Sea The Best Diver Watch Photographs Ever...

Mens Vogue fashion director Stephen Watson and photographer Raymond Meier have sunk to new heights with their stunning new spread of today's best Diver watches. Shot inside actual tanks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the watches including the Panerai Luminor 1950 Submersible, Movado Series 800, Glashütte Original Sport Evolution Panoramadatum, Bell & Ross BR 02, and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Diving Pro Geographica are all featured with real sea creatures molesting them. See the whole series here-->Link

Jaeger-LeCoultre's Master Compressor Diving Pro Geographic ($22,000; jaeger-lecoultre.com) sports a push-button depth gauge. The sea nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens) travels up to 3,600 vertical feet daily.

Bell & Ross's BR O2 Steel ($4,000; bellross.com) is also water-resistant up to 1,000 meters, while the Sand Rose Anemone (Urticina Columbiana), spends its life stuck to a rock.

I recently met with Stephen who conceptualized this shoot and was impressed to learn that this was the real deal, not some photoshopped trickery. He described the custom tanks Monterey Aquarium staff set up for each watch and the buckets of tiny animals they poured into them.

Quite honestly these are the best thematic watch photographs I've ever seen. The bar has been raised to the bottom of the sea.

See the full spread at the Mens Vogue website here-->Link


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Black LIP Diode LED in new GQ Magazine Digital Watch Feature!

Yes, I wish I thought of the title "Digitally Remastered" as the March 2008 issue of GQ did for the vintage inspired digital (LED & LCD) wristwatch feature. And I may be biased but the LIP Diode pops right out of the page compared to the rest of the very respectable Nooka and Gucci offerings.

LIP first introduced Roger Tallon's cubist Diode back in 1976 and is only being offered again now after 32 years...and guess where? Here-->Link Or in stores now at Barneys New York.

The All-Black LIP Diode (bottom right with 8:37 displayed)

Other new digitals from Gucci & Nooka

The March 2008 issue of GQ. Their website just posted a pretty good "How to buy a watch" slideshow here-->Link

LIP Watches-->Link

See Also;
History of LED Calculator Watches
History of Dynamic Scattering LCD
History of Solar LED Watches
LED-LCD Watch Combos
Zenith Analog/Digital Hybrid
Other Analog-Digital Posts
Alternative Displays
All Digital Watch Posts
All LED Watch Related Posts


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Basel Previews - $500,000 Zenith El Primero Zero-G Multi-Dimensional Tourbillon

New top-of-the line Zenith debuting at Baselworld 2008 in April. This limited edition all-black PVD coated El Primero Zenith Zero-G Multi-Dimensional Tourbillon will start around 350,000 Euros ($500,000+).

And you may ask yourself, who would wear a watch like that? Well, below is Thierry Nataf, not only the president and CEO of Zenith, but also a member of the Zero-G Multi-Dimensional club for men.

The giant feathered and beaked watch on his other hand is Toodles the Hawk. He doesn't go anywhere without Toodles. Can somebody have a talk with Thierry?

Photos via Timezone
Zenith website-->Link

See Also;
All Zenith Posts-->Link
All Tourbillon Posts-->Link
Over $100,000 Watches-->Link and Link


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Horological Crystal Ball - Sneak Peek into the Near Future

From the looks of it, 2008 might be an interesting year.

More to come...

Chime in with your guesses to who is making this arcane mechanical-digital.


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The New BRM Manufacture Birotor BRT-3 In Gold

"Many of you are aware of the automotive themed, dramatically styled watches from BRM, and I'm very happy to bring you this introduction to the BRM Birotor in rose gold, with BRM's very own in-house movement.

This is a spectacular watch, very much in the spirit of the modern watch world- a boldly designed piece that expresses from the inside out the renewed fascination of man for machinery and for the ability of watches to both be, and act as, representations of the beauty and power of machinery."

-Jack Forster of Horomundi

Ergonomic adjustable lugs and sideview see-thru case

View of the shock absorbers

The watch is also available in titanium and black titanium.
This model is the BRT3, weight: 111,35 gr of rose gold. every
part, the case, the lugs, the clasp are made from a bloc of rose gold
nothing in this watch has been stamped.
Precitime movement 40x48mm
Suspended movement on triangle bridges in carbon fiber

Shock absorbers with cone-shaped spring, ISOLASTIC system ® (certified)

Differential mechanism Automatic Birotor

Arcap plate and bridges

Assembled movement and 6-sided bolts

Lightened bridge and plate structure

BRM balance with ruby gyroscopic effect

Double ceramic rotor bearings

Fortale HR aluminium rotors

Tantalum rotor weights

Bi-polar time system with double crowns (certified)

Ergonomic lugs with 3 adjustable positions ( certified)

Crown moved to 2 pm for better comfort

Curvilinear front and back sapphire glass

Water resistant up to 30 meters

BRT-1 Titanium case and stainless steel crown and lugs
BRT-2 Black titanium and stainless steel crown and lugs
BRT-3 Titanium and rose gold crown and lugs
BRT-4 Rose gold case,crown, lugs





B.R.M. Manufacture Website
( Birotor prices start at 50,000 € )

via Horomundi


See Also;
All Automotive Watch Posts
B.R.M. Manufacture Birotor
Other Models from B.R.M.
Parmigiani Bugatti Engine Block Watch
Azimuth Chrono Gauge Mecha
Audemars Piguet Maserati Millenary MC12
Gerald Genta Arena Chrono Quattro Retro
Radiator Grille Watches
Kienzle Life 2002 Jump Hour
Paul Smith Dashboard Watch
Heuer Silverstone
Heuer Ford Chronosplit
Tag Heuer Monaco V4 Belt Drive Watch
Dashboard Clock History
Delorean Time DMC2 Wristwatch
Formex Shock Absorber Watch
Driver Watches

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Roger Tallon's Mach 2000 Dark Master Chronograph Watch Review

Ablogtoread.com has just reviewed the new LIP Mach 2000 "Dark Master" Chronograph-->Link

He sums it up with; "Should you buy a LIP Mach 2000 Dark Master Chronograph? The answer to that all depends on whether you find a connection with the ideal presented in 1970s futurism. Do you want a piece of modern design history? Can you appreciate the toils of industrial design and post-Bauhaus era industrial French charm? Will the concept of psychological design resonate with you in so far that the bright colors and organic shapes combine with pure function to interface better with humans? The LIP Mach 2000 Chronograph design is one man’s attempt to address these issues and more."

See Also;
All LIP Posts-->Link
LIP Product Pages-->Link

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Impressions of an Early HM2 Owner (MB&F Horological Machine No.2)

One of the very first owners of a MB&F Horological Machine No.2 has shared his images and thoughts-->Link

"It’s an object which I can’t stop staring at. It is anything but tactile (unlike the HM-1 which was all in curves) but I can’t stop touching it."

A thermometer watch box for the HM2!

See Also;
All MB&F Horological Machine Posts-->Link


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The Secret Life of Machines

A great episode of the late eighties BBC series "The Secret Life of Machines". This particular episode (featured in three parts below) focuses on the development and technology leading up to quartz watches but there is much much more in this show. Everything from sundials, water clocks, church clocks, mechanical pocket watches, the first wristwatches, vintage watch commercials, electric, tuning fork, solid state, LCD, LED, and the modern analog Quartz.

Part 1 --> Link (or click play above)



Part 2 --> Link (or click play above)



Part 3 --> Link (or click play above)

See Also;
All Watch & Clock History Posts-->Link

via WatchesCorner


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Ancient Nerds - History of Computing & The Earliest Calculating Devices

Neatorama.com has a fantastic overview of the history of computing with a special focus of early mechanical calculating devices-->LINK

Some examples from the feature;

The 2000 year old Antikythera Mechanism, the worlds oldest computing device (and 1000 years more advanced than comparable mechanisms). Only discovered 100 years ago in a shipwreck.

Wilhelm Schickard’s Calculating Clock (1632) that could add and subtract six-digit numbers (with a bell as an overflow alarm). This invention was used by his friend, astronomer Johannes Kepler, to calculate astronomical tables, which was a big leap for astronomy at the time. For this, Wilhelm Schickard was considered by some to be the "Father of Computer Age."

Blaise Pascal’s Pascaline (or Arithmetique) from 1645 - The basic mechanism of the Pascaline is a series of gears - when the first gear with ten teeth made one rotation (one to ten), it shifts a second gear until it rotated ten times (one hundred). The second gear shifted a third one (thousands) and so on. This mechanism is still in use today in car odometers, electricity meters and at the gas pumps.

German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz' Stepped Reckoner of the 17th century was inspired by a steps-counting machine (pedometer) he saw to build his own calculator. Leibniz’s design used a special type of gear called the Stepped Drum or Leibniz wheel, a cylinder with nine bar-shaped teeth along its length.

Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine from 1822 was considered one of the first mechanical computers. Despite of its unwieldy design, his plan called for a basic architecture very similar to that of a modern computer.

During World War II, Nazi Germany used an electro-mechanical cipher machine called Enigma to encrypt and decrypt coded messages. It used rotors to substitute letters (for example, an "E" might be coded as "T"). The genius of the Enigma was that the machine used polyalphabetic cipher, where the rotation of the rotors allowed each subsequent letters to be encoded in a different manner. (For example, "EEE" might be become "TIF").

See the rest, including the dawn of digital computing here-->Link

via BoingBoing from Neatorama

See also;
All Watchmaking Posts
History of the First Digital Calculator Watches
1960s Juvenia Protractor Watch
Multi-Functional Watches
Slide Rule Wristwatches
Gadget Timepieces


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Killing Time - Horological Weaponry

I'm dying to tell you about this killer visual history detailing lethal miniaturized (spy) guns built inside everyday objects like pocket watches, rings, pens, locks, pipes, and even in a crucifix! The ultimate Memento Mori timepiece, the only watches that'll tell you when you're truly out of time...

For thematic purposes, here are the pocket watch guns... See the rest of the collection at Dark Roasted Blend-->Link

A very rare English 0.3 Caliber Pocket Watch Pistol

I think one of these were found on the grassy knoll outside Ford's Theatre

A ladies timepiece wasn't an obvious choice
So a Pistol Ring "Femme Fatale" was made.
circa 1870 & Packing a .6 Caliber six-shooter

From-->Dark Roasted Blend (via Core77) & thanks to Greg @ Genuine Ideas

Many More Related Posts at The Watchismo Times...

See Weapon Related Watch Posts;
Sicura Knife Watch
Wristwatches of War
1941 Panerai Commando Set
Gunpowder Flask Watch
The Defenseband - Choking Watch Strap
Movado Seduction Weapon

See Subminiature & Hidden Watch Posts;
Shoot To Kilfitt - Subminiature Camera-Watch
Subminiature Camera Watches
Steinheil Camera Watch
Victorian Camera Pocket Watch
1950s Minifon Spy Recorder Watch
Victorian Wrist Horn
Rolex Lipstick Watch
Omega Ring Watch
Rolex Ring Watch
Walking Stick Watches
James Bond Movie Gadget Watches
1947 Wrist Lighter

See Memento Mori Watch/Clock Posts;
Time of your Life and Death - Mr. Jones Watches
Time of your Life - Mr. Jones Watches
Wake Up...Time To Die Clock
1610 Screaming Skull Clock
Mary Queen of Scots Skull Watch
Rock Crystal 1710 Skull Watch
Rolling Eyeball Skull Clocks
Painfully Real Cuckoo Clock
19th Century Bone Watches
Arthropodal Watchworks
All Memento Mori Posts



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Clockwise - Tik Tak Clock

Designed by Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe, the Tik Tak clock explodes with every single minute represented on random lengths of powdered steel rods. The sizes of the 60 digits correspond with varying shades of stee for additional depth.

Available for £89.00 (appx. $177 USD) at Habitat UK-->Link

The original sketch for the Tik Tak Clock

via Technabob

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1980's Alienating Seiko Speedmaster by Giorgetto Giugiaro

If you're asking yourself, what was that cool-ass watch Lieutenant Ripley wore in the 1986 movie Aliens, I have the answer for you. It was a Giugiaro designed Seiko Speedmaster Chronograph. Entirely unique by its vertical stopwatch pushers placed inside the asymmetrical case extension. Many of Giugiaro's other designs for Seiko between 1983-86 had asymmetric qualities and are shown below.

And for those of you who don't know Giorgio Giugiaro, he was one of the most important car designers of the 20th century. Credited with the "folded paper" car designs of the 1970s and 80s, he was responsible for such classics as the Lotus Esprit, De Lorean DMC 12, Maserati Merak, Bora, Quattroporte, BMW M1, and most interesting to learn, my first car, the Volkswagen Scirocco. See the rest of his resume here-->Link

Personally, I think he may have been influenced by the design of this watch that came out 12 years earlier-->Link

An appropriate future-from-the-eighties choice by James Cameron

It took me a while to dig these up!

Proof!

What bothers me the most is that I had one of these chronos and sold it prior to learning of its claim to fame.

Another fantastic Seiko Speedmaster design by Giugiaro.

I must find one!

Check out those four quadrant crown/pushers

Another from the Speedmaster series
With the dial off-kilter rotated towards the wearer

An asymmetric Giugiaro Speedmaster Diver

An interesting digital design

More about Giugiaro-->Interview and article from Designboom

Giorgetto Giugiaro Wikipedia Page-->Link
Giugiaro Design Website-->Link
ItalDesign Website-->Link

See Also;
John De Lorean's ill-fated wristwatch-->Link
Dashboard Clock History-->Link
Radiator Grille Watches
Audemars Piguet Maserati Millenary MC12
Kienzle Life 2002 Jump Hour
Azimuth Chrono Gauge Mecha
Paul Smith Dashboard Watch
Heuer Silverstone
Heuer Ford Chronosplit
Tag Heuer Monaco V4 Belt Drive Watch
Delorean Time DMC2 Wristwatch
Formex Shock Absorber Watch
Gerald Genta Arena Chrono Quattro Retro
Parmigiani Bugatti Engine Block Watch
Manometro
Dunhill Petrolhead
Richard Arbib
B.R.M. Birotor
Driver Watches

And speaking of Alien, the designer H.R. Giger had his part in a watch design for Swatch in the early nineties, see a sketch of his Crosswatch above. Watch blogger Ariel Adams of Ablogtoread details more from the 1993 exhibition here-->Link


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