This report filed in FT seems to suggest that China's market growth fueling the Swiss watch industry is starting to slow down. The horological markets overall globally has had phenomenal growth over the past two decades. But with all things commercial, there will be cycles of boom and bust. Unless the new markets such as Russia, India and South Americas grow faster to take up the supply of watches, brands may find itself reporting a much smaller annual return in 2014.

The brands however will realise that this is not just impacting on watch industry but on luxury items as a whole. When economic growth is reported, luxury growth will always follow. During downturns of the economy, most of the products are usually acquired by those who are financially stable and collectors. The real challenge for brands is to keep these high net worth collectors interested in their new offerings when many owners are putting their own watches in the secondary market during a downturn.

But at least for the moment, FT is not anticipating a worldwide slowdown. Not immediately at least. So I am curious how brands that are highly invested in China are going to respond.

FINANCIAL TIME REPORT - Luxury goods sales slow as China clamps down on gift giving

 

Ms Nicole Kidman has been the face of Omega's Ladymatic watches since its launch in 2010 - was in Vienna for the grand "La Nuit Enchantee" gala for the launch of the new 2013 Ladymatics. Held at Vienna's Grand Stadpalais Liechtenstein, the formal ball was a wonderfully decorated with the themed with the new colours of the 2013 Ladymatics.


With over 250 guests from all over the world's media and blogsphere the evening showcased Omega's professional team in the execution of the launch of the new watches. The gala featured ballroom dancers from Vienna and the evening's dining was capped with dessert and live performances in lower hall of the palais with Ms Kidman mingling with guests.

Ms Kidman clearly enjoys her role as Omega's brand ambassador and speaks of her role and the Omega watches in the video below.



- HT

 

On the 23rd March 2013, Omega launched its new 2013 Ladymatic timepieces in Vienna Austria with Ms Nicole Kidman an Omega Ambassadress, as the guest of honour. The two highlight pieces for this year's Ladymatic are the pink and light blue dials. Each of these two coloured dials will be featured in steel or 18K gold cases (and bracelets) with or without diamond studded bezels.

The new Omega Ladymatic series hails back to 1955 but differs completely from its historical roots in terms of design and movement development. The Ladymatic is intended to appeal both in form and function for ladies who appreciate the importance of a quality movement. The new calibre will feature co-axial movement that Omega is now renowned for.


Nicole Kidman wears the new bicolour white dial Ladymatic with diamond studded bezel. The full range of the Omega 2013 Ladymatic will be featured at the Baselworld 2013 Exhibition.


More on Nicole's thoughts about the Ladymatic watches in the next post. Meanwhile click on the images to view them in high resolution.

 

Magnetism and its effects on mechanical watches has been a technical problem since the first wrist watch was made. Magnetism impacts on the accuracy of the movement due to the attraction of metal parts inside - usually causing the movement to speed up. The key problem are all the metallic moving parts that end up being either attracted or repelled by the materials being magnetised.

Historically the two solutions had been either to have the watch degaussed (removing the magnetic properties using a special tool) or enclose the watch movement in a type of alloy that prevents the movement inside from becoming magnetised. All brands have so far used alloy plates (or some material with similar properties) inside the case to make their watches anti-magnetic. Two renowned brands namely, Rolex (Milgauss - rated at 1000 gauss or 80,000 A/m) and IWC (Ingenuier 6,250 gauss or 500,000 A/m) have famous anti-magnetic watches with rich histories.

On 17th January 2013, Omega announced that they had solved the technical problem of magnetism on movements by developing materials that is resistant to magnetism up to 1.5 Tesla or 15,000 gauss. The announcement was followed by a test demonstration of the new movement to that effect. Details of how the movement is able to be rated at 15,000 gauss is expected to be released at the 2013 Basel later this month. In the meantime, the test was conducted on the New Seamaster Aqua Terra (image courtesy of Omega Singapore). Notice how slim this watch compared to its competitors in the category of anti-magnetic watches.



It is probable that Omega's solution is in the use of non ferrous materials in parts that moves in a watch movement. While all the bridges, screws and plates can continue to be steel or other usual materials, the mainspring, balance spring, balance wheels - the parts that move - of which accuracy is dependent on will be made from some form of silicium or silicon material.

Why would this development be important in the history of watch making? Fundamentally, with the use of new non-ferrous material such as silicium in the escapement, the level of consistent time keeping is far more accurate due to the tensile capabilities of the material. With the added property of being a-magnetic (not possible to be magnetised) watch owners need not be concerned about the magnetic fields found everywhere around us. The mobile phone we all carry, television sets, hifi speakers and laptop computers.

Together with it's evolutionary co-axial escapement technology, Omega is showing the way forward on how to develop reliable mechanical watches. Keep an eye out for Omega's further update on this technology at the coming 2013 Baselshow.

 

Hamilton in recent years had proved itself to be at the cutting edge of creative ideas of watch design. Not so much that it becomes ornate or overly avant garde. Without having to delve into expensive and rare metals and industrial looks or metal coatings, Hamilton of late has been impressing many collectors with innovative offerings like the Pan Europ 2011, Khaki Navy Pioneer 2012 (table clock and watch) and now the Jazzmaster Face2Face.

Here is the first ever image of the watch on the wrist worn by Mr Sylvain Dolla, the CEO of Hamilton who kindly took time to show me the 2013 offerings and wore it for the shoot.



While there had been other watches with two watch movements, this watch is  interesting primarily for its rotating inner case within its oblong case. It rotates to allow the wearer to view the face on one movement while enjoying the mechanical movement on the other side. On the left is a small simple ETA 2671 three handed movement. On the right is the ETA 2094 chronograph movement that also feature a light blue translucent dial. The watch features accents of blue in small details especially on the chronograph dial and the strap.

The chronograph buttons are located in the familiar position on the right of the case and operates only when the chronograph is faced up. Winding the right hand crown will wind the automatic movement. The smaller three handed movement can independently be adjusted and wound only when a small flat key is flipped up from being flushed to the case. This can be seen in the bottom image of the centre column of images from the montage below.

What was a pleasant surprise was how everything was made and put together. The case, dial, straps and crystals quality far surpasses anything previously offered by Hamilton. It will be when delivered, the most expensive Hamilton watch ever put to market at USD$6550. Would I consider acquiring one? If it were not for it gargantuan 53 x 44 mm case, the choice would be easy.

But again, this limited edition (888 pieces) from Hamilton is special because it is unique and clever design that distinguishes it from all others on the wrist. For those who yearn for that rare piece and not willing to pay the five figures for a well made watch, this should be on the shopping list - if it could be found.


As usual, click on the images to view them in full resolution.

 

 

On the 1st March, IWC & AMG held a joint cocktail reception at the Mercedes Benz showroom here in Singapore to showcase the new joint venture between the two renowned brands. IWC have long been connected with Mercedes but this is the first time it extended to the AMG marque. The SLS gull wing is an iconic model in the Mercedes Benz catalogue but the new AMG version makes the car an even more desirable.

 

On the 28th of Febuary, Lange & Sohne had its official opening of the Singapore Boutique at the ION Orchard. The CEO Mr Wilhelm Schmid was there to officiate the occasion together with dignitaries and VIPs from Germany and Singapore. The cocktail reception was held at the Art Gallery of ION where many of Lange's important pieces were showcased. The formal opening of the new boutique was then proceeded with the gala dinner at the Salt Grill at the 55th floor of ION. The restaurant famed with the view of the shopping belt and skyline.

Click on the images to view them in high resolution.

 

I photographed these images awhile ago and had not had the chance till now to share them with readers here. I have great respect for Vacheron, its achievements today and its historical milestones. I have featured several times the wonderful skeleton movements as well as many of its tourbillons but of late, and especially last year I started to appreciate the very fine craftsmanship that goes into its dials.

Here were the three that was shown in 2012 from the Metiers-D-Art-Les-Univers-Infinis range. I was so enamoured by the "Fish Watch", that I decided to hang a poster of the blue dial on my study wall next to an original self portrait by an ageing Vietnamese artist, Van Tho - who seems to be looking at and appreciating the poster as well.



The guilloche and cloisonné dial are made by hand and only 20 of each model will be produced. More information of this series is found HERE. I recommend viewing the video of how these watches are produced. Do click on the images to view them in higher resolution.

 

Rumours of Apple launching a wrist worn device with capabilities matching the early models of the iPhone is swirling on the internet. Already there are several multi function devices being sold by several brands but these are mostly dedicated electronic items to assist the wearer with global positioning, exercise management and music storage device. However the possibility of a small wrist worn device with the capability of the iPhone seems like a techie's dream. If ever such a product gets into stores, it may well be a renaissance for the wrist watch industry. Current youths do not care for wrist watches as their electronic devices already provide the function of timekeeping. But if smart devices miniaturise further and takes on the persona of a watch, I am sure there would be some positive spill over for the mechanical watch industry as well.

Wristband Computing: iWatch an Accessory or the Next Big Thing? | ZDNet:

 

It is already February of 2013 and while I have not been posting as regularly as I would like to, (still expecting to hold fast to my resolution this year to post at least once a fortnight) the year so far is not without it's horological surprises. But more of that later.


Earlier in January, together with my good friend Professor Massi Landi, a fellow blogger (whom I featured earlier on my report on MOVAS) visited the local reseller of a brand oddly named "SevenFriday" (note - it is not plural) to inspect and photograph the P1 and P3 before they were being delivered to their respective owners. This brand is not altogether new albeit it is new to many collectors. It has a small production assembling the watch from parts suppliers from all over. It features a Japanese Miyota movement (closed back) with a small opening on the dial to view the moving balance wheel.

The watch is huge at 47mm edge to edge but it has an embedded or hidden lugs allowing the strap to sit much better than exposed lugs on the wrist. It nevertheless is a large watch and while the dialwork is impressive in creating a nice new look to a simple movement, it suffers from some issues of legibility. There are only 5 obvious hour indicators as the others are cropped out by subdials. It does feature a 24 hour indicator (which could easily be mistaken for a GMT function) and a small rotating seconds disc located near where the 5th hour marker is supposed to be. The P1 is a stainless steel high contrast model and the P3 is a stealthier all black version with blackened case and an interesting rubber bumper ring. Visually the P1 is more appealing and functional - if it can be described that - as telling the time may not come easily to some who come to expect hour indicators for a watch this size.



For those who are able to carry off large watches, looking for something less run-off-the-mill look-a-likes and not concerned about the brand and that it lacks a renowned Swiss movement, this watch is a good bet. The strongest aspects of this watch is the unique dial and case design - and its honest pricing. The one fault I could find - that was a deal breaker for me, is the poor quality finish of the open window to the balance wheel on the dial. Not only was it raw, it looked like the watch maker has the finesse of a bull. I suspect this is due to the quality of the movement supplier rather than the work of the dial maker. I am sure this is one aspect of quality control that can be easily improved in the future.



I find that this watch is overall attractive, clever in its execution and affordable. Despite its faults, it is being sold at a fair price and credit to the entrepreneur for designing and assembling a watch that has some appeal to a niche community of collectors looking for the avant garde. If this brand succeeds in its plans to grow itself based on non Swiss movements and by assembling sourced parts from different parts of the world, we may find more brands looking to market themselves to a wider field of niche markets of collectors looking for different aspects of watches.

Click on the images to view them in higher resolution. 

 

 

 

 

URWERK's Baumgartner was here this week to showcase their new UR210. A watch that continues Urwerk's push to firm up its industry identity of being avant garde watchmakers for those who want extraordinary timepieces with its own distinctive look. More images and about the watch in forthcoming update here. Meanwhile, here is Felix kindly obliging me for my camera with the UR210 on his wrist.

 

As one of the founding partners of DeBethune, David Zanetta was the visionary whose energy and passion saw the brand launch in a period when the industry was growing at an astronomical pace. DeBethune endeavoured to have its own character and direction - never looking to be the crowd pleaser but to offer to its customers real and innovative high horology. David has always led from the front and to help him along he recruited his son, Alessandro. Last week was the first time both father and son travelled to Singapore together to meet up with collectors and friends. As always, the Zanettas had been very obliging to allow me to photograph them candidly. 

 

On the 40th Anniversary of the Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet is showcasing the history of this design and its watches in Singapore at the historic location, Tanjong Pagar Railway Station from 10th to 14th October 2012. The Royal Oak is one of the most successful designs in recent history for it's simplicity yet highly identifiable design cues that distinguishes it from other watches that tries to emulate it. The Original Royal Oak, designed by the late Mr Gerald Genta continues into its fourth decade with little change yet is still a highly coveted timepiece by collectors the world over. While AP has garnered new model lines successfully such as the Royal Oak Offshore in various iterations, it is the original Royal Oak with its still much respected calibre - that has the respect of serious collectors the world over. This free exhibition at a nostalgic and historic building will be an interesting one for fans of the Royal Oak. Details of the exhibition is found below.

 

The New York Times filed an interesting report on the next generation of disruptive technologies - at least disruptive to the current electronic watch industry.While the current set of teenagers predominantly tell the time via their smartphones, clearly the more innovative companies like Nike and Sony are looking to provide multifunction devices on their wrists. Most interesting of these are the devices that are able to assist users to develop a sensible exercise and sleep pattern. I am tempted. Even as a traditionalist who would only wear a mechanical movement to tell time, I would certainly wear a device on the other wrist to help me monitor aspects of my health. I look forward to the widespread use of such devices. Its time for us all to adapt to a more healthier lifestyle.

New York Times Report on disruptive tech.

 

While for most fans the beautiful moonphase dial of the Portofino is the most attractive aspect of the watch, I believe the movement has wider appeal. Here is the wallpaper of the exquisite calibre.


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This huge watch from IWC was produced in small volume from 1981 to probably 1999. Despite the long production life, this watch is quite rare and still being traded well above its retail price today. Probably one of the most daring moonphase watch of its time - having a pocket watch caliber (Cal9521)  housed in a very thin case and featuring a delicate enamel dial. It was only ever made in yellow gold and the recent Vintage series from IWC sought to resurrect some of it's appeal to the lovers of this watch. Unlike the watches with moonphases of the era, the moonphase is located on the right of the dial instead of the more common top or bottom of the dial. Many believe the essence of its success is that with the sub-seconds on the left there is a stronger sense of symmetry.



This particular piece belongs to a renowned collector and friend who was very kind to allow me some time with his watch - to record it for posterity in digital format - while it is in pristine condition. The images do not do justice to the watch in person. It somehow possesses a strong personality despite its apparent delicate appearance - ultra thin hands, almost no bezel, white enamel dial and being a very thin watch overall. It has a presence of its own. It may be the sum of the whole that creates that aura. Something that many fans feel that the vintage series is not able to replicate. Even the simple movement with its alluring curved bridges has the capacity to mesmerize.

Only the fortunate few who have come across this watch will know this. I suspect this watch will continue to be in the wish list of true connoisseurs for a very long time.


 - HT

 

Traveling with Peter Speake-Marin are the Gronefeld brothers of Gronefeld Watches - Bart and Tim. They are also in town to show enthusiasts their horological creations. The brothers hail from the Netherlands and comes from a rich family history in watchmaking. Both Bart and Tim were trained and worked extensively in Switzerland (spent 8 years at Renaud & Papi) before taking up the family business. They showed me their latest One Hertz (seen on their wrist in the image above) and their Tourbillon Minute Repeater which I photographed extensively (to be showcased here shortly). As a teaser, I can attest that the Gronefeld watches has extraordinary presence and finish. In part to its clever use of design that make their watch distinctive yet unfussy. Look out for the forthcoming report on their watches. As before, click on the image to view it in higher resolution.

- HT

 

- HT

 

Recently a friend and fellow blogger, Ms Meehna Goldsmith interviewed me for an article for Christies and it was about how avid watch photographers create horological images of desire. The phrase "Watch Porn" is not new but in this report, Meehna attempts to pin down how good images impact on collectors. Three photographers were featured and all had differing views as to the process and outcome of the images effect on collectors. CLICK HERE if you are interested to read the article.

 

When the fertile minds of young, vibrant, hip and overtly counter conservative thinkers and tinkerers from MB&F and Urwerk meet up to consider the possibility of collaboration, what could possibly come out of such partnership?

To start with the new brand name of "C3H5N3O9" - no, its not a swear word but the chemical name for Nitroglycerine. Probably the most difficult name in the watch world to commit to memory. But the makers suggest its alter ego - "Nitro" for those who are memory challenged.

Their first watch is called the ZR012 which features the innovation of a movement inspired the the Wankel Engine housed in a Zirconium case with articulated lugs. The lug design is necessary for the watch to sit comfortably on the wrist as the watch comes in at a huge 59mm long, 44mm wide and 17mm high (dimension without lugs).

The case work was by MB&F and the movement is by Urwerk team. Only 12 of these watches will be made of Zirconium and another 12 in red gold next year. Following that, Nitro will launch another watch for the "experimental watches" collector market. Each watch will be retailed at CHF110,000 (requiring a deposit of CHF33,000 before manufacturing starts). In an effort to keep their margins within their projected earnings the brand will only retail the watch through its website - thus removing the cost of retailers and authorised dealers.

Over the forthcoming week, I will have the opportunity to see this watch in the metal and will be photographing it on the wrist. Do return to check it out. 
[Due to unknown reasons this watch was withheld from being shown in Singapore by the brand. Accordingly and most disappointingly this watch was not photographed by WH]

Meanwhile, for more images and details of this new brand and watch, CLICK HERE.

 

Reported here over the recent years are two known brands, Anonimo and Gerald Genta being the early adopters of bronze as the new material for their watch cases. Since then, there had been a few adopters such as Panerai which has found success in the material and many expect more watches from them in that metal.

However, is that metal going to be the hot new trend in the near future? Bronze is not a luxury metal nor is it even as hard as steel. It does not consistently hold its colour and will patina over time. Yet it seems that for some enthusiasts, the draw or attraction of this metal would seem to be those very characteristics which gives the watch a sense of a vintage feel.

Will it prove to be successful as a metal for all luxury brands as it was for Panerai? Is the metal's characteristics worthy of the premium it demands today?

In my search for the answer to this question, I ventured to acquire an affordable bronze watch. Panerai's bronze model was out of the question based on price as well as availability. So is the Gerald Genta. But before I could source for an Anonimo bronze (in a design that I felt I would want to wear), I found this small brand retailing a limited edition "bronze" watch. It is the Magrette Regattare from New Zealand.


Interestingly as I read about this watch on the brand's website, it turns out that the Magrette watchmaker discovered that the casemaker had delivered to him Brass (copper and zinc) instead of Bronze (copper and tin). As a result the brand had to either recall and exchange the watches for the correct material. However, they still had in stock the brass watches which it is selling at rather interesting prices. This intrigued me even more as I have not heard nor seen any watch cases made of brass. Together with several of my friends, we each ordered a piece - knowing that this watch has a pedestrian albeit reliable Miyota automatic movement.

Having received it, my first and immediate impression was that the watch was worth the S$500 price tag (with change). Yes, it cost S$500 for this brass cased "limited edition" watch (with the brass buckle). It is also curious that the watch is described as limited to 1000 pieces - which seems inconsistent with the story the website tells about the case maker's mistake and the recall of early buyers and it is selling off the remainder.

I immediately changed the strap it came with to the brown ostrich shown in the image above (which was one of my many straps in my storage). For Anonimo fans, the dial should look familiar as it has the same layout and font from the Anonimo Militare. It has kept good time and quite comfortable on the wrist at 44mm. Having worn it regularly for the past several weeks, I am generally satisfied with the watch for what it is. A simple time only sports watch for weekend wear.

While this watch technically does not help me answer the question about bronze watches as it is made of brass, I suspect that my findings would not vary greatly. Alloys of copper and tin or zinc are not luxury metals. They tarnish or patina inconsistently. The patina may or may not be pleasant to owners. But once patina has set in, it does have a strong vintage feel.

I dare say that while the watch is interesting for its unique material, colour and feel, and I enjoy wearing it, I am not sure if I would have more watches made of that material. I would even venture to say that bronze or brass will not work with non sports watch case designs. The material however has a place in diver's watches as bronze is resistant to corrosion by sea water.

I suspect that there will be herd behaviour of sports watch brands to try their hand at using these metals. Much like how in recent years many brands produced black case watches. Not all will enjoy success but as with all black watches, the interest by buyers will wane as it looses its unique appeal of being rare and unusual.

- HT

 

Hamilton had been connected with the MIB franchise since its beginning and the main characters are always seen wearing a classic Ventura. In the latest MIB movie being opening in theatres this week, Hamilton will be launching in conjunction two Ventura watches.


One is a remake of the 1969 electric Ventura (see below, this time in quartz, worn by Will Smith in the new movie) and the other is a larger mechanical Ventura (see the watch shown above).

The quartz is an accurate remake of the 1969 original though small for today's taste (including the black croc strap), I expect them to be snapped up due to the large fanatical following of the MIB movies. Collectors of large watches will like the new mechanical version (with silicon strap) as it sits impressively on the wrist and quite distinctive from the many thousands of other large watches in the market today.

 

Two primary aspects of Marine Chronometers is its accuracy and how they are mounted on board the ships. These are more akin to clocks than to watches are usually mounted on a gimbal to reduce the rocking of the ship affecting its mechanical accuracy.


Hamilton has cleverly crafted this miniaturised tribute time piece to be both a table clock and wristwatch. The key innovation by Hamilton is the developing a camera bayonet type mounting for the watch onto either the gimbal box or the watch strap case. The watch could either be displayed as a table clock.


Or be used as a watch if one is able to carry off the 46.5mm case.


The design of the mount onto the watch strap is so ingenious that it hardly adds any height to the watch when worn on the wrist. The watch though is nevertheless enormous with its wire lugs potentially hanging over the wrist of anyone with less than 7 inches of wrist circumference.


Nevertheless, because of its versatility of being either a watch or a table clock at the simple twist of the watch mount, this watch will find owners quite easily. Its beautiful blue hands on arabic numbers on a white dial is a simple classic design that will not age. With only 1892 pieces to be made at retail of about US$3000, it will probably sold out even before the first pieces are due to be delivered in September 2012.