Black titanium case + dive watch credentials…
TAG Heuer is set to introduce a cool new model in its Aquaracer dive watch line – the Aquaracer 500m “All Black”. It is a full-featured dive watch, starting with a lighweight, brushed-finish case made of titanium and coated in black-titanium carbide. The screw-down crown is rubber coated as is the unidirectional bezel. There is also a helium escape to accommodate the 500 meter water resistance rating. The dial and hands also keep with the black theme – the hands are luminescent and the dial also has a verticial-striping effect to it that looks great. There is a date window as well. The case back is “smoked sapphire crystal” which I would guess looks pretty cool. Rounding out the watch is a black rubber strap with a matching titanium clasp. No word yet on price, but I expect this to be a popular watch given its full lineup of dive watch credentials paired with the titanium metal case and the “all black” color theme. Coming September 2010.
TAG Heuer Aquaracer 500m All Black
Ref. WAJ2180.FT6015
May he rest in peace. The watch world will never be the same…
Nicolas G. Hayek
1928 – 2010
Press Release – Biel/Bienne, 28 June 2010 – With deep sadness and regret we inform you that Mr. Nicolas G. Hayek, Chairman and Delegate of the Board of Directors of The Swatch Group Ltd. unexpectedly passed away today due to heart failure during work at his beloved Swatch Group.
Mr. Nicolas G. Hayek’s greatest merit was his enormous contribution to the saving of the Swiss watch industry and the foundation and the commercial development of the Swatch Group. Mr. Nicolas G. Hayek’s extraordinary vision enabled him to realize and ensure the sustainability of a strong watchmaking enterprise with high Swiss added value. He is rightly recognized as a leading entrepreneur in this country.
With the right personnel decisions, Mr. Nicolas G. Hayek also ensured that his ideas and beliefs will live on and that continuity is guaranteed in regard of shareholders, Board of Directors and the Group Management Board.
The 24 limited edition pieces worn by the Rebellion Racing drivers during the Le Mans 24 Hours are to be sold a la “race proven”. The particular model shown below was on the wrist of Andrea Belicchi who was in the #13 car (Belicchi – Boullion – Smith). Unfortunately, this team crashed out of the race just after the 9 hour and 18 minutes mark. But the watch seems to have made it through just fine!
Features of this watch include a dial and bezel in black carbon fibre, 24 hour counter in red and special extendable racing clasp that can be adjusted to wear over racing suit. If you are interested in more details, be sure to click-through to my previous post on this watch for more pics and info.
Team Rebellion competes in the LMP1 Category, which means: mean and lean race cars!
This is only the tip of the Helmut Newton iceberg…
“My job as a portrait photographer is to seduce, amuse and entertain.”
Helmut Newton
If you are not familiar with the late Helmut Newton, just Google him and you can enjoy and admire his work in all its splendor.
But to the topic “at hand” (please pardon the pun), would you like to test your artistic eye for horological gain? All you have to do is reinterpret a Helmut Newton photo in your own way. More or less, the sky is the limit, and Paul Picot and his “jury” are your judges.
The Prize ($6,000+)
***CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL CONTEST DETAILS AND HOW TO ENTER***
About Helmut Newton
Even during his lifetime (1920-2004), Helmut Newton was already one of the most influential photographers of all time. He is well known for fashion photos and nudes illustrating themes of mass media, glamour, sex, and theater. His unique and personal style is a blend of soft sensuality and strong contrasts which enlighten the human body.
Born in Berlin, Helmut Newton arrived in Australia in 1940 and married June Brunell (who herself became a photographer under the name of Alice Springs). In the mid-1940′s, he began working as a freelance photographer, contributing to such publications as Jardin des Modes, Elle, Queen, Playboy, Nova, Marie-Claire, Vogue (New York and Paris), and Stern.
He first achieved international fame in the 1970′s while working principally for French Vogue, and his celebrity and influence grew over the decades. Newton preferred to shoot in streets or interiors, rather than in studios. Controversial scenarios, bold lighting, and striking compositions came to form his signature look.
Newton’s Numerous Awards:
- Best Photography Award from the Art Director’s Club in Tokyo -1976;
- American Institute of Graphic Arts Award – 1977 & 1980;
- Gold Medal from the Art Director’s Club in Germany – 1978 & 1979;
- Grand Prix National for photography – 1990;
- In 1992, the German government awarded him Das Grosse Verdienstkreuz for services to German culture, and he was appointed Officier des Arts, Lettres et Sciences by S.A.S. Princess Caroline of Monaco.
- In 1996, he was appointed Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by Philippe Douste-Blazy, the French Minister of Culture at the time.
Working and living in close companionship with his wife until his death at the age of 84 in a tragic car accident in Los Angeles (USA), his images remain as distinctive, seductive and original as ever. His artwork is often displayed regularly at major museums worldwide. The most prominent of his exhibitions is currently in the Museum for Photography in Berlin/Germany. When the museum was inaugurated in 2004, 250 of Helmut Newton best pieces went on permanent display and can still be seen today (Helmut Newton Stiftung / Museum für Fotografie / Berlin).
Black and white with PVD accents…
These are the new Corum Admiral’s Cup Split Seconds watches. The monochromatic styling (enhanced by some PVD finishing on the case) with just a touch of red via the split-seconds and small seconds hands has these watches looking good. The watches are 44mm in diameter and part of the case is PVD-treated. Both models have black vulcanized rubber crown guards, too. Movement is Corum’s CO986 and is a COSC certified chronometer (ie very accurate). Water resistant to 100 meters.
Corum Admiral’s Cup Split Seconds 44
Black dial version – limited to 155 pieces
White dial version – limited to 55 pieces
I really like the sub-dial counters on these watches — easy to read and with hints of the nautical theme. 155 black-dials and 55 white-dials will be produced. Price is unknown, but I would guess it to be between $5,000-$7,000.
More broadly, I must say that Corum is really on a roll lately. They have introduced several beautifully designed watches since Baselworld and I am really starting to view the brand in a new light. For example check out the Corum Deep Hull 48 and the Corum Grand Prix Chronograph 48. I never really (and still don’t) like the multi-colored nautical flags that are often used to decorate the dials. However, some of their new, more muted color schemes (with fewer overall color in any one particular design) and case shapes have much greater appeal to me.
Two thumbs up to Corum!
-
-
55 Pieces for 55 Years…
TAG Heuer is set to manufacture a limited edition watch for the Porsche Club of America (PCA), the largest single-brand car club in the world (100,000+ members). The watch keeps the essential elements of the TAG Heuer Monaco watch, but with a sporty, special dial designed in red and black rally stripes and the racing number “55″, a nod to Porsche Club of America’s years since — and year of — its founding (1955). As you can also see, the watch comes on a black leather strap with racing holes and red stitching that is exclusive to this model:
The backstory on this watch is that Vu T.H. Nguyen, executive director of the Porsche Club of America, and Georg Bartkowiak, member of the Porsche Club of Germany, decided to create a limited collector’s watch for the PCA. Of course it only made sense to tap Bartkowiak for the prestigious project — readers of this blog will likely recognize Bartkowiak as CEO of high-end luxury watch brand GRIEB & BENZINGER (check out his handiwork here!).
The official limited edition TAG Heuer Monaco manufactured for the Porsche Club of America is available for order now, with delivery set for September. The official retail price at launch is $5,500. When you compare this to the nice-but-not-that-nice TAG Heuer Silverstone re-issue which was priced at $6,500, I’d have to say this is an absolute steal!
Get your order in today at www.PCA-TAG.com!
-
Did You Know?
It is no coincidence that the PCA has chosen TAG Heuer as its partner for the limited edition watch, which is based on famous racing heritage. In preparing to shoot Le Mans, US actor Steve McQueen’s main source of inspiration was his friend Jo Siffert, the Swiss racecar legend who in 1969 became the first driver ever sponsored by a watch brand: Heuer (TAG, standing for Techniques d’Avantgarde, was added in 1985 as the result of a takeover). McQueen insisted on wearing Heuer’s Monaco in the film, which had just been launched. Perhaps it was McQueen’s influence, or perhaps it was Porsche driver Siffert’s, but the Monaco seemed to become the preferred chronograph of the racing and fashion worlds in the 1970s. This watch, whose unique and uncompromising geometry helped achieve its almost legendary status, is one of the most recognizable timepieces in the world.
This is the new Milus Zetios Regulator watch. I’ve written about classical and beautiful (Glashutte Original), exotic (Franc Vila), very unconventional (Rebellion) and perhaps misunderstood (Alpina) regulator watches in recent years and I would say this Milus tends to fall into the “classical and beautiful” category. It has a look of simple sophistication with very nice color tones. The “cherry on top” of this watch would have to be its guilloche engraved dial (look closely and you can see the textured dial). Price for the red gold model is about $5,000 and the the steel version would cost slightly less than this.
If you are wondering what exactly a “regulator” watch is, read the “Did You Know” section below. But first some pics!
Milus Zetios Regulator
42mm case (18K red gold or stainless steel), flattened outer bezel
hours on top, seconds on bottom, minutes on the main central hand
Did You Know?
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.
(Thanks to Glashutte Original for this description)
For the “Kobe Bryant” of Polo…
This is a very nice looking and very limited (45 pieces) edition Piaget Polo FortyFive watch. It was created in tribute to Piaget’s ambassador to the world of polo, superstar sportsman Marcos Heguy. Heguy is a legendary polo player from Argentina, one of the world’s powerhouses of the sport. The watch was officially unveiled at the USPA Piaget Gold Cup tournament which was held in Florida in April 2010. It is now available for purchase — I don’t know the price but I would expect $25,000 at a minimum. More about the watch’s “Handicap 10″ marking on the dials — and Marcos Heguy — below.
Piaget Polo FortyFive Marcos Heguy Limited Edition (Ref. GOA34620)
Titanium case, brushed bezel with polished steel accents, screw-down crown in rubber and titanium, Piaget caliber 880P automatic movement (double barrel), steel triple-folding clasp on rubber strap (with steel inserts)
Blue counters on a black dial incorporating the words “10 Handicap”
The “Marcos Heguy” signed sapphire crystal case-back is not pictured.
Did You Know?
Marcos Heguy is captain of the Pilará Piaget team in Argentina’s famous Triple Crown series. Heguy was first awarded his 10-goal handicap rating in 1987. A “10″ handicap is as good as one can earn — it basically means you are the “best of the best” in the sport of polo. The Federation of International Polo website currently lists just 25 players with a perfect “10″ rating. Thus the “Handicap 10″ marking on the dial of the Piaget Polo FortyFive Marcos Heguy Limited Edition!
Coming soon…
***UPDATE*** See our full coverage of the MB&F Thunderbolt in photo and video — CLICK HERE***
Until we get the full scoop from Maximillian Busser (in early July, he tells me), here’s a little teaser from the man himself:
MB&F Horological Machine No 4 Thunderbolt
“…our most radical creation to date…”!
And here’s the “engine” as previewed at Baselworld 2010
Computer Geeks Ninjas Only…
Editor’s Update: Thanks to a quick note from on of the guys at BALL North America, I’ve got a few more details on how this contest came about. Read on!
BALL Watch has teamed up with Microsoft to present the BALL Watch Silverlight Contest! Uh, OK. This is kind of a weird contest, but on the plus side, if you are a computer programmer — in the U.S. — who likes BALL watches, you can consider this a fantastic shot at winning a BALL watch!
Novices do not be deterred — just for “giving it the old college try” and submitting an entry, you will get a 20% off coupon for all BALL watches at authorized US retailers. All you have to do is figure out how to work the damn software and make it do something that BALL likes (“Build a Silverlight 4 application using Microsoft Expression Blend 4 that accurately represents the visual and technical functionality of the watch”). If only I had these skills!
How this contest came about:
The product evangelist for MS Silverlight loves BALL watches. He decided it would be awesome to model a BALL watch using this new software technology. Apparently it was much more difficult than he expected! So he came up with this idea as a way to get Silverlight designers excited about becoming more familiar with these tools.
We get to use and freely distribute all the final designs, so pretty much the top 21 selling BALL watches will be available to place on web sites or install on desktops by the end of August. Obviously, we expect to bring knowledge of our product to thousands of people.
Click here for more details on how to enter.
Other prizes include:
- First Prize: Fireman II Watch (retail value $999)
- Honorable Mention: 20 Ball Watch Logo merchandise packages (retail value $119)
- All Entrants: All valid entrants will receive a coupon for 20% off Ball watches at authorized US retailers
