Watches comes in literally all shapes and sizes, but brands like the Ziiiro prove that innovation is still possible in a seemingly overcrowded and stagnant market.
The Hong Kong based company has offered a new play on telling time with their Ziiiro Celeste Watch. The timepiece features a stainless steel trim around the face, which is where the magic happens. Rather than your standard minute and second hands, the Celeste displays time through two overlaying discs, which interpret the time of day through color changing hues created by continual movement.
Purchase below...
Newer brand Cyrus is one worth taking note of, the piece was dreamed up by the brand and brought to life by the talented Jean-Francois Mojon - who helped explain some of the intricacies of the watch to me. In short, it is a highly-functional exotic watch with a welcome contemporary character.
Mr. Mojon sits as one of the few top indie watch movement developers around today. Many brands solicit him for work and I have a feeling that he only takes on projects that he likes. These days, dreaming up cool new ways to indicate the time is very en vogue. Mixing special hands with retrograde indicators is especially valued. The Klepcys does all that. The time is indicated via two moving discs and a retrograde hour hand that doubles as a day/night indicator. The system is very cool.
The inner most disc is the seconds indicator. Outside of that is the minute ring. You read the minutes at the hour hand which sits next to both the current hour as well as where you read the minutes. In the video you'll see just what I mean. The hour hand is a bit like a small cubic rod. There is yellow on one side and blue on the the other. It spins around between day and night cycles. I thought that was pretty cool. On the left of the face is a retrograde date indicator and moon phase. Both of these indicators are special as well.
For the date, the Klepcys once again uses a spinning cubic hand. It has the numerals 0-3 on it, and operates to indicate the first digit of the date. It moves along a 0-9 scale to indicate the second digit of the date. Very simple but wonderfully executed. The moonphase is a beautiful little item that starts with a detailed golden moon orb. It has a hood that moves around it in order to indicate the phase of the moon. Detailing is wonderful, and I love how Mojon intentionally exposed some of the mechanics behind the movement. It is like a non-skeletonized dial that still celebrates the fact that it contains a mechanical movement.
The movement inside the Cyrus Klepcys is the caliber CYR598. I was surprised to learn that it is in fact an automatic. There is a micro rotor hidden in there somewhere - I believe under the retrograde date display. Mechanically the Klepcys is quite a special watch and I love the innovations as well as display of time and other indicators. Very cool to view and operate.
The dial itself is also an area of interest. It won't appeal to everyone, but the combination of textures and level makes it feel like a very high end item. Detailing is very cool, and the pieces are nicely made. I didn't spot poorly made pieces or improperly machined textures. It is also nice to see a round dial in a cushion case - which you don't much see in exotic complication watches.
The case itself has some very elegant finishing and details. One item to note is the gold coin replica on the back of the watch. Cyrus owns the original, and made miniature perfect copies of it that go into each watch. The original coin is an artifact that is over 2,500 years old. As I mentioned, the case is cushion shaped with wonderful effects on the side. The cases employs polished, brushed, and satin finishes on its various parts. The bezels are DLC coated black. Size is admirable at 48mm wide, but it wears very comfortably due to the short lugs. I love the abundance of textures and polishes all over the case and dial of the Klepcys.
Cyrus makes the watch available in 18k red gold, 18k gray gold, and titanium. Various versions of the watch have different finishes I believe. The integrated reptile strap is well done and I love the sharp looking clasp. Nothing boring there. With the Klepcys, Cyrus has set a high bar. As a first attempt for the brand, it is really very well done. They later released a less expensive chronograph watch called the Kuros. While neat, it doesn't match the splendor of the Klepcys... but it is also much less expensive. With some quirks but a lot of personality and function, the Klepcys is a great example of a contemporary exotic complication wrist watch that should make enough people happy.
Writer: Ariel AdamsPrice: $100,000 USD
Source: Cyrus Klepcy
Rolex has released official images and specs regarding the highly-anticipated Sky Dweller model. Available with either champagne, ivory or chocolate dials, each watch features 18 ct yellow, white or everose gold. Distinctly unique to the watch is that the bezel is fluted, with a bidirectional rotatable Ring Command. The month display is viewable via 12 apertures around the circumference of the dial. Waterproof to nearly 330 feet, this stylish offering also serves a vital purpose for those wanting to explore much more than just the sky.
Source: Rolex
IKEPOD has always been a special type of watch company. Designed by Marc Newson, the brand is known both for their individual design and high quality watch making.
This year they present a new high profile collaboration with an artist. After having worked with Jeff Koons before, they now chose to produce The Horizon watches in collaboration with New York artist Kaws. This collaboration with IKEPOD brings his popular design into the world of horology.
The Horizon watch comes with a titanium case, Caliber ETA 2892, sapphire crystal, diameter of 44mm, is water resistant up to 50 m and has a dial and rubber band designed by Kaws. It will release in overall 4 colorways, featuring the Kaws Chum design and X-Eye hands. It will go for $14,000 USD, yet we do not have a release date for the moment.
Price: $14,000 USDSource: IKEPOD
No doubt it is cool. It is also wildly expensive and a showpiece above all else. This new highly limited edition watch from Richard Mille is the RM 056 and comes in an all sapphire crystal case. It is very visually intriguing and costs a mere $1,650,000. Probably easier to laugh about the price rather than get upset.
According to Richard Mille it requires over 1000 hours to produce the case of the watch. The case is identical to that of previous Richard Mille Felipe Massa pieces. The movement is also an updated evolution on that RM 008 caliber. Only the case is in sapphire crystal and the movement layout and architecture have changed a bit. 1000 hours is a long time. I would hate to ask how long it would take for a new case if you need it to be repaired.
The full name of the watch is the RM 056 Felipe Massa Sapphire Tourbillon Split Seconds Competition Chronograph. Aside from a house in Bermuda, I am not sure what this watch is competing with. The concept is actually very impressive. Starting a few years ago I started to ask questions to industry people about the feasibility of making an all sapphire crystal case. They said it was possible but a pain in the ass. Basically cutting a flat and round piece of sapphire crystal is the most simple. Once you start to do curves and angles and larger complex pieces it gets complicated, time consuming, and frustrating.
The frustration really has to do with the time involved and how brittle sapphire crystal is during the machining process. It breaks a lot - especially when screw holes are drilled in it. This would especially be an issue for the RM 056 given all the screws used to sandwich the case together. There are a ton of them and each of those holes needed to be drilled and will potentially crack the case. On the plus side I hear from industry people that once the sapphire parts are machined, they are pretty tough. So the machining process is risky, but after that the cases would be tough enough - just don't slam it around or it will shatter. You can only do that with a G-Shock.
Wearing this watch around won't get you as many looks as something in gold or covered in diamonds. That is actually sad. Wearing a "glass house" watch might get attention from the right people - but they might as well assume it is polycarbonate or not give it much thought. Diamonds will get you a lot more notice and a fully diamond covered case will actually be MUCH cheaper than this watch. Ironic right? Still... at least you'll know how complicated it is.
The movement in the watch still impresses me with its looks and features. According to Richard Mille it has been overhauled with new pieces, a 20% lighter weight, and a slightly new layout on the dial. The manually wound movement has a tourbillon, 30 minute split second chronograph, a power reserve indicator, and a torque indicator. There is also a function indicator for the crown. Even will all that, and the skeletonization, the dial doesn't look like a total mess.
How many of these super sapphires will Richard Mille make? Just 5 pieces. Yup. 5000 hours of work (or more) into the highly limited edition RM 056. I wonder if Felipe Massa gets one of them? I know he wears a lot of RM watches on rotation.
Price: $1,650,000 USD
Purchase: Richard Mille
Luxury label Gucci has tapped into their partnership with the Recording Academy to design these beautifully crafted Grammy special edition watches.
The Grammy special edition watch is based off the first ever digital watch from the luxury label, the i-Gucci. The watch was designed by creative director Frida Giannini, and comes in your choice of either black or white. Both colorways are sporting a rubber strap paired with yellow PVD stainless steel cases to add some nice contrast to the mix, and there is even an option that features diamonds outlining the face. You can pick up either color now directly from Gucci.
Price: $1395 USD
Purchase: Gucci
A surprising new member of the Hublot watch family this year will be the new Classic Fusion Extra-Thin Skeleton. It is relatively thin (especially for a Hublot), it is relatively simple (just the time), and it has a very nice looking modern skeletonized movement and dial. Overall a winner if the look suits you.
Recently the Classic Fusion collection came out and was an interesting mix of Big Bang and more traditional watch looks. I had some nice things to say about it, but this Extra-Thin Skeleton model is much more impressive. I actually like that the hands are not skeletonized. Speaking of which, there is this huge trend in people making skeletonized hands and I really don't get it. Do people really go so ga-ga over skeletonized hands?
Skeletonzied movements on the other hands are much more interesting. Here, Hublot seems to take a base Unitas style manually-wound movement and built it using a new framework with technical looking bridges and a hip modern feel. This sure isn't your grandfather's skeletonized watch. The movement is called the Hublot caliber HUB1300 and is just 2.90mm thick with a 90 hour power reserve. It only has the time with subsidiary seconds dial. Overall it looks fantastic and very nice with the Classic Fusion case and style.
The dial has nicely sized hands that aren't too short. Short hands on this watch would kill it for me - but Hublot doesn't fail at all in this department. While the movement is the dial, Hublot is still able to apply sizable hour markers to ensure legibility is high. This is done with a sapphire plate over the movement I believe. An interesting design touch is that the Hublot uses a thin black outline for its logo to ensure it sticks out. I quite like that.
Offered in both titanium and 18k King Gold (basically red gold), the Classic Fusion Extra-Thin Skeleton comes in a 45mm wide case attached to a black alligator (with a rubber lining) strap. The case is water resistant to 50 meters and looks real nice on the wrist. Hublot really did an excellent job with these and both versions look nice. They will actually be offered as limited editions. There will be 1000 pieces of the Hublot Classic Fusion Extra-Thin Skeleton in titanium and 500 pieces of the watch in King Gold. Look for them later in 2012. TECHNICAL DETAILS from Hublot:
References 515.NX.0170.LR - Titanium, 1000-piece limited series
515.OX.0180.LR - 18K King Gold, 500-piece limited series
Case "Classic Fusion" - Diameter 45 mm
Titanium or 18K King Gold, polished and satin-finished
Bezel Titanium or 18K King Gold, with vertical satin finish
6 H-shaped countersunk, polished & locked titanium screws
Crystal Sapphire with interior/exterior anti-reflective coating
Bezel Lug Black composite resin
Crown Polished titanium or 18K King Gold, with Hublot logo
Case-back Satin-finished titanium or satin-finished 18K King Gold with sapphire crystal, interior anti-reflective coating
Water resistance 5 ATM, i.e. approx 50 metres
Dial Sapphire with silvered or red gold Hublot logo transfer
Anti-reflective coating on topside/underside
Polished & rhodium-plated or red gold-plated indexes
Hands Polished & rhodium-plated or red gold-plated
Movement HUB1300 hand-wound skeleton
Small seconds at 7 o'clock
Thickness 2.90 mm
Components 123
Jewels 23
Frequency 3 Hz (21,600 Vib/h)
Power reserve Approximately 90 hours
Wristlet Black alligator strap stitched onto black rubber
Clasp Deployant buckle in black PVD steel or 18K red gold
Writer: Ariel Adams
Purchase: Hublot
The world is shrinking and people shuttle between continents all the time. Probably this is what urged Bulgari to bring out the new Bulgari Papillon Voyageur, from the Daniel Roth Collection. This is the second watch to feature their patented minutes display system after the Papillon Chronograph in 2010 and sports a dual-time reading technique. The chronograph is simple to decode, the local time is displayed through a vertical aperture at 12 o’clock, which is calibrated around a 24-hour scale. "The dual time-zone indication is provided by a central blued open-worked GMT hand sweeping around a 24-hour graduated guilloché disc and adjusted according to the chosen time zone by means of two push-button respectively situated at 10 o’clock (+) and 2 o’clock (-)." The minutes can be read using the Papillon device, located at the dial centre. The device displays "measured minutes via an ingenious device connected to the bearing disc. The latter performs a complete 360° rotation in two hours, and bears two independent retractable lozenge-shaped hands running in turn over two 180-degree segments."
The watch sports colour contrasts which is reminiscent of the Daniel Roth Collection, where the lower part of the dial has a satin-brushed black gold look and the dial also comes with a fine guilloché motif. Powered by the in-house movement the watch comes in a double-ellipse 18-carat pink gold case with 30-meters of water resistance and 45-hour power reserve. The watch is finished with an alligator leather strap adorned with a pink gold triple-blade folding clasp. The Bulgari Papillon Voyageur will be limited to just 99 pieces.
Writer: Kamakshi
If you’re a fan of the stealthy, murdered-out timepiece trend, Bell & Ross have exactly what you’re looking for, adding two new enticing carbon fiber variations to their highly decorated BR 01 Aviation series of watches. While the use of carbon fiber is no stranger to this impressive line, the black-on-black detailing between the large 46mm case, and the dial and hands, most definitely is, resulting in the ‘Phantom’ delineation. Right down to the unique rubber and carbon fiber stitched band, the Phantom is clearly inspired by B-117 stealth fighters, which their striking ‘hidden in plain view’ aesthetic.
Both iterations of the watch come with all the standard features of any luxury watch (automatic Swiss mechanical movement, 100m water resistance, screw-down crown, photo-luminescent hands, sapphire crystal glass), except of course, for the gratuitous carbon fiber exotica.
Technical Specs:
BR01 92 Carbon Fiber Phantom
Movement: mechanical automatic.
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds.
Case: XL diameter 46mm. Carbon fiber. Screw-in crown.
Dial: black, “Clous de Paris” design. Numerals, index and hands covered in a photo-luminescent coating.
Glass: anti-reflective sapphire.
Water-resistance: 100 m.
Straps: carbon fiber and black rubber.
Buckle: pin buckle. Steel with matte black PVD finish.
Price: BR 01-94 Chrono($9,900 USD) & Standard-Dial BR01-92($8,000 USD)
Purchase: BR 01-94 and Standard-Dial
Welcome to the third installment of the Historie de Tourbillon watch collection from Harry Winston. These pieces have always amused and entertained me. For instance, when they came out with the first Historie de Tourbillon watch here I compared it to Star Wars droids. This third piece is something altogether new but retains the conceptual focus on complex tourbillons and the visualization thereof.
For me the design of this watch looks like a combination of MB&F (HM2) and DeWitt. Each combing together with some Harry Winston in a sort of "wants to be, but isn't quite Opus way." Harry Winston got its claim to fame via the famed Opus collection that asked independent watch makers to create special limited edition series for the brand. While continuing the Opus collection Harry Winston has also furthered their own creative spirit with wild high-end pieces in other collections. They are cool, but they still look up to "Uncle Opus" for approval and inspiration.
The Historie de Tourbillon 3 has three tourbillons in this long rectangular case. Two of the tourbillons are within one another and a third one sits next to them. The double tourbillon is a bi-axial mechanism that has an inner tourbillon rotating each 40 seconds and an outer one rotating each 120 seconds. The third, separated tourbillon spins once each 36 seconds. Why these numbers? I am not sure but I am sure there is a good reason from a regulation standpoint. You see, the system is designed to have each of them work together to regulate the time. This produces an average rate with arguably is the most accurate. Arguably... I am just happy to see watches like this even work. Seeing each of the three tourbillons operate together must be a hell of a visual spectacle. I want one.
The case is 65mm wide and about 46mm tall. The imposing look should serve as a good frame for the complications. It is made up of over 70 parts and is in 18k white gold and Harry Winston's own proprietary Zalium alloy metal. What does the Historie de Tourbillon watch do? Well it has two discs that show the time in hours and minutes, and the it has a power reserve indicator. If you are brave you can read the seconds via the several tourbillons.
The power reserve indicator is where the precious stones come in. The scale is lined with 11 sapphires and 6 citrines. When the orange of the citrines comes, it means that the 50 hour power reserve of the movement is coming to an end and you'll need to wind the movement.
Black opaline is used for the dial behind the indicators. It should make for a very deep and beautiful look. Many people are going to be outstanded at how strange and unconventional the watch looks. No one has ever claimed that a Harry Winston Historie de Tourbillon watch was pretty. No, they are more "handsome" watches than anything else. They are cool like a rugged SUV or a really well made set of stereo speakers - if you are even the type to get into that sort of thing. Form over function types need not apply. The whole thing is horological design overkill, and sometimes that is just what the wealthy mind desires.
Harry Winston will produce just 20 pieces of this Historie de Tourbillon 3 timepiece. It is a crazy weird watch for crazy weird people - and I damn hope to ever run into one in the wild. This is what watch makers dream up when trying to de-invent the timepiece.
Tech specs from Harry Winston:
Name Histoire de Tourbillon 3 Reference 500/MMTWZL.K
Movement Mechanical hand-wound movement, 479 components
Type Double tourbillon (bi-axial): one carriage rotating every 40 seconds within a second carriage spinning in 120 seconds on a perpendicular axis
Tourbillon (mono-axial): rotating on a single axis every 36 seconds
Power reserve 50 hours
Decorations Hand-polished chamfers
Circular graining
Shotpeening
Functions Hours and minutes
Small seconds
Power-reserve indicator
Case
Material Polished and satin-brushed 18K white gold Satin-brushed caseband in Zalium®
Crystal 5 non-reflecting sapphire crystals
Crown 18K white gold and rubber with HW engraving
Size 65 x 45.9 mm
Water resistance 30 meters
Dial Black Opaline
Circular satin-brushed hours and minutes discs
Small seconds disc on the bi-axial tourbillon, Power reserve indicated by 11 sapphires and 6 citrines
Strap Hand-sewn black alligator leather
Buckle
Type Double-pin buckle
Material Polished 18K white gold
Collection Histoire de Tourbillon
Writer: Ariel Adams
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