Clock enthusiasts today seek a deeper look into the mechanical details of their favorite timekeepers

More than ever, clock collectors are fascinated by the microcosm of interacting clock wheels and the combination of engineering and aesthetic design.

While such enthusiasts are among the minority at the large timepiece shows, such as Baselworld, they can nonetheless see true fine, mechanical clock making at that show and others.

If you count yourself among these clock fanciers, let me point out four clockmakers that continue to practice their art at a high level. These makers each have a slightly different design emphasis, varying price points and markets, but all offer high quality clocks.

Many of the materials, techniques and tools of production have not changed materially in 200 years, and we can note here that today these clocks are still largely hand-made.

Of course, for example, there are milling machines for cutting the teeth of the wheels. But, for any function, there always were such tools, perhaps not so accurate and sophisticated but in wide use just the same.

And whereas many high-end watches are priced on the basis of what the market can pay, fine clocks are priced on the basis of hours spent patiently at the bench by skilled artisans. When the market for watches wavers the brands can moderate their prices; when the buyers for clocks disappear, the makers are simply lucky to stay in business. These are the stark realities faced by the clockmakers.

Yet some makers have survived for quite some time, albeit somewhat tenuously.

Sinclair Harding
In 1967 Mike Harding and Bill Sinclair in Cheltenham, England founded Sinclair Harding as a clock repair business. After only a few years Sinclair retired from the business. Mike Harding continued until 1995 when he sold the business to Robert Bray and the company relocated to West Yorkshire.

In 1999 Sinclair Harding started making a 3/4 size representation of John Harrison's H1 Sea Clock – a formidable undertaking. Other specialization milestones along the way include the acquisition of dedicated machinery and skills relevant to the quality of the clocks they produce.

In 2014 Bray acquired the firm that had been making their fusee chains and integrated this into clock production. This wonderful addition to Sinclair Harding must make it about the most complete clock making company to be found in the world today.

Robert Bray is a Fellow and Vice-President of the British Horological Institute and a member of the internationally prestigious Horological Academy of Independent Creators (AHCI).

Matthias Naeschke 
Matthias Naeschke is a highly skilled clockmaker, technical designer and church musician with heart and soul at a level that sets him apart even in the exclusive enclave of high clock making. Naeschke started in 1984 in a small atelier in his private home to build organ clocks. Thus he was the first organist artisan in 150 years to study the art and revive the high craft of the organ-clockmaker.

Today, Matthias Naeschke and his workshop specialists are the only makers of new organ clocks in the world. Philosophically he says “Mechanical perfection is possible by machine but exquisite craftsmanship is the only free pathway to achieve the ultimate prerogative of creative excellence.”

Naeschke is one of the foundation members of the Académie Horologère Des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) where he became a member in 1986. Now that

Matthias Naeschke has retired; he has handed on the reins to his clockmaker son Sebastian who is steeped in the industry training and family values of the quality products they make.

Set apart from the busy traffic and far away from the hectic bustle of the big cities, Matthias Naeschke's “Haus Rose” workshop is situated high up above the Eyach valley in the small medieval town of Haigerloch in South Germany.

Naeschke clock production is miniscule by commercial standards, but this ensures that you are most unlikely to see two identical Naeschke clocks in the same hemisphere.

Kieninger
Joseph Kieninger made the first entry in his cashbook on 1st of June, 1912, and only a year later this Black Forest maker already employed eighteen workers.

Of his eight children, son Wilhelm’s masterpiece, constructed in 1930 at the clock maker school in Schwenningen, became the cornerstone for the current H-series, the lead product of the house and the design still produced today. The invention of this movement for grandfather clocks made Kieninger the specialist for movements with quarter chime.

The company got into some financial difficulties in 1990 and the Kieninger Company was sold to the American company Howard Miller at the end of 1993. This family-owned company from Zeeland, Michigan, is the world’s biggest clock manufacturer and has a high demand of clock movements itself. All Howard Miller mechanical floor clocks, as a result of the purchase, use quality Kieninger movements made in the Black Forest region of Germany.

Today Kieninger itself presents the full scope of its clock movement technology and a style spectrum that offers classic to contemporary design in a worldwide collection of floor, wall and table clocks.

Erwin Sattler
In 1958 Erwin Sattler founded his Bavarian clock manufacture, which bears his name today. He attached great importance to pursuing timeless design.

The company has developed into a modern-day clockmaking manufacturer that combines state-of-the-art technologies and centuries-old traditional craftsmanship. Most of its clock parts are now manufactured in-house in small-batch series, allowing creative opportunities for buyer’s customization.

For nearly sixty years, Erwin Sattler has been delivering the highest standards of quality and has been developing and making timepieces of lasting quality.

In the mid 1980s his daughter, Stephanie Sattler-Rick, assumed financial control, and more recently clockmaker Richard Müller joined the management as technical manager. The pair now co-owns the firm as in 2002 Erwin Sattler retired.

Today, the precision clocks of the Erwin Sattler factory, produced in small batches, are reckoned as among the best in the world.

We should do our best to support these rare clockmaking companies as the current global instability is not helpful to these exclusive artisans. Quiet stable markets provide the lifeblood of these centuries old traditional mechanical arts.

With a brushed steel bezel and a new date window, Tudor’s new Heritage Black Bay Steel expands Tudor’s offerings in the dive watch category. The new model maintains the 41mm-diameter case dimension of the existing Heritage Black Bay watches while modifying the in-house caliber inside with a date display, new for Heritage Black Bay line.

Tudor has machined the new steel bezel and has finished it with a circular satin-brushing that leaves a matte appearance quite different from previous black, blue and red bezels seen on the steel-cased 2016 Tudor Heritage Black Bay models.

The new Tudor Manufacture Caliber MT5612 is the latest in the series of Tudor in-house movements that debuted in 2015 for the Pelagos and North Flag collections, and slightly different from the MT5602 found in last year’s Heritage Black Bay models. The Caliber MT5612 movement retains its impressive 70-hour power reserve (which, as Tudor reminds us, means a wearer can take off the watch on Friday evening and put it back on again on Monday morning without having to re-set and wind it). Known for their robust construction, these 4 Hz Tudor calibers feature a silicon balance spring and are certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC).

Tudor again uses its own riveted bracelet, which debuted in this collection to many accolades last year. As a reminder, the bracelet design is inspired by the folding riveted bracelets Tudor made in the 1950s and 1960s. The watch can also be purchased on a black aged leather strap with folding clasp. Both versions come with an additional khaki green fabric strap. Prices: 3,300 Swiss francs on leather strap & 3,600 Swiss francs on stainless steel bracelet. U.S. prices coming soon.

Specifications: TUDOR HERITAGE BLACK BAY STEEl Reference 79730

CASE
41 mm steel with polished and satin finish, Water resistant to 200 meters (660 ft.)

BEZEL
Unidirectional rotating bezel in steel with 60-minute graduated steel disc, black engraved markings

MOVEMENT
Manufacture Caliber MT5612 (COSC)
Self-winding mechanical movement with bidirectional rotor system

POWER RESERVE
Approximately 70 hours

WINDING CROWN
Steel screw-down winding crown, with the TUDOR rose engraved and lacquered in black, with black anodized aluminum winding crown tube

DIAL
Black, domed

CRYSTAL
Domed sapphire crystal

BRACELET
Steel bracelet or aged leather strap with folding clasp and safety catch
Additional fabric strap with buckle included in the box.

Citizen this week adds another notch in its already impressive list of light-powered watch achievements. Citizen debuts the new Citizen Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000M, effectively the first light-powered watch that function this deep (1,000 meters). The firm’s extensive research and development department (which we reported on here: Citizen says the new watch, which enters Citizen’s ProMaster lineup, has been tested to perform in true deep dive situations (saturation diving), which means the watch will handle the pressure at that depth while remaining fully visible and functional on the wrist.

Citizen diver watches, typically rated to 200 and 300 meters, have long been a favorite choice for many divers. For this newest model, Citizen has more than doubled the amount of butyl rubber it uses for gaskets in order to enhance the water resistance rating for the Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000M. The watch is also a bit larger (52.5mm in diameter) than most Citizen dive models. The larger size gives the designer a bit more tolerance when creating a stronger crystal, crown and air release valve.

Citizen explains that it tests each watch for fifteen days in a pressurized chamber that contains helium gas in order to ensure that when the diver surfaces the watch will continue to maintain its accuracy and water resistance. This testing is done with the assistance of JAMSTEC, Japan’s marine science research agency.

Citizen makes the watch’s case using its own proprietary titanium material called Super Titanium, which it then coats with a surface hardener called Duratect MRK. Citizen says this treatment improves not only the scratch/wear-proof feature but also the shock resistance.

Here’s what’s new on the new Citizen Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000M

1) Bezel Lock Mechanism
Citizen has overhauled the entire structure of the rotating bezel to improve the stability of the timer function and added a lock mechanism to the bezel to insure unidirectional timing is not affected by sudden movement.

2) High visibility
The index and the large minute/second hands on the dial features a new luminous paint with stronger afterglow.

3) Warning Color
When the bezel lock is set to FREE, the orange warning color is shown to warn the owner that it is unlocked. The crown also has a similar mechanism, revealing an orange color between the case and the crown to tell the owner when the crown is not pushed into a lock mode.

Specifications for the Citizen Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000M:

Case: 52.5mm ‘Super Titanium’ (Duratect MRK + DLC) /
Band: Polyurethane Sphere crystal (anti-reflective coating), 21.4mm thick
Dial: Black
Movement: Citizen Cal.J210 / Accuracy of ±15 seconds/month / Light-powered Eco-Drive / Power Reserve Function/ Runs for about 2.5 years on full charge (when power-save is on) / Anti-reverse prevention bezel / bezel lock / calenda / power reserve indicator / luminous (hands, index, bezel at 12 o’clock) / Saturation diving water resistance to 1000 meters
Price: $2,300

Daytona Beach, FLA: At 2:30 a.m. less than a handful of spectators peered through a continual drizzle as tens of millions of dollars of high-end automobiles wove in and out of the greasy, wet track during one of the most important races in the world: the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

We were guests of Porsche Design, part of a posse of journalists, retailers and well-heeled fans who had been gathered at the race for Porsche Design’s first ever sponsorship of Porsche Motorsports. Porsche Design wanted to ensure that the world knew they were intrinsically connected with the auto manufacturer in more than name only. The end game was a Mobius strip link between the new Porsche 911 RSR and the new Porsche Design Monobloc Actuator watch.

History
Porsche Design as a standalone company has existed since the early 1970s. Founder Ferdinand A. (F.A.) Porsche established the product studio to extend the Bauhaus design sensibilities that he expressed so brilliantly in the original Porsche 911. During the past forty years the company has produced everything from jackets to backpacks, smartphones and kitchen cabinetry.

However, two products have emerged to define it: black watches and sunglasses.

In 1972 Porsche Design released its first product, the Chronograph 1, often considered the world’s first all-black watch. This automatic chronograph, sporting a Valjoux 7750 movement, was released during the dawn of the quartz era. F.A.’s stance on this was ephemerally Teutonic: “Wristwatches represent a set of values not equaled by quartz crystals.” Over the years, Porsche watches were built in conjunction with a number of manufacturers, specifically Orfina, IWC and then Eterna.

F.A. did not hold a patent on the evocative black watch design, and competitors soon emerged. During the same year (1972) Longines released its LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) quartz watch, featuring a similar Bauhaus stylized black dial in a sloped, rounded case, ironically reminiscent of the portly hump of the Porsche 911 predecessor, the 356. The watch won an impressive IR 100 award (Annual Industrial Research Conference Awards).

While black watches are common today, virtually every one can trace its lineage back to F.A’s original vision.

Sunglasses & more
In the late 1970s Porsche Design would release a second iconic product, the P’8478 interchangeable lens sunglasses. This spawned a product line that eventually eclipsed the watches in notoriety. While F.A. was probably hoping for a Steve McQueen-type racing/celebrity to embrace his glasses, he got Yoko Ono and the Kardashians instead. As a consolation however, McQueen did drive a Porsche 908/02 in the 12 hours of Sebring race, and was a known Porsche Design aficionado.

Over the decades, the company’s success as a full on design studio extended beyond luxury goods. By 2015 it had amassed an impressive 190 awards, including a prestigious International Red Dot product design award for the Timepiece No. 1, the first watch that the company designed completely in house.

The race
But Porsche Design hadn’t brought us to rainy Orlando for a history lesson. This trip was about the road that lay ahead, and the company was taking the opportunity to align its future with Porsche by introducing its sponsorship of Porsche Motorsports during the launch of Porsche’s newly developed mid-engine 911 RSR. It was a well-choreographed showcase for a new watch that reflects the company’s ability to innovate while paying homage to its original DNA.

After a generous 24 hours of eating, drinking and unparalleled backstage access to the race, Porsche Design representatives presented their guests with a discourse on the link between the new Monobloc Actuator and their cars. Honestly, every buyer should receive a copy of the PowerPoint to effectively make the connection. After listening to multiple speakers, from various divisions construct their case, the Strangelovian logic tree growing between the watch and the car became clear.

It’s likely most consumers who purchase a Porsche Design watch because they want people to think they own the car will miss the quixotic connection between the company’s products. Frankly, while both timepiece and automobile stand alone on their own well-polished bearings, understanding the relationship makes the ownership experience deeper and more intellectually rewarding.

The relationship
According to Gerhard Novak, Porsche Design Head of Category Management Timepieces, the challenge with the new watch was to “integrate Swiss watchmaking with Porsche engineering. The automotive industry moves much faster than the watchmaking industry and we wanted to push the edge of innovation with this model. The challenge that we recognized in autumn of 2013 was to develop a new way to activate and steer a mechanical chronograph in line with the Porsche philosophy.” And what is that philosophy, you ask? “Question the status quo, innovate, engineer, test and perform.”

By 2014 the concept had moved from thought to design, and Porsche Design engineers began experimenting with various methods of integrating the chronometer’s pushers into a monolithic styled case with pivot-mounted actuation. To complete the connection with automotive engineering, the mechanism’s construction was designed in the same manner as the valves controlling Porsche’s racing engines.

The pushers are actuated by an integrated rocker arm mounted centrally on the right side of the case. “The rocker is moved towards the center like a cam on the cam shaft. The switching pressure is transmitted to the hardened shafts of the special pusher (like valve stems) by two carbide lozenges, (like chips). Special seals ensure that there are no leaks in the system,” according to Porsche Design.

The entire case operates as a sealed unit, so that the mechanism can be safely operated underwater. The pushers form an integral part of the case construction and seemingly disappear until a user calls for activation. The entire mechanism is derived directly from the operation of an engine, creating a holistic engineering aesthetic between man, watch and automobile, as the action of human body is itself a study in skeletonized cams, pivot points and actuators.

On the wrist
The watch, rendered in titanium and available in the native grey and F.A.’s black (of which he originally commented was “a condition, not a color,”) fits well on the wrist. At 45.5 mm x 15.6 mm, you’ll know you’re wearing it, not in an obnoxious Panerai way, but in a “I’d like to peek out from under your sleeve” manner. With an anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal and tough titan-carbide coating, the watch, which was stress tested in the pits during the race itself, is designed as a tool. Like the original Chronograph 1, the new watch is powered by a Valjoux (7754) movement.

Optimistically, Porsche Design anticipates making its own movement one day. Given what they’ve done with the actuator, an entire movement would be a treat in Teutonic technology. If the spirit of F.A. still permeates the brand, that future may be just a few racing seasons away.

For nearly a decade Hermès has advocated for a more playful relationship with time. The Swiss-based timepiece division of this global luxury giant has suggested, through a series of unusual watches, that the watch-aware public might consider a) suspending time to take a pause from the daily rush, or b) observing the time only in minutes without knowing the exact hour.

To interact with time as suggested, Hermès has in recent years developed, respectively, the Arceau le Temps Suspendu (Time Suspended) Hermès (2011) and, in 2014, the Dressage L'heure Masquée (Masked Hour). Each of these watches in its own way allows the wearer to filter his or her relationship with time on a day-to-day basis.

This year Hermès suggests yet another novel approach to mitigating the relentless march of time. Its new Slim d’ Hermès L’heure impatiente (Impatient Hour), set to debut at Baselworld 2017, will allow you to very gently remind yourself to take a moment to dream, rest, meditate or otherwise take a break from the daily grind. And even more to the point, an unusual subdial on the new watch amplifies the pleasure of awaiting the upcoming event, allowing the wearer to track and enjoy the anticipation itself.
“This new complication, like those previously developed, stems from a desire to give a specific horological expression to a time that is experiential and emotional,” explains Hermès Creative Director Philippe Delhotal.
The Slim d’ Hermès L’heure impatiente is not about controlling time, Delhotal explains. Instead, it should be understood as a watch that seeks to “introduce another time – one designed to arouse emotions, open up interludes, and create spaces for spontaneity and recreation.”

The interlude to which Delhotal refers will be ushered in with a gentle chime that emanates from a module (made by Agenhor) attached to an automatic Hermès H1912 movement. A wearer of the Slim d’ Hermès L’heure impatiente can set his or her watch to chime at any time in the upcoming twelve-hour period by using the crown at the 4 o’clock position and the adjacent subdial. An hour prior to that time, the retrograde hand at 6 o’clock will begin to move from the 60-minute position toward the 0, enhancing the wearer’s anticipation.

Hermès calls this fan-shaped subdial a ‘mechanical hourglass.” But, unlike using an hourglass, the new watch allows the wearer to change his or her mind. The owner of the watch can re-set the appointed time as desired. The chime can also be turned off with a press of the left-side pusher.
And while this new watch features the Impatient Hour function, it also retain the purity and minimalism we’ve seen for several years in the successful Slim d’ Hermès collection that features a Philippe Apeloig-designed dial.

First chimer
The Slim d’ Hermès L’heure impatiente is the first chiming watch offered by Hermès. Work to develop it began in 2012 when Delhotal confided the plan to Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, the famed caliber architect and the founder of Agenhor, which designed the 2011 Arceau le Temps Suspendu Hermès.
“As he loves this kind of challenge, there was no question we would work with him (Wiederrecht) on this piece,” Delhotal says. “Alongside the excellence of his watchmaking expertise, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht is someone who understands the philosophy of the Maison and its distinctive approach to time. He loves playing with the passing of time and consistently strives to go ever further in offering interpretations of this friendly, companionable time.”
Delhotal explains that he also worked with an expert in acoustics to develop a relaxing sound that is not alarming like so many other chimes created for wristwatches.
“We wanted the chime to remain personal so it was designed to be softer and more tuneful than a classically high-pitched, crystal-clear sound,” he explains. “It is instead velvety, soft and warm.” He and the acoustician tested more than thirty different gong rings until they achieved the desired result.

Still thin
Even when the gong is included, the mechanical module that makes the chiming feature possible measures just 1.2 mm thick. When also considering the 3.7mm thick H1912 base automatic movement and the gold case, the watch is still thin enough (10.67mm) to warrant its ‘Slim’ title.
Delhotal explains that maintaining this thin profile required overcoming numerous technical hurdles.
“The greatest technical challenge lay in fine-tuning this chime with its unique sound and in combining the demanding technical constraints of this chime with those of an ultra-thin gold case and the slimness of its components,” he says.
Unlike many chiming watches, the Slim d’ Hermès L’heure impatiente doesn’t utilize a second power source or extra barrel to energize its chime.
“The only energy available for the striking mechanism and the retrograde display is supplied by the base movement, which therefore called for extreme optimization in terms of its construction.”
Thus, the movement makers utilized any ‘empty’ space between the module and the movement so that the entire watch could maintain its Slim profile. The module itself is fitted to the case with tiny, custom-made ‘feet’ in order to best secure it while also allowing space for the chime. At the same time, watchmakers were careful to keep the dial and case completely separate because the dial actually resonates with the gong to propagate the chime.

Horse sense
A look at the module itself reveals a few custom-made components within the already unusual design.
The most visible example is the customized chiming lever, or rack, an odd-shaped component found in many types of chiming watches. Hermès has playfully found a way to turn this formerly anonymous technical part into a symbol for its brand: The rack inside the Slim d’ Hermès L’heure impatiente is shaped like the mythical flying horse Pegasus, a long-time symbol within the Hermès universe.
Delhotal explains the function of this component.
“The Pegasus rack tightens the helical spring in the hour before the striking mechanism chimes, creating the tension needed to power the hammer and activate the count-down hand. An (also-unusual) shark cam, which rotates in twelve hours and whose ‘fin’ triggers this process, releases its own energy when the Pegasus rack falls back from the cam, which trips the hammer that strikes the chime.”

Fun & function
Despite the Pegasus rack’s technical constraints and unusual equilibrium, Delhotal’s watchmakers were able to combine function (the chime) and fun (the Pegasus shape) deep within this new watch.
This playfulness is exactly what Hermes has in mind as it designs watches like the Arceau le Temps Suspendu Hermès, the Dressage L'heure Masquée and this new Slim d’ Hermès L’heure impatiente.
“Hermès watchmaking offers a different interpretation of time: a time full of fanciful touches that go well beyond style; a companionable, lasting, mischievous and recreational time,” explains Delhotal. With such ‘me time’, he notes, comes the chance to tell a story or otherwise stir emotions.
“Wearing a Hermès watch is about appreciating a style that is rigorous but free of any formalism,” he adds. “It is about making light of time rather than seeking to dominate it.”

MOVEMENT
Automatic Manufacture Hermès H1912, made with partner Vaucher
23.9 mm in diameter, 3.7 mm thick
193 components, 28 jewels
28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz)
Circular-grained and snailed mainplate, bridges and oscillating weight satin-brushed and adorned with the signature H pattern

MODULE
Impatient Hour module, designed with Agenhor
31.96 mm in diameter, 2.2 mm thick
131 components, 8 jewels
Mainplate and bridges adorned with Côtes de Genève

FUNCTIONS
Hours, minutes, Impatient Hour function

DIAL
Opaline silvered
Black transferred Arabic numerals and minute circle
Sunburst chapter ring, snailed center and counter
4N-gilded sandblasted or blue lacquered baton-type hands

CASE
Round, 40.5 mm in diameter, 10.67mm thick
5N 750 rose gold
Sapphire crystal and case-back with anti-glare treatment
Water-resistant to 30 meters
20 mm inter-lug width

STRAP
Abyss blue matte alligator
Pin buckle in rose gold

Price: $39,500

Shades of Cape Cod
When Hermès asked one of its long-time creative partners, Henri d’Origny, to design a square watch more than a quarter-century ago, he demurred. Instead, d’Origny placed a square frame inside a rectangular case, launching the first Hermès Cape Cod collection.
In the years since, the Hermès Cape Cod has retained its stylish demeanor regardless of its size, strap or dial color. Hermès has carefully tended this long-time best seller, which for many was the first Hermès timepiece strapped to their fashionable wrist.
This year Hermès again places the Cape Cod on the radar of the au courant by offering several new collections with colorful, artisanal dials and distinctive straps.

The Cape Cod Shadow makes an out-sized statement on the wrist. A black DLC-treated case, a matte black dial and the red burnishing of the strap edges result in a watch that won’t disappear when worn. With a choice of single or double wrap straps ($4,150 and $4,300, respectively) the Shadow shows the time via a Swiss-made quartz caliber.

The Cape Cod TGM (Très Grand Modèle, very large model) Manufacture, at 33m by 33mm, is larger than the Shadow and is the only new Cape Cod with an automatic movement inside. Manufacture H1912 movement, made by Vaucher (Hermès owns 25 percent of Vaucher) is visible through the clear sapphire caseback and displays its circular-grained and snailed mainplate, satin-brushed bridges and a rotor adorned with the Hermes signature ‘sprinkling of Hs.” Hermès offers this new model with a choice of dials (blue, anthracite or black), which echo the new alligator strap shades of indigo blue, graphite matte or black matte.

Colors & Straps
Additional Cape Cod TGM models play with unusual strap colors and dial hues.

The TGM Bicolore offers silvered dials with two sporty dual-color calfskin strap options. The Cape Cod TGM Cadran laque features a choice of dials with graded shades of lacquer, one rich brown and the other red lacquer. These colors surround raised rhodium-plated Arabic numerals and are attached to the wrist with interchangeable Ebony Barenia calfskin and Hermès red calfskin straps.

Ostensibly for graduates, the NOMOS Club Campus and Club 38 Campus watch collections will undoubtedly attract enthusiasts with any degree of education in watch appreciation.

NOMOS in 2017 adds two steel-cased models to its existing entry-level Club collection. Where previous Club offerings editions featured either manual or automatic movements, this new edition exclusively features the NOMOS caliber (a)Alpha, the firm’s first in-house movement originally made in 2005. And unlike earlier Club models, the dials on the new Club Campus collections combine Roman and Arabic numerals, all of which newly glow brightly in the dark with a generous coating of SuperLuminova.

One of the 2017 models, called Club Campus, features white-dialed watches measuring 36mm in diameter. The other, Club 38 Campus, offers 38mm cases and a choice of a white dial or a darker ruthenium-shade dial (on the Nacht (night) model).

NOMOS considers the larger Club 38 Campus collection the more ‘masculine’ of the new iterations, in part due to its size, but also because the Nacht model offers a blue outline around the numerals, the darker dial and an anthracite-colored velour leather strap.

All three models feature the familiar curved NOMOS Club case with curved sapphire crystal and a stainless steel caseback. On the smaller model, Club Campus, you’ll find a white silver-plated dial with hour numerals and indexes glowing blue in the dark and a red outline around the numerals. The strap for this model is beige velour leather. Prices: $1,500 (Club Campus) and $1,650 (Club 38 Campus and Club 38 Campus Nacht).

Specifications: NOMOS Club 38 Campus & Campus Nacht

CASE
38.5mm stainless steel, bipartite; curved
sapphire crystal glass and screwed steel
back; height 8.25 mm

DIAL
(Campus 38): Galvanized, white silver-plated; Roman
and Arabic hour numerals and indexes
with SuperLuminova gray (blue
phosphorescent), red outline

(Campus 38 Nacht) Galvanized, rhuthenium-plated;
Roman and Arabic hour numerals and
indexes with SuperLuminova beige (blue
phosphorescent), blue outline

HANDS
Rhodium-plated hour and minute
hands with superluminova inlay (blue
phosphorescent); neon-orange seconds hand

WATER-RESISTANT
to 100 meters

STRAP
Anthracite velour leather, lug width 20 mm

MOVEMENT
α (Alpha)—in-house built NOMOS caliber
with manual winding

DIAMETER
23.3 mm

MOVEMENT HEIGHT
2.6 mm

POWER RESERVE
Approx. 43 hours

CHARACTERISTICS
Decentralized seconds, stop-seconds mechanism,
Glashütte three-quarter plate, Glashütte stopwork,
Incabloc shock protection, balance spring from Nivarox 1A, adjusted in six positions, tempered blue screws, rhodium-plated movement surfaces with Glashütte ribbing and NOMOS perlage, ratchet and crown wheel with Glashütte sunburst decoration

Specifications:NOMOS Club Campus

CASE
36mm stainless steel, bipartite; curved
sapphire crystal glass and screwed steel
back; height 8.17 mm; diameter 36 mm

DIAL
Galvanized, white silver-plated; Roman
and Arabic hour numerals and indexes
with SuperLuminova gray (blue
phosphorescent), red outline

HANDS
Rhodium-plated hour and minute
hands with SuperLuminova inlay (blue
phosphorescent); neon-orange seconds hand

WATER-RESISTANT
to 100 meters

STRAP
Gray velour leather, lug width 18 mm

MOVEMENT
α (Alpha)—in-house built NOMOS caliber
with manual winding,

DIAMETER
23.3 mm

MOVEMENT HEIGHT
2.6 mm

POWER RESERVE
Approx. 43 hours

CHARACTERISTICS
Decentralized seconds, stop-seconds mechanism, Glashütte
three-quarter plate, 17 rubies, Glashütte stopwork, Incabloc shock protection, balance spring from Nivarox 1A, adjusted in six positions, tempered blue screws, rhodium-plated movement surfaces with Glashütte ribbing and NOMOS perlage, ratchet and crown wheel with Glashütte sunburst decoration

The staff at iW has discovered a must-read for all timepiece lovers: The second edition of "Breguet, Watchmakers Since 1775. The Life and Legacy of Abraham-Louis Breguet," which has just been published.

In 452 beautifully illustrated pages Emmanuel Breguet describes the life and work of his ancestor, the brilliant watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823), with narrative connecting the past to today’s company, Montres Breguet, helmed by President & CEO Marc A. Hayek.

Readers will discover the life of A.-L. Breguet from his humble beginnings in France, his rise to become the watchmaker of kings, followed by the French Revolution and the firm’s aftermath under the Empire. The book covers his rise not only as a great inventor and artist, and also as an entrepreneur who distributes his work all throughout Europe, and beyond. A dedicated chapter pays homage to the actions undertaken by Swatch Group founder, Nicolas G. Hayek, as the head of the brand from 1999 to 2010.

The second edition of the book “Breguet, Watchmakers Since 1775. The Life and Legacy of Abraham-Louis Breguet” will be available in all Breguet boutiques worldwide.

Price: Approximately $130.

Raymond Weil adds to its musical repertoire in 2017 with several new tuneful horological compositions. Long dedicated to celebrating its love of all types of music, the Geneva-based brand just a few weeks ago announced its expanded partnership with U.S.-based guitar-maker Gibson, while this week at Baselworld the brand adds two musical-themed Maestro models. One new Maestro is dedicated to the memory of Buddy Holly, one to David Bowie and the other expands the Beatles-themed collection first seen last year.

The Beatles Maestro collection, which debuted last year with a watch that featured all Beatles album titles emblazoned around the dial, this year offers a watch with a more nuanced design. The 39.5mm steel edition (with steel bracelet) features a black dial etched to resemble a vinyl album and with the four Beatles representing the 4 o’clock position. A smoky sapphire caseback will reveal a Sellita-based automatic movement. Price: $1,395.

Just prior to Baselworld Raymond Weil introduced the year’s other 39.5mm Maestro watch homage to early rock and roll music: a special 80th anniversary tribute to Buddy Holly. The watch, sold with a steel bracelet, has been designed in partnership with Maria Elena Holly, the widow of Holly, and it features the musician’s favorite number (9), favorite color (power blue) and his heavy rimmed black glasses, seen on the end of the separate seconds hand.

Inside is a Sellita-based automatic RW4250 with a 38-hour power reserve. The automatic movement is visible through the smoked sapphire glass caseback, which bears the logo of the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation. Raymond Weil will contribute a portion of the sale of each watch to the foundation, a charity that funds the musical education of young people. Three thousand will be made.

Also new is a special tribute to David Bowie, a collaboration with the David Bowie Estate. The Freelancer David Bowie watch honor the influential musician in time for what would have been his 70th birthday. The watch’s 42mm case features a dial with grooves that mimic a vinyl record, plus the red lightning bolt from the cover of his 1973 album, Aladdin Sane, and the red Bowie logo from the Diamond Dogs album from 1974. The 3,000-piece, limited and numbered series of automatic watches also feature a portrait of David Bowie on its sapphire caseback as shot by photographer Terry O’Neill.

Les Paul
The Raymond Weil Freelancer Chronograph Tribute to Les Paul honors guitar designer and legendary player Lester William Polsfuss, known as Les Paul, by depicting many of the visual cues that make the Gibson Les Paul guitar the choice of rockers like Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and so many others.

The new Les Paul watch is a 43.5mm steel-cased limited edition (200 pieces) with a black PVD tachymeter bezel directly inspired by the lacquer on the Gibson Black Beauty guitar. The dial features a circular guilloché design featuring six chords studded by fret-shaped hour markers. At 12 o’clock, ‘Gibson’ appears, just above Les Paul’s signature appear, while the split-diamond inlay (also a feature of the Les Paul Custom guitar) can be seen next to the date window.

Furthermore, the watch’s tri-compax chronograph counters, date and strap topstitching are also inspired by the Gibson Les Paul, and are thus set with golden highlights. The Freelancer’s perforated black calf leather strap is designed to recall guitar sound holes. Inside ticks an ETA 7753 automatic chronograph Raymond Weil reworks to create Caliber RW5010.

Raymond Weil will sell each of the 200 Raymond Weil Freelancer Chronograph Tribute to Les Paul watches in a specially designed gift box designed to mimic a Gibson guitar case. Price: $3,195

SPECIFICATIONS:
Raymond Weil Freelancer Chronograph Tribute to Les Paul

Movement: RW5010 automatic chronograph (ETA 7753)
Dial: Black with Gibson and Les Paul logos and luminescent indexes – encircled by 6 grooves evoking the strings of the guitar. Central hours and minutes, small seconds hand at 9 o’clock, date window between 4 and 5 o’clock, date adjustment using push-button at 10 o’clock

Chronograph Start, stop and restart using push-button at 2 o’clock
Reset using push-button at 4 o’clock
Central chronograph hand, 30 minutes counter at 3 o’clock
12 hours counter at 6 o’clock

Case: 43.5mm round, polished stainless steel
Thickness: 13.7mm
Bezel: Polished stainless steel, with black PVD coating and tachometer ring
Crown: Polished steel – screwed-down and fluted with RW monogram
Crystal: Sapphire with dual-sided antiglare treatment

Hands: Hours & Minutes: Steel type barrel shape, enhanced with luminescent material
Seconds: Steel type baton shape
Case back Screwed-down, with sapphire crystal with Gibson logo

Carl F Bucherer’s second-generation in-house CFB A2000 movement is a pleasure to observe in action, in part because the peripheral rotor never hides the bridges and gears within.

You may recall that last year Bucherer watchmakers enhanced the A2000 to include a new 4hz beat rate – up from 3hz in the earlier A1000. This meant greater precision. The new free-sprung balance increased resistance to shock-induced timing deviation. Indeed, CEO Sascha Moeri stressed to iW last year that the new caliber was designed with the goal of producing “Ferrari performance with Mercedes reliability.”

In part because the peripheral concept enables a low case thickness, the new movement is perfect for the thin dimensions of ladies’ watches. Thus Carl F. Bucherer this year places that new movement within a 40mm Manero Peripheral, set with a diamond-bezel and a choice of mother-of-pearl dials. While not a traditional size for feminine wrists, the watch is being billed as a ladies model. I’d argue for gender neutrality, especially with the brown-dialed model.

The layout offers a central hour and minute display accompanied by small seconds at 6 o’clock and a date. A power reserve of 55 hours and a COSC chronometer rating only underscore this watch’s serious specs. Alligator leather straps complete the overall look; the white variant features a contrasting black strap, while a leather strap accompanies the model with the velvet brown dial.

In the nine years TechnoMarine flourished, it sold more than 2.5 million diamond-set steel, gel and rubber watches. Founder Franck Dubarry’s idea to combine precious gems with non-precious materials to make distinctive fashion watches was well ahead of its time, and his design cues have seeped deeply into the makeup of today’s fashion timepieces at both ends of the price spectrum.

After selling the brand in 2007, Dubarry several years ago reactivated his sense of fashion lifestyle with a new eponymous watch brand. Franck Dubarry, the brand, now creates colorful, highly patterned Swiss made watches verging on the avant-garde in a wide range of prices.

Collections with names like Crazy Balls, Intrepidus, Crazy Colors and Fileteado are filled with French-influenced themes, etched cases and multi-hued dials. Gemstones continue to play a role in a few of the new collections, but the emphasis at Franck Dubarry is on a rainbow of colors, mixed materials and a freedom of expression.

The latest Dubarry collection, called Crazy Wheel, is more technical than those earlier debuts. It features watches with a fascinating display of open architecture that stars a multi-level automatic movement made to expose all its Soprod-based going-train gearing, all surrounded by an etched 43mm x 50mm case. Those who recall TechnoMarine’s Maori collection will recognize a similar pattern on the Crazy Wheel case. Crazy Wheel prices will start at just under $13,000.

Iconoclast
Dubarry explains that he has developed his new brand with a clear purpose. “I want to design the watch of tomorrow, not the N+1 tradition and modernity Swiss watch,” he explains. “There are things other than classical complications that strike my interest. For me creativity is spontaneous, stemming from singular approach, characterized by freedom and overriding dogmatic conventions.”

He notes that he prefers to uphold the notion of innovative design. He considers himself an “iconoclast creator” whose has an uncanny ability to identify and insert current codes of fashion lifestyles into his work.

“I make watches because I think that you buy a brand for the same reason that you buy a car,” he adds. “You want to put out your own judgment and create a valuation method for the things you buy in front the of the crowd that you care for. People buy Ferraris or Bentleys or Volvos for different reasons. They do the same with the watches.

Our first look at the highlights of Baselworld 2017 focuses on value, the often-mythical junction of quality, style and price.

Yes, many watchmakers at Baselworld this year are debuting cutting-edge technology and/or high-end design, often with exhilarating results. Take a look at the Slim d’ Hermès L’heure impatiente, the Hublot MP-09 Tourbillon Bi-Axis or the Porsche Design Monobloc Actuator for just a few new examples of interesting, even avant-garde technical achievements.

Bulgari buzzed the show with its terrific Octo Finissimo Automatic, now the thinnest in its class, while Patek Philippe’s Aquanaut Travel Time Ref. 5650G showed off the brand’s advanced research into new materials and efficient time-setting mechanisms. Likewise Armin Strom’s new Mirrored Force Resonance underscored the firm’s ongoing technical creativity.

We’ll have more to say about these and many other much-discussed Baselworld 2017 watches later this week.

Encouraging
In the world of relatively ‘affordable’ timepieces, where the vast majority of watch collectors live, Baselworld 2017 was encouraging. In fact, many exhibitors were careful to pay greater attention to value this year than was the case previously at this annual timepiece showcase. This attention by many to a strong price-quality ratio at Basel echoed a similar sentiment we found at the SIHH this past January.

Strong feature-to-price ratios were evident at NOMOS, the German one-hand-wonder Meistersinger,Frédérique Constant and even at Breitling, which showed a 45mm high-end, COSC-certified quartz Colt Skyracer, made with an ultra-light Breitlight case, that will retail for $2,000, fully $1,400 less than the price of the automatic Colt Skyracer.

Tudor debuted several of the most publicized nods to value this year, with its 41mm Heritage Black Bay Steel (now with a date and a steel bezel, starting at $3,475) and its 41mm Black Bay Chrono, notably equipped with the MT5813, a new caliber made in collaboration with Breitling.

Tudor explains that the latter watch’s strong $4,725 opening price tag was made possible thanks to the serialized nature of the Breitling 01 (B-01) column-wheel chronograph caliber, which Breitling introduced in 2009. Tudor then added its own in-house adjustable mass balance wheel with silicon spring and a Tudor rotor to claim the final movement as its own. Tudor has also retained its unusual 45-minute counter at three o’clock.

Oris
Oris debuts a full new collection that ranks high on my best-value list for 2017. From the pre-Basel release Artelier Caliber 113 ($5,900), which we presented to you earlier this year, to the 39mm 1970s-cool tonneau-shaped Chronoris Date (starting at $1,750), this brand again demonstrates a keen ability to re-imagine classic designs and make them affordable to a broad audience.

The latter watch keeps its price down by relying on a Sellita automatic movement inside, but still manages to feature an inner rotating bezel and a selection of straps. For an extra $200 you can add a steel bracelet that expertly mimics the original fifteen-link style.

Oris also tugs at the hearts and minds of value-focused collectors with a new, slightly thinner 43.5mm Oris Aquis Date, the firm’s 300-meter diver for those of us who want to wear the look under a cuff. New hands, a redesigned bezel and terrific dial hues (blue, black with silver indexes or black with orange indexes) make the Aquis Date a terrific bargain at about $1,750 on a strap (final U.S. prices coming soon).

Perhaps my favorite of Oris’s new models is the Big Crown 1917 Limited Edition, which revives the brand’s first wristwatch from, you guessed it, 1917, which was essentially a brass-cased pocket watch with wire loop lugs soldered to its case. Oris nicely translates that watch by using the same Arabic numeral font and blue-steel hands (now illuminated with SuperLuminova) and retaining the same dial color scheme and curved crystal shape.

The new 40mm Big Crown 1917 Limited Edition features a few more special touches. The case back is embossed with the original ‘OWC’ trademark, which stood for ‘Oris Watch Company’ and was used as a quality stamp on Oris’s gold pocket watches. Oris has of course modernized the movement, now a Sellita-based version, and has created a practical time-adjustment lock/unlock pusher at 2 o’clock. The $2,600 watch will be made in a limited edition of 1,917 pieces.

Seiko
This brand’s always-impressive Grand Seiko division turned independent at Baselworld 2017 as Seiko has freed the higher-end line from the Seiko branding most of its dials have displayed. Now, all Grand Seiko dials will utilize only the ‘Grand Seiko’ logo at the top of the dial, not far from the firm’s historic GS logo. Also, collectors can look forward to distinct Grand Seiko boutiques.

Several limited-edition Grand Seiko debuts again underscore this collection’s longstanding attention to high-end horology at prices far less than comparable European models. You may argue about affordability of a $5,700 watch, which is the price for the newest steel Grand Seiko 1960 tribute model, but feature-to-feature, Grand Seiko consistently presents compelling horology with strong value.

And this year Grand Seiko continues to do so. Its premier debut is a group of three 38mm manual-wind, limited-edition watches that mimic the firm’s first Grand Seiko from 1960. Made of steel, gold or platinum, all are fitted with the esteemed Grand Seiko caliber 9S64 and feature domed dials and monogrammed casebacks. Prices, as noted above, begin at $5,700 for the steel edition, rising to $30,600 for the platinum model.

A special 40.5mm hard-titanium-cased ‘modern’ adaptation of the first Grand Seiko will also be launched in a limited edition of 968 pieces, each priced at $7,200. Seiko also re-created its first Prospex dive watch from 1965, which will be made in a 39.9mm hard-coated limited edition of 2,000, and priced at about $4,100. An even stronger value, however, are two more modern 42.6mm versions (Ref. SPB051 and 053) of that same original, with a different caliber inside, that will sell for between $800 and $1,000.

On a much lower price level, Seiko’s Presage collection ($425 to $525), which debuted last year, continues to draw accolades from collectors. A ‘cocktail-themed’ series this year was especially intriguing.

Citizen & Casio
Also from Japan, both Citizen and Casio offered compelling timepieces with strong price-to-performance ratios.

Citizen’s new Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000M is effectively the first light-powered watch that functions at 1,000 meters underwater. Citizen says the new 52.5mm watch, which enters Citizen’s tool-oriented Promaster lineup, has been tested to perform in true deep dive situations (saturation diving), which means the watch will handle the pressure at that depth while remaining fully visible and functional on the wrist. Price : $2,300.

Citizen also debuted a outstanding new version of its Eco-Drive Divers 200M watch, with a rich blue dial and bezel and hard-to-beat $350-to-$395 price range.

The Citizen Promaster Eco Drive AltiChron ($550-$660) will measure altitudes up to 10,000 meters and to depths of 300 meters under the sea. The wearer sees all the information in analog form on the 46mm watch rather than a digital format, so there is no need to switch away from the time display to check altitude or orientation.

Casio’s Gravitymaster GPW2000-1A is G-Shock’s first-ever Bluetooth connected model in the Master of G series. It features connected GPS capabilities, plus something extra: Mission Stamp – a function that will record time and location, transmitting the information via Bluetooth to a special app, which can then be viewed in a flight log. The $800 watch also features a sapphire crystal, a carbon fiber second hand, a carbon fiber insert band and a carbon band lock insert.

We’ll have more details about Baselworld 2017 debuts later this week.

Direct from its special Baselworld 2017 exhibition display called “Design Genius and the Dot that Changed the Face of Time,” Movado’s Museum Watch this year is seventy years old, and Movado has issued a special, colorful edition to celebrate.

Bauhaus-influenced artist Nathan George Horwitt designed the watch in 1947. He placed a solitary dot at 12 to symbolize the sun at high noon, and its simplicity and minimalist profile struck a chord with the era’s designers. When the dial was selected in 1960 to join the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, it became the first watch dial ever awarded this distinction.

This 70th Anniversary Bauhaus Limited Edition features three new models in 35mm round stainless steel or yellow gold-toned cases, each just 5.85 mm deep with narrow polished bezels.

Adhering to the Bauhaus preference for primary colors, Movado has created dials of yellow, red or blue lacquer, each with matching calfskin straps. The dials are set with a flat dot and thin stick hands in tribute to Horwitt’s original design.

The collection is being issued in an edition of 210 total pieces, seventy of each color, with individually numbered case-backs engraved ‘Movado Bauhaus Edition.’ These will be sold exclusively on Movado.com.

An unlimited edition of these same watches with casebacks engraved “Movado 70 Years of Modern Design” and black, white or gray dials (not pictured here) will be available at retailers worldwide. The unlimited edition will also be made in a second size (40mm).

Specifications:
Movado Limited Edition Museum Dial collection

MOVEMENT: Swiss quartz ETA 901.001.

DIAL: Yellow with silver-toned stick hour/minute hands and flat dot at 12 o’clock; or blue or red with yellow gold-toned stick hour/minute hands and flat dot at 12 o’clock.

CASE: 35mm round polished stainless steel or yellow gold PVD-finished steel with flat scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. Individually numbered case-back engraved ‘Movado Bauhaus Edition’ Water resistant to 30 meters.

STRAP: Yellow calfskin with stainless steel classic tongue buckle, or blue or red calfskin with yellow gold PVD-finished steel classic tongue buckle.

Prices: $595 and $695 (gold tone case)

With its Aquanaut Travel Time Ref. 5650 (Patek Philippe Advance Research), Patek Philippe in 2017 celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the Aquanaut collection with something extra special. Not only do we get five hundred examples of a dual-time, 47.6mm by 45mm white gold Aquanaut, but collectors can enjoy the latest results of the Advanced Research initiative Patek Philippe launched fifteen years ago to create more efficient watchmaking techniques and materials.

For the first time since 2011 however, we’re seeing Advanced Research results that aren’t completely linked to Patek Philippe’s much-touted silicon-based Spiromax or Pulsomax escapement components.

Only one of the two major technical advances being touted in this new watch involves the Spiromax balance in the new Cal. 324 S C FUS.

Patek Philippe has reconfigured the new watch’s balance spring just enough to increase its mean rate from -3 to +2 seconds per day to an incredible -1 to +2, effectively matching the rate accuracy of a Patek Philippe movement with a tourbillon. Patek Philippe does this by adding what it calls an ‘inner boss’ to the end of the spring to assist the ‘outer boss’ (the Patek Philippe terminal curve). The new ‘inner boss’ now enhances accuracy by offsetting positional changes of the center of gravity.

In other words, no matter how the watch is held or moved, the balance spring’s expansion and contraction rate will not be affected.

But the most interesting– and most visible– result of Advanced Research is seen directly through the open space on the Aquanaut dial–and it has nothing to do with silicon. The watch’s very un-Patek-like open dial aperture exposes an entirely new flexible steel component that now controls the GMT indication forwards and backwards.

Using four crossed leaf springs instead of gears or pivots, the new component reduces the overall number of parts required for GMT switching from about thirty-seven to twelve. Patek Philippe says the new technique results in “no mechanical play, no friction, and no arbor wear, which assures completely lubricant-free functionality.” It’s a novel approach to heightened efficiency, and it’s one new component Patek Philippe feels should be seen as it operates.

As this is a Patek Philippe watch, all these new components are finished as you might expect. The visible surfaces are precision ground, the invisible undersides carefully brushed, and the insides of the leaf springs are sandblasted. All edges are chamfered and polished (except, for functional reasons, those of the leaf springs). The surfaces around the mounting screws are circular grained.

Patek Philippe will make the Aquanaut Travel Time Ref. 5650 Patek Philippe Advanced Research in a limited edition of 500 white gold watches. Price: $58,970.

We’ll have more about Patek Philippe’s 2017 debuts in future posts, including a look at the beautiful blue Jumbo Aquanaut Ref. 5168G, the second ode to the Aquanaut’s twentieth year. Also, we’ll show you more of the surprising Calatrava 6006G and also take a look at the handsome new version of the Ref. 5320G perpetual calendar.

Zenith Accelerates El Primero

Unlike Patek Philippe, for which an open dial is almost a revolutionary act, Zenith has long encouraged its collectors to take a peek under the hood, so to speak. Skeleton designs and large dial apertures on many a Zenith watch have been instrumental in highlighting one of Zenith’s chief technical assets: its El Primero high-speed integrated chronograph calibers.

This year Zenith has shifted into a higher gear with the new 44mm Defy El Primero 21, which is equipped with two independent balances: one for the time and the other for the chronograph. Each has its own transmission and escapement system and there is no coupling clutch.

Thanks to one balance operating at a breakneck 360,000 vibrations-per-hour, the watch’s central chronograph hand whirrs around the dial, performing a full turn each second. It’s quite exhilarating to watch. The other balance, working at the standard, though high-speed, El Primero rate of 36,000 vibrations-per-hour, keeps the time, which is well within the El Primero’s chronometer-certified range.

The system results in a dramatic central seconds chronograph counter that points to an inner bezel ring with a graduated scale (running from 0 to 100) that helps the user clock the stop time to the nearest 1/100th of a second.

This dual-train system in this El Primero 9004 movement isn’t the first we’ve seen in recent years. Its general principle is echoed in previous releases by Montblanc (Montblanc TimeWalker Chronograph 100) and by earlier work from sister LVMH brand TAG Heuer (remember the Caliber 360 and the newer Mikrograph?)

But where those watches –like this watch– boast their own technical strategy to display 1/100th of second, this Zenith Defy 21 also includes another: Both of the watch’s hairsprings are made with a carbon-matrix composite made even stronger with carbon nanotubes.

According to Zenith, the material, a type of graphene, is a used here for the first time as a watch balance. The patented material is lightweight, insensitive to temperature and highly resistant to magnetism.

And if that isn’t enough technical novelty for one timepiece, Zenith has also re-built the caliber’s chronograph-reset control mechanism to now consist of three heart pieces and has created an entirely new starter mechanism. Zenith says this new design was needed to better ensure simultaneous resetting of the seconds as well as the tenths and hundredths of a second.

While the chronograph will operate for fifty minutes with twenty-five clockwise crown turns, the timekeeping functions will retain power for fifty hours.

The 44mm watch will be available in a brushed titanium case with a solid silvered dial ($9,600), a brushed titanium case and a skeleton dial ($10,600) or a black ceramic-aluminum case and a skeleton dial ($11,600).

Coming up later in the week: New Technology from Bulgari and Breguet

Freeman’s auction house this Friday will offer a host of interesting vintage timepieces at its Philadelphia headquarters (and online), including many standouts from Patek Philippe, Cartier, Vacheron Constantin and Rolex.

But not all the top lots in Freeman’s ‘Watches of Distinction’ sale on April 7th are from these banner auction brands. Sprinkled in among the sale’s most intriguing offerings are pieces from F. P. Journe, Breitling, LeCoultre, Ulysse Nardin and even Gerald Genta, all names that never fail to attract notice from specific sets of very passionate collectors.

Take a look at Lot 83, an F.P. Journe Centigraphe Sport Aluminum CTS ALU, made in 2011 (Estimate: $30,000 - 40,000). This lightweight, manual-wind watch, one from a small production made for a few years, was fashioned with aluminum, including the bracelet, case and –incredibly – the movement. Also of note is the fact that chronograph is started, stopped and zeroed by a (patented) rocker mechanism at 2 o’clock instead of with the usual buttons on either side of the crown. And the chronograph utilizes a rarely seen foudroyante display in the upper left subdial, which displays the 1/100th of a second.

Also note the Gerald Genta Mickey Mouse quartz watch from 2000 (lot 70, estimated at $3,000 to $5,000). Here you’ll find a relatively accessible entry point for a collector who knows about the deep influence Genta had on watchmaking design since he penned classics like the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Patek Philippe Nautilus and the Omega Constellation.

Two truly vintage lots with lugs to die for include a LeCoultre 36mm gold chronograph from 1950 (Lot 133, estimated at $6,000 to $8,000) and Vacheron & Constantin 35mm gold small-seconds model from 1940 (Lot 34, estimated $3,500 to $5,500).

Collectors of more recent vintages can check out the solid Panerai Radiomir Composite Marina Militare 8 Giorni PAM 339 from 2010 (Lot 11, estimated between $7,000 - 10,000) and the early Hublot Big Bang King Power UNICO GMT from 2010 (Lot 100, estimated between $20,000 and $30,000).

“The Unico represents a different take on the world time complication with four sub-dials to coordinate with the main dial,” notes Michael Larsen, Senior Specialist, Fine Jewelry & Watches at Freeman’s. “It’s a great look while maintaining a classic wristwatch appeal.”

Larsen has lined up a fewer other notable Lots that his auction house, which is not only the first auction house founded (in 1805) in the United States, but is one of the first small businesses founded on these shores. Here are several of his favorites, along with a few of ours.

LOT 111
Patek Philippe Complication World Time Ref. 5131R-001. (2015, estimate: $100,000 - $120,000). “Patek Philippe continues to lead the way with this state-of-the-art World Time watch. This piece combines an extremely complicated movement, aligning time zones for variations international locales, with the unique beauty of the enamel globe dial that sets it apart from the everyday timepiece,” says Larsen.

LOT 45
Patek Philippe Chronograph, Ref. 533. (1947,estimate: $60,000 - 90,000) “This piece represents an early and extremely rare chronograph from Patek Philippe and is highly sought after by astute buyers. The quality and condition of this watch makes it an excellent addition to and collection,” he adds.

LOT 2
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Chronograph Limited Edition, circa 2011. Estimate: $35,000 - 45,000.

LOT 98
De Bethune Ref.DB22, circa 2007 self-winding automatic watch. Estimate: $20,000 to $30,000.

LOT 86
Ulysse Nardin Marine Diver Chronograph Ref.8006-102-3A/926, circa 2010. Estimate: $14,000 to $16,000.

LOT 57
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 'Bubbleback' Ref.5015, circa 1949. Estimate: $3,000 to $5,000.

LOT 110
Patek Philippe Calatrava Ref.6000G-001 circa 2000, 37mm. Just recently replaced at Baselworld 2017 with a new 39mm model. Estimate: $14,000 to $16,000.

To see all 149 watches Freeman’s will place up for auction this Friday, click here.

About Freeman’s auction house:
The company was founded in 1805 by Tristram Bampfylde Freeman, a printseller who came to America from London. After an order from Pennsylvania Governor Thomas McKean, Freeman was appointed to the office of auctioneer in Philadelphia, where he subsequently began the company. Over the years Freeman’s has grown both nationally and globally, opening regional offices throughout the United States and expanding into the European market after forming an alliance with Lyon and Turnbull in 2000.

When Seiko first began a partnership with famed Italian automotive designer Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1983, the resulting watch designs were usually very sporty, asymmetrical Seiko chronographs with cases that were user-friendly to any racer on two or four wheels.

This summer Seiko revives that long-admired relationship by teaming with Giugiaro Design to create the Seiko Astron Giugiaro Design Limited Edition, a new Seiko Astron GPS Solar watch.

The new release essentially updates that premiere model from 1983 (pictured below), which was among the very first analog quartz chronographs made. The new model will utilize Seiko’s Astron 8X82 chronograph caliber, which boasts GPS solar technology, and will measure elapsed time up to six hours. Like all Astron calibers, the 8X82 caliber will offer users the ability to adjust to local time anywhere in the world at the touch of a button.

Seiko will make the new watch with a 46.3mm titanium case and bracelet, all coated in Seiko’s own super-hard black coating to increase resistance to scratches. As with many Giugiaro designs, black, red and green are prominent colors here, as are the Giugiaro-designed hands and the markers. On the caseback you’ll find a wheel design framing the watch’s individual serial number.

Look for the Seiko Astron Giugiaro Design Limited Edition to be released as a limited edition of 3,000 this July at Seiko retail outlets in selected markets worldwide. Price: $2,900.

Specifications: Seiko Astron Giugiaro Design Limited Edition

Case: 46.3mm by 13.3mm titanium with super-hard black coating, ceramic bezel, sapphire crystal

Caliber: Astron 8X82 chronograph with GPS controlled time and time zone adjustment; chronograph up to 6 hours in 1/5-second increments; Perpetual calendar correct to the year 2100, Signal reception result indication, world time function (40 time zones), daylight saving time function, power save function

Accuracy: +/-15 seconds per month (without receiving a GPS signal and at temperatures between 5℃ and 35℃ )

Water resistance: 100 meters

Magnetic resistance: 4,800 A/m

Bracelet: Titanium with super-hard black coating, three-fold clasp with push button release

Limited edition of 3,000 pieces

Price: $2,900 USD

This latest addition to the SevenFriday S-Series finds the young Zurich-based brand hewing tight to its industrial theme. Launching officially this week, the new SevenFriday S1/01 features an openwork dial atop a solid caseback set with an NFC chip (which IDs the watch via the firm’s app).

With a characteristic SevenFriday TV-screen shaped case, the S1\01 notably features a translucent nylon ring wrapped around the steel case. This effectively lightens the watch’s appearance a bit by visually breaking up the polish used on the bezel and sandblasted steel caseback. More importantly, the nylon exposes four metallic blue PVD structural screws, which impressively hold the watch together. Since the nylon ring is essentially a type of recyclable plastic, emblazoned on the ring is what may be first ‘recyclable’ logo I’ve seen on a wristwatch, here customized with a 7. The idea, according to the firm, is to ‘give a nod to clean industries,’ which seems like a nice idea.

While there’s a lot going on with this dial, the large blue hour hand and blue seconds indicator adjacent to the seconds disc make it simple to read the time. Both indicators feature a solid dose of blue SuperLuminova, which perfectly matches the metallic blue screws. Plus, it’s always fun for any fan of things mechanical to watch a balance wheel in action. This S1/01 places this show front and (almost) center.

Price: $1,200.

Specifications: SevenFriday S1/01

Movement: Automatic Miyota 82S5 with open balance wheel. 40-hour power reserve.

Case: 47mm x 47.6mm polished and sandblasted stainless steel with polished stainless steel bezel.30 meters water resistant

Caseback: Polished stainless steel with NFC chip embedded behind the globe. Chip allows authenticity verification via the SevenFriday Android app.

Crystal: Hardened and anti-reflective treated mineral glass.

Dial: Gun metal opaline outer plate, rhodium dial ring with luminous filled indexes, sandblasted rhodium brand plate; polished rhodium stamped grid at 9H; sandblasted rhodium “S” plate between 4-5H with metallic blue second indicator. Metallic blue hour hand and metal minute hand with SuperLuminova.

Strap: Black calf skin leather with soft touch padding and black stitching.

Water Resistance: 30 meters

Bulgari’s ultra-thin timepiece trifecta garnered considerable attention at Baselworld 2017. Three years after debuting the thinnest tourbillon (the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon), and just a year after showing the world’s thinnest minute repeater (the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater), Bulgari this year expanded its ultra-thin bona fides with a third title holder, the Octo Finissimo Automatic, now the thinnest watch available operating with an automatic movement.

Measuring just 5.15mm thin, with an in-house caliber BLV138 movement comprising only 2.23mm of that total, the 40mm diameter sandblasted titanium watch is a lightweight, highly refined work of Italo-Swiss design. The watch’s case design retains the Octo’s sophisticated circle-over-octagon bezel and case profile, which clearly identifies the watch as the youngest member of the sleek Octo Finissimo family.

But unlike late year’s repeater, which saw Bulgari cut slits into the dial to enhance the chime’s sound, this watch bears black PVD markers and numerals on its titanium dial to ensure peak legibility. The dial’s small offset seconds subdial (directly connected to the seconds wheel underneath) underlines Bulgari’s well-considered design sense.

Wearing it
On the wrist, the Octo Finissimo Automatic is a vivid dream¬. It’s barely felt given its thinness and feathery weight, yet it is not forgotten, in part because of its 40mm diameter and sculpted case. When on your wrist attached to its titanium bracelet, it feels like post-modern architecture or art. The leather strap is luxurious and also lightweight, but visually a bit wide for my wrist. With the bracelet, the entire package seems more complete.

Bulgari’s Octo has emphasized the Roman-influenced focus it placed on Gerald Genta’s precursor since the brand renewed Octo more than five years ago. Its round bezel inside an octagon case, set above stepped lugs, is complex, and here invoked on a far slimmer scale than most other Octo-cased models. Yet even with this series of ultra-thin watches that require far less actual case material, Bulgari has been careful to retain the Octo’s sense of depth and perspective. This is exactly why, when this watch is worn, your eyes are repeatedly drawn to your wrist.

What they will see, beyond design, is of course serious Swiss watchmaking. Using a platinum rotor and with a 21,600-vph rate, the watch boasts a 60-hour power reserve. The movement, visible from the back, is hand-decorated exercise in minimal gearing with four bridges placed amid expertly applied Côtes de Genève and circular-grained finishing. A simple ceramic inlay decorates the titanium crown.

Specifications: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic

Movement: Mechanical Manufacture movement with automatic winding via a platinum micro-rotor; Caliber BVL 138 Finissimo, decorated with Côtes de Genève finishing, chamfered bridges and a circular-grained mainplate; 2.23mm thick, 36.60 mm in diameter, 21,600 V/H, 60-hour power reserve.

Case and dial: 40mm case in sandblasted titanium, transparent case-back, 5.15mm thick; titanium crown with ceramic insert; water-resistant to 30 meters; titanium dial, black hands with PVD treatment.

Bracelet/Strap: Titanium bracelet with folding clasp or black alligator leather with titanium pin buckle.

Prices: $12,800 (leather strap); $13,900 (titanium bracelet).

As its own destination, the MB&F M.A.D. Gallery in Geneva is always a treat to visit. Lively ‘kinetic’ art, shiny metallic sculpture, robots and even a few very unusual timepieces await anyone who ventures to the Gallery in Geneva’s old town. And of course now there are two more such destinations now that Max Busser and Friends has opened a M.A.D. Gallery in Dubai and in Taipei.

These new hot spots exist largely because Busser and many of his sci-fi-enamored Friends in their youth looked to one day fly in a rocket ship to one particular destination over all others: the Moon. Myriad stories, written, filmed or related in graphic form, inevitably featured fanciful, highly streamlined spacecraft meant to transport earthlings to the Moon (or possibly to Mars).

Disappointed at the mundane cylinders that have defined so many genuine rockets in the decades since those imaginary crafts of the 1960s, Busser and his Friends at frequent collaborator L’Epée 1839 this year at Baselworld launched their own rocket.

Called Destination Moon, the MB&F horological rocket stands about sixteen inches tall and features an engine developed by L’Epée to mimic the basic design of a real spaceship, or at least to look like a spaceship imagined by a youth in the 1960s.

The concept originated with L’Epée movement designer and sci-fi rocket fan Nicolas Bringuet, who came up with the idea for the movement's distinctive vertical architecture. To mine childhood fantasies just a bit further, L’Epee even made the movement’s horizontal circular plates perforated just as components in a Meccano set (similar to an Erector set), according to MB&F.

The movement is made of more than 237 components with a lateral balance wheel and escapement, all in motion to display hours and minutes on two revolving rings. A small panel of clear mineral glass protects the impressively large regulator, with its 18,000-vph balance.

Big crown
Destination Moon’s clock is powered when the owner winds what is essentially an oversized crown, which MB&F calls a thruster, at the rocket’s base, delivering eight days of power reserve. Another crown at the top of the mechanism allows to the owner to quickly set the time. MB&F has even created a steel and silver astronaut, appropriately named Neil, who can be removed or placed back on the ladder thanks to an integrated magnet.

Destination Moon is heavy, weighing nearly nine pounds, so that it will be a chore to tip it over too easily.

The new rocket is MB&F’s tenth co-creation in the past five years. Recall that the firm made three music boxes with Reuge, an Astrograph pen created with Caran d’Ache last year and five previous table clocks created with Swiss-based L’Epée 1839.

The Destination Moon horological rocket is available in four limited editions of fifty pieces each in black, green, and blue PVD, plus palladium (silver). Price: 19,900 Swiss francs (about $20,000).

Click here to watch Destination Moon in action.

Specifications: MB&F Destination Moon

Displays
Hour and minute indications stamped on rotating stainless steel discs

Rocket
Dimensions: 16.3 inches (height) x 9.2 inches (diameter)
Weight: 4.0 kg (about 9 lbs.)
Frame: satin-finished stainless steel
Landing pods: palladium-plated brass, with PVD coating for the blue, green and black editions
Total components (including movement): 237

Neil (astronaut figurine)
Solid polished silver with stainless steel helmet; attached magnetically to boarding ladder.

Movement
Designed and manufactured in-house by L’Epée 1839
Multi-stage vertical architecture
Balance frequency: 2.5 Hz / 18,000 bph
Power reserve: eight days from single barrel
Movement components: 164
Jewels: 17
Incabloc shock protection system protected by mineral glass
Materials: palladium-plated brass, stainless steel and nickel-plated stainless steel
Movement finishing: polishing, bead-blasting and satin finishing
Winding: manual winding by rotating the propulsion wheel at the base of the rocket
Setting: time-setting knob at the top of the movement, above the indication rings

Typically watches with an equation of time complication require that the wearer engage his or her brain, ever so slightly. Because such watches usually show the equation of time, which is the difference between real solar time and local time, watch dials typically indicate this with a sub-dial and a secondary small hand. It is then up to the user to mentally add or subtract the difference displayed from the current time in order to calculate true solar time.

The new Marine Équation Marchante 5887 from Breguet lets the observer relax. Instead of a display showing the differences between the two times, the dial on this Baselworld 2017 debut from Breguet simultaneously indicates civil (local) time and true solar time with two separate minute hands.

The running solar hand, with its easily identified golden sun, provides a direct reading of solar time minutes. This almost instant reading, clearly more user friendly than most available on other dials, conceals a complex set of calculations and watchmaking construction choices Breguet made to create this watch, which is the latest in Breguet’s nautically themed Marine series.

The other choices Breguet has made here are also quite complicated. In addition to developing the novel equation of time equation, Breguet opted to complement it with a perpetual calendar and a tourbillon.

While the former makes perfect sense as a natural extension of the calculations already programmed into the equation of time function, adding a tourbillon gives the watch three major complications. This third function, quite on purpose, satisfies the generally agreed-upon requirements for a Grande Complication, which Breguet generally develops for its Classique collection.

Displays

Adding the tourbillon also gave Breguet a literal window of opportunity. Look at the dial of this new watch and you’ll see an odd figure-8-shaped cam in a sapphire disc just above the tourbillon, sharing the aperture. That cam, which rotates once a year, is how watchmakers ‘program’ into the movement the annual changes in the distance between the sun and the earth. All equation-of-time watches utilize such a cam, and Breguet has decided to expose it for all to admire.

It’s an unusual display on the front of the watch, probably the first of its kind, but there’s more to its novelty than simply where it’s located.

Breguet was able to show equation of time with the sun-tipped hand only because its watchmakers developed a patented differential gear attached to the hand. Two independent rotation sources (the rotation of civil minutes, and that controlled by the lever in contact with the equation of time cam) affect how the sun-tipped hand moves. This equation of time hand is ‘running’, which is the rough translation of marchante from the original French.

The perpetual calendar is more self-explanatory: Two apertures – one between 10 and 11 o’clock and the other between 1 and 2 o’clock – respectively display the days of the week as well as the months and the leap-year cycle. The date appears inside the chapter ring via a retrograde anchor-tipped hand that sweeps across an arc at the top of the dial.

The 60-second tourbillon underneath the LIGA-manufactured figure-8 cam betrays the expertise Breguet has developed in the centuries since its namesake constructed the first such regulator. Made of titanium, the tourbillon houses a balance with a silicon balance spring and escape wheel, both of which conspire to maintain a strong 80-hour power reserve. Look closely at the large bridge above the tourbillon and you’ll see the words “Marine Royale” engraved.

The dial features two types of engine turning, including an appropriate wave pattern Breguet has developed only for this watch. Turning the Breguet Marine Équation Marchante over you’ll note that the bridges have been chased to depict the Royal Louis, a vessel in the French Royal Navy. More nautical décor here includes a barrel adorned with a wind-rose motif, a reference to astronomical navigation. Thankfully Breguet has opted to power the mainspring with its platinum peripheral rotor so that the sumptuously decorated back of the movement can be admired.

The Breguet Marine Équation Marchante comes with a 43.9mm-diameter case in rose gold or platinum. The rose gold version ($215,000) frames a silvered dial and an anthracite movement, while the platinum interpretation ($230,400) has a blue dial and a rhodium-plated movement.

Click here to see more about the watch.

Specifications: Breguet Marine Équation Marchante

Case: 43.9mm platinum or rose gold with fluted case band. Sapphire-crystal caseback, water-resistant to 100 meters

Dial: Gold, engine-turned, individually numbered and signed, hours chapter with Roman numerals and luminescent dots. Breguet facetted hands in 18-karat gold with luminescent material. Running solar hand with facetted golden sun. Days of the week in an aperture between 10 and 11 o’clock. Months and leap-year cycle in an aperture between 1 and 2 o’clock. Retrograde dates indication on an arc running from 9 to 3 o’clock. Power reserve in an aperture between 7 and 9 o’clock.

Movement: Self-winding movement Cal. 581DPE, numbered and signed with running equation of time, perpetual calendar, tourbillon and 80-hour power reserve Small seconds and equation of time cam on the tourbillon axis. Silicon escapement wheel and inverted lateral lever with silicon horns. Silicon balance spring, balance frequency 4Hz. Peripheral oscillating weight.

Strap: Alligator leather with gold folding clasp.

Arizona-based jeweler Geoffrey Roth began to create his own watches more than eighteen years ago. His designs are deeply personal and his collection boasts a selection of shaped and round cases made in-house with CNC machinery and then finished by hand. Roth’s dials are fashioned from sterling silver or 18-karat 5N gold, engraved one at a time (never die-struck) and printed on a proprietary machine Roth designed and built. The large synthetic rubies you’ll see on almost all his watch crowns were inspired by the jewels found in the movements of the antique train-conductor pocket watches that Roth loved as a child.

Recently, Roth has teamed with master engraver Todd Daniels to create detailed pattern work on cases and dials.

A professional goldsmith and jeweler for three decades, Daniels was so impressed with Roth’s watch designs that, unprompted, he suggested the pair collaborate, and Roth agreed. Roth says hand engraving has always been a special skill for which he has great respect. He considers Daniels one of the finest engravers he has ever met.

“For an accomplished engraver, silver or gold or even gun steels are all relatively easy work with, but not when compared to stainless steel,” Roth says. “It takes a true master engraver to work in the high surgical-grade stainless steel in which our watches are milled.”

In 2017 Geoffrey Roth Watch Engineering was invited to exhibit his watches with Todd Daniels engraving at the annual Smithsonian Craft Show (which begins April 27 in Washington, D.C.)

Tonneau cases
Among the newest Roth-Daniels collaborations is one model within the HH5 Tonneau collection. The HH5 Tonneau is a 43-millimeter-wide watch with a stainless-steel case coated with AlTiN. In addition to the Daniels-engraved version, other HH5 Tonneau models include one with a case of Damascus steel and another with a polished black steel case. All feature a decorated 18-karat rose-gold dial that Roth engraves in-house on a vintage rose engine lathe. Those familiar with Roth’ s earlier work will recognize the HH5’s characteristic large almond shaped blued-steel hands and markers, each lume-tinted.

Each HH5 Tonneau also features a domed synthetic sapphire front crystal with anti-glare coating and synthetic sapphire display back is echoed in the steel-core, triple-seal crown, finished with solid 18-karat rose gold and surrounds a signature ruby outer and natural blue sapphire center. The decorated automatic ETA 2892 movement is topped with a solid tungsten rotor with PVD process AlTiN coating embellished with the Geoffrey Roth logo.

These 100-meter water-resistant watches come on an American-made hand-stitched, farm-raised Louisiana alligator strap with a double-deployant stainless-steel clasp. There are several HH5 models available. Prices: $9,500 (polished black steel), $12,500 (Damascus steel) and $24,000 (Daniels-engraved steel).

See the gallery here.

Specifications: The Geoffrey Roth Watch Engineering HH5 Tonneau

Case: 43mm wide 316L stainless steel with AlTiN coating; Domed synthetic sapphire crystals front and rear – front with anti-glare coating on the inside; triple seal crown with a stainless core and solid 18k rose gold surrounding signature ruby and a natural blue sapphire

Dial: Rose gold with SuperLuminova, blued steel hands (made in Arizona

Movement: Swiss ETA 2892A2 automatic, solid tungsten rotor engraved with Roth logo and PVD plated with hard TiAlN coating

Bracelet/strap: Louisiana alligator strap created in the USA to Roth specifications, double deployant stainless steel clasp (engraved with logo). Six-year warranty, extended for six more years if your watch is returned for servicing between years five and six.

Prices: $9,500 to $24,000.