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Armin Strom Debuts Gold-Cased Tribute 1

Swiss-German pioneering independent watchmaker Armin Strom launches the Tribute 1 Rose Gold Edition, the first gold-cased version of its Tribute 1 dress watch. 

The new Armin Strom Tribute 1 Rose Gold Edition.

The new edition of the 38mm watch, with its off-center dial and unusual exposed motor barrel and bridge, nicely pairs the warm rose gold hue of its case, hands, the even-numbered markers and bridge with the dial’s textured anthracite tones.

Previously offered in steel, the Tribute 1 announces one of its primary technical attributes on its hand-polished skeletonized open-worked motor barrel on which the words “100 HOURS OF POWER RESERVE” are engraved. Armin Strom’s innovative motor barrel reaches its impressive power reserve thanks to its arbor that turns around the mainspring within the barrel itself, optimizing its efficiency.

Armin Strom devotes equal attention to the finish of its technically advanced, hand-wound caliber AMW 21. 

Armin Strom’s AMW21, viewed from the back of the Tribute 1 Rose Gold Edition.

Seen through the watch’s sapphire caseback is the movement’s eye-catching three-quarter bridge adorned with Côtes de Genève decoration. Armin Strom artisan’s hand-finish a circular grained pattern on the main plate, while finishing the balance bridge with side graining, anglage, sand blasting and straight graining. Finally, hand-bevelled escapement and the escape bridge edges add to the watch’s sense of luxury.

Limited to 100 pieces, the new Armin Strom Tribute 1 Rose Gold Edition is sold with a black alligator strap. Price: $23,900.

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The Watches

Hublot Reprises Shepard Fairey Classic Fusion Chronograph

With its impressive roster of artists assisting its in-house designers and artisans, Hublot in 2022, within its Hublot Love Art initiative, continues to release some of the watch world’s most interesting contemporary designs.

We’ve seen ongoing collaborations with Takashi Murakami, Richard Orlinski and Maxime Plescia-Buchi, as well as a new partnership with multi-disciplinary artist Samuel Ross.

The most recent endeavor finds Hublot again teamed with Shepard Fairey, the illustrator and contemporary artist Hublot first worked with in 2018 for the Big Bang Meca-10 Shepard Fairy Limited Edition.

The new Hublot Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph All Black Shepard Fairey.

The new model, the Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph All Black, is essentially an all-black version of the 2021 Classic Fusion Chronograph Shepard Fairey. 

A Mandala symbol and motif highlights the center of the dial. Its complex, repeating pattern is also reprised on the micro-blasted 45mm ceramic case and on the bezel.

The Mandala, which represents harmony and precious time, still exudes a sense of depth on the newly blackened dial despite its new single-hue caste. As Fairey explains, the symbol is a theme for much of his work. 

“Over the course of my watchmaking partnership with Hublot, I discovered that the Mandala – a recurring theme of my work and an ongoing source of inspiration – lives in perfect harmony and balance within a timepiece and it naturally became the center piece for my collaboration.” says Fairey. 

Backing the intricate dial Hublot fits its excellent Caliber HUB1155, a skeletonized automatic chronograph movement, with its rotor visible through a clear sapphire caseback.

Hublot attaches a classic black rubber strap to the watch, which the watchmaker offers as a limited edition of fifty-two pieces available for sale exclusively in North America. Price: $25,900. 

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The Watches

Franck Muller Rallies in Colorado

Franck Muller debuts four new colorful Vanguard watches to commemorate the 1,000-mile vintage car rally known as The Colorado Grand.

One of four new Franck Muller limited Edition Vanguard watches dedicated to the Colorado Grand vintage car rally.

As the event’s exclusive watch sponsor, Franck Muller designed each model to represent an emblematic automobile: pine green for the Bentley; fire red for the Ferrari; French blue for the Bugatti; and stunning silver for the Mercedes. Each is also created using different case material.

These are: polished steel (red dial), rose gold (blue dial), titanium (green dial) and micro-blasted steel (silver dial).

The Colorado Grand, which concluded in September, is an annual charity event during which drivers and crew meet in Vail, Colorado, to drive 1,000 miles during four days.

The New Watches

The watches each feature Franck Muller’s tonneau-shaped Vanguard case measuring 30.65mm by 51.9mm by 8.15mm thick, powered by Franck Muller’s own excellent FM 708 manual-wind movement.

Franck Muller says that its artisans were inspired by high-end automakers when designing the watches. Each dial includes a  “bochonné” decoration at its center while each watch’s seconds hand mimics a vintage car speedometer with its similar typography, hand design and “assuré circulaire” decoration.

The four models will be made in limited editions of thirty-three to honor the 33rd running of the Colorado Grand. Prices: $23,500 (rose gold case), $16,500 (micro-blasted steel case), $14,500 (titanium and polished steel case). 

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The Watches

Zenith E-Races With Copper-Brown Defy

Zenith’s third special edition Defy Extreme, with copper brown accents and recycled components, commemorates the watchmaker’s role as a partner of Extreme E electric rally racing and its latest race in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

The new Zenith Defy Extreme E Copper Prix.

Zenith unveils the new watch, called the Defy Extreme E Copper  Prix, alongside the Chilean copper mines that dot the South American desert where the next Extreme E championship races are underway.    

Based on Zenith Defy Extreme Carbon, a lightweight carbon-cased high-frequency chronograph series, the new watch incorporates recycled elements from championship race environment within its strap and packaging, all echoing the coppery-brown official race color.

 

Zenith has infused materials of Continental CrossContact tires used in the first season’s races into the watch’s Velcro strap. Zenith will also deliver the watch with two additional straps in black rubber and black Velcro, which can be easily swapped without any tools.

The case for the watch is made using components from E-Grip recycled tires while the plate covering for the box is made from parts of an Extreme E racing tarpaulin.

 

Zenith creates the 45mm Defy Extreme E Copper X Prix edition with carbon fiber pushers, crown and case, all protected with a twelve-sided bezel made of micro-blasted titanium. The watch’s openwork, multi-layered dial is built with tinted sapphire crystal embellished with coppery-brown accents meant to evoke the copper mines of the Chilean desert.

Inside Zenith fits its El Primero 9004 high-frequency chronograph movement, which offers 1/100th-of-a -second time measurements with two independent escapements. One beats at 5Hz (36,000 VpH) for timekeeping while the second vibrates at 50Hz (360,000 VpH) to activate the chronograph function. Zenith makes the nicely finished movement, a certified chronometer, visible through the sapphire display back, which is emblazoned with the Copper X Prix logo.

Zenith will release the new Defy Extreme E Copper X Prix as a limited edition of twenty. Price: $27,100.  

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TAG Heuer and Porsche Celebrate the Carrera RS 2.7

TAG Heuer and Porsche this week celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 with two new watches that highlight that famed sports car’s colors and features.

The Red Edition TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche RS 2.7 chronograph.

The new Blue Edition and Red Edition TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche RS 2.7 chronographs represent the fourth watch design to debut as a result of the partnership between TAG Heuer and Porsche, which commenced officially in 2021.

The Blue Edition TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche RS 2.7 chronograph.

These two new limited edition models pay tribute to the first 911 to bear the Carrera name: the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7. 

Designed for racing, the Carrera RS was the first Porsche 911 dedicated to motorsports and was nicknamed “Carrera.” This name inspired Jack Heuer when he prepared to design the 1963 watch destined to become the Heuer Carrera.

Porsche produced the car in white with twenty-seven color accent options and in a two-tone design with a solid color line along the side. TAG Heuer chose two of the most popular colors to enliven its new watch while retaining the two-tone design of the cars.

Thus, the dial on each model is white, with a blue or red accent the on the dial, flange, case side, and strap. On both watches, the right sub-counter design echoes the look of the car’s rims.

Based on the existing 42mm TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph with tri-compax layout, (namely, the  minutes and hour chronograph counters at 3 and 9 o’clock), the new watch is powered by in-house manufactured automatic Caliber Heuer 02 with its superior eighty-hour power reserve.

The Carrera two-tone coloring also appears on the back of the watch. TAG Heuer has customized the rotor to echo the look of the Porsche three-spoke steering wheel. The rotor also hosts both the TAG Heuer and Porsche name.

TAG Heuer is offering the Blue Edition as a steel-cased limited edition of 500 pieces. Here, TAG Heuer has placed blue lacquer on the chronograph and central hands, the push buttons and shield logo on the crown.

The Blue edition TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche RS 2.7 will arrive with both a sporty fabric strap with the Porsche logo and Carrera markings and a steel bracelet with H-shaped links.

Red Edition 

The more luxurious Red Edition TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche RS 2.7 chronograph is cased in polished rose gold and limited to 250 pieces. Its white dial is framed with a red circular line and features rose-gold-colored applied indexes, permanent second indicator, and hour and minute hands.

Like the Blue Edition, the Red Edition also features engraved caseback and rotor. Here, however, the strap is more luxurious, offered in red alligator with a solid rose gold pin buckle.

Both watches are being shipped with co-branded TAG Heuer × Porsche packaging with  colorful inserts. Prices: $7,750 (steel with blue accents) an $23,550 (rose gold with red accents).

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