Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44

It’s now been well over a year since the arrival of Georges Kern as CEO of Breitling. The first releases after his arrival fell into the new “Navitimer 8” series and while they were nice, some felt that they were a touch plain.

Personally speaking, I like them and I think the neutral reception from most was based more upon the shock of seeing Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 that weren’t in the vein of the blingy Bentley series than anything else. Still, it was clear that the watch world was waiting for something earth shaking and triumphant as a result of Kern’s leadership. While today’s subject still likely lacks the “shock and awe” that most seemingly desire, a closer look will hopefully convince you that Breitling is in far safer hands than it has been in a very long time. If nothing else (although I strongly feel there’s something far more at work here), the new Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph should be taken as a positive omen that serious goodness will continue to come from the revamped Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 brand.
One thing that so many of us watch curmudgeons disliked about Breitling over the past 20 years was its apparent disregard for its back catalog. Sure, the company was happy to proudly display its founding date, but they consistently threw sand into the eyes of the faithful in several ways such as wrongly reporting the year of the first Navitimer. Then, abominations such as the wrist-colossus Bentley pieces made their way to the market and it felt as if the brand had reached a point of no return; we’d never see nods to the brand’s glorious past. Well, enter 2017 and Georges Kern joined. In his prior role, he made IWC extremely successful, but some would say at the expense of keeping the brand’s subtle, technical, teutonic styling intact. So, what would we get with Kern at Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 ?
It’s no secret that I have a strong affinity for Breitling’s history and its simply ridiculous library of vintage chronographs – heck, I dedicated a good bit of my vacation to compiling the lengthy “Breitling Expert Interviews”. Furthermore, I “virtually” hang out with a gang of Breitling collectors and it’s no secret as to who leads this band of thugs: Fred Mandelbaum. What I can share with you is that prior to Kern’s arrival, it was as if someone was constantly poking a voodoo doll in the guise of Fred. Whether it was the release of another ginormous monstrosity from his most favorite marque or, worse, seeing TAG Heuer grab its, by comparison, relatively slim history by the horns and run with it, it was clearly bothering Fred. And so, when Georges Kern came on the scene, we heard that he had reached out to Fred and all of us slept a bit better that night. While I am not here to comment on Fred’s involvement with Breitling and its new designs, (we know that he travels extensively with the brand to help shed light on its history to collectors and dealers) something tells me that he at least threw down some guiding opinions on the new Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph.
The Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph joins a number of other new models within the reissued Premier line. In addition to the in-house 42mm B01-powered models (there are several dial variants including a beautiful green Bentley version – yes, a beautiful Bentley version), there are 42mm ETA 7750-powered models, 40mm automatics with sub-second dial, and 40mm day-date models. All of the models can be had on either leather or a stainless bracelet featuring links that are “cut on the bias” as a former boss once said. Today, though, we’re only here to talk about the range-topper and that’s the Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 .

Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 Night Mission

Breitling, which recently revamped its Colt collection as well as tweaked the look of its newest Chronomat Airborne watches, has also given a redesign to another popular line in its portfolio, the Breitling Avenger II watches series. The Breitling Avenger II collection includes two chronographs, one divers’ watch, and one GMT watch.

Breitling Avenger II watches has developed the Avenger II series to be “even more technical, functional, and sophisticated,” with a slimmer and more ergonomic case profile, aviation-style “stencil” numerals; an engraved, satin-brushed bezel with integrated rider tabs; and a lighter, titanium caseback with a conversion scale for metric measurements. The Avenger II retains the large screw-locked crown with non-slip grip; the thick, glareproof sapphire crystal; and large hands, numerals and hour markers, here enhanced with Super-LumiNova.
The Breitling Avenger II watches are available with several dial colors, with numerals or indices for hour markers, and on either a rubber strap or on a new Breitling professional bracelet with redesigned links. All of the Avenger II models have automatic movements and, like all Breitling’s watches, are COSC-certified chronometers.

Breitling Avenger Automatic GMT 44

Breitling Avenger Automatic GMT 44 has introduced an updated Avenger collection of pilot-inspired watches. Dating to the early 2000s, the Avenger collection has been scaled down and simplifed to make for a sleek update. The collection includes the Automatic 42, GMT 44, and the B01 Breitling Avenger Automatic GMT 44 – the chronograph uses Breitling’s manufacture caliber 01. While the new collection maintains the aviation inspiration and rugged profile of the Avenger, the updates align the Avenger with other updates we’ve seen across Breitling’s catalog.

Younger than many of Breitling Avenger Automatic GMT 44 other collections, the Avenger is a bit of a modern mash-up of everything that makes Breitling Breitling. The adjectives practically write themselves: big, bold, rugged, aviation-inspired, tool. The tweaks to the case, dial, and profile of the Avenger make it a bit more streamlined and contemporary. Gone are the big winged Breitling logo, and Arabic numerals, replaced with the simple stencil “B” and baton markers. The stainless steel case of the GMT and chronograph models measure 44mm, while the three-hander automatic measures 42mm. All are a downsize compared to the previous collection. Additionally, the case offers more detail and finishing, with bevels on the lugs and polished details on the tabs of the rotating bezel.
Swiss watch company Breitling recently held one of its still-new Breitling Summit event concepts here in Los Angeles. One of the new references launched was this duo of GMT watches, the Breitling Avenger Automatic GMT 45 (reference A32395101C1A1 or A32395101C1X1 / A32395101C1X2) and the related Avenger Automatic GMT 45 Night Mission (reference V32395101B1X1 / V32395101B1X2).

First, a tangent about the brand’s activities. I’ve said multiple times recently that the brand has been one of the best performing luxury watch companies over the last 18 months, due to the re-energized Georges Kern and the ability for him to execute his ideas. If anything, Kern’s short time at Breitling Avenger Automatic GMT 44 (about two years) demonstrates the power of what you can do if a company’s financial arm allows for a CEO to spend and invest in the future, no matter the current state of global investor confidence. The good news for Breitling is that their efforts are paying off, even today.

Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica

Breitling has introduced an updated Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica collection of pilot-inspired watches. Dating to the early 2000s, the Avenger collection has been scaled down and simplifed to make for a sleek update. The Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica collection includes the Automatic 42, GMT 44, and the B01 Chronograph 44 – the chronograph uses Breitling’s manufacture caliber 01. While the new collection maintains the aviation inspiration and rugged profile of the Avenger, the updates align the Avenger with other updates we’ve seen across Breitling’s catalog.

Younger than many of Breitling’s other collections, the Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica is a bit of a modern mash-up of everything that makes Breitling Breitling. The adjectives practically write themselves: big, bold, rugged, aviation-inspired, tool. The tweaks to the case, dial, and profile of the Avenger make it a bit more streamlined and contemporary. Gone are the big winged Breitling logo, and Arabic numerals, replaced with the simple stencil “B” and baton markers. The stainless steel case of the GMT and chronograph models measure 44mm, while the three-hander automatic measures 42mm. All are a downsize compared to the previous collection. Additionally, the case offers more detail and finishing, with bevels on the lugs and polished details on the tabs of the rotating bezel. The Avenger collection has aviation inspiration all over it, and with that the chronograph remains the most important model of the collection. The updated Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 measures 44mm by 15.2mm (53mm lug-to-lug), using the manufacturer’s caliber B01, a COSC-certified, column wheel, vertical clutch movement with 70-hour power reserve. The manufacture movement represents a technical leap forward for the Avenger chronograph. It’s still a big watch that won’t be for everyone, but that’s what we expect – even ask – of Breitling. And with downsized offerings in other corners of the catalog, this keeps the Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica true to its original purpose. The Avenger Chronograph 44 is offered with a steel bracelet or military leather strap and four dial colors: blue, green, black, or sand. On a strap, MSRP starts at $8,000. Alongside the stainless steel chronograph, Breitling has introduced the “Night Mission” version, with the same specs, just a black ceramic bezel and case with a black or yellow dial (the crown and pushers are titanium!). MSRP of the Night Mission Chronograph is $9,300. The Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica GMT 44 measures 44mm by 12mm (53 lug-to-lug) and has an independently adjustable 24-hour hand thanks to the ETA base Breitling caliber 32, COSC-certified and with 42 hours of power reserve (a “caller GMT” in Stacey speak, as it’s the 24-hour hand, not the hour hand, that’s adjustable). The Avenger GMT has a bi-directional rotating bezel with the quickly indentifiable “Rider tabs” at the cardinal directions that are something of a Breitling signature. It’s offered with a black or blue dial, on a strap or bracelet, with prices starting at $5,250 on strap. Last, the Avenger Automatic 42 is the time-and-date model of the new collection, powered by Breitling’s COSC-certified caliber 17 (ETA caliber 2824-2). Measuring 42mm by 12.1mm (51mm lug-to-lug), it’s sized down from the complicated Avenger offerings, though a touch thicker than the GMT. It has a uni-directional rotating bezel, and is offered with a green, black, or blue dial; again, with or without strap. Starting at $4,600.

Together, the new Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica models represent a sleek and necessary update to a collection that was showing its age. They seem fairly priced, especially considering the chronograph uses Breitling’s manufacture B01 chronograph caliber.

MB&F Horological Machine N°11 HM11 Architect

There’s something poetic about MB&F’s choice to launch the MB&F HM11 “Architect” the day before Dubai Watch Week in a country Büsser has called home since 2014. It is, paradoxically, a watch that seems furthest from home of Büsser’s recent Horological Machine designs which have become (and I hate to say this) often predictably automotive. But this is, as the brand has told me, “a home for the wrist.”

No, that’s not a commentary on the typically enormous size of any MB&F Horological Machine N°11 HM11 Architect watch, though here, measuring a relatively small 42mm wide by (still pretty hefty) 23mm thick. It’s not even a jab at the cost of the HM-11, a cool $230,000. Most of MB&F’s Horological Machines look like “things” (many of them automotive, some of them unintentionally – well – like an eggplant emoji). This time, the watch draws inspiration from the futuristic architecture of the 1960s and 1970s that incorporated modernism and organic architecture philosophies. And it’s undeniably one of the brand’s most creative and interesting designs.
It’s not a far cry from Matti Suuronen’s Futuro house – the Finnish designer’s 1970 fiberglass-reinforced plastic design – which was met with some of the same hostility (or at least incredulousness) I often see for MB&F’s HMs. Adjusted for inflation, the Futuro cost less at around $105,000. The apertures look a little more like Antti Lovag’s “Palais Bulles” (without the water features) meets Charles Haertling’s “Brenton House.” In fact, Büsser admits that while his wife wouldn’t love to live in these buildings, he would. It was an Instagram post of “Brenton House“ that made Büsser think “that would make a good watch.”

Just like any of the above buildings, I wouldn’t say I ever really felt like any HM was really for me (save for maybe the HM5 or HM8 Mark II). But I still do my best to at least interpret them and understand the appeal. Looking back to the 1960s and 1970s, architects of the day often attempted to break free from traditional design language that, while comfortable and accessible to mass audiences, had failed to evolve to take advantage of modern building techniques, materials, and engineering capabilities. If that sounds familiar, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the efforts of these architects and their approach to modernizing design have (unsurprisingly) fascinated Büsser for years. The same challenges Büsser’s team have had to learn to overcome – nearly impossible shaped sapphire crystal, hard-to-machine titanium – all come into play here. But rather than looking to the automotive industry as the team has in the past, Eric Giroud, the design leader, drew on his architectural background to inform the layout of HM11. Büsser and Giroud have envisioned the HM11 as a house with four rooms. It’s somewhat like Monsanto’s “House of Tomorrow,” with a central area and branching useful spaces built off of it. In that middle space on the MB&F Horological Machine N°11 HM11 Architect is a one-minute reverse-rotation central flying tourbillon under a double-domed sapphire. The watch will come in two colors, one with PVD-coated “ozone blue” plates, and the other in 5N gold – 25 pieces each. But as eye-catching as they are, the real party is being held in the side rooms of the HM11 house.
On a practical level, the HM11 is read similarly to every Horological Machine since HM3: at an angle on the wrist. To that effect, this may be the least legible Horological Machine that MB&F has ever made. I’m lucky to have 20/20 vision and am generally the last to decry legibility with even the most unusual combinations of dial colors, handsets, or odd displays like the Cartier Tank à Guichet. It’s actually something I struggle to remember in these reviews – call it a “forest for the trees” situation. But in both those instances – and here – the redeeming factor is that these aren’t so much practical watches as sculptural horological machines – as the name explicitly states – for the wrist. If you want legibility and practicality, head to the “Legacy Machine” lineup from MB&F Horological Machine N°11 HM11 Architect and pick your poison. Even the LMs aren’t the most legible watches on the market, but that’s not what you’re buying anyway. In this case, what you’re actually buying is a brilliantly thought-out homage to some of the greatest designers of the 1960s and 1970s, a design that goes further than the overall pod-like design. Case in point: in the first of the four rooms, you can see a small display with two white arrow hands featuring red tips. And they are quite small, about 0.6mm. Those hands point to metal balls on short rods radiating from the center of the display – silver-colored for the quarter hours and brass at the other five-minute intervals. Its timekeeping is drawn from American industrial designer George Nelson’s “Horloge Vitra” Ball Clocks, a design so deeply embedded in my memory that I had never questioned who created it until I saw the HM11. All that is housed in a window about 11.45mm tall, so it’s not the largest face for a watch, to say the least. To translate the horizontal plane of the tourbillon movement to a vertical display for the watch (and the other rooms, which we’ll get to) the brand continues to lean on conical gears which are more visible here than any other HM I can remember, which makes it a perfect way to study the ingenuity that makes MB&F Horological Machine N°11 HM11 Architect watches so compelling. As with most modern architectural projects, energy efficiency is key, and the HM11 acknowledges that in two ways. First is in room two. There, you’ll find a similar display for the power reserve, counting down the 96 hours of power reserve held in the mainspring. To get to the second room from the first, there’s no contortion required. Instead, the watch – rather intuitively rotates unidirectionally around a central axis with an easy twist, locking into position every 45 or 90 degrees so it won’t freely spin. In fact, if you turn it only 45 degrees, it’s almost even more easily viewed as a “driver’s” watch. All of this is suspended on a lightweight titanium frame with long lugs. Room three is something novel and unusual these days: a thermometer, available in either Celcius or Fahrenheit. In fact, this makes it one of maybe a handful of mechanical modern watches with a thermometer. While these kinds of complications used to be made in pocket watches (I seem to recall seeing a number by Jules Jurgensen, for instance) I can only think of one other, by Ball, on the modern market. That watch requires the wearer to remove it from their wrist for a period of time or their body temperature will impact the thermometer’s function – essentially it’ll read your body’s temperature all day. The new HM11 doesnot have that problem. It’s a pretty smart (though maybe less useful) inclusion, all things considered, if for no other reason than the fact the design of the thermometer takes advantage of MB&F’s watchmakers’ existing skills. The watch uses a spring thermometer, with a coiled metal that expands when the temperature rises and contracts as it cools. Just as watchmakers learn to work hairsprings, those skills apparently apply just as well when it comes to regulating a thermometer. The final “room” sits at what would be three o’clock on a normal watch – if the watch is set for viewing the time, at least. Instead of another function, the room is a see-through crystal crown for time setting, a room the brand calls the watch’s front door. It’s the appropriate place for a crown, but this isn’t any ordinary crown.

While a normal crown needs a 2mm gasket, the large size of this crown required some rethinking. Instead, two sets of gaskets are used, creating a kind of double airlock, with eight gaskets total for the crown (19 are used in the watch). This gives the watch 20m of water resistance. But the size of the crown caused a problem. With the initial design of the watch, any attempt to pull the crown out immediately caused it to be sucked back in by the vacuum of the small amount of air inside the domed crystal? The solution was to make the crown’s volume bigger, lessening the impact of a small change in volume when the crown is pulled out. With most brands working to make their watches thinner, it’s a funny but smart and necessary change. One thing you’ll notice while wearing the watch is that the crown doesn’t actually wind the movement. And yet, it’s a manually-wound watch. I mentioned that energy efficiency is key and the fact that the “house” rotates on its foundation isn’t just a parlor trick. Each 45° clockwise turn not only gives you a tactile click, it delivers 72 minutes of power directly to the barrel. After 10 complete rotations, HM11 is at its maximum power. For all the technical specs and creative features, I’ve probably missed a few things. But I’ve also glossed over one important question: how does the watch wear? Well, I’m guessing that even with its steep price tag, there are 50 eager buyers out there for the MB&F Horological Machine N°11 HM11 Architect , many of whom have probably seen a preview of the watch just like I did and have made up their own minds on that question. I doubt buyers really care that much about how the watch wears. For people who can’t afford the watch, I’d bet a lot of people would glibly say that the wearability doesn’t matter much. I could tell you that I was surprised at how comfortable it was on my wrist at 42mm (2mm thinner than the Sequential Evo) and how it didn’t feel nearly as thick as the 23mm specs. It even fit under a shirt cuff. But you’re right. None of that matters much. The most important fact is that Büsser is doing what he’s always done: thinking so far outside the box that it challenges what we even consider a watch anymore. It might not be as technically innovative as last year’s Sequential Evo, nor would it be what I would consider the quintessential distillation of Büsser’s designs in the way an LM-101 might be. But in an age where so many brands are homogenizing their releases (and trust me, I get constant press releases from new brands creating the same watches as so many others), or falling into complacency, at least something is comforting in knowing I can yet again expect to be surprised by Büsser and his team.

Patek Philippe Aquanaut Luce Rainbow Minute Repeater Haute Joaillerie

Demand for jewelry watches is by all accounts heating up, and Patek Philippe Nautilus is nourishing the segment with an unprecedented burst of bling: seven new jeweled pieces, ranging from diamond bezels to pieces with full setting on every surface. Highlighting the launch are two rainbow-sapphire and diamond models in the ladies’ Aquanaut Luce collection, plus five new pieces in the Nautilus collection, including three fully set models.
What makes a watch ultra-luxurious for any given collector is highly subjective: for some, it’s technical feats and for others, it’s about materials and aesthetics. With Patek’s latest additions to its catalog, we get the best of both worlds. The Swiss watchmaker has been growing the complexity of its Aquanaut Luce collection for the past several years. We saw the debut of a dual-time-zone Travel Time model in 2021, a self-winding flyback chronograph in 2022, and an Annual Calendar this past spring. Now, we get the first Grand Complication to appear in the collection: the Aquanaut Luce “Rainbow” Minute Repeater Haute Joaillerie References.
With the Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5260/355R-001 and 5260/1455R-001 you have two models that perfectly embody the luxury sport watch with high-level gem setting and technical complexity. The 5260/355R-001 features a warm rose gold build with all the classic hallmarks of the Aquanaut line, including the signature octagonal bezel. Here, it gets special treatment with a double row of baguette-cut gems featuring the “invisible setting” along with an outer row of diamonds and an inner row of multicolored sapphires in a rainbow of hues. Altogether, it shows off 52 multicolored baguette-cut sapphires totaling 3.19 carats, 112 baguette-cut diamonds totaling 7.31 carats, and 160 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 0.72 carats. The stones extend to the dial with a center paved with baguette diamonds featuring the “invisible setting”, an hour circle adorned with brilliant-cut diamonds featuring the “snow setting,” and 12 multicolored sapphire hour markers.
Yesterday morning, in the early hours East Coast time, Patek Philippe launched a host of new references in the Aquanaut and Patek Philippe Nautilus collections. One of those watches stood out from the rest: a rainbow Aquanaut with minute repeater complication “for ladies.” Needless to say, I woke up to a tirade of rainbow Aquanaut images on Instagram. After approximately five solid minutes of eye-rubbing, a giant glass of water, and a barrage of unopened texts about the new Patek, I checked my phone for the second time. I was immediately reminded of last year’s Aquanaut Luce rainbow release and my militant scrutiny regarding gem-setting as the easy way out for women’s watch design.

Patek Philippe Nautilus Ladies

Last Sunday was International Women’s Day. I celebrated it by wearing a Patek Philippe Ladies Nautilus. The watch is marketed and positioned in the brand’s extensive catalog as a woman’s model. Is it? . . .

The Patek Philippe Nautilus traces its origin to the pen of famed watch designer Gerald Genta, hired to rescue Patek from the ravages of the quartz watch crisis. The watchmaker’s vision for the brand-saving Nautilus: an ocean-inspired luxury watch stylish and durable enough to take anywhere. Initially decried as too modern, the Nautilus was a huge hit.
And so it remains. For certain “grail” models, pre-owned prices far exceed retail values. More than forty years after its introduction the most coveted model is both the simplest and the largest expression of Genta’s genius: the “Jumbo.”

The Jumbo was too large for some. In 1980, Patek began making the Nautilus in various case sizes, including the “ladies’ Nautilus.” The variations increased the Nautilus’ popularity to the point where it became the default choice for the discerning luxury watch buyer.

Patek sells more midsize Nautilus models than Jumbo variants. Other than size, the smaller models differ from their Jumbo cousins in their reduced water resistance. Mostly everything else is exactly the same, give or take.
Until Patek Philippe updated the movement in the 5711 Jumbo model at Baselworld last year, even the movements were the same. The caliber 324 S C powers the reference 7118 models that now appear in the Patek catalog as the Nautilus “Ladies’ Automatic.”

Ladies’ Nautilus or not, the 7118 references are midsized luxury sports watch models with high horology finishes and fun, casually elegant dials. In steel or gold, they suit most lifestyles with a certain poise increasingly missing in the world of watches.

The cases are a rounded octagon with lobes extending on either side. They come with the highly fashionable H-link integrated bracelets. The ears (wings, lobes, whatever) extending from the case sides are a mechanical component in the case’s construction.

The case is a two-part assembly, with screws through the lobes securing the bezel. This hinged porthole assembly characterizes the design of the Nautilus models and distinguishes them from their competition from [also Genta designed] Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak. The Ladies Nautilus comes in a variety of high quality finishes. The bezel’s and case’s satin finish have a fine, longitudinal silken grain, bringing the extremely high-polished bevels around the bezel and the lugs to the foreground.

The high polish continues on the central case sections of the flanking lobes and around the back to the sapphire caseback’s circular bezel. The bezel holding the sapphire caseback in place is part of the central case structure, not a snap-on.

Covering the dial, the flat sapphire crystal is shaped around the edges and traces and matches the contours of the rounded octagonal bezel. To prevent water ingress, a thin sliver of a rubber gasket is sandwiched between the case and the bezel’s porthole construction – a Genta signature. Flipping the Patek Philippe Nautilus Ladies over, a sapphire crystal fills the majority of the surface. Patek finishes the lugs’ underside with a fine sandblasted finish. There’s a prominent break in the rounded shoulders of the lugforms between the satin and blasted finishing – a masterpiece of high-horology construction.

The brightwork doesn’t end with the case. The bevels continue from the lug flanks, conforming to the taper of the supple bracelet. It’s visually indistinguishable in step from link to link, adding a broad but softened stance to the bracelet’s square-shouldered look. The design’s cadence invites the wearer to stroke the bevels.The clasp is a double-deployant, dual arc foldover mechanism with pusher-activated release. The leaf-spring loaded pusher releases are formed from an elegant Z-shaped sinuous rocker arm architecture in high polish. When the friction-fit snap shut clasp is closed, the fleur-de-lis engravings on each of its sides join to form the Calatrava cross.

The steel models – designated with the suffix /1A [steel in French is acier]- are available in three dial colors. The dials are finely embossed with variable depth wave-like patterns echoing the watch’s oceanic inspiration and aspirations. Model number 001 features the handsome blue opaline dial, clear lacquered over a latitudinally satin-finished galvanized base. The Patek Philippe signature, along with its home base Geneve, are transfer printed in white just under 12 o’clock.

The minutes track is denoted by fine and highly polished applied white gold hemispheres. Then ten hours are indexed by highly polished lozenge-shaped applied white gold markers. 12 o’clock features an applied white gold Arabic numeral 12 in high polish. The date sits at 6 o’clock, adorned with a high polished octagonal white gold frame.The date disk has a white background – it visually balances and distinguishes itself on the dial with superb elegance. Despite the varied ornaments and finishes and the undulating embossing, the dial’s overall balance is excellent. It’s youthful and sexy, full of dynamism and zest. Because of its depth, the gem-like blue face is electrifying. The dial’s character is a superb match for the sensuous styling of the cold, steel case.

The Patek Philippe Nautilus Ladies white gold handset for these references is a departure from the Jumbo Nautilus models, even though it maintains the paddle-shaped theme. Starting out broad at the central pinion, the hour and minute hands taper to a rounded point . The seconds hand is a needle-shape, perfectly polished and distortion free. It might be hard to spot in low light but its counterbalance is broad; the whole form is rolled along its longitudinal axis to catch as much light as it can.The white gold hour indices, hour and minute hands are all generously painted with luminescent material – low-light legibility is strong. Day or night, telling the time is an easy delight, with the bold Arabic numeral 12 providing proper orientation. You set the hands via the push/pull cylindrical crown, knurled and polished, recessed into the 3 o’clock case side.

The action of the crown is old school, linking you to the past of fine watchmaking. The crown pulls out to its first position to set the date, to its second position to set the time. The winding stem uses reduction gearing to slow the inputs, allowing precise time setting and prolonging your interaction with your Patek Philippe Ladies Nautilus. Winding is smooth but crisp, with immense feel and satisfaction.

The downside of the highly polished knurling and the reduced gearing: it takes a long time to wind or set the movement. Once you’re good to go, the peerless automatic winding mechanism picks up the slack. The movement is one of the best in the entire industry, offering precision, reliability and some of the finest hand finishing you can buy on a serially-produced caliber.The 21-karat gold centrally-rotating winding mass for the automatic winding mechanism is decorated with a Calatrava cross engraving. It features fine micro-perlage or snailing around its bearings with broad, circular Geneva ribbing, striping, or waves, radially arranged for the rest of its massive surface.

The inside edges of the Ladies Nautilus’ rotor are highly polished bevels. Patek also highly-polishes the bevels adorning every bridge plate, jewel chaton, and chamfered-slot screw countersink. All the bridges are treated to a Geneva ribbing finish. The large Gyromax balance featuring the Spiromax balance spring is free sprung for protection from shock-induced timing deviation. The baseplate of the movement is finished with a perlage or snailed pattern.

The entirety of the 3.3 mm thin and 27mm wide movement is visible from the back. The movement – hand finished with wood and diamond tipped tools – passes an in-house stringency surpassing the Geneva seal requirements to earn the Patek Philippe Nautilus Ladies seal. The seal’s engraved and gilded on one of the bridges.

The 4 Hz movement (beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour) features 29 jewels overall. The Ladies Nautilus runs for 45 hours once fully wound. The automatic winding action of the rotor is unidirectional to maximize efficiency.

U-Boat Darkmoon 44 BR

Colours have always influenced our emotions, our daily life, and they do it unconsciously, to the point of often becoming synonymous with our emotional states, stimulating our imagination and determining our mood. Wearing our favorite colours and their shades as well as beautifully designed objects is certainly a good strategy to have a more positive mood every day.
The new U-Boat Darkmoon 44 BR range consists of 13 watches characterized by the innovative concept of “Oil Immersion”, tested for the first time in the Capsoil model, where an oil bath completely immerses the Swiss Ronda quartz movement and completely surrounds the dial turning it into a full, deep color. A compensation bubble floats freely on the dial protecting the watch from the changes in the external temperature.
Always interested in how colors exert their influence upon us, Italo Fontana expands the U-Boat Darkmoon 44 BR collection of watches, offering the chance to its wearer to choose the nuance of the dial that feels most its own and positively influence its own moods passing from red, to black, to blue, to green and brown.
From a technical point of view, the designer from Lucca adds an innovative locking ring system with quick battery replacement, an innovation not only conceived for all Darkmoon models but also for the acclaimed Capsoil Chrono watch in both the steel case and the U-Boat Darkmoon 44 BR black DLC version.

Bell and Ross BR 03-92 Diver Tara

In collaboration with the Tara Océan Foundation, Bell & Ross presents the BR 03-92 DIVER TARA limited edition. This professional-grade diver’s watch has been designed to meet the needs of the crew on board the oceanography exploration schooner Tara, who carries out the organisation’s scientific mission even in extreme conditions. The Tara Ocean Foundation is the first public interest foundation in France dedicated to the Ocean. It has two main missions: exploring the Ocean to better understand it and sharing scientific knowledge about the Ocean to raise public awareness.

For 20 years, the Foundation has been supporting innovative Ocean science, in partnership with world-leading research centres to study marine biodiversity, as well as observing and anticipating the impacts of climate change and pollution. Faced with the urgent need to make the protection of the Ocean a common responsibility, the Foundation raises public awareness of the challenges facing the Ocean, educates young generations, facilitates international cooperation, and mobilises policymakers.

Bell & Ross has always designed watches that are built for action. The BR 03-92 DIVER TARA watch has been adopted by all crew members because of its legibility and efficiency. Regularly confronted with perilous conditions, the crew has to push the limits of the extreme. To cope with the magnitude of their tasks, these experienced scientists and sailors need to be able to count on precise, reliable tools under all circumstances. Every model from the new BR 03-92 DIVER TARA takes part in this commitment: for every watch sold, part of the profits will be donated to the Foundation.

For a perfect symbiosis with the Tara Océan Foundation, Bell & Ross chose to design BR 03-92 DIVER TARA, an instrument watch worthy of the missions undertaken by the scientists on board the schooner Tara. Part of the BR 03 DIVER professional diver’s watch collection, this limited edition watch is waterproof to a depth of 300 metres.

The model features a 42mm matte blue ceramic case and is equipped with a unidirectional rotating ceramic bezel in blue and orange, graduated to 60 minutes as required by professional divers. This efficient timepiece is powered by the BR-CAL 302 self-winding mechanical movement, displaying the hours, minutes, seconds and date. To ensure the display’s perfect readability whether on land, on board or while diving, the deep blue metal dial features applique indexes and white graduation, with optimal luminescence in the dark thanks to a Super- LumiNova coating. The seconds hand features an orange tint, making it immediately identifiable and readable.
The flexible and comfortable strap closes with a steel pin buckle with blue PVD coating and is made of blue woven rubber lined with an ultra-resistant technical material.

Ulysse Nardin Diver Starry Night

Ulysse Nardin just dropped two rather stunning new timepieces, giving a nod to aventurine dials: the Diver Starry Night and the Marine Torpilleur Moonphase Aventurine. The art of aventurine traces back to the eighteenth century on the island of Murano in Venice, known for its skilled glass artisans. Legend has it that a craftsman inadvertently introduced copper filings into molten glass, giving birth to aventurine glass, aptly named “avventurina” in Italian, meaning “by accident.” Working with this delicate material requires immense skill from the artisans. They meticulously select uniform pieces free from imperfections and adorned with even speckles of copper glitter to create the dials.
Ulysse Nardin’s history in crafting precision deck chronometers for naval forces during the 19th and 20th centuries established its reputation as a master of the craft. These instruments were essential for determining a ship’s position at sea, relying on utmost accuracy. The Maison earned accolades for its excellence and supplied its inventions to over 50 navies, geodesy institutes, and astronomical observatories.

This maritime legacy gave rise to the iconic Marine Chronometer, an embodiment of technical mastery. In 2017, the Marine Torpilleur, a new generation of chronometers, emerged, incorporating the technical and aesthetic codes of the Marine Chronometer, including the fluted bezel, Roman numeral hour markers, double counter, and rhodium-plated hands.

The new Marine Torpilleur Moonphase Aventurine, an exclusive limited edition of 300 pieces, showcases a resplendent blue aventurine dial that resembles a starry night sky. It is housed in a 42 mm stainless steel case and powered by the UN-119 Manufacture caliber, meticulously designed and assembled by the integrated Ulysse Nardin Manufacture. The movement boasts a silicon balance spring and a DIAMonSIL escapement wheel and anchor, an innovative patented treatment that combines silicon with synthetic diamonds, rendering the movement abrasion and shock-resistant.

The double counter at 12 o’clock displays the power reserve and small seconds at 6 o’clock. Additionally, a moon phase disc adds a touch of elegance as it graces the starry night. Water-resistant to 50 meters, this timepiece is presented on a blue alligator strap with a folding clasp.
Inspired by the mesmerizing colors of the Milky Way, the Diver Starry Night unveils a dial as captivating as it is dazzling. Ulysse Nardin’s artisans meticulously superimposed two plates: one crafted from iridescent mother-of-pearl and the other from blue aventurine glass.

The enchantment continues with the diamonds adorning the bezel (0.8 carats) and 11-hour markers (0.12 carats). At its core, the caliber UN-816 features an anchor and escapement wheel made of silicon. This polished and satin-finished steel diver’s watch is water resistant to 300 meters, boasting a 39 mm diameter suitable for all wrist sizes. It is offered with a strap in dark blue textured rubber or white alligator, ensuring excellent readability even in low-light conditions, thanks to hands and the 12 o’clock hour marker coated with white SuperLuminova
Over the 19th and 20th centuries, Ulysse Nardin earned an exceptional reputation as a master of deck chronometers for naval forces around the world. The accuracy of these instruments was crucial for calculating longitude to determine a ship’s position at sea. The Maison won awards for its excellence at the time and supplied its inventions to over 50 navies, geodesy institutes and astronomical observatories. This nautical background led Ulysse Nardin to create the emblematic Marine Chronometer, an expression of its technical prowess. In 2017, a new generation of chronometers was born with the Marine Torpilleur, a timepiece that adopts the technical and aesthetic codes of the Marine Chronometer, including the fluted bezel, Roman numeral hour markers, double counter, and rhodium-plated hands.

The new Marine Torpilleur Moonphase Aventurine, an exclusive limited edition of 300 pieces, reveals a sparkling blue aventurine dial reminiscent of a night sky, set in a 42 mm stainless steel case. Powered by the UN-119 Manufacture calibre, fully designed and assembled by the integrated Ulysse Nardin Manufacture, this movement is equipped with a silicon balance spring as well as a DIAMonSIL escapement wheel and anchor. This patented treatment, which combines silicon with synthetic diamonds to make the movement abrasion and shock-resistant, was introduced for the first time on the Freak in 2007. Finally, the double counter displays the power reserve at 12 o’clock and small seconds at 6 o’clock, as well as a moon phase disc, which adds elegance when it appears in the starry night. Water-resistant to 50 metres, this timepiece is presented on a blue alligator strap with folding clasp.