Schlagwort-Archive: automatic movement

Ready for Take-off with the Mathis Montabon Aerotime II

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Today, we’re taking a look at a new model by Mathis Montabon, one that is clearly related to all things aviation: the Aerotime II. This generously sized men’s watch combines a clearly legible dial with a powerful automatic movement and an overall great energy.

With its strong and highly expressive looks, the Aerotime II fits perfectly into the latest Mathis Montabon collection. The completely polished stainless steel case features a generous diameter of 44 mm. This timepiece does not hold back but wants to stay out, and with a weight of more than 100g it needs a man who can literally wear it. The bezel and the lugs are of slender built and together with the crown and its guard they provide beautiful lines and an airily feel for this big watch.

The slim bezel and the understated design of the case ensure that most of the viewer’s attention is drawn to the dial of the Aerotime II. A very decorative slide-rule design runs around the edge of the dial while the centre is divided between four different subdials. At the 3 o’clock position you’ll find a classic small date window. Directly opposite, at the 9 o’clock position you’ll find a date display which is further complemented by a month display at 12 o’clock. the subdial at the 6 o’clock position also provides a very handy 24-hour-display. And, as if that were not enough, Mathis Montabon has finished the dial with a beautiful sunburst pattern.
In order to guarantee ideal legibility, the manufacture has used a lot of luminous paint for the prominent indexes as well as for the hands. This ensures time is clearly legible even in the dark. A red seconds hand and individual accents on the slide-rule are adding additional colour to the dial.

Powered is the Aerotime II by a powerful, reliable automatic movement. Precise and tireless, it provides the power for all the functions mentioned above.

Mathis Montabon offers five different versions of the Aerotime II Three with light-coloured dials in stainless steel or with a rose gold or gold PVD coating. The stainless steel case has also been combined with a dark dial and there is also an all-black version.
All watches are supplied with a leather strap.

Frederique Constant Vintage Rally Healey Automatic

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The Vintage Rally Healey limited editions have worked their way into the affections of countless classic car enthusiasts in the past. These watches were created as a result of a partnership between the Frederique Constant Manufacture and the Austin-Healey car brand which dates back to the year 2004: seventeen years of allegiance and fellowship between watchmaking and mechanics, punctuated by rallies, meetings, races and a shared passion for retro design.
The previous edition of the Vintage Rally Healey Automatic dates back to 2018; now it’s back with two new versions. Putting its tradition of sporty chronographs on hold, Frederique Constant has given the Vintage Rally Healey Automatic a more urban design. Designed for the gentleman drivers who also appreciate a getaway from the racing track, this timepiece allows to casually enjoy a new design imbued with retro charm.

Stylish and timeless, the first model features a 40 mm rose gold case, that coordinates with the hour markers and hands; it is also water-resistant up to 5 atm. For optimum legibility even in the dark, Frederique Constant worked with a luminous treatment. The flange counts down the minutes against a chocolate coloured background that matches the calfskin strap. With its perforation, it underscores the neo-vintage quality of the watch.

The second version’s entire dial is adorned with the legendary deep, bold green colour of the Healey company. A study in contrast and a return to the roots of one of the most iconic rally car colours, „British racing green“ has long been associated with the vintage Austin Healeys that are especially desirable among collectors. Frederique Constant’s rendering is especially sleek and stylish and the revival of this shade on a three-hand model enables the wearer to subtly show off their love of vintage cars without compromising the timeless elegance of a more urban timepiece.

Both versions are three-hand models with a date window at 3 o’clock. They are all powered by the automatic FC-303 calibre. It works at a frequency of 28.800 beats per minute and provides a power reserve of up to 38 hours.

Bell & Ross Flight Instruments: BR 03-92 HUB

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Bell & Ross, the ultimate reference for professional aviation timepieces, goes back to its origins in high performance military instruments with a new interpretation of its iconic watch, the BR 03-92 HUD. The Instrument collection is directly inspired by the aeronautical essential navigation tools of aircraft cockpit and highlights bell & Ross‘ four fundamental requirements: legibility, functionality, precision and water-resistance.
Fully in line with the characteristics of this collection, the new BR 03-92 HUD gets inspiration from the avionics displays of fighter jets equipped with the most cutting-edge technology.
Everything started in 2005 with the BR 01 which was inspired by the cockpit clocks of 1970’s airplanes. Then in 2010 the BR 01 Radar entered the market, followed by other models like the BR 01 Turn Coordinator. And now, ten years later, the watchmakers at Bell & Ross are turning all their attention to the Head Up Display (HUD). This new introduction completes the Flight Instruments Family.

The HUD is a transparent glass screen that displays all information that is essential to fulfill a mission in the pilot’s visual field. For optimal effectiveness, its primary function is to keep the pilot focused on the target ahead without having t take the eyes off their line of sight. The HUD takes on the augmented reality concept; with displaying digital data onto the windshield, pilots can be alerted about everything from the horizon line, altitude or speed to navigation aids. If you think that that sounds vaguely familiar it’s because the HUD is now also frequently used in the automobile industry.

The design of the BR 03-92 HUD embodies the spirit of Bell & Ross’ Instrument watches, as a contemporary style, the black matte ceramic case features the iconic “circle in a square” that evokes the silhouette of an aircraft cockpit clock.

The technical and graphical tools with tips to translate this display type at the much smaller scale of an analog mechanical watch was an innovative exercise at the brand’s creative studio. Arranged in tiers, the BR 03-92 HUD is built around superimposed levels to create an overlay that echoes the real HUD instrument.
The watch hinges on three layers: On the upper level, the green-tinted sapphire crystal gives the illusion of the digital HUD-type display, using the surface of the disc dial and that of the crystal. Here are the four brackets found from HUD line of sight. On the middle level, the black and green hands reveal the minutes and seconds. The hand’s center parts were purposely hidden to further increase the legibility. On the lower level, the hours are indicated by a green triangle marker which appears in the center through an independent concentric disc. The watch also features a small date at 4 o’clock.

And of course, the coatings are worth noting on this timepiece. By using the green color, Bell & Ross recreates the graphic style of this Instrument as closely as possible. The green on the dial mirrors the computer-type display of the HUD, and the cases anti-reflective matte black background provides a striking contrast and the sapphire crystal is tinted.
To provide an intense green light, hour numerals, indices and triangle as well as the minute-circle and hands are coated with green Super-LumiNova.

The BR 03-92 HUD fits perfectly in the Instruments family which guarantee ultra-legibility at all times. The combination of green tinted sapphire crystal on green information emphasizes this.

The watch is powered by the calibre BR-CAL.302, an automatic movement known for its absolute reliability.
The utilitarian approach of this watch is completed with both a black rubber and an ultra-resilient black synthetic fabric strap.

The BR 03-92 HUD is a limited edition of only 999 pieces.

Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Off-Centered

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The new Grande Seconde Off-Centered by Jaquet Droz is daring to create contrast, is playing with light and transforming materials. Its new theme of gold and black jade bringts together the principal codes of the Maison in a wonderful timepiece that breaks with conventions ever so elegantly.

While the design of the Grande Seconde, created by Pierre Jaquet-Droz almost three centuries ago, is ever recognizable, it is a trademark of the Maison. And in the Grande Seconde Off-Centered it is as characteristic as ever – even if it brings a resolute difference into the collection: the time is off-center. The alignment of the hours and minutes with the independent large seconds is respected but along a slightly slanted axis, from 1 o’clock to 7 o’clock.

For the dial, Jaquet Droz focuses on one of its most impressive skills: the masterful use of minerals. Mineral dials offer unique motifs time and again. The stones, sometimes dating back several millions of years, are perfectly set in scene and reveal themselves in all their magnificent singularity.
Black jade is one such treasure. Almost exclusively of Australian origin, it comes from two principal sites in the south and east of the continent. It is an extremely hard stone, thanks to the presence of metal in its composition, and requires lengthy polishing to reveal the tiny silver sinclusions that are its hidden secret. Almost imperceptible to the naked eye, they enrich black jade with a unique reflection that does not only look stunning, but allows the knowledgeable eye to distinguish it from onyx.

The barely 1 mm thick mineral sheet of the dial is paired with a 43 mm red gold case featuring warm, coppery highlights. The two time display circles and their hands are also in red gold, creating a fascinating contrast with the black background.
Inside the 3 atm water-resistant case works the Jaquet Droz 2663A.P. This in-house automatic movement works at a frequency of 4 Hz and provide a power-reserve of up to 68 hours.

The new Grande Seconde Off-Centered is a limited edition of 88 pieces. It is completed by a black alligator leather strap.

Urwerk Ur-100 Gold Edition

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This new creation is the fourt episode in the UR-100 intergalactic saga, recounting the adventures of an atypical time instrument written, produced, and directed by the horological studio Urwerk. Approaching light speed, the UR-100 pushes the boundaries of technology, design, indications and functionality. Like other Urwerk models, this latest UR-100 clearly shows that science fiction has been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for Baumgartner and Frei. Why else would this newest model be named after the popular Star Wars droid C-3PO.

First and foremost, the UR-100 is slim – extra-flat for a satellite-geared watch – with angular contours; it’s an elongated octagon with three notched sides. The form uses subtle asymmetry, taking clues from Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon. The UR-100 is cutfrom a solid block of yellow gold, its surface satin-finished to the same pale shine as the Star Wars droid. It measures 41 x 49.7 x 14 mm and is pressure tested to 3 bar.
Topping the case is a sapphire crystal bubble reminiscent of the shape of the first Urwerk models, the dome housing the control center of this intergalactic visitor.

The UR-100’s astrophysics govern the Urwerk universe with rotating satellites displaying the hours and minutes. Isochronal revolutions create a miniature cosmic ballet, the hour satellites also displaying minutes as they traverse 120 degrees across the bright green scale. A bold red arrowhead marks the confluence of hours and minutes, offering a unique, highly legible, and intuitive time display.
At last, but certainly not least, are the discreet spacetime indications on each side of the top of the dome’s periphery. After each of the three red minute arrowheads pass the numeral 60 they disappear and then reappear again on two separate kilometer scales. The first display at 9 o’clock marks the 555 km traveled along the equator during 20 minutes of the earth’s rotation, the second display at 3 o’clock indicates the distance – 35,740 kilometres – traveled by the earth as it orbits the around the sun over 20 minutes.

The UR-100 is powered by the calibre UR 12.01. The automatic winding system is equipped with the legendary „Windfänger“. This planetary gear limits the speed of rotation of the rotor, minimizing both excessive winding and wear and maximizing reliability and lifespan.
This automatic movement operates at a frequency of 4 Hz and provides a power reserve of at least 48 hours.

The UR-100 C-3PO is a special edition limited to 25 pieces.

Ready for Every Adventure with the Tudor North Flag

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The modern adventure is a new neo-romantic vision of our relationship with nature, marked by the desire for outdoor experiences in which aesthetics play an important role. This trend originates from the simultaneous need for activity and the desire to take calculated risks against the backdrop of the great outdoors. Even if it may have to be postponed in the times of Corona, Tudor has been comitted to the pioneering spirit for several years and has presented its watches within the context of modern adventure. Technical, reliable, relevant and highly evocative, Tudor watches are made for the modern adventurer – even if he has to endure isolation at the moment.
Traditionally, Tudor’s watchmaking culture places the quality of its producs and the experience of their wearers at centre stage.

Today we introduce the Tudor North Flag, which belongs to hte coldest and most remote extremities of the planet, visited by expeditions and studied by universities but never inhabitited by man. This watch is one of the first, Tudor has equipped with its first Manufacture movement.

Angular and entirely satin-finished, the case of the North Flag creates a highly technical perception. Matt ceramic, isible on the side, and brushed steel on the upper face, integrate to strenghten the general technical feel conveyed by this model. The case is also water-resistant up to 10 atm.
The dials of the North Flag enhance the practical look of the case. In addition to the hour, minute and central second functions, the watch provides a date display at 3 o’clock and the power reserve indicator at 9 o’clock. Yellow highlights loosen up the black dials.

The new calibre, Tudor MT5621, powering the North Flag model, provides impressive autonomy due to its power reserve of approximately 70 hours. This automatic movement operates at a frequency of 4 Hz and comes with a COSC certification. The sapphire crystal case back shows the movement in all its glory and matt finish and openworked central rotor.

The Tudor North Flag is completed by a stainless steel bracelet with alternating brushed and polished surfaces or a matt black leather strap.

Audemars Piguet’s New Millenary Frosted Gold Philosophique

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The new Millenary Frosted Gold Philosophique is a statement of creative freedom and free-spirited individuality. This watch has made it its mission, despite the rush and frenzy of today’s world, to offer its wearer an entirely new view of the time available to them. With its single hand, this wristwatch stands against today’s conventions of timekeeping, against the constraints of the tireless quest for precision that characterizes not only our day-to-day lives but also modern industry. Inspired by the aesthetics of 17th-century single-hand timepieces, the new Millenary Frosted Gold Philosophique also tells time in a more philsoophical way.
Audemars Piguet introduced its first Philosophique watch in 1982, in the midst of the quartz crisis. The Manufacture responded to this severe shock to the watchmaking industry by producing more innovative mechanics.
The Millenary watches are also a tradition at Audemars Piguet. Since they first appeared in 1995, this line has been a canvas for creativity with its elliptical case, eccentric dials and visible hand-wound movement.

The Millenary Frosted Gold Philosphique has been meticulously hand-finished by Audemars Piguet’s watchmakers. The pink or white gold case presents alternating satin brushing and Frosted Gold finishing, a technique the manufacturer owes to Florentine jewellery designer Carolina Bucci. The diamond-dust it creates is the result from hours of meticulous micro-hammering.

Adding a sublte touch of color, the see-through caseback reveals the oscillating weight, which coloured plates recall the hand-crafted dimpled dial in shades of brown or blue. The single hour hand is polished and sand-blasted.

Adding to the current hand-wound collection, this watch is equipped with a new automatic movement, the calibre 3140. It is endowed with a patented mechanism which ticks the hand around the dial in an elliptical trajectory. The hour wheel directly corresponds with a transparent disc on the dial, on which the single hand is mounted. This enables the hand to follow a clear trajectory despite the elliptical case.

Both Millenary Frosted Gold Philosophique versions are equipped with an alligator leather strap.

Bold in Bronze: The New TAG Heuer Autavia Models

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Earlier this year, TAG Heuer introduced its legendary Autavia timepiece as a new stand-alone collection that continues the tradition of versatility, ruggedness and reliability that characterized the original Autavia from 1960. Two durable and timeless models in bronze are now available in stores and online. These watches are an ideal choice for explorers and adventurers who want to wear their unique lifestyle on the wrist.

Bronze is not only elegant and characteristically timeless, it is also extremely robust and therefore ideally suited for a lifestyle that includes all kinds of outdoor activities. The warm apperance of the metal alloy has long been valued by watch collectors. It is anti-magnetic and resistant to normal wear and tear. Bronze is also well known for its maritime heritage – it is not susceptible to saltwater corrosion, making the bronze Autavia models suitable for maritime adventures.
The most distinguishing feature of the bronze TAG Heuer Autavia models is the unique patina that naturally develops on the cases over the course of time – depending on the wearer’s lifestyle. The brushed finish of the case ensures that the patina develops evently. This oxidation process, caused by air, water and changes in temperature, is a completely natural process. First, the bronce changes into red-brown colour and then turning bluish-green. The result is a beautiful vintage effect without affecting the quality of the material.

The 42mm watch is available in two different versions: with a fumé green or brown dial. Both are equipped with bidirectional rotating ceramic bezels in either black or brown and are water-resistant up to 10 bar.
As with all TAG Heuer AUtavia models, the new models also provide excellent legibility. The hour markers as well as hour, minute and seconds hands are generously coated with Super-LumiNova, making it easily possible to read the time even in the dark.

The TAG Heuer Autavia models are all powered by a COSC-certified movement, the automatic Calibre 5. It operates at a frequency of 4 Hz and provides a power reserve of approximately 38 hours.
A tyre and propeller have been etched into the titanium caseback as a nod to the collection’s rich heritage and the Autavia’s origin in the automobile and aviation industries.

TAG Heuer has equipped the watches with easily interchangeable leather straps; brown for the brown model and khaki for the green model. They can be qickly – and without tools of course – switched out and TAG Heuer sells all Autavia straps seperately.

The Breitling Navitimer B03 Chronograph Rattrapante 45

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It has been more than 85 years since Breitling introduced the first modern chronograph, whose influence on the watch design in general has been incalculable back then. With its new Navitimer B03 Chronograph Rattrapante 45, featuring its interpretation of one of watchmaking’s greatest complications, the brand has shown that it is still offering innovations.

The Navitimer B03 Chronograph Rattrapante 45 is as aesthetically impressive as it is technically sophisticated. Housed in a big, bold 45 mm red gold case, it is distinguished by a Stratos Gray dial and is water-resistant up to 3 bar. Its hour markers and hour and minute hands are coated with Super-LumiNova, which guarantees easy legibility in all lighting conditions. The chronograph has a bidirectional rotating bezel with the circular slide ruler that has long been associated with Breitling’s Navitimers.
Breitling has varied the stylized „B“ logo with an anchor symbol for this watch and divided it between two hands. The „B“ is on the red chronograph hand, while the anchor sits on the split-second hand. As a result, the two elements of the logo are separated when the split-second hand is stopped and reform when the hands realign with each other.

The split-second pusher, which is housed in the crown at 3 o’clock, serves to stop and restart the split-second hand as often as desired during a timing operation, allowing the wearer to measure split times or compare the results of several competitors.

Breitling has equipped the Navitimer B03 Chronograph Rattrapante 45 with an in-house movement, the calibre B03. It is a unique split-second movement. With its two superimposed central chronograph hands, it can measure two elapsed times simultaneously. The COSC-certified chronometer, whose performance can be viewed through the transparent sapphire caseback, offers a power reserve of around 70 hours. The automatic movement works at a frequency of 4 Hz.

Breitling has equipped the Navitimer B03 Chronograph Rattrapante 45 with a black alligator leather strap.

Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic Skeleton

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In a freshly restyled Aikon case, Maurice Lacroix has fitted a new manufacture, openworked, automatic calibre of unique design. True to its vocation of manufacturing high quality timepieces at an affordable price, deeply rooted in urban and contemporary culture, Maurice Lacroix introduces the Aikon Automatic Skeleton.
Openworked timepieces are an integral part of Maurice Lacroix’s history and watchmaking culture. Several successive generations of its watches have featured this graphic and horological principle. In consists in the hollowing of a movement’s parts, in order to retain only its bearing and functional structures.

Based on the 2016 AIKON Quartz design, the AIKON Automatic case leans towards a more masculine, sharper state of mind, one that is also more polarizing. It is 45 mm wide, yet only 13 mm thick, which provides it with strong and harmonious proportions. Entirely made of steel, both brushed and polished, it stands out thanks to the six arms on its bezel, positioned once every two hours. This is a signature feature of the AIKON collection, as is the one-piece case shape. Without lugs, it bears two prongs that descend on the bracelet and shape its curve.
The case is water-resistant up to 10 atm.

The calibre ML134 was entirely designed for the Aikon Automatic Skeleton. The automatic movement is the result of a thorough aesthetic and functional reshuffle of the ML134 calibre, one of the first to have come out of the Maurice Lacroix manufacture. And as is the case with all its in-house skeleton movements, it is born of design, not necessity. It is structured by a series of five concentric circles, that run diagonally through the entire watch. Bridge after bridge, they radiate from the centre of the barral, at one o’clock.
Said bridges are black due to a DLC surface treatment. Their central canal is lower and sandblasted. Their outline is one level higher and satin-brushed. All of the components are skeletonised; the barrel, which sits at the pattern’s core, the balance wheel, the winding mechanism, and the oscillating weight too. The latter is visible through the sapphire case back.
One level above this mechanical lattice, a sapphire dial bears rhodium-pleated indices and the small seconds hat at 6 o’clock.
The movement works at a frequency of 2.5 Hz and provides a power-reserve of up to 52 hours.

Aikon Automatic Skeleton introduces Maurice Lacroix’s Easychange system. These fast-swap attachments allow to singlehandedly remove the bracelet made from black alligator leather.