- Wrist Shot Rewind
- Hublot F1 King Power Announced at 2010 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix
- Richard Mille for Rafael Nadal (RM027)
- Richard Mille Nadal RM27 Watch in Action
- The Rolex Deep Sea Special - An Exclusive Report
- SIHH 2010 Panerai Composite Marina Militare PAM 339
- Spotted: Nicolas Sarkozy Wearing Girard-Perregaux
- Dealing with Dictators - Wear Your Finest Panerai?
- Hublot "Liberty" Bullets, by the Confrérie Horlogère
- OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean "Liquidmetal" - A Ceramic-bezel Planet Ocean is here
- Baselworld 2010 Rolex Explorer 214270
- MB&F Frog
Archive for February, 2010
by Kyle on February 25, 2010
Perpetuelle’s Authorized Dealer Interview Series Begins…
Perpetuelle.com Moderator James Bond recently had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Jonathan Dorfman of Dorfman Jewelers, an elite watch and jewelery dealer located on the very prestigious “Newbury Street” in Boston, MA. So why should you care to read this interview? Well…
In keeping with the Dorfman philosophy of not wanting to be all things to all people and aiming for only the best, you will find just 2 prestigious brands of watches in the company’s Newbury Street store. Which ones, you ask? Well, I’ll let you discover this for yourself. On the jewlery side, Dorfman only carries one brand – Van Cleef & Arpels. In fact they have an official Van Cleef & Arpel salon in-store and as part of this they do sell the Van Cleef & Arpel watch line as well.
What struck me most about the interview, though, are the humble roots from which Dorfman was built. Today, Jonathan and his brother Douglas Dorfman proudly lead a family-owned business that grew from their grandfather’s humble beginnings during the Great Depression through their parent’s prescient move to 24 Newbury Street in the 1970s. Quite the American success story if you ask me!
24 Newbury Street, Boston, MA
On another note, James and I would love to be able to turn this into a series (or mini-series) of interviews with various leading Authorized Dealers of fine luxury watches. If you are interested in speaking with us, please drop me a line at kyle[at]perpetuelle.com.
by Kyle on February 25, 2010
Special forces watch -49mm titanium case, antimagnetic, “gun metal grey” PVD, 1,000m water resistant…
Tribute to the Italian 9th Reggimento d’Assalto Paracadutisti (9th Parachutist Assault Regiment)
This is the new “Col Moschin” Limited Edition watch from Oris. In a testament to its worthiness, Oris had it field tested by the Col Moschin – perhaps the most elite unit of the Italian Army. “Field tested” is perhaps an understatement given that the Col Moschin special forces wore the watch on jumps from 9,000 meters and on dives down to 40 meters, among other rugged uses. Most striking about this watch is its size – the 49mm case is massive just like it looks. But because the case is titanium, and it comes on a rubber strap, it is probably much lighter than you might think. Also adding to its manly appeal is its thick, brush-finish bezel that looks very tough. Lest you forget what country’s elite special forces this watch is inspired by, the power reserve is done in the Italian colors of red, white and green. You may recall that Oris introduced a similar, actually slightly larger (51mm case), watch last year – the Oris ProDiver Chronograph (link here, scroll down about halfway), however I like this watch much better – it seems like a perfect Special Forces watch. But I think it could do without all the etched text on the side of the case (close up below).
Oris Col Moschin
Limited edition of 2,000
The 9th Parachutist Assault Regiment Seal
by Kyle on February 23, 2010
Watch Haute Couture – Tailor Made “Roller Guardian Time”…
The watch you see here is the “RGT Punk Rock” by Ladoire Genève. It was first shown at the 2010 Geneva Time Exhibition and will be on display at Baselworld 2010. Many of you will not “get” this watch. And I don’t mean “get” as in purchase (although you won’t do this either), but as in understand or appreciate the watch. This because it is unconventional in almost every way – from the case shape (“lazy lucky horseshoe” as I like to call it) to the crown location (8 o’clock) to the way it keeps time (“RGT” – more on this below) to the funky looking strap and more – this watch defies tradition. Hey, I’m with you – I can’t say that I fully understand or appreciate the watch either, but maybe one day when I get my hands on one I will see the light. The watch is part of an ultra-exclusive offering – only 3 will be made. And 2 are already spoken for. And each one is about $150,000. So even if you do “get it”, you still probably can’t get it. Get it? Check it:
Hand-skeletonized dial, titanium case
Ladoire Genève is a new-to-the-scene (2007) elite watch brand that seems to take pride in the fact that it does not operate within the traditional paradigm of watchmaking. For example some of the features of the watch I cited above are all very unconventional. Also, Ladoire focuses on ultra-exclusive production and custom-made pieces utilizing its “RGT” time system. RGT stands for “Roller Guardian Time” – the way it works is that the indication of hours, minutes, seconds are all made by revolving discs mounted on ceramic ball bearings. I think this is one of those things you have to see in person to fully appreciate.
That the brand’s founder and namesake Lionel Ladoire does not adhere to the “traditional” in any aspect of his watches is very clear even on the Company’s website. Ladoire’s vision is to “create a new dynamic in the watch industry: the Haute Couture Watch Dynamic.” Yea, that’s pretty cool if you ask me, and I have no problem referring his watches as “haute couture” – they seem to fit that bill quite nicely. So if its “watchmaking haute couture” that suits your fancy and you’ve got the cash to back it up, you may want to put a Ladoire on your short list.
by Kyle on February 23, 2010
A couple weeks ago I showed you the new Hermès Clipper Chronograph Titanium watch that will be released in 2010. Hermès will also be producing a 36mm Clipper Chronograph ladies version. While many watch enthusiasts do not like Hermès watches due to its relatively high prices (you pay a premium for anything that says “Hermès” on it) and its primary recognition as a high fashion brand, I must say that I personally am a bit of a fan, although the watches are certainly not top of my wish list. It is one fashion brand that actually makes some good looking watches (unlike say, the gaudy-awful looking watches I see from the likes of Salvatore Ferragamo or Gucci).
Unlike the mechanical automatic movement in the Clipper Chronograph Titanium, this ladies model has a quartz movement, but I’d guess that will be fine for most ladies who are not major watch enthusiasts because this watch is all about its exterior looks. The bezel is accented with “rare white” or “rare white plus” diamonds and the dial is silvered mother-of-pearl. Set on a white rubber strap (orange strap available on the non-gem set version), this watch would make a great companion for a dip off of your yacht and into the beautiful blue waters off the coast of Sardinia (or so one of my Italian friends tells me).
by Kyle on February 22, 2010
One showing away from a record-setting 4 medals…
U.S. Alpine Skier Bode Miller won the men’s super-combined title for his first gold and third podium finish in as many races this past Sunday at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Miller is one podium away from becoming the first male skier to win four medals in a single Olympic Games, and with the slalom and giant slalom yet to come – 2 events in which Miller has a good track record in – his prospects are looking good right now.
The 32-year-old Miller has been an official brand ambassador for Hublot since February 2009. In late 2009 Hublot announced the limited edition “Bode Bang” watch to commemorate the partnership between the athlete and the famous Swiss watch brand.
Congratulations to Jean-Claude Biver and everyone at Hublot!
by Kyle on February 22, 2010
Ladies Speedmaster Gets Sized Up
At Baselworld 2010 Omega will show off the new Speedmaster Ladies watch. In contrast to the current ladies Speedmaster which has a 35.5mm diameter case, this one is sized up to 38mm. Personally I love the look of a slightly larger watch on a ladies wrist and this watch should be just perfect for that. Not to big, not too small – very attractive! The two-tone case is primarily stainless steel, “dressed up” with an 18-carat pink gold, diamond-set bezel (54 diamonds!). The watch comes on a matching grey alligator strap. All in, a good looking watch.
OMEGA Speedmaster Ladies
If this one does not jump out at you, you may want to check out these other recently introduced Omega ladies watches which I find to be equally attractive in their own way: The Omega Planet Ocean Ladies (chronograph, “dive” style watch) or the Omega De Ville Co-Axial Chronometer for Ladies (with blue dial with white mother-of-pearl sub-dials and diamond bezel).
Did You Know?
The legendary chronograph has a long list of adventures to its credit, including every one of NASA’s piloted missions since May of 1963. When Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface in 1969 wearing his OMEGA Speedmaster Professional, the watch achieved true iconic status.
Ladies (or Gentlemen) what do you think?
by Kyle on February 22, 2010
Word travels fast on the ‘Net
Another topic that has been on my mind for awhile and now seems timely for discussion – the embargo. While I am not declaring my own “Death to the Embargo” like TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington did about a year ago (and he’s not the only one, I might add: see CrunchGear here, The Wall Street Journal here with similar ideas), I’m implementing an embargo policy here at First In Watches, effective immediately.
The Problem. The problem here is that some brands (and some of their “preferred” sources) are not very careful in how they distribute embargoed information – and the fallout from embargo-related “mishaps” is quite annoying. The good thing is that based on my experience this is a very small problem for the luxury watch industry – but it is a problem nonetheless, and one that is growing as the industry increasingly embraces the Internet and online media.
If You (Watch Brand) send around embargoed information to your preferred media contacts, you better be darn sure that your recipients are going to respect the embargo and/or be careful with your information, because if you know anything about the increasingly real-time nature of the Internet, you know that information travels fast online – and reigning in a broken embargo is like trying to coax a cat out of a tree with the dog who treed it at your side – the kitty don’t come back easily, if you know what I’m saying. If not, let me put it this way: Twitter, Blogs, Forums, Facebook. You catch my drift here? Online media ain’t print media, and you need to get this figured out and fast because I’m about done making efforts to hold back embargoed information when it has already been leaked by others. The practice of trying to contact every website which posted embargoed information and ask for a redaction is not sustainable.
This prompts me to make another point – I have never knowingly or intentionally broken an embargo on this blog, nor do I intend to start. I have and will continue respect your brand’s wishes if you are kind enough to provide me with embargoed information. But if you see a new watch on this blog that you think/know is embargoed, rest assured that I did not get the information as such and as far as I am concerned this is your problem not mine. Which leads to my last and final point…
Our New Embargo Policy
As I stated above, at this time I am not going to declare my own “Death to the Embargo” a la Michael Arrington , however I am going to work by this embargo policy until further notice: All embargoed information provided directly to me will continue to be respected as long as the embargo is not broken elsewhere. All other information and images posted here on this blog will stay on this blog unless a representative of the brand whose name is on the watch/information in question contacts me and we agree otherwise.
If I hear a convincing argument for a better policy, I’ll be glad to consider making a change.
by Kyle on February 20, 2010
Finally got some good high res pics of the first watch from the “new” TechnoMarine. What can I say I am intrigued. I recommend a good assessment of this new watch by a man who knows dive watches – check it out over at OceanicTime. Cheers Lex!
Did You Know?
TechnoMarine was founded by entrepreneur Franck Dubarry in 1997 in the French resort, St. Tropez. In 1999, TechnoMarine became the first brand to put a diamond bezel on a diving chronograph and, later, was the first to introduce colored ceramic watches.
by Kyle on February 19, 2010
El Primero coming on strong in 2010, 1/10th second at a time…
Zenith is not a watch I cover much on this blog mostly because I find their watches in recent years to be much less than impressive. Seems this is changing a bit with new Zenith CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour, on board since mid-2009. I dare say that he may have a winner on his hands with this new Zenith El Primero Foudroyante 1/10th Chronograph. I think that this watch just goes to show that if you stick with what you know and do best, well, good things will happen:
The movement of this watch has been designated the “El Primero 4052 B automatic calibre” and it has what is known as a “foudroyante” function, in this case a 1/10th second. If you are not familiar with the term, “foudroyante” is also known as a “Jumping Seconds” function and on this watch it works like this: the foudroyante hand (the primary/red hand on this watch) makes a complete rotation in just 10 seconds as opposed to 60 with a normal seconds hand. This explains why on the outer edge of the dial you see 10 seconds instead of 60 which enables readings to within 1/10th of second. The watch consists of a 42mm diameter case and will be available in rose gold or stainless steel. Water-resistant to 100 meters, and sapphire crystal on top and bottom.
As an aside, if you want some good watch history, you should read up on the El Primero movement – it is legendary! First introduced on January 10, 1969….been in many popular/famous watches ever since!
by Kyle on February 19, 2010
Retractable vertical crown…
