Rolex Automatic Watch Prices, High Quality Rolex Automatic Replica

Rolex Yacht-Master 2 White Gold (116689-0001)

Great Rolex Yacht-Master watch half the price of macy's!

---- [Rating: 5 / 5 stars]

Review by billi ewing, From United States Of America Columbus

Rolex Day-Date II Rhodium Dial Automatic 18kt White Gold Men's Watch 218239RRP

just the Rolex watch as described A+++

---- [Rating: 5 / 5 stars]

Review by Veronica b, From USA Lexington, Ky

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Mother of Pearl Diamond Dial 18k Yellow Gold Oyster Bracelet Men's Watch 116528MDO

A stylish and rugged watch. Can wear it to the office, while traveling, or on a mountain bike ride. Good all-around watch.

---- [Rating: 5 / 5 stars]

Review by jayda kember, From United States Coral Gables, Fl

Telling the difference between a Carrera and a Daytona is easy, as is spotting an Aqua Terra from a Terra Luna. You don't even need the brand names to help you. But what about the new collections by Emile Chouriet and Ernest Borel, two Swiss brands with a presence in Hong Kong and China that is difficult to conceive unless you have been there and seen the giant billboards that dominate the skyline. The two new models presented today on WorldTempus both embody the ultra-classic style that appeals to the Chinese consumer, combined of course with an affordable Swiss Made calibre. They go to show that at a certain price point buyers are definitely making their choices based on looks rather than brand or collection names.

Inspired by a photo showing 18 Rolex Submariner "Comex" watches on the Internet, David Chokron offers some interesting insights into the notion of exclusivity in watchmaking. Can a one-thousand-piece limited edition (not to mention a 15,007-piece one) really be considered as exclusive?

Our build-up to the GPHG 2015 officially starts this week as Camille Gendre takes a look back over 14 years of Aiguille d'Or winners. Will she find a pattern that could give a hint about this year's winner? We will continue over the coming weeks with a look at the members of the 2015 jury and some interviews with previous winners.

The Phillips Watch Department, based in Geneva, will partner with the firm of Aurel Bacs and Livia Russo. Bacs & Russo, specialising in Fine Collectors Watches, has been established in response to the ever-increasing need for collectors around the world to easily access scholarship, guidance and quality across the board.

The department brings together many prominent figures from the watch industry, including Nathalie Monbaron in Geneva, who will be supported by Virginie Liatard. Paul Boutros has been appointed as strategy consultant and will be Phillips' main representative in New York office.

Phillips will roll out its international Watch auction calendar with two inaugural evening sales taking place in Geneva in May 2015. The first will be a high profile various owners evening sale dedicated to the finest collectors' pieces, spanning two centuries of watchmaking of unique quality, rarity and condition. The accompanying sale will be dedicated to one of the world's most famous wristwatches: the Rolex Day-Date. Phillips will partner with Pucci Papaleo, one of the most eminent scholars in the world of Rolex collector's watches. The inaugural watch auctions will take place in Geneva on Saturday, 9 May at 7PM and Sunday, 10 May at 7PM.

In the following seasons, the department plans to expand its sales calendar around the world, organising sales in flagship premises in London, New York and soon in Hong Kong.

Integral to the department will be a brokerage, based in Geneva, specialising in the highest level of private sales, assisting collectors around the globe outside of the auction season.

Under the guidance of Aurel Bacs, the Phillips Watch Department aims to lead the market thanks to its team of specialists' second-to-none outreach within the collecting community and its uncompromising approach to quality.

On behalf of Bacs & Russo, Aurel Bacs says: "We are immensely excited to be asked to partner with Phillips as their consultants and to work with a department built from scratch. It is a privilege and a dream come true to realize a concept that Livia and I believe should be the answer to today's ever increasing market, composed of savvy and passionate collectors. It is a pleasure to be united with many distinguished specialists from the industry that Phillips has brought together for this new department."

Edward Dolman, Chairman and CEO of Phillips says: "I am delighted to be working once again with Aurel Bacs who has established himself as the market leading expert in this field over the last decade".

Building up a brand that is essentially trading on the name of a single person is not an easy process, particularly when that person was renowned for his skeletonisation work, which by its very nature meant relatively low volumes.

Armin Strom the man stood as a reference in the skeletonisation of watches, earning himself a mention in the Guinness Book of Records in 1991 for the smallest hand-skeletonised ladies' watch (12.5mm diameter) and working on hand skeletonisation for some major Swiss brands.

As he approached retirement, however, Armin Strom sought investors to continue his legacy in the form of a brand. But such a brand could not grow on the basis of skeletonisation alone…

Brand building
The transition started in 2006 and the new brand emerged thanks to several fortuitous events. Firstly, it was lucky enough to acquire in 2008 premises that had been occupied by a micro-stamping facility of Rolex, which were thus perfect for installing watchmaking machinery. Secondly, the financial crisis at the time offered a blessing in disguise for the new investors, who managed to purchase "for a song" some CNC machines that had been pre-ordered but cancelled by other brands.

The premises were fitted out between January and August 2009 and, astonishingly, by the end of 2009 Armin Strom had already presented its first in-house mechanical calibre. Today, only five years later, Armin Strom is a veritable brand boasting 12 different in-house calibres and a clearly structured collection, with each line - from the Manual up to the Tourbillon Gravity (the "Gravity" appended to an Armin Strom model means that it is powered by the force of gravity and is thus self-winding) being offered in four "elemental" configurations: Air, Earth, Fire and Water.

The elements
Aside from ensuring an unparalleled consistency of design across the line, the use of the elements offers four highly distinct looks to each line. The "Air" models, suffused with white on the strap and outer "ring" (the watch has no dial, in continuation of Armin Strom's philosophy of skeletonisation), are the most feminine, while the black PVD case of the "Earth" models and black ring with black leather strap, offers the masculine opposite. In between are the more classic designs of the "Water" models, with their stainless-steel case and the luxury touch of the "Fire" models, with an 18-carat red-gold case.

The "lip" at 6 o'clock on the case is also a distinctive trait of Armin Strom and stems from the craftsman's desire to have a space on the watch for personalization. A subtler, yet equally important, distinguishing characteristic is the slightly off-centre axis for the hour and minute hands, which is the brand's way of highlighting the in-house provenance of its movements. Only a company in total control of its own production and unreliant on third parties can allow itself such a discreet luxury.

Just like the much bigger brands whose shadow Armin Strom lives under in the industrial watchmaking city of Biel, the company employs a powerful combination of partnerships and ambassadors in its marketing portfolio, the most significant of which is undoubtedly the brand's association with the Marussia Formula 1 team, which is already in its fourth season.

Despite the communication efforts akin to a big brand, Armin Strom's pretensions remain modest. Its annual production hovers around the 1,000 mark and its latest collections, such as the Racing collection that is hitting the stores around now, are only produced in limited quantities, in this case only 100 units per reference. It's a level of rarity that could be qualified as reassuring for this remarkable niche manufacture brand.

Recent scientific research conducted by German psychologists looked at the manner in which the brands condition, stimulate and influence our brains and therefore the manner in which we perceive reality. How do brands affect our brains and how also do incorrect information on the brands in question alter our perception right into the furthest recesses of our neuronal cavity. These are the questions that were asked by researchers Simone Kuhn and Jurgen Galllinat.
Learnedly entitled "Does Taste Matter? How Anticipation of Cola Brands Influences Gustatory Processing in the Brain", their very serious experiment involved having MRI scans conducted on some 15 people (all perfectly sane, with no particular neurological or medical history, explain the researchers who also emphasise that "they were all right-handed" - doubtless because in left-handed people, the brain lobes are the other way round). Two specific areas of the brain were targeted: the orbitofrontal cortices, the home of subjective thought that given to different products one sees, and the ventral striatum, the area connected to reward and pleasure. An area which, as we will see, can "light up" at the slightest mention of a known brand, suggesting all the promises of "pleasure" that it is supposed to bring us.
 

The MRI guinea pigs were given four samples of a cola drink through a tube for them to give their opinion of each sample on a scale from 1 to 8. However these samples were not anonymous - and prior to each ingestion (repeated several times in different quantities), the logo of the brand was quickly shown on a screen: Coke, Pepsi, River Cola (a cheap brand that is well-known in Germany) and an imaginary T-Cola. To reinforce the guinea-pigs' belief, they were allowed to see four large syringes, all different, duly labelled with the name of the various brands.
Unsurprisingly, Coke and Pepsi won the vote hands down, leaving the other brands streets behind. Certain participants, the study explains, even express their b preference for Coke and Pepsi and their dislike of other brands. The glitch? The four mixtures were perfectly identical, and all strictly composed of a mixture of Coke, Pepsi, River and T in equal parts.

The result of the MRI scan showed that the orbitofrontal cortex where worth is evaluated was less used in the case of well-known or recognised brands, because this worth is retained and accepted in our connections. If one transposes this into the realm of watchmaking, one could say that on the scale of watchmaking brands, the orbitofrontal cortex does not need to get involved when it hears the word "Rolex", but will work overtime at the sound of the brand "Von Graffenried & Cousins", for example.
On the other hand, the ventral striatum which is the centre of reward and pleasure becomes active at the very name of a known brand - while it remains completely "silent" when it comes to unknown brands. Brands therefore have the power to arouse those neurones responsible for pleasure, reward and satisfaction to the point of preventive titillation.
 

Continuing with the methodology used in the cola experience, could one apply the same research methods to watchmaking? This would not be about tasting an undetermined liquid, but rather for example being given a chance to discover the most recent model of a brand in an exclusive sneak preview.
We might thus manufacture a watch representing a hybrid of several different models, including for example an Omega case, with a Rolex bezel, an Ice-Watch dial, Von Grafenried & Cousins pushers and Rochat & Meylan hands...The movement, also a perfect hybrid, could be presented as a Patek Philippe or alternatively a movement made in Shenzen and the strap leather as being made by Hermes or imported from Albania.
The consumers undergoing the MRI would be told that they were going to be given an exclusive presentation of a brand new Rolex, Omega, Rochat-Meylan, Boomtime or Von Grafenried & Cousins model, a claim borne out by the logos on the watch.
What do you think the result would be? How, for example, would the ventral striatum react to the announcement of a totally new Von Grafenried & Cousins model? Probably a scientifically measurable flat encephalogram, whereas on the contrary, one might well imagine that the very mention of the upcoming discovery of a brand-new Rolex model would trigger a whole host of neurones - especially among bloggers, whose ventral striatum would quite likely start performing a belly dance!
Poor us!
We thought that only our sacrosanct "free will" determined our choices and our intimate desires, but this does not appear to be the case. Something like Pavlov's dog which started salivating and slobbering simply when it heard the bell ringing signalling its food - and even if the food never appeared again - we unconsciously vibrate and get excited at the mere thought of promised pleasures that for most of us will always be unattainable.
 

On 11 May 2013, Sotheby's Geneva first Saturday auction of Important Watches will present worldwide collectors with a rich selection of over 400 horological creations. Covering two centuries of watch history, the sale has been curated to include some of the finest timepieces from the 19th century through the present day. The impressive group of vintage and modern wristwatches is led by renowned manufacturers, such as Rolex and Patek Philippe, as well as timeless legendary models, such as the IWC Ingenieur and Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak, which have been constantly reinvented over the past several decades.
 

Highlights of the sale include a very fine example of the reference 5029 by Patek Philippe from 1997 (est. CHF 350,000-450,000/ $371,000-477,000), the No.10 Royal Oak Chronograph Leo Messi sold to benefit the Leo Messi Foundation, as well as an entire section dedicated to rare vintage examples and limited editions of the Ingenieur watch, tracing almost 50 years of its history. The group of vintage wristwatches is also highlighted by illustrious provenance, with two Patek Philippe timepieces that belonged to Georges Simenon (1903-1989) - the masterly Belgian novelist whose Inspector Maigret Mysteries made him one of the most widely published authors of the 20th century. The total sale is expected to achieve in excess of CHF 6.5 million. 

Antiquorum, The World's Premier Auctioneers of Modern and Vintage Timepieces, is pleased to present its fall auction of "Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces" to be held on Sunday, November 11th at The Mandarin Oriental Geneva. Collectors can look forward to bidding on 613 outstanding modern and vintage timepieces.

Amongst the unique and collectible highlights is an extremely rare Rolex Single Red Prototype, Ref. 1665 Sea-Dweller Submariner and a series of Patek Philippe timepieces, including a Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph and a Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph. Previews will be held in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing as well as Geneva.

The highlight of the sale is a Magnificent Royal Presentation Musical Fan with Concealed Watch, A gift from Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Vicomte de Morais, attributed to Piguet & Capt, Geneva, made circa 1810.

 
It is an extremely rare and magnificent, musical, gold, painted on enamel and pearl-set fan with concealed watch and visible rose-diamond-set balance, the fan painted in watercolour and gold. This important gold and enamel musical fan is one of only three known to exist with a watch and music. A magnificent object de luxe, like the other fabulous and exotic precious objects made in Geneva at the beginning of the 19th century, this fan would have been the exclusive preserve of Royalty and the very upper echelons of polite society.

Lot 189
Estimate: CHF 300,000 - 500,000
 
"It's exciting to come across rare and special lots such as the Prototype Rolex Ref. 1665 Sea-Dweller Submariner and the Royal Presentation Fan, and we are proud to present them at Antiquorum's auction," said Evan Zimmermann, President and CEO of Antiquorum. "Items of such horological and historical importance along with a series of Patek Philippe and other very fine timepieces are sure to make this an outstanding event."
 
Antiquorum is also proud to present the Single Red Patent Pending Rolex Ref.1665 500m/1650ft - one of only six known. Produced in 1967 and never before seen at auction, there are six known examples of the "Single Red," including this particular example. According to research, this may be one of the only two known examples with escape valve. These watches were the prototypes for subsequent production models of the Sea-Dweller. Their history, intertwined with the lives and contributions of important divers of the 1960's make them one of the most historically significant watches that Rolex ever made, and thus one of the most important dive Rolexes to have ever come up for auction. Bought by the current consignor in the late 1980's, the watch has remained unworn in the safe since its purchase and has remained in excellent original condition.
Lot 126
Estimate: CHF 80,000 - 120,000
 
Patek Philippe collectors will want to bid on the Patek Philippe Ref.1518, First Series. Made in 1951, it is a rare 18K yellow gold perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch with moon phases accompanied by the Extract from the Archives.

Lot 612
Estimate: 200,000 - 300,000 CHF
 
Another highlight of the sale is a Patek Philippe Yellow Gold Ref. 2499/100, one of the last examples to be produced. It is a very fine 18K yellow gold perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch with phases of the moon accompanied by the Extract from the Archives. Made in 1984, it would appear that the present watch has never been offered at auction before.

The archetype of the diver's watch, the Oyster Perpetual SUBMARINER presented at Baselworld 2012 sports a new look to complement its iconic personality. with its subtly redesigned case and its new bezel and bracelet both benefitting from recent Rolex innovations, this latest generation SUBMARINER is firmly in line with the tradition of the historic model launched in 1953. It sets new standards in terms of robustness, legibility and reliability, strengthening its status as a watch of action with timeless allure.

Ceramic bezel and long-lasting luminescent display 

The unidirectional rotatable 60-minute graduated bezel of this new SUBMARINER is equipped with a black CERACHROM insert made of virtually scratchproof, non-fading, corrosion-resistant ceramic. The graduations are coated via a PVd process with a thin layer of platinum. The sleek black dial harbours large CHROMALIGHT hour markers and hands filled with luminescent material that emits a long-lasting blue glow. This exclusive display offers exceptional legibility in the dark. 

The OYSTER case, symbol of waterproofness 

The SUBMARINER's 40 mm OYSTER case, guaranteed waterproof to a depth of 300 metres (1,000 feet), is a paragon of robustness. The middle case is crafted from a solid block of particularly corrosion-resistant 904L steel. The fluted case back is hermetically screwed down with a special tool exclusive to Rolex watchmakers. The winding crown, fitted with the patented TRIPLOCK triple waterproofness system, screws down securely against the case in a manner akin to a submarine's hatch. It is protected by a crown guard that is an integral part of the middle case. The crystal is made of virtually scratchproof synthetic sapphire. The waterproof OYSTER case ensures optimal protection for the SUBMARINER's high-precision movement.

Calibre 3130, a superlative chronometer 

The new SUBMARINER is equipped with calibre 3130, a self-winding mechanical movement entirely developed and manufactured by Rolex. Like all PERPETUAL movements, the 3130 is a certified Swiss chronometer, a designation reserved for high-precision watches that have successfully passed the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) tests. Its architecture, like that of all OYSTER watch movements, makes it singularly precise and reliable. The oscillator, the true heart of the watch, has a blue PARACHROM hairspring patented and manufactured by Rolex in an exclusive alloy. Insensitive to magnetic fields, the PARACHROM hairspring offers great stability when exposed to temperature variations and remains up to 10 times more precise than a traditional hairspring in case of shocks. 

The OYSTERLOCK clasp, functional and secure 

This SUBMARINER is fitted with a solid-link OYSTER bracelet in 904L steel. It features a new-generation OYSTERLOCK safety clasp and GLIdELOCK extension system. The ingenious patented system, located beneath the clasp cover, allows fine adjustments of the bracelet length in 2 mm increments for a total of approximately 20 mm - without using any tools. This allows the watch to be worn over a diving suit up to 3 mm thick and provides additional comfort in any circumstance.

Revue FH - 27 October 2011

Nestled in the heart of the Joux Valley, the firm Dubois Depraz designs, develops and constructs additional movements for watch complications for some of the greatest names in watchmaking, including Patek Philippe, Breitling, Rolex, Omega, Richard Mille, etc. Be it chronographs with multiple indications (with or without perpetual calendar), special mechanisms indicating days, months, leap years, moon phases, sunset and sunrise, the equation of time, tides, timezones, jumping-dials, governors, mechanisms for regattas, watches for polo, as well as minute, quarter and five-minute repeaters, extra-flat mechanisms, etc, the world of complications no longer holds any secrets for Dubois Depraz. Around fifty brands currently employ the services of the firm, which is ready to rise to any challenge thrown down to it.

110 years of history have led Dubois Depraz on the path to their present success. On 1st January 1901, Marcel Depraz set up his first watchmaking workshop in Le Lieu, at number 12, Grand-Rue, over the family baker's shop. Ten years later, with a view to increasing his firm's capacity, he teamed up with his brotherin- law Marius Guignard. Together, they set up a second company: Depraz & Guignard. Marcel's children, Gabrielle and Roger, also joined the family business. In 1937, Marcel Depraz decided to strengthen his two companies and employed his son-in-law Reynold Dubois. Results were not long in coming, with the rapid launch of the 13 3/4 chronograph calibre. This master stroke saw the production of more than 4.5 million movements up to the 1970s. In 1947, the two firms merged under the name Depraz & Cie. In 1956, Gerald Dubois, a young watchmaking engineer and father of the two present-day directors, set up a research and development design office.
Eleven years later the world's first modular chronograph was born, the 11-12 Chronomatic calibre. This invention was awarded the diploma and silver medal at the Brussels Inventors Show in 1969. Meanwhile, Depraz & Cie changed its company name to Dubois Depraz SA.

In the 1970s, despite the economic difficulties, the firm presented another world first, a mechanical chronograph with an analogue display featuring an electronic tuning-fork movement. In parallel, it diversified and embarked on the production of mechanical and quartz chronographs fitted as standard on aircraft and cars. Despite these launches, the crisis proved too b for the partnership between the two directors and in 1979 Gerald Dubois purchased the buildings and continued the adventure alone. In 1983, after several years of research, Dubois Depraz launched the calibre 2000 chronograph which could be adapted to all mechanical or quartz movements. This innovative concept caused a sensation in the watchmaking world and even today remains one of the firm's flagship products (around two million have been manufactured to date).
In 1987, Jean-Philippe Dubois, the current CEO, joined the company. He was followed five years later by his brother Pascal, who was appointed as director. Finally, in 2006, they acquired one of their suppliers, DPRM (Decolletage pignons et roues manufacture), located in Arch (canton of Bern).

In the course of these eleven decades, Dubois Depraz accumulated a huge wealth of expertise that was passed on from generation to generation. Even today the firm holds the secret of certain manufacturing phases no longer used by anyone else in the watchmaking world. An example is «tribofinishing», the process which consists in deburring and polishing pieces in a single operation. This involves turning pieces from one to seven days in sealed cylinders of different sizes, according to the desired end result. The media inside the rollers consist of different materials (copper, ceramic or plastic), special soap and polishing powder. Although the processes of deburring and polishing are widespread in the watch industry, Dubois Depraz's secret lies in the dosing of components and the length of the operation.

Manufacturing secrets alone would be worth nothing without skill, hard work, and the precision and quality of products delivered by Dubois Depraz. Today, 220 people in the Joux Valley and 50 in Arch work industriously under the roof of this independent family business.

Limited edition of only 2,000 copies. Attached are the updated estimates of all Rolex Milgauss, Explorer I, Explorer II, Turn-O-Graph and Yacht-Master watches. Together with "Rolex Submariner Story", it is the world's biggest book on Rolex watches.

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"Collecting Rolex Milgauss, Explorer I, Explorer II, Turn-O-Graph and Yacht-Master" represents a new adventure, a journey through these models which nobody has yet "Explored" in such depth.

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WORLDTEMPUS - 22 June 2011

Veloptuous Times demanded the best that its protagonists could produce: endurance, resistance to cold and rain, the ability to focus attention after strenuous physical activity for interviews, and stopping as frequently as necessary to take a good photo. There was continuous mental and physical activity at the same time. Between bursts of pedaling, sun and wind, we also needed to find the time to care for our electronic equipment in order to write and publish. This is the reason why this last trip summary is only being published today, three working days after Veloptuous Times officially ended with a successful cocktail party in Neuchâtel.

PHOTO GALLERY

WORLDTEMPUS - 8 June 2011

The world-class tennis tournament in the heart of Paris seems to be the stage that tennis has set to show off players' and spectators' love of watches.
Rafael Nadal's spectacular win over Roger Federer in the finals of the tournament - his sixth French Open championship on the slow red clay in seven years - represents a continuation of Richard Mille's foray into high-profile ambassadorships. Confirming Mille's ever-accurate nose, world number one Nadal has been on a serious winning streak since first strapping the controversial RM 027 tourbillon to his sweaty wrist last spring.

WORLDTEMPUS - 4 May 2011

Rolex reported yesterday that a change has taken place at the top of its management. Up to this point, Gian Riccardo Marini was head of Rolex Italy. The 64-year-old had been managing the Italian branch since 2000.
Bruno Meier took over as Rolex's CEO in 2008; before that he was the company's chief financial officer. In Rolex also announced that Daniel Neidhart is now in charge of the foreign branches of the company. Neidhart will fill this newly created position from an office in Hong Kong. Neidhart was previously in charge of Rolex's Chinese distribution.

WORLDTEMPUS - 22 March 2011

Expect to see hordes of people, nose flat on the doors before the fair opens. These people will most likely rush to Rolex's showcases and Tweet and blog their blurry pictures in order to be the very first to show the new products from the world's most famous watch brand. Even the tiniest changes to existing references will have readers of the online forums and blogs oooohing and aaaahing. Such is the world of Rolex fans - every year.

Rolex
Personally, I can wait for my presentation of the Rolex news, but I do expect to see a new Explorer II. At the very least, there should be a new dial and hand configuration. Rumor has it that this new Explorer II was all set for launching last year, but for some reason Rolex decided to wait another year. We shall see.
I also expect to see an all-steel version of the Rolex Submariner No-Date in the maxi case with ceramic bezel inlay. It would only be a natural evolution for Rolex to add this model to the "maxi case" sports collection.
Breitling
Breitling introduced its in-house B01 movement two years ago, and the famed watch brand has since introduced a couple of models sporting this new movement. I expect to see more models using this new movement, and probably not only B01 and Navitimer models.Patek Philippe
It is always a great pleasure to visit the enormous Patek Philippe stand in Hall 1. Even if you can't get inside for a presentation, the showcases surrounding the outside of the luxurious booth present the horological luxury that Patek Philippe does so well. The Nautilus collection is growing and it would be nice to see a gold version on a bracelet instead of a strap. This goes for the three-hander as well as the complicated models.

Hermes
Thanks to the recent dialogue between LVMH and the Hermes management, I certainly look forward to getting a closer look at the new watches from Hermes. I have never paid much attention to the watches from this company, but the "We are not in luxury; we are in quality" remark made by Bernard Puech, president of the board of directors of Hermes, when LVMH recently purchased 17.7 percent of the shares in the company makes it extra interesting to see if the watches are also part of this "quality."

Bulgari
In one breath, Italian luxury provider Bulgari also became part of the LVMH family when the group purchased 51 percent of the family-owned company. Will the Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta designs still feature Bulgari on the dial or will LVMH break the ties that were such a topic last year? Maybe it is too early to find out, as the takeover is rather recent. But, then again, maybe we can find out.
Either way, this is bound to be an interesting year at Basel. Stay tuned to Worldtempus for the coverage.

Carl F. Bucherer North America is proud to announce the opening of the Bucherer boutique located in the Zurich airport in Switzerland, on March 3, 2011.

The boutique will be the first of its kind offering Carl F. Bucherer, Bucherer Jewelry and an extensive collection of Rolex watches. These innovative brands come together for the first time ever to showcase some of their finest and most creative designs collectively.

Carl F. Bucherer and Rolex watches will be displayed in their respective Shop-in-Shop concepts, using their corporate architecture. This exposure for the brand, Carl F. Bucherer, will boost brand awareness around the globe. The store is located on level 1 of Zurich Airport's Airside Center.

"Rolex Gallery" is a complete journey through all the vintage and modern models produced by Rolex.
With new images and updated information, this edition shows from the rarest models to the most dressy ones, to those that represents a dream for watch collectors.

Every chapter of this book represents a type of Rolex watch:
Air-King, Bubble Back, Chronographs, Daytona, Explorer, Moon Phases, GMT-Master, Milgauss, Oyster Date, Oyster DateJust, Oyster Day-Date, Oyster No Date, Prince, Quartz, Submariner, Turn-O-Graph and Yacht Master.
Over 100 different Daytona, 100 Chronographs, 50 GMT-Master, 50 Submariner are showed together with many other watches.
"Rolex Gallery" also provides the course of Rolex history, focusing on those watches that have made history.
"Rolex Gallery" is a clear, detailed and updated guide for all those who want to approach and understand the market of Rolex wristwatches.
This book is within everyone's reach however at the same time represents a useful guide for Rolex collectors.
Text in Italiano, Français, Deustch, English, Español
224 Pages • color ill. • Format : 24 x 28.6 cm.
Price : CHF 195.00 • € 140.00
 

ORDER THE BOOK

swisster.ch - November 12, 2010

Hillary's son and daughter obtain a legal injunction, saying the timepieces consigned by their stepmother for bids rightly belong to them, while the New Zealand government also expresses concerns.
A New Zealand court is blocking the planned auction in Geneva this Sunday of Rolex watches originally owned by the late legendary mountain climber Sir Edmund Hillary as members of his family feud over who owns them.
Antiquorum has advertised several of the luxury timepieces consigned for sale by Lady June Hillary, widow and second wife of the late adventurer, who died in 2008.
But a high court from Hillary's native country granted an injunction this week at the request of lawyers acting on behalf of the climber's son Peter and daughter Sarah, who claim they own the watches.
In addition, the New Zealand government said it regards the watches of national cultural importance.
The injunction instructs Lady Hillary to ask Antiquorum to withdraw them from sale.
The auctioneer continued on Friday to include the watches in advertising for its weekend auctions on its website.
An Antiquorum representative could not be immediately reached for comment.
The collection is part of a group of 643 "important modern and vintage timepieces" to be sold under the hammer by Antiquorum during a two-day sale this weekend at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

One of them is a Rolex "Oyster Perpetual" chronometer dating from 1953 that was presented to Edmund Hillary in India after his descent from Mount Everest in honour of his achievement the same year.
At the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have climbed the summit of the world's highest mountain.
Hillary subsequently wore the watch on a trans-Antarctic expedition from 1955 to 1958, the first overland crossing of Antarctica and the first expedition to reach the South Pole since British explorer Robert Scott in 1912.
"It has immense historic significance," Antiquroum says in its online catalogue, noting that the caseback is engraved "Sir E. Hillary".
The watch is valued at between 10,000 and 20,000 francs.
Another timepiece in the collection is an 18-carat yellow gold Rolex bought on May 29, 2003 by Hillary on the 50th anniversary of the day he reached the summit of Everest.
Its estimated value is between 8,000 and 10,000 francs.
Among the other Rolexes are ones bought by Hillary to commemorate the 20th anniversaries of the Everest climb and his attempted ascent of Himalayan peak Cho Oyu from the Nepal side in 1952.
The estimated value of the watches is not in the upper reaches often seen at Geneva auctions.
The headline watch in Antiquorum's weekend sale, for example, is a rare Patek Philippe "pink gold" wristwatch valued at between 800,000 and 1.2 million francs, and the auction house says it has sold 49 watches valued at more than a million francs.
But the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage said at least one of the Hillary watches has legal protection under the country's Legal Objects Act.
According to press reports from New Zealand the government wrote to Lady Hillary's lawyers on Friday to inform her of the watch's protected status.
Under the country's law, protected objects cannot by exported without the permission of the culture and heritage ministry.
However, its is not clear whether the injunction has any legal bearing in Switzerland.
It is possible that officials New Zealand government may have to contact Bern in order to intervene.
Hillary's son and daughter said their stepmother put the watches up for sale without asking them, according to a report from the New Zealand Press Association.
Peter Hillary said it was "very sad" he and his sister had had to take court action to stop Lady Hillary from going ahead with the sale, but it was the straw which had broken the camel's back.
"There have been a number of very significant items from the Ed Hillary collection that do belong to Sarah and I, that have been disposed of inappropriately," he said.
"I believe that it has been stopped for the time being and we are hopeful we can preserve these legacy items," Peter Hillary added.
"They, along with a lot of other items, are of great significance to this family and I would suggest in some respects to New Zealand, in terms of being important items from the Ed Hillary collection."
Neither Lady Hillary nor her lawyer were available to the press for comment.
June Hillary married the climber in 1989 after his first wife and one of his two daughters died in a plane crash in Nepal in 1975.

Some of the world's foremost scientists, explorers, environmentalists, doctors and educators will gather in Lausanne, Switzerland, in November to honour the first five winners of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise: Young Laureates Programme.
The Young Laureates Programme seeks to foster a spirit of enterprise in the next generation by giving young people the financial support and recognition to tackle the challenges facing humanity with innovative projects.
More than 600 leading figures from Switzerland and around the world are expected to attend the Awards ceremony on 11 November 2010 at the new Rolex Learning Center at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), one of Europe's leading science and technology universities.

Polymath Brian Eno, the British record producer, composer, singer, multimedia artist and a noted technological innovator, will be the keynote speaker at the ceremony. Long concerned with the future of society and the global environment, he will talk about the relationship between science and the arts.
The Young Laureates, all aged between 18 and 30, are: Jacob Colker from the United States, Reese Fernandez from the Philippines, Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu from Nigeria, Piyush Tewari from India and Bruktawit Tigabu from Ethiopia. Their projects range from transforming volunteering for the 21st century to enabling impoverished women to create eco-ethical fashion goods, from developing interactive radio in order to promote sustainable farming, to training volunteers to provide rapid care to road accident victims and developing TV programmes to improve children's health.
"On the occasion of the Awards ceremony, Rolex is taking the opportunity to showcase both the winners and their visionary projects and to foster intellectual exchange between them and some of the best thinkers from Switzerland and abroad," said Rebecca Irvin, head of the Rolex Institute, the company's philanthropic and educational arm. "Our ultimate goal is to encourage an enterprising spirit among under-30s worldwide and to stimulate innovation in the region in order to help ensure a better future for the next generation."
An inspiring programme
To coincide with this celebration, from 9 to 11 November, Rolex and the EPFL are co-hosting a series of presentations encompassing the theme of innovation. All of these activities are designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas among the Young Laureates and international guests, including more than 40 former Rolex Awards Laureates and Jury members, as well as the 22 Young Laureate finalists and EPFL faculty members and students.
As part of the interaction between the young Rolex entrepreneurs and the EPFL community, visits are being organized to two of the university's groundbreaking research labs: the Blue Brain Project, the first-ever attempt to reproduce fully a biologically accurate digital model of a mammal's brain in order to understand brain function and dysfunction; and the Global Health Institute, created to contribute to the understanding, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. In addition, there will be presentations of the university's landmark research in areas such as health and diagnostics, and water and sustainability.
"We are honoured to co-host the ceremony and to welcome the young innovators and other Rolex guests to our campus," said Adrienne Corboud Fumagalli, vice president of Innovation and Technology Transfer at EPFL and a member of the 2010 Young Laureates Jury. "The EPFL wants to stimulate entrepreneurship among students, and the Rolex Young Laureates Programme is a great match for us."
Rolex Young Laureates Programme
An expansion of the long-standing Rolex Awards for Enterprise, the Young Laureates Programme, launched in January 2009, honours men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 with inventive ideas to solve tomorrow's challenges in science and health, applied technology, exploration, the environment and cultural preservation. Each Young Laureate receives US$50,000 over the course of two years, giving the winners time to focus on their pioneering projects and move forward in implementing them. The Rolex Awards international network of innovators, comprised of former Laureates and Jury members, is available for guidance.

The Young Laureates Programme complements the original Rolex Awards for Enterprise, which will be held again in 2012 and for which applications are already open (rolexawards.com).
The five Young Laureates in the inaugural Rolex Awards for Enterprise: Young Laureates programme are:
Jacob Colker, 26, United States - is changing the way people get involved in community service. His internet-based programme allows volunteers to use their smartphones to donate spare minutes to charitable and scientific organizations.
Reese Fernandez, 25, Philippines - is committed to alleviating poverty by training people to become social entrepreneurs. Her Rags2Riches enterprise has already empowered hundreds of women to earn a living by turning scrap materials into elegant fashion accessories.
Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu, 27, Nigeria - intends to boost the living standards of millions of Nigerian farmers through his interactive, mobile radio network. Hundreds of thousands of rural listeners are already receiving and exchanging information on sustainable farming practices and health issues.
Piyush Tewari, 29, India - has set up a foundation to train a network of police officers and volunteers to respond quickly to road accidents and administer rapid medical care. By providing immediate assistance to victims, he hopes to stem the thousands of fatalities that occur on Indian roads each year.
Bruktawit Tigabu, 28, Ethiopia - is building on the success of a television programme on health that she and her husband are producing for preschool children and their parents.

WORLDTEMPUS - 15 October 2010

The visibility of Rolex as the world's most recognizable status watch for men comes at the expense of overshadowing the brand's innovations in the ladies' segment. From the beginnings of the Oyster in 1926, Rolex has produced both men's and ladies' watches. However, with few exceptions, that was back in the days when ladies' watches were simply smaller versions of men's watches. It wasn't until the 1990s that the top brands began to make ladies' watches distinguishable from their men's collections, and the results have been transformational. Brands have deftly combined the metiers d'art to include gem setting, enameling and engraving with original designs for women, all the while retaining their signature looks. Rolex's new Datejust collection is a perfect example of this subtle combination and how far ladies' watch design has come.

For a brand whose men's designs never vary substantially from the signature elements of the collection — logo crown, Cyclops date window with magnifying lens and distinctive case and bracelet design — all of which can be found on the new Ladies' Datejust — the design is nevertheless pretty out-there. With applied floral motifs, random gypsy-set diamonds on the bezels and options of purple or green dials, Rolex has introduced one of the most decorative ladies' collections on the market.

The applied floral motifs on the dials are produced using an electroforming technique involving a deposition of either rhodium, yellow gold or pink gold over a pattern created from a metal plate. The flowers, aside from identifying the watch unquestionably as a ladies' style, add dimension and volume to the dial. Not surprisingly, the PVD technique used to color the flowers as well as the purple dial (available on rose or white gold models) and the olive green dial (available on the yellow gold model) is exclusive to Rolex and patented.
The brand's gem setting is also done in-house. The bezels are set with 24 diamonds that are gypsy-set or 46 diamonds in a single row, and the Roman numeral at 6 o'clock are also diamond set. All the work done on this takes place at Rolex's Chêne-Bourg site, located in the eastern part of the canton of Geneva — one of four Rolex manufacturing sites in Switzerland. This facility is home to the brand's in-house gemology department and houses all Rolex activities linked to dial creation and manufacture, including jewelry and gem setting.

With so many Cartier accounts closing this year, the new Rolex Ladies' Datejust is the obvious line to fill that showcase space. U.S. prices range from approx. $7,150 to $8,980.

WORLDTEMPUS - 19 April 2010

I decided to extend my annual trip to Geneva's S.I.H.H. in January and visit any car buff's Holy Grails: the Porsche and Mercedes Benz museums in Stuttgart as well as a personal tour through the AMG factory in Affalterbach. I was actually welcomed there with a proudly displayed American flag—now that's attention to detail. As if that wasn't enough, I ventured on to partake in the Mercedes AMG Winter Driving event in Arjeplog, Sweden, and a few weeks later the Porsche Ice Force in Ivalo, Finland.

The experience was incredible: the Mercedes AMG E63, C63 and SLK55 and the Cayman S, 911 C2S, C4S, Turbo and Panamera 4S are all equipped with studded winter tires to gain traction on the giant frozen lakes' endless tracks. I basically drove sideways from 9:30 am until 5:00 pm for three days straight, only interrupted by coffee breaks and sumptuous lunches with 40 other car enthusiasts from all over the world.
Being in the watch business, I thought it would also be a great opportunity to test a few of the world's best sports watches under these frigid conditions—so I left a Rolex Deepsea, an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, a Panerai Marina Diver, and our very own limited edition Wempe Zeitmeister ceramic chronograph outside overnight at -24°F. Needless to say, I slept a little uneasy having watches worth over $55,000 lying in the snow on my balcony unattended, but then again, nobody would have suspected these kinds of treasures there either.

This was an experiment I wouldn't have dared to pull off in New York. All watches performed well, by the way, and even the rubber straps survived the night in the cold without becoming brittle. As for the driving experience, it was exhilarating and certainly has greatly increased my car control skills. We kept the Porsche Cayenne and Mercedes ML drivers busy as we overshot corners and turns just to find ourselves in two feet of snow.
The beautiful thing was that you couldn't get hurt or damage the cars. I'm not quite ready to initiate the drift with the brake when I turn on Fifth Avenue into 55th Street in front of the Wempe store, but it sure is tempting.

WORLDTEMPUS - 20 March 2010
It could have been an uneasy herd of impatient fans prior to a rock concert about to start for onlookers that did not have an interest in horology, but just happened to stroll by Hall 1 in Basel. However the impatient herds of bloggers, collectors and journalists did not wait for a big-ticket name in the music business to go on stage, but for a ditto in Swiss horology, Rolex, to reveal its novelties.
Every year watch related websites start discussing what the leader of Swiss watch making might introduce of novelties once the doors open. Yet nobody knows for sure, since Rolex is as secretive with their novelties as their Oyster-cases are waterproof.

This year, however, the introduction of a steel Submariner with maxi case and ceramic bezel insert was not much of a surprise. Such is the evolution of Rolex. Gold first, then steel/gold and now steel. The "aaaaahhhh" reaction did arise though, when the first impatient souls reached the mirror polished exhibition windows on Wednesday March 17th, when Baselworld opened its doors. The surprise reaction was due to a green dial and ditto ceramic bezel version of the Submariner of steel that paired up next to the black version at Rolex's impressive stand.

Green may not be a colour embraced as joyfully by everyone as the Irish on St. Patrick's Day. This could be why Rolex decided to introduced a 39 millimetres version of what could easily be considered as one of the best looking models of all time, the legendary Explorer. A watch famed by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay's Mt. Everest exhibition in 1953. Both of them wore Rolex Oyster Perpetuals, creating yet another achievement for the Swiss watch company who used the world as a laboratory to test its watches under real conditions, since the young Mercedes Gleitze swam across the English Channel, wearing a Rolex Oyster, in 1927.

The clean military look of the Explorer has not changed. But the new size of 39 millimetre - which is three millimetre bigger that the earlier version, ref. 114720 - is a perfect reason to rediscover a watch that has too long been considered too small for men and too masculine for women. This said, many women might just embrace this new size Explorer, as big watches are still popular on female wrists.

So many attempts were necessary before Everest was finally conquered. It was 29 May 1953 and the heroes of the day, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay, were wearing Rolex Oyster Perpetual watches. So many expeditions all seeking to achieve a proverbially impossible dream, motivated by the simple desire to meet a challenge: "Because it's there…"
In praise of perseverance
The direct descendent of this fascinating chapter of human adventure, the Explorer persists in expressing man's irrepressible need for achievement. It continues to precisely embody perseverance, experience and creativity, and celebrate so strikingly the relationships between technical developments, experience in the field, thought and action.

The world as a test laboratory
The Explorer is the incarnation of the privileged relationship that has always existed between Rolex and the outside world. Since the late 1920s, Rolex has been using the world as a laboratory to test its watches under real conditions. In this pioneering spirit, it equipped numerous Himalayan expeditions whose observations have had a direct impact on product development.
A 39 mm case
Faithful to its heritage and unique identity, the new Oyster Perpetual Explorer exemplifies that strength in today's world, imparting a new elan to the sober and elegant lines which have long established it as an icon. Crafted from a block of 904L steel with exceptional anti-corrosion properties, its slightly larger 39 mm case offers a bolder look and added comfort for the wearer.

New heights in precision
Equipped with a self-winding mechanical movement featuring a Perpetual rotor, a Parachrom hairspring and Paraflex shock absorbers, it reaches new heights of chronometric precision and resistance to extreme conditions. A reliable and robust timekeeping instrument.

22 June 2009
- www.fratellowatches.com
I don't consider myself a collector of watches, I just 'collect' what I will actually be wearing. I had a modest collection of new & vintage Omega watches in the past, but I traded most of them for watches that would actually see some daylight every now and then instead of the inside of a safe.  
For me, this results in buying 'iconic' watches most of the time. True classics in terms of design, movement, history or a combination of all these aspects. For example, these icons include the Omega Speedmaster Professional, Rolex GMT-Master and (recently added) the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Michael Balfour wrote a nice book about iconic timepieces called ' Cult Watches'. Of course, some people may think differently on what an iconic timepiece may be. I can imagine that there are watch aficionados who consider an Ikepod Cunningham or a Bell & Ross BR01 to be cult watches as well.

Anyway, in the 10 years I have been buying or collecting timepieces, I always envied the people that just have one watch. Like the guy in the Patek Philippe advertisements, having a nice Patek Nautilus ref. 5711/1A, wear it almost a life time and then pass it on to the next generation (or someone else you love or care for). And in the beginning, I actually thought that an Omega Constellation would be my perfect "only watch". Or my Speedmaster Professional. Or my Rolex Sea-Dweller. Although I was able to wear a timepieces for months in a row, it turned out that I kept rotating timepieces from my collection (or buying new/other ones).

On some of the online watch forums, contributors tend to write about their latest acquisition as being their exit watch. By exit watch, they mean that they finally found their "only watch". Of course, after a while you see the same contributors adding a message that they bought something else or something new. To quote Michael Corleone in The Godfather part III, "Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in."
Let me tell you this: There is no exit watch. At least, not for us watch addicts. An Omega Speedmaster Professional could be a perfect only watch. Or a Rolex GMT-Master. Or an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. For a lot of people, they probably are. But we are spoiled. We complain about having no date on a Speedmaster Professional, the Royal Oak being a scratch magnet, the GMT-Master for not being as water resistant as a Sea-Dweller. It is rubbish. Normal people probably don't even come up with these lame excuses.
Would finding a new passion be a solution (or an excuse to only have one watch)? I guess not, because as soon as the word 'collect' comes in, you are lost… It doesn't matter what the subject will be.