The leader for prestige watches and chronographs is investing massively in R&D and developing an in-house mechanical chronograph movement with automatic rewind, the new calibre 18, as it starts industrial production of the famous V4 that was presented as a watch concept at Baselworld 2004. To house the new industrial equipment, TAG Heuer has just opened an additional 3000 m2 of manufacturing space at La Chaux de Fonds and plans to further extend its production plant at Cornol.

Founded by Edouard Heuer in 1860, TAG Heuer has been a Swiss avant-garde watchmaker for almost 150 years. Its prestige sports counters, timepieces and chronographs have written some of the finest pages of Swiss watchmaking history, especially in relation to their precision and timekeeping. TAG Heuer is the only watchmaking brand in the world to offer precision timepieces accurate to 1/10th, 1/100th and 1/1000th of a second. Today TAG Heuer is the world leader for luxury chronographs and fourth in the world for top-of-the-range watchmaking. The company employs over 1000 people at its Swiss locations at La Chaux de Fonds and Cornol, and its 17 international subsidiaries. On the strength of its watchmaking success, the company decided to diversify the branded offering with its own range of reading and sun glasses, which was launched successfully in 2002, and its first communication tool, the up-market Meridiist mobile telephone which was launched a few months ago.

Since 2006, the site at La Chaux de Fonds has been the location of all the brand’s operations, including the various assembly units (T1, T2 and T3), logistics, R&D and all customer services. In January 2008, TAG Heuer opened an innovative museum, the “360o” that gives visitors a complete immersion experience of the brand’s universe. In September 2008, a new dedicated area was opened on the site in response to the brand’s global success. An extra 3000 m2 have been added to the existing 10,000 m2. More space and machinery were not the only requirements – know-how was also needed of course if a century and a half of mastery of the infinitely small is to be preserved. TAG Heuer has therefore acquired the professional skills that are vital to this level of manufacturing ambition: design engineers, industrial process engineers, fabricators, prototype makers, etc., have recently been recruited.

In the last few years, TAG Heuer has developed a design and engineering specialist skill centre with an annual budget of several million Swiss Francs to help it meet its objectives as a manufacturing integrator and improve its responsiveness. The R&D department – fully independent in terms of making prototypes and carrying out tests – intends to remain at the forefront of technology and it is presently developing partnerships with the best universities, private research centres and aerospace industry research institutes. The main focal points of the R&D department’s work are researching new biocompatible materials with high engineering performance, technology transfer from the aerospace and automotive industries and the development of new mechanical escapements. As a result, the speed with which TAG Heuer files patent applications has suddenly accelerated in recent years: 60 patents have been filed since 1860, 16 in the past 4 years and 12 will be filed before the end of the year. And TAG Heuer is presently working on 150 major innovations which will become available over the next five years.

On the movement side, TAG Heuer has the biggest names in watchmaking as its suppliers and is cooperating with ZENITH and Dubois-Depraz for example to develop exceptional calibres. At the same time, the company is about to start industrial production of its 4th movement, calibre 18, the successor to 1) Calibre 360, the only mechanical movement capable of measuring and displaying 100th of a second, 2) Calibre S, the electromechanical movement composed of more than 230 parts and 3) V4, the revolutionary belt-drive mechanical movement, which is actively being developed for industrial production. The new Calibre 18 is designed to meet the highest expectations in terms of time-keeping and precision. The new column chronograph, developed in-house, will be produced at a location close to the present industrial site at Cornol which, in time, will house a new workshop dedicated to making the mechanical parts of the future movement It will then be assembled on the TAG Heuer site at La Chaux de Fonds, increasing the number of mechanical movements available to the company for its luxury collection pieces by 2010.

Vacheron Constantin presents an extraordinary duo dedicated to horological virtuosity and the tradition of jewellery making. First, the brand pays tribute to 30 years of the Kallista with the Kallania, a world first in terms of execution and the number of carats. Then, a first in horology, it uses the flame diamond-cut to stunning effect in two captivating horological gems. Works of art in their own right, these exceptional pieces sublimate the craft of the gem-setter for whom each precious stone is a challenge demanding infinite precision and patience.

Métiers d’Art: carefully fostered by Vacheron Constantin

Vacheron Constantin has always combined, at the very highest level, aesthetic expression with the finest mechanical engineering through its use of the Métiers d’Art, traditional craftsmanship and the pursuit of excellence. Throughout its long history, the brand with the Maltese cross has employed the leading craftsmen of the time to produce the very best in both finishing and decoration. This traditional and exclusive expertise has made its reputation and been passed down from generation to generation for over 250 years.

The visionary spirit that guides the craftsmen of the Manufacture links past, present and future in a single overriding commitment to enlightenment, wonder and discovery. Behind this savoir-faire, the human challenges, the true sources of creativity, lie hidden at the heart of its timepieces. This dynamic is present at every stage of the manufacturing process, from design to finishing, with the result that each creation becomes an integral part of the heritage of watchmaking.

Besides the emulation it inspires, this quest for perfection comprises a shared expertise which unites the master craftsmen of Vacheron Constantin. Among these perennial arts, those of jewellery and gem-setting have produced some of the Manufacture’s most resplendent pieces since the beginning of the 19th century.

Since 1755, Vacheron Constantin has focussed on creating what has never been created, on mastering the boldest techniques, and on fusing art and craftsmanship: in other words, on doing better if possible, which is always possible.

The precision and meticulousness behind each creation are an art in themselves, an art that highlights the Métiers d’Art, the enormous human contribution and the Manufacture’s heritage. But are they jewellery watches or watch jewels? Vacheron Constantin brings together the art of watchmaking and the art of jewellery-making in creations that are less about telling the time than savouring an emotion, an emotion intensified by the radiance of diamonds.

Vacheron Constantin pursues its deep commitment to the decorative and technical Métiers d’Art with a masterful demonstration of the savoir-faire nourished for over 250 years by the world’s oldest manufacture.
Over 250 years of scintillating success

The first ladies’ pocketwatches made by Vacheron Constantin were jewellery pieces, the accepted wisdom of the time being that women did not need to keep track of the time and even less to know what it was when they were in society. The Geneva-based manufacture, therefore, designed them as fashion accessories rather than timekeepers. Worn on a chain, suspended from a chatelaine or concealed inside a broach, they ticked away the hours behind the eternal purity of diamonds and the splendour of turquoises, pearls and garnets.

When the brand launched its first wristwatches at the end of the 19th century, it teamed up with the talented Ferdinand Verger, a watchcase manufacturer established in the Place des Victoires in Paris. Their creations, a marriage of watch movements and gemstones, were part of the revival of the jewellery watch.

This was followed in the 20th century by a miracle in miniaturisation: the slimmest baguette-shaped wristwatch in the world housing a movement designed by Vacheron Constantin. The winding-crown positioned on the back of its case opened up aesthetic opportunities in the world of jewellery watches, but still met the Manufacture’s standards of precision.
1979: Kallista, “the most beautiful”, a world record with 130 carats

In 1979, the Manufacture’s expertise produced another legend, the sculptural Kallista, a watch carved from a gold ingot and the fruit of more than 6,000 hours of work. Kallista means “the most beautiful” in Greek and, according to Greek mythology, diamonds were the tears of the gods. 118 stones weighing a record 130 carats cover the slender profile of the Kallista, whose Vacheron Constantin hand-winding movement is the thinnest in the world in its category.

The owner of this divine timepiece was quite right to demand absolute exclusiveness: in the true spirit of the 18th century cabinotiers, only one Kallista was ever made.

This unique masterpiece inspired the great Kalla line, which includes the famous Lady Kalla that won the title of “Montre Joaillerie du Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève” in 2001.
The Flame cut

A first for watchmaking, a new diamond shape lights up the world of time

Marrying different art forms, combining talents, and innovating while respecting one’s heritage: Vacheron Constantin meets these demands by honouring time with what is beautiful, precious, precise and delightful, and by remaining ever attentive to its own creative intuitions. Today, a new diamond shape has been introduced to the world of watches, the flame cut.

As its name suggests, its sparkling surface skilfully catches the light to reflect it more dramatically through its multiple facets.

The flame cut is not only an aesthetic innovation but, with the complicated process needed to make it, a technical one as well. And it is the first cut in twenty years to be officially recognised by the GIA (Gemmological Institute of America).

The flame cut diamond is distinguished by its perfectly proportioned and resolutely feminine contours. With its symbolic shape, the stone seems to blaze and to dance with a light that is reflected and refracted endlessly through its 57 facets.

The intersections of these facets have been designed with mathematical precision to obtain a perfect combination of lustre, radiance and diffusion of light. The unique sparkle is enhanced by the stones’ slender, asymmetrical contours that pave the way for unique creations that are more about sensation than exactitude.

What also makes the flame cut original is that it is the only one with both a right and a left cut, for which a specific setting has to be developed.

Vacheron Constantin has focussed on the sparkling quality of the flame cut diamond this year and presents two spectacular and novel interpretations of Haute Horlogerie jewellery that are as delicate as they are passionate. And to put the finishing touch to the art of jewellery and jewellery-setting, the Manufacture has housed a prestige mechanical movement at its heart.

Kallania

A new world record:
186 emerald-cut diamonds for a total of approximately 170 carats
The embodiment of a living art, the Kallania is a worthy heir of the renowned Kallista, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

A dazzling expression of the passion that inspires the Manufacture’s master craftsmen, it establishes a new world record in terms of execution and the number of carats.

No fewer than 186 emerald-cut diamonds weighing approximately 170 carats illuminate this miracle of patience and perfection.

Before it was individually certified by the independent laboratory of the Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF), each diamond went through a long and thorough selection process from among a large number of stones extracted from several million tonnes of diamantiferous ore. The exceptional level of purity, colour, cut, finishing and homogeneity is a rare achievement indeed.

More than any other factor, it is the proportions and precise positioning of the thousands of facets that make precious stones so beautiful. Perfectly aligned, the facets have been meticulously polished by experts to achieve a maximum clarity of reflected light.

Thanks to their light and delicate finishing, the diamonds reveal all their splendour once they have been inserted using the bead-setting technique; each bead is shaped like an inverted pyramid to lighten the appearance of the piece and highlight its lustre and radiance.

The mounting, which is carved from white gold, gives shape to the cascade of diamonds which cover it. The perfectly integrated case and bracelet give this distinctive cuff-watch a contemporary air.

By combining traditional savoir-faire with contemporary design, Vacheron Constantin has once again affirmed its values in the 21st century. To show its true worth, this collectors’ piece houses the thinnest mechanical movement in the world, the 1003 calibre. Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin, it is stamped with the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva.

We love these diamond watches
Lady Kalla Flame and Kalla Haute Couture à Secret

A world first in horology for these two models with their flame cut diamond

Like Haute Horlogerie, Haute Joaillerie stems from the imagination of a master, from his vision of perfection, which is given life by his art and hands.

This inspiration, which brings together passion and craftsmanship, is an integral part of Vacheron Constantin’s intrinsic values. From this springs the creative spark, a spark which has set 2009 ablaze with the Manufacture’s decision to inaugurate a totally new cut and dedicate two exclusive timepieces to it:
Lady Kalla Flame

Kalla Haute Couture à Secret
Created by craftsmen for whom timekeeping is not a priority, these jewellery watches are dressed in flame cut diamonds that give time a new personality.

Each set of precious stones is selected with meticulous care to ensure that it complies with the strictest criteria regarding purity, colour and cut to guarantee perfect uniformity.

Entirely hand-made and exceptionally supple, a technique known as emmaillement reduces the material to a minimum so that the flame cut diamonds cover the whole piece, including the clasp.

The two timepieces are equipped with the celebrated manual-winding 1005 calibre with the crown positioned on the back of the movement.

The Lady Kalla Flame evokes the iconic Lady Kalla launched in 1982. This fabulous timepiece is brought to life by the brilliance of its 200 diamonds. The case dressed in white gold and embracing a diamond-set dial, echoes the flame shape of the gems. The bracelet is a natural extension of the case with its dancing cortège of precious stones that seem to twirl and pirouette at will. The natural, almost sensual, design takes your mind off the time, indicated here by delicately shaped hour and minute hands.

With the Kalla Haute Couture à Secret, time has found its niche. Under the scintillating curtains of 28 flame cut diamonds (totalling 20 carats), a diamond-paved dial lies concealed. Unpretentious in design, and secretive, the timepiece’s slender silhouette extends in two fine lines of 120 diamonds and, like a precious ribbon, encircles the wrist in dazzling undulation. Like a very elegant piece of Haute Couture, this jewellery piece is destined to master the vagaries of time.

Bulova is a New York based corporation making watches and clocks.

Bulova was founded and incorporated as the J. Bulova Company in 1875 by Joseph Bulova (1851-1936), an immigrant from Bohemia. It was reincorporated under the name Bulova Watch Company in 1923, and became part of the Loews Corporation in 1979..

Bulova established its operations in Woodside, New York and Flushing, New York, where it made innovations in watchmaking, and developed a number of watchmaking tools. Its horological innovations included the Accutron watch which used resonating tuning forks as a means of regulating the time keeping function. In July 1941 Bulova paid $9 for the first television commercial, a 10-second spot on WNBT during a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.

The Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking was founded in 1945 by Arde Bulova, Chairman of the Board, initially to provide training for disabled veterans after the Second World War.

“Accutron” tuning fork watches, first sold in October 1960 by Bulova, use a 360 hertz tuning fork to drive a mechanical gear train. The inventor, Max Hetzel, was born in Basel, Switzerland, and joined the Bulova Watch Company of Bienne, Switzerland, in 1948. This outstanding engineer was the first one to use an electronic device, a transistor, in a wrist watch. Thus, Max Hetzel developed the first watch in the world that truly deserved the qualification “electronic”: the world-famous “Bulova Accutron”. More than 4 million were sold until production stopped in 1977.

They also were subjects of the other famous space era rivalry with Omega Watches for being the first watch on the moon. Ultimately, the Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph wristwatch (known as the “Moon watch”) was designated by NASA for use by the astronauts in all manned space missions, becoming the first watch on the moon on the wrist of Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin.

However, all instrument panel clocks and time-keeping mechanisms in the spacecraft on those missions were Bulova Accutrons with tuning fork movements, because at the time, NASA did not know how well a mechanical movement would work in zero gravity conditions. The Bulova company currently manufactures a limited edition “Astronaut” model under its Accutron line of watches. The back of the watch case is autographed by Buzz Aldrin. The tuning fork movement has been discontinued by Bulova, and the current Astronaut model features automatic ETA SA movement, making it similar to the rival Omega.

In 2008 a Bulova Automatic wristwatch, lost overboard by a sailor in 1941, was found after 67 years on the seabed and returned to its owner. It still works today.

On October 5, 2007 Citizen Holdings Company announced it would purchase Bulova Corp. for $247 million. On January 10th 2008 Citizen bought the Bulova Watch Company. Together they are the world’s largest watchmaker.

Currently Bulova designs, manufactures, and markets several different brands, including: the signature “Bulova”, the affordable “Caravelle”, the dressy/formal swiss-made “Wittnauer Swiss”, and the sportier swiss-made “Accutron”.

They seem to be one of the main competitions to Movado Watches

Luxury Swiss watch company Jaeger-LeCoultre—in partnership with actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio—has created its “Time to Care” program, to benefit the Leonardo DiCaprio Fund at the California Community Foundation.

The fund-raising focal point of the initiative will be the sale of two timepieces in the fall of 2008. Both will be the first of a limited series of watches that feature technology never used before, Jaeger-LeCoultre said in a statement. All proceeds will go to the Leonardo DiCaprio Fund at the CCF in order to further its work with environmental programs worldwide. The watches will be presented exclusively at the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Boutiques in Boca Raton and Beverly Hills, scheduled to open summer and fall of this year, respectively.

The longstanding efforts of Jaeger-LeCoultre to preserve the environment drew to its attention to the Leonardo DiCaprio Fund at the CCF. His organization is devoted to heightening awareness and spurring action on issues that range from global warming and alternative and renewable energy sources, to the preservation of the planet’s biodiversity. The foundation works with well-respected entities, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and Global Green USA. The NRDC’s goal is to defend the Earth, its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. Global Green USA focuses on stopping global climate change, eliminating weapons of mass destruction and providing safe drinking water for those who do not have access to it.

The first piece for sale will be a one-of-a-kind Master Compressor Extreme Lab, worn by DiCaprio to the premiere of his documentary, “The 11th Hour.” This piece will be the first watch in the Extreme Lab series to be delivered anywhere in the world, and is valued at approximately $300,000. It will be engraved with Leonardo DiCaprio’s signature. The watch—crafted in carbon fiber, and titanium—features an automatic tourbillon, two time zones, a pointer-type AM/PM indication at 12 o’clock and a patented jumping date display between 15 and 16 linked to local time. This concept watch features the first mechanical movement to operate without any lubricant and it is resistant to extreme temperatures of -40 degrees to +60 degrees Celsius.

The second timepiece for sale will be a one-of-a-kind edition of the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2. Valued at approximately $400,000, it contains a state-of-the-art, first-ever spherical tourbillon and will be the first watch in the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 series to be delivered anywhere in world. A feature is the cylinder-shaped balance-spring with end curves. This innovation represents a breakthrough in the field of accuracy and paves the way for a level of rotating precision that is unprecedented for a timepiece designed to follow its wearer’s movements. The watch also contains a 50-hour power reserve and is crafted in platinum. The Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 contains over 371 parts and was specially created to commemorate the 175th anniversary of Jaeger-LeCoultre this year.

In addition, Jaeger-LeCoultre has formalized its sustainable growth initiatives into a comprehensive working plan, called “Making Time More Beautiful.” This plan is in keeping with its founder’s legacy of establishing a framework and infrastructure for sound growth at the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre since 1833.

We have found a new video about Movado Watches that we will share soon.

How it works

To accomplish this, the watch contains a semicircular ‘rotor’, an eccentric weight that turns on a pivot, within the watch case. The normal movements of the user’s arm and wrist cause the rotor to pivot back-and-forth on its staff, which is attached to a ratcheted winding mechanism. The motion of the wearer’s arm is thereby translated into the circular motion of the rotor that through a series of reverser and reducing gears, eventually winds the mainspring. Modern self-winding mechanisms have two ratchets and wind the mainspring during both clockwise and counterclockwise rotor motions.

The fully-wound mainspring in a typical watch can store enough energy reserve for roughly two days, allowing automatics to keep running through the night while off the wrist. Usually automatic watches can also be wound manually by turning the crown, so the watch can be kept running when not worn, and in case the wearer’s wrist motions are not sufficient to keep it wound automatically.[1]

Preventing overwinding

A problem that had to be solved with self-winding mechanisms is that they continued working even after the mainspring was fully wound up, putting excessive tension on the mainspring. This caused a problem called ‘knocking’ or ‘banking’. The excessive drive force applied to the watch movement gear train made the balance wheel rotate with too much amplitude, that is too far in each direction, causing the impulse pin to hit the back of the pallet fork horns. This made the watch run fast, and could break the impulse pin. To prevent this, a slipping clutch device is used on the mainspring so it cannot be overwound.

The slipping spring or ‘bridle’

The ‘slipping mainspring’ device was patented by Adrien Philippe, founder of Patek Philippe on June 16, 1863, long before self-winding watches. It was originally invented to allow simultaneous winding of two mainspring barrels. In an ordinary watch mainspring barrel, the outer end of the spiral mainspring is attached to the inside of the barrel. In the slipping barrel, the mainspring is attached to a circular steel expansion spring, often called the ‘bridle’, which presses against the inside wall of the barrel, which has serrations or notches to hold it.

As long as the mainspring is less than fully wound, the bridle holds the mainspring by friction to the barrel wall, allowing the mainspring to be wound. When the mainspring reaches full wind, it’s force is stronger than the bridle spring, and further winding pulls the bridle loose from the notches and it simply slides along the wall, preventing the mainspring from being wound further. The bridle must grip the barrel wall with just the right force to allow the mainspring to wind fully but not overwind. If it grips too loosely, the mainspring will begin to slip before it is fully wound, a defect known as ‘mainspring creep’ which results in a shortened reserve power time.

This slipping mainspring device is often referred to misleadingly in watch company terminology as an ‘unbreakable mainspring’.

The watch winder

For people who do not wear their automatic watch every day, watch winders are available to store automatic watches and keep them wound. This is particularly advantageous if the watch has complex or perpetual calendars or moon phases. A watch winder is a device that can hold one or more watches and moves them in circular patterns to approximate the human motion that otherwise keeps the self-winding mechanism working. A mechanical watch should be kept wound and running as much as possible to prevent its lubricants from congealing over time, which diminishes accuracy. A full service (which involves disassembly, cleaning and re-lubrication) should be performed at least every five years to keep the movement as accurate as possible.

Automatic quartz or kinetic movement

More recently, electronic quartz watches that are powered by arm movement have been developed. A weighted rotor turns a tiny electrical generator, charging a rechargeable battery or capacitor which powers the quartz movement. This automatic quartz arrangement provides the accuracy of quartz without the need to replace the battery or capacitor until it reaches the end of its life, which may be decades.

The display case back

On some automatic watches the rotor and its action are visible through a transparent case back, called a display back or exhibition back. In these watches, the rotors are often engraved or decorated in some way. Rolex is one of the few automatic watch manufacturers that traditionally eschews the transparent case back, mainly for enhanced water resistance.

History

* Perrelet

The Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Perrelet invented a self-winding mechanism in 1770 for pocket watches. It worked on the same principle as a modern pedometer, and was designed to wind as the owner walked, using an oscillating weight inside the large watch that moved up and down. The Geneva Society of Arts reported in 1776 that fifteen minutes walking was necessary to wind the watch sufficiently for eight days, and the following year reported that it was selling well.[5]

* Breguet

Perrelet sold some of his watches to a contemporary watch making luminary, Abraham-Louis Breguet who improved upon the mechanism in his own version of the design, calling his watches “perpetuelles” the French word for perpetual and possibly the source for Rolex’s name for its automatic movements, the “Perpetual”.

* Harwood

Self winding mechanisms were more successful in wristwatches because the rotor could operate every time that the owner moved his or her arm. However the first version did not appear until the 20th century. It was invented by a watch repairer from the Isle of Man named John Harwood in 1923[8], who took out a UK patent with his financial backer, Harry Cutts, on 7 July 1923, and a corresponding Swiss patent on 16 October 1923.[9] The Harwood system used a pivoting weight which swung as the wearer moved, and which in turn wound the mainspring. The ratchet mechanism only wound the mainspring when moving in one direction. The weight didn’t rotate a full 360°; spring bumpers limited its swing to about 180°, to encourage a back and forth motion.[10] This early type of self-winding mechanism is now referred to as a ‘bumper’.

When fully wound, the watch would run for 12 hours autonomously. It did not have a conventional stem winder, so the hands were moved manually by rotating a bezel around the face of the watch. The watches were first produced with the help of fine swiss watch manufacturer Fortis and went on sale in 1928 and 30,000 were made until the Harwood Self-Winding Watch Company collapsed in 1931 as a result of the Great Depression. ‘Bumper’ watches were the first commercially successful automatic watches; they were made by several high grade watch manufacturers during the 1930s and 1940s.

* Rolex

The Rolex Watch Company improved Harwood’s design in 1930 and used it as the basis for the Rolex Oyster Perpetual, in which the centrally mounted semi-circular weight could rotate through a full 360° rather than the 300° of the ‘bumper’ winder. Rolex’s version also increased the amount of energy stored in the mainspring, allowing it to run autonomously for up to 35 hours.

* Omega

Most mechanical watches sold today are automatic. A notable exception is the Omega Speedmaster Professional “Moonwatch”, the model first used by NASA astronauts during the Apollo Program, and which remains standard issue on all manned space flights.

* Patek Philippe

Because a manually wound wristwatch does not require the weighted rotor which is necessary for an automatic watch, some extremely fine watch companies, such as Patek Philippe, continue to design manually wound watches, which can achieve a case thickness as low as 1.77 millimeters.

However Movado Diamond Watches Have Quartz Movements!