Harry Winston Opus 11

The latest piece by Harry Winston is sure to arouse great interest with its highly unusual and fascinating display.

Denis Giguet, designer of the Opus 11 says that the idea of “how to explode the time” was the genesis for the creation of the Opus 11, the latest in the Harry Winston Opus series of complicated watches.

You can see this idea at work when you view the watch in motion. In fact its a timepiece you really must see working to fully appreciate it, the way the intricate micro-mechanics move is quite mesmerizing, so its recommended checking out the video at the end of the post.

Korloff Voyageur Kalahari Edition

Are you the subject of unprovoked, horological inspired bullying? Does your timepiece make you feel inferior?

Well relief may be at hand, or rather wrist – in the shape of the Korloff Voyageur, a watch that bristles with no less 5 Swiss ETA movements powering it. A watch abundantly endowed. Never look back in anger again.

The watch has dual personalities, the formal and the sporty.
These are reflected in the style of the watch faces, the formal side has a more traditional design featuring large Roman numerals and a polished finish while the sporty has a more modern, casual appearance and brushed finish.

Konstantin Chaykin Lunokhod

Russian watch and clockmaker Konstantin Chaykin designs and creates complex technical timepieces and movements at his workshop in St Petersburg. This is his latest which was released at Baselworld 2011.

Moon walker

What strikes you immediately with this intriguing timepiece is the colossal moon that’s prominently centered in the face of the watch commanding your attention. According to Chaykin its “the most lively and realistic watch Moon in the world”

Its name, Lunokhod means “moon walker” and refers to the Russian unmanned space programme that sent up robotic lunar rovers designed to land on the Moon between 1969 and 1977

Manufacture Royale Opera

Voltaire, a French Enlightenment writer famous for his wit and advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and free trade was apparently the inspiraion behind Manufacture Royale’s “Opera”. Would he have approved? Hard to know. Its quite an extravagence, given the time in which he lived , probably only Louis XV could have afforded to buy one of these. To paraphrase Voltaire, if this watch didn’t exist would it be necesary to invent it? Well I’m sure there probably was a void for a $1.2m watch with the unique capability of creating a hollow chamber to improve the accoustics of its minute repeater..

F.P.Journe “Vagabondage II”

Having a more traditional appearance, the second version in the “Vagabondage” series features a manual wind movement and original digital time display.

Equipped with a 40 hour power reserve which is indicated at the top of the dial via blue hand and guage, the seconds are displayed in analog fashion at the 6 o’clock position, however uncommonly it features both “jump” hours and minutes.

There is likely to be a third edtion to the series, each one featuring a unique digital display system.

Source: F.P.Journe

Angular Momentum “Bruyer Digital”

Angular Momentum is a small, independent Swiss watch manufacturer and self described creator of “unique and extraordinary timepieces.”

With their digital series of watches the time is displayed using two revolving discs which are visible through an aperture in the Bruyer wooden plate that is mounted behind the sapphire crystal.

The watch is also available in other interpretations such as the “mother of pearl digital” and “meteorite digital”.. using a mechanical self winding movement with 25 jewels.

Price:$3000 approx
Source:Angular Momentum

Lange Zeitwerk

This is the first watch with a minute repeater that A. Lange & Söhne have fully made in house.

The digital display on the Lange Zeitwerk gives the dial plenty of room for a chiming mechanism that is visible in its face, the gongs and hammers on the left and right below the digits. It strikes the quarter-hours with high-pitched tones and the full hours at a lower pitch. If desired the chimes can be immediately activated via the button at the 4 o’clock position.

Available in an unlimited 44.2 mm white gold case with black dial and in a platinum case of the same size with a rhodium-plated dial that is limited to 100 pieces.

January 2011

Urwerk 110

The UR-110 is a watch with attitude. From the base of its unusual asymmetrical case to the three arrow-shaped “torpedoes” flying in formation with the mission of indicating the time, the UR-110 has serious attitude.

Enveloped in a secure titanium case, planetary gearing keeps the three hour satellites in parallel formation as they take turns to indicate the time as they pass the 60-minute track. An “Oil Change” indicator alerts the user when it is time for a service; a “Day/Night” indicator helps keep track of changing time zones; and twin turbines on the back minimize wear in the automatic winding system.

MB&F Horological Machine No.2 – The Final Editions

First launched in 2008, Horological Machine No2 revolutionized the world of haute horlogerie with its distinctive rectangular shape, flying buttresses, dual portholes and modular construction. The crystal-clear sapphire case of HM2-SV then took the revolution even further by offering unprecedented visual access into the meticulously hand-finished, 349-component engine powering the indications on HM2’s iconic twin dials.

But all good things come to an end and, after three very successful years, Horological Machine No2 takes one last bow on center stage with two final limited editions of 18 pieces each, both featuring sapphire cases: HM2-Black SV and HM2-Red SV close the HM2 collection, thus ensuring its exclusivity.

Synthetic sapphire watchcases are extremely rare for good reason. While sapphire retains its strength at high temperatures, has zero porosity and (below 300c) does not react to acids, the very properties that make it so attractive also make it extremely difficult to mill, requiring sophisticated

Van der Klaauw Planetarium

Dutch master watchmaker Christiaan van der Klaauw specializes in Astronomical watches and this is possibly his most famous one.
It is considered to be his most ingenious and fascinating timepiece and features the smallest planetarium in the world.

The miniature Planetarium displays the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn around the Sun and there is also an annual calendar with the month and the date.

As you can well imagine creating the technical feat of representing the orbiting planets on a watch face require high levels of mechanical complexity

Martin Braun Heliozentric

Master watchmaker Martin Braun concentrates on celestial themed horology. This particular one features the Heliocentric World Positioning Display.

Using a blued steel dial, this astronomical watch features a central sun wheel that turns twice a year surrounded by a blue earth which shows the planets elliptical orbit as well as being a month indicator.

The wheel at the five o’clock position shows you the current sign of the zodiac. Diamonds are used to represent the constellations of Ursa Major and Orion, and the Hunter.

Price:$16,800
Visit Martin Braun’s website for further information.

Parmigiani Bugatti Tourbillon

Parmigiani teamed up with Bugatti to create a watch for their 16C Galibier car and the Bugatti Tourbillon Watch was the result. Its a convertible watch designed to be four timepieces in one.

The 16C is a four seat luxury sedan which shares the W16 8.0L engine of the Bugatti Veyron, but with two superchargers instead of four turbochargers for improved torque. Its still in prototype stage and a version proper is expected to reach the market in 2013.