Corum Admiral Cup Challenger 44 Chrono Gets Covered in Rubber

Corum has added color and more rubber to its Admiral Cup Challenger Collection. I must admit this rubbery look seriously works for the Admiral Cup Challenger 44 Chrono. The rubber accentuates the distinctive 12 sided 44mm Admiral Cup case.

Admiral Cup Challenger 44 Chrono Rubber timepieces are a daring collection of watches, unafraid to show their true colors of raging red, vivid blue and snowy white. The strap and bezel are rubber , while the case is steel and covered in rubber. The core collection of Admiral Cup Challenger 44 has a steel bezel and steel lugs and a more demure black or white face.(below).

The new rubber Corum's have only an outline of its nautical flags above the Admiral Cups signature time display. I like this look, as the added color of the nautical flags would cause dial confusion and clutter. I applaud Corum's sense of appeal by scaling back on some color to add more of another.

The crown and crown guard have not escaped the sudden rash of rubber, and are coated in vulcanized rubber. The signature Admiral Cup dial compliments the color scheme and at the same time provides the wearer with a clear legible time display.
The rotor is crafted in matching colors viewable via a scratch resistant sapphire crystal case back.
Inside the watch is a Corum COSC Chronometer certified CO753 automatic chronograph movement making this watch perfect for people who are serious about fun and serious about their watch.

Don't expect to see these babies mass produced, only 100 timepieces of each color will be available; however, Corum expects to release new colors every year.


(right inset - original Corum Admiral Cup Challenger 44 Chrono)

An "L" For Ebel On its 100th Anniversary

On its 100th Anniversary, Ebel has unveiled the "L" Watch. The "L" watch design fuses the sleek modern lines of today and reintroduces the watch as a pendant - a fashion statement all the rage in the early 1900's and a logical feminine approach to the pocket watch.

The "L" watch is as versatile as it is chic, and can be worn in many ways.
One can wear the watch as a pendant about the neck ,provided one can get used to reading time upside down, or one can attach the watch to a bag as an accessory or hung from a hook. This watch is great for people with allergies who cannot wear a watch around the wrist or who never got the wristwatch feel.

The case is anthracite grey with high polished and satin-brushed finishing - attaining a look of pervasive elegance.

The original Ebel Logo holds a prominent position on the watches simply beautiful dial.

The "L" watch is presented on a stylish cord and is available in camel tones.

Oakley Judge II Collection Built Tough

Oakley Judge II Watches are built for sports. The polished stainless steel case resembles the blur of a fast moving car or the shimmering gleam of the sun on a race track. A boldly framed sub dial at the 6 'o'clock position displays a second time zone. At the 12 'o'clock position, above the signature O for Oakley, is the large clear cut date aperture. The black dial with a mirrored inner bezel and white border is protected by a scratch resistant sapphire crystal. The case back is screw down, which insures a 330 feet water resistance. A leather strap with contrast stitching and stainless steel link completes a rugged look for an adventurous sort. The watch is powered by a high quality Swiss Quartz movement and is quite affordable. Available at THE WATCHERY. for only $299 (59% off the MSRP)

Oakley History
Oakley is a company which sells a wide range of innovative high quality sports gear embodying the spirit of real sportsmen who are serious about sports and serious about what they needs to succeed. Oakley began in 1975, when Jim Jannard questioned the sports gear industry standards, and knew he could do better. With a mere $300 he opened up his company in a garage lab and started on his first innovation: A motorcycle hand grip with a specialized tread which provided more grip to a rider's closed hand. Motorcyclists loved this new innovation, as the material and tread actually increased grip with increased sweat.
Jim still struggled to make ends meet in this highly competitive market of sports gear, but for the next 17 years his next design became a staple in MX Racing: The O FRAME® MX GOGGLE
with lenses curved in the precise arc of a cylinder.
The frames were low profile and optimized fit, which increased peripheral and downward vision. The lenses were optically pure Lexan® reducing glare and heightening vision clarity. These lenses were part of pros like Ricky Johnson, Jeff Ward, Mark Barnett and Johnny O’Mara success.
Jim's next step was to reinvent sunglasses for all sports, and he was ready to challenge the big companies. He developed EYESHADES®. Utilizing Unobtainium® from his motorcycle hand grips and the O Frame® from his previous goggle design, he ensured this pair of innovative eyeglasses would provide the wearer with excellent clarity, perfect fit and excellent peripheral vision. Great athletes like Greg LeMond, three time winner of the Tour de France, Scott Tinley, Mark Allen and Lance Armstrong all relied on the excellent performance of the EYESHADES®.

Oakley has introduced many innovative products and has received over 600 patents worldwide including the TIME BOMB® sports watch - which converts motion into electrons without the use of springs or batteries. Within a watch case crafted from X Metal®, ultra-lightweight titanium alloy, an Inertial Generator® uses an O Engine® to change multiple vectors of movement into electricity. The wristwatch never requires winding or a change of batteries as the Inertial Generator drives electromagnetic induction with the torque of a precision flywheel mechanism, the O Engine®. The mechanical coils and springs of conventional timepieces have been replaced with streams of electrons that saturate a Polyacen Lithium capacitor and resonates quartz at 32,768 cycles per second.

Oakley watches are extremely durable and reliable with a serious sense of sporting style.

5 Exceptional Timepieces for Women

At Baselworld 2011, Patek Phillipe SA demonstrates unsurpassed watchmaking skills with the release of a Ladies watch sporting a skeletonized movement.

The manually wound watch is ultra thin, gracefully decorated and engraved by hand. Both front and back of the 31.40mm case are protected by a scratch resistant sapphire crystal with brown tinted parameter creating a window to the Caliber 177 SQU movement. A slender yellow gold linked bracelet elegantly encircles the wrist.

Comprised of 110 components and 18 jewels, this Patek Phillipe SA timepiece is an example of worth.

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Hublot's Big Bang Leopard is a Timepiece of note. In the wild leopards are elusive secretive creatures, who spend much of their time in trees. On the other hand Hublot's Big Bang Leopard is meant to be noticed.

The dial is decorated with a leopard rosette pattern and matching leopard print denim strap. Matching smoked quartz, andalusites, and citrine baguette cut stones punctuated by Hublot's signature H-shaped screws accentuate the bezel. The 18k red gold ,41mm case house a HUB4300 automatic chronograph movement. 18k red gold hands and yellow diamond hour markers indicate the time.
A timepiece created for the inner wild.





Van Cleef & Arpels awakes the spring in its latest unique Poetry of Time Haute Jewelry timepiece. It is a jungle scene. A pink flower in full bloom supported by diamond vines shelter a dial beneath its sapphire encrusted petals. If the skies fill with rain, the flower moves over and protects the dial. Monkeys crafted in white gold and set with high quality hand picked stones, as with the entire timepiece, frolic among leaves of emeralds and sapphires. Alternating bands of onyx and diamonds accentuate their tails crafted to simulate their boundless energy. With this timepiece Van Cleef and Arpels has, for now, come to the end of its Voyage Extraordinaire and what a voyage it has been.
The white gold case ,ringed with diamonds, houses a Swiss Quartz movement. A jewelry bracelet set with diamonds completes the look.


Flowers, jewelery or timepiece? Flowers, jewelry or timepiece? What does a women want? Breguet has solved this dilemma with its Petite Fleur Haute Jewerly watch. 43 baguette-cut diamond petals attached to hidden pivots flutter and quiver with the movement of the wrist. The concave dial is set with 141 diamonds arranged in the snow setting technique concealing the white metal dial beneath. Blued steel hollow tipped hands are hand molded to precisely move across the concave surface of the dial. A domed sapphire Crystal baring the individual number of the timepiece protects the dial. A sapphire Crystal case back displaying high quality finishing ,including circular grained bridges and barleycorn guilloché motif embellishing the platinum oscillating weight, has earned the mechanical automatic timepiece the Geneva Seal.

DeWitt Golden Afternoon Collection is quite fitting for this blog - being an entire collection dedicated to women. The collection was inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites ,a group of English painters, poets, critics who formed a brotherhood in 1848 in celebration of women, romance and symbolic nature. They were none to pleased with the current state of affairs at the Royal Academy and wished to enrich the Academy with a more direct and honest artistic expression overflowing with details, color and complex compositions.

DeWitt's The Golden Afternoon Collection embraces the stages of a women's life capturing her changing perspectives as time moves on. Adding a light sense of fantasy, DeWitt intertwines poetry and art to create a moving collection. The Golden Afternoon Dial depicted to the left, is a mother-of-pearl garden of delicate flowers which seem to float towards the dial. Dark clouds serve as the backdrop adding a powerful contrast quality to the dial. Feathers or "the wings of an angel" dial hands ,depending on how you wish to interpret the dial, indicate the time with the aid of 12 diamond hour markers. A DeWitt logo seems to waft across the dial on a sudden breeze in preparation of a storm. This watch creates a sense of powerful symbolism. Stay tuned for more remarkable additions to DeWitt's Golden Afternoon Collection.

To all the Mother's out there - HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY.

Titanic Meets Octopus by Romain Jerome

Being a fictional writer as well, I sometimes get slightly carried away with watches that awake my imagination... and Romain Jerome watches always have that effect. Romain Jerome seems to be accompanying Urwerk to the zoo, and naming its watches after exotic wild life. (Recall Urwerk's Black Bird Timepiece, King Cobra, or better yet its Tarantula Timepiece *Gulp*).
Romain Jerome has opted for the octopus and its watery realm. I suppose the image goes quite well with Romain Jerome's Titanic Watch -where the watch is actually crafted from pieces of the Titanic.
These watches are all part of Romain Jerome "DNA of Famous Legends" collections. Depicted above ,in all its finery, is the Titanic-DNA-Octopus Timepiece. The octopus is engraved on the case back, and hidden from view just as in nature. Any outward sign of the octopus is noted by the octopus-type suction cups situated on the interior of the black vulcanized rubber strap; by the limited edition of 888 timepieces and (you'll love this) by the water resistance - yes this watch is water resistant to 888 feet. The 46 mm steel case houses a Romain Jerome in-house RJ002-A2 automatic movement with a power reserve of 42 hours.
And what of the Titanic? The bezel is crafted from stabilized rusted steel retrieved from the Titanic. The case featuring octagonal screws and screw-lock down crown is reminiscent of the Titanic's portholes. Scratch resistant sapphire crystal protects the "weathered steel look" dial and crisscrossed beams. Hour markers are coated with Superluminova, which glows blue in the dark.
This watch is also available in black with red accentuation with white hour markers and black with white hour markers.

The New Sleek Ebel Brasilia

Ebel has introduced a new sleeker more feminine version of the Ebel Brasilia, with flowing lines and sensual curves. The curvaceous bezel hugs a dial where an almost full Roman Numeral set of hour indicators surround an exquisitely feminine guilloche pattern. Within the dial's center true blue hands accentuate the time. Ebel's signature double E lays claim at the 3'o'clock adding a distinctiveness to the dial.
The watch is available in two sizes - the larger size featuring a date aperture at the 6'o' clock position. Crafted in alternating high-polished and satin-brushed steel finishes, the new Ebel Brasilia is a fine example of Architects at work.

Ebel History
Ebel, a company capable of crafting a watch with the perfect balance of femininity and elegance. In July 1911, Eugene Blum and Alice Levy, husband and wife stepped into the world of Horology by registering their new company. The name they chose is the acronym for their names: Eugene Blum Et Levy and thus nestled in the hills of La Chaux de Fonds, became the Capital of Ebel.

Just one year later, in 1912, Ebel presented its first wristwatches. In 1914 Ebel won a gold medal at the Swiss National Exhibition for patented ring watches with pallet escapement and a hidden time setting. In 1929 Charles-Eugene, son of Eugene and Alice joined the company, and together with watchmaker Marcel Reuche, he organized a flawless production control system, which guaranteed unsurpassed quality. From 1939-1945 Ebel went into production for the British Royal Air Force. Through the years Ebel has received many awards for their innovative cutting-edge ideas.
In 1975 Eugene and Alice's son, Pierre-Alain Blum, gained full control over Ebel. Ebel catapulted into a new dimension of watch manufacturing, making Ebel what it is today: One of the top five Luxury Watch Brands on the market.

Louis Moinet SA Geographic Rainforest Unveiled by King of Maylasia

Louis Moinet timepieces exude aristocracy as though blue blood runs through every component.

In Baselworld 2011, it was the King of Maylasia himself, His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin and his lovely Queen, who unveiled Louis Moinet's GEOGRAPH rainforest.

The GEOGRAPHIC forest Louis Moinet timepiece is limited to 120 pieces, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the “PULAU BANDING Foundation” which strives to preserve one of the oldest rain-forest's in the world, the Malaysian tropical forest of Belum-Temengor. This forest is the largest untouched forest reserves in Peninsular Malaysia and is the home of many animals and plants which cannot be found anywhere else in the world. "Belum" literally means "land before time", and it is here in this untouched worldliness, roams 14 of the worlds most threatened mammals including the Malaysian Tiger, Malaysian Sunbear, Sumatran Rhinoceros, the White-handed Gibbon, Asiatic Elephant, and Malayan Tapir.

The timepiece has two chronograph counters which are crafted from a new material to the watch making world, but ancient to the natural world - petrified palm wood. Petrified Palm Wood from this region is said to be over 70 million years old and is unique since it contains rod like structures within the regular grain of the silicified wood. These structures show up as spots when sliced across. The rod-like structures are woody tissues that gave the wood its vertical strength. Because the wood is comprised of silica, it polishes well, and is resistant to wear and tear.

The bezel and 45.50 mm case is an attractive combination of 18k rose gold and 316L stainless steel. The upper steel bezel affixed to the case with the aid of six screws. "Champagne-cork" style gold and steel Chronograph pushers ,embellished with an atlas motif, are placed either side of the crown which is equipped with an interchangeable crown tube system - patent pending. A black dial with a Cotes du Jura design reminds me of the constant darkness of the forest floor permitting, in places, thin strands of sunlight. At the 9' o'clock a bright gold sun turns at every second. The hour and minute hand indicators are crafted in 18k gold and towards the end is the image of a dew drop. A 24 hour time display is indicated by an applied dark blue and gold tone zone. A central blued serpentine hand reads the dual time.


The case back is affixes with 7 screws ensuring 50 meters water resistance and features the engraving of an orangutan and a rhinoceros hornbill against the backdrop of a tropical rain forest beneath the nights sky.

Powering the timepiece is an automatic mechanical movement containing 25 jewels and beating at 28,800 vph with a 48 hour power reserve.

A hand-sewn Louisiana alligator leather strap and lining is secured with a 316L stainless steel double folding clasp. When purchased, the watch will arrive in a handsome presentation box with a Louis Moinet book and a hand written guarantee.