Every year, Bertolucci pioneers new creations, where the 4Cs – the very essence of the brand – feature fully: Creativity, Curves, Comfort and Construction. In the Casual Chic world of Maison Bertolucci, the emphasis is on classic, timeless lines with their audacious, original design. Elements from miscellaneous influences mingle and interweave to design a new image, where leisure, elegance and nature are the key features. Simple and sophisticated, refined and trendy, the Casual Chic models are easy-to-wear on all occasions and will enchant modern, elegant men and women seeking a unique design.

SERENA GARBO epitomises the soft, pure curves of a pebble slowly polished by the movement of the waves under the Mediterranean sun. Comfortable, voluptuous curves which celebrate the well-being and joy of living that are so dear to the brand. Inspired also by the elegance and sensuality of Latin women, SERENA GARBO is occasionally trimmed with touches of luxury like a steel or gold diamond-set bezel or a leather strap with saddle stitching.

A classic model re-designed in a unique, highly contemporary style, SERENA GARBO signifies a beautiful look and simple elegance. Modern, urban models in the Casual Chic style are available for men and women seeking discreet, elegant pieces easy-to-wear in all circumstances.

Connoisseurs will definitely appreciate the two new self-winding models dedicated to men in the SERENA

GARBO collection, equipped with a big date at 12 o’clock and a dual time zone at 6 o’clock. Both faithful to the Casual Chic universe, the timepieces SERENA GARBO call for elegance, sober yet masculine, drawn by a polished stainless steel case with a 41 mm diameter and a 12 mm thickness.

On the black galvanic or white silvered opalin dial, the rhodium plated indexes are enhanced with a refined outline, coppered or black plated according to the execution. The polished skeleton hands, in “Dauphine” style, allow an easy reading of time on the circular minute track. A second time zone indicates hours and minutes in a specific subdial positioned at 6 o’clock. It is adorned with a specific plate, coppered or black plated, screwed on the principal dial and elegantly engraved with the name “BERTOLUCCI”. Dedicated to contemporary men for whom time is
short and precious, the two versions are fitted with a Swiss self-winding mechanical caliber, to satisfy the
expectations of the most experienced watch lovers.

As a daily luxury which will accompany you everywhere, the SERENA GARBO Dual Time is equipped with a single crown for time setting of the two different time zones, as well as the date adjustment. Presented at 12 o’clock in a double calendar circled in coppered or steel, the big date reinforces the sportive yet distinctive style of the piece.

Watch Technical Data

Case

• Material Stainless steel
• Size Round, 41.00 mm diameter, 12.00 mm thickness
• Finishing Mirror polished
• Glass Curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment
• Water resistance 30 meters (3 ATM) – 100 feet
• Functions Hours, Minutes & Seconds, Second time zone Hours & Minutes, Big Date; Time & Date setting crown at 3 o’clock
• Case back Screw-on with 4 screws

Dial

• Base Curved black opalin with a circular patterned hour track framed by a metallic coppered contour; double calendar date at 12 o’clock; azuré sub-dial at 6 o’clock with white printed hour track; “BERTOLUCCI” printed in black on the applied plate at 6 o’clock
• Index 8 trapezoid indexes with a central groove, rhodium plated; Bertolucci “B” applied at 12 o’clock, rhodium plated; sub-dial coppered adornment at 6 o’clock with two rhodium plated screws

Hands H. & M. “Dauphine” skeleton, S. “Pendule”, Sub-dial “Bâton”; polished, rhodium plated
Movement Swiss Automatic Watch, calibre Soprod 11½ TT651
Bracelet Black alligator & calf leather strap with orange stitching, on stainless steel triple folding clasp; both fitted and secured by a 4 screw ring (back bezel) allowing interchangeability
Reference 344.51.41.30D.311

We love these Bertolucci diamond watches. They really show the comeback that they have made and we hope to see more from them. Conjuring up dreams of a paradise on earth, the Stria, Bertolucci’s latest creation, reinvents the magic world of the Mediterranean. Its case is decorated with delicate undulations, like a shell reflecting a soft satiny light. In its jewellery version, the striations and contours are set with diamonds, making the undulations around the dial’s black opaline or natural mother-of-pearl scintillate and sparkle. Beautiful, luminous and radiant, the Stria evokes the incomparable light of the Italian Riviera.

Features

• Movement: Quartz ETA 4 7/8, E01.701
• Functions: Hours and minutes
• Case: 5 N (18K) pink gold, 39.7 mm
• Shell decoration set with 274 diamonds (1.26 cts) in a black version or set with 162 diamonds (0.7 ct) in a white mother-of-pearl version
• Anti-reflective convex sapphire crystal
• Time corrector button on the screw-down back
• Dial Black opaline with 10 diamond-set (0.03 ct) hour markers, or sunray guilloche natural white mother-of-pearl with 4 applique pink gold-plated hour markers
• Pink gold-plated polished and satin-finished dauphine hands
• Bracelet/Strap Black or white satin with 18K pink gold buckle

Bertolucci Stria Diamond Watch

In 2006 Bertolucci sought to reinvent itself and they have been doing very well since. They have released many new exciting luxury watches and they have been equally excepted again in the world as a major player in the luxury watch world. Blazing through 2008 they have added new collections and now at the start of 2009 they introduce Bertolucci STRIA!!

Bertolucci focuses on the elegance and a subtle refinement with its novelty STRIA watch for 2009. All of the models in the collection express the brand’s creativity, innovative shapes and style.

Bertolucci’s STRIA, the most recent of the brand’s great classics, reinvents the magical universe of the Italian Riviera. Available in 18-carat pink gold or steel, the case is decorated with delicate ripples inspired by Mediterranean seashells. In its jeweled version, STRIA is adorned with diamonds to highlight the shape of its case.

A Great Watch!

We managed to get our hands on the new Bertolucci FASCINO! Here is a watch review

About The Watch

The Bertolucci FASCINO arrived in a beautiful gift box with all the proper tags and papers. Bertolucci seems to be riding into style with the new FASCINO. This watch retails from $5,900 to $6,400! We got it at GoldWatches.com

First Impressions

Once you open the box, the solid 18k gold watch hits your eye with its size and with the boldness of the dial design. You don’t open the box to find an undersized small watch. You get visually smacked, which is a great first impression. When you lift the watch out of its box and feel it’s’ weight, you feel this is a straightforward, solid 18k gold watch.

Case and Dimensions

The width of the case measures 24.5 mm tapering at the center to 22mm. The length of the case is 32 mm.The bezel is 16mm in diameter. The case height is 5mm. The case is solid 18k yellow gold 19mm 18k lugs. The bracelet is connected by screws. The case-back proudly displays the Bertolucci logo under that is the name “Bertolucci”, 18k and the unique model number all beautifully placed. The case-back is a screw in design. The crown is stamped with the Bertolucci logo.

Bezel and Crystal

The bezel is rectangle and very legible and has very solid authority in its movement.
The crystal is sapphire, and is coated inside and out with anti-reflective treatment. It is semi-flat, not domed, and as such seems to disappear at times.

Dial

The dial is simply breathtaking. The 10 diamond markers which sit on a bed of mother-of-pearl going up 5 on each side in a straight line and at the number 12 there is the Bertolucci logo and the Roman numeral ‘VI’ at the 6. Under the 6 marker is the words “Swiss Made”. The hour and minute hands are 18k gold and clearly display the time.

Movement

The movement is quartz ETA 976.001 and seems to keep time accurately.

Bracelet and Clasp

The bracelet is solid 18k gold and each shining link is attached by a screw. The clasp is deployment making it a comfortable and easy fit.

Conclusion

I love this watch! Everyone who sees this watch loves it. I would give this watch a definite 5 stars and would recommend buying one. Bertolucci is making a comeback and Bertolucci FASCINO is one of the lines that they are riding.

Click here to buy this watch

A great new style for a great brand of Bertolucci Watches

The Bertolucci brand was founded in Neuchâtel in 1907 by Remo Bertolucci. Born near Pisa he was a qualified engineer in micro-mechanics and as fate would have it, he fell in love with a young Swiss girl who was holidaying with her parents on the Italian Riviera. At her behest, Remo followed her back to Switzerland in 1965.
Remo joined the family business, an important workshop for the assembly of mechanical watches, and became passionate about the profession to the point where he decided, some years later, to form his own company. With an in-depth knowledge of watchmaking and the industry, Remo founded Bertolucci SA and developed his first collection of watches based upon inspirations from his Mediterranean childhood … the pebbles one finds at the seashore.
From there, the everyday influences of the Renaissance and art of Remo Bertolucci’s Tuscany Riviera came into play and his watch creations juxtaposed refinement and sensuality, the movement of the sea with the voluptuous form of Italian woman, sound with smell; in short the fusion of the infinity of the Italian lifestyle with the undisputed expertise of Swiss watchmaking.

OUNI
Various 18 carat yellow and rose-coloured gold watches. 36 mm x 14.5 thickness, decorated with full-cut diamonds and gemstones – sapphires, tsavorites, spessartites. Mother-of-pearl dial, domed sapphire crystal, Swiss quartz movement (ETA EO1.701), time set by corrector in caseback, satin strap, water-resistant to 30 metres.


Bertolucci re-surfaces
In 1999, Remo Bertolucci had a serious accident and the family sold the company to a group of investors that sadly resulted in it more or less disappearing from the watch landscape. However, in 2005, Bertolucci SA changed hands and its new owners, the Dickson Group (Dupont, Harvey Nichols etc.), appointed Philippe Belais as the brand’s President and CEO towards the end of that year.
Philippe Belais needs little or no introduction, nevertheless it is important to note that his past experience with Péquignet, Alfred Dunhill and latterly Van Cleef & Arpels, gives Bertolucci an important and knowledgeable leader in both its restructuring and international rejuvenation.
“I’ve always had a passion for brands that tell a story and as it happens, Bertolucci started out in the watch industry at the same time as I did,” Philippe Belais explains. “Consequently, taking over the brand at this juncture is not only a challenge, but also, because of its uniqueness, a fantastic adventure for me.
“ Bertolucci watches is coming out of a coma,” Belais admits. “I’ve already managed to revitalize many of the distributors the brand had but that’s partially because retailers liked the original Bertolucci watches and appreciated that the company was created by a man and his love story for a woman and his fascination for watches. There are many clients that have been waiting for the products to re-appear. In Europe, the brand had disappeared; in Italy there’s been nothing since 2002 and Japan used to represent 18 percent of the brand’s business. Today it’s at zero.”




VOGLIA
18 carat white gold watch hand-set with full-cut diamonds (FGH VVS). Laquered dial, sapphire crystal, satin strap with ardillon buckle, Swiss quartz movement (ETA 976.001), water-resistant to 30 metres. Also available in 18 carat yellow gold and in stainless steel.


New ‘Bertolucci’ collections
At BaselWorld 2006 Bertolucci quietly and discreetly reappeared and by the end of the year there were four new original, eye-catching collections available … Ouini, Voglia, Oleane and Serena … a fact that certainly helped appease all the distributors and retailers that had lost contact with the brand whilst it was in its coma. But now, the brand’s creative juices have really begun to flow and the Fascino, Uomo, Vir and Doppia collections have also seen the light of day, offering an excellent addition to the top-end of the watch scale.
All of the new collections have been conceived with the founder of the company’s concepts in mind: Italian creativity and elegance combined with traditional Swiss craftsmanship. Asked how he foresaw the steps over and beyond the launch of the new collections, Philippe Belais immediately explained that the re-launch of the brand was not a short-term project but one that he anticipated taking at least five years.





SERENA GARBO
Stainless steel case decorated with full-cut diamonds. Mother-of-pearl dial, sapphire crystal, Swiss quartz movement (ETA 976.001), alligator or calf strap, water-resistant to 30 metres. Also available in 18 carat yellow gold.



“Firstly there’s the foundation, secondly the re-construction and finally the development,” Philippe Belais explains. “We have to re-conquer the confidence of our distributors and retailers, establish a long-term strategy with them and also re-open the Asian and South American countries.”
Bertolucci was and still is renowned for its design and creativity. As Beatrice Rouhier, Bertolucci’s Marketing & Communications Director acknowledges, “Bertolucci watches are based on the 4cs … curves, comfort, construction and creativity … and each one is an elegant mixture of two cultures, Italy and Switzerland.”
To underline the continued close links to Italy, the visuals in the new Bertolucci brochure/catalogue and advertising campaign that Béatrice has produced rely heavily on the appeal of the Italian Riviera and, in particular, Portofino. However, the underlying message is clear for everyone to see … Bertolucci’s innovative and imaginative Swiss watches are back!

The great debate, which, under pressure from the barons of timekeeping, has just begun regarding a reformed definition of ‘Swiss Made’ leading to stricter requirements, is going to weigh heavily on the industry’s suppliers.

Called, up to now, watchmaking’s ‘annex branches’, similar to the secondary branches of a tree, the sup-pliers currently run the risk of finding themselves as the main trunk of the watch tree. We know that they are being smothered with orders and that they are trying hard to satisfy them all. In addition, they are also the coveted prey in a frantic race towards industrial verticalization by many brands seeking to establish their independence. All of a sudden, the number of ‘bottlenecks’ in the supply chain has grown considerably in an increasingly nervous environment.

Given this scenario, the reform of the term Swiss Made – there is nothing to say that it will actually be carried out especially in view of the vocal oppo-sition in Europe – can be perceived as either a unique opportunity for development or as a potential danger.
Why? At first glance, reforming the term is a wonderful opportunity. If 80 percent of the value of a mechanical watch should be of Swiss origin, (it is currently 50 percent) it would logically seem to follow that the number of Swiss component parts would automatically increase. This is certainly the case for the very high-end sector, which is leading the battle cry for a renewed definition of Swiss Made. But is it also true for the mid-range and lower-end segments of the market? There, things begin to get more complicated. For example, we know that the production of Swiss cases is not only largely insufficient to meet the demand, but that the costs are very high. The same holds true for Swiss dials.
However, as explains Peter C. Stas, owner of Frédérique Constant: for a brand, which retails mid-range mechanical watches at CHF 1,000, to be able to comply with the 80 percent Swiss Made stipulation, “the only option currently available is to ensure that the foreign component parts are priced as low as possible.” By following this reasoning and by itemizing the prices of the various components and assembly oper-ations, we arrive at a surprising paradox. It is easier to obtain an 80 percent Swiss Made watch in the lower-end segment of the market than in the mid-range!

In a low-end watch with a cost price of CHF 95, for example, the price of a case and dial of poor quality made in Asia (CHF 10 and CHF 5, respectively) represent only a small percentage of the total price (about 16 percent). The lion’s share comes from the Swiss movement (an ETA 2824 costs CHF 65) and the assembly conducted in Switzerland (CHF 15), accounting for about 84 percent of the total price. So, as you can see, this immediately qualifies the piece as Swiss Made since more than 80 percent of its value comes from products originating in Switzerland.

However, the situation changes for the mid-range. Since the cost of a Swiss case is prohibitive (and in any case, there is not enough supply to meet demand), the brand must purchase a good quality case in Asia (CHF 45). Add CHF 8 for a good foreign dial, CHF 65 for an ETA movement, plus CHF 15 for assembly in Switzerland, and you have a piece at a cost price of CHF 133. In this example, the value of the Swiss components is only 60 percent of the total, so the watch does not qualify as Swiss Made!

This is a serious situation as it implies that meeting the 80 percent stipulation for Swiss Made could result in a decrease in quality. So, are there any alternatives? Certainly, says Peter C. Stas, who proposes that the calculation of the Swiss Made definition include the costs of research, development, design, and management. He also suggests that the Swiss Made label only be attributed to companies having their headquarters in Switzerland, with the related costs being included in the calculation for the Swiss ‘contents’.

These two ideas are interesting. But in the medium and long term, wouldn’t the real solution be a vast re-industrialization of the sector, where competitive prices can be guaranteed by the volume and productivity gains offered by more advanced technologies? In its own time, Swatch proved that it was possible. Is it possible again?

But Movado Watches stay the same!

There’s great interest in complications now among women and a growing women-watch-connoisseurs market,” notes Sue Rechner, former president of and now consultant to midprice Victorinox Swiss Army watches. “More and more women are interested in technical properties of watches, in complications and proprietary movements,” agrees Jenny Piaget, spokeswoman for high-end JeanRichard.

More of these are designed specifically for women, such as Milus’s Merea TriRetrograde Seconds, rather than being downsized men’s models. Franck Muller Geneve, for example, created the world’s smallest tourbillon—specifically for women watch connoisseurs. Audemars Piguet’s women’s automatic Millenary Starlit Sky uses its first complications movement created for a woman’s watch (and platform for future women’s watches), “because many women appreciate the subtleties of mechanical watchmaking,” says a company statement.

Other examples include Harry Winston’s platinum Ocean (seconds and days retrogrades); Pierre Kunz’s Tahiti Moon retrograde (minutes, hours), with Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial; and Rado’s Original automatic.

Citizen’s newest light-powered Eco-Drive calibre is for its women’s Riva chronograph. “More women want complications, and these [with full diamonds and mother-of-pearl inlays] are also feminine, making them more appealing to women,” says Stuart Zuckerman, senior vice president of Citizen Watch of America.

Watch movements

A movement in watchmaking is the mechanism that measures the passage of time and displays the current time (and possibly other information including date, month and day). Movements may be entirely mechanical, entirely electronic (potentially with no moving parts), or a blend of the two. Most watches intended mainly for timekeeping today have electronic movements, with mechanical hands on the face of the watch indicating the time.

Purely mechanical watches are still popular, although they are most commonly seen among expensive, collectible watches such as Fortis, Omega, Rolex and TAG Heuer. Their superb craftsmanship accounts for much of the attraction of purely mechanical watches. Compared to electronic movements, mechanical watches keep very poor time, often with errors of seconds per day. They are frequently sensitive to position and temperature, they are costly to produce, they require regular maintenance and adjustment, and they are more prone to failure.

Generally speaking, inexpensive and moderately priced timepieces with electronic movements now provide most users with timekeeping more accurate than the most expensive Rolex. However, in recent times there has been less emphasis on time precision as many people now carry multiple devices that will tell them the time such as mobile phones, PDAs and laptops, so finely crafted mechanical watches have remained popular less as time pieces and more because of their aesthetic value as jewelry.

Tuning fork watches (introduced by Bulova in 1960) use a 360 hertz tuning fork to drive a mechanical watch. Since the fork is used in place of a typical balance wheel, these watches naturally hum instead of tick.

The inventor, Max Hetzel, was born in Basel, Switzerland, and joined the Bulova Watch Company of Bienne, Switzerland, in 1948. Hetzel was the first to use an electronic device, a transistor, in a wristwatch. Thus, he developed the first watch that could be qualified as electronic. However, fork movements are actually more “electrical”, like an old electrical wall clock, than electronic. The sweep second hand moves fluidly like that of an old electrical wall clock.

Such watches were also sold by Swiss watch companies under license of Bulova. In 1974, after leaving Bulova, Hetzel developed a different tuning fork drive for Omega Watches. The watch featured a cal. 1220 micromotor, and a tuning fork frequency of 720 hertz.[3] This development was obsolete compared to the newer electronic quartz watch which had become cheaper to produce and even more accurate.

Tuning fork movements are electromechanical. The task of converting electronically pulsed fork vibration into rotary movement is done via two tiny jeweled fingers, called pawls, one of which is connected to one of the tuning fork’s tines. As the fork vibrates, the pawls precisely ratchet a tiny index wheel. This index wheel has over 300 barely visible teeth and spins more than 38 million times per year. The tiny electric coils that drive the tuning fork have 8000 turns of insulated copper wire with a diameter of 0.015 mm and a length of 90 meters. This amazing feat of engineering was prototyped in the 1950s.

Electronic movements have few or no moving parts. Essentially, all modern electronic movements use the piezoelectric effect in a tiny quartz crystal to provide a stable time base for a mostly electronic movement: the crystal forms a quartz oscillator which resonates at a specific and highly stable frequency, and which can be used to accurately pace a timekeeping mechanism. For this reason, electronic watches are often called quartz watches. Most quartz movements are primarily electronic but are geared to drive mechanical hands on the face of the watch in order to provide a traditional analog display of the time, which is still preferred by most consumers.

The first prototypes of electronic quartz watches were made by the CEH research laboratory in Switzerland in 1962. The first quartz watch to enter production was the Seiko 35 SQ Astron, which appeared in 1969. Modern quartz movements are produced in very large quantities, and even the cheapest wristwatches typically have quartz movements.

The best quartz movements are significantly more accurate than the worst, but the difference is much smaller than that found between mechanical movements and quartz movements. Quartz movements, even in their most inexpensive forms, are an order of magnitude more accurate than purely mechanical movements. Whereas mechanical movements can typically be off by several seconds a day, an inexpensive quartz movement in a child’s wristwatch may still be accurate to within 500 milliseconds per day—ten times better than a mechanical movement.

Quartz mechanisms usually have a resonant frequency of 32768 Hz, chosen for ease of use (being 215). Using a simple 15 stage divide-by-two circuit, this is turned into a 1 pulse per second signal responsible for the watch’s keeping of time.

Some electronic quartz watches are able to synchronize themselves with an external time source. These sources include radio time signals directly driven by atomic clocks, time signals from GPS navigation satellites, the German DCF77 signal in Europe, and others. These watches are free-running most of the time, but periodically align themselves with the chosen external time source automatically, typically once a day.

Because these watches are regulated by an external time source of extraordinarily high accuracy, they are never off by more than a small fraction of a second a day (depending on the quality of their quartz movements), as long as they can receive the external time signals that they expect. Additionally, their long-term accuracy is comparable to that of the external time signals they receive, which in most cases (such as GPS signals and special radio transmissions of time based on atomic clocks) is better than one second in three million years. For all practical purposes, then, radio-controlled wristwatches keep near perfect time.

Movements of this type synchronize not only the time of day but also the date, the leap-year status of the current year, and the current state of daylight saving time (on or off). They obtain all of this information from the external signals that they receive. Because of this continual automatic updating, they never require manual setting or resetting.

A disadvantage of radio-controlled movements is that they cannot synchronize if radio reception conditions are poor. Even in this case, however, they will simply run autonomously with the same accuracy as a normal quartz watch until they are next able to synchronize.