High precision chronographs have always been linked to the world of motorsport.  An industry-savy Jack W. Heuer was one of the first to recognise this and by offering his company’s services as official timekeeper at various motorsport events and forming fruitful relationships with some of the most prestigious motorsport teams and drivers perhaps ensured the viability of his brand.  In recent years the watch industry have responded to the demand for vintage-inspired sports chronographs, particularly those with motorsport themes with a growing collection of re-releases  so to “get the look” no longer requires auction hunting unless,  of course, rarity is required.

Tudor Heritage Chrono

The Tudor Heritage Chrono is a new release which pays tribute to the 1970′s Tudor Chronograph Oysterdate.  The satin and polished steel case, at 42mm is slightly larger than the original and the bidirectional rotatable bezel, milled crown and pushpieces and the 3D applique hour markers add to the overall robust styling.  Flashes of orange against the black and grey combination dial are particularly appealing especially when complimented by the orange and black fabric strap, although a stainless steel bracelet version is also available.  The piece is powered by the  Valjoux 7734 self-winding  movement and is water resistant to 150 metres.

Tudor Heritage Chrono on strap

The Tudor Heritage Chrono is the most recent addition to a new portfolio of watches which has relaunced the brand and widened its appeal to a new client base…… and the motorsport connection?   In 2009 Tudor became  “Timing Partner” of Porsche Motorsport with engagements in the Porsche international one-make cups.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Confrérie Horlogère Hublot unveil Liberty, a remarkable bullet-shaped timepiece designed to be worn as a bracelet, pendant or simply used as a tactile horological stress-buster.

Measuring 53.75mm long and 27mm wide, the gun cartridge type case is a combination of black aluminium and titanium.  The piece is powered by a transverse tourbillon manually wound movement with 120 hours of power reserve, and a sapphire crystal base provides a mesmerising view of the carriage.  Hours and minutes are indicated on the side of the case by rollers and water resistance is to 30m.

Confrérie Horlogère Hublot Liberty

The Confrérie Horlogère has evolved from BNB Concept whose original founders Mathias Buttet, Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasinci all previously of Frank Muller sought to create innovative high-end watch movements for the industry, often anonymously. A small group of chosen BNB Concept employees – the Confrérie Horlogère can make use of all the resources at BNB in terms of technology and support while having creative “carte blanche”.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Glashütte Original add a new piece to their portfolio – the Glashütte Original PanoMatic Counter XL.

The latest piece is powered by the new Calibre 96-01 automatic movement which is based on the acclaimed Glashütte Original Calibre 95 with its patented bilateral winding step gear system ensuring ultimate efficiency.  The latest evolution of this calibre features a novel complication – a counter positioned at the 9 o’clock which enables the wearer to count up, count down or reset to zero using pushers at the 9, 8, and 10 o’clock positions respectively.  The counter displays the same generous Arabic numerals as the traditional Panomatic date window (which appears at the 3 o’clock) although this time the numerals are red.  With this complication alone requiring 217 individual components in its construction, the unusual counter function is a perfect example of the “we can therefore we shall…” ethos that makes the master watchmakers and in-house engineers at Glashütte Original stand apart from their contemporaries in terms of functionality and aesthetics.

Glashütte Original PanoMatic Counter XL

The hours and minutes are displayed in the lower half of the dial with a “floating” chronograph stop-seconds at the upper half beneath which are the 30-minute counters and subsidiary seconds, their zero markers re-positioned so not to be obscured by the chronograph which overlaps them.

Glashütte Original PanoMatic Counter XL

The high level of finish, the three-quarter plate, Duplex swan-neck fine adjustment, Glashütte ribbing and beveled edges are viewable through anti-glare sapphire crystal front and back and this perfectly legible and truly functional piece is presented on a black alligator leather strap.

Popularity: 26% [?]

Carl F. Bucherer present the Patravi EvoTec PowerReserve.  The Lucerne-based brand unveiled their innovative automatic Calibre CFB A1000 at Baselworld 2008 and this acclaimed movement forms the basis of the latest release.

The movement is the product of Carl F. Bucherer Technologies SA (CFBT) whose workshop in Sainte-Croix consists of a small but clearly highly skilled team, and the Calibre CFB A1000 will, we feel, form the basis of many more new releases such are its development possibilities.

The CFB A1000 has as (one of …) its most interesting features a bi-directional oscillating weight which is peripherally mounted enabling an unobstructed view of the movement, compared to the usual centrally mounted rotor.  To prevent the rotor being displaced a patented shock absorbing system  was developed using carbon coated rollers filled with ultra durable ball bearings and mountings which are sprung mounted onto rocking bars.

Carl F. Bucherer Patravi EvoTec PowerReserve

The EvoTec PowerReserve, the latest piece in the Patravi collection is powered by an updated version of this movement – the CFB A1002 which features the addition of a power reserve indicator displayed at the 3 o’clock position using a retro style curved aperture which reads High to Low.

Cushion shaped cases often add an impression of size to a piece and this one, available in stainless steel or rose gold is already a generous 43.75 x 44.5mm. Subsidiary seconds are displayed at the 6 o’clock in a harmonious little cushion shaped dial, large date aperture is at the upper left of the dial with day of the week at the 9 o’clock position.

Popularity: 9% [?]

At the recent 2010 SIHH exhibition Zenith present an elegant and understated piece, the Zenith Elite 681 Ultra Thin, released alongside their new stunning El Primero Foudroyante 1/10th Chronograph.

So far 2010 seems to be a year of distinctly classical watches, with pieces such as Jaeger-Le Coultre’s Master Memovox models and IWC’s Portuguese Yacht Club Chronographs appearing as contemporary interpretations of the original models.

Zenith’s Ultra Thin Elite 681 features a pure retro plain dial with faceted hour-markers, elongated sword-shaped hands and a subtle small seconds at 9 o’clock.  The sapphire crystal is slightly domed and the trim watchcase is available in 18 carat rose gold or stainless steel.  Various dial finishes are offered including two limited edition diamond set versions but it would be difficult to surpass the simple silvered style pictured here. The Elite self-winding 681 Calibre is just  3.81mm thick and has a power reserve of 50 hours.

Zenith Elite 681 Ultra Thin

Early extra-thin mechanical watch movements were initially hand wound to avoid the added height needed for an oscillating weight and self-winding ultra thin calibres were pioneered by both Piaget and Vacheron Constantin in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  Both of these brands continue to excel in this niche and it is interesting to note that both have also released anniversary tributes to their original extra-thin calibres this year.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Omega have revealed their latest Limited Edition Speedmaster watch at the 2010 Baselworld exhibition. Perpetuating their enduring association with all aspects of  man’s achievements in space, this new piece, the Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz is released as a tribute to the first international space flight on the 35th Anniversary of the event.

The Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz “35th Anniversary”

The Omega Speedmaster, despite it’s age, remains an essential element of the brand’s range of models and wears it’s years remarkably well, being in most part true to the 1957 original. However, the new edition is a striking interpretation indeed and to underline this as well as commemorating the historic 44-hour unison in space of the US Apollo module and Soviet Russia’s Soyuz on July 17, 1975, it’s dial is made from a material rarely found anywhere on earth – meterorite!

The Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz “35th Anniversary”

The crazed texturing on each dial of the 1975 pieces is unique to that watch, as naturally no two sections of meteorite can be the same, so each piece is truly one-of-a-kind!  Being made from a single piece of the meterorite, Omega have achieved the light/dark contrast of the dial and it’s subdials by preserving the oxidised blackened outer ‘crust’, created under the ferocious temperatures endured during the metallic space rock’s entry into the earth’s atmosphere, and for the recessed subsidiary dials, we see the natural colour of the meterorite. The dial is further enhanced by the subtle use of red detailing on the tip of the chrono seconds hand and in it’s ‘Speedmaster’ motif.

On the caseback there’s a cool motif of the two spacecraft with the names of the astronauts Lieutenant General Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald K ‘Deke’ Slayton and the cosmonauts Lieutenant General Valeri Kubasov and Alexei Leonov. Each case is engraved with the edition number ****/1975.

The Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz “35th Anniversary”

I have to confess to writing this article while wearing my first real watch, a 2005 Gemini 4, First Spacewalk 40th Anniversary Speedy Professional – the one with the blue dial – so it would be fair to say that I have more than a fondness for the Speedmaster. The new Apollo-Soyuz edition is a stunning stainless steel watch and features a sapphire crystal, as opposed to the non-scratch resistant hesalite. It’s 42mm diameter case houses the legendary Calibre 1861 hand-wound movement.

Price expected to be around €6400 or $7500 with availability from July (but you’d want your name on it sooner if you want one!). It’s a thing of beauty to my eyes, but that’s a lot for a steel Speedmaster. But the other side of the coin is it’s exclusivity and collectability. Unless Omega use meterorite in further editions, this one could be a keeper with a premium in the coming years.

Do make sure to click on the images to enlarge, then click the enlargement to supersize so you can get a great look at this fab watch.

Popularity: 35% [?]

The connection between cars and luxury men’s watches is a strong bond which has inspired the creation of numerous iconic pieces.  Watch brands such as TAG Heuer, Rolex, Panerai and Richard Mille, to name but a few have released car-themed collections to enthusiasts eager to own a timepiece whose name and design inspiration is taken from luxury car marques, motorsport teams and drivers.  Shared construction materials, the product of  this fruitful marriage of industries has in recent times gave birth to forged carbon fibre bezels and even belt-driven pieces.

It is no secret that Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Vice-President of Chopard who sponsor  the Mille Miglia rally is himself a classic rally entrant and a keen car collector and enthusiast. The brand also sponsor the Monaco Grand Prix Historique so perhaps the release of a watch shaped like an engine block in miniature should be viewed as a natural progression for the brand.

The L.U.C. Engine One Tourbillon features a hand wound Tourbillon movement – the L.U.C. Calibre 1TRM with the skeletonised bridge for the Tourbillon carriage at the 6 o’clock position and the power reserve (60 hours) indicator at the 12 o’clock.  With black numerals and hour markers engraved directly onto the sapphire glass and a dial of contrasting plain middle section with vertical grooves on the side sections this piece is further evidence of the recent trend for “3-D” dial designs.

The case is of brushed and satin titanium construction and is  presented on a black alligator strap which interestingly is lined with brown alligator.   Aerodynamically inspired case flanks and curved lugs provide comfort to the wearer and add wind-tunnel inspired kudos to the overall design.

The Chopard L.U.C. Engine One Tourbillon will be a 150 piece limited edition release, a  tribute to the the 150th anniversary of the brand.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Blancpain add a new piece to the elegant Villeret collection – the Villeret Phase de Lune Demi-Savonnette.

Blancpain, acknowledged as a manufacture for the connoisseur  owe recent success largely to the vision of Jean-Claude Biver who in the early 1980’s despite the down-turn in demand for complicated mechanical watches set his master watchmakers the challenge of producing the “Six Masterpieces”. In 1983 Blancpain launched their now iconic Calibre 6395 Moon Phase.  The brand are now viewed by many as manufacturers of the quintessential moon phase and their charming little crescent-set golden “man in the moon” has become the perfect way to time the phases of each lunation.

Villeret Phase de Lune Half Hunter - Click to enlarge, again to supersize

The latest piece features the Blancpain 6654 Calibre movement with an extremely capable 72 hours power reserve and consists of more  than 300  beautifully finished components which are viewable through the exhibition case back when the hinged “Savonnette” or “Hunter” case back cover is opened.

The 40mm rounded case crafted from red gold is completely harmonious with the lustrous guilloche of the dial.  Discreet positioning of the correctors – under the lugs, ensures ease of adjustment by digits rather than watch tools and adds to the overall clean classical appearance of this splendid piece.

Popularity: 14% [?]

With two new releases, the The Longines Column-Wheel Chronograph and The Longines Column-Wheel Sports Chronograph the brand continues to consolidate its historical position as creators of classical and sporty timekeepers.

Longines Column Wheel Chronograph

Both pieces use the L688.2 self-winding movement developed with ETA which was launched in 2009.  For many traditionalists the presence of a column-wheel (in this case blued steel) to control the chronograph function is an indicator of a “true chronograph” as most modern chronographs use cams attached to a base calibre movement to start, stop and return to zero the chronograph, rather than the column-wheel which achieves the same purpose but which is an integral part of the movement. Whatever your opinions on this however the L688.2 is certainly a contemporary interpretation of a column-wheel chronograph movement using up to date technology and one which Longines state is “exceptionally user-friendly” and requires “only the finest touch to start and stop the mechanism”.

The L688.2 movement has a power reserve of 54 hours and both pieces feature small seconds at 9 o’clock, date aperture a 4.30, 30-minute counter at 3 0’clock and 12 hour counter at 6 o’clock.  The dauphine shaped hands are coated with Super-LumiNova®.  Water resistance is to 30m for the Column Wheel Chronograph and 100m for the Column Wheel Sports Chronograph thanks to its screwed-in case back.

L688.2 Column Wheel Chronograph movement

The Column-Wheel Chronograph is the more elegant of the two with a  39mm steel or rose gold case, featuring classical detailing such as a silvered dial on dark brown alligator strap and the Column-Wheel Sports Chronograph slightly larger at 41mm features more striking choices of steel with black lacquered or brushed grey dial and steel bracelet or steel with contrasting black or grey ceramic central links or rubber strap.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Although I am familiar with the name of Beat Haldimann, the much-revered master watchmaker from Thun, I will confess to never actually having taken time to explore what goes on in his own atelier – and what comes out of it too. Well, having read a press release received today, I decided that it was time to put that right.

Beat Haldimann’s fascination with watchmaking began as a youngster and thankfully this interest would evolve into a career, first as a teenaged apprentice in the workshop of a local watchmaker where he became versed in the repair and restoration of ‘new and old masterpieces’ while simultaneously studying to complete his watchmaking training at college and eventually as proprietor of Haldimann Horology, established in 1991 specializing in commissions and restorations. A further two years in college saw Beat emerge as Swiss Federal Graduate with the title Master Horologist.

So what I have found here is a very successful young (well, 46 is young enough from where I’m sitting) master watchmaker and visionary, who has clearly read all the books on horology and then apparently thrown any of them which dictated how a watch should be straight out of the window of his lakeside mansion/atelier!

For the watches made here are like no others and most certainly not for the passive watchbuyer. His latest creation, due to be presented at Baselworld 2010, the H8 Sculptura is a fine example in that it is an exercise in horology yet would serve little value to the customer who wants his watch to actually tell the time – this one doesn’t fully perform that function, but wow, it truly is a thing of rare beauty.

The Beat Haldimann H8 Sculptura stands out – literally – from it’s peers, and that’s only to be fully appreciated when first viewed, as there, placed centrally where one would expect to find the hands, is the quite magnificent flying one-minute tourbillon, seemingly floating above the otherwise unblemished dial. The search for hidden hour and minutes hands to read the time proves fruitless as there are none! This piece is not about being able to tell the time, rather it is a study in time as a movement and as such, hands have been seen as surplus to requirements.

So, if the Haldimann H8 Sculptura doesn’t tell the time, what does it do? Why is it with us at all? Well, according to the Haldimann atelier’s official scribe, Valentin Blank, the H8 Sculptura is a little glimpse at the philosophy of it’s creator in that his expression in the piece is that it is not strictly a watch, but rather a portable personal piece of horologic art – a sculpture in fact.

Like an artefact in a glass case in a museum, the tourbillon can be viewed from any angle thanks to the low level of the bezel and the convex crystal which is like a domed glass ceiling above, and it is then that the mastery in Haldimann’s complication can be appreciated, indeed how it was meant to be appreciated. There is nothing else on the surface of the dial to distract one’s attention, not even a marker or manufacturer’s ident, just this mesmerising and hypnotizing, whizzing yet so dignified flying tourbillon reflecting off the dial above which it performs it’s 60-second pirouette.

The H8 Sculptura is available in 39 or 42mm platinum case by order with collection in person from the hands of Beat Haldimann himself at the atelier itself!

Popularity: 10% [?]