Wow! Look what Cartier has done to the Tank.

Once in a while a watch stops me in my tracks as a result of its breathtaking beauty. This is one of them without a doubt. The Cartier Tank Americaine Tourbillon Volant Watch. It is a Tank, a Cartier Icon. Click here to read more on the Tank.

With mounting financial "butterflies in the stomach" uncertainty in the Luxury Watch Business, Cartier has improved on a much loved classic. The outcome a gem of a watch with its "Tourbillon Volant" or "Flying Tourbillon". A tourbillon is a complication originally created in 1795 by French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguetto to counter the effects of gravity on the movement of the watch. Cartier has placed everything that works in a Watch, so that the watches success is its birthright. The dazzling sapphire crystal cabochon accentuates the crown, and the 18k rose gold softens the look. The watch has a mechanically wound 9452MC movement with a flying Tourbillon complication and the Geneva Seal. The Power reserve is 50 hours.

This watch is quite large for a tank: 52mm tall and 36mm wide, but in this case the bigger the better. The heat-blued hands and the Roman Numeral Hour indicators are wonderfully Cartier.

From where comes the name?

A name is the ultimate defining factor of a person, place or thing. A single name has the power to brings forth an entire landscape of images. The name of a luxury watch company is the name chosen to display the image of the company. So let us review the origins of the name of some of the popular watch manufacturers.

Audemars Piguet - Two French proper names taken from the Swiss founders: Watchmaker Jules Audemars and financial expert Jules Piguet.

Baume & Mercier - Two French proper names taken from the Swiss Baume family and the Genevan jeweler Paul Mercier.

Blancpain - The French language last name of the founder - Swiss businessman Jean Jacques Blancpain.

Breitling - The German language last name of the Swiss born founder of the company Leon Breitling.

Bulgari - The last name of the Italian Bulgari family.

Cartier - The last name of the French-born Louis Cartier.

Chopard - French language last name of the Swiss born founder Louis-Ulysse Chopard.

Corum - Swiss founding partners Gaston Ries & Rene Bannwart chose the Latin word "quorum" as the company name and changed the spelling.

De Grisogona - The maiden name of an associate's mother who worked with Italian born founder Fawaz Gruosi when he opened his first boutique in Geneva.

Ebel - Name taken from the first letters of Eugene Blum et Levy. Levy is the maiden name of Swiss Eugene Blum's wife.

Gerald Genta - Name of Swiss born watchmaker Gerald Genta, a man of Italian descent.

Girard-Perregaux - French proper names derived from a company eventually owned by
Swiss Constant Girard - Perregaux.

Hublot - A French word meaning "porthole". The Italian founder Carlo Crocco chose this name for his watches as they reminded him of a ship's porthole.

IWC - Stands for International Watch Company, founded in Switzerland by an American Florentine Ariosto Jones.

Jacob & Co. - Russian-born American Jacob Arabo's first name. He is the company founder and owner.

Jaeger-LeCoultre - Taken from the last names of Swiss founders Pierre Jaeger and Charles Antoine LeCoultre.

A. Lange & Sohne - Taken from the German founding watchmaker Ferdinand Adolph Lange's name.

Longines - Swiss founder Ernst Francillon purchases a property by the name of Longines. He built a watchmaking factory there, and named his brand after it.

Richard Mille - French owner and founder Richard Mille's name.

Ulysse Nardin - French language name of Swiss founder Ulysse Nardin

Omega - Name chosen for the company by Swiss founder Louis Brandt's sons, Louis Paul and Cesar.

Panerai - The Italian word officine means workshop (sometimes included in the name). Panerai is taken from the name of the Italian founder, Guido Panerai.

Patek Phillipe - Last names of founding Polish immigrant to Switzerland, Antoine Norbert de Patek, and French watchmaker Adrien Phillipe.

Piaget - French-language last name of Swiss founder Georges Piaget.

Rado - Later director Paul Luthi renamed the Swiss company Schlup & Co. Rado in the mid 1950's.

Rolex - German-born founder Hans Wildorf took the name from a combination of the Spanish words "reloijes excelentes" (excellent watches) and came up with the name Rolex.

Daniel Roth - The name of the Swiss founding watchmaker Daniel Roth.

TAG Heuer - Swiss founding watchmaker Edouard Heuer's last name and the TAG group who acquired the brand in 1985.

Tissot - French-language last name of Swiss founders Charles-Felicien and Charles-Emile Tissot (father and son)

Urwerk - Name chosen by Swiss founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei meaning "otiginal movement"

Vacheron Constantin - French language last names of Swiss foundes Jean-Marc Vacheron and Francois Constantin.

Zenith - Swiss-born founder Georges Favre-Jacot chose the name Zenith for his company.

Cartier spins watches leaves nothing to the imagination.

Cartier enthralls the world of Horology and Jewerly with its exceptional masterpieces. Cartier has been creating for Kings and Queens, Prince and Princesses, Actors and Actresses, Man and Wife for the last 160 years. Each piece is a fine web of artistry and talent, exciting the brain and pleasuring the mind.

Yes! It is true. I have a favorite within the House of Cartier. It is the Tank Crash Watch from the Cartier Libre Collection available in 18-karat white gold or yellow gold with diamonds, the suggestion of a double bezel is quite dizzying to the eye. My eyes do not know where to look when viewing this watch, it almost seems two watches had a fight with a bottle of crazy glue. This watch is full of mystery and intrigue.

Concord's slim and delicate Delirium.

A century ago, in Bienne, Switzerland, two young swills craftsman had an ambition to create watches with thin sleek proportions... and so Concord was born.
Concord has been a pioneer in the watch industry. In 1915, Concord produced the first private-label luxury watches with diamonds and precious metals. Concord watches was once the official gift of U.S. Presidents to visiting heads of state. In 1979, Concord made leap in watch history when Concord unveiled its ultra-flat Swiss quartz movement with the Delirium. The Delirium was a mere 1.98 mm thin. The next year Concord broke its own record by the introduction of the Delirium IV with a remarkable reduction of just under 1mm. Concord still holds the record for the thinnest watch in the world.

In 2004 Concord commemorated the silver anniversary of the Original Delirium, and unveiled the new Delirium XXV Collection. This collection includes diamond encrusted 18K gold quartz as well as limited edition hand-winding mechanical timepieces.

The new Concord Delirium Collection is vast, catering to a wide range of unique tastes. The Concord Delirium Manual Wind is a watch with deliberate taste and style. The mechanical movements are mesmerizing as they can be viewed through the see through dial.

The new Concord Delirium includes this glittering Diamond encrusted Watch. Every diamond is carefully chosen to enhance the clear delicate beauty of the watch. This watch will compliment a woman on her evening out, mirroring her radiance.