Bvlgari Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon - Introducing, Specs & Price
The Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon marries two traditional complications in a radically contemporary setting. The impressive acoustic and visual show, with a three-hammer chime and tourbillon, takes place on the dial of a very noir' Octo Roma case. The hammers, gongs and tourbillon are exposed on the dial while the mechanics of the impressive new BVL428 manual-winding calibre can be glimpsed at through an openworked metallic grille bolted to the dial and more clearly on the reverse side of the case. Assertive and commanding with its black DLC titanium case, two traditional complications are cast in an entirely new - but very dark – light.solid chiming credentialsChiming complications, in all their modalities, are not new to Bvlgari. Well represented in the past by the Daniel Roth Grande Sonnerie QP and the Gerald Genta Grande Sonnerie Magsonic with Westminster chimes and tourbillon, Bvlgari masters chiming timepieces with two, three and even four hammers. More recently, we’v

The spooky Petite Seconde Louis Horror x Seconde/Seconde
Louis Erard has become a byword for collaborations, and the list of watchmakers and design studios involved with the brand is growing by the day. Fast becoming a tradition, the models singled out for the collaborative transformations are the Regulateur and the Petite Seconde from Louis Erard’s Excellence collection. Tapping into a festive Halloween mood, the latest Petite Seconde has been designed by seconde/seconde, the alias of Romaric Andre, who has gained fame for customising vintage watches with lighthearted, whimsical touches.Seconde/secondeA serial hand-swapper, Parisian designer Romaric Andre makes no qualms about his intentions: “I vandalize other people’s products only because I failed at building mine.” Taking the seriousness out of vintage watches, Andre’s tongue-in-cheek customisations include a Air King with a cloud substituting the central seconds hand or a Patek Philippe model branded Tiffany & Co. with a croissant-shaped minute hand

Hands-On - IWC Big Pilots Watch Perpetual Calendar Steel IW503605
Long the flagship model of IWC's collection of Flieger watches, the Big Pilot's Watch was first paired with the perpetual calendar complication in 2006 as small limited edition runs for two retail partners. Since then, more than 37 versions of this model have been released. Fifteen years after its introduction, the Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar in steel again enters IWC's permanent collection, with the new reference IW503605 and its deep blue dial.The Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar is a striking piece, measuring 46.2 mm in diameter and 15.4mm in thickness. Big is indeed the style here, but far from being an affectation, it is in keeping with the 1940 original, which was oversized due to the pocket watch calibre inside. Legibility was of the utmost import in the original and, even though it is slightly compromised by the perpetual calendar indications, the large dial of the Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar lends itself especially well to the complication. Ad

Video: The Ulysse Nardin Freak, the watch that broke all conventions
The other day, we went to Switzerland to film one of the most important and influential watchmakers of the last few decades. It’s not a name that is on everyone’s tongue, but it actually should. Let’s look at this objectively… A watchmaker who created the most complex astronomical watches in times when computer-aided designing and calculations were not widely available. A watchmaker who created a watch that is like no other, that indicates hours with a main spring barrel that rotates once per 12 hours and the entire calibre is an in-line movement that hovers over the main spring barrel and rotates once every hour. However, it is important to mention that the latter was the very first watch to use silicon in its escapement. I’m talking about Ludwig Oechslin and the Ulysse Nardin Freak.Now I could go on about Ulysse Nardin’s Trilogy of Time, however, we didn’t go to film those masterpieces. Yes, these three watches (hence the trilogy) were incred

Introducing the Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date Collection
Dive watches don’t really come to mind when thinking about Montblanc, but the brand has a trio of new divers with a classic overall design. Bright, modern dials in blue and green keep things fresh and eye-catching, while a black dial offers a more traditional aesthetic (not featured in this article). Inspiration came from the freezing glacial lakes of the Mont-Blanc Massif, and textures from ice formations are represented on the lacquered dials. The watches conform to the ISO 6425 norm for diving and went through the Montblanc Laboratory 500 Hour Test for durability, so it’s definitely not “form over function”. Meet the new Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date collection.The stainless steel case is 41mm in diameter with a height of 12.9mm and features a brushed finish with polished accents and curved lugs. There’s an engraving of a scuba diver in glacial waters with an iceberg on the caseback. The image was created with the help of advanced laser engravi