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Louis Moinet’s Mission to Mars

Louis Moinet pays tribute to the red planet and all who ache to explore it with Mars Mission, a lively 45.4mm steel watch with a copper dial that displays a genuine fragment of the red planet.

The Louis Moinet Mars Mission, with a genuine fragment from Mars on the dial.

Sculpted by Daniel Haas, the fragment is visible at the 3 o’clock position suspended above the movement and framed by a red anodized aluminum capsule with a shiny black base.

The fragment lies amid a hand-hammered copper dial finished to mimic the contrasts and patterns of the Martian surface. The dial’s light and dark tones occur from the natural light black patina achieved after the dial is copper-plated.

All this covers about three-quarters of the Mars Mission dial, with the remaining area (between 8 o’clock and 12 o’clock) exposing Louis Moinet’s automatic caliber LM45 and an off-center seconds sub-dial.

In addition to the Mars fragment on the dial here, the three-facet hour markers are also eye-catching components of this multi-level dial.

Artisans at the Swiss watchmaker cut three variously shaped facets that are then combined into each marker. Each flank features a diamond and satin-finished part, which maximizes light reflection across the dial. Each is then filled with white lacquer, placed within a black PVD base, and connected to all the other markers with two bezel rings.

Louis Moinet finishes its LM 45 movement with diamond-polished chamfers, circular satin-finished wheels and circular graining.

Louis Moinet fits the Mars Mission with a Louisiana alligator leather hand-sewn strap with folding clasp finished in black steel PVD. The clasp is adorned with a curved Fleur de Lys.

Price: $22,500.

 

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Bell & Ross Decorates BR 05

Bell & Ross dresses up its BR 05 with 1930s-era industrial design accents to create the new BR 05 Artline, a limited edition of 250 pieces.

The new Bell & Ross BR 05 Artline.

The Franco-Swiss watchmaker introduced the “round within a square” BR 05 design with integrated bracelet in 2019 and it quickly became a best seller. Now, Bell & Ross adds new artistic style to underscore the fluid lines of the collection.

Called Artline, the new décor accents the case and bracelet of the watch with distinctive aerodynamic lines.

“This name indicates that it incorporates an artistic dimension (art) in its design (line). When you look at it, you immediately think of the American style of the Stream-Line,” explains Bruno Belamich, co-founder of Bell & Ross. The new finish appears on the one-piece bezel, which is fixed to the case with four screws, and on the central bracelet links, uniting the overall style.

Belamich, who is also creative director for the brand, explains that the somewhat ornate BR 05 Artline design was inspired by air travel and architecture.

The folded metal, he explains, recalls the first transport planes of the 1940s, which were known for their corrugated aluminum fuselage. The technique instilled lightness and resistance to deformation to the airplane.

The BR 05 Artline’s architectural inspirations can also be seen in the aluminum facades of buildings and on avant-garde lighting and furnishings.

The new watch also utilizes a new dial color for Bell & Ross: sunburst ruthenium grey. The result of metallization process, the dial nicely complements the steel case, especially with its generous use of Superluminova on the hands and markers.

Bell & Ross powers the BR 05 Artline with its Sellita-based automatic BR-CAL 321 caliber, which is visible through a sapphire caseback. The movement’s rotor is designed to echo the look of a sports car rim.

The new BR 05 Artline is a limited edition of 250 pieces and is on sale online in Bell & Ross boutiques. Price: $5,500.

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Zenith Celebrates Electric Racing with New Defy Extreme E

Zenith debuted the second model in series of Defy Extreme Carbon models designed to commemorate the electric rally racing championships for which the Le Locle watchmaker is official timekeeper and founding partner.

The new Zenith Defy Extreme E Island X Prix.

The new Defy Extreme E Island X Prix, cased in carbon fiber and with bright orange accents and tinted sapphire crystals, celebrates the upcoming racing series Island X Prix scheduled for this weekend on the island of Sardinia. Orange is the official color of the Island X Prix as it is said to evoking the hot temperatures of the Italian island during summer.

The color stands out against the black carbon fiber case, crown and chronograph pushers of the angular 45mm watch.

Visible in part through the front and the back of the watch is Zenith’s Defy Extreme high-frequency chronograph caliber that offers 1/100th-of-a-second time measurements, with two escapements independently beating at 5Hz (36,000 vph) for the timekeeping part and 50Hz (360,000 vph) for the chronograph. Zenith also shows off its unusual movement through a sapphire display caseback emblazoned with the Island X Prix logo.

Zenith adds to the watch’s racing and recycling theme with a special strap infused with materials of recycled tires. The Velcro strap features a black rubber central element surrounded by an orange rubber inlay. Zenith also includes two additional straps, one in black rubber and the other in black Velcro, each easily swapped without any tools.

Zenith will make the Defy Extreme E Island X Prix as a limited edition of twenty pieces. Price: $27,100.

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Richard Mille Teams with Ferrari for Ultra-Thin Record

Measuring a wispy 1.75mm thick, Richard Mille’s new RM UP-01 Ferrari just surpassed (by .05mm) the recently released Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra as the thinnest mechanical watch available.

Richard Mille’s new RM UP-01 Ferrari

The new titanium watch reaches its record-breaking dimensions with its entire movement built within its case rather than atop a baseplate/caseback, the method used by Bulgari and previous record-holder Piaget.   

The watch’s titanium-based Caliber RM UP-01 manual-winding movement is also encased within titanium and powers displays for hours, minutes and a function selector.

The watch’s going train, baseplate and skeletonized bridges are made with grade-5 titanium to create the watch’s impressive flatness – and strength. Richard Mille says its new watch will withstand accelerations of more than 5,000 g’s.

And with the assistance of engineers from Audemars Piguet Le Locle, Richard Mille developed a new type of strong escapement with a balance wheel in titanium that reduces the caliber’s thickness to only 1.18mm. Engineers fitted the extra-flat barrel with a super fine hairspring that still delivers a full 45 hours of power reserve.

To reach ultimate thinness, engineers also removed the winding stem. In its place, Richard Mille offers two wheels, one for function selection, the other to utilize the selected function, each integrated in the left side of the case.

“In this quest for absolute flatness, we had to offer a watch that, far from being a ‘concept watch’, was up to the task of following a user’s daily life, whatever the circumstances,” explains Salvador Arbona, Technical Director for Movements at Richard Mille.

On the 51mm by 39mm rounded rectangular case, Richard Mille minimized the need for sapphire, placing the clear, strong mineral only atop the red-handed dial and the regulator (balance wheel-spring assembly). (See specifications below for more detail).

Richard Mille’s new RM UP-01 Ferrari is a limited edition of 150 timepieces and is the first result of the partnership with the Italian racing legend. Price: $1.89 million.

 

Specifications: Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari

Movement: RMUP-01 Ultra flat manual winding with hours, minutes and function selector. Measures 1.18mm thick. The baseplate and bridges in grade-5 titanium (an alloy of 90% grade 5 titanium, 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium). New ultra-flat escapement, fast-rotating barrel (6 hours per revolution instead of 7.5 hours), regulator index eliminated with calibration via 6 adjustable weights located directly on the balance. 28,800 vph.

Case: 51mm by 39mm x 1.75mm titanium monobloc construction assembled using 13 grade-5 titanium spline screws and abrasion-resistant washers in 316L stainless steel. Surrounding the crowns, two black ceramic inserts protect the bezel from friction and ensure water resistance. The caseback and bezel are satin-finished, with polished bevels. Laser-engraved Ferrari prancing horse. Water resistance to 10 meters.

Dial: Time display, function selector located between 10 and 11 o’clock allows one to select the winding (W) or the hand-setting (H) function. 
Setting the time or winding the barrel is then possible by turning the second crown located between 7 and 8 o’clock.

Bracelet: Leather strap.

Price: $1.89 million.

 

 

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Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon Shines With Diamonds

Arnold & Son expands its much-heralded Perpetual Moon collection with a new edition that features a brilliant blue mother-of-pearl dial shimmering within a new, diamond-set 38mm red gold case. And while this addition to the collection features the Swiss watchmaker’s smallest caliber, it powers one of the larger moonphase displays available.

The new Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 38 Gold Moonlight.

The new Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 38 Gold Moonlight features a richly decorated evening sky dial framed with a diamond-set bezel that echoes more diamonds used as hour-markers and on the crown and lugs.

All told, you’ll find 138 diamonds (2.61 carats) glittering on the watch, reflecting light that complements the SuperLuminova-set moon, made more realistic with hand-painted shadows. The Ursa Major and Cassiopeia constellations complete the scene nearby.

The Arnold & Son manual-wind caliber A&S1612 inside the collection is the watchmaker’s smallest, measuring 29.4 mm in diameter so that it perfectly fits the watch’s new 38mm by 10.44mm case.

The beautifully finished manually wound movement, smaller than the A&S1512 found inside the 42mm Perpetual Moon series, still packs a impressive technical punch with a power reserve of ninety hours. And like those larger movements, the new model also boasts accuracy for 122 years – if the watch is kept wound.

Price: $50,300.

 

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