Jaquet Droz Ceramic Watches Embody Individualistic Elegance

It’s neat to see what Jaquet Droz has done with ceramics.  While most brands (Hublot and IWC, for example) have gone the purely sports-based route when using this fascinating and somewhat Darth Vader-esque material, Jaquet Droz has held to their own successful theme of individualistic elegance. My favorite of JD’s ceramic cased watches is the just-announced Quantieme Perpetuel Ceramique, which has to be one of the most strikingly original complicated dress watches ever created.   ( Click here to read an article on it) Continue Reading… »

Ulysse Nardin Perpetual Diver Limited Edition Watch Thoughts

Check out this candid shot of this rare watch on my wrist. At first glance the Ulysse Nardin Perpetual Diver Limited Edition watch might as well be an Oris or any other midrange diving watch. The bright orange colors, sporty but mainstream font for the numerals, and carbon fiber face make it look like just another nice watch in the crowd. Upon closer inspection you realize that the watch is no basic Swiss watch, but instead an Ulysse Nardin, and look closer to see that the various windows reveal a perpetual calendar complication. There are a few, but not many mechanical luxury perpetual calendar diver watches, and this timepiece joins a small club. Continue Reading… »

A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Perpetual In White Gold: Subtle Addition With Serious Beauty

While not the biggest news to come from A. Lange & Sohne of late (that would probably be the introduction of the brilliant Zeitwerk watch), the announcement that the complex Datograph Perpetual will be offered in 18-karat white gold is still some pretty tantalizing stuff.  The lovely grey dial of this new version is an absolute showstopper, and it gives this Dato Perpetual a distinctly different personality than its platinum stablemate. Continue Reading… »

Bell & Ross BR 03 Instrument Type Aviation: Quartz Watch Superstar

Trash-talking quartz watches is a sometimes pastime of mechanical watch elitists.  And I can’t say I haven’t been there myself–belittling these tremendously precise but “soulless” devices that nearly drove the mechanical watch into extinction in the 1970s.  I have to say, though, that I don’t do it anymore.  Perhaps its because I’m a older and theoretically a little wiser, or maybe its the fact that watches that tick are no longer an endangered species.  However, my attitude change can mostly be attributed to my gradual realization that quartz technology can in fact offer some things that a mechanical movement can’t–especially in great sports watches such as the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Instrument Type Aviation.   Continue Reading… »

Chronoswiss Perpetual Calendar Watch: An Elegant Object To Savor Our Most Precious Commodity

Blued poire hands, stately roman numerals, and a railroad minute track.  These are but a few of the details that make the Chronoswiss Perpetual Calendar one of the purest bastions of classicism on today’s luxury watch landscape. 

I first became aware of Gerd R. Lang and his delightfully antediluvian watch brand back in 1996; since that time, Continue Reading… »

Piaget Emperador Cushion Grande Luna: An Original And Beautiful Moon Phase Watch

Piaget’s Emperador Cushion stands out as one of the most appealing dress watch designs in the high luxury segment–somehow classical and contemporary at the same time, it is pure Piaget in its fine execution and attention to detail.  With the impending introduction of the Emperador Cushion Grande Luna, the classical moon phase complication gets a presentation that is most worthy.

Continue Reading… »

Corum Romulus Perpetual Calendar: The Most Complex Romulus Watch Yet

Since its recent revival, the Romulus watch collection has been one of my favorites from the house of Corum.  I love the stately, deeply engraved Roman figures in the bezel, and the classic, luxurious overall impression these models give.  With the introduction of its Romulus Perpetual Calendar, Corum has upped the ante of horological complexity, and produced what is in my opinion the finest Romulus thus far. Continue Reading… »

Girard-Perregaux ww.tc Perpetual Calendar: Practicality And Prestige

The Girard-Perregaux ww.tc is surely one of the most successful high luxury travel watches of all time.  A virtual “face” for the world time complication, the handsome ww.tc is as useful as it is easy to use and mechanically sophisticated.

One of the finest variations of this Girard-Perregaux classic is the ww.tc Perpetual Calendar.  In place of the chronograph function which usually supplements the world timezones, you have a superb complication that keeps track of day, date, and month Continue Reading… »

Louis Moinet Magistralis: Over-The-Moon Spectacular

The Louis Moinet Magistralis is a fantastic new addition to the world of exclusive haute horlogerie.   The Magistralis, which ViaLuxe first reported on back in June, is remarkable for several reasons.  First of all, you have the beautiful minute repeating movement with perpetual calendar and monopush chronograph–had it been manufactured yesterday, it would be extremely impressive; the fact it is a unique 19th century original, makes it an irreplaceable mechanical treasure. Continue Reading… »

DeWitt Academia Perpetual Calendar Nebula Watch: Unique Displays And A Beautiful Moonphase

With the introduction of its new Academia “Nebula” watch, elite Swiss watch brand DeWitt has provided a striking re-interpretation of the traditional perpetual calendar display. Rather than uniting displays for day date month and leap year in the classic 3,6,9 arrangement, or even utilizing retrograde displays as it its own Academia Perpetual Calendar watch, DeWitt has given each function its own subdial, and created a V-shaped layout that is as attractive as it is unusual. Continue Reading… »