To celebrate the Singapore Grand Prix 2010 Chronoswiss release a limited editon of its Grand Opus.

You may remember that the brand released the Opus Black Magic at Baselworld 2010 featuring the brand’s patented version of DLC – Dianor, which framed the  hand-skeletonisation and hand-engraving of the movement to superb effect, well the latest piece does a similar job with a few subtle changes.

Bright orange takes the place of red for the steel hands adding a striking contrast, with the title of the watch Opus Grand Prix featuring on the lower edge of the dial.  The Chronoswiss C 741 Calibre also powers this piece with a power reserve of 46 hours.  The individual number of each piece is engraved onto the sapphire crystal case back.

The Singapore Grand Prix, the first night-time event in F1 history takes place this year on the 26th September.  When Bernie Ecclestone signed the event up for a five year deal it was timed so European viewers could watch the event at convenient times i.e. night time in Singapore (we at the Watch Press would have simply stayed up all night and had a bit of a GP party..), yet it has become the most spectacular spectacle of the F1 calendar, second only to the Monaco event.  Other brands have chosen to release limited edition pieces in tribute to the Marina Bay Street Circuit race including Audemars Piguet, with their Off Shore and a monster of a piece from Franck Muller in the form of the Conquistador Singapore GP Racing Chronograph in 2009 well why not?  with every marketing department of every brand looking to the east this is hardly a suprise and commemorative pieces this year will include two pieces from TAG Heuer, a  Monaco Calibre 12 Chronograph and a Formula 1 Lady’s Ceramic limited edition.

The Chronoswiss Grand Opus Singapore Grand Prix will be a limited edition of just 25 pieces worldwide.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Following on from the release of the Edox Chronorally which we loved and reviewed here the brand now present a mechanically powered piece, the  Edox WRC Rally Chronograph Automatic.

Featuring a Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750 automatic chronograph movement this one has a pleasing dial layout with the sub- dials neatly aligned to the 12, 6 and 9 o’clock positions, allowing for a large date window at 3 o’clock.

The Edox WRC Rally Chronograph Automatic

The use of gold colouring on the tachymeter scale and dial matches perfectly with the carbon fibre styling of the dial and the chunky tyre tread rubber strap.  Gold tone is also used on the outsize start/stop pusher, so often a feature of motorsport-inspired pieces leaving it accessable even when wearing racing gloves (or in the case of the rally fan big woolly gloves – having watched many rally stages, I know that thermals are often a must-have).

The Edox WRC Rally Chronograph Automatic measures 45mm and is water resistant to 100m.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Bell & Ross release the Instrument BR 01-92 Compass watch.

This is the latest evolution of the BR-01 Instrument series and the brand have been cleverly building the collection by working their way through aviation cockpit inspired dials to great effect.  So far the BR 01  portfolio has included a luxury tourbillon limited edition, a skull edition in tribute to the Airborne paratroopers of World War II and the (slightly) tamer Heritage models.  Recently they presented the BR-01 Radar so the Compass is a natural progression.

The new model, like its predessors is a monster.  Measuring 46mm x 46mm, flat, square and instantly recognisable.

The Compass features a mechanical automatic ETA 2892 with discs instead of hands used to indicate time.  The outer disc displays the hours, the inner disc the minutes.  A  white vertical line at the top of the dial serves as a fixed reference point to indicate the hours and minutes, thus giving the impression of a navigation compass.  The dial is split into two, the upper half for time indication, the lower half purely for visual effect with the rotating discs viewable through smoked sapphire crystal.

It has been interesting to view the story of this young brand unfold from its origins in the early 1990′s when Bruno Belamich and Carlos Rosillo first sought to construct timepieces for use in the most extreme environments.  That the Instrument BR-01 continues to evolve is no suprise, it is surely the industry’s finest example of a modern cult classic.  Indestructable by design and nature, this thing could and should be around forever.

The Bell & Ross BR 01-92 Compass will be available in October limited to 500 pieces worldwide.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Parmigiani Fleurier present the Parmigiani Bugatti Super Sport.  Parmigiani have been associated with Bugatti since 2001, a dream partnership and surely the envy of other manufacturers – I mean, which brand CEO wouldn’t love to have a little triumphant swagger around the various annual industry events knowing they are official partners of the company which produces the Veyron?

The Bugatti Veyron launched in 2005.  On its release Clarkson described it as a car which “…makes even the Enzo and the Porsche Carrera GT feel slow and pointless…”  The latest modified version, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport set a new world land speed record for production cars in June, then went on to achieve true prestige by setting the fastest time around Top Gear’s test track a few weeks ago.  The Parmigiani Fleurier Bugatti Super Sport watch is curvy, sensual, sculptured and technical, in other words it ticks all the boxes.

The Parmigiani Fleurier Bugatti Super Sport

The piece is a world first – the Master Watchmakers of the Fleurier manufacture have achieved a 90° time setting system, with the dial positioned perpendicular to the axis, made possible through combining a system of double pinions with bevel gearing, thus the time is quite literally displayed on the side, the perfect position for instant readability without turning the wrist (which could be catastrophic at high speeds…).  This watch marks a design departure for the brand, although the tear-drop case shape ensures continuity, mirroring the curves of the instantly recognisable Parmigiani lugs.

The new manually wound Parmigiani Calibre 372 movement sits almost on top of the watch, at a 30° angle, a two-plane movement – its arc-shaped balance and escape wheel, 10-day graduated power reserve scale and high level of finishing and decoration visible through six (yes, six) sapphire crystals.

The oval open-worked dial features the orange used for the world record edition of the Veyron with a carbon fibre hour wheel just visible through the centre.  Also noteworthy is the dynamometric (a great term) crown which needs only the slightest touch for setting and winding.

Available in 18 carat white gold, the Parmigiani Fleurier Bugatti Super Sport watch will be a 30 piece limited edition world wide.

Popularity: 7% [?]

It’s hard to believe that it has been almost 35 years since Basil Fawlty coined that famous phrase “Don’t mention the war”…..this week two pieces have come to our attention at the Watch Press which attribute their design inspiration to all things military -  if you’re a lover, not a fighter then please leave now!

Firstly CX Swiss Military Watch™ release the Hurricane which marks the beginning of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the RAF’s legendary Hurricane aircraft which fought against the Luftwaffe in the historical aeronautical face-off.

The CX Swiss Military Hurricane

Using the Airforce 1 model as its base the CX Swiss Military Hurricane is powered by the COSC ETA Calibre 7750 with 48 hours power reserve.  Constructed from DLC coated stainless steel the piece measures 47mm and has the busy dial and bezel synonymous with an authentic pilots watch. At the 9 o’clock position is a quirky propellar-shaped seconds hand.  The CX Swiss Military Hurricane is available in four dial options – silver, black, arctic or the iconic resplendent  red of the RAF, shown above and is a limited edition of 200 pieces.

……..And now for something completely different…………..The second air combat inspired piece comes from the lesser-known Bathys Hawaii Watch Co. – the formidably titled Bathys Hawaii Bomb Timer.

The Bathys Hawaii Bomb Timer

The Bathys Hawaii Watch Co. established in 2005 are known for creating robust dive watches and the Hawaii Bomb Timer  marks a departure in design for the brand.  Inspiration comes from the clocks found in the cockpits of the B17 and B29 bombers of World War II , these console-mounted dials were often removed when hostilites had ended and were taken home by air crew who would then attach a wriststrap thus making an unusual souvenir watch.   The piece measures 52mm x 35mm is constructed from stainless steel and is water resistant to 100m.  The Hawaii Bomb Timer is powered by a hand wound ETA 6948 Calibre with a power reserve of 48 hours and will be a limited edition of 200 pieces worldwide.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Longines release their Les Elégantes Collection for 2010.

Ladies watches have in recent times mirrored that of their more masculine counterparts, manufacturers have realised that women want the complications, the sporty styling, even the outsize “look-at-me” cuff shredding size synonymous with some men’s collections.  Throughout these evolutions the exquisitely crafted quintessentially quaint dress watch has firmly refused to go away.

Art Deco influenced almost everything – you and I see evidence of it almost everyday in the most mundane of items, from its rich sunburst designs to the bold shapes, forms and curves – influences gained partly from the beginnings of global travel when our planet was becoming a smaller place, a time when artists were taking influences from previously unseen Aztec, Egyptian and African designs.  In terms of the watch industry, manufacturers managed to shrink mechanical movements into the tiny confines of ladies wristwatch cases just at the perfect time to produce exquisite pieces ready to be showcased on newly exposed slim wrists in the “roaring twenties”.  Over at Ebel, Alice Blum’s eye for detail and design won the brand the Grand Prix in the category “High Jewellery Wristwatches” at the 1925 “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoraties et Industries Modernes” in Paris, the event that would eventually give Art Deco its title.

Surely a time which should continue to be celebrated and one which Longines pay tribute to annually with their Les Elégantes Collection. For 2010 three models of ten pieces each, one rectangle yellow gold, one tonneau in rose gold, one almond shaped in white gold, all in the style of Art Deco and at the heart of each the Longines Calibre L805 mechanical movement.

Popularity: 5% [?]

There was a time, I am assured by older and more knowledgeable writers in our industry when a wristwatch would appear on a celebrity’s wrist purely because they loved the piece, rather than through some kind of sponsorship or financial arrangement.  Ebel the brand originally created by Eugene Blum and Alice Levy in 1911 was to become a leader in the use of high profile brand ambassadors.  Alas this was not to save the company from lean times, and it is also true to say that the design department at Ebel lost its way for many years.  Brand confidence did not return until Ephraim Grinberg of Movado led the design team to refocus on the classic sensuous lines of the Ebel ladies collections and to strengthen the somewhat neglected mens portfolio, of which the Classic Hexagon models form an integral and important part.

The Hexagon Classic Chronograph, the flagship model of the range, when released achieved much needed kudos within the industry, however if you require a less complicated and slightly smaller version of the curvy hexagon case shape this year’s new models might just fit the bill.

Ebel Classic Hexagon 41mm

The Classic Hexagon measures a unisex-aimed 41mm, is constructed from stainless steel and its refined styling is pure Ebel.  The movement is an ETA 2896 and the piece  is available in black or silver galvanic dial options.

Ebel Classic Hexagon 41mm

Hand applied hour markers and polished hands along with a hand applied Ebel logo add the desired touch of quality and the dial remains uncluttered apart from the fairly large date window at 3 o’clock.

Popularity: 11% [?]