For the second-half of the 19th century, the Swiss watch industry had no middle. There were the top tiers, Patek Philippe and Vacheron & Constantin (they dropped the '&' about 30 years ago), making super complex watches and automota, and there were the bottom-dwellers: watches so crummy that they invented fake "American" brands to use for marketing. (Yes in the late 19th century there were many Swiss watches in the same market as today's Chinatown Rolex).

One odd offshoot of this was the International Watch Company which was founded in 1868 by a Bostonian veteran of the watch industry, Florentine Ariosto Jones. To cash in on celebrate this heritage, IWC introduced an F. A. Jones line of watches starting back in 2005.
Recently they released a Platinum-cased skeletonized version in a limited edition of 50 pieces, here are some pictures, click any for a larger version.

Overview of the dial side

Closeup of the dial, showing the balace wheel and escapement

Closeup of the reverse, showing the distinctive long regulator arm, echoing the original F.A. Jones calibers of the 1870s

Movement of an original F.A. Jones Pocketwatch with the same long regulator arm

(All photos are mine, watches from the collection of EWC)

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Hold the European Watch Company in your hand!

For 18 years the European Watch Company has sold fine watches from our little store in Boston's historic Back Bay. Now you can access our up-to-date inventory on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch with our custom iPhone app, iEuroWatch. Browse by brand or by category, or search for that specific piece, then drop us a quick email so someone else doesn't buy it first.

Free for downloading on the App Store
http://itunes.com/apps/ieurowatch/

About the European Watch Company

We sell new, pre-owned and vintage watches from the finest Swiss and German brands and are happy to ship internationally. EWC is world renowned for our personal service and competitive prices. All of our inventory can be viewed in person at our showroom, 232 Newbury St, Boston MA, during business hours and 24-hours a day online (http://www.europeanwatch.com).

Any App specific questions or suggestions can be directed to iphone@europeanwatch.com

Christophe Claret has been in operation for over 20 years, but only as a complication maker for other brands.  Until 2009, you couldn't buy a Claret watch, but a Cartier, or a UN or a Harry Winston, etc with a Claret movement within.  In 2009 he released the DualTow, a massive beast of a watch, proving the adage "just because you can doesn't mean you should.  This time around he's released a more focused design, the 21 Blackjack watch.  It has an entire casino, including a pair of dice in a side compartment, each 1.5mm cubes, a roulette wheel based on the automatic-winding rotor and a mechanical blackjack game on front. 

The movement is a 40 jewel automatic consisting of 501 parts including 7 pairs of ceramic ball-bearing assemblies, and a striking chime to indicate when you've won.  Production is limited to 21 pieces running from $200,000 to $400,000 depending on case material, which can be Titanium, Platinum or red or white gold.

Dial of the watch, showing the blackjack game

Reverse of the watch, showing the roulette wheel

Closeup of the side, showing the miniature dice
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With the Cannes film festival in full swing, there's plenty of high-end jewels on display.

On the arm of Fawaz Gruosi, the head of de Grisogono, was the model Bianca Balti, wearing some of the jewelers over-the-top pieces

Necklace set with 5 massive emerald drop and 5345 faceted emeralds and 297 diamonds. The matching earrings are each set with 2 cabuchon emeralds, 135 faceted emeralds a large oval diamonds and 296 smaller diamonds.	18k white gold choker set with 5,721 white diamonds (156.30 carats) and 19 white pearls (12mm to 12.50mm)
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Here's a solo shot of that pearl choker
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I'll hopefully have more later
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Evan Joseph is a photographer who has recently published New York City at Night, a collection of his aerial and ground-level photographs of the city at night. His ground level shots are perfectly lovely, but his aerial work, much of it from a helocopter, is stunning. I've added a few samples, but there are more where these came from. These are worth clicking for a larger view.

St Patricks	Midtown (from the north)
Manhattan (from the East)	Ground level shot of the Brooklyn Bridge

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http://www.bustler.net/index.php/article/j_mayer_h_completes_metropol_parasol_in_seville/

The Plaza de la Encarnation is on one of the older parts of Seville and has been at the center of a reconstruction effort since 2004.  The centerpiece of that effort, the Metrapol Parasol, designed by J. Mayer H. Architects*, of Berlin, has just been completed making it the largest wooden building in the world. It consists of an underground museum, displaying, among other things, Roman ruins found on the site, shopping in the superstructure and an elevated walkway on the undulating roof.

The following photos are by David Franck, taken from Bustler. Click any of them for larger versions

Approaching from the city streets, the full scale of the building is not evident

The bulk of the usable space is above or below ground, leaving a shaded plaza open under the structure.

The walkway on the roof and the spectacular view into the city of Seville

Finally a view from above, showing the full shape and scale
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* Ordinarily I'd have put in a link to their website, but it is a monstrosity of javascript window shrinking stupidity that nobody should click by accident!

Mechanical things disassembled, carefully arranged and photographed by Todd McLellan. Here are two quintessentially 1970's objects, the mechanical-digital alarm clock and the manual Pentax SLR. Follow the source link for more

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