Luxist

Asymmetric diamond layouts are in. Harry Winston showed us this here on the Talk To Me, Harry Winston Snowflake watch, and not Montblanc gives us a taste of what this design aesthetic can produce. coming in January, Montblanc will reveal the new Star Pluie d'Etoiles watch for women. I do quite like the look. The case and dial work together harmoniously, as the watch wouldn't be what it is without both.

The case is 36mm wide and in 18k white gold. The out bezel is lined with baguette cut diamonds, while the inner side of the bezel is done in what looks to be round cut diamonds. The diamonds are top Wesselton, and there are 298 of them on the watch. The dial itself is in black Tahitian mother-of-peal, with a nicely engraved Montblanc star "falling" with the diamonds. Movement is a Swiss ETA automatic, and you know it is a Montblanc by the logo on the side of the case, as well as the characteristic "12" in their standard font. It is all on an alligator strap. A nice wintry ladies' watch this season.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Chronoswiss watches have been gaining popularity as of late and they have finally cleared up one of my biggest questions. Why are they called "chrono-Swiss" when they are a German company? The official response is here: "Though [Chronoswiss is] a German company, every component of the timepieces is manufactured in Switzerland and then hand-finished and assembled in Germany." Oh... OK. That makes more sense now. I do like the watches too!

Just in time for what everyone hopes will be the big rebound shopping season, Chronoswiss will open a brand new shop in SoHo in New York City. I love that the store front is both inviting and eye catching. It has that charming brick look, with a few little tables inside and a cute little entrance way. There is no large intimidating sign for the brand, just a cool looking banner showing a portion of one of their watch dials. A soft sign with the brand name is in the window. I really hope the inside of the store is as well designed as the outside. The boutique is located in SoHo on West Broadway. Although the store is now open, their official grand opening event will be held on December 2nd from 7-11pm.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Watches in rings have been done before, but not quite like this. This is a new approach and quite interesting. The Digit Watch is design to appeal to both men and women, and given its high level of customization - the company can make one for you. Produced in London, the Digit Watch takes existing mechanical watch movements from major luxury watch brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Breitling, Blancpain, and others (buyer can choose), and places them inside of an 18k white gold ring with an Aquamarine jewel face, decorated with 142 diamonds. The ring has a watch face on it, and a crown for winding and setting the movement.

The concept is nifty for women who want something different, and as a second timepiece on ones hand for men who want the bling of a pinky ring. That rhymed... "Yo, look at my ring... I'm talking here!" I like who the movement is actually special and often a bit unique. It would have been easier to just put in a quartz movement, but that is not what the designer wanted to do. You can see in the image gallery who the small 17 jewel manually wound movements are inserted into the watch. An interesting idea and available starting at about 8,000 British pounds.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Frequent among the Forbes Magazine list of world's richest people, South African native Johann Rupert has been appointed the new CEO of the Richemont Group, who is owns a bevy of world-class watch and jewelry labels. Among these are Cartier, Panerai, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and A. Lange & Sohne. It is unclear to me why Richemont Group's previous CEO left (sources say he retired), but with Rupert's history in the luxury realm, as well as charismatic personality, he seems like a good fit. Plus, he is wealthy enough to afford his company's own products.

One thing that Rupert made clear, is important for the company's future. Unlike the recent increase of detailed oversight of the brands under the Richemont umbrella, Rupert has indicated that he desires autonomy for the group brands. This is one of the major reasons we saw a rash of CEO resignations from Richemont brands (such as A. Lange & Sohne and Baume & Mercier). Hopefully Rupert is aware of the fact that micromanaging didn't do anyone any good, ever.

Rupert is not exactly a self-made man, but has done well with the incredible wealth that he inherited. His business record is quite impressive. It is well known in the watch industry that times are tough for luxury items. Richemont Group and main competitor Swatch Group have been hit hard, so it will be interesting to see their plans for recovery over the next few years.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

You may know Herman Miller as a chair and furniture maker, but the company also makes items for the home. As people buy less products made in America, I think that Herman Miller takes prides in the fact that it is an American company, and enjoys releasing uniquely American products. Another side of Herman Miller you may not be familiar with is Herman Miller Select. The point of Select is to align with important designers and create one special product at a time. The first Herman Miller Select product was an Eames inspired chair, and now it is a set of toy tops.

The set of three tops was designed by New York city based design firm Klein Reid. If you are familiar with their work, you'll see the similarity in these tops. The design is inspired by famous designers Charles and Ray Eames (think, the Eames chair). The Eameses themselves looked to toys for inspiration in their work. Herman Miller currently produces Eames designed furniture, so it makes sense for them to offer these limited edition tops.

Made of high-quality turned solid Walnut wood, to me the tops each represent different periods of American design aesthetic - from ornate decoration to stark modernism. The tops arrive together as a set and are each between about 4 - 4.75 inches in size. They work too, but you have to use two hands to spin them. The look of wood and soft edges make the tops attractive pieces of decorative art, evoking imagery of toys from a simpler time as well as pure Americana. A good gift idea. Production is limited and will cease forever in April 2010. Price is $199 per set and available at select Herman Miller dealers and retailers. You'll need to locate a Herman Miller dealer or retailer here if you want to get a set.

Arriving in a limited edition of just 25 pieces is another throw-back style watch model from German Glashutte Original. This is the Strasser & Rohde Regulator watch, which is just that - a traditional style regulator watch. A regulator is a watch where the minutes scale takes charge, filling up the whole dial, while there are subsidiary dials for the hours and minutes. The name refers to the fact that these were historically produced as extra-accurate clocks that were used to "regulate" the time on other smaller clocks and watches. The layout you see is the most typical look for this type of watch.

The hand wound Glashutte Original GO 49-04 watch movement is new and totally in-house made by Glashutte Original. The watch case is 42mm wide and in 18k rose gold. The movement is completely viewable through the rear sapphire caseback window and is stunning to behold. Glashutte Original really did a nice job designing it and decorating it. The dial itself is highly minimalistic, but not in the modern sense. Despite just telling the time, the watch has the added visual interest of subdials, a reason why regulator style watches are so popular these days.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

I've been fascinated by the upcoming collection of Armin by Armin Strom, Elements watch collection (that I previously mentioned here). The four versions are each named by another element, giving us the Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. The very interesting dials are special because they are designed well enough to live with as your daily watch. Reading the unique regulator retrograde displays puts a smile on my face. The watches use modified manually wound ETA Unitas movements, and are very nicely decorated - a hallmark of the Armin Strom watches. The dials have separate indicators for the hours, minutes, seconds, and the date.

I got to spend some time with these watches and check them out a bit. Armin Strom would like me to remind you that these are pre-production prototypes. So the final ones will a have much nicer fit and finish. You can see how nicely the movement is decorated with a unique circular polish pattern. The dial has an intense depth and detailed look. Operating the watch is simple via the crown. One thing that I am not totally happy with is the pusher located at about 10 o'clock that is used to adjust the date. I don't mind a pusher for this function, but I think it should have been protected (so that you don't accidentally press it), and designed to be a bit more attractive. It just looks a bit blase compared to the crown. Otherwise the case is done nicely. The reptile straps are awesome. Thick and very well made. The certainly have that hand-made feel. The extension lip sticking out of the bezel at 6 o'clock is used by Armin should you want personalized initials engraved on the watch.

Pictured is the Armin Elements Air model in its "light and airy" white and blue tones. I quite like the summery look of the watch. Aside from the pink gold cased Fire version of the watch, the Elements collection starts at about $17,600. To get an Armin Strom watch you can contact their US distributor at (724) 263-2286.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

This year a piece unique from Hublot won the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve prize for jewelery watch of the year, 2009. The watch is as ostentatious as it is pretentious. I actually like the look of the watch a lot, and even though inside of me I would like to wear the timepiece, it is hard to swallow the blatant excess built into the timepiece. The inflated price point is even built into the name of the watch. For me, a name like "Million $ Black Caviar Bang" sounds about as classy as "One Thousand Dollar Bubbly Champagne." Don't forget, "more bubbly, more buck!" Don't any of you go stealing my business ideas now...

Hublot made the million dollar big bang watch out of white gold and rare baguette cut black diamonds. almost 550 diamonds are all over the watch, with a total of 34.5 carats. Hublot took its time making the watch. Over 2000 hours went into it. The movement is a manually wound tourbillon. Functions include the time (tourbillon acts as the seconds indicator), and a power reserve indicator.

Why did it win best jewelry watch in Geneva? I am not sure. Perhaps because it is rare, took a lot of time to make, is for men, and is actually quite attractive. Is nice jewelry is supposed to inspire envy, awe, and a bit of anger? If so, then the Hublot Million $ Caviar Bang was a good choice to win.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com

I knew that the A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk watch had a lot going for it. When it was announced several months ago in May, I was sure that Lange was doing things right. Oddly enough, its parent company Richemont Group did not. Even though the brand has an almost fanatical following and continues to win award after award (for both the company and their products), there was enough tension over profits between former CEO Fabian Krone and Richemont Group corporate to lead to the former CEO's resignation. Shame that Richemont didn't value the skill and determination of the brand.

Like Zeitwerk... I mean clockwork, A. Lange & Sohne has won yet another award for their watches. The result of this year's Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève has the Lange Zeitwerk watch winning the "Golden Hand" award. Roughly making it the top watch of the year. Through the various categories, this is the ideal award that any watch maker can strive to achieve for this highly watched annual horological recognition event.

The Lange Zeitwerk watch is a mechanical masterpiece that combines modern and traditional watch making. The dial shows the time digitally via two windows and has a analog subsidiary seconds dial and power reserve indicator. Prices for the watches average about $55,000 - $76,000 (gold and then platinum).

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

The wave of retro watches continues this year. Your favorite high luxury watch makers just keep em coming. If today's luxury watches aren't selling, maybe ones that look like yesterday's will? This is the new (but you thought it was old didn't you?) Girard-Perregaux 1966 Chronograph is the next iteration of the 1966 watch style. It may say 1966, but 1945 telegramed and wants their watch back. Not that this is a bad thing, but that is mentally where I place this design. A neatly displayed bi-compax 30 minute chronograph with a overly intricate tachymeter that takes up seemingly most of the dial. Reminds me a bit of certain Patek Philippe Calatrava watches.

The watch case is in 18k pink or white gold and 40mm wide. This size seems to be the new de facto of new vintage styled watches from the haute luxury watch makers. Good news is that the movement is an automatic, the newer caliber GP030C0 in-house made Girard-Perregaux column wheel movement. Strap is alligator and done in that classic thin style. A nice looker but not likely a top choice for younger generation luxury watch buyers. The official announcement will be in January at SIHH.

Ariel Adams published the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.