May 21, 2013 | Baselworld, Hands-On, Zenith
As a tribute to Zenith’s aviation history, this year at Baselworld they launched four Pilot watches. Three of the watches comes in a 48 mm case, one in a 40 mm case, which is pictured. Considering that 48 mm is gigantic on most people’w wrist, the Pilot Montre d’Aéronef Type 20 40 mm is the most wearable of the new Pilot watches.
May 21, 2013 | Longines
After watching Orb win the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, as guests of Longines, we were invited again this past weekend to watch the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes. With 3-5 odds going into the race, Kentucky Derby winner, Orb, was the clear favorite. However, it was the underdog, Oxbow, who placed sixth at the Kentucky Derby, and was a 15-1 longshot to win the Preakness, who stole the show. On Saturday, at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, ridden by 50-year old veteran Gary Stevens, Oxbow dashed Orb’s Triple Crown hopes with a first place finish. According to Stevens, Oxbow “didn’t get a lot of respect after the Derby,” but that didn’t matter as he led the entire race and proved Odds makers wrong. Needless to say, with such a dominating win, Oxbow will surely be one of the favorites going into the third and final leg of the Triple Crown — the Belmont Stakes, which takes place in three weeks. While nobody will be winning the Triple Crown this year, an achievement that hasn’t happened since 1978 when Affirmed won it, the chances of a rematch between Orb and Oxbow is likely.
May 20, 2013 | Baselworld, Hands-On, Hublot
At Baselworld, Hublot unveiled a watch with a massive power reserve of 50-days, a world record for a hand-wound tourbillon wristwatch. The MP-05 LaFerrari Ferrari is a special series created as a homage to Ferrari’s new LaFerrari supercar. In fact, it was developed “in technical and design terms - entirely in parallel with the car, alongside the Ferrari teams.” They even share a number of common elements.
The MP-05 utilizes 637 components, 108 of which are jewels. And to achieve the record breaking power-reserve, the watch utilizes 11 series-coupled power barrels. All 11 barrels, which are arranged like a spinal column and interconnected so they do not discharge in turn but support each other, are visible in the center of the dial.
May 20, 2013 | Patek Philippe
Every two years, Only Watch collaborates with high-end watchmakers to raise money to research Duchenne muscular dystrophy. “Recognized as the world’s first charity watch auction, Only Watch will take place on September 28th in Monaco and will be conducted by the watch auctioneers, Antiquorum. 38 of the world’s leading watch manufactures will each donate a unique timepiece specially created for the occasion.”
Patek Philippe, arguably the world’s premiere watch manufacturer, has just released a preview of the watch they will be auctioning for Only Watch 2013. It is a Patek Philippe Reference 5004 in a solid titanium case. Needless to say, this will be one of the hottest pieces at the auction.
May 18, 2013 | Breitling, Chris Clark
Breitling has just announced a very nice addition to their vintage inspired Transocean collection, the Chronograph GMT. We have been big fans of the Transocean line because while not paying homage to any specific vintage piece, the styling of these watches are a perfect nod to Breitlings of the past and have authentic vintage styling cues.
The guilloche dial is available in either silver or black and although this watch is displaying a lot of information with the main time, chronograph, GMT function, and date, the dial layout is very clean and legible. Small luminescent hour markers and hands ensure night visibility as well. The 18K gold Breitling “B” logo on the dial and signed crown are inspired by Breitlings from the past and fit the vintage theme perfectly.
May 17, 2013 | Hamilton, Videos
This is a short video of the new Hamilton Jazzmaster Viewmatic Skeleton watch that we covered HERE the other day.
May 16, 2013 | $1,001-$5,000, Baselworld, Hamilton
Last month at Baselworld, Hamilton introduced a sleek new skeleton watch, the Jazzmaster Viewmaster Skeleton. It is presented in a 40 mm stainless steel case with an open case back and powered by the H-20S caliber automatic movement. At 12 o’clock, just below the “Hamilton” logo on the silver and anthracite colored chapter ring, you can see the balance wheel, hairspring and escapement as they oscillate. Indexes are applied to the chapter ring and include luminous paint. On the men’s model Hamilton designers left off the 12 and 6 o’clock hour markers, however, the 36 mm lady’s model (shown below) does have all twelve hour markers.
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