Ocean Drive Magazine

Hublot LaFerrari Watch

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

While in BaselWorld, ATimelyPerspective.com posted on our Facebook page about the new Hublot LaFerrari watch—created to celebrate the partnership between Hublot and the sleek and stealth Ferrari brand. As those who love cars and watches know, the Ferrari brand has partnered with other watch brands before Hublot: Girard-Perregaux and Panerai are among them.

However, the relationship with Hublot may have been made with the idea in mind by both parties to create as something bold and uniquely different. The LaFerrari being the first example therein—created with input from both the car and watch sides. The question is, does it deliver what car and watch lovers want?

The new watch features a bold case shape that is designed to emulate the look of the stealth car. The materials used are high-tech, as is the technology. This watch holds a thus-far world record in the power reserve field. It offers a massive 50 days of power reserve—not 50 hours like many watches—50 days. Thus, one can wear this watch for just over a month and a half without having to wind it. The indication of power reserve is visible on a cylindrical readout.

The complex movement, which contains 637 pieces, includes 11 spring barrels lined up in the center of the watch and resembling a crank shaft; underscoring the automotive motif. With a full sapphire crystal, much of the movement is visible to the eye. Time (hour and minutes) is displayed on cylinders opposite the power reserve readout. The watch—which also houses a large 14.5mm flying tourbillon escapement—offers seconds on an aluminum cylinder attached to the tourbillon cage.

So, is the verdict in now? Is this what you expected from Hublot genius Jean-Claude Biver? Is this the new generation of Ferrari that everyone was waiting for? It should be noted that this world-first watch (remember 50 days of power reserve) created in a limited edition of 50 pieces retails for $345,000—certainly much less that the million-dollar car, but still a hefty figure.

Founder and editor-in-chief of ATimelyPerspective.com, Roberta Naas is a veteran award-winning journalist in the watch industry with more than 25 years of experience. She was the first woman watch editor in the US market—breaking in to an “all boys network” with a pioneering spirit that would be her signature to this day. Naas brings responsible, factual—yet always timely and insightful—reporting of the watch industry to the forefront.

Precision Timekeeping Takes Center Stage

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

FROM LEFT: This Hermès Arceau Time Suspended watch ($19,400) is crafted in stainless steel. The time can be continuously displayed on the dial, or the wearer can opt to hide the time display with the push of a button. From Van Cleef & Arpels, this Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée ($141,000) is crafted in 18k white gold and features a gold-sculpted and enamel-worked ballerina in the center whose tutu actually comprises the retrograde hands of the watch. With the push of a button the tutu hands rise to show the hours and minutes on either side of the ballerina, transforming her into a butterfly. The automatic Secret Hours watch from Franck Muller ($42,200) features hour and minute hands at 12:00 that indicate the time with the push of a button at 9:00 and then return to 12:00 when the button is released.

Life can be such a whirlwind that sometimes we wish we could somehow slow the pace. Luckily for us, a few timepieces have been developed that give the illusion of doing just that. On the heels of this year’s watch show in Switzerland, this newest crop of complex mechanical wonders are created by master watchmakers who rise creatively to the challenge of stopping the indication of time—or indeed, creating the impression that time itself is suspended.

“We are a house that produces beautiful objects, and the idea is to make people dream,” says Luc Perramond, CEO of La Montre Hermès S.A. “Time for us is a friend; it is not a factor of stress. We wanted to create a watch wherein time can be stopped at the push of a button.” The Hermès Arceau Time Suspended wristwatch, developed by well-known watchmaker Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, was four years in the making and expresses the label’s concept of time as a dream. The wearer can push a button and stop the tracking of time, making the hour and minute hands rest at around 12:00, and, further, making the date indication disappear. The watch continues to track time internally, but the hands will not move until the wearer pushes the button again. At that point, the hands automatically position themselves to the proper time and continue on their journey. Featuring three retrograde functions, the watch allows the wearer to control whether time is displayed continually or is hidden, delighting watch lovers around the world.

The Van Cleef & Arpels Ballerine Enchantée also allows women the wonder of stopping time while beguiling them with an eye-catching design. Part of the Van Cleef & Arpels “Poetic Complications” collection, this watch drew its inspiration from a quote by Anna Pavlova that echoes the imagery of the maison: “I’ve been dreaming that I was a ballerina, and that I was spending my whole life dancing as lightly as a butterfly.” The timepiece houses a Swiss mechanical movement with a double retrograde time-on-demand module developed for the brand.

It features a guilloché and translucent enamel dial picturing an enchanting ballerina wearing a colorful tutu. The tutu is split in half with each part being one of two retrograde hands that indicate the hours and the minutes. With the push of a button, the tutu comes to life—with each half rising on either side of the ballerina to indicate the time—transforming the spirited dancer into an exquisite butterfly. The hands trace an arc on either side of the graceful figure, pointing to the hours on the left side and the minutes on the right side before returning to their initial position to begin another cycle.

For men, Franck Muller has a similar concept with the Secret Hours Curvex watch: In this bold timepiece, both the hour and the minute hands remain at 12:00, moving only to indicate the time at the push of a button thanks to the intricate design of its 264—yes, 264—components. Because stopping time is impressive, of course it no simple thing to achieve.

Tissot Celebrates 160 Years with the Powermatic 80

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

—ROBERTA NAAS, ATimelyPerspective.com

This year marks the 160th anniversary of Swiss watch brand, Tissot. To honor the milestone, the brand has been very busy, and this year unveils multiple new movements and a host of really cool new timepieces that move it to the next level of sophistication.

Among the new pieces is the Powermatic 80—an automatic watch with 80 hours of power reserve. The watch was made possible thanks to the revolutionary new caliber, the Powermatic 80 movement. To achieve this technical prowess, Tissot strongly reduces the consumption of energy of the watch. The oscillation frequency of the Powermatic 80 is therefore brought down from 4 to 3 Hz. A high-performance synthetic material is used in the construction of the escapement to reduce friction. Thanks to a reduction of the diameter of the barrel-arbor’s core, the mainspring is stretched, thereby increasing the power reserve even further. Finally, the precision is increased with a new and innovative balance.

Making the watch even better is the fact that it is a COSC-certified chronometer. It is available in two sizes appropriate for men and women—33mm and 41mm—and is crafted in steel, steel, and gold-plated, and in versions with diamond adornments. The watch, which looks great and offers superb craftsmanship and precision, retails for a wow price of $1,075 to $1,575 depending on the model.

New Watch Collection Glows in the Dark

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Tondo by Night, de Grisogono ($9,400– $17,500).

As glamour-loving women know, not every timepiece is serious and conservative. Some are downright whimsical, such as the hit Tondo by Night watches from de Grisogono. Unveiled last year, the collection has just begun to make its way into luxury jewelry stores in the last few months. In addition to being mechanical works of art, these timepieces possess an unusual quality in the luxury watch world that begs them to be worn.

Designed by Fawaz Gruosi, the founder and president of de Grisogono, the Tondo by Night is intended to be a capricious, playful timepiece that stores light during the day and then frees it after the sun goes down. The case is created from a pearly photoluminescent fiberglass composite—with pieces of mother-of-pearl blended into the fiberglass for extra shimmer—then further bedecked with color-coordinated gemstones.

“It has such wide appeal because it is fashionable, hefty, and different from everything else on the market,” Gruosi says. “Still, I never dreamed Tondo by Night would be such an amazing success. The demand is much higher than what I produced, which was extremely unexpected.”

Each Tondo by Night watch is equipped with an exclusive in-house mechanical movement, specially developed to display the gem-set oscillating weight on the front side. Built in collaboration with an outside lab, the Tondo by Night timepieces are offered in an array of colors, each with a row of 48 gemstones on the bezel, plus another 60 on the dial (and a black diamond on the crown). The colors include white with white diamonds, yellow with yellow sapphires, pink with pink sapphires, green with tsavorites, purple with amethysts, and orange with orange sapphires. And three new shades were unveiled at the Baselworld show in April: a vivid green case with a tourmaline bezel, a blue case with a blue sapphire bezel, and a coral case with a spinel bezel. The most expensive watch in the collection is currently the white (diamond) version, which retails for $17,500.

“I dedicate this watch to happy summer days and glamorous nightlife,” Gruosi says. “It’s not only a luxury timepiece but also can be worn as a magnificent jewelry piece, with a twist.”