The Luxury Watch Blog

Hello Again everyone!

A few people have been asking me what the latest styles of watches and jewelry are. I told them it all depends on what you are wearing…

Now I want to know what you guys think about it!

Thanks

A young man, Remo Bertolucci, coming from the region of Pisa and qualified engineer in micro-mechanics, grows up in maritime Tuscan. Mediterranean influences naturally surfaced and sharpened his creativity. A young Swiss woman spends her holidays on the Italian Riviera with her parents. They meet, the thunderbolt is immediate. In 1965, she convinces the young Remo to follow her to Switzerland. The couple will decide to join the family watch business founded since 1911 and located in region of Bienne. It is at this period a very famous workshop in the assembly of mechanical watches. Consequently, Remo becomes passionate by the watch-making world.

Its inventiveness will not be long to exacerbate him. Since 1973, he develops an activity in Private Label. Several years of experiences, of projects of completes watches developments, will make the Italian lifestyle and the Swiss watch-making meet and will give birth to a brand.
In 1987, Remo decides to create his own company; the House BERTOLUCCI S.A. is founded in Neuchâtel.

Remo draws inspiration from the pebbled beaches of his childhood to design his first creations, the Pulchra collection, followed by the Vir in 1994 featuring a bracelet evoking these organic shapes. BERTOLUCCI enters the world of high-end luxury watches and surfs the wave of success. Unfortunately, the brand creator has a terrible accident in 1999 that forced him out and then forced the family to sell the company. It lost ground for several years and is rescued in late 2005 by the Dickson Group. With considerable experience in the field, the Group gives Bertolucci the means to create, develop and establish itself back in the luxury world of watches.

Audemars Piguet founded by Jules Audemars & Edouard Piguet in 1875.Audemars Piguet watches are hand crafted some of the most prominent watchmakers in the world. The technical and aesthetic performances of all Audemars Piguet watches within their Classic collection have their roots in the tradition of Haute Horlogerie, a domain where Audemars Piguet Watches have played a pioneering role since it was first founded in 1875. In spite of their expansion, Audemars Piguet is family owned and every watch is still handmade. Alongside Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet Watches are considered to be one of the “big three” manufacturers of the finest watches.

Audemars Piguet Watches is a major Swiss watch manufacturer. Their watches include classic watches and the Royal Oak casual watches. They have received great attention for their Terminator 3 watch.The roots of the famous Swiss watch manufacturer date back to the 19th century, when, in 1875, the young 23 year old Jules Audemars met another young man by the name of Edward-August Piguet who was at that time only 21 years old. The historical meeting place of the two was Vallee de Joux, which is considered to be the cradle of prestige watch-making. Their hometown was Le Brassus. When they graduated school they went to Vallee de Joux to start working in their favorite field of watch manufacturing. Thus Jules Audemars started producing component parts for movements and Edward-August got the job of a repasseur, which means he was a master watchmaker, whose job it was to make the final regulation of the timepiece. They founded a firm, the name of which was later known as Audemars, Piguet et Cie. In this great Swiss Manufacture of watches, the torch of the founders of the company continues to be carried by their successors in hot line. Since 1882, the members of the Audemars families and Piguet sat always at the Board of directors and, thus, directly or indirectly contributed to the destiny of the company. The high engagement ordered by the respect of the family tradition, the direct bond between the watch and the surname, imply a particularly important responsibility as for quality and, so with the prestige of the manufactured goods of this famous Vallée of Joux. Since many centuries, it is in the Vallée de Joux that Audemars and Piguet are established. Their major rooting in the history of this extraordinary region, in the life with the Valley of Joux and especially in the clock industry, confers, today like yesterday, its print of excellence to the company Audemars Piguet. The immense clock making tradition of the Valley of Joux continues to live, without division, these watches which have the privilege to raise this nomprestigieux. Audemars as well as Piguet continue to be proud for it: a struck watch their names concretizes not only the lesson of the highest school of the fine clock industry of precision, but still nowadays conceals a good part of the eminent clock making know-how of Jules Audemars and Edward Piguet. Their business started with Audemars managing the production and monitoring the technical part and Piguet focused his attention towards sales. Instant success was not to come. The Audemars Piguet trademark was registered later in 1882 and only seven years later the company was officially founded. Then Audemars Piguet et Cie achieved success in becoming one of the first largest employers for watch-making in the whole Canton of Vaud, which is one of the cantons located in the southwestern part of Switzerland. The two talented watchmakers focused their attention mainly towards the production of qualitative, precision timekeeping watches with sophisticated mechanisms. After the company was officially founded it opened its new branch in the heart of Switzerland – Geneva. Thus, since 1889 the company started creating its own in-house component parts and assembling within its factory as well. The process of controlling the quality of timepieces maintained at a high level, and only the best products were launched into the market. In the period between 1894 and 1899 the company produced about 1,200 timepieces. These included some very complex watches. When Audemars passed away in 1918 as well as his partner in 1919, the company continued its activity steadily growing and expanding its fame. Later Audemars Piguet launched several watches like the smallest minute repeater in the world and a jumping [-second hand pocket watch. In 1925 Audemars Piguet amazed the world of haute horlogerie with its thinnest pocket watch. Only three years later the company created the first skeleton watch in the world. As the success of the company’s business was rising its customers became Tiffany & Co, Cartier and Bulgari. At the end of 1920’s and the beginning of 1930’s the success of Audemars Piguet started dimming. The crash of the stock market as well as the Depression slowed down the development of many Swiss companies.

During the World War II the famous Swiss watch manufacturer was able to come back on the market by producing one of its well-known models – an ultra-thin chronograph, the heart of which was Calibre 2003. The sales of Audemars Piguet started growing in the 5th and 6th decades of the 20th century. Together with Jaeger LeCoultre it was able to design the thinnest automatic movement. The latter included a 21 carat gold rotor placed in the center. The legendary “Royal Oak” was produced five years later, in 1972. The designer of the watch was the Gerald Genta - also a well-known person in the watch industry.

Today the company maintains one of the leading positions in the watch-making branch. It owns about 40 per cent of Jaeger LeCoultre and every timepiece manufactured in-house is still made using the old-fashioned hand-made technique.

The Audemars Piguet’s manufactory achieved so much success that now it is part of the so-called “big trio” of watch manufacture along with Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin.

Since 1999, Audemars Piguet has been the sponsor of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, a Group One Thoroughbred horse race in Hong Kong, New Territories, China.

Audemars Piquet are also a sponsor of the Alinghi Sailing Team which won the America’s Cup in 2003

Audemars Piguet is referenced several times in the song titled, “Upgrade U” by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z (”Let me upgrade ya, Audemars Piguet ya”)

Audemars Piguet is also referenced in the song titled, “We Fly High” by Jim Jones.

The AP Royal Oak is referenced in the song “Big Spender” by Freeway featuring Jay-Z (”Rose gold Royal Oak, Audemars, okay”)

Cannot Wait for some more information on Watches

Romantic Bertolucci Watches  Have a very unique and exciting history! Remo Bertolucci of Tuscan Italy founded Bertolucci Watches, the most Italian of the Swiss brands. At age 14 Remo Bertolucci met a young swiss women who’s father owned a small watchmaking business. Remo acquired Swiss nationality after marriage and took over the family firm manufacturing Bertolucci Watches . Unique with a crystal clear DNA, Bertolucci is anchored in the marvelous world of the Mediterranean. Confluence of civilizations, mystical source of extraordinary tales, emblematic and evocative places, the Bertolucci world naturally suggests the pleasure and the joy of living from a timeless Riviera that fills us up with dreams. Bertolucci is a strong blend of Creativity and Sensuality. Right within our natural field of inspiration, Bertolucci is delighted to present you the all New 2007 Collection, a pure expression of our uniqueness and attraction. In a firework of 38 new products, men and women will find a pure expression of Bertolucci 4 C’s : Creativity, Curves, Comfort and Construction. Bertolucci watches are world recognized for their understated yet elegant design.All Bertolucci Watches you see here are Genuine, New and Authentic. We invite you to browse through our selection of quality Bertolucci Watches.

Jules Audemars (1815-1918) & Eduardo Piguet (1853-1919) met in Le Brassus in the Swiss Jura Mountains in 1875. Called by many the Rolls Royce of watches, Audemars Piguet Watches are known for their class and splendor. The meeting of its two founders is reminiscent of the founding fathers of the famous car company meeting in a Manchester Hotel. Audemars was a maker of dial frames & Piguet was a finisher. Their trade-mark was first registered in December 1882. The 2 founders died within a year of each other. The company has always maintained a detailed register of every watch made & sold. The most famous collection is the La Grande Complication of which only 100 were made between 1915 and 1989, the Grande Sonnerie, the Perpétuelle Calendar Watch and the Skeleton watch. The Royal Oak was the first luxury wristwatch ever created in stainless steel. The watch is named after the hollow tree trunk in which King Charles II is said to have sought refuge.

Concord was founded in Bienne, Switzerland, in 1908, by two young Swiss craftsmen who shared an ambition to create watches of beautifully thin proportions. Early in the century, Concord designs were frequently selected by Cartier, Tiffany and others among the world’s finest jewelers as their own private-label timepieces. In 1979, Concord earned worldwide renown as the company that pioneered and perfected the ultra-flat Swiss quartz movement with the Delirium, the thinnest watch in the world. Concord continues to set new standards for watch making sophistication with its spectacularly jeweled, one-of-a-kind creations like the Saratoga Splendors, handcrafted tour billion timepieces of unsurpassed technical complication and mastery.

Today, from the sportive luxury of Saratoga SL to the graceful style and exceptional value of Les Palais, to the grandly geometric Las Scala and elegantly detailed Veneto collections in solid 18 karat gold, Concord watches are the sensation of time.

Movado is a Swiss luxury watch company whose name is Esperanto for “movement”. It has proven to be a prophetic name for a company committed to design innovation and time technology since 1881. Movado was founded in 1881 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland by Achilles Ditesheim.

Achille Ditesheim was clearly an entrepreneur by any century’s definition. At 19 he set out on his own; he hired 6 watchmakers and opened a workshop in La Chaux-des-Finds in Switzerland. He had talent, the desire to be the best and the mind-set to make it happen. Movado earned almost 100 patents in its first 100 years, a testament to its technological excellence and forward thinking design philosophy.

The company is most renowned for its Museum watches that feature a black clock face with a single point at twelve o’clock. This is the minimalist look made famous for Movado by American designer Nathan George Horwitt in 1947. Horwitt intended his design to be evocative of a sun dial, with the dot representing the sun at high noon. This most recognizable look of a Movado is a simple hour and minute hand, with a solid background and a single depressed circle on the 12:00 mark. The Museum Dial, Movado’s signature design, has no markings on for minutes or hours (although some of Movado’s other designs now do). Many refer to this design as the “boss’s watch” because the boss doesn’t have to be on time (hence the vague display of time).

The company supported the construction of a public clock which was designed by the architect of the name Philip Johnson, located outside Lincoln Center in New York City. In 2006, Movado celebrated its 125th year of watch making. With its watches set in museum collections around the world, the Movado Company has made its mark of success on the world. Its frequent publicity in famous magazines and other publications furthers this success.

In 2001, Movado introduced another breakthrough design, the ELLIPTICA- a triumph in watch innovation.

Elliptica is inspired by Movado’s original Polyplan, a popular wristwatch from the early 1900. Artfully fusing the past and the future, Movado Elliptica is a bold statement of ergonomic design that’s now being offered with an automatic movement.

It’s designed for the 21st century, with such forward design elements, as a sensually curved, comma-shaped case, a matte black or silver tone rectangular dial with unique “time lines” and an unexpected top positioned crown.

Movado Sapphire achieves its ultra sleek appearance by utilizing a flat, metalized crystal that lies flush with the edge of the case, and an unique inverted side profile.

The elegant stainless steel watch case, with bold geometric angles, designed to conform to the shape of the wrist, attached to a smooth black leather strap.

Currently, Movado watches utilize both quartz and automatic movements in their timepieces. The Movado Group, Inc. also markets other watch brands: Concord, Ebel, ESQ Swiss, Coach Watches, Hugo Boss Watches, Tommy Hilfiger, Juicy Couture, and Lacoste Watches.

It’s never ceases to amaze us how our watches work. But inside that watch is a very sophisticated movement. Just how is the movement protected?

According to TimeZone: The most sensitive part of the watch is the balance assembly, this was where the innovators needed to look to solve the problem. As the watch took a shock..the balance wheel pivot had a tendency to “bounce” in the opposite direction of the impact…this sent the pivot up into the jewel and the cap jewel…often times cracking the jewel or actually breaking off the tip of the balance pivot…rendering the watch useless for timekeeping.

With the advent of the “shock-proof system”…the impact was absorbed. This was accomplished by placing a metal spring system over the balance jewels..this allowed the pivot and jewel to rise away from the balance plate thus absorbing the shock, and then to return back down to it’s original position.

People at WatchUSeek seem to agree

According to the famed Forbes magazine the Rolex Submariner is a “Must Have” in a each men’s closet!

“Everyone needs one great timepiece. This automatic watch is just that. It has a black bezel and face, plus a metal band, and is water resistant up to 300 meters.”

However the people of the WatchUSeek forum Seem to think different. Yes the Submariner is a nice watch however… It is costly and there are other nice Luxury Watches!