In 1908 Rolex, the world’s leading luxury watch brand, was established and to celebrate 100 years of excellence, John Goldberger has collected the most beautiful and renowned designs for the latest illustrated collector’s edition from Damiani.
100 Superlative Rolex Watches captures this pioneering spirit with over 700 images and 400 descriptions
illustrating every element of the Rolex watch, from the rather attractive watch faces to the intricate inside mechanisms.
Dividing itself by collections, from Oyster to Sport, 100 Superlative Rolex Watches explores not only the technical supremacy of each collection but also its social context; examining how the Rolex became a status symbol and one of the most popular brands in the world.
Read more...
Founded in the mid-19th century, Lange & Söhne have become a name synonymous with chic Swiss watch design and production. Their two new styles are no exception.
The first is the Little Lange 1 “Soirée” (£26,800). There are two styles of this ladies watch, both of which are limited edition and both come with a metallic-silver crocodile or aquamarine ray leather strap and are adorned with 63 sparkling diamonds.
Each one is a composition of 18-carat white gold, mother of pearl and, for the first time, have diamonds on the lugs and the dial. Not only are they the most gorgeous watches, but A. Lange & Söhne’s position at the pinnacle of the watchmaking world means that they are collectors’ items and therefore have great investment potential.
The second is the Grand Lange 1 (£16,300), which has been re-launched with a new face. It is an enlarged version of A. Lange & Söhne’s very first wristwatch – the Lange 1 – and is available in yellow gold, pink gold and platinum with matching monochrome solid-silver dials in champagne, argenté and rhodié. This is traditionally a man’s watch but its elegance means that it also ties in with a growing trend for women to wear complicated men’s watches.
Designed in the 1940’s in the ‘Officine Fontana’ labs of high precision instruments and components, Ilvo Fontana designed a professional wrist watch specifically for pilots.
The project was not completed for commercialisation due to the instability in Europe at the time… but the first batch of watches were produced in 1999. Italo Fontana decided to resurrect his grandfather’s project and developed the stylish watches you see before you. Welcome to U-Boat watches!
Flightdeck 18K Gold CA – £12,700.00 ($24,892)
50mm Flightdeck Automatic Chronograph
Movement: Valjoux (ETA 7750) – Soigné
28,800 Alternations/Hour (8 ticks per second)
Case: Single Block of 18K Gold
Black Alligator Strap
Waterproof to 100m
Unique U-Boat Left-Hook Crown which opens up hand movement – Designed for Scuba Divers
.jpg)
Flightdeck Gold Bezel – £5,560.00 ($10,900 approx)
43mm or 50mm Flightdeck Automatic Chronograph
Movement: Valjoux (ETA 7750) – Soigné
28,800 Alternations/Hour (8 ticks per second)
Case: PVD & 18K Rose Gold
Face: Carbon Fibre Finish
Black Alligator Strap
Waterproof to 100m
Unique U-Boat Left-Hook Crown which opens up hand movement – Designed for Scuba Divers
.jpg)
Read more...
The Girard Perregaux Sea Hawk II Pro 3000m (phew what a mouthful!) is a watch that might do James Bond proud. It’s tough as nails with panache and style in bucket loads.
Retailing for £6,000 ($12,000 approx) the Sea Hawk includes a rotating bezel, 4 o’clock crown (not sure what that means?) and an ascent / descent indicator.
Why is it tough? Well it’s certified to NIHS 92-10 Swiss industry standard - which basically means that the Sea Hawk is one of only a handful of watches that can go to a depth of 3,000m without imploding.
The watch casing incorporates two de-pressurisation valves which prevent helium, which penetrates in from the sea at depth, exploding out the watch when you surface. Ok, you have to ask the question “how often will I go down to 3000m” - but forget that. This watch is tough, cool and full of sophistication - just like our friend Mr Bond, the Sea Hawk can do things that we would never entertain!
Posted by Ruth Miller on Wed 30th April 2008 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Luxury Watches
The Maurice Lacroix Memoire really is a remarkable piece of engineering - and so it should be with a retail price of £135,000 ($270,000).
This is the first mechanical watch with a memory function. This means that whilst it’s working as a chronograph, it remembers the time and switches back automatically. For example, you can switch into chrono mode, setting the hands to 12 o’clock and then revert to watch mode and the hands will flit back to their correct position.
This is amazingly done with mechanical movements, including three rotating columns, several separate chronograph hearts and 604 miniturised wheels and cogs. Accommodating all this doesn’t make the Memoire dainty, it’s quite simply bold and beautiful.
