Christophe Claret

Ahead of Baselworld, haute horology Swiss watchmaker Christophe Claret has announced a new 8-piece limited series made in collaboration with New York-based high-end bracelet and jewelry maker StingHD. Technically, the Xtrem-1 is the same as the original model that was launched in 2012, but with a new black PVD coated titanium case, as well as skull mounted on the tourbillon. There is even a secret feature that consists of a special treatment on the sapphire crystal that reveals a toothy skull when breathed upon. The X-Trem-1 StingHD comes with two straps designed by StingHD: one in black stingray leather, and the other personalized by its owner. Additionally, there is a presentation box that includes a handcrafted bracelet adorned with a black diamond encrusted skull with ruby eyes. (Ref. MTR.FLY11.160-168) The retail price is 278,000 CHF.

Next week, at SIHH 2017, Swiss independent watchmaker Christophe Claret will officially unveil a new timepiece with a so-called “memo” function. Basically, a cone-shaped display made of aluminum, between 3 and 4 o’clock, which features a diamond and two natural rubies (red) or two natural sapphires (blue), depending on the version, pivots one way to remind you that you need to do a certain task each day, and the other way to show you that the task has been done. It is reset by pressing a pusher on the side of the case. The inspiration, according to Christophe Claret, comes from the expression “tie a knot in your handkerchief” to help remember something important. Additionally, there is a dual tier cone-shaped aluminum display at 5 o’clock that shows the date and is topped with a natural blue sapphire or natural

Christophe Claret, who has always been intrigued by the history of Aventicum, which was the capital of Roman Helvetia for more than 300 years and the ruins which are near the Swiss town on Avenches, decided to create a watch as an homage to this piece of history. The Aventicum features a micro-engraved gold replica of the Marcus Aurelius bust (who was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180) is in the center of the dial. The small-scale representation of the Emperor – measuring less than three millimetres – is displayed in magnified form by an invention called the mirascope. When viewed from the right angle, it gives the appearance of a 3D bust of Marcus Aurelius popping out of the dial. On the back side is a patented transparent sapphire-winding rotor of the automatic movement that is embellished with five

Following the Adagio, Soprano, and Maestroso – Christophe Claret recently unveiled their latest musical timepiece, the Allegro. Featuring the same Charles X Style bridges (three skeletonized bridges surrounding the balance) as seen on the Soprano and Maestroso, the Allegro movement utilizes a new in-house escapement. Further, the regulator controlling the timing of the chimes is now a quieter inertia type, and Allegro’s mostly titanium case offers excellent acoustic tones and volume. Functionally, the Allegro has a minute repeater with Cathedral gongs, GMT, big date, small seconds and day/night indicator. Visually, the case measures 45 mm in diameter by 14 mm thick and comes in titanium with either red or white gold accents. A smoked sapphire dial reveals the striking mechanism, which consists of extra-long Cathedral gongs that produce a deeper sound that traditional gongs, a design that has been patented.

X-Trem 1 First presented in 2012 (which we covered here), the X-TREM-1 uses two tiny stainless steel spheres that are isolated in sapphire tubes, and suspended by magnets to display hours and minutes. For 2015, the XTREM-1 is now available in a special white gold and grade 5 titanium case that is treated with slate blue PVD, and presented with a matching marine blue alligator strap. Limited to 8 pieces. Aventicum Christophe Claret, the founder of Christophe Claret the watch brand, has always been intrigued by the history of Aventicum, which was the capital of Roman Helvetia for more than 300 years and the ruins of which are near the modern day Swiss town of Avenches. According to Christophe Claret, “Among the excavated objects was a priceless finding: a solid gold bust of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which was found in

Christophe Claret recently introduced a new chocolate version of their X-Trem-1 timepiece. It features a red gold (5N) and grade 5 titanium case treated with chocolate-colored PVD, and is paired with a brown alligator leather strap.

Last month, Christophe Claret unveiled their first ladies’ complication timepiece at Baselworld. The Margot, which was designed and manufactured in-house, features a mechanism that is supposed to predict one of the paramount questions that presumably every woman has in life: “Does he love me?” In the video, Alexandra Beurier of Christophe Claret demonstrates the unique features of the Margot timepiece.

Last week at Baselworld 2014, Christophe Claret introduced their newest creation, the Maestroso, a wristwatch that is regulated by a detent escapement instead of the commonly used lever escapement seen in most wristwatches today. Historically, the detent escapement was most commonly used for marine chronometers, which needed to be very accurate in order to calculate longitude while at sea. The detent escapement was also used in wristwatches in the 18th and 19th centuries, however, the design was modified numerous times over the years, and naturally a significant amount of R&D was required in order to optimize it to work in a modern wristwatch. Furthermore, according to Christophe Claret SA, the development took 7 years. Designed and developed fully in-house, the caliber DTC07 is a hand wound mechanical movement with 301 components, 44 of which are jewels. Thanks to two barrels

At Baselworld later this month, Christophe Claret will release a new men’s Maestroso timepiece (pictured above) with a traditional detent escapement. For reference most modern timepieces use a lever escapement. Christophe Claret will also launch their first ladies’ timepiece, called the Margo (movement pictured below).

This is a hands-on look at manufacture Christophe Claret’s new Kantharos mono-pusher chronograph with striking mechanism and constant force escapement. The automatic-winding chronograph’s cathedral gong audibly chimes with each change of function: start, stop and reset. A constant force escapement, visible at 6 o’clock on the dial, ensures the energy delivered to the escapement remains constant from beginning to the end of the power reserve. The in-house automatic winding movement, caliber MBA13, runs at 3Hz, has a 48-hour power reserve, with 558 components, 75 of which are jewels. The main plate and bridges are anthracite rhodium-plated, with a white or pink gold gear, depending on the version. A sapphire bridge with gold chatons supports the constant force escapement at 6 o’clock. Functions include hours and minutes. Mono-pusher chronograph with a mechanical chime (patented cathedral gong), each time the function is