonneau-shaped Vanguard case. (We’ll have details on this ultra-complicated watch in an upcoming post).

The Franck Muller Vanguard Skeleton-Swiss Limited Edition

In early July, Franck Muller debuted the red and white Vanguard Skeleton Swiss Limited Edition, dedicated to the brand’s home country.

Racing Skeleton

This spring in a more broad-based debut Franck Muller updated its Vanguard Racing Skeleton with a lighter, more open-worked movement and more intense use of titanium, carbon fiber and aluminum.

The new Franck Muller Vanguard Racing Skeleton, here with a carbon fiber case.

With a new, heavily skeletonized movement, you’ll see more hints of a racecar engine within the movement’s structure.

Perhaps the most noticeable nod to automotive timing is the seconds indicator. Here, you read seconds starting from the lower portion of the dial (at 6 o’clock) instead of the top. This echoes most automobile rev counters. With two red tips, the hand also shows the wearer an ongoing seconds display from both ends of the hand.

Furthermore, the white hand with red tip and the bicolor second indications track reinforce the idea of a rev counter. Even without a gas pedal, the owner might possibly want to push the hand into the red zone. Of course, as this is not a chronograph, any ‘racing’ will not technically include a timing element. The watch displays only hours, minutes, seconds and date.

Ultra-visible

To further accentuate the skeleton design, the date numbers have been fully skeletonized. The central seconds counter, thanks to a smoked sapphire glass, provides a full display while allowing complete movement visibility.

For a closer fit, Franck Muller has subtly integrated the strap into the case with the help of two unseen screws instead of the regular spring-bar technique.

And finally, the rubber inside the strap shapes more easily to the wrist, while the Alcantara suede layer recalls a sports car cockpit.

Franck Muller makes the Vanguard Racing Skeleton line in 44mm by 53.7mm rose gold, stainless steel, titanium and carbon case options. Prices upon request.

 

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