MB & F "Horological Machine Nº2"

Finally, a close encounter with MB & F's Number 2. At a first glance you get a "Steampunk meets Star Trek" feeling. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised to be pleasantly surprised. The HM2 was much smaller and thiner than I had anticipated. Quite comfortable, which is not what you would expect when taking its shape into consideration. Contrary to what most of us would think, this is a watch that works better with a casual jacket or suit. Because it's thin and wide, it slips under your sleeve without major tailoring. Mind you, I have 2 cm more on my left sleeve than on my right (most watch addicts will know what I am talking about). The reason why I mention that it's a great shirt/jacket watch is because of the correct placement of its time components. The time component is placed on the right side. Making the action of looking up the time a much more discreet mater. Like an F.P. Journe and completely UNLIKE a Lange since they placed the time face on the "other side" where it should NOT be (unless you are a lefty). The date and moon, which are secondary, are placed on the left side. You are less likely to check these too much in public or in meetings anyway... Plus the "not so" wide strap does not make the HM2 as vulgar as other watches with extra wide straps. Strangely it looks much more civilized on you wrist than off it. Even now I still get the feeling that the HM2 does not match my style yet when on my wrist I must confess that I had the urge to reach for my checkbook.

Then, there is the "Star Trek" mater. I understand that amongst purists this might be a difficult obstacle to overcome. Guilty, I like the show. I will watch it occasionally on TV but certainly NOT to the point of dressing up as one of their characters, not mentioning learning an absolutely useless language (Klingon...). I would seriously consider therapy should this be my case! I guess I like the classic Star Trek show for its 60's look and probably because I grew up with it. This could be the reason why I am biased and have a certain attraction to the look and graphics of the piece.

I admire that there are some people out there that take the time to think different. Especially in the industry where everybody looks at their neighbor for ideas. If you see much of the same ol' stuff all the time you start to get bored with it. Not that we should discard the classics completely, just that sometimes a breath of fresh air is welcome. Twin-faced watches are only now starting to emerge and give more solution without clogging dials. There is also a great amount of potential with such a disposition. Several insane ideas come to mind...

For all those that like MB & F but think; "twin-faces are too modern for me..." I have a slight suspicion that the Nº3 might be single-faced. However, don't take my word for it.

MB & F...

New Comer: FAVRE-LEUBA

I have only recently come across this "new-old" brand. I have been aware of them for some time now, unfortunately I have not been to visit them at Basel this year. There is a trend of re-floated brands that once disappeared or its history has been interrupted for a period of time. Most of the brands today have an interruption somewhere in their timeline. Practically all have some change of shares or ownership in their history. Some of the best known examples of buying a name and re-float it with success is A. Lange & Soehne. There is nothing wrong with that. What I don't think is very ethical in my book is speaking of the newly introduced brand since its begging as if there was no interruption in business at all. As far as I know only Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe have sailed through the times without interruptions or changes of the main ownership structure. To be honest, I am not sure they will last for much longer. The big Groups are exerting more pressure than ever to get a hold of these two manufacturers. This will be so unless they start buying other brands and grow themselves. A key rule in business is; "Buy or be bought." As simple as that.

Favre-Leuba was once a name in the industry. They ceased activities due to poor management in the 60's and the "Quartz Plague" in the 70's finished the job. I am not sure but Breitling has a similar story. There are still some old Favres to be found since before their demise they where quite popular. With the new "Bathy" the new Favre-Leuba has rescued their once popular membrane to mechanically measure depth. This system should in theory make the Bathy V2 much more affordable than the Jaeger Deep-Sea.

I like the Bathy V2. It looks hot yet without a price it is difficult to compare with similar products out there. I would love to compare this to Jaeger's Deep Sea or even to IWC's discontinued diver. Unfortunately there is little technical details regarding this piece other than the rescued membrane. No details on the movements, no pictures, etc...

I like the Power Reserve. However, today you should be offering at least 5 days power reserve with a double barrel. Make this a manual with an 8-Day power reserve and I am game! A standard reserve Automatic makes the power reserve redundant.

I love the Mercury Chronograph. Still no real reference of the price making it impossible to compare with others in the price range. Not to hot on the 45 minute counter (a bit too football/soccer for my taste...). The general design is quite interesting, reminds me a bit of the Panerai-Ferrari venture but with a little more class. A manual chrono with a power reserve would have put me in the market for a Mercury as well. This is another addition to the wave of unconventional chronos. I would have love to see this one just taken a little bit further. The power reserve on their other model would have looked awesome on this machine.

I am intrigued at the general look of the new Favre-Leuba. I was not able to hold and touch the product so my assessment is purely on looks alone. Plus, prices are not really clear. Ranging between 10,000 and 30,000 Swiss Francs. A bit high if you ask me for a revamped brand. I guess the regular entry level models in steel will be around the 10,000 dollar or 6,000 Euro mark and the chronos in steel close to double that. The chronos are interesting yet at that price I want a manual with a power reserve. There is also little info on the movement itself which makes me believe it could be a modified ETA/Valjoux... the usual suspects. There are several hard years ahead for non-consolidated brands. It will be much more difficult to sell the stuff that was being sold not too long ago. Aside from that I like their work, especially since it's much better than most for a start. I would not be surprised to see more interesting things from them in the few years to come.

Favre-Leuba...

OPUS 8 Video...

Here is a little render/video of how the Opus 8 works. This will give you an idea although in the flesh the whole thing is much more dramatic.



Video...
Harry Winston...

Royal Oak "CCW2"

... and here is where the stuff gets interesting. There you go, the Concept 2 or now re-baptized "Carbon Concept Watch 2", hence CCW2. It's obvious that Renaud & Papi is behind the movement inside this little beauty. With an aggressive look worthy of a "Mad Max" sequel you can't help but be stunned at this Concept in the flesh. This is a 30 minute Chrono coupled with a Tourbillon (could have done without that...) and a heavy load of R&P. Instead of boring you with my ranting, which in this case could be extensive, I will simply post pictures in the highest detail and have you download the Press release instead.

To be honest I like the case of the CW1 better. Unfortunately the ceramic bezel forces the top of the CCW2 completely flat making it look not as harmonious as the CW1. Even if the ceramic bezel poses only advantages it has caused the new Concept be flat and consequently loose some of its magic. The new flat head of the new Concept has not making me do double flips backwards. The one thing that absolutely kills me is the crocodile strap. I can't begin describing the horror of it. It practically kills the whole watch! I felt compelled to cover it when inspecting the piece, in order to avoid unnecessary distractions. It was like looking at Giselle Bundchen with a mole the size of "a shoe" on her face! Guys, start looking at other materials. It's about time for you to do your homework regarding kevlar straps. This is a 200k watch that deserves some attention on the strap as well!

The most intresting aspect of this piece is that it is NOT a limited edition. Yes, you heard right, the CCW2 will be produced about 30 times per year for as long as AP deems necessary. That is, I consider, one of their smartest moves to date. Now they only need something like a "Barrichello II" or "Team Alinghi" as a regular production model in their catalogue. Reduce all limited editions to a max of 50 pieces (so that you can really call them limited). Stop the production once you are sick of it. No more critiques regarding LEs and no more dealers selling their souls for more units... the world would be a better place.

Press Release...
Audemars Piguet...

Freak "Blue Phantom"

Finally, a Freak I like 99%!!!

They dropped the yellow gold and have gone either blue of steel color. The Freak has always been one of my favorites yet like many Ulysse Nardin watches it seems a bit over-designed. I get the feeling that when the design teacher said; "less is more..." their head designer was NOT paying any attention. The look like they are a great finished product and suddenly somebody jumps up and says; "Hey, let's add something more..."

Well, in spite of that this is the best looking Freak to date. Even better than the "InoVision". Yes, the one with the minute hand that look like a dildo and the hour hand like a thong. Is it just me or does this Freak need a different strap? Maybe blue kevlar or rubber. The blue alligator is a bit too, hmmm I don't know...










Ulysse Nardin...

URWERK 202 "Twin-Turbine"

This is one really cool piece of work. Regardless of the use and sense of the Twin-Turbines you just can't get sick of seeing them firing away. The UR-201 is no more and the UR-202 has gone full twin-turbine automatic. Quite a new direction for URWERK since this is their first Automatic movement.

The purpose behind this is that both turbines are coupled to the rotor and by you activating the lever permit more or less airflow trough the turbines. The more you leave the flow open the more the rotor is allowed to spin freely. If you decide to close the airflow to the turbines than the rotor is braked and will encounter more resistance. The entire winding system is enclosed inside the waterproof case. The idea behind this is that you can regulate the behavior of the rotor yourself. If you have a sedentary life stile than you set the rotor to "standard" and if you do have a more active lifestyle than "sport" is your setting. This is a more evolved version of Richard Mille's rotor on the RM005, RM010 and RM011 but instead of having this set only at the factory you can do this yourself at your own discretion.

It is unfortunate (but understandable) that the policy of URWERK is not to surpass the 300 units per year in order not to jeopardize quality. I would love to see the UR-102 again for about 8,000 Euros. A slightly more modern version of the 102, even with this turbine mechanism. This would make a lot of people happy that now can't afford one of their current models. Unfortunately they already have much more demand than they CAN and are WILLING to produce. URWERK would not think it ethical and have a third party make the 102. Right now their policy wont budge...

URWERK...

OPUS 8

This is one of the very cool pieces in Basel 2008. The Opus 8 is the latest addition to the Opus lineup.

I am certain that many of us can identify with the 70'ish Pulsar look. That is actually what it is meant to be. I remember being obsessed in my youth with these LEDs. Plus, seeing James Bond with one did not help. Finding one of these today in good condition is a difficult task. There are Some Jaeger and even Omegas out there that I would love to put my hands on. Alas, you only see them from time to time and they are just impossible to procure.

The Opus 8 is quite an exercise to say the least. Being able to make a mechanical version of what in our youths we only dreamt of having is certainly a challenge. The mechanism works by raising a template up onto the indicator pad by means of a lever. Once activated the template pushes the corresponding micro pillars upwards, as you can see in the picture. The lever is very easily mistaken by a repeater complication but instead of chiming this will make the hour apear only to recess back in its flat mode after a few seconds. Just like the Pulsar back then. The minutes are displayed in five minute increments on the right side. To be honest I would not mind a version with this design and with a real LED interior just for fun. I shouldn't be expensive of course.

Even if (as a watch addict) I am not to hot on jewelers making watches I must admit that the "Opus" are something that I can only dream to have. Unfortunately, like for most of us, this is only to bee seen from a distance...

Harry Winston...

P.s. Keep your eyes on the father of this little marvel, Frederic Garinaud. This might not be the last time you hear his name. Expect more stuff to come from him in the near future.

Jules Audemars "30th Anniversary"

This is yet another tribute to the past. This is actually the first Perpetual Calendar to boast an automatic movement. A beautiful piece, functional thin, reliable... this one is still introduction today. This happens if you do your job right the first time around. The 2120 calibre with the 2802 module are one of our best even today.

Only 90 pieces of this 1978 model will be made in Platinum. Even if I love this piece I can't help but think that it is time for AP to start doing something new with their Perpetuals. Some "window" action would be greatly appreciated. Patek are certainly doing so, plus their Annual Calendars are doing exceptionally well. Don't you think it's about time to drop developing calendars with hands and start modernizing the general method of displaying your date? This piece would be a great opportunity for a before and after transition. At this rate the "Jules Audemars" line is not offering an interesting alternative to Patek's watches. The only interesting Jules is the "Equation of Time". Unfortunately it is expensive, plus it is glued to the city where you live in. If you travel the data becomes erroneous.

I see much waisted potential in the Jules line. Right now there are so many gaps...

Audemars Piguet...

Vacheron Constantin "Quai de l'Ile"

Finally they woke up! It was about time. At the current rate they would have lost all they customer 20 years from know. About 90% of their clientele is well above their 60's meaning that in about 20 to 30 years many will have passed away. There is nothing in the Vacheron catalogue that is at all interesting, and somethings are downright scary. Their regular production line is simply not appealing to a younger crowd. This is the most interesting piece of the pie since there has been never so much interest for high-end watches from such a young audience. AP with the Offshore and Royal Oak has almost a religious following in younger crowds. Patek seem to appeal more to a "type" of aficionado rather than an age group. Vacheron's classic line is no contest against Patek's and their sporty Overseas is in my view the worst attempt in horological history to bank on the success of the Royal Oak. So, Vacheron was going nowhere, and it was getting there fast! The best way to recognize that is just by looking around yourself. Few watch nuts I know own or think of owning a Vacheron. If they do, they are generally situated in spot 12 in their list of priorities. If they do own a Vacheron it certainly does not take center stage on their wrist often.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, they slam their fist on the table and surprise everybody with this! Brilliant move. As I mentioned in a previous post I see Vacheron purists frowning at this development. Personally, I see it as a breath of fresh air. Everything about it looks new. Unlike previous years, this definitely is not like it was looked up from somewhere else. The use of titanium and the ability to mix metals at your own desire is new and unknown at Vacheron. Plus the option of being able to factory engrave your name on the back bezel is an option that will give a lot to talk about. They certainly needed something like this to make a younger and more demanding crowd look their way. If we practically order our cars "a la carte" why not our watch? There is only no thing that could blemish its success. The "Quai de l'Ile" is a bit expensive for the difficult times ahead. A fully customized model could go well over 30,000 Euros. Exact pricing is not available yet.

There are some ready made versions that will be available at retailers yet the idea is that you customize and choose you own "Quai de l'Ile". There is also the option of a factory engraving of your choice on the back. There will be a link on Vacheron's site for you to configure the watch, or at least this is their plan. Some dealers will get a "column" with a display on top so that you can configure your watch on site. Than, two to three months later it should be waiting for you at the dealer. Well, that is at least what they claim. Prepare this not to be so true since the watchmaking industry is not renowned for holding their deadlines with the same precision as their watches.

The "Quai de l'Ile" is a real power-play from Vacheron. I hope that this is only the begging and that Vacheron don't fall complacent and continue to surprise us with stuff like that. It would be nice to see them back with the other two guys (AP and Patek) right up there.

Vacheron Constantin...

My BEST of the 2008 Shows...

- OPUS: Even if Harry Winston is not what we would define as a "Pure Bred" in the watch industry, I still tip my to their Opus Collection. If there is anybody out there fortunate enough to own the entire lineup to day, I tip my head to you too sir. Their 8th baby is quite a piece of work. Unfortunately there will be only 50. That will create some problems since many people will want to get their hands on this Opus as well. More to come soon...

- Ellicott "MACH ONE". I was not very impressed by Basel until I came across this. I had seen the prototypes before and was not taken. Now I was presented with an almost finished product and honestly, I was blown away this time. The carbon fibber composite case is way beyond my expectations. Proper pictures and more details soon...

- USB "Pen Drives": Simply awesome. No need to send 80 pounds of paper and carry heavy bags full of press releases. Leading this change was the organization of the Basel fair. Most brands were summarized into one single USB key. Some even have the capability to auto update the content and download news from the net. You just keep the brand's pen drive, plug it in at a later date and you are updated and set to go. Brilliant!

- Vacheron "Quai de l'Ile": At last. Finally Vacheron jump off their high horse and do something to create some attention. To be honest, it was about time. I guess that many diehard Vacheron followers will not be happy (actually I can hear them bitch and moan right now...) with this product, but I have a feeling this is not really meant for them. You can configure the watch via your favorite Vacheron dealer or directly on the internet. This is definitely an attempt to capture a younger crowd. A great way to do so, if you ask me. A much better attempt than Patek's last try with the colorful Aquanauts. More to come soon...

- Chopard "Strike One": This entry level "hour striker" is quite an interesting piece. The novelty is that it's titanium and not the classic gold or platinum. Smart since titanium carries the sound much better than precious metals. Titanium should be offered in all repeaters, strikers and sonneries as a default option. Plus the price makes this piece accessible to many that would have loved to have one like this but could not afford it. This one strikes only once every hour, making it more bearable and much more affordable than if it where to chime the exact number of hours at every hour. Believe me after the novelty is over you will very likely turn that function off. One strike will let you know another hour has passed yet eleven strikes for eleven o'clock in the middle of a meeting would be extremely annoying. Plus the unwanted attention.

- RM007 "Titanium": Probably the piece in the new RM collection that will receive the least media coverage yet to me is the most interesting, commercial wise of course. As far as I can recall nobody has done women's watches with a real masculine look. Most of the stuff out there is either pink or full of diamonds. Anybody stop and ask them first? This RM007 looks like the RM that many women would finally like to have. A smaller, masculine RM that might get women to finally do the jump. The previous more feminine model was not too hot with women that liked the aggressive and masculine look of Richard's creation. Many felt left out by getting diamonds slapped on the watch. The RM005 was turning to be an alternative yet it has been discontinued since 2006.

- First voices to openly critique the Tourbillon: For some time now I have been very sick of the Tourbillon overkill. It is this year I have started to hear complaints in the industry regarding that matter. Especially from guys like Journe (the man has balls the size of watermelons if you ask me) are starting to be fed up of the Tourbillon insanity... thank you! By insane I mean pieces that are priced between 100 and 200 thousand, generally made by somebody else and not really contributing anything to horology. The latest excess is a dude that could not help himself and stuck four... yes, four Tourbillons in the same watch case. Only toped by one that made a watch with two that don't even tell time. Idiots. Tourbillons with a purpose and bring a technical achievement like Jaeger's Gyrotourbillon, Nardin's Freak or any of Richard's stuff have a meaning. Many others literally "mail order" their Tourbillons, put them inside their cases and hit them with a juicy price tag. Fellas, in the mean time, if you don't come up with a proper Tourbillon for 10 thousand please don't waste our time. Right now evolved escapements at speeds of 6 hertz or above are much more interesting when it comes to achieving precision timekeeping.

- Girard-Perregaux's new "Constant Escapement": This actually looks like a real breakthrough. Should this really be so then it could be the first viable non-magnetic escapement. Compared with the previous stuff in Silicium escapements this is a completely new approach. Take a look at the note if you have some engineering background, all others take a look at the pictures... In spite it being a bit wide and could pose some problems, this escapement could actually turnout to be the real thing.

- UR-202 "Turbine Automatic": This thing, apart from looking cool, is actually an interesting feature. The twin-turbines regulate the violence at witch the rotor is being flung from side to side. By regulating the airflow via a lever on the back of the watch you can have the turbines brake the rotor to prevent over-winding as well as damage or wear. More details soon...


- Royal Oak Chrono facelift: The Royal Oak chrono is back! At last AP has decided to do something about the RoyalOak Chrono. Forgotten for some time and neglected in favor of the OffShore the faces where just begging to be a bit more than just boring. The facelift was a success although some leather straps combos would also been welcomed, maybe even having both in the box, the steel bracelet and the leather strap, would have been an interesting option.

- Rolex "Movement Day-date II": People where begging for this for years. The Day-Date is in our standards a women sized watch. Dealers have had immense difficulties selling these to man lately. Especially imposed models in full gold and diamonds had a tendency to be heavily discounted due to that. With this larger Day-Date Rolex is back on track and this could become a very attractive watch. What they have done on the outside is a matter to be discussed on my OTHER list.

- The New Creed: Guys like URWERK, MB & F, Hautlence, F.P. Journe, Richard Mille, Vianney Halter, Voutilainen, Greubel Forsey, etc... look like they are here to stay more than ever. Unthinkable only 20 years ago. There are three hard years ahead when it comes to sales, yet it seems that they will be not only capable of weathering the storm but even emerge ahead...

- Swiss Public Transportation: Again, it is a real blessing to be able to completely do without renting a vehicle. No mater in what city you are and if you have to go to Geneva or Basel... a train, a bus, a tramway, or a plane will leave you practically at the entrance of the fair. Always spot-on, on time and very clean.

My WORST of the 2008 Shows...

- Rolex "Day-Date II": There is not a single model with the new large movement that is actually buyable. They look like something that you see after a long night with two family sized pizzas heavy on the anchovies chased down with several bottles of poorly distilled liquor. We are talking scary shit here man! I though it would be a great occasion to go "practical" with a DD2 but I guess it won't be this year.

- Bathrooms: They are still too few and too far away! I am considering peeing behind the stands next year. See if they fix this problem then!

- The fish are still there... The Breitling stand looks like a brothel out of a Tarantino movie. The circular stars at the sides with girls in short miniskirts leading the way to the rooms up on the top, plus the bar at the bottom... can't buy class like that.


- A lot of BS... At the end of this year's trip I must say I was a little saturated with the mountains of nonsense spoon fed by salesmen in the industry. Claims like: "we are the prettiest..., we are the tallest..., we the smartest..." are really getting to be annoying at best. First, statements like these are rarely true in the industry since most people are inspired by (copy) others and most things have been done decades before. If you do your homework you always find somebody somewhere that was way ahead of you. Honestly, it looks like many of these guys have been hired away from the automotive sales branch. Plus, there is no advantage to be taken by putting the competition down, even if some statements were to be true. Somebody should go and teach them to be competitive due to their owns merits (which incidentally most of them have) and not demerit the others.

- Hotels: As always taking advantage of the situation and over-charging for the rooms and turning five star hotels into mediocre accommodations.

- Swatch Group: I don't understand their plan. Commercially I find all their brands weak. I simply don't see many being too keen on buying a Glashutte Original, Jaquet Droz, Blancpain, Tissot, Rado, etc... Frankly, commercially their brands compared to Richmond's look like a sinking ship to me. I would love warn Breguet and Omega to get the hell out of there if they could. I don't think things will go too hot for them these years to come, since what will be hurting most will be the midrange and non-consolidated brands. Who knows, they might turnout with an excess of movements and could actually reconsider stopping the supply to smaller guys. Wouldn't that be a pisser!

- No WiFi: Nowhere inside the halls, or stands was WiFi to be seen. At this point it would not hurt the organizations to make an effort and have free, yes free, wireless connections for all. Would be a nice touch.

- Suits & Smells: It could be interesting to reconsider everybody's dress code. I understand that traveling for over a week and changing hotels at least once is a hassle. Yet having only ONE trolley with you is downright disgusting. Why? Because even if you change your underwear every day (which judging by the size of trolleys I doubt) the same suit will start to develop a "musky" aroma after day 4. After day 7 the thing will have people lean away from you in an elevator. At day 10 it needs to be tied down to a chair since now it has developed a life of its own and could actually be on the plane back home without you in it. By the way, being well dressed is wearing a suit in conjunction with a tie, yes a tie. All other combos are casual at best. You might as well do without the suit altogether. If you are going to be away from home for that long there is no shame in traveling with a large suitcase and not a small trolley. Really, its OK.

- Visiting Patek and Rolex: They still have that "my shit don't smell..." attitude which makes visiting them not a joy. At the Rolex stand they top that feeling having bouncers at the entrance. Just like in a Nightclub. I don't like these visits being Press and I can't imagine a regular Rolex/Patek enthusiast that paid for his ticket to the show. If they don't wish to be disturbed by their end buyers they should move to the Geneva fair. Since Geneva is not accessible to the general public they could do without the bouncers. Guys, If you choose to stay in Basel, then attending the general pubic with info and brochures is the LEAST you could do. Somewhere in there somebody forgot that their real customers are the ones wearing the watches and not only the Jewelers that buy the watches from them.

See you in one week...

Fellow watch lovers, I will be leaving for Basel/Geneva tomorrow. Don't expect any comments until Friday the 11th. On my return I will try to resume the best and worst of the fairs. Let's hope there is more of the first.

See you soon...

P.s. I will be doing a series of interviews with several interesting figures; Richard Mille, Felix Baumgartner, F.P.Journe, Martin Frei, Jorg Hysek, Maximilian Busser, Papi, Voutilainen, Mr. LUC, Guillaume Tetu, Magalie, Jean Dunand, etc... Stay tuned since there might be an interesting article as a result.

AMVOX3

To be honest, I am not taken by the latest AMVOX.

Yes, there are some improvement in this AMVOX over the Master Tourbillon. The new date is displayed in a much more logical way by jumping from 31 to 1 instead of this silly gap or 15 to 16. The bridge over the Tourbillon is also a bit more modern and in tune with the theme. As for the rest, there are more things that bother me. I get the impression that they could have done without the extra GMT function. The extra hand just adds thickness. Frankly, a GMT indicator is not something you look for and appreciate in a Tourbillon. Furthermore, at a price tag of 60 thousand Euros I would expect it to have at least an annual calendar module and not that useless GMT and AM/PM indicator. Than the Tourbillon... is it just me or, does this Tourbillon NOT look like a Tourbillon? At a first glance there is none of that impression. Also the mix of black and rose gold reminds me too much of a... Chanel J12?

In any case, at a price tag of about 60 thousand Euros, about 94 thousand Dollars, and 300 units you can expect these to be on display for some time. Despite claiming that all have been sold (yes, to dealers) they will take some time before the end up being bought by end customers. The "Green" AMVOX R-Alarm which was in many markets a fiasco, has taken almost two years to disappear from displays. Despite Jaeger claiming that they sold all pieces, which is true, but what should be taken into consideration is if the watches have been sold to the end customer in order to assess the success of the piece. I am afraid that the money is too hight as well as the amount of units produced. The same is true of all previous Jaegers except the black AMVOX2. That one did not make the store windows.

Jaeger leCoultre...

Sea-Dweller "Deep Sea"

And this is what Rolex has graciously granted us with at Basel 2008. A Sea-Dweller on steroids. Well, at least it's not as ugly as some of the previous contraptions. I am missing some color though. A "Sea-Dweller" or "Deep Sea" in red would certainly give it a little more life. Right now this Sub looks like the Grim Reaper to me.

Don't think it will be such a hot sale as last years Milgauss (especially the one with the green glass) since the previous Sea-Dweller was the least popular Sub of all time. Don't know why, it still is my favorite. I guess that the extra thickness, lack of distinction from the original and a higher price tag did not help. I any case such a tuneup was long overdue since with the competition surpassing the old Sea-Dweller's performance in many ways, Rolex can't just sit there and wait.

I must admit that I am intrigued by the new "ski-boot" fastener ratchet system. Baptized "GLIDELOCK" by Rolex this allows for corrections of the bracelet size by 1.8 mm increment without removing the watch. Very helpful for people whose wrists have a tendency to swell due to the heat, especially in summer. It is ironical that for years Rolex had some of the crummiest buckles in the business, and now it looks like they are really doing their homework in that respect. It's great that somebody is making an effort in addressing a subject that has not been tackled properly by the industry ever since watches first made it to our wrists. Many aesthetickal variants have been made but none really effective, comfortable and user friendly. The point being that nobody is ever 100% satisfied with their clasps, buckles, velcros, butterflies, etc... At least right now there is not a single clasp that is all that plus versatile enough to fit any size or shape of wrist. Rolex, another browny point to you.

Rolex...

YAWN...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...


Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Patek "World Time"

Ready your pockets.... steady... GO!
I though that the initial craze and mayhem created by the Nautilus 3712 could hardly be repeated. This 5131 could prove me wrong since it could very well be in much more demand than the Nautty. This quasi-tribute to one of the most expensive Pateks ever auctioned will be, I am certain, a real headache to get your hands on. An incredibly smart yet commercial move by Patek that will get both positive and negative reactions. There is no doubt in my mind that this one will fetch a small fortune in the second hand market. Plus, they might have a move up their sleeve. just like the 3712 that was retired prematurely. Some say that this move was premeditated in order to drive prices up. Who nows, I certainly would not mind the same thing happening again provided I had one too. Would you?

Personally I am not too taken by the engravings of "Patek Philippe" and "Geneve" on the bezel of the case. Although the general look of the World Time is very well executed since it is meant to give you that 30's look. To me it looks right on the money. Even if I still like the current 5130 platinum model better. If I where in the market for one I would probably go for that one instead.

Patek Philippe...

Tribute to Polaris

At last, the Polaris is here.

Three years late but here it is none the less. After much debate amongst fans, watch purists, collectors and other enthusiasts Jaeger has decided to re-issue the Polaris in its original form. All that despite the AMVOX1 which is still in production and was initially meant to be just that. Actually, come to think of it, the AMVOX might have been responsible for triggering that demand. I have a feeling that Jaeger have gone the "Solomon" way by only modifying the movement and not the case, including the Hexalite crystal. This latter point to the delight of collectors and purists will not be understood by main stream enthusiast. I am afraid this Solomonic solution will leave only a few people happy (I must include myself in that group). Others would have liked something more in "accord" with the times, including sapphire Crystal glass, locking buttons, etc...

I don't think it will be worth more than list soon, and hike in price like most Limited APs. Yet I have a feeling that many, like me, that have been looking for a Polaris for years will not pas up the chance to own a new one. What is interesting is that both, a mint original and this re-edition will go for almost the same amount of money. Interesting...

As for myself, I am already on the list.

Jaeger leCoultre...

New look?

More news than the watch itself is the sort of modern aggressive look of the case on this Patek. I usually do not like to comment on such expensive and limited production pieces, unless they have something special about it, but this is actually worth a look. The 5207 in it self is just another run-o-the mill "mega super complication" that we are used from Patek. Nothing short of extraordinary, but like always out of the reach of most mortals. believe me, I have not asked but you do not what to know the price.

I must admit I like the case an would hate to see it go lost and not be used in more common or popular models down the line. Nice Job...

Patek Philippe...