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Best Swiss watches

Two Variations on the Tribute 1 From Armin Strom

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We had some info from Armin Strom, here’s the press release;

Luxury watch manufacture Armin Strom has announced the launch of two new models of its ground-breaking Tribute 1. The brand’s post-modern interpretation of the classic dress watch was introduced in June of this year in an edition limited to only 25 pieces, which sold out quickly. Watch aficionados who missed the opportunity to acquire the Tribute 1 First Edition in grey with an 18k white gold barrel bridge now have the chance to add one of the new models to their collections. The two references – one with a black dial and one with a blue dial – are available in limited editions of 100 each.

Armin Strom’s unique twist on time

From a distance, the Armin Strom Tribute 1 watch may appear to be a classic manually-wound dress watch. It has an exquisitely proportioned 38 mm stainless steel case with an enticingly slender profile. It is presented on an elegant alligator strap. So far, it’s everything you would expect in an haute horlogerie dress watch. But a closer inspection immediately reveals that while Master Watchmaker Claude Greisler has embraced time-honoured watchmaking traditions, he has, in fact, again redefined the genre with a watch that will appeal to men and women who treasure the brand’s unique twist on time.

A study in three dimensions

Like every Armin Strom watch, the Tribute 1 is a study in three dimensions. It starts with an understated off-centre dial displaying hours, minutes and seconds. In attractively stark contrast to the dial is an adjacent plate whose grenage finish subtly transitions the hue of the dial from one shade to another as the light changes. The already distinctive face is rounded out with a barrel bridge, a feature that has become a hallmark in Armin Strom’s exclusive timepieces. The Tribute 1’s crown is located at 2 o’clock, a detail that enhances wearer comfort.

With a highly efficient motor barrel, whose arbor turns around the mainspring, the in-house Calibre AMW21 delivers a jaw-dropping 100-hour power reserve.

Exceptional hand finishing

The Tribute 1 watches are also characterized by Armin Strom’s commitment to exceptional hand-finishing of its movements. Claude Geisler says, “I’m obsessed with every detail of this watch, particularly when it comes to finishing. For example, the barrel, visible on the dial side of the timepiece, is meticulously hand-decorated, which is extremely time consuming. We also manufacture, polish and decorate the hands in-house, which is painstaking but ensures the quality while keeping the price reasonable.”

Price is about £11,000 by the way. Then you have VAT and import duty on top. That said, it’s cheaper than a Patek Calatrava.

German watches

Sinn 103 Chrono: Special Ltd Edition 60th Anniversary

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Sinn has sent us info on their limited edition 103 chronograph. Just 600 pieces will be produced, classic Sinn styling, perfect if you are a fan of the Pilot watch look. Here’s the press kit word;

The 103 is more closely connected to our company than just about any other series. After all, it was these timepieces that acquainted pilots, in particular, with the name Sinn Spezialuhren once the company was founded. We’ve also continuously expanded the series, adding, for example, the latest SINN technologies and other
features.

Classic in every sense of the word, this pilot chronograph is the perfect celebration of our company’s 60th anniversary – in the form of a special edition limited to 600 pieces. The 103 Classic 12 lives up to its reputation as a classic timepiece, but also boasts a modern interpretation, as demonstrated, for example, by the bezel insert made from ceramic – a material which appears for the first time on the 103 and is characterised by its outstanding hardness and the resulting exceptional scratch resistance.

The captive bezel features a twelve-hour scale to display a second time zone. The engraved numerals on the bezel are the colour of chamois, which is reflected in the three counters, all the printed elements and the luminous colour. The attached appliqués
are rhodium-plated and luminous, as are the hour, minute and stopwatch second hand.

Even the place of origin of the watch is mentioned by name. The ‘Sinn Frankfurt am Main’ lettering thus adorns the glossy black dial with decorative sunburst to mark the anniversary. To mark the special occasion, the edge of the transparent back features
the limited-edition number as well as the engravings ‘1961-2021’ and ‘60 Jahre’.

German watches

Glashutte Is Doing That Seventies Thing

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Do you love that 1970s style of watch manufacturing, with big bold TV dials and cases? Some, like the Zenith El Primero from that era, are now rising in value as people discover the Seventies Swagger they never really experienced first time around – since they weren’t even born..

Anyway, Glashutte have been feeling nostalgic so here are some details on their bright yellow, limited edition, 70s homage chrono, called the Panorama;

With its distinctive case this chronograph captures the essence of the design icons of the 1970s: Dynamic lines and flowing curves lend it an authentic and retro-modern character.

The dial was manufactured in-house and is coated entirely with yellow varnish. Super-LumiNova highlights on the hour and minute hands and on the appliques ensure optimal legibility in the dark as well.

A special sapphire crystal case back allows one to view the automatic movement Calibre 37-02, which has been finely finished. It features a column-wheel switch and was designed to be compact in order to ensure maximum stability.

It’s available with a leather strap or steel bracelet and the UK price is £12,600. Ouch.

Did Swiss watches cost the same as small cars in the 70s? No they did not, for example a Rolex Sub cost about $230 before local taxes in the early 70s. Even allowing for inflation that’s probably under two grand today – yep watches were cheap before everyone decided that buying a Rolex was a sign that you’d made it in life.

Just saying.

Best Swiss watches

Ball Roadmaster Rescue: Check Your Pulse Bro

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Ball keep on re-inventing their chronographs, with this latest one channelling the spirit of exploration and mountain rescue, plus offering the word `Pulsations’ on the bezel. You don’t see that every day.

The Roadmaster Rescue variant is a limited edition and offers the usual high quality Swiss engineering, fit n finish. Here’s the press info;

A purpose-built tool for critical search and rescue situations, the new Roadmaster Rescue Chronograph delivers extreme accuracy, easy readability and high functionality. Engineered with a patented pusher locking system, the chronograph function works in unison with the pulsometer scale to measure heart rate, while two illuminated sub-dial counters track elapsed time.

And for countdowns at all hours, the ceramic diving bezel features a bold micro gas tube inset. Vital functionality and versatile form that’s ready to venture wherever necessary.

The new Roadmaster Rescue Chronograph in green ceramic bezel insert is limited to 1,000 pieces each. Now available for pre-order until 4 August 2021 at an exclusive price, which is £1590.

MAY I TAKE YOUR PULSE?

The chronograph hand works in conjunction with the dial’s pulsometer scale – graduated for 15 pulsations – to quickly measure one’s heart rate. To operate: start the chronograph and count the person’s heartbeats. Stop the chronograph at the 15th beat. The hand will point to the scale and indicate the heart rate frequency per minute.

In addition to the pulsometer scale, the chronograph can track long periods of elapsed time: the sub-dial at 12 o’clock is a 30-minute counter, while the 6 o’clock sub-dial is a 12-hour counter.

There are black dial/bezel and blue dial/bezel options available too.

Japanese Watches

Super Tough Casio G-Shock Frogman Ltd Edition

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Casio has released two limited edition variants of its Frogman 200m dive watches. Here’s some details from Casio;

A first for the FROGMAN: an analog display. The over-sized dimensional index and hour and minute hands offer improved readability. Three dual-coil motors enable the hour, minute and world time hands to move rapidly so the wearer can switch modes with no delay.

YEAH, IT’S WATER RESISTANT

Carbon fiber reinforced resin is used for the case material, offering high strength and low absorbency. In addition, six screws securely fasten the metal ring that is press-fit to the glass. Enhanced water resistance is facilitated by the button shafts’ triple-gasket fittings.

You can time yourself underwater too; The hour and minute hands can be brought together as one at the start of a dive to indicate the diving time. The second hand moves forward or in reverse to indicate the status of dive time and surface interval measurements.

Sapphire crystal with a non-reflective coating offers high visibility and scratch-resistance. The Super Illuminator function lights up the watch face with high-intensity light, to ensure readability in the dark.

RADIO CONTROLLED TIMEKEEPING

Time correction is conducted by either Bluetooth® communications or standard time radio wave (Multi Band 6), depending on the circumstances. Reception of the most recent time zone and Daylight Saving Time information assures that the correct time is displayed at all times.

VERDICT

The two models start at £899, which is on par with many Indie brand 300m dive watches, featuring Sellita/Miyota movements, usually with steel bracelets, resin options. It isn’t as expensive as Swiss dive models and arguably offers more accurate timekeeping, plus bluetooth features. Add on a solar power cell, so no batteries to change for a decade or so, depending on use. Yes, the solar cell loses its ability to turn light into power over time, so you will need to replace the cell eventually – no energy is free.

More details on the Casio site here.

We don’t dive, and you probably don’t either. But this is a go-anywhere watch that looks classless, cool and does its job in one lightweight chassis. You have to admire that striving for perfection, it’s a Japan thing.

Best Swiss watches

Oris Aquis Dat Watt is a Green Consumer Choice

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Every luxury brand is now rushing to offset their carbon emissions, as ESG kicks in as a required part of company accounts and product policy. What is ESG? Environmental and Social Governance. That means profit is not the prime aim of any business, the objective is social good, sustainable production runs – as defined by activists and experts. Not the Board.

So Oris, like other watch brands is launching this Aquis special edition which helps preserving Wadden Sea habitat for future generations, which is a socially good thing. It also ticks a box on carbon offset too. Nice work.

The Oris Dat Watt is a limited edition model and it provides funds from each sale towards preserving the Waden Sea area of Northern Ntherlands/Denmark.  Call it a green levy if you like, soon every product will have a green tax on it by law, so get used to the idea.

Great looking watch, so if you support the idea of `wilding,’ which is reserved nature areas in Europe where humans are largely restricted from entering, then Dat Watt (German dialect for the Wadden Sea) is a purchase that makes a difference.

Oris Dat Watt Limited Edition

TECH SPEC:

Case Multi-piece stainless steel case, unidirectional rotating bezel
Size 43.50 mm (1.713 inches)
Dial Gradient blue/grey Luminous material Hands and indices
with Super-LumiNova®

Top glass Sapphire, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside
Case back Stainless steel, screwed, special engravings

Stainless steel screw-in security crown with crown protection
Bracelet Stainless steel metal bracelet, folding clasp with extension
Water resistance 30 bar (300 m)
Movement: Number Oris 761

Functions Centre hands for hours, minutes and seconds, centre hand moon phase, date window, instantaneous date, date corrector,
fine timing device and stop-second

Winding Automatic
Power reserve 38 hours
Special edition Supplied in a special presentation box

Swiss retail price CHF 2,450 (APPROX £1920)
Available May 2021

Best Swiss watches

They Say Geniuses Choose Green. Or Teal.

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TAG has released a teal green dial edition of the Carrera chronograph because, well…it’s just a 2021 trend and all that. Green is the new blue when it comes to dials. It retails at 6300 euros, or around £5420.

Here’s the word from TAG H press office;

Just in time for summer, the Swiss luxury watchmaker unveils the TAG Heuer Carrera Green Special Edition, an exceptional timepiece in a brand new colour: a deep blue-green with an intense shimmer. Limited to 500 pieces, this watch artfully combines the tradition inherited from the first Heuer Carrera models with modern elegance, brought together by an incomparable Riviera style.

The TAG Heuer Carrera Green Special Edition chronograph has in fact plenty in common with the Heuer Carrera ref. 2447. The signature lugs, stylish case, polished push buttons and dial all chime pleasingly with its illustrious predecessor, but the details and broader diameter – enlarged from 36 to 39 mm – bring it right up to date.

The dial boasts a sober, sophisticated tricompax structure with three snailed subdials: a minute chronograph at 3 o’clock, hour chronograph at 9 o’clock and permanent second indicator at 6 o’clock. The hour and minute hands are faceted and coated with Super-LumiNova® for optimum readability. Behind the retro-style “glass box” domed sapphire crystal, also inspired by the original Heuer Carrera, the dial sports the emblematic Heuer logo and Carrera name.

And last but not least, the new feature that makes this watch stand out from the crowd: the dial’s stunning teal sunray-brushed colour.

Rarely featured in TAG Heuer collections, this colour is a subtle
blend of blue and green, giving this timepiece a fresh, creative flair and sophisticated boldness. On the caseback, there are touches of teal on the movement’s column wheel and in the “Calibre Heuer 02” and “Swiss Made” inscriptions on the oscillating mass, visible through the transparent case.

There are just 500 examples of this special edition, 39mm watch being made, all sold direct online or via TAG boutiques.

Best Swiss watches

There’s a New TAG Monaco. Yes, It’s Green

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Green is everywhere this year, from Boris Johnson’s latest attempts to micro-manage our entire lives by banning gas boilers, bacon sandwiches and petrol cars, to the myriad – yes we used myriad – green dial watches showcased by Rolex, IWC, Patek, Tudor and others at Watches & Wonders.

Now TAG has joined th party with a green dial variant on their classic Monaco model. I refuse to say `iconic’ because some herberts on local news websites are now describing their local bus depot as iconinc. It’s laughable. OK then, classic TAG Monaco features like the 39mm case, black sub-dials, plus it a luminous green glow at night on the hands and markers. The see-thru caseback has some green text, plus there’s a dash of green on the movement too.

Yours for £5500 and there are just 500 pieces available. Verdict; we still the Gulf Porsche racing colours is the best TAG Monaco of modern times. There, we said it.

More here. 

Best Swiss watches

Ming 17.09 Has a Unique Art Deco Glow

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The latest from Ming watches;

We begin the farewell to our popular 17-series with the 17.09: an evolved daily wearer, with new, extra functionality and overall design updates. We also aim to address the increase in demand with a new ordering system which should allow more collectors to experience a MingVersion 2.0

This one has a Sellita movement inside, a two-piece dial with a Clous-de-Paris pattern and a brushed outer track. There’s also a bit of lume in the sapphire crystal, which is something different and really catches the eye. It has a feel of the 1950s US neon shop and bar signage that spread from Miami across the East Coast. They are very striking watches.

You have a 38mm case size, in stainless steel, which is an ideal dress watch size for many collectors. You can pull the crown out and move the hour hand independently of the minute, which is handy if you are lucky enough to blag some travel this year. Price is 1950 Swiss Francs and stocks are limited, you can buy on the 15th April and get it delivered in July 2021.

More info at Ming watches. 

German watches

Armin Strom Pure Resonance, Art For Art’s Sake

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The latest from Armin Strom who have launched the Pure Resonance Sky Blue recently. Yep, they are only making three examples. Pretty rare.

Clear Design
In general, Armin Strom carefully maintains a pared-down approach that keeps the brand’s style of watchmaking focused on its essence. How concentrated that style may be, this special-edition head further in that direction, squarely placing emphasis on the watch’s most remarkable feature: the visible dual balances oscillating in resonance. The special blue dial and the matt hand decorated finish are highlighting the swiss German style of this timepiece.

The dial offers a “Kari Voutilainen hand Guilloché” subdial for time displays: Roman numerals dominate the off-center subdial displaying hours and minutes in white with steel hands, while a classic railroad track marks the exact minutes. The smaller subdial at 7 o’clock displays seconds using only a baton-shaped hand and a simple track. The Sky blue colored hand made Guilloché dial from Kari Voutilainen has a special lack finishing (Email à froid) in order to reinforce the unique look of the dial. The Bridges are decorated with succinct, eye-catching côtes de Genève, applied for the first time in straight lines. It’s absolutely spectacular movement finishing is often overlooked as the hypnotic pulsation of its clutch spring and the synchronized motion of its two balance wheels provide a mesmerizing distraction that invariably captures most of the attention.

Technology in Service to Chronometry
The reason for this watch’s improved chronometry can be found in the straightforward approach to the movement: the fewer functions a timepiece must perform, the better it can concentrate on accuracy. In other words, with no superfluous functions this watch can focus fully on providing the time in marine chronometer precision. The time displays receive their portioned energy from the lower regulator, while the upper regulator remains in place to create resonance.

My primary objective was to improve chronometric precision via the consistent maintenance of a resonance state. But that consistency was also a prerequisite to sustain a kinetic spectacle on the dial side of our watch. With a great deal of time and effort, our technical and aesthetic ambitions were both ultimately achieved.” – Claude Greisler, Co-Founder and Master Watchmaker

Classic Size
The outward design of the Pure Resonance perfectly reflects the purity of Caliber ARF16. It is housed in a slim 42 mm white gold case with reduced lugs and crown and practically no bezel, though the characteristic lip at 6 o’clock remains – an homage to the ability of Armin Strom to customize any of its watches as well as to founder Armin Strom, who offered this space to clients for personal engraving (and it can still be used for that).

This special edition of the Pure Resonance looks and acts just like a “normal” three-handed watch. And this remains in line with the philosophy of Armin Strom as a brand: just good, proprietary mechanics presented in an impeccably finished and interesting way. The Pure Resonance Sky Blue is limited to 3 pieces.