Wallpaper magazine did a special collaboration with Bell & Ross and Jonathan Ellery for the latest August ‘Handmade’ issue (see above). Ellery used a graphic motif that signified the big bang on a BR01-92 B&R watch which only comes together twice every 24 hours as the circles rotate.
The Omega Skeleton Tourbillon Co-Axial Platinum Limited Edition – quite a mouthful. Limited to an edition of 18 pieces
The Omega Constellation Double Eagle 4-Counters
The Omega Seamaster Ploprof 1200M
The Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz 35th Anniversary watch
There where few new additions from Omega that were presented at Baselworld 2010, most notably was another commemorative wristwatch that celebrates the 35th anniversary of the first international space flight in 1976 when two spacecraft built by different nations docked together.
Astronaut Lietenant General Thomas P. Stafford (USA) and cosmonaut Lieutenant General Alexei A. Leonov (USSR) met in the docking hatch that linked their respective spacecraft. They both shook their Omega wearing hands (no joke – Omega has a very hard working marketing department) and 35 years later, it spawned a commemorative edition that includes a dial created from a sign piece cut from the meteorite which entered the Earth’s atmosphere.
Since no two piece of the meteorite dial are alike, each dial remains unique. Conveniently, they had enough meteorite available to make exactly 1,975 pieces.
This year Tissot focused on two re-issues, some new variations of pre-existing models such as the Sailing Touch which is their touch screen version for martime enthusiasts, the release of PRS 516, a classic tissot case with an automatic movement and five smaller (3mm smaller) quartz variations and of course, the Visodate.
The Original PRS 516
Visodate Automatic 1957 – Reissue
Tissot Veloci-T (Gents and Ladies) Automatic
Tissot Lovely – 37 Top Wesselton Diamonds, Quartz movement
Lady Heart – Diamond Studded, Automatic, 3 ATM
Sailing Touch – A new additional to Tissot touch screen collection. The ST version has a maritime theme with meteorological forecasting ability, a tide-calculator and a regatta countdown in addition to the regular T-touch functions
MB&F continues to get creative with the revelation of their new aviation inspired complex mechanical wristwatch called the Thunderbolt. Founder Maximilian Busser explains how personal this design was for him:
Angular Momentum’s new model, La Boulle Classic “Day & Night”, has a 24 hour self winding mechanical movement and a clever elegant dial that i thought was noteworthy. Probably due to the recession, these watches are only made on order only.
The UR-CC! is the first mechanical wristwatch to mimic the digital linear display. The linear time is displayed by two large cylinders. One for jumping hours and the other, a retrograde cylinder for the minutes. The seconds are also displayed by a rotating disk on the dial. The UR-CC1 took more than three years of R&D.
RSW’s new mechanical timepieces for ladies is called the Moonflower. The watch was inspired by such symbols as the moon, meteorites, origins and floral compositions. The movement uses three discs to tell the hours, minutes and seconds. The watch uses an automatic movement (ETA 2824-2)
Perrelet’s Split-seconds Chronograph “Louis-Frédéric” is a tribute to the founder’s grandson. Some History here: Louis-Frédéric emigrated to Paris towards the end of the 18th century, became watchmaker to three successive kings of France, won competitions and in 1827 applied for a patent for his invention – the split-seconds chronograph counter, which also received an award from the Academy of Sciences in Paris. Almost two centuries later, Perrelet is reinterpreting this complication in two exceptional versions: one in white and pink gold limited to 50 pieces; the other in white gold in a limited series of 27. The movement is automatic (Perrelet P-241 calibre, 28,800 vib/h, 25 rubies, 46-hour power reserve)
Louis Moinet’s new Jules Verne Instrument 1 is named after science fiction writer, Jules Verne who famously wrote Journey to the Center of the Earth. Though, they want to refer specifically to a particular novel – From the Earth to the Moon for the reason that the watch has an authenticated piece of lunar rock in the side of the case at 9′o’clock. Sure, it also provides a new method to start and stop a chronograph but A LUNAR ROCK?
Someone needs to tell Concord that its a recession. They just released the Tourbillion Gravity which has a bi-axial tourbillion. I really can’t tell how it works but its definitely awe inspiring to look at. The movement is a hand-wound, Concord C104 calibre (21,600 vib/h, 72-hour power reserve).
DeWitt’s new Academia Tourbillon Force Constante a Chaine uses their patented movement regulating system which is three extra wheels that make sure that the time remains accurate despite the tension on the movement from use. The movement is a Manually-wound, DW8050 calibre.
