Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Audemars Piguet Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph 47 mm

















Audemars Piguet - Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph NEW


As a company still in the hands of the founding families, Audemars Piguet cultivates its original traditions by producing, with the help of brilliant, devoted and manually gifted watchmakers, an array of works that are admired by the most discerning collectors and connoisseurs.

Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... 


































This year, in order to express the very best in watchmaking, the Manufacture in Le Brassus has decided to develop a model equipped with complications and clothed in a case inspired by that of a 1920s cushion-shaped pocket-watch belonging to its private museum.
The result is the Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph, produced in two 10-piece limited editions: one in pink and white gold, and the other in titanium and white gold.
The first version, featuring a pink gold case middle topped by a white gold bezel, associated with an anthracite dial, pink gold hands and hour-markers, lends the model an original and timeless charm.
The other version with its titanium case middle and white gold bezel offers the wearer the best possible auditory experience when the minute repeater is in operation. Few people are aware that the quality of the sound emitted by a watch largely depends on the metal from which the case is made, as well as its volume. The larger the case and the lighter and harder the materials, the more it enables the acoustic waves to expand. The 47 mm titanium case thereby maximises the sound volume, thus enhancing connoisseurs’ listening pleasure.
In addition to its original design, this extraordinary instrument also houses an exceptional movement combining highly sought-after horological complications including a tourbillon regulator and a minute repeater mechanism. Assembled within a single mechanism and complemented by a chronograph function, they form a rare and outstanding whole.

Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... 






















The appealingly curved case of the Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph accommodates a mechanical hand-wound 13¼-ligne (29.90 mm) calibre that is 7.65 mm thick and comprises 504 parts – of which some of the individual elements and mechanical subsets are visible through the transparent case-back. Moreover, the 83 parts composing the one-minute rotating tourbillon with its balance oscillating at a rate of 21,600 vibrations per hour may be admired through the dial opening, thus enabling the owner of this fantastic instrument to revel in the sight of this 0.4 gram regulator of which the constant revolutions are designed to enhance the precision of the watch.
This exceptional timepiece is also superbly crafted by hand according to the highest Fine Watchmaking standards in order to reveal meticulously worked parts fully respectful of tradition.

 Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... 






































The patient finishing work, to which specialised artisans devote hundreds of hours, is clearly visible through the transparent case-back. Finishes such as bevelling, recesses, sinks and sandblasting call for countless hours of fine craftsmanship and incredible dexterity, in a process amounting to around one-third of the price of the movement. Among the techniques used to make this movement visually appealing, bevelling is undoubtedly the most highly appreciated manual technique, as well as that which requires the greatest accuracy. This exercise, which calls for years of experience, consists in using a file to cut down the edges of components and in polishing them with a slightly curved burnisher, so as to highlight the rim by enabling the light to play across the bevels. These finishes serve historically functional purpose, by protecting the movement against dust and humidity, and thus any risk of oxidation. Nonetheless, these finishes and decorations will only effectively magnify the beauty of the mechanism if the technique involved in this art is fully mastered. It is indeed a form of art fully mastered by Audemars Piguet and continually applied to our products. Functionality meets aesthetics in these infinitely delicate operations. This aesthetic treatment of the mechanism powerfully reveals this meticulous workmanship, executed to perfection at Audemars Piguet. In the case of this model, each part has been treated with infinite care.

 Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... 























Some components, such as the hammers of the minute repeater striking mechanism which are visible through the case-back, combine two finishes entailing highly complex execution: a mirror polish that is so fine that artisans even joke among themselves that “a glance is enough to scratch it”; along with a bevelling featuring interior and external angles embodying the ultimate expression of the artist’s mastery. These specific angles, which can be easily pinpointed in the mechanism, may be viewed as the secret signature of the artisan, and provide undeniable proof of the authenticity of a work performed by hand because no machine could possibly produce this type of finish.
These two intense and exceptional models, with their cases featuring a particularly distinctive design, share the same Manufacture Audemars Piguet hand-wound Calibre 2874, partially visible through the case-back and ensuring a 48-hour power reserve. This watch interpreted in pink and white gold version fitted with an alligator strap is secured to the wrist by a pink gold folding clasp, while the titanium and white gold version of this Tradition watch comes with a white gold folding clasp.

-------------------------------

Technical specifications

Calibre :
proprietary Calibre 2874, hand-wound
Total diameter : 29.90 mm (13¼ lines)
Movement thickness : 7.65 mm
Number of jewels : 38
Number of parts : 504
Minimum guaranteed power reserve : 48 hrs
Cadence of the balance : 21,600 vph
Case : titanium case (47 mm), glareproofed sapphire crystal and case-back, 18K white gold crown, bezel, pushpieces and case-back.
Dial : silvered opaline dial, pink gold applied Arabic numerals and hands.
Functions : tourbillon, chronograph, minute repeater striking on 2 gongs, hours, minutes, small seconds.
Specific characteristics
Triple complication movement
Column-wheel chronograph mechanism
30-minute counter
Hand-finished bridges and mainplate
Hand-finished cut-out parts (polished bevels, straight-grained on top and matt surface underneath)
Strap :
hand-sewn black “large square scales” crocodile leather with 18K white gold AP folding clasp.

Reference 26564IC.OO.D002CR.01
10-piece limited edition

Press release

---------------------------
journal.hautehorlogerie.org
------------------------------------------------------
www.AudemarsPiguet.com

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

TAG Heuer - CARRERA CALIBRE 1887 Jack Heuer Edition




















TAG Heuer - CARRERA CALIBRE 1887 Jack Heuer Edition NEW

Design based on the CARRERA Mikrogirder 10'000 winnner of the prestigious "Aiguille d'or " at Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

TAG Heuer Honorary Chairman Jack Heuer is here celebrated in a spectacular edition inspired by the two-part construction Heuer stop watches that he once used on pro racing circuits around the world.































The technical details, however, are all leading-edge, with elements borrowed from Formula One and aeronautics: black titanium carbide steel bezel, hand-brushed and polished to a high sheen; polished, fine brushed and sandblasted steel and titanium cage; tachymetre and pulsometre on the dial.

Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... 




























The innovative asymmetrical case design is based on the Carrera Mikrogirder - slightly rising at an angle at the top, where the crown and chronograph pushers are located. Jack Heuer’s coat of arms and signature decorate the smoked sapphire caseback, through which can be seen the audacious 39-jewel Calibre 1887 movement. In every way, a stunning tribute to the singular vision of a pioneer in technology and design.

Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... 



























 TAG Heuer Honorary Chairman Jack Heuer, grandson of the brand’s founder and company CEO during its golden era of innovation in the 1960s and 1970s, is here celebrated in a spectacular edition inspired by the two-part construction Heuer stop watches that he once used on pro racing circuits around the world. The technical details, however, are all leading-edge, with elements borrowed from Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team and aeronautics: black titanium carbide steel bezel, hand-brushed and polished to a high sheen; polished, fine brushed and sandblasted steel and titanium cage; tachymetre and pulsometre on the dial.

Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... 






































The innovative asymmetrical case design is based on the Carrera Mikrogirder - slightly rising at an angle at the top, where the crown and chronograph pushers are located. Jack Heuer’s coat of arms and signature decorate the smoked sapphire caseback, through which can be seen the audacious 39-jewel Calibre 1887 movement. In every way, a stunning tribute to the singular vision of a pioneer in technology  and design.

------------------------------------------------------------
Technical Specifications

REF : CAR2C11.FC6327

Movement

              Calibre 1887 Manufacture movement – Automatic Chronograph - Date

 Dial

  • Silver internal part & dark grey external part dial with sunray effet and 3 counters:
    • - chronograph hour at 3 o’clock
    • - running second at 6 o’clock
    • - chronograph minute at 9 o’clock
  • Dark grey chronograph counters with “azurage” and polished edge at 3 and 9 o’clock
  • Hand-applied faceted indexes
  • Polished hour and minute hands with luminescent markers
  • Red central chronograph hands
  • Hand applied TAG Heuer logo
  • Pulsometre and tachymeter scale on the dark grey flange
  • CARRERA CAL. 1887” lettering on the dial
  • Date window at 6 o’clock

Case

  • Case diameter: 45mm
  • Specific stop watch inspired case constructed in 2 parts
    • - Fine-brushed black titanium carbide coated titanium case – polished and fine-brushed black titanium carbide coated steel bezel
    • - polished, fine-brushed and sandblasted steel cage
  • Double-antireflective curved scratch-resistant sapphire crystal
  • Polished push-buttons at 11 and 1 o’clock
  • Polished steel crown overmolded with rubber at 12 o’clock
  • Scratch resistant sapphire caseback
  • Water-resistance: 100 meters

Bracelet

High-tech soft-touch alligator leather
Steel folding clasp with safety push buttons
-------------------------
www.tagheuer.com
----------------------------------------
baselworld.TAGheuer.com