Timepieces From Swiss Watch at JCK

The Girard-Perregaux ww.tc Dark Night

At the recently held Swiss Watch at JCK tradeshow in Las Vegas, luxury watch brands and North American buyers were out in force. It is one of several jewelry industry tradeshows being held at the time so I only caught a glimpse of what was happening but it was quite an impressive look. What follows is a short list of luxury timepieces that got my attention at the show.

The ww.tc Dark Night, a new “dark” version of the Girard-Perregaux world-timer, released at JCK (top picture), features a 43 mm black ceramic case with a tinted sapphire case back that discloses the movement. The strength and lightweight of the ceramic structure is enhanced by an internal titanium container. Rubber coated crowns, push buttons and a black rubber strap supplement its sporty characteristics. The timepiece uses a Girard-Perregaux GP03387 self-winding movement, designed specifically for this model. It displays the time in 24 time zones with day and night indicator, date and fly-back chronograph. Exclusive to the U.S. market, this watch is limited to 25 units.

One of the pieces being showcased in North America by Carl F. Bucherer was the Manero ChronoPerpetual (above), which features a perpetual calendar with correction-free indication of the date, day of the week, month and moon phase. The mechanism recognizes the different lengths of the months and knows when the next leap year is imminent, and is thus able to counter the arbitrary features of the Gregorian calendar. The watch has a limited run of 100 units.

Frederique Constant introduced the new Classics Manufacture (above), based on the second generation of the Maxime movement, caliber FC-710, and features an added center seconds hand. The silver dial has a central “guilloché” decoration. The brand, which prides itself on its “accessible luxury” philosophy, is offering this product with a starting price of 1,750 euros (USD $2,144) in stainless steel. The watch is also available with a rose gold plated case for 1,950 (USD $2,390).

For the ladies, Girard-Perregaux introduced the latest model from its Cat’s Eye collection (above). This jewelry watch is draped in 150 emerald-cut precious stones The dial, adorned with a delicate “Clous de Paris” hobnail motif, includes 102 emerald-cut diamonds. The “Clou de Paris” hobnail motif consists of holding several stones with a single “clou” or pin, meaning that the diamond cutter must cut and calibrate the stones one by one. A taupe-colored satin strap enhances the sparkle of the stones. An ardillon buckle set with 13 baguette-cut diamonds encircles the wrist. The hand-engraved case back opens onto the caliber GP033R0 self-winding movement.

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Technical Innovations and Aesthetic Developments of Timepieces on Display at the Frick Museum

The Portico Gallery of the Frick Collection museum where the timepiece exhibit is being held.

An exhibition that just opened at the Frick Collection museum explores the discoveries and innovations made in the field of horology from the early 16th to the 19th century. It features 16 clocks and 14 watches that chronicle the evolution over the centuries of more accurate and complex timekeepers and illustrate the aesthetic developments that reflected Europe’s latest styles. 

Mantel Clock with Study and Philosophy (circa 1785 - 1790). Made of patinated and gilt bronze, marble, enameled metal, and glass. Movement by Renacle-Nicolas Sotiau, figures after Simon-Louis Boizot. Photo credit: Michael Bodycomb

Titled, “Precision and Splendor: Clocks and Watches,” the exhibition is being shown in the new light-filled Portico Gallery of the stately mansion that was once the home of American industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The exhibition will run till February 2014.

Breguet Decimal Watch by Abraham-Louis Breguet and Antoine-Louis Breguet. Gold and silver double-dial desk watch showing decimal and traditional time. The traditional time subdial was added approximately 12 years after by Antoine (Circa 1795 and after 1807).

Luxury watch brand, Breguet, is a major sponsor. The exhibition concludes with three of its early timepieces—including a watch that displayed “decimal time,” a short-lived movement in 18th Century France that divided the day into ten hours and the year into ten months. 

Breguet gilt-bronze Carriage Clock by Abraham-Louis Breguet and Antoine-Louis Breguet with Calendar (1811).

The exhibition, which I attended Wednesday, examines both the mechanical innovations that increased the accuracy of the timepieces along with the elaborate ornamentation. At first, these pieces were prized for their innovation and their beauty and owned by only the wealthiest individuals as show pieces. Slowly through technical advancements that made them more portable, less expensive, more reliable and more of a necessity, they became widely available. 

Gilt-Brass and Silver Table Clock with Astronomical and Calendrical Dials (Circa 1653). Photo credit: Michael Bodycomb

The existence of mechanical clocks was made possible by an invention known as an escapement. Falling weights (and later springs) provided the energy to power the clock’s mechanism, while the escapement regulated the rate at which that energy was delivered to the oscillator (at first a simple balance and later a pendulum). The introduction of the escapement gradually caused the shift away from time-finding devices (sundials) and time-measuring devices (water clocks) to timekeepers (clocks and later watches) as advances in science and technology were made.

Gold and Enamel Pendant Watch (back view). Movement by Henry Arlaud enameling by Pierre Huaud II (circa 1685) It depicts the painting "The Toilet of Venus" by Simon Vouet. Photo credit: Michael Bodycomb

In addition to the Breuget timepieces, other notable pieces in the collection include an Augsburg Maker, gilt-brass tower table clock (circa 1580), which displays time only by the hour; a spring-driven pendulum clock on a bracket in a elaborate case made of gilt bronze, enameled metal, and glass (circa 1735); and a gold and enamel pendant watch (circa 1685) that depicts the painting The Toilet of Venus by Simon Vouet.

The Frick Collection galleries is located at 1 East 70th St.

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Watch Brands Create 33 Unique Timepieces for 'Only Watch' Charity Auction

Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Water

Some of the world’s best-known watch brands have created 33 unique timepieces for men and women that will go on the auction block to finance research to combat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Backes & Strauss Victoria Princess Red Heart

Known simply as “Only Watch,” the fifth edition of this auction will be held September 28 at the Hôtel Hermitage in Monaco. Held every two years as part of the Monaco Yacht Show, it is the first and the largest charity auction for the international watch industry.
 

Bell & Ross Collector's Box of Six Unique Watches

Proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Monegasque Association against Muscular Dystrophy—the promoter of Only Watch along with Antiquorum Auctioneers and the Monaco Yacht Show—to finance research for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a degenerative neuromuscular disease affecting 1 in 3,500 boys, therefore 250,000 children, adolescents, and young adults around the world.

Blancpain Women, Only Watch 2013

The luxury timepieces that will be on offer cover a breadth and depth of styles and functions. Several include designs that pay tribute to the event and the Principality of Monaco, such as the Van Cleef & Arpels “Lady Arpels Une journée à Monacopanoramic view of Monaco,” with a turquoise dial that depicts a panoramic view of Monaco. Several contain tourbillons and a few are prototypes, such as the Richard Mille Tourbillon Prototype Yohan Blake, which was worn by the Jamacian Sprinter during the London Olympic Games, where he won gold and silver medals.

Breguet Classique Chronograph Openworked 5284

Beginning August 30, the Only Watch collection of timepieces will go on a world tour that will conclude with a presentation during the Monaco Yacht Show (September 25th to 28th). The dates and locations of the tour are as follows:

Chanel, Premiere Flying Tourbillon

* Tokyo, August 30, Mandarin Oriental;
* Singapore, September 6 – 7, The Hour Glass;
* Hong Kong September 9 – 10, Antiquorum;
* Shanghai, September 12 – 13, location to be announced;
* Beijing, September 14, location to be announced;
* New York, September 16 – 17, Antiquorum;
* Geneva (September 20 – 23, Antiquorum;
* Monaco, September 25 – 28, Monaco Yacht Show.

Chopard, L.U.C Tourbillon Only Watch 2013 Edition

The auction will take place on September 28 at 11 a.m. (7pm EDT) in the “Salle Belle Epoque” of the Hôtel Hermitage.

Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 Pinball

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Chronoswiss, The Three Apes

Corum Ti-Bridge 3-Day Power Reserve

Cyrus Kambys Model

De Bethune Skybridge

DeLacour Red Dots

DeWitt Twenty-8-Eight High Jewellery Skeleton Tourbillon

Frederique Constant Double Heart Woman Set

Girard Perregaux Chrono Hawk Only Watch

Harry Winston Only Watch 2013 Midnight Big Date

Hublot Bright Red Ceramic "Classic Fusion"

Ikepod Horizon

Jaquet Droz 'The Loving Butterfly'

Julien Coudray 1518 'Draw Me a Happy Child' by the Children of the World

Laurent Ferrier Galet Classic Only Watch

Louis Vuitton Tambour Spin Time Regatta

Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Seconde Mysterieuse

Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Rising Hours for Monaco

Patek Philippe Only Watch 2013 Special Reference 5004T

Piaget Altiplano Automatic Skeleton

Richard Mille Tourbillon Prototype Yohan Blake

Roger Dubuis La Monegasque

Ulysse Nardin Marine Chronometer Manufacture Only Watch

Vacheron Contantin Patrimony Traditionnelle Heures du Monde

Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Une Journee a Monaco

Zenith El Primero Stratos Flyback Striking 10th Tribute to Felix Baumgartner, Prototype I/I

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Vacheron Constantin Sponsors Major Art Event and Unveils New Timepieces

Art lovers and watch lovers mingle inside the Vacheron Constantin Fifth Avenue boutique.

NEW YORK — Vacheron Constantin’s jewel box of a boutique was aglow on a recent cool, crisp evening. Inside, art enthusiasts mingled with timepiece lovers within the lightly colored space highlighted with dark wood tones, straight lines and minimal furnishings.

The March 2 gathering then moved a couple blocks north to the 1900 French Renaissance building that houses The Lotos Club, one of the oldest private literary establishments in the U.S. The building and its uniformed staff begs formality even though inside it is a cozy and comfortable space. Books of every conceivable subject were stacked from nearly floor to ceiling in shelves around the main dining room where the guests had dinner.

The guest at The Lotos Club.

The venerable Swiss luxury watch company held the gathering for two reasons:

First, it served as a preview for The Armory Show, an annual international contemporary and modern art fair that opened Thursday and runs till Sunday, in which Vacheron Constantin is a sponsor. Prior to dinner, Paul Morris, the founding director of the show, gave guests a preview of the art that will be on display and a presented a brief history of its modest beginnings at the former Gramercy Hotel to its move to the 69th Street Regiment Armory and finally to its current home at Piers 92 and 94.

Metiers D’Art Les
Univers Infins Fish

The second reason was to unveil the newest Vacheron Constantin timepiece collections to its loyal U.S. customers as well as art buyers—in particular, considering the brand’s sponsorship of an art event, the Metiers D’Art Les Univers Infins collection. It features three artistic dials based on the work of famed Dutch graphic artist, M.C. Escher and his use of tessellation—which uses a two-dimensional plane with a repeating geometric shape with no overlaps and no gaps. The Dove Watch, Fish Watch and Shell Watch employ several techniques including cloisonné enameling, gran feu champlevé gemsetting, engraving and guilloché work to create the repeating images.

Patrimony Traditionnelle
14-Day Tourbillon

Also making its premier U.S. appearance was the Patrimony Traditionnelle 14-Day Tourbillon, featuring the longest power reserve of any tourbillon in creation today, according to Vacheron Constantin, and is also the first Vacheron Constantin watch to be approved based on the new 2011 Hallmark of Geneva criteria.

Malte Small Seconds

In addition, there was the newly redesigned Malte collection, introduced in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the tonneau-shaped watch.

The timepieces, which were first unveiled two months earlier in Switzerland, were set up in displays throughout the dining room. Later they were presented on trays for the guests to view.

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