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Teak Tock 

Swiss watchmaker Cvstos has been making avant-garde mechanical watches for eighteen years at workshops in the center of Geneva, with production facilities just outside the city. 

Specializing in bold, tonneau-shaped watches, Cvstos reports that it concentrates primarily on creating an “ultra-contemporary, yet sporty dimension to the most sophisticated complications.”

The Cvstos Challenge Sealiner PS.

Among the latest set of Cvstos debuts, the Challenge Sealiner PS certainly embodies all those descriptions. At 41mm by 54mm, the watch’s impressive sapphire case is endowed with a non-reflective coating on both sides and is affixed with specialized Cvstos polished titanium screws.

And while the sapphire case allows a clear view of the movement from the back, it’s the teak dial that really sets the watch apart from other nautically themed models.

Just below the stylized luminous hands (including a very cool propeller-shaped small-seconds hand) lies a teak-wood plate, echoing the woodwork found on many an ocean-cruising yacht.

Additional Challenge models include examples with colorful sapphires set in titanium framing the teak plate.

Cvstos will make twenty-five examples of the Challenge Sealiner PS with orange or turquoise dial and crown accents and matching rubber strap.  Price: $49,500. 

Specifications: Cvstos Challenge Sealiner PS

 (A limited edition of 25 in each of two colors) 

Case: Tonneau-shaped 53.7 x 41 mm sapphire crystal with non-reflective coating on both sides.

Caseback is open with sapphire crystal. Crown is screw-down with polished titanium Grade 5 or 5N rose gold rubber insert. Polished titanium (grade 5) screws in exclusive pattern.

Dial: Teak wood plate, rhodium-plated or golden decorative applique polished with Côte de Genève finish. Colorful sapphire indexes and Super-Luminova treated hands.

Movement: Skeletonized Cvstos CVS410, self-winding mechanical with 42-hour power reserve. 

Bracelet/Strap: Rubber, alligator leather or Alcantara with folding clasp.

Price: $49,500. 

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The Watches

Bell & Ross Adds Smaller BR 03 Models

Bell & Ross introduces a new size to its BR 03 ‘circle-within-a square’ series, adding six models with a 41mm square case size.

Among the debuts is this model with an attractive copper dial, achieved through a galvanization process and enhanced by engraved black numerals and indexes.

Smaller by 1mm, watches in the new series also include a slimmer strap, narrower lug distance (from 4.5mm to 4.0mm) and a new automatic movement, BR-CAL.302, a Sellita-based caliber with an extended power reserve of fifty-four hours. All remain water resistant to 100 meters.

For the first time Bell & Ross combines a matte black ceramic case with a khaki dial on this new BR 03 Military Ceramic.

“With the new BR03, we modified the proportions of the collection by respecting its canons,” explains Bruno Belamich, Bell & Ross’ co-founder and Creative Director. “Our goal was to preserve the identity that has made the BR03 so successful, while adapting it to the new times and maintaining its allure.”

Look for three new models in a black case: Black Matte, Phantom and Heritage, as well as three new versions in polished steel – Black Steel, Blue Steel and Golden Heritage.

The latter feature truly retro black, blue and brown dials. Among the debuts is a models sporting a distinctive new copper dial model and another in a sharp-looking khaki-colored ceramic case.

Prices: $3,600 to $4,300.

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Featured Events

Only Watch 2023: MB&F and H. Moser 

We continue to highlight a few of our favorite watches from among the more than sixty watchmakers that have created timepieces for the Only Watch charity auction, which commences Sunday, November 5, in Geneva. Christie’s will auction these incredible one-of-a-kind watches to raise funds that benefit research in the battle against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

While you may have seen a few of the watches set for auction earlier this year when Only Watch announced them, we thought you’d enjoy seeing many of these impressive designs again just ahead of the event.

The watches are currently touring the globe. After concluding their U.S. visit at Christie’s in New York on September 17, the tour will visit Monaco next, followed by stops in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai and back in Geneva. See the Only Watch website for tour dates and details.

The H. Moser X MB&F Streamliner Pandamonium.

Here we highlight the H. Moser X MB&F Streamliner Pandamonium, the Only Watch entry for both MB&F and H. Moser. 

This unusual creation, named to emphasize the ‘panda,’ combines elements we’ve seen in earlier designs from both of these pioneering independent watchmakers. On top of the dial you’ll see a miniature white gold panda, which is already a signature of the Only Watch creations by MB&F.

Here the Panda is the DJ for the minute repeater visible on the fumé dial.

As MB&F founder Max Büsser explains, “Our original panda was created as an allegory for Only Watch 2011, and returned in 2021, before now making its third appearance in 2023. This time, it is an invitation to immerse yourself in the world of music and lose all touch with reality for just a few beats”.

The watch’s dial showcases the large suspended balance wheel characteristic of other MB&F watches, while the stunning aquamarine dial echoes the minimalism found throughout the H. Moser collection. 

The dial’s ‘turntables’ are fitted on the axis of the hammers and are driven by the rotation of the mechanism as it operates. The 5.35mm tall miniature took hours to create and build. The unusual balance wheel required its maker to first bend the gongs in two places to allow them to pass over the balance wheel bridge. Occupying three dimensions, the shaped gongs feature a flat coil and an upper coil, positioned one on top of the other.

Furthermore, H. Moser built the minute repeater’s sliding bolt on a Teflon runner to ensure it slides perfectly smoothly. It’s built into the main plate to save space. The case middle has been completely hollowed out in order to accommodate the movement while allowing enough space to create a soundbox. 

Estimate: CHF 300,000 to CHF 400,000

 

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Only Watch 2023 Favorites: Gerald Genta 

We continue to highlight a few of our favorite watches from among the more than sixty watchmakers that have created timepieces for the Only Watch charity auction, which commences Sunday, November 5, in Geneva. Christie’s will auction these incredible one-of-a-kind watches to raise funds that benefit research in the battle against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

While you may have seen a few of the watches set for auction earlier this year when Only Watch announced them, we thought you’d enjoy seeing many of these impressive designs again just ahead of the event.

The watches are currently touring the globe. After concluding their U.S. visit at Christie’s in New York on September 17, the tour will visit Monaco next, followed by stops in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai and back in Geneva. See the Only Watch website for tour dates and details.

In this post we highlight the entry from Gérald Genta. 

In its first participation in Only Watch, Gérald Genta unveils a minute repeater watch with  Disney’s Mickey Mouse. The watch represents the first time a Gérald Genta watch combines a minute repeater complication with a minute retrograde displayed by an animated Mickey Mouse.

The octagonal 40mm white gold watch features a enamel grand feu gold dial with champlevé with an enameled figure of Mickey Mouse indicating the time and holding a birthday cake with one hand to celebrate Disney’s 100th anniversary and the 10th edition of Only Watch.

Mickey’s right arm is animated and displays the minute retrograde on an arch from 0 to 60; a display shows the jumping hour.

From the back an observer can admire an all-new Manufacture caliber GG-001 developed and manufactured at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton under the supervision of Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini. Both watchmakers have worked with Mr. Genta himself. A red ruby cabochon is crimped into the winding & time-setting crown at 3 o’clock.

Estimate: CHF 350,000 – 500,000

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Only Watch 2023 Favorites: Bell & Ross  

We continue to highlight a few of our favorite watches from among the more than sixty watchmakers that have created timepieces for the Only Watch charity auction, which commences Sunday, November 5, in Geneva. Christie’s will auction these incredible one-of-a-kind watches to raise funds that benefit research in the battle against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

While you may have seen a few of the watches set for auction earlier this year when Only Watch announced them, we thought you’d enjoy seeing many of these impressive designs again just ahead of the event.

The watches are currently touring the globe. After concluding their U.S. visit at Christie’s in New York on September 17, the tour will visit Monaco next, followed by stops in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai and back in Geneva. See the Only Watch website for tour dates and details. 

The Bell & Ross BR 03 Cyber Rainbow.

In this post we highlight the BR 03 Cyber Rainbow, the Bell & Ross entry to Only Watch 2023. The colorful model is a new take on the watchmaker’s own Cyber concept series, 

It offers a black DLC case measuring 42mm x 43.7mm and a full 3D skeleton movement with an oscillating weight with bridges made from DLC micro-blasted metal.

The movement is suspended by bridges filled with colorful varnish; the watch’s micro-blasted metal hands are enhanced with white SuperLuminova. All indices are metalized inside the sapphire.

Bell & Ross has even colorized the rubber strap using varnish, resulting in an eye-catching mosaic pattern. 

Estimate: CHF 45,000 -CHF 55,000.

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