French jewelry brand Boucheron has offered its limited-edition Boucheron Reflet XL Chateau Latour Vintage Millesime 2005 (Ref. WA009219) that is built using a piece of ancient stained oak used to make wine barrels. This is not the first timekeeper that uses a piece of wood to decorate its dial, but this is certainly the first one (at least, to my knowledge) to incorporate a piece of equipment originally created to produce fine alcoholic beverages.
45 mm
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms “Tribute to Fifty Fathoms” Ref. 5015B-1130-52
This year, Blancpain will start selling its Tribute to Fifty Fathoms diver. The new model celebrates the tremendous success of the original divers that were popularized by the legendary sea explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau back in the 1950s. As usual, it is introduced in a fairly large stainless steel body, but now features a higher-tech (and also more pleasant to look at) sapphire bezel with a luminous diving scale and is powered by an in-house, magnetically shielded automatic movement!
Maurice de Mauriac Moon Chronograph: Made to order
Maurice de Mauriac, a Zurich-based brand that surfaced a couple of years ago, has offered its new, highly customizable Moon Chronograph. Powered by a version of the omnipresent *yawn* ETA Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement, the watch may be offered in just about any size or dial decoration of your liking.
IWC Ingenieur Edition Zinedine Zidane Automatic Limited Edition (Ref. IW500508)
The French soccer player has once again partnered with IWC to offer the second “special edition” of the Ingenieur Edition Zinedine Zidane (Ref. IW500508) model, which is now limited to only 500 units.
Bvlgari Diagono Chronograph GMT X-Pro
The Italian fashion and jewelry house will soon start selling its new Bvlgari Diagono Chronograph GMT X-Pro COSC-certified chronometer.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Tourbillon Minute Repeater
For the last SIHH 2010 show, Roger Dubuis has presented a great number of, well, ultra-luxury products even including a model with a relatively rare “double tourbillon” design (and that one looked spectacular, I’d give them that.) However, it was the splendid Excalibur Tourbillon Minute repeater that offered a nice combination of classic complications inside wrapped into a “post art-deco” exterior that looked the most interesting offering for this year.
Breitling Avenger Seawolf Chrono Blacksteel SuperQuartz
Breitling Avenger Seawolf Chrono Blacksteel SuperQuartz is the world’s first chronograph that was built to operate at depth up to 1000 meters, if need be. Delivered in an imposing carbon-reinforced stainless steel case, the new ahem technically limited edition timekeeper justifies its impressive price with bold styling and one of the most accurate quartz mechanisms out there. After all, there are not so many divers that are officially certified as chronometers.
Panerai Radiomir 8 Days 45mm P2002 in Titanium (PAM346)
Just like the PAM 338 that, too, was presented during this year’s SIHH 2010 show, the hand-wound Panerai Radiomir 8 Days (PAM 346) combines titanium alloy of its mildly oversized case with 18-karat rose gold of its three hands in something that some may feel like an ugly mix of difficult to match metals.
Jewel In The Crown: IWC Portuguese Grand Complication (Ref IW3774)
The 2010 Portuguese Grand Complication (Ref. IW3774) is a huge jewel in the crown of the collection presented by IWC at the SIHH 2010. Even if you don’t care about the sheer complexity of the mechanism that animates this beautiful piece, its styling alone must make your heart skip a beat if you have a heart at all!
SIHH 2010: IWC Portuguese Yacht Club Automatic Chronograph (Ref. IW3902)
At the SIHH 2010, IWC has once again updated its Portuguese Yacht Club collection of “sporty” automatic chronographs. Now available in red gold and stainless steel versions, this watch is as dressy as it is athletic. And, what’s even more important to some, you can tell that this is a Portugueser at the very first sight.