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Azimuth’s Supersonic Aircraft 

 

By Steve Huyton

Approximately twelve years ago I walked into The Hourglass, a specialist watch boutique in Sydney, and it changed my perception about horology. 

At this time there was a new wave of high contemporary brands like De Bethune, MB&F and Urwerk. These amazing labels were pushing the boundaries of watchmaking with radical designs and unusual materials. Some of their pieces were exceptionally futuristic in appearance with extraordinarily complicated mechanical movements. 

Unfortunately, the issue for the consumer was these watches (due to price point) are inaccessible to most. This is where Swiss/Singapore brand Azimuth found a niche in the market. Ultimately, Azimuth has created Avant-Garde designs at more affordable cost, and a brilliant example can be found in the newly released Land Cruiser.

The Azimuth Land Cruiser

Azimuth co-founder Chris Long says the “Land Cruiser is a testament to Azimuth’s enduring love affair between imagination and science fiction, fused into the realm of horology. It’s a rugged hovercraft with off-road capabilities that embarks on a highly classified military project to a newly formed planet 500 light years away.”

Certainly looking at the brand’s DNA this influence is highly apparent in all of its designs. Previously I wrote an article called Ode to Mr. Roboto, which chronicles the evolution of this amazing timepiece, which is inspired by 1960s toy robots. 

The Land Cruiser is a totally different entity that involved four years of fastidious research and development. Looking at the finished result the end definitely justifies the means.

The Landship 

In 2010, Azimuth launched the SP-1 Landship, its most ambitious watch to date. Inspired by a World War I military tank, the watch exudes very large proportions and has a 51mm x 44mm x 20mm titanium case. Subsequently, the brand unveiled six hand-painted replica tank versions (of the SP-1 Landship) at Krasnaya, The Watch Art Gallery in Singapore. 

Even though today’s Land Cruiser resembles the original Landship, the overall design in my opinion is far more sophisticated.

For example, the satin-brushed scaled-down case (which supersonic aircraft’s afterburner) has chiseled sides and a top-mounted crown. This makes the façade much sleeker and ergonomic on the wrist. Time is displayed by the domed wondering hour (12 o’clock position) and via a slanted retrograde minute aperture (6 o’clock position).

Powering the watch is a highly modified Swiss automatic movement supplied by Sellita. The Caliber SW200-1 comprises 26 jewels and oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. This exquisite Perlage finished mechanism is visibly showcased via a sapphire crystal exhibition-style window.

Caseback view of the Azimuth Land Cruiser.

Functionally the Land Cruiser features regulator hours (via a sapphire crystal dome) and retrograde minutes. The watch also is water resistant to a depth of 30 meters and has a power reserve of forty hours. To complete the picture, the Land Cruiser is presented on a rubber strap with a folding buckle and is housed in a special military ammo box.

The Azimuth Land Cruiser is limited to 100 pieces worldwide and retails at CHF 6,800 (approximately $7,750).

Steve Huyton is an industrial designer, illustrator and author who publishes Total Design Reviews

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The Watches

Louis Vuitton’s Cabinet of Wonders

Louis Vuitton presents three highly artisanal Louis Vuitton Escale watches, each combining engraving, enameling, sculpture and even marquetry in timepieces that explore themes inspired by nature and by fantasy.

One of three debuts announcing the Louis Vuitton Escale series of artisans watches. The watch is called Louis Vuitton Escale Cabinet of Wonders Koi’s Garden.

The new Escale series follows Louis Vuitton’s equally ambitious update to its Tambour collection and represents a new, high-end approach to the watchmaker’s artisanal watches.  Escale watches will all feature a round case and hand-polished case horns meant to recall the metal brackets of Louis Vuitton trunks. 

Called the Cabinet of Wonders, the trio of limited-edition watches that introduce Escale are inspired by the personal collections of Gaston-Louis Vuitton, third-generation member of the company’s founding family who led the company from 1907 to 1970. 

Gaston-Louis Vuitton was collector of fine decorative objects, including antique and highly decorated Japanese katana sword guards, which directly influenced the design and symbolism of these new watches.

By combining a full range of artisanal case-making and dial-making techniques to these watches, Louis Vuitton continues its enhance its reputation as one of the few makers of high-end watches that has mastered a full range of traditional decorative techniques. 

Louis Vuitton’s fine watchmaking department in Geneva, La Fabrique du Temps, creates this series through a well-considered blend of internal expertise and external talent, including Eddy Jaquet (engraving), Fanny Queloz (damascening), Rose Saneuil (marquetry) and Vanessa Lecci (enameling). The internal and external team followed the aesthetic vision of famed métiers d’art timepiece designer Marie Boutteçon.

Garden of tranquillity

This watch, called Louis Vuitton Escale Cabinet of Wonders Koi’s Garden, is a 40mm white gold stunner that depicts two carp swimming in a stream, surrounded by colorful pebbles. 

Louis Vuitton notes that its artisans needed fully 150 hours to carefully hand-sculpt the koi. Kiln-firing added a fine layer of dark oxide to the carp, while polishing and painting finish the overall effect. The koi are coated with a translucent blue lacquer in order to make them glisten in the light.

Artisans hand-engraved the water lines onto the white-gold dial plate, where Gaston-Louis Vuitton’s personal monogram is seen at the 6 o’clock position, also sculpted from gold and set with onyx.

Into the forest

On the Louis Vuitton Escale Cabinet of Wonders Snake’s Jungle, a jeweled blue and green snake rears its head at an orb of gold and nephrite jade that forms the monogram of Gaston-Louis Vuitton.

The dial’s bamboo forest is made using marquetry techniques. These required the artisan to cut and hand-assemble wood, parchment and straw in a way that depicts fourteen shades of green.

The artists required 367 individual pieces to complete the dial puzzle, which utilizes four varieties of wood, three colors of straw and two types of parchment.

For the serpent, artisans combined three techniques: micro-sculpture, engraving and champlevé enameling. Sculpted, engraved and enameled bamboo leaves
frame the upper right corner of the dial.

Dragons

For this watch, called the Louis Vuitton Escale Cabinet of Wonders Dragon’s Cloud, artisans have created a rose gold triptyque depicting that is clutching a carnelian-set GLV monogram.

Here the artisans used technique called damascening, which is a form of decorative inlay using metals of contrasting colors. The resulting layered pattern mimics many natural textures.

The watch’s dial plate is hammered to a matte finish, after which yellow-gold or rose-gold wires are cold-worked into the plate. The dragon and the clouds are engraved and the scales are enameled.

Notably, the lower half of its body is created using paillonné enamel, a rare form of enamel that contains tiny pieces of gold leaf (known as paillons) suspended between layers of translucent enamel.

Finally, the dragon’s eye appears to glow because it is composed of a cabochon-cut ruby.

New cases & hands

All the new Escale watches feature a new, lightly curved case that frames a domed crystal. Louis Vuitton has reworked its hour and minute hands, which now are lance-shaped and polished and faceted to reflect the light.

All three watches also feature a crown set with the same stone that adorns the corresponding GLV monogram on its dial. Inside Louis Vuitton fits its chronometer-rated manufacture caliber LFT023, which is decorated with Seigaiha waves, a stylized representation of the ocean found in traditional Japanese iconography.

Each new Louis Vuitton Escale watch is paired with a calf-leather strap, hand-braided to resemble the braided leather hilts of Japanese katana swords.

Each of the three models of the Louis Vuitton Escale Cabinet of Wonders collection is limited to twenty pieces. The Koi’s Garden comes in a white-gold case (40mm) with blue strap; the Snake’s Jungle comes in a white-gold case (40mm) with green strap; and the Dragon’s Cloud comes in a rose-gold case (40mm) with brown strap. 

Prices upon request. 

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The Watches

MB&F Adds Onyx to LM FlyingT

 

MB&F combines onyx with yellow gold to create the latest model in its GPHG-award-winning Legacy Machine FlyingT collection, the independent watchmaker’s series of three-dimensional watches inspired by women.

The new MB&F Legacy Machine FlyingT Onyx.

The new Legacy Machine FlyingT Onyx follows previous models in the collection that have featured colorful stone dials such as malachite, tiger eye and lapis lazuli.  

Tilted to a 50-degree angle, the dial, here in polished onyx, is positioned to be primarily visible to the wearer. The dial sits adjacent to a dramatic flying tourbillon that beats at a leisurely 18,000 vph. Atop the tourbillon MB&F affixes a single large diamond that operates just shy of the top of the sapphire crystal dome.

On the back MB&F creates a rotor that looks like a three-dimensional red gold sun with sculpted rays.

The movement provides four days of power reserve. (See below for additional technical specifications).

You may recall that MB&F debuted the LM FlyingT in 2019 in three editions, all in white gold and set with diamonds. Two limited editions in red gold and platinum came next, both without diamonds but with guilloché dial plates. New gemstone dials have been added to the collection each year. The debut won the GPHG prize in 2019 in the Ladies Complication category.

“I wanted LM FlyingT to reflect the personality and qualities of the women of my family, particularly my mother,” MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser explains “It had to combine supreme elegance with tremendous vitality.”

Price: $133,000.

 

Specifications: MB&F Legacy Machine FlyingT Onyx

Movement: Three-dimensional vertical architecture, automatic winding, conceived and developed in-house by MB&F, central flying 60-second tourbillon.

Power reserve: 100 hours

Balance frequency: 2.5Hz / 18,000 vph

Three-dimensional sun winding rotor in 18k 5N+ red gold, titanium and platinum

Number of components: 280

Functions/indications:

Hours and minutes displayed on a 50° vertically titled dial with two serpentine hands.

Two crowns: winding on left and time-setting on right.

Case: 38.5mm x 20mm yellow gold, high domed sapphire crystal on top with anti-reflective coating on both sides, sapphire crystal on back.

Water resistance to 30 meters.

Strap & buckle:

Calf or alligator leather straps available with gold pin buckle matching the case.

Price: $133,000.

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The Watches

Citizen Expands Series 8 Automatics 

Citizen adds two models to its hot Series 8 collection of sporty automatic watches, and also launches a limited edition Series 8 model in the same new collection with an unusual ‘pink copper’ dial inspired by cherry blossoms.

The Citizen Series 8 890 Mechanical, one of two new Citizen Series 8 debuts. A third limited-edition new model also available.

The new watches are being launched within an impressive slate of 2024 debuts that also includes new Promaster watches, a new Citizen L Arcly series and a limited-edition, manually wound pocket watch.

A new Citizen Series 8 debut, the Series 8 890 Mechanical, features a gold-hued steel case and bracelet.

Since its entry into the U.S. market three years go, Citizen’s Series 8 has expanded to include a wide-ranging set of mechanical three-hand (with date) and GMT models. The series expanded the watchmaker’s U.S. offerings beyond Citizen’s Eco-Drive-focused collections, exposing U.S. consumers to a broader range of the many mechanical watches made by the Japanese-based watchmaker.

The new watches, called Series 8 890 Mechanical, each feature a 42.6mm steel by 11.7mm case with a sporty octagonal bezel, three-piece case construction and a 200-meter water resistance rating. 

Two of the debuts offer a lively, patterned dial that echo those seen in earlier (880 Series) watches, though the dial has been updated with a bolder interpretation of the pattern. The design is inspired by the skyscraper-lit night sky of Tokyo.

Similarly, Citizen has updated the case of these new watches as compared to the earlier 880 Series, adding a thicker bi-directional inner bezel, enhancing the watch’s sporty appeal. Citizen continues to mirror-finish and brush-finish each case, in keeping with earlier Series 8 designs.

From the back of each watch Citizen allows a view of the automatic  Caliber 9051, which is accurate to an  average of -10 seconds to +20 sec/day and offers a full 42 hours of water resistance. Citizen also equips the watches with extra strong antimagnetic protection.

Prices: $1,595 (steel with blue dial) and $1,695 (gold-hued steel with brown dial).  

Limited edition 

In addition to the two models noted above, Citizen is launching a limited edition model within the same new Series 8 890. This debut offers a special dial made to echo the look of “clouds of cherry blossoms,” a phenomenon created by groups of blooming cherry blossom trees.

Called copper pink, the dial’s unusual pattern is a bit more complex than the ongoing new 890 Series models, but equally eye-catching.

Price: $1,595, a limited edition of 1,700.

We’ll have more details about the other 2024 Citizen debuts in upcoming posts. 

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The Watches

Introducing The AOS Dark Sky 1962

 

By Steve Huyton

Over the last few years, I have written several books about design and horology. This has given me a unique insight into the world of luxury. What fascinates me is overall psychology, which also creates desire, fulfillment and necessity. 

Within the watch industry brands pay millions on complicated marketing campaigns. This is also the age of the brand ambassador that, in my opinion, has been a game changer. 

Ultimately this has had a profound effect on small independents who have found themselves in a David and Goliath type scenario. The positive news is that it has stimulated sole watchmakers to create more adventurous pieces. A great example can be found in Roland Stampfli, the owner of Swiss-based AOS Watches.

Roland Stampfli

I’ve known Roland for nearly a decade and absolutely love his backstory. Essentially the brand was established to honor the legacy of his father, Arthur Oskar Stampfli. Roland’s mission is to create a beautiful range of timepieces.

The AOS Black Wind Roses.

Some of my favorites have been the ‘Black Wind Roses’ and ‘Elements‘ collections made with renowned South Australian artist Timothy John.

Examples from The Cat Edition

Just over a couple of years ago, I wrote an article for IW Magazine called AOS Feline Frenzy featuring a super cool watch called The Cat Edition. This particular model features a cool cat tattoo style illustration that is consistent with Roland Stampfli’s passions. 

New watch

Recently Roland unveiled the Dark Sky 1962 watch, a limited edition of fifteen pieces worldwide. What differentiates this timepiece from other models is the scaled-up case size.

The AOS Dark Sky 1962

Previous AOS editions have had 46mm to 47mm diameters that generally wear smaller. The Dark Sky 1962 is a true 51mm (excluding the crown) which makes a much bolder design statement.

I’m definitely in favor of these increased proportions as a lover of XL watches. Due to the use of anodized aluminum, this watch only weighs 100 grams. Ultimately this means it feels exceptionally comfortable and lightweight on the wrist.

What makes the Dark Sky 1962 so special is the brown and black screen-printed graphic dial. This perfectly complements the matte black case which is punctuated with eleven torque screws (that act as indexes).

Other delightful features include a domed sapphire crystal, skeletonized lugs and screw-down crown. Powering the watch is a Swiss-made automatic movement sourced from ETA. The Caliber 2892-2 comprises 21 jewels and oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour.

Functionally the Dark Sky 1962 features hours, minutes, seconds and a date indication at 3 o’clock. The watch is also water resistant to a depth of 30 meters and has a power reserve of 42 hours. As a perfect finale, the timepiece is presented on a high-quality black leather strap with a matching buckle.

Steve Huyton is an industrial designer, illustrator and author who publishes Total Design Reviews

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