Posts Tagged ‘ace jewelers’

SIHH 2012 Preview: IWC New Pilot Watch Collection

December 31, 2011

It has been known for a while that this year IWC is unveiling a new range of Pilot watches. As the Pilot collection of IWC is a legendary and hard seller, the expectations are high. One model has been released already:

IWC Pilot Watch Chronograph Top Gun 2012

IWC Pilot Watch Chronograph Top Gun Miramar

On Monday January 16th, 2012 the 21th edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) will start again, where 19 brands will be exhibiting their new marvelous watch collections. And, IWC just released the images of the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Miramar, named after the former location of the US Navy Fighter Weapons School (which is also known as TOP GUN).

The 48 mm case is dark grey ceramic – in the photos it seems to have a glossy finish – with a dial that has faux patina and a green nylon strap. Inside is the IWC cal. 89365 flyback movement, similar to that in the Portuguese Chronograph Yacht Club.

Alongside the chronograph, the Top Gun Miramar range will also have a 48 mm Big Pilot with a similar design.

IWC Pilot Watch Chronograph Top Gun Miramar Backside

IWC Pilot Watch Chronograph Top Gun Miramar Backside

The press release also indicates that we can expect the following eye candies:

– an all new Big Pilot’s Watch Top Gun Miramar with similar design elements as the Chronograph Top Gun Miramar and the same movement, caliber 51111, as the regular Big Pilot’s Watch;

– a first for the regular collection: new Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun features a perpetual calendar with its four-digit year display, moon phase display and seven-day power reserve;

– What everyone expected: the size of the regular Pilot’s Watch Chronograph increase with 1 mm, now 43 mm in diameter.

– A logical move in the sequel: the launch of the new Pilot Watch Mark XVII with a diameter of 41 mm (2 mm larger than the previous Mark XVI).

– The gold chrono is back: the Spitfire Chronograph with its IWC-manufactured 89365 calibre will be available in red gold.

– A long anticipated version: new Pilot’s Watch World Timer with a 24-hour ring that makes it possible to look at all 24 time zones, including the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). The city ring shows the names of 23 places around the globe, each of which represents a time zone. The dial shows local time, which can be adjusted forwards or backwards in one-hour steps – also when crossing the International Date Line.

– A new 46mm Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph and features new red design elements on the dial.

The IWC Pilot 2012 TOPGUN Ceramic Fighters Watch

The IWC Pilot 2012 TOPGUN Ceramic Fighters Watch

As the waiting lists have been long for several years already for new IWC models, make sure to pre-order yours at your local Authorised Dealers:

The Americas: IWC Schaffhausen Boutique Brighton Beach at phone number: +13107340520.

Latin America: Berger Joyeros at phone number: +525556161594.

Europe: Ace Jewelers at phone number: +31205711560.

Middle-East: IWC Schaffhausen Boutique Istanbul at phone number: +90 212 224 4604.

Asia: IWC Schaffhausen Flagship Boutique Hong Kong at phone number: +85228292729.

Australia: Watches of Switzerland at phone number: +61 2 9251 0088.

Stay tuned for more SIHH 2012 news and please share your opinion about these new timepieces here below.

The Lexus Dutch Watch Heritage

June 27, 2009

One of the hidden treasures of the Netherlands has come to light today!

DWH

Watches were packed away in boxes, in drawers or safes, or even visible on the wrists of proud owners, but today they can be viewed by all enthusiasts. The Netherlands knows thousands of watch-lovers – People who sometimes have a fortune to spend on just that one special watch –that ultimate wrist–ornament: to possess that wonder of refined mastery! From this inheritance ,the Lexus Dutch Watch Heritage, together with fascinated and passionate watch-lovers, brings this exceptional event. Meant for the collectors who would like to display their treasures and for all others who feel drawn towards the unique world of the quality timepiece.

The Lexus Dutch Watch Heritage gathers together 100 rare or unique watches. These will be exhibited to the public at the Netherlands Gold-, Silver-, and Clock Museum in Schoonhoven on Saturday 27th June and then from Tuesday 30th June up to and including Sunday 5th July. On these days you can visit the exhibition and admire models from top brands such as IWC, Rolex, Breitling, Jaeger Le Coultre and many others. Ace Jewelers will display a number of the latest timepieces next to this wonderful collection. Then you have the opportunity to look at and try the present-day models of IWC, Breitling, Edox, Tag Heuer and Omega. Ace Jewelers shows watches with a long history -for example the IWC Big Pilot, the legendary Breitling Navitimer and also watches with very complex movements like the Edox Minute Repeater. R

eadings on the Sunday give the subject more depth, and a taxation of one’s own watch allows active participation to the event for the watch enthusiast. The Netherlands’ only two honoured taxateurs, Anton Gaemers and Ronny Wooter have given their co-operation to, and will be present during the event. Anton Gaemers, timepiece- technician from the Hague, whose family have been active in chronometry since 1877, is the curator of the exhibition: ‘The Netherlands has probably more than a thousand serious timepiece collectors and it is fantastic to be able to exhibit the most beautiful and unique of this legacy’. Ronny Wooter, watch specialist from Sotheby’s, will share his expertise on taxation, amoung other subjects. Together these two gentlemen will provide lectures about the history and value of watches. Ace Jewelers will also provide a reading about watches and contemporary models. In short, an exhibition full of narratives, romance and craftsmanship.

Every watch has a story: the history of its origin, the specialities of the subject, the history of the brand and not forgetting the story behind the owner of the watch. Not only inspired timepiece technicians, but also pilots, racing-drivers, filmstarsand aspiring rivalling magnates figure in the story of watches. The exhibition is open to the public on Saturday 27th June, 2009 and from Tuesday 30 June up to and including 5th July 2009. The entrance fee is EUR 6,- p.p.

Nederlands Goud, Zilver en Klokkenmuseum
Kazerneplein 4
2871 CZ Schoonhoven
The Netherlands

www.DutchWatchHeritage.nl

SIHH 2009 Trade Show Review

January 20, 2009

Yesterday, I visited the 19th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva, Switzerland. Two days ago we already posted a preview and hereby we want to present the snap shots I took. FYI: The next SIHH will again be in January.

This year the following brands were present at the SIHH:

+  Richemont brands:
– Cartier
– A. Lange & Sohne
– Jaeger –LeCoultre
– IWC
– Mont Blanc
– Panerai
– Vacheron Constantin
– Van Cleef & Arpels
– Dunhill
– Baume & Mercier
– Piaget
– Ralph Lauren

+ Independent brands
:
– Audermars Piguet
– Girard Perregaux
– Jean Richard
– Parmigiani
– Roger Dubuis

Hereby a review of the fair with some snap shops. In advance I want to apologize for the poor quality of the photographs, this had two reasons: some window cases & the lighting were very poor and we were in huge rush.

The overall conclusion is that there are not spectacular novelties, most brands restyled a family, presented a new movement, but it still is mostly line extensions. The trends of previous years are contined: Black cases, Big is still the benchmark, Bling is NOT dead and pink gold is still leading in the precious metals followed by Platinum. The buzz on the fair was the new kid on the block: Ralph Lauren.

Ralph Lauren
The Ralph Lauren Watch & Jewelry Company did not present any watches on display, but solely by appointment. Hereby an impression of their window, presenting a ladies watch:

And, this is an impression of the Men’s collection of Ralph Lauren:

IWC
The brand from Schaffhausen restyled their Aquatimer collection and therefore their complete stand was like an underwater experience.

Fans of the Deep One finally can add a brother to their cult watch, the Deep Two:

Cousteau is history and IWC is sponsoring the Galapagos Foundation and therefore made an unique black Aquatimer with a Rubber coating:

IWC also ‘borrowed’ a patent strap exchange system from sister-company Cartier… For more info, please stay tuned.

Baume & Mercier
The ‘elegant’ watch company from Geneva did not launch many novelties this year, besides four magnificent William Baume Limited Editions, this is a watch we found striking:

Audemars Piguet
Flying in to Geneva I was reading my morning paper, IHT, and the newest AP model immediately coought my attention (yes, it reminds me too of a Breguet). Unfortunately, the watch was not on disply. Therefore, I want to share the following image with you that confirms two trends (black & big):

Vacheron Constantin
Since 1755 Vacheron Constantin keeps on innovating. Apparently the vintage fashion did not pass and therefore VC re-introduced a watch they manufactured in 1921 (my sincere apologies for the terrible picture):

Jaeger-LeCoultre
Like IWC, does Jaeger-LeCoultre manufacture amazing divers watches. This year JLC focuses on the novelties in the Compressor series, but I like this model better:

Ferrari by Panerai
Panerai took the term “Ferrari Red” very litteraly:

Cartier
Is Cartier the King of Bling? Or did they just manufacture this watch for the new First Lady, Michelle Obama?

JeanRichard
GP little brother is growing up, it is now catering women who want it all, bling & tourbillon:

Mont Blanc
Minerva has been bought by Richemont/Mont Blanc a couple of years ago and they are making spectacular new movements:

Dunhill
I wish that Dunhill would make these keys again:

Panerai
The Italian brand had a lot of news, but they did not present the prototypes in the showcases, but don’t we all love the watch presented horizontally?!

Roger Dubuis
We listed this brand as an independent brand, but this is since last year not completely true anymore. Richemont took a big stake in this innovative and young company. I loved the sight of this watch movement:


A. Lange & Sohne
The German Manufacture, A. Lange & Sohne, seems to learn from their colleague, PP… Patek recently presented classical moon phases watches (originally for men) in ‘bling’ versions for ladies… At AL&S, they have must thought the same:

Piaget
The manufacture Piaget presented this watch during the Salon, but unfortunately I did not have time to visit the stand to ask them watch functions this watch/case lid had… Maybe one of our visitors can? I does look coo, doesn’t it?

Basically, my visit to this year’s SIHH was great fun as usual. It seemed a lot let busy. At first impression it seemed that the brands did not have much to present this year (they did only have 8 months since the last SIHH), but when you analyze it… They did develop quite a bit in these last 8 months! On top of that, I expected that the brands would be a bit more… What’s the word… ‘modest’?! The first indication of the current crisis did present itself already in April 2008… But, on the contrary… Bling was still alive and kickin’! Maybe a nice subject for the next post 😉

Preview SIHH 2009

January 18, 2009

As written here on April 11th, 2008, we predicted that SIHH 2009 will not be in the same month as BaselWorld, but in January… To be precise: tomorrow!

Therefore I am flying tomorrow morning, very early, to Geneva to visit the 19th SIHH, Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. It is not clear why the Haute Horlogerie Association decided to move this exclusive event away from the shadow of BaselWorld, which usually takes place in April. We predict it will be way less busy, since visitor that come from other continents will be forced to choose and will choose to visit BaselWorld. But, now with the current economical situation, we expect that the numbers of visitor will be even lower.

But, the watch brands have not been sitting still and every brand present at SIHH have news. There is even a ‘new kid on the block’: Ralph Lauren (a joint venture of Richemont and Polo Ralph Lauren – The Polo Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewellery Company, S.A.R.L.). The creation of a new haute horlogerie company was announced in March 2007 and almost two years later products will be presented… We are very curious!

Unfortunately we did not find any pictures of Ralph Lauren watches yet, so we have to wait until tomorrow. We will try to post a new article WITH pictures tomorrow on this blog… Stay tuned!

What have we heard throught the grapevine up till today:

– IWC: Restyled the complete Aquatimer Family and is launching a successor to the infamous Deep One: The Deep Two. There will not be a Cousteau Limited Edtion anymore, but instead a Galapogos Limited Edtition version. There will be a St. Ex. Limited Edition, which will be a Big Pilot version. On top of that there are many new variations on the other collections: Big Ingenieur Chronograph, New calibre with month and date in a double digit format!

– Baume & Mercier: Focuses on the Hampton collection this year and is launching a Hampton Magnum Chronograph and a Magnum Ladies version.

– Vacheron Constantin: Launching the Historiques American 1921, an unique cushion shaped watch!

– A. Lange & Sohne: Is launching the second member of the ‘chronometer’ family, the Richard Lange ‘Pour le Merite’.

-Girard-Perregaux: The brand always tries to focuses equally to men as well as to men. Therefore this year they are launching the ww.tc in a 43mm black ceramic case. For the ladies they developed the Cat’s Eey Annual Calendar and Signs of the Zodiac… It sounds interesting… We are curious.

– Parmigiani: The Tondagraph celebrates a new case and a brand new grande complication movement this year.

– Mont Blanc: The penmaker became a true watchmaker by the incorporation of Minerva and therefore are launching two new Villeret watches: The Villeret Grande Chronographe Regulator and The Grand Tourbillon Heueres Mysterieuses (sounds very interesting).

– Piaget: This brands is often percieved as a jewelry brand, but few people know that Piaget is a true manufacture watchmakers brand. This year Emperador Coussin Moon Phase.

– Van Cleef & Arpels: ‘Une Journee a Paris’ is a watch which is a tribute to the hometown of the brand: Paris.

– Panerai: The Italian brand transformed rapidly in the last couple of years and is aiming to become a true manufacture. Therefore this year they are presenting a new automatic movement, which will be presented in three variations: power reserve, GMT and GMT plus power reserve. On top of that the are introducing the Luminor Chrono Daylight 44mm-Titanium. We are very curious what the Paneristi will say… Please share with us 🙂

– JeanRichard: A brand that is part of the Girrad-Perregaux family follows it brother’s tradition, they will also launch a new watch for men (Chronoscope MV Agusta Brutale Nera Watch) and for women (Lady Juliette).

Tomorrow we hope that we will confirm these previews and present the news from: Cartier, Dunhill, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet and Roger Dubuis.

My co-author on this blog, Boon, will be attending too and we planned a mid-day coffee brake to catch up and have a quick review of the fair… Boon will be running arond filming the novelties! I will use my pocket camera making snap shots for you to publish here… Hope to welcome you here tomorrow 🙂

SIHH 2008 Trade Show Review

April 11, 2008

Yesterday, I traveled from Basel to Geneva early in the morning and spent there from noon to 8 pm at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva, Switzerland. This was the 18th time the SIHH took place in Geneva and next year it will start on January 19th, 2009! This means it will take LESS than one year to receive news & new models from the following brands that present their novelties during this exclusive event.

This year the following brands were present at the SIHH:

+  Richemont brands:
– Cartier
– A. Lange & Sohne
– Jaeger –LeCoultre
– IWC
– Mont Blanc
– Panerai
– Vacheron Constantin
– Van Cleef & Arpels
– Dunhill
– Baume & Mercier
– Piaget

+ Independent brands
:
– Audermars Piguet
– Girard Perregaux
– Jean Richard
– Parmigiani
– Roger Dubuis

Hereby a review of the fair with some snap shops. In advance I want to apologize for the poor quality of the photographs, this had two reasons: some window cases & the lighting were very pour and we were in huge rush.

SIHH Impression
Impression of SIHH 2008

SIHH Impression
Another impression of SIHH 2008

SIHH Impression
One of the 16 brands present at the SIHH.

SIHH Impression
Any business is people’s business: Food is a catalyst in doing business 😉

Van Cleef & Arpels
Van Cleef & Arpels

Audermars Piguet
Audermars Piguet

Audermars Piguet
Audermars Piguet

Panerai
Panerai

Jaeger-LeCoultre
Jaeger-LeCoultre

JeanRichard
JeanRichard

JeanRichard
JeanRichard Window

Girard Perregaux
Girrard Perregaux

Cartier
Cartier
Cartier
Cartier

Vacheron Constatin
Vacheron Constantin Window

A. Lange & Sohne
A. Lange & Sohne

Roger Dubuis
Roger Dubuis

Dunhill
Dunhill Vintage

Dunhill
Dunhill Vintage

Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc
Baume & Mercier
Baume & Mercier

IWC Da Vinci
IWC

IWC Pilot St. Ex.
IWC

Today I had some additional meetings in Geneva and I am traveling back to Amsterdam at this very moment. I have some more picture of SIHH and will try to post tomorrow some trends presented at the Salon.

Update BaselWorld 2008: Trends Confirmed

April 8, 2008

Today was my second day at the trade show and I wrote a post about the following brands on www.aceblog.info:

– Ebel
– George Jensen
– Oris
– Gucci
– Hamilton
– Omega
– Breitling
– Breitling for Bentley
– Maurice Lacroix
– TAG Heuer (phones)

Yesterday I wrote about what I believe the trends for 2008 are:

1. Diamonded watches for ladies AND men are STILL hot, hereby AGAIN confirmed:

Ebel Beluga
Ebel Beluga

Gucci Chiodo
Gucci Chiodo

2. Big is still the trends, we thought that 46mm is large, well it got confirmed AGAIN:

Breitling Chrono-matic 49
We keep on benchmarking against the IWC Big Pilot of my father, here the 49mm Breitling Chrono-matic 49.

Hamilton Code Breaker
The crazy rectangular Hamilton Code Breaker of 48,5mm.

3. Black cases are still very trendy, black PVD on steel or titanium or ceramic. Another trend confirmed:

Gucci Signoria Black
Gucci Signoria newest update: COMPLETE BLACK CASES & STRAPS FOR LADIES!

Hamilton
Hamilton has many black cases in the collection!

4. Pink Gold is here to stay (it was in the 1920s and the 1950s). This is again confirmed in the 21st century:

Omega Museum Watch
The Eighth Omega Museum Watch in Pink Gold (Limited Edition).

5. HiMech = HiTech Mechanical Watches and up and coming, this was confirmed today by many brands:

Ebel Trekton Skeleton
Ebel Trekton Skeleton

Oris BC4 Side
A side view of the Oris BC4 Chronograph Automatic.

Hamilton X-copter Side
A side view of the Hamilton X-copter.

The year 2008 seems to be another amazing watch year! Enjoy!

First day in Basel for the event of the year: BaselWorld 2008

April 6, 2008

Today I arrived in Basel (Switzerland) after finishing work in Amsterdam (The Netherlands). Tomorrow I start ‘work’ (read: having fun) at the fair, but tonight we kicked off at BaselWorld with a party. Since five years it is widely known in the watch industry that the best parties are organized by Breitling. For a review, please visit: www.aceblog.info.

Tomorrow morning as soon as the fairgrounds open we will start our first meetings. I will try to make as much as possible photos as I can. RJ (WatchFreak Blog Author) requested me to make some photographs of Rolex. If you have any additional and/or other requests, please feel free to e-mail me: alon [at] watchfreaksblog.com. I will try to post here everyday, after I finished my day at the fairs (BaselWorld & SIHH).

BaselWorld 2008 Kick Off

April 3, 2008

YIPEEEHHHH!!! THE most important trade show in the watch industry started in Switzerland: BaselWorld. This is noticeable by the high volume of traffic to our website and the huge amount of new posts on blogs, new articles on watch forums and newsletters sent out by the major brands.

In case you are a New WatchFreak, BaselWorld is the leading event for the watch industry. 2.109 exhibitors will present their newest collections. Over 101.700 visitors come to Basel to see the marvels of 2007 last year. All the major watch brands (expect the Richemont brands plus: AP, GP, JR, Parmigiani and Roger Dubuis – they organize SIHH in Geneva next week) launch their newest model in this period!

Personally, I will be present at this event from Sunday Evening April 6th, 2008 till Thursday April 10th. Then I will head to Geneva to visit the SIHH event till Saturday April 12th, 2008. I will try to upload a post daily from these events with pictures on the Ace Jewelers blog (www.aceblog.info)! Keep posted!

Although I spoke to some people that visited the fair already today, none of them visited the Rolex booth yet, it seems that Rolex is stealing the show this year (again?!).

Please share your experiences, opinions, wishes and news here with all of us 😀

Ace & Dik Fence

February 12, 2008


Ace & Dik Fence

Originally uploaded by alonbj

Ace & Dik Jewelers team up with IWC to transform it’s dull and boring fence/shutter in to a giantic billboard. On the fence of the store on the Van Baerlestraat in Amsterdam, Ace Jewelers Group, together with IWC mounted an amazing poster of the IWC Portuguese 7 days power reserve in pink gold. In Dutch the slogan says: “This watch will run as long as you do. Plus seven days.”

IWC Factory Visit

January 22, 2008
After years of waiting, yesterday we visited the legendary factory of IWC in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. On this occasion, Team Ace and 10 customers, huge IWC fans, had they honor to go see the factory. We departed Amsterdam around 7 am and arrived in Zürich around 8.30 am. From there, we traveled by car to the IWC Factory Schaffhausen.After a warm welcome by the host and our guide for the day, we had a grand tour through the factory and unfortunately we were not permitted to take pictures inside. At noon we had lunch at an amazing restaurant located literally in the water of the Rhine river, with a spectacular view of the biggest waterfall of Europe Schlossi Wurth.

After lunch we were transported by boat to the heart of the waterfall, and we were able to climb the rock in the middle of the thundering waterfall. IWC was founded by an American in 1868 in Schaffhausen, because this waterfall supplied the energy for the factory!

Rhein Falls

When we all dried up and recovered from the spectacle, we visited the test laboratory of IWC. One of the visitors wanted to test the resistance of his Big Pilot watch in a super strong magnetic field and realized only an IWC Ingenieur watch can withstand such strong fields. Since his movement got magnetized, the chief of the laboratory was so friendly to demagnetize the watch for him.

The new IWC museum opened up in June of last year and looks amazing. Not only is a huge selection of milestone pocket and wrist watches on display, it also has beautiful movies and a rotating wall with the history of the company and its collections. Our group voted the following watches as the most beautiful:

Portuguese The Original

After seeing the history we had the opportunity to view the new collections, who were presented by nobody else than the legendary Kurt Klaus. After welcoming him a couple of times in Amsterdam, it was a honor to meet him in his hometown and work space where he created the infamous Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar movement.

Kurt Klaus

After asking several times, they were able to locate the new Limited Edition Portuguese Regulateur Tourbillon watch. This was a prototype and was amazing to see the completely see-through tourbillon on full effect. We were able to take a picture of the white gold version:

Portuguese Regulateur Tourbilion

After seeing and trying on all the marvelous timepieces, we had a light dinner and rushed back to Zürich airport to catch our flight back to Amsterdam.