The aptly named Chopard Happy Diamond portfolio of watches is I feel impossible to dislike, ok maybe some of the “mother-of-the-bride” pastel shaded chronograph editions are a bit too sugar coated but the collection has a broad appeal and without doubt has gained Chopard a younger client  base worldwide. The original concept was apparently inspired [...]

I was browsing through the catalog for the upcoming Sotheby’s Important Watches sale and noticed a number of interesting pieces while doing so. Among the many prestigious watches, one piece that did catch my eye was a Heuer Monaco Steve McQueen Chronograph dating back to c.1971. At first glance it’s a rather battered old thing [...]

Gresso launch their first watch collection at Baselworld 2010 – the Gresso Grand Wind Skeleton Collection. Gresso are manufacturers of luxury mobile phones (or “luxury communications devices”), which are high tech in both appearance and function.  Now after three years development, the company realise their horological ambitions and the result is anything but subtle. With [...]

Maurice Lacroix presented at Baselworld 2010 a new piece the Masterpiece Régulateur Roue Carrée.   This latest release from the prestigious manufacturer displays the hours through the use of a remarkable openworked square wheel which in turn is driven by a neighbouring cloverleaf-shaped wheel, the two connecting and interlocking in complete precision despite being worlds [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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. 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 [...]

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 [...]

Wow! This is a little story which is hard to pass! Maybe you know that in Switzerland all forms of motor racing are actually outlawed and so, instead of guys retiring to the garage/potting shed at night to put another five hours into the ‘project’ muscle car, rally car or whatever, their Swiss counterpart retires [...]