Category: Perfect Wrist
RICHARD MILLE RM 07-04
Richard Mille has expanded its line-up by introducing the new RM 07-04 ultra-lightweight sports watch. What makes the latest collection truly special is that it’s the brand’s first-ever multi-faceted sports watch dedicated to women. Richard Mille has a long history of working with renowned athletes and sporting personalities, with its long-standing collaboration with Spanish tennis superstar Rafael Nadal being the most famous of them all. But the watch brand is known for supporting different sports, especially motorsports, and crafting highly technical watches that can withstand the demanding conditions linked to those sports. However, this is the first time Richard Mille has made a sports watch specifically for women and dedicated it to six of its female sporting ambassadors, which include racecar driver Aurora Straus, Florida-based golfer Nelly Korda, and Ukrainian high jumper Yuliya Levchenko.
The Richard Mille collection sees the arrival of the new RM 07-04 Automatic Sport. Combining performance and function with comfort and heritage-defined craft, the new watch marks the brand’s first multi-faceted sports edition dedicated to women.
Taking on Richard Mille’s trademark tonneau shape with curved edges, the 6 variations of the RM 07-04 Automatic Sport are ultra-dynamic with a radiant chromatic palette. Its technical body that offers hours, minutes and a function selector houses a CRMA8 calibre – a sturdy in-house skeletonized automatic winding movement made of grade 5 titanium. But the watch’s most defining quality is its lightweight materials, constructed with Quartz TPT and Carbon TPT; it boasts a total weight of 36 grams including the Velcro strap. These two highly resistant materials ensure an optimal protection to extended movement.
Can you believe that the Richard Mille brand has only been making watches since 1999? It feels like it’s always been there, making its “Racing machines for the wrist”. Perhaps even weirder is that, until now, Richard Mille has never made a sports watch for women. Sure, its watches have been worn by women, and most of them look pretty unisex to me, but they’ve never made one for women. As I said, until now. The RM 07-04 range of watches is smaller, as you’d expect. All of the watches measure 30.50mm x 44.95mm x 10.35mm in size and, astonishingly, weigh about 36 grams, including the fabric Velcro strap. This light mass is achieved by the case material, Carbon TPT, which is unaffected by UV light and is also hypoallergenic. Carbon TPT is, essentially, layers and layers of carbon fibre filaments that are organised into sheets which are then saturated in special resins before being pressed into shape using high temperatures (120C) and pressures (6 bar). Richard Mille then machines the cases in-house to tidy them up and make them presentable. If you’re familiar with how Panerai achieves its Carbotech cases, this is a similar method. It also produces unique patterns on the case of the watch, so no two RM 07-04s are the same. You have a choice of six colours which come with contrasting straps: black, cream white, salmon pink, dark blue, green or mauve. Each case is water resistant to 50m and uses 20 grade 5 titanium screws to secure it.
Girard-Perregaux La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition
Although younger generations will associate Girard-Perregaux with the Laureato luxury sports watch collection, this brand has a historic watch up its sleeve with a colourful history. Known as La Esmeralda, this famous award-winning tourbillon chronometer pocket watch with three gold bridges was based on a model built by Constant Girard in 1860. Following the special pink gold edition launched in 2021 to celebrate the brand’s 230th anniversary, La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition returns in a white hand-engraved gold case with a secret hinged cover on the caseback and a guilloché Grand Feu enamel dial. Girard-Perregaux will unveil the white gold limited edition during the 2023 Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition (20-25 February).
Watchmaker Constant Girard (1825-1903) and his wife, Marie Perregaux, founded Girard-Perregaux in 1856. Fascinated with the design of escapements, especially tourbillons, Constant Girard decided that the three parallel bridges in the form of arrows securing his tourbillon movement could become part of the design language of the watch, which he patented in 1884. Housed in an elaborately engraved gold case with a white Grand Feu enamel dial and a hinged dust cover engraved with three horses, La Esmeralda was submitted to the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889 and won a gold medal. In a strange turn of events, La Esmeralda ended up in Mexico and was sold to Porfirio Díaz, the Mexican general who served seven consecutive turns as president of Mexico and was finally ousted in 1911 during the Mexican Revolution. A descendant of Díaz sold La Esmeralda to Girard-Perregaux in 1970.
La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition is one of Girard-Perregaux’s most illustrious and expensive models. Naturally, there are more contemporary interpretations of the tourbillon in the Bridges collection, like this spectacular tourbillon model, all characterised by the three bridges theme laid down by their venerable ancestor. This white gold version of the La Esmeralda Tourbillon is identical to the 230th-anniversary edition and comes in a lavishly hand-engraved 43mm case with a height of 15.1mm. The leaf motifs engraved on the bezel, caseband, lugs and buckle are hand-engraved by GP’s in-house artisans in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
The spectacular guilloché dial with royal blue Grand Feu enamel hosts the hallmark gold arrow-shaped bridges with a surprising twist. The bridge over the top barrel and the bridge spanning the tourbillon features two hand-engraved white gold horses that reference the horses found on the caseback of the original La Esmeralda. As you would expect from such a high-end model, the bridges feature mirror-polished finishings.
Beneath the bridges is a recessed figure eight, home to the barrel at noon, the centre wheel and the lyre-shaped tourbillon cage at 6 o’clock, which weighs just 0.3g. The faceted white gold Dauphine-style hour and minute hands are complemented by a blued steel hand on the tourbillon to indicate the small seconds.
On the reverse side, the ‘secret’ hinged caseback is decorated with guilloché, and the white gold silhouettes of three horses are filled with blue enamel. With its fluted bezel, the caseback opens to reveal the in-house automatic GP09600-2083 movement with a white gold micro-rotor. Beating at 21,600vph, the movement delivers a minimum power reserve of 50 hours when fully wound.
36mm Seiko 5 Sports Mid-Field
They’re cool. Inspired by models of the past issued for military forces, they are legible, robust, made for outdoor activities and have a true no-nonsense feeling that makes them appealing. Seiko 5 Sports watches? They’re cool too. Robust, loyal, honest mechanical watches that won’t let you down. Nothing fancy, just accessible models that do the job perfectly. Seiko 5 Sports Field watches? Well, obviously they’re cool too, and if you want to see why, check out this article… But there’s something with field watches that is sort of mandatory to me… they need to be compact. And the Japanese watchmaker has done just that, with the new 36mm Seiko 5 Sports Mid-Field Collection, with three new references (SRPJ81, SRPJ83 and SRPJ85) that seem to be spot on.
The Seiko 5 Sports collection was revamped in 2019 with a complete new range of watches, which at first, felt like reviving the praised style of the SKX007 series. Looking like dive watches (without being actual dive watches), equipped with a rotating bezel, available in dozens of colours, powered by the most mundane automatic movement of the brand – which doesn’t make it a bad movement at all – and fairly accessible. Yes, there has been some criticism, but overall, quite a successful revamp of the Seiko 5 name.
It didn’t take long for Seiko to bring back another much-loved style of the old Seiko 5 series, the simple and bezel-less field watch – which many have known under the reference SNK809. The recipe was simple: take the case of the other Seiko 5 Sports watches, remove the rotating bezel and place a smooth bezel instead, design a dial with a matte background, large Arabic numerals, a 24-hour military-like scale and apply lots of lume on the hands and markers… and voila, you have a field watch with robust specs and an accessible price. In a 39.4mm case. And while there’s nothing wrong with this size, I personally tend to prefer field watches to be even more compact. Think about the Hamilton W10 or the Timor Heritage, both around 36mm in diameter, as my benchmark models for a cool field watch.
Seiko is giving us just that… With the new Seiko 5 Sports Mid-Field models. Three watches, three different interpretations of the same concept, and a case that has been reduced by 3mm to now 36.4mm in diameter. Sounds spot on, right? The rest of the dimensions are in the same vein: 12.5mm in height (not the thinnest, objectively) and 44.4mm lug-to-lug, which sounds like the promise of great comfort and a cool vintage look on the wrist. The rest of the specs of these new SRPJ81, SRPJ83 and SRPJ85 don’t change much compared to the larger version, with a classic, unprotected crown at 3 o’clock, a screwed caseback with see-through crystal, a Hardlex (mineral) crystal on top and a reassuring 100m water-resistance.
The dials… Nothing really new here either, with just a day-date window that sits closer to the edge of the dial. Otherwise, it’s all identical to the larger SRPG27 model. Available in black with white lume (SRPJ81), black with beige lume (SRPJ85) and sand with black accents (SRPJ83), all dials have a matte, slightly grained texture, large Arabic numerals, a military-like 24-hour scale and hands and hour markers that are coated with LumiBrite. Simple, legible, straightforward… All you need in a field watch – even though I would get rid of the day-date function.
Inside the case, no surprises. As with all watches from the collection, the new 36mm Seiko 5 Sports Mid-Field watches are powered by the all-time classic calibre 4R36, an automatic entry-level movement that has proven its reliability. Not the most precise on paper, it beats at 3Hz, stores 41 hours of power reserve and features a hacking second. As for the strap, two of the models are worn on nylon NATO-like straps in beige (SRPJ83) or green (SRPJ85) – military style obliges – or a 3-link steel bracelet with a folding clasp (SRPJ81) – just like the bigger brother, but with an 18mm lug width.
Jacob & Co Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary
Jacob & Co. has dropped a $330 USD music box tourbillon to mark the 50th Anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather.
The Jacob & Co Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary certainly isn’t light on talking points with the full collector’s set including the watch, a red rose pen from Montegrappa and an engraved crystal decanter. The vast 49mm watch houses the 634-component calibre JCMF04 movement which rotates inside the case and packs in a triple-axis flying tourbillon, a music box complication that plays Nino Rota’s ‘The Godfather’ theme using 120 pins against two combs and an enamel red rose at its centre.
“The Godfather is not just a great movie because of the way it was shot and directed,” says Benjamin Arabov, Jacob & Co. CEO. “It also contains some of the greatest scenes and dialogue in movie history.” The watch illustrates that sentiment both inside and outside the case. The twin rose gold barrels that power the music box complication are engraved with the movie’s most memorable quotes – including “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse” – on the exterior, bringing new lines of dialogue to the fore as they rotate.
The 18K grey gold caseband of the watch also features 13 photo-realistic scenes from the film in narrative order engraved over 30 hours using medical-grade ‘femtolaser’ technology, a process which allows for 256 tones within the metal. The Godfather is the favourite film of Jacob & Co founder, Jacob Arabo, and was the first film he watched after moving to the US from Uzbekistan at the age of 14.
Jacob & Co. went to Sicily to release its latest opulent opus, the Jacob & Co Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary, which features a rotating movement with a triple-axis flying tourbillon and double-cylinder music box playing the 120 notes of the movie’s theme song. Adorned with pioneering laser-engraving on its 49-millimeter case band, the Godfather 50th Anniversary is a true horological commemoration of the first movie in the iconic Godfather trilogy of films based on the book by Mario Puzo. The setting in which Jacob and Co. presented the new Jacob & Co Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary was as precious as the watch itself: the Grand Hotel Timeo in Taormina, Sicily, surrounded by the glittering Mediterranean, lush gardens scented with flowers, thyme and oregano, and the ever-present subtly huffing and puffing Etna volcano in the background.
So, what is new on this 49-millimeter watch? Well, this iteration is more connected with the movie than any other timepieces in the collection first introduced back in 2019.
The Jacob & Co Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary movie – in part shot in the vicinity of the hotel – was the first film that Jacob Arabo saw upon moving to the United States of America in 1981. Arriving as a penniless 14-year-old immigrant from Uzbekistan in 1979, it had taken him two years to make enough money to afford a ticket to a movie theatre.
The rest is history. In the year 1986 he founded the New York-based company now run by his son Benjamin Arabov. “Family is really a major theme in the Godfather, which is why we feel such a strong connection with the movies,” said Benjamin Arabov regarding the three-time Oscar and five-time Golden Globe winning trilogy directed by Frances Ford Coppola.
“The movement is infinitely more complex than it seems,” explained Alain Schiesser, CEO of Le Cercle des Horlogers, manufacturer of the exclusive Jacob & Co. caliber.
Jacob & Co. CR7 Epic X Flight Of CR7 & Heart Of CR7
The FIFA World Cup 2022 is well underway, with the final coming up this Sunday. And although Portugal was unexpectedly eliminated by Morocco, stopping Cristiano Ronaldo’s chances of ever winning a world championship with the national team, the soccer star who goes by the moniker CR7 has left his mark on the sport. With records for the most appearances (183) and most goals in the Champions League (140), and an additional 196 matches for Portugal with 118 goals, he is a living legend if there ever was one. Just before the World Cup in Qatar, though, there was a bit of controversy surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo, in part thanks to the latest special-edition watch created with Jacob & Co., a brand he’s been close to for 20 years now. Let’s find out more!
I’m not going to elaborate on all the controversy surrounding this new watch, but the image of Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the winning goal for Real Madrid against Manchester United, while employed by the latter, didn’t go down too well with the British Premier League Club. Shortly afterwards, but not due to the actual watch’s release, news broke of the termination of his contract with Manchester United.
Jacob & Co. has released two new watches in collaboration with Ronaldo, based on the revamped Epic X collection. The first is the Jacob & Co. x CR7 Epic X “Flight of CR7”, and the second is the “Heart of CR7”. Both come in a 44mm wide case in either stainless steel or 18k rose gold, with stout lugs that visually connect to the vertical bridge over the movement. Each can be had with a clean bezel or a diamond-set one, and both are finished with a tinted sapphire crystal around the back.
Time is indicated by two large openworked central hands accompanied by a sloping minute ring on the outer perimeter. The stainless steel version is the “Heart of CR7”, which shows green details throughout, while the “Flight of CR7” is finished in red. The vertical bridge over the movement is decorated with an image of the man himself, either celebrating a goal (Heart of CR7) or performing the aforementioned header (Flight of CR7), along with “CR7” and his signature. The top half is enhanced with a soccer ball over the barrel, and the lower half with an exposed escapement.
This escapement regulates the JCAM45 manual-winding movement, which is constructed using 158 components and runs at a rate of 28,800vph. This provides a total running time of 48 hours when fully wound and indicates hours and minutes only. The back is partially visible through the tinted crystal, which also shows Ronaldo’s signature celebration after scoring a goal.
Girard-Perregaux La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition
Girard-Perregaux, the prestigious Maison from La Chaux de Fonds has a long history of making tourbillons and other expressions of Haute Horlogerie. Recently, the Manufacture unveiled its Girard-Perregaux La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition, a watch that combines the brand’s legendary three gold bridges with an array of artistic crafts. Join the US-based journalist, Meehna Goldsmith, as she explores the composition of this remarkable creation. For its 230th anniversary, Girard-Perregaux pulled out all the stops with the creation of the Girard-Perregaux La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition . To understand this piece of wrist art, we need to delve into the brand’s history.
In 1867, Constant Girard proved his prowess in chronometry by winning first prize at the Observatoire of Neuchâtel competition for his pocket watch outfitted with a tourbillon, detent escapement and three nickel silver bridges. He presented this same watch at the ‘Exposition Universelle’ held in Paris the same year, where the watch was awarded a medal.
The three bridge construction, which is both a functional and artistic element, has been passed down as a defining characteristic. When you see those three horizontal bridges on a watch, you can immediately identify it as a Girard-Perregaux.
Girard took the model of his award-winning pocket watch to showcase precision as well as artistry for the ‘Exposition Universelle’ in 1889. This time he housed the movement with a tourbillon and detent escapement in a lustrous pink gold 56mm case with three gold bridges to match. In addition, the case featured intricate engraving by Fritz Kundert. After winning a diploma and gold medal at the Exposition, Girard decided to sell the award-winning piece through a jewellery retailer with stores called ‘La Esmeralda’ located in Paris and Mexico. The pocket watch caught the eye of Mexican president Porfirio Diaz (1830-1915) who purchased it. La Esmeralda stayed in the Diaz family until 1970 when Girard-Perregaux acquired the acclaimed pocket watch for its museum. To recognise and honour its roots, Girard-Perregaux released the La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition in November of 2021. Doffing its hat to the original, this 21st century rendition offers a modern interpretation that exhibits the brand’s array of talents.
When you first lay eyes on her, Girard-Perregaux La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition is a lot to take in. (Let’s call her the LETASEE for short.) Although there’s an overwhelming feast of detail, it’s one where you’d be missing out if you didn’t take a seat at the table. Like its predecessor, LETASEE uses pink gold as a motif for its 43mm case and bridges. And wow, those bridges! Over the years, the three bridges have evolved to become more refined and used as a platform to demonstrate finishing finesse. Here you’ll find a particular treat. Usually, bevelling is rounded or flat and done at a 45° angle. In this case, Girard-Perregaux has created a concave bevel that plays delightful tricks in the light: the shade of the gold changes and sometimes the surface will appear convex, offering an added dimension for the eyes. And then there are the sinewy horses, sculpted to depict them in motion. They are incorporated as part of the bridges anchoring the tourbillon and winding barrel. As magnificent as they are, what possessed Girard-Perregaux to choose horses instead of say penguins or giraffes? The answer (somewhat) lies on the back case of the 1889 La Esmeralda, where there are horses engraved. Still, the reason for why they appear on the original remains a mystery. The barrel and mainplate offer up the artistry of traditionally applied guilloché patterns, applied by an artisan operating a lathe. Thereafter, they are dressed in Grand Feu enamel, providing a wonderful contrast with the pink-gold, dauphine-type hour and minute hands journeying around the dial. Not to be outdone, the case is elaborately engraved with a leaf motif in a bow to Kundert. You see the rich blue on the side and flanks? That’s enamelling also, which carries over to the back cover of the watch, along with the equine theme. Enamel outside the dial is practically unheard of, but Girard-Perregaux expands the canvas for this technique. Nice thinking out of the box, or, in this case, the circle. As for the movement, pressing the pusher on the crown opens a “secret” cover that reveals the in-house produced calibre GP09600-1506, impeccably decorated, and that’s saying a lot coming from my admittedly critical eye. The pink gold motif continues with the motion-work bridge and marking plate, whose finishing reflects the shape of the Gold Bridges. While Girard-Perregaux puts on display its virtuosity with handiwork, it also wants you to know its cutting edge technical capabilities. Indeed, an example can be seen with the mainplate, which is milled to incredibly small tolerances with a CNC machine. Girard-Perregaux isn’t usually mentioned in the same breath as Vacheron Constantin, A. Lange & Sohne or Greubel Forsey. With Girard-Perregaux La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition , the brand makes a strong statement that it belongs on the same podium. Perhaps the watch might even reveal the mystery of the horses to its owners.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Light & Shade And Light & Fire
I will happily admit to having a soft spot for the Girard-Perregaux Laureato, and I would love a silver-dialed 38mm version. It has transcended its integrated-bracelet-stepchild status, and this is highly visible in its pre-loved prices. Though it was a long time coming, unfortunately for me, they are now 40–60% above what they were two years ago. That was the same time I had a weekend with The Beauty and The Beast — the standard Laureato and Laureato Absolute — and was torn between the two. Let me explain.
In the fall of 2020, I had just segued from hosting my own watch-themed YouTube channel to writing and had two weekend-loan watches. After calming my nerves from having over €30,000 in a paper bag on the train home, I was working on a Laureato story. The Beauty and The Beast idea of juxtaposing the two Girard-Perregaux Laureato families had me both smitten and torn. The octagonal charms of the Laureato made me put it on the same podium as the premium Swiss suspects, while the Absolute was an unexpectedly charming brute. So the new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute brings me a delightful feeling of déjà vu.
The new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Light & Fire and Light & Shade
A lot of effort has gone into the cases of this 44mm duo. Have you heard of metalized sapphire? At first glance, it endows the pair with a visual strength, setting them apart from previous Absolute references while keeping them immediately recognizable as Laureato models. Other brands have the big boys of the collection drawn with a different pen — think the Royal Oak Offshore — while Girard-Perregaux brings a studied approach to the table. Just like the Defy Extreme series from Zenith, the Absolute has all the right clues. And from memory, the 44mm piece wears unashamedly well on the rubber strap, but what about that sapphire case?
Let’s grab this sparkly bull by the horns first as it is the biggest strength of this debut and has not been seen before. A sapphire case has enough street cred to put many LVMH pieces in the shade on any given day. So well played with the release date, Girard-Perregaux; it works. Looking at the shots, I’m struck by the combination of transparency and a tantalizing metallic sheen. Making a case from sapphire means starting with eight weeks of the “Kyropolous growth method.” This transforms alumina powder into a block of sapphire crystal. That block is cut into discs that are machined into the three-part case. This complex, time-consuming process is then compounded by a surface treatment that I haven’t seen before. Within a vacuum, the smoked-metallic appearance is created, endowing the case itself with the street cred of 170 hours of work.
Both of these contrasting watches house the skeletonized in-house caliber GP01800-1143 with a heritage-connecting octagonal mainplate. The transparency of the case is only compounded by the dial-less vista. With so much happening within the Absolute, you would think it creates an element of infighting. But no, the zen here is surprising. Instead of being a compound of angles, the feminine shapes of the curvy bridgework and monochrome gray instill a sense of calm. That doesn’t stop the balance at 12 o’clock from presiding over a fascinating city of industrial micro-prowess, but it does restrain it. I love the open 54-hour spring barrel at 5 o’clock. We get a good look at the engine, while the NAC-treated surfaces within the movement have 55 hand-polished inner angles. To match the dark movement and ensure stability to the FKM rubber strap, the case ends are in black satin-finished titanium.
The new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Replica comes in two distinct flavors with the Light & Shade and Light & Fire providing two distinct outlooks on life. That came out a bit grand, but it’s all about your sense of style. I’m quite outré in my wrist style. I revel in the attention that a popping watch attracts when paired with a downplayed fit. The tonal chic of the Light & Shade combined with a mere 11.56mm thickness endows the cushion-cased Absolute with a high versatility score. The tiny plots of purple jewels within the GP01800-1143 movement bring a finesse underlined by the rhodium-plated hands and indices. I enjoy the downplayed formality that GP has managed to give this extravagant creation, but I do have a big soft spot for the Light & Fire version.
From the octagonal bezel to the soft cushion case, the Light & Fire edition has a dose of almost-sensual red. Color-matched stitching links the FKM strap to the look. Red also highlights things like the propeller-shaped small seconds indicator within a curving, cut-out bridge at 10 o’clock. It provides a subtle match to the lume in the hands. These small details bring cohesiveness to a delightful take on a classic. Will it matter to buyers that these pieces both have a 30m depth rating? Well, I wouldn’t bring a watch with this price tag to the beach. Both will be available for CHF 95,000, but the delectably warm red version will only see a run of 18 pieces. I have a suspicion they might sell out rather quickly. Why? Because this is a year to go big or go home (feel free to quote me on that, Girard-Perregaux).
Fratelli, do you feel the desire for a big grail in a sapphire case? To be fair, not many of us have €100K to spend on a watch, but none of us can afford a Warhol either. So dream on, dear Fratelli, dream on. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Jacob & Co Astronomia Solar Bitcoin
Jacob & Co has taken a leap into the world of cryptocurrency with the launch of its all-new Astronomia Solar Bitcoin watch – a highly complex timepiece that marks the intersection between the historic world of horology and the groundbreaking age of crypto.
As the latest in the watchmaker’s highly coveted Jacob & Co Astronomia Solar Bitcoin collection, the Astronomia Solar Bitcoin has been created with adaptability in mind and uses an adapted version of its classic movement, with a titanium 44-mm case. Subjected to Diamond Like Carbon processing, which coats the metal in a layer of crystallized carbon atoms, this case is as black as coal and hard as diamond.
In true Jacob & Co Astronomia Solar Bitcoin fashion, the watch is rich with complications, with no less than 444 elements in total. Set across two rotating platforms, the illustrative timepiece is adorned with artistic references to crypto and its journey from financial outlier to mainstay payment.
Symbols include a Jacob & Co Astronomia Solar Bitcoin currency logo, a yellow sapphire sun, a diamond moon, a golden earth and a miniature rocket ship, all of which sit alongside a delicately decorated one-minute flying tourbillon.
These elements are all built on to three arms of the second platform and encircled by keywords from the Bitcoin universe. Below the upper platform is the rotating mainplate, which features a fitting integrated circuit microchip design. The top platform completes a rotation around the watch’s center every 10 minutes, and in doing so simultaneously propels the movement’s background counterclockwise every 11 minutes. Not content with this level of animation, the watch’s mainplate also spins on its own axis every 11 minutes.
The entire rotating structure is surrounded by a single-pane sapphire crystal viewing window, providing an unobstructed view of the magic within. A black alligator strap promises unrivaled comfort for the wearer.
Just 25 pieces of this ground-breaking timepiece are available and naturally, payment will be accepted in a cryptocurrency of the buyers choosing – Bitcoin or altcoin – with a real-world value of approximately $348,000.
Rado Captain Cook Chronograph
The new Rado Captain Cook Chronograph from Rado fuses most modern design, technology and style. It boasts updated, exquisite proportions thanks to a unique, slimmer automatic movement.
Rado has launched three variants of the new Captain Cook chronograph, in distinct shades and strap/bracelet configurations sure to please even the most demanding enthusiasts. Two models are in stainless steel and one in bronze.
The new Rado Captain Cook Chronograph is mounted with the characteristic box-shaped glass, in scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both faces.
The thinner, more comfortable and stylish 43mm case comes in either polished stainless steel or circular-brushed bronze. The polished high-tech ceramic inlay on the bezel, in blue or black, is a perfect complement to the flange and the dial colour of the particular model.
Presented in a silver-to-blue gradient, silver-to-black or blue sunray finish, the dial features appliquéd indices, markers and numerals. The key elements are treated with Super-LumiNova\ for excellent readability even in low-light conditions.
In particular, the hour hand, with its bold and characteristic arrowhead tip, and the minute hand, strong and unmistakeable, as well as the red-tipped chronograph seconds sweeper, allow easy timekeeping in any exploration or journey, in the city or the great outdoors. The anchor symbol remains a delightful touch, in rhodium colour against a red backplate on this rugged and reliable timepiece, whose features now include a chronograph dial at 9 and standard seconds at 3 o’clock, in perfect visual equilibrium with the lower date window at 6 o’clock.
The date itself is displayed in red against silver, in keeping with former models. Inside, the new, thinner R801 automatic movement, with 37 jewels, five hands and 59 hours of power reserve thanks to a NivachronTM anti-magnetic hairspring, exceeds standard accuracy test requirements by as much as five positions. Water resistance to 30 bar is assured by a screw-down case back, screw-in crown and pushbuttons, and Rado’s predictably unwavering high-quality production technics. The new Captain Cook Chronograph is delivered with two additional straps in different materials and shades, according to the specific model.
The two stainless steel models come with a matching three-row stainless steel bracelet with brushed central links and extensible folding clasp, and an additional coffee-brown or blue leather strap with contrasting stitching, as well as a sporty NATO-style, woven nylon strap, in blue or black, with steel pin-buckle closure.
The bronze-coloured Rado Captain Cook Chronograph model comes with a NATO-style strap with a gold-coloured stripe down the centre, as well as a blue leather strap with accent stitching, and an additional NATO-style strap in deep blue, all with bronze pin-buckle closure.
The new Rado Captain Cook Chronograph comes in a special case inspired by the built-to-last, two-strapped treasure chests of ancient explorers and navigators.
Protected by a tough, black diver-nylon outer covering, the wooden (FSC) box is equipped with metal hardware, around a soft ivory-coloured interior where your spare straps can be safely stored, along with your favourite Rado, when not in use.