A Technical Perspective - A Guide To The Hairspring
Sprung to life: who manufactures Hairsprings? An industry perspective on this key component whose production is still shrouded in secrecy – Barely one centimeter in diameter, the hairspring is the beating heart of a watch movement. It is a strategic component in several respects. Manufacturing hairsprings is a complex process and the whole Swiss watch industry has been relying on one supplier, Swatch Group's Nivarox at least, until very recently!Christian Huygens is credited (by common consensus) with the invention of the first movement with a balance wheel and hairspring in 1675. Since then, the principles of the regulating organ of the watch have changed very little. The escapement gives impulses to the balance wheel. In return, it is regulated by the balance. The oscillations of the balance wheel regulate the flow of time: each swing of the balance allows the gear train to advance a set amount. Its role is similar to that of a pendulum in a clock. The extremely thin coiled hai

Breitling Navitimer 8 B01 - Inc. Historical & Strategical Background, Specs & Price
This is a fact: Breitling is changing. Since the arrival of Georges Kern (ex-CEO of IWC Watches and ex-Richemont) and CVC Partners at the head of the brand, some drastic?changes are underway. And we all know that change is both a necessity and the most complex thing to manage. The first evidence of this new strategy is named the?Breitling Navitimer 8 collection, news that already made the headlines and provoked strong debate among the watch community. Now that we’ve had a chance to hear from Kern directly, it is time for us to take a closer look at the collection’s flagship, the?Navitimer 8 B01 Chronograph, and try to give you a clearer view of what is going on at the brand.Breitling’s entirely new strategyBefore we move to the hard task of clarifying the?Navitimer 8, it is important to understand the new, global strategy that Kern is deploying. First of all, the new Breitling is built around a new team which is financially involved (all top managers are shareholders

Introducing: Hublot Big Bang Unico All Black Schloss Schauenstein
Like watchmaking, gastronomy demands extreme precision and excellence. Both Haute Horlogerie and Haute Cuisine aim to evoke emotions through their craft. Unsurprisingly, many of the world’s best chefs have become ambassadors for some of the most prestigious watch brands. Hublot counts Yannick Alleno, Anne-Sophie Pic, Clare Smyth, and Andreas Caminada among its ambassadors. Caminada, awarded 19 Gault & Millau points in 2009 and 3 Michelin stars in 2011, practices his culinary art at Schauenstein Castle in the village of Furstenau, Switzerland. The Swiss chef has partnered with Hublot since 2017. Today, this partnership reaches a new level with a special collaboration celebrating his 20 years at the castle – the Big Bang Unico All Black Schloss Schauenstein.As its name suggests, the celebratory Big Bang comes in an all-black design featuring a 42mm micro-blasted ceramic case. The bezel is crafted from ceramic too. Together with the satin-finished and micro-blasted black-p

In-Depth - The Future Of Silicon Hairspring & The Expired Patent
Barely one centimetre in diameter, the hairspring is the beating heart of a watch movement. It is a strategic component in several respects. Manufacturing hairsprings is a complex process mastered only by a few companies. Conventional hairsprings are made of iron-nickel alloys, such as Nivarox. For several years now, silicon has been revolutionizing traditional watchmaking. Borrowed from the semiconductor industry, silicon presents remarkable properties to manufacture hairsprings outperforming those made from conventional metal alloys. But until very recently, silicon hairsprings have been used by a limited number of companies, which patented the technology Things might change as their patent has now expired. We could well enter the silicon age.?The silicon-based Spiromax hairspring of Patek PhilippeThe benefits of the silicon hairspringNot everyone is a fan of the modern silicon hairspring. Some wonder whether silicon has its place in a traditional mechanical watch. Others question th

Panerai Radiomir 10-Days GMT - 3 New Special Editions - Monochrome Watches
The last few weeks we’ve seen a lot of new releases! We’ve shown you Peter Speake-Marin’s new Piccadilly HMS and Resilience, the new Romain Jerome DeLorean DNA, a larger Girard-Perregaux 1966?and?a new collection for Hautlence called Avant-Garde, to name just a few.And there were the two new Panerai Radiomir Composite?models. Now Panerai again releases three new Radiomir Special Editions, all in precious metal and with the beautiful 10-days manual wind GMT movement with linear power reserve indicator. Let me introduce the Radiomir 10-Days GMT – PAM 00495, PAM 00496 and PAM 00497. Ad - Scroll to continue with article Like said, these three Radiomir models are Special Editions, meaning they are limited in production. From left to right there are the PAM 00495 (platinum, limited to 100 pieces), PAM 00496 (white gold, 250 pieces) and PAM 0049