Recently in Watches Category

The Linda Hall Library, a unaffiliated archive of historical science and engineering documents in Kansas City, MO has been working on digitizing their remarkable collection.  One of the nice things they've done is have pre-defined searches, for example the history of the parachute, or their archive of documents related to the building of the panama canal.  The most interesting, however, is their collection of books on timekeeping.  They haven't put up complete books yet, but have illustrations many of the 16th and 17th century sources of note, including Ferdinand Berthoud, Alexander Cumming and some of the engravings from Diderot and de l'Ambert's Encyclopedia.

Go take a look!

Cardano, Girolamo, 1557. De rerum varietate libri XVII. Woodcut on p. 365

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Frank Jutzi has released an 8-day desk clock with a "mysterious" tourbillon.  The Tourbillon is centerally mounted within a sapphire wheel which allows it to float within the clock frame.  Hours are displayed at the top, via a jumping-hour complication.  The clock is decorated with engraved silver tree-trunks with climbing enameled ivy, upon which sit two lapis, opan and onyx-set Kingfishers, cast in 18kt gold.  Overall size is 28 x 45 x 16.2 (cm). 

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Bovet is a brand whose watches often make the Rococo feel a bit plain and under-decorated, frequently based on technically proficient, but uninspired movements. For their new 2014 collection, they've got more of that, but also some actually interesting pieces.

First one of their old-style pieces, a massive 5-day tourbillon and retrograde perpetual calendar in an 18kt gold case that converts from a wristwatch to a pocketwatch. The movement is a Dimer (the movement division of Bovet) Virtuoso III, with 59 jewels, 21,600 vph.

Some of the nicer new pieces, both in the Recital collection.

Recital 15 - Jumping hour, retrograde minute hand and something they're confusingly calling a "coaxial reverse seconds-hand", and a power-reserve hand, driven by the Virtuoso II with 33 jewels and a power-reserve of 5 days. The case is 42×12.8mm and 18kt white or rose gold. Clearly the rose-gold case is available with diamonds on the bezel.	Recital 12 Monsieur - With only hours, minutes, seconds and power-reserve hands. The Virtuoso II Specialite movement has 33 jewels and a reserve of 7 days.

The Recital 11 Miss Alexandra is back to the old style with a massive moon-phase indication over the time, set on a dial of guilloched mother-of-pearl. Notice that the hands form a heart-shape when they overlap, because it's a ladies watch! The movement is caliber 11DA16MP with 29 jewels, 28,800 vph and a power reserve of 3 days.

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An update to the extra-thin tourbillon released last year, it's now available in a platinum case.  As an interesting subtle detail, the rubies jewels have been replaced with blue sapphires to more closely fit the blue/white color scheme

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In the same collection as Le Pont des Amoureaux and their increasing stable of interesting complications, Van Cleef(previously mentioned) has released their most ambitious complication to date, the Complication Poétique Midnight Planétarium. Within a 44mm case of 18kt gold, set with diamonds if you prefer, is a miniature planetarium showing the position and motion of the 6 inner planets, all represented in semi-precious stones. The complication is based on a Roger Dubuis (previously mentioned) caliber, and was designed by the master of astronomical complications, Christiaan van der Klaauw. Price is not published, but it's a limited edition of 396 if that affects your decision.

Their promotional video is a bit all over the place, without anything on this actual watch, but fun none-the-less.

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As an addition to the previous report on the Piaget Altiplano 900p, currently the thinnest mechanical watch in the world, here's a breakdown of the internal architecture

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Piaget(previously mentioned) has always taken pride in their ability to make the thinnest possible watch.  They lost this crown to Concord's Delerium with the advent of Quartz, but have, in recent years, taken to tilting at the title of "Thinnest Mechanical _____" with some regularity.  The new Altiplano 900P, released in time for the brand's 140th birthday is an admirable entry into that competition, at 3.65mm it's currently the thinnest mechanical watch, though not the thinnest mechanical movement.  Their solution, which is similar to that of the AP 2870, was to integrate the movement into the case.  They have also reorganized components so that parts with required thicknesses, like the balance assembly and the hands, do not overlap but sit side by side.  Adding to those architectural changes ultra-thin parts, 0.12 mm for some of the wheels as opposed to 0.20 mm on a standard movement, allowed Piaget to get to the current record. 

One problem with ultra-thin watches has always been stiffness, all of the parts have more flex in them than in a normal watch, and this leads to some unusual problems, like the case-flex of the Delerium IV that made it nearly unwearable.  Piaget has tried to ameleorate this, at least to a degree, by having the top bridge of the balance wheel the highest part of the movement, so that if the case or crystal flexes inwards, it'll impact a stationary bridge and not the usual victem, the top of the minute hand/canon pinion. 

Case is 38mm in diameter and white gold.  Power-reserve, another feature that often gets reduced in ultra-thin watches, is a entirely normal 48 hours.

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Another watch, another unique material!  This time it's a fragment of the Enstatite EH meteorite, which has tiny bits of diamond within its matrix, as the moon in the moonphase of this interesting, if overly decorated ladies watch from Louis Moinet (previously mentioned).  The case is 36mm of titanium with a white ceramic bezel, set with 54 diamonds and 6 cabochon sapphires.  The dial is mother of pearl, cut in a Côtes du Jura pattern and the movement is a custom Concepto model, based on an ETA caliber.

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Left-over news from Baselworld 2013 is the La Jonction by Spero Lucem, a new brand of unknown backing.  The watches features a flying tourbillon, jumping hours and a retrograde minute hand, and a power-reserve on the back of the movement.  The SL2 caliber which drives the entire thing has 159 parts, including 33 jewels, beats at a moderate 21,600 BPH and provides 100 hours of power-reserve.  It was manufactured by MHC (Manufacture Haute Complications), who is one of the newer names in the high-end movement business, they are also the manufacture behind Louis Moinet (see previous).  

The case is available in 18kt rose Gold or titanium, and is 42x15.5mm.

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It isn't only the Swiss who reanimate dead brand names for their companies, the British clockmaker extraordinaire George Graham rose from the corporate grave in 1995 alongside Arnold(see previous), which has since been sold) as the two arms of British Masters .  In commemoration of the 300th anneversary of the first mechanical model of the solar system, which was made in 1713 by Graham for Charles Boyle, the 4th Earl of Orrery, they have released a Toubrillon Orrery watch.

The case is a massive 48×17.6mm of 18kt rose gold, displaying a 43.5mm diameter dial. Christopher Claret (mentioned previously) developed the manually-wound movement, which has 35 jewels and a power-reserve of 3 days. The dial displays the tourbillon in the center, under the bridge carved in the manner of 18th century balance cocks, along with the hours and minutes. There's a small sapphire sphere for the earth, orbited by a rhodium moon which also indicates the gregorian date and the zodiacal sign. At the outer rim of the dial a small ruby indicates the position of mars. In the case band are all the correctors needed to keep this ballet in time.

Dial of the Orrery Watch	18th Century Graham watch, the balance cock inspired the tourbillon bridge

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