Rally time…

This is a cool new watch from Edox, specifically it is part of the brand’s WRC (World Rally Championship) Chronorally collection.  While the also WRC-inspired Edox Chronorally (Ref 36001 3 NIN) watch has a slight edge in my book due to its the cool “rally racing” dial layout, I would be pretty happy wearing this watch because it has a better movement (automatic mechanical rather than quartz) and arguably better looking color scheme.  Though at 45mm + oversized pushers, it may be a bit too much metal for my wrist.  Ah well.  Price is $3,100.

Edox WRC Rally Chronograph Automatic Watch (Ref 01110 3 NIN)

45mm stainless steel case (17.25mm thick), automatic mechanical movement, rubber strap

Another sponsorship coup for JC Biver?

Hey — is that Marcos Heguy (called out below) accepting a Hublot watch?!?!  Or is it just TEAM BANQUE BARING BROTHERS STURDZA SA graciously accepting a prize for winning the 2010 Hublot Polo Gold Cup Gstaad — a Hublot Big Bang Polo De Paris.  I saw this pic and I had to laugh and say “what Piaget will have to say about this?”  After all, they did make a Heguy, one of the very best polo players in the world, his very own Polo FortyFive!  LOL!

I say this all lightheartedly — I don’t think Piaget has anything to worry about….or do they?

click here for more official event photos

Don’t Miss the Joke of the day…

It took Omega this long to come up with this?  Yes, another boring “me-too” watch app for the iPhone.  Breitling Panerai, IWC, Bell & Ross, etc. etc.  are no better and their iPhone apps are BORING as well.  Which brings me to the…

Joke of the Day

Q:  What is a Swiss luxury watch brand’s idea of e-commerce?

A:  Having a “Find Nearest Authorized Dealer” function in its iPhone App.

“…I am spotting for rare, unique and beautiful watches….”

If you are a die-hard watch fan, then you know all about “watch spotting”.  I am yet to hang out with a watch guy who does not also confess to checking out the wrists of his fellow co-workers or countrymen in the office, on the sidewalk, at the stoplight, etc. etc.  Often watch spotting is done discreetly — but not always, as you will see in a moment.  It is likewise fun finding oneself on the receiving end of a watch spotting (i.e. you are asked “Hey, what’s that on your wrist?”).

This leads me to my focus today, which is an exceptional collection of wrist shot photos taken by a gent who was recently vacationing in the Cote d’Azur (aka the French Riviera aka Nice/Cannes/Monaco/etc.).  Cote d’Azur truly is a “lifestyles of the rich and famous” scene — from the huge yachts to the Ferraris and Lambos right down to the Audemars Piguet and Patek’s on the wrists, it’s pretty much full of people with off-the-charts wealth.

The fellow who runs “How’s Hamp” (cool blog, btw) did an excellent job of photographing and documenting his watch spottings for people to enjoy.   His album mostly includes “Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille and Patek Philippe watches but a few Rolex and Panerai’s are featured too.”   I have no doubt that you will enjoy the photos.  Click through here to see “How’s Hamp:  Watch Spotting in Cote d’Azur.”

Also while we are on the topic, I want to also quickly mention that the enjoyment of seeing “who’s wearing what” is what led me to create “Wrist Shot”- the first Facebook App for watch owners, collectors & enthusiasts.  The app was launched earlier this summer but is still in development phase (we are working on the enhanced version now).  You can read more about Wrist Shot HERE or check it out on Facebook HERE.

Finally, let me give a special thanks to the man himself (Hampus) for the head’s up — now go check out his “Watch Spotting in Cote d’Azur!!!

The Allure and Intrigue of Amorphous Metals…

Let’s take a closer look at Liquidmetal Technologies (“Liquidmetal”), a company that has been getting a lot of attention this week, most recently by our friends over @Hodinkee.  You may think this is somewhat off topic but I promise you that if you read on you will see that I have quite nicely tied this story into the world of luxury watches

Liquidmetal Technologies is the only bulk producer of what are known as “amorphous alloys” i.e. liquidmetal.  Readers of this blog will recognize “liquidmetal” for its use in the special edition Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Liquidmetal, the watch which this blog was the first to discover and report on back in October 2, 2009.  I later reviewed the watch on June 8, 2010.

What you may not know is that Liquidmetal Technologies is actually a publicly traded company which trades on the pink sheets (LQMT.PK) aka a penny stock.  By many measures the company has not performed well in the last year or so – its sales for 2009 were approximately $14.7 million, down from $22.7 million in 2008.  2009 net income was a paltry $0.3 million, though an improvement from an $8.3 million loss in 2008.

I wonder if the company’s financial performance has anything to do with its obviously short-sighted and ill-fated attempt to market its technology for use in what would surely be insanely over-priced flash drives.  To see what I mean, check out this video, which by the way reminds me of TAG Heuer’s laughable attempt at sellling its own 8gb flash drives for $360 a pop!

Liquidmetal Flashdrive Video

But wait a minute, wait a minute—-WHAAAT?  Did you catch some of those luxury brand logos in the video?

Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Piaget Liquidmetal Flash Drives — WTF?!?!?

OK that is just weird, isn’t it?

Let’s get back to my discussion about recent events involving Liquidmetal –

The company’s stock had long traded for less than a quarter per share until August 6, 2010 — the day after the company licensed its liquidmetal patents (on an exclusive basis for the field of consumer electronic products) to none other than Apple .  However — interestingly and perhaps questionably — the company did not issue a press release announcing the deal with Apple.  It was not until August 9, 2010 that Liquidmetal’s agreement with Apple was formally filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange commission via Form 8-K and the story was picked up by leading tech blogs CrunchGear, Engadget, and Gizmodo.  But the word was obviously out on August 6, as evidenced by the stock action:

So why all the hype about Liquidmetal? Well, it turns out the company does have some pretty cool technology:

Liquidmetal vs. Titanium vs. Steel Demonstration Video

The thing is, though, I wouldn’t get too excited about seeing liquidmetal used broadly anytime soon.  Why?  It’s expensive.  As much as $1,500 an ounce expensive.  This is because of some of the exotic raw materials such as beryllium and platinum that are used in some of the Liquidmetal alloys.

The high cost is also why Omega has indicated that it does not plan to use liquidmetal on a broad basis, either.

This said, I would not doubt the genius of Apple to figure out a way to mainstream the technology.  It is also interesting to me that this technology found its way into the world of luxury watchmaking, thus giving me a reason to write about it!

Yawn?

Like the Zenith Elite Ultra Thin 681 that I showed you back in March, these new Zenith “Captain” watches are the latest offering in Zenith’s Elite collection.   As you can see the watches are, well, plain.  The $3,000-$4,000 price tag is not out of line for a watch with an in-house movement (as is the case here), but I’m just not feeling the love for this watch at such a price.  Perhaps there is a subtle sophistication that I am missing.  Or not.  Feel free to weigh-in with a comment.

Zenith Elite Captain Central Seconds

40mm case (stainless steel or rose gold), sapphire display back, water resistance 50 meters, automatic Zenith caliber Elite 670.

If I were going to buy a Zenith, I’d much prefer something like the Zenith El-Primero Striking 1/10 Chronograph. Granted, the Striking 1/10 is at least 2x-3x the price of the Elite Captain, but I find it many times more interesting than the watch shown here.

A black PVD watch at an accessible price point…

I’ve been keeping an eye on Victorinox Swiss Army watches the past couple years and I think it is time to give them some credit for offering watch enthusiasts some great watches at great price points — ie good value for your money.  In particular the brand has recently introduced  some very cool new PVD watches that caught my eye i.e. this new Infantry Vintage Chronograph in black PVD.   The Victorinox Infantry Vintage Chrono watch was actually introduced 2 years ago with a quartz movement, but now it is available with a mechanical movement (more on this below the jump).  Have a look:

Victorinox Infantry Vintage Chrono Mechanical

Black dial and 44mm Black Ice PVD case and bracelet

The movement in this watch is an ETA/ Valjoux 7750 movement.  The Valjoux 7750 is widely known as quality and reliable Swiss-made automatic mechanical movement.  The Valjoux 7750 is actually used in the watches of many famous and high-dollar luxury brands, some of which carry a much higher price point.

This particular model is priced at $1,895 and is one of the more — if not the most expensive — models from Victorinox. That said, I think it is a relative value compared to other black PVD models with quality Swiss-movements in them.  Also, in general the black PVD watches have been limited to higher end brands thus making them largely inaccessible at price points such as this.  To see a long list of other PVD watches I have written about, CLICK HERE and you will see what I mean that they are far from the $1,900 price point.  That makes this new Infantry Vintage Chrono Mechanical PVD a good option for those of you shopping in this price range.

By the way, the Victorinox Infantry Vintage Chrono Mechanical actually comes in three colors — the PVD you see here, olive, and silver with black trim. You can check out more photos of all 3 models by clicking here.

Fashion Friday…

Yes, it’s David Yurman and yes, some of you horological purists will automatically dismiss it as a result, but I say WAIT! — give this classically-styled beauty a second look, will you?  This particular model, the “CLASSIC 1957″, draws its inspiration from the 1957 Thunderbird (among other autos of the decade) and I think does a good job of reflecting “the look” of the 1950s but with a twist of modernity.  The watch is the latest addition to David Yurman’s “CLASSIC Collection” which was introduced last year.

The David Yurman CLASSIC 1957 features a gauge-like dial with nicely styled Arabic numerals and orange hour and small seconds hands.  The case is 43.5mm diameter, stainless steel and houses a respectable Swiss-made automatic Dubois Dépraz movement.  Also note the signature David Yurman braid/twist around the outer edge of the case.  The perforated calf strap is ideal for touring or auto-themed watches (Audemars Piguet uses a similar strap on its 2010 Tour Auto) — and thus the perfect pairing to a watch such as this.  Price unknown

David Yurman CLASSIC 1957

1957 Chevy Bel-Air Dashboard

1957 Ford Thunderbird

Literally…

Oh how I would love to be this guy for a day!  “Jetman” Yves Rossy shows us how its done — check it out!

A quintessential dive watch…

Perhaps one of the most exciting new watches of 2010 is the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver — Ref 15703.  What I like most about this new Royal Oak Offshore Diver is its relative simplicity in both form and function.  The look is monochromatic – black dial, black pushers and a black strap paired with the signature AP Royal Oak brushed stainless steel case.  The Royal Oak Offshore Diver tells the basic time and date and has a dive-time measurement scale via an inner-rotating bezel.  By reducing to watch to its most basic elements — all done to AP’s high quality standards, of course — the 15703 seems to be really an outstanding watch — in or out of the water.  Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

The 15703 has a 42mm brushed stainless steel case (13.75mm thick) that is water resistant to 300 meters.  The dial, strap and crowns are executed in black and black rubber.  The watch actually features two black rubber crowns — one at 3 o’clock position to set the time and another one at 10 o’clock which controls the inner rotating dive bezel.

The bezel features features a minutes scale on which five- and one-minute periods are clearly highlighted.  The wearer can only turn the bezel by deliberately unscrewing the rubber crown.

The dial is marked by baton shaped hour-markers that are also luminescent.   The hour hand is distinguished by two additional bands of luminescent coating on the side, as you can see here:

The movement inside the Royal Oak Offshore Diver is AP’s selfwinding Calibre 3120 (a “manufacture”, or “in-house” movement) which features a 22-carat gold oscillating weight engraved with the AP monogram and the Audemars and Piguet family crests.  The Caliber 3210 is hand-assembled in the work shops of Le Brassus and no doubt is of exceptional quality in both function and finishing.  Otherwise, it is a straightforward selfwinding model without any complications!

If you want to see and learn more about the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Ref 15703, you should check out the mini-site dedicated to the new RO Offshore Diver, that Audemars Piguet just launched.  I especially recommend the feature on the site that is a world map which highlights 10 of the top “Urban Diving Spots” in major cities around the world.  You can also download pics and wallpapers for your viewing pleasure, too.

The AP 15730 price is approximately $15,000.  In summary — I WANT THIS WATCH!

Did You Know?

It is worth remembering that Audemars Piguet actually invented the first high-end sports watch in 1972, which it named Royal Oak, and that it achieved the unprecedented feat of raising steel to the rank of a noble metal on a par with gold.  In 1992, the octagon then took on its extreme sports appearance with the advent of the Royal Oak Off shore. This collection makes ample use of rubber that is often  associated with steel, and sometimes even with gold.  Its dials feature a distinctive criss-cross or grid pattern named “Méga Tapisserie ”.