Believe me – when I started out this week with a post about the Glashütte Original (Glashütte Original Goes Global With Its New Senator Chronometer) I had absolutely no idea it would be the first of 3 posts on GO watches this week! But here we are, #3 this week about a watch from Glashütte Original, the renowned German manufacture!
Actually, I am more than happy to be sharing yet another splendid watch from our friends in Germany – after all, when they are unveiling watches like this, how can I not cover them! So let’s get down to it, shall we? Check out the new, limited edition Glashütte Original Strasser & Rohde Regulator:
While the name does leave something to be desired – there are several things about this watch that make it quite special. For one, it is a tribute watch to another now defunct Glashütte-based watchmaking company known for their accurate and aesthetic pendulum watches (circa the late 1800′s). This company’s name? Strasser and Rhode, of course (more on S&R at the bottom of the post).
And of course it is an elegantly designed watch known as a “regulator”. What’s the deal with a “regulator” you ask? I think Glashütte Original does a fine job of explaining this:
In watchmaking tradition, “regulator” watches were special pendulum clocks, used by watchmakers in their workshops to set the exact time and therefore to test the precision of smaller watches. They were also used in science whenever extremely precise time indicators were needed, like in the field of astronomy.
In order to achieve optimum readability of the time, the hands were positioned on different axes of the dial. As the sole central hand, the minute hand dominated. The other hands were smaller and located in decentralized sub-dial areas.
Every watchmaker’s workshop always contained a regulator in a clearly visible position as a time reference.
Consistent with the nature of a regulator watch, the dial of the GO Strasser & Rohde is pure and minimalist, and dominated by an elegantly shaped blued minute hand. The 2 subdials mark the hours and the seconds. The watch case is polished rose gold, 42mm in diameter, and 12.8mm high.
Perhaps what is as interesting an element as any on this watch is its wonderfully decorated movement – a GO hand-wound caliber 49-04, with blued screws and screwed gold chatons:
Too bad they will only be making 25 of them.
Here is some good historical information on Strasser and Rohdes,courtesy of Glashütte Original:
Ludwig Strasser and Gustav Rohde established their business partnership in Glashütte in 1875. Ludwig Strasser served his watchmaker’s apprenticeship with Sebastian Geist in Würzburg and was already, by way of Moritz Grossmann, resident in Glashütte in 1871.
After a brief period in Leipzig with the tower clock manufacturers Zachariä, he returned one year later to Glashütte. In 1875, Ludwig Strasser and Gustav Rohde jointly founded the company “Strasser & Rohde” in Glashütte.
Strasser & Rohde produced precision pendulum clocks in the most varied designs, including inverse construction (anchor from below on the escape wheel). Their product range also included marine chronometers, precision tools, speedometers, safety clocks for safes, pocket watches, chronoscopes and various timers.
On 1st May 1885, Ludwig Strasser became the director of the German Watchmaking School in Glashütte, where he had already been teaching theory for a number of years.
The last Strasser & Rohde pendulum clock was delivered to an observatory in Greece on 19th June 1959. It was a field clock with a 24-hour dial of the B I type, with lateral weighted guidance, electrical contacts and Riefler-J pendulum.
Glashütte Original pays tribute to this ingenious watchmaking heritage with its limited-edition Strasser & Rohde Regulator.
I know this will not go over well with many readers of this blog, but I think someone’s got to say it – Hublot’s new website is a disappointment.
It really does pain me to say this, because of all the watch brands out there, Hublot is probably in my Top 3 when it comes to Internet-savvy watch brands. Unlike some brands (Rolex, for one) Hublot does not fear the Internet – it embraces it. Team Hublot uses the Internet to their great advantage. They leverage it for all its worth. Facebook page. Twitter. Their own web TV productions. A CEO who is known to drop in on online discussion forums and say hi and maybe even extend the warranty of a few lucky Hublot owners (yes, we love you for this, Jean-Claude Biver). When it comes to a digital media strategy and Internet-savvy, Hublot has been giving lessons that I wish other watch brands were taking notes on.
But now, after several weeks of “teasing” the new site – building the hype – Hublot stumbles out of the gates with this:
The homepage has nothing to offer! What is the message this homepage conveys except emptiness and confusion? It certainly is not inviting. And from here on in the experience is a struggle to maintain. The navigation is poor and hard to follow. The images are out of proportion (too big, mostly). Flash-laden pages load slow. The whole experience is quite unfriendly, really. And the “watches on sticks” concept just does not work for me (I guess they are supposed to be watch hands):
And to think that I now miss the prior Hublot website! It was actually quite good – very engaging, inviting and exciting – right from the homepage! And very press/media friendly, too. I know its not easy, and sure all websites have their shortcomings. But then again, if anyone has the resources to create a phenomenal website, surely it is Hublot! Perhaps Hublot aimed to high. Perhaps my own expectations were too high. Whatever the case, the aim did not hit the target on this one.
According to Hublot CEO Jean-Claude Biver in the site’s inaugural Newsletter, Hublot’s website gets 300,000 to 500,000 visitors per month, with an average visit of 9 minutes. Pretty good engagement! I certainly don’t see the new site helping those numbers, though. But as always in this world…time will tell. Do you see it differently? If so, I’d love to know – leave a comment below, or catch up with us on Twitter or Facebook.
Are pocket watches becoming cool again? Are they making a comeback? Well, probably not, but it is certainly an interesting coincidence to see 2 of the most respected watch brands in the world each release a pocket watch within about a month of each other! You may recall it was just weeks ago that I wrote about Vacheron Constantin’s new pocket watch, the Patrimony Contemporaine (For the Dandy Man: Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporaine Pocket Watch) - this was Vacheron’s first new pocket watch since 1992. And now just today Glashütte Original announced the Pocket Watch No. 1, based on a historical watch by famous Glashütte watchmaker Julius Assmann circa 1905. Julius Assmann followed Ferdinand Adolph Lange in establishing the Glashütte watchmaking tradition, manufacturing precision watches outfitted with elements typical of Glashütte, such as the three-quarter plate and a hand-engraved balance cock – of which both features are (not by coincidence) featured on the GO Original Pocket Watch No. 1. Cased in rose gold and housing a specially made, hand-wound GO Caliber 84-01, the watch includes a quarter-hour repetition complication, which announces the quarter hours and hours acoustically.
While I like the traditional design of the Pocket Watch No. 1, I can’t help but think how starkly it contrasts with the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporaine that is, well, much more contemporary! This holds true even for the type of chain that is used for each. Ultimately, it is of course a matter of personal preference, but if you like this beautiful new piece from Glashütte Original, get on it quick because as you can see in the last picture below, only 25 will be made. As for me, well, I’ll just stick with my very dependable and equally beautiful GO Senator Automatic for now.
For an alternative viewpoint on this one, check out my watch friend RJ’s post HERE (you snuck in right ahead of me on this on RJ 
). Or, you can see it for yourself at BASELWORLD 2010!! Here’s some pics, courtesy of GO:
by Kyle Stults on October 27, 2009
A Watch Made Just For Fun
10/28 Update: Added a few of the more interesting specifications of the watch, and a photo of MB&F and Alain Silberstein’s signatures on the caseback
Today creative genius Maximillian Busser of MB&F (Max Busser and Friends) revealed a new, very limited and very special watch. This new “horological machine” (as MB&F likes to call them) is called the HM2.2 “Black Box” and is a take on the HM2 – as seen through the eyes of French designer Alain Silberstein (himself a creative genius and famous designer/watchmaker). The HM2.2 Black Box is entirely crafted out of Titanium, and there will be only 8 pieces made in total. According to Maximillian Busser, the watch “really is only for the pleasure of working together, and of course to pay homage to 23 years of Alain’s truly amazing creativity.”
While Max Busser’s horological machines are not everyone’s cup of tea, he has a very passionate following, and I am sure this watch horological machine will get a lot of attention from the watch community. For me personally, the more I look at his creations, the more they call to me. These truly are some amazing creations – well done, gentlemen!
Here it is:
Left dial: Retrograde Date and Moon Phase
Right Dial: Jumping Hours and Concentric Retrograde Minutes
Case: Silicium PVD coated titanium; Dimensions (exclusive of crown and lugs): 59mm x 38mm x 13mm; Number of parts: 89 (case only)
Movement: Jean-Marc Wiederrecht/Agenhor designed functionality regulated and powered by a Girard-Perregaux oscillator and gear train; Balance oscillating at 28,800 bph; 22K blued rose gold “Battle-AX” automatic winding rotor; Number of components: 349 including 44 jewels
Presentation box: Precision engineered aluminium and leather instrument case featuring an integrated Rüeger thermometer
The Creators Maximiliian Busser (left) & Alain Silberstein (right)
More info:
by Kyle Stults on October 26, 2009
Prestigous watch manufacture Glashütte Original (“GO”) has been making the rounds these past few months to show off its new Senator Chronometer watch at “exclusive” launch events in various cities around the globe. And with a watch this beautiful and technically interesting, why wouldn’t they? The Senator Navigator was unveiled at Baselworld 2009 and has turned out to be a real hit with watch collectors and enthusiasts. Also, because GO just recently released a good (but not great) video which highlights the various functions of the watch, I thought it would be an opportune time to introduce (or re-introduce) this fine watch to the readers of First In Watches.
Now, being a Glashütte Original owner myself (you can watch my review of my Senator Navigator HERE), I can not say enough good things about the brand and their passion for watchmaking at the highest level. Having toured the manufacture last year, I also admire and appreciate the brand’s enormous sense of pride that their watches are “Made In Germany”. In fact, GO’s home town of Glashütte, Germany is home to several watch brands, but it is Glashütte Original and its neighbor A. Lange & Sohne (literally, the building next door to the GO manufacture) that put this quaint little town – and German watches – on the map.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand – the Glashütte Original Senator Chronometer. If you have not yet seen this watch, take as long as you would like to enjoy it here, and be sure to check out the video which I included below:
A lavish manufacturing process goes into making the dial’s seemingly simple surface. Glashütte Original consciously opted to employ a vintage tradition: a technique known as l’argenture grainée, a frosted silver plating. The first step in the process consists of machine-blasting the surface of the brass dial with a mixture of water, chalk, and wood. Then a paste containing silver powder and water is carefully applied by hand to the blasted surface.
While beauty is of course in the eye of the beholder, I will be good money that even the most glaring eye will find it hard to look away from this watch!
Ok, so the watch looks good, but what can it do? Well, here is the aforementioned video which walks you through each of the watches functions.
(Note to GO: Add some background music next time!)
As you saw in the video, pulling the crown stops the time display and causes the second hand to jump to the beginning position, where it remains; the minute hand moves simultaneously to the next full minute. When the crown is then turned to set the time, the minute hand stops only on the indication of the full minute, thus always guaranteeing the correct relationship between the minutes and seconds displayed. No small feat, and no wonder this watch is proving to be such a big hit!
I’ve been thinking about this for some time now, but I am now officially opening this up for discussion. Since coming on to the scene in the 2005, Hublot’s Big Bang watches have ushered in a new and awesome era of FUSION. Knowing a winner when he sees one, Hublot President Jean-Claude Biver (to his credit) has ridden the Big Bang all the way to the top of the mountain. But I ask you – what direction can one who is at the top of a mountain go except down? I think it is time for Hublot to find a new – and bigger – mountain to climb.
Now don’t get me wrong – I am a HUGE fan of Hublot and Jean-Claude Biver, as you might have guessed from the significant attention they get here on First In Watches. And to be fair, I do think that Hublot Big Bang has and continues to be a very desirous watch right now. But…… I am concerned. I am concerned that Hublot has now effectively become one watch, and one watch only – the Big Bang. Not only that, but I also see that the appeal, the allure, the magic, of the Big Bang is at risk of fizzling due to the number of variations that Hublot continues to introduce. Seemingly every month a new “limited” or “special” edition Big Bang is released, but in reality these are nothing more than Big Bang’s with a new color scheme or with a special logo on the dial.
For example – over the past few years we’ve seen limited editions such as the Valentine’s Day Big Bang, the Bat Bang, the Solo Bang, Big Bang Wally, Big Bang Tuiga, the Smiling Children Big Bang, Big Bang Red Devil I and II, and the Aero Bang Morgan, and even the Bigger Bang! And what about Big Bangs in color schemes such as Big Purple Carat, Orange Carat, Cappuccino, Cappuccino Chocolate, All White, All Black Blue, Black Lemon, Earl Gray, Apple, Black Apple, and Tutti Frutti Hazlenut? If you thought these were Flavors of the Month at Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, I would forgive you.
Hublot Big Bang Cappucino Chocolate
My point here is that it is too much – it is getting tiring – and I think it is starting to dilute the credential of the Big Bang. Audemars Piguet found itself in a similar position several years ago with its Royal Oak Offshore watches – too many variations and one-off special editions – and some watch enthusiasts started to turn away. Thankfully for AP, it was diversified – offering a much broader lineup of watches than just the Royal Oak. Hublot is not in this position.
So, as noted, the Big Bang has proliferated and rightly so as JC Biver has taken a winner and maximized its value. But now I think the question is – What’s Next for Hublot? My sense right now is that at Baselworld 2010 most of the talk emanating from the Hublot stand will be all about Hublot’s first in-house movements (JC Biver has been discussing Hublot’s new Unico Calibers for many many months now, including in my post-Baselworld 2009 interview with him). This will of course be exciting news, but how about taking us beyond the Big Bang altogether, Mr. Biver?
With its iconic watch collections such as the Tank and the Santos, Cartier has long been a brand whose watches tend to appeal to those more interested in high fashion and social status than to the true fans of fine mechanical watches and high watchmaking. However, at the 2009 SIHH Cartier introduced several exciting new models as well as its own in-house movements – all in an attempt to garner greater respect for itself in the world of “haute horlogerie“.
One of my favorites that Cartier introduced was the Cartier Rotonde Central Chronographe. The distinguishing feature of this watch, as its name implies, is its innovative central chronograph function. The clever design elements of this watch are subtle, but if you take a moment to understand them you will likely be impressed.
If you look closely at the dial you can see that the hours and minutes use blued hands which are invisible save for the tips. This is unlike almost any “normal” watch in which the hands extend all the way to the center of the dial. As for the chronograph function, a slim blued seconds hand begins to track the time when the push-piece is pressed, while the large counter in the form of an arc records each of its revolutions up to thirty minutes. The simple genius here being that the hands indicating the time never obscure those of the chronograph!
Perpetuelle.com partner TheTimeTV recently released a video which covers the 2009 Cartier Collection. If you watch the video here you will get a “real world” look at the Cartier Rotonde Central Chronograph watch – among several neat watches that Cartier introduced this year!
I am excited to see what Cartier will offer at the 2010 SIHH (January 2010).
Highly coveted watch (and jewelry) manufacturer Harry Winston just announced an interesting new watch, the Midnight Minute Repeater. The watch has a special aperture (marked with a diamond), through which the repeater mechanism can be viewed by the lucky wearer of this watch. The Midnight Minute Repeater is limited to 40 pieces in white gold and 40 pieces in rose gold (with the option of a black or silver dial. The case is nicely sized at 42mm. The watch comes on a black alligator leather strap with match gold folding clasp.
If you did not know, a “repeater” function consists primarily of a hammer and gong (or multiple hammers and gongs). At specified intervals, the the hammer strikes the gong producing a pleasing chime to alert the wearer. In the case of a “minute repeater”, the interval is one minute. The minute repeater is one of the most complicated and I think interesting complications that a watch can have – the challenge lies not only in the mechanics of the function but also getting the “chime” to emit a pleasing sound.
The Midnight Minute Repeater’s function can be activated on demand by pressing the button located at 8 – there is a distinct chime for the hours and minutes. If you study the closeup image closely, you can see that this watch has 2 cleverly engraved hammers – the one on top is engraved with a “H” and the one on the bottom with a “W”. I’ve highlighted these in the photo below:
As regular readers of First In Watches know, Linde Werdelin is a relatively new but rising star in today’s crowded watch world. You can read the myriad reasons why I think so HERE, but first and foremost it is because they are making some outstanding watches with a look and character unlike anything else there. Now they have gone and done it again – launching two new models to fill out the successful SpidoLite SA series launched earlier this year. The new versions, limited to 88 pieces each, come in either all black titanium DLC coating or rose gold with black DLC details. And wow do to they look GOOD!
Now, you can check out some of the other cool Linde Werdelin watches that have been profiled here on First In Watches HERE (Dive with a Titanium Oktopus), and HERE (Unveiled: LINDE WERDELIN Hard Black DLC II), and be sure to watch my video review of the incredible SpidoLite SA HERE…but first, check out the 2 newest members of the SpidoLite SA collection below. A bit more information about each watch below the photos.
SpidoLite SA All Black
SpidoLite SA Rose Gold
All the SpidoLite Svend Andersen versions come with a skeletonised titanium case and are powered by a “New Old Stock” (or “NOS” in watch parlance) 1970’s automatic movement, modified in the Andersen Genève Atelier. The movement is further accented with a (Andersen Geneve exclusive) ‘Blue gold’ rotor plate bearing the Linde Werdelin and Andersen Geneve logos (shown above) – all viewable throught the sapphire crystal caseback. 300m water resistance. Case is 46mm x 49mm. Multiple strap variations are available.
Hey watch fans – I am back in the saddle after a (very) extended weekend of vacation, only to return to a big brouhaha in the watch world! This one involving venerable watch designer Rodolphe Cattin and Franck Muller group CEO Vartan Sirmakes (among others who are surely entangled) in what appears to be a bitter dispute over myriad things including the future of the Rodolphe brand’s position and priority within the group . Most shocking to myself and others is just how public and personal this one has become!
Rodolphe Instinct Chrono 180 (2006)
What to make of all this? Well, I’ve never been too close to the Franck Muller group and so I’m not exactly sure. Except I can say with a reasonable degree of confidence that it is yet another “sign of the times” as the watch industry is undeniably suffering tremendously in certain corners and this is bringing pressure to bear and causing tempers to flare. I certainly see no need to get in the middle of the big egos who are fighting this one out.
Anyway, this subject has by now been widely covered across the watch blogosphere, in particular appreciated this nice bit of perspective from industry insider Alon Ben-Joseph of Ace Jewlers. Also, just for fun and because it is an interesting and provocative read, I’m reprinting below the statement that was issued just yesterday by Rodolphe Cattin himself:
Press Release from Rodolphe Cattin:
Founder of the Rodolphe Montres & Bijoux watch company and of the Rodolphe & Co design studio – two entities owned by the Franck Muller group – Rodolphe Cattin has decided to quit all his operational activities within the group as of the end of October. He will remain a minority shareholder in both companies.
Rodolphe Cattin made the following comments regarding his decision:
“It is with a mixture of sadness and relief that I am leaving the group with which we became associated four years ago, because I no longer sense that the group has any wish to develop the brand bearing my name. The same is indeed true of all the other ‘small’ brands within the Franck Muller group.
The early days of our cooperation with the Franck Muller certainly did not suggest such an outcome. For the past four years, I have poured all my energy into this magnificent adventure and our tight-knit and motivated team was able to accomplish some excellent development work during the first two years of the partnership, resulting in particular in the Watch of the Year award won in 2006 for the Instinct Chrono model, followed by a second prize in 2008. However, these tokens of recognition did nothing to consolidate the Rodolphe brand’s position within the group. On a more global level, conditions have steadily deteriorated and it is now quite obvious that the group CEO, Mr. Vartan Sirmakes, has chosen to devote his energy and his efforts elsewhere. Despite many discussions on this issue, there are no longer any signs of a will to improve matters. Worse still, the group is currently trying to support its allegations that the “small brands” are responsible for the difficulties encountered by Franck Muller Watchland. It will be up to everyone to draw their own conclusions.
This kind of negative comment is merely the latest episode in a series of disappointments endured over almost two years now. Due to a range of strategy, quality and delivery-related issues, the Rodolophe brand no longer benefits from an environment conducive to its healthy development. Not to mention interpersonal conflicts and broken promises that are detrimental to daily interaction and make it impossible to maintain a trust-based relationship.
In light of these circumstances, I prefer to withdraw and in doing so leave my associates free to make their own choices, non-choices, decisions and non-decisions. I am above all a creative designer with little inclination for corporate politics, plotting and U-turns. And I strongly deplore the attitude and behaviour of some of my closest associates who may well see in my departure a chance to grab the spotlight.
Nonetheless, even at the end of this troubled period, I am extremely satisfied with the concept developed and with the aesthetic work undertaken by the teams that have supported me. The work is done and it is up to our successors to decide whether or not to develop and enhance the achievements to date.
While remaining a minority shareholder in the two Rodolphe Montres & Bijoux and Rodolphe & Co companies, my professional path is parting ways with the Franck Muller group at the end of the month. I maintain my creative soul, my entrepreneurial spirit and am truly relieved to be regaining my freedom”.
