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.
***
SIHH near, but Baselworld wants to play, too…
Guess Blancpain couldn’t wait until 2011 to share with us its new Villeret Half-Time-Zone watch. Officially debuting at Baselworld 2011 (March 2011), this watch is a beauty, and I must admit a nice surprise given some of the awful and tacky pieces I have seen from Blancpain in recent years (L-evolution series, anyone?). To be fair, the Fifty Fathoms collection is still going strong and regular readers here may also recall Blancpain’s much praised and equally beautiful Villeret Half-Hunter Moonphase which debuted at Baselworld 2010 (March 2010). This new watch will undoubtedly be a nice complement to it and the Villeret collection (and of course share many of the same technical and design elements of).
Blancpain Villeret Half Time Zone Watch
40mm rose gold case
So what exactly does this “half time zone” watch do? Well, the wearer can adjust the second time zone in half-hour increments — something that will come in quite handy for those who might find themselves in India or other half-hour time zone differences.
and
Earlier today, Blancpain and Lamborghini jointly announced the launch of the world-exclusive Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Blancpain Edition. This new road car, closely based on the racing model featured in the Super Trofeo competitions, is issued in a limited edition representing a major first in the history of relations between the watchmaking and automobile industries.
Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Blancpain Edition
Zero to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 3.4 seconds…flies past the 200 km/h (124 mph) mark only 6.8 seconds later, ultimately exceeding 320 km/h (199 mph)
The first Gallardo from the exclusive and limited Blancpain Edition production run was presented by Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, and Marc A. Hayek, President and CEO of Blancpain, at the final race weekend of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo on Sunday September 26 in the “Piero Taruffi” circuit, Vallelunga.
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All the watch news that’s fit to print….
It goes without saying that for each watch featured here daily on the Perpetuelle.com Blog, there are several more we are not able to write about (for any number of reasons). But that’s not to say you can’t easily keep up on all of the latest watch news, because you can….by visiting the Press Release Feed on Perpetuelle.com’s World Watch Forum. Yes, the Perpetuelle.com Press Release Feed features official press releases from a diverse lineup of watch brands —> and it’s only a click away <—
So — here is the news for the week of August 23, 2010 (in no particular order) that was not already featured here on the blog – click through if you are interested in full details on any of these:
- Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo & Le Mans Series
- Hysek Opens Flagship Store in Singapore
- Jaeger-LeCoultre Book: Extreme Watches for an Extreme World
- New Swiss Brand: Codex
- Franc Vila FVa35 SuperSonico 5 Minutes Repeater, Superligero Concept
- Roger Dubuis Excalibur Automatic Tourbillon
- The Hublot Polo Gold Cup Gstaad
- BALL Trainmaster Worldtime COSC
- Romain Jerome honoured by India’s prestigious Watch World Awards 2010
Perpetuelle’s Authorized Dealer Interview Series #2…
In continuing with our Authorized Dealer Interview series, Perpetuelle.com Moderator James Bond recently had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Al Armstrong of Armstrong Rockwell Watches & Fine Jewelry in Hartford, CT. Like Bond’s prior interview with Dorfman Jewelers of Boston, his discussion with Al Armstrong is equally insightful and entertaining and I wanted to take a moment to highlight it here on the blog.
One of the most interesting things I learned from the interview is that Armstrong Rockwell was one of the very first retailers in American to carry the now very prestigious German watch brand Glashütte Original (my favorite brand!). In addition, I always find it interesting to hear which brands a particular AD carries and why. Armstrong Rockwell carries an interesting mix of well or fairly well-known brands – Audemars Piguet, Blancpain, Hublot, Perrelet, Roger Dubuis, IWC, Glashütte Original. They also carry Urban Jurgensen & Sonner of Copenhagen, British watch brand, Dent (most famously known for the creation of Big Ben), and McGonigle Watches, a very unique, independent Irish watch brand (ran by two brothers). I’ll leave it to you to read more about why Al Armstrong decided to carry these brands — and more — in the interview!
Finally — as I noted in the last interview, James and I would like to be able to continue this 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@perpetuelle.com or James Bond at james@perpetuelle.com. There is no cost/fee — It’s all for the love of watches! You can think of it as a way to gain a bit of free PR and in exchange for sharing some “Authorized Dealer” insights with our audience.
Our Baselworld coverage continues…but first a recap…
As you know Perpetuelle.com has been quite busy these past few days bringing you all of the latest and greatest new watches from the world’s finest independent watchmakers and leading luxury brands. Thank you all for visiting the site these past few days! My team and I take great pride in quite literally working around the clock to bring you the most comprehensive and the most timely coverage of Baselworld possible. This is our passion. It is an event such as Baselworld that we live for, and we hope some of our passion is being transmitted to you!
Now – since “opening weekend” is now behind us, I wanted to give you a quick recap before I move on. First a quick reminder that here on First In Watches, the official Perpetuelle.com blog, I am almost exclusively highlighting only the most exciting new watches to come out of Baselworld. I do critique some of the “less than impressive” watches and watch brands because hey, let’s be honest these brands can and should do better. As an independent voice, I’m not afraid to point out a poorly conceived watch when I see one, but overall I try to remain focused on the positive and write about only the watches that I like or find interesting. Just remember that you are entitled to your opinion and all are welcome to post a comment (even the brands themselves) for a balanced discussion.
So, in alphabetical order, here is what I have featured since last Wednesday. Be sure to check out any that you missed!
- Bell & Ross Instrument BR03-92 Military Ceramic
- Bell & Ross Vintage BR 123 Carbon and BR 126 Carbon
- Blancpain Fifty Fathoms blah blah
- Breguet Type XXII 3880 ST
- Breitling Bentley Supersports
- Chronoswiss Opus Black Magic
- Corum Ti Bridge Tourbillon
- Frédéric Jouvenot Hélios
- Glashütte Original PanoMatic Counter XL
- Glashütte Original Senator Diary
- Grand Seiko Going International
- Green dial green bezel Rolex Submariner
- Harry Winston Opus X
- Hublot “Liberty” Bullets, by the Confrérie Horlogère
- Hublot King Power Tourbillon Manufacture
- Jean Dunand Palace
- Linde Werdelin Oktopus Tattoo
- Maîtres du Temps Chapter One Round
- Maurice Lacroix “Square Wheel”
- New Rolex Explorer
- OMEGA Seamaster PloProf white dial (new variation)
- OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz 35th anniversary
- Patek Philippe Chronograph Ref 5170
- Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Split-Seconds Chronograph (Ref 5961P)
- Patek Philippe Steel Split-Seconds Chronograph (Ref 5950A)
- Perrelet Diamond Flower Ceramic
- Recommended Reading: “Masters of Contemporary Watchmaking”, by Michael Clerizo
- Rolex Explorer 214270
- Rolex Teaser
- Tag Heuer Carrera 1887 Chronograph
- TAG Heuer Pendulum Watch
- Tudor Heritage Chrono (with Video)
Finally, don’t forget that the FULL lineup of new watches (complete with specs and info) for each brand is available on our official Baselworld 2010 Forum. Perpetuelle’s Forum Moderator James Bond is doing an excellent job keeping the forum current, however if we are missing something feel free to let us know (contact us tab is above).
Looking forward to tomorrow – well, it is a new day and Baselworld continues – believe me there are still MANY new and exciting watches yet to come!
| Bell & Ross Instrument BR03-92 Military Ceramic |
| Bell & Ross Vintage BR 123 Carbon and BR 126 Carbon |
| Blancpain Fifty Fathoms blah blah |
| Breguet Type XXII 3880 ST |
| Breitling Bentley Supersports |
| Chronoswiss Opus Black Magicu |
| Corum Ti Bridge Tourbillon |
| Frédéric Jouvenot Hélios |
| Glashütte Original PanoMatic Counter XL |
| Glashütte Original Senator Diary |
| Grand Seiko Going International |
| Green dial green bezel Rolex Submariner |
| Harry Winston Opus X |
| Hublot “Liberty” Bullets, by the Confrérie Horlogère |
| Hublot King Power Tourbillon Manufacture |
| Jean Dunand Palace |
| Linde Werdelin Oktopus Tattoo |
| Maîtres du Temps Chapter One Round |
| Maurice Lacroix “Square Wheel” |
| New Rolex Explorer |
| OMEGA Seamaster PloProf white dial (new variation) |
| OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz 35th anniversary |
| Patek Philippe Chronograph Ref 5170 |
| Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Split-Seconds Chronograph (Ref 5961P) |
| Patek Philippe Steel Split-Seconds Chronograph (Ref 5950A) |
| Perrelet Diamond Flower Ceramic |
| Recommended Reading: “Masters of Contemporary Watchmaking”, by Michael Clerizo |
| Rolex Explorer 214270 |
| Rolex Teaser |
| Tag Heuer Carrera 1887 Chronograph |
| TAG Heuer Pendulum Watch |
| Tudor Heritage Chrono (with Video) |
Mmmmm, nope! Blancpain has no mojo…
I have not seen much from Blancpain yet this year, and what I have heard has been, well, less than impressive. For 2010 Blancpain expands the Fifty Fathoms collection to embrace the complications of a moon phase and a complete calendar married with the traditional sport companion of a column-wheel controlled flyback chronograph, and I must say that I don’t like it. There is too much going on in this watch that is wholly inconsistent with the identity of what is otherwise a storied luxury dive watch line (that is, the Fifty Fathoms). Not to mention that after seeing the Oktopus Moonphase watch from Linde Werdelin, I think the bar was set impossibly high for most brands to keep up with this year in the dive watch segment, and that now includes Blancpain.
On the (small) plus side, the watch does utilize Blancpain’s patented “under lug correctors” that eliminate the need for adjusters on the sides of the case and which allow finger-tip setting in place of an adjusting tool. The under lug correctors are also used on another new watch from Blancpain this year, the Villeret Moon Phase.
I don’t want to dwell on the subject, but as a member of the Swatch Group’s “prestige brands” segment, I think Blancpain needs to step up its game. I don’t have any good sense of the brand’s direction nor do I see from it an outsanding watch that is defining the brand at the moment. Maybe the Super Trofeo, which was a cool new intro last year, but that’s all that comes to mind. To be perfectly blunt, I have a real hard time finding a reason to get excited about the brand, which means that this may be the last watch you see from the brand here on this blog until Baselworld 2011…OK that it unlikely, but still…
2/5/10 Update: text reflects new details on the watch
Here is a preview from Blancpain this year for Baselworld 2010 – the Blancpain Villeret Moon Phase with “half-hunter” style case. The watch - a complete calendar model with moon-phase display – has cleverly designed “under-lug” correctors which allow the owner to adjust the calendar indications very easily…not to mention the design benefits of taking buttons off the side of the case! Also, this model features an also impressive method for adjusting the indications which allows them to be adjusted regardless of the time of day (typically one must be careful when adjusting calendar indications on a watch as doing so at the wrong time can damage the movement). The case is 40mm, red-gold and is hinged on the back side (this is called “half-hunter” style) which allows you to see the Blancpain Caliber 6654 movement. More below the fold…
Blancpain Villeret Half-Hunter Moon Phase Ref. 6664-3642-55B
This watch – and hopefully the entire Villeret collection – is a welcome addition to the Blancpain lineup and seems to be a much better direction than some of the watches they released in recent years. I and others have been less than impressed with some of Blancpain’s dial designs (see my article on FratelloWatches panning brand’s new L-evolution series watches (but praising the Blancpain Caliber 66R9)) but this new Villeret looks pretty good with raised, slightly stylized red-gold roman numerals and a patterned dial. Here’s a look at the caseback:
(Is it just me or does that perlage finishing around the outer edge looks a bit hurried?!?)
by Kyle Stults on September 23, 2009
34 Distinct One-of-Kind Pieces Estimated to Auction At $10,000 to as much as $735,000
Less than 24 hours from “hammer time” and we wanted to share with you the “suggested” prices for each of the 34 “Only Watch” watches in case you are thinking about putting in a bid.
But first, what a difference two years social media can make for a special event such as this! The watch blogosphere has been buzzing for months with excitement over the 34 unique pieces that will be auctioned in Monaco less than 24 hours from now in what is sure to be a spectacular event. In fact we learned just yesterday that the event will be live-Tweeted by watch journalist Beth Doerr – so put her in your Twit-Stream now (Twitter: @doerrelizabeth)!!
If you follow watches, it is highly unlikely that you haven’t come across a blog or forum post highlighting one or all of these watches – of course First In Watches was the first to kick things off back in early-June with our feature article giving you a first look at each of the 34 pieces (see: ONLY WATCH 2009 – 34 One-of-a-Kind Watches), and since then we have gone more in-depth on some of our favorites including the following: MB&F’s Sage Vaughn HM-2, Bovet’s 3-in-1 Mona Lisa Watch, Tourneau’s Jump Hour, Piaget’s Emperador Coussin, Louis Vuitton’s Tambour, Chanel’s J12 Joallerie with pink sapphire, and Blancpain’s 500 Fathoms. Some of our watch-blogging friends have also written some good articles about their favorites, too. In particular we enjoyed this recent article from Hodinkee with some great pics of some of the more “unique” unique pieces including Cabestan’s Winch Tourbillon Vertical, Confrere Horlogere’s La Clef du Temps Tourbillon, and MB&F’s Sage Vaugh HM-2.
So what are the “odds” on what these watches will sell for? Due to their rarity and the fact that there is now reserve price, it really is hard to say! But here is where the bidding is likely to start, courtesy of Patrizzi & Co. who will be running the auction:
- Confrerie Horlogere $514,500 – $735,000
- Cabestan $411,600 – $514,500
- Patek Philippe $264,600 – $470,400
- Bovet $147,000 – $220,500
- Cartier $132,300 – $220,500
- Audemars Piguet $132,300 – $220,500
- De Bethune $132,300 – $205,800
- Breguet $117,600 – $176,400
- Tag Heuer $102,900 – $132,300
- MB&F $102,900 – $176,400
- Van Cleef & Arpels $102,900 – $132,300
- Ateliers deMonaco $88,200 – $132,300
- Louis Vuitton $88,200 – $132,300
- Ulysse Nardin $88,200 – $132,300
- Chanel $73,500 – $88,200
- Montblanc $66,150 – $88,200
- Piaget $51,450 – $73,500
- Franck Muller $51,450 – $73,500
- Bell & Ross $51,450 – $73,500
- Gerald Charles $51,450 – $73,500
- Omega $44,100 – $73,500
- Chaumet $36,750 – $51,450
- Vacheron Constantin$36,750 – $51,450
- Franc Vila $29,400 – $58,800
- Girard-Perregaux $29,400 – $44,100
- Hermes $29,400 – $44,100
- deLaCour $29,400 – $44,100
- Jaquet Droz $22,050 – $36,750
- Tourneau $22,050 – $36,750
- Blancpain $22,050 – $36,750
- Hublot $22,050 – $36,750
- Corum $17,640 – $29,400
- Frederique Constant $11,760 – $23,520
- Zenith $10,290 – $17,640
In closing, First In Watches will leave you with this cool “Only Watch preview” video produced by TheTimeTV, which is probably as close as most watch fans will ever come to these amazing watches:
Blancpain is releasing a limited edition 500 Fathoms to commemorate its sponsorship of the Cannes International Boat & Yacht Show for 2009. Blancpain’s ties to the maritime world are well known, and so I suppose this is a nice way for the brand to mark its fifth year of participation in the prestigious yachting event, as well as to announce the launch of its new 500 Fathoms that was announced at Baselworld earlier this year.
The limited edition 500 Fathoms has a great looking 48mm brushed titanium case that houses a Blancpain Caliber 1315. The movement is wound by a cool looking rotor and is engraved “Cannes 2009″.
The 500 Fathoms Cannes 2009 model comes fitted with a black rubber-lined sail canvas strap, while an additional rubber strap and a dedicated tool to secure it lend the finishing touch to this set delivered in an ultra-sturdy watertight presentation box designed to withstand extreme conditions.
You can check out some scenes from the 2008 event in the photo gallery below:
(Photo Credit: Jérome Kelagopian & Mathieu Walter)
