Cornelius & Cie is a new high-end watch brand based in Geneva, Switzerland. The company was founded in the summer of 2007 and was initiated by two Dutchman, world-famous watch engraver Kees Engelbarts (1967) and jeweller Paul Pertijs (1968), crowning a friendship started while both were students at the renowned Dutch Gold- and Silversmith Academy.
The company will produce extremely exclusive watches, using vintage watch movements in proprietary cases of classic but innovative design. Every single part of the movements is embellished by hand, skeletonized and/or engraved by Kees Engelbarts. Customers are offered extensive possibilities to have the watch and the movements personalized with specific engravings.
The Chronosome 46XY is the first labor of passion coming to the public eye from the Cornelius & Cie studio. The heart of the Chronosome 46XY watch is an Calibre AS 690, developed and produced by the A. Schild company in Grenchen, Switzerland, in 1935, beating at steady 18.000 b.p.h. (beats per hour)
Debuting in April 2008 at SIHH in Geneva, Jaeger LeCoultre will be introducing another mindblowing Gyrotourbillon movement but this time as part of the Reverso collection. The Gyrotourbillon features a spherical tourbillon with two carriages spinning on two axes freeing the regulating organ from effects of gravity in all positions. Reverso watches can be flipped over for alternative displays. The 2006 Reverso a Triptyque, one of the most complicated watches ever made and also the world's first three faced watch.
The Gyrotourbillon 1 (above), first introduced in 2006 features a double cage tourbillon with equation of time and perpetual calendar and the Master Minute Repeater that produces tones at 55 decibels or double the volume of the world’s next loudest minute repeater.
Two 1960s Patek Philippe Solar clocks to be auctioned at the upcoming Antiquorum Important Collectors' Wristwatches, Pocket Watches and Clocks in Geneva. The full catalog here-->Link
Previously auctioned 1960 Patek "Pendulette" Solar Clock
Angela Yuan, a young NYC mechanical engineer has built a fun little clock from an Etch A Sketch toy. Each minute that passes, the machine tilts the toy, shakes it clean, and mechanically draws the correct time.
I suspect Chronoswiss and Spyker’s partnership has soured of late, as the only official sign of their brief dalliance during 2003/4 is buried in the gallery section of the Dutch carmaker’s website… However, as one of the more interesting (ie, less cynical) car/watch brand tie-ins, a proper tribute from the Watchismo Times has been long overdue – especially since Chronoswiss’s signature knurled onion crown forms such a key motif in Spyker’s Steampunk (yes, Steampunk interior design).
Check out how that lush leather cushioning combines with the metallic burred dashplates and exposed gear lever shaft. It could easily be mistaken for the cockpit of an HG Wells contraption, rather than a 500bhp V8 supercar that’ll hit 100kmh in under 4 seconds.
Spyker and Chronoswiss first joined forces in 2003. Cantankerous horolo-guru Gerd-Rudiger Lang, who celebrates the 25th anniversary of his watch brand this year, designed the ice-cool dashboard himself, as well as the Chronoswiss-Spyker ‘Double12’ 24-hour pilot’s watch, which paid tribute to (deep breath): Spyker’s aviation heritage (it merged with the Dutch Aircraft Factory in 1914 to make fighter planes); the C8 Double12 R car (top speed in excess of 199 mph, originally priced at a whopping €300,000); and the famous speed races which, in the past, were held in two 12-hour laps.
More gratuitous car porn: this time, the drool-inducing Spyker C12 Spyder, unveiled in Dec 2004. The first Spyker powered by the all-aluminium 6-litre W12 Audi engine, it had an all-platinum Double12 watch to go with it, only 48 of which were made, yours for €34,700 back then.
And while we’re at it, you may as well drool over this too: Zagato’s interpretation of the C12. Yes, it’s for real. Yes, I want one. No, I doubt very much that Chronoswiss will have the balls to do a watch version. Perhaps Urwerk or Hautlence fancy a try…?
There were very few double-retrograde watches made in the early seventies but here are two of the very best. The vintage automatic winding "Futurama 1000" by Wittnauer featured only two styles, silver dial and black dial with hours and minutes displayed in an arc (hours on left, minutes on right). As each hand travels to the bottom, they fly-back to the top rather than circularly rotate. These two are particularly fine examples each with their original bracelets. Deep-set magnified portholes for date display.
Helsinki watchmaker, Stepan Sarpaneva, nephew of the famed Finnish mid-century designer Timo Sarpaneva, has produced yet another stellar timepiece -- the Korona K1. Following the success of his very limited and sold-out Supernova series (featured here->link), Stepan is quickly forming a large celestial body of work with the addition of the Korona to his intimate galaxy.
44mm wide and 9.6mm tall, the nearly full-Finnish production is made entirely of stainless steel including the dial, date disc, hands, crown, case, and rotor. The grated dial design reminds me of the incredible variety of antique manhole covers found all over here in New York City-->Link
The first public appearance of a Korona K1 (K2 & K3) will be at the upcoming Baselworld watch fair in Basel Switzerland. Stepan will be exhibiting with superstar independents Vianney Halter and others.
The skeletonized vertical date window
Here is a clearer image of the skeletonized calendar digits
The prototype Korona K1 shot direct from Sarpaneva's bench
The rear rotor/winding mass
The black-diamond coated Korona
From Machinethinking.org;“Jos the Finch” in The Netherlands makes extraordinary sterling engines of striking designs. These are only a couple of his amazing machines. It’s shocking that he gets such high efficiency from only a couple of tea candles."
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.
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. 
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