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.

The Striking Breguet Réveil Musical Only Watch 2011

Breguet has unveiled a touching timepiece for the Only Watch Auction to be held this September at Monaco Yacht Show to raise charity for the research of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  A child upon the dial face reaches to grasp the hand of an adult. Breguet cites the significance of this gesture as a symbol of inter-generational solidarity and support for research on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This watch is based on Breguet's newest model of its Classique Complications Collection.
A ring of musical notes upon an elegantly engraved musical stave surround the 48mm 18 carat white  gold watch case hinting at a song.  The song "castle in the sky" emanates from the watch via a unique patented music box mechanism, either on demand or at a preset time. A push button at the 10 'o'clock position starts the music.  This model is based on Breguet's new self-winding movement incorporating a silicon escapement with a Breguet balance-spring. The Réveil Musical timepiece houses a ingenious patented musical mechanism.
A disc baring pins replaces the traditional music-box cylinder and alternately acts on the 15 metal teeth of the comb. A Liquidmetal® membrane engine-turned by hand amplifies the frequencies required to emit the tune.

  During the song, the dial turns a complete 360 degrees. A 55 hour power reserve, displayed in vivid blue via an aperture at the 3 'o'clock position indicates if the song will play.  If not enough power is available, the song will not begin.  The song , not only serves an entertainment function, but also serves as an alarm.  To determine whether the alarm is on or off, one only has to glance at a discrete round aperture between the 9 and 10 'clock. The most touching aspect of the watch is the rotating hand-gouilloche dial engraved with the image of a boy stretching out his hand to meet the hand of the adult on the flange. 
Blued steel hollow moon tipped hands display the time, while a delicately carved Treble Clef serves as a counter balance to the seconds hand. 
The Breguet Réveil Musical Only Watch 2011 is powered by a mechanical self-winding movement Calibre 0900 and water resistant to 30 meters. The watch is numbered and bares the Breguet signature as well as the inscription "piece unique" on the case back. 

5 Exceptional Timepieces for Women

At Baselworld 2011, Patek Phillipe SA demonstrates unsurpassed watchmaking skills with the release of a Ladies watch sporting a skeletonized movement.

The manually wound watch is ultra thin, gracefully decorated and engraved by hand. Both front and back of the 31.40mm case are protected by a scratch resistant sapphire crystal with brown tinted parameter creating a window to the Caliber 177 SQU movement. A slender yellow gold linked bracelet elegantly encircles the wrist.

Comprised of 110 components and 18 jewels, this Patek Phillipe SA timepiece is an example of worth.

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Hublot's Big Bang Leopard is a Timepiece of note. In the wild leopards are elusive secretive creatures, who spend much of their time in trees. On the other hand Hublot's Big Bang Leopard is meant to be noticed.

The dial is decorated with a leopard rosette pattern and matching leopard print denim strap. Matching smoked quartz, andalusites, and citrine baguette cut stones punctuated by Hublot's signature H-shaped screws accentuate the bezel. The 18k red gold ,41mm case house a HUB4300 automatic chronograph movement. 18k red gold hands and yellow diamond hour markers indicate the time.
A timepiece created for the inner wild.





Van Cleef & Arpels awakes the spring in its latest unique Poetry of Time Haute Jewelry timepiece. It is a jungle scene. A pink flower in full bloom supported by diamond vines shelter a dial beneath its sapphire encrusted petals. If the skies fill with rain, the flower moves over and protects the dial. Monkeys crafted in white gold and set with high quality hand picked stones, as with the entire timepiece, frolic among leaves of emeralds and sapphires. Alternating bands of onyx and diamonds accentuate their tails crafted to simulate their boundless energy. With this timepiece Van Cleef and Arpels has, for now, come to the end of its Voyage Extraordinaire and what a voyage it has been.
The white gold case ,ringed with diamonds, houses a Swiss Quartz movement. A jewelry bracelet set with diamonds completes the look.


Flowers, jewelery or timepiece? Flowers, jewelry or timepiece? What does a women want? Breguet has solved this dilemma with its Petite Fleur Haute Jewerly watch. 43 baguette-cut diamond petals attached to hidden pivots flutter and quiver with the movement of the wrist. The concave dial is set with 141 diamonds arranged in the snow setting technique concealing the white metal dial beneath. Blued steel hollow tipped hands are hand molded to precisely move across the concave surface of the dial. A domed sapphire Crystal baring the individual number of the timepiece protects the dial. A sapphire Crystal case back displaying high quality finishing ,including circular grained bridges and barleycorn guilloché motif embellishing the platinum oscillating weight, has earned the mechanical automatic timepiece the Geneva Seal.

DeWitt Golden Afternoon Collection is quite fitting for this blog - being an entire collection dedicated to women. The collection was inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites ,a group of English painters, poets, critics who formed a brotherhood in 1848 in celebration of women, romance and symbolic nature. They were none to pleased with the current state of affairs at the Royal Academy and wished to enrich the Academy with a more direct and honest artistic expression overflowing with details, color and complex compositions.

DeWitt's The Golden Afternoon Collection embraces the stages of a women's life capturing her changing perspectives as time moves on. Adding a light sense of fantasy, DeWitt intertwines poetry and art to create a moving collection. The Golden Afternoon Dial depicted to the left, is a mother-of-pearl garden of delicate flowers which seem to float towards the dial. Dark clouds serve as the backdrop adding a powerful contrast quality to the dial. Feathers or "the wings of an angel" dial hands ,depending on how you wish to interpret the dial, indicate the time with the aid of 12 diamond hour markers. A DeWitt logo seems to waft across the dial on a sudden breeze in preparation of a storm. This watch creates a sense of powerful symbolism. Stay tuned for more remarkable additions to DeWitt's Golden Afternoon Collection.

To all the Mother's out there - HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY.

Mom Must See This Watch

Now Breguet has another take on giving mom flowers for Mother's Day. Well just one flower actually, resting on a black satin strap. The Breguet Crazy Flower Haute Jewelry Watch . The watch has a kind of spunky flare to it, which makes it not as weighted as other diamond encrusted watches. The flower design is quite refreshing. The three layers of diamond petals (not really a bezel at all) consist of baguette cut stones, while smaller stones decorate the face like pollen. The entire watch looks as though it is in motion - a flower under clear blue skies on some remote mountaintop rippling in a soft breeze. Approximately 300 diamonds, amounting to 36 carats, cluster around a white gold case barely noticeable under all the razzle dazzle. The blued steel pomme style hands display the time which elegantly occupies the 6 'o'clock position.

Within the case lies a mechanical Breguet caliber 586 automatic movement providing optimal time tracking precision. This watch is definitely an eye catcher and meant to be the center of attention.

The Self-Winding Luxury Wristwatch.

Or more commonly referred to as the Automatic Watch. Most Mechanical Watches nowadays are equipped with a self-winding mechanism. In other words the mainspring is wound automatically by the natural swinging motion of the wearer's arm.

You might be wearing one at the very moment... so how does it work?

The watch contains a semi-circular rotor - depicted in the image of the Perrelet Watch. This rotor is an eccentric weight that turns on a pivot within the watch case. Natural movement of the wearer's arm causes the rotor to swing to and fro on its staff. The staff is attached to a ratcheted winding mechanism. The motion of the wearer's arm is transformed into a circular motion of the rotor that by a series of reverser and reducing gears winds the mainspring. Most modern automatic luxury watches have two ratchets and thus wind the mainspring during clockwise and counterclockwise rotor motion.
Once the mainspring is fully wound, a regular watch can store enough power reserve for two days. Most automatic watches can be wound manually if the watch is not worn sufficiently to keep the mainspring wound. Another alternative to keep automatic watches running is the use of a watch winders.

Abraham-Louis Perrelet invented the self-winding mechanism ,in 1770 ,for pocket watches. The watch wound as the wearer walked. An oscillating weight inside the hefty pocket watch moved up and down. Perrelet invention was quite the rage in 1776. The Geneva Society of Arts reported that only a 15 minute walk was enough to wind the watch sufficiently for eight days. In 1777 the automatic pocket watches were selling quite nicely.

Breguet improved on Perrelet mechanism calling his automatic pocket watches "perpetuelles"

Although the first wrist watch was introduced by Patek Philippe in 1868, the automatic rotor for wrist watches was not invented until 1923 by a watch repairer from the Isle of Man named John Harwood. This self-winding mechanism was an improvement as the wearer only had to move his arm not take a walk. Harwood's system utilized a a pivoting weight which swung as the wearer moved, winding the mainspring. The ratchet mechanism only swung in one direction and were stopped at 180 degrees by spring bumpers to encourage the back and forth motion. This early type of automatic watch is now known as a "bumper". Fully wound the bumper would run for 12 hours. The "bumper" did not have a stem winder and so the hands were moved manually by rotating a bezel around the face of the watch. The Harwood Self-Winding Watch went on sale in 1928 and 30,000 were produced until the company collapsed in the Great Depression.

Rolex improved Harwood's design in 1930 and used it for the basis of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual which had a mounted semi-circular weight which could rotate a full 360 degrees. Rolex Oyster Perpetual had 35 hours of stored energy.




Omega is the only Automatic watch that utilizes a Co-Axial movement which is a double Axial escape wheel, a lever with three pallet stones and impulse stone on the balance roller, together with a free sprung balance. This system reduces sliding friction compared with the lever escapement inorder to promote greater accuracy over the course of time.


Watch Companies like Concord still create manually wound watches and can be produced
with exceptionally thin watch cases like the slender Concord Delirium pictured above which has a Watch Case of just 6mm. This type of thickness cannot be achieved by an automatic watch as the rotor occupies space within the watch case. However with the knowledge that ones watch is being wound as you wear it does afford a certain peace of mind.

By: R Van Halem