Baselworld 2019 - A preview

Take a peek behind the scenes of the year’s biggest watch show. Here are a few pieces that will be on display starting from tomorrow.

ARTYA

 

Son of Earth Tobacco – The dial is clad in genuine tobacco leaves hand “dialized” by artist Dominique Arpa-Cirpka. The gold bezel and lateral inserts are hand engraved by Bram Ramon.

CZAPEK

 

Faubourg de Cracovie Salmon Sockeye – The guilloché dial is made of alloy 401, a combination of 55% gold and a mixture of platinum, palladium and silver with an electroplated salmon finish.

MB&F

 

Legacy Machine Flying T – The brand’s first timepiece dedicated exclusively to women is a three-dimensional creation with a cambered bezel and beveled lugs on a round case that is fully set with diamonds.

MENINTIME

 

Le Paon – The brand makes its debut with a watch offered in ten references, with case and bracelet options of bead-blasted matte, satin-brushed or hand-polished surfaces, as well as eight dial layout options.

SCHWARZ ETIENNE

 

Fiji Floral Seconds – The dial of the brand’s inaugural ladies watch is animated by a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock designed as an openworked lattice that rests above a rotating disc.

 

STROM

Nethuns II Colorum – The watch features a sculpted outer case in either 925 silver or a bronze alloy made of copper and tin. This outer case is fitted over a watertight inner case that holds the movement.

VOUTILAINEN

 

28E – The in-house and hand-finished movement features two synchronized escape wheels – a system that uses less energy and has greater stability than traditional lever escapements. The dial is grand feu enamel over gold.

 

Vintage timepieces - Lip Super Nautic-Ski

The French electromechanical divers watch

 

Il sub elettromeccanico della Casa francese

 

 

Vintage Ads - Piaget (1984)

ENGLISH

"Piaget time is only measured in gold – Available at the world’s finest jewelers". Two ultra-thin watches of the Dancer collection – one for her and one for him.     
Do you like vintage watch ads? Please visit the page about Watch Ads, my two-volume pictorial history of communication and design in 20th Century watchmaking. You can also watch the video about the publication and download a 20-page preview of Volume 1.
The vintage ads presented in this Blog are not featured in the Watch Ads books.

ITALIANO“Il tempo Piaget si misura solo con l’oro – Disponibile presso le migliori gioiellerie del mondo”. Due modelli ultrapiatti della collezione Dancer: uno per lei e uno per lui. 
Ti piacciono le pubblicità d'epoca? Visita la pagina su Watch Ads, la mia storia illustrata in due volumi della comunicazione e del design nell'orologeria del Novecento. Puoi anche guardare il video sull'opera e scaricare l'anteprima di 20 pagine del Volume 1. 
Gli annunci pubblicitari d'epoca presentati in questo Blog non sono presentati nei volumi Watch Ads.

 

SIHH 2019 (4)

This is the fourth of a series of posts featuring a few pieces seen in Geneva at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, the year’s first watch show.

MONTBLANC

Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph – The dial incorporates two rotating, horizontally-aligned, discs – one for the 60-second counter and the other for the 30-minute counter.

 Time Walker – Both the 41 mm and 43 mm versions of the new chronographs feature “reverse panda” dials. The latter displays the counters in the traditional 3-6-9 positions.

PANERAI

Submersible – The brand’s collection of professional diving watches is enhanced by two 42 mm models in stainless steel with an applied ceramic disc on the rotating bezel.

Submersible Chrono Guillaume Néry Edition – Water-resistant to a depth of 300 m, this titanium chronograph is inspired by the French free-diving champion known for his world records and underwater photographs.

PARMIGIANI

Kalpagraphe Chronometre Titanium – Its caliber is a COSC-certified, self-winding, integrated chronograph with date function that offers a 65-hour power reserve.

Toric Quantième Perpetuel Rétrograde – The hand guilloché dial displays a retrograde perpetual date and a precision moon phase on an aventurine disc that evokes a starry night sky.

Mondaine stop2go

Due chiacchiere sul modello che riproduce il design e il funzionamento degli orologi delle stazioni ferroviarie svizzere.

La lancetta dei secondi si arresta e quella dei minuti avanza con uno scatto.

Vintage timepieces - Patek Philippe (1970s)

ENGLISH

This Reference 3585 dating back to the mid-1970s is fitted with Caliber 350, a movement developed a few years earlier by Patek Philippe to meet the demand for thinner self-winding watches. Its design drew inspiration from the Caliber 65 "Fontomatic" by the raw movement manufacturer FHF, that featured a half-ring rotor mounted on a large toothed arc rather than a central rotor mounted on an arbor - see picture below the Italian text. The watches fitted with Caliber 350 are easily recognized, since the winding crown is on the case back. This movement proved somewhat delicate and in 1979 was replaced by Caliber 1-350, that featured a 18kt gold half-ring rotor and only wound in one direction. Its is worth noting that Patek Philippe used no less than three different automatic movements when the 1976 catalog came out: the Calibers 27-460, 28-255 and 350. Two of them are mentioned on the page shown at the bottom of this post.

Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds.

Size: 34 x 36 mm, thickness 7 mm.
Case: 18kt gold, snap-on back.
Movement: Caliber 350, self-winding, 28 mm, thickness 3.5 mm, 28 jewels, rotor winding in both directions, Gyromax balance, Breguet hairspring, shock absorber, adjusted to temperatures and five positions, 21,600 vibrations per hour.

ITALIANO

Questa Referenza 3585 degli Anni 70 è equipaggiata con il Calibro 350, movimento sviluppato qualche tempo prima da Patek Philippe per andare incontro alla domanda di orologi automatici più sottili. La sua costruzione si ispirava al Calibro 65 "Fontomatic" di FHF, fabbricante del Gruppo Ebauches, che utilizzava un rotore a semianello montato su un ampio arco dentato invece del classico rotore centrale montato su un albero (foto sotto). Gli orologi con il Calibro 350 si riconoscono facilmente perché la corona di carica si trova sul fondo della cassa. Questo movimento si dimostrò abbastanza delicato e nel 1979 fu sostituito dal Calibro 1-350, nel quale il semianello è d'oro 18 carati e carica in una sola direzione. Va notato che Patek Philippe utilizzava non meno di tre movimenti automatici diversi quando uscì il catalogo del 1976: i Calibri 27-460, 28-255 e 350. Due di essi sono citati nella pagina riprodotta alla fine di questo post.

Funzioni: Ore, minuti, secondi. 
Dimensioni: 34 x 36 mm, spessore 7 mm.

Cassa: Oro 18 carati, fondo chiuso a pressione. 
Movimento: Calibro 350, automatico, 28 mm, spessore 3,5 mm, 28 rubini, rotore a carica bidirezionale, bilanciere Gyromax, spirale Breguet, dispositivo antiurto, regolato alle temperature e su cinque posizioni, 21.600 alternanze/ora.

 

SIHH 2019 (3)

This is the third of a series of posts featuring a few pieces seen this year in Geneva at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, the year’s first watch show.

GREUBEL FORSEY

Art Piece Edition Historique – The 44 mm case houses a double tourbillon 30° and an offset hours/minutes subdial in the shape of a titanium dome featuring a hand-punched background.

Balancier Contemporain – This white gold 33-piece limited edition features a 39.6 mm case that provides a particularly compact showcase for the brand’s exclusive balance wheel system.

HERMES

Arceau Awooooo – The enamel-painted dial features a wolf howling at the moon against a star-studded backdrop. Fitted with a matt graphite alligator strap, the white gold case houses an in-house movement.

L’Heure de la Lune – This timepiece offers the simultaneous display of moon phases in both northern and southern hemispheres. Two mobile counters gravitate on a meteorite or aventurine dial.

JAEGER-LeCOULTRE

Master Ultra-Thin Moon Enamel – The hand-guilloché blue enamel dial features new hour markers, polished moon and engraved counter. The automatic movement has a 70-hour power reserve.

Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Enamel – The reimagining of the Caliber 868 led to a new display of the perpetual calendar that simultaneously indicates the moon in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.