Rolex Datejust II Ref. 116300

The new for 2012, Rolex Datejust II Ref. 116300, should now be available at your local authorized dealer. The new Ref. 116300 brings the polished smooth bezel to the 41 mm Rolex Datejust II. The smooth bezel being made from stainless steel, rather than the white gold or yellow gold used in the version with a fluted bezel makes it the most affordable Datejust II. With a suggested retail price of  US$7,150 is is significantly cheaper than the fluted bezel versions which start at US$9,100.

At the local retailer I found this watch being offered with seven different versions with a choice of a white, silver, blue or black dial with either index hour markers of Roman numerals. 

Rolex Submariner Ref. 114060 retail price

The new for 2012, Rolex Submariner Ref. 114060, affectionally called the No-Date Submariner, should be hitting you local authorized dealer in the next few weeks. The new Ref. 114060 migrates the watch to the new heftier Maxi case, with a "Maxi" dial (larger hands and markers), brings a new more premium clasps and comes with the now standard ceramic bezel.

The suggested retail price is US$7,500. That is a little over US$1,000 lower than its sibling with a date display, the Ref. 116610LN.  Since you can probably negotiated a small 4-5% discount on the Ref. 116610LN, the price difference between the two should be about US$700. If you wait a bit, you can probably save a few hundred dollars if you are willing to wait a few months. Still, being one of the first to get one is really cool.

The US$7,500 retail price puts the Ref. 114060 about US$1,200 higher than the list price for the older Rolex Submariner 146060M. You can still get a small discount on the 14060M, the price difference will be more like US$1,500. If you have been sitting on the fence, it might be a good time to pick up the Ref. 14060M. If it the last of the Rolex watches with the old style clasp, non-SEL bracelet, the aluminum bezel and lug holes. The last of the Rolex modern classics.

New IWC Corporate Campaign differentiates its Pilots Watches

IWC has launched a new corporate campaign for its IWC Pilot's Watches. In this case, pictures speak a thousand words...

Hamilton Khaki Navy Pioner Limited Edition

War effort. During World War II, the Hamilton Watch Company suspended production of consumer watches and all watches it manufactured were being shipped for the Allied military forces. More than one million watches were manufactured as part of the war time effort, with the most successful creation being marine chronometers and deck watches for the United States Navy, and other Allied navies as well. 

With this year being the 120th Anniversary of the Hamilton Watch Company, the company has released a watch to commemorate its World War II Marine Chronometers, the Khaki Navy Pioner Limited Edition.

Hamilton Khaki Navy Pioner Limited Edition. The Hamilton Khaki Navy Pioneer is a large watch with a 46.5 mm stainless steel case. The watch has a dial which mimics the design of marine chronometers. The case is water resistant to 100 meters. The dial is protected by sapphire crystal and the watch is supplied with a light brown leather strap.

Inside the case is a hand-wound ETA Unitas 6498 movement. The Unitas 6498 movement beats at a slow 18,000 vibrations per hour. This is a nice tough for a watch designed to mimic World War II marine chronometers. Only1,892 units of this watch will be produced, that number signifying the year 1892. 

The watch comes in Hevea wood presentation box which doubles as a desktop clock.  

All in all, it makes for a nice watch to add to your collection this 2012.

The Hamilton Watch Company was established in 1892. In 1966, the Hamilton Watch Company acquired the Buren Watch Company in Switzerland. From 1966 to 1969, Hamilton and Buren were operated as a joint concern. In 1969, the Hamilton Watch Company completely ceased its American manufacturing operations  and shifted to the Buren factory in Switzerland. In 1971, i (SSIH) purchased the Hamilton brand. Through the enforced merger of SSIH and ASUAG Groups in 1984, Hamilton has become a subsidiary of the now denominated The Swatch Group Ltd.

TAG Heuer Carrera Jack Heuer 80th Birthday

80th Birthday. The Carrera Chronograph was designed by former Heuer CEO Jack Heuer, and was first released in 1963. To commemorate Jack Heuer's 80th birthday year, TAG Heuer has released a limited edition TAG Heuer Carrera Jack Heuer 80th Birthday. The watch has classical lines in its design. It's silver sunburst dial is labeled Heuer, appropriate for a design, harking back to the days before TAG acquired Heuer back in 1985. 

One thing we do find odd is the decision to place just one counter for the stopwatch on the dial. At the 3 o'clock position, the watch has a sub-dial to display running seconds, while at the 9 o'clock position the watch has a 30-minute counter used in conjunction with the main second hand for the stopwatch function. The reason we find this odd is that the first Carrera designed by Jack Heuer had a 30-minute and 12 hour counters (See image on the right. Image source: Wikipedia). Personally, I do like the cleaner looking dial. The dial also displays a date in the Window at the 6 o'clock position.

The watch case is 41 mm in diameter. On the case back, you will find Jack Heuer's signature engraved in red. Inside the Jack Heuer Carrera is the Calibre 17 movement, which is a Tag Heuer modified ETA 2894-2. We have not seen these movement in use in TAG Heuer watches released recently. This movement beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and has a 42 hour power reserve.

TAG Heuer Carrera Jack Heuer 80th Birthday is a limited edition watch with a production run of 3000 units.

About TAG Heuer. TAG Heuer is a Swiss watch company founded by Edouard Heuer who founded a watchmaking company in 1860. TAG Heuer concentrates on chronographs with some less expensive models in each line lacking chronograph features. The lines include Formula One, Aquaracer, Link, Carrera, Monaco, and others.

TAG Heuer Calibre 1887 Gold Automatic Chronograph 41 mm

Calibre 1887 controversy. The Calibre 1887 movement has been a bit controversial for TAG Heuer shortly after its announcement almost three years ago. The source of the controversy, the movement was actually designed by Seiko Instruments, Inc. (SII). The Calibre 1887 movement is actually based on SII TC78 platform which was patented by Seiko in 1997.

Tag Heuer purchased the rights to the SII TC78 patent from Seiko. Part of the controversy was that the movement was designed in Japan and not by a Swiss company. In part also because statements were released saying it was designed in house. Finally, in part is that the new movement was actually a over ten year old Seiko design. On the plus side, those who know Seiko watches do know that they produce some of the best movements in the world.

TAG Heuer Calibre 1887 Automatic Chronograph Rose Gold 41 mm. At BaselWorld 2012, TAG Heuer announced a variant of its 41 mm Calibre 1887 Chronograph watch.  Watch is your prototypical chronograph with the main second hand being used in conjunction with a 30 minute counter at the 12 o'clock and a 12 hour counter at the 6 o'clock to measure elapsed time. A date is displayed inside the sub-dial at the 6 o'clock. Continues running seconds is shown by a sub-dial at the  9 o'clock. The Calibre 1887 movement inside beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and has a 50 hour power reserve.

The design is now new, but the availability of models in 18 Ct gold cases is. There are two Rose Gold variants and one in yellow gold and stainless steel.

The Rose Gold model with the dark anthracite dial is particularly striking. With the stainless steel versions of this watches retailing at about US$3,500-4,200, I would not want to venture a guess on the price of the gold ones, especially the Rose gold models. This and a similar release last year, indicates TAG is trying to penetrate the upper markets.

About TAG Heuer. TAG Heuer is a Swiss watch company founded by Edouard Heuer who founded a watchmaking company in 1860. TAG Heuer concentrates on chronographs with some less expensive models in each line lacking chronograph features. The lines include Formula One, Aquaracer, Link, Carrera, Monaco, and others.

BaselWorld 2012: OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean Ceragold

Ceragold. Ceragold is a process that allows the decoration of ceramic watch parts with 18 Ct gold. A nine-step process used to create a ceramic bezel with gold numbers and scaling results in a finished product that is absolutely smooth to the touch. At BaselWorld 2012, OMEGA announced the first watches to use this new manufacturing technology. OMEGA has a thorough explanation of the nice step process. 

Here’s how it works:

1. Forming of the ceramic ring:

• A specific mixture of zirconium oxide and bonding materials (called “binders”) is prepared in a granular form the form of granulates; the raw material is referred to as the feedstock.
• These granules are then heated to their melting point, resulting in a paste which is injected into a mould containing the desired ring shape. This moulded part is called the “green body”.
• The binders that were initially used to stabilize the parts in their injected form are then removed from the ring using a chemical/thermal treatment. This process is called debinding.
• The rings are finally subjected to a high temperature treatment process called sintering. At this stage, the ceramic granules are joined together to form a "fired" – or "sintered" – part with the definitive properties of ceramics, including hardness and resistance. 
  During the sintering process, there will be a shrinking effect that results in the reduction in size of the rings by approximately 30%.

2. Preparation of the ceramic ring:

• Sintered rings are machined to obtain their final geometry. Thickness, diameters, special shapes (e.g. bevels) or the hole for the SLN capsule are obtained by machining with diamond tools.

3. Engraving of the scaling:

• The scaling is engraved on the top of the bevel using a laser beam. A depth of 0.15mm is reached with successive removal of very thin layers of ceramics.     

4. Micro-drilling:

• To improve the adhesion of the decorative gold elements, micro-holes are drilled through the rings from the bottom of the engraved cavities. These holes will be partially filled with gold during electroforming process, forming bonding points and increasing adherence.

5. Sandblasting:

• A short cleansing operation is necessary to remove burnt ceramic material resulting from engraving and drilling. This operation is done with a sandblasting process that also smoothes the edges and standardizesthe  surface aspect.

6. PVD:

• The final decorative gold elements are obtained by an electroforming process. It requires a surface which conducts electricity to allow the growth of gold (galvanic process).
• As zirconium is an isolator, it is necessary to deposit a conductive layer on the top of the bevel. This can be done either by PVD technologies (successions of conductive nano-layers) or by electrolysis (a single conductive layer).

7. Electroforming:

• Engraved cavities from the scaling are filled with gold, with galvanic growth. Ceramic rings with an additional conductive layer are plunged into a bath containing gold particles. An electrical current is then applied and gold particles are directed onto the ceramic rings and fixed at the surface. After a certain time a thick crust of gold is formed, covering the ring’s entire bevel.
• The color and thickness of the electroformed gold are guaranteed by adjusting sensitive parameters in near-continuous assessment.    

8. Removal of surplus gold:

• Most of gold deposited onto the surface of the ring must be removed to recover the ceramic surface and to leave a solid gold layer in the scaling.
• The gold is removed mechanically with an abrasive material.

9. Final finishing:

• Residual gold on the ceramic material is cleaned with fine machining process; a tight line is given to the bevel.
• Rings are then polished to give a perfect shiny aspect to ceramics.
• Finally, the gold scaling is circularly brushed to improve its contrast with the ceramics.

OMEGA has released two Planet Ocean watches using the new Ceragold technology. One is a 45.5 mm Chronograph and the other the 42 mm White Planet St. Moritz.

OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean 45.50 mm Chronograph Ceragold.  Focus on this watch will surely be the polished black zirconium-based ceramic bezel ring with the Ceragold diving scale sitting on top of the 18 Ct red gold case. But  no less impressive is the OMEGA Co-Axial calibre 9301 which powers the Seamaster Planet Ocean Chronograph Ceragold, the same movement used in the De Ville Chronograph OMEGA. This movemnts features a unified 60-minute and 12-hour counter in a single dial at the 3 o'clock and the ability to adjust the hour hand independently of the minute hands

The watch also has the feature you expect to see on a premium deep sea divers watch, with a 600 meter water resistance rating and a helium gas escape valve.

OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean Ceragold 42 mm White Planet St. Moritz. The OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean Ceragold White Planet St. Moritz combines a 42 mm 18 Ct red gold case and a white ceramic bezel with a Ceragold diving scale. Inside is the OMEGA Co-Axial calibre 8501movement.

Interestingly enough, the watch is dedicated to the Swiss mountain resort town of St. Moritz where each winter, a venue for world’s most prestigious bobsleigh races. A chrongraph may have a more appropriate watch to dedicate to St. Moritz.

About OMEGA SA. The forerunner of OMEGA was founded 1848, by Louis Brandt. The name OMEGA was first used in 1894. It was used as the name of one of the Louis Brandt brother’s watch movement calibers.

BaselWorld 2012: De Ville Chronograph OMEGA

The De Ville Chronograph OMEGA. The De Ville represents the OMEGA's classical line of watches. OMEGA added another watch at BaselWorld 2012 to its De Ville line-up. The De Ville Chronograph OMEGA has a 42 mm diameter case which is available in 18 Ct rose gold or stainless steel. 

The watch has several features not common on your typical watch. The dial of the watch features two sub-dials at and a date display. The sub-dial at the 9 o'clock displays continuous seconds. Most chronographs display running seconds in a sub-dial leaving the large second hand free for use with the chronograph function. 

For measuring elapsed minutes and hours, the typical chronograph has two sub-dials, one for measuring minutes and the other to measure hours.  The De Ville Chronograph OMEGA instead uses a single  sub-dial (at the 3 o'clock), which has two small hands for the same purpose.

The De Ville Chronograph OMEGA is powered by the Co-Axial calibre 9300/9301 which is quipped with OMEGA’s Si14 silicon balance spring. The more interesting feature of this movement is that you can change the hour hand without affecting the minute and second hands. This makes it easier to adjust between time zones. This is a feature you find in dual time watches, but which is not common in watches which display a single time zone.

This new De Ville Chronograph is available with either a 18 Ct red gold case on a brown or blue leather strap, or with a stainless steel case on a stainless steel bracelet or on a black or blue leather strap. The dial is available in opaline-silver or blue for the 18 Ct red gold models and opaline-silver or black or blue for the De Ville Chronograph in stainless steel.

About OMEGA SA. The forerunner of OMEGA was founded 1848, by Louis Brandt. The name OMEGA was first used in 1894. It was used as the name of one of the Louis Brandt brother’s watch movement calibers.

BaselWorld 2012: OMEGA Speedmaster Racing

Icon. The OMEGA Speedmaster, the companies iconic Moonwatch, has remained relatively unchanged since its release 55 years ago. It has evolved into a variety of models with cases sizes ranging from 35.5 mm to 44.25 mm. It has been built from a variety of precious metals and come up with every type of conceivable dial you can imagine. This chronograph watch has seen its functionality expanded with dual time features and the splits second complication. It even spawned a modernized branch, the Broad Arrow. It has housed manual winding and self winding movements. And still, after 55 years, if you want one that is pretty much identical to the original Speedmaster, you can still get one.

BaselWorld 2012, saw the announcement of two new Speedmasters: the Omega Speedmaster "First Omega in Space" Numbered Edition chronograph and Speedmaster Racing.

OMEGA Speedmaster Racing.  The new OMEGA Speedmaster Racing design is geared toward motorsports. The OMEGA Speedmaster Racing has a 40 mm stainless steel case with a matte black aluminium tachymetric ring on its bezel. It is offered in a choice of grey, grey/yellow or grey red tachymetric scaling. The case is water resistant to 100 meters.

The watch is a chronograph. The main second hand is used in conjunction with the chronograph function, while continuous seconds are displayed in a sub-dial at the 9 o'clock position.  The 30-minute and 12-hour counters, at the 3 and 6 o'clock positions, and the small seconds hand sub-dial are textured with a triangular “Clous de Paris” pattern. There is a date window at the 6 o’clock position. The hour and minute hands as well as the hour markers are coated with Super-LumiNova.

Inside the Speedmaster Racing is the OMEGA calibre 3330, which has a column-wheel chronograph mechanism and is equipped with a Co-Axial escapement and an Si14 silicon balance spring. The Co-Axial escapement is a OMEGA innovation which is intended to reduce friction, and consequently the watch requires less maintenance. The movement is certified as a chronometer, meaning that it has been tested to have a deviation of not more than +4 or -6 second per day.

The Speedmaster Racing is comes with either a stainless steel bracelet or a black rubber strap.

Well, there you have it. Another Speedmaster. It really is OMEGA's policy to come out with a dizzying array of watches. At present there are over 60. On the one hand, it gives you a wide array of choices. On the other, a Speedmaster is not necessarily easily recognizable as such.

About OMEGA SA. The forerunner of OMEGA was founded 1848, by Louis Brandt. The name OMEGA was first used in 1894. It was used as the name of one of the Louis Brandt brother’s watch movement calibers.

BaselWorld 2012: OMEGA Spacemaster-33

Ana-digi. It is rare for manufacturers of luxury Swiss watches to release digital or quartz watches. The main draw of these watches are their Swiss mechanical movements. Brietling has several analog digital watches in its collection. Omega joins this small group with the announcement at BaselWorld 2012 of the OMEGA Spacemaster-33.

OMEGA Spacemaster-33. The watch is mates analogue timekeeping hands with two LCD windows. The OMEGA Spacemaster-33 can keep track of two time zones, has an alarm, chronograph function and a perpetual calendar. You can keep up to ten logs of periods of elapsed time you measured with the chronograph including the date they were taken.  Four pushers and the crown, allow full control over the array of digital features. While all these features sound impressive, for a digital watch they are not. Casio and Suunto have digital watches with far more impressive features. This watch has no compass, barometer or altimeter. It has no GPS, cannot keep track of average speed traveled over time... you get the point.

The case itself is not impressive. It's water resistance rating is just up to 30 meters, so this takes this watch out of any serious sporting activities.

Don't get me wrong, I like innovation. But a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer was to enter the realm of digital watches, it should try to provide something a cut above the rest. Brietling has an Emergency transmitter built into its digital offering, which a built-in micro transmitter broadcasting at the 121.5 MHz aircraft emergency frequency. Following a crash or a forced landing, the user can broadcast a signal on which rescuers can home in. 

The OMEGA Spacemaster-33 gives you nothing special on the digitial end of the spectrum, and being a digital watch, defeats the very purpose why people may choose to buy an Omega in the first place.

About OMEGA SA. The forerunner of OMEGA was founded 1848, by Louis Brandt. The name OMEGA was first used in 1894. It was used as the name of one of the Louis Brandt brother’s watch movement calibers.

 

BaselWorld 2012: OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra GMT

  

OMEGA unveiled at BaselWorld 2012 a new variant of its Seamaster Aqua Terra, the Seamaster Aqua Terra GMT. As indicated by its name the Seamaster Aqua Terra GMT is a dual time watch which can keep track of two different time zones.  The main hour, which rotates at the usual rate of once every 12-hours, is used to keep local time. A second hour hand with a red and white triangle head which completes one rotation every 24 hours, is use to keep track of the second time zone. Since it is reports "military" time it will also allow you to keep track of whether it is day or night in the second time zone.
 

OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra GMT. The Seamaster Aqua Terra GMT dial has the attractive "Teck Concept" dial, which is highlighted with vertical lines to resemble wooden decks on luxury boats. This new dial was first seen with the refresh of the Aqua Terra line-up in 2008. The case is 43 mm in diameter and available in 18 Ct red gold, stainless steel or, in a bicolor version in 18 Ct red gold and stainless steel. The watch is available with either a bracelet in the same metal as the watch case or with a black, brown or blue leather strap.

First dual time co-axial watch. The Seamaster Aqua Terra GMT is powered by the self-winding Co-Axial calibre 8605/8615 movement. This is the first of OMEGA Co-Axial movement to be equipped with a GMT complication. The movement is rated as a chronometer, meaning it was to tested to deviate by not more than +4 second or -6 seconds per day. A sapphire crystal on the screw-in caseback allows a clear view of the movement from the back of the watch.

The Co-Axial escapement in the OMEGA calibres is designed avoids the disturbing effects of contact between the balance-spring and the index pins. The result is reduced friction which means that there is almost no need for lubrication which results in Co-Axial calibres have long service intervals.

About OMEGA SA. The forerunner of OMEGA was founded 1848, by Louis Brandt. The name OMEGA was first used in 1894. It was used as the name of one of the Louis Brandt brother’s watch movement calibers.

 

BaselWorld 2012: OMEGA Speedmaster "First Omega in Space" Numbered Edition chronograph.

50th Anniversary. OMEGA announced at BaselWorld 2012 the Speedmaster "First OMEGA in Space" Numbered Edition chronograph. The watch us a near replica of the watch worn by Mercury Astronaut Wally Schirra on his October 1962 spaceflight. Schirra's Mercury Atlas 8 mission fifth U.S. manned spaceflight Schirra was the first astronaut to wear an Omega watch in space, more than two years before NASA adopted the Speedmaster as its approved timepiece. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Speedmaster to orbit the earth, OMEGA has created the Speedmaster “First OMEGA in Space” in honor of Schirra.

OMEGA Speedmaster "First OMEGA in Space" Numbered Edition chronograph. The watch has a 39.70 mm stainless steel case with the dial protected by a sapphire crystal. I am sure that the choice of the sapphire crystal, instead of the more historically correct Hesalite crystal will  disappointing to some. Other will be happier with the choice of sapphire crystal which resists scratches much better than Hesalite.

 

The dial has the 30-minute and 12-hour counters located at 3 o’clock and 6 o’clock respectively, and a small seconds sub-dial is at 9 o’clock. Inside is the now legendary manual-winding calibre 1861 movement.  

The watch has a screw-in stainless steel caseback which is embossed with OMEGA’s original seahorse emblem, the words “THE FIRST OMEGA IN SPACE” and “OCTOBER 3, 1962”, the date of the Mercury Atlas 8 mission. The Speedmaster “First OMEGA in Space” is a numbered edition and its number is engraved on the caseback.

The Speedmaster “First OMEGA in Space” chronograph comes on a brown leather strap.

About Omega SA. The forerunner of OMEGA was founded 1848, by Louis Brandt. The name OMEGA was first used in 1894. It was used as the name of one of the Louis Brandt brother’s watch movement calibers.

BaselWorld 2012: Patek Philippe Ref. 5101J

A little more affordable. The Patek Philippe Ref. 5101J announced at BaselWorld 2012 is not an all new design, having been preceded by the Ref. 5101P, R and G. The difference between the two is that the Ref. 5101J has a case made of yellow gold, the previous models had case made of platinum ("P"), rose gold ("R") and white gold ("G"). This should make the Ref. 5101 a little more affordable since Patek prices its yellow gold watches a little bit less than its rose and white gold variants, and a lot less than platinum versions. Still given that the rose gold and white versions of this watch retailed at almost US$400,000, I doubt if any buyers will be truly concerned about the price.

Patek Philippe Ref. 5101J.  What merits the high asking price is not the precious metals that Patek builds most of their watches from but the intricate movement inside. The Ref. 5101 uses Patek's manual winding Caliber TO 28-20 REC 10J PS IRM movement which combines the tourbillon complication with a long ten day power reserve. The combination of these two complications is designed to provide accuracy in timekeeping.

The tourbillon was invented in 1795 by Abraham-Louis Breguet. Mechanical timepieces are affected by gravity. Gravity results in uneven wear on the movement of a watch. In order to counter the effects of gravity, Abraham-Louis Breguet built a watch that counteracted gravity by rotating the balance wheel of a watch or clock through 360 degrees. This is called a tourbillon. This is accomplished by mounting the escapement in a rotating frame, called a "carriage" which turns at regular intervals, usually once a minute. This rotation reduces distributes the effect of gravity on the escapement and minimizes uneven wear on the movement causing inaccuracy.

Complementing this is the ten day power reserve. As a watch reaches the end of its power reserve, the torque that drives the movement decreases as the mainspring winds down, leading to a loss a reduction in the accuracy of a movement. Giving the watch long ten day power reserve minimizes the effect of the reduction in torque.

On the dial of the Ref. 5101 is a power reserve indicator, which has a red marker to inform the user of when it is time  to wind the watch again. Keeping the watch's reserve power above the red marker will also insure that accuracy it maintained.

About Patek Philippe. Patek Philippe and Co. was founded in Switzerland in 1851. It is acknowledged as one of the finest watchmaking companies in the world.

BaselWorld 2012: Patek Phillipe World Time Ref. 5130/1G-010 and Ref. 5130/1R-001

Patek Phillipe World Time Ref. 5130/1G-010 and Ref. 5130/1R-001.  Patek Philippe announced two new of its World Time watch at BaselWorld 2012, the Ref. 5130/1G-010 in white gold and the Ref. 5130/1R-001 in rose gold. The new variants feature bracelets made using gold, the previous versions coming with leather straps.

5130/1G-010

Ref. 5130/1R-001

Patek's World Time watches features a rotating ring with the names of 24 cities inscribed on it. A second rotating ring has 24-hour markers. This is used to display time in different time zones. Local time is told by a standard hour and minute hand. Mechanically it has a self-winding movement.

The system works this way. If you look at the picture on top, the City of London is on top of the small red triangle. It means that the hour and minutes hands are representing the time in London. From the hour and minutes, the time is 10:07 a.m. If the time were 10:07 p.m. the number under the red arrow would be 22.

From the outer dial, you can check the times in different time zones. Under the label New York, the number displayed is 5, meaning that it is 5:07 a.m. in New York. Under the name Moscow, you see the number 13, meaning that it is 13:07 hours, or 1:07 p.m., in Moscow. In this way, the Ref. 5131 shows the time around the world in a glance.

The easiest to explain how this all works is to pretend we are setting the watch for the first time. If the user is based in London, the button at the 10 o'clock position should be pressed until the name of London appears at 10 o'clock. Each time the button is pressed the outer ring with the names of the cities moves one city at a time counter clockwise.

When the correct city (in this case London) is at the 12 o'clock, pull out the crown and adjust the hour and minute hands as you would a conventional watch. Lets say the time is now 10:00 am. Set the hands so that the hour hand points to the ten o'clock position. The inner ring would move so that the number 10 is located right below the name London, which means the watch is set to 10:00 a.m.

Reset the crown and the watch starts to run. How about Moscow, what time is it there? Under the name Moscow the number on the ring is 13, meaning 1300 hours or 1:00 p.m.

After an hour, the hour hand would advance once hour to read 11 o'clock. The inner ring would rotate counter clockwise so that the number 11 would be under the name London, meaning 1100 hours or 11 o'clock in the morning. Under the name Moscow, the number would now be 14, meaning 2:00 p.m.

Now lets say you wanted to change the hands of the watch so that it reflects the time in Moscow. Press the button three time until Moscow is at the 12 o'clock position instead of London. Pressing the three time button would have done the following:

1) Outer ring - Rotate the outer ring counter clockwise three times to go from London to Paris to Cairo to Moscow.

2) Inner ring - Rotate the outer ring counter clockwise three times so that the number at the 12 o'clock goes from 11 to 12 to 13 to 14.

3) Hour hands, the hour hand of the watch would jump forward three times from the 11 0'clock to the 12 0'clock to the 1 0'clock to the 2 0'clock.

With Moscow at the top of the bezel, the hour and minute hands would reflect the time in Moscow which is 2:00 p.m. How about London, well under the name London, the number is still 11, since both the name of the City and the 24 -hour ring rotated simultaneously. The number 11 under London means it is 11:00 a.m. in London.

The number under the name of a city is that time of that city. In this way, the Patek Philippe Ref. 5130 presents the time of 24 cities around the world, representing all 24 time zones all at the same time.

The watch as a 39.5 mm diameter case. Inside is Calibre 240 HU movement which beats at 21,600 vibrations per hour and has a 48 hour power reserve.

About Patek Philippe. Patek Philippe and Co. was founded in Switzerland in 1851. It is acknowledged as one of the finest watchmaking companies in the world.

BaselWorld 2012: Patek Philippe Ref. 5204P-001

Classic chronographs. Patek Philippe has released excellent chronograph watches in recent years. At BaselWorld 2010, Patek Philippe announced the simple but classically elegant Ref. 5170, which many touted as Patek's best offering off the show.  At BaselWorld 2011, the Ref. 5270 was announced by Patek Philippe, which combined the chronograph function with the perpetual calendar complication.  This year, Patek Philippe brings the Ref. 5204, which combines the perpetual calendar complication with a splits seconds chronograph complication.

Patek Philippe Ref. 5204P-001. The Patek Philippe Ref. 5204 replaces the Patek Philippe Ref. 5004 in the company's line-up. Both watches feature a split seconds chronograph combined with a perpetual calendar, moon phase indicator and a A.M./P.M. indicator.

The new Ref. 5204 has a larger 40 mm case, as compared to the 36.7 millimeters of the Ref. 5004. The new Ref. 5204 also has a redesigned dial and hands. But the differences are more than skin deep. While both watches have manually wound movemenrs, inside, the Ref. 5204 is a brand new Caliber CHR 29-535 PS Q movement which beats at 28,800 vibrations per hours and has a 65 hour power reserve. The movement in the Ref. 5004 beat at a slower 18,000 vibrations per hour and had a shorter 60 hour power reserve. In updating the size of the Ref. 5204 to keep up with the times, Patek also made good use of the additional space. 

Split Seconds. The basic chronograph allows the measurement of a single event, and soon watchmakers began searching for a way to simultaneously measure multiple events beginning at the same time.

This was done by having two chronograph seconds hand, one of which could be stopped while allowing the second one to continue moving. This complication was called the split-seconds chronograph. A split-seconds chronograph features a clutch system with clamps that connect and disconnect the split-seconds hand and the main chronograph hand. A third button is added to the chronograph to activate the stopping of the split-seconds hand. Pressing this third button again allows the split-seconds hand hand to catch up with the chronograph hand, and the two hands, superimposed, continue together.

Perpetual Calendar. Many watches display the date on their dial. But since some months have only thirty, twenty-nine of twenty-eight days, you need to adjust the date at least five time per year. A perpetual calendar is a mechanism that automatically takes into account the varying number of days in each month as well as leap years so that the watch displays the correct date each month without the need of adjustment. A perpetual calendar watch will not need correction for more then a century.

In addition to the two main complications, the splits seconds chronograph and perpetual calendar, the Ref. 5204 has several other complications. The watch displays the day and month at the 12 o'clock position. At the 3 o'clock it has the standard 30 minute chronograph counter. At the 6 o'clock, the watch displays the day of the month and the moon phase indicator. 

A small round aperture at between the 3 to 4 o'clock positions indicates the leap year cycle, while another small round aperture at between the 3 to 4 o'clock positions serves as a day night indicator. Two case backs are provided with the watch. A full platinum case back and another with a sapphire crystal glass which allows you to view the movement.

The Ref. 5204 is only available in a Platinum case at present. 

About Patek Philippe. Patek Philippe & Co. was founded in Switzerland in 1851. The companies emblem, the Calatrava Cross, was adopted by it at the end of the 19th Century. It is acknowledged as one of the finest, if not the finest, watchmaker in the world.

BaselWorld 2012: Tudor Pelagos

 

Deep Sea Diver. The Tudor Heritage Black Ray will probably wind as my favorite watch announced at BaselWorld 2012, though the red bezel throws me off a bit. The watch looks like a vintage Rolex. Those looking for a more contemporary, and distinctively Tudor design may prefer the Tudor Pelagos. The Tudor Pelagos still follows the classic divers watch design, but with a Titanium case, 500 meter water resistance rating and helium gas escape valve it incorporates the features found in a modern day mechanical divers watch.

Tudor Pelagos. The Tudor Pelagos has a distinctively Tudor snowflake dial, with the square hour markers. The dial displays the date at the three o'clock position. The case is 42 mm in diameter and is made from titanium. The watch also has a helium escape valve.  

Helium Gas Release Valve. In order to carry out their work, COMEX divers spent prolonged periods in diving bells under pressure breathing a gas mix that contains helium. Helium molecules are the second smallest found in nature an thus works its way even water resistant watches. When a diver resurfaces, the helium which built up inside the watch starts to expand quicker than it can escape, leading to an increase in pressure inside the watch. The pressure in the watch would blow the crystal straight out of the case.

In collaboration with COMEX, Rolex developed a helium gas release valve. This would allow the built up helium gases to escape. The first watch Rolex developed for COMEX was a Submariner Ref. 5513 outfitted with a helium gas release valve. In 1972, Rolex built the Ref. 5514 exclusively for COMEX.

Inside the titanium case is a self-winding ETA 2824 movement which produces 28,800 vibrations per hour and has a 38 hour power reserve. 

The Tudor Pelagos is supplied with a steel bracelet and and a rubber strap. 

 

Tudor. Tudor is the second brand of Rolex. Both brands, Rolex and Tudor, were fathered by Hans Wilsdorf. Rolex was founded in 1905 while Tudor was established in in 1946. In the 1990's a decision was made to allow Tudor to develop its own brand identity and Tudor watches today are distinctively different in appearance from their Rolex counterparts.