TwoTone

Posted by: Neo Dec 1 2004, 01:03 PM "What is a Perpetual Calendar watch and how does it work?" by Professor J.C. Nicolet The early "calendar" watches, dating from the 16th century, were equipped with a mechanism giving the day, date and month in addition to the hour which was still imprecise at that point in time. In a calendar watch, the days and months follow sequentially but the same cannot be said of the dates which are either 28, 29, 30 or 31 depending on the month and whether it is leap year or not. In a "simple" calendar watch, it is necessary to correct the date five times during the year, i.e. the ist day of March, May, July, October and December Abrahain-Louis Breguet is usually credited with having invented the mechanism which made these corrections automatically. His invention led to today's "perpetual calendar" watches as opposed to "simple calendar" timepieces. These models are based on the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar in use today. As a result, leap years are not deleted at the end of three out of four centuries, thus making it necessary to correct the watch three times in 400 years. Regarding leap years, February 29 has been deleted in the years 1700, 1800 and 1900. It won't be deleted in 2000 but will be in 2100, thus today's ads for perpetual calendar watches are right in their claims that these models will not have to be corrected for over a century. The actual duration of a year is 365.2422 days. The perpetual calendar counts the year as having 365.25 days while the simple calendar counts 12 x 31 = 372 days making it necessary to remove 6 or 7 days every year. How it works: To explain how the perpetual calendar works, we will discuss a mechanism devised by the author for an astronomical clock (see diagram). The principal part of the mechanism is the perpetual lever -B- which pivots on -b-. It returns to its position by an action of the spring -rb- and it normally pushes against the perpetual cam -P-. A small finger -D- completes one turn per day around point (d) and drags the lever between the hours of 23hOO and midnight by sliding on its inclined plane. The perpetual level -B- is equipped with two pawls -C1- and -C2- which are acted upon by their two respective springs. Each day around midnight the beak -Bj- moves the seven-pointed day star which is held in place by its jumper-spring. The diagram shows the position at midnight just before the jump to March 1. Normally the date is changed by the pawl -Cl- while the pawl -C2- slides onto the cam -L-. Five times per year, when the date changes from the 30th to the lst (or for leap years, from February 28 to 29), it is the pawl (C2) positioned behind the catch of the cam (L) which causes the hand to move from 30 to I (or from February 28 to March 1). For the month change, the lever (M) pivoting on (m) held by a pin on the cam (L) moves the month star from February to March. The secret of the perpetual calendar is in understanding the way that the perpetual lever engages the pawl (C2) behind the catch of the cam (L) on the appropriate date. We have seen that the perpetual lever at rest pushes against the cam (P). This cam is the memory for the perpetual calendar. It has seven ridges corresponding to the months with 31 days, four indentations corresponding to the months with 30 days and a movable rectangle for February. The cam thus determines the three levels of rest for the perpetual lever. The pawl (C2) which is engaged behind the catch of the cam (L) can occupy three different levels, This pawl can then become engaged behind the catch on the evening of the 30th and will not act until the 31st at the same time as the the pawl (Cl). This then is the case of 31-day months corresponding to the seven ridges. The pawl (C2) becomes engaged behind the catch on the evening of the 29th when the lever pushes on the base of the indentation. The evening of the 30th, between 23h00 and midnight, it causes the date to change to the 31st. Finally for February the lever, pushing on one side of the rectangle and always lower than the bottom of the indentation, allows the pawl (C2) to move the date from February 28 or 29 directly to March 1. An ingenious addition is that the small movable rectangle has three sides equidistant from its center of rotation and the fourth side which is positioned higher than the others. Thanks to this small simple mechanism hidden behind the date star, it rotates one-quarter of a turn each year so that once every four years, the highest side pushes on the lever. For that year, the pawl (C2) will only act on the 29th of February, corresponding to the leap year. If we simplify the mechanism by replacing the small movable rectangle by a fixed indentation, the jump will always occur on February 28 and the calendar would then have to be corrected for leap years. This simplified device is called a "semi-perpetual calendar". The month is changed from 31 to I by the action of a pin placed on the cam (L) acting on the lever (M) which pivots on (m). As soon as the pin of the cam (L) escapes from the lever, the latter is drawn behind the next tooth by a spring. The end of (M) is jointed to allow it to pass behind the next tooth, thus causing it to move at the end of the following month. Courtesy of europa star Posted by: Neo Dec 1 2004, 01:12 PM "Why do watches have rubies in them?" by Professor J.C. Nicolet TECHNICAL REASONS The important parts of a mechanical watch are mainly those that move, i.e. gear trains, the balance and the escapement. In early times, the fine pivots of these pieces turned directly in holes drilled into two brass plates separated by pillars. In order to facilitate assembly and repair, the upper plate was later replaced by separate elements, called "bars" (also "bridges" or "cocks" depending on the number of supports). The lower brass plate (called "bottom plate") was drilled with small holes in which the other ends of the pivots turned. These holes also contained small oil sinks from which the oil flowed into the holes to lubricate the pivots. With time, though, dust from the air collected in the oil sinks. This resulting mix of oil and dust formed an abrasive substance which acted like sandpaper, slowly filing away the softer brass of the plate and to some extent even the harder steel pivots. With continued use, the abrasive action of the oil-dust mixture working in concert with the turning action of the pivots caused the holes to become oval. The watch would then start to work erratically, finally stopping. These observations led watchmakers to look for a material harder than brass that would withstand more wear and tear from the pivots. The substance they turned to was the ruby, a material second only to the diamond in hardness. A BIT OF HISTORY The use of the ruby goes back to 18th century England (at the time the cradle of quality horology) where watchmakers first had the idea of using small ruby pellets (called jewels) as bearings for the pivots of the balance. The technique of drilling the ruby was invented by a Swiss optician and astronomer, Nicolas Fatio, who went to England in the hope of exploiting his invention. He tried to obtain a "royal privilege" for his technique which they wrongly claimed was already in use. In the end, Fatio did not receive the privilege and other skillful workers set about producing drilled ruby pellets for the watch trade. In those days stones were second-rate rejects from the jewelry trade. The technique allowing fro precision drilling of the rubies gave the British watch industry supremacy over continental horology for about 20 years. After that, French watchmakers such as Abraham-Louis Breguet brought over English craftsmen (and their jeweling techniques to work for them in France. This market the beginning of the end of the British monopoly. For many years, this relatively costly labor-intensive technique limited jewels exclusively to very high quality watches. Slowly their manufacture became more industrial and their pieces more accessible to other aspects of watchmaking. Making Synthetic Rubies: Top- The creation of the elongated pear-shaped pieces of artificial crystal. Bottom- The pear-shaped pieces are sliced using a copper and diamond cutting tool. The slices are then cut into half, in squares and finally in rounds measuring from 0.3 to 0.5 mm in thickness and 1.15 to 2.55 mm in diameter. SYNTHETIC RUBIES A further decrease in price accompanied the creation of synthetic rubies, based a method developed in 1902 by August Verneuil, Professor in Paris' Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers. In fact, synthetic rubies, as well as their natural counterparts are corundum, i.e. crystal-line aluminum oxide. In the industrial fabrication process, the basic component alumina (aluminum oxide) undergoes a series of operations, i.e. purification, heating, fusion and crystallization, which results in pear-shaped pieces of artificial ruby. Chromium oxide is added to get the red color of natural rubies. The large-scale manufacture of rubies permitted the creation of abundant quantities of these synthetic stones, more homogeneous in quality than the ones found in nature. The jewelry trade takes most of these stones. In watchmaking, the cost of the rubies came mostly from the labor needed to drill and set them, as the cost of the raw material was relatively low. Having said this, it must be noted that from beginning to end-product, about 90% of the ruby is destroyed, with only the remaining 10% usable for watches. Up until 1930, the ruby pellets were jewelry-fitted into the brass, but later, the technique of driving (pressing) them into the plates was adopted, thus lowering production costs even more. A COMMERCIAL GIMMICK? In the mind of the public, the idea that watches contain jewels give them a certain added prestige value. Manufacturers were quick to exploit this belief and started to add unnecessary stones to increase the prices of their products. The term "upjeweling" was an American term coined to refer to this dubious practice which was fairly widespread in the U.S. at the time. It was finally abolished by the U.S. Customs authorities who disallowed "upjeweled" imports from entering the country. There are some, however, who suggest that their real motives may have been less noble and that this was merely a kind of camouflage protectionism for the U.S. watch industry. Today, Swiss watchmakers no longer use this questionable practice and their advertisement is not based on the number of jewels in a movement. The total number of rubies, i.e. "jeweling", can vary. In a simple hand-wound mechanical watch, the number of jewels varies from a minimum of 14 to a maximum of 19. In automatic or complicated watches, where there are more moving parts, the number of rubies is higher. Once in awhile, someone will hear a rumor that a what repairer has stolen the rubies out of a watch and replaced them with brass bearings. This is a totally baseless myth. For the watchmaker to remove the rubies and replace them with brass would require a lot of effort and would certainly not be worth his time given that the jewels cost only a few cents to buy. To sum it all up, having jewels in a watch is certainly a factor that adds to its overall quality. They are indispensable for the long-life and correct functioning of a good quality watch. Courtesy of europa star Posted by: Neo Dec 1 2004, 01:21 PM I can't seem to wear mechanical watches. Either they work sporadically or they don't work at all on my wrist. Why is that? by Professor J.C. Nicolet There may be several reasons why a mechanical watch does not work. Most people who have this problem fall into one of the following categories. 1. An old and worn watch 2. A new but not water resistant watch 3. A manual-winding watch 4. Automatic and water resistant watches 5. Watches used under rigorous conditions And what about quartz watches? 1. An old and worn watch Sometimes a person inherits a high quality watch which had worked well for more than 20 years when worn by its previous owner. Therefore, the new owner expects it to work as well for him. Well, it's precisely because the timepiece has given good service for so long that it has become worn out and it deserves a good retirement alongside other "antiques". Nobody expects modern exploits from a classic car, even if it was the best during its era. Why should we expect anything different from a watch? 2. A new but not water-resistant watch A modern watch, even if housed in a magnificent case but one which is not water-resistant, can have problems when it is subjected to many of life's daily activities. If worn during sleep, dust can enter the watch just from rubbing against the sheets. On the other hand, if the watch is removed before going to bed, its internal temperature decreases creating an airflow into its interior. As the air enters, so does the ambient dust, but unlike the air, these small particles do not leave. Non water-resistant watches need more care that other timepieces and it is necessary to have them cleaned more often; usually once a year for small ladies' models and once every two years for less delicate men's watches. The use of perfume can also damage these watches as it can negatively affect the oil used to lubricate the delicate watch parts. Happily, synthetic oils used today are more resistant to the chemical in perfumes. 3. A manual-winding watch All hand-wound mechanical watches, water-resistant or not must be wound regularly. Modern mechanical watches can often work for 40 to 50 hours between windings as compared to earlier models whose power-reserve was 30 to 36 hours. It is preferable, however to wind these watches every day and at about the same time because this will increase their precision. Some wearers wind their watches whenever they happen to think of it, that is, several times during one day and not at all the following day. It is not wonder, then, that their timepieces sometimes stop. If this sounds like you, you should consider wearing a quartz or an automatic mechanical watch. 4. Automatic and water-resistant watches Automatic and water-resistant watches can also present a number of problems that may be due to two factors: -the wearer is too still, -the wearer is too active. People who are bedridden or confined to a chair because of illness, old age or, as is more likely the case, have low activity desk jobs, are not getting enough activity to rewind their automatic watch. When these people were healthier or just more active, their watches worked well, and it is perhaps difficult for them to admit that they are the reason for the poor operation of their faithful timepieces. On the other hand, people who are too active, especially those who gesture a lot, tend to overwind their watches. They should remove their watches at night to better maintain the automatic winding mechanism. For those who are less active, they should wear their watches at night to keep them wound. Watchmakers have defined what they call the "winding speed" of manual-winding mechanical watches by using a very simple formula: Time worn + time not worn Time worn Therefore:8 + 16 Winding speed= ------------------------------------------------= 3 8 A normal winding speed is between 2 and 3. Below 2, the watch may stop. Above 3, it will work very well at the beginning but the mechanism will wear out faster than normal. 5. Watches used under rigorous conditions Everyone who wear a watch under difficult conditions should use a water-resistant or even a diver's watch, especially when this watch is exposed to shocks, water (especially sea water), acids, dust or sudden temperature changes. Watches used under such conditions should be equipped with resistant crystals and anti-shock devices. For doing housework, it is also preferable to wear water-resistant timepieces because they can be unintentionally exposed to water. The magnetic doors on refrigerators and cabinets may magnetize a watch if they come into direct contact with it. In these cases stainless steel offers better protection than a gold case. A magnetized watch works very poorly though, at first glance, it is not apparent that there is the problem. And what about quartz watches? Quartz watches with analog display, that is with dial and hands (the only kind of quartz watches manufactured in Switzerland) can be damaged by water and dust. If they are in a watertight case, they are well protected and should work fine as long as the battery is good. They are also less susceptible to the effect of magnetism than their mechanical counterparts. However, they have the additional disadvantage of stopping with no warning once the battery is low. If it has not been changed for a long time, it is a good idea to replace the battery before going on a trip or on vacation since the right one my be difficult to find outside major centers in most countries. Swiss companies selling quartz watches are able to ensure good maintenance and repair as long as the component parts are available. Once parts are no longer being made, the watches cannot be repaired. On the other hand, mechanical watches can be repaired as long as a watchmaker can be found who is capable of handmaking defective parts. This, of course, is expensive, but if the watch is a collector's item, it may be worth the effort. Courtesy of europa star Posted by: Neo Dec 1 2004, 01:59 PM NICKEL ALLOYS, RELATED ALLERGIES AND REGULATIONS Is it true that nickel can cause allergies? And if so, can wearing a watch and bracelet made of nickel alloys be harmful to one's health? For the past few years, there has been a lot of talk of allergies caused by metal alloys containing nickel that are in constant contact with the skin. In order to have a better understanding of this phenomenon, we will take a closer look at nickel and the allergies that this metal may cause. What is an allergy? The condition that we call an allergy is rather complex and cannot be explained without going into great detail. In general, however, an allergy is a biological reaction produced by a particular substance that affects certain individuals in varying degrees, although many other people may not be affected at all. Allergies are usually unpredictable and can even sometimes cause violent responses. It has been estimated that about 10% of people in normally good health are susceptible to some kind of allergy. An allergy to nickel is quite real although, in some ways, it is a bit surprising since our bodies need a certain quantity of metals to maintain good health. This is the case for zinc, cobalt, copper and nickel that are found in our bodies in the form of trace elements. Their presence in insufficient quantities or their total absence can result in rather serious medical difficulties. For example, the lack of nickel creates problems in growth, reproduction and longevity in animals. On the other hand, too large a concentration of these normally necessary trace minerals can provoke physiological perturbations in certain individuals. The person in question becomes the victim of a chronic disorder with varying levels of gravity depending on the amount to which he or she is exposed. The symptoms are not the same for everyone and, at any given concentration, reactions can vary from intensely serious to hardly noticeable. Density, in kg/m3: 8890 Melting point, in °C: 1440 Expansion coefficient per °C: 13.1 x 10-6 Elastic modulus, in daN/mm2 : 2.1 x 10-4 Figure 1: Certain Physical Characteristics of Nickel What is nickel? Nickel is found in the earth's crust as a naturally occurring silvery metal in the form of various minerals. Primary nickel is obtained from mining its ore and from nickel matte. Denoted by the symbol Ni, this element has the atomic number 28 and is chemically located in the category of metals between cobalt and copper. Nickel is plentiful in nickel-iron meteorites as well as at the centre of our planet, but is found to a lesser degree on the Earth's surface, ranking in 24th position by order of abundance. Some of its physical characteristics are given in Figure 1. From an historical point of view, nickel was already being used in 3000 B.C. in the form of an alloy that was probably of meteoritic origin. It was only isolated as an element in 1751 by the Swedish chemist Axel Fredrik Cronstedt. But, it was only in the 19th Century that nickel was extracted on an industrial scale, first in Norway then in New Caledonia following the discovery of important deposits in these countries. Today, Canada is the world's largest producer of this metal. In 1890, nickel was introduced into cast metal and steel alloys in order to improve their mechanical characteristics. A little less than 100 years ago, researchers from a number of countries, working independently and concurrently, invented the all-important stainless steel. Today, about 40% to 50% of all nickel produced in the world goes into making this amazing material. The most common category of stainless steel is ‘10-18’, which contains 10% nickel and 18% chrome. It is used in the manufacture of many consumer items such as sinks, pots and pans, kitchen utensils and flatware, as well as roof gutters and other devices that come into contact with water or other fluids. Figures 2&3: The current fashion of body ‘piercing’ has been much talked about in the media recently as seen by these newspapers published in the Swiss town of La Chaux-de-Fonds. Nickel and watches In the domain of watches, one of the most obvious uses for nickel is in stainless steel that is used in the production of water-resistant cases. But this is not its only use. Nickel and watchmaking have many other less apparent connections as well. First, an alloy of nickel, copper and zinc called ‘nickel silver’ has been used for nearly 150 years in the production of plates and bridges in very high quality timepieces. This particular composition, which is about 15% to 20% Ni, replaced the customary use of brass. Secondly, nickel silver also replaced silver in the production of cases for inexpensive watches before the invention of stainless steel. Thirdly, pure nickel is used to electroplate watch parts such as bridges and plates made of brass in order to prevent their oxidation. Just a thin protective layer of nickel is enough to maintain the shiny metallic appearance of these watch components. Another use for nickel is in the manufacture of balance springs and pendulum rods. In this respect, watchmaking owes a great service to Charles-Edouard Guillaume (1861-1938), a Swiss who worked at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. In 1920, he was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of anomalies in nickel-steel alloys . A fortuitous observation by Guillaume regarding the coefficient of expansion of nickel-iron alloys led to the discovery of Invar, a ferronickel containing 36% nickel with a very low coefficient of expansion, as well as a variation of Invar that Guillaume called Elinvar, whose thermo-elastic coefficient is practically zero between -60° C and +70° C. Applications of these new alloys were quickly recognized, finding uses in precision pendulum rods, watch balance springs, geodetic baselines, length standards, thermostats and a host of other devices where high precision is important. Guillaume's total compensating balance for high precision watches and chronometers was perfected by using an Elinvar hair spring. Nickel is also used in common every day items, such as coins, metal buttons for clothes, costume jewellery including bracelets, necklaces and earrings, as well as knickknacks and souvenirs, etc. Figure 4: The back of a chrome-plated nickel silver watch that has been corroded by perspiration. What causes allergies to nickel? 1. In order for an allergic reaction to occur, the skin of a sensitive individual must be in direct contact with the object containing the nickel. For watches, this necessarily means the case or the bracelet. 2. Another condition for an allergic response is that the nickel must be liberated rather easily from its alloy onto the skin in the form of cations, or positively charged particles. 3. Thirdly, these positive ions must be transported by some sort of fluid serving as an electrolyte. This liquid most often is sweat, but may also be water from the sea or from a swimming pool. The stainless steel used in the manufacture of watchcases liberates varying amounts of nickel ions depending on the nature of the alloy and the proportions of the individual components. A stainless steel created for medical purposes gives off practically no nickel. For those persons who are allergic to nickel, which usually manifests itself in the form of dermatitis, they should definitely avoid wearing costume jewellery or earrings made of nickel silver. In any case, earrings made of any nickel-containing material should never be used until a newly pierced ear or other body part heals completely. The current style of piercing ears, tongue, lips or other areas of the body using earrings or body rings made of metals containing nickel has become a major factor in the increase in nickel allergies today. Because of the popularity of this type of piercing, girls aged 10 to 15 years are at the highest risk for this type of allergy (Figures 2 and 3). Another important factor in the liberation of nickel ions is the condition of the metal surface that is in contact with the skin. Rough or porous surfaces retain the electrolytic fluid, usually perspiration, and thus become very active zones for producing the allergenic cations. The resulting corrosion of the metal then generates even higher concentrations of the metal ions. Upon examination of the back of a chrome-plated watch case that has been attacked by sweat, it is surprising to see how much corrosion has taken place and, therefore, easy to understand why the wearer's skin can become sensitive (Figure 4). In addition to stainless steel watches and bracelets, the bi-colour models made of gold and steel can also be problematic for people with sensitive skin. Gold and stainless steel have different electric potentials and the transportation of ions in the sweat is accelerated. Therefore, an increase in galvanic corrosion results in an even greater risk of allergy (Figure 5). The rate of corrosion and the rate of allergies are closely linked. When the two metals are soldered together, the corrosion often occurs at the joint. A cavity then appears becoming the site of even more erosion (Figure 6). The solution to the nickel-allergy problem is to use alloys that give off no or very little nickel cations. As mentioned above, there is a type of stainless steel used in medical devices that liberates hardly any nickel ions. It is classified as AISI 316 L stainless steel. People who are sensitive to nickel might want to avoid watches that contain any nickel at all. Alternatives might include models such as Swatch that are made of synthetic materials, or perhaps the prestige timepieces made of pink or yellow gold. White gold (also called grey gold) often contains nickel that exceeds the acceptable levels for nickel-sensitivity. Gold-plated watches worn over long periods of time are also at risk of causing allergies. The thin layer of gold eventually wears off and exposes the skin to the nickel-containing metal beneath as shown in Figure 7. Figure 5: This demonstrates a case of galvanic corrosion aggravated by the presence of two metals having different electric potentials. Figure 6: An example of the galvanic corrosion of two metals that have been soldered together. Regulations The problems relating to nickel allergies are important enough that the European Community is drafting legislation to control these materials. A number of individual countries have already taken measures concerning various objects that are made with metal containing nickel. With a statue enacted June 27 1989, Denmark is the first. This legislation forbids the importation and production of a whole list of items that liberate quantities of nickel greater than 0.5 microgram per square centimetre over a period of one week. These include metal buttons, watches, earrings necklaces, bracelets and other objects that come in contact with the skin. This statute also defines a test method using DMG (dimethylglyoxime in ammonia) that is placed on the object after removing any varnish or coating from its surface. The proposed European Community directive is similar to that of Denmark. Difficulties relating to the application and enforcement of such standards are not insurmountable because suitable materials already exist. However, in the production of watches, the cost of these substitutes is a non-negligible factor. The industry should be aware of these proposed new regulations and start preparing for their enactment. Figure 7: Even gold-plated watches are subject to corrosion as the gold wears off. The ridges are the most likely to be affected. In the meantime… While waiting for such directives, there are several precautions that can be followed to prevent or diminish the risk of nickel allergies from watches. [*]First, remove the watch at night to decrease the length of time it is in direct contact with the skin. [*]Secondly, wipe the case often with a clean, dry cloth. A slightly damp cloth can be used if the watch is water-resistant. In addition to preventing the build-up of irritating nickel ions, this is a basic common sense measure of good hygiene. [*]Watchmakers have often expressed how surprised they are at the nonchalant attitude of many watch owners when it comes to the cleanliness of an object in direct and continuous contact with their skin. [*]Thirdly, after perspiring heavily, the watch should be removed and washed. By caring for one's watch in this way, the risk of allergies to nickel can be greatly reduced. Courtesy of europa star

Posted by: Neo Nov 28 2004, 06:45 PM Girard Perregaux - Vintage 1945 GMT Chronograph, King Size The Vintage line has been further enriched with this magnificent king-sized GMT chronograph. The case, now a hallmark of the Girard-Perrgaux collection, is in pink, yellow or white gold. The black or silvered opaline dial has four counters: a small seconds at 3, hours at 6, minutes at 9, and a GMT 24-hour time-zone at 12. The numerals and hands match the color of the case. The GMT chronograph comes on a full-skin, hand-stitched crocodile strap witha gold buckle. Automatic mechanical movement; water-resistant to 30 meters; Case diameter: 31.95 mm x 32 mm, 12.40mm height; Sapphire crystal front and back; GMT pushpiece at 11 o'clock. Posted by: Neo Nov 28 2004, 06:47 PM Girard Perregaux - Baguette Diamonds Refined and elegant, the For Lady 'Baguette Diamonds' plays scintillatingly with time. Its sophisticated, subtly retro look is underlined, as always with Girard-Perregaux, by elongated horns, making the case even more dynamic. Fashioned in white gold, the models in this line are embellished with a diamond-set bezel or a double row of diamonds. There are also diamond-paved versions as well as versions without diamonds. The mother-of-pearl dial, whose centre can be paved with diamonds, features large numberals in white gold. The straps for this exquisite timepiece come in a selection of silky hues and with a white gold buckle. It is offered in a limited series of 500 individually numbered pieces. Hand-wound mechanical movement; water-resistant to 30 meters; Case dimensions: 20 mm x 30 mm, 10.85 mm height. Posted by: Neo Nov 29 2004, 01:03 PM DEBUTANTE by Corum November 25, 2004 Stainless steel watch (15 mm) equipped with an ETA E01.001 quartz movement. Diamond-set bezel, white mother-of-pearl dial, dauphine hands, set of 3 stainless steel bracelets set with citrines, blue and pink topaz. Optional bracelets set with diamonds and blue sapphires. Source: www.corum.ch / October-November 2004 Issue Courtesy of europastar Posted by: watch7007 Nov 29 2004, 10:36 PM dude... you're unreal... I just searched thru your message... you got any info on the Prada IWC limited ed (I think a little over 200 watches issued? not sure) My GF and I regrett that we didn't buy it..... I saw it at Milano last year for about $2000 Euro (approx $3000 USD) ... I have never seen it since... I'm killing myself cause the one I was to get was the watch with the days in 'italian' instead of english.... that was soo cool... (daky/date model) sigh... (yes, I'm starting to sober up now.... gotta go to work tomorrow... ) heh Posted by: Neo Dec 1 2004, 12:00 PM Beyond Generations: Patek Philippe’s unprecedented exhibition of historical and contemporary timepieces in Tokyo November 29, 2004 Patek Philippe recently gave Japanese watch enthusiasts a unique opportunity to discover exclusive Patek Philippe timepieces, many of which traveled outside of Switzerland for the very first time. This unprecedented two-day exhibition held in Tokyo attracted some 3,000 visitors who came to admire the legendary beauty of so many precious timepieces made in Geneva. The Caliber 89 in 18K yellow gold “Beyond Generations” symbolically took place at Academy Hills 40 in Roppongi Hills, the new urban cultural district located in midtown Tokyo and known as the “Art-telligent City” – a symbol of diversity of thought and contemporary arts. The name of the event embodies the intrinsic values and philosophy of the Patek Philippe brand, namely tradition, innovation and the quest for unrivalled excellence in watchmaking. It acted as a reminder that a Patek Philippe is designed to last for generations: as the Patek Philippe business ownership passes from one generation to another, so do our precious watches. Celebrating a new start for Patek Philippe in Japan The exhibition was organized to celebrate the recent restructuring of Patek Philippe distribution in Japan. Over the past 45 years, Patek Philippe developed a close and successful cooperation with Nichibo Shoji K.K. and Isshin Watch company, both Patek Philippe distributors in Japan. To streamline distribution and further strengthen our after sales service, the decision was taken to create a new company – PP Japan Inc. – which was established on February 1, 2004. The new company is now the exclusive distributor of all Patek Philippe products in Japan and is in charge of all commercial, service and communication activities for the Geneva watchmaker. Mr. Hideki Frank Nagano, Nichibo’s former Executive Director, has been appointed CEO of the new company. A Future ‘Beyond Generations’ for Patek Philippe The exhibition was officially opened on the evening of September 21, 2004, during a ceremony and reception attended by more than 400 guests, including key customers, influential business people, prominent artists, 200 journalists and four national television channels. Mr. Philippe Stern, President of Patek Philippe, recalled with emotion his first encounter with the Japanese market 40 years ago when he came with his father, Henri Stern. He spoke of family tradition and quality workmanship: “We concentrate on fine watchmaking and produce our watches with passion and pride”. He then introduced his son Thierry Stern, recently appointed Vice President of the company, who stressed the importance of preserving Patek Philippe values in management to provide this independent, family owned and run company a promising future ‘beyond generations’. The largest Patek Philippe exhibition abroad in ten years By showcasing unique timepieces for the first time outside of Switzerland, ‘Beyond Generations’ paid tribute to fervent Japanese watch lovers and their appreciation of fine craftsmanship. Sixty historical pocket watches, clocks, complicated timepieces and wristwatches thus traveled from the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva to Tokyo, alongside the complete current collection – making this the largest Patek Philippe exhibition abroad in the past ten years. Among the prestigious timepieces displayed were the following: [*]Queen Victoria, an open-face keyless-winding patented invention fob-watch presented to Queen Victoria of Great Britain during the “Great Exhibition” of London in 1851. [*]The Flower Garden, an open-face keyless-winding pendant watch made in 1893 and bought as a gift for Marie Curie, Polish-born French scientist and twice Nobel Prize winner. [*]The “Henry Graves” Watch, a 12-function equipped complicated pocket watch, ordered by the New York Banker Henry Graves Jr. and delivered to Tiffany & Co., New York in 1928. [*]The “Koscowicz”, the first Patek Philippe wristwatch made in 1868. [*]An aviator’s split-seconds chronograph, the 1952 model that provided inspiration for the Ref. 5070 watch launched at the Basel Fair in 1998. [*]The Caliber 89 in 18K yellow gold, the most complicated portable timepiece in the world with 33 complications, a genuine masterpiece displayed by courtesy of a Japanese collector. [*]The Star Caliber 2000 pocket watch created to mark the millennium and combining 21 most fascinating complications. A full set of four unique pieces was on display. World premiere launch of Patek Philippe new Gondolo collection Ref. 5111 The largest and most complete set of Patek Philippe watches from the current collection ever displayed outside the “Baselworld” fair completed this unique exhibition. A total of 600 timepieces, including grand complications such as the Sky Moon Tourbillon (the most complicated Patek Philippe wristwatch from the regular collection), or rare specialty watches such as pocket watches with miniature enameling, cloisonné enameled Dôme table clocks, engraved watches, skeleton watches and Haute Joaillerie timepieces. “Beyond Generations” also provided a unique opportunity to launch, as a world premiere, the brand-new Patek Philippe Ref. 5111 Gondolo for men, a masterpiece in pure Art Deco style. This very stylish model features the famous, high precision, Patek Philippe Caliber 215 PS hand wound mechanical movement. “Beyond Generations” – an unprecedented showcase of exceptional Patek Philippe timepieces outside of Switzerland – was a special gift to the Japanese market, celebrating the creation of a new company and paving the way for a promising future for Patek Philippe in Japan. Gondolo Réf 5111 Source: Patek Philippe Press Release Courtesy of Europa Star Posted by: Neo Dec 1 2004, 12:05 PM THE NEW FACES OF ROLEX November 30, 2004 A stunning surprise from one of watchmaking’s most illustrious names … Rolex. Using eye-catching models in a very modern and effervescent ambience, the renowned brand revolutionizes its image with the launch of its automatic chronometer: the Oyster Perpetual Datejust Rolesor. Source: Rolex Press Release Courtesy of europa star Posted by: Neo Dec 1 2004, 12:07 PM Bulgari family still majority shareholders after sale December 01, 2004 Paolo and Nicola Bulgari have sold 5.9 million shares in the jewelry company their family has owned for more than 100 years. Despite the sale of 2 percent of the company, the Bulgari family retains about 52 percent of the company, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Family shareholders include Paolo and Nicola Bulgari and their nephew, Chief Executive Francesco Trapani, who is allied in a shareholders pact with his uncles and approved Tuesday's deal. Credit Suisse First Boston will place the sales, which have a market value of about 50 million euro or $66.4 million. Bulgari shares have risen 24 percent since mid-August, according to the Journal, following strong sales and a 50 percent jump in profit for the third quarter. Source : National Jeweler Daily News / www.nationaljeweler.com Courtese of europa star Posted by: Neo Dec 1 2004, 12:09 PM Bertolucci purchased by a Chinese group December 01, 2004 According to the Le Temps newspaper, the watch brand Bertolucci has passed into Chinese hands, more precisely the group Dickson Concept International Ltd, based in Hong Kong. Purchased from its founder Remo Betolucci in 2001 by a group of private investors, the brand, essentially present in Asia and the USA, didn’t achieve its objectives, namely a more concerted effort at internationalization and the doubling of its production figures (around 10,000 watches a year). With fifteen staff today, versus twenty-five three years ago, Bertolucci achieved a turnover of around 15 million Swiss francs. The new owner, Dickson Concept International Ltd., is an important distributor in Asia, that has already acquired, in 1987, the French company S.T. Dupont, the luxury cigarette lighter manufacturer. Source: Le Temps, Michel Jeannot(BIPH) Courtesy of europa star Posted by: Neo Dec 1 2004, 12:15 PM N E W M o d e l – Mido Baroncelli Automatic From Swatch Group company Mido comes the Baroncelli, based on a 1970’s model. First introduced with a quartz movement, and then a manual wind, the Baroncelli is now available with an automatic movement. The case, in stainless steel, measures 39mm. The crystal is sapphire as is the exhibition back. Movement is an automatic caliber Mido 1192 (base ETA 2892-A2) with 21 jewels. The rotor is finished with Geneva Stripes. Courtesy of Time Zone Posted by: Neo Dec 1 2004, 12:17 PM N E W M o d e l – Ernst Benz Chronosport Contemporary The latest from Ernst Benz is the Chronosport Contemporary with stainless steel cases that measure 40mm and 47mm. Functions are hours, minutes, sweep seconds, day and date. Movement is the automatic ETA caliber 2836-2 with bi-directional winding, Incabloc shock protection, a Glucydur balance and a Nivarox hairspring. Dials can be had in white or black, the crystal is sapphire as is the exhibition back. It is water resistant to 50 meters. A stainless steel bracelet is also available. MSRP is: 40mm from $895 to $1,095 and 47mm from $995 to $1,195. Courtesy of Time Zone Posted by: Neo Dec 1 2004, 12:19 PM Michel Jordi Back in Business Swiss watchmaker Michel Jordi, who recently declared bankruptcy has re-emerged after satisfaying debts of over 2 million Swiss Francs (about $1.7 million). The new company is called MJL SA, which will focus on “haute de gamme” watches to be built at a new facility in the Vallee de Joux. Courtesy of Time Zone Posted by: Neo Dec 1 2004, 12:51 PM What does the term "complication" mean and how does it differ from "grand complication"? by James W. Clee, Bruges, Belgium By convention, a watch is said to be "simple" when it indicates hours, minutes and seconds. Following this definition, a watch equipped with an automatic mechanical movement, indicating only these functions, would also be considered a "simple" watch. The same definition applies for a very precise chronometer which indicates the time with a very high degree of accuracy, even though this particular timepiece has been subjected to a series of very stringent tests by the Chronometric Observatory or another official chronometric testing facility. While sometimes people confuse a chronometer and a chronograph, these two timekeepers are not at all the same. Chronographs are defined below. A watch is said to be "complicated" when it indicates functions in addition to the time. These may include optical readings using hands or windows, or they may be acoustical in nature, using chimes or bells A "grand complication" is a watch that contains at least three "complications", coming from each of the groups listed below. Group 1: Complications using visual indications a. Simple chronograph b. Counter chronograph c. Split-second flyback chronograph d. Independent second hand chronograph e. Jumping second hand chronograph Group 2: Complications using visual astronomical indications f. Simple calendar g. Perpetual calendar h. Moon phases i. Time equation Group 3: Complications using acoustical indications j. Alarm k. Quarter repeater l. Half-quarter repeater m. Five-minute repeater n. Minute repeater o. Passing strike Definitions of complications by group Group 1 a. A simple chronograph is a watch possessing a center sweep second hand which can be started, stopped and brought back to zero by means of a push-button. b. A counter chronograph has one or two additional subdials which count the minutes or hours starting from a given point in time. c. A split-second flyback chronograph is equipped with two superimposed center sweep second hands which can be started together. The flyback hand may then be stopped to indicate the reading at an intermediate time. When it is restarted, this hand instantaneously "flies" back to the position of the first hand. d. The independent second hand chronograph was the precursor of the modern chronograph. It consisted of an independent center or sweep second hand which could be started or stopped independently of the normal time function but which could not be reset to zero. This second hand advanced instantaneously then remained immobile for nearly a second until it advanced again. It was driven by a wheel and an independent spring which was wound separately by turning the crown backwards. These watches have not been produced for many years but are now highly prized by collectors. e. The jumping second hand chronograph used an independent center sweep second hand which advanced continuously rather than in jerks. In addition, this watch contained a small hand in a special subdial at 6 o'clock which completed a revolution in one second, jumping around in four or five successive quick movements. This timepiece is no longer being made. Group 2 Astronomical functions were the first complications to be introduced into watches. As early as the 16th Century, many years before the regulating spiral was invented, exquisite pocket watches were equipped with date readings and lunar phases. f. Simple calendar watches provide one, two or three functions, i.e. the date, often the day and sometimes the month. All the months have 31 days so it is necessary to manually correct the watch five times per year. g. Perpetual calendar time-pieces provide the three indications of their simple calendar cousins but also automatically correct for the 30-day months as well as for February's 28 or 29 days. h. The indicator for moon phases is made up of a small specially shaped window in which the various phases of the moon appear and disappear month by month. The most common mechanism in use today is composed of a single wheel with 59 teeth supporting two symmetrical moons. The wheel moves by one tooth per day which gives a lunation of 291/2 days. Since the true lunation is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.8 seconds, this gives a difference of 44 minutes and 2.8 seconds per lunation, or an advance of one day over a period of 2 years and 235 days. i. The time equation function indicates the difference between the true local solar time and the average artificial time. Our 24-hour day is an artificially designated average solar day. The true solar time varies constantly in relation to the average solar time, with the difference reaching more than 14 minutes around February 11 and 16 minutes around November 3. Only four days per year are actually exactly 24 hours long. If a person wants to set his watch using a sun dial, it is necessary to know this time difference, or time equation, for each day of the year. In the past, some watches were equipped with a fixed hand indicating the time equation at noon each day. Other watches used an additional minute hand carrying a sun which continuously showed the local true solar time. Although no longer considered very useful, the time equation watches are highly regarded by collectors. Group 3 j. The alarm function uses a very old mechanism whose fabrication was a mandatory part of the training for master watchmakers. This acoustical device can be programmed for a period of 12 or 24 hours. The term repeater is used for a watch equipped with a strike or chime capable of indicating the hour on demand and repeating it as often as desired. The precision of the time indicated depends on the type of repeater. k. A quarter repeater function strikes, on demand, the hours and quarter hours which have just passed. It uses two bells of different tones, signaling each hour by a low tone and each quarter hour by a higher tone followed by the lower one. For example, at 3:40, the quarter repeater strikes three low tones, followed by two series of high-then-low tones, giving bong, bong, bong, silence, then bing-bong, bing-bong. By mentally adding 71 1/2 minutes to the hour chimed, the largest deviation between the real time and the last hour chimed will be 71 1/2 minutes (one-half of a quarter-hour). In our example of 3:40, we can estimate the time to be 3:37.5, giving an error of 2.5 minutes. l. A half-quarter repeater function strikes the hours and the quarter-hours but uses a high tone to signal that the half-quarter has just passed. Using our example of 3:40, this repeater would chime as follows: bong, bong, bong, silence, then bing-bong, bing-bong, then bing to indicate that a half-quarter has just passed. m. A five-minute repeater system strikes the hours with a low tone and each five-minute interval with a higher tone. At 3:40, the mechanism would chime bong, bong, bong, silence, then eight higher pitched bings. n. A minute repeater watch strikes the hours and quarters as does a quarter-repeater. In addition, the minutes which exceed the last quarter are signaled by a succession of rapid strikes on the higher toned bell. For example, 12:59 would be given by 12 low tones, then three series of high-low tones, followed by 14 rapid high tones. o. Watches with a passing strike function automatically signal the hours and quarter-hours, with the hour repeated at each quarter. They also are equipped with a device indicat-ing the hours and minutes on demand. The energy for this function is provided by a powerful spring which is wound at the same time as the watch. However, the number of demands is limited. A silence position is also provided to discontinue the chime, if desired. Grand complications It is possible to make several types of grand complications. In general, though, they are composed of a split-second flyback chronograph with counters combined with a perpetual calendar (with or without moon phases) and a repeater function, usually a minute repeater. There is, however, nothing to prevent the addition of other elements not mentioned here, such as a power-reserve indicator, thermometer, hygrometer or any other device not yet imagined by today's watch-making geniuses. Patek Philippe pocket watch for James Ward Packard with a perpetual calendar, solar hour, rising and setting sun times, moon phases and a rotating disk of 500 stars representing the Ohio night sky, minute repeater with three bells. Question Is it possible to attribute the creation and development of the first perpetual calendar watch to a specific watchmaker? - Ralph Edgar, Portland, Maine, USA Most watch historians give credit for this invention to Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823). Indeed, Breguet was a great watchmaker, having invented and perfected a large number of ingenious devices. However, in an article entitled "Horology" published in 1765 in the Encyclopedia by Diderot and d'Alembert, there is a description of a watch equipped with a perpetual calendar using a large disk on which are marked the months and dates of a normal year. But this timepiece was made by a Swiss watchmaker working in Paris named Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807). The disk made a revolution in 365 days and the month of February contained 28 days. It was therefore necessary to let the watch stop on February 29 in order to maintain the time equation function which was also part of Berthoud's system. The energy for his perpetual calendar was derived from the daily winding of the watch. Another watchmaker also preceded Breguet in the development of the perpetual calendar function. Jean-Antoine Lépine (1720-1814) was known as the inventor of various devices which Breguet then later perfected. One example, among others, is the anti-shock device which is often mistakenly credited to Breguet. Lépine also invented calibers for bridged watches. His ingenious system replaced the upper plate and simplified assembly and the development of functions. It is still used in all mechanical watches today. Regarding the perpetual calendar, one of Lépine's biographers wrote: "In 1770, Lépine had the honor of presenting to Louis XV an astronomical repeater watch equipped with a time equation function and perpetual calendar. The former was used only in clocks and the latter was his own invention." Unfortunately, the watch in question has disappeared and no other perpetual calendar timepiece is known to have been made by him. Breguet may have picked up this invention later, since, as some historians speculate, he may have been a student of Lépine. Courtesy of europa star

Posted by: Neo Nov 27 2004, 05:15 PM Breitling Navitimer Heritage ChronoMatic L.E. A limited edition of 250 pieces, the Navitimer Heritage Chrono-Matic pays tribute to Breitling’s 1969 invention of the self-winding chronograph movement. Movement is the Breitling caliber 35LC (left crown), chronometer-certified, with 38 jewels, flyback function and calendar. The case, in stainless steel, measures 43mm and is only available on a Navitimer bracelet. It is water resistant to 30 meters. MSRP is $4,500. Source: Breitling Press News Posted by: Neo Nov 28 2004, 06:14 PM Breguet 2004 With this year's new watches at Basel, Breguet's watchmakers prove that their talent remains undimmed by time. They have added models with new aestetic and technical features to all the collections: CLASSIQUE, MARINE, HERITAGE, REINE DE NAPLES and TYPE XX. Ranging from the electrifying to the sedate, the 2004 Breguets are all true to the complex subtleties of time that beguile the imaginations of novices and experienced collectors alike. CLASSIQUE: The Classique collection exemplifies the Breguet soul and style in refined timepieces. The three new Classique models express precision with all the lucidity of Breguet's original watchmaking. A new movement has been developed for Breguet's first self-winding tourbillon wristwatch, the Tourbillon Regulator 5307. The plates and bridges are crafted in the Breguet tradition - a reminder that it was A. L. Breguet who devised this complication more than 200 years ago. The case, in platinum or yellow gold, holds an engine-turned regulator dial, also made in gold. Central minutes, the hours at 12 o'clock and the tourbillon at 6 express time with uncompromising clarity, The transparent case back reveals the equal magnificence of a hand-engraved movement. Another complicated watch in the CLASSIQUE collection is the Perpetual Calendar 5327 with power-reserve indication and revised and improved self-winding movement. The calibre organizes its functions symmetricaaly on the engine-turned dial of silvered gold: moon-phases at 1:30 balance the power-reserve indicator at 10:30; the leap years at 8 o'clock mirror that days at 4, with the date beneath them at 6 o'clock. Hours, minutes and months occupy the centre. Four correctors set the calendar and moon. The hand-engraved movement displays its intricacy through the sapphire-crystal back or a case in yellow or white gold. The Regulateur 5187, time's true portrait, engine-turned in the Breguet manner, radiates distinction. The date aperture at 6 o'clock and the chequerboard subdial for the hours at 12 o'clock add a debonair note. The clean shape of the case is cut from platinum or rose gold with its corwn embossed with Bregeut's initial. MARINE: The MARINE collection returns to centre-stage with new movements and original bracelets for its men's and women's watches. Also new is the use of ruber and steel in this collection. The MARINE watches, designed for reliability in today's conditions, descend form the A. L. Breguet timepieces that the French royal navy used to rely on. The case had grown to suit fashion without losing its strength and protected crown. Facetted hands and applied hour-markers are luminous for clarity on a dial, engine-turned like the winding-rotor, in a nautical wave pattern. The date appears in a large double aperture at 6 o'clock. The Marine 5817 for men is made of the finest steel and fitted with a rubber strap, or more conventionally, a steel bracelet. The lady's Marine 8818/8817 is available in yellow or white gold, plain or set with gemstones. These new watches are in synch with an era that demands style in everything you do. HERITAGE: The HERITAGE collection captures time in a tonneau case, the perfect curve of which is a recurrent test of the highest case-making skills. The new chronographe HERITAGE 5469 shows them off in a tour de force of technique in gold and diamonds. The white-gold case is paved in baguette diamonds, invisibly set on a curved surface - a performance that demands a rare touch. The crown and chronograph buttons display briolette diamonds. The dial is not to be outshone in a fire of baguette diamonds. The automatic movement drives a date and running small-seconds at 6 o'clock. The 30-minute and 12-hour counters of the chronograph balance one another at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock respectively. REINE DE NAPLES: The REINE DE NAPLES is inspired by A. L. Breguet's first wristwatch made for Caroline Murat, queen of Naples. The success of this model since its launch in 2002 attests to the talent of Breguet's watchmakers under the direction of Nicolas G. Hayek. The original shape of the case promises an astonishing timepiece, entirely feminine and exquisitely sensual. This year the REINE DE NAPLES 8918 stretches the imagination with bewitching extravagance. The case, in yellow or white gold has raised bezel delicately paved with diamonds. A briolette diamond embellishes the crown. Light teases across a mother-of-pearl face adorned with an exuberance of elastic Breguet numerals. Gone are the moon-phase and power-reserve indicator of the first REINE DE NAPLES models, but the hours and minutes remain off-centre in a diamond-set, engine-turned dial. A pear-cut diamond splinters light at 6 o'clock rivalling its twin, set on the clasp of a woven-gold bracelet. Challenging convention, the new REINE DE NAPLES watches are the expression of today's free spirits and demonstrate Breguet's vitality in the enthusiasm of its craftsmen and women. TYPE XX: Developed in the 1950's for the French naval air arm, the TYPE XX soon became popular with collectors on the lookout for original technical features and functional shapes. To mark the 50th anniversary of the TYPE XX in 2004, Breguet's designers and watchmakers created a model expressing the renewal of the collection. Its performance and toughness are sure to meet to public expectations. The wide-diameter Chronographe TYPE XXI 3810 sets out its purpose on smart, black-rhodium dial, held by a case with a bi-directional turning bezel and fluted caseband, worked in high-grade steel. The new automatic movement drives the model's celebrated retour en vol function, where one button zeroes and instantly restarts the chronograph seconds and minutes. The elapsed-minutes register has been moved to the centre to make it instantly readable. A day/night indicator replaces it at 3 o'clock, and the date is displayed in an aperture at 6 o'clock. Luminous hands and hour-markers ensure the time is always clearly shown. Available on a leather strap or steel bracelet the new TYPE XXI proclaims dependable time-measurement in a style elegantly adapted to today's sporting activities. Source: Breguet Press News Posted by: Neo Nov 28 2004, 06:20 PM Breguet - Classique Grande Complication Ref. # 5327 Man's Classique Grande Complication wristwatch in 18K yellow gold. Case in 18K yellow gold with fluted caseband. Rounded horns welded to the case, with screw-pins to secure the strap. Engine-turned caseback with sapphire crystal. Water-resistant to 30m. Dial in engine-turned and silvered 18K gold, individually numbered and signed BREGUET. Secret signature. Chapter-ring with Roman hours. Dates, days and leap years in three sub-dials. Central months indication. Power-reserve indicator at 10:30. Moon-phases at 1:30. Open-tipped BREGUET hands in blued steel. Movement: ultra-thin automatic, 12-linge, 38-jewel, Cal. 502.3.DRP1, hand-engraved, numbered and signed BREGUET, with perpetual calendar, precise moon phases and power-reserve indicator. Date, days, months and moon set by pushpieces. 46-hour power reserve. Hand-engraved gold rotor. Straight-line lever escapement. Monometallic, 3Hz balance-wheel on a flat, compensating spring. Adjusted in five positions. Also available in 18K white gold. Reference # 5327BA/1E/9V6 Posted by: Neo Nov 28 2004, 06:23 PM Breguet - Tourbillon Regulator 5307 Man's Classique Grande Complication wristwatch in 18K yellow gold with tourbillion. Case in 18K yellow gold with fluted caseband. Rounded horns welded to the case, with screw-pins to secure the strap. Engine-turned caseback with sapphire crystal. Water-resistant to 30m. Dial in engine-turned and silvered 18K gold, individually numbered and signed BREGUET. Secret signature. Chapter-ring with Roman hours offset at 12 o'clock. Central minutes. Tourbillon at 6 o'clock. Open-tipped BREGUET hands in blued steel. Movement: automatic, 12 1/2-ligne, 31-jewel, Cal. 587, numbered and signed Breguet, with hand-engraved, one-minute tourbillon running off the fixed fourth wheel. 120-hour power reserve from twin barrels. Hand-engraved gold rotor. Lateral-lever escapement. Monometallic, 3Hz balance-wheel with adjusting screws on a BREGUET spring. Adjusted in five positions. Also available in 950 platinum. Reference # 5307BA/12/9V6 Posted by: Neo Nov 28 2004, 06:25 PM Breguet - Classique Ref. 5187 Man's Classique watch is 18K rose gold with a regulator dial. Case in 18K rose gold with fluted caseband. Rounded horns welded to the case, with screw-pins to secure the strap. Sapphire-crystal caseback. Water-resistant to 30m. Dial in engine-turned and silvered 18K gold, individually numbered and signed BREGUET. Secret signature. Chapter-ring with Roman hours off-set at 12 o'clock Central minutes. Date in an aperture at 6 o'clock. Open-tipped BREGUET hands in blued steel. Movement: automatic, 11 1/2-ligne, 25-jewels, Cal 591QSHD, numbered and signed BREGUET. 38-hour power reserve. Engine-turned gold rotor. Straight-line lever escapement. Monometallic, 4Hz balance-wheel. Adjusted in five positions. Also avalable in 950 platinum. Reference # 5187BR/12/986 Posted by: Neo Nov 28 2004, 06:36 PM Girard Perregaux - The Tourbillion with Three Gold Bridges Since the mid-19th century, GIRARD-PERREGAUX has been identified with one of the most ingenious Haute Horlogerie complications of all time: the Tourbillion. This particular expertise, developed by Constant Girard with such extraordinary, highly polished personalized skill, has given the Brand the unquestionable legitimacy it enjoys today. The whole history of Constant Girard's masterpiece, in fact, deserves an analysis. Indeed, his Tourbillion with three gold Bridges is a veritable blend of beauty, technical prowess and, probably, symbolism. Unlike his contemporaries, Constant Girard worked on the elements that would give his watch its astonishing uniqueness: the structure of the movement and the shape of the components. Even since invented by Lepine, a mechanical movement has comprised in principal a plate, a barrel-bar (or bridge), a train-bridge and a pallet-cock (or bridge). To have three bridges in one movement, therefore, is quite common. What was so unusual about Constant Girard's masterpiece was the dramatic alteration of the architecture. Aside from the aesthetic aspect, however, is there anything symbolic about it? The evocation of passing time is an interesting path to pursue. The shape of the arrows, pointing in two directions, could symbolize past and future. And, of course, our whole system for calculating time is based on the number 3 and multiples of it, a system already in use in Mesopotamia 3,000 years before Christ. Finally, the number 3 could also refer to the three phases of the sun's path - sunrise, zenith, and sunset - as well as to the spiritual notion of the 'trinity"" which, through analogy, suggests the indivisible nature of three elements. Over time, therefore, Constant Girard's three arrow-shaped gold Bridges have become a symbolic signature. This watch had become so closely associated with Girard-Perregaux that, when the brand decided to demonstrate its expertise in complicated Haute Horlogerie timepieces during the quartz revolution in the 1970's, the Tourbillion with three gold Bridges was the natural choice. This project, clearly running counter to the trend, consisted in producing twenty replicas of a Tourbillion with three gold Bridges pocket watch. Under the expert guidance of Mr. Denis Schnedd and after 1500 hours of meticulously precise work, the Manufactory's watchmakers presented the first of these twenty Tourbillions in 1981, therefore proving that they had lost none of their predecessors' skill. And this is what the curator of the International Watch and Clock Museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds had to say: 'In short, it is the most exquisite piece of work I have seen in my whole career. The student had surpassed the master.' The trail had been blazed and, in 1986, Girard-Perregaux's R&D Department got the go-ahead to create a wristwatch model of the Tourbillion with three gold Bridges. Presented at the Brand's bi-centenary celebrations in 1991, this watch was to become the cornerstone of a unique collection in Switzerland's Haute Horlogerie segment. The challenge, though, had been considerable. Technically, the movement had to be miniaturized and ""simplified"" to fit into an area 12 lignes in diameter. What is more, its construction had to be reversed so that the three gold Bridges actually became the dial. The three essential ""simplifications"" were the shape of the Bridges, the shape of the Tourbillion cage, and the replacement of the detent escapement with an anchor escapement. Since 1991, the Brand has produced over twenty different models, integrating additional grand complications like a minute repeater and, in a much sportier vein, a chronograph! However, one of the most remarkable devices created by the Manufactory's engineers is the automatic winding system for the Tourbillion with three gold Bridges. The idea, which can only be described as inspired, was to use a small platinum rotor whose density - hence its weight compensates exactly for the reduced dimension imposed by the architecture fo the three Bridges. Housed in a Vintage or Laureato case with the Bridges cleary visible on the dial or discreetly visible through the sapphire crystal back, the Haute Horlogerie Tourbillion collection combines exceptional savoir-faire with a unique cultural dimension. The principle of the Tourbillion is to compensate for the effects of gravity on a watch when it is in vertical positions. When a watch is vertical, its regulating organ - balance, balance spring and escapement - experiences imperceptible errors or rate with each oscillation. This is due to the effects of gravity. When the regulating organ is placed in a cage that makes one revolution per minute, a variety of vertical positions is obtained. The result is that the watch will run very accurately, with the errors compensating for each other. The idea is simple, but its realisation far less so. One reason is that the cage and Tourbillion weigh no more that 0.3 grams or 0.013 ounce - the equivalent of one swan's feather or two parrot feathers. Another is that they comprise seventy-two components, the majority of which are hand-made! Courtesy of Manfred jewels Posted by: Neo Nov 28 2004, 06:38 PM Girard Perregaux - Tourbillion with Gold Bridge Richeville Girard-Perregaux's new Tourbillion with gold Bridge is a further addition to the Richville line, whose elegant, fluid tonneau shape is admirably suited to this remarkable complication. The Tourbillion and pink gold Bridge can be seen through an opening in the cream-colored dial, which features large applique Arabic numerals. The Tourbillion and cage comprise 72 components with an overall weight or only 0.3 gram, the equivalent, in other words, of a single swan's feather. The Tourbillion with gold Bridge comes on a hand-stitched crocodile strap witha gold buckle. Automatic mechanical movement; 48 hours power reserve, water-resistant to 30 meters; Case dimensions: 37 mm x 37 mm, 12.38 mm height. Posted by: Neo Nov 28 2004, 06:40 PM Girard Perregaux - Cat's Eye Line This new line, a tribute to women, is a subtle marriage of aesthetics and technique. It has been designed to appeal to women attracted by traditional horological values and looking for a highly personalized, exclusively feminine timepiece. The oval case, with its diamond-set bezel and elongated horns, comes in pink, yellow or white gold versions. The dial, in black or white mother-of-pearl or dark blue flinque or silvered translucent, is decorated with large applique Arabic numerals at the quarter hours and has a moon phase window with a concentric small seconds dial. The automatic mechanical movement is visible through the crystal caseback. The silk straps, with their folding clasps, harmonize with shimmering dials. [*]Automatic mechanical movement; [*]46 hour power reserve; water-resistant to 30 meters; [*]Case dimensions: 30.24 mm x 32.24 mm, 10.45 mm height; [*]Sapphire crystal in front and back. Posted by: Neo Nov 28 2004, 06:42 PM Girard Perregaux - Cat's Eye Line This model is distinguished by the same exquisite femininity, but is oval case, in pink, yellow or white gold with a diamond-set bezel, is horizontal. The white or black mother-of-pearl or silver flinque or translucent blue dial is decorated with large applique Arabic numerals and features a small seconds at 9, a date window at 1.30 and a power reserve at 4.30. The heart of the watch is visible through the transparent caseback, which is secured with four screws. Coloured silk straps match the dials, while the buckle harmonises with the gold of the case. [*]Automatic mechanical movement; [*]46 hour power reserve; [*]water-resistant to 30 meteres; [*]Case dimesions: 35.24 mm x 30.24 mm, 10.45mm height; [*]Sapphire crystal in front and back. Posted by: Neo Nov 28 2004, 06:43 PM Girard Perregaux - Laureato Evo Chronograph The LAUREATO EVO had been given a new look. The strong identity of this model, which was launched in 2003, has aroused considerable interest on international markets. It now features a new dial with a silvered opaline ground. The centre has a clous de Paris decor and four black-ringed counters: a 24-hour counter at 9, a date hand at 12, a seconds counter at 3, and an hour counter at 6. The minutes are indicated by a red-tipped direct-drive centre-seconds hand. Other features include round luminescent hour markers, rhodium-plated hour and minute hands, and a red centre-seconds hand. The case and integrated bracelet are made of steel. The movement is visible through a sapphire crystal caseback secured with six screws. [*]Automatic mechanical movement; [*]46 hour power reserve; [*]water resistant to 50 meters; [*]Case dimensions: 44 mm, 15.10 mm height. [*]Sapphire crystal front and back.

Posted by: Neo Nov 27 2004, 04:51 PM International Watch Company and AMG to Collaborate IWC Schaffhausen and Mercedes-AMG GmbH seal their partnership. The Swiss watch manufacturer and the German engine constructor have set their sights on a long-term partnership of cooperation. Joint projects and appearances are planned. IWC Schaffhausen and Mercedes-AMG had al-ready been sounding out one another in secret for a while, although they took their time before declaring their love. It all finally came to a head on October 1, 2004. Mario Spitzner, Director Branding, Marketing & Sales of Mercedes-AMG, and Georges Kern, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, put the seal on a partnership based on mutual empathy. Their mutual pleasure has a number of reasons. Both companies are strong in engineering and show a great passion for advancing the bounds of technology. Both companies thrive on the en-thusiasm of their employees. Their deep commit-ment permits outstanding performances. Both engage in “precision engineering” at the highest level. Standing at the centre of the mechanical assembly process in both cases are highly qualified craftsmen who are devoted to their work. Both companies encourage individual achievement and individual responsibility. Both combine their pleasure in precision with a firm belief in understatement. The emphasis is not on outward appearances: it’s substance that counts. In this sense, both enterprises favour restraint and sobriety of design. Both companies work for a discerning circle of enthusiasts. Every year AMG supplies 20,000 high-quality sports cars to its clientele. IWC Schaffhausen concentrates on horological specialities and innovations for connoisseurs as well as on timepieces for everyday use. And not least: both companies are located in neighbouring parts of southern Ger-many and Switzerland. The fortuitous presence of a national frontier binds them together rather than separating them. These are the shared values that inspired AMG and IWC to enter into their partnership. Georges Kern comments: “As an engineering brand, IWC Schaffhausen has a natural affinity with [word removed]ic performance culture that AMG pursues so successfully. We also share a sense of under-statement and discrete exclusivity. IWC is not interested in outward show, but focuses on the essential nature of what is on the wrist.” Mario Spitzner adds: “The customers of AMG – like those of IWC – are distinctly technology-oriented and have a great love of detail. Like Mercedes-AMG, IWC also demonstrates extra-ordinary skills in relation to ‘high mechanics’ and achieves a very high standard of quality through pure craftsmanship. The willingness to deliver extreme performance is fascinating. That is why we, too, are looking forward to our cooperation.” The cooperation between IWC and Mercedes-AMG will take on tangible form in the near future as a joint watch project. Mercedes-AMG started out in 1967 with the de-velopment and construction of car racing engines. The powerful road cars for which AMG is famous today derive from this commitment, to which AMG has remained faithful to this day. Daimler-Benz AG entered into a cooperation agreement with AMG in 1990. Later in 1999 DaimlerChrysler AG acquired the majority of shares, which led to the establishment of Mercedes-AMG GmbH. Today Mercedes-AMG stands for luxurious high-performance vehicles. IWC Schaffhausen has been setting standards in technological development and highly complicated haute horlogerie for more than a century. The International Watch Company, founded in 1868, has established a world reputation for itself as a Swiss watch manufactory with a long heritage and a passion for ingenious inventions, innovative solutions and technical refinements. Courtesy of TimeZone Posted by: Neo Nov 27 2004, 04:53 PM N E W M o d e l – Invicta 1959 Russian Diver In 1959, the USSR’s Council of Labor and Defense contracted Invicta Switzerland to develop a unique Swiss-made watch exclusively for the officers of the naval fleet. Only 100 pieces were made, and never marketed to the public. Only one example of this 1959 classic exists in the Invicta private collection. Now, 45 years later, Invicta is proud to introduce a replica piece based on the original Russian Diver. The modern version carries the same dial and case design, as well as a strap that was developed specifically for wear over military diving suits. The new piece showcases a unique Swiss-made ETA manual-wind Unitas movement that has been skeletonized for extra elegance. The new Russian Diver is water resistant to 200 meters. And as with the original, the watch is constructed with a very substantial crystal, close to 6mm in thickness. Posted by: Neo Nov 27 2004, 04:56 PM Girard-Perregaux joins BMW Oracle Racing October 2004 Yacht team BMW Oracle Racing announced today that Girard-Perregaux has joined the team as an associate sponsor, said CEO Chris Dickson. Mr. Dickson welcomed Girard-Perregaux President Luigi Macaluso, saying, “We’re proud to be associated with Girard-Perregaux, a company that has a history that is older than the America’s Cup.” Girard-Perregaux, founded in 1791, is part of the Sowind Group, a holding company operating in the field of fine timepieces. Mr. Macaluso, European rally champion in 1972, was a member of the marketing team for the first Italian America’s Cup challenge, Azzurra, in 1983. “We are a company of today and we want to be a company of tomorrow,” Mr. Macaluso said. Mr. Dickson said the philosophy and values of Girard-Perregaux would mesh well with those of the team. “Our team can benefit by contact with a company that has the same commitment to precision and technology. We’re looking for sponsors that can bring our technologies to a higher level,” said Mr. Dickson. The announcement was made aboard the Christina O, BMW Oracle Racing’s hospitality boat for the Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts 2 and 3. Girard-Perregaux will produce series of collector’s watches commemorating its involvement with the BMW Oracle Racing team. Mr. Macaluso said he expected to release the timepiece next spring. Courtesy of TimeZone Posted by: Neo Nov 27 2004, 04:59 PM Rolex Awards for Entreprise On September 29, Rolex announced the winners of its 11th Awards for Enterprise. Two women and three men from Argentina, Georgia, Japan, Switzerland and the United States have won the coveted international prize that the Swiss watchmaker bestows on five outstanding individuals every two years. Each Laureate has received $100,000 and a personally inscribed gold Rolex chronometer at a gala ceremony in Paris where the five winners - selected from more than 1,700 applicants from 116 countries by a panel of eminent scientists and explorers - have been recognised for their pioneering projects in the areas of science, technology, the environment, exploration and cultural heritage. The 2004 winners bring the total number of Laureates in the programme's 28-year history to 55. Like their predecessors, the prize-winners' wide-ranging projects share the common goal of improving life on our planet. This year's Laureates are: Lonnie Dupre, an American explorer undertaking the first summer crossing of the Arctic Ocean, on skis and by kayak, to raise awareness of global warming; Claudia Feh, a Swiss equine specialist establishing an interactive learning forum to help nomads and scientists to support the introduction of Przewalski horses to their native Mongolian habitat; David Lordkipanidze, a palaeoanthropologist who is working in his native Georgia to explore and protect the earliest known site of human activity outside Africa; Teresa Manera, an Argentine palaeontologist, who is preserving prehistoric animal tracks at a unique site on Argentina's Atlantic coast endangered by tourism and erosion; and Kikuo Morimoto, a Japanese silk expert who is creating a model for revitalising rural Cambodia by reviving traditional silk fabrication. In addition to the prizes awarded to the 2004 Laureates, five Associate Laureates will each receive $35,000 and a steel-and-gold Rolex chronometer. These runners-up will be honoured at ceremonies in their own countries or regions in the months ahead. The 2004 Associate Laureates are Pisit Charnsnoh (Thailand), Laury Cullen (Brazil), Shekar Dattatri (India), Dora Nipp (Canada), and Joan Thompson (United States). Their projects range from using short films to educate policy-makers about environmental issues in India to creating an interactive museum based on oral testimonies of immigrants in Toronto, Canada. In June of this year, Rolex invited people from around the world to apply to the 2006 Rolex Awards. The biennial programme provides financial support and global recognition to visionary and committed individuals whose ongoing working projects are original and feasible, and have a positive impact on the surrounding community and beyond. The regional deadlines for entries for the 12th Rolex Awards are: 31 May, 2005, for Asia, the Pacific and North, Central and South America; 30 September, 2005, for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Courtesy of TimeZone Posted by: Neo Nov 27 2004, 05:01 PM Vacheron Constantin Overseas VC has updated its classic Overseas model with a new case and bracelet. The case is available in 42mm with a sapphire crystal. The chronograph features a big-date complication and is powered by the automatic VC caliber 1137. MSRP is 11,900 euros for the chronograph in steel. The time-only automatic is powered by the VC caliber 1126/1. It is water resistant to 150 meters and the MSRP is 7,850 euros for the steel version. Posted by: Neo Nov 27 2004, 05:03 PM N E W M o d e l – Breitling Chrono-Matic In 1969, Breitling created the first selfwinding chronograph movement, the Caliber 11, a mechanism in which the spring is wound by means of an off-centered oscillating weight. This invention would enable the development of a whole range of chronographs named Chrono-Matic, recognizable thanks to their left-placed crown, a specific feature due to the modular construction of the movement. Now, Breitling has revived the Chrono-Matic. Movement is the automatic Breitling caliber 41LC (Left Crown) with 38 jewels, beating at 28,800 bph and COSC-certified as a chronometer. The case, in stainless steel or in 18kt rose or yellow gold, measures 44mm. The crystal is sapphire. Source: Breitling Press News Posted by: Neo Nov 27 2004, 05:05 PM N E W M o d e l – Breitling Bentley Mulliner Perpetual Chronograph This limited edition of 100 pieces is the 18kt rose gold Bentley Mulliner by Breitling. MSRP is 40,750 Euros for the 18kt rose gold version, an 18kt white gold version is available for 44,390 Euros. Posted by: Neo Nov 27 2004, 05:06 PM N E W M o d e l – Chopard L.U.C. Fleurier Limited Edition The L.U.C. Fleurier is a special edition of 250 pieces created for the launch of the “Qualite Fleurier” watch certification process. The case, in 18kt rose gold, measures 39mm x 9.5mm. The crystal is sapphire (as is the display back), and it is water resistant to 50 meters. Movement is the in-house Chopard L.U.C. caliber 9.96, measuring 27mm X 3.3mm, with 29 jewels, beating at 28,800 bph and with a power reserve of 65 hours. Posted by: Neo Nov 27 2004, 05:08 PM N E W M o d e l – Seiko Kinetic Chronograph The Ref. SBCG003 is the latest kinetic from Seiko, and features a decentralized chronographic dial set-up. Movement is the kinetic Seiko caliber 9T82 with 38 jewels. The case, in stainless steel, measures 45mm X 14mm. MSRP is $3,500 (390,000 Yen). Posted by: Neo Nov 27 2004, 05:09 PM N E W M o d e l – Frederique Constant Austin Healey Limited Edition This new model is a limited edition done in commemoration of Frederique Constant’s sponsorship of the 2nd European Healey Meeting held in St.Moritz this past August. The case, in stainless steel or available 18kt rose gold, measures 40mm. The crystal is sapphire as is the display back. Movement is the automatic FC caliber 392 (base ETA 7750) with a power reserve of 42 hours. It is water resistant to 50 meters. MSRP for the steel model is $1,800 (limited to 888 pieces) and $4,535 for the gold model (limited to 99 pieces). Posted by: Neo Nov 27 2004, 05:12 PM Donkervoort Chronograph Donkervoort is a Dutch manufacturer of sports cars (Lotus 7 inspiration). For their 25th anniversary, the factory introduced a limited edition chronograph of 250 pieces. Movement is an ETA caliber 2824 with a Dubois Depraz 2025 chronographic module, total jewel count is 51. The stainless steel case measures 40mm, and has a sapphire crystal. It comes in an aluminium presentation box, with a numbered certificate signed by Mr. Joop Donkervoort, the car factory founder. MSRP is 1,465 Euros. Courtesy of TimeZone

This Thread is a break-off from Neo's "In Search Of..." Thread that was copied here from RWGI... He had so many wonderful articles and pictures of New Models starting back in '04 forward... Thought it would be good to have them in there own Thread that we can add to as we come across new pieces... Enjoy, TwoTone

Posted by: Neo Nov 26 2004, 06:39 PM AUTOMATIC WATCHES Automatic watches are hot in the United States. Between 1993 and 1995, U.S. imports of Swiss luxury automatics jumped 95%. Just what are automatics? How do they work? How accurate are they? How often should they be serviced? For answers to these and other questions, read on. What is an automatic watch? Is that the same as a hand-wound watch? Why do they call it "automatic?" What is the difference between an automatic and a self-winding watch? Is that the same thing as a "perpetual" watch, like a Rolex Oyster Perpetual? How does an automatic watch work? Who invented the automatic watch? Why do we see more automatics these days? How popular are they in the United States? Why are they so popular? Are they expensive? How much motion does an automatic need to work properly? Is it safe to wind an automatic watch? How long will an automatic watch keep turning off the wrist? How often does an automatic need to be serviced? 1. What is an automatic watch? An automatic is a mechanical watch whose mainspring is wound as a result of the wearer's arm motion. 2. Is that the same as a hand-wound watch? No. Hand-wound is a mechanical watch that the wearer winds by turning the crown by hand. 3. Why do they call it "automatic?" Because instead of the wearer having to wind the watch to generate power, the watch winds itself "automatically" when worn. 4. What is the difference between an automatic and a self-winding watch? Nothing. The terms are synonymous. Self-winding means that the watch winds itself. 5. Is that the same thing as a "perpetual" watch, like a Rolex Oyster Perpetual? Right. Rolex refers to its automatic watches as "perpetuals." Automatic, self-winding and perpetual all mean the same thing: the watch winds itself. (A perpetual calendar, however, is something else.) 6. How does an automatic watch work? The movement of the wrist and body causes the rotor, a metal weight attached to a winding mechanism, to pivot freely on its staff in the center of the movement. The rotor rotates back and forth in a circular motion at the slightest action of the wrist. The rotor's movement winds the mainspring, a flat coiled spring that powers mechanical watches. 7. Who invented the automatic watch? The modern rotor system was developed and patented by Rolex and introduced into the Oyster line as the Oyster Perpetual in 1931. Emile Borer, Rolex's technical chief at the time, is credited with inventing the modern rotor system. The person who first developed a rotor, however, was Abraham-Louis Perrelet (1729-1826), one of Switzerland's greatest watchmakers. Perrelet is considered the father of the automatic watch. He introduced the concept in 1770 and was way ahead of his time since the invention was better suited to wristwatches. Perrelet lived in the pocket watch era and, because the watches did not move much in pockets, the rotor system did not perform so well. The rotor did not move around enough to wind the mainspring sufficiently. Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) improved self-winding watches; he called them "perpetuelles" (the likely source of Rolex's term). Other watchmaking greats of the 19th century advanced the concept. But it wasn't until wristwatches became popular after World War I and Rolex perfected its system that automatics came into their own. 8. Why do we see more automatics these days? Like all mechanical watches, automatics fell out of style during the quartz watch revolution of the 1970s. Electronic watches were the rage then and were far more accurate than mechanicals. In the mid-1980s, however, as quartz watch production soared to hundreds of millions of pieces each year, some people, mostly watch collectors, began to appreciate the value of a fine mechanical watch. In the past 10 years, fine mechanical watches have staged a comeback on world markets. Automatics have rebounded as part of the mechanical counter-revolution. 9. How popular are they in the United States? Very. Between 1993 and 1995, U.S. imports of Swiss luxury mechanical watches jumped 95% in units and 87% in value, according to the American Watch Association. This data also includes hand-wound watches, but the majority are automatics. Data for 1996 is not available yet. 10. Why are they so popular? Many people appreciate the craft involved in making a mechanical automatic movement. They like the fact that this technology is hundreds of years old, involves many moving parts, yet keeps very accurate time. (Many automatics come with glass backs which enable the wearer to view the action of the rotor and other moving parts.) They appreciate the human element involved in an automatic watch, that the movement is assembled by hand. Others like the fact that automatics run on so-called "clean," natural energy--wrist power--and that there are no polluting batteries to dispose of. 11. How accurate are they? Mechanical technology, by definition, is inferior to the extreme accuracy of an electronic watch. Automatics are plenty accurate for normal daily timekeeping, though. A normal automatic is accurate to within +30/-5 seconds a day, depending on the quality of the movement. 12. Are they expensive? They can be, but they are not necessarily. Automatics are available in every price range, starting with Swatch automatics. 13. How much motion does an automatic need to work properly? A person's normal arm and wrist motion will keep an automatic watch properly wound. People who are inactive--the elderly or patients confined to beds--may need to wind their watch to keep it powered. 14. Is it safe to wind an automatic watch? Sure. Winding the watch won't hurt it at all. If you haven't worn an automatic in a while, it is best to wind the stopped watch before putting it on. Ten to 15 turns of the crown is usually enough to give full power to the mainspring. Some companies recommend more: Breitling, for example, suggests turning the crown on its automatics 30 to 40 times. But be aware that the barrel in an automatic movement doesn't have a hook so that you won't feel any resistance when the mainspring is fully wound. Don't worry; you can't overwind the watch. 15. How long will an automatic watch keep turning off the wrist? That depends on the type of movement in the watch and how much power is left in the mainspring when you take it off. A normal, fully wound automatic movement will keep running from 36 to 48 hours. Frederic Piguet, the Swiss movement manufacturer which specializes in complicated movements, produces an automatic movement which stores 100 hours of power. Bernhard Stoeber, vice president of technical services at the Movado Group, recommends winding an automatic watch when one takes it off so that it will keep running as long as possible when not worn. Stoeber also suggests occasionally winding an automatic that is not worn for an extended period of time in order to keep the oils properly lubricated and distributed. 16. How often does an automatic need to be serviced? Most companies recommend the watch be checked and relubricated every three to five years. If the wearer regularly subjects a water-resistant automatic to water, the seals should be checked annually. Courtesy of Europa Star

Posted by: Neo Nov 26 2004, 06:34 PM SWISS CHRONOMETERS Switzerland's mechanical watch boom has brought a surge in watches bearing a special designation on the dial: chronometer. What are chronometers? How are they different from regular watches? Why are they important? Why are they mostly mechanical watches? And what should you tell customers about them? For the answers to these and other questions, read on. What is a chronometer? What does a watch have to do to earn the title of chronometer? Who conducts the tests? What tests are run on the watch? How many movements does COSC test each year and how many certificates are issued? Why are most chronometers mechanical watches? Do many companies apply for chronometer certificates for their watches? How is the demand for chronometers? Which firm is the leader in production of Swiss chronometers? What is the difference between a chronometer and a chronograph? So what is a marine chronometer? A chronometer is an extremely accurate watch or clock. It takes its name from the Greek words (chronos + metron) meaning to measure time. A Swiss chronometer is a watch, usually mechanical, whose precision has been tested and verified by an official Swiss watch testing bureau. The watch comes with a ratings certificate issued by the institute. The chronometer designation is a badge of honor, proof that the watch is of superior quality. 2. What does a watch have to do to earn the title of chronometer? The watch's movement must pass a battery of severe tests conducted for 15 days and nights. The movement's accuracy is checked in five different positions and at various temperatures which simulate conditions under which the watch will be worn. 3. Who conducts the tests? The Swiss Official Chronometer Control (Controle Officiel Suisse des Chronometeres, or COSC, in French). COSC is an independent association governed by the Swiss Civil Code. Watch companies desiring the chronometer designation on their best pieces send movements to COSC. (COSC tests uncased movements; the companies case the movements after the tests.) COSC issues a performance certificate for each timepiece which successfully passes the tests. There are three COSC centers in Switzerland where watch companies send movements to be tested--in Geneva, Bienne and Le Locle. Switzerland has been officially testing chronometers since 1878. COSC as it exists today was founded in 1973. 4. What tests are run on the watch? COSC conducts elaborate precision tests on the movements using cameras and computers, which analyze the data. COSC performs seven different tests. Failure to meet the minimum standard in any one of the tests means that a movement is rejected. The tests are complicated. Here is an attempt at a simple summary: Test 1: Mean Daily Rate: After 10 days of tests, the mean daily rate of the movement must be within the range of -4 to +6 seconds per day. COSC determines the mean daily rate by subtracting the time indicated by the movement 24 hours earlier from the time indicated on the day of observation. Test 2: Mean Variation in Rates: COSC observes the movement's rate in five different positions (two horizontal, three vertical) each day over 10 days for a total of 50 rates. The mean variation in rates can be no more than 2 seconds. Test 3: Greatest Variation in Rates: The greatest of the five variations in rates in the five positions can be no more than 5 seconds per day. Test 4: Horizontal and Vertical Difference: COSC subtracts the average of the rates in the vertical position (on the first and second days) from the average of the rates in the horizontal position (on the ninth and tenth days). The difference must be no more than -6 to +8 seconds. Test 5: Greatest Deviation in Rates: The difference between the greatest daily rate and the mean daily test rate can be no more than 10 seconds per day. Test 6: Rate Variation Due to Temperature: COSC tests the movement's rate at 8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahrenheit) and at 38 degrees C (100 degrees F). It subtracts the cold temperature rate from the hot temperature rate and divides by 30. The variation must be no more than 0.6 seconds per day. Test 7: Resumption of the rate: This is obtained by subtracting the average mean daily rate of the first two days of testing from the mean daily rate of the last test day. The resumption of rate can be no more than 5 seconds. Simple, isn't it? If a movement meets the standards, COSC issues a certificate designating it as a "chronometer." 5. How many movements does COSC test each year and how many certificates are issued? In 1995, COSC tested 844,043 movements. That was down slightly (-4.5%) from 1994 when a record 883,714 movements were submitted for testing. The vast majority of the movements sent in for testing pass. In 1995, COSC issued 814,868 certificates, 96.5% of those submitted. That means chronometers represent about 2% of Switzerland's total production of complete watches. 6. Why are most chronometers mechanical watches? Just one-third of 1% of the movements submitted for testing in 1995 (3,026 total) were quartz movements. That's because electronic quartz technology is by definition an ultra-precise form of timekeeping and there is less need to demonstrate a quartz watch's accuracy. That's not the case with mechanical watches. Even so, COSC has developed stringent regulations which quartz watches must pass before they can be called chronometers. Worth noting: by far the leader in Swiss quartz chronometers in 1995 with two-thirds of the total certificates issued was Krieger Watch Corp. of Miami Beach, Fla. 7. Do many companies apply for chronometer certificates for their watches? More than 60 firms submitted movements to COSC in 1995. 8. How is the demand for chronometers? Despite the drop in requests in 1995, there has been a surge of watch company applications for chronometers in this decade. COSC data shows that the number of movements submitted bottomed out in 1976 at 225,712. Requests did not pass the 300,000 unit mark again until 1984. It rose steadily throughout the late 1980s but has soared in the 1990s, reflecting the strength of Rolex, in particular, and the general revival of Swiss mechanical watches on world markets. In 1990, the number of movements submitted to COSC passed the 600,000 unit mark for the first time. By 1994, the number had reached 883,714, an increase of 43.5% over 1990. 9. Which firm is the leader in production of Swiss chronometers? Rolex is the undisputed chronometer king. An amazing 83% of all chronometer certificates issued by COSC in 1995 went to Rolex--more than 675,000 of them. You get some sense of Rolex's dominance when you realize that only five firms (one of them a group, really) produce more than 6,000 chronometers a year. The second largest producer of chronometers is TAG Heuer (51,638 certificates in 1995), followed by Omega (31,135 certificates), the Cartier Group (6,393) and Bulgari (6,056). 10. What is the difference between a chronometer and a chronograph? The terms sound similar but they have nothing to do with each other. A chronometer, as we have seen, is a superior timekeeper. A chronograph is a watch with a stopwatch function. 11. So what is a marine chronometer? A marine chronometer is an instrument used on a ship at sea to determine the longitude by measuring the time. It was developed in the 18th century. Courtesy of Europa Star

Posted by: Neo Nov 26 2004, 06:29 PM WATER-RESISTANCE Thanks to the sports watch boom, water resistance has become so common in watches that we often take it for granted. But a closer look at this popular feature reveals some uncommon ingenuity. What makes a watch water-resistant? Why aren't watches ever labeled or described in advertising as "waterproof" even if they can be worn deep-sea diving? My watch is labeled "water-resistant to 50 meters" but the manufacturer's instructions say I can only wear it swimming, not snorkeling or diving. Why is that? What are the various levels of water-resistance? I've seen the abbreviation ATM used in labeling degrees of water resistance. What does it mean? Is water resistance permanent? How often does water resistance need to be checked? How is water resistance tested? Can I wear my water resistant watch in the hot tub? What besides extreme temperatures will jeopardize my watch's water-resistance? My divers' watch came with a leather strap. Will the water harm it? There are several features that help make a watch water-resistant. The most important is the gaskets, or 0 rings-made of rubber, nylon or Teflon which form watertight seals at the joints where the crystal, case back and crown meet the watch case. if the watch is a chronograph, the chronograph pushers will also have gaskets. In addition, water-resistant watch cases are lined with a sealant, applied in the form of a quick-hardening liquid, which helps keep water out. The thickness and material of the case is also a big factor in determining whether a watch can safely be worn underwater. The case must be sturdy enough to withstand pressure without caving in says John Sokol, technical directors at TAG-Heuer USA in general, this means a steel or titanium case or a steel case plated with gold, manufacturers say. Solid gold cases can be water resistant provided they are sufficiently thick. A screw-in case back, as opposed to one that pushes in, also contributes to a watch's water resistance. A screw-in crown, a feature of many divers' watches, helps prevent water getting into the case through the watch-stem hole. When it is screwed down it forms a water tight seal much like the seal between a jar and its lid. 2. Why aren't watches ever labeled or described in advertising as "waterproof" even if they can be worn deep-sea diving? According to guidelines issued by the Federal Trade Commission, watch marketers are not allowed to label their watches "water-proof." Even watches designed for deep-sea diving cannot claim to be water-proof. 3. My watch is labeled "water-resistant to 50 meters" but the manufacturer's instructions say I can only wear it swimming, not snorkeling or diving. Why is that? The different levels of water resistance as expressed in meters are only theoretical. They refer to the depth at which a watch will keep out water if both watch and the water are perfectly motionless, says Scott Chou, technical director at Seiko Corp. of America. These conditions, of course, are never met in the real swimmer's or diver's world. in real life, the movement of the wearer's arm through the water increases the pressure on the watch dramatically; so it can't be worn to the depths indicated by lab testing machines. 4. What are the various levels of water-resistance? Watches with the lowest level of water resistance are labeled simply "water-resistant." They can withstand splashes of water but should not be submerged. Above that (or below it, literally speaking), the most common designations are -50 meters (1 meter is about 3.3 feet), which means the watch is suitable for swimming; -100 meters; indicating it can be worn snorkeling; -200 meters, suitable for recreational scuba diving and, believe it or not, -1,000 meters (roughly three-fifths of a mile). Watches in this last category can endure deep-sea diving. Their gaskets are made of materials that can withstand the helium used in decompression chambers. Some have valves that let the wearer release the helium that has seeped into the watch so the case won't explode as the watch and diver adjust to normal atmospheric conditions, says Peter Purtschert, technical director at Breitling USA. Keep in mind that the depth specified on the watch dial represents the results of tests done in the lab, not in the ocean (see question 3). 5. I've seen the abbreviation ATM used in labeling degrees of water resistance. What does it mean? It stands for "atmosphere" and it's equal to 10 meters of water pressure. Another word for "atmosphere" is "bar," which is often used in Europe. 6. Is water resistance permanent? No. Water resistance depends on several factors (see question 1), some of which can be affected by wear or simply by time. Gaskets can become corroded or misshapen, cases denied or crystals loose or broken. That's why your watch, like your car and your teeth, needs preventive maintenance. 7. How often does water resistance need to be checked? At least once a year. Most manufacturers say water resistance needs to be tested every time the case back is opened, because opening the case can dislodge the gaskets. This rule applies even to a simple battery change. (Many service centers also change the gaskets whenever a watch comes in for service.) You should take it only to a service center authorized by the manufacturer. Doing otherwise could invalidate your warranty. 8. How is water resistance tested? There are basically two ways of machine-testing water resistance, referred to as "dry" and "wet" testing. In the former, the watch is subjected to air pressure and measurements taken to see whether the case expands as a result of air leaking into the case. If it does, the watch is not water resistant. In one type of "wet" testing, the watch is first subjected to air pressure, then submerged in water. If air bubbles come out of the watch when it is underwater, it means air seeped into the watch before it was submerged, and it is therefore not water-resistant. In another type, the watch is placed in a small water-filled chamber which is then subjected to pressure from a piston. If water gets into the watch, it's not water resistant (this is obviously the riskiest form of water-resistance testing). 9. Can I wear my water resistant watch in the hot tub? No. Exposing your watch to heat, whether it's in a hot tub or sauna can cause the gaskets to lose their shape and their ability to keep out water. 10. What besides extreme temperatures will jeopardize my watch's water-resistance? Some chemicals can corrode the gaskets and make it vulnerable. Heavily chlorinated water can cause problems, as can spray-on perfumes and hairsprays that work their way into the watch's seams and damage the gaskets. (They can also damage your watch's finish.) 11. My divers' watch came with a leather strap. Will the water harm it? It may. Wearing a leather strap in the pool or diving is not generally recommended, says TAG Heuer's John Sokol. "It's like wearing your shoes to go swimming." Instead, choose a metal, plastic or nylon strap, he advises. However, some manufacturers do offer leather bands which have been specially treated to resist water and are guaranteed safe for swimming. Check your warranty before you wear your leather strap in the water. Courtesy of Europa Star

Posted by: Neo Nov 26 2004, 06:24 PM SUBDIALS Subdials are busting out all over this year as manufacturers increase their offerings of chronographs and other multifunction watches. What do all those whirling doodads do? What is a subdial? What kind of information do they give? Explain the various subdials on a chronograph How do you set subdials? How can you tell what a subdial is used for? Some non-chronograph watches have their seconds hand set in a subdial instead of in the center of the dial. Why? Why do so many watches have subdials these days? Are they so fashionable because they're new? 1. What is a subdial? A subdial, or subsidiary dial, is a small dial placed inside the main dial on a watch face. Watches can have as many as four of them. Subdials, also called auxiliary dials, give information not provided by the main watch dial. They are a common features of multifunction watches such as chronographs, alarm watches, dual-time-zone watches and calendar watches. 2. What kind of information do they give? Many kinds. Chronograph watches, those with a stopwatch function, use subdials to keep track of seconds and of elapsed minutes and hours. Calendar watches often have subdials with pointers indicating the month, date and sometimes day of the week. A moon phase subdial shows what phase the moon is in by means of a disk that rotates beneath a small aperture. On the disk are painted two full moon faces. As the day of the month pass, the painted moon (only one is visible at a time) either waxes or wanes in synchrony with the phase of the real moon. In a mechanical watch, one that is powered by a mainspring rather than a battery, a subdial can also be used to show how much power remains before the watch stops running. Such a subdial is called a "power reserve indicator". (Quartz watches also sometimes have similar devices, showing how much power is left in the battery or energy cell. These devices, however, are usually incorporated into the watch's main dial rather than a separate subdial.) On an alarm watch, one that rings at a specified time, a subdial is sometimes used to set the alarm. Dual-time-zone watches often have subdials that show the time in another time zone. Sometimes these subdials express the time in military fashion, on a 24-hour, rather than 12-hour, basis. (Dual-time-zone watches are sometimes called GMT watches - short for Greenwich mean time- because their second-time-zone subdials can be set to the local time at the prime meridian, which passes through Greenwich, England. Of course, the wearer can set the second-time-zone indicator to give the time in any time zone in the world, not just at the prime meridian.) Some subdials do double-duty, using two scales and two hands. For example, one hand might point to the day of the week while the other keeps track of the seconds. Or a moon phase subdial might also have a pointer that shows the date. Note that not all subdials are round. Some are designed in what is called the bras en l'air /French for "arm in the air) design, in which the hand moves through an arc rather than in a circle. Power-reserve indicators are sometimes designed in this way; as sometimes are date indicators. 3. Explain the various subdials on a chronograph One subdial is used for the seconds hand. In most models, the seconds subdial shows continuously running seconds. The stop-start seconds hand, controlled by the chronograph button, is placed at the center of the main dial. This is done for reasons of readability- the main dial is easier to see than a small subdial. In some watches, those with tachymeter and telemeter scales (used for measuring speed and distance, respectively), placing the chronograph seconds hand in the center serves another purpose as well. These scales are printed along the circumference of the main watch dial, and can only be used if the elapsed-seconds hand is in the middle of the watch. Some chronographs also have subdials that show the fraction of a second - most often 1/10s of a second. Chronographs often have other types of subdials as well, called "counters", "registers", or "totalizers," which keep track of the minutes and hours that have elapsed since the wearer pushed the chronograph button. Most minute registers are graduated in 30 segments; most hour registers in 12 segments. If the wearer wants to measure a longer period of time than the subdial permits, say 45 minutes, he adds the time recorded on the minute register's first revolution, 30 minutes, to the time that has elapsed on its second revolution, 15 minutes. The reason most counter only go up to 30 minutes is that they are small. If they were marked in 60 increments, a full hour, they would be difficult to read. Some chronographs use a subdial to show the "real" time, the current hours and minutes, while the large main dial is dedicated entirely to the chronograph function. 4. How do you set subdials? In a chronograph, the counter start and stop recording time when you push the chronograph button, the same button starts and stops the chronograph seconds hand. When you want to reset all the dials to zero, you push another button. A system of levers underneath the watch daily returns all the subdial hands to their original position simultaneously. Other types of subdials - calendars and alarms, for instance - are set using the watch crown or a separate button on the watch case. 5. How can you tell what a subdial is used for? It's not as complicated as it seems. If a subdial has a 60 at the top, it's probably a continuously running seconds hand (if the watch is working, this hand will be moving). But a few subdials with 60 at the top are actually 60-minute counters. If the subdial has a 30 at the top, its most likely a 30-minute counter. If it has a 12 at the top, it's probably a 12-hour counter (although if the watch is a dual-time-zone model, its probably a second-time-zone indicator). If it has a 10 at the top, it probably measures 1/10th of a second. Date subdials have a 31 at the top for the maximum number of days in a month. Moon phase subdials are obvious - they have a picture of a moon showing through the aperture - as are month and day-of-the-week subdials, which are labeled either Jan. through Dec. or Sun. through Sat. 6. Some non-chronograph watches have their seconds hand set in a subdial instead of in the center of the dial. Why? It's purely for cosmetic reasons. A main dial with just two hands is sometimes easier to read than one with three, and the subdial give the watch added visual interest. 7. Why do so many watches have subdials these days? There are two reasons. First, multifunction watches are extremely popular, and subdials are useful, and often necessary, in displaying the various types of data they measure. Second, subdials give a watch a high-tech and/or sporty look - which is extremely fashionable nowadays. That's why some watches that don't really need subdials -ones that simply show the day of the month, for example, or incorporate a seconds hand - have them anyway. Subdials have become extraordinarily important in watch design. 8. Are they so fashionable because they're new? Not by a long shot - hundreds of year, in fact. Subdials can be seen on some of the earliest watches in existence, dating back to the 17th century. In those days, watches weren't accurate enough to count seconds (they could barely keep track of hours), so subdials were used to display the day, date and moon phase. Courtesy of Europa Star

Posted by: Neo Nov 26 2004, 06:17 PM WATCH CRYSTALS What is a watch crystal? What are watch crystals made of? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each material? What exactly is synthetic sapphire? Can you tell if a crystal is made of sapphire by looking at it? Are scratch-resistant crystals new? Are all scratch-resistant crystals made of synthetic sapphire? The terms "lunette," "bombé", "chevé" and "boule" are sometimes used to describe watch crystals. What do they mean? What are "anti-reflective" or "glare-resistant" crystals? How much do watch crystals cost to replace? 1.What is a watch crystal? A watch crystal is a transparent cover that protects the watch face. Note that, coincidently, the word "crystal" is also used to denote the tiny piece of quartz that serves as an oscillator in a quartz watch. These two types of crystals have nothing to do with each other. The latter is usually called a "quartz crystal" to prevent confusion. 2. What are watch crystals made of? They can be made of any of three materials: 1- plexiglass (a clear, lightweight type of plastic), 2- ordinary glass - like that used for windows, and usually referred to in the watch business as "mineral glass" or 3- synthetic sapphire (see question 4). Some crystals are made of both mineral and sapphire glass. Seiko, for example, makes some watches with crystals made of mineral glass covered with a layer of synthetic sapphire. Seiko calls this composite material "Sapphlex". 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each material? Plexiglass, as you would expect, is the least expensive. It is also the least likely to shatter and the most likely to become scratched. Mineral glass, even though it has been hardened by a tempering process, is more likely to break than plexiglass. But it is also more scratch-resistant than that material. Synthetic sapphire is the most expensive glass crystal material and the most scratch resistant. Because it is so hard, it is also brittle, and shatters more easily than mineral glass or plexiglass. 4. What exactly is synthetic sapphire? It is a very hard, transparent material made of crystallizing aluminum oxide at very high temperatures. Chemically, synthetic sapphire is the same as the natural sapphire used in jewelry, but without the coloring agents that give the gemstone its various hues. When it is heated, the synthetic sapphire forms round masses that are sliced into pieces with diamond-coated saws. These disks are then ground and polished into watch crystals. (One reason sapphire crystals are relatively expensive is that the tools required to make them are costly.) Sapphire (whether natural or synthetic) is one of the hardest substances on earth. It measures 9 on the Mohs scale, which is a system for rating the relative hardness of various materials. (Diamond measures 10, the highest rating.) Watch crystals made of synthetic sapphire are often marketed as "scratch resistant", meaning they are very difficult - but not impossible - to scratch. Diamond can scratch them; so can man-made materials that incorporate silicon carbide, with, with a Mohs rating of between 9 and 10, is, like diamond, harder than sapphire. These materials are sometimes used to make simulated-stone surfaces for furniture or walls. The watch wearer should note that accidentally scraping a sapphire crystal against such a surface could cause a scratch. 5. Can you tell if a crystal is made of sapphire by looking at it? No. Mineral glass and sapphire generally look the same. A surefire way to tell them apart (albeit an often impractical one) is with a scratch test, says Johann Jorgo, technical director at Baume & Mercier Inc. New York. A stainless steel knife or screwdriver will scratch a mineral-glass crystal but not a sapphire one. 6. Are Scratch-resistant crystals new? No. Synthetic sapphire was invented in the 19th century and first used for watch crystals in the 1960s. Now really all high-end watch brands use synthetic sapphire crystals in at least some of their models. 7. Are all scratch-resistant crystals made of synthetic sapphire? No. Some mineral-glass crystals are also marketed as "scratch resistant." These crystals have a hard coating that makes them less likely to get scratched. 8. The terms "lunette", "bombé", "chevé", and "boule" are sometimes used to describe watch crystals. What do they mean? All are French words that refer to the shape of the crystal. "Lunette" simply means round - like a full moon (lune means "moon" in French). Bombé, chevé and boule all mean concave, or dome-shaped. There are other words used to describe watch-crystal shapes. A "raised" crystal is flat on top but raised up, like a birthday cake. "Shaped crystals" are any that aren't circular - rectangles, square and ovals being the most common. "Cocktail" shapes are the more exotic and extreme examples of shaped crystals. They include elongated baguette and octahedral (eight-sided) crystals. 9. What are "anti-reflective" or "glare-resistant" crystals? This type of crystal has been coated on one or both sides with a substance - the same one used on anti-reflective eyeglasses - that lessens reflections and glare and makes it easier to read the watch face. Anti-reflective crystals can be made of either mineral glass or synthetic sapphire. One interesting feature of these crystals is that, viewed from the front, they are virtually invisible because they aren't reflecting any light. In some instances, the coating gives the crystal a telltale bluish tint, as it does on eyeglasses. This tint is easiest to see if the watch has a light-colored dial. 10. How much do watch crystals cost to replace? Consumers can expect to pay anything from perhaps $20 to $25 for a plexiglass crystal to more than $100 for a shaped synthetic sapphire one. (At Baume & Mercier, for example, synthetic sapphire crystals range from $65 to $135.) The average cost of a round mineral crystal is about $30 to $60. An anti-reflective coating adds to the cost of any crystal. In general, the more expensive the watch, the more the consumer will have to pay to replace its crystal. Courtesy of Europa Star

Posted by: Neo Nov 25 2004, 06:48 PM TIMELINE OF WATCH MAKING Circa 1370 The first mechanical clocks with driving-weights, gear-train and escapement appeared. Circa 1410 Invention of the mainspring leading to the first portable clocks. Late 15th century The first watches appeared. Galileo Galilei discovered the isochronism of the pendulum. 1656/57 Christiaan Huygens made the first pendulum clock as imagined by Galileo in 1637. 1675 Christiaan Huygens, the father of scientific clockmaking, invented the balance-spring for watches. 1755 VACHERON CONSTANTIN was established. John Harrison solved the problem of plotting longitude at sea through the exceptional accuracy of his timepieces. 1760/70 Jean-Antoine L?ne invented and produced a calibre with bars. 1770 Abraham-Louis Perrelet invented the self-winding watch. 1795 Abraham-Louis Breguet invented the tourbillon, which he patented in 1801. 1821 Nicholas Mathieu Rieussec developed the chronograph, which Joseph Thaddeus Winnerl perfected in 1831 (split-seconds chronograph). 1833 LECOULTRE was established (later JAEGER-LECOULTRE). 1834 BAUME was established (later BAUME & MERCIER). 1845 LANGE was established 1847 Charles Antoine LeCoultre invented a system to wind and adjust a watch using the crown. 1847 CARTIER was established. 1860 PANERAI was established. 1868 IWC was established. 1874 PIAGET was established. From 1880 Wristwatches grew in popularity. 1883/84 The Greenwich meridian was adopted as the prime meridian, and time zones were introduced, first in the USA then throughout the world. 1893 DUNHILL was established. 1906 MONTBLANC was established. 1923/1931 John Harwood patented the first self-winding system for a wristwatch, followed by that of Hans Wilsdorf. 1926 Hans Wilsdorf filed a patent for a water-resistant watch (Oyster). 1966 First prototype for a quartz wristwatch. 1980 The revival of traditional mechanical watches. Source : Richemont

Posted by: Neo Nov 25 2004, 06:01 PM Patek Philippe Museum Now is the time to see the most prestigious and comprehensive collection of timepieces ever compiled. Reflecting the tradition of excellence of the Genevan watchmaking community, the Patek Philippe Museum presents about two thousand exceptional timepieces, automata, miniature portraits on enamel, and rare exhibits which trace a fantastic journey through five hundred years of European horology; at the same time, they showcase the 160-year heritage of a watchmaker which connoisseurs agree is the finest in the world. The collection consists of two complementary departments. One is dedicated to rare timepieces of European and mostly of Genevan provenance, the other is devoted exclusively to Patek Philippe watches, spanning the workshops’ history from its beginnings to the present day. An exceptional museum called for an exceptional building. Number 7 on the « rue des Vieux-Grenadiers » Located in Geneva’s Plainpalais district, the building which today houses the Patek Philippe Museum dates back to 1920. Over the century, it housed a number of jewelers, beginning with the gem cutters of Heller & Son, then the Italian jeweler Ponti Gennari, followed by the Piaget jewelers. Philippe Stern bought the building in 1975 to house the Ateliers Réunis SA. This small production unit manufactured watchcases, bracelets and chains for Patek Philippe. In 1995, after this workshop moved to the new Patek Philippe premises at Plan-les-Ouates, the building remained vacant. The idea then sprang to light of opening a museum to present to the public the two fabulous watch collections acquired by Philippe Stern over more than 30 years. The objective was to renovate and enlarge this building, respecting the old walls and their history, while at the same time creating a contemporary expression. Under the supervision of Gerdi Stern, the wife of the president of Patek Philippe, the challenge was significant : to refurbish, remodel, redecorate and provide appropriate lighting to four floors of 7,560 square feet each (700 sqm), in an original yet coherent manner. The Museum The visit begins on the ground floor and continues on to the third, the second, and finally the first floor. 1. Ground floor: reception, collection of antique tools, watch restoration workshop and auditorium 2. Third floor: library, Patek Philippe archives 3. Second floor: the antique collection, from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries 4. First floor: the Patek Philippe collection from 1839 to the present day THE COLLECTION OF ANTIQUE TOOLS Visitors to the PateK PHILIPPE MUSEUM are greeted on the ground floor, where the workshops of the past have been recreated, just as they were used by the watchmakers, jewelers, engravers and enamellers, with a collection of over 400 tools from the period between the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. A watchmaker specialized in the restoration of antique watches will work in the visitor’s presence, in a glassed-in cabinet recalling those of the original Genevan cabinetries. LIBRARY AND PATEK PHILIPPE ARCHIVES The third floor is where the Museum’s documentary section is located. Visitors will discover eight presentation cases of Patek Philippe archives, a horological library containing over 4000 works, and a faithful re-creation of the office of Mr Henri Stern, father of the firm’s President. THE ANTIQUE COLLECTION FROM THE SIXTEENTH TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY The second floor of the PATEK PHILIPPE MUSEUM invites the visitor to discover the first three centuries of the horological art, through five hundred of the most important pieces from Geneva’s and Europe’s heritage, together with a splendid collection of miniature portraits on enamel, created by the great Geneva masters. Audiovisual multilingual presentations of selected masterpieces animate the exhibit. THE PATEK PHILIPPE COLLECTION FROM 1839 TO THE PRESENT DAY Watches had existed for almost three centuries and a half when the Polish Count Antoine Norbert de Patek founded the future watchmaking firm of Patek Philippe with his fellow countryman, François Czapek, in Geneva in 1839. In just a few years, with the arrival of a new partner, the talented French horologist, Adrien Philippe, in 1845, the Geneva firm acquired a reputation for excellence. Through 163 years of uninterrupted production it has built on that reputation, which continues to flourish. The PATEK PHILIPPE MUSEUM retraces the history of the most creative watchmaking firm of our times, a history filled with technical and aesthetic innovations and illustrated by over 1000 exceptional timepieces. The Patek Philippe Museum is a new highlight on the cultural agenda of the city of Geneva and a tribute to the city’s watchmaking heritage. PATEK PHILIPPE MUSEUM Rue des Vieux-Grenadiers 7 - CH - 1205 Geneva Tel. (004122) 807-09-10 www.patekmuseum.com Opening Hours Tuesday to Friday 14h00 - 17h00 and Saturday 10h00 - 17h00 Closed on national holidays. Guided tours by appointment Public transport and parking Buses: 1 and 4. Bus stop: Ecole-de-Médecine Trams:12 and 13. Tram stop: Plainpalais. Parking: Plainpalais Entrance fee Adult CHF. 10.- / student, AVS, AI CHF 7.- / groups (minimum 10 persons) CHF 5.-Children until 18 years : no admission fee Helpful resources: GENEVA TOURISM Tel. 0041 22 909 70 83 / Fax 0041 22 909 70 69 e-mail : schibli@geneva-tourism.ch www.geneva-tourism.ch www.switzerlandclub.com www.MySwitzerland.com Photo's courtesy of chronometrie

Posted by: Neo Nov 21 2004, 03:23 AM Watch firm agrees to supply competitors November 19, 2004, 23:45 The Swiss Competition Commission says a subsidiary of the Swatch Group will continue to deliver movement blanks to other watchmakers. The announcement ends a two-year investigation into the dispute which started after ETA announced plans to produce exclusively for the Swatch Group. The Competition Commission said ETA had agreed to deliver movement blanks, which are key elements for watches, for another six years. In a statement released on Friday, the regulator said ETA had a dominant market position for movement blanks in the price range of up to SFr300 ($256) and that there were currently no alternatives. The Commission therefore concluded that ETA’s announcement in 2002 that it would stop the delivery of movement blanks to third parties until 2006 was in breach of the law on cartels. Nicolas Hayek, the head of the Swatch Group, had argued that ETA was overwhelmed with orders and that its movement blanks were sometimes ending up in fake watches. But the regulator said that stopping deliveries to third parties would have threatened the future of many small watchmakers in Switzerland. Compromise Under a compromise, ETA pledged to keep up the delivery of movement blanks up to 2008 and gradually reduce it until 2010. The regulator said the agreement gave small watchmaking companies in Switzerland enough time to adapt to the market and look for new producers. Movement blanks are used as a base material for watch producers who then add their own components. ETA is the leading producer of movement blanks in the world and is considered a key element of the Swiss watchmaking industry. The Swatch Group is the largest watchmaking concern in the world and includes the Breguet, Blancpain, Omega, Longines and Swatch brands. Copyright © Swissinfo / Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG Source: http://www.nzz.ch/2004/11/19/english/page-synd5350365.html

Posted by: Neo Nov 17 2004, 06:26 AM Monsieur Arpels and the new triumvirate Van Cleef & Arpels revisits its PA 49, but the brand’s three innovative Monsieur Arpels mechanical timepieces steal the headlines and also look destined to become modern classics. November 01, 2004 By D. Malcolm Lakin In 1949, Pierre Arpels, the son of one of the founders of Van Cleef & Arpels, created the PA 49, a round, ultra-flat classical watch with a Jaeger-LeCoultre movement and innovative central strap attachments. 55 years later, at this year’s SIHH, the brand offered a reinterpreted and modernized model using a 35 mm stainless steel case with a curved bezel, slightly elongated Roman numerals and a date window at 4.30. The watch is still equipped with a Jaeger-LeCoultre automatic Calibre movement that is visible through the sapphire caseback. However, it is the three new Monsieur Arpels models that have grabbed the limelight and taken the brand into the more rarefied technical universe of watch complications. The new models are the Monsieur Arpels Dual Time, the Monsieur Arpels Alarm and the Monsieur Arpels Chronograph. Each watch has its own personality, its own specific complications illustrating that the brand is capable of creating timepieces with complications that offer something different to today’s consumer. These additions to the Van Cleef & Arpels collections also highlight the fact that the brand, by broadening its offer to the male of the species, is taking the necessary steps to complement and balance its fine, innovative ladies’ collections with exceptional men’s wristwatches. Front, back and side view of MONSIEUR ARPELS DUAL TIME. The triumvirate The Monsieur Arpels Dual Time watch is available in either stainless steel or 18 carat yellow gold and has a white lacquered dial with three mother-of-pearl counters. The hour, minutes and seconds hands are placed centrally. At 10 o’clock there is a power reserve indicator with a hand that duplicates the shape of the piece within the movement. The date dial is at 2 o’clock and is adjusted from a very discrete push button at 2 o’clock. The bi-directional second time zone dial is at 6 o’clock and is adjusted from the crown at 3 o’clock. Both dials slightly overlap the larger power reserve indicator offering a pleasing fusion of dials within the dial. The movement is an automatic Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre JLC 939 with a 40-hour power reserve. However, the Monsieur Arpels Dual Time has two additional subtleties. The first is a small window on the side of the case at 9 o’clock that reveals the movement and the second is a ‘generational’ calendar engraved on a disc at the back of the case. The calendar shows months, days and date from 2004 to 2092 – which makes it valid for 88 years. However, to personalize the feature, Van Cleef & Arpels will engrave the calendar to begin with the year of the owner’s choice. MONSIEUR ARPELS ALARM PA49 The Monsieur Arpels Alarm is much more than a mere alarm. Available in either 18 carat yellow gold or stainless steel, the watch is equipped with an automatic Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre JLC 918 movement with a power reserve of 44 hours and has a central mother-of-pearl disc that shows the time in 24 cities around the world. The alarm has a pleasing sound and is amplified by the vibrating caseback and the indi-cator for setting the alarm is a red triangle within the central disc. There are Roman numerals set within a large circle of white lacquer and there is a date aperture at 4.30. To add a further dimension to the appearance of this timepiece, the movement can be observed through two elegant windows on the side of the case at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock. Adjustments for hours, minutes and the date are made from the crown at 4 o’clock and the alarm and the central disc showing the cities are regulated from the crown at 2 o’clock. MONSIEUR ARPELS CHRONOGRAPH The Monsieur Arpels Chronograph is a Limited Edition of just 49 pieces (as a homage to Pierre Arpels). The case is in 18 carat pink gold and is equipped with a Swiss mechanical VCA (M47) movement with a 38-hour power reserve. The white lacquer dial has two Roman numerals, XII and a VI, with indices for the other hours and a graduating scale for the chronograph and the tachometer. The seconds and minute counters are placed at 9 and 3 o’clock and the movement can be seen through the sapphire caseback. All the functions are activated from the crown at 3 o’clock. The triumvirate of new watches are water-resistant to 30 metres and come with either a black crocodile deployant strap for those models in stainless steel and a mink-brown crocodile deployant strap for the gold versions. The spirit of the brand “Van Cleef & Arpels is renowned for its jewellery, it’s the heart of the brand,” explains Philippe Belais, Managing Director of the brand’s Watch Division, “and jewellery is the domain of the ladies. But obviously that does not stop us creating for men - and jewellery for men is generally considered to be the watch. “The spirit of the brand is innovation, and since we hadn’t created any new timepieces for men for around fifty years, obviously we had to create innovative watches. “Despite only having the same basic men’s watch collection for all those years (the PA 49 round and square versions), men’s watches remained around twenty per cent of our watch turnover. Consequently, when we decided to develop a new watch collection we had to create something that was different, not only different from our own existing models, but also from the watches the other brands offer,” Belais stressed. “The three watches we have now introduced are therefore innovative with their complications and also very elegant in appearance in keeping with the house style. These watches are addressed to those people who enjoy beautiful objects, but who also appreciate the various mechanical functions that a watch can offer.” The new triumvirate of timepieces offer five different possibilities – in gold and stainless steel – and as Philippe Belais underlines, “the important factor is that there is a lot of room for us to develop.” Article courtesy of Europastar

Posted by: Neo Nov 16 2004, 10:29 PM Base Movement Information for Omega Calibers Omega Calibre <> Base Movement 1108 <> ETA 2892-A2 1120 <> ETA 2892-A2 1128 <> Omega 1120 (ETA 2892-A2) 1138 <> ETA 2890-A2 & Dubois-Dépraz 2030 Chrono Module 1143 <> ETA 2890-A2 & Dubois-Dépraz 2020 Chrono Module 1151 <> ETA 7751 1152 <> ETA 7750 1164 <> ETA 7750 1221 <> ETA 2892-A2 1270 <> Piguet 1270 1376 <> ETA 280.002 1400 <> ETA 205.111 Rhodium Plated 1424 <> ETA 256.461 1426 <> ETA 256.111 Yellow Gold Plated 1440 <> ETA 255.441 1456 <> ETA 976.001 1471 <> ETA 282.001 1479 <> ETA 210.011 1530 <> ETA 255.411 1532 <> ETA 255.111 1538 <> ETA 255.461 1665 <> ETA 988.431 1666 <> Exclusive Omega Development (Speedmaster X-33) 1680 <> ETA 252.511 1861 <> Lemania 1873 Rhodium Plated Version of c.861 1863 <> Lemania 1873 Rhodium Plated Version of c.863 1866 <> Lemania 1874 Rhodium Plated Version of c.866 2400 <> Skeleton Omega 1012 Yellow Gold Plated 2401 <> Skeleton Omega 1012 White Rhodium Plated 2402 <> Omega 2500 (ETA 2892-A2) Skeleton/White Rhodium Plated 2500 <> Omega 1120 (ETA 2892-A2) 2600 <> Omega 2600 (Central tourbillion)

Posted by: Neo Nov 13 2004, 02:05 AM The watch that became a legend …again ! November 12, 2004 The launch of the LANGE 1 ten years ago, on 24 October 1994, marked the start of the second success story of the traditional Saxon company Lange – and the comeback of German precision watchmaking. Without any doubt, this watch made horological history and gave new prestige to the “Made in Germany” label. Prizes and awards were literally heaped on it, and not without reason: it has collected 16 awards in the ten years since its world premiere in 1994 in Dresden's palace. Its very name is a programme: LANGE 1. Together with three other new watch models (LANGE-TOURBILLON “Pour le Mérite”, SAXONIA and ARKADE) it was the flagship with which the traditional Saxon watchmaking company Lange in the town of Glashütte set out on 24 October ten years ago to conquer the world for the second time. Ever since then, more than any other watch, the LANGE 1 has symbolised something that no-one had dared to define for 50 years: a luxury watch from Germany. It is the most German of all prestige watches, and from 1990 onwards, that was the intention that shaped its development. The LANGE 1 was and is the company's best-selling watch and is frequently called the “visiting card” of A. Lange & Söhne. However, this is only half the story. In addition to its impressive appearance it is also the ideal within the company and the impetus behind every new horological creation. In a certain sense, it fulfils the promise made in 1994 by Walter Lange, great-grandson of the company founder Adolph Lange, when he proclaimed: “We intend once again to make the best watches in the world.” The LANGE 1 was designed to be different from any other mechanical watch up to that time. In the broad wake of the mechanical luxury watch segment – dominated at that time exclusively by Swiss brand names – it would have been well-nigh impossible to make a successful top name out of the Lange legend, and to turn the old location of Glashütte once again into the centre of fine German watchmaking. During the four years of its development, the LANGE 1 was given characteristics and qualities that had been lost in the field of watchmaking, or which had been sacrificed in the interest of efficient manufacture. Characteristics such as the Glashütte three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver, gold chatons held by blued steel screws, the hand-engraved balance cock with whiplash precision index adjuster, the glucydur screw balance, or the traditional Glashütte decoration of the movement. All this plus a large number of technical innovation, such as the twin mainspring barrels with over 72 hours power reserve and a patented outsize date, which has in the meantime opened the eyes of the whole industry to the beauty of this formerly neglected display item. All of this, as well as the highly unusual decentralised design of the dial with a clear, harmonious distribution of all the display figures, has contributed to make the LANGE 1 – in the face of the fiercest competition – a credible successor to the old Lange traditions, and capable of a successful comeback. Such a strongly individual watch also maintained its unique, inimitable personality in spite of new dial variations, the integration of a beautifully crafted tourbillon or the addition of an indicator showing the phases of the moon. There is no doubt that the LANGE 1 occupies a very special position in the extremely handsome collection by the traditional manufacturer from Saxony, which ranges from the purist Lange “1815” to the recently presented world-first LANGE DOUBLE SPLIT with a double rattrapante. And so the legend that saw time come home has itself matured into something of a watch legend: in the form of the LANGE 1. Data sheet LANGE 1 Movement: Lange manufacture calibre L901.0, manually wound, crafted, assembled, and decorated almost entirely by hand to the highest Lange quality standards; precision-adjusted in five positions; twin mainspring barrels; patented outsize date; power-reserve indicator; plates and bridges made of untreated cross-laminated German silver; balance cock engraved by hand Number of parts: 365 Frequency: 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour Jewels: 53 Screwed gold chatons: 9 Escapement: Lever escapement Balance: Shock-proofed Glucydur screw balance, Nivarox balance spring, patented micrometer-screw index adjuster with whiplash spring Power reserve: More than 72 hours when fully wound Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds with stop seconds, patented outsize date, power-reserve indicator Operating elements: Crown for winding the movement and setting the time, push-piece for switching the outsize date Case: Diameter 38,5 millimetres, 18-carat yellow, white or pink gold or platinum Glass and caseback: Sapphire crystal (hardness 9) Dial: Solid silver in champagne, argenté, rhodié, black or grey; gold appliques Hands: Blued steel, gold or rhodiumed gold Water resistance: 30 metres Strap: Hand-stitched crocodile strap with precious-metal Lange prong buckle in gold or platinum Source: Lange Uhren GmbH Press Release (www.lange-soehne.com) Courtesy of Europastar

Posted by: offshore Nov 13 2004, 01:31 AM Found this as an intro to "Finer Times" Some interesting observations! Watch Market Report -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It’s official: thanks to the Internet and a robust world economy, collecting vintage and modern pre-owned wristwatches has become more popular than ever before. Traditional auction houses such as Sotheby’s regularly conduct sales in New York, Geneva and Hong Kong which generate millions of dollars in revenue and are attended by the world’s most prominent dealers and collectors. Indeed, it was at a Sotheby’s auction in December of 1999 that an ultra-complicated Patek Philippe pocket watch commissioned by American businessman Henry Graves in 1933 sold for an astonishing $11 million – a new world record. On the Internet, "cyber-auctions" such as eBay have generated enormous interest in collecting fine wristwatches as well. It’s a big business: last year, over $37 million worth of watches were sold on-line. Because the start-up costs associated with selling on the Internet are relatively modest – no need to rent office space or pay employees – a new generation of collector/dealers has emerged to help meet the demand for vintage wristwatches. In addition, several Internet sites are now devoted to serving watch collectors with content ranging from discussion forums to product reviews. Needless to say, the wealth of information offered by these sites has allowed collectors to gain a horological education much faster than ever before and has resulted in a new breed of watch buyer – sophisticated, educated, focused and market-savvy. Last but not least, watch shows and traditional watch dealers remain popular with those consumers still uncomfortable in the ways of E-commerce. Of course, watches purchased from retail stores will always cost more than buying from dealers who conduct business on the Internet, but many collectors prefer human interaction. However you prefer to do your shopping, whether it be in person or on-line, vintage watches can be found everywhere it seems, from the pages of fashion magazines to your local neighborhood jewelry store. Yes, vintage and pre-owned modern wristwatches have undoubtedly emerged as one of the hottest collectibles of the 21st Century, but this was not always the case. As early as 1982, in fact, wristwatches were not considered collectible at all. Many industry insiders point to the 1982 NAWCC (National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors) National Convention in Boston as the first time that wristwatches were actively bought and sold. Prior to 1982, watch collectors focused mainly on pocket watches. American railroad watches and gold dress pocket watches were most avidly collected back then. However, as European collectors and dealers began snapping up wristwatches by high-end makers such as Patek Philippe and Rolex, prices skyrocketed and the vintage wristwatch hobby was born. The Internet changed the rules of the game once again in the mid-late 1990’s by allowing collectors and dealers to communicate more efficiently. With the advent of inexpensive scanners and sophisticated Web site design software, it became possible for dealers and collectors to post crisp, full-color digital images of vintage and modern wristwatches they had for sale. As a result, whereas a dealer might have once needed several weeks to find the right buyer for a watch, now that same watch could be sold in a matter of hours or days. While collectors were growing more sophisticated than ever, a new breed of watch dealer entered the industry via the Internet. Although many of these dealers were qualified to deal in vintage watches, others proved themselves amateurish and unprofessional. On a more ominous note, the Internet, with the anonymity it offers, became a magnet for criminals. Now that some historical context has been provided, perhaps you will understand why finding a trustworthy, knowledgeable dealer has become so crucial for collectors. Even legitimate and well-intentioned dealers, however, lack extensive experience buying and selling watches. This should come as no surprise, given that collecting wristwatches is still in its infancy. Unlike more established hobbies such as numismatics, there is no such thing as third-party grading or weekly price lists for watches, and information on a particular model is often hard to come by. Price guides do exist, but the values can be inaccurate and/or outdated In short, becoming a top-notch dealer requires more than just a price guide, a scanner and a computer: it requires knowledge of the marketplace, a passion for watches, and many years of experience. Regarding cyber-auctions and watch shows: they can sometimes be a useful means of acquiring watches for a collection, but a collector must always proceed with caution. If you ask any experienced collector his or her advice about buying on eBay or at a local watch show, the reply will usually be: Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware). Here are a few thoughts concerning eBay and watch shows (these guidelines are especially true if one is new to collecting wristwatches): eBay To its enormous credit, eBay has revolutionized the way collectibles are bought and sold all over the world. With over half a million auctions every day, individuals, businesses and dealers can use eBay to buy and sell virtually anything – coins, stamps, Pokeman cards, Beanie babies, and of course, watches. Most people selling on eBay, however, also sell a variety of different things: there are few eBay sellers who specialize only in watches. As a result, when you buy a watch off eBay, there is not always the guarantee that you will get what you paid for. Furthermore, because most eBay sellers do not offer a return policy, if the watch needs an expensive repair or has been otherwise misrepresented, the collector is usually out of luck. The issue of replicas is an even more serious problem. Replicas, especially of high-end makers such as Rolex and Patek Philippe, are often encountered on eBay. In all fairness, many of these replica watches are truthfully represented as fakes and fill a niche within the eBay universe. However, many sellers unknowingly sell fakes as originals due to the fact that counterfeiters in Asia and Europe have gotten so good at what they do, that they are producing counterfeit watches capable of fooling even the experts. With vintage watches, the problem is even more acute. There have been many instances in which a movement from watch A is "married" to a case from watch B. When the watch is discovered to be a "recase", its value drops dramatically. No matter what the situation, common sense dictates that no seller in his right mind sells a genuine Rolex bubbleback for $329 with no reserve. So if you see the telltale, "I don’t know if it is real," guess what? It’s not. Watch shows Watch shows can be a great place to meet fellow collectors and learn more about the hobby, but they can also be a frustrating experience. For one thing, "bargains" usually turn out to be anything but. Refinished dials, damaged cases and movements requiring expensive overhauls are just a few of the pitfalls that can turn your "bargain" into a money pit. Moreover, dealers typically have first shot at each other’s inventory the night before the show opens to the public. As a result, any under priced Rolexes will be long gone or sporting higher price tags by the time you arrive at the show. In addition, because the majority of the desirable vintage watches are being sold via the Internet, you’ll find fewer quality vintage watches at shows as collectors purchase these fine collectibles and dealer inventories are depleted. Attending a watch show is most productive when you know what you are looking for, but the pickings are slim these days, even for the professionals who make their living buying and selling watches. More grist for the mill!!!!! Offshore

Posted by: Neo Nov 8 2004, 02:28 PM CONTEMPORARY (05/1998) LUMINOR Power Reserve / GMT / Submersible. CONTEMPORARY (05/1998) LUMINOR Power Reserve / GMT / Submersible. ___________________________________________________________________________ Officine Panerai - Pre-Vendome Panerai Watches:- 5218-201/A Luminor Logo Watch – 5218-202/A Luminor Marina Militare PVD – 5218-203/A Luminor Marina PVD – 5218-205/A Luminor Submersible Slytech (Sylvester Stallone) – 5218-207/A Luminor Daylight Slytech (Sylvester Stallone) – 5218-209 Luminor Logo Watch – 5218-210 Luminor Marina PVD - 5218-218/A Black Seal (Watches never produced by Panerai) – 5218-301/A Mare Nostrum – 5218-302 Mare Nostrum Slytech (Sylvester Stallone) with graduated bezel - 5218-301/A Mare Nostrum – 5218-302 Mare Nostrum Slytech (Sylvester Stallone) with smooth bezel. Panerai (Richemond Group) – Post-Vendome Watches:- All watches from 1997 onwards are produced by Panerai (Richemond Group). All watches, HISTORIC: Luminor and Luminor Marina Watches CONTEMPORARY: Luminor Marina Automatic, Luminor Submersible, Luminor GMT, Luminor Power Reserve, Luminor Chrono, Radiomir, Radiomir Alarm Alarm/GMT, have a starting reference: PAM ????? and you can find all related info at: http://www.panerai.com or http://www.officinepanerai.com Posted by: Neo Nov 8 2004, 02:31 PM LUMINOR HISTORIC (05/1998) MARE NOSTRUM HISTORIC (05/1998) _________________________________________________________________________ Officine Panerai - Pre-Vendome Panerai Watches: - 5218-201/A Luminor Logo Watch – 5218-202/A Luminor Marina Militare PVD – 5218-203/A Luminor Marina PVD – 5218-205/A Luminor Submersible Slytech (Sylvester Stallone) – 5218-207/A Luminor Daylight Slytech (Sylvester Stallone) – 5218-209 Luminor Logo Watch – 5218-210 Luminor Marina PVD - 5218-218/A Black Seal (Watches never produced by Panerai) – 5218-301/A Mare Nostrum – 5218-302 Mare Nostrum Slytech (Sylvester Stallone) with graduated bezel - 5218-301/A Mare Nostrum – 5218-302 Mare Nostrum Slytech (Sylvester Stallone) with smooth bezel. Panerai (Richemond Group) – Post-Vendome Watches: - All watches from 1997 onwards are produce by Panerai (Richemond Group). All watches, HISTORIC: Luminor and Luminor Marina Watches CONTEMPORARY: Luminor Marina Automatic, Luminor Submersible, Luminor GMT, Luminor Power Reserve, Luminor Chrono, Radiomir, Radiomir Alarm Alarm/GMT, have a starting reference: PAM ????? and you can find all related info at: http://www.panerai.com or http://www.officinepanerai.com Posted by: Neo Nov 8 2004, 02:45 PM Old PANERAI Time on your PC Panerai Vintage Egyptian ( Egiziano ) Click on the link below to save or run this final version of a Panerai Vintage Egiziano as a desktop watch. http://www.connectingwatches.com/Watches/O...es/panerai2.exe ENJOY!

Posted by: Neo Nov 8 2004, 01:59 PM Watches "An irrational purchase" What does it take to make us want to buy a watch? A few years ago, a reputable name, a distinctive design, solid mechanics and a picture of the product in an advertisement in the appropriate magazine would have done the job. Now, it seems, watchmakers have to go to extremes. Earlier this month, in an attempt to make his fledgling watch brand stand out, Jorgen Amundsen, an intrepid Norwegian explorer/watchmaker, literally went to the end of the world - the North Pole to be precise - with 250 of his watches. A resourceful young man, he decided to use the fact that he is the great-nephew of Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach both the North and South Poles, and followed in his footsteps with a sledge loaded with 250 watches and weighing 40kg (each "Polar Timepiece" will be sold for £5,000 on his return). So why did Amundsen feel the need to go to such lengths? Over the past five years those Goliaths of luxury goods, the Swatch Group, Richemont and LVMH, have increased their presence in the watch world alongside old hands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. So the ante has been raised as the world of luxury does its magic for the wristwatch, transforming it from timekeeping instrument into the ultimate must-have accessory and lifestyle badge. Baselworld and the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva, held in April most years, are the annual watch shows where over 340 brands strut their stuff. A visit to these shows leaves no doubt that watch brands and their positioning are carefully managed assets. Outdoing each other in degrees of opulence and originality, watch promotions are big-budget and big-impact events. Chopard sponsors one of the highest-voltage celeb events of the year, the Cannes Film Festival, all in the name of promoting its brand. Hermès presented the new Dressage watch range last year in the equestrian school in Versailles, with a private show and candelabra-lit banquet reminiscent of the splendour of the Sun King himself. Breitling started life making cockpit instruments, and has always maintained links with the aviation world. Today it sponsors the Reno Air Races in the US where aircraft, including Mustangs and fighter jets, dodge death as they race around pylons. (For those not content to be mere spectators, Breitling will be happy to throw them out of an aircraft at 11,000ft or zip them into a G suit for a spin in its private fleet of fighter jets.) Then there's TAG Heuer, which sponsors Formula One racer Kimi Raikkonen as well as Tanya Streeter, world free-diving champion. According to Jean-Marc Lacave, chief executive of LVMH UK: "Buying a watch is no longer about telling the time, it is aspirational. We buy watches like we buy cars. They all basically carry out the same function but one expresses more about yourself than the other. Our ambassadors are a very efficient way of getting our message across." In the same vein, Bell & Ross has plunged its Hydromax into the dark waters of the Mariana Trench to be able to claim the record of the deepest a watch has ever been submerged - 11,100 metres - and Panerai, too, are sponsoring polar exploration. Omega sends its watches into space as the official Space Shuttle crew watch, straps them on to James Bond and has Cindy Crawford beaming out from posters across the world with the watch of her choice. Indeed, the Cindy campaign has become so successful that in Asia the Omega Constellation is simply known as the "Cindy watch." Stephen Urquhart, Omega's president, says: "You don't need a watch to tell the time; . . . you can buy a watch to tell the time for $5. It is an emotional product. People are buying a lifestyle, a dream." Fashion houses such as Dior, Gucci, Armani and Burberry are muscling in on the watch sector. Dior knows the appeal of products sprinkled with the fairy-dust of haute couture and under John Galliano's direction, catwalk cool is beginning to make its presence felt in an industry long cocooned from the vagaries of fashion. Watches or, more precisely, the strap, must be seasonally updated. And it's all working. According to the Federation Horlogère Suisse, the total export value of the Swiss watch industry rose from SFr8bn (€5.3bn) in 1998 to SFr10.6bn in 2002. Real profits for the watch industry are on a par with other luxury goods, so the advertising and promotional spend seems to be bringing results. So where does this leave Amundsen? On his way to the South Pole later on in the year - perhaps not such a mad idea after all. As Urquhart says, "a watch is still a very irrational purchase." Article By: Financial Times Source: http://www.connectingwatches.com/forum/new...ssages/146.html

Posted by: Neo Nov 8 2004, 12:10 PM Rolex is out as Asians develop taste for rare, high-end timepieces SINGAPORE: Forget about Rolex. How about a Richard Mille, or a Vacheron Constantin perhaps? Asian watch aficionados are increasingly going for exotic brands as they develop a growing appreciation for more complicated and costlier timepieces. So said experts at the Tempus industry fair that ended in Singapore over the weekend. While Rolex remains popular, the growing presence of other Swiss watchmakers like Audemars Piguet and Girard-Perregaux in the display windows of the region's upmarket shopping malls reflects a shift in tastes. These watches are still hand-made and only limited quantities are produced, thereby enhancing their appeal to collectors. Before another show visitor could make a grab for it, a Patek Philippe men's wristwatch worth 220,472 US dollars was snapped up by a Singaporean buyer almost as soon as the show opened. "It is a very exciting market," said Oliviero Bottinelli, chief executive officer of Audemars Piguet for Southeast Asia. "Europe was setting the trend, not quantity but quality, and Asia caught up very fast," he told AFP on the sidelines of the five-day watch exhibit organised by Singapore-based high-end watch retailer Hour Glass. "At one point it was Rolex, Rolex, Rolex ... Rolex has helped people to appreciate a watch," Bottinelli said. The 115-year old Audemars Piguet, one of the few remaining watch brands still under the control of its founding family, produces only 18,000 timepieces a year and almost half of the sales are from Asia, Bottinelli said. He declined to disclose revenues because the privately-held company prefers to keep its sales figures confidential. As a guide however, the average price of an Audemars Piguet watch is 14,705 dollars, Bottinelli said. Audemars Piguet and more than 30 other watchmakers, mainly from Switzerland, took part in the exhibition with the aim of expanding their reach to Asian collectors who are seen as the most enthusiastic buyers of limited-edition timepieces. Figures from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry showed six Asian economies, led by Hong Kong, among the top 15 export markets for Swiss watches in the first seven months of 2004. Altogether they bought 1.61 billion dollars' worth of Swiss timepieces in the January-July 2004 period. In 2003, their purchases totalled 2.65 billion dollars. An estimated 50,000 visitors from Asia and other regions were expected to have walked through the exhibit of 71 million dollars' worth of watches by the time it was to end Sunday, Hour Glass executives said. Hublot, a favorite with European royal families, was among the exhibit participants hoping to further raise their profile among Asian watch connoisseurs, Yvan Arpa, director of global marketing and sales, told AFP. "We don't want to do any hard selling," Arpa said. "We want to build our image ... we are not aiming to be a mass market brand, we are aiming to be a niche brand," he said. Executives from Hour Glass, which has an extensive regional presence from Tokyo to Sydney, confirmed growing demand from Asian clients for timepieces produced by independent Swiss watchmakers. "People are starting to invest in these timepieces simply because they understand the creative philosophies behind why these products are priced relatively higher than most major brands because of the exclusivity, because of the workmanship, the rarity of the products and the labour hours involved," said Michael Tay, Hour Glass's deputy general manager. Tay also said it reflected the maturity of the average Asian watch collector. "There's a lot more creativity injected into these brands and we find that the consumers have evolved and developed enough to appreciate them, because to find a nice timepiece you have to have the confidence in order to go for the lesser known brands," Tay said. "It's moving away from just branding ... a lot of the collectors go for (particular) products now in this part of the world," he said. Article by: Channel News Asia - 29 August 2004 Source: http://www.connectingwatches.com/forum/new...ssages/177.html

Posted by: Neo Nov 8 2004, 12:07 PM He admits Rolex scam on eBay! Time to come clean: He admits Rolex scam on eBay Saturday, February 28, 2004 A Holland resident faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines after admitting he and a friend sold fake Rolex watches on eBay. Daniel Lemmen said he was strapped for cash when he bought into a buddy's get-rich-quick scheme involving the popular Internet auction site. It didn't pay. On Friday, he was in front of U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell on felony fraud charges. Lemmen admitted that he and a co-defendant duped a South Carolina resident into paying $3,000 for a Rolex replica and pleaded guilty to a charge of mail fraud. He is to be sentenced in June. Two others, David Rendleman, of Hamilton, and Craig Warden, of West Olive, await trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Murray said. Rendleman has filed notice of an insanity defense, records showed. Lemmen said Rendleman approached him in late 2002 with the plan. He said Rendleman wanted him to set up an eBay account and use his name, address and bank account for transactions. "Dave already had things on eBay," Lemmen told the judge. "He said in order to make money, we had to have it in my name. I was the registered seller." He acknowledged they purposely misled potential buyers to believe they were buying a genuine Rolex watch. Lemmen did not elaborate, but the indictment said the sellers pitched one watch by saying it had belonged to his grandfather but didn't fit his wrist. Another eBay posting said: "(I'm) not a Rolex dealer, just an individual who buys authentic watches and sells them for a modest profit." Lemmen, who has held the same job the past 10 years, said he decided to take part after his wife was in a car crash in late 2001, and they got behind on bills. "We were financially strapped," he told the judge. His attorney, Sharon Turek, said after the hearing, "He's accepted his role in this. He's doing all he can to correct his mistakes. He readily admitted as soon as he did it it was not a good thing to be involved with." Authorities say the defendants collected $2,000 to $3,000 for watches worth only a few hundred dollars. eBay brings Internet buyers and sellers together at www.ebay.com. The Web site offers safe-buying tips, and does not allow sales of replicas. It urges people to use common sense and encourages checks of buyers' and sellers' histories. The allegations about the Rolexes are a reminder that scams are everywhere on the Internet. But that has not discouraged Sue Livingston, of Holland, from using eBay. Livingston won't get rich selling on eBay, but she has covered the cost her Christmas presents the past few years. Once, she believed a buyer paid too much. "I later sent her some of her money back because I felt bad," said Livingston, a retail manager. "It's a wonderful place to find something you can't find anywhere else." She had heard about the allegations of fake Rolexes, but they didn't concern her. "I've had only one time where I paid for something that I didn't receive. Other than that, it's been great. I've bought a lot of stuff." Article by: John Agar The Grand Rapids Press Source: http://www.connectingwatches.com/forum/new...ssages/105.html

Posted by: Neo Nov 7 2004, 06:49 AM Counterfeit watches, a different market segment Counterfeiting is a different market segment and that has changed, both in terms of who is doing it, where it is being done and the quality of the final product that makes it to the points of sale for counterfeit goods. When most people think of counterfeit watches, they think about the knock-offs sold on the streets of big cities for $10 that are clearly not real. But now the quality of the materials used in fakes has improved, with the goal being to fool the purchaser into thinking the watches are real. According to several sources, counterfeiters are big business and in fact are often linked to organized crime. The geographical location has shifted as well, from Taiwan and Hong Kong to China and South Korea, where labour is cheaper and intellectual property infringement claims are harder to enforce. "Counterfeiting has progressed to the second generation, where the products are so well copied that people are buying fakes believing that those products are genuine," says Marc Frisanco, intellectual property counsel, Richemont Group. "The price of the second generation counterfeit is within 10% of the price of gray market products. With the help and enhancement of the Internet, all the issues are blurred because you don't know if the watches on the screen are fake or genuine." To the casual eye, however, the watches look real. People, including some fringe retailers who can't buy authorized products direct from the manufacturers, buy these counterfeits thinking they are the real, branded watches. Some brands, like Cartier and Swiss Army Brands, are leading the fight against counterfeiters, going undercover to bust them, destroying product and winning huge judgments against them. Source: http://www.europastar.com/europastar/magaz...tent_id=2029233

Posted by: Neo Nov 3 2004, 04:43 PM History of Watches Beginning in 1480 to today many things have changed ... some have not. 1480 - 1511: The beginnings of portable time-keeping. In Nürnberg, Germany, Peter Henlein creates the first pocket watch. It is made of gilded brass and has only one hand giving the approximate time. It is ball shaped, yet oddly named a "Nürnberg Egg". Henlein's invention would soon be imitated and other Nürnberg Eggs followed. 1485: Leonardo da Vinci sketches a fusee for a clock. This system would later be used in watches. 1535: Religion has had a strong influence on the watch industry, and it had a major impact at this time. Martin Luther's Protestant reformation took over Geneva. In 1535, Geneva had no watch making industry to speak of and was mostly known for its jewelry. 1541: Jean Calvin now moved to Geneva and turned it into the center of the reformation. As word of this spread, Protestants from Paris and other watch making centers fled to Geneva. Calvin had imposed many strict laws banning theater, dancing, and other forms of art and entertainment. This included a ban on wearing elaborate clothing and jewelry. Initially this seemed like doom for Geneva's many fine jewelers, but one loophole in Calvin's laws gave them opportunity. Calvin considered watches an item of practical use, therefore allowed in his new strict Protestant Geneva. Geneva's jewelers then collaborated with the watchmakers who had recently fled there to make watches with jewels, enamels, and engravings. This collaboration spawned the beginning of Geneva's luxury watch industry. 1575: Watches are now getting more drum shaped and until 1600 also get more oval shaped. Early 1600s: Form watches are now starting to become popular. The cases are shaped like animals and objects. Religious themes are very popular, like skulls (for death) and crucifixes. Mid 1600s: By now watches were coming with pair cases. These had an outer case to protect the inner case of the watch. 1635: This was around the time that the fusee was adapted from clocks to watches. This helped get equal power to the mainspring regardless of whether the watch was fully wound or nearly out of reserve power. 1659-1675: Christian Huygens in Holland invents the "Remontoire". This keeps a more constant force on the escapement. Also during this time the spiral hairspring for the balance wheel was invented. There are claims that either Robert Hooke invented this in 1664 or Christian Huygens in 1675. There is also a claim that Thomas Thompion did in the same year. Regardless of who invented it, it made great stride in terms of accuracy. Now watches were accurate to within a few minutes, adding the use for a minute hand on watch dials. 1687: Daniel Quare patents the repeating mechanism that uses bells to sound quarter hours and the hours. 1700: The horizontal cylinder escapement is invented by either Thompion or George Graham. 1704: Peter and Jacob Debaufre, along with Nicolas Facio, are the first to use rubies in watch movements. This greatly reduces friction which improves accuracy and increases longevity of parts. 1715: George Graham invents the dead-beat escapement. 1725: George Graham invents the cylinder escapement which makes watches much slimmer. 1750: Around this time, watch makers began using enamel on watch dials to make them easier to read. Today, making a genuine enamel dial is very labor intensive, therefore expensive. 1755: Jean Marc Vacheron begins making his own watches. He would later join with Francois Constantin to form Vacheron Constantin. 1759: Thomas Mudge invents the English lever escapement. The key advantage of this movement being that the watch can be wound without stopping or losing time. 1761-1762: John Harrison's marine chronometer is the first timepiece to successfully determine longitude at sea. At the time, there was a large monetary award for whomever could be the first to accurately determine longitude at sea. Before then, many sailors perished on ships lost at sea that eventually ran aground and found themselves in the wrong spot or at the wrong time. Astronomers claimed to have the solution by using the stars for longitude, while watch and clock makers raced to solve the problem with timing. Both factions raced to earn the prize. Harrison had many competitors and some tried to stop him, but after many years and four different chronometers, he succeeded in spite of the heavy composition. 1770: Watch cases were now getting more elaborate. Machine turned cases, cases made of tortoiseshell, and enamel painted cases were all making the pocket watch more decorative. 1773: John Harrison collects his prize for his marine chronometer.at last. 1775: Abraham Louis Breguet sets up his own watch making shop in Paris, France. 1780: Abraham Louis Perrelet, one of Breguet's early instructors, invents the self winding movement. Breguet would later improve this feature. 1783: Abraham Louis Breguet invents the gong spring for repeaters. He also designs his own style hands and numbers, which are still named after him today. The gong spring helped make repeaters much smaller. 1783: Breguet begins work on his famous "Queen Marie Antoinette" watch. The watch features self winding, minute repeating, perpetual calendar, independent seconds, equation of time, thermometer, and power reserve. It also had a rock crystal dial to show off the amazing movement. Unfortunately the watch took so long to complete that the Queen never got to see the final product. In 1983 it was stolen from a museum in Jerusalem and to this day the watch has not been recovered. 1786: Breguet is the first to use guilloche on watch dials, which not only made them more attractive but also more legiblel. 1790: Breguet invents the parachute anti lock device to protect the balance wheel. 1791: J.F. Bautte founded the watch company that would eventually become Girard-Perregaux. 1795: Breguet invents the tourbillon. One of his greatest achievements, this device compensates for positional errors in the escapement caused by gravity. It remains one of the most difficult mechanisms to manufacture today. 1795: Breguet invents the Breguet over coil balance spring. This greatly improves accuracy and is still used in high quality mechanical watches. 1798: Breguet invents the "Sympathique". This is a clock and watch set. When the watch is not in use, it sets into a recess in the clock. The clock would then adjust and reset the watch. Later versions also rewound the watch. In 1991 this system was adapted to a wristwatch / clock set. 1799: Breguet invents the "Tact" watch, also known as the "watch for the blind". With this watch, the wearer could feel the exposed pointer on the case to determine the time. Late 1700s: With all of the latest technical innovations, movements are now much smaller, and form watches reemerge in even more styles than before. Early 1800s: Thanks to Breguet's invention of the gong spring, repeaters are much more compact and repeaters are now getting very popular. 1801: Breguet gets the patent for the tourbillon. 1807: Thomas Young invents the recording chronograph. 1809: Luther Goddard of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts is the first watch manufacturer in America. He has produced only approximately 600 watches in total. 1810: Breguet makes the first wristwatch for the Queen of Naples. There are many other claims to the first wristwatch title, but Breguet's is documented. 1820: Thomas Prest registers a patent for the self winding watch. 1821: Rieussec gets a patent the chronograph. There are also claims that Breguet invented this. 1827: The Breguet "Marie Antoinette" watch is finally completed four years after Abraham Louis Breguet's death. The major part of the work was executed by Michael Weber, one of the firm's best watchmakers. 1830: Seven years after Breguet's death, the Breguet company introduces a watch that can be wound or set using only one crown. Breguet, along with many other companies, would claim to be the first to have invented this. 1833: Antoine LeCoultre starts his own watchmaking business. It would later become Jaeger-LeCoultre. 1837: The first Tiffany store opens. 1838: The Swiss watch firm Audemars claims to have developed the first watch that can be wound or set through the crown. 1843: Adrien Philippe, of Patek Philippe fame, develops a watch with winding and setting through the crown. 1844: The start, stop, and reset chronograph is invented by Adolph Nicole; he works on this development until 1862. 1844: Antoine LeCoultre invents the millionometre. This precise system helps make movements much smaller. 1845: Adolphe Lange begins watchmaking in Glashütte, Germany. 1845: Adrien Philippe joins Patek & Cie to form Patek Philippe & Cie. 1846: Ulysse Nardin is established. 1847: Antoine LeCoultre develops a watch with winding and setting through the crown. 1848: Louis Brandt opens his own workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds; this eventually became the Omega Watch Company. Mid 1800s: Swiss watches now dominate the world market. Ladies jeweled watches are very popular. Thanks to numerous advances in technology, watches are now more mass produced and more affordable. They are also much more accurate. Perpetual calendars. retrograde displays, jumping hours and split second chronographs, were getting popular as well. The Swiss lever escapement is now used more than the English lever because it functions with less wear to the escape wheel and with better accuracy. 1850s: The going barrel replaces the fusee, making watches much more compact. 1851: The "Warren Manufacturing Company" is founded. It would later become the "Waltham Watch Company", one of the most significant watch companies in American history. 1853: Tissot makes the first dual time zone watch. 1856: Eterna is founded. It was originally called U. Schild and adopted the name Eterna only in 1906. 1858: Minerva is founded. 1860: Heuer is founded. They would become known for their chronographs. 1860: Chopard opens. 1865: Zenith founded. 1868: An American from Boston named Florentine Jones moves to Shaffhausen, Switzerland to start International Watch Company, (IWC). 1869: The Illinois Watch Company is founded. 1875: Audemars Piguet & Cie is established. 1880: Girard-Perregaux is the first company to mass produce wristwatches, primarily for military use. 1881: Movado founded. 1884: Breitling starts. 1884: Greenwich, England is officially named the zero meridian and used as the world wide recognized basis of time zones. 1886: Geneva Seal established. 1891: April 19th --Two trains collide in Kipton, Ohio, killing 11 people. This for those days impressive accident occurred because a conductor's watch had stopped, thereby the trains schedule in disarray. After this tragedy, a commission was formed to regulate the standards of railroad watches. With many trains moving so fast on the same tracks, accurate timing had become imperative. These railroad watches had to be durable, accurate, and easy to read in a quick glance. The regulations stated that an official railroad watch could not run fast or slow by 30 seconds or more in a period of 7 to 14 days watches. In these days American watches were by far the most accurate and names like Howard and Waltham ruled the day. 1892: Aarne Bonniksen of Coventry, England invents the "Karrusel". It is similar to the tourbillon, but larger, slower, and less complicated to manufacture. 1892: The Hamilton Watch Company is founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. To day it owned by the Swiss "Swatch Group". 1892: Ingersoll introduces the "Dollar" watch. This inexpensive model brought watches to the masses. By 1916 Ingersoll was making 16,000 watches per day. Their slogan was "The Watch That Made The Dollar Famous". Late 1800s: The wristwatch was now growing in popularity, especially with the military. Many of these were pocket watches with wire lugs attached to accommodate a strap. 1894: Universal Geneve established. 1904: Cartier makes a watch for Alberto Santos Dumont. The watch is sold commercially in 1911 and is still one of Cartier's most popular models and much imitated. 1905: Hans Wilsdorf starts the Rolex Watch Company together with his brother in law. The company was originally named Wilsdorf & Davis. The Rolex name was not officially registered until 1908. 1906: Omega introduces the first minute repeater wristwatch. The movement was made by Audemars Piguet. 1912: Movado introduces the "Polyplan", the first wristwatch with a curved movement and case. There were other watches with curved cases, but a curved movement was a new technical achievement. 1914: Eterna introduces the first wristwatch with an alarm. 1914: The first radio time signal was transmitted from the Eiffel Tower in Paris and in Nordeich, Germany. 1917: Cartier introduces the "Tank" watch, which still enjoys continued success until today. 1918: In Japan, the Shakosha Watch Company opened. This would become Citizen in 1931. 1920: Charles Edouard Guillaume wins the Nobel prize for inventing Invar and Elinvar. The composition of these metals causes them to be almost unaffected by temperature variations. The metals would be used for balance springs, thus greatly improving accuracy. 1920s-1930s: Art Deco styles become popular as wristwatches gain in popularity and pocket watch sales decline. 1923: John Harwood is the first to mass produce a self winding wristwatch. The watch was set by rotating the bezel and had no crown. 1924: In Tokyo, the Seiko brand name is launched by Kinttaro Hattori. It was formerly named "Timekeeper" and watch making was started in 1881. 1925: The first year to use Daylight Savings Time. 1926: Rolex introduces the first waterproof case called the "Oyster". It features a "Twinlock" crown that screws down to keep out moisture. 1927: Mercedes Gleitze swims across the English Channel wearing a Rolex. This was the first great publicity coup for Rolex. There would be many more as Rolex became the most recognized luxury watch brand in history. 1928: Jaeger-LeCoultre introduces the "Atmos", an amazing clock that runs on changes in temperature. A temperature change of just one degree suffices to keep the clock running for up to two days. 1929: The quartz crystal clock is invented by W.A. Marrison. 1929: Jaeger-LeCoultre introduces the world's tiniest watch movement. It measures 14mm x 4.8mm x 3.4mm and weighs 1 gram. 1929: First anti magnetic watch created by Tissot. 1931: Jaeger-LeCoultre introduces the "Reverso". Developed for polo players, the case flips over to expose the back and protect the crystal. One of the world's first sports watches. Today the Reverso is a whole collection of watches including a tourbillon, minute repeater, a double watch, jewelry style and others. 1931: Rolex introduces a self winding model called the "Perpetual". 1932: Patek Philippe introduces their first "Calatrava" model. 1933: Advances in metallurgy make Nivarox the metal of choice for hairsprings. It is harder than Elinvar, anti magnetic, and non rusting. These hair springs come in various grades, with Nivarox 1 being the best. Nivarox is still used in many good watches to day. 1933: Ingersoll introduces the "Mickey Mouse" watch. This is not the first comic character watch, but definitely the most popular. Its great success inspired many other watch companies to offer their own character watches and they are very collectible today. 1935: Gruen introduces the "Curvex". The great success of this model helps fuel the explosion of curved watches that will go into the 1940s. 1936: Universal Geneve introduces the "Compax" chronograph. This was the first chronograph with an hour counter and its style helped launch the popularity of all chronographs. 1937: Edmond Jaeger joins Antoine LeCoultre to form the Jaeger-LeCoultre company in the famous Vallée de Joux in the Jura mountains north-west of Geneva 1942: Breitling introduces the "Chronomat". 1945: Rolex introduces their first "Datejust". 1948: Omega introduces their first "Seamaster". 1948: Eterna is the first to mount the self winding rotor on tiny ball bearings to reduce friction. 1952: Breitling introduces the "Navitimer" which becomes the quintessential pilot's watch. 1953: The "Submariner" introduced by Rolex. 1954: Rolex launches the "GMT Master". 1955: Rene Bannwart, designer for Omega, leaves the company to start up his own watch brand and Company named Corum. 1955: Louis Essen and JVL Perry develop the first Atomic Clock. 1956: Rolex introduces their first model that displays the day and date. 1957: Hamilton introduces the world's first battery driven watch. The watch had its share of problems but marked the beginning of a very serious crisis in the Swiss mechanical watch industry, almost leading to its complete demise. 1957: Buren makes the first self winding watch with a micro rotor. 1959: Piaget introduces the 12P, the thinnest self winding watch in the world at 2.33 mm thick. 1960: Bulova introduces its very successful "Accutron" model. This battery-operated watch replaced the balance wheel with a tuning fork. The system was much more accurate than previous battery operated watches. 1961: Movado introduces the "Museum" watch, a model remaining popular till to day. The dial had been designed 14 years earlier by Nathan George Horwitt. 1962: Rado produces the world's first scratch proof watch called the "Diastar 1", a classic still popular in some markets to day. 1962: ETA of Switzerland develops the first quartz battery operated watch called the "Beta 21". This is by far the most accurate and dependable system to date. Instead of starting to produce quartz watches for the general public, they did not use this new, by them invented, technology and continued to produce mechanical movements. 1966: Girard-Perregaux produces the world's first high frequency mechanical movement, (36,000 vibrations per hour). Most mechanical watches have a rate of 18,800 or 28,800 vibrations per hour. 1969: Seiko introduces the "Astron", the first quartz watch available to the general consumer. Not many Astrons were made, but this marked the beginning of the Japanese quartz watch domination. 1969: Man lands on the moon and NASA choses the Omega Speedmaster as the watch to go to the moon with them. The Omega Speedmaster remains the first watch worn on the moon. 1969: In a race to develop the first self winding chronograph, Zenith and Movado collaborate to introduce the "El Primero". 1970: Hamilton releases the "Pulsar", the first electronic digital watch. At the push of a button, the light emitting diode (LED) would light up the red numbers. This was easy to read, but exhausted batteries quickly. 1972: Longines and Seiko introduce a new type of digital display with the LCD, (Liquid Crystal Display). It displays the time continously, in contrast with the LED's push button method. 1972: Audemars Piguet introduces the "Royal Oak", the first stainless steel luxury sports watch. What seemed risky back then, is the leading trend today. 1974: Paul Picot founded. 1976: Patek Philippe introduces the "Nautilus". 1976: Citizen makes the first light powered watch. 1979: Vacheron Constantin introduces the "Kallista", the world's most expensive watch. With 130 carats of diamonds, it is worth approximately 9 million dollars. 1979: Concord releases the "Delirium", the world's thinnest watch, (1.98mm). As the battle for the thinnest watches continues, the Delirium IV is released at an amazing .98 mm thick. Thin, but not very practical, as the case would bend on the wearer's wrist. 1980: Hublot founded. 1983: Despite the popularity of quartz watches, Gerd Lang starts his own mechanical watch company named Chronoswiss. 1983: SMH of Switzerland launches the Swatch brand. It immediately takes off and gives the inexpensive Japanese quartz watch brands a run for their money. The many different and sometimes crazy styles were an instant success, and at about $35, people bought not just one but many. Several limited edition Swatches have fetched hundreds, even thousands, of Swiss Francs in the collectors' market. 1984: The Texas-based Fossil watch brand is launched. With its retro styling and packaging, Fossil limited editions are an instant success with collectors. Mid 1980s: The mechanical watch starts to make a comeback. Digital "fatigue" and appreciation for the true values of genuine mechanical masterpieces made in a centuries old tradition resurge. 1985: The Swiss Heuer Company merges with TAG to form TAG Heuer. 1985: IWC releases the "Da Vinci", a self winding, perpetual calendar which enjoys continued success today. 1985: Citizen introduces the "Aqualand", the first diver's watch with a depth sensor. 1985: Ulysse Nardin introduces the "Astrolabium Galileo Galilei" which makes it into the Guiness Book of Records. This watch indicates the position of the sun, moon, and stars. It also shows sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk, moon phases, moon rise and moon set, eclipses of the sun and moon, the month and the day. It was developed by Ulysse Nardin's in house genius Ludwig Öchslin and he would later develop two other complicated watches to form a trilogy set. 1986: Patek Philippe introduces the secular calendar, which factors out the adjustment in the gregorian calendar every 400 years. 1986: Audemars Piguet introduces the first self winding tourbillon. 1987: Alain Silberstein of Besançon, France opens his own watch company. His designs remain truly unique and instantly recognizable. 1988: Chronoswiss makes the first regulator wristwatch. 1988: Ulysse Nardin's Ludwig Öchslin develops the "Planetarium Copernicus", a watch that displays the position of the planets in relation to the Sun and Earth. It also shows the moon rotating around the Earth and has a perpetual calendar indicating the month and signs of the zodiac. 1988: Jean d'Eve and Seiko release watches that are automatic / quartz hybrids. The rotor inside charges the watch, so battery replacement is not necessary. Though this system had its problems, this technology would be improved and reintroduced later by Seiko. 1989: The world's most complicated watch, the Patek Philippe Caliber 89 is sold for 3.2 million dollars (including commissions etc.). It has 33 different functions and took nine years to complete. 1990: Daniel Roth, who was instrumental in the rebirth of the Breguet brand, launches his own brand of watches bearing his name. 1991: Junghans unveils the "Mega 1", the first watch capable of receiving a radio signal to synchronize the watch with an atomic clock. 1991: Franck Muller founded. 1991: At the height of the Swatch craze, the "Kiki Picasso" Swatch sells for 62,000 Swiss Francs. 1992: Timex unveils "Indiglo", a back lit display that illuminates the entire dial equally. This is by far the easiest watch to read in the dark. Today this same system can be found on many watches, ranging from Timex to Omega. 1992: Ulysse Nardin completes their trilogy set with the "Tellurium Johannes Kepler". This piece shows the rotation of the Earth as seen from the North Pole. It also shows which part of the Earth is exposed to the sun, and indicates sunrise and sunset. Lastly it shows the moon rotating around the Earth and eclipses of the sun and the moon. 1994: Seiko unveils the "Kinetic", a greatly improved automatic / quartz hybrid compared to the one they made in 1988. Now there are similar movements in Swiss watches. 1994: The A. Lange & Söhne brand is revived in Germany and quickly earns a position on top of the horological world along with the most prestigious Swiss brands. 1994: After years of planning, Roland Murphy introduces his own watch brand, (RGM). 1995: Symbolic of our lives becoming more dependent on computers, Timex unveils the "Data-Link". The watch "reads" information off of a computer screen to remember schedules, telephone numbers, etc. 1995: Citizen releases a line of "Eco-Drive" solar powered watches. Much better looking (not as obviously solar) than previous solar powered watches (designed by the famous Swiss designer Jörg Hysek), they last an amazing 500 days on a full charge. 1996: Philippe Dufour unveils the "Duality". The movement feature two escapements which average against each other to improve accuracy. This system was developed to rival the tourbillon. 1996: Parmigiani brand launched. 1996: Rado unveils the "Vision 1", a watch that features a crushed diamond crystal. Until now sapphire crystals were the hardest. The Vision 1 remains an experimental model not being produced for the public at large as of yet. 1997: Patek Philippe unveils their "Annual Calendar" which runs without being adjusted for one full year. 1999: Watches that run on the difference in temperature between the air and the wearer's wrist are launched by Seiko (the "Thermic") and Citizen. 1999: Omega unveils the "Co-Axial". This movement was developed by George Daniels and has a new escapement that has less friction, which results in higher accuracy and requires less service. 1999: Casio innovates with the first wristwatch with a built-in Global Positioning System (GPS). 1999: IWC introduces the "Deep One", the first mechanical watch with a depth gauge. 2001: Swatch introduces the thinnest chronograph ever. Tissot introduces the T-Touch - the first touch screen chronograph watch ever.

Posted by: Neo Nov 3 2004, 04:23 PM Ancient Watch Applications Throughout the ages, mankind has used a variety of simple to advanced techniques to measure time; the sun, water, candles, sand, pendulum, weights, springs, electric current, tuning forks, quartz crystal, ammonia atomic clock, cesium atomic clock. Many different persons lay claim to the invention of the same advancements. An example of this is the system of winding and setting through the crown. It seems as if everybody has tried to claim this as their own invention. Some watch makers/companies claim to have invented such mechanisms but never had them patented. Shadow Clock A vertical stick, gnomon, or obelisk that casts a shadow is a Sundial. and they were used as early as 3500 BC. In 1500 BC Egyptians had portable sundials. There is an Egyptian sundial from the 8th century BC that is still in existence. Sundial Sundials tell Apparent sun time, while your clock tells Mean Solar Time. Four times yearly Sundials and clocks agree. However, the Sundial time is sometimes 16 minutes faster and sometimes 14 minutes slower than your clock time. This difference is known as "The Equation of Time". There are tables available to use for converting the Sundial time to your local Mean Solar time. Water Clep'sy'dras is a Greek word meaning kleptein,"to steal"; hydor,"water". Ancient water clocks from Egypt date back to 1400 BC. Ctesibius of Alexandria a Greek physicist and inventor improved the ancient Egyptian clepsydra in the 3rd century BC, in which water dripping into a container raised a float that carried a pointer to mark the hours. He attached a float with a rack that turned a toothed wheel where he put gadgets such as birds and ringing bells. The American Indian used a small boat as a water clock. There was a small hole to let water drip out and graduated lines on the inside of the boat to show the passing of time.. There have been water clocks that used a siphon to automatically recycle itself. Another interesting method was the cylinder into which water dripped from a reservoir with a float to provide readings against a scale on the cylinder wall. This cylinder water clock was used by the Romans. In the 16th century AD the Clepsydras were used by Galileo to time his experimental falling objects. Later in history an improved version was invented simular to the hourglass. Candles Candles were used in ancient times as a device for measuring the passing of time by marking intervals along the length of the candle. The Candle was used as an alarm clock by putting a nail into the wax, whenever the candle wax melted down to the nail then the nail would fall into a tin pan and make a noise. In ancient times Egyptians used tallow, a substance of animals, to make candles. Romans were the first to use the wick, a heavy string in the middle of the candle. In the Middle Ages beeswax, taken from the honeycomb was used, however it was an expensive item. In the mid 1800's paraffin wax which is distilled from oil came into use. It burned clean and did not produced unpleasant odors. Today candles are still made from paraffin wax and heavy string for the wick. Sand The Hourglass is an instrument for measuring time, it is of ancient origin. The date of its invention is unknown. It has also been called a Sand Clock. It can be designed for different time periods. It is a glass vessel which has two compartments. The uppermost compartment has a quantity of sand, water, or mercury which runs into the lower compartment during a period of time. The Sandglass was used by navies as a timekeeper and to find the speed of the ship. For measuring speed a log line was thrown overboard in which knots had been tied at regular intervals. By counting how fast the knots appeared, they could reckon how many "knots," or nautical miles an hour the ship traveled. The Sandglass was calibrated in seconds, or minutes or hours. For timekeeping the four-hour and half-hour Sandglass was used. The days at sea were divided into six four-hour watches. The half-hour Sandglass was carefully tended, turning it as soon as the sand had run through and striking a bell for all aboard to hear. Likewise, at the end of four hours the hourglass was turned. This method of bell ringing and watches is still used aboard many ships to this day. Pendulum In 1583 Galileo demonstrated that successive beats of a pendulum always take place in the same length of time, regardless of the distance through which the "pendulum do swing". The wheel or ring that replaced the verge and foliot escapement is called a Balance Wheel, which was first used in about 1400. However, the verge and foliot continued to be used until around 1650. In about 1656 Christiaan Huygens designed the first weight-driven clock with a pendulum instead of a verge and foliot escapement or balance wheel, and this made it possible to have some accuracy in timekeeping. It is believed Robert Hooke invented the first anchor escapement sometime before Huygens used it in his clock. The anchor escapement was invented about the time that the pendulum clock came into use. Huygen's design used a recoil escapement with an escape wheel and anchor with pallets called an Anchor Escapement. With the anchor escapement a pendulum swing was reduced from about 85 degrees to about 10 or 15 degrees, therefore much less energy is needed to keep the pendulum in motion which improved accuracy. And clocks could be made much smaller. The Pendulum has a natural frequency that is independent of amplitude and the frequency does not depend on the weight of the pendulum, only its length and the acceleration of gravity. The period of a pendulum is influenced by the strength of gravity which varies with latitude and elevation. The period of a pendulum will be greater on a mountain than at sea level. Other influences to the pendulum is caused by the room temperature, if it rises just 4 F degrees the clock will lose one second a day. If the pendulum has a length of 39 inches you can have a fairly accurate second hand.... But, if the pendulum is just .001 inch too long it will lose one second a day. There are methods to compensate for errors caused by temperature, for example the use of the metal alloy Invar. The minute hand begins to come into use in about 1680, and the second hand a few years later as the use of the pendulum developed. Weights Mechanical clocks with an escapement came into use sometime around 1285. These mechanical timepieces had a verge and foliot which were used for the mechanism that sounded a bell. The name CLOCK, which originally meant BELL, came into use when there were very large mechanical time indicators installed in bell towers in the late Middle Ages. These Clocks were not accurate One of he first public clock to strike the hour was in Milan in about 1335 AD. The clocks had only one hand, the hour hand. Weight driven clocks which were introduced before 1400 AD and regulated by a verge escapement. had mechanisms known as the verge and foliot or balance beam with a crown wheel, which resulted in a mechanical relaxation oscillator. Springs The Second and Minute Hand The spring-powered clock was invented in about 1510 by Peter Henlein of Nuremberg, Germany, however the spring-powered clock did have its problems, that of slowing down when the mainspring unwound. The force of the mainspring is greater when fully wound than when it is almost run down. To solve this problem Jacob Zech of Prague, in about 1525, used a Fusee, or spiral pulley, to equalize the uneven pull of the spring. The fusee is a cone shaped grooved pulley used together with a barrel that contains the mainspring. Jost Burgi (1552 - 1632) has been credited with having invented the first clock with a minute hand in about 1577, however, it was not until the invention of the pendulum-regulated clock after 1656 that a minute hand became practical. Electric Current Battery Clocks In 1840 the first Battery clock used an electrical impulse to operate the dials of a centrally located master clock. The electric current replaced the weight and spring as a source of power. Then in 1906 the first self contained battery driven clock was invented. The master clock system using electricity gives a direct impulse to the pendulum which in turn moves the clock's gear train. Synchronous Electric Motor Clock The synchronous electric motor came into use in 1918. Patented by Henry Ellis Warren in 1916. The synchronous electric motor runs in step with the frequency of the electric power source which in the USA is 60 cycles per second. The electric motor is coupled to a reduction gear that drives the clock’s hands. A synchronous electric motor being used in a clock is wholly dependent on the frequency stability of the AC current which is supplied by the power company. The synchronous electric motor clock can be made into a precision time instrument by the use of the tuning fork. Tuning Forks Invented sometime before 1752 by JohnShore. A Tuning Fork is a U-Shaped two pronged steel bar. It can be tuned to an exact frequency and retains that for many years. It produces a pure tone, without any harmonics or overtones. The first Tuning Fork Clock (fork-clock) by N. Niaudet was described at the Academy of Sciences on December 10, 1866, and which was shown at the expositions of the University of Paris in 1867. Quartz Crystal The piezoelectric effect was discovered by the Curie brothers in 1880 Pierre and Paul-Jacques Curie. The first Quartz Crystal was applied in a clock in 1929. W.A. Marrison and J.W. Horton invented the original quartz clock, which at that time was very large indeed. The quartz crystal can be designed to oscillate at high frequencies such as 100,000 cycles per second. The use of the quartz crystal is known as the piezoelectric effect. This property exhibited by certain crystals of generating a voltage when subjected to an electric field causes it to oscillate a given frequency. If a 100,000 cycle per second frequency is subjected to a combined electrical and mechanical gearing reduction of 6,000,000 to one ratio, then the second hand of the synchronous clock will make exactly one rotation in 60 seconds. This clock can have an accuracy of one second every 10 years. The piezoelectric effect using quartz crystals was discovered by the Curie brothers in 1880, and in the years following was studied extensively by them. They found that when quartz and certain other crystals are stressed, an electric potential is induced in nearby conductors and, conversely, that when such crystals are placed in an electric field, they are deformed a small amount proportional to the strength and polarity of that field. Ammonia Atomic Clock There was major event in the development of the first Atomic Clock in 1949. This atomic clock was based on an absorption line in the ammonia molecule. An atomic clock is really just a frequency standard in which a running count of oscillations is recorded. This distinction between atomic clock and atomic frequency standard is analogous to the pendulum clock where the pendulum frequency standard is used to drive an escapement mechanism that keeps track of the ticks thus producing a clock. From the very beginning of this program, it was believed that atomic beam methods offered the best approach to an atomic frequency standard. The Second is now established as 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of cesium-133. The Atomic Clock, with an accuracy of better than one second in six million years, known as the NIST-7, (in service from 1993 to 1999) differs from its predecessors in that the process used for selecting and detecting atomic states involves laser-manipulation rather than magnetic-deflection methods. This was the first major change in design for cesium-beam frequency standards. NIST F-1 Atomic Clock is referred to as a fountain clock, it is the new cesium atomic clock at NIST's Boulder, Colorado Laboratories and it is one of the most accurate clocks in the world. Cesium Atomic Clock The new cesium atomic clock at NIST's Boulder, Colo., laboratories, began its role as the nation's primary frequency standard by contributing to an international pool of the world's atomic clocks that is used to define Coordinated Universal Time (known as UTC), the official world time. Because NIST F-1 shares the distinction of being the most accurate clock in the world (with a similar device in Paris), it is making UTC more accurate than ever before. NIST F-1 recently passed the evaluation tests that demonstrated it is approximately three times more accurate than the atomic clock it replaces, NIST-7, also located at the Boulder facility. NIST-7 has been the primary atomic time standard for the United States since 1993 and is among the best time standards in the world. NIST F-1 is referred to as a fountain clock because it uses a fountain-like movement of atoms to obtain its improved reckoning of time. First, a gas of cesium atoms is introduced into the clock's vacuum chamber. Six infrared laser beams then are directed at right angles to each other at the center of the chamber. The lasers gently push the cesium atoms together into a ball. In the process of creating this ball, the lasers slow down the movement of the atoms and cool them to near absolute zero. Two vertical lasers are used to gently toss the ball upward (the "fountain" action), and then all of the lasers are turned off. This little push is just enough to loft the ball about a meter high through a microwave-filled cavity. Under the influence of gravity, the ball then falls back down through the cavity. As the atoms interact with the microwave signal—depending on the frequency of that signal—their atomic states might or might not be altered. The entire round trip for the ball of atoms takes about a second. At the finish point, another laser is directed at the cesium atoms. Only those whose atomic states are altered by the microwave cavity are induced to emit light (known as fluorescence). The photons (tiny packets of light) emitted in fluorescence are measured by a detector. This procedure is repeated many times while the microwave energy in the cavity is tuned to different frequencies. Eventually, a microwave frequency is achieved that alters the states of most of the cesium atoms and maximizes their fluorescence. This frequency is the natural resonance frequency for the cesium atom—the characteristic that defines the second and, in turn, makes ultraprecise timekeeping possible. The NIST F-1 clock's method of resolving time differs greatly from that of its predecessor, NIST-7. That device—and the versions before it—fired heated cesium atoms horizontally through a microwave cavity at high speed. NIST F-1's cooler and slower atoms allow more time for the microwaves to "interrogate" the atoms and determine their characteristic frequency, thus providing a more sharply defined signal. NIST F-1 was developed by Steve Jefferts and Dawn Meekhof of the Time and Frequency Division of NIST's Physics Laboratory in Boulder, Colo. It was constructed and tested in less than four years. This new standard is more accurate by a wide margin than any other clock in the United States and assures the nation's industry, science and business sectors continued access to the extremely accurate timekeeping necessary for modern technology-based operations. Together with the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., NIST provides official time to the nation.