I probably should have gone to Basel this year. I never go. It always seemed so daunting: Switzerland is a closed country and I don’t have lederhosen and it just never worked. Anyway, Wired has a great round-up of watches including this striking Hamilton with no buttons, just a rotating bezel that starts and resets the chronograph, and this new T-Touch diver called the Sea Touch.

If we can say anything about this year’s crop of watches it’s that these things are getting bigger and uglier every year. I’m honestly expecting a backlash and the companies like Zenith and Concord who threw their entire R&D budget into building pie plates with gears will get nipped.

Then you see something like the Oris Bob Dylan, complete with Harmonica, and you kind of get all warm inside. Am I bad for wanting to pay $2K for this thing?

You know me and my watch fetish. Well, there’s one rarified section of the watch industry where mere mortals dare not tread. While you and I can’t “go there,” MB&F certainly went, producing the Horological Machine #3, a dual read-out crazy clock with a large date wheel and an odd inverted power transmission system using bearings and disks.


What does that mean in Swatch terms? It means this is a piece of real innovation in a market saturated with the same old same old. Watchmakers like MB&F are kind of the funny car builders of the watch world: they strip everything out and then put it back together in odd ways and then make them belch fire.

MB&F will make 25 of these next year and they will, without a doubt, be purchased by men of some means. You and I will never see these and, sadly, we’ll probably never see the innovations within. But they sure are pretty.

HM3’s twin cones indicate hours and minutes respectively, with the hour cone capped by a day/night indicator. An over-sized date wheel – the wheel is actually a larger diameter than the movement – allows for large, clearly legible numbers, with the date indicated by a neatly engraved triangle.

I just found a mention of my book in QP magazine. The magazine also has a nice piece about the M-A by Thomas Byczkowski who I’m going to hit up in a minute about his research.


I also spent a nice evening in Geneva as well as a great day in Breguet’s birthplace, Neuchatel. I have lots of pictures and an understanding of Breguet’s history. I even walked on Rue A-L Breguet where, sadly, his ghost did not approach me and ask me the time.

The Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet line, essentially a water resistant line of yachting watches, is famous for being the first steel luxury watch ever made. It’s a beautiful pieces, looks great on men and women, and is potentially affordable used. However, in order to follow Bell & Ross and Zenith into the depths of Crazytown they’ve decided to offer this “Survivor” model which looks like a robot took a dump on a turtle.

The case, for example, is crazy:

Strongbox-Type Case with antimagnetic system, cone shaped pushpieces, hollowed pushpiece guards, crown, crown guard and studs in blackened titanium perforated ceramic bezel

Stronbox? Wha? Cones? Studs? What is this – a watch or an S&M bar?

The press release follows but this is being made in a limited edition of 1,000 and thank God, too, because it bastardizes all that the Royal Oak stands for.

Introducing the Royal Oak Offshore “Survivor”
Shapes and ergonomics. Each detail is meticulously designed to ensure a blend
of efficiency and lightness. The perforations on the bezel lighten up the structure without compromising its sturdiness. The hollowed pushpieces equipped with a security look ensure user-friendly handling. In a similar vein, the generous size and notched rim of the crown, as well as the ratcheted case edge, facilitate getting a quick and sure grip on this exceptional instrument. The conical shape of the pushpieces guarantees instant activation of the chronograph function, while the skeleton hands, luminescent hour-markers and silver-coloured small seconds counter guarantee optimal readability by day or night. And finally, since nothing is left to chance, a careful observer will note the apertures on the case middle and studs.

SIGNATURE FEATURES

Strongbox-type case water-resistant to 100 metres, with antimagnetic system designed to protect the mechanism from any hostile element. Hexagonal socket-head screws echoing the legendary hexagonal screws of the Royal Oak Offshore models. Exclusive “Méga Tapisserie” guilloché pattern on the dial, matched on this model by the chequered Motif on the strap Strap perfectly integrated with the case.

High-precision Instrument The Royal Oak Offshore Survivor houses the exclusive Audemars Piguet selfwinding Calibre 3126/3840, guaranteeing sturdiness, reliability and precision rating: up to 60-hour power reserve thanks to a mainspring which, by supplying constant force over a longer time-span, ensures enhanced rating accuracy; a cross-through balance-cock reinforcing the stability of the movement; a balance-stop mechanism serving to immobilise the seconds hand and thus enabling time-setting to the nearest second; a variable-inertia balance equipped with eight inertia blocks enabling precise and stable adjustment; fast date correction with an integrated security system avoiding any risk of date disc blockage when the adjustment occurs at midnight; bidirectional automatic winding of the mainspring by means of a 22-carat gold rotor mounted on a ball-bearing mechanism.

HIGH-TECH MATERIALS

Blackened titaniumplays the starring role. This ultra-light material has been chosen for the case and the surrounding elements: studs, pushpieces and pushpiece guards, crown and oversized strap buckle. The same goes for the medallion back featuring a special non-slip texture. Titanium also shows up on the lower part of the octagonal bezel, while its upper part opts for ceramics. The latter is distinguished by clearly marked vertical grooves reminiscent of the characteristic satin finish of the Royal Oak Offshore collection. The strap is made from vulcanised rubber, an indispensable part of the extreme sports universe. Its matt black granular surface accentuates the adventurous camouflage-type look of this chronograph issued in a limited edition of 1,000.

MOVEMENT
Calibre: 3126/3840, Selfwinding
Total Diameter: 26 mm (11 1/2 Lignes)
Thickness: 7.16 mm
59 Jewels
365 Parts
Up to 60-hour power reserve
21,600 VPH
Variable-Inertia Balance with Eight Inertia-Blocks and a flat-spring
Geneva-Type Mobile Balance Spring Stud-Holder
Three Position Winding Crown
Finishing: All parts decorated by hand; Manipulate Rhodium-Plated, Bevelled and Stippled; Bridges Adorned with “Cotes De Geneve” Motif

STRAP
Vulcanized Rubber with Chequered Motifs and oversized buckle in blackened titanium

CASE
Strongbox-Type Case with antimagnetic system, cone shaped pushpieces, hollowed pushpiece guards, crown, crown guard and studs in blackened titanium perforated ceramic bezel
Diameter: 42mm
Thickness: 15.65mm
Water-Resistance: 100m
Medallion back in blackened titanium with non-slip Motif, titanium engraved with the inscription Royal Oak Offshore Survivor- Limited Edition

DIAL
Matt black, exclusive “Mega Tapisserie” Guilloche Motif
Snailed Hour-Circle
Luminescent Skeleton Hour and Minute Hands
Luminescent Applied Hour-Markers

FUNCTIONS
Hours and Minutes
Small Seconds
Chronograph with central sweep seconds hand
30-minute and 12-hour counters
Tachometric Scale around the flange
Date

REFERENCE
2616510.00A002CA.01
Limited Series of 1,000

via ProWatches

A reader on CrunchGear posted a comment discussing the Kindle cake beloved by Jeff Bezos. He pointed out that the ladies tend to like to make these cakes and that his wife made a freaking Stowa Airman cake for his birthday.

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The little experiments and photos were taken in April 2007, and had forgotten all about it.

I’m a notebook-user, and I’ve sent 2 watches for abnormal daily rate getting faster without placing my watches near mobile, speakers or even bags with the magnetic clips!

There is only one thing I use daily and many hours with it….. my notebook (or laptop)!

Coincidentally, I was trying to find some answers and was reading Donald de Carle’s Practical Watch Repairing…and there was a chapter on magnetism ( I’ve enclose a page of it for your reference, and also for the respect of copyrights).

* Magnetism, Have We Missed Out The Obvious? Laptop-Users Be Aware! [WatchProSite]

This thing looks kind of dopey. Not sure if it gets my vote yet.

The Nike Amp iPod control watch is unusual for many reasons. To start with, it only displays hours and minutes. No seconds, no date, no alarm, no stopwatch. And to see the time, you actually have to press a button to illuminate the LED display.

But the Amp isnt designed to be an all-around running or fitness watch. Its specifically designed for runners who already have the Nike iPod kit. Similar to the Timex iControl we recently reviewed, the Nike Amp is a remote control for your iPod Nano, however unlike the Timex, the Nike Amp uses the existing Nike iPod gadget that plugs into your iPod, so youre actually adding the iPod remote control to the Nike iPod system.

Review of the Nike Amp+ iPod Control Watch – Watch Reviews, Information, and News

Altan at the BWF posted a great story about his dad’s Tissot. He bought it when he was in the army, years ago, and it served him well and long. This year he bought pop a nice new Tissot and is keeping the classic safe for future generations. See, it doesn’t have to be a Patek to hold value.

I gave him many watches over the years. He liked them, wore them, but he always went back to his Tissot. It was “his” watch after all, it meant a lot to him.

When he had a quadruple baypass a few years back, I was visiting him and he gave his Tissot to me. Knowing that I had a passion for watches, he knew I would appreciate it and cherish it over the years. Well, I bought him even more watches since then. Again, he liked them and wore them… but he still kept talking about his Tissot… how he bought it years back, paid for it for a year, wore it on his wedding, etc. He was happy that I had it but that has not stop him from talking about his beloved Tissot

So I figured, maybe another Tissot would do the trick… to some extent, at least. Here is one of the gifts he will receive from my wife and me for Christmas and their 56th wedding anniversary, which is on Dec. 23. Another Tissot… Tissot Le Locle Automatic…

The BIG Watch Forum

B&R sent me their BR02 to manhandle but I couldn’t do an official review simply because this was a show model and had no guts. Now that the initial sadness has worn off, I am happy to report that the BR02 is a pretty cool watch. It’s styled on the Instrument Series but is specially designed for underwater maneuvers. The band is rubber and the lugs flow into the edges of the band, ensuring a snug fit. The face is quite readable — except for the tiny date window — and it feels quite solid. Expect this bugger to end up in the $4000 range, but it could go lower. Cool stuff.

Sorry, OM. Not even close.

From merry olde Englande comes this charming 12 o’clock crown aviator. Really nice styling. They even have some normal looking models, but for some reason I’m drawn to this.

IWI Watches: Better Because It’s British [CG]