Patek Philippe Ref. 5180/1 - Skeleton Watch

1. Patek Philippe offers connoisseurs of artisanal tradition such a transparent orchestration of time with the Ref. 5180/1, a skeletonized wristwatch featuring the ultra-thin self-winding calibre 240 movement with a 22K gold mini-rotor integrated into the plate.

2. By affording a fascinating glimpse into the microcosm of hours, minutes, and seconds, it not only captivates the owner with an extravagant setting but also delivers metaphoric insights into the unfathomable fleetingness of time. However, it takes virtually infinite patience, uncommon artistic flair, and the ultimate in craftsmanship to arrive at this point.

3. Many hours are needed to fully skeletonize just the balance cock, and weeks of work must be invested to cut openings into the barrel bridge, the plate, both sides of the mainspring barrel, and numerous other parts of this watch with the objective of sculpting a breathtakingly transparent structure.

4. As if this were not enough, the components are then embellished with exquisite engravings that give the elements an even more filigreed look and cause the incident light to literally dance along the polished bevels. Indeed, this is a fantastic stage for the ballet of rotating brass wheels. The pure beauty of the Ref. 5180/1 is accented by the “Patek Philippe Genève” signature that is hand engraved in the pierced plate around the circular opening that exposes the mainspring barrel.

5. The opening itself is decorated with a Calatrava cross that is finished by hand down to the very last detail. The suspension system for the winding-rotor is in itself a lesson in tracery. The plate is pierced to such a degree that only a few delicately curved struts remain. The compact rhodiumed gold rotor that oscillates beneath them is engraved with arabesques on both sides.

BLU Bernhard Lederer Majesty MT3 Tourbillon Watch

1. Swiss Blu watchesBlu watch assembly initially had the name “source du temps” (source of time) created by Bernhard Lederer. The name Blu was given after his leaving for Switzerland. Blu is the first letters from the sentence “Bernhard Lederer's Universe”. An independent watchmaker, Lederer, moved to Switzerland and settled in Colombiers close to Neuchatel on the eve of the new millennium, but the mark “Swiss made” was not important for Blu timepieces in essence.

2. Bernhard Lederer was never interested in ordinary classical watches. However, he considers his duty to follow precepts of great masters watchmakers and on this basis to develop his own craftsmanship striving for perfection. There are no secrets in the watch art, so Bernhard prefers to make his own traditions. For example, just because:

3. Blu watches have rotating discs instead of hands;
or small dials revolving on bigger ones;
or a watch has a movement revolving on three layers without dials, numerals and hands.

4. Swiss Blu watches are the conception of philosophical comprehension from all angles.

5. From the point of view of Bernhard the time is something wonderful. And he adds that Albert Einstein said in his time, the timelike dimension depended much on the personal starting point or individual perception. The Swiss Blu watch company completely proves this fact giving their owners absolutely individual instruments for time measuring.

Urwerk - The UR-202

1. Time on the UR-202 is displayed using telescopic minute hands operating through the middle of three orbiting and revolving hour satellites.

2. The telescopic minute hands precisely adjust their length to follow the three vectors marking the minutes: 0 -14, 15 - 44, 45 - 60. Extended, they enable the UR-202 to display the time across a large easy-to-read, dial. Retracted, they allow for a very wearable and comfortably sized case; thus providing the wearer with the best of both worlds.

3. The UR-202 is also the world's first wristwatch featuring an innovative new winding system regulated by compressing air utilizing minature turbines.

4. The UR-202 available in red gold, white gold, black PE-CVD platinum and ALTiN

5. Dial Side - Revolving Satellite Complication The UR-202 features URWERK’s patented Revolving Satellite Complication with telescopic minutes hands. The Revolving SatelliteComplication displays time using telescopic minutes hands operating through the middle of three orbiting and revolving hours satellites. The telescopic minutes hands precisely adjust their length to follow the three sectors marking the minutes: 0-14, 15-44, 45-60. Extended, they enable the UR-202 to display the time across a large, easy-to-read dial. Retracted, they allow for a very wearable and comfortably sized case.

6. Back side - The UR-202 is the world’s first watch with the winding rate regulated by fluid dynamics. As long ago as the 18th century, clockmakers were using air friction to regulate the speed of chiming clocks, and their techniques evolved to become the preferred method of regulating the rate of chimes on minute-repeaters. With the UR-202, URWERKhave taken the traditional idea of using air friction and refined it to control the rate of automatic winding. The traditional rotating vanes of the past have been replaced by cutting-edge miniature twin turbines - miniature air compressors - which can be seen spinning on the back of the watch. The UR-202’s twin turbines are coupled with the winding rotor. According to the position of the selector lever, the turbines act as shock absorbers. In normal activity they cushion sharp movements of the rotor. This reduces wear and increases the lifespan of the movement.

Officine Panerai Luminor 1950 3 Days 47mm PAM00372

1. 47mm Luminor 1950. While the most recognizable and popular Panerai design is the 44mm Luminor case with a bridge device with clamping lever added, to protect the winding crown and making it more water-resistant, the historically correct size for  for this design was 47 millimeters. This is not the first Luminor 1950 case in 47mm. The most notable 47mm Luminor 1950 was the Officine Panerai PAM00127, a Special Edition watch manufactured in a limited quantity of 1950 pieces. 

2. It is good to see a 47mm Luminor 1950 case in a regular production watch. It will be somewhat easier to get than a Special Edition, but finding one will still be difficult since Officine Panerai limits the number of its regular production watches to, to around 4000 pieces per model per year.

3. The Panerai PAM 372 is a base model watch, displaying only the hours and the minutes. It is a classic design similar to to post World War II Italian Navy watches. The dial is classic Panerai with Arabic numbers at the 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock positions. The dial is a sandwich dial, which consist of of two superimposed discs, the upper one of which is perforated to form the hour markers through which the the luminous material can be seen.
4. The stainless steel case is water resistant to 100 meters.

5. This watch also has Plexiglas crystal, this time 3 mm thick. Plexiglass or acrylic glass used to be common in watchmaking until the 1980's, after which mineral glass and sapphire crystal glass was used instead. I

6. The PAM 373 is also powered by Officine Panerai's new P.3000 calibre. This is an in-house movement entirely designed by Officine Panerai and manufactured in Neuchâtel facility. The P.3000 calibre has a three day power reserve and produces 21,600 vibrations per hour.

7. The movement can be viewed through a sapphire crystal case back.