Archive for March, 2009
Casio G-Shock Watches
So to be perfectly honest, my usual knee-jerk reaction to hearing the words “Casio Watch” has been to arrive at a conjured image of John Candy disingenuously showing his Casio off in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” The movie’s not-so-subtle joke: Casio equals schlock. 
But alas, it seems as if times have changed. Do you know who has been seen proudly wearing Casio timepieces? Well, to name drop just a few, the list includes Kanye West, Prince Harry of Whales, and the gun-slinging Prince of the Bayou, Brett Favre.
The timepiece they have been wearing is the stylish Casio G-Shock Watches, which has earned a stellar reputation for its ability to resist shocks and other hard knocks that would ordinarily send a typical sports watch to the scrapheap.
Outdoorsy people will get a lot of use out of this watch: it has countdown and stopwatch functions as well as excellent water and light resistance… not to mention resistance to the general mayhem of young and active guys. The BAPE x Casio G-Shock, which aside from Kanye is also worn by hip hop artists such as Pharrell and Nigo, is not only shock and water resistant, but it is also magnetic resistant, has a backlight with afterglow, daily alarm, dual time with calendar functions (preprogrammed till the year 2039) and a battery life of thirty six months.
Not a bad deal for about a hundred bucks… especially if you are a guy who likes to do, you know, guy things.
Gucci Luxury Watches
If you’ve ever had a special function to attend, you know how demanding it can be to find the appropriate dress or suit to wear. Then, of course, you must have new shoes that match your outfit. We often overlook the importance of accessories though.
The right accessories can make or break an outfit. All women know how critical it is to find that perfect pair of 4 inch sling backs and matching handbag to go with the little black dress. Jewelry is also an important accessory to remember.
If you’re a man, a flashy gold pair of cuff links will tell everyone that the suit you’re wearing wasn’t cheap, even if it was! For a woman, diamond earrings will bring out the glow in your smile and the envy of the other party guests.
The right watch is just as important as any of the above. These days you can spend thousands of dollars on a watch. Rolex, Gucci, Cartier are a few brands that come to mind. Each brand has a distinct reputation for quality and sophistication.
The Gucci Luxury Watch Brand is not only known for its quality craftsmanship, but also for its stylish beauty. Gucci watches are easy to distinguish from other expensive brands because of their unique design. Many brands of Rolex look exactly the same, but you won’t find that when searching for a Gucci watch.
Instead, you will find a bangle watch with intricate gold coils. Imagine wrapping it around a slender wrist with polished nails. How about a silver bracelet watch with sapphire crystal and diamond studded dial? The understated elegance of a Gucci watch adds grace to any occasion.
Of course, there are trademark styles of Gucci watches, which are familiar to us all. The wide stainless steel band with Pink Dial is easily recognizable as a Gucci Watch and it goes perfectly with any number of Gucci Handbags. Those two accessories alone will get you more than a few nods at any party or get-together.
Gucci watches flash in sunlight sending a strong message of wealth and good-taste. The right suit of clothes paired with a stylish Gucci watch on a man’s wrist can go along way toward articulating his business prowess to his peers.
If you’re looking for more than merely a timepiece, if you’re searching for something that subtly, yet effectively informs others that you are a person of excellence on the road to success, then a Gucci watch might be the precise accessory you need.
Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch and other “moon” luxury watches
It’s not really very shocking to say that watch designers are very fanciful people. After all, they play with everything from rubber to some of the rarest gems on the planet to create pretty, glittery merchandise. But there seems to be a recent movement where designers have gone over the moon – literally.
Once regarded as mere novelties to break up the monotony of a collection, moon watches have become increasingly common on the market. And it’s not just petty moon etchings, either. Designers are becoming more and more imaginative with the moon motif, and these three luxury watches show just how much.
The Ladies’ Luna
Bulgari is more recognized for its jewelry, but its watches can almost be considered jewelry as well. Case in point: the Bulgari-Bulgari Moonphase watch, with enough diamonds for a regular jewelry set. With a cluster of 48 diamonds forming a small crescent moon on its mother of pearl dial, this is heavenly body is light years away from ‘cheap.’
Aside from the diamond-studded design, the name comes from the uncommon complication that Bulgari installed in the Moonphase – an indicator for the phases of the moon. You’d probably have the time for moon watching if you can afford this kind of timepiece.
Some Lunar History
Back in the 60′s, the moon was still part of the endless outer space, that great frontier. Now that Omega is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing – and the first time Omega watches prominently featured in space – the company saw it fit to release an updated Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch.
This more modern version of the old Moonwatch pays homage to the original watches worn by the crew of Apollo 11, but gives it some of those commemorative touches. That small token at 9 o’clock instead of a subdial, for example, clues you in that this is a limited edition timepiece (only 7,969 were made).
Loving the Lunacy
Perhaps the biggest haul from this trend comes from the not-so-mainstream Romaine Jerome brand with its Moon Dust DNA collection. The collection’s three watches – the Dark Side of the Moon Tourbillon, the Moon Rider Tourbillon and the Moon Cross Rider Tourbillon – were never part of the original trip, but they look vintage enough to play the part.
What’s cool about the Moon Dust DNA collection is that each watch contains bits and pieces of the Soyuz and Apollo 11 crafts, as well as actual moon dust. You might not be able to get yourself to the moon with $20,000, but this is pretty darn close.
Omega Aqua Terra Luxury Watch
If not for the engineering and technical expertise behind each piece, the allure of designer watches usually comes from the luxury that they represent. The luxe factor accounts for many things – the stratospheric price tags, the elite clientele and the premium materials that go into each watch. The Omega Aqua Terra collection – the newest one from the prestigious company – has not just Omega’s signature expertise but also oodles of luxe. 
Face value isn’t exactly a shallow factor with this collection of watches. Top Wesselton diamonds make up each of the hour markers for a total of almost 0.2 karats of precious rock. Another 44 diamonds – almost 0.8 karats of rock – are installed in the bezel. And instead of the teak concept used for the Aqua Terra collection, the Aqua Terra Jewelry line has vertically set diamonds to highlight the face.
Luxury goes from inside out in the Aqua Terra Luxury Watch line. The 30mm case of each watch is made from 18-karat white gold, matched by the 18-karat white gold bracelets. Each of the watches in the collection is an intimidating piece once it weighs in – there’s a total of about 18 karats’ worth of Top Wesselton diamonds in each timepiece. The highest end of the line is a watch that has over 1,400 Top Wesselton diamonds weighing over 17.5 karats.
Another one of the models in the collection has a case in white gold that’s set all throughout with over three dozen diamond baguettes totaling 1.32 karats. 1,560 more diamonds account for another 14 karats of weight. The third and last model in this collection has 726 diamonds for a total weight of over 7 karats.
If the price tag is too high for you, the Aqua Terra collection has models available with a design – and a price tag – that’s a little less luxurious. Those models will have straps made of less premium materials. They will, for example, have stainless steel bracelets and cases instead of the classic gold. Even if you won’t be wearing 18 karats on your wrist, you can rest assured that you’re still getting the same quality that the Omega name represents.
Skeletons in the Closet Vacheron Constantin, Perrelet, and Louis-Fréderic
The world of luxury watches is one that definitely likes to stick to traditional, conservative designs. Year after year, companies release ever better complications, but all behind watch designs that are classic to the point of boring. But 2009 promises to be a very different year indeed.
Skeleton watches are turning out to be fairly popular this year, especially since a number of prestigious companies released skeletonized designs at the 2009 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. If you’re ever been interested in the industrial and intriguing look of skeleton-design watches, this year would be a good time to get one for yourself.
Modern Meets Traditional
Vacheron Constantin has made a name in its 250-odd years of existence as a purveyor of traditional designs. This year, however, they’ve released a design that’s more contemporary than classic.
The Skeleton Patrimony Traditionelle is a much bolder take on the typically conservative designs of the Patrimony Traditionelle collection. Instead of a plain dial, its skeletonized design gives you a full-on view of the complex horology ticking inside it. Watching the Skeleton Patrimony Traditionelle tick the time away is almost like witnessing a live, beating heart.
But even if the watch looks highly technical and very industrial, it doesn’t leave out the luxe factor that made Vacheron Constantin watches famous. Diamonds serve as the hour indices on the watch while a further set of up to 82 diamonds adorn the circumference of the case.
Skeletonized with a Signature
Perrelet is another premium watch company known for classicism and traditionalism in its designs. Like Vacheron Constantin, it’s also released a skeleton design of its own – the Louis-Fréderic split-second chronograph – fusing together function, aesthetics and pure technical skill.
Unlike the Vacheron Constantin opus, the piece from Perrelet is only partially skeletonized; there’s a rim of a dial as well as a radial design done in the distinctive deep blue of luxury watches. However, there’s a generous view of the mechanism at work behind the blues of the face.
There’s a technical side to all this beauty: the Louis-Fréderic is powered by the P-241, an automatic mechanism exclusive to Perrelet. The fact that it’s a chronograph also means that there’s a fair amount of ticking going on, more than what you already see.
Luxury Watch Timepiece Trends 2009: Blasts from the Past
Makers of premium watches really know how to pay their dues to their traditions. And what better way to pay homage to classic watch designs than to release new watches based on the old ones? Here are three commemorative timepieces that were adapted from classic designs, only more modern, advanced and expensive.
A Twenties Timepiece
The first of the three watches is a design straight out of the Roaring Twenties: the Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921. It hearkens back to a time when cars were still a fairly new invention, and the ‘modern’ aesthetic was very different from the one we have today.
It owes its distinctive cushion shape – the square with its sides bulging slightly outward – and its unusual orientation to its time context. This design was one of the first to be called a ‘driver’s watch,’ a timepiece designed specifically for automobile drivers. Tilting the whole thing to 1 o’clock allowed drivers to tell time with both hands on the wheel.
Faithful to Tradition
The commemorative collection from prestigious Audemars Piguet is, unsurprisingly, named Tradition. This same collection got quite a few updates at SIHH 2009, most notably the Tradition Perpetual Calendar Minute Repeater.
Like the Vacheron Constantin tribute, this Audemars Piguet watch commemorates one of their earlier designs – a pocket watch with the same cushion shape from 1923. Cushion contours were apparently a big thing back in the 1920′s, and big names like AP seem to be making it just as big a trend almost a century later.
A Vintage Haul
Even high-end watch companies usually limit their commemorative releases to just one or two models. Schaffhausen, Switzerland-based International Watch Company, more popularly IWC, releases not just one or two but six updates to some of their oldest and most timeless designs. Going in chronological order, they revived
- The Special Pilot’s Watch, a design first released in 1936;
- The Portuguese, whose first incarnation debuted in 1939;
- The Ingenieur, a watch dating all the way back to 1955;
- The Aquatimer, a popular creation from 1967;
- The Da Vinci, first released in 1969; and
- The Portofino, an iconic design from 1984
It’s no wonder that IWC should revive those six designs in particular. They were some of the company’s most popular models, and each one helped cement IWC’s reputation as a purveyor of high-end timepieces.
Even if 2009 marks some of the most modern advances in timekeeping technology, it’s also a great year for combining horology and history.
Watchmaking Stripes: Panerai The Ferrari Chronograph
Race cars and premium watches have a lot in common. Both items require a talented craftsman to create. Both place equal emphasis on form and function in product designs. Both have their respective hierarchy of brands, and either type of product is prohibitively expensive. For 2009, one more item has been added to this list of common ground: racing giant Ferrari and horology master Officine Panerai came together to make a watch.
And it’s not just any watch. That much you could already infer from your first glance at the unique design and loudly eye-catching color combination of the Panerai Ferrari Chronograph. In an industry where subtle and understated reign supreme, the Ferrari Chronograph’s bold curves and strong colors really set it apart. But this designer watch is no mere astronomically priced trinket.
For one thing, it’s definitely not delicate and frail. Panerai made sure of that by using diamond-like coating (DLC), a chemical treatment that gives the Ferrari Chronograph its scratchproof toughness and unmistakable black finish. With a rubber strap, it’s a clear departure from the restrained styling of the 2008 version with a pink gold case and strap in leather. This year, it’s for the tough guy who’s ready to get a few bumps and bruises.
If you weren’t aware of the partnership, you couldn’t tell at first that this was a Panerai product. Only the Ferrari brand is stamped on the face and the adjustment dial; the other’s logo is stamped on the back. But behind the cool, mysterious face, the watch is Panerai through and through. It’s powered by a 28,800-vibrations per hour OP XII Calibre that’s water-resistant up to 100m and equipped with a 46-hour power reserve.
This 45-mm baby might not be able to go 0 to 200 in 10 seconds, and neither can it make that inimitable Ferrari purr. However, with twice as much history and engineering behind it, this red-and-black beauty isn’t exactly something that you easily compare with other objects. Even with an expected price tag of about $15,000, you can rest assured that this commemorative piece is well worth every cent of it.
A Ulysse Nardin Watches Tradition
Recession? What recession? The promise of 2009 as a financially challenging year didn’t daunt premium watch brand Ulysse Nardin from releasing the Maxi Marine Diver Titanium. This newest addition to the Maxi Marine Diver collection looks like it’s the most luxurious one of the lot. Just looking at it makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a stock market boom.
That Luxe Appeal
From the first time you look at it, the Maxi Marine Diver Titanium draws you in with its alluring combination of enigmatic black and pink gold reminiscent of old world luxury. Standing out against both is the brilliant platinum that makes up much of the watch’s case, which is a shade larger than other watches from the same collection.
As if the typical price range from Ulysse Nardin wasn’t enough, many elements in this watch’s design contribute towards what’s sure to be an astronomical price tag. The 45-mm diameter case is crafted primarily from polished titanium of the highest grade. Its bezel is made of 18K rose gold with guilloched black material that matches the pattern on the dial. The indices on the dial are made of the same precious metal.
Power Hidden in The Depths
Don’t be fooled by all the luxurious touches on the Maxi Marine Diver Titanium. The rubber strap (which has pink gold accents too) clues you in that the watch is made of tough – albeit glittery – stuff.
Under that wave-patterned black dial beats a self-winding UN-26 caliber heart, each one accredited as a chronometer by the Controle Officiel Suisse de Chronometres (COSC) itself. On the dial, it features subdials for small seconds, an easily adjustable date display and an indicator for its 42-hour power reserve. And although it’s unlikely that you’ll ever try it on such a valuable watch (remember, each one is individually numbered), it’s water-resistant to a 200m depth.
Expect to be drool over this watch at the upcoming BASELWORLD 2009, where Ulysse Nardin is expected to officially launch it. But considering that it’s going to be more expensive than the next best thing (the Maxi Marine Diver Chronograph at over $30,000), it might be better to wait for a sale event than the actual release.
