24th SIHH 2014 Begins Today

The 24th Salon International de la Haute Horogerie opened in Geneva today.  The show runs from Monday January 20th to Friday January 24th, but don't pack your bags just yet, the SIHH is reserved for guests of the exhibiting brands and professionals- by invitation only. The rest of us will have to be patient - eagerly anticipating the new Timepieces crafted by exceptional Watch Brands. Only 16 brands will be participate this year (rather than 19 of past years)  with Greubel Forsey, Vacheron Constantin and Panerai taking center stage.   These 16 brands will get quite a showing; tastefully exhibited over 30,000 sqft with 12,500 privileged guests consisting of international retailers, journalists and brand representatives.

Of course as with prior years,  SIHH is still very much a Richemont affair with 11 of its brands taking part in the show  as well as  Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewerly Co whose 2009 joint venture with Richemont is proving quite a success.
The 11 Richemont brands are: A. Lange & Sohne, Baume  Mercier, Cartier, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre, Montblanc,Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubois, Vacheron Constantin , Van Cleef  Arpels.
Alfred Dunhill left in 2012 and  JeanRichard (owned by the Sowind Group) is no longer a participant.


The SIHH is a project of the  The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH).

The FHH was established in 2005 in Geneva because of the rapid increase in watch making brands. Countless brands are releasing fine watch creations. FHH has taken on the role of providing information and guidance from the watch making specialists to the press as there has been an increasing interest from the media and the public.
The FHH is a modern Foundation which for the most part utilizes the Internet for the release of information.
In addition the FHH recognizes Luxury Watches have evolved from a "social aspiration" into a "cultural aspiration"
The FHH focuses its primary attention on information and training in Horology.

Every year the SIHH is accompanied by an intriguing watch related exhibition.  This year the Exhibition describes Horology - The Child of Astronomy.  Quite a remarkable concept which requires much deliberation. At the exhibition, one is awarded to a closer look into the astronomical complications

However, the complications most prevalent in SIHH 2014 timepieces is one with far more gravity - the tourbillon. A host of timepieces feature Breguet's remarkable invention, which serves to counteract the effects of gravity on the movement by placing the escapement in a rotating cage. 

A. Lange 1815 Tourbillon Featuiring Stop Seconds and Zero Reset

Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionelle 14 Day Tourbillon 

SIHH guests will also be awarded an up close and personal view of Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon.

Grammy Award Winning Pop Star's 15 Carat Diamond Engagement Ring by Avianne & Co.

Avianne & Co. brings dazzling dreams to life for Celebrities.  Fix your gaze on Grammy Award Winning Ciara's 15 Carat Custom-made diamond engagement ring. Future, Ciara's Rapper heartthrob, knew where to turn for a spectacular custom-made engagement ring - Avianne & Co. Leaving no stone unturned, he teamed up with Elliot, one of Avianne & Co.s highly talented custom jewelry designers, and created a ring of  extraordinary splendor.  Future and Elliot worked on the ring for 4 weeks giving much thought to the significance of detail. After many design molds, Future chose a setting which symbolized Ciara's past, present and "Future" while ensuring maximum gem stability and index of refraction - its shine.

In NYC, Future popped the question and  presented the Avianne & Co. Custom Engagement Ring to Ciara of "Body Part"  fame.   As with the ring, he gave much thought to the day: Ciara's  28th birthday.

A closer look at the ring reveals emerald cut diamonds expertly enhanced by round cut diamonds  nestling side by side in a  micro-pave setting.  A setting Avianne &  Co. has honed to perfection. The entire eternity style band is smothered in diamonds encircling Ciara's finger in a dazzling display of dancing lights.

For even closer inspection Avianne & Co. has provided an Exclusive video of Ciara's 15 Carat Diamond Engagement Ring. 

The Origin of 10 Watch Logos

1. Eterna -  5 ball bearings.  In 1948 Eterna unveiled 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.

 2. Longines - Winged Hourglass - Oldest Valid Trademark in the in the International Registary at WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) . The iconic winged hourglass was originally registered in 1889 in Switzerland followed by a filing under the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks in 1893. Read More

3. Bulova - Tuning Fork - From Bulova's 1960's Accutron 214 movement, which was a ground breaker in electronic watches using a battery instead of a spring and a tuning fork instead of a balance.  This resulted in a watch that "hummed" rather than "ticked." Quartz eventually phased out the Accutron, but they are still well loved. Read more info on Bulova Accutron. 

4. Vacheron Constantin - Maltese Cross - First appeared on watches in 1880.  The logo is taken from the shape of the component of the movement  affixed to the barrel.  This hallmark component ensures the number of wheels can be kept low.

 5. Patek Philipe - Calatrava Cross -  A powerful symbol signifying  unbridled success.  The Calatrava Cross comprises of the Greek Cross with four fleur-de-lis at its ends. Created in 1158 by Pope Gregory VIII, as a symbol for the Knights of Calatrava (the name of an old Moorish castle that had been liberated), to bring victory in battle against the numerous and experienced Moors, as the Knights of Calatrava had been simple shepherds before becoming Knights.  The Knights of Calatrava were victorious, winning a battle outnumbered 10 to 1.  Patek chose this symbol very well.  He placed it on every Patek Phillipe timepiece to protect the timepiece and bring success to the wearer.

 

 6. Girard-Perregaux -  the Tourbillon Sous Trois Points d'Or or Tourbillon Under 3 gold bridges Crafted by Constant Girard Perregaux.  After which the design lay dormant for 115 years. In 1982 the design was revived in pocket watches and in 1991 adapted for wristwatches to commemorate the 200th birthday of Girard-Perregaux.

7. Breguet - Breguet Hands.  Breguet Hands were designed by  Abraham Louis Breguet in 1783 and are instantly identified by hollowed out points. 1775 inscribed below "Breguet" is the year that Abraham Louis Breguet, best known for the father of the tourbillon, founded the company. He was born in Neuchâtel, Switzeland on January 10th, 1747 and became one of the most revered watchmaking legends.



8.  JeanRichard - JR Initials of the company, name and date below.  Although there is no significant movement upon the logo, the date placing the foundation of the company deep within the 17th century is significant enough. The legend about the company's founder - Daniel JeanRichard is to intriguing to write here in just a few lines, but I recommend that you
Read it here - The Legend of Daniel JeanRichard 

9. Corum - Key to perfect time.
The name Corum 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.

10. Omega, and its corresponding symbol Ω, is the 24th Letter in the Greek Alphabet.  In 1898, The company changed its name from Louis Brandt et Frères to Omega after its groundbreaking movement - the 19 caliber "Omega".  This relatively affordable movement introduced time setting via the crown as well as a new "assembly line" production procedure.

Diamond Watch Bezels at Avianne & Co.

Did you ever have a watch you wished you could bedazzle a bit? The perfect watch, but mayhap a tad boring? You love the dial, the hands, the fact that your trusty watch never misses a beat - always on time, always reliable.  You could purchase a new watch, but your watch has become part of you, part of your success, part of your image.  Placing you watch in your dresser drawer like some article of clothing just won't do.  You reach for your watch as soon as you wake up - checking the time to make sure you have not overslept.  No you and your watch cannot be separated.  However, you are in need of some change.  Times are good.  Why not a bit of brilliance to show for it.
Avianne & CO has solved your dilemma.  You and your trusty timepiece need not part ways.  You can add sparkle to your watch with a brilliant diamond bezel.

Depicted above is an exquisite Men's Breitling Diamond Bezel  amounting to 9.50 Ctw.  Brilliant white round cut diamonds are channel set to create an image of absolute elegance. The bezel is currently on special reduced from its retail price of $33,500 to $11,737.00.

An intriguing bezel, which is actually one of my favorites, is punctuated with black diamonds amid brilliant white ones.  The sparkling contrast accentuates the clarity of the brilliant princess and trilliant cut black diamonds and spectacular emerald cut diamonds channel set  in 18k white gold. The white diamonds are at the very top of the near colorless range baring the symbol G. The bezel holds 5.50 Ctw or Diamond Carat Weight. Of course this selection is also available in yellow gold, rose gold, and rhodium plated to best suit your watch hands, case and buckle material.  

Rolex Daytona 18k Mens Custom Diamond Watch with Rubies.

Of course if you would like to do away with your old watch entirely, or let it retire in your bureau drawer, Avianne & Co. sells watches too. Excellent watches in fact.  Available in a large selection of styles for both men and women and name brands like Rolex, Breitling Omega, Hublot, Chopard and of course Avianne & Co.  If you wish a watch simply smothered in diamonds, look no further than Avianne & CO. 

Why Did This Watch Fetch Almost $4 Million Dollars in an Auction?

Although the total monies collected for the 5th  Only Watch Auction 2013, held by Antiquorim Auctioneers in Monaco to raise funds for medical research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, was lower than expected, it did break quite an astounding record.  A single watch fetched  €2,950,000,  more than half the total  €5,066,000 collected for all 33 watches at the auction.  This one watch saved the day.

What watch? Why is it worth so much?

The Watch in question is the  Patek Philippe Ref. 5004T from the Grand Complications collection. The only timepiece Patek Philippe has ever made in titanium.  The watch was estimated at a mere €400,000 to €600,000 and sold for 5 times that amount.

Aside from the Patek Philippe Ref. 5004T's  impeccable perfection, its perfectly precise Caliber CHR 27-70 Q based on a “Nouvelle Lémania” movement crafted exclusively for Patek Phillipe and reworked in the companies workshop and the fact that it has a split second mechanism as well as a perpetual calender (the most intricate and complicated of all complications), this watch brings so much more to the auction block than its physical presence. First and foremost, the watch is manufactured by Patek Phillipe, no doubt one of the highest regarded watch companies in the world.  Patek Phillipe is an old reputable company formed in 1851.  Patek Phillipe has never wavered on quality or commitment to perfection. Thus  no matter the decade, a Patek Phillipe watch fetches exceedingly high prices at auction. 

 For example in 2008, a Patek Philippe Ref. 1526 circa 1949 sold a perpetual calendar stainless steel watch for € 2,598,455 at a Christies Auction.  The highest price received at auction for a stainless steel watch. In 2011 The Sotheby's Geneva Sale of Important Watches  an extremely rare ,circa 1960, Patek Phillipe Chronograph sold for $815,637. At the Only Watch Auction 2011, the highest bid went to the Patek Phillipe Reference 3939A, which sold for 1.4 Million euro.   In 2004, a Patek Phillipe Calibre 89 sold at a Sotheby's Geneva Auction for over 6.6 million Swiss francs. A 1957  pink-gold Patek Philippe with a perpetual calender, only 6 of these known to exist, just sold for $2.2 million at a Christie's International auction in Geneva.(see inset) I could go on and on, but I am sure, dear reader, you get the picture.
 
There is no doubt that this watch has an unbelievable resale value, and being only one of its kind ,could fetch astounding prices in the years to come.

As I mentioned before, the  Patek Philippe Ref. 5004T has a highly unique split second mechanism as well as a perpetual calender.  Now the more complications incorporated in a single timepiece will have exponential effects on the resale value of the timepiece.  Read my blog on The rarest complications integrated in a single timepiece.

A Perpetual Calander is one of the most difficult complications to master; requires the most components and is the most time consuming to craft. This complication is not as eye catching as a tourbillon or as playful as a sonnerie or as insistent as a minute repeater, but it is a master of mechanical manipulation. And the master of mechanical manipulation is undoubtedly Patek Phillipe.
The  Patek Philippe Ref. 5004T has a subtle sense of relaxed playfulness underscored by a core of undisputed power of perfection.
The astronomical price of the watch, of course, was aided  by a furious bidding war between collectors. After all this is a unique Patek Phillipe timepiece available for  public auction.   Like the watch, the opportunity is quite rare indeed.

10 Outrageously Original Diamond Pendants by Avianne & Co.

I bet your favorite Hip Hop artist is sporting a mighty fine diamond pendant - the likes of which you have never seen before. Chances are the bling bling glinting in the spotlights and camera flashes are the work of custom jeweler to the stars - Avianne & Co, but I'm not just going to write about it - I'm going to let you see for yourself.  You can do it to - Click this link to start the process of your own iced out original.
There is no limit to what Avianne & Co. can do for you.  See for yourself.  Check out 10 of the most Outrageously Original Diamond Pendants by Avianne & Co.(My personal favorite is No. 10)

1. Whose hungry?  Imagine wearing your favorite din din around your neck,  but you won't find this box of Mac n' Cheese at your local supermarket.  Crafted for French Montana, American rapper and singer, this box of Mac and Cheese will buy you more than a quick supper.  Painstakingly handcrafted in 18k white gold and decorated in perfectly placed blue, white, red and yellow brilliant cut diamonds and weighing 180 carats, this item rings in at $34,200.

2. Avianne & Co. unleashes a powerful monster crafted and expertly set with hundreds of gems.  Wear this baby around your neck and may the force be with you!

 

3. The Hip Hop Artist Lil Wayne's Skateboard Pendant is a testament to his skateboarding passion and an excellent symbol of his new skateboard Clothing line "Trukfit" which debuted in 2012. The Lil Wayne Skateboard was the brainchild of Young Money Camp in collaboration with Avianne & Co.  The skateboard pendant
proved  quite a challenge in creation which Avianne & Co. beat with flying colors.

4. The skateboard is not the only diamond encrusted pendant which represents a skateboard clothing line, this royal looking chick is the signature of 5Boro skateboard clothing line and accessories - the result of a successful 2012 collaboration between Avianne & Co. and 5Boro.

5. This has go to be my favorite.  Whoever thought of a diamond encrusted Sponge Bob... and if you have a soft spot for the best crabby patty flipping sponge in the entire city of Bikini Bottom - then he can be yours for a seriously special price of $3,300. 

6. Pinky: "Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight?"
The Brain: "The same thing we do every night, Pinky—try to take over the world!"
Avianne & Co. has turned this lab mouse with serious delusions of grandeur into something quite grand.  The brain is crafted from 14k white gold smothered in brilliant round cut diamonds (G in color and VS in clarity).  Sapphires add a hint of pink to his ears, cheeks and feet.  At 3 and a half inches long and 2 and a half inches wide, the Brain weighing in at appx 125 grams is dressed to take over the world. The Brain can be yours for a much reduced price of $13,400.  

7. Avianne & CO. has surely outdone itself on this one.  This 14k Solid Rose Gold pendant set with 17.50 carats worth of brilliant blue, yellow, black and white brilliant diamonds features breathtaking high rise buildings just waiting for the "Key to the City".  Beneath the lock is a blank name plate ready the one who holds the key.   Avianne & Co's signature is engraved at the back of the pendant. Price reduced to: $22,762.00

8. These boxing gloves are something of incredible beauty.  Brilliant round cut diamonds are micro set to enhance the brilliance. Micro set requires highly skilled gem setters.  With this technique, extremely tiny diamonds are precisely set into tiny prongs.  A microscope is used to ensure maximum precision and perfect placement.  Using this technique the diamonds are perceived as being in an invisible setting. Micro pave setting is an intense process requiring superior hand eye coordination and optimal skill.

9. Want to show appreciation to you favorite DJ - give him these babies crafted in 18k white gold and adorned with black and white diamonds

10. And for the most outrageously original diamond pendant this has got to be it!! After all the commuting I do, I can really appreciate a diamond encrusted traffic light. So lifelike in its appearance, I would have no difficulty envisioning this 18k white gold black and white diamond encrusted pendant hanging above streets paved in gold. The lights are red, orange and green large round cut gemstones bezel set to enhance a realistic appearance. 

Pavé

The Best Halloween Watch of All Time by Artya (of course)

Son of A Gun Collection (circa 2012)

Somethings amiss across the abyss within a castles turret. Strange grunting and mewling coldly caress the night as a chasm widens to a dreadful depth. Feathery figures float ,unhindered by earths force, across the only object set upon a charred desk within the room - a time teller of immeasurable precision. Beneath a brilliant moon and beyond a violet field of blooming wolfsbane, a rifle shot splinters the night. Rising in terrible crescendo, an unearthly howl fills hearts and minds of poor valley dwellers with frozen dread.  It is the teller of time that tells of  inconceivable atrocity as pools of blood coagulate beneath a sapphire crystal. 

The blood is Werewolf blood for:  

Even a man who is pure in heart
and says his prayers by night,
may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
and the autumn moon is bright.

(The Wolf Man 1941)

Upon the dial are two handmade sterling silver bullets required to kill the creature once it turned.  Kill it before it kills.   Forged and engraved beneath a full moon ,one night in Geneva, and rubbed in garlic for enhanced potency, the silver bullets still bare traces of werewolf blood smitten by Arta himself and encapsulated for eternity beneath the hands of time.   The unique piece is part of Artya's Son of a Gun Collection.  This Collection features timepieces baring bullets upon dial.

The Blood and Bullet Watch sends shivers down ones spine and an icy grip around ones heart. 

If one wonders how a watch could evoke such an emotional reaction , one must remember Artya watches are sculptures - works of art, and art is meant to create heightened emotional reactions.  However Artya watches are not only art, but highly competent timekeepers fueled by automatic mechanical movements.

It takes an enormous amount of creativity and confidence to create edgy watches with slashed bezels and toad skin bands; dials sporting the wings of dragonflies or the casings of bullets. Although  Artya watches display frightful and horrifying depictions, they exude an overriding sense of good taste.  The good taste stems from the obvious exceptional craftsmanship, confidence, creativity and experience. Yvan Arpa, the founder of Artya, gleaned his watchmaking knowledge and experience  from Sector No Limit, Hublot and Romaine Jerome.  However, experience is just time on the job. What Yvan Arpa is presenting to the watch world is so much more than mere experience, it is the sense of creative freedom, untethered from the bonds of convention.