Welcome to the HourTime show, the best 30 minute (+/-) hour podcast on the web

Welcome to 2012!

Today, our intrepid watch wariors are testing the latest in ‘tin-can & string’ tech recording devices.

With can in hand, they spoke on Jean-Claude Biver Step Down As CEO Of Hublot,Ochs Und Junior Selene Tinta Watch, John wears a watch in a WiMM, IWC Pilot Chronograph Top Gun Miramar Watch and the start of SIHH. Hot stuff.

Note: The audio is a little rough on this one. We’re fixing a few things. Bear with us.

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Welcome to the HourTime show, the best 30 minute (+/-) hour podcast on the web

In todays show, John starts us off by not talking about a watch, we discuss Hublot’s Magic Gold, John decides he is jonesing for an Omega Ploprof (a vintage or current version – whatever anyone will give him) and we finish off the year with the A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Up/Down watch.

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Welcome to the HourTime show, the best 30 minute (+/-) hour podcast on the web

This week, John channels his inner wookie when discussing the Jean Dunand Shabaka, decides theCabestan Trapezium Watchis less than useful, thinks theJaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Diving Chronograph GMT Navy SEALs name is entirely too long and that the Hublot Big Bang Watch For Architect Oscar Niemeyer is better than an orange hat.

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Welcome to the HourTime show, the best 30 minute (+/-) hour podcast on the web

This week John makes it extra ranttastic (for your pleasure) when they discuss the Dream Watch 4 iPhone case, that Hublot is the “Official Watch Maker & Timekeeper Of Ferrari”, Ariel’s visit to the Blancpain Haute Horology Watch Manufacture and the difficulties of buying a good used watch in China.

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Welcome to the HourTime show, the best 30 minute (+/-) hour podcast on the web

This week on HTS we speak about the Hublot Antikythera Calibre 2033-CH01 Watch, a French movement manufacturer Dubois Dépraz, the Ulysse Nardin Freak Diavolo and finish up with the Alpina Startimer Classic Automatic Chrono - a watch with a lot of potential but with tiny hands and no chrono pushers.

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Discovered in 1901, the Antikythera Mechanism has long been called one of the earliest computers. For years scientists had no idea what it did, ascribing it with almost mystical functionality. Through the use of advanced imaging techniques, we now know that this lump of crusty, corroded brass was actually an astronomical computer that allowed ancient Greeks to predict the passage of the planets.

Watchmaker Hublot has recreated the mechanism using modern techniques and shrunk it down to nearly postage-stamp size. The new watch – a one of a kind – features the full mechanism as historians and scientists understand it along with a standard three-hand tourbillon as well as a date register. Then it gets a little wild:

The various known indications of the Antikythera “machine” have been faithfully reproduced on its modern-day counterpart, both on the front and on the back. The primary face of the movement shows: the calendar for the Panhellenic games (which designated those cities hosting the games), the Egyptian calendar (12 months each of 30 days, with the epagomenal, or additional, days), the position of the sun in the constellations of the Zodiac, the phases of the Moon (with a magnificent hand and aperture which shows the position of the Moon in the zodiac throughout the sidereal month), as well as the sidereal year. The back of the watchmaking movement shows the Callippic cycle, the Metonic cycle, the Saros cycle and the Exeligmos cycle.

The watch will be on permanent exhibit at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris after appearing at BaselWorld 2012.

The watch uses the mainspring to power these Antikythera registers, adding life and vibrancy to what would have once been a hand-cranked navigational system. It all fits into a tiny package that can be worn on the wrist. Because this is a one-off piece, expect it to cost somewhere in the millions if it is ever sold.

Some dude, some lady, and some other dude cut some ribbon.

This, sadly, is what amounts to news to most watch companies. Don’t get me wrong: I love Hublot. When/if I’m rich I’ll buy a Big Bang. But look at that: Usain Bolt cutting a ribbon with two other people. That’s not news, that’s some strange sense that Hublot can become as famous as Usain Bolt by associating his ribbon cutting skills with the brand.

I’ve been harping on this for years: brands need to stand on their benefits to the educated consumer. CE brands have already distanced themselves from celebrity endorsements for a good reason: eventually that celebrity will be associated with some sort of sex and drug scandal involving gerbils, meth, and Katy Perry. It’s inevitable. Why pin your brand on some dude who can run fast when the real valuable players in your company are the watchmakers who make miracles every day?

Geeks love watches. Sell watches to geeks. Lots of people understand this (most notably Bremont) and I assure you that the average oligarch doesn’t care about Usain Bolt. He cares about buying a watch to impress some gazelle-like model in Trieste.

So, in the end, we’re treated with another exciting watch company press release: Some dude who does something does something. It’s enough to make me want to resort to eBay brands.

Welcome to the HourTime show, the best 30 minute (+/-) hour podcast on the web

In todays torrid episode we discuss the Clerc Hydroscaph GMT again (more or less), Hublot and how to attract a potential mate by sporting the proper watch.

Who knew !?

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I’ve never been a big fan of gold on watches but I like how Vogard has put this whole thing together. What you’re seeing is a new version of the Vogard Chronozoner, a chronograph with instant time-zone changing. The original Vogards revolutionized GMT watches by allowing users to simply flip a little lever to set a new timezone. Now all you have to do is twist the bezel and you’re instantly showing the time in another country.

This old girl now has a carbon fiber face, PVD titanium, and a gold face detail and bezel. It’s like a Hublot Big Bang only not boring! Don’t bother asking the price. Even with my elevated AOL salary I’m not even allowed to look at the price tag on this thing without a credit check.

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This week we talk about Ariel’s trip to Switzerland and how it’s a good idea to eat the rich.