Featured

SLR Chronograph by TAG Heuer

To celebrate the launch of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren super sports car, TAG Heuer and Mercedes-Benz have combined forces and know how to produce a stunning commemorative timepiece exclusively for Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren car owners.

The SLR Chronograph by TAG Heuer, like the high-performance, 200-mph, ultra-luxury sports car that inspired it, is an audacious creation, at the avant-garde of high technology and design, yet with the look and allure of a true classic. The direct result of TAG Heuer’s historic relationship with McLaren Mercedes, the SLR Chronograph reflects the values common to both the brand and the team: passion, performance and sporting prestige. Read more

Casio PRX-2000T

On April 1 2009, Casio will start selling the newest Protrek model: the PRX-2000T. It’s an evolution of the ABC watch (Altimeter/Barometer/Compass) reduced in size and upgraded in terms of build materials.

• List price is 99,750 JPY, or about $1,030 US as of Feb 2009. Yes, it's expensive.
• "World's thinnest" ABC watch at 11.3mm by 47.7mm by 57mm.
• Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating - excellent, I have been looking forward to this.
• Titanium case and band, carbide hardened.
• Waterproof to 100m (330ft).
• Low-temperature resistant down to -10C (14F).
• Six-band atomic set up to six times per day.
• 24-hour stopwatch.
• 24-hour countdown timer.
• Dual-layer LCD: one layer for compass and another for the rest. LCD segments are fixed in shape, so this makes sense.
• Five alarms.
• World time with 31 time zones and 48 cities. Not clear if this includes fractional hour offsets.
• Automatic EL backlight.
• Tough solar power, 23 month power reserve.
• The compass claims "16 azimuth angle of orientation" and "orientation correction function," which I would guess means it's more accurate when not held perfectly level.
• Lots and lots of measurements and modes for the altimeter/barometer, graphing and so on.
• Basic temperature measurement, but unless they've invented something new it mostly measures the temperature of your wrist and is therefore almost useless while worn. (This is a problem with all ABC watches.)

Rolex GMT Master II Luxury Watch

A must have for any luxury watch enthusiast; the Rolex GMT Master II is a great looking and very functional high-end Swiss timepiece. It’s a beautiful watch which is sophisticated in both appearance and operation, yet it somehow manages to present itself as understated and modest. The Rolex GMT Master II has a long and interesting history, and is certainly one of the most popular Rolex Professional models.

The big feature of the Rolex GMT Master II is the additional 24-hour hand which tracks hours against the bi-directional rotating bezel in “military time” as opposed to standard 12-hour time. It was originally created for Pan Am pilots back in the early days of transatlantic flights. The watch’s movement became more sophisticated over the years, and now allows the standard hour hand and the date to be set independently of the other hands which makes moving from one time zone to the next very smooth and simple.

The GMT feature of the Rolex GMT Master II is typically used in one of two ways. The first way is the technique the Pan Am pilots used, which is to keep track of both GMT and local time simultaneously. The second technique, which is more commonly used by travelers as opposed to pilots, is to set the 24-hour hand and the 12 hour hand to the same hour while in your home time zone, then to adjust the hour hand and date either ahead as you travel east, or back as you travel west. The movement in the GMT Master II is very unique in that it allows you adjust the hour and date backwards just as easily as forwards.

The Rolex GMT Master II is available with a black or brown dial and comes with your choice of three different bezel styles: all back, red and black, and the classic blue and red. The Rolex GMT Master II currently sells for $4,525 and is almost never discounted. As always, if you decide to go Rolex shopping, make sure you are buying from an authorized dealer or a reputable personal seller. Don’t expect discounts on stainless steel sports models, make sure all the paperwork is in order, and if the price looks too good to be true, it is!

TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre S

The TAG Heuer 2000 series is being re-released as the new Aquaracer series with an interesting new addition: the Calibre S. The Calibre S, being very sailing-specific, those of you who are true sailors will definitely appreciate what TAG has done with this new luxury watch. Read more

New Luxury Watch - The Rolex Milgauss

The Rolex Yacht-Master II Luxury Watch

An upgrade from the original Rolex Yacht-Master luxury watch the Rolex Yacht-Master II is a beautiful watch that any watch enthusiast would be proud to own. In a review by www.watchreport.com they stated “At BaselWorld 2007, Rolex announced a new sports watch for yachtsmen: the Rolex Yacht-Master II. When Rolex releases a sequel to an existing model, you can always expect to see impressive new functionality. Rolex made significant changes to the GMT Master movement between the original GMT Master, and the GMT Master II, the latter allowing the hour hand and the 24-hour hand to be set independently. Likewise, the Explorer II changed dramatically from the original Explorer, adopting the same movement as the GMT Master II which added a 24-hour hand and date. And now the Yacht-Master II represents another extremely important step in Rolex evolution.”

A true luxury watch, the Yacht-Master II differs from its predecessor by using an extremely complex and innovative new movement with a countdown timer which can be programmed to start between one and ten minutes in order to accommodate regattas with varying start sequences.  I use the term “program” rather than simply “set” because the value is actually remembered, and when the countdown timer is reset, the countdown hand will return to the last programmed value. For a mechanical watch, this is an extremely impressive feat. There is a tradeoff we must note, the date which was present in the initial Yacht-Master had to go to make room on the dial as to allow for the additional complication of the movement.

Slowdown in switzerland luxury watches

The slowdown in demand for new expensive luxury watches is causing a panic in Switzerland, where 2009 is threatening to be the worst year for the Swiss industry since the “quartz crisis” of the 1970s and 1980s, which made mechanical luxury watches technologically obsolete and reduced industry employment to 30,000 from 90,000.

In the article “Luxury watch gut panics Switzerland”, http://network.nationalpost.com the article states, “Switzerland exported 17-billion Swiss francs worth of watches in 2008, a 1-billion franc increase from 2007. Yet exports dropped dramatically at the end of the year, reports the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. Exports were 1.3-billion francs in December, 2009, a 7.6% drop from December 2007.” Given such negative statistics, this year could prove to be one of the worst years the luxury watch industry has seen in recent history.

Understanding the luxury watch enthusiast

I myself personally am not into luxury watches and I can think of a lot of better things to spend my money on or invest my money in. But lately I’ve come across several luxury watch enthusiasts. I will admit, luxury watches are very attractive and seem to be a status thing in our society, but for me a watch was made to tell the time. But for all of you that do appreciate the quality and beauty of a fine luxury watch I do believe that where you purchase the watch is almost as important as the luxury watch you purchase. Using a very reputable dealer is essential and will be appreciated when or if you go to sell your watch.  From what I’ve read I reccomend Melrose Jewlers, here’s a direct qoute on them from the MSNBC website, “Melrose Jewelers now carries fine luxury Rolex watches including the Rolex Datejust Royal Black with 18k white gold case, 60 baguette sapphires, bezel edge and end pieces with diamonds, black and diamond zebra dial and black and rubber and galuchet strap with 10 diamonds. The Rolex Datejust Royal Black is available in a unisex size in both mens and ladies luxury watches. Melrose Jewelers also carries the 18K Gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner with Black Dial, the 18K Gold ladies Rolex Submariner with Blue Dial, the Stainless Steel Baguette Diamond Black Dial Rolex Submariner, the 50th Anniversary Green Bezel Rolex Submariner, and the Mens Two Tone Rolex Submariner.”

If you’re going to purchase a luxury watch I suggest you check out the article for yourself at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29232076/ .