In 2011, the Group encompassing La Joux-Perret (the independent movement maker), Prototec (a component manufacturer) and the Arnold and Son brand decided to revive a watchmaking legend, Angelus. Rather than attempt a nostalgic revival of past glories, Sébastien Chaulmontet and the Angelus team instead embarked on a project to develop a rather impressive series of purpose-built movements.
High-end watch brand Arnold & Son has earned an enviable reputation thanks to its complex, in-house movements and superb finishing. It’s become common knowledge amongst watch aficionados that the brand does not compromise on anything, including price. Now for those who have a few hundred thousand in the bank to spend on an exceptional Constant …
Unless you have been in a coma for the past decade, you’re probably familiar with Max Büsser and Friends’ (MB&F) creations. Fueled by passion for the craft and unbridled creativity, the innovative horological lab played a pivotal role in the “indie” watchmaking rise. Out-of-the box thinking is the brand’s raison d’être. In 2011, when MB&F presented its first legacy machine (the LM1), a nod to watchmaking tradition, it had to be disruptive. And a few years later, when Irish watchmaker Stephen McDonnell and Max Büsser started to discuss about a perpetual calendar, the project brought to life another horological surprise transfiguring a century old complication into a sensational design. First launched in red gold and platinum, the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual is now available in white gold with purple or grey faces.
It’s not the first time that we show the work of master-engraver Kees Engelbarts. Kees is a Dutchman, moved to Geneva some 20 years ago to exercise his art (yes, his art…) in the land that is known for watchmaking. Besides commissioned work for high-end independent watchmakers and major brands alike, he also creates his own unique …
While the Armin Strom Edge Double Barrel should not be a stranger to you anymore – as you might have read our extensive review here – it must be admitted that, for the moment, this watch has been mostly playing on black and sporty design clues. The standard edition is indeed entirely black and metallic and the Max Chilton Limited Edition removes a bit of coating on the case and adds some blue accents here and there. But what if you like something more luxurious, warmer, less rugged (and we know that Armin Strom can combines sports and luxury…). The answer is here; the new Armin Strom Edge Double Barrel in rose gold.
The Parisian brand Bell & Ross is most known for creating aviation inspired watches in a bold, squared style. Of course the collection consists of much more, including round cased watches, like the Vintage collection or the Aeronavale collection. Although most of these are still highly derived from avionics, Bell & Ross is also embarking into the world of automotive and racing-inspired watches. They have teamed-up with Renault F1 as an official timing partner for this year (more on that later in a dedicated chapter of our Watches and Formula 1 series) and now offer the BR-X1 RS16 and BR-X1 RS16 Tourbillon. We’ve had the chance to go hands-on, inside the Renault F1 facility in Enstone, the birthplace of Formula 1.
What do we know about Roger Dubuis? Well, to make it short, Roger Dubuis is a proper manufacture of Haute Horlogerie, creating extremely refined skeleton movements, and being the only brand to have its entire production stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva (and that alone must already give an indication of the beauty of the production…). Roger Dubuis is also a combination of complex mechanisms with a unique design, bold, sporty and clearly recognizable. Well, all of that can be seen in the latest addition to the catalogue, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon, which now receive colored stones incrusted in its rubber bezel.
What can be seen now as a natural collection for Frederique Constant was not that of a gimmick and neither just another collection, back in 1994. When it has been introduced, the Frederique Constant HeartBeat was a sort of first of its kind. Showing the beating heart of a watch on the dial was not that usual, apart from the high-end tourbillon. This HeartBeat collection has expanded since then, and continues to do so this year, with two new references. Here are the 2016 Frederique Constant HeartBeat Manufacture Watches, with new dials and one edition with Date by Hand.
When you think about RJ-Romain Jerome, you know it’s going to be bold, to be large and to boast rather unique inspirations (well, there are few brands inspired by steampunk, the Titanic, Batman or PAC-MAN…). There’s another theme that RJ-Romain Jerome cherishes: skulls. Like it or not (the skull-head is a recurrent inspiration in watchmaking), the brand knows how to incrust them in a watch, with quite some style. And the RJ-Romain Jerome Skylab Speed Metal 48 Skulls that we’re about to show you won’t break the lineage, but however adds more watchmaking content and lightness to these bold watches.
Ulysse Nardin… quite a manufacture, with bold designs, inspired by the world of Marine. But that’s for the visual side. Technically, this brand has so much to offer. They are from the most innovative of them all. They introduced silicon in watchmaking, they created complex watches with extremely simple mechanisms (thanks to master watchmaker Ludwig Oechslin) but they also have traditional and complex timepieces. Today, not only they come with a new skeleton tourbillon, widely opened and lightweight-oriented, but they do it with a quite interesting piece tag (to say the least). Here is the Ulysse Nardin Executive Skeleton Tourbillon.