Tag: PVD

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Swiss Replica

MBF and L’Epée : DestinationMoon

The latest MB&F and L’Epée collaboration, Destination Moon, uses the latter’s eight-day movement to power a rocket. Developed specifically for Destination Moon, L’Epée’s eight-day movement follows the basic engineering of a real spaceship.

the power for Destination Moon comes from the oversized winding crown in its base. It has a vertical regulator (protected by a panel of mineral glass) underneath the time display, as well as a time-setting knob at the top of the movement.

Hours and minutes are displayed by large, white numerals on stainless steel disks at the very top right below the tip of the rocket. You set the time using a knob at the top of the movement.

Just like on the launch pad of the MB&F Caran d’Ache Astrograph Pen released last year, there is also a small astronaut that comes with the clock, called Neil (not Tintin). Clad in a space suit of silver and stainless steel, he has a magnet at the front which allows for him to be attached to the ladder connecting the crown to the movement.

Powered by a single barrel, the clock’s movement is composed of 164 parts, with mirror polishing, bead blasting and satin brushed finishing. It is made of palladium-plated brass, stainless steel and nickel-plated stainless steel. The rocket’s body is stainless steel, and the hour and minute indications stamped on rotating stainless steel discs

The clearly close relationship that has developed between MB&F and L’Epée over the years of their partnership, which blossomed in sometimes whimsical, sometimes unexpected, but always highly creative ways, was born this time at L’Epée. Movement designer Nicolas Bringuet dreamt up and created the movement, and MB&F intern designer  Stefano Panterotto came up with the body in which it could reside.

If you look at all their co-creations there is no mistaking the partnership. Their creations have developed their own identity and creative signature involving stainless steel sometimes punctuated by colour, and a ‘skeletonised’ type of look. In a way it has almost become its own brand.

Along with the base silver model, the MB&F Destination Moon clock is also available in three different colours variants for its palladium-plated brass landing pods (PVD-coated black, blue, and green respectively), each of which is available in a limited edition of 50 pieces each. Size wise, it is 41.4cm tall and 23.3cm wide at its base, and weigh 4kgs. The RRP is 19,900 CHF.

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Swiss Replica

Hands On Unique Replica Romain JeromeBatman

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In late 2014 Romain Jerome did a collaboration with Warner Bros. on behalf of DC Entertainment to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Bob Kane/ DC Comics’ Batman. Earlier this year I had the chance to see it in the bat-metal at the Romain Jerome headquarters in Geneva.

The Batman that each of us recognises is in part a product of our age/ era, whether this be in comic, tv or cinematic form. As with other superheroes, he seems to be subject to periodic reinvention and levels of ‘darkness’, but even for those of us who were not of that generation, there is also a fond memory of television repeats of the cult 1960s series with its over the top tongue-in-cheek joyfulness. Perhaps it wasn’t a terribly faithful rendition of the comics, but there’s little doubt that its success lodged itself into popular cultural history. I’m not sure that Adam West ever lived it down, though.

In this addition to their ‘Collaborations’ collection, and their first ‘super hero’ replica watch, RJ-Romain Jerome did not take the Adam West route but the ‘Dark Knight’ one. It might be worth musing about how they may have interpreted the 1960s version…or that could be just me.

So it’s all about the darkness in this limited edition is in a 46mm black PVD steel case. Pure stealth, pure Batmobile-inspired. The darkness theme is carried through to the applique Bat Signal which is lacquered but which is lumed up by Super-LumiNova. A case of having to shine a light onto it rather than a light emanating from it, in a manner of (bat) speaking.

The ‘rough’ finish of the dial is deliberate, to match the very angular case and the ‘dark’ inspiration. There is a Batman medallion engraved into the caseback which has been similarly ‘roughly’ finished.

Movement-wise it contains the Calibre RJ001-A automatic movement with a power reserve of 42 hours. Water resistance is 3ATM (30m).

Limited to 75 pieces, it comes on a black hornback strap and RRP is EUR 16,950.

Over the last couple of years in particular, I’ve found Romain Jerome an interesting brand to get to know. At first glance when you hear about replica watches such as this one or the Space Invaders or Pac-Man models you  wonder about spending a lot of money on reinvented childhood memories, but when you get to handle them what happens is that you get caught up a bit in said memories, and it becomes about having fun.

Fun is a good thing.

For those who are interested, click on this link for an intriguing story published yesterday about the man DC Comics decided was the ancestor of the fictional Bruce Wayne.

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Raymond Weil Replica

HANDS ON : Raymond Weil’s Freelancer UrbanBlack Replica Watch

RWFreelancerUrbanBlack5

Horologium endeavours to cover a broad range of replica watches and brands across many price points, and it is with this in mind that today’s post is about a replica watch from a brand that you’ll see widely advertised even if you aren’t totally au fait with its range. Founded in 1976 in Geneva, Raymond Weil remains a family company which has been successfully expanding worldwide over the last few decades with its moderately priced replica watches, both quartz and mechanical.

The brand has a huge range of replica watches of which one collection, Freelancer, is named for Raymond Weil himself, in homage to his desire for independence within the replica watch industry. The Freelancer range is for both men and women and includes this model – the Urban Black.

An automatic (RW Calibre 5000, aka a modified 7750) 42mm sized day-date chronograph, the name is a reference to the case material, which is the popular sporty combination of stainless steel with PVD coating.

The black theme is of course carried through to the dial, which is matte black with nice big (lumed) Arabic numerals, day and date windows at 3 o’clock, a 30-minute register at 12 o’clock, a 12-hour register at 6 o’clock, and seconds at 9 o’clock. It has a power reserve of 46 hours.

There’s something about the popularity of red and black contrast in replica watches; the Urban Black has a thin red centre hand as well as red hands for the sub dials at 12 and 6 o’clock as well as a big red date marker at 3 o’clock.

The dial has good colour contrasts and is easy to read. ‘Stealthy’ but not too much so. It is 13.7mm thick and interestingly, the replica watch comes on a calf leather strap that looks like carbon fibre. I’m not sure why they didn’t simply go with carbon fibre if they wanted that particular ‘look’. To handle the replica watch feels pretty sturdy and comfortable on the wrist.

The Freelancer Urban Black sells for around $4,000 or thereabouts depending on your horological jurisdiction.

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Swiss Replica

Replica Glycine’s Airman goes‘stealth’ Hands On

Glycine Airman Base 22 Mystery

Given the history of Glycine’s Airman, in may ways it was one of the last replica watches that I’d have imagined would join the ‘stealth black’ trend. There have been more than enough ‘black stealth’ replica watches released in recent years to satisfy even the most devoted fan of PVD, but the all-black look doesn’t always work, and merely making a replica watch black is no guarantee that it will be popular, let alone anything else. The lack of care taken towards the dial by some brands has puzzled me. In the end, the time has to be able to be read; if your replica watch is blackened to the point where I cannot tell the time in dim lighting, then its core function has been diminished.

GlycineAirmanBase22Mystery1

So we come to the new Glycine Airman Base 22 ‘Mystery’ (Ref. 3887). At 42mm with a stainless steel matte black PVD coated case, it essentially looks like a blackened Airman. However, what distinguishes it from other replica watches of this type is that the dial isn’t so much black (although it is called black) as a very dark matte grey, which makes the dial and the numbers, which are in a shade that is a fractionally lighter (and the ‘12’ and ‘24’ in an even lighter shade) actually legible and functional.

The design legibility success continues with the markers and the jet black hour minute and seconds hands, which can be seen against the darkness of the dial.

GlycineAirmanBase22Mystery3

Inside is the automatic ETA 2893-2 used in many of the Airman models, with a 42 hour power reserve. The crown is cross-hatched, a nod to the Airman’s history, and it comes on a nylon NATO-styled strap with PVD hardware.

Less black and more ‘black and tones of dark grey”, the Glycine Base 22 “Mystery” is an interesting modernisation of the very functional Airman. Probably trend-driven but still able to be used, on a practical level, in that sense it is still a ‘tool replica watch’, albeit one driven slightly by fashion. It’s quite a good looking replica watch, the ‘f’ word aside, with the ‘black’ design nicely thought out. Whether or not it will appeal to purists is uncertain. It is certainly not a replacement for the classic design but perhaps it is more a funky addition if you already have an old-school Airman and want something fun to co-habit with it, or if you are looking for an all-black replica watch but want something that is a little bit more than just about the colour.

The ‘Mystery’ actually comes in two versions – a GMT Version (four hands, three time zones) and what they are calling a “ Purist Version” which is 24 hours, three hands, two time zones.

Sydneysiders can find Glycine replica watches at this AD.

Categories
Swiss Replica

Hands-on with replica MeisterSinger’s No3 –PVD

For a company that has only been in existence since 2001, MeisterSinger has managed to do quite well, picking up awards here and there for their designs, and becoming arguably the most well known modern proponent of single-handed replica watches, also known as the replica watch to have when being accurate to the minute really isn’t a priority.

I shan’t go down the Wagnerian reference route, suffice to say the company’s name  and musical influence is dealt with on their website as follows :

“The harmony reflected in a well-balanced piece of music, the fine drama of a good act and the ability of music to set aside time, these are all as well inherent qualities of a MeisterSinger replica watch. Therefore the MeisterSinger logo carries the fermata – the sign of silence in music.”

2010 has seen a special sporty addition to MeisterSinger’s No.3 line.  The No.3 AM911 has only just hit the retailers in Australia, and is not even on their website yet. An all black PVD affair, the five minute markers are in red, the colour theme continuing onto the ‘No.3’ and the stitching in the leather strap.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Movement: ETA 2824-2, automatic
Case : 43 mm (11.5 mm height), stainless steel with black PVD coating.
Water resistance: 5 bar
Power reserve: 48 hours
Features: sapphire glass, glass back secured with 6 screws, black dial

Flip it over and the No.3’s open caseback is visible.  Nothing terribly exciting has been done to the movement.

This is not a ‘serious’ replica watch, it is a bit of PVD fun marketed as ‘sporty’, but  with the No.3 dial, I think that it somehow still manages to still be just a little bit dressy.

One of the appealing features for me of the No.1 line is that they are manual wind – it takes a considerable number of rotations to wind up one of the No.1s, but there’s a certain amount of enjoyment to be had in doing this. I like the PVD No.3 a lot, but would have liked it more as a manual wind rather than automatic; however I admit that this is a very personal preference.

What I do like is the packaging.  In an age where we seem to pay for increasingly large boxes made of increasingly elaborate types of material or rare woods at the upper price point end of the spectrum, or on at the other end, we receive rather nonedescript boxes, I am quite taken with this, though I’m really not sure why MS chose such a design.  It appeals to the bookish side of me, and reminds me that buying books is actually a cheaper proposition than buying replica watches…