Harry Winston and The President Vargas Diamond.

Harry Winston Opus 11

On August 13, 1928, along the shores of the San Antonio River in Brazil, two garimpeiros (gold diggers) noticed a large rock embedded in the gravel of the River. The rock was the Vargas Diamond weighing in at 726.6 carats. Wanting a fast fortune, the two prospectors sold the diamond to a broker for $56,000 who then immediately sold it for $235,000. The broker in turn sold the gem to a Dutch syndicate represented by the Dutch Union Bank of Amsterdam. Now named "President Vargas" in honor of Getulio Dornelles Vargas, President of Brazil (1930-45 and 1951-54), the stone went up for bid.
(inset Harry Winston Opus 11 click for more info about this watch)

Harry Winston in his office high above fifth avenue learned of the diamond's existence and immediately arranged travel, stopping off in London and then on to Amsterdam. The desire for this incredible find was not his alone, and he bid against diamond merchants from Antwerp, Amsterdam, London and New York. Harry Winston won the bid, purchasing the diamond for some $700,000. The diamond was then shipped by ordinary registered mail, (like the Hope Diamond) to his office in New York. The diamond was insured by Lloyds for $750,000 should anything occur. Nothing did and the diamond arrived safely at Harry Winston's office, five floors above the hustle and bustle of Fifth Avenue.

Harry Winston had certain plans for the diamond, plans which were a tad risky and could turn this formidable diamond into dust. Harry Winston wanted to cut the diamond into 23 smaller diamonds which would accrue $2,000,000 when sold.
Harry Winston called for the best diamond cutter in the business, Adrian Grassley. Adrian Grassley had been cutting diamonds for over 40 years, but he had never done anything like this. Just the thought of striking a diamond of this size made him weak to his knees. Before the final strike, the diamond was studied. More than 100 plaster and glass models were made and after a year of intensive scrutinizing, the final decision as to its division was made. A diamond expert marked the gem taking careful account of the direction of the grain. One incorrect cut could shatter the diamond rendering it utterly worthless.

Tuesday, July 29th, 1941, Grassley entered the small fortified room which held the diamond. He had tossed and turned the night before unable to sleep, unnerved by the task ahead. He spent the morning carefully grooving a V shaped notch at the precise spot of cleavage. Finally it was time. At 2pm, the traffic of 5th avenue a drone in the distance, Adrian Grassley, Harry Winston and his diamond polisher were the only people in the room. Grassley placed a dull edge steel blade in the V shaped notch and tapped lightly. Nothing happened. Grassley was unconsciously holding back for fear of failure.
Suddenly Harry Winston reached for the stone. Was there a cross grain no one had noticed? Could it be possible a year of calculations a miss? As he peered into the diamond's flawless depth he noticed a tiny four millimeter fracture - perfectly straight and true.
"Strike it harder," Winston urged Grassley knowing that this final blow could cost him millions. Grassley did but still the Vargas did not break. Grassley reached for a slightly heavier rod, and this time the diamond split into two. Perfectly.
Tears of relief coursed down Grasley's cheeks, "Never again," he says, "Never again."

This split created a 550 carat diamond and a 150 carat diamond which were later cut into 29 diamonds, 6 more than originally intended. Of the larger diamonds, 16 were emerald cut, 1 pear shape, one marquise and smaller triangle cuts and a baguette, a total of 411.06 carats.

Grand Complications of SIHH 2012. The Hypnotic Duomètre á Sphérotourbillon

This year's SIHH 2012 is indeed a complicated one, which in this case is a very good thing.  I remember the apprehensive SIHH 2010 show - slightly dampened in the wake of an uncertain economic climate. Many watch companies dwelt within the security of its well known popular collections.  There was little temerity and cheaper steel versions were favored over precious metals.     In 2010,  I found myself scanning the horizon for the exorbitant intricate grand complications - which existed - but were far fewer than the previous years.
 The SIHH 2012 is flooded with complications, a testament to the more positive outlook of the luxury watch industry as a whole possibly due to the recent growth in the demand for luxury items in India and China.
  Companies have not only released complicated watches, but  Grand complications, which are horological masterpieces created to represent the superior watch making capabilities of a particular company. 

A Grand Complication must have at least three complications to achieve the title such as the famous Patek Phillipe Sky Moon Tourbillon .

One fine example presented at this years SIHH  by Jaeger LeCoultre is the profoundly exquisite and exceedingly complicated Duomètre á Sphérotourbillon encompassing a multi-axis tourbillon. - view video below.

• The Tourbillon is  an hypnotic complication invented in 1795 by French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, a century after Newton defined gravity. Breguet reasoned that as a result of the constant position of the vertical position of the pocket watch, the balance spring is confounded by the effect of gravity effecting the accuracy of the watch. This error could be compensated with a tourbillion whereby the escapement, balance wheel, and balance spring is placed in a rotating carriage which turns once per minute on its own axis. Whether the tourbillon actually improves the precision of a watch is debatable (and I would love any comments on this),   however, it is no doubt, a complication only achieved by exceptional watch makers, a right of passage ,if you will, dividing the serious watch collectors from the novices. It has survived for hundreds of years as a complication unto itself and has become a symbol of achievement in watch making excellence. Although its functionality is questionable, different versions of the tourbillon has achieved patent after patent.  It is, after all, highly recognized as a mark of horological achievement. 

Geneva Time Exhibition for the Independent Watchmakers

Coinciding with the SIHH is the lesser known, but never the less highly intriguing, 3rd Annual Geneva Time Exhibition.
Geneva Time Exhibition is a platform whereby the small independent watch makers show off their highly creative one-of-a-kind timepieces where talent is not restricted by corporate red tape. If you are heading out to Switzerland for the SIHH, the Geneva Time Exhibition is a must. Many independent exhibitors are just beginning their horological journey, struggling to promulgate their watch creations and many of the exhibitors are well known. Exhibitors include Alpina Geneva, Brera Orologi, Clerc, Cyrus, David Van Heim, Frederique Constant, Ice Watch, Ladoire, Louis Monet, Milus, Welder & many more.

Featuring strongly at the show is an excellent new watch manufacturer: Heritage Watch Manufacturer, which is completely privately owned. All their watches are chronometers, which means they are COSC certified. (click here for more information).

At the GTE, Heritage Watch Manufacturer will add a fourth timepiece to its collection: The VIATOR. The VIATOR is the epitome of what an independent watch manufacturer really means: The movement is not bought from a large manufacturer like ETA, but is completely in-house. Crafted by Master Watchmaker Karsten Fraessdorf, the Viator Calibre 840 movement is extremely precise. The VIATOR , a GMT, timepiece is equipped with a second time zone beneath the 12 'o'clock numerals in the form of an exceptional quick jumping hour. Thus the traditional analog time display will present one time zone, while the jumping hour display will display another. Although two completely different mechanisms are housed beneath superb convex enameled dials (reminiscent of the 18th century Parisian enameled pendulum clocks), the timepiece runs with effortless efficiency. Three patents ,each of which is incorporated in the three earlier models, the precision balance of the VIVAX model; the fine escapement regulation mechanism in the SECTATOR model; the balance cock of the TENERE model, converge within the new VIATOR model culminating in superior precision.

Heritage Watch Manufacturers is located in the Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The company creates exceptional timepieces in extremely limited quantities.

The famous 219 Kulkalkan Mayan Watch will also be on display, and perfect timing too ... it is 2012 after all.

• Official Partners of the GTE are Sotheby's, Audi, Nespresso, Cavier House & Prunier, watchonista & Laurent Perrier.

• GTE was founded in 2010 by Florence Noël, Dominique Franchino & Paola Orlando.

• The GTE runs from January 15th to 20th, 2012 and the SIHH runs from January 16th - January 20th, 2012.

... And what of the vast amount of independent watch companies who are not part of the SIHH 2012 nor the GTE and have not been able to accrue a spot at Basel World? Many will be displaying their creations in private Geneva Show Rooms. So once in Geneva keep your eyes open and scan the horizon for the small private exhibitions for you never know where the road less traveled may take you.

The Origins of The Eterna Logo

One can never mistake an Eterna Watch. On the dial are five dots below the 12 'o'clock. But what are the dots? Do they mean something? Why did Eterna choose a seemingly random dot pattern?

Eterna's logo hints at a certain technological improvement to a certain watch movement. Read more and you will find out.

In 1856 Eterna began strictly as a company manufacturing blank movements. Not unlike hundreds of such watchmaking workshops dotted around Switzerland. In time Eterna's supreme quality of work became widely recognized. Urs Schild, who co-founded the company with Dr Josef Girard, had a vision of producing a watch from start to finish . Thecompany bore the name of Schild Fréres, and manufactured small ladies wrist watches adapted from pocket watches. In 1905 the company changed its name to Eterna. By 1925, Eterna watches were

being advertised in US newspapers such as the Southtown Economist 12/01/1925. By then Eterna had made history. In 1914, at the Swiss National Exhibition in Bern, Eterna intro

duced the first alarm wristwatch - 6 years after Eterna had patented it. Eterna watches were coveted for their slimness and precision. In 1930, Eterna unveiled the smallest Baguette Calibre

Watch, which was manufactured in series production. Still no logo marked the dial. However in 1948 Eterna's dial would change forever. The logo marks a huge technological milestone unveiled in 1948. Eterna introduced the Eterna-Matic which comprised of a low friction ball bearing used to support the rotor of the automatic movement. This led to a great increase in the efficiency of the rotor. The invention of the Eterna-Matic with its ball bearings had such an overwhelming effect on Eterna, it fashioned its logo after five ball bearings.

The five ball bearings grace every dial of an Eterna timepiece.

What is Lume?

Rado's newest 2009 addition, the Sintra Automatic watch is composed of extremely hard ceramic, a steel inner case and titanium screws and clasp. The watch is streamlined, gliding smoothly from watch face to bracelet, widening and narrowing insync with Rado's iconic style. The traditional dial is easy to read, by day and by night as the hands are coated with lume.

What is Lume?
Lume is the substance that allows the hands to glow in the dark. Lume is short for lumious phosphorescent.
What is phosphorescence? A type of photo luminescence.
What is photoluminescence? (abbreviated as PL) is a process in which a substance absorbs photons (electromagnetic radiation) and then re-radiates photons. (Wikipedia) The photo luminescence is produced when the electrons in a molecule are stimulated by an outside energy source. Either ultraviolet light ("black light"), biochemical reaction (glow-sticks) or radioactivity. Once the electrons are stimulated they quickly return to their original state by emitting radiation, sometimes in the form of visible light.

So we are interested to discover how our lume coated hands work. A phosphorescent substance does not immediately re-emit the radiation it absorbs. The answer is in the involved study of quantum mechanics which I am not an possibly not able to go into at this stage. It is suffice to say that the slower time scales are related to "forbidden energy" state transition in quantum mechanics. Simply put, energy absorbed by a substance is slowly released in the form of light.

What are the most common phosphorescent pigments used today? Zinc sulphide and strontium aluminate.

Most watch manufacturers use strontium aluminate, marketed by the brand name Super-Luminova. This substance is non-radioactive and non-toxic photo luminescence. This technology was developed after the zinc sulphide substance. Being that strontium aluminate is ten times brighter than zinc sulphide, the latter substance was zoned out and currently is something of a novelty.

Watchmakers were on a constant quest to find a substance that allowed time to be displayed in the dark. The problem was initially solved by the chime of a minute repeater or sonnerie, a candle or an open dial. As soldiers of World War One, huddled in dark trenches listening to the roar of the canons , unable to guess the passage of time, the quest to find a glow-in-the dark substance intensified. Watchmakers suddenly remembered Radium, a discovery made at the end of the 19th century. Radium was radioactive and had the property of luminescence. Radium was used in the watch industry for many years, but abandoned in favor of tritium as a result of its high levels of radioactivity; however, too late for hundreds of "Radium Girls in the 1920's". These young girls were employed by US watch companies to paint the Radium and zinc sulphide onto the dials using a small camel haired brush which they pointed with their lips in between paint applications. They had no inkling that this greenish white glow-in-the-dark paint was lethal. Each time they ingested a small amount of radium - an alpha-particle emitter, chemically similar to calcium and thus a bone-seeker, the Radium was accumulating in the bone-marrow and causing bone cancer and other genetic damages.

Tritium, on the other hand is radioactive but in much lower levels than radium, was used until the 1990's. Then came a breakthrough Super-luminova, all the photo luminescence qualities of tritium, but not radioactive and thus less hazardous and more environmental friendly.

There is a distinct difference though. Tritium is permanently stimulated by electrons (betarays) which it emits when it spontaneously transforms into helium. Thus tritium can glow for dozens of years even in total darkness. (see inset) On the other hand Superluminova requires to be stimulated by either violet or ultraviolet light which at first is very bright, but then gradually fades after a few hours in the dark.

As with Super-Luminova the energy emitted by the electrons is stored at quite a stable level, resulting in light being emitted over a several hour period.

Unearthen Watches Embrace the Power of Crystal

Lead a hectic life where the world seems to bombard you with constant sensory streams?  Need to feel a calming sensation where time seems to stand still for a mere moment?  How about an Unearthen watch.  Unearthen products utilize the metaphysical properties of crystals placed on a watch or on jewelry.  Unearthen does not manufacture a watch from scratch, but uses vintage watch parts and replaces the watch crystal with a rugged chunky pyramid quartz.    Unearthen products seem to have caught on quite nicely by celebs and even spotted on Jessica Alba and Mary Kate Olsen.
The exciting aspect of an Unearthen watch is that each piece is utterly unique comprising of parts from different watches and jewelry. 
To me, the timepieces exude an aura of mystical steam punk.

I am not sure about the healing or calming properties of the crystal, but I do know this ... if you look into the depth of the crystal and gaze at the face of your watch, you can see the future becoming the present becoming the past.

Ralph Lauren Adds to its Art Deco Collection for SIHH 2012

 Art Deco Slim Classique Collection will soon be a whole lot more glitzy.  Ralph Lauren released a glimpse of its two new additions to be unveiled at the SIHH 2012, of which there are two choices, either a single or double row of brilliant cut diamonds. The ultra slim 5.75mm watch case is crafted in white gold and houses a mechanical manual winding movement crafted by Piaget (Richemont owned)  for Ralph Lauren (Richemont joint venture since 2007).  The manually wound movement maintains the slimness of the watch, as an automatic watch requires a rotor. This watch is even a tad thinner than the Concord Deliriums (no longer manufactured by Concord, but still readily available).
Although this watch is manually wound, one does not have to wind it everyday as the watch has a power reserve capability of 40 hours, which means missing a day or two of winding won't stop your watch. The 18k white gold case is highly reminiscent of the art deco timepieces crafted in silver or sometimes even platinum.  The petite dimensions of the watch: 27.50 x 27.50mm with a dial face opening of  26.65 x 26.65 mm  adds to the retro look, as does the flat sapphire crystal covering the watch face. I have always found the dial of the Art Deco Slim Classique Collection quite appealing.

I love the mix of larger Roman numerals and  smaller Arabic Numerals placed on the outline of a perfect square.  The vacant silvery Opaline center only occupied by shiny black, oxidized hour and minute Breguet-style hands provides a clear and uncluttered time display.  As with most high end ladies watches, the watch has a water resistance of 99 feet.  A black alligator strap has an Alsavel lining,suede on calf,  provides immeasurable comfort.  The watch is sealed firmly to the wrist with an 18K white gold pin buckle.


This timepiece is yet another elegant and tasteful timepiece born from the 2007 joint venture between Richemont Group and Ralph Lauren Watch & Jewelry Company.  A venture that seems to be working quite nicely.
Ralph Lauren deputed its first timepiece collection at the SIHH 2009.