Archive for March, 2009

Davide Blei Rolex Collection Brings $3.7 Million

On Sunday March 22 in Milan, Patrizzi & Co. auctioneers brought the hammer down on the Davide Blei Rolex collection, selling 98% of the lots for a total of 2,736,400 euro or slightly more than $3.7 million. The sale result does not include a buyer’s premium, as Patrizzi & Co. does not charge a buyer’s premium. More than 200 people followed the auction, including more than 100 online. In a press release Patrizzi & Co. said “[I]t is comforting to know that despite a global economic crisis, fine horology remains, as it has throughout history, a strong, stable market, capable of inspiring great passion and excitement.”

Ulysse Nardin Executive Dual Time

For 2009 Ulysse Nardin introduces ceramic to the Executive Dual time collection. The 43 mm Executive is available in stainless steel and in 18 carat rose gold. Complications include an oversize date at 2, small seconds at 6, and Ulysse Nardin’s patented Dual Time display at 9 with ceramic plus and minus pushers at the 8 and 10 o’clock positions. When pressed, the pushers instantly adjust the hour hand to a different time zone while the home time indicator at 9 o’clock continues its 24 hour cycle.

Breguet 5347 Twin Rotating Tourbillons

For 2009 Breguet introduces Ref. 5347 with twin rotating tourbillons in pink gold. Housed in a 44mm case, the tourbillons operate independently and rotate on the hour axis, completing one revolution every 12 hours. The two tourbillons are coupled by means of differential gears and are mounted on a rotating center plate. The differential device conveys the two tourbillons’ mean rate to the rotating center plate. The watch consists of over 570 components. The movement, Cal. 588, is adjusted to 6 positions and runs in 69 jewels at 2.5 Hz.

Concorso Italiano Tees It Up for 2009

Concorso Italiano is a 24 year tradition during the Monterey classic car weekend, which includes the Pebble Beach Concourse, Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca, and several high-profile auto auctions. Held on golf links in the past, the Concorso moved to the Marin City airport last year where the acres of tarmac inspired little love among attendees and participants. For 2009 the Concorso is heading back to the fairways. This year’s event will be held at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch.

Michelle Obama Wears Cartier for Official Portrait

Posing for her official White House portrait, Michelle Obama wears the Cartier Steel Tank Francaise. Her dress is by Michael Cors. No First Lady has received as much fashion attention since Jackie Kennedy, pictured below wearing a Cartier Tank Louis watch in 1969. Click the images to view larger versions. Michelle Obama photo credit: Joyce N. Boghsian/The White House. Images provided by Cartier.

Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Diver Titanium

Ulysse Nardin’s Maxi Marine Diver Titanium is the newest addition to the Maxi Marine Diver collection. The skin-friendly case measures 45 mm in diameter with a unidirectional rotating bezel in either 18 carat rose gold or stainless steel.

Ulysse Nardin Lady Diver Starry Night

For Baselworld 2009, Ulysse Nardin introduces the Lady Diver Starry Night. This sporty yet elegant timepiece measures 40mm in diameter and is available in 18 carat rose gold on a variety of rubber straps. Dials in black or white are set with 27 diamonds. The sapphire display back offers a view of the diamond-set 22 carat rotor. The Lady Diver is water resistant to 100 meters.

Swiss Watch Exports to USA Drop Nearly 50% in February

The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reports that the value of Swiss watch exports to the U.S. market declined in February by 47.5% compared with February 2008 levels. For the first two months of 2009, the value of exports to the U.S.A. is down 38% compared with the same period last year. Hardest hit were watches priced at 500 to 3000 Swiss francs (about $445 to $2670 at press time), sales of which were down by more than 40% in terms of both units and value.

Lange 1815

For 2009 Lange’s classic 1815 is enlarged to 40mm and fitted with a new manual winding movement that fills the case. Though updated for modern tastes, the 1815 remains a classic three-hand watch. The 1815’s name reflects the birth year of company founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange. The solid silver dial features Lange’s traditional railway-track minute scale, Arabic numerals, and small seconds at 6 o’clock, reminiscent of Lange pocket watches of days gone by.

The new caliber L051.1 measures 30.6 x 4.6 mm in and consists of 188 parts, many of which are hand-decorated. The movement’s features include a three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver, a hand-engraved balance cock (of which no two are exactly the same), a whiplash precision index adjuster, 5 screwed gold chatons, and thermally blued screws. The movement runs in 21 jewels at 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour with a 55 hour power reserve.

The new 1815 is available in yellow, white and pink gold, and in a limited edition of 500 pieces in platinum.

Richard Mille’s New Tourbillon and Automatic

You may want to head back to school for a Ph.D in material science before reading any further. Describing his new Aerodyne Tourbillon, Richard Mille says “Orthorhombic titanium aluminides are new group of alloys, developed from the main class of titanium aluminides, which possess a specific crystalline molecular structure ordered on the orthorhombic phase of Ti2AlNb. Its use within a honeycombed geometrical pattern was originally the subject of research by NASA for application as a core material of supersonic aircraft wings, where resistance to extremely high temperatures and torsion is paramount…”