The Shellman Grand Complication Classic

And I said to myself:

おめでとうございます (congratulations), Henki!  I am now officially obsessed!

Courtesy of Shellman

So, I have known about Shellman since the jump, and in truth I didn't really pay it as much attention as it deserved. And that is solely down to the fact that it is a quartz watch. And it took a recent encounter with my mechanical moon phase, day, date chronograph to remind me of what a monumental pain in the ass it is to re-set ; )

So ladies and gentlemen, and children of all ages, allow me to reintroduce the Shellman Grand Complication Classic.

Courtesy of Shellman

The Grand Complication Classic is, well, complicated ; )

But that's the point. But what it also underscores is that quartz isn't dumb. As has been said many times before, had quartz been available to Abraham Louis Breguet? He probably would have used it ; )

What is wonderful about this time machine, is that to some extent, you can pretty much "set it and forget it".

Now my Japanese isn't what it once was, Kasukabe was nearly 35 years ago now, but my understanding is that you can still purchase a Shellman Grand Complication from Shellman. But getting it shipped outside of Japan seems to be the tricky bit.

Per the website, the price is: ￥141,900

In the lower 48, that means you are looking at:

$890 US.

And I ask you - a watch that will be pretty much bang on time as it is quartz, has a minute repeater, perpetual calendar, moon phase, and a split-second chronograph for less than $1,000 yankee greenbacks?!? 

If you are now (like me) obsessed, here are the pertinents:

GRAND COMPLICATION CLASSIC

Product name	Shellman Grand Complication Classic
price	Classical: ¥141,900 (tax included)
size	Diameter 40mm, Thickness 13mm
weight	Approximately 70g (including belt and buckle)
Material	Body: Stainless steel; Crystal: Curved sapphire crystal
movement	Quartz movement Cal.6771 (accuracy ±20 seconds per month)
waterproof	Daily life waterproof
accessories	French Camille Fournet alligator strap (color: Marine) with Japanese-made stainless steel D-buckle.
Country of origin	The case, movement, and buckle are made in Japan, while the included strap is made in France.
battery life	Approximately 2 years (assuming the minute repeater is used for an average of 17 seconds per day and the chronograph is used for an average of 1 hour per day)
Warranty period	2-year warranty

Hannibal

Okay - Point of MASSIVE clarification:

I do not suspect that Ulysses Nardin is championing the use of elephants (or other animals for that matter) in human conflict.  But very often the folks at UN dip into history to lend to design inspiration and this is one of those times.

Courtesy of Ulysses Nardin

As many of you know, Hannibal managed to march his army (including elephants) from "Iberia" into the heart of Italy to deliver a pretty big can of "whoop ass" on the Romans.  He had a good run, but went to the well one too many times ultimately getting "betrayed" to the Romans while on campaign. Rather than live under the boot (or sandal) he opted to drink poison.  As it is the season for "transfers" it is interesting to note a certain similarity in the way his old buddy Prusias of Bithynia, served him up to the Romans.  Let's just hope today's watch executives don't follow Hannibal's lead ; )

Okay, but enough history, on with the watch -

44 mm platinum case,  manual winding calibre UN-78.  Westminster Carillon Tourbillon Jaquemarts Minute Repeater announcing hours, quarters and minutes with four different chimes (Mi-Do-Re-Sol), and befitting a bad ass of the first order, the dial is made of granite.

Limited to 30 pieces

Reynold - a Beautiful Anniversary Present

This just in from Pierre DeRoche -

Courtesy of  Pierre DeRoche

This is the Reynold.

Something for… your pocket!

Yes, I know that it is 2014, NOT 1814, or even 1914….

Courtesy of Audemars Piguet

But there is something to be said about a beautifully, wonderfully complicated watch for your pocket!

A Grand Complication from Audemars Piguet

So I just finished Stacy Perman's A Grand Complication.  It is essentially the story of two men who competed (albeit surreptitiously) with each other to imagine and own the world's most complicated watch.

Courtesy of Audemars Piguet

Patek Philippe was their preferred supper, but I thought in light of "competition", why not look at some other examples?

So a Repeater, an Annual Calendar and an Equation of Time Walk into a Bar...

This just in from Girard-Perregaux -



Courtesy of Girard-Perregaux

 Girard-Perregaux 1966 Minute Repeater, Annual Calendar & Equation of Time watch The Mechanics of Time Captured in Three Complications


Minute Repeater, Annual Calendar and Equation of Time: in its 42 mm diameter, the Girard-Perregaux 1966 houses three illustrious watchmaking complications. They are displayed on the dial in perfect harmony, orchestrated by a mechanical caliber with over 400 component parts.

A model of technical ingenuity, the new Girard-Perregaux 1966 Minute Repeater, Annual Calendar & Equation of Time watch has all the attributes to earn its place in the firmament of the most outstanding watchmaking achievements. A worthy heir to the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Collection, it displays its various functions with a remarkable sense of aesthetic balance, despite its hidden complexities.

For the elegantly proportioned dial, a silvered sunburst decor has been chosen as a background to the various time indications. Surrounded by solid gold applique hour-markers with sharply defined profiles, the various indications perform their functions as the hours and minutes hands pursue their paths above them. The eye is immediately caught by the imposing date located at 1:30 on the dial. The month is displayed in a window opposite to complete the Annual Calendar function. This ingenious construction only requires a single adjustment of the date per year, in February, which is easily carried out through the watch’s crown.

Indicated by a cam appearing in relief on a wheel that completes one revolution per year, the Equation of Time is displayed at 4:30 on the dial. It shows the difference between civil time and solar time. For, in reality, the solar day varies in duration from day to day. While the two reference times in question coincide exactly four times per year, the accumulated difference between them can be as much as, for example, 16 minutes in November.

To complete this watchmaking masterpiece, a Minute Repeater enables the user to hear the striking of the hours, quarter-hours and minutes. Conceived in an age before the advent of electricity, when people needed to be able to hear an indication of the time during the night, today this has become one of the complications that is most appreciated by connoisseurs of fine watchmaking. In order to create the vibration that will produce a crystalline sound, the adjustment of the striking mechanism is one of the most delicate operations for a watchmaker, requiring nimble fingers and a particularly acute ear. The fruit of exhaustive acoustic research, the Girard-Perregaux Minute Repeater mechanism benefits from three specially designed aspects of the construction of the watch-case: an optimal fit between the internal diameter of the case and that of the caliber, so as to achieve maximum resonance; a curved case back that increases the volume of air between the movement and the case, and enhances the sound production; and the diamond-polished bottom of the case back, which reduces acoustic interference.

Visible through the sapphire crystal case back, the manually wound mechanical caliber perpetuates the great Girard-Perregaux watchmaking tradition. With its constant concern for aesthetic standards, Girard-Perregaux has designed the balance-cock in a semi-arrow shape that recalls the Golden Bridges, the brand's emblematic signature.




Girard-Perregaux 1966 Minute Repeater, Annual Calendar & Equation of Time watch TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Case in polished pink gold with anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Bezel: circular, satin-finish interior
Dimensions: 42 mm
Crystal: Domed anti-reflective sapphire
Dial: brass, appliques in 5N18 pink gold
Hands: "Leaf", "Baton" and "Arrow" styles in 5N18 pink gold and coated in diamond powder piece by piece Crown: 5N18 pink gold with GP logo engraved Case-back: sapphire crystal, closed with 6 screws, all inscriptions hand-engraved
Water resistance: 30 meters

Girard-Perregaux E09-0003 Movement Handwound mechanical movement
Caliber: 14¼'''
Frequency: 21,600 vib/h – (3 Hz)
Power reserve: min.100 hours (4 days)
Jeweling: 48 jewels
Number of components: 419
Plate: rhodium-plated and circular-grained
Bridges: côtes de Genève, polished beveled angles
Balance-cock: gold semi-arrow shaped, "rounded-off"
Balance: with variable inertia
Striking mechanism: repeating with two facing hammers, hours, quarter-hours, minutes.
Regulation of the speed of the striking-mechanism by inertia-driven governor, countersprings accessible on the bridge side, inverted minute rack; conventional gong pitches.
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, minute repeater, annual calendar, equation of time

Brown alligator strap Ardillon buckle in pink gold
Reference: 99651-52-131-BKBA
Limited edition of 15 pieces


www.girard-perregaux.com

Breguet Acquires Two Antique Watches for a Record Price of Nearly 7 Million Swiss Francs



2667 Courtesy of Breguet

The Breguet Museum and its President, Marc A. Hayek, have acquired two exceptional Breguet watches that made their mark on Fine Watchmaking history, for a record price of nearly 7 million Swiss francs. Bought at a Christie's auction in Geneva on Monday, May 14th, these masterpieces are the most expensive ever purchased in Breguet's history, and the costliest Breguet antique watches ever sold at auction to date. The first watch, no. 2667 dating from 1814, went for the unequalled price of over 4 million Swiss francs. This thin pocket watch with two movements is based on the chronometer principle (resonance).  It is an extremely rare piece made in 18-carat yellow gold, of unsurpassed delicacy and elegance. A.-L. Breguet designed it to confirm his theory that two oscillating bodies in close proximity will influence each other.  This objet d'art has two separate dials, the first numbered with Arabic numerals, the second with Roman numerals.  It is an extraordinary timepiece that reflects both Breguet's refined aesthetic sense and his innovative inventive genius.

4111 Courtesy of Breguet

The second antique piece, no. 4111, is a thin flat equation-of-time and repeater watch, built on the chronometer principle. It repeats hours, half-hours, quarter-hours, and half-quarters. This "Grande Complication" watch dates from 1827 and was purchased for more than 2.5 million Swiss francs. It has an annual calendar as well as a manual perpetual calendar, and also displays mean and apparent solar time. In pursuit of aesthetic and functional perfection, the balance wheel was especially worked so that the watch would be extremely thin, fascinating technical feats in a "Grande Complication" watch. Montres Breguet is proud to announce the arrival of these treasures for its museums. This unique event confirms Breguet President and CEO Marc A. Hayek's commitment to preserving the Manufacture's historic and cultural legacy.