Starting on the 19th of January, the annual SIHH is being held in Geneva. The SIHH, Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, represents a number of fine watch manufacturers like Audemars Piguet, Officine Panerai, Jaeger LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin and a few more. One of them is Cartier. Cartier once started out as a jeweler and in the 1900s, it was one of the first to create a wrist watch. I think everyone knows (or should know) the Santos-Dumont story.

Anyway, I didn’t classify Cartier as being a haute horlogerie brand for a long time. I just recently became interested in the brand, after talking to Treo. Treo is the owner of a dedicated Cartier website called Troisanneaux. After talking to him, I ordered the book ‘Cartier - The Tank Watch‘. This watch is to me, the classic rectangular wrist watch.

One of the more recent Cartier models is the Ballon Bleu watch. I was actually quite stunned by this model and I still don’t know if it’s a gents or ladies watch. With 42mm, I assume it is the first one. However, and this goes for most Cartier watches, there is an ETA movement ticking inside. Although I think that these ETA movements have proven themselves over time and can be qualified as reliable and sturdy movement, it bugs me a little bit that these expensive Cartier watches have an ETA movement inside. Perhaps I am still one of the few who is bothered by paying more than x Euro for an ETA driven wristwatch and is it becoming silly, I don’t know ;). What I do know, is that the design of these Cartier watches, the finish of the dials and the beautiful (and typical) crown are compensating for this.

The design of Cartier watches is almost indisputable. Wonderful created cases, most of the time in precious metals like white gold. Guilloche dials with stunning designs. These watches are like art :). But given the fact that movementwise, these watches are hardly any special, would you buy one just for the superb design? If the price is right, I probably will add a Cartier Santos Galbee in my collection in the (far) future. It is the classic rectangular watch imho.

Do you consider Cartier watches as jewellery or as haute horlogerie? Please share your thoughts with me by clicking on ‘Comments’ below.

Just two days ago, I received an e-mail from Dell over at www.jamesbondwatches.com telling me that he is in the progress of creating the most comprehensive list of timepieces used in EON Productions (by Albert R. Broccoli) a.k.a. the 007 movies. His website is all about timepieces in Bond movies, so you’ll find the known big brands like Rolex, Omega, Seiko, Pulsar and Breitling, but there are also a lot of ‘unknown’ watches used in these movies. If you are able to identify the unknown watches or can be more specific about some of the used timepieces, please participate!

Picture of this Omega Seamaster Professional 2531.80 by Antiquorum.com

You can find the complete list at: http://www.jamesbondwatches.com/the-list-eon-movies.htm

Enjoy!

Here in The Netherlands, the year 2008 is almost over. Only a few hours left of a very stirring year. I use the word stirring, because a lot of stuff happened in 2008. The two most important events of 2008 are in contrast with each other. The first one is the loss of Speedmaster and chronograph legend – but most of all a greatly appreciated (watch) friend - Chuck Maddox.

The second important event is that I asked my girlfriend on first Christmas day to marry me (and she said Yes!). I gave her a Christmas present and had the proposal engraved in the case back of the watch. It took a while before she noticed it (it seems that girls are mainly focused on the dial and case and do not turn the watch to look at the caseback), so I could finally present her the wonderful engagement ring made by Gerton van der Laan. Thanks to Gerton , Jan Klaas and Alon for all the help and work with the watch, ring and diamond Much appreciated.

Additionally, I managed to successfully finish my post-graduate study IT-auditing at the VU Amsterdam (bought an IWC Ingenieur to celebrate the finishing of my thesis ;)), changed jobs within the same organization, and had some great and impressive vacations.

As for watches, it was quite a fruitful year. Besides the IWC Ingenieur I mentioned earlier, I also added a rose gold chronograph from the 1940s from Titus Geneve and an Omega Speedmaster Professional from 1969. I am extremely happy with all three of them and find myself wearing the IWC Ingenieur most of the time.

In 2008, I also started this LinkedIn Group (networking site) for watch enthusiasts by the name of ‘a Passion for Watches’. With over 800 members, a successful group with a lively discussion on watches and the watch industry. If you haven’t signed-up yet, please do so! My other small project was a Dutch Panerai forum. It has a lot of Dutch and Belgian Paneristi members and although the traffic is relatively slow, the quality of the posts is satisfactory enough!

2008 was also the year for me that haute horlogerie brands like MB&F, Maitres du Temps and Urwerk appeared on my radar. I always kept a bit of distance, because their pricing is far beyond reachable for me, but the creativity in both design and technique deserves a lot of respect imho. I experienced a lot of enthusiasm from the owners of these brands towards internet (blogs, forums) with respect to exposure. However, the more ‘conservative’ brands are also making big steps.. Thanks to LinkedIn I regularly am in contact with representatives of settled brands that are well willing to provide information on watches I blog about. That’s a great trend!

Last but not least, I would like to wish all my readers, sponsors, fellow bloggers and watch friends a happy new year! Despite the credit crisis, I hope that watches, watch manufacturers and retailers still get your attention [they deserve]!

Warm regards,

Robert-Jan

rj@fratellowatches.com

Since Maurice Lacroix introduced their Masterpiece series (around 1990), they are able to compete with brands like Chronoswiss, Omega, Ebel and probably some more brands that can be seen as ’settled’. Maurice Lacroix is a relatively new player (1975) and in 2006 they introduced their manufacture chronograph movement. Maurice Lacroix produces 150.000 watches per year, of which 40.000 watches have a mechanical movement.

How come that Maurice Lacroix gets so little attention from serious watch collectors and afficinados? Their price setting is really competitive and I have yet to see some complaints about the quality of these watches. One of the few things I can think of, is that Maurice Lacroix ruins their credibility amongst collectors/afficinados by producing ‘cheap’ quartz watches as well. Do they?

Take a look at this beautiful Lune Retrograde:

This watch has a handwound ML104 movement based on ETA caliber 6498-1. With the domed sapphire crystal, massive silver dial and stainless steel 43.5mm case, Maurice Lacroix presents a serious wrist watch for mechanical watch collectors with a classic taste but who doesn’t want to be that conservative when it comes to watches. At least, in my opinion. So, why don’t I have one yet? I don’t know. I do love the classic designed Phase de Lune watch a lot, which is quite affordable (not the Retrograde!). You can get these off Chrono24.com for approximately 1600 euro (BNIB). I read only little about people’s experiences with these watches, which brings me to the following point.

There is no or only little coverage on Maurice Lacroix watches on the big watch fora like WatchUseek, TimeZone and my friends at Perpetuelle. A few days ago, someone asked about the general opinion on Maurice Lacroix (and Baume et Mercier for that matter) on TimeZone. Click here for the thread. Most of the people that replied were quite positive, but only a few actually own a Maurice Lacroix.

What do you think of them?

My longtime watchfriend Bas van Dorp informed me that he just ordered the Stowa Airman. Stowa was also present on the Watch 2008 event in Maastricht, but I must admit that I skipped this brand because I don’t like their bauhaus style watches. They remind me too much of Nomos. And I prefer Nomos if I’d wanted a Bauhaus style wrist watch.

Stowa is a brand founded in 1927, by Walter Storz. After their factory was destroyed in Word War II (February 1945), Herr Storz immediately started building a new factory in Pforzheim. During the war, there were only five companies that made official/original pilot watches. These were IWC, Lange & Söhne, Laco, Wempe and Stowa.

Just like the other brands, Stowa is still alive & kicking today and is also still producing pilot watches. With the Stowa Airman, you can own one of the famous pilot watches. Recently, Stowa introduced the Airman Original, which comes closest to das Original from the 1940s. It is a 41mm wrist watch with a handwound Unitas 6497 (also used in Panerai for example) with blued screws, swan neck regulator (optional) and Geneva stripes for optical finish. Stowa offers this watch for 990 Euro, but it won’t be available before mid-2009.

Another very nice classic Airman is the Airman Automatic without logo. This means that there is no ‘Stowa’ wording printed on the dial. Which I don’t care for anyway A pilot’s watch needs to be as readible and therefor ‘clean’ as possible. This version is 40mm and uses the proven ETA 2824 movement. For an additional 210 euro, you can have it COSC certified. The basic non-COSC version is for sale on the Stowa website for 590 Euro. Available within 8 weeks. You can choose between a brown or black leather strap, or a metal milanaise bracelet (additional 130 euro).

Today, Stowa is owned by Jorg Schauer. Herr Schauer is also known for the watches labeled under his own name.

I don’t think there are a lot of watches that offer the same for 590 Euro. A quality movement, great history and - today also important - an online community to support these watches. Ernie Romers of WatchUseek hosts the official Stowa & Jorg Schauer forum. Click here to visit the official Stowa forum.

I wish all the readers of this blog a merry Christmas! Enjoy these days with your family & friends…

As Jake reports on his Rolex Blogspot, Bruno Meier will become the new CEO of Rolex. Bruno Meier is also on the board of directors for the Swiss Bank Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB), I assume he doesn’t combine these tasks

At ZKB, Bruno Meier was head of the Risk Management Unit. That’s at least a bit of comfort when a banker becomes CEO of the watch company…

As Thomas Mulier of Bloomberg wrote:

“Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) — Rolex Group, the Swiss watchmaker, named Finance Director Bruno Meier as head of management after Chief Executive Officer Patrick Heiniger resigned, ending almost half a century of leadership under the Heiniger family.

Meier will be responsible for running the company along with the board of directors and management, Geneva-based Rolex said in an e-mailed statement today. This year will have been a “record” under Heiniger’s leadership, the watchmaker added.

One of Meier’s first tasks will be to protect Rolex’s market share as the wealthy cut spending on luxury goods. ”

Click here for the full report on Bloomberg.com.

Normally, I don’t like to copy/paste a blog post, but this message is most interesting to post as-is:

Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) — Rolex Group, the Swiss watchmaker, said Chief Executive Officer Patrick Heiniger resigned for “personal” reasons after 16 years in the post.

Heiniger will leave Rolex at the end of the year, the Geneva-based company said in a statement late yesterday. Separately, Rolex today denied a L’Agefi report that the company may have lost 1 billion Swiss francs ($900 million) invested with Bernard Madoff, the U.S. money manager charged with fraud.

Heiniger, who replaced his father Andre in 1992, leaves as the financial crisis ends a boom for the watchmaking industry that led to the fastest growth in two decades last year. Sales of the luxury industry will decline 4 percent in 2009, as revenue growth from emerging markets slows, Melanie Flouquet, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., estimated yesterday.

“Him stepping down at this time does seem slightly odd given that the watch industry is in for a tough time,” said Jon Cox, an analyst who covers watches at Kepler Capital Markets in Zurich.

A drop in timepiece sales may lead to the bigger watchmakers “hoovering up some of the smaller players,” Cox said. “If we get this nuclear winter next year in the watch industry, a lot of watch companies will be in trouble.”

Longines President Walter von Kaenel said last month that newer competitors will be the biggest losers as a result of slowing demand for luxury timepieces. Montres Villemont SA, a Swiss watchmaker with 14 employees, has said it might file for bankruptcy after demand “collapsed” in Asia and eastern Europe.

Madoff Denial

Rolex said in an e-mailed statement today it “formally denies any implication with the Madoff affair.” Madoff has been accused of running a Ponzi scheme. He was arrested Dec. 11 and said clients of his New York-based firm lost $50 billion.

Rolex invented the Oyster, the world’s first waterproof watch, in 1926, and made headlines after Mercedes Gleitze swam the English Channel wearing the timepiece. The company makes more than 170 models of the Oyster now and employs 8,000 people.

In the 1990s, Rolex took over the entire manufacturing process of its watches, avoiding reliance on third-party suppliers. Heiniger was the third executive to lead the company since its founding by Hans Wildorf from Bavaria. The brand is worth $5 billion, according to Interbrand, a consultancy.

Source: Bloomberg

The German R-L-X forum has this populair ‘Welche Rolex habt Ihr im Moment am Arm?’-topic. You don’t have to understand German to know what it says I guess. The most exotic Rolex watches come along in this thread, as can be seen below. One of my favorite vintage Rolexes is the Explorer II, a.k.a Steve McQueen Rolex, a.k.a ‘Freccione’. I don’t recall seeing Steve McQueen wearing this watch (he did wear a Rolex Submariner though), so I don’t know why this watch is being called the ‘Steve McQueen’ Rolex anyway.

Anyway, the ref.1655 Explorer II I found in this thread is a handsome looking watch and I really could live with this vintage time piece if it wasn’t for these crazy prices they are asking.

Even though I don’t like posting pictures of hairy wristshots, I thought I would like to make an exception for this magnificent ‘Freccione’.

Last weekend, the Watch2008 event has been held in the Hoogenweerth Castle in Maastricht (The Netherlands).

I attended the event on saturday, and arrived right after the opening of the first Watch2008. The Watch2008 can be seen as a watch expo for the relative small, and in most cases, independent brands. Representatives of Glycine, Christiaan van der Klaauw, Cornelius & Cie and the owners / watchmakers of Limes, D. Dornblüth & Sohn, Lotterman & Söhne, Hentschel Hamburg, Rainer Nienaber Bünde etc. etc. were all there. The brand/manufacturer that should be present (but wasn’t) is the new Dutch manufacturer ‘Grönefeld Exclusive Timepieces’. Too bad, a missed chance.

During the event, I ran into some old watchfriends, like Mike Stuffler (WatchUseek moderator), Michiel (who brought some cool vintage Glycine’s with him), Ernie Romers (WatchUseek owner and co-initiator of the event) and his wife, Alon Ben-Joseph of Ace Jewelers (and WatchFreaksBlog.com) and one of my sponsors, Willem Kamerman of Blancier (Lotterman & Söhne).

Ernie Romers, co-initiator/organizer of the event.

Had some great conversations with the watchmakers over at Lotterman & Söhne and was impressed by their WorldTimer watch. Although the colors on the dial are not my cup of tea, the technical design of the watch is great. All timezones can be read with this watch, even the offset time zones (+/- 0.5 hours). Another great watch that they created, is this single handed watch in gold.

Another great watchmaker that was fun to talk to, was Rainer Nienaber.

I posted a blog on his retrograde watches not too long ago, and was now able to see them in the flesh. This guy creates very original and very well crafted timepieces. Make sure to look-out for his Digimat watch as well. Oh yeah, respect for the colorful sneakers he was wearing!

A brand that I had never heard of before, was Hentschel from Hamburg (Germany). Hentschel creates watches that will remind you of those fabulous watch designs from the 1940s and 1950s. The 1938 Omega Chronometer comes to mind, but also the vintage Jeager-LeCoultres and IWC watches had similar designs. Unfortunately, the watch stand of Hentschel was too crowded to be able to examine their watches a little bit better.

All kudos to the organization of this event. I hope there will be a Watch 2009 as well.

Photo credits to Bernard Werk of Watching Magazine

The story goes that after a polo match in India, some British officers challenged their friend César de Trey to create a watch that was able to resist the serious beatings caused by polo sport. Once back in Europe, César de Trey (businessman) shared the problem with Jacques-David LeCoultre, who creates the Reverso watch in association with Jaeger. The Reverso watch was patented in 1931 (the 4th of March to be precise) and was originally designed by René-Alfred Chauvot.

Almost 80 years later, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is still going strong and it is one of the classic watches that can also easily be referred to as a cult watch. The rectangular shape, the Reverso mechanism, the inhouse movement and the magnificient designed Jaeger-LeCoultre logo on the dial makes this a watch you can identify as being a JLC Reverso from a 100 yards distance (with a grain of salt). However, this isn’t a watch for show-offs. It is far too elegant and delicate to be recognized by the heavily suntanned Nikki Beach-type of jet setters.

For the watch enthusiasts or collectors, a vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso as shown above is probably a welcome addition to their collections. I found one at ClockWise, a watchstore in a small harbour town in The Netherlands. Clockwise has a very impressive bricks ‘n’ mortar shop, but a webshop as well. A reliable address for your wristwatches, repairs and services

This 1930s handwound Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is in good running order and for 5750 Euro (including a one year warrantee) it is probably a solid investment as well. For this kind of money, you can also buy a new one. But so can your neighbour So if you really want something special, take a look at this vintage timepiece.

Personally, I wouldn’t use it for polo or any other kind of sports activity. Although it was meant to resist hard knocks, my guess is that the mechanic movement, case and crystal suffered big time during these polo activities. I can see myself buying a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso in the far future, the brand’s history (and especially this model’s) and the fact that I will ‘need’ a decent dress watch some time, makes this type of watch very desirable. Perhaps even a (red) gold one, for when I am old. 40something

The German based R-L-X forum has a number of excellent authors aboard. One of them is Percy, also known by his initials PCS. Percy wrote a great review on three (later on four) Rolex watches that are priced just over 7000 euro in the current Rolex catalogue.

The Cosmograph Daytona is only marginally available. Although the waiting lists aren’t as ridicilous anymore as a few years ago (when you had to watch 6 years to get one, if you could get on the list at all), you still have to wait for one a few months at the authorized dealer (7200 Euro). In the grey circuit, you can get one for approximately 8000 euro. The Sea-Dweller DeepSea has been introduced during the last Basel Fair, and its available already below list price (between 6500 and 7000 euro). The Yacht-Master was introduced in its gold version in 1992, and five years later, in 1997, this watch was presented in rolesium, which is Rolex’s definition for a stainless steel & platinum combination. Although this model lists for 7200 euro, it can be had for 5500 euro (BNIB) in the grey circuit.

Percy does an excellent job on reviewing and analyzing each of these terrific Rolex watches. Because the market prices of these watches actually vary between the mentioned 5500 euro to 8000 euro, he also includes the successor of the proven Rolex GMT-Master II (16710), the GMT-Master IIc (116710). This watch, with its ceramic bezel and magnificent bezel turning system, has a market price of around 5000 Euro (Lists for 5350 Euro).

The review includes superb comparison pictures, like the ones below. Comparing the size and shape of each watch included in this review with eachother.

The picture above perfectly shows how BIG the new Rolex DeepSea Sea-Dweller is, compared to the regular sportsmodel (GMT-Master IIc).

Below, you’ll see that the watchcase of the Yacht-Master comes very close to the one used for the Daytona. Except for the bezel and pushers ofcourse, the shape is very similair. However, if you’ll observe both of these watches from the side, you will notice that the lugs of the Yacht-Master are bend a bit more downwards.

All aspects of these watches are being discussed in detail. The bracelet, clasp, case, functionality and so on.

The article ends with a small summary per watch. Calling the Yacht-Master the ‘most bang for the buck’, if paid for with a fair discount, the Daytona ‘the watch that no-one is able to get, but everyone has one’, the GMT-Master IIc ‘The Perfect One’ and the Deepsea Sea-Dweller ‘the toolwatch in FULL effect’.

Personally, I could go for each of these watches, with the exception of the DeepSea Sea-Dweller. Although my wrists could easily handle such a large watch, it is too clunky for me and I don’t like the too small-ish tapering bracelet. Actually, I went for the Yacht-Master in 2007. I bought a used version from 2004, complete with box and papers in very good condition at Subgmt.com. The hardcore Rolex fans do not seem to like this watch at all, because they don’t consider this to be a tool watch. Probably because of the use of platinum, polished center links and most importantly, the lack of a black dial. Partly, I agree with them. However, I don’t need a tool watch doing deskwork ofcourse. It was meant to be the ultimate luxury Submariner spin-off with its raised numerals on the solid platinum or gold bezel, polished center links and solid platinum dial. The dial really stand-out in the bright sunlight, but might look a bit dull or grey-ish if you are located inside a building with articial light.

Click here for the full article (it is in German, but the picture alone are worth viewing it anyway). Precisionwatches, one of my blog sponsors, has most of the mentioned watch models in stock, make sure to visit him for the actual prices.

All pictures taken by PCS.

The Horological Machine No.3 has been introduced by Maximilian Büsser & Friends. This time, MB&F were able to make their customers choose between two watches. Two watches have been introduced, by the names of Sidewinder and Starcruiser. And when I look at them, I think these names are well chosen. I am still pondering whether these timepieces remind me of Starwars or of one of my favorite childhood cartoons, Transformers (More then meets the eye).

The 304 component movement in these timepieces is a three-dimensional horological engine designed by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht/Agenhor. It has a Girard-Perregaux oscillator and gear and ticks at 28,800 bph. The 22k rose gold battle-axe shaped ‘mystery’ automatic winding rotor can be seen at the picture below.

And now for something completely different… the movie credits:

Concept: Maximilian Büsser/MB&F
Product Design: Eric Giroud – Eric Giroud Design Studio
Technical and Production Management: Serge Kriknoff/MB&F
Movement Development: Jean-Marc Wiederrecht/Agenhor, Nicolas Stalder/Agenhor
Movement manufacturing: Georges Auer/Mecawatch, Salvatore Ferrarotto/APR Quality
Ceramic ball bearings: Patrice Parietti/MPS
Movement assemblage: Didier Dumas/MB&F, Gilles Dalloz/Agenhor
Case and buckle construction and production: Philippe Marti, Dominique Mainier and Stéphane Lhomme of G.F.Châtelain

Sapphire cones: Sébastien Sangsue and Grégory Esseric/Sebal, Peter Bloesch/Bloesch
Dials: François Bernhard and Denis Parel of Nateber
Hands: Pierre Chillier, Isabelle Chillier and Félix Celetta of Fiedler
Strap: Olivier Purnot/Camille Fournet
Presentation case: Frédéric Legendre/Lekoni, Isabelle Vaudaux/Vaudaux

Communication:

Graphic Design - Alban Thomas and Gérald Moulière of GVA Studio
Product Photography - Maarten van der Ende
Display Architecture - Frédéric Legendre/Lekoni
Portrait Photography - Régis Golay/Federal
Webmasters - Stéphane Balet and Guillaume Schmitz of Sumo Interactive
Texts - Ian Skellern
Project Manager - Estelle Tonelli/MB&F

Visit www.mbandf.com for all the detailed information you didn’t find here. Delivery of the first HM3 pieces will start March/April 2009, and MB&F expects to deliver approximately 25 pieces of each reference over the following 12 months.