Hamilton in recent years had proved itself to be at the cutting edge of creative ideas of watch design. Not so much that it becomes ornate or overly avant garde. Without having to delve into expensive and rare metals and industrial looks or metal coatings, Hamilton of late has been impressing many collectors with innovative offerings like the Pan Europ 2011, Khaki Navy Pioneer 2012 (table clock and watch) and now the Jazzmaster Face2Face.

Here is the first ever image of the watch on the wrist worn by Mr Sylvain Dolla, the CEO of Hamilton who kindly took time to show me the 2013 offerings and wore it for the shoot.



While there had been other watches with two watch movements, this watch is  interesting primarily for its rotating inner case within its oblong case. It rotates to allow the wearer to view the face on one movement while enjoying the mechanical movement on the other side. On the left is a small simple ETA 2671 three handed movement. On the right is the ETA 2094 chronograph movement that also feature a light blue translucent dial. The watch features accents of blue in small details especially on the chronograph dial and the strap.

The chronograph buttons are located in the familiar position on the right of the case and operates only when the chronograph is faced up. Winding the right hand crown will wind the automatic movement. The smaller three handed movement can independently be adjusted and wound only when a small flat key is flipped up from being flushed to the case. This can be seen in the bottom image of the centre column of images from the montage below.

What was a pleasant surprise was how everything was made and put together. The case, dial, straps and crystals quality far surpasses anything previously offered by Hamilton. It will be when delivered, the most expensive Hamilton watch ever put to market at USD$6550. Would I consider acquiring one? If it were not for it gargantuan 53 x 44 mm case, the choice would be easy.

But again, this limited edition (888 pieces) from Hamilton is special because it is unique and clever design that distinguishes it from all others on the wrist. For those who yearn for that rare piece and not willing to pay the five figures for a well made watch, this should be on the shopping list - if it could be found.


As usual, click on the images to view them in full resolution.

 

 

On the 1st March, IWC & AMG held a joint cocktail reception at the Mercedes Benz showroom here in Singapore to showcase the new joint venture between the two renowned brands. IWC have long been connected with Mercedes but this is the first time it extended to the AMG marque. The SLS gull wing is an iconic model in the Mercedes Benz catalogue but the new AMG version makes the car an even more desirable.

 

On the 28th of Febuary, Lange & Sohne had its official opening of the Singapore Boutique at the ION Orchard. The CEO Mr Wilhelm Schmid was there to officiate the occasion together with dignitaries and VIPs from Germany and Singapore. The cocktail reception was held at the Art Gallery of ION where many of Lange's important pieces were showcased. The formal opening of the new boutique was then proceeded with the gala dinner at the Salt Grill at the 55th floor of ION. The restaurant famed with the view of the shopping belt and skyline.

Click on the images to view them in high resolution.

 

I photographed these images awhile ago and had not had the chance till now to share them with readers here. I have great respect for Vacheron, its achievements today and its historical milestones. I have featured several times the wonderful skeleton movements as well as many of its tourbillons but of late, and especially last year I started to appreciate the very fine craftsmanship that goes into its dials.

Here were the three that was shown in 2012 from the Metiers-D-Art-Les-Univers-Infinis range. I was so enamoured by the "Fish Watch", that I decided to hang a poster of the blue dial on my study wall next to an original self portrait by an ageing Vietnamese artist, Van Tho - who seems to be looking at and appreciating the poster as well.



The guilloche and cloisonné dial are made by hand and only 20 of each model will be produced. More information of this series is found HERE. I recommend viewing the video of how these watches are produced. Do click on the images to view them in higher resolution.