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Briston Squares the Circle with Clubmaster 

 

By Gary Girdvainis 

It will come as no surprise to any fashionista that the retro-chic design of the Briston Clubmaster is a child of a Franco-Italian collaboration – in this case with a bit of Brit influence mixed in for good measure.

The Briston Clubmaster Sport

Crafted in cellulose acetate supplied by the sixth-generation-owned Italian manufacturer Mazzucchelli 1849, the watch has Briston making a case for a watch case in the form of a “squircle”. What’s a squircle you say? It’s actually a portmanteau of “square” and “circle” and really best describes the softened corners and flowing lines of this Briston case out of round.

Emulating the style of both luxury eyewear and fine writing instruments originally crafted in tortoise shell (a misnomer as most often sea turtle shell was used), the main body of the Briston Clubmaster case is sensually smooth and soft to the touch, hypo-allergenic, and even recyclable.

Variegated patterns evoke the tortoise-shell effect of its biological predecessor, and like natural shell, the man-made acetate versions will vary with no two cases being exactly alike. Unlike the original shell, the cellulose acetate can be brought to life in an amazing array of colors beyond the amber and cognacs of the original – including solid tone colors crafted in the same material.

In our Ice Blue Briston Clubmaster sample, the steel lugs spaced 20mm apart seamlessly emerge from the semi translucent case, while a threaded steel back and domed sapphire crystal protect the inner workings and lume-enhanced dial and hands.

Various colors are available in a 40mm x 40mm three-hand model as well as a 42mm x 42mm chronograph with day/night indicator at 3 o’clock. All are water resistant to 10atm and powered by Miyota quartz movements.

For smaller wrists there are also options in 36mm and 24mm in a variety of cool case colors and matching dials. 

Lightweight and stylish, Briston watches are an easy purchase with prices ranging from $195 to $440 at www.briston-watches.com 

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The Watches

Citizen Summons Neptune to Attesa GPS Series 

Citizen adds a gold-and-blue-hued limited-edition light-powered Satellite-Wave GPS watch to its high-end Attesa collection. The new Attesa Power of Neptune features a dial design inspired by the icy blue surface of its namesake planet Neptune, named of course for the Roman god of the sea.

The new Citizen Attesa Power of Neptune.

Boasting a dark blue sapphire glass bezel to match the dial, the watch also enhances its luxury appeal with Duratect Gold on its side and on its dial, where city names are printed in the same gold color. 

Citizen reports that the surface of the bezel is particularly clear thanks to the use of physical vapor deposition, which provides a more defined color than traditional printing techniques. You’ll also find yellow gold color accents on the indexes and hands.

Citizen extends the luxury to the bracelet and the 44.6 mm by 15.4 mm case, both of which are made using Duratect Platinum, which provides a silvery hue.  On the back Citizen underscores the limited-edition nature of the watch (which will be limited to 1,900 pieces worldwide) with an embossed case back featuring a trident symbol amid the swirling sea currents.

Citizen fits its top-of-the-line F950 movement into the watch. The F950 will receive time-only signals in as little as three seconds, after which the hour and minute hands move rapidly to display the correct time.

Price: $2,395.

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The Watches

Bulova Debuts New Frank Lloyd Wright Watch 

Bulova extends its long association with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation as the watchmaker debuts a new Limited Edition watch inspired by the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.

The newest Bulova Frank Lloyd Wright watch, inspired by the Wright-designed Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.

Bulova also launches the new watch to mark the centennial of this hotel, an architectural masterpiece designed and built by Wright from 1913-1922.

Bulova looked specifically to a geometric peacock detail found in the hotel’s mural and carpeting. The watch’s six-sided 41mm gold-tone stainless steel case references the hexagon at the center of the peacock while the colors and shapes on the printed graphic dial echo the colorful peacock design.

The watch is powered by a Miyota quartz movement, which Bulova protects with a curved mineral crystal and thirty-meters of water resistance. From the back of the watch, note the interesting glass insert specially printed with a line drawing of the Imperial Hotel façade.

Bulova individually numbers each watch and attaches the case to a blue calf leather strap with tonal stitching and a hot-stamped pattern on underside of the strap. 

Each watch will be sold inside a gift box with a story booklet and commemorative plaque. Bulova will make 1,000 Frank Lloyd Wright watches as part of the limited edition. Price: $495.

The Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation was founded in 1940 by Wright to advance his legacy of organic architecture, is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, and owns Wright’s own homes, Taliesin and Taliesin West, along with his intellectual property. 

To see additional offerings within Bulova’s Frank Lloyd Wright Collection visit the website. 

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The Watches

Luminox Expands Navy SEAL 3000 Series

Luminox expands its Original Navy SEAL 3000 EVO Series with a trio of watches sporting new shades of military-inspired colors.

One of the three new Luminox Original Navy SEAL 3000 EVO Series debuts, here with a sand-colored dial and matching rubber strap.

The series is the direct descendent of the Original Navy SEAL 3001 that has been officially licensed by the U.S. Navy since 1992.

The 43mm by 13mm Swiss quartz-powered watches, with their new sand, green or white dials and matching rubber bracelets (the white-dialed model features a black rubber strap), retain their robust, military approved specs.

These include 200-meters of water resistance, a tough Carbonox carbon-composite case, a sapphire crystal, a screw-in double security gasket crown and a unidirectional Carbonox bezel.

And as with all Luminox watches, the newest Original Navy SEAL 3000 EVO watches benefit from the watchmaker’s famed luminous dial treatment called Luminox Light Technology.

On these models Luminox places its self-powered micro gas light tubes on each of the hour markers and at the 12 o’clock position on the unidirectional turning bezel.

All the markers and hands on all three watches will glow in any light condition for up to twenty-five years. 

Price: $475.

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Bell & Ross Honors French Aerobatic Team

Bell & Ross honors Patrouille de France pilots with a new analog-digital watch that delivers optimal readability and a range of cockpit-friendly functions.

The new Bell & Ross BR 03 Type A Patrouille de France.

In addition to the time, the new BR 03 Type A Patrouille de France displays a 1/100th-of-a-second chronograph with intermediate and additional time, a countdown timer, an alarm, the date and a second time zone. 

The new watch is the third BR-03 model Bell & Ross has designed for the elite French aerobatic pilots, who fly in close formation at speeds of between 300 and 800 km/h, thrilling crowds across France.

Bell & Ross started its partnership with the team in 2008 when the Air Force requested that Bell & Ross design a BR 03 Type A instrument for fighter pilots. Last year, Bell & Ross formalized the partnership and debuted the BR-03 94 Patrouille de France. 

The latest model also utilizes the Bell & Ross 42mm square BR 03 case in steel and sports a matte blue dial and the Patrouille de France logo.

The watch’s quartz-powered caliber allows for a full thirty months of battery life. Hours and minutes are displayed with conventional hands, while the seconds and chronograph times are displayed on a digital screen. The window at the top of the dial shows the chosen function and the window at the bottom of the dial digitally displays the measurement. The pilot chooses the function by pressing the crown.

Bell & Ross will make 100 BR 03 Type A Patrouille de France watches and will give one watch to each pilot in the unit.

Price: $4,400. 

Specifications: Bell & Ross BR 03 Type A Patrouille de France

Movement: BR-CAL.103, a multi-function quartz instrument watch with analogue-digital display.

Functions: Permanent analog display: Hours Minutes. Digital display activation/deactivation: 1/100 chronograph and lap times, countdown, second time zone, alarm, perpetual calendar. Choice of languages FR, EN, ES, DE. 

Case: 42mm by 11.25mm satin-polished steel. Bi-directional rotating steel bezel with 60 graduations. Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, 100-meters of water resistance.

Dial: Matte blue paint, Patrouille de France logo at 9 o’clock. White transfer numerals and indexes with white SuperLuminova coating. 

Strap: Blue rubber with Patrouille de France engraved logo at 12 o’clock and ultra-resilient black synthetic fabric. Satin-polished steel pin buckle. 

Price: $4,400. 

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