The latest watch releasing is the Les Cabinotiers Grand Complication Phoenix with five key complications: tourbillon, minute repeater, perpetual calendar, equation of time, and a star chart with astronomical indications. Each complications have their own functions that add up to a whopping 15 complications!

1. Minute repeater
2. Tourbillon
3-6. Perpetual calendar (date, day of the week, month, leap year)
7. Power reserve
8. Equation of time
9. Sunrise time
10. Sunset time
11. Sky chart
12. Age and phases of the moon
13. Sidereal hours and minutes
14. Seasons, zodiac signs
15. Striking mechanism torque

In the front of the dial, the perpetual calendar, equation of time, as well as sunrise and sunset indicators, along with a tourbillon can be found at six o’clock. The watch’s back includes the star chart, sidereal time, indicator for the season and sign of the zodiac, as well as a torque indicator for the repeater mechanism.

All this is powered by the hand-wound cal. 2755-B1, based on a movement originally unveiled in 2005 for the brand’s 275th anniversary. It has a power reserve of 58 hours and is compromised of 839 parts.

The case is made of 18k pink gold measuring at 47mm in diameter. The largeness of the case gives enough space for the hand-engraving. The most beautiful part about the case is that almost every surface of the case is covered with a phoenix motif, rendered in a style that takes loose inspiration from East Asian art.

The price of the Grand Complication Phoenix (ref. 9700C/003R-B187) is “upon request”, however, going by the SFr2m retail price of a similar watch from 2014, expect this to cost significantly more.

In the video below by Business Insider, We got to take a closer look at the Récital 22 Grand Récital which comes in red gold and platinum, each hovering around the $500K price range. During the video they will explain why exactly this watch costs almost half a million dollars.

The Superocean dates back to 1957, designed to be the ideal diver watch for recreational and professional people. Over the years there have been multiple varaitions and changes of designs to the Superocean model. Now we have a Superocean chronograph that not only helps drivers but also by helping clean out oceans from waste.

Watches that do itself good for the environment should really catch the attention of many. The watch itself is 44mm, in a black DLC-coated stainless steel case with the Outerknown logo engraved on the caseback. The COSC-certified chronometer features an ultra-hard scratch and shock-resistant unidirectional ceramic bezel with a luminescent central dot at the 12 o’clock position. It is also powered by the Breitling Caliber 13 mechanical chronograph movement.  The blue dial features great blue tones to underline the effort to help clean out oceans.

“By introducing the ECONYL yarn strap, we are taking another important step in our commitment to sustainability. We are looking forward to introducing other great watches equipped with these straps in the future,” said Breitling CEO Georges Kern at an event in London last week.

Recently the actor has been going through many ups and downs. He was once the highest paid actor on TV but has been going through his own problems such as his alcohol and drug addiction. Since then he has cleaned himself up. In an interview with Jansen YouTube Channel in 2017, he was seen wearing a Patek Philippe Ref. 5712 with a blue dial. This Patek is no ordinary watch and is highly prized timepiece with a price of $52,500.

In 2013 he was the lead actor in a Lance Armstrong movie that never came to be. The movie deal was reported by The Potato online site as being produced by JJ Abrams. A photograph from The Potato features Charlie Sheen wearing a Patek Ref. 5970/1p. This same exact watch was lost by him in a hotel room and it is not yet clear if he has gotten it returned.

Charlie has been known to have many more Pateks in his collection. It is known by close connections that Charlie Sheen has one of the largest and most impressive vintage Patek collections of any ‘celebrity’ collector and rarely buys any other brand.

He is spotted here in his 2012-2014 TV series: Anger Management episode “Charlie’s Dad Visits” with a Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox.

The goal of the Double Balancer collection was to take timekeeping precision to a whole new level.  The Double Balancier uses two fixed oscillators on two different axes on precise, predetermined angles. Because of that, the effects of gravity have less of an effect on the watch, which decreases the margin of error in timekeeping by half, and therefore, maximizing the precision of timing overall.

The crystal case took over 900 hours of machining to create so it allows for an abundant amount of light to pass through. The timepiece features a three-dimensional architecture that is enhanced from every angle. This enhance the look of the dial and the finishes all around. This watch is perfectly executed and even the engraving on the movement itself.

Additional details include black polishing, satin finishing, circular-graining, hand-beveling and a hand-polished blue gold dial. The words “Greubel Forsey” are engraved on two gold plates with the number of each timepiece, while the setting has olive-domed jewels in polished gold chains. Anti-reflective coatings are present on both sides of the crystals for further enhanced transparency as well.

• Displays
  • Hours and minutes
  • Small seconds
  • 4-minute spherical constant differential rotation
  • 72-hours power reserve on a sector
• Case dimensions
  • Diameter – 47.25 mm
  • Height – 13.81 mm
• Water resistance of the case: Water-resistant 3 atm – 30m – 100 ft
• Crown: Synthetic sapphire with engraved GF logo
• Dial
  • Multi-level in gold, blue color, flat back polished
  • Differential rotation and small seconds indicators in gold

The case, in 18kt white or rose gold, measures 46.5mm x 20.8mm. It has a domed AR-coated sapphire crystal, a sapphire display back and it is water resistant to 30 meters. The three arches that cover and encircle the crown on Histoire de Tourbillon 9 – was inspired by the entrance of Harry Winston’s Fifth Avenue Salon in New York City.

Movement is the Swiss manual-wind Harry Winston in-house caliber HW4504 with 58 jewels, 21,600 vph and a power reserve of 50 hours. It is comprised of 408 parts, of which 117 are in the tourbillon. The HW4504 caliber was designed exclusively for Histoire de Tourbillon 9. This development guarantees an exceptional degree of exclusivity, since only 20 models total will be made.

Tourbillons: 1 triaxial tourbillon. Internal carriage: 1 rotation in 45 seconds Intermediate carriage: 1 rotation in 75 seconds. External carriage: 1 rotation in 300 seconds. Fast-rotating series-coupled barrels (1 revolution in 3.2 hours),1 barrel fitted with a spring featuring a sliding brace. It features a Phillips terminal curve and Geneva-style stud. Variable-inertia with 18kt gold adjusting screws. Satin-finished and circular-grained mainplate, titanium bridges, circular satin-brushing and microbeading, titanium tourbillon bridges. Functions are: retrograde jumping hours, retrograde dragging minutes, power reserve with hand indication.

It has a beautiful skeletonized dial with hand beveling. The hour and minute hands circle directly above the movement and point to two zones calibrated with Arabic numerals. The power-reserve indicator at 8 o’clock displays a field and a two-part hand that share a distinctly three-dimensional nature.

The timepiece comes on a black alligator leather strap with 18kt rose gold or platinum thread. Matching with the gold Ardillon buckle.

Grand Seiko Snowflake

We begin with perhaps the most popular watch within the Grand Seiko range. The Snowflake, originally the SBGA011, and now SBGA211 with the new GS livery. The watch sports a proprietary Spring Drive movement, and is finished to the high and exacting standards needed to make it a Grand Seiko.

The dial is a very special textured surface, and provides hours of fun watching it play with the light. Amazing watch, and represents a good introduction into the great horology world of Seiko.

Seiko Pressage 60th Anniversary Automatic Limited Edition with Urushi

Moving to a more affordable price,  priced at €,2,800 (about S,$4,500). This is the Pressage 60th Anniversary Limited Edition, and the one we picked is  presented with a traditional Japanese Urushi dial.

This Seiko features a fully in-house automatic chronograph movement and is limited to 1000 pieces. More than anything, the visual design is very appealing with a sleek curved case.  The black base is made from the application of numerous layers of sap from Japanese lacquer trees. This is done under the watchful eye of Mr Isshu Tamura who is a master of the art of Urushi lacquer techniques.

Seiko PADI Automatic Diver

With an even more affordable price, the Seiko Automatic Diver priced at a mere S$ 667.70. This watch features its very atrractive red and blue “Pepsi” styled bezel. The case is a tonneau shape, which in fact Seiko enthusiasts have named Turtle. It is rated for up to 200 meters and the indices on the dial are wonderfully large to allow good legibility under the dark conditions of the deep.

The Breitling Premier gets its name from the 1943 elegant original, this new version being leeker, cleaner aesthetic than the average Breitling. And it’s also worth pointing out that the most recent iteration of the Premier from the late 1990s that had cursive Arabic numerals has been sensibly forgotten.

The new Premier line is made up of 4 models, plus a new Breitling for Bentley Chronograph. The key features of this new collection include the range is characterised by moderately sized cases – the largest being a 42mm chronograph. Domed sapphire crystals with antireflective coating are also common to all models which is a key feature.

The dials of the Premier line are two-part, with a separate, sloped flange for either the minute track or tachymetre. Hands and hour markers are baton-shaped. And while the movements across the line differ from model to model, all are COSC-certified chronometers.

The Premier is a line-up with different finishes and styles, available with a variety of metallic finish dials in sedate colours: black, grey, dark blue, and silver. Different and various straps are also available, including Breitling’s new signature slanted-link Pilot bracelet.

The collection starts with the Premier Automatic 40, a 40mm, time-0nly automatic powered by the Breitling Calibre 37, which is actually a variant of the ETA 2892.

With the same size as Automatic 40, the Premier Automatic Day & Date 40, has the calendar in windows. Inside is the Breitling Calibre 45, which is derived from the ETA 2824.

The entry-level chronograph is the Premier Chronograph 42. It has a 42mm case that contains the ETA Valjoux 7750, which has tone-on-tone chronograph sub-dials.

The more intricate and top of the line model is the Premier B01 Chronograph 42, which is equipped with the in-house Breitling B01 movement.

Other than the “tri-compax” layout of the chronograph, another feature that indicates it’s an in-house movement are the contrast colour sub-dials.

The more upscale version is the Premier B01 Chronograph 42 Bentley British Racing Green. It’s perhaps the most sedate Bentley wristwatch Breitling has ever made in the 16-year span of the brand’s collaboration.

Price and availability 

The new Premier collection reaches retailers and boutiques October 2018. Prices are as follows for the base models fitted with a calfskin strap:

Premier B01 Chronograph 42 – US$8200

Premier B01 Chronograph 42 Bentley – US$8500

Premier Chronograph 42 – US$6050

Premier Automatic Day & Date 40 – US$4000

Breitling Premier Automatic 40 – US$4000

Crocodile straps are an additional US$200, while a folding clasp is extra US$250. And a matching steel bracelet is US$750.

The price ranges just under $1,000 and the Summit 2 is definitely a luxury smartwatch. In it’s market the only competitors are the Apple Watch series 4 or even the TAG Heuer Connected Watch. Recently I have gone over and reviewed the Summit 2 in a previous blog. Down below we have an unoboxing video of the Montblanc Summit 2 by ‘Droid Life’ which shows the first looks of the impressive Summit 2.

n 2016 Corum unveiled the round Golden Bridge, departing from the traditional rectangular or tonneau case for the first time. Now Corum debuts a new Golden Bridge in a titanium case coated in black diamond-like carbon (DLC).

The movement, cal. CO 113 is equipped with a variable inertia balance and a barrel with a slipping spring to prevent overwinding, which means the winding mechanism disengages once the mainspring is fully wound. It has also a cool 40-hour power reserve.

The bridge and base plate are made of 18k solid gold, and hand-engraved with a floral motif. The movement can be readily available in either white or pink gold, with the hands, flange and crown in a matching colour of gold.

The Golden Bridge Titane DLC measures the same 43mm in diameter and 8.3mm thick as the 18k gold model, but is markedly more lightweight thanks to the case alloy. The case is rated to up to 30mm in depth.

To finish up this fabulous timepiece, it is available in a sporty-ish style, fitted to a black rubber strap with black-coated titanium folding clasp.

Price and Availability

The Corum Golden Bridge Titane DLC in white gold is priced at SFr23,500 or S$39,700, while the rose gold version is a limited edition of 68 pieces, priced at SFr23,800 or S$40,210.