Cuervo y Sobrinos since Havana 1882

Men's Esplendidos Dual Time

A timepiece born from the workbenches of Cuervo y Sobrinos evoke a sense of Caribbean languorousness marked by deep blue skies, caressing ocean breezes and the slowed passage of time with a hint of exotic excitement. The timepiece carries the mark of its birthplace: The Havana of 1882.

Havana of 1882 was a place of extreme culture where scholars,navigators, explorers, tourists flocked to soak up the Caribbean sun and the rich culture.  Of course with a long list of aristocratic clientele and people of discretion disembarking on the shores of Havana, the citizens of Havana made sure to provide luxurious accommodations, excellent service, mouthwatering cuisine and  products crafted, to utter perfection, imbued with the spirit of Havana.

Havana 1882

It was in this rich bustling arena, Amando Rio y Cuervo and his brothers poured much energy into  their Uncle Ramon's watchmaking business - hence the current name of the company " Cuervo y Sobrinos" - "Cuervo and Nephews". The store was located on Havana's Fifth Avenue where discerning visitors purchased fashionable timepieces and other beautiful things. The clocks and watches they produced were of exceptional craftsmanship,  mechanical movement mastery, design and functionality.  Over the years, their fame spread, and the desire for watches and clocks produced by La Casa (the house) grew.  This prompted Cuervo y Sobrinos to open more locations in Pforzheim, Baden, Germany; on the rue Mezley in Paris and at the centre of the watchmaking world- La Chaux-de-Fonds. By the end of the 19th century, Cuervo y Sobrino's timepieces were dubbed "Pearl of Carribean". By the 1940's Cuervo y Sobrino's was known as one of the most prestigious brands in the world of Horology.  Their fame spread and soon famous people were visiting "La Casa' to purchase exceptional classic timepieces of their own.  Noted individuals such as Einstein, Churchill, Hemmingway, Gable are just some of the names in Cuervo y Sobrinos historical record - its 'golden book" who visited "La Casa".

Now you can have the opportunity of owning a Cuervo y Sobrinos Elegant Timepiece at THE WATCHERY. A distinguished taste in watches.

TAG Heuer Wins Alto Relojeria Mexico "Best Concept Watch" Award at SIAR

The TAG Heuer Mikrotimer Flying 1000 Concept Chronograph wins " Best Concept Watch" Award at the SIAR (Salon Internacional de Alto Relojeria).  This was Tag Heuer's Second Award at this event - in 2008, Tag Heuer won "Chronograph of the year" for its Grand Carrera Calibre 36 RS. 

The Mikrometer Flying 1000 Concept Chronograph, unveiled at BaselWorld 2011, is recognized for being the world's first mechanical chronograph concept timepiece to track time to 1/1000th of a second -125 times more accurate than any other chronograph timekeeper. This incredible precision is enabled by a chronograph movement that beats at 3,600,000 vibrations per hour (500 hertz). The Mikrotimer Flying 1000 Concept Chronograph utilizes the same concept as the TAG Heuer Carrera Mikrograph 1/100 second Chronograph - which I blogged about in much detail back in January 2011

"The Carrera Mikrograph has two distinct balance wheels, one for the watch itself, and one exclusively for the chronograph. This distinction allows for greater precision in the chronograph function as the chronograph does not depend on the watch for the time base (as with other chronograph models), but allows for exclusive chronograph function without the interference of the watch function"

The 45mm case is crafted from titanium carbide, which is extremely hard (9-9.5 mohs), strong and scratch resistant ceramic material. In addition, the watch case is extremely resistant to corrosion and has a melting point of 3,100C. This material is mostly used in drill bits and other industrial tools, and is still very new to the watch industry. The sapphire crystal is treated with an anti-reflective coating bringing any reflection from the sun down to zero. The open case back is affixed with sapphire crystal so one can view the Tag Heuer in house movement beating at two very different rates - the Chronograph beating at a whopping 3,600,000 vph and the watch beating at 28,000 vph. The watch has a 42 hour power and a water resistance of 100 meters.

Tag Heuer is constantly striving for better precision, the ability to find winners in neck to neck motor races. Races which in the past would have been a tie, but are now just fractions of a second apart. Tag Heuer's dedication to motor racing has fueled its determination to eradicate confusion at the finish line and pin point a winner at the smallest of margins.


The Mikrotimer Flying 1000 Concept Chronograph, will soon be concept no more, at the end of this year, this remarkable timepiece will be commercialized. 

Rado In White

Rado Ceramica White.

Rado has always evoked visions of black super hard ceramic watches.  The vision has faded, however, as Rado has added pure white watches to four of its collections.

Rado's collections in white come as no surprise, since white is the current color fashion trend. The white ceramic watches still uphold the same hardness, which makes Rado look brand new year after year after year.  In fact a person showed me his Rado watch he bought 30 years ago, and it still looked liked he had placed it on his wrist for the very first time.

Rado Inegral Jubilé

The Rado Ceramica White gives the appearance of ethereal elegant softness, however, do not be fooled, Rado's white watches are as hard and as resilient as its black counterparts. After all Rado is the company who in 1960, produced the first scratch proof watch: The Rado DiaStar.
Rado's modern version of the Rado DiaStar is the  Rado D-Star, which I must say looks incredible in white. The Rado D-Star is crafted from high-tech ceramics with 36 small diamonds on the dial. The watch has a fresh sporty look.  In fact the design of this watch  would look great in any color.

Rado D-Star

The Rado Centix Jubilee has a delicate elegance.  Its elegance is in its simplicity: A round smooth dial, long sweeping hands and a smooth uncluttered dial. 

Rado Centrix Jubile

Rado's focus has been on the hardness and scratch resistant quality of its watches.  In 1996 its Vision 1 Watch partly comprised of crushed diamonds made it into the Guinness Book of Records as the "Hardest Watch Ever".  Since then Rado has turned to cutting edge nanotechnology and its use of High Tech Diamond to produce its hardest watch - the V10K - which is today's world's hardest watch.
The watch name stands for 10,000 Vickers- the ultimate value of hardness- the standard set for natural diamonds.
Thus it is incredible, that a company who produces the worlds hardest watch can produce one of the most elegant white timepieces on the market today.  Rado's vision is truly a vision of today and tomorrow.
Purchase a Rado watch and purchase a lifelong companion which will live up to its integrity forever.

A Look at Omega's Silicon Balance spring

My fascination with watches extends far beyond the aesthetic "wow" factor, but penetrates deep into the bowels of the movement.  Every component is an entire system unto itself, crafted to its own unique perfection, receiving feedback and giving feedback in a complex transfer and stabilization of energy.  A timepiece is better than the sum of its parts providing extreme, efficiency, competency and accuracy in time display; however, as the saying goes: " A chain is only as strong as its weakest link."
A watch with a weakness in any  component will confound the movement, thus the quest for optimum materials for watch components  is one of the branches of research at the forefront of watch innovations. 

Omega has used its technology to develop a unique material for its balance spring: Silicon.
  A balance spring is one of the most important components for the accuracy of a time piece.  The Balance Spring , for example the  flat spiral or Bregeuet over-coil (extremely visible and elevated in MB&F Legacy Machine No.1 Watch-see inset),  is attached to the balance wheel and controls the rate at which the wheels turn, effecting the rate at which the hands on the dial turn. On the balance spring, a regulator adjusts and regulates the speed maintaining time tracking precision.
  The Balance Spring is extremely sensitive to shocks (fast jagged motions and abrupt stops-such as during a game of tennis or if inadvertently dropped) as well as to magnetic fields.  If the balance spring is exposed to these factors, it may sustain damage or displacement causing the efficiency of the timepiece to dramatically decrease.
Since the balance spring is critical for precision, much attention has focused on increasing the resilience of this component.
Omega has increased the Balance Spring's shock absorbency and stability as well as eradicating the effects of any magnetic field by crafting the Balance Spring in silicon.   See video below

Mexico City Hosts 5th Annual Salon Internacional de la Alta Relojeria (SIAR) 2011

Harry Winston Opus Eleven

The 5th Annual Salon Internacional de la Alta Relojeria (SIAR) starts today at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mexico City's and runs to October 6th. SIAR 2011 attracts fine watch affeciendos  from Latin America, and all over the world.  45 watch companies participating in this show.Exciting conferences by renowned watch brands cover subjects such as Bell & Ross Clock & Military History; Girard-Perregaux explores its 220 years of watchmaking; Baume & Mercier unveils a brand new chapter in its watchmaking legacy; Cartier unveils a new type of complication: the Astroregulateur; Franc Vila enlightens the crowd with a look at nanotechnology in today's luxury and many more.

Ladoire Mr Race

The Fondation Salon de la Haute Horlogerie is presenting an intriguing historically-themed exhibition "Mechanical horology from its origins to the present day." The exhibition traces mechanical time measurement all the way back to the thirteenth when  weight-driven clocks  tracked the time to "Grande Complications" wristwatches. The presentation is accompanied by 60 historic timepieces on loan from the Fondation Salon de la Haute Horlogerie partner brands and Swiss Museums. In addition the FHH will display a current watch for each of its partner brands.  

Listed below are the brands partaking in this exhibition.

Hautlence HL 2.2

Hublot MP-02 Key of Time Watch

• A. Lange & Söhne
• Audemars Piguet
• Baume & Mercier
• Bell & Ross
• Bulgari
• Cartier
• Chopard
• Christophe Claret
• Concord
• Corum
• Cvstos
• Cyrus
• De Bethune
• De Grisogono
• DeWitt
• Ellicott
• Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie
• Franc Vila
• Franck Muller
• Girard-Perregaux
• Giuliano Mazzuoli
• Graham
• Greubel Forsey
• Harry Winston
• Hautlence
• HD3
• Hermès
• Hublot
• Jaeger-LeCoultre
• Jean Dunand
• Ladoire
• Maîtres du Temps
• Maximilian Büsser & Friends
• Montblanc
• Parmigiani
• Perrelet
• Piaget
• Pierre DeRoche
• Pierre Kunz 
• Richard Mille
• Roger Dubuis
• Romain Jerome
• Tag Heuer
• Ulysse Nardin
• Urwerk
• Vacheron Constantin
• Vulcain
• Zenith

Breitling Releases a New Look for its Colt Collection

Colt Chronograph II

The Breitling Colt is synonymous with high functionality and extreme durability.  A timepiece capable of withstanding the  harsh rigors of extreme atmospheric conditions. The new COLT CHRONOGRAPH II, COLT 44 and COLT 33 (for women)  have a slightly more rugged angular and less cluttered looking bezel than its predecessors. The bezel is accentuated by a polished and satin brushed finish, directing the wearers attention to the dial. The indentations on the outer edges of the dial extends to the case providing a new sportier look to the model.  In addition, the Arabic Numerals on all three new models have a new rounder font, which was designed especially for this collection and exudes a futuristic appeal to the dial.  

Colt 44

The Colt Chronograph II does not have the signature  Breitling wings, probably to utilize the space for the sub dials; however, I think, this gives the dial a slightly more generic look. The stark white sub dials are well placed providing maximum read-out potential in less than optimum conditions.

The Colt 44 has a high efficiency water resistance able to withstand depths of 500 meters (1650 feet) made possible by a screw-locked crown and extra thick glare-proof (both sides)  sapphire crystal.  

Colt 33

The Colt 33 is the 33mm Ladies Version distinctive by its sporty elegance. The entire case is polished and the upper bezel surface is satin brushed.  The dial is available is many elegant shades exquisitely  marked ,beneath the 12 'o'clock, by the Breitling logo.  The Colt 33 is also available with a gemset bezel.  The Colt 33, like the men's Colt 44, has a water resistance of 500 meters (1650 ft) - quite a unique feature for a Ladies Watch.

All three models are powered by a SuperQuartz™ movement Certified as a Chronometer -  meaning the movement has passed the battery of  rigorous standardized  tests conducted by Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute or COSC.  Click here to learn more about the Chronometer (not to be confused with the original navigation Chronometers used by sea vessels centuries ago to determine longitude - however if you are interested , click here to learn more about the navigational type of chronometer)

In 2000, the SuperQuartz™ was unveiled by Breitling in its new Grenchen state of the art headquarters ,equipped for manufacturing chronometers in optimal conditions. The SuperQuartz™ , is a movements ten times that of a standard quartz, and was the only electronic movement able to meet the requirements of the COSC.