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.

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

Many can say this TAG Heuer has one of the coolest name, Tête de Vipère,  meaning head of the viper in French. Greatest thing about this watch s that it lives up to its rockstar name. At first glance you can tell this watch is no ordinary one. Already looking through the dial you can see the intricacies and pure detail that it features.

The strap is a alligator skin backed with rubber so when you sweat you won’t have to worry about damaging the strap. What is perfect is how the watch all comes together with different aspects and comes together very well and not mismatched.  No single element overpowers the others.

You may think the case would always overpower any other aspect in the watch but as you can see, the blue ceramic case is more muted than usual allowing other parts of the watch to shine as well. This timepiece is priced at $26,750, and available at TAG Heuer boutiques.

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.

“When I was considering this new watch, I wanted to create a dynamic contrast of surfaces and settled on the idea of taking the tapisserie dial in the opposite direction towards pure reflection,” says Carolina Bucci.

Many people had mixed reviews about the first Frosted Gold Royal Oak. In my opinion the frosted gold gives the AP a nice texture which looks great on the wrist. Although some people may have not liked the first version, this new limited edition version is newly updated and improved. The mirrored dial adds more heat to this timepiece selling at $53,600.

Basics:

Diameter: 37mm
Case Material: 18k yellow gold
Dial: Mirrored
Indexes: Applied stick markers at the hours
Lume: Luminescent coating to hour markers and hands
Water Resistance: 50 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Frosted gold bracelet

Audemars Piguet has continued on their development path and in 2000, while celebrating their 125th anniversary, their first model with Equation of time, sunrise, sunset and perpetual calendar was released.  To this day, Audemars Piguet watches are still meticulously handcrafted and designed by watchmakers.

In the video below, a clip will be showing how a Swiss watch is made & assembled from beginning to end. The video is very eye catching and should be interesting for those who love their wristwatches. This will give you an insight of how all these small mechanical parts come together to form a majestic timepiece like this AP.

The 41mm Grade 5 titanium case is blacked-out with a PVD coating. The bezel is a unidirectional rotating bezel that is made from carbon fibers. These cases are rated to 300 metres of water resistance. Inside you can find the automatic Calibre 5 movement. The colors that separate each watch in the collection are  blue, yellow, or rose gold. These color highlights can be see through the dial and on the nylon straps.

A similar Tag Heuer timepiece is the TAG Heuer Monaco Bamford, which has similar carbon characteristics as AquaRacer Carbon Collection. The Carbon Collection is deemed to be a growing collection for Tag Heuer.

Recently the GPHG has released the candidates for the current 2018 Grand Prix. Watches are submitted from their respective brands which has led to criticism of the GPHG which rules out major players such as Rolex, Omega, and Patek Phillipe. Although Rolex is not able to partake, they will be participating as Tudor which has submitted the Black Bay 58 and the Black Bay GMT.

A notable addition to the competition is the establishment of a Challenge Watch Prize, which is limited to watches only under CHF 4,000. A controversial inclusion to this new establishment is the addition for smartwatches to compete with the other mechanical watches. A substantial smartwatch submitted is the TAG Heuer Connected Modular 41 Full Ceramic, which is priced at CHF 2,950.

There are also general awards which can be given to any watch in all the prize categories in addition to the main award categories. The best-of-show Aiguille d’Or, the hotly debated Revival Prize, the Innovation Prize, and the Special Jury Prize are the included general awards. A new addition is the Audacity Prize, that “rewards the best watch, presented in one of the 12 categories, which features a non-conformist, offbeat approach to watchmaking.”

This years GPHG has expanded since last year; with this year including a total of 105 brands and 195 total watches submitted. Winners will be picked in early November when the Jury meets in Geneva. To check out all 195 candidate watches go to  GPHG.org.

The time taken to build each and every one of these watches must be absurdly long. These watches are not cheap for no reason, the mechanics and time taken making and single-handly build the watches are crazy. As Cool Tech describes the properties and reason why each of these watches keep in the mind the price before you fall in love.

The trunks are made of polished titanium alloy that has that’s been laser engraved with Louis Vuitton’s signature motif. The new fashion trunks we saw are cool looking and is perfect for storage of watches and timepieces such as the new Omega SpeedMaster Ultraman that I have recently reviewed.

There are darker shades on the trunks which make it look from the future. This is due to the locks and borders being made from ruthenium that gives it that look. The borders are covered with leather and hand hammered with round nails.

In the interior, it is lined with grey microfiber to match the titanium alloy and feature 8 cushions for the wondrous timepieces. With this Monogram Titanium Range, Louis Vuitton has also released other trunks including a champagne box, a boxy mountaineer’s backpack, and a carry-on wheeled bag.

Originally named Coffret 8 Montres Monogram Titane, the price listed for this trunk is about US$27,600 or about the same cost of buying four new Omega SpeedMaster Ultraman. These trunks are available throughout all Louis Vuitton boutiques.