After a slow week I’m gonna start of the new week with a set of magnificent photos. Monochrome’s Weekly Watch Photo shows a watch that brings back memories, a Citizen Automatic Divers, my first watch with an automatic movement. 

The Citizen Automatic Divers was specifically bought for vacations and served as reliable vacation watch on many occasions. The Citizen strapped on a NATO strap has joined me to great depths (at least to a max of 35-40 meters) and great heights. The photographer, Martin Krocil, shows us more of his amazing photos of his watches in water.

Martin Krocil has been collecting watches for more than 20 years and he has done this in a way that is familiar to many of us, buying, selling, trading and exchanging. He has always wondered how those beautiful watch photos (most people who frequent forums or follow Monochrome, will know which photos are meant) are made. Are they computer graphics or real photos but takes from a watch without the crystal?

In 2004 he bought his first DSLR (a used Nikon D100) and photography madness began. Martin is always trying to create non-traditional watch photos that still are ‘photography’ and not ‘graphic’. Since he doesn’t own Photoshop or similar software, he doesn’t rework the photos and they are what they are. A really impressive accomplishment if you ask me!

Martin also shows the Omega Seamaster Professional Chronograph, the predecessor of the Seamaster Planet Ocean Chrono that we reviewed here, in an entirely new way. Lume and bubbles….. lots of bubbles!

Martin: My pictures are not perfect at all I am still an amateur with limited resources (my studio means: kitchen and bathroom at home), but one day I may buy real macro lens and maybe better than several years old DSLR body (currently using Nikon D2x and mostly a fixed focal length 35mm with macro lens attached) and lets see if it helps to create better pics.

According to Martin, making photos with bubbles is easy…. use sparkling water.

Smaller bubbles are more challenging to make. You just have to leave the watch in still water for day or two and they appear. So than it’s important to not disturb the bowl with water and watch too much and start making photos.

Than there are the “Lumeshots”. Martin uses the lowest ISO (100) and the rest is just lighting and set-up. He emphasizes not to use UV light, because that really does not help the colors of the photo.

The rest is just learning from mistakes and trying new ways, like putting Seiko into a freezer

A big thanks to Martin Krocil for sharing his photos and explaining more about how he made them!

Related posts:

1. Citizen Automatic Divers watch
2. Weekly Watch Photo – Panerai PAM 268
3. Weekly Watch Photo – Panerai 1950 makes me thirsty

Nicolas Sarkozy is a man of style. He dresses well and he even has a nice watch collection. This wouldn’t be a topic on Monochrome, if it wasn’t for the photo showing Francois Hollande, the new French president, looking at his watch and actually staring at the clasp!

Let’s first look at some photos showing the watches of the departing French president. There’s a Patek Philippe, a Breitling, an old Rolex Oyster Perpetual (Date or Datejust), a Rolex Daytona white dial and one with a black dial.

The photo above shows a typical inspired or even dramatic way of speeching. Not that I’m an expert in this field, but it seems the signature style of speeching for most French and Italian politicians.

The following photo shows Sarkozy with a Rolex Oyster Perpetual on a jubilee bracelet. From this small photo I cannot determine whether it’s a Oyster Perpetual Date or an Oyster Perpetual Datejust.

Not sure who he is signaling to call. However judging from the ear-to-ear smile it’s most likely a good looking lady, so we guess he signals Carla Bruni, his lovely wife, to call him.

Talking about miss Sarkozy, or Carla Bruni, it was her who gave Sarkozy a very nice president-wrothy timepiece. In 2008 she gave him a Patek Philippe ref. 3940G.

The Patek Philippe ref. 3940G has a round white gold case of 35 mm in diameter. It features a perpetual calendar and moon phase indication. The Patek Philippe reference 3940 perpetual calendar was produced from 1985 to 2006. Because the French news website Le Express states that Carla bought the watch in 2008, maybe she bought a used version?

The calendar functions are presented in a perfect balanced way. That’s one of the things that makes this reference so desirable and also the fact the case measures less than 9 mm in height. Add to that the gorgeous dauphine hands, the silver dial with applied hour markers and a calatrava-like round case resulting in a perfect example of a classic perpetual calendar.

The lousy photo above doesn’t show much details of the beautiful Patek Philippe ref. 3940G. But you can trust me that it does have a gorgeous movement, being caliber 240 Q (stand for quantieme) with 27 jewels, 48 hour power reserve and with the Geneva Seal.

I found another photo of Sarkozy with a Breitling Navitimer on the wrist, but let’s look at the following photo showing Sarkozy saying goodbye with a Rolex Daytona with a white dial on his wrist. Bye mister Sarkozy….

And this is what the next president of France looks like… Let’s justy hope he’s better in politics and leading a country through difficult times, than he is in telling the time. This photo doesn’t give a trustworthy feeling….

This article is written by Frank Geelen, executive editor of Monochrome Watches.

Related posts:

1. Weekly Watch Photo – Rolex Oyster Precision ref. 6694
2. Gejat
3. Steve McQueen’s watches on auction

We from Monochrome love beautiful photos showing gorgeous timepieces and the so-called lume-shot is one our favorite ways to show a watch. When we saw this lume-shot of a Ressence, it was immediately clear that this was the new Weekly Watch Photo. 

Ressence is an independent Belgian (!!) watch brand that made name and fame when they launched their first watch 2 years ago. The reason for this is that the Ressence Zero Series features more or less the same way to display time as the Harry Winston Opus X, that was also launched at Baselworld 2010!

Ressence is one of those young and innovative brands using a different way to display time, like Hautlence, URWERK and MB&F. No typical central hour and minute hand, although there are hands visible on the dial. One of the hands is the logo of the brand, engraved in the hour chapter ring.

The central part inside the hour chapter ring, turn around in 12 hours. It shows a painted hour hand that is also luminescent as shown in the first photo. The chapter ring above the hour display, is the small seconds display and it works the same as the hour indicator. A round disk with painted second hand inside a chapter ring.

At the lower right part of the dial (see photo below) is an AM/PM indicator and the long stripe on the dial is the minute hand. This construction indeed means that the entire disk turns around in 1 hour and the three smaller disks (hours, seconds and AM/PM) turn around in one hour as well.

The website of Ressence starts with an animation that perfectly shows how the Ressence Zero Series indicates the time. Besides this innovative way to display time, Benoît Mintiens, the man behind Ressence, pays a lot of attention to design.

The Zero Series is loaded with gorgeous details, like for instance the crown.

This is not everything, but more can be seen at the Ressence website. Please take a moment to check it out for more details about the brand, the collection and where the timepieces are available.

Let me show you just one last funky thing… the box the Ressence comes in. Or should I say “nest”?

This article is written by Frank Geelen, executive editor at Monochrome Watches.

Related posts:

1. Ressence – A Belgian Treat of Horological Ingenuity
2. Weekly Watch Photo – d.m.h
3. Weekly Watch Photo – Tudor Submariner ref.7928

Hublot just released the King Power Alinghi 4000 to show their partnership with Team Alinghi. Alinghi definitely does something good, as Hublot is not the first of their official timekeeping partners.

A few years ago Audemars Piguet partnered with Alinghi and that also resulted is some cutting-edge technical timepieces. In fact, this resulted in the world’s first watch with a carbon fibre case, which was the Royal Oak Offshore Team Alinghi. Do we see some similarities with the Hublot King Power Alinghi 4000?

Both watches share more than a carbon fibre case; they are both big, black and we assume rather robust. With a depth rating of 4,000 meters the Hublot King Power Alinghi 4000 is also one of watches with the highest depth rating in the world. The Oceana 5000, made by independent watchmaker Aniceto Pita from Spain, still holds the record with a depth rating of 5,000 meters!

Audemars Piguet’s carbon fibre creation for Alinghi, the Royal Oak Offshore Team Alinghi, did not have such an impressive depth rating but did feature a chronograph. Depth ratings of more than 100 meters don’t make much sense for most people, not even when sailing on rough seas. A relatively limited depth rating is sufficient to keep the inside dry and that’s pretty much what you’re looking for.

Audemars Piguet also released several other Royal Oak version for Alinghi and that resulted in both mens and ladies timepieces. Oour friends from the Sidney Tarts had a great photo of the Royal Oak Alinghi Polaris that I’d love to share with you, as it’s still one of my favorite versions of the Royal Oak Offshore.

In previous years Hublot already released other versions of the King Power 4000 models with a carbon fibre case. This new one features the Alinghi logo on the dial and is limited to 100 pieces. Two years ago Hublot already made another watch to honor the cooperation between Hublot and Alinghi. That was the Hublot King Power Alinghi, which didn’t featured a carbon fibre case, but a black ceramic case. And also not a dive watch that time, but a chronograph.

The thing it has in comon with the new King Power Alinghi 4000 is the Alinghi logo and it’s size; it was also 48 mm in diameter like the new one. Our friends from Watchonista had the chance to be in Geneva for the launch of the King Power Alinghi 4000 and shared some photos of the event and the watch.

The King Power Alinghi 4000 is limited to 100 numbered pieces. Here are some specifications.

• Size – diameter 48 mm (no mention of thickness)
• Case and bezel  – matt carbon fibre (bezel with 6 H-shaped black PVD titanium screws)
• Crystal – sapphire with anti-reflective coating Black composite resin
• Crown at 2 o’clock – Black PVD titanium with black rubber insert, red arrows and black PVD titanium, “Diver 4000″ engraved in red (crown guard)
• Water resistance – certified to 400 ATM, equivalent to 4000 meters
• Movement – mechanical movement with automatic winding, caliber HUB1401, with 23 jewels and 180 components
• Power reserve – approximately 42 hours

And not only watch brands line up to collaborate with Alinghi. Wenger, famous for their Swiss army knives, are partnering with Alinghi as well. They created an Alinghi pocket knive that looks very cool.

Like I said in the beginning of this article, Alinghi must be doing something very good. Top watch brands are lined up to collaborate with them.  Not sure what they are doing so well, but it must be something. I’m still waiting for watch brands to line up to collaborate with Monochrome for a nice ‘Monochrome Limited Edition’

This article is written by Frank Geelen, executive editor of Monochrome Watches.

Related posts:

1. Savior of Swiss watch industry passed away
2. Hublot – An extraordinary breed of watches
3. Breaking news: Hublot gets the rights of branding the helipads of the City of San Paulo, Brazil!

Two weeks ago we told you about an art exhibition in Geneva. Not just an art exhibition, because there are probably many in the city of Geneva, but one related to watchmaking. Graffiti artist Magaldi Xavier exhibited his interpretation of mechanical movements in the Cite du Temps.

The exhibition of Magaldi Xavier has ended, but a visit to the Cite du Temps might still be a good idea… Tom Hanx, one of our valued readers, went there, wrote a report and made a lot of photos. Not only from the graffiti art, but also from some very rare vintage Swatch models.

Cite Du Temps (City of Time) is a unique building in the heart of Geneva, a stone’s throw from the lake and overlooking the Jet d’Eau. Being in the middle of a bridge right where the river Rhone begins its journey from Lake Geneva, the building is also the venue for many horology related events. Locals seldom slow down, as the Geneva Electricity and Waterworks company has an office on the side of it; tourists are often looking the other way, at the lovely lake and surrounding buildings with famous brands on their top.

Many a brand have hosted parties and private viewings over the years, some making headlines like the anniversary Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and the failed robbery attempt. It is home to a permanent Swatch Exhibition, tracking the history of the brand from 1983 to present day. Those interested in the brand will be happy to know that (almost) all models are on display, categorized in year cabinets, including a few crazy rare prototypes, which have never been for sale.

As Monochrome already reported, the second floor hall recently invited watch and art afficionados to enjoy the small exhibition of Xavier Magaldi titled Tempus Fugit.

On a gloomy Saturday morning I packed my photogear and went to visit it. Cite Du Temps is open for visitors and easy on families – the cafe inside is a good place to enjoy a snack or a cup of coffee while waiting for the more passionate of the family to enjoy the exhibit. If you are lucky with the weather, there is also a sun deck attached to the bridge, so one can also enjoy the fresh air and the view.

Walking in the small hall on the second floor for the Xaview Magali exhibition, one might argue that this dislay is a personal statement more than anything else – you can see how the artist’s grafitti and watchmaking roots blended on the canvas. The earthy colors translate tradition and the watch detail sketches open the window to a watchmaker’s mind. It translates the soul of mechanical watches in a very appealing way making one wonder – which piece inspired this one? Is this the fusee chain a Lange und Söhne Pour le Mérite? Or a metaphore for the belts of a Devon Works?

Do you see resemblance with the sapphire dials of a Vacheron Quai De L’Ille here?

The Yin and Yang of a watch…

Hope you enjoyed this little tour – if you have questions, you can ask on twitter.

About the author: Based in Geneva freelancer, Tom Hanx is the onscreen alias of a passionate watch maven, who is following all things horological, trying to make sense of it all and buy a few watches in the process. Continuously working on his photography skills and watch knowledge, meeting new and exciting people in the watch world every day. You can find Tom Hanx on Twitter @Tom_Hanx

Related posts:

1. Great exhibition in Geneva – Mechanical Watch Graffiti
2. Maîtres du Temps – Chapter Two
3. Hands on with the Maitre du Temps Chapter Three

The Lange & Söhne Pour le Mérite Collection is a pinnacle in fine watchmaking. Our friend Peter Chong, who featured here on Monochrome on many ocassions, wrote a book about the very best watches coming from Saxony, Germany.

Friend of Monochrome, Peter Nievaart, interviewed Peter Chong about his passion for A. Lange & Söhne and the book he wrote in honor of the Pour le Mérite Collection. Peter Nievaart in conversation with Peter Chong….

Pour le Mérite book - photo by Edwin Heusinkveld

Last Christmas I received a truly remarkable book about the Pour le Mérite collection of A. Lange & Söhne, written by Peter Chong. It is not just a book about watches. It a tribute to fine watchmaking in Glashütte with a monumental size of 42 by 30 centimeters. The book contains many A3 and A2 sized photos of various details, including finishing and the servicing of a Tourbillon Pour le Mérite. The size and the quality of the photos provide a unique view on the fine parts of a watch movement. The book also contains a lot useful information about hallmarks, calibre numbering, the Pour le Mérite order, calibres with in-house springs, and awards and prizes won by. The interviews with collectors and Günter Blümlein are entertaining and informative. It is the ultimate treat for a watch aficionado! I had the chance to talk with Peter about his passion for Lange and his book.

Pour le Mérite book - photo by Edwin Heusinkveld

Why a book about Lange’s Pour le Mérite collection?

PC: I have done pre and post Basel/SIHH reports, first hand accounts and photographs of the novelties since 1999. And did the world’s first review of the Datograph right when it was announced in 1999. And I harbored the ambition to be a published author on my own right. And of course, the natural subject was on Lange. To do a book on all of Lange’s offering would take me too long, so I elected to write about the flagship line.

In your book you write about your history with Lange. What makes Lange special?

PC: Perhaps it is a combination of things. The history of the brand, the importance of Lange in modern horology, the people working for Lange, the close working relationships I developed, the quality of the watches and the combination of craftmanship and tradition. The watches also have a very unique presence. The movements used in every Lange are exclusive to the brand. Everything is meticulously conceived and crafted to achieve a consistent design language and signature. From a distance you immediately recognize a Lange. I believe Walter Lange can be very proud of what has been achieved since the resurrection of the brand.

A Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk

Why does Lange not work with a base movement?

PC: that is part of the guiding principles introduced by by Günter Blümlein: innovation, technique, technology, craftsmanship, exclusivity, and tradition. Each watch is unique and exclusive. Movement and case must be in full harmony. Yet, there are common denominators such as the three-quarter plate, the blued screwed chatons, the superb finishing of all components, including the invisible ones, and the individually engraved swan neck balance cocks.

Hand engraved balance cock and swan neck fine adjustment

What differentiates the Pour le Mérite collection from other Langes?

PC: The Pour le Mérite is the flagship line, and the fusée-and-chain system to ensure constant force, which makes the watch highly exclusive.

In the book you will find an extensive description how the system works, documented with detailed photographs. The chain consists of 650 pieces and is derived from miniaturizing the chains used in bicycles and pocket watches. The links overlap and are held together by a pin. A key challenge is to allow for sufficient end-shake (libre sans jeux or “free without play”) between each set of links to enable them to move freely relative to each other but without any play between them.

Lange & Söhne Pour le Mérite fusee chain

If there would be only one watch to own, which one would it be?

PC: The Lange Datograph in platinum due to its purity of the design, case, dial, hands and the gorgeous movement. The watch is excellently finished, but also beautifully laid out. There are, however, some other watches I highly appreciate:

• Dufour Simplicity – the best finished watch I have ever come across. Beautifully designed and executed. You cannot get better finish than this.
• Credor Sonnerie – wonderful craftsmanship. I admire the folks at the Micro Artisan Studio in Shiojiri, Japan. Totally focussed, obsessed with quality and finish. They chose not to mimic the traditional Swiss repeating systems and created a Sonnerie in their own fashion, where the strikes model after the calming rhythm, tones and decay of a traditional Japanese temple bell.
• Parmigiani Toric Westminster – magnificent finish. I love the movement design, the flow of the bridges. The strikes are also masterfully tuned. Lower in tone than most repeaters, it is decisive, clear, clean and decays beautifully. Each strike resonates beautifully within the case.
• Laurent Ferrier Galet Tourbillon – Beautiful design and finish. Absolutely and totally classic in design and execution.
• Girard Perregaux Tourbillon with three golden bridges The President – this is a special execution where the magnificent 3 golden bridges are not shown on the dial side. The dial is a beautiful enamel dial, totally classical and discrete.
• Harry Winston Opus V by Urwerk – totally imaginative way to tell time using rotating cubes, and retrograde pointers.

Parmigiani Toric Westminster Repeater

Günter Blümlein has been pivotal for Lange. He also plays an important role in your book. Many people in the industry speak highly about Mr. Blümlein, including Walter Lange. What made him so special?

PC: Blümlein was the genius behind rebuilding of the Lange brand. His clarity of vision in the late 1980s was remarkable. He gave all he had and all he knew to the Lange project, as it was known then, and pulled off the remarkable return of the brand.

He was a true visionary. It seemed as if he could see the future and how to get there. You should know that in 1990 Glashütte had just come out of 40 years of communism. Luxury was an alien concept. But yet, he saw that, from these ashes, the old name of Lange & Söhne could rise, and rival with the best brands of Switzerland.

He was a great leader. He handpicked the team with Walter Lange, and inspired them to greatness. He gave room to experiment. The Langematik was one such result. While the management team was focused on other products, distribution system, press and public relationships, Helmut Geyer worked, in a little corner-office in Glashütte, on his own to design the movement of a new automatic. He showed it to Blümlein who was moved by the beauty of the design and decided to build a watch based on this movement. The Langematik was introduced in 1997 and is still a great success.

He was a good friend.

Peter Chong and Günter Blümlein

The Lange family and Walter Lange do earn their place in the history of A. Lange & Söhne and Glashütte. How do you see Herr Lange’s role in the rebuilding process?

Walter Lange was absolutely instrumental in the re-founding of the company. He is the guiding light, the reference standard so to speak. Walter was the able partner of Blumlein and provides the historical grounding essential to building the brand.

Photos: courtesy of Peter Chong

In my previous post about the book about the Pour le Mérite Collection you can find more details about the different versions. To order a copy, you can sent an email to Peter Chong -> chongp@gmail.com

Related posts:

1. Peter Chong’s book about the Lange and Söhne Pour le Mérite Collection
2. Weekly Watch Photo – Lange und Söhne Zeitwerk for Kidz Horizon
3. A.Lange & Söhne – Lange Zeitwerk

This is something that doesn’t happen to often… Two of my favorite watch brands joined forces. Max Busser invited Stepan Sarpaneva to create his version of the MB&F Horological Machine 3 Frog, resulting in the Moonmachine!

Stepan Sarpaneva is well known for his signature moon phase/face. It featured on his Korona K3 Black Moon, can be admired on the Black Moon iPhone App and on several of his newer models like the recent Korona K3 Nothern Stars. And Max Busser is of course well-known for his extraordinary horological machines like the HM2, HM3 and HM4.

For readers of Monochrome, Stepan Sarpaneva isn’t a new name. But a quick introduction and some background info doesn’t harm:

Before launching his own brand Sarpaneva Watches in 2003, Stepan Sarpaneva worked with some of the most prestigious Swiss brands including Piaget, Parmigiani (where he worked alongside Kari Voutilainen), Vianney Halter and Christophe Claret.

The MB&F HM3 Frog usually indicates hours, minutes and the date is displayed around the axe-shaped rotor. The Moonmachine displays the moon phase in stead of the date and the rotor now resembles the sky with Sarpaneva’s Norther Stars.

Sarpaneva’s three signature themes are all celestial: his very distinctive moon face; the northern stars and constellations; and the typical shape of his Korona case (the korona/corona is the plasma atmosphere of the Sun). All three have been incorporated in Moonmachine. Sarpaneva’s two moon faces indicate the phase of the moon through a Korona shaped aperture, while the mystery winding rotor is actually a 22k gold disc with laser-pierced stars forming stars and constellations visible in the northern sky.

The stars are laser-pierced allowing light to reflect from the movement underneath and are not simply placed at random: they form the seven brightest stars in Ursa Major, more commonly known as the Big Dipper/Big Plough/Big Bear, plus the seven brightest stars of Ursa Minor, more commonly known as the Little Dipper/Little Bear, which includes Polaris, also known as the North star.

By covering the movement with the moon phase and sky, the Moonmachines becomes more poetic, according to Sarpaneva. The HM3 is transformed into a fairy tale. The bulbous minutes and hours indication domes of the Frog are reminiscent of how science fiction buffs have long imagined habitable domes on the Moon.

Rotating the large indicator domes posed a number of technical challenges. The domes are machined from solid aluminium to a paper-thin wall thickness of just 0.28 mm to reduce energy requirements to an absolute minimum. The semi-spherical sapphire crystal domes have to be very carefully machined and polished as the slightest imperfection might create unwanted magnification effects.

And the Frog’s unusual method of indicating time, meant that an entirely new gear train had to be developed for the HM3 engine. This was because the aluminium hour dome of the Frog rotates in 12 hours compared to the 24-hour revolution of the ‘normal’ HM3 hour hand.

Stepan Sarpaneva: “With Moonmachine, the HM3 doesn’t just look like it travels through space, it is now a part of space. It becomes a participant not just an observer.”

Moonmachine is available in three limited editions of 18 pieces each: red gold case with red gold moon faces in an anthracite sky, titanium case with white gold moon faces in a light blue sky and black titanium case with white gold moon faces in a dark blue sky.

And now the technical specifications: 

Moon – While other planets have more moons (Jupiter has 62) and larger moons (Saturn’s moon Titan is twice the size of ours) the Earth’s moon is unique in our solar system because at ¼ the size of Earth, it is very large in relation to its planet, which is why it is so influential.

• Average distance from Earth: 390,000km
• Traveling time from Earth: three days
• Gravity: 1/6th Earth gravity
• Length of lunar day: 27.3 Earth days
• The moon does not rotate in relation to the Earth
• Influences on Earth: Causes two tidal cycles per day; often provides light at night; lunar cycle was one of the very first units of time; its gravity attracts many meteors and stops them hitting Earth; stabilises the tilt of the Earth in relation to the sun.

Oeps… those were the wrong technical specifications. Below the video are the specifications of the Moonmachine!

Moonmachine – Technical Specifications

Moonmachine is based on a specially configured HM3 Frog and the moon complication was imagined, designed and created by Stepan Sarpaneva. It is available in three limited editions of 18 pieces each.

• Movement: three-dimensional horological engine designed by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht/Agenhor
• Powered by a Girard-Perregaux base, modified by Stepan Sarpaneva
• Balance oscillating at 28,800 bph.
• PVD coated and star-pierced 22k gold automatic winding rotor
• Hour and minutes information transmitted via ceramic ball bearings to rotating domes.
• Number of jewels: 36
• Number of components: 319

Functions:

• Hour on one dome (aluminium dome rotating in 12 hours)
• Minutes on second dome (aluminium dome rotating in 60 minutes)
• Moon phase displayed by dual moons rotating under a Korona ring

• Dimensions (exclusive of crown and lugs): 47mm x 50mm x 19mm
• Number of case components: 55
• Sapphire crystals: domes and both display backs with anti-reflective treatment on both faces

Swiss retail price is CHF 84,000 before tax.

For more information about the Moonmachine and other MB&F Horlogical Machines, please visit the MB&F website or official MB&F Facebook page.

More information about Sarpaneva’s watches can be found on the Sarpaneva Watches website and some updates are ferquently posted on his official Facebook page.

This article is written by Frank Geelen, executive editor of Monochrome Watches.

Related posts:

1. Sarpaneva Korona K0 dive watch prototype – new photos
2. Weekly Watch Photo – Sarpaneva Korona K3 Northern Stars
3. New Sarpaneva Korona K3

At Baselworld 2012 Ikepod released a new collection of Horizon models designed by KAWS. For watch geeks who, like me, are unaware of who or what KAWS is, he’s an artist. This collaboration with Ikepod brings his popular design into the world of horology.

Of course there are more collaborations between artists and watch brands like the MB&F HM4 Only Watch that was created in collaboration with Huang Hankang. However Ikepod is Marc Newson’s brand and Marc Newson being an artist, it means this is a collaboration between artists. However, Ikepod does something much more unusual…

It goes officially on sale at Colette, a Parisian luxury store with a website. So yes, starting from the first day that the new Ikepod Horizon by KAWS is available, it’s exclusively available on the Colette e-shop! I can’t think of any watch brand that made their newest model available in the e-shop of a luxury department store.

The Ikepod Horizon comes in different metals (titanium, red gold or platinum) and with different dial colors. The Horizon by KAWS is available in titanium with a choice of four different dial. The case measures 44 mm in diameter and as you can see it does not wear as big as 44 mm might sound.

Like most Ikepod models, it comes on a comfortable  rubber strap. No need for a tang buckle or deployant clasp, no, Ikepod designed something nifty. This really works very well and does not leave a part of the strap sticking out.

At the Colette e-shop you can find the four new Horizon models designed by KAWS and several other Horizon models and the small version of the Ikepod Hour Glass!

Here’s a very nice video of the production of the Ikepod Horizon.

Prices for all Horizon models are € 10,500 Euro (including tax) and the small version of the Ikepod Hour Glass is available for € 9,500 Euro. Click here to visit the Colette e-shop or visit them in Paris at 213 Rue Saint Honoré. When visiting the e-shop, make sure to turn down your speakers if you don’t like loud music…

More information about Ikepod watches and availability can be found at the Ikepod website here.

Related posts:

1. Baselworld day two – Ikepod
2. Weekly Watch Photo – Lange und Söhne Zeitwerk for Kidz Horizon

Again a classic as Monochrome’s Weekly Watch Photo. The Rolex Explorer ref. 14270, also referred to as Explorer I. And again photographed by Tony, who continuously produces incredibly appealing watch photos.

In 1989 the Explorer ref. 14270 replaced the Explorer ref. 1019, which was produced for 26 years! Technically there were definitely major changes, however visually it remained very recognizable as a Rolex Explorer. Virtually every aspect of the Explorer changed, except its looks…

The first Explorer was reference 6610 and after five years of production, it was replaced by the Explorer reference 1016 in 1963. The new Explorer ref. 1016 featured a new movement, caliber 1560. In comparison to  its predecessor, its water resistance was increased from 50 to 100 meters.

The newer Explorer ref. 14270 featured a new movement, caliber 3000, a COSC certified center-seconds movement without date. Caliber 3000 was used in this Explorer I and in the Submariner 14060. Oddly the movement has chronometer certified in the Explorer, however in the Submariner it wasn’t. It was the last production movement from Rolex to use a balance cock, in stead of a balance bridge. It had 27 jewels and ticked at 28,800 bph.

Also its crystal was now a sapphire one and the case was entirely redesigned, now being more modern and sporty. All hour markers changed from painted markers to applied markers, still featuring Arabic numeral hour markers at 3, 6 and 9, a triangle at 12 o’clock and stick markers indicating all remaining hours.

In 1997/1998 Rolex changed from using tritium to Super Luminova as luminous material. The version in these photos still has the tritium in the markers and hands, as can be seen by the “T SWISS – T < 25″ below the 6 o’clock marker.

Explorer ref. 14270 came in a larger case, measuring 36 mm in diameter, and was approximately 11.5 mm thick. The oyster bracelet now featured a flip lock clasp.

Here is what Tony had to say about his newly acquired Rolex Explorer I:

Possibly the most underrated Rolex ever, and probably thebest example of a watch where form and function meet to perfection. In fact, the size of the case, the width of the bracelet and the shape of the lugs deliver what is, I think, the most wearable Rolex that the company has ever produced. It looks the way a watch was always meant to look, and manages to be both discreet and sporty in one fell swoop. …This means, of course, that it’s a tritium dial and I think the difference between this and the luminova variant is astonishing; the subtlety of the indices and hands gives it a warmth that a modern watch will always struggle to achieve.

Check out Tony’s website Halfpastthehour for more of his superb watch photos. Leaving you with a last wrist shot of this classic timepiece.

This article is written by Frank Geelen, executive editor of Monochrome Watches.

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1. Weekly Watch Photo – Rolex Explorer II 216570
2. Weekly Watch Photo – Rolex Milgauss
3. Weekly Watch Photo – The Most Sexy Lume Shot ever – Rolex Sea-Dweller 16600

Last month I already showed you the Tudor Heritage Black Bay, one of those watches that was ‘talk of the town’ during Baselworld. The other one was the Tudor Pelagos…

The Tudor Pelagus is, like the Heritage Black Bay, a dive watch loaded with vintage style elements and many references to vintage Tudor Submariner models. The Pelagos is also the first Tudor with a helium/gas escape valve. Is this maybe Tudor’s answer to the Rolex Sea-Dweller?

Compared to the Heritage Black Bay, with a depth rating of 200 meter (like the vintage Submariners), the Pelagos is a more serious dive watch with its depth rating of 500 meters (or 1640 feet). No need to increase the depth rating more, because ain’t nobody really going that deep…. Well, except maybe James Cameron, who dived to a depth of 10.898 meters (35,756 feet).

So the depth rating is less than that of a Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea, which is 3,900 meters. And it does not have an in-house, like Rolex. It uses the well-known and über-reliable ETA caliber 2824. The Tudor has much more tool-watch looks than the Rolex SDDS, something which is emphasized by the satin finished titanium case and bracelet and strong luminiscent material on the hour markers and hands.

An original double-bevelled flange around the dial incorporates the triangular, rectangular and square applied hour marker. The side of the bezel shows a very fine rib that provides good grip, for turning the uni-directional bezel. The bezel insert is made of ceramic, a material that is very resistant to wear. By the way, the numerals in the matt black ceramic disc has are luminescent!

The case dimension, 42 mm in diameter,  is another factor that adds to these rugged looks. I was pleased to see they didn’t go ‘overboard’ by increased the case size to 45+ mm. In the left side of the case is a helium escape valve, which is engraved with the words gas escape valve.

The Pelagos comes ona titanium bracelet with a folding steel clasp fitted with a unique spring-loaded self-adjusting mechanism. This simply means the bracelet can be fine-adjusted and this happens by means of a spring. Looks like a good solution, as long as the spring keeps the correct tension.

Thanks to this remarkable, technically accomplished system, the bracelet adjusts during diving, contracting in deep water when the diving suit is compressed and its volume is reduced, and, conversely, expanding as the pressure eases during the ascent. The Tudor Pelagos also comes with an additional rubber strap with an extension system enabling it to be worn easily over a diving suit.

Now let’s take a look at the design elements. In the beginning of this post I mentioned the design elements that refer to vintage Tudor dive watches. And like with the Heritage Black Bay, Tudor mixes design elements from several vintage models. The crown guards are pointy. This feature could be found on early Tudor Submariners and today Submariners with pointy crown guards (both from Tudor and Rolex) are highly sought-after.

These pointy crown guards make a good reference to very early examples of Tudor Submariners. The other main reference to older Tudor dive watches, are the typical hour markers and hands. These design elements refer to later models of the Tudor Submariner, also nicknamed after their typical shaped hands. The so-called ‘Snowflake’ Submariner (reference 7016 and 7021) were released in the late 1960′s. The the pointy crown guards date back to the early 1960′s model reference 7928, which was the first Tudor Submariner with crown guards.

Although it’s again a mix of design elements, the Tudor Pelagos looks like a great dive watch / tool-watch. Because of the titanium case and bracelet it’s not as heavy as a steel watch and I also think the size of 42 mm will further improve wearability. The new self-adjusting clasp sounds very interesting and I’d love to get some hands-on experience with that.

Some specifications: TUDOR PELAGOS – Reference 25500TN

• 42 mm titanium and steel case, satin finish
• Helium escape valve
• Unidirectional rotatable bezel in titanium with black ceramic disc
• Self-winding mechanical movement (ETA 2824)
• Power reserve of approximately 38 hours
• Screw-down steel winding crown with the TUDOR logo
• Sapphire crystal
• Waterproof to 500 m (1640 ft)
• Titanium bracelet with folding clasp, safety catch and bracelet extension system Additional rubber strap with buckle and extra extension piece

FINAL WORD: If the Pelagos is Tudor’s (long awaited) answer to the Rolex Sea-Dweller, we will probably never know. But to me it absolutely is exactly that. Of course there are several obvisous diffrences: it’s much more tool-watch and less polished, it doesn’t feature an in-house movement and its depth rating doesn’t come close to that of the newest Sea-Dweller, the Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea. Tudor Submariner have always been more tool-watch than their Rolex siblings. So putting it all together, I think the Pelagos is a perfect Tudor variant of the Sea-Dweller and it’s available for an excellent price.

The Tudor Pelagos is priced very reasonble at CHF 3950 (incl. TAX). Please visit the Tudor website for more information about the watches and availability.  

This article is written by Frank Geelen, executive editor of Monochrome Watches.

Related posts:

1. Tudor Heritage Black Bay ref. 79220R
2. Rolex Sea-Dweller Deep Sea
3. Tudor Submariner for US Army?