CELSIUS X VI II MICRO-MECHANICAL REMONTAGE PAPILLON TOURBILLON MOBILE PHONE - APPROX $275,000 EACH

If you won't be in Switzerland next week for the Baselworld watch fair for the world's first public viewing, don't worry, The Watchismo Times has an exclusive sneak peek of this über-gadget, the CELSIUS X VI II micro-mechanical tourbillon cell phone!

Celsius is a French company founded in 2006 by four young entrepreneurs. In March 2010, after three years of research and development with icons like Richard Mille and controversial movement maker "Confrerie Horlogere Hublot" (formerly BNB Concept), Celsius X VI II are launching a range of high-end micromechanical phones featuring some exceptional patented mechanical complications.

The first creation, a cell phone merged with a tourbillion watch featuring a patented Remontage Papillon mechanism, heralds a new generation of objects with high emotional value. CELSIUS X VI II reinvents micro-mechanical applications to humanize the future of communication: pushing the boundaries of established watchmaking, each creation will be a significant step towards the dream of a completely mechanical mobile phone: a phone in which every function will operate mechanically, solely through human energy.

Celsius X VI II has developed its first papillon item as an accessory for the contemporary aesthete. The successive design sketches reveal a quest for perfect elegant - skilfully contoured lines, fine materials and subtle details - through a functionalist approach, beauty without excess. The quality of the manufacture hints at a fine watchmaking influence. The pieces of the case are of the best workmanship, and most of the roughly 547 mechanical components are hand-finished. The aesthetic design plays with transparency to reveal the magic of the technology, to an even greater extent than would be allowed by the butterfly design alone.

The fact nonetheless remains that, tucked away inside its hinge, the item conceals a patented system that is activated when the wings are unfolded. Based on complex micromechanics, this innovation has its name - "Remontage Papillon" (butterfly rewinding) - spelled out on the top wing. Its presence has much to do with making this creation a favorite among enlightened enthusiasts. This ultimate appeal is an asset that opens up new horizons, as Celsius X VI II begins to explore mechanical functions that will revolutionize the world of communications, things never before seen or heard that in the future will become a major sector of the prestige market.

Celsius X VI II is fundamentally an innovative brand that combines mobile telephony with prestige watchmaking in creating nomadic objets d'art.

A dream that embraces a concept that is still impossible today but may one day come true: an entirely mechanical cellphone!

It will be unveiled next week at Baselworld 2010, starting price will approximately €200,000 ($275,000)

http://www.celsius-x-vi-ii.com


| Watchismo Shop | Watchismo Blog | Contact Us | Facebook |

Vintage LIP Watches - Rare Private Collection Available After Decades in Storage!

A very rare private collection of vintage LIP watches are now available. Ranging from gunmetal and sterling silver pocket watches of the early 1900s to the iconic French designer series of the early seventies. Original Mach 2000 chronographs from Roger Tallon, very rare Prince Francois de Baschmakoff Jump Hours and some nearly singular examples from a rich history in time!

Above, a Sixties sterling silver LIP wristwatch with actual wood inlaid bracelet and wood dial. Never seen another like it, ever!

1974 Michel Kinn Lip Watch

Rudi Meyer's very unusual 70s "Galaxie"

1960s Minimalistic "Panoramic"

Unusual Mystery Dial "Ecrusson"
1970s Roger Tallon Design

Ladies Mach 2000

Uncommon Automatic Mach 2000

Early 70s Mach 2000 Moon by Roger Tallon

Rare prototype LIP Moonphase Mach 2000
(never went into production)

1975 LIP Mach 2000 LED
(light emitting diode)

1974 Tallon LIP Electrique

Super Swanky Sixties Ladies Lip Watches

Modern Design Sixites Ladies LIP

1970s "Galaxie" Automatic by Rudi Meyer

1970 47mm Valjoux Lip Chronograph

1970 Lip Automatic

1960s Sunken Hours Manual Mechanical LIP

1970's "Les Candides" by Michel Boyer
(beat Swatch by 10 years!)

Fancy Sixties Ladies Dress Mechanical

Seventies Lip "Instrument" by Rudi Meyer

"Hermes" Style 60s Lip Mechanical

Massive Seventies Lip Chrono

The Classic Lip Mach 2000 "Aeronef" by Roger Tallon 1974

The All Steel Lip Baschmakoff Jump Hour - 1970

Original 1969-70 Baschmakoff Leather

Early 20th Century Gunmetal Lip Pocketwatch

Antique 1920s-30s Sterling Silver Lip Pocket Watch

Related Posts at The Watchismo Times;
All Vintage Watch Stories
All LIP Watch Stories

| Watchismo Blog | Watchismo Shop | Contact Us | Subscribe |

You Dirty Dirty Horologist - Hardcore Erotic Automaton Pocket Watches 1800s-Today

Antiquorum has offered a wide array of antique erotic automaton pocket dating from past three centuries. If you haven't seen these before, you might be shocked at how graphic these animated depictions were for the time. For additional examples, see my previous post on the subject here--> "Debbie Does Switzerland - Victorian Porn"

"Outside the Abbey Walls" (above)

Outside the Abbey Walls Swiss, No. 1339. Made circa 1910. Fine and amusing, large, 18K pink gold and enamel, hunting-cased, keyless minute-repeating pocket watch with chronograph and painted on enamel concealed erotic automaton.

C. Four-body, “bassine et filet”, engine-turned covers with polished borders, the front cover with a black champleve enamel monogram, polished band, gold hinged cuvette with painted on enamel erotic scene depicting two monks enjoying local hospitality in the woods. D. White enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute track and Arabic five minute numerals, outermost fifths of a second divisions, subsidiary seconds. Gold stone-set hands. M. 49 mm (21'''), rhodium plated, fausses cotes decoration, 21 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, cut-bimetallic compensation balance with blued steel Breguet balance spring, index regulator, repeating on gongs activated by a slide in the band. Diam. 61 mm.

Detail of "Outside the Abbey Walls"

Auctioned for 25,000 Swiss Francs

"Chaudoir a Geneve"

Chaudoir a Geneve, circa 1820. Fine 18K gold quarter repeating half skeletonized watch with automaton Jacks and a small concealed automaton erotic scene.

Three body "Empire" case with a reeded band and engine- turned back. Gilt brass cuvette.Small white enamel chapter ring with Breguet numerals. Blued steel Breguet hands. On each side of the dial, applied on the visible engraved gilt front plate and the polished steel repeating work, two three coloured gold chased automaton are striking the quarter and hours on two bells. Below the dial, a three coloured gold chased scene with a Cupid is applied on blue steel shutters, disclosing the automaton erotic scene, driven by the striking train. Gilt brass full plate movement with cylindrical pillars, fusee and chain, verge escapement with a plain brass three armed balance, a continental cock with a polished steel endpiece. Repeating on gongs by means of the depressing pendant.. Signed on the dial, the cuvette and the movement. In good condition. Diam. 55 mm.

Close-up of Automaton Erotic Scene at 6 o'clock

And of course, the tradition continues to this day, watchmakers create these erotic scenes on the "backsides" of the watches allowing only the wearer to know what carnal mechanics are occurring "under his dial"

N° 01, "Sailing Dream" by Antoine Preziuso

"Sailing Dream" No. 01 of a limited edition series of 30 examples. Made in 1997. Very fine and rare, tonneau shaped, center seconds, water-resistant, 18K yellow gold gentleman's wristwatch with 42-hour autonomy and three color gold erotic automaton scene with an 18K yellow gold Antoine Peziuso buckle. Accompanied by a luxury fitted box.

C. Two-body, massive, polished, transparent case back secured by 8 screws, sapphire crystal. D. Satiné silver with painted radial Roman numerals, outer minute/seconds divisions; on the other side: a multicolor gold erotic scene animated by means of a mechanism hidden in the band and motioned by the winding-crown. Blued steel "feuille" hands. M. Cal. Based ETA 2801, rhodium-plated, "fausses côtes" decoration, 17 jewels, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring. The erotic automata and the engraved background are in 18K yellow, pink and white gold. Dial, case and movement signed. Dim. 34 x 41 mm. Thickness 10 mm.

Close-up of "Sailing Dream"

Sold in 2007 for 15,600 Swiss Francs

And if you thought this was a perverted subculture of watchmakers, think again, the most respected watchmaker of all time, Abraham Louis Bréguet, watchmaker to Louis XVI and Queen, Marie-Antoinette also produced their own erotica-horologica, like this past auction below, by the way, it sold for 1,500,000 Swiss Francs (about a million dollars at the time in 1990):

Swiss, bearing the signature Breguet A Paris, circa 1825. Fine 18 ct. pink gold quarter-repeating watch with erotic automaton.

C. Four body, massive, "Empire" style and engine-turned. GiIt brass cuvette. D. Gold, engine-turned with polishecl Roman numeral plaques, a sliding plaque revealing the erotic scene. Blued-steel Breguet hands. M. Frosted and gilt full plate, fusee with chain, verge escapement, plain 3- arm balance, continental cock with marquasite end stone. Push pendant operated erotic automata with vari coloured gilt figures operated in unison with the push pendant quarter-repeating on gongs. Signed sliding automaton plate. In very good condition. Diam. 56mm.

Close-up of animated coupling at 6-o'clock

And here is one upcoming auction for a simple pocket watch with a little hidden door revealing the happy couple. It will be held October 3rd in Geneva Switzerland and the entire catalog can be seen here--> Antiquorum Auction Link

"Lit D’Amour Prouvarelle a"

Lit D’Amour Prouvarelle a Paris, No. 1, Swiss. Made circa 1820. Fine and rare, 18K gold, quarter repeating pocket watch with concealed erotic automaton scene.

C. Three body, “Empire” with reeded band and engine-turned back. Concealed in the hinged gilt brass cuvette, a small automaton scene presents an amorous couple on a bed. D. White enamel with Breguet numerals, outer minute divisions. Gold scotties hands. M. Gilt brass full plate with cylindrical pillars, fusee with chain, verge escapement, plain brass three-arm balance, flat balance spring, gilt brass continental cock with ruby end-stone, repeating on gongs activated by depressing the pendant, the automata driven by the repeating train by means of a small lever. Signed on the automaton lid. Diam. 55 mm. Lot Link

Lot Estimates

• 7,000 CHF - 9,000 CHF
• 4,600 EUR - 6,000 EUR
• 6,600 USD - 8,500 USD

via Antiquorum

Be Sure to Read All My Related Erotic Watch Posts at The Watchismo Times;
Debbie Does Switzerland - Victorian Porn
Sexy 1890 Daguerreotype Photo Pocket Watch
Time to F%&K - 1970s Erotic Watches


| Watchismo Blog | Watchismo Shop | Contact Us | Subscribe |

Secret Message in Abraham Lincoln's Pocket Watch

Hidden Message Found in Lincoln Pocket Watch

By Neely Tucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 10, 2009; 5:40 PM

For nearly 150 years, Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch has been rumored to carry a secret message, supposedly written by an Irish immigrant and watchmaker named Jonathan Dillon.

Dillon, working in a D.C. watch repair shop in 1861, told family members that he -- by incredible happenstance -- had been repairing Lincoln's watch when news came that Fort Sumter had been attacked in South Carolina. It was the opening salvo of what became the Civil War.


Dillon told his children (and, half a century later, a reporter for the New York Times) that he opened the watch's inner workings and scrawled his name, the date and a message for the ages: "The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a President who at least will try."

He then closed it up and sent it back to the White House. Lincoln never knew of the message. Dillon died in 1907.

The watch, meanwhile, was handed down and eventually given to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958. It didn't run anymore. No one had pried open the inner workings in ages. The old watchmaker's tale was just that.

And then Douglas Stiles, Dillon's great-great grandson, alerted Smithsonian officials to the family legend last month. He was a real-estate attorney in Waukegan, Ill., he explained. He'd heard the legend around the dinner table as a kid, but had just discovered a New York Times article from 1906, quoting Dillon as telling the story himself.

Truth? Lore?

This morning, in a small conference room on the first floor of Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, officials decided to find out. Expert watchmaker George Thomas used a series of delicate instruments -- tweezers, tiny pliers -- to pull apart Lincoln's timepiece. He put on a visor with a magnifying lens and talked as he worked. Some of the pins were nearly stuck, he explained. The hands of the watch were original with a case made in America and the workings from Liverpool. The Illinois rail-splitter had splurged: The watch, Thomas said, would be the equivalent to a timepiece costing "$5,000 or more" today.




And then he pried off the watch's face, pulled off the hands, and turned it over to see the brass underside of the movement.

The audience, watching on a monitor, gasped.

Split into three different sections to get around the tiny gears, was this razor-thin etching: "Jonathan Dillon April 13, 1861. Fort Sumter was attacked by the rebels on the above date. Thank God we have a government."

The old man's memory had not been exact. He had not forecast the end of slavery, or Lincoln's critical role in its demise.

But it was there, a little bit of history that had been resting on Lincoln's hip, unseen during those tumultuous days of war and rebellion, the Emancipation Proclamation and the rest, and then resting, unseen, for more than a century and a half.

Stiles was delighted. "That's Lincoln's watch," he said after putting it down, "and my ancestor wrote graffiti on it!"

via The Washington Post and The National Museum of American History

Related Posts at The Watchismo Times;
Mohatma Gandhi Wristwatch Auction
All Historical Watch Posts

| Watchismo Blog | Watchismo Shop | Contact Us | Subscribe |

Time for a Woody - Wood Watches Over Time (1590-2009)

No, not that Woody.

A visual tour of wristwatches made of wood watches from 1590 to 2009.


One of the first wood watches I ever featured at The Watchismo Times, a 1960s Swank, reminiscent of the George Nelson clocks of the time.

Also previously featured, the incredibly rare Bronnikov all-wood (and bone) watches of the mid-nineteenth century. Even the movements were made of wood! --> LINK

The wood movement

And reaching as far back as I can, here is a portable sundial made of wood from 1590 which also doubled as a gun powder flask and compass --> LINK

Back in the USSR! This wood cased Raketa watch from an amazing collection of Russian watches --> LINK


LIP, mostly known for the super-cool watches of the seventies has a very wide array of other unusual watches like this 60's sterling silver bracelet watch with wood dial and curved inlaid wood strips in the bracelet.

And some of Richard Arbib's very rare wood dialed Hamilton Electric watches from the 1950s and 60s. Above is the Flight II prototype.

The classic design of the Hamilton Ventura also had a prototype with a wood face. Courtesy of Rene Rondeau.

And an collection of wood dial Hamilton Sherwood with automatic movements. These did make it to production in the 60s but are quite scarce.

More styles of Sherwoods

Original Sherwood strap with inlaid wood

A vintage Bulova Accutron with wood bezel
(All Accutron Posts-->LINK)

An unusual vintage Jowissa wood cased watch

The brand new limited edition Quiksilver Ray watch, an eco-friendly concept watch with a case and bracelet made of solid ebony and using a "Green" non-battery automatic mechanical movement.

More about The Ray --> LINK


The Nixon Rotolog, a modern interpretation of the LIP Baschmakoff Jump Hour of the early seventies but now with a interior light and an entire series made with all types of wood including bamboo and teak (shown above)

Nixon Rotolog collection --> LINK

One of my favorite modern watches using wood, the Nixon Murf featuring wood veneers cover the top half of the face and two discs for hours and minutes below. Eacy style has a different color light for the dial by pressing the big horizontal crowns. And one of it's truly unique features is the way the time is changed, you unscrew the top crown, and then press down to electrically forward the discs. It looks like a Bang & Olufsen stere turntable!

Nixon Murf collection --> LINK


A pair of swanky ladies watches from the modern brand Vestal utilizing Rosewood, Ebony, and Maple for cases and bracelets.

Vestal Wood Watch collection --> LINK

Shooting back up to the higher end of wood watches including the Jaquet Droz above. They have produced watches with all sorts of materials including meteorite.

Last but not least, Svend Anderson's Eros "Navigation Pleasure" model (below). The one-of-a-kind Eros has marquetry work with four types of wood and a secret 10 moving part erotic automaton on the back of the watch.

Related posts on The Watchismo Times;
Watches made of Bone
Meteorite Watches

| Watchismo Blog | Watchismo Shop | Contact Us | Subscribe |