Month: March 2015

Speake-Marin Bi-Tourbillon

Le Bi-Tourbillon de Speake-Marin (Vertical Double Tourbillon en anglais) dispose de deux tourbillons de 60 secondes liés par un embrayage à ressort pour plus de précision, d’un cadran en émail grand feu, d’un indicateur de réserve de marche et d’un indicateur de jour et de nuit. Les tourbillons ont été positionnés verticalement sur le côté gauche afin de faciliter la lecture de l’heure. En gardant les tourbillons discrètement sous la manche d’une chemise, il est tout de même possible de lire l’heure. Speake-Marin exprime ainsi l’excellence d’une sophistication discrète.

Le tourbillon joue un rôle important dans l’histoire de Speake-Marin. En effet, le premier garde-temps à avoir porté le nom de Speake-Marin était la « Foundation Panerai replica watches », une montre à gousset que Peter Speake-Marin avait équipé d’un tourbillon à échappement.

Peter Speake-Marin reconnait la capacité du tourbillon à améliorer la précision du garde- temps en contrant les erreurs de positionnement dues à la gravité, mais c’est l’aspect visuel de cet échappement hypnotique qui l’a conduit à ce projet.

« Le tourbillon est une des choses que j’aime le plus en horlogerie », dit-il. Pas pour la précision qu’il apporte au garde-temps, mais de part l’animation qu’il donne au cadran. Il indique comment le temps passe d’une façon unique que les répétitions-minutes ou une même les grandes sonneries ne parviennent pas à reproduire. C’est quelque chose qui, pour moi, possède une grande profondeur. »

Le cadran excentré retient tout d’abord notre attention. Réalisé en émail grand feu, il affiche les heures et les minutes grâce aux aiguilles « Foundation » en acier bleui signées Speake- Marin. Juste au-dessus de ce cadran se trouve un indicateur de réserve de marche de 72 heures. Il indique la réserve disponible au moyen d’un indicateur en forme de demi-lune qui s’ouvre lorsqu’il est complètement chargé pour dévoiler les rouages et le mécanisme et se referme progressivement quand la montre se décharge pour être remplacé par un indicateur rouge. Sous le cadran excentré se trouve l’indicateur de jour et de nuit qui apporte à la montre un équilibre visuel en contrebalançant l’indicateur de réserve de marche situé au-dessus.

Pourtant, ce sont les pirouettes synchronisés des tourbillons jumeaux alignés verticalement sur la gauche qui attirent rapidement le regard. Un unique pont massif, impeccablement fini à la main avec un polissage miroir et les angles biseautés, maintient le côté supérieur des deux tourbillons. Chaque tourbillon possède son propre mécanisme indépendant alimenté par son propre barillet. Les deux barillets sont chargés simultanément grâce à la couronne.

Une minuscule boite de vitesses à ressort permet de limiter les imprécisions, car ce ressort absorbe et équilibre toutes les petites variations entre les deux cages. Nommé un « équilibreur de marche », il lie les deux régulateurs des tourbillons.

Les généreuses proportions de cette boite Piccadilly de 48 mm, qui est disponible en or blanc ou rouge, ont été longuement étudiées afin d’accorder au garde-temps une grande lisibilité sur l’affichage du temps, tout en accordant aussi de l’espace aux tourbillons.

En retournant la pièce, l’observateur est récompensé par une magnifique vue mécanique. La partie inférieure des deux tourbillons est ouverte aux regards et une petite roue, sur laquelle est gravée « Equilibreur de Marche » prend le rythme des deux régulateurs indépendants et transmets la moyenne des deux rythmes pour afficher une heure précise.

Bi-Tourbillon (Vertical Double Tourbillon Movement)

L’inspiration pour le design du pont et la décoration du Bi-Tourbillon proviennent d’un des premiers tourbillons de Speake-Marin : le Tourbillon Vintage MKII. Comme ce dernier, le mouvement du bi-tourbillon est réalisé avec des ponts en acier, perlé et plaqué avec du ruthénium. La platine est décorée aux trois-quarts par des Côtes de Genève qui partent du centre mais s’en vont dans deux directions.

L’équilibreur de marche, qui relie les deux tourbillons de 60 secondes, consiste en deux roues concentriques mise en place l’une au-dessus de l’autre. Un petit ressort est positionné entre les deux roues et est attaché à l’extrémité de chacune d’elle. Chaque roue se met en rotation avec sa propre cage de tourbillon et le ressort au milieu est mis sous tension lors que les vitesses des deux régulateurs diffèrent ou est soumis à un choc asymétrique.

Le Bi-Tourbillon appartient à la collection J-Class de Speake-Marin et est produit en une Edition limitée de 5 pièces en or blanc et 5 pièces en or rouge.

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Blancpain – Debuts The Ocean Commitment

On October 9, 2014 Blancpain President & CEO Marc A. Hayek, unveiled a special Ocean Commitment limited edition which will be part of a series of limited editions. Each purchaser will join the Ocean Commitment Circle and will contribute and reinforce Blancpain’s support for oceanic environmental causes through an additional donation which will be made for each  Swiss replica watches uk. First of this series, the new Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback is limited to 250 pieces. Blancpain commits to donate 1’000 Euros of the revenues from the sales of this piece to various initiatives.

The Bathyscaphe is a legendary name at Blancpain. Three years after the 1953 debut of the original Fifty Fathoms, Blancpain introduced the Bathyscaphe as a smaller diameter diving watch alternative adapted to daily wear. Over the years, the Bathyscaphe evolved in parallel with the Fifty Fathoms and became a part of the Fifty Fathoms legend. This patrimony is fully honored with the debut of the Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback, as it is a fully featured underwater chronograph, which at 43 mm in diameter is smaller than the core models of the Fifty Fathoms Collection.

Although it reflects 60 years of Blancpain Fifty Fathoms diving  fake watches online store tradition, the Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Chronographe flyback features Blancpain’s latest in-house movement, the F385. This entirely new column wheel controlled flyback chronograph movement runs at the high frequency of 5 HZ – 36’000vph, ideal for a chronograph, as each second is perfectly divided into 1/10th of a second intervals. The F385 is further distinguished by its use of silicon for the balance wheel spiral. Because silicon is a-magnetic, its use provides the same degree of protection from magnetism as constructions which rely upon a soft iron inner case. However, whereas soft iron inner cases foreclose use of a clear case back, as the movement would be hidden, the F385’s use of silicon allows both protection from magnetism and view of the movement. In common with all of the 33 new in-house calibers which Blancpain has introduced since 2006, the F385 has a freely sprung balance, with gold screws for fine regulation. Gold screw inertial regulation offers superior robustness and finer adjustment than the more common racket systems.

The F385 utilizes a vertical clutch for the engagement of the chronograph. Blancpain has been an industry pioneer in the development and refinement of vertical clutch chronographs. Unlike horizontal clutch systems used elsewhere, Blancpain’s vertical clutch guarantees flawless starting and operation of the chronograph. Horizontal clutch systems are prone to needle jumping upon starting and uneven movement of the chronograph seconds hand, both of which are avoided with Blancpain’s design.

Two other features of this new timepiece bring important functionality to the world of diving. Unlike most diving chronographs, which paradoxically forbid chronograph use underwater and require that the chronograph pushers be “locked down” when the Swiss fake watches store is submerged, the Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback has been equipped with sealed chronograph pushers allowing use of the chronograph during dives to a depth of 300 meters. Second, the chronograph itself incorporates a flyback function. Whereas standard chronographs require three actuations of the pushers to time back to back events (one push to stop the first event, a second to return to zero and a third to start the second event), the flyback function greatly simplifies operation. A single push of the return to zero pusher stops the first event, returns the timers to zero and restarts the timing for the second event. This is particularly useful for divers’ decompression stops.

Aesthetically, the Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Flyback is housed in a gray ceramic case, with a ceramic crown and ceramic chronograph pushers and a unidirectional blue ceramic rotating bezel marked with liquid metal indexes. The blue color theme is carried over to the dial, which offers three subdials for the chronograph counters and small seconds display. On the back of the watch, the movement and winding rotor are visible through the clear case back. The winding rotor has been specially decorated for this limited series bearing the logo for the Ocean Commitment.

Each Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Chronograph Flyback will be individually numbered. In addition, each purchaser of one of these limited edition timepieces will receive a copy of Blancpain’s collectible volume entitled Fifty Fathoms The Dive and Watch History 1953-2013. The copy received by each purchaser will be hand numbered to correspond to the serial number of his Cartier replica watches uk.

Every client will automatically be enrolled in the Ocean Commitment Circle and receive a certificate confirming that a donation has been made for that replica watches uk. Thanks to their purchase, they become an active player in reinforcing Blancpain’s support of oceanic initiatives. Special advantages will be granted to the members of the Circle, such as close relationships with Blancpain partners, opportunities to meet them, exclusive information and news through the members area of Blancpain’s new Ocean Commitment website, private invitations to scientific expedition report presentations as well as documentary film premieres.

Corum Bubble

In the year 2000 Corum introduced the Bubble, an oversized replica watches uk sale with an even larger crystal. It was so radical it became the must-have timepiece of the new millennium. Now, exactly 15 years later, the Bubble makes a triumphal return, sealing its place as a pillar of Corum’s watchmaking heritage.

At the turn of the century watchmaking was a universe away from what it is today. Big watches were scarce, unconventionally shaped watches almost unheard of. The tectonic shift began as the 21st century dawned, with Corum riding on the top of the wave that would soon sweep watchmaking.

At Baselworld 2000 the Bubble was unveiled, an unparalleled 44 mm in diameter with a towering sapphire crystal so tall it distorted the dial. With a size and shape totally unprecedented in Swiss replica watchmaking, the Bubble was an instant hit.

The Bubble was the brainchild of the late Severin Wunderman, a relentlessly creative entrepreneur who acquired Corum that very same year. Wunderman, who survived both the Holocaust and cancer, had a roving, creative mind. In one instance, he was inspired by an experimental deep-sea dive watch from the 1960s, which was fitted with an enormous domed crystal to withstand the pressure of the ocean. That formed the genesis of the Bubble, one of the most recognizable wristwatches of its time.

While the Bubble was unquestionably unique, its unorthodox design was merely an extension of Corum’s long-established philosophy. Since its founding in 1955, Corum consistently excelled at designing totally original timepieces, ranging from the Rolls-Royce, shaped like the luxury automobile’s front grille, to the Golden Bridge, distinguished by its remarkably tiny, baguette-shaped movement.

Despite being a mere 15 years old, the Bubble is major part of the brand’s heritage, deserving of elevation into a hall of fame. The Bubble has now been revived as part of the Corum Heritage collection, putting it alongside other landmark timepieces like the extra-thin Coin Swiss fake watches online.

While retaining all the design codes of the original, the 2015 Bubble is not a mere replica of its predecessor. Fitted with a rubber-ringed, spherical crown, the case is a collection of smooth, rounded lines, just like the original.

But it has been enlarged to 47 mm, lending it impressively striking proportions, especially as it stands some 18.8 mm high, crystal included. But, as always, practicality was high on the mind of the development team, which paired the oversized case with short, curved lugs, allowing it to hug the wrist snugly.

A remarkable 8 mm high, this sapphire crystal is one of the largest of any watch. Sapphire is a material so extraordinarily hard it has to be cut with a diamond-tipped tool. This in itself is challenging enough that even when machining ordinary, flat Breitling fake watches uk crystals the job can take hours. Crafting the mountainous crystal of the Bubble requires exponentially more work. The task starts with cutting a block of crystal, then grinding it into a bubble-like shape, and finally polishing the crystal to flawless clarity with absolutely no optical imperfections.

Because the sapphire crystal is so tall, it acts as a lens, both magnifying and distorting the dial. Corum’s designers took advantage of this by designing a dial with a clever, op art (short for “optical art”) motif. Taking inspiration from Hungarian-born French artist Victor Vasarely, founder of the op art movement, the dial is decorated with squares in graduated sizes that grow larger toward the center of the dial.

Op art desired to create static patterns that gave the impression of movement or surprising, contradictory perspectives. Likewise, the dial of the Bubble is perfectly flat, formed from a lacquered, brass disc stamped with the cube motif, but appears sharply domed. In fact, it looks so rounded it might pass for the top of a sphere.

This arresting op art dial will be fitted only to a pair of limited edition, PVD-coated versions of the Bubble, each made in an exclusive run of just 350 pieces. The first is the Bubble Vintage, housed in a bronze-tone, PVD-coated case paired with Super-LumiNova treated for a vintage effect. A modern fake watches store made to look like an antique from an indistinct era, the Bubble Vintage is a nod to the original Bubble now 15 years old.

Taking another perspective is the Bubble All Black, clad entirely in a glossy black PVD coating, matched by a matte black dial, along with charcoal-colored indices and hands. The Bubble All Black removes all distraction, making a monochromatic statement that emphasizes the iconic shape of the Bubble.

Part of the regular collection of timepieces, the third model in the Bubble collection does away with the dial entirely. A skeletonized movement takes its place, with the domed sapphire crystal providing a magnified view of the exposed wheels of the CO0082 self-winding movement.

All of the Bubble timepieces are fitted with rubber straps topped with leather: calfskin for the op art editions and alligator skin in the case of the skeleton. And each is fitted with a buckle matching the case finish.

Zenith at BaselWorld, or back to the future

150th anniversary. Episode 1. On 18th March, Zenith Manufacture, headed up by Jean-Claude Biver, President of the LVMH Watch Divisiond and Aldo Magada, CEO and President of the brand, started the celebrations to mark its 150th anniversary year at BaselWorld 2015. At 3 pm precisely, a year of experiences, events and Swiss replica watchmaking innovation began…

Blériot, Gandhi and the Rolling Stones were in attendance.

Since 1865,Zenith has built its story around ordinary heroes and extraordinary characters. It is a story of freedom, exploration, boundaries pushed and records broken. Ever further, higher, faster, spanning all territories and oceans, on rails, into space and out towards the stars, to read it is to immerse oneself in a vast, human tapestry, both geographical and technological.

And few brands have had the privilege of meeting Blériot, Gandhi, Mucha or the Rolling Stones; of voyaging through stories whose narratives create History in the truest sense, breaking the sound barrier, crossing the globe from pole to pole, stories in which breathtakingly small components are masterfully built into revolutionary mechanisms, accounts of thrilling races on the high seas and behind the wheel of collectors’ cars.

Such is the odyssey recounted in the anniversary book previewed at the press conference. Written by Joël Duval, a passionate Swiss replica watches uk collector, this livre-objet, which comes in a luxury case, tells the story of the Manufacture in 400 pages and 650 illustrations, most of which have never been seen before. Published by Éditions Albin Michel, it will be available on 26th March.

The arrival of new heroes.

While the past is the theme of the anniversary book and retrospective film, there is no room for nostalgia. To celebrate the Manufacture’s 150th anniversary, Aldo Magada has presented its history and heroes, but the accent is firmly on the 150 years to come. That’s the beauty of Zenith’s history: it’s a never-ending story…

Félix Baumgartner and his new challenges

Let’s not forget that, when Félix Baumgartner leapt from the stratosphere, reaching a speed of 1357.6 km/h and becoming the first man to exceed the speed of sound in free-fall, he did so while wearing the El Primero Stratos Flyback Striking 10th chronograph. Setting a number of other records, he also gathered precious data to aid the future of space exploration.

Aldo Magada has announced that Félix is continuing his adventure with Zenith. In what way? His recent experiences as a driver could be one avenue. A new passion to be pursued alongside the brand, always driven by a desire to surpass himself, or simply to follow his dream!

Driver Erik Comas and his passion for beautiful mechanisms.

As any connoisseur of mechanical excellence knows, Zenith is the brand of the elite driver. It was for this kind of hero that it conceived and created the wrist cheap replica watches uk.

Formula 3 champion in 1988 and F1 driver from 1991 to 1994, since 2000 Erik Comas has been earning himself a distinguished place in the historic car championships behind the wheel of his Lancia Stratos. An official Zenith partner, he is set to compete in the Italian and European championships from April to September 2015.

The adventures continue with Eric Abidal.

Footballer Eric Abidal, along with his Foundation, will be the next personality to join forces with the Manufacture. This new partnership marks the start of a brand new chapter. Zenith will be investing in areas it has not yet explored. A fresh example of the determination and enterprising spirit to which the brand’s illustrious founder continues to hold firm.

Once upon a time, in 150 years…

BaselWorld was also notably an opportunity for the brand to set the tone for the years to come. Aldo Magada reiterated his desire to focus the brand on its expertise and central function as a watchmaking Manufacture. While high-precision mechanisms (obvious examples are the El Primero and Elite movements, or the revolutionary gravity control module) still hold a place of honour, Zenith wants to move with the times. The brand’s aim with regard to future development: to perpetuate the founder’s spirit using today’s talent to create ever bolder but also more modern replica fake watches uk.

Future episodes: early and late April for the development of partnerships with Erik Comas and Eric Abidal. To be continued….

Girard-Perregaux – Neo-Tourbillon with Three Bridges and DLC titanium case

A contemporary reinterpretation of movement architecture designed by Girard-Perregaux in the nineteenth century, the Neo-Tourbillon with Three Bridges and DLC titanium case definitively places the Manufacture in the third millennium and puts the cheap replica watches uk mechanism on the level of kinetic art.

Daring has always been the watchword of exceptional people who defy established rules to create new paradigms by sheer force of conviction. Iconic since its inception, the Tourbillon with Three Bridges has imposed its unrivalled and minimalist architecture on the whole profession for the past 150 years. At the dawning of this new millennium, the time had come to make a change and uphold the magic of a sustainable idea. With the Neo-Tourbillon developed by the Manufacturer’s watchmaking teams, form has evolved in tune with contemporary tastes, but the architectural principle of perfection, which focuses on the essentials, remains just as powerful. Designed with the will to always move forward in compliance with the values dear to watch enthusiasts, the Neo-Tourbillon with Three Bridges endorses the technological potential mastered by the Manufacture, honouring the past and proving itself worthy of the future.

Between past and present

One look is enough to understand that the Neo-Tourbillon is primarily the expression of a stylistic principle around which it is possible to compose without ever deviating from the blueprint. The new aesthetic used to magnify the ethereal mechanism plays with the graphic codes of the era to attract and maintain attention. It also uses the best that avant-garde technology and materials have to offer. The new bridge design, through its curves, emphasises the omnipotence of this dynamic as expressed in the geometric design of bridges in the Swiss replica watches uk presented in 1889 by Constant Girard-Perregaux at the Universal Exhibition in Paris, which went on to win a gold medal.

A bridge to the future

The structure of the bridges, openworked in such a way as to give an insight into each detail, is an ethereal celebration of the mechanism. Machined in titanium, a metal nearly half the weight of steel, each bridge is sand-blasted and then PVD-treated to give a materiality to this fine construction, which is a tribute to contemporary architecture and sometimes defies the rules of universal gravitation. Yet this is quite logical as the Tourbillon, supported by its sculptural arch, performs a timed revolution that has the fascinating property of releasing the balance spring from the effects of gravity.

Framed by gravity

To maximise the effect of depth and catch the eye – and thereby the soul -, engineers and best replica watches uk makers have reworked the plate, also sand-blasted and black treated, in order to concentrate perspectives and light in its centre. This centre is contrasted and fractal, formed by a succession of three intertwining light grey circles. The sophisticated plate is designed like a frame and protected by a super-convex crystal dispensing the need for the case to include a bezel and thus emphasising a very large and magnificent Tourbillon cage. Also made in titanium, as in traditional steel versions, it offers fine watchmaking finishing with “traits tirés” surfaces and hand chamfered ridges. Performing a full rotation in one minute, this 14.44 mm diameter part, comprising 80 components and weighing only 0.25 grams, takes with it in its timed circle a balance spring adjusted by a set of gold screws, oscillating at 3 Hz through a spiral with a Phillips terminal curve.

The art of handling figures and numbers

As a perfect equation, the calibre of the Neo-Tourbillon with Three Bridges has a striking mathematical construction. A fleeting observation could suggest that this movement, called the GP09400, consists of only a few parts. In reality, it takes 245 to bring it to life. Distributed into subsets, they facilitate servicing of this heart finished to fine watchmaking standards. It is also the result of a large-scale development involving exclusive technical solutions, for some selected options such as automatic winding.

Tremendous endurance

Here for example, the platinum rotor that rewinds the barrel spring in one direction is placed beneath it and not around its drum as applied by the Manufacturer on certain other Tourbillon with Three Bridges models. This reviewed positioning guarantees the cheap Rolex replica watches uk a power reserve of 60 hours by the use of a larger diameter barrel drum, capable of holding a much longer spring.  Aware of the stylistic choices made, watchmakers have removed the teeth on the drum and replaced them with a screwed wheel. Engraved and chamfered, this wheel has six arms, assembled like turbine blades, to form a unique décor whose pattern is repeated as a kind of signature on the other visible wheels in the movement.

The Neo-Tourbillon in substance

Obviously, the Neo-Tourbillon with Three Bridges adorned with a 45 mm case in titanium DLC, water resistant to 30 metres and worn on an alligator strap has a transparent case-back. It allows enthusiasts to get to the heart of the components, some of which have been specifically designed to capture specific shapes of the Tourbillons with Three Bridges. Thus, on the case-back, an arrow-shaped bridge completely crosses the movement. Likewise, the ratchet at 12 o’clock reproduces the shape of a lyre and all the parts of the calibre, in addition to playing with multiples of three, have contemporary finishes treated according to the strictest traditional replica watches uk online making rules.