A very elegant looking moon phase with calendar from Carl Bucherer and its Manero collection.   At a glance you see the current date, shown by the short hand around inner-dial.  The finishing touch is provided by the moon phase indication, shown centrally at 6 o’clock.  Note how the inner dial has a sun ray finish, vs. is a matte-finished ring outside of it (with the  arrow-shaped applied indices).  The watch has a very modest 38mm diameter and height of 10.85mm rose gold case — a classic size and frankly I don’t recall the last time I wrote about a 38mm watch; sign of the times I guess!  Also available with a silver dial and/or on a bracelet, the black dial versions you see here are my favorite.  The Manero MoonPhase models on an alligator leather strap retail for $12,900; the models with rose-gold bracelets are $27,200.  Not often see on Perpetuelle, Carl F. Bucherer is still a brand I appreciate — founded in 1888 in Lucerne, Switzerland and now a third generation family brand.  I wonder why I don’t write about it more.  Check out their website, here.

Carl F. Bucherer Manero MoonPhase Calendar

38mm rose gold case, automatic mechanical CFB caliber 1966, alligator strap with rose gold buckle

Did You Know?

Manero is derived from the Latin “manuaria”, meaning “that which is directed by hand”.   For Bucherer, it represents a classic and practical expression of the master watchmaker’s craft.

At Baselworld 2012, Carl F. Bucherer presents a further model from the Patravi family with a round case.  The appeal of the Patravi DayDate, which indicates the current day of the week as well as the big date, lies in its stylish, modern — and not to mention easy to read —  dial and case lines.  You can easily see not only the big date in the upper left quadrant of the dial and the small seconds at 6 o’clock, but also the current day of the week at 9 o’clock.  The watch is powered a Bucherer manufacture movement, first introduced in 2009.

Carl F. Bucherer Patravi DayDate

42.6m steel case (12mm thick), automatic mechanical CFB Caliber A1001; steel bracelet or black calfskin strap available

Facts & Figures Patravi DayDate
Reference number: 00.10631.08.33.01
Movement: automatic, CFB A1001 Manufacture caliber,
diameter 32 mm, height 6.3 mm, 33 jewels, power reserve
55 hours
Functions: big date, day of the week, hours, minutes, small
seconds
Case: stainless steel, screw-down crown, sapphire crystal
with anti-reflective coating on both sides, sapphire crystal
case back, water-resistant to 50 m (5 atm), diameter
42.6 mm, height 12 mm
Strap: black calfskin, stainless steel folding clasp
Variants: 00.10631.09.33.21: stainless steel bracelet

In somewhat of a departure from Carl F. Bucherer’s more modern looking watches, this new “Manero ChronoPerpetual” is an interesting and more traditional looking perpetual calendar model from the Swiss brand.  Because of the large # of features for a perpetual calendar (date, day of week, month, leap year indicator, moon phase), the challenge for any perpetual calendar watch is squeezing all of its functions onto a dial that is legible — and believe you me manufacturers are not always successful in this regard.  I think Carl Bucherer’s result with this new Manero ChronoPerpetual falls somewhere in the middle of balancing form and function — the dial is a bit “busy”, yet the designers decided to squeeze in a tachymeter scale around the outer edge of the dial.  I think the watch would look better without the tachy scale — it is something I always associate with sports watches, not perpetual calendars.  The case design, on the other hand, is exquisite — clean and smooth lines with satin and polished finishes.  150 pieces in stainless steel ($31,000 a pop), 100 in rose gold ($46,200 a pop).

Carl F. Bucherer Manero ChronoPerpetual

Reference number (rose gold): 00.10906.03.13.01

42.5 mm case (rose gold or stainless steel) (14.3mm thick), Caliber CFB 1904 (automatic), Louisiana alligator strap w/matching pin buckle

Stainless steel case variant (ref: 00.10906.08.13.01)

By the way — what is the significance of “manero”?  What does this word mean?

Family Owned and Operated Manufacture Stands Apart Today

Carl F. Bucherer is a brand that, until recently, I had not taken much if any time to learn about.  But now that Carl F. Bucherer is making its own movements, I decided it was time to learn more about the history of this brand – and wow have I been impressed!

In 1888, Carl Friedrich Bucherer opened his first watch and jewelry store, together with his wife Luise, on the Falkenplatz in Lucerne.  Together, they laid the foundations for a brand which to this day stands out from the rest thanks to its individual identity and independence.   In 1919, Bucherer presented his first watch collection to the public – under the name “C. Bucherer”, the collection was a success right from the start.  In 1933, after the death of Carl Friedrich Bucherer, his two sons took over the business.  Through the stewardship of Bucherer family generations, the brand – impressively – remains independent to this day.

Admirably, the family continues to make great strides and develop the brand’s standing and stature – the “Carl F. Bucherer” branding came in 2001; the launch of the brand’s in-house movement, the CFB A1000, in 2008.   The watch you are seeing today, the Patravi T-ChronoGrade, was announced just recently, and is another nice multi-function tonneau that follows in the Patravi T-Graph line which was first launched by the brand in 2004.

The Patravi T-Chronograde

Reference number: 00.10626.08.33.01

Movement: automatic, CFB 1902 caliber,, diameter 30 mm, height 7.3 mm, 51 jewels, power reserve 42 hours.

Functions: chronograph, flyback, large date display, annual calendar, bidirectional power reserve indication, retrograde hours counter.

Case: stainless steel, screw-down crown, sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides, water-resistant to 50 m (5 atm), dimensions 43 mm x 46 mm

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