Devon Steampunk Tread 1 Watch

Destined for near future production, this is the Devon Steampunk Tread 1 watch. According to Scott Devon, they wanted to play with steampunk ideas for the Tread 1 as a design study. The customer reaction was so good that production is being fast tracked. This of course is steampunk styled version of the original Devon Tread 1 that I reviewed here.

The final design might change a bit, but these renders will reflect how the final versions will look. I anticipate these being a limited production series which we may see in real life closer to the end of 2012. Devon's designer makes it clear that watches from Romain Jerome (going back to designs from Yvan Arpa, as well as their current Steampunk collection) were a major influence in the design of the Tread 1 Steampunk. At the same time, the larger picture of the industrial revolution and core functional concept of the Tread 1 DNA helped inspired the design.







Materials will likely include brass, and oxidized metal. It is interesting how the California watch brand products with the electro-mechanical tread-based movements that felt so modern, have taken on a Steampunk persona. This new model does have its charm for sure. The designer of the piece is from Serbia actually. What I expect in the end as I think about it more, are a few Tread 1 Steampunk models with slightly different treatments. Expect the pieces to have premiums over the standard Devon Tread 1 watches (that are already near $20,000). Keep an eye out for more information on the Devon Steampunk Tread 1 watch.

Chopard Mille Miglia GMT Chrono Watch

For 2012 Chopard once again comes out with a new Mille Miglia watch. This time a GMT chronograph as a limited edition. According to Chopard the Mille Miglia represents "consistently reinvented perfection." That sounds pretty lofty. I would go with "consistently renovated." That better represents how Chopard makes slows changes and visual enhancements to the core design. While these are expensive watches, I've always been happy with them when it comes to look, comfort, quality, and utility.

The Mille Miglia GMT Chrono is an evolution on a design that we all know. Tweaks here are interesting. Let's look at the back of the watch first. Usually there would be a sapphire crystal caseback window. Given that the watch contains a modified 7750 - that we've all see before - Chopard decided to make a solid caseback. They did it with a nice Mille Miglia race engraving surrounded by a ring of perlage. I don't hide the fact that I love perlage, so this design feature appeals to me. There was another limited edition Mille Miglia from a few years ago with perlage on the dial - that was cool as well.







The case is up a hair in size to 42.40mm wide. It is still about 15mm thick and has a nice black bezel that is here for the GMT hand. It is about time to expect ceramic bezel inserts on these watches, but I guess we aren't there yet. There also seem to be black inserts in the chronograph pushers, but Chopard doesn't explain what material they are use for this. Note that the "1000 Miglia" arrow sign shows up on the watch dial, crown, and caseback. Call this watch the triple Mille Miglia if you will. I am surprised Chopard didn't use the arrow as the tip of the GMT or other hand. Hmmm.... ideas for future designs?

Chopard will offer the GMT Chrono in steel or 18k rose gold - both will be limited editions. Looking at the dial design you certainly see something unique. I don't know if it the GMT bezel or something else, but while it is certainly a Mille Miglia, there is something quite distinct about this design. You can't deny that the proportions are pretty good on the dial. Though I think the hands could have been lengthened a bit throughout the piece. Nevertheless, legibility is still very high - a welcome signature element of most all Mille Miglia watches.







I am not sure what Mille Miglia watches aren't limited editions these days. Most all seem to be. The steel version will be available as a set of 2,012 pieces, while the 18k rose gold version will be available as a set of 250 pieces. Inside the watches are a modified Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750 automatic movement. The movement has been upgraded with a GMT hand for a second time zone, and has been COSC Chronometer certified for accuracy. Price for the steel model is $6,610, and in 18k rose gold it is $20,880. For that cash you at least get the iconic racing tire tread rubber strap.



Tech specs from Chopard:

Case:

Steel or 18 ct rose gold
Total diameter 42.40 mm
Thickness 14.87 mm
Water resistance 50 metres
Steel or 18ct rose gold crown with Mille Miglia arrow logo
Steel and rubber or 18ct rose gold pushers
Glareproofed sapphire crystal with integrated magnifying glass and transferred black 6 and 12 o’clock markings
Closed and circular-grained back with 1000 Miglia arrow
Movement:

Mechanical self-winding chronograph
Total diameter 30.40 mm
Number of jewels 25
Power reserve 48 hours
Frequency 28,800 vph
Chronometer-certified (COSC)
Dial and hands:

Black dial with 3 black snailed hollowed counters at 12, 6 and 9 o’clock
Hour and minute hands and hour-markers rhodium-plated for the steel version or gold-plated for the 18ct rose gold version, enhanced with Superluminova
Central sweep seconds hand rhodium-plated for the steel version or gold-plated for the 18ct rose gold version, tipped with a red arrow
Hour and minute counter hands rhodium-plated for the steel version or gold-plated for the 18ct rose gold version
Red seconds counter hand

Functions and displays:

Central hour and minute display
Small seconds at 9 o’clock
Chronograph
30-minute counter at 12 o’clock, 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock and central sweep seconds hand
Date window at 3 o’clock
Tachometric scale
Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Hublot King Power Usain Bolt Watch

Hublot brand ambassador and all-around nice guy Usain Bolt just got his first limited edition watch. Usain Bolt is the fastest recorded runner and is often affectionately referred to as the "fastest man in the world". Actually he is not from Africa but rather Jamaica. A little while ago (before this watch was released) I got a chance to interview him. I actually asked him some questions about what a limited edition Hublot watch for him might look like. Let's see if his answers match up to the result.







Inherently there isn't much new here because this is your standard King Power Chronograph watch. I discuss it because I think Usain is pretty cool and it is interesting to see many of the "reasons" for Hublot limited edition watches. What is different are the little touches that make it special for Mr. Bolt. What a damn good last name for a champion runner right? I've always thought that. According to Hublot, the strap is made from "exactly the same leather as the shoes he wore when he broke the world record in Beijing in 2008". To be honest I am not sure what that means. Is it leather from the exact same pair of shoes... or the same kind of shoes? The piece is a limited edition of 250 watches - so I have a feeling that more than one pair of shoes was sacrificed in the making of this collection.







The watch case is 48mm wide in black ceramic. The gold tone is mixed with a dash of green in honor of the Jamaican flag, and are actually a product of using a 2N gold powder coating on the strap and flange ring. In the subsidiary seconds dial is a silhouette of Usain's signature pose. The best part is that it looks good on his wrist, and if you are a tall Jamaican Olympic runner it might look good on your wrist as well. Again, Hublot will make 250 pieces of the limited edition King Power Usain Bolt watch.




Tech specs from Hublot:

KING POWER USAIN BOLT
Reference: 703.CI.1129.NR.USB12
Series 250 pieces numbered from 01/250 to 250/250
Case: "King Power" - Diameter 48 mm in micro-blasted black ceramic
Bezel: Black ceramic, 6 black PVD H-shaped relief titanium screws
Crystal: Sapphire with grey minute track transfer, Interior/exterior anti-reflective coating
Bezel Lugs: Black composite resin
Lateral inserts: Black composite resin
Case-back: Micro-blasted black ceramic, Silhouette of Usain Bolt on sapphire case-back
Crown: Black PVD titanium with black rubber insert
Push-pieces: Black PVD titanium with black rubber inserts
Screws: Black PVD titanium
Water resistance: 10 ATM or approximately 100 metres
Dial Matt: black, circular satin-finished flange with 2N gold coating, Satin-finished and black nickel-coated indexes with black SuperLuminova™, Transfer of Usain Bolt's silhouette in meteor grey at 9 o'clock and 2N gold powder Hublot logo
Hands: Satin-finished and blackn nickel-coated with black SuperLuminova™
Movement: Calibre HUB4100
Mechanical: chronograph with automatic winding and central seconds hand. Small seconds at 9 o'clock
No. of components 252
Jewels: 27
Date: Date window at 4.30
Power reserve Approximately 42 hours
Strap: Adjustable in black rubber, Made from the same gold-coloured synthetic leather as Usain Bolt's shoes.
Clasp: King Power folding buckle in black micro-blasted PVD titanium
Micro-blasted black ceramic decorative plate

Bell & Ross BR 01 Horizon, Altimeter, & Turn Coordinator Watches

The original Bell & Ross BR 01 watch often had the term "Instrument" associated with it. Bell & Ross wanted to make it clear that the timepiece was based on aircraft cockpit instruments - especially the clock. Fair enough. Then a couple of years ago, Bell & Ross started taking the concept even further - making BR 01 watches with dials (that did tell the time) based on non-clock instruments. That started moving things in interesting directions.

Each of these watches are limited editions and design experiments. Bell & Ross wants to offer wrist-mounted cockpit instruments and increasingly they are. So let's look at the three new for 2012 limited edition Bell & Ross BR 01-92 instrument watches. Previous years had models such as the BR 01 Radar, BR 01 Red Radar, and BR 01 Compass.







What I have done (thanks to Bell & Ross) is include pictures of the actual instruments each of these watches is based on. These aren't just actual cockpit instruments, but the same ones that Bell & Ross designers used when coming up with the designs for the BR 01 Horizon, BR 01 Altimeter, and BR 01 Turn Coordinator watches. The names, while not terribly creative, are useful as it helps identify exactly what instrument the watch is based on. Pretty cool right?

It is easy to tell the time on all of these? Not at all. For me the BR 01 Radar series was cool, but mentally the hardest to read. At the same time, I think the BR 01 Altimeter is super easy to read - and is non-coincidentally my favorite piece. Visually, the BR 01 Turn Coordinator is pretty interesting. It uses the same system as the BR 01 Compass to tell the time, which are discs instead of hands. You read the time where the numbers line up via the vertical line that goes down the middle. There is a small disc in the center for the running seconds. I think it would have been really cool for Bell & Ross to include the level ball in liquid on the timepiece as well.







The BR 01 Horizon is an interesting model that is the most avant garde. Here Bell & Ross decided to produce another watch (like the Radar) with no numeric markers. It is a bit of a departure from the actual horizon instrument, but I think Bell & Ross actually made it look nicer. Here there is just an hour and minute hand on a dial that actually looks cool, but is certainly an acquired taste. The details on these watches are impressive, and you see the slick sort of restrained design ethos that keeps Bell & Ross watches feeling themed while not chintzy.

It is possible that the BR 01 Altimeter is my favorite in the collection because it is the most watch-like. Though it is different enough to warrant a second look. Also, I like how Bell & Ross turned the pressure indicator into a big date indicator. This could quite possibly be the only "open" date window that I actually feel makes sense. I knew it would happen eventually!




Being BR 01 watches, each of these comes in a 46mm wide square steel case with a PVD black coating. The crystals are sapphire and they come with both a black rubber and canvas strap. Inside the watches are modified Swiss ETA 2892 automatic movements. Though it would seem to make sense that the BR 01 Altimeter has an ETA 2896 given that it has a big date complication. Regardless, the series number indicates it as being in the BR 01-92 collection. It doesn't really matter I guess as the movements are inherently very similar. Each of the BR 01 Horizon, Altimeter, and Turn Coordinator watches are limited to 999 pieces and should be a serious consideration if you are a fan of the BR 01 watch range.

Dubey & Schaldenbrand Grand Dome Watch

Swiss watch brand Dubey & Schaldenbrand is back after a slight hiatus and some internal reorganization. Their US distribution is also brand new. The newly livened Dubey & Schalden-brand (get it?) features three new models including this pretty Grand Dome collection. Set in a tonneau style case, this is the result of a lot of internal work in-house.

While some brands stress the production of their own movements, it is sort of the reverse at Dubey & Schaldenbrand right now. At Dubey, they make their own cases, dials and hands. While they produce some modules and decorate and finish movements - right now they mostly use base ETA movements. The production of their cases and dials is really a plus for them and collectors. This means that they have a lot of control and flexibility in their designs and parts - which benefits everyone.







The Grand Dome models come in steel or gold (or two-tone) cases. Size is 37mm wide by 52mm tall. I wouldn't call it large, but it isn't a small watch either. On the wrist, tonneau-shaped watches look interesting, but it is a look that you need to try on your wrist to get a feel for. The case is all polished and feels good to the touch. Quality is there and the design is classic and attractive in my opinion.

Dial designs are quite interesting. You can see that the layout of the 7751 has been reduced to make the display symmetrical. There are a few different dial displays - and each is both three dimensional and attractive. One version has a more retro dial that will appeal to some people as well. By the way, the watch is technically called the Grand Dome DT. Not sure what that DT stands for. Hmm. Most of the dials really excite me. They are really well done and I like the finishing, detailing, and the hands.







The simple act of removing the subsidiary seconds dial mixed with the synchronized 24 hour hand on the left really cleans up the dial a lot. You are still left with more or less all the functions that you need. If you want to measure the seconds you can just use the chronograph. The 7751 functions that remain are the 12 hour chronograph, time, moon phase indicator, and annual calendar. What I also like is how Dubey shrank the peripheral date ring. The 7751 uses a large hand to indicate the date around the periphery of the dial. Frankly I am not a fan of this the majority of the time. Here, the Grand Dome uses a shorter hand and smaller ring to display the date in a much more attractive manner. Textures and colors are great overall.







According to Dubey & Schaldenbrand, the movement finishing and decoration is done in-house. As you can see, on one limited edition model of the Grand Dome there is a lot of hand engraving and decor on the automatic rotor as well as on a movement bridge. It looks quite nice. This is another one of those instances where a brand is able to take something common like a 7750/7751 base and make it look really nice using a lot of their own in-house talent and effort. It goes without saying that the movements are visible through a rear-mounted sapphire caseback window.




What I said to Dubey & Schaldenbrand is that the Grand Dome watches have a distinct look but also feel acceptably traditional. That means they look unique but are also not outside the range of "I can visualize myself wearing that because it is a look I am familiar with". There is a lot of cool stuff coming from the brand - and even a new tourbillon for 2012. The brand wants to offer nice stuff at a mid to higher-range luxury price point. Even the Grand Dome models come in versions with diamonds (also ladies pieces). Prices start at $11,300, jump up to about $15,000, then up to around $30,000, and then top out at $75,850.