New releases – Gerald Charles Maestro 4.0 Ducati 30° Anniversario 916

Created in collaboration with the Italian motorcycle manufacturer and released as a limited edition of 250 pieces, this model celebrates the 30^th anniversary of the Ducati 916 motorcycle. Its features include a mat black ceramic bezel on a marbled-black Carbon Forged case body, integrated with Grade 5 Titanium crown, case-back and buckle. The proprietary developed calibre supports a two-level dial with the jumping hours disk on top.

 

 

New releases – Ralph Lauren Polo Sport Collection

Waterproof to 50 m, the 42 mm steel case features an aluminium rotating bezel. The dial’s azure matte blue and black lacquered base is adorned with white super luminova indexes. Made by Selllita, the self-winding Caliber RL200 has a 38-hour power reserve. A version with a green bezel and an orange rubber strap is also available.

 

 

Vintage library - La Suisse Horlogère (1949)

ENGLISH (il testo italiano è in fondo alla pagina) 

This 32-page brochure was created by the Swiss Chamber of Watchmaking - the employers’ association that also published the quarterly magazine “La Suisse Horlogère”.

 

 

The author is Pierre Huguenin, who starts by telling a brief history of watchmaking since the Middle Ages. 

The following sections deal with materials, style, waterproofness, movements, accuracy, and servicing.

 

All in all, a fine and richly illustrated example of popularization aimed at both the sales people and the general public. Its only defect being a common practice of the contemporary trade press: the brand names of the watchmakers were erased from the dials of the featured timepieces, presumably to avoid free advertising. No harm done: the modern-day collector will be more than happy to guess the missing names …

 

ITALIANO 

Questo opuscolo di 32 pagine fu realizzato dalla Camera Svizzera dell’Orologeria, l’organizzazione padronale che pubblicava anche la rivista trimestrale “La Suisse Horlogère”. L’autore è Pierre Huguenin, che comincia con una breve storia dell’artigianato orologiero dal Medio Evo. Le sezioni seguenti trattano i materiali, lo stile, l’impermeabilità, i movimenti, la precisione e la manutenzione. Nel complesso, un esempio di divulgazione riuscito, riccamente illustrato e diretto sia al personale di vendita sia al pubblico. L’unico difetto è una pratica diffusa nella stampa specializzata dell’epoca: i nomi delle marche sono stati cancellati dai quadranti degli esemplari illustrati, presumibilmente per evitare la pubblicità gratuita. Poco male: il collezionista di oggi sarà felice di provare a indovinare i nomi mancanti…

 

 

New releases – Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription

This model pays homage to the brand’s roots and founder. Limited to 20 pieces, this edition is faithful to the original model of the 1990s in style and craft, but new in terms of mechanics, with the DR002 movement within having been developed and manufactured in house at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. The latter also made the solid gold dials, engine turned by a single artisan in a process that required 10 hours of work per dial. The 18k yellow gold case retains the double ellipse form, but with a centered godron along its outline for a balanced profile. 

 

 

New releases- Anywhere Arborea

This limited edition of 15 platinum pieces reinterprets Henri Rousseau’s iconic painting "The Virgin Forest at Sunset." Each one of the 575 miniature alveola – unique in size and shape – is hand-painted. The watch allows its wearer to know the length of the day and the times of sunrise and sunset for a location of their choice, anywhere in the world. The 39 mm case hosts the manual winding Caliber C030, featuring a 72-hour power reserve.

 

 

Watches at auction - World records

In 2024, Phillips Watches sold 1,790 lots at auction with 25 timepieces selling above US$1 million. Among them were the three examples pictured below.

 

This 18ct gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona with ‘Paul Newman Lemon dial’, brown ‘tropical’ subsidiary registers and outer track sold for over US$2.8 million and set the world auction record for Reference 6264. The Geneva Watch Auction XX, November 2024.

 

 

This world time Patek Philippe Ref. 2523/1 in yellow gold features two crowns, a guilloche dial and metallic city ring. It sold for US$1,934,840. The Geneva Watch Auction, May 2024.

 

 

This magnetic ‘water clock’ by Cartier dates to circa 1929 and came with the original presentation box. It is made of marble, silver, lapis lazuli, nephrite, coral, mother-of-pearl, enamel and jade. It sold for US$1,917,657, setting a world record for this kind of timepiece. The Hong Kong Watch Auction XVIII, May 2024.

New releases – Suchy & Söhne Belvedere

The Champagne & Bordeaux models are the latest additions to the Belvedere collection. The moving date window advances day by day. The 40.8 mm 316L, pearl-blasted steel case is water resistant to 10 ATM and hosts the automatic Caliber CSS201, based on a Dubois-Dépraz movement and equipped with a gold-plated oscillating weight. The latter features a micro engraving of the Vienna Belvedere Palace.

 

 

New releases - ZRC Q157 Phénix

This 200-piece limited edition of the GF42168PH diving watch was made to celebrate the brand’s partnership with the expedition aiming to find the wreck of a French Navy a submarine disappeared on June 15th, 1939. The machined 316L stainless steel case is waterproof up to 300 meters depth. A luminescent SLN Old radium X1 paint adorns the hour and minute hands as well as the hour markers on the unidirectional bezel with a bright blue insert coordinated with the dial. Its case back is decorated with an engraving representing a mythical phoenix. The movement is the Sellita SW-300 caliber. 

 

 

The Watch Library

 

A short video story of watch design by The Watch Library, the new online research tool. From the homepage: 'By digitizing and mobilizing the resources and archives of all watchmaking actors (museums, brands, institutions, media, retailers, suppliers, libraries), the initiative can exploit the capabilities of Big Data - the collection and publication of vast amounts of information - in this case about the watchmaking industry. The Watch Library aims to demonstrate how shared data and knowledge foster innovation, creativity and thus feed the imagination of experts, current and future professionals and watch enthusiasts. It reconciles heritage and digital technology to help increase the appeal of watchmaking to the public, especially to the younger generations of collectors.'

 

 

New Releases – Awake Son Mai

The French brand’s first Swiss Made permanent collection features dials combining two Metiers d’Art: the centuries-old Vietnamese art of sanded lacquer, and silver leaf gilding. The construction of the indexes and hands, wrapped in Super-LumiNova® BGW9, generates backlighting effects that magnify the depth and reflections of the lacquer. The 39 mm stainless steel case hosts the automatic Caliber La Joux-Perret G101.

 

 

New releases - TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph x Oracle Red Bull Racing

This limited edition quartz chronograph celebrates the 20^th season of Red Bull Racing in Formula 1. The black DLC-coated case is paired with an asphalt-textured dial in the Oracle Red Bull Racing blue. The Team’s logo appears between 7 and 10 o’clock. The caseback is engraved with the 20^th season and Team logos, as well as the inscription ‘One of 3000’.

 

 

New releases – Airain Type 20 ACE

Founded in the mid-20th century, the brand was revived by Tom van Wijlick in 2020. This modern take on the classic Airain aviation watch is the result of a partnership with the Amsterdam-based retailer Ace Jewelers. The silver-white dial is highlighted by orange accents and a roulette minute counter. The 39.5 mm stainless steel case hosts the hand-wound column-wheel AM2 caliber, which features the flyback function allowing for rapid resetting. A fabric NATO strap comes with the watch, in addition to the leather strap. 

 

 

Christmas 2024 / Natale 2024

 

VERY BEST WISHES TO ALL READERS!

AUGURI DI CUORE A TUTTI I LETTORI!

 

Watches at auction

The top lot of the Christie’s New York auction held on December 9 was a Richard Mille conceptual ultra-flat titanium, limited edition timepiece with function selector and visible titanium balance. Created in partnership with Ferrari, it achieved $1.4 million.

 

A 1986 Cartier London Crash sold for $819,000.

 

Another notable result came for a 1940 Patek Philippe 18k Yellow and Pink Gold ‘Chameleon’ Hinged Bangle Bracelet Watch, which sold for $378,000, more than three times its high estimate.

Christmas readings / Letture di Natale

ENGLISH (il testo italiano è in fondo alla pagina)

Looking for something serious to read during the Christmas break? The right answer is one of Marco Strazzi’s Watch Books.

 

The Museum Collection is a selection of 100 milestones of 20^th Century watchmaking. The technology, design and style of the more and less well-known models that made the history of timekeeping from 1900 to 2000. Click here to learn more.

Watch Ads 1900-1959 and Watch Ads 1960-2000 take the reader through a century of communication. The thousand or so featured images are living history and a faithful testimony of how design, styling and the public’s tastes evolved. Click here to learn more.

Rolex 1905-1960 focuses on the company’s first half-century - the years that shaped its identity and paved the way to worldwide success. Timeline, watches, movements, ads, patents, documents. Click here to learn more.

The publisher has a recommendation for fiction lovers, as well. The historical novel Wingwatch tells the story of a wristwatch, lost on D-Day and rediscovered 70 years later in an auction house catalog. Click here to learn more.

 

ITALIANO

Cerchi qualcosa di interessante da leggere durante le vacanze di Natale? La risposta giusta è un volume della collezione Watch Books di Marco Strazzi.

 

Orologi da Polso 1900-1959 è la prima parte della nuova storia enciclopedica dell’orologio da polso. Lo stravagante braccialetto con orologio deriso dai conformisti diventa uno strumento indispensabile. Clicca qui per saperne di più.

Orologi da polso 1960-2000 conclude la cronistoria del Ventesimo Secolo. Dall’orologio elettrico al rinascimento della meccanica, passando attraverso la crisi del quarzo. Con un’appendice sul ventennio 2001-2021. Clicca qui per saperne di più.

Watch Ads 1900-1959 e Watch Ads 1960-2000 accompagnano il lettore lungo un secolo di comunicazione. Un migliaio di annunci pubblicitari raccontano l’evoluzione del design e dei gusti attraverso i decenni. Clicca qui per saperne di più.

Rolex 1905-1960 è dedicato al primo mezzo secolo della Casa: gli anni che ne hanno definito l’identità creando le premesse di un successo planetario. Cronologia, orologi, movimenti, pubblicità, brevetti, documenti originali. Clicca qui per saperne di più.

L’editore ha un consiglio anche per gli amanti della narrativa. L’Orologio con le Ali racconta la storia di un orologio smarrito il 6 giugno 1944 (D-Day) e riscoperto 70 anni più tardi nel catalogo di una casa d’aste. Clicca qui per saperne di più.

 

 

New releases – Eberhard & Co. Chronographe 1887

 

Two chronographs enrich the 1887 collection. Both feature calibers developed in collaboration with Manufacture AMT and fitted with a blue column-wheel and the flyback complication. The above picture shows the hand-wound model, which comes in a limited edition of 250 pieces. The custom upper bridge of its movement was designed in the shape of the shield, the Maison’s emblem. The dial features Eberhard’s historical logo, a perimeter telemeter scale, and a central spiral tachymeter scale.

 

Mini-Documentary - Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse

1968-2018: the first 50 years of a timeless icon.

Exclusive - the brand new mini documentary from the 10e10.ch by Marco Strazzi You Tube channel.

Enjoy!

Mini-Documentario - Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse

1968-2018: i primi 50 anni di un'icona senza tempo.

Esclusivo: il nuovo mini-documentario dal canale YouTube 10e10.ch by Marco Strazzi

Buona visione!

 

New releases - Sevenfriday ME-Series

The ME-Series marks the introduction of Sevenfriday’s own stainless steel Milanese bracelet with a sliding buckle. The most notable visual feature of the ME is the three cut out sapphire glass pieces. Despite the use of new design elements, the disk is the same as that of the M-Series. The launch of the ME-Series includes two models. One in stainless steel with a hint of blue lacquer. The other with a touch of gold PVD and green lacquer. The  44 m case hosts the automatic Skeleton movement TMI NH70 featuring a 41 hours power reserve.

 

 

Watches at auction

The Christie’s online auction The Dubai Edit is live for browsing and bidding until 28 November. Its catalog features several rarities, among which the two timepieces seen here.

 

Breguet 1262 is a rare example of a jump-hour wristwatch from the Art Deco period. Crafted from Osmior (an alloy with a platinum-like hue before white gold was available), it was produced in 1926 and sold on January 18, 1928. 

Estimate: $40,000-60,000

 

This Rolex GMT-Master 1675 dating from circa 1978 features a dial signed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, in red Arabic script. Watches sporting only his signature are among the scarcest versions of these personalised timepieces found more commonly in combination with the United Arab Emirates crest. 

Estimate: $80,000-120,000