WHOA!

* UPDATE:  New details, photos of this watch — HERE *

FIRST LOOK — Check out the new Hublot King Power 4000m Diver!  After just lamenting over Hublot’s mostly lackluster 2011 releases, I get this — a titanium King Power with a whopping 4,000 meter water resistance.  Yes, it is huge — 48mm.  Yes, it is a bit garish.  But I LIKE the direction that Hublot is headed with this i.e. big and bad dive watches!  As for specs, well stay tuned for the full details I’ve basically told you what you need to know — but at a glance and most notably you can see that the Hublot King Power 4000m Diver is fitted with an inner rotating bezel that is adjusted via the crown on the upper right side of the case, itself which is fitted with a (massive) crown lock system (close-up shown below).  I knew you wouldn’t leave me feeling uninpsired for long, Jean-Claude Biver!

Hublot King Power Diver 4000m Titanium

Limited Edition 500

48 mm titanium case, 4000 meter water resistance, automatic mechanical, green-accented rubber strap with titanium clasp

crown-lock system for the inner rotating bezel:

and another look at the King Power 4000m diver

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Baselworld 2011 – Corum unveils the latest in its popular Ti-Bridge series (a modern reinterpretation of Corum’s famous Golden Bridge watches), the Ti Bridge Power Reserve (and that’s “Ti” as in “titanium”, by the way).  While the actual power reserve is not spectacular by any means (a mere 3 days), the linear Power Reserve display — aligned on the right edge of the dial as seen below — is a Corum “first” for this particular model and reflects a thoughtful design approach.  The Corum Ti Bridge will be produced in a limited, numbered edition of 700.

Corum Ti Bridge Power Reserve

52.5 x 42.5mm titanium case, manual wind Caliber CO107 with 3-day power reserve and linear power reserve display, black vulcanized rubber strap with titanium folding clasp

close-up of the dial

Amidst all the buzz coming out of Baselworld 2011 last week (the new Rolex Explorer II, the Omega Titanium Liquidmetal, and many other exciting watches), it recently occurred to me I was yet to be excited about something new from Hublot, one of my favorite brands.  What?!  Nothing new from Hublot “rising to the top”?  Sad to say that was the case for me this year.  However, now that I see this new Hublot Classic Fusion Chronograph, I think Hublot has something I can get excited about.  Hublot tells me that this is the first time that it has presented one of its “Classic Fusion” watches with a chronograph movement, which I applaud.  While the the movement does not appear to be anything special, I like the direction that Hublot is taking to revive and refresh its “Classic” lineup.

Hublot Classic Fusion Chronograph

521.OX.1180.RX (King Gold) or 521.OX.1170.RX (titanium)

45mm titanium or King Gold case, automatic mechanical chronograph movement, black rubber strap

It is available in titanium and 18K King Gold, a gold allooy which is the result of a precious alloy developed by Hublot — the intense gold color is obtained by adding 5% platinum to the mass of melting gold, giving it a visual impact which is reinforced by the contrast with the black coating of the other components.

Finally, something which I feel is a new and positive look for the brand outside and with more mainstream potential (forget the $3 million Big Bang, Big Bang “Leopard” crap, Big Bang Caviar crap Hublot also unveiled this year)!

Baselworld 2011 – One of my favorite brands, Glashütte Original (pronounced: glass-shoo-ta) released a very nice and legible Perpetual Calendar in its flagship Senator collection.  The reference 100-02-25-05-04 (or -05, depending on choice of strap) features a red gold case which pairs nicely against the black-dial with white Arabic numerals.   The moon phase disc also fits onto the dial nicely and is adorned with silver stars and a radiant silver moon.   A discreet leap year display presents a red dot to indicate a leap year, followed by white, black and yellow dots for successive years.

I’d be curious to hear any thoughts on the look of this watch on the black rubber strap, as pictured below.

Glashütte Original Senator Perpetual Calendar

42mm rose gold case

The heart of the Senator Perpetual Calendar, easily visible through the sapphire glass mounted in the case back, is the Glashütte Original Caliber 100-02.  The Cal 100-02 has signature Glashütte touches such as the three-quarter plate with Glashütte ribbing, the skeletonized rotor with 21-ct gold oscillation weight, twin spring barrels and swan-neck fine adjustment.

Glashütte Original is also quick to point out that this particular model is equipped with a reset mechanism which allows for easy synchronization of the second hand with a time standard — unlike other reset mechanisms, the second hand is connected neither to the winding stem nor the crown.  As a result, when the crown is pulled out, the balance remains in oscillation and the movement continues to run, significantly reducing material stress. Pressing a separate button on the side of the case at 8 o’clock activates the reset mechanism.

Rolex 216570. Rolex 216570. Rolex 216570….

Just a quick post to set the record straight — and correct my dopey self — the new orange hand Rolex Explorer II is Ref 216570, not Ref 216670 as I erroneously stated in a couple of my earlier posts (since updated).  One note to add – as of this time, the Rolex 216570 price has not been set but it will be based off the Swiss MSRP of $7400 — so you have a ballpark range to start saving for!

• Rolex 216570 Orange Hand Explorer II,
• Rolex 216570 Live Pics,
• 2011 Rolex Collection,
• New Rolex Explorer II Orange Hand

As an aside, if the Rolex Ref 216670 becomes mysterious and/or famous, you’ll know it was me

Baselworld 2011 – The new Chopard Mille Miglia GT Chrono Rosso Corsa features a vivid red-varnished dial with silver-toned counters.  The oversized 6 and 12 o’clock numerals transferred beneath the sapphire crystal are signature to the Mille Miglia collection.   Its aerodynamic titanium pushers, along with the tachometric scale engraved on the bezel, further reinforce its sporting nature.   Note too, the “cyclops date” window, which I do not recall on a Chopard Mille Miglia before.  The Chopard Mille Miglia GT XL Chrono Rosso Corsa is produced in a limited series of just 1,000 watches.

Chopard Mille Miglia GT XL Chrono Rosso Corsa

44 mm polished titanium case, automatic mechanical movement (COSC-certified)

Did You Know?

This extremely sporting and sophisticated watch is inspired by the legendary Mille Miglia car rally, with its Brescia-Rome-Brescia route that annually attracts the cream of classic racing cars, and which has been partnered by Chopard since 1988. The origin of “racing colours” dates back to the Gordon Bennett Cup, the famous car race that involved competing national teams from 1900 onwards. This sparked the emergence of “Vintage Blue” for France and “Rosso Corsa” for Italy, followed by “British Racing Green”, “Speed Yellow” for Belgium and “Silver Racing” for Germany.

Baselworld 2011 continues!

Bell & Ross is a brand with amazing clarity of purpose.  It knows what kind of watches it wants to make (Military-inspired “instrument watches”), and it makes them with unwavering comittment to this concept.  Much to its credit, the brand very clearly works very hard to ensure strong consistency across the Bell & Ross product line.  I believe that this approach is a good one, as it clearly defines the brand in the eyes of the consumer.  When you go for a Bell & Ross, you know exactly what you are getting.  This year, the brand has unveiled a couple new watches that I think most watch enthusiasts will appreciate.  The WW1 Watch and the PW1 Pocket Watch are, in essence, one in the same.  The WW1, or “Wrist Watch 1″, is basically the forward evolution of the PW1, or “Pocket Watch 1″.  Bell & Ross President Carlos Rosillo very adeptly explains all of this in the short video below — I hope you will take 3 minutes to watch it because it really highlights the “story behind” the new Bell & Ross PW1 and WW1 watches for 2011.  Enjoy!

Bell & Ross WW1 Watch and PW1 Pocketwatch, as explained by B&R President Carlos Rosillo

2011 Bell & Ross WW1 Watch and PW1 Pocketwatch

Denis Giguet’s Exploding dial…

The Harry Winston Opus Eleven, one of the most exciting (and exclusive) pieces to come out of Baselworld 2011.  Haven’t seen it yet?  Check my original coverage here.  And now, Hodinkee.com brings us up close and personal with Denis Giguet’s self-described “exploding dial” masterpiece:

Harry Winston Opus Eleven Video (Hodinkee)

SUPERB

Blancpain has unveiled some superb looking dress watches this year in Basel.  Unlike the brand’s awful-ugly-dial L-Evolution watches, the dial work on this new Villeret “Demi-Fuseau 8 Jours” is quite nice, though there is one little thing bothering me about it as I note below.  A “demi-fuseau” or “half timezone” complication serves to adjust the second timezone on the watch in 30-minute increments and thus to ensure relaxed travel to countries with half-hour time differences.  The watch displays the reference time at 12 o’clock, the half-hour timezone is in the center, the day/night indication for the reference time at 9 o’clock, date window at 6 o’clock, and the date change or timezone indication at 4 o’clock.  My one critique is the largely cut-off “XII” at 12 o’clock….it looks bad and in fat could be a deal killer for a persnickety buyer.

Blancpain Villeret Demi-Fuseau 8 Days

42mm white or red gold case, Manufacture Blancpain automatic Caliber 5235DF with guilloché-worked oscillating weight

domed grand feu enamelled white dial with  painted hour-markers.

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Baselworld 2011 – Looking beyond all the hype of TAG Heuer’s awesome new Mikrotimer Flying 1000 concept watch, TAG Heuer has also unveiled several new production models worthy of a closer look.  My favorite of the new TAG Heuer Carrera Heritage line is the a cleanly dialed watch you see below which sports bold blue dial numerals and a nice looking blue alligator strap.   There are several variations, also shown below, courtesy of TAG enthusiast blog Calibre 11 which has a very thorough overview of these solid new offerings from TAG Heuer if you are interested in more of the backstory.

TAG Heuer Carrera Heritage Caliber 6

39mm stainless steel case, silver dial with blue numbers and hands, automatic mechanical Caliber 6 movement (ETA 2895-1 base) on stainless steel bracelet or luxurious blue alligator strap

Photo:  Calibre 11.  Shown on the metal bracelet

2011 TAG Heuer Carrera Heritage Automatic Collection

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