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.

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 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.

In the video below, NOMOS Glashütte shows how the master watchmaker creates the in-house movement. All of their movements are built in-house and by ourselves in Glashütte. This also applies to their watches—Tangente, Orion, Zürich and all the other models. This short film can give you a first impression of what they do.

Hermes has taken this difficult task and applied it to their watch dials. Small pieces of leather are cut out to form an animal motif. The technique makes its watchmaking debut on two signature Hermès watches: the asymmetrical, stirrup-shaped Arceau, and the more formal, streamlined Slim d’Hermès.

The Arceau Cavales Marquetry is made from full grain calfskin and is available in either “Hermès Red” or “Indigo Blue”, each a six-piece limited edition. The pieces of leather are 0.5mm thin and require tweezers to be laid out on the dial.

The Arceau features an 18k white gold, 41mm in diameter, and is powered with the automatic H1837 made by Vaucher.

Limited to only 12 pieces, the Slim d’Hermès Les Zèbres de Tanzanie uses the artisanal technique by combining leather marquetry with traditional champlevé and miniature enamelling.

The process of creating these dials are completely laborious with many steps in creating the perfect dial. The Slim d’Hermès Les Zèbres de Tanzanie has a 39.5mm, 18k white gold case and is powered by the ultra-thin H1950 calibre with a micro-rotor, again produced by Vaucher for Hermès.

Pricing

The Arceau Cavales is priced at US$37,400, or S$50,400.

The Slim d’Hermès Les Zèbres de Tanzanie is US$56,100, or S$75,500.

The main eye catcher in this watch is mainly the skull in the dial. A patented fluidic module and exclusive mechanical calibre bring this to life. The colored liquid brings reflection to the watch which is a main symbol.

The coolest part about this piece is the intimidating eyes. No matter what, just giving this watch a little stare will definitely intimidate you in some way. Behind the right eye is a rotating disc expressing the passing of each precious second as it fades from dark to pale.

Most importantly, light and color really brings this watch to life. The three versions each incorporate their colors respectively.

This deliberate tension fascinates the eye, as does the effect of light on the differently treated, unmistakably modern grey surfaces. The watches come equipped on grey fabric straps with accents that  matches each respective skull colours.

Basics:

• Mechanical with manual winding, exclusive HYT calibre
• 28,800 Vph, 4 Hz, 35 jewels
• Bridges hand-bevelled and adorned with Côtes de Genève, rhodium-plated bellows
• 65-hour power reserve

• Titanium, satin and sandblasted finishes
• Black rubber sheathed screw-in titanium crown
• Domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the dial side
• Screw-on case back, sapphire crystal
• Water-resistant up to 100 metres

In the video below, Watchfinder & Co. features a Hysek Kilada 41mm Tourbillon KN4126R01 and describes it as the cheapest Swiss tourbillion watch on the market. This watch goes for around $23,000 which is a t a more affordable price than the $125,000 Bvlgari torubillion. This Hysek Kilada Tourbillon is 1 of only 8 ever made and is a timepiece which represents the avant-garde nature and strong personality of Hysek as a company. The torubllion can be seen proudly through the dial.

Zenith has created a new movement to pair with lovely beauty. The Gravity Control mechanism that was found in the limited Christophe Colomb series of watches, has been paired with an El Primero, high-frequency movement. This movement could not upset as the housing regulates the tourbillion to keep it horizontal at all times. Zenith also re-engineered the system so it is not as large as it was in the Zenith Colomb watches.

Zenith did a great job keeping the watch as open and visible as possible for everyone can enjoy the beauty inside this watch. The Zenith Defy Zero G is available in either titanium or rose gold and on either an alligator-leather and rubber strap or a bracelet. A true looker.

This dial added more uniqueness and rarified nature to it  which was a great idea to add to the Lift tourbillion. The first Hermès Arceau Lift flying tourbillon came out in 2013 inspired by the Double H element that was first used on a lift (elevator) installed in 1923 in Hermès’ flagship boutique. A testament to that era’s love of wrought iron and art deco design, the Double H was created in honor of the marriage of the founder’s grandson, Émile Hermès, to Julie Hollande, the daughter of a local businessman.

The process to make square crystals for the dial includes high glass blowing skills to achieve the crocodile-leather-like look of the Arceau Lift Millefiori’s dial.

Basics:

Case: 43 x 12.65 mm, white gold
Dial: crystal using the Cristalleries Saint-Louis Millefiori technique
Movement: manually wound Hermès Caliber H1923 with one-minute tourbillon, 3 Hz/21,600 vph frequency, power reserve 90 hours
Functions: hours, minutes
Limitation: 3 pieces
Price: 200,000 Swiss francs