Audemars Piguet is one of the most recognised brands in haute horlogerie, but since François-Henry Bennahmias took over as chief executive in 2012, it has enjoyed turbocharged growth, with turnover more than doubling to over a billion francs in 2019.
As the crisis hit, Audemars Piguet was still in the midst of executing some drastic strategic changes in the brand’s distribution and marketing – eliminating all third-party retail as well as pulling out from the SIHH trade fair. Has the crisis changed its plans?
François-Henry Bennahmias answers our questions from his home in Nyon, a town 40 minutes to Audemars Piguet’s headquarters in Le Brassus (which just opens its new museum shaped like a glass spiral).
Francois-Henri at home in Nyon
How has this crisis impacted your business?
All our manufacturing sites are closed; 85% of our stores worldwide are closed. So we are drastically impacted as you can imagine. 2020 will be affected in a substantial way.
But with what our team have achieved in the past eight years, Audemars Piguet can weather the storm. Our financial health is good. We are able to keep every single employee around the world on the payroll. That is mainly what we have been working on: taking care of our people, of their health and of their jobs. In this regard, I would say that all is good!
Obviously, the situation calls for a deep reflection on the “after”. Anyone who believes that we will go back to the normal we once knew is completely mistaken.
How do you evaluate your dependency on the Chinese market?
Therearetwo sides to this question. For the moment, China as a market is not very important in terms of volume for Audemars Piguet. Chinese consumers, on the other hand, are obviously important as they buy more outside of their borders. So when Chinese tourism falls, it affects luxury consumption around the world.
Luckily, Audemars Piguet has alwaysspread the brand commercially in a very even way worldwide. So we are affected, but probably less than others that are more exposed.
Regarding production, no need to mention that all our production is made here in Switzerland so we have absolutely no worries on that front.
The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar China Edition launched in early 2020
What is the greatest asset for your brand?
Without hesitation: our people. It is always about the people! Their passion, their savoir-faire, the love they transmit. I could have chosen our history, but I believe that history is made by the people first.
What is your biggest fear for the future of the industry, of your brand?
I do not have much of a fear per se. If you look at numbers, it helps. There are eight billion people in the world. If you take only the top 1% [of ultra high-net worth individuals], that accounts for 80 million people. Even if you consider only 25% of these individuals, that still represents 20 million people.
Audemars Piguet produces approximately 40,000 watches per year. I am very much a glass-half-full kind of guy! So I see there is still a huge potential.
Even if we consider all the very high-end brands in watchmaking, we produce – altogether – about 600,000 timepieces.
So, yes, this year will be slower. But a rebound is coming. As long as we remain creative and focused on developing the appreciation for beauty, exclusivity and talent, we will create emotions for watchmaking. This is the way people will keep wanting our timepieces.
The freshly-opened Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet. Photo – Audemars Piguet
What do you think about the Swiss Made label, should it stay at 60% or be increased?
You know my opinion on this, no need to reiterate my views, I think it is crystal clear it should be 100%, don’t you?
What is your greatest hope for the future of the industry?
Let me put it that way: a lot less ego, a lot more common sense, in order to understand that together we will be stronger together than on our own. The whole watchmaking industry represents 50 billion francs in retail sales. The revenues of Mercedes-Benz cars alone is €100 billion – that puts things in perspective.
To quote Muhammad Ali: “The best is yet to come”. We are far from having reached our full potential. The industry lost a generation of customers due to the Quartz Crisis in the 1970s. But we see young generations turning to mechanical watchmaking now – this is my greatest hope, that we can still trigger emotions even in young people.
It was bound to happen, one way or another. Still, I am not fully convinced that this is the answer. It might just be the beginning of a much bigger change in a much broader picture.
Audemars Piguet just left SIHH, but now that Rolex and Patek Philippe are coming back to Geneva, what are you planning to do?
Honestly, there are no change of plans for Audemars Piguet for the moment.
The historically-inspired [Re]master01 Chronograph that was successfully launched last month despite the spreading lockdown worldwide
Despite the negative economic impact from this crisis, do you see any positive coming out of it?
Since the beginning of the shutdown, I shot a video every week for all employees around the world. I received tons of feedback. Last week I added a twist to it. I asked them to ask their children about what they wanted most once this was over? You know what came out as their number one response?
Love is what they miss most. They have the love of their parents at the moment, but they miss seeing, hugging their grandparents; they miss playing with their friends.
What came in second place? Protect our planet Earth! Take care of it, please!
This crisis has offered us all an incredible opportunity to take time to think. To stop our relentless race, to pause. It has shown us the responsibility that we have, the need there is to look at things differently. We must do it!
What will you do differently after?
This exceptional period has forced us into confinement. It has forced us to take time to think, to adapt, to collaborate. It has developed creativity in so many different ways.
It is interesting to see that mechanical watchmaking started in confinement as well, when farmers started working on mechanical parts when they were stuck in their houses in the Vallée de Joux in winter. Undeniably, some great things came out of that in the 19th century. Let’s hope the same happens now.
One thing we will need to do for sure is adapt our message. I think the time for ostentation is not possible anymore.
Sinn‘s signature dive watch is the near-indestructible U1 that’s a large 44 mm in diameter. Now Sinn has unveiled the mid-sized version of the same, the U50, which offers all of the goodness of its bigger brother but in a 41 mm case.
Initial thoughts
I am a fan of the original U1 because it is seriously minded in its functionality, encompassing design, material, and testing. And it is affordable, making it great value for money.
The new U50 has almost all of the same features and similar pricing, so it is hard not to like it.
But one caveat: though the U1 is a largish 44 mm, it never really felt that large, perhaps because of the short lugs and wide bezel (thus a small dial). So while the U50 may fit better on some wrists, it might look smaller than its 41 mm diameter suggests.
U50 at 41 mm (left), and U1 at 44 mm
Super steel
Like the U1, the new U50 has a case made of submarine steel, the same alloy used for the German navy’s submarines. Highly resistant to seawater corrosion and also especially nonmagnetic, the steel alloy comes from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, a builder of naval vessels, and is the same material used for the hull of the stealthy U212 class of submarines.
It’s rated to 500 m – hence the U50 moniker – and powered by the no-nonsense Sellita SW300-1, a clone of the ETA 2892. That’s less than the 1000 m of the U1, but 500 m is still plenty – and about the same depth rating as most navy submarines.
And if the submarine steel alloy alone wasn’t robust enough, the bezel of the U50 is also treated with Tegiment, Sinn’s proprietary hardening process that leaves it almost scratch-proof (the U1 boasts the same treated bezel too).
Variants
Like the U1, the U50 is available in three guises: straightforward all-steel, a steel case with a black-coated bezel known as the U50 SDR, and also the all-black coated U50 S.
From left: U50, U50 SDR, and U50 S
The U50 S is substantially more expensive, but for good reason. Unlike the U50 and U50 SDR that have Tegiment-treated bezels, the entirety of the U50 S is Tegiment hardened. That means the bezel, case, and back of the U50 S have an extra-hard surface that is then bonded with a highly-resistant black coating, resulting an exceptionally robust watch.
Diameter: 41 mm Height: 11.15 mm Material: Submarine steel Water resistance: 500 m
Movement: Sellita SW300-1 Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, and date Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz) Power reserve: 42 hours
Strap: Rubber strap or steel bracelet
Limited edition: No Availability: At Sinn retailers Price: U50 – €2,160; U50 SDR – €2,230; U50 S – €2,600 (prices for watch on rubber strap, include German VAT)
While Bulgari is probably best known for the ultra-thin Octo Finissimo and serpent-inspired, jewelled timepieces, one of its earliest wristwatch icons – and one with a broader appeal – is the Bulgari Bulgari, which happens to have been designed by Gerald Genta. And the new Bulgari Bulgari Cities Special Edition 2020 – each accompanied by a set of prints – actually harks back to the origins of the design, which was conceived as an entry-level watch.
Introduced in 1977, the Bulgari Bulgari was Genta’s adaptation of the Bulgari Roma, a digital quartz watch that Bulgari gifted its top 100 clients in 1975. Engraved with “BVLGARI” and “ROMA” on its bezel, the watch borrowed from ancient Roman coins with the reigning Emperor’s name inscribed on the circumference. Genta transformed the dinky gift into the Bulgari Bulgari, which has since become one of the jeweller’s trademark watches.
The Bulgari Bulgari of 1977 (left), and the dinky digital watch of 1975. Photo – Bulgari
Initial thoughts
The new Cities Edition takes inspiration from a limited run of watches with black-plastic cases in the early 1990s. Though small, those were good-looking watches, because they combined the classic Bulgari Bulgari style with a stark black-and-gold livery. But the cases were plastic and the watches felt cheap – though to be fair they were cheaply, and fairly, priced.
Now Bulgari has translated the same look into a larger, upgraded watch with a steel case and in-house movement. It costs less than most other mechanical Bulgari watches, and probably the most cost-efficient method of obtaining Bulgari’s trademark watch design. Add to that the custom-commissioned artwork that is included with each watch, and it’s an attractive proposition.
From plastic to steel
And in 1993, Bulgari unveiled the original Bulgari Bulgari Cities, a limited edition in a matte, black plastic case with gold accents on the dial, which also bore the name of one of the roughly two-dozen cities where Bulgari had boutiques. Priced at a fraction of the next most-affordable Bulgari watch, the plastic watch was a hit.
Over the next two decades Bulgari introduced additional versions of the plastic watch, which was renamed Carbon Gold. But now Bulgari has finally done away with the plastic case, while retaining the black-and-gold look.
The Bulgari Bulgari Cities Special Edition a steel case coated in matte black diamond-like carbon (DLC) – accented with an 18k rose gold crown – that measures 41 mm wide and just 8.7 mm high.
Instead of the brand on the lower half of the bezel, it features the name of one of nine cities where Bulgari has a major boutique – Rome, Tokyo, Dubai, Paris, London, Ibiza, Milan, Mexico City and New York.
Like many of the Octo Finissimo models, the Cities watch has a uniform sandblasted finish across the entire case that’s match with a plain black dial – with no branding – with pink gold hands and markers. The look is stark and minimalist.
Each watch is delivered with an additional textured rubber strap
At the same time, the latest Bulgari Bulgari Cities is also powered by an in-house movement. While earlier generations were usually equipped with ETA automatic or quartz movements, the new model contains the BVL 191, a compact automatic with a 42-hour power reserve.
And more unusually, each watch will be accompanied by a set of 12 prints dedicated to the respective city of the watch. Each set of prints is the work of one of nine artists commissioned to create the illustrations.
Diameter: 41 mm Height: 8.7 mm Material: DLC-coated steel Water resistance: 30 m
Movement: BVL 191 Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, and date Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz) Power reserve: 42 hours
Strap: Brown calf leather, and additional black rubber strap
Limited edition: No Availability: At boutiques and retailers around the world (though availability of each city model varies globally) starting mid 2020 Price: €4,250
Intended to raise funds for medical research, independent watchmaker Ressence has just announced Time to Draw, a wristwatch design contest.
The contest calls for participants to design the dial of the Ressence Type 1 Slim wristwatch, and the winner will turned into an actual, one-off wristwatch – with the designer’s name engraved on the case – that will then be sold at Sotheby’s.
The Type 1 Slim
Proceeds will go to KU Leuven in Belgium, specifically to support the university’s COVID-19 coronavirus research programme that is working on a vaccine and advanced detection of the virus.
Taking part in the contest is easy:
Download the Type 1 Slim templates from Ressence.com
Get to work with any type of design tool – physical or electronic (there are no restrictions on design tools)
Specify the exact colour of every component, including typography and luminous paint
Submit the design by email before the closing deadline – 2:00 pm GMT on May 12, 2020
For the design template and more details, visit Ressence.com.
Since its launch in 2000, the Chronomètre à Résonance has perhaps become the quintessential F.P. Journe wristwatch. Still the only wristwatch to rely on the principle of resonance – omitting any mechanical means of transmission – the Résonance has been revamped and improved for its 20th anniversary.
While the Résonance was powered by essentially the same calibre (the cal. 1499 in several generations) for its first two decades, the new Chronomètre à Résonance is equipped with the brand-new cal. 1520. Several features set the new movement apart from its predecessor, most notably the use of a single barrel and a remontoir d’egalite constant force mechanism in each going train.
Initial thoughts
Having learnt a little about the new Résonance from hints dropped by Mr Journe in the past, I was looking forward to this – and the watch lives up to expectations. The basics of the new model are no surprise, since Mr Journe had let on that the movement will incorporate his signature remontoir.
The upgrades to the new movement are sensible both in terms of function and timekeeping. Relying on a single barrel eliminates the finicky and occasionally unreliable double-barrel winding mechanism of the original movement.
But the remontoir installed in each going train is the crucial upgrade as it optimises the going trains before and after the escapement. In the original Resonance movement, both balance wheels oscillate at an identical amplitude at any one time, but the amplitude of both dip together as the power reserve runs down.
The cal. 1520 in the new Resonance
In the new movement, each of the going trains has a constant torque to the escapement, ensuring that the balance wheels oscillate in constant amplitude while the remontoirs are engaged; more on that below. But even after the remontoirs disengage, the effect of resonance means the balances will oscillate at a slightly higher and more stable amplitude than if the movement only had single balance wheel.
The chronometric logic behind the upgrades make the new Resonance more intellectually appealing than the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical, similarly launched to mark 20 years of the tourbillon model. But perhaps more importantly, the new Resonance is moderately sized – especially given the more complex and thicker movement – and not enormous as the tourbillon. Fans of F.P. Journe’s older watches will appreciate the relatively modest size of the new Resonance.
The cal. 1499.3 in the earlier generation of Resonance; note the twin barrels wound by a single crown wheel
The mechanical details
The new cal. 1520 has a single, large barrel that has a 42-hour power reserve. The earlier Resonance cal. 1499 had twin, smaller barrels, but also a 42-hour running time.
A differential, which is visible through an aperture on the dial, splits the energy delivered by the single mainspring into two equal portions for each of the independent going trains.
The differential sits in between the two sub-dials
Each train has its own remontoir d’egalite, a constant force mechanism invented by Francois-Paul Journe and found in several of his watches. Though the execution across the varied models differs slightly, the remontoir operates on the same principle: a long, narrow blade spring tensions a pivoting lever that rocks back and forth.
The single barrel sitting on a large jewelled bearing (at top centre), with the crown wheel that winds it to the left
One end of the lever has a jewel pallet that releases a ratchet wheel, one tooth at a time, as the lever pivots. As soon as one tooth is released, the blade spring is simultaneously recharged by the going train, and the process starts anew. Because this is a one-second remontoir, the recharge-and-release occurs once a second.
But because the remontoir requires a minimum amount of energy from the mainspring to recharge – and the mainspring now recharges a pair of them – the remontoirs only function for the first 28 hours of the 42-hour power reserve. After the 28-hour mark, the remontoirs do not engage. That, however, remains practical since watches are typically wound daily, or every 24 hours.
One half of the movement with the remontoir (at left), and the balance wheel
Superior performance
The addition of the remontoir in each going train appears to have a tangible impact on the function of each balance wheel. Even though the escapements and balance wheels in the new movement are identical to its predecessor, balance amplitude is constant in the new movement at full wind and after 24 hours. In the earlier Resonance movement, amplitude falls slightly after 24 hours, going from 320° to 270°.
But presumably the new movement will see balance amplitude will dip after 28 hours when the remontoirs disengage, meaning that the watch should be wound daily for optimal performance.
New dimensions
Like most other F.P. Journe watches, the new Resonance is available in either 40 mm or 42 mm (and either in platinum or 18k rose gold). But more importantly, it remains relatively slim.
Even though the new movement is almost double the height of the original – 7.97 mm against 4.2 mm – F.P. Journe has managed to keep the case height down. The case is 11 mm high, a slight and acceptable increase over the 9 mm of the original model.
A familiar face
The new movement also means the unusual crown positions found in the original Resonance are now, well, less unusual and more user friendly.
Instead of the awkward 12 o’clock crown in the original, the new model has a crown at two o’clock for winding and time setting. The crown at four o’clock retains its traditional zero-reset function – pull the crown and both seconds hands return to 12 o’clock and instantaneously restart.
The dial layout, however, remains largely identical to the Resonance Final Edition, with a 24-hour sub-dial on the left, a 12-hour sub-dial on the right, and the power reserve display at 12 o’clock.
Key facts and price
F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance Ref. RQ
Diameter: 40 mm and 42 mm Height: 11 mm Material: Platinum or 18k rose gold Water resistance: 30 m
Movement: Cal. 1520 Functions: Double time displays on 24-hour scale (left) and 12-hour scale (right); power reserve indicator Winding: Hand-wound Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz) Power reserve: 42 hours (remontoir d’egalite operates for 28 hours)
Strap: Alligator strap or matching metal bracelet
Limited edition: No
Availability: At boutiques and retailers in mid 2020 Price: 101,400 Swiss francs in rose gold; 105,000 Swiss francs in platinum (prices for Resonance on strap, excluding taxes)
The flagship of IWC’s new Portugieser watches unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2020 is not the most complicated, but it is certainly the most unusual. The Portugieser Yacht Club Moon & Tide is a first for IWC, introducing a brand-new complication to its line-up – a tide indication that tracks the ocean’s ebbs and flows.
Initial thoughts
The Yacht Club Moon & Tide is a big, heavy and shiny sports watch with twin sub-dials, but it is far more interesting than the typical watch in this category (which is almost always a chronograph).
One of the very rare, comprehensive tide-display watches on the market, the Yacht Club Moon & Tide incorporates twin tidal displays, which are useless for most but fascinating, not just because they are rare but also because they are, in essence, an astronomical complication. And the tidal displays are combined with IWC’s trademark double moon phase, making it a bit more compelling.
(But like all tide-indicator watches, the new Yacht Club has a caveat: IWC points out it “works reliably on all coasts with two equally strong high and low tides per day”. It is not a flaw, but just a nature of the complication. More that below.)
At the same time, the watch overall is constructed to IWC’s usual levels of quality, which is to say excellent. The only downside is the rose-gold case, resulting in a steep price tag; hopefully a steel or titanium version comes along (and it probably will).
The tidal watch, until now
The tide-indicator complication first appeared in a wristwatch in 1949 when Heuer unveiled the Solunar, which was followed by the Seafarer that combined a tidal display with a chronograph. Like regatta timers for boating, tide-indicator watches were specialised timers created to cater to the growing popularity of recreational and competitive sailing in the 1950s. However, the tidal complication remained relatively rare compared to the regatta timers that had a straightforward application in sailing, making it more commercially successful.
But while regatta timers were designed to countdown to the start of a sailing race, tide indications are astronomical in nature. In fact, they can be seen as an elaboration on the moon phase, because tides are the terrestrial result of the fluctuating gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and Sun on the Earth.
The Corum Admiral’s Cup Tides of 1992. Photo – Sotheby’s
Tide indications should be of broader interest, being useful to fishermen, surfers, sailors, at least in theory. In reality, mechanical tide indications occupy an esoteric area of watchmaking. The complication exists in but a handful of watches spread across a diversity of price points, depending on the complexity of the tide indication.
At the entry level is the affordable Sinn 240 St GZ with a no-frills tide-calculator bezel and a price tag of under US$2,000. At the other end of the spectrum is the artistic Real Moon Tides from independent watchmaker Christiaan van der Klaauw.
But worthy of special mention is the pioneer of the high-end tide indication in modern watchmaking. In 1992, Corum debuted the Admiral’s Cup Tides, which included three tide-related displays and is still in production today as the Admiral AC-One Tides.
That makes the Portugieser Yacht Club Moon & Tide fairly special, being the only tide-indicator watch offered by a major brand today. Additionally, it stands out for being a comprehensive tide indicator, while still maintaining a clean, two-register dial that is reminiscent of the Yacht Club chronograph. But before delving into the new Yacht Club, let’s take a short dip into the world of tides.
Tide formation
A tide indication is usually accompanied by the moon phase display because the Moon is a major influence on the level of the oceans, more so than the Sun. The gravitational pull of the Moon generates a tidal force that is constant no matter the phase of the Moon. And that tidal force causes the oceans to bulge, on the side of the Earth that is facing the Moon.
But at the same time, the side of the Earth furthest from the Moon bulges because the gravity of the moon is also acting on it, resulting in the water on Earth being stretched into something resembling a rugby ball.
The bulges in the oceans results in high tides around the continents, but not all high tides are created equal. For simplicity, a high tide is often portrayed as being the same everywhere but that’s actually not the case in reality. The bulge in the oceans furthest from the Moon is smaller than the one facing the Moon as the gravitational pull exerted the far side of the Earth is weaker.
The rugby-ball shape that results from the Moon’s gravitational pull
Because the Earth rotates on its own axis anticlockwise in about 24 hours, it undergoes the cycle of high and low tides twice each day. However, the Moon also orbits the Earth approximately every 29.5 days, roughly equivalent to a calendar month. Thus, during the time it takes the Earth to complete one rotation on its own axis, the Moon progresses a little further on its monthly orbit of the Earth.
As a result, for a fixed spot on Earth to return to face the a fixed spot on the Moon requires 24 hours and 48 minutes, otherwise known as a Tidal Day. And because the tidal cycle happens twice a day, a high tide occurs every half-Tidal Day, or 12 hours and 24 minutes.
Ordinary high and low tides, however, are less extreme than Spring tides that happen when the Sun, Moon and Earth are in syzygy, or linear alignment. Occurring once every full and new moon, syzygy amplifies the gravitational effects on the Earth’s tides, resulting in more extreme tide levels that rises higher as well as fall lower than average.
Conversely, when the Sun and Moon are acting on the Earth at a right angle to each other, a Neap tide occurs. The tidal forces counteract each other, reducing the strength of the average tide due to the opposing gravitational pull. Consequently, high tides are lower, while low tides are higher, compared to the average. While high and low tides are a daily occurrence, Spring and Neap tides occur twice each lunar month, or every 14.76 days.
Spring tides occur when the Earth, Sun, and Moon are in linear alignment; when the Sun and Moon are perpendicular to each other and the Earth, the result is neap tides
Just as the oceans bulge on different sides of the Earth due to the influence of the Moon, tides also vary on a smaller scale from place to place, due to not just to the position of the Moon and tilt of the Earth, but also local factors like the shape of the continents, depth of the oceans and so on.
Consequently, tidal patterns can be classified into three categories. Because it is built to cater to the twice-daily tidal patterns found in most of the world, the Yacht Club Moon & Tide is functional for only one category, semidiurnal, where the two high tides each day are generally equal, and ditto for two low tides. Semidiurnal tides occur on most of the world’s coastlines, but not all.
The tidal indicators on the watch do not function if the high and low tides are respectively unequal, a pattern known as mixed tide. Neither do they apply to the third category of tidal patterns, diurnal, which has only a single high and low tide each day.
As a result, the Yacht Club Moon & Tide will be useful in Europe and the east coast of the United States, but not in the American west coast or Indonesia, for instance.
The tidal function of the Yacht Club Moon & Tide only applies to coastlines in green. Diagram – Michael Pidwirny, University of British Columbia, via Wikipedia
Yachting style
The Portugieser Yacht Club Moon & Tide is unique amongst tide-indicator watches as it combines IWC’s signature double moon phase along with a comprehensive tidal display that shows high and low tides, as well as spring and neap tides.
But style-wise it’s conventional and presented in standard Yacht Club format, which was conceived to be a sportier version of the Portugieser. For that reason, the Yacht Club has a greater wrist presence, not just because of its dimensions but also its muscular design with wide lugs, prominent crown guards, and a pronounced rim on the bezel.
Rendered in pink gold, the watch measures 44.6 mm wide and 14.4 mm high, which is a tad bigger than the already-large Yacht Club Chronograph. Because of it size and weight, the ergonomics are average. It would be far more practical and wearable in titanium or steel instead of pink gold.
The case quality is excellent, as IWC cases almost always are. Though the lines of the case are simple, it is finely finished. And the case is not just heavy, but also extremely solid in construction, as evidenced by the massive case back and the protruding crown guards. That said, the tolerances of crown guards are the one bit of the case that can be improved, as there’s a visible gap between the guards and the case.
The tidal complication
Symmetrically and logically arranged, dial takes its cues from the Yacht Club Chronograph (which in turn was inspired by the Portugieser Chronograph). Despite being superficially similar to the its chronograph cousin, the Yacht Club Moon & Tide is distinguished by the combination of a pink gold case with the blue dial, a first for the Yacht Club line.
Though the dial is relatively simple in style and detail, it is executed well, up to typical IWC standards. All of the elements look good even up close, ranging from the applied hour numerals to the printed markings. Even the tiny screw that screws the scale for the tide indicator is cleanly finished, revealing only barely-there machining marks.
The fairly complex tidal displays have been cleverly streamlined, leaving the dial is clean and easy to read. And the orderly appearance of the dial is helped by its size, which means that the date window doesn’t cut into the three o’clock numeral, though the date does crowd up that side of the dial.
The top sub-dial features a rotating blue disc with two apertures to show the phases of the moon as seen from both the Northern and Southern hemisphere. As with all IWC double moon-phase modules, it has an accuracy of a day in 577.5 years.
And because tides are dependent on the Moon, also integrated into the moon phase is the spring and neap tide indicator. The rim of the blue disc is marked with the periods of spring and neap tides, with a small, red arrow to indicate if the current period is a spring, neap, or ordinary tide.
The tide indicator within the moon phase
The sub-dial at six o’clock has a 12-hour scale with a slowly-rotating disc that indicates the times for high and low tides at the current time. Featuring a red arrow for high tide and a red ring for low tide, the indicator travels at the leisurely pace of one rotation every 14.76 days, or half a lunar month.
The slow rotation of the tidal disc is driven by reduction gears in the tide-display mechanism that convert the motion of the hour pinion, which carries the hour hand makes logically makes two rotations a day. The reduction ratio of the mechanism is substantial, after 12 hours and 24 minutes, which is half a tidal day, the tide disc would have rotated just 24 minutes on the 12-hour scale. But though it moves slowly, the tide indicator is exceptionally precise. According to IWC, it will deviate by 10 minutes after one century.
Conveniently, the tide indicator is independent of the time display so the it can be set via the crown. But setting the tide display also reveals a minor drawback in its 12-hour, rather than a 24-hour, scale. When setting the watch, the only way to tell if it is day or night is the date change at midnight. But aesthetics no doubt justify this, as the tidal sub-dial indicator has larger markings and better legibility than if it were on a 24-hour scale.
The tide indicator on a rotating disc, against a 12-hour scale, which shows high tide at about 3:30 and low tide at around 9:30.
The movement
The Yacht Club Moon & Tide is powered by the cal. 82835, made up of the cal. 82110 with the moon and tide module on top. Impressively, even with the added moon and tide displays, the movement has the same 60-hour power reserve as the unencumbered base movement.
Relatively compact but solidly-constructed and robust, the base movement is from IWC’s cal. 82000 family, which is related to the seven-day cal. 52000 and chronograph cal. 89000. The cal. 82000 is smaller than the cal. 52000, but the two share several features, most notably the Pellaton winding mechanism.
Invented by famed IWC watchmaker Albert Pellaton in 1946, the eponymous winding system centres on a heart-shaped cam driven by the winding rotor.
As the rotor turns, the cam oscillates the between two jewelled rollers mounted on a Y-shaped bridge. That causes the bridge to swing back and forth, transferring energy to a pair of attached pawls that push and pull against the teeth of the barrel ratchet wheel, winding the mainspring.
This iteration of the Pellaton system is the very latest, so the automatic wheel, pawls and cam are made of wear-resistant ceramic that needs no lubrication. In contrast, the simpler IWC movements, like the cal. 32000, utilise the “Magic Lever” type of mechanism with push-pull pawls.
The Pellaton winding system (top left) with its ceramic wheel and pawls visible
In addition to the Pellaton winding mechanism, the movement also boasts a free-sprung, adjustable-mass balance, generally considered to be the most sophisticated type of balance wheel. And as with a majority of IWC movements, the balance is attached to an ordinary flat hairspring (only a handful of much-larger movements, such as the 8-day cal. 59000 and the four-day cal. 94000, feature an overcoil hairspring).
The free-sprung balance
Because the movement is relatively fancy for a moderately-sized, simple automatic, it was designed with aesthetics in mind, with the rotor and bridges partially skeletonised to reveal the mechanics. The barrel bridge for instance has two large apertures revealing the barrel, gear train, and of course the Pellaton mechanism.
The finishing of the movement is typical of IWC. Mechanically applied, but sharp and clean, likely sharper and cleaner than peers in the same price bracket. It also incorporates aesthetic details like the “Probus Scafusia” seal on the rotor and again the base plate, along with gold-plated engraving, which give it more colour. As a result, the movement is visually attractive.
The skeletonised rotor with prominent bevelled edges
Concluding thoughts
Tide watches are truly off the beaten path of complications, making them unique in themselves. But the sophistication in design and execution of the Yacht Club Moon & Tide takes it a step further than its peers. The watch only has one real competitor, which is the Corum Admiral AC-One Tides. While the competition is sparse, the Yacht Club Moon & Tide edges ahead as it neatly combines the brand’s trademark moon phase with an all-inclusive tidal display.
The functionality of the Yacht Club Moon & Tide is essentially identical to the Corum Admiral AC-One Tides, but Yacht Club simplifies the tidal displays, making them more digestible for the layman user.
On the other hand, the Corum Tides displays the same information with more granularity, indicating tide levels on a 24-hour scale, and also tide strength on a numeral scale. That is doubtlessly more appealing to the specialist, but is probably too much for a watch enthusiast.
In terms of design, the Yacht Club trumps the Corum Tides, which is a chunky, brightly coloured watch that lacks the refined details of IWC’s wristwatch. And the Corum Tides also falls short in terms of mechanics, since it is powered an ordinary ETA 2892 base movement.
But, and this is important, the Corum Tides is available only in titanium, and is correspondingly affordable, with a price tag of under US$10,000, which is less than a third of the Yacht Club.
Consequently, the IWC is the top choice, but in the extremely rarefied realm of ultra high-end tide watches in precious metal cases. Being an interesting and unusual watch that is executed well, it really should be available in a steel or titanium. Fortunately, it probably will, going by IWC’s past practice.
Key facts and price
IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Moon & Tide Ref. IW344001
Diameter: 44.6 mm Height: 14.4 mm Material: Pink gold Water resistance: 60 m
Movement: Cal. 82835 Functions: Time; date; double-hemisphere moon phase; spring and neap tide indicator; and high and low tide display Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz) Power reserve: 60 hours
Strap: Blue rubber strap with textile inlay
Limited edition: No Availability: At boutiques and retailers from November 2020 Price: 35,000 Swiss francs
Correction April 29, 2020: The cal. 82000 family of movements is in-house, and related to the cal. 52000 and cal. 89000. It is not based on the architecture of the ETA 2892 as stated in an earlier version of the article. Additionally, the water-resistance of the watch is 60 m, and not 30 m.
Addition May 4, 2021: Heuer introduced the Seafarer in 1950.
With last year’s limited editions packaged with extreme adventures having sold well commercially, Panerai is once again offering a watch packaged with a once-in-a-lifetime experience, except that the timepiece is no longer merely a basic dive watch.
Limited to just five pieces, the Submersible EcoPangaea Tourbillon GMT PAM01108 is equipped with a skeletonised movement featuring a second time zone and tourbillon. More unusually, the massive, 50 mm case of the PAM 1108 is fabricated from recycled steel.
The EcoPangaea tourbillon has an unusual bezel milled to have its markings in relief
Named EcoPangaea steel, the material is recycled from the discarded drive shaft of Pangaea, the 35 m sailboat owned by South African conservationist and explorer Mike Horn. The vessel has accompanied Mr Horn on various expeditions around the world, from Antarctica to the Amazon.
Fittingly, the watch includes an Arctic adventure supervised by Mike Horn, which Panerai describes as “an opportunity to test your physical limits and witness the imperiled state of our ecosystem.”
The perpendicular tourbillon
The PAM 1108 is powered by the P.2005/T, a movement Panerai has used on several other skeleton-tourbillon watches. Hand-wound with a six-day power reserve, the P.2005/T incorporates a second time zone function with a central GMT hand, as well as the novel tourbillon at 10 o’clock.
Unlike conventional tourbillons that rotate on the same plane as the dial, with the balance wheel oscillating the same axis of rotation, the Panerai tourbillon rotates perpendicular to the dial, like a barbecue spit, and at high speed, making one revolution every 30 seconds.
Diameter: 50 mm Material: Steel alloy recycled from drive shaft of Pangaea Water resistance: 300 m
Movement: P.2005/T Functions: Hours, minutes and seconds, second time zone, 24-hour indicator, power reserve display, and tourbillon regulator Winding: Hand-wound Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz) Power reserve: 6 days
Strap: Black rubber with pin buckle, additional woven strap made from recycled PET
Limited edition: 5 pieces
Availability: At Panerai boutiques starting November 2020 Price: €190,000, or 279,000 Singapore dollars
Just revealed at Watches & Wonders 2020, the Les Cabinotiers Astronomical Grand Complication “Ode to Music” is the latest chiming watch to emerge from Ateliers Cabinotiers, Vacheron Constantin’s dedicated department for commissions and ambitious unique pieces that showcase the brand’s technical as well as artisanal skills.
If the watch looks familiar, that’s because it is based on the Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication 3600, the most complicated wristwatch ever created by Vacheron Constantin at the time of its launch in 2017, but more importantly, the most comprehensive astronomical complication wristwatch ever made. The new Ode to Music retains all of its astronomical prowess, but replaces the tourbillon with a minute repeater, while omitting the tide indicator and power reserve display.
Rebuilt grand comp
As a result, the Ode to Music retains the same astronomical display module but is actually constructed on an entirely different base movement from the Celestia. While the Celestia relied on a base movement with a tourbillon and six barrels, the Ode to Music utilises the minute repeating cal. 1731, a wide but ultra-thin movement measuring just 3.9 mm high.
Comprising a total of 600 parts, the resulting cal. 1731M820 is hand-wound, with a frequency of 3Hz and a 60-hour power reserve on a single barrel.
Because of the thinner base movement, the Ode to Music clocks in at a relatively svelte 12.45 mm high, versus 13.6 mm for the Celestia. But because the complications module remains similar, the diameter remains an enormous 45 mm. The pink gold case is paired with a dark blue dial, which perhaps better evokes the astronomical nature of the complications.
At its core, the Ode to Music delivers three measurements of time: civil time, apparent solar time, and sidereal time, all regulated by a single balance wheel but each driven by its own gear train, in addition to the going train for the minute repeater. The first two time indications are displayed on the dial, and the third on the back.
Civil time, ordinary 24-hour time in other words, is indicated by pink-gold Breguet-style hands, while apparent solar time, which is also the running equation of time, is shown by an additional minute hand tipped by a stylised Sun.
As opposed to a conventional equation-of-time mechanism that’s driven by a cam and feeler, a running equation of time requires a differential-gear system to drive the Sun hand with input from two sources, one being the regular going train that shows civil time, and the other being the gear train driven by the equation-of-time cam.
As a result, apparent solar time is displayed in real time, via the secondary, sun-tipped minute hand that shows the current time according to the Earth’s movement around the Sun, which can vary from the conventional 24-hour day by -16 to +14 minutes depending on the time of the year. In other words, the current apparent solar time can be read off the dial, instead of having a scale showing the difference between mean and apparent solar time as most equation of time indicators do.
As much astronomy as desired
Apart from the main hands, the dial displays a plethora of other astronomical indications including a day and night indicator that is combined with the moon phase, a perpetual calendar, a tropic and zodiac display and most unusually, sunset and sunrise times.
Situated between three and 12 o’clock, the perpetual calendar has day and month apertures, a leap year indicator and a sub-dial for the date
The aperture for zodiac signs, seasons, solstices and equinoxes
Sunset and sunrise indications remain extremely rare in modern watchmaking as they are based on latitude and longitude in relation to a specific time zone, essentially dependent on where the user is located in the world. In this case, the indications will be calibrated to the city of the owner.
The times for sunrise and sunset are shown on a pair of fan-shaped displays located the bottom of the dial, while the vertical aperture provides the length of the day in terms of daylight hours that varies with the seasons.
Over on the back of the watch is a sky chart that is made up of two sapphire discs. The mobile lower disc is printed with a scale for sidereal time – the time measured according to the rotation of the Earth relative to fixed stars, instead of the Sun – and a blue ellipse that represents the viewing horizon directly overhead when stargazing.
The fixed upper disc bears the star chart with a yellow ellipse for the celestial equator, which is a projection of the Earth’s equator onto the celestial sphere, and a red ellipse for the ecliptic, the apparent path the sun takes across our sky.
Framed by a blue ring for the months, the bottom sidereal disc makes one revolution each sidereal day which is 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds, thereby indicating the month on the fixed scale with a yellow pointer exactly at midnight each day.
Key facts and price
Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication Ref. 6620C/00R-B656
Diameter: 45 mm Height: 12.45 mm Material: 18k pink gold Water-resistance: Not water-resistant
Movement: Cal. 1731M820 Functions on the front: Civil time; running equation of time; minute repeater; perpetual calendar; moon phase; day and night indicator; sunrise and sunset indicator; day and night length indication; tropic and zodiac display On the back: Sidereal time; sky chart of the northern hemisphere with indication of the Milky Way, of the ecliptic and celestial equator
Winding: Hand-wound Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz) Power reserve: 60 hours
Strap: Alligator with pin buckle
Limited edition: Unique piece Availability: Only at boutiques Price: Upon request
Having just debuted a Luminor with fancy “lume” and a sintered titanium case, Panerai is also unveiling another wristwatch in a novel material – the Luminor Marina Fibratech 44 mm PAM01663 with a basalt-fibre composite case.
Having been the focus of research in recent years as a lower-cost and ecologically-friendly alternative to carbon-fibre composites, basalt-fibre composites are light, strong, fire-resistant, biodegradable, and more cost efficient, making them increasingly popular in the automotive and aerospace industries.
The material starts with basalt rock that’s ground up, melted, and then formed into fibres. As with carbon-fibre composites, the basalt fibres are then mixed in a liquid polymer and baked in a special high-pressure oven, or autoclave, forming the composite material that can be machined to the desired shape.
Used for the first time in watchmaking with the Luminor Marina Fibratech, basalt-fibre composite is used for the case and crown-lock bridge, while the bezel, crown, and crown-lock lever are made of carbon-fibre composite (or Carbotech in Panerai parlance), giving the case a two-tone appearance with the carbon-fibre composite several shades darker than its basalt-fibre counterpart.
And as is usual for watch cases made of composite materials, the screw-down case back is titanium and screws into an inner case of titanium. Under the titanium back is the P.9010, a thin, in-house automatic with a three-day power reserve.
In keeping with current fads, the dial is dark blue, but with a smoked finish that darkens towards the edges. And in keeping with Panerai tradition, the dial has a “sandwich” construction.
