mechanical watches

The Watches May 15, 2020

TAG Heuer Launches Monaco Grand Prix Edition

Even though the Monaco Grand Prix, originally scheduled for last weekend, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TAG Heuer is still presenting a special-edition timepiece in tribute to the event and to the Monaco collection.

The new TAG Heuer Monaco Grand Prix de Monaco Historique Limited Edition features the race’s red-and-white color, but now includes a small silver classic car logo at the 1 o’clock position in honor of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique race.

Additional race-imagery can be found on the caseback where TAG Heuer has printed the race’s logo on the inside of the transparent sapphire glass.

Inside, and visible through that caseback, TAG Heuer fits its in-house Caliber Heuer 02 chronograph movement, featuring a column wheel and a vertical clutch. The movement also offers an unusually long 80-hour power reserve. The new watch is to be made in a limited edition of 1,000, each of which is engraved with its unique number and the words “One of 1000”.

As is often the case with its limited editions, TAG Heuer is placing the new watch in its a themed package, which in this case is a red watch box decorated with a checkered racing flag. The new watch is available for pre-orders via www.tagheuer.com and in select TAG Heuer boutiques before its launch on July 27, 2020.

A scene from an earlier running of the Monaco Grand Prix Historiques, which was canceled this year due to COVID-19 concerns.

TAG Heuer is the Official Sponsor and Timekeeper of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique as well as the Official Watch of the Monaco Grand Prix and the Official Watch Partner of the Monaco Top Cars Collection museum.

Price: CHF 6,700 (or approximately $6,885)

Specifications: TAG Heuer Monaco Grand Prix de Monaco Historique Limited Edition

(Reference CBL2114.FC6486, limited to 1,000 watches)

MOVEMENT: TAG Heuer Automatic Caliber Heuer 02 Manufacture automatic chronograph, 33 jewels, balance oscillating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), 80-hour power reserve

FUNCTIONS: Chronograph with minutes and hours, permanent second indicator; date, hours, minutes; central chronograph seconds hand.

CASE: 39mm fine-brushed and polished steel, fixed bezel, sapphire crystal with Grand Prix de Monaco Historique logo printing on the back, polished stainless-steel crown at 3 o’clock and push buttons at 2 and 4 o’clock, water-resistant to 100 meters, stainless-steel case back with limited-edition number engraving.

DIAL: Rhodium-plated red sunray brushed dial, rhodium-plated indexes and hour and minute hands with white SuperLuminova, red lacquered central hand, Grand Prix de Monaco Historique logo at 1 o’clock on the dial.

STRAP: Black calfskin leather strap, folding clasp in polished stainless steel

Watch Of The Day May 7, 2020

Bell & Ross in Black & Green

The green-tinted sapphire crystal display on the upper level of the new Bell & Ross BR03-92 HUD offers the illusion of a digital Head Up Display, or HUD. Bell & Ross echoes HUD, a technical navigation display that was born in the 1950s and is today found in civil and automotive displays, on the new limited edition 42mm matte-black ceramic watch.

This newest release in the Bell & Ross Flight Instrument family follows previous models that include the BR 01 Radar (from 2010) the BR 01 Turn Coordinator, the BR 01 Heading Indicator and last year’s BR03-92 Bi-Compass.

For those not versed in navigation-speak, the HUD display’s primary function in a cockpit is to keep the pilot focused on the target ahead without having to move his or her eyes off the line of sight. Bell & Ross mimics the HUD display by assembling three layers: the hands, the dial surface and the reverse side of the crystal.

On the reverse side of the crystal, Bell & Ross prints four brackets that immediately recall the four corners of the HUD line of sight display. On the middle level, note that the black and green hands (minutes and seconds) are essentially hidden, with their visibility determined by their luminosity. And finally, the independent central hour disc is blackened with the hours indicated by a green triangle marker.

Bell & Ross adds that the overall graphic style and the green coloring of the BR03-92 HUD also closely echo the typical HUD display. The sapphire crystal is green thanks to a special tint applied to the under side of the crystal.

Bell & Ross is supplying the new BR03-92 HUD with a black rubber strap and a black synthetic fabric strap. Price: $3,990. Available in June.

Specifications: Bell & Ross BR0392-HUD-CE/SRB

A 999-piece limited edition

Movement: Automatic mechanical Caliber BR-CAL. 302

Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds and date.

Case: 42mm matte black ceramic, water resistant to 100 meters.

Dial: Black with central hour disc, numerals, indices and hands painted with Super-LumiNova

Crystal: Green sapphire with anti-reflective coating.   Four right angles painted with green SuperLumiNova.

Straps: Black rubber and ultra-resilient black synthetic fabric. With pin buckle of black PVD-coated steel.

Watch Of The Day May 4, 2020

Zenith Revives a Shadow

Zenith unveils the Chronomaster Revival Shadow, another winning retro model designed as a result of Zenith’s deep dive into its own El Primero history.

The newest watch updates the look and feel of a black-cased El Primero watch Zenith made as a prototype in the early 1970s. Dubbed the Shadow, the update utilizes an original A384 case shape and 37mm size, the same case Zenith revisited for last year’s Chronomaster Revival El Primero A384.

Zenith has re-created the stealthy look using micro-blasted titanium rather than the darkened steel Zenith discovered on the early “Shadow” model.

Not surprisingly, unlike the prototype from 1970 powered by a manual-winding chronograph movement, the Chronomaster Revival Shadow features Zenith’s date-free El Primero (4061), visible through the display back.

As Zenith explains “only a handful of this spectral prototype was made, but the model was never officially produced or commercialized. Many watchmakers and longtime employees of Zenith had heard of and even seen one of the rare prototypes, even though official records about this piece are extremely scarce.”

The Le Locle-based watchmaker spent much of 2019 documenting its El Primero history as it celebrated the pioneering, high-beat chronograph movement’s fiftieth anniversary by issuing a series of celebratory watches, many of which were made to echo the case and dial designs of early Zenith watches fitted with the El Primero movements.

The new Zenith Chronomaster Revival Shadow pairs grey subdials with a matching tachymeter scale, and both contrast nicely with matte black dial. Perhaps to emphasize its stealthy name, the watch’s hands and applied markers are filled with white SuperLuminova that emits a green glow. The watch’s strap is textured black rubber with white stitching. Price: $8,200

Specifications: Zenith Chronomaster Revival ‘Shadow”

Reference: 97.T384.4061/21.C822

Movement: El Primero 4061 Automatic with column-wheel chronograph, 36,000 VpH frequency with 50-hour power reserve, visible from clear caseback.

Functions: Hours and minutes in the center, small seconds at nine o’clock. Chronograph: central chronograph hand, 12-hour counter at six o’clock, 30-minute counter at three o’clock. Tachymetric scale.

Case: 37-mm micro-blasted titanium using original A384 case shape, water resistant to 50 meters

Dial: Black dial with grey counters and tachymeter scale, hand and markers rhodium-plated, faceted and coated with SuperLumiNovaSLN C1

Bracelet & Buckle: Black “cordura effect” strap and white stitching. Microblasted titanium pin buckle.

Hermès Reaches Beyond the Moon

Reprising the ethereal Arceau de la Lune moon phase watch that was for many a highlight of the 2019 SIHH, Hermès during this past week’s virtual Watches & Wonders 2020 unveiled five new models in the collection.

Hermès Arceau L’heure de la lune with Blue Pearl stone dial.

If you recall, Hermès in 2019 presented the 43mm gold-cased Arceau de la Lune as an alternative to the classic moonphase watch. Instead of a single moon display showing monthly moonphases in the northern hemisphere, the Hermès Arceau de la Lune offers a simultaneous display of moon phases in both northern and southern hemispheres. Two discs, one indicating the date and one showing the hour and minute, rotate around the dial.

Hermès Arceau L’heure de la lune with Lapis lazuli dial.

As they do, their position above two mother-of-pearl moon discs syncs exactly with the moon’s phase at the time and date indicated.

Hermès Arceau L’heure de la lune with black Sahara meteorite dial.

In an interesting – and appropriately quirky – Hermès touch, the southern hemisphere’s moon is displayed at the top of the dial while the moon as seen in the northern hemisphere rests at the 6 o’clock position.

Hermès Arceau L’heure de la lune with Lunar meteorite dial.

Jean-Francois Mojon (who has worked with MB&F and Harry Winston, among others) devised the dial’s 59-day lunar dance for Hermès by developing a patent-pending module linked to the Hermès H1837 automatic caliber.

While the first two Arceau de la Lune models in 2019 had the time and date counters floating over an aventurine or a meteorite dial, the new releases extend the celestial exploration. Among the five new models Hermès includes a platinum-cased limited edition (of two) with a green-tinged Martian meteorite dial and two new meteorite models. In addition, Hermès debuts two stunning stone dials, made from Lapis Lazuli and from Blue Pearl stone.

Also found on the dial, within the moon at 12 o’clock, is an image of Pegasus, which links the equestrian origins of Hermès even more tightly to the Arceau de la Lune collection. The second moon at 6 o’clock is a more realistic depiction of the lunar surface.

On the Southern moon on each version you’ll find a Pegasus transfer by Dimitri Rybaltchenko .

As you’d expect from Hermès, each watch is matched to he appropriate color matte alligator strap in black, Havana or Veronese green, depending on the Arceau de la Lune versions. Prices begin at $33,200 for these models and rise to $54,100. The price of the platinum-cased model with the Martian dial is available on request. Details are below.

Slim d’Hermès

Hermès is also expanding its Slim d’Hermès collection in 2020 with a new Slim d’Hermès GMT, which artfully combines its ultra-thin Manufacture Hermès H1950 movement with a thin GMT module exclusively developed by Agenhor for Hermès. We’ll present more details about this 39.5mm rose gold model in future posts.

Specifications: Hermès Arceau L’heure de la Lune (five models)

CASE: 43mm white gold, rose gold (lapis lazuli) or platinum (green Martian dial), 17 mm width between lugs , sapphire crystal and caseback with anti-glare treatment, water-resistant to 30 meters

DIALS: Black Sahara meteorite with crystal-effect silver lacquered mobile counters (36-piece limited edition, $54,100)

–Lunar meteorite dial  w/crystal-effect gradient brown-lacquered mobile counters (36-piece limited edition ($43,000)

–Blue Pearl stone dial w/crystal-effect gradient grey-lacquered mobile counters (white gold case, $33,200)

–Lapis Lazuli stone dial with white lacquered mobile counters (rose gold case, $33,200)

–Martian meteorite (platinum case, two-piece limited edition, price upon request)

Moons in white natural mother-of-pearl . Southern moon: Pegasus transfer inspired by the Pleine Lune motif designed by Dimitri Rybaltchenko  Northern moon: lunar surface transfer  blued hands

MOVEMENT: Hermès Manufacture H1837 movement mechanical self-winding, 193 components, 28 jewels

Frequency: 28,800 vph (4Hz)  Circular-grained and snailed baseplate, satin-brushed bridges and oscillating weight, signature “H” pattern

MODULE: Exclusive “L’heure de la lune” module. Diameter: 38 mm, thickness: 4.2 mm 117 components, 14 jewels, polished and bead-blasted bridges

FUNCTIONS: Hours, minutes, date, double moon phase (display of moon phases seen from the northern and southern hemispheres)

STRAPS: Matching alligator with gold or platinum folding clasp

A. Lange & Söhne April 30, 2020

A. Lange & Söhne Presents Gold Odysseus and Zeitwerk

At this year’s virtual Watches & Wonders, A. Lange & Söhne debuted two watches with white gold cases. For each watch, the debuts represent their premier in the precious metal.

One, the Odysseus, was available strictly in its debut metal and is the first steel-cased sports watch for this Glashutte-based luxury watchmaker. The other is the ultra-complex Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, the world’s only watch that combines a mechanical jumping numerals display with a decimal minute repeater, which was previously only sold with a platinum case.

Odysseus

The Odysseus is now available in white gold 40.5mm case (the same diameter as the steel debut) and offered with an all-new integrated rubber strap or leather strap. The sporty-elegant timepiece with the large date and day display features a grey, newly textured dial (instead of the blue dial used for the steel model) within a highly sculptured case. And while the case metal and dial finishing are new, the Odysseus continues to be powered by the L155.1 Datomatic, an automatic movement that boasts fifty hours of power reserve.

Along with the precious metal case, the new strap options present A. Lange & Söhne fans two more options novel for this watchmaker. The rubber bracelet or brown leather strap on this first-ever sporty A. Lange & Söhne watch are both new, and both appear highly integrated with the case. They offer the wearer a lightweight conveyance for the somewhat heavier precious case.

A. Lange & Söhne has a placed luminous white-gold hands  and notched baton appliques on the dial, as we saw on the steel model. Alongside the large date and luminous hour markers, these carefully considered design elements ensure that the time and date are both exceedingly legible as viewed against the darker  Odysseus dial. A red 60 on the silvered flange ring is a nice accent. Specially sealed, tapered buttons for correcting the date and the day of week are arranged at 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock. As you’d expect from this top-tier luxury watchmaker, case and lug finish is superb, with newly brushed and polished surfaces enhancing the dial’s textured appearance.

Those familiar with this high-end maker know that the caliber’s name, Datomatic, stands for the combination of a date mechanism and automatic winding.

From the back of the watch you’ll see the Datomatic’s skeletonized and partially blackened rotor, set with a platinum mass to better assure dependable winding.

Also visible: the German silver plate decorated with Glashütte ribbing, the wave pattern engraved on the balance bridge and the screwed gold chaton above the escape wheel. Price: $40,600.

The Zeitwerk Minute Repeater

When debuted by A. Lange & Söhne in 2015, the platinum-cased Zeitwerk Minute Repeater was the world’s only watch to combine a mechanical jumping numerals display with a decimal minute repeater. In 2020, that still holds true, but now the watch is offered with a white gold case. Five years after the watch’s debut, it now comes in a limited edition of thirty pieces cased in 44.2mm x 14.1mm white gold with a deep-blue dial.

Among its many impressive attributes, the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater features a pusher mechanism rather than a slide for triggering the repeater.

A. Lange & Söhne designed the caliber to deliver its striking power directly from the mainspring barrel, which means there is no need for a slide to wind a separate spring. And since a pusher, unlike a slide, can be sealed, the watch is water-resistant up to 30 meters.

To read much more about the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, click here. Price: 449,000 Euros. In the U.S., final price upon request.

TAG Heuer Launches Monaco Grand Prix Edition

Bell & Ross in Black & Green

Zenith Revives a Shadow

Hermès Reaches Beyond the Moon

A. Lange & Söhne Presents Gold Odysseus and Zeitwerk

AIKON AUTOMATIC DATE 42MM- Maurice Lacroix

interchangable DEFY Extreme Diver straps- Zenith

Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture- Frederique Constant