Originally introduced in 2004, the Maverick sports watch from Swiss Army have become an iconic line with the brand. For 2010, Swiss Army has fully redesigned the collection. The new Maverick GS "Grand Sport" timepieces are powered by Swiss made quartz movements, and come in three different versions: chronograph, dual time (GMT), and three-hand. The chronograph and dual time versions are (pictured above).

The three-hand version displays hours, minutes, seconds and the date (not pictured).

The chronograph features a stopwatch function, hour, minutes and small seconds, as well as a date at 6 o'clock. The chronograph is accurate to 1/10th of a second. (pictured with red bezel).

The dual time features a second time zone sub-dial at 6 o'clock. The dial allows hours and minutes to displayed at a glance, for two timezones. Hour and minutes are individually displayed by the central hands (main timekeeping) and by the sub-dial (2nd timezone). The seconds are displayed on the central seconds hand and are shared by both the timezones. The date is displayed in an oversized aperture at 12 o'clock (pictured with black bezel).

The new case is 43 mm in diameter and is made of 316L surgical stainless steel. The shape of the case is smoother than previous models. The new integrated stainless steel bracelet or genuine rubber strap also help smooth out the watch, further adding to its comfort.

A new, more vivid and scratch-resistant polished lacquer is now applied on the bezel, available in red or black. The dial design has been enriched with more depth and details and it has been redesigned for enhanced legibility with unified chronograph hand colors on the Chrono model.

The chrono is powered by a Swiss-made quartz chronograph
movement (ETA 251.272) and the dual time model is powered by a Swiss-made quartz movement (Ronda 6203.B).

The bezels are unidirectional rotating with a 60 minute count-up scale. Casebacks are solid steel and screw-in. The crown is screw-down and water resistance is (100 meters/ 330 ft).

Retail $539-$599

Source: Victorinox

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Casio introduced numerous new Classic G-Shock watches at Baselworld 2010, and this watch is definitely among my favorites (this new G-Shock is really nice too). The new Aviation Concept watch (pictured) is part of the Classic line of G-Shock watches, and although the name includes the word "Concept", it is not actually a concept, you can already buy one here. Unlike most Casio G-Shock "Classics", which are made of resin, this watch features a steel case and bracelet. It is a more premium G-Shock than is usually sold in the US market, and this is definitely a good thing. The only downside, is a higher price.

You definitely get what you pay for, though. It is very rugged, like any other G-Shock, except this one is not your average G-Shock. It is powered by a extremely shock and stress resistant "Tough" movement that has been designed and tested to withstand the high G-forces associated with air racing (it can actually withstand more than 12Gs). Most of us will never be exposed to anywhere near that many G-forces, especially for a long period of time. But if you are, and you are wearing this, it will still be ticking.

That brings me to the next cool feature, a feature that actually reached many of the G-Shocks this year - analog hands. Some of the new models have both digital and analog displays. This one, however, has a more premium, analog only display. This means you actually do see a hand ticking (it is quartz so it ticks, instead of sweeping smoothly like a mechanical, still that is better than a digital readout in my opinion). Many older G-Shocks feature a digital only display, and I think the addition of actual analog readouts, with ticking hands, is a nice improvement.

The movement is a solar-powered Japanese quartz. So light enters through the dial and powers a rechargeable battery. Solar powered quartz is great because it is better for the environment and you never need to replace the battery. It can actually last up to 5 months without light (if fully charged).

On top of telling the time in 12 or 24 hour format, with very high atomic precision (which I'll discuss below) it also features a chronograph with 1/100th of a second accuracy, separate day and date functions, a beeping alarm.

As I mentioned above, this watch features ultra precise multi-band atomic timekeeping. This allows the watch to pick up the radio signal from any of the world's atomic clocks. The six atomic clocks throughout the world (USA, United Kingdom, Germany, China and Japan has two). You basically need to let your watch sync with the nearest atomic clock, which sends constantly sends out a radio signal. The watch will automatically try to sync (6 times) everyday, and you can also sync it manually. For example, if you are traveling and would like to set the time once you arrive at your destination in a new timezone, you then just need to set it to the correct city and activate the manual atomic sync function. If you have a clear view and are facing the correct way (towards the nearest atomic tower), and you are within about 2000 miles or less of the nearest atomic clock, then it should set your time to the second. In the rare instance that it doesn't work, you can try again from another location or just manually set the time the old fashioned way. Learn more about atomic timekeeping here.

Water-resistance is 200 meters. It comes with an integrated metal bracelet with a folding clasp. It is currently available here. Overall, I think this is a great new version of the popular Classic line of G-Shock watches, with some nice new features and design elements that easily justify a higher than average price tag.

Ref GW3000BD-1A

Retail $360

Source: Casio

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Breitling has issued a new version of their Chronospace quartz pilot watch. The movement, like all Breitling movements, is COSC chronometer-certified. Passing the chronometer standards that the COSC sets is actually fairly easy for a mechanical timepiece, however, for a quartz caliber, it must be much more accurate in terms of rate. The end result is a movement ten times more accurate than an ordinary quartz movement - SuperQuartz™.

Ever since Breitling launched the Navitimer in the 1940s, with a navigational slide rule bezel, they have been known for their professional use pilot watches. And like the Navitimers of past and present, the Chronospace features the famous circular slide rule bezel for handling essential calculations regarding airborne navigation.

The Chronospace, however, is designed for "intensive professional use", according to Breilting's press release. And on top of having a slide rule pilot's bezel, the Chronospace also features an impressive list of useful functions - a 1/100th of a second chronograph with split times, Coordinated Universeal Time (UTC), perpetual calendar, 24-hour military time, alarm, countdown timer, dual timezone display with independent alarm. Powering the watch and assuring precision, is a thermo-compensated chronometer quartz movement (meaning it is accurate to about 5 seconds per month, versus a mechanical chronometer, which is accurate to about 5 second per day).

To display the time, the dial features traditional central hour, minutes and seconds hands. The luminous hands are big and easy to read. To display the nunerous functions, dual digital LCD readouts are used. To guarantee optimal visibility, day or night, the LCD screens are equipped with high-performance NVG (Night Vision Google) compatible backlighting system. And to simplify operation, all functions are controlled by pushers at 2 and 4 o'clock. This unique ana-digi configuration allows pilots to access all of the functions, along with the time, quickly and easily.

When using the alarm, the sound signal is very high, to guarantee audibility. This is possible because of a specially designed double caseback, which amplifies the sound to 90 db (decibels). The circular rack-and-pinion mounted slide rule is easily and accurately rotated using the star-shaped bezel - an original and extremely ergonomic design. The Chronospace is available on various wristbands, including a new bracelet in satin-brushed woven steel with a little vintage touch, and a sporty looking perforated rubber strap.

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Earlier this month, in Basel, I had a chance to sit down with some of the executives at the TX Watch company. As usual, they were very excited to show off their new products. They actually had quite a few new timepieces to introduce in Basel this year. For now, though, I will focus on their new top end model, the TX 650 GT Flyback Chronograph. The new 650 GT is powered by a 600 Series four-hour fly-back chronograph movement with one-fifth of a second accuracy.

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By simply touching the dial, sailors will now be able to confront any weather with style. The Sailing Touch is a useful instrument for checking the weather conditions with its integrated histogram of the six previous hours and a function for measuring relative air pressure. It is also equipped with a calculator that indicates the tides in the port of destination. But that is not all! This formidable tactile instrument is indispensible for regattas, with its countdown function for those crucial ten minutes preceding the start of the race, signalled by both beeps and a digital display. The impressive range of functions also includes a mechanism for measuring speed over a given distance, a compass, two alarms, two time-zones, a perpetual calendar and back-lighting.

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Black, robust and highly technical. The most remarkable feature of the Breitling Avenger Seawolf Chrono Blacksteel, its magnetic pushpiece system, is hidden inside its case. With this exclusive, patented device, the watch can be activated through the metal case without any direct mechanical contact. As most chronographs cannot be used when diving, this device means that the Avenger Seawolf Chrono is the only instrument of its kind that is totally water-resistant and functional to a record depth of 1,000 metres. Its SuperQuartz TM movement - another exclusive Breitling creation - guarantees a precision ten times greater than ordinary quartz movements; it measures times to 1/10 of a second and indicates intermediary times. Limited series of 2,000.

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TX watches, launched in 2006, is a high-end watch company owned by the Timex Group. During Baselworld 2009 I had a chance to meet with part of the TX team - Anita Lefebvre (Sales Director), Giorgio Galli (Designer) and Scott Wolfe (President). After speaking with them, one thing was clear, they intend on making some of the very best watches in their niche.

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[ via Certina ]

The new DS Action Chronograph is another good looking, sporty, Swiss watch, from Certina, a division of the Swatch Group. Unfortunately, Certina does not operate in the United States, but they are available in much of Europe and Asia.

Related Links:

(Article on Certina DS Furious)

(Certina DS Furious collection)

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