Perrelet Turbine a Proud Hallmark of its Founder's Invention

Beneath the hands of the Perrelet Turbine and above the dial backdrop, often decorated with a eye catching motif, a representation of a Turbine spins back and forth.

The blades swivel creating constant motion on the dial,  and is the front component of a new take on Perrelet's original "double rotor" Collection.
 Perrelet utilized the original "double rotor  calibre (Perrelet P-181), patented in 1995,  for the Turbine Collection. The Perrelet P-181 is fixed with two rotors, one on the dial and the other on the case back. The rotor on the dial is a moving testimony to the horological break through invented by Perrelet's founder Abraham Louis Perrelet in 1770. He invented the self-winding concept, whereby the motion of a person can wind  the mainspring thereby providing energy to power the watch. This is what is known as an automatic timepiece.

Perrelet Double Rotor

At BaselWorld 2009, Perrelet unveiled an entirely new dimension of the "double rotor' by drawing inspiration from the field of aeronautics.  The Turbine Timepiece has quickly become the companies signature model, not because of its highly complex complications, but for its popular attraction.

I have often wondered why the idea of a Turbine prompted Perrelet's design of its collection, but in actual fact it stems from clear rationality. A turbine is a rotary engine which transforms energy from a flow of matter and converts it into useful work. (Source: Wikipedia) The premise of transforming undirected naturally occurring energy into useful work is both that of the Turbine and the Rotor, thus the depiction of the Turbine on dial of the Perrelet is nothing short of brilliant.  Not only is the idea brilliant, but entirely captivating, which accounts for the enormous popularity of the Perrelet Turbine collection. Of course there are many types of Turbines.  The stark slender wind turbines which congregate on open fields using wind to create electrical energy to the highly complex steam turbines used in nuclear power plants.  In designing the Perrelet Turbine timepiece, Perrelet drew on the field of aeronautics and the powerful gas turbines used in planes.

Perrelet has introduced many Turbine Models created to suit many tastes.  Perrelet did not change its movement, but rather substituted a rather plain looking dial side oscillating weight with memorizing blades, providing eye catching movements and changing bands of color and design every time the wearer moves his arm. Perrelet used its tried and tested double rotor movement Perrelet P-181 to make what was good even better, and it worked. It worked to such an extent that the Perrelet Turbine has infiltrated beyond watch aficionados to the general public just like the Rolex Oyster's, Cartier Roadster, Audemar Piguet Royal Oaks and IWC Portugeuse.  This is the type of design watch manufactures clamber for - a design that will thrust them into the limelight and hang on the lips of the "man on the street".

Perrelet has taken its design an slightly adjusted it in size and color to suit the taste of the watch wearers. For example the TURBINE XL is recognized by its roomy 50mm case and Turbine XS is measured at a diminutive 41mm. Perrelet Turbine is extremely versatile in that it does not alter the dial in any way, but rather moves above it -like actors against a backdrop where the scenes change at the whim of the director. Perrelet has indeed used a variety of scenes to create Special Edition Collections. The Turbine poker adds a sense of excitement to the watch dial and The Turbine America a sense of patriotism. The Turbine Playing with Fire is burning hot (can you wear it on your wrist). The latest embraces Manga in its Turbine Erotic Limited Edition and is for eyes 18 years and older.

Below is a You Tube Clip of the Perrelet Turbine in action. 

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Fasten Your Seatbelts – Rolex GMT-Master History

Happy New Year to all our readers! We are starting 2012 with one of the most iconic watches ever made, the Rolex GMT-Master, and we took it with us for a bumpy ride. The Rolex GMT-Master is connected to aviation since its introduction and rapidly became an iconic timepiece.

In short: the Pan-Am company was looking for a watch that was able to display multiple timezones at the same time, as they started to operate transatlantic flights. Having an accurate wrist watch was an absolute necessity for pilots in those days, Rolex was able to give it to them.

As we know now, the GMT-Master wasn't only popular amongst Pan-Am pilots (or civil aviation), also NASA and US Air Force pilots started wearing them. Also business people who travelled to different time zones started wearing the Rolex GMT-Master, as reading home time and local time at the same time has a positive [mental] effect on fighting jet lags.

To do the best possible research, we transformed into pilots with our leather Pall Mall jackets and RayBan Aviator sunglasses and took the GMT-Master with us in the sky. More about this later, we first would like to give you a short trip down GMT-Master memory lane.

Timeline 1954 – now

The first GMT-Master in production ever was the ref.6542 and was introduced in 1954. It featured a bakelite bezel (which was replaced after two years by an aluminum bezel because it cracked very easily) and had no crown guards. The James Bond fan also might recognize this watch as it was on the wrist of Pussy Galore in the Goldfinger flick. The Rolex GMT-Master ref.6542 was in production till 1959.

Perhaps one of the most popular vintage Rolex GMT-Master watches is thisref.1675. Introduced in 1959 and was in production till 1980, indeed a very long time. This is [most probably] also the reason why you can find a vintage ref.1675 GMT-Master in decent condition without a hassle. Some Rolex collectors do prefer a more worn version like the one pictured above. Till the late 1960s, the extra hour hand featured a small triangle and was succeeded by a red hand with a larger triangle through-out the 1970s. Early models also featured pointed crown guards and a chapter ring. It was also the first Rolex sports watch that became available on both the Oyster and Jubilee bracelet.

Followed by the Rolex GMT Master 16750 in ca 1980, a model with a new movement and glossy dials. This model was in production till 1988. Just a short period in time, which makes it a sought-after model of the GMT-Master series. However, probably not as much as the Rolex GMT-Master II 16760aka 'The Fat Lady'. This was the first GMT-Master II and had an advancement over the regular GMT-Master, which is the functionality to read time of three different timezones. Besides that, the 'Fat Lady' had a thicker case, thicker crown guards, sapphire crystal and only available in the 'Coke' configuration, which is a red/black bezel.

The ref.16750 was replaced by the GMT-Master 16700 in 1989. At first, the tritium dials were still used but in approx 1997 this changed towards Super Luminova. In production next to the GMT-Master II ref.16710, Rolex ceased the production of the 16700 in 2001.

It seems that ref.16710 went through a lot of changes from 1989 till 2007. This watch started out with a tritium dial and ended with the Super Luminova dials, the bracelet got Solid End Links and the pin-holes in the case disappeared. The last ones sold came with the plastic warranty cards instead of the paper certificates. Before we forget, the box set changed as well for this model to the current one. Available with three different bezels, as shown above.

From 2008 till now, the GMT-Master II 116710LN (Lunette Noir) is production. The watch case received a slight redesign, the Twinlock crown has been replaced by a Triplock crown, the aluminum bezel has been replaced by a ceramic bezel and the  case of the watch has grown a bit. Also, the bracelet received a small update to the joy of many Rolex aficionados. Above, we show you our favorite version in gold/steel (ref.16713LN).

Just before we forget, we would like add that the GMT-Master was already available in the gold/steel combination. Root beer, nipple dial and Tiger Augen are the nick names of these models from the past. On the wrist of drugs dealers and sketchy second hand car dealers in the past, it is fully valid to wear them these days with pride.

Furthermore, some of the historic GMT-Master references have an /8 added to it, which means the watch was made out of solid gold. Later references had the 8 as the last digit in the number (e.g. 116718LN).

Fasten Your Seatbelts

Besides a matching outfit, all we need were a few Rolex GMT-Masters, an airplane and a pilot. Check.

Which one should we give to the pilot? We decided he could wear the 'original' one 

And off we go….

We want to give a big shout out to flight school Zelfvliegen.nl in Lelystad,SubGMT, Local-Time.nl. Last but not least a big thank you to PME Legend (Bataviastad) and Bon Art opticians (Houten). To our readers, keep an eye out for a cool FratelloWatches give-away during the next coming days.

[ WATCH ] [ BRAND ] [ EUROPE ]

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A Cartier Pocket Watch for SIHH 2012

At the SIHH 2012 Cartier will reveal an enchanting skeletonized pocket watch inspired from its 1930's pocket watch collection.  However other than the actual pocket watch idea, perfectly round shape, signature blued Cartier hands, triangular fob attachment, Cartier's latest pocket watch seems to appear from another dimension, whereas its 1930's counterpart seems rather plain and unassuming: A wholly functional timepiece rather than a work of art.   

Cartier's skeletonized pocket watch evokes a sense of mysterious awe as if it should be placed on clock tower.  The clock tower image is evoked by the skeletonized Roman Numerals making the pocket watch seem larger than life, but soon enough one eyes are drawn to the incredible craftmanship beyond the hour markers.
 The 59mm white gold pocket watch is powered by a Calibre 9436 MC Renaud et Papi hand-winding movement. Not surprising since Cartier has used a Renaud et Papi movement for its highly complex timepieces for some years now, especially for its SIHH limited edition watches. This pocket watch is a perfect example of a highly complicated timepiece,  and for the lucky owners will provide an heirloom for generations to come.

The pocket watch is equipped with a perpetual calender, which is a complication accounting for the differing lengths of months and leap years. Most perpetual calenders need no adjustment until 2100. The Perpetual Calendar increases the watches worth as a result of its highly complex configuration requiring many components and highly skilled craftsmanship.  A tourbillon visible from both the front and back of the timepiece is quite a fitting complication for a pocket watch, for it was the pocket watch Abraham Louis Breguet placed the balance wheel and escapement within a rotating cage.  He did this to counteract the effects gravity had on the movement of a pocket watch while it was kept vertically in a pocket.  The question of whether a tourbillon does effectively negate the effects of gravity on the movement of a watch is highly debatable, but it does seems quite apt in a pocket watch.  A highly popular chronograph movement makes this already coveted timepiece into one of blatant longing.  A chronograph mono pusher enables one to command the "start, stop and reset" functions via a single button. 
The aesthetics of the timepiece is undeniable.  Crafted from white gold, the streamlined skeletonization combines contemporary design with traditional watchmaking.  Blue hands and matching sapphire cabochon atop the crown declares that this watch is wholly Cartier. 
Upon purchase of the Cartier pocket watch by those fortunate few (only 10 pieces will be made), the watch will be delivered with a rock crystal and obsidian stand, and a white gold chain and fob.
If I were standing on a lonely railroad station inquiring the time from the only other person in sight and if he were to extract this timepiece from an emerald green waistcoat, I would wonder if I had not been transported to a place of enchantment  far far away.
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Photo Essay: Something Different – The Nomos Ludwig 33

As usual, click on the image for a larger version.

It's time for something a little different. Firstly, this piece is something the ladies will enjoy: a well finished, 33mm hand-winding classical watch. Although 33mm used to be Patek Philippe's mens' size, today it's a little on the small side even for the fairer sex. Amongst contemporary watches, the only comparable piece would be the JLC Master Ultra Thin at 34mm, and perhaps a Patek repeater or two (but obviously they're all in very different price categories!)

This Nomos, however, is eminently affordable, and is another one of those watches that delivers great bang for the buck: you get a [we believe] in-house movement, beautiful dial and hands, and a nice case. The movement is probably an in-house designed movement but reminds us of a heavily modified ETA (formerly Peseaux) 7001, although this one sports a three quarter plate, snail graining on all the wheels and a very nice 'Glashutte stripe' finish. The hands are polished deep blue batons which hover over the ethereal silver dial, itself having a warm luster and sheen.

At this point, you're probably wondering if the watch itself is the 'something different': there's one more surprise. These images were shot with Leica M rangefinder lenses – the 50/1.4 ASPH and 28/2.8 ASPH – with a combination of adapters, extension tubes and bodies. The second image was actually shot with an M9-P rangefinder body, Visoflex III adaptor and continuous LED lighting. The Visoflex III is an old accessory that Leica made from the 60s onwards to compete with the SLR onslaught; it allows SLR viewing on your M rangefinder. I'm very pleased with the tonal palette; expect to see more of this in the future. Combined with extension tubes on the Nikon D700 body, far greater than normal magnification (up to 3.5:1!) is possible – all of these images, including the closeups, are the full frame and not crops.

Enjoy! MT

Second hand. No blue paint here; everything blue you see on a Nomos is colored by heat treatment, the old fashioned way.

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