Feel Good Watches

Cartier introduced the Tank Anglaise at the 2012 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH). The Tank Anglaise is a rectangular timepiece that is an extension to the successful tank line for Cartier. The watch will be available in three ladies' and men's sizes in white, yellow and rose gold.

http://professionalwatches.com/2012/02/sihh_2012_cartier_anglaise.html#more

Chinese consumers make up about 25% of the online searches for luxury watches. The WorldWatch Report is based on Google, Bing, Yandex and Baidu search engines. The United States is second with 21% of the market using search engines for luxury watches. This report conveyed that 17% of the searches were made using a mobile device.

The top brands searched for were IWC,Patek Philippe and Zenith. The top watch model searched for was Audemars Piguet’s “Royal Oak” which was previously held by Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso.

http://www.nationaljeweler.com/nj/watches/a/~27698-China-top-market-for-luxe

 

Powerhouse watch manufacturer Vacheron Constantin has announced
that it is has sold out of their entire 2012 production of watches within two
days of the yearly SIHH watch fair in Geneva. Vacheron Constantin said that the expected production for 2012 is approximately 19,000 watches. In order to keep up with increased demand, Vacheron Constantin plans to add another watch plant to increase production to 21,000 in 2013 and up to 30,000 watches between 2015- 2017.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-19/vacheron-constantin-says-watches-for-2012-are-already-sold-out.html

Today’s trends in sports watches are bigger is better. Once watches were the diameter of a quarter, now watch diameters have reached as much as the U-Boat U-1942, 64.4 millimeters. Many men want a watch that will keep good time as well say something about their status and style. The larger the watch, the more attention it is more likely to draw.

The introduction of Panerai an Italian watch manufacturer to the American market about a decade ago pushed the trend of the larger watch sizes. Other watch manufacturers followed Panerai’s lead including IWC, Hublot and Rolex.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/fashion/mens-watches-keep-getting-bigger.html

 

2011 is coming to a close. How well do you know the activities that have happened in the world of watches in 2011? Click on the attached link for a quiz to test your knowledge.
http://www.watchtime.com/2011/12/2011-the-year-in-review-quiz-part-1

Hublot recently announced the construction of a fascinating new wristwatch, the Antikythera.  This incredible piece is a reproduction of an over-2,200 year old device found by sponge divers on an ancient ship wreck off the Grecian coast in 1901.  A total of 82 fragments of the Antikythera Mechanism, so-named due to its being found off the island of the same name, were found and have been extensively examined over the past century.  It was an astounding find given the level of technology shown, which was thought to have not been developed until much later.  In 2005, new photographic techniques, developed by HP, and hi-res 3-D x-ray images were shot of all the fragments, which allowed engineers to literally reconstruct the entire device, of which a number of full-scale replicas have since been made.  The Antikythera Mechanism allowed the user, via a hand crank, to select a specific date in the future.  The Mechanism then showed, with incredible accuacy, the position of the Sun, Moon and the 5 planets then identified by Greek astronomers, on that future date.  In addition, it would show the approximate phase of the Moon, certain solar eclipses to within a couple hours' accuracy, dates for calendar adjustment and the Calyppic Cycle (most likely used to show when the next Olympic Games were to be held).  Not only all this, but it was so accurate that it accounted for leap years, which did not appear in history for at least another 100 years!  Basically, this is the world's first analogue computer.  There is also speculation that Archimedes developed early prototypes of the machine, though he died about 80 years before it was actually built.  Hublot then decided to rise to the challenge and to build a wristwatch-sized working Antikythera Device and combined it with a 3-hand tourbillon watch to keep time.  The single biggest challenge being the miniaturization of a shoebox-sized machine to one that will fit on a wrist!  Only 4 pieces will be made of this incredible mechanism.  One will be given to the Athens Museum, one to the Musée des Arts et Métiers in France, one for the Hublot Museum and one to be auctioned off to benefit both the Athens Museum and the Musée des Arts et Métiers.

On November 29, 2011, Artcurial, France’s leading auction house will auction over 250 Jaeger –Le Coultre timepieces. The watches for auction will represent over 180 years of Jaeger –Le Coultre’s history. Jaeger –Le Coultre will provide an archive extract for each watch that is sold at the auction to represent the authenticity of the watch.

http://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/viewNewsFromHome.do?newsId=769

 

 

Sotheby's auction held on October 6, 2011 in Hong Kong exceeded pre-auction estimates for a few A. Lange and Sohne watches. The Lange Zeitwerk in white gold sold for 65,000 euros. The limited edition Lange “Luna Mundi” set sold for 93,750 euros, more than two times the original price. And last, the limited edition 1815 Moonphase “Hommage to F.A. Lange” sold for 26,300 euros.

Currently, FeelGoodWatches has three Lange Zeitwerks in-stock, including rose gold, yellow gold and platinum. These watches are in-stock and ready to ship.

http://www.watchtime.com/2011/10/ange-record-prices-auction/

The Only Watch auction held on September 23rd in Monaco exceeded expectations with 4.5 million Euro raised. The annual fundraiser raised money for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research. Collectors worldwide came to Monaco to bid on 40 unique timepieces from top watch brands. The highest bid went for Patek Philippe’s reference 3939 stainless steel, minute repeater and tourbillion, it sold for 1.4 million Euros.

http://www.watchtime.com/2011/09/only-watch-2011-auction-results/

Currently on display at the first U.S. Vacheron Constantin boutique in New York City, are historic pieces manufactured by Vacheron Constantin. The pieces on display include the original American 1921 drivers watch manufactured during the 1920s, a pocket watch created for James Ward Packard as well as watches from personal U.S. collections. The exhibit will be on display through October 30, 2011.

http://www.watchtime.com/2011/09/vacheron-constantin-american-heritage-exhibit-open-now/