Today was opening day of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH 2012) in Geneva, and so today we begin with exclusive coverage of the important pieces from the show. At the Ralph Lauren booth, the timepiece that is getting the most buzz, is the new Ralph Lauren Safari RL67 Sporting Chronograph.
This is the new Maurice de Mauriac DLC Tourneau Skeleton. It features a blacked out skeletonized Concepto chronograph movement. Sapphire crystal on the front and back. Case is tourneau shaped in steel with a beautiful polished grey DLC treatment. Partially skeletonized dial. Leather strap shown is standard, although there are quite a few options if the strap is not to your liking. Read more about Maurice de Mauriac.
A number of wristwatches have been worn in space, but none are as famous as the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch.
The Speedmaster was first launched in 1957 and was originally designed as a sports and racing chronograph in conjunction with Omega's partnership as the official timekeeper of the Olympic games. It was powered by the manually wound Omega Calibre 321, developed in 1946 by Albert Piguet of Lemania, which had been acquired in 1932 by Omega's parent company, SSIH. The model featured a 12-hour, triple-register chronograph layout, domed Hesalite crystal (plexiglas), and high-contrast indexes.
This is the new Maurice de Mauriac Skeleton Chronograph. It features a top grade 25 jewel Concepto openworked movement with perlage, Geneva stripes, skeleton rotor and a black PVD finish. According to Daniel Dreifuss, founder of Maurice de Mauriac, the openworked collection is available in three sizes (39 mm, 42 mm, 45 mm); it is available in your choice of steel, titanium, gold, PVD steel, DLC titanium cases. The bezel, pushpieces and strap are also customizable. Each piece is hand assembled in the brand's Zurich atelier, and adjusted to chronometer specifications of +/- 5 seconds per day.
This is the VangardeTempo Théorie, a new limited edition timepiece with a Swiss made 7750 based skeleton movement.
Perhaps the coolest elements of this timepiece, aside from the openworked movement, are the hands. Machined from solid alloy in aluminum, magnesium and silicon (and featuring Superluminova inserts), the hands are skeletonized and uniquely shaped. They are off-center mounted, resulting in a very distinct way of telling the time (you have to watch the video to fully understand).
"The hour and minute hands are opposed, overlap, intersect, are juxtaposed, while the counter hands complete this design even more complex kinetic whole. All these combinations are an architectural structure similar to a polymorphic array in motion, moved by the mechanical energy of a spring. The visual is confusing and encourages curiosity, while remaining perfectly legible."
This is the prototype for Maurice de Mauriac Zurich's new skeleton chronograph collection. Company founder, Daniel Dreifuss, says the skeleton timepieces will soon be available in all the brand's case sizes: 39 mm, 42 mm, 45 mm. Consumers will have many options to choose from, including: case material, bezel material, dial, strap and more. The highlight of this timepiece is a PVD-treated, top grade openworked Swiss automatic movement, made by Concepto.