The Key to Corum

The Key. Corum's symbol. A key opens a locked door. Corum has flung the door open onto a vast world of vividly imaginative watches catering to many different tastes. Corum unlocked the hearts of many collectors and watch wearers alike. Search through Corum's collections and you will find a watch you will love.

Founded in 1955 in La Chaux - de - Fonds, Switzerland, by Gaston Ries and his nephew, Rene Bannart, Corum quickly became recognized as a trend setting watch brand. Uncle and Nephew started small, as a private label watch factory, and within a year turning into its own brand Corum. IN 1956 the first Corum Watch made its debut. For 40 years the pair created one-of-a kind imaginative watches, still sought after by vintage watch collectors.
Corum decided to maintain the success of Corum into the 21st century, Corum needed a boost, some fresh ideas, and thus to start the millenium off on the right foot, Severin Wunderman became the new owner. In 2004 his son, Micheal, became president. In addition, in 2007 Corum added to their team, Antoine Calre as Appointed Chief Executive Officer, bringing with him a rich knowledge and experience in Watchmaking. He oversees the entire process from the first seeds of design to customer service. Severin Wunderman died, at his home in France, on June 26th, 2008. He will be sorely missed. On August 18th, 2008 Corum announced Serge Weinberg, will replace Severin Wunderman as New Chairman of the Board.

Corum's name stems from the Latin word Quorum meaning
"The minimum number of members whose presence is necessary to make the proceedings and decisions of an assembly or society valid. It is then said a Quorum is reached."
The number of a Quorum is very definite depending on the society,

The key is the key to perfect time, and the last person to arrive at a meeting whereby a decision has to be made is the key that unlocks the process. Without that one final person the door is closed and no decision can be made.



Corum's Selection of Watches that have found the key to my heart is the Corum Bubble - named for the 11mm thick domed sapphire crystal. A Collection of watches stemming, in 2000, from the ideas of its . then, new owner, Severn Wunderman. With Corum's huge variety of styles, it is impossible to portray "Corum's Style" in terms of color, shape and size. I can portray Corum's style in the perfect craftsmanship, cutting-edge designs, and the success in creating the perfect image for the wearer.

Tom Brady Limited Edition 800 Series Chronograph by Movado

Tom Brady recently became a Movado Ambassador , joining Movado's already impressive list of talents in the Movado art of the performance campaign new Movado Series 800.

Who is Tom Brady? Tom Brady is a household name in the world of Football. Although he has an impressive list of accomplishments, he is best known as a quarterback for the New England Patriots which he joined in 2000, and has established himself as one of the leading quarterbacks in the NFL today. Tom Brady has led the New England Patriots to the Championships an impressive three times: Super Bowl XXXVI at age 24; Super Bowl XXXXVIII at age 26; and SuperBowl XXXIX at age 27. In addition, he has earned multiple MVP awards.

Now that you know his track record, it is no surprise that Tom Brady is one of the Movado Ambassadors, and has a Sports watch in his name. He knows how to play time and is recognized for his impeccable timing on the field.

The Tom Brady Watch from Movado sports textured dial and an XtremeResin strap, reinforced with Kevlar. This watch is built to withstand the high impact sport of Football. A steel case with a rotating bezel, and Sapphire Crystal case back to ensure the ultimate protection against scratches and blemishes. It is available in black or silver dial with luminescent markings.
The rotor is Custom designed with Tom's #12. Finely crafted Swiss automatic movement with precise chronograph function. The production is limited to 500 pieces world-wide and it costs somewhere in the range of $2,500.00.

In addition Movado has a non-celeb Collection of Series 800 with are available in a wide range of colors.

The Mechanical Digital Luxury Watch.

At first glance, the De Grisogono Meccanico DG, looks like your good-quality digital watch. Look again!

This hand wound watch is actually entirely mechanical, with absolutely no digital components.

How does it work? The upper half of the watch is your conventional analog display, and the bottom portion is a numerical display controlled by 651 mechanical components. 23 cams connected to a set of gears collaborate in unison to trigger the change of hours and minutes The digital display utilizes 23 horizontally and vertically positioned micro segments. The Vertical segments are 9 mm high and weigh 25 milligrams. The Horizontal segments are 2.90 mm lengthwise and weigh a mere 10 milligrams. The segments have four sides: two opposing visible faces with colored strips and two opposing unmarked faces. As the time changed, the segments rotate by 90°, thereby displaying the correct change. The change, which can include 1 to 12 segments, occur in a blink of an eye. The watches digital numbers provide an illusion of the quartz watch, as the strips create a vivid contrast to the interior blackness of the watch.

For the skeptics in our midst De Griscono has crafted a transparent dial plate, so that the intricate mechanical workings of the timepiece can be carefully scrutinized.

This watch is an interesting piece as it is a true testament to the survival of the mechanical watches. In a previous blog of mine, I wrote about the quartz scare of the late 1960's early 1970's. A difficult time for mechanical watch manufacturers. A time when they thought they would lose all they had accomplished to a "Quartz Generation. This Watch testifies to the survival and the recent revival of Mechanical Watches.

This watch boasts a 35 hour power reserve, quite remarkable if you think about the two completely different displays.

The De Grisogono Meccanico timepeices are limited edition of just 177 exceptional timepieces. Available in titanium, titanium and red gold, titanium and rubber and titanium and platinum.

Omega Ambassader swimmer Michael Phelps Wins 8 Gold Medals.

Micheal Phelps, an Ambassador for Omega Luxury Watches has torpedoed into the History Books by winning a remarkable 8 gold medals. Micheal Phelps an Omega Ambassodor. Michael Phelps has made history, winning an amazing 8 medals. He won the "100 meter Butterfly" by a mere 100th of a second, beating Milorad Cavic. A second in time seems so minuscule, but to be able to measure time in 100th of a second, and to name a winner that is accuracy. That is Omega. Micheal Phelps set seven world records, and beat one Olympic record. Micheal Phelps swims laps in seconds, and it is quite fitting that he has a line of Omega Watches in his name.

The selection includes: Seamaster Planet Ocean Chronometer.
Water resistance: 600-2000 meters.
Movement: Caliber - Omega 2500
Self Winding Chronometer
Co-Axiel escapement movement
48 Hour power reserve.

Domed scratch-resistant Sapphire Crystal, Stainless Steel Case and black dial.



Seamaster Planet Orange Chrono- No doubt about it, this is a swimmers watch.
A calibre Omega 3313. This watch sports a Chronograph feature. A feature that is an essential for serious swimmers. It allows you to precisely time yourself in the pool. The Chronograph is a self-winding movement with column wheel mechanism as well as Co-Axial Escapement for precision stability and durability of the movement. The Watch is crafted with a free sprung balance, including date, hour, minute and continuous small seconds hands, central chronograph hand.

Water resistance of 600-2000 meters. Domed Scratch Resistant Sapphire Crystal. Power Reserve: 52 Hours.



The Seamaster Apnea with Caliber: Omega 3601. This watch is a self-winding chronograph with Free diving timing display for a 14 minutes dive. Water Resistance 300-1000 meters.








The Seamaster Apnea is protected with an anti-reflective Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. Self winding Chronograph with free timing diving display for 14 minute dive.

A perfect selection of swim watches that do not have to be left poolside, and which carry the name of the greatest swimmer whose stunning victories are still roaring in the ears of all.

My Luxury Watch is COSC Certified Chronometer. What does that mean?

What does the abbreviation COSC represent? The Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres - The Official Swiss Control Office for Chronometers.

Who is the COSC? C.O.S.C. was founded ,as it is currently known, in 1973. It is a Swiss non-profit organization that tests Swiss-made chronometers.
Who founded COSC? COSC was founded by five watchmaking regions of Switzerland: Bern, Geneva, Neuchatel, Solothurn and Vaud, in conjunction with the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FHS). It includes the laboratories/ observatories that were created independantly of each other from the late 1800's.

What is the role of COSC? COSC tests the movements of timepieces submitted by individual watch manufacturers to be granted the status of chronometer.

Where is COSC located? COSC have testing laboratories in three different locations: Biel/Bienne, Geneva and Le Locle. The Laboratories in Geneva and Biel are almost completely dedicated to testing Rolex movements.

Which movements calibres obtain most of the COSC certificates? The Rolex 3135 (since 1988) variations of which are 3155,3175,3185,4130; Rolex 2235; the ETA 2892A2, and its variants; Valjoux 7750. Each of these movements operate at 28,800 beats per hour.

Bretling claims that all its watches that have been manufactured since 2000 are COSC certified, Rolex and Omega watches have a large selection of their watches which are COSC certified.

How can you tell if a watch is COSC certified ? A Certified Chronometer has a serial number engraved on its movement and a certification number provided by the COSC.

What are the testing criteria for a chronometer? Testing criteria are based on ISO 3159 which defines a wrist chronometer with spring-balance oscillator. Only movements that meet the precision criteria are provided with an official chronometer certificate.

How is the watch tested? Actually only the uncased movements are tested, not the entire watch. The movements are individually tested for 15 days, in 5 different positions at 3 different temperatures. The movements are fitted with a seconds hand. The automatic winding movement is disengaged for the test. Daily measurements are made with the assistance of a camera. Once these measurements have been obtained, 7 criteria are calculated, each of which must meet the syandards of the COSC.

I know that these criteria are solely for mechanical watches. What about quartz watches? Currently there are no ISO standards for quartz timepieces, but COSC has developed its own standard for testing quartz chronometer with eight eliminatory criteria.

How difficult is it for a watch to become an Official COSC Certified Chronometer? Well judging from the fact that only 3% of the entire swiss watch production is COSC Certified, exceptionally difficult. This percentage only accentuates the fact of the outstanding nature of the chronometer. Inorder to receive the chronometer certificate, a movement must be crafted from the highest quality components, and be crafted with special care, by the finest watchmakers and timers during assembly.

Which brands submit their movements to the COSC? Baume & Mercier, Breitling, Chopard, Ebel, Girard-Perregaux, Omega, Patek Phillipe, Rolex, Tag Heuer, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron Constantin and Zenith.

Which brands do not submit their movement to the COSC? Audemars Piguet, Breguet, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, A. Lange & Sohne and Piaget.

My Watch has a Chronograph, does that mean it is a Chronometer? NO! Chronograph and Chronometer are two completely different terms used in association with a timepiece.

A "Chronograph" is a timepiece that is fitted with an additional mechanism that may be set in motion by knobs to enable the measurement of the duration of an event.

A "chronometer" is a high-precision watch capable of displaying the seconds and housing a movement that has been tested over several days, in different positions and at different temperatures, by an official neutral body (COSC).
Each movement is individually measured. Any watch with the denomination "chronometer" is provided with a certified movement.

The Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres or COSC (The Official Swiss Control Office for Chronometers) reported record figures for 2007. The number of certificates registered in 2007 was up 13.3 per cent from 2006 making that a total number of 1,538,676 registrations.

The top three companies applying for registration were Rolex with 728,255 certificates, Omega with 341,161 and Breitling with 222,650.

The perfect accuracy of a chronometer can be destroyed with rough handling and little maintenance.

There is an ongoing debate, by watch enthusiasts whether the COSC Certification is a significant test or simply a marketing gimmick? A watch maker proposing to submit a movement for COSC testing, add additional jeweling (i.e. to the barrel) and superior quality "assortment" parts such as greater quality hairspring, mainsprings, balance wheels, regulators and so on. The aim is to obtain the highly regarded COSC Chronometer Certification. On the other hand, some watch enthusiasts believe that with today's innovations used in watch making, most high-end, good quality movements are capable of being adjusted and timed in order that they will fall between the COSC criteria of -4/+6 average daily rate. Movements that are presented are more likely than not, presented with better quality parts, and as a result may be less likely to maintain better timekeeping rates over longer periods.

My Luxury Watch is COSC Certified. What does that mean?

The Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres or COSC (The Official Swiss Control Office for Chronometers) reported record figures for 2007. The number of certificates registered in 2007 was up 13.3 per cent from 2006 making that a total number of 1,538,676 registrations.


The top three companies applying for registration were Rolex with 728,255 certificates, Omega with 341,161 and Breitling with 222,650.


Who is the COSC? C.O.S.C. was founded as it is currently known in 1973. It is a Swiss non-profit organization that tests Swiss-made chronometers.


Who founded COSC? COSC was founded by five watchmaking regions of Switzerland: Bern, Geneva, Neuchatel, Solothurn and Vaud, in conjunction with the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FHS). It includes the laboratories/ observatories that were created independantly of each other from the late 1800's.


What is the role of COSC? COSC tests the movements of timepieces submitted by individual watch manufacturers to be granted the status of chronometer.




Where is COSC located? COSC have testing laboratories in three different locations: Biel/Bienne, Geneva and Le Locle. The Laboratories in Geneva and Biel are almost completely dedicated to testing Rolex movements.



Which movements calibres obtain most of the COSC certificates? The Rolex 3135 (since 1988) variations of which are 3155,3175,3185,4130; Rolex 2235; the ETA 2892A2, and its variants; Valjoux 7750. Each of these movements operate at 28,800 beats per hour.


Bretling claims that all its watches that have been manufactured since 2000 are COSC certified, Rolex and Omega watches have a large selection of their watches which are COSC certified.


How can you tell if a watch is COSC certified ? A Certified Chronometer has a serial number engraved on its movement and a certification number provided by the COSC.

What are the testing criteria for a chronometer? Testing criteria are based on ISO 3159 which defines a wrist chronometer with spring-balance oscillator. Only movements that meet the precision criteria are provided with an official chronometer certificate.

How is the watch tested? Actually only the uncased movements are tested, not the entire watch. The movements are individually tested for 15 days, in 5 different positions at 3 different temperatures. The movements are fitted with a seconds hand. The automatic winding movement is disengaged for the test. Daily measurements are made with the assistance of a camera. Once these measurements have been obtained, 7 criteria are calculated, each of which must meet the standards of the COSC.

I know that these criteria are solely for mechanical watches. What about quartz watches? Currently there are no ISO standards for quartz timepieces, but COSC has developed its own standard for testing quartz chronometer with eight eliminatory criteria.

How difficult is it for a watch to become an Official COSC Certified Chronometer? Well judging from the fact that only 3% of the entire swiss watch production is COSC Certified, exceptionally difficult. This percentage only accentuates the fact of the outstanding nature of the chronometer. Inorder to receive the chronometer certificate, a movement must be crafted from the highest quality components, and be crafted with special care, by the finest watchmakers and timers during assembly.

Which are some of the high-end brands submit their movements to the COSC? Invicta, Bauem & Mercier, Breitling, Chopard, Ebel, Girard-Perregaux, Omega, Patek Phillipe, Rolex, Tag Heuer, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron Constantin and Zenith.

Which are some of the high-end brands do not submit their movement to the COSC? Audemars Piguet, Breguet, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, A. Lange & Sohne and Piaget.

My Watch has a Chronograph, does that mean it is a Chronometer? NO! Chronograph and Chronometer are two completely different terms used in association with a timepiece.

A "Chronograph" is a timepiece that is fitted with an additional mechanism that may be set in motion by knobs to enable the measurement of the duration of an event.

A "chronometer" is a high-precision watch capable of displaying the seconds and housing a movement that has been tested over several days, in different positions and at different temperatures, by an official neutral body (COSC).
Each movement is individually measured. Any watch with the denomination "chronometer" is provided with a certified movement.

The perfect accuracy of a chronometer can be destroyed with rough handling and little maintenance

There is an ongoing debate, by watch enthusiasts whether the COSC Certification is a significant test or simply a marketing gimmick? A watch maker proposing to submit a movement for COSC testing, they add additional jeweling (i.e. to the barrel) and superior quality "assortment" parts - better quality hairspring, mainsprings, balance wheels, regulators and so on). The aim is to obtain the highly regarded COSC Chronometer Certification. Alternatively, many watch enthusiasts believe that with today's innovations utilized in watch making, most high-end, good quality movements are capable of being adjusted and timed so that they will fall between the COSC criteria of -4/+6 average daily rate. Movements that are presented are more likely than not, presented with better quality parts, and as a result may be less likely to maintain better timekeeping rates over longer periods.

The Bold and the Beautiful: Luxury Watches by Alain Silberstein

20 years ago, in Besançon an architect by trade, started crafting colorful mechanical watches. This was prior to the mechanical watch come back, and mechanical watches were thought to be hiccuping their way to the finish line. Tiny independent watch company's were few and far between. In a small factory Alain Silberstein ,originally from Paris, spent an entire year designing his first watch, a chronograph He tried to rent a small space in Basel in 85 and then in 86, but there was no space. Finally in 87, he managed to rent a stand the size of a closet, bringing three of his unique watches. The second day of the show, a Japanese man, came to the stand. He loved the watches and placed an order. Alan Silberstein was open for business. Alain Silbersteins' watches are full of living. The watches are exquisitely crafted in bold primary 'toy box' colors: red, blue and yellow. He prides his company with excellent innovation, quality, and service. The latter of which is very difficult to receive in the huge market place of today. Alain Silberstein has incorporated his visions of culture, and nature into his watches. He crafts the watches for the customers. some of whom become collecters of his watches, just like one may collect art, because undeniably Alain Silberstein's watches are art.
The watches all have a clear back, so that one may view the inner mechanical workings of the watch. The watch movements have been crafted to compliment the exterior vivaciousness of the watch
Many of Alain Silberstein's watches have a nature motive, as he has a passion for the wilderness. A love for the earth's untouched wilderness, as well as the different cultures. When Alain Silberstein is not designing watches; he is out leading boy scouts. Many of Alain Silberstein's watches utilize the alligator skin for the case as well as the strap. In this watch it gives an earthy feel.

Alain Silberstein has made a special line of watches to commemorate the Chinese Year of the Rat. In Chinese culture, the rat is a symbol of tremendous charm and attraction. To be born in the year of the Rat, is considered great fortune. In the Year of the dragon, Alain Silberstein went to great lengths to learn about the symbolic meaning of the dragon, and then used an enameling technique to fuse the five fingered dragon- a symbol of the Emperor in Imperial China - to the watch.

Alain Silbersteins watches are highly recognizable with unique fun style crafted with serious watch making skills.