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.

Also known as Day of the Dead, it is an annual event at the end of October celebrated in Mexico meant to remember the dearly departed, explaining the liberal use of skulls on the L.U.C Perpetual T, named after the Mexican patron saint of death, which boasts a perpetual calendar, (invisible) tourbillon regulator and nine-day power reserve. It makes for surely the most extravagant, and oddly appealing, L.U.C complicated wristwatch in a long, long time.

The dial is a solid 18k gold disc with a radial guilloche edge and a hand-engraved skull that’s been painted with black lacquer. Each of the sub-dials for the perpetual calendar form the eyes, while the skull has mother of pearl inlaid for its teeth, and the black-coated tourbillon bridge forms a moustache of sorts. But because of the dial design, the tourbillon is entirely hidden, a discretion almost unheard of in modern watchmaking.

The case is a large 43mm, and in 18k rose gold, with the front, sides and crown fully engraved by hand. The L.U.C Perpetual T Spirit of la Santa Muerte (ref. 161941-5005) is a unique creation, priced at SFr244,500. However, similar timepieces are available as custom orders.

This is in fact the second partnership between Omega and Fratellowatches as their first collaboration was the first Speedy Tuesday Speedmaster launched back in 2017. In addition to the orange center seconds hand, the new Ultraman also has orange hour markers, and a black and orange tachymetric bezel; the word “Speedmaster” is in orange as well. To pay tribute to the Japanese tv-show, there is a hidden silhouette of Ultraman in the small seconds subdial at 9:00.

The new H2O evolved from that initial design that offers new perspectives on the horological object.  This H²0 Brown comes on a stainless-steel case with an earthy brown PVD coating. At first glance, it looks soft when it comes to touch it feels as it has been polished by sea waters and feels nice and soft. Everything is round and fluid in this timepiece. On the backside we could see the roundness where the double barrel hovers over the two rhodium-plated bellows.

This timepiece represents both science and art. It is pure innovation mixed with the symbolism of art. The fluidic system  and the mechanical caliber is a very advance technology made specifically for HYT by APRP. The watch brings out an ‘earthy’ feeling with the rich brown colored case, the platina, and the bridges. The red color evokes the blood of earth, lava. Adding the red fluid slowly replaces the transparent one, embodying the future. HYT makes this reference more enhanced by adding the red-tinted sapphire crystal case back.  At the back, the past, mechanical, red; at the front, the future, fluidic, transparent, who wouldn’t want this timepiece?

James Stacey – A. Lange & Söhne (Germany)

A. Lange & Söhne doesn’t need much introduction but this small German watch manufacturer has been producing one of the finest watches over the years. Germany has been had a strong watchmaking history in the past and A. Lange & Söhne has paved a good part of it. Their watches are full of uniqueness while being gorgeous and distinctive. They focus on featuring watches that are beautifully subtle with complexity. A.Lange & Söhne is the heart of German watchmaking.

Jack Forster – Grand Seiko (Japan)

Grand Seiko is one of those brands that really shows you do no have to be a Swiss brand to succeed in the watchmaking world. The Japanese brand has been designing amazing watches since the start of the 20th century and since then has had a name for themselves. The philosophy of quality that informs them is so characteristically Japanese which makes it so incredible. Grand Seiko doesn’t aspire to resemble a great Swiss watch; instead, it strives to be the best possible Japanese watch. Grand Seiko has shown great evidence that you can be at any part of the world to create such a wonderful timepiece.

Stephen Pulvirent – Sarpaneva (Finland)

Many people would not think as Finland as a country for watchmaking rather one for hockey legends or  telecom companies like Nokia. Sarpaneva has been producing watches from the center of Helsinki. Their watches have a completely different feel to them having a rock n’ roll feeling to them. With the signature moon grinning back at you from the often layered dials. They also has a line of slightly lower priced pieces under the brand S.U.F that are intended for the Finnish domestic market and play off local culture and use local materials. It is very fascinating to see a watch brand like this using their own materials and building watches in their own turf while making watches that are nothing alike to the ‘Swiss’ style.

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.