Tag: chronograph

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Swiss Replica

BASELWORLD 2017 Frédérique Constant Flyback ChronographManufacture

At last year’s Baselworld Frédérique Constant revealed their first in-house perpetual calendar movement for under $10,000. This year, they’ve added a competitively priced in-house complication to their collection, with the launch of the Frédérique Constant Flyback Chronograph Manufacture.

The new automatic FC-760 adopts a modular construction. The flyback module is attached to the base movement, Caliber FC-710. Comprising of 233 components (of which 96 are dedicated to the flyback module), it has a 38 hour power reserve and beats at 28,800 VPH. It features perlage and circular Côtes de Genève decoration.

For those who are unfamiliar with what this type of chronograph is, it’s about timing elapsed intervals.

Whilst the chronograph function is running, the user only needs to press the pusher at 4 o’clock to reset the chronograph’s second hand (the flyback) i.e. you don’t need to press to stop, press to reset, press to start again. Basically, the clutch is disengaged, the chronograph is reset to zero by means of the single-piece hammer, and then, the clutch is re-engaged.

The column wheel that governs the chronograph’s start, stop, and reset functions rotates on bearings. Unlike the traditional column wheels, this one is star-shaped. Working in unison with with the operating lever, which is controlled by the start/ stop pusher, this star-shaped wheel was used to increase how smoothly it runs, whilst a new clutch system ensures that the resetting happens without any variables in timing.

The movement first appeared at Frédérique Constant’s sister brand Alpina as the Calibre AL-760 name. Alpina built a 96-part module into its in-house AL-710, and the AL-760 was their fifth in-house movement. When launched in 2015 it was intended that it would eventually make its way into Frédérique Constant as well. You’ll note the numerical consistency in calibre naming across both brands for these movements.

The new Frédérique Constant Flyback Chronograph Manufacture comes in a number of dial and case combinations. The 42mm cases are available in either stainless steel or rose gold plated stainless steel. Dial wise it’s either a simple flat dial in silver or dark grey with simple line indices, or a silver dial with Clou de Paris guilloché decoration, printed black Roman numerals and Breguet-style hands. At its edge is a tachymeter scale. They come on black or brown alligator straps with a matching metal buckle.

Of the various options my favourite without question, is the stainless steel one with the dark grey dial. One of the inevitable issues that arise with choosing to go with classical designs for chronographs is that if you wish to maintain legibility and a clean dial, there really are a limited number of end results from an ‘overall look’ point of view. The risk of brands releasing replica watches that look similar is ever present. However, that doesn’t mean that a replica watch whose look isn’t ‘new’ can’t still look good, and when combined with an in-house movement and attractive pricing, it’s going to be desirable.

As I mentioned earlier, this movement was first seen in their brand stablemate Alpina (see below). What a difference a dial makes.

The RRP? Frédérique Constant are continuing on their path of competitively priced and handsome complications. It’s 3,695 EUR for the stainless steel version.

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Brand IWC Replica News Watch Review

High Quality IWC Pilot’s Replica Watch Chronograph Top GunMiramar

SIHH2016IWCPilotChronographTopGunMiramar10

For a quick overview/ history of the Top Gun Miramar replica watches, click on the link above.

The new chronograph looks pretty much as it did before, but as with the non-chronograph version this new chronograph is also now smaller, with its ceramic case now measuring 44mm.

Well along with this, they also released a new Top Gun Miramar Chronograph which we had on loan for a few days and had the opportunity to wear and photograph.You may recall an earlier post about one of IWC’s new pilot’s replica watches for 2016, the Mark XVIII Top Gun Miramar.

There is also a hacking seconds feature on the small seconds at 6 o’clock. The pushers are titanium.Functionally, you can see a combined hour and minute counter/ totaliser at 12 o’clock, a simplified date display which I think looks better than the previous look, and of course the chronograph is flyback.

The new Chronograph Top Gun Miramar also features a soft-iron inner case for protection against magnetic fields and a screw-down crown and the sapphire crystal is secured against displacement by a drop in air pressuer. Water resistance is 60m (6 bar).

The Top Gun logo is now discreetly engraved on the solid case back, as opposed to the more colourful print used in the past, a change I rather like. Inside is the automatic Calibre 89361 with a 68-hour power reserve.

As with the previously blogged new Miramar, this also comes with an embossed black or green calfskin strap, the latter looking remarkably like fabric.

With such a strong colour dominance to the Miramar pieces from the dial to the strap, versatility is something that I have been asked about. Rather unexpectedly, I found that I have a surprising amount of clothing and accessories that matched it, and can tell you that despite very much being a sporty replica watch yes it can be dressed up. For those like myself who seem to tend towards black/ white for sports dials, spending a few days with a Miramar for the first time (all previous Miramar experiences having been more fleeting) showed me that after a few days, it’s really easy to develop an affinity for a differently coloured dial.

For those of you who have wanted a Miramar but whose wrists haven’t been able to feel totally comfortable with the larger sizing, this latest size reduction by IWC will be good news. The replica watch wears like a 43-44mm and the smaller size makes it so much accessible. I was particularly drawn to the strap both in terms of textures and comfort. It’s a great looking strap.

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Baume & Mercier Replica Calendar Watch Feature Hands-on Men Watch Swiss Replica

SIHH 2016 : Presenting Baume & Mercier Clifton Chronograph CompleteCalendar

They are classic timepieces which contain solid movements, and are versatile. Now, Baume have added another complication to the range – meet the Clifton Chronograph Complete Calendar. This is not the first Clifton featuring a calendar feature; for example there was the Retrograde Date and Big Date, but is a new combination.

So let’s look at the dial, which is, in keeping with the brand and this collection, classically laid out. The layout will also hint at the inside, for those famliiar with such things.

In recent years Baume & Mercier’s Clifton range has entrenched its position as ‘the’ collection for those wishing to enter the world of luxury replica watches via Baume.

Baume & Mercier have decided to emphasie legibility at a glance by using different coloured hands for different indications. The time is as per convention, with the two hands on the central axis, and a small seconds sub dial at 9 o’clock with rhodiumed hands. There is also a day/ night indicator at 9 o’clock and a 24 hour scale with a gilt hand. The hand with the arrow-tipped point on the central axis points to the date, there are two windows at 12 o’clock with the day of the week and month, and a moonphase at 6 o’clock.

Now for the chronograph function, which is indicated by the blued hands with its seconds noted by a long blued hand. The 30-minute counter is at 12 o’clock and the 12-hour counter is at 6 o’clock circling the moon.

The rest of the dial is faithful to the Clifton replica watches, with silvery white main-plate and metallic applied indices.

Coming on a alligator straps, these are replica watches that aren’t about pretending to be anything other than what they are – replica watches to be used for functionality and not fashion, and for longevity. For those wanting to enter the world of luxury replica watches and want something with more than one useful function on it, this is another classic offering from Baume & Mercier.

Inside the usual Clifton 43mm case is the automatic Valjoux 7751 (what I mentioned at the outset about the dial layout hinting at the movement, for those who are interested or know such things) finished with an engraved rotor, adorned with Geneva stripes, blue screws and perlage on the mainplate and bridges.

 

Categories
Hands-on Men Watch Montblanc Replica Swiss Replica Technical Watch

MONTBLANC Presents 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter Blue LimitedEdition

The vintage looks of the collection have been one of the reasons for their popularity (another has been the entry price into the collection). The 1858 is named for the founding year of Minerva, now a part of Montblanc, and so it finds itself into the replica watch as well.

Following last year’s launch of its 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter in rose gold, which itself was part of a new collection whose new pilots replica watches have been a market success, Montblanc has extended the collection with the addition of a stainless steel case version of the Chronograph with a dark blue dial, in a limited edition of 100 pieces.

 

The historically-inspired cathedral hands, typeface and dial design are now familiar, but being a modern replica watch, the hands and numerals are coated in SuperLumiNova. It comes in a 44mm sized case (height of 13.15mm) and on a blue alligator strap to match the dial colour. The size of the case is basically down to the fact that the movement is a rather significant 38.4mm.

Inside is the manual-wind Montblanc Caliber M16.29, a pocket-watch style monopusher column-wheel chronograph, with both a large screwed balance and swan neck regulator. It is inspired by the Minerva 17.29 movement from 1929 and is hand-finished. As you can tell, if you are into replica watch photography then this will probably provide you with many hours of enjoyment. As @initialjh who photographed it likes saying, the devil is in the details – of the chronograph. The movement has 252 parts and you can see how much work has gone into it.

I liked the pilots’ replica watches when they were released last year and have not seen the rose gold version of this one to compare, but this blue and stainless steel version is a good looking replica watch and a fitting tribute both inside and out, to its 1930s inspiration. This is very much a replica watch for the chronograph fans amongst us.

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Bremont Replica Dress Watch Hands-on Men Watch

BREMONT’s new RegattaChronographs

Basel2016BremontAmericasCupRegattaACSTAINLESSSTEEL2

 

Both the OTUSA and the Bremont Regatta AC use a modded chronograph, adapted to create the five minute countdown function situated at 12 o’clock for the sailing function. When you press the chronograph pusher the white window progressively reveals the word “START” and the red arc counts down from 5, changing to white. At the end of five minutes the two arcs recommence their cycle. As well as the centre chronograph seconds there’s a running seconds at 9 o’clock and a twelve hour counter at 6 o’clock.

If you follow Bremont, Giles or Nick English on Twitter/ Instagram then you will be well aware of the enthusiasm with which Bremont has entered into their relationship with the America’s Cup ORACLE Team USA.

At Baselworld 2016 they announced the addition of four new chronograph Regatta replica watches to add to their America’s Cup Collection in the form of new limited edition pieces – Regatta Oracle Team USA (OTUSA) White, Regatta OTUSA Black, Regatta AC Stainless Steel, and Regatta AC Rose Gold. All the new pieces are 43mm in size, and I am sharing one of each with you today.

The movement is an automatic one made for them by La Joux-Perret with a power reserve of forty-two hours and is COSC-certified. You will also note the America’s Cup decoration on the rotor.

With its polished case Regatta AC is more classically styled of the two new designs, particularly with the use of Arabic numerals and blued hands for the stainless steel version. The Bremont Trip-Tick® case has a scratch resistant DLCd case barrel.

 

Whereas the AC models have a chronograph centre seconds. running seconds at 9 o’clock, date and 12 hour counter at 6 o’clock and a 5 minute countdown at 12 o’clock, the OTUSA has a 15 minute Regatta timer and 5 minute countdown at 12 o’clock.

The Regatta Oracle Team USA replica watches have one detail that you may not know at first glance is that high-grade carbon fibre taken from the yacht foils of the winning 2013 Oracle Team USA AC72 yacht is incorporated into each of the crowns.

There will be a limitation number of two hundred and thirty five for this model, and one hundred and thirty five for the rose gold version.

As mentioned above, the Regatta Oracle Team USA will also be in black or white dial variants with a limitation of two hundred and thirty five pieces for each colour. Both colours have a titanium case with the same DLCd case barrel as the other model, their bi-directional rotating bezels lumed with Super-LumiNova. Indices and hands are also lumed.

The America’s Cup replica watches are not just Bremont’s first regatta replica watches, but they told me that they are also the first English regatta replica watches, which is definitely something to be celebrated for them.

All the new models bar the 18 carat rose gold have a Temple Island rubber strap and titanium pin buckle; the Regatta AC Stainless Steel has a blue strap, the OTUSA a black one. The 18K rose gold model is supplied with a brown alligator strap with matching 18K rose gold pin buckle.

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Calendar Watch Hands-on Men Watch Sinn Replica

Take A Look At SINN 910 Anniversary SplitChronograph

Basel2016Sinn910AnniversarySplitSeconds1

 

For those who may not know a splits-second function has two chronograph hands that both start in alignment when the chronograph function is actuated. Then another pusher, which in the case of this replica watch is at 8 o’clock, is depressed to stop one of the hands as as the second continues to advance. Pressing the pusher a second time makes the ‘stopped’ hand jump to the position of the moving hand, and they continue in unison.repliques montres

So what is the anniversary to which the name alludes? Well it’s Sinn’s 55th birthday. Both the limitation number (x/300) and ‘1961 – 2016’ are engraved on the case back.

Although I acknowledge that it is (pardon the double negative) not an inexpensive chronograph, it is nonetheless a good looking one.

Sinn have used the ever reliable Valjoux 7750 with a La Joux Perret mod to create a ratchet colunn wheel chrono with split seconds function. The chronograph actuation is very smooth.

Back to the cream dial. In keeping with their ‘vintage look’ approach for this replica watch they’ve gone for black applied indices and a classic use of red for counter hands and on the tachymeter.

At Baselworld 2016 Sinn, a favourite German ‘tool replica watch’ brand of many, came out with a number of new releases including one or two rather dressy pieces as well as a camo dial that is probably something you will love or not (I don’t), but the clear winner for me was the limited edition 910 Anniversary Split Chronograph, and so I shall talk about it first.

Their first split chronograph, the dial is not perhaps ‘groundbreaking’ in its design, but you don’t always need something adventurous, and the rather pure old school classic chronograph look of this one, with its creamy dial, is just spot on and attractive.

Size wise it is a 41.5mm stainless steel case and comes with both a bracelet and a shell cordovan strap. My vote goes to the strap. Also included in the kit are a strap replacement tool, spring bars, a loupe, and a polishing cloth.

 

The RRP is 5,500 EUR and in Australia, AUD 7,863.64 ex. GST and AUD 8,650.00 incl. GST from Define Replica Watches in Brisbane.

Categories
Sinn Replica

Replica SINN : 910 Anniversary SplitChronograph

Basel2016Sinn910AnniversarySplitSeconds1

At Baselworld 2016 Sinn, a favourite German ‘tool replica watch’ brand of many, came out with a number of new releases including one or two rather dressy pieces as well as a camo dial that is probably something you will love or not (I don’t), but the clear winner for me was the limited edition 910 Anniversary Split Chronograph, and so I shall talk about it first.

Their first split chronograph, the dial is not perhaps ‘groundbreaking’ in its design, but you don’t always need something adventurous, and the rather pure old school classic chronograph look of this one, with its creamy dial, is just spot on and attractive.

For those who may not know a splits-second function has two chronograph hands that both start in alignment when the chronograph function is actuated. Then another pusher, which in the case of this luxury replica watch is at 8 o’clock, is depressed to stop one of the hands as as the second continues to advance. Pressing the pusher a second time makes the ‘stopped’ hand jump to the position of the moving hand, and they continue in unison.

Sinn have used the ever reliable Valjoux 7750 with a La Joux Perret mod to create a ratchet colunn wheel chrono with split seconds function. The chronograph actuation is very smooth.

Back to the cream dial. In keeping with their ‘vintage look’ approach for this replica watch they’ve gone for black applied indices and a classic use of red for counter hands and on the tachymeter.

Size wise it is a 41.5mm stainless steel case and comes with both a bracelet and a shell cordovan strap. My vote goes to the strap. Also included in the kit are a strap replacement tool, spring bars, a loupe, and a polishing cloth.

So what is the anniversary to which the name alludes? Well it’s Sinn’s 55th birthday. Both the limitation number (x/300) and ‘1961 – 2016’ are engraved on the case back.

Although I acknowledge that it is (pardon the double negative) not an inexpensive chronograph, it is nonetheless a good looking one.

The RRP is 5,500 EUR and in Australia, AUD 7,863.64 ex. GST and AUD 8,650.00 incl. GST from Define Replica Watches in Brisbane.

Categories
Montblanc Replica

Replica MONTBLANC : 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter Blue LimitedEdition

Following last year’s launch of its 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter in rose gold, which itself was part of a new collection whose new pilots replica watches have been a market success, Montblanc has extended the collection with the addition of a stainless steel case version of the Chronograph with a dark blue dial, in a limited edition of 100 pieces.

The vintage looks of the collection have been one of the reasons for their popularity (another has been the entry price into the collection). The 1858 is named for the founding year of Minerva, now a part of Montblanc, and so it finds itself into the replica watch as well.

Inside is the manual-wind replica Montblanc Caliber M16.29, a pocket-watch style monopusher column-wheel chronograph, with both a large screwed balance and swan neck regulator. It is inspired by the Minerva 17.29 movement from 1929 and is hand-finished. As you can tell, if you are into replica watch photography then this will probably provide you with many hours of enjoyment. As @initialjh who photographed it likes saying, the devil is in the details – of the chronograph. The movement has 252 parts and you can see how much work has gone into it.

The historically-inspired cathedral hands, typeface and dial design are now familiar, but being a modern replica watch, the hands and numerals are coated in SuperLumiNova. It comes in a 44mm sized case (height of 13.15mm) and on a blue alligator strap to match the dial colour. The size of the case is basically down to the fact that the movement is a rather significant 38.4mm.

I liked the pilots’ replica watches when they were released last year and have not seen the rose gold version of this one to compare, but this blue and stainless steel version is a good looking replica watch and a fitting tribute both inside and out, to its 1930s inspiration. This is very much a replica watch for the chronograph fans amongst us.

Categories
Baume & Mercier Replica

SIHH 2016 : Replica Baume Mercier Clifton Chronograph CompleteCalendar

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

In recent years Baume & Mercier’s Clifton range has entrenched its position as ‘the’ collection for those wishing to enter the world of luxury replica watches via Baume. They are classic replica timepieces which contain solid movements, and are versatile. Now, Baume have added another complication to the range – meet the Clifton Chronograph Complete Calendar. This is not the first Clifton featuring a calendar feature; for example there was the Retrograde Date and Big Date, but is a new combination.

So let’s look at the dial, which is, in keeping with the brand and this collection, classically laid out. The layout will also hint at the inside, for those famliiar with such things.

Baume & Mercier have decided to emphasie legibility at a glance by using different coloured hands for different indications. The time is as per convention, with the two hands on the central axis, and a small seconds sub dial at 9 o’clock with rhodiumed hands. There is also a day/ night indicator at 9 o’clock and a 24 hour scale with a gilt hand. The hand with the arrow-tipped point on the central axis points to the date, there are two windows at 12 o’clock with the day of the week and month, and a moonphase at 6 o’clock.

Now for the chronograph function, which is indicated by the blued hands with its seconds noted by a long blued hand. The 30-minute counter is at 12 o’clock and the 12-hour counter is at 6 o’clock circling the moon.

The rest of the dial is faithful to the Clifton replica watches, with silvery white main-plate and metallic applied indices.

Inside the usual Clifton 43mm case is the automatic Valjoux 7751 (what I mentioned at the outset about the dial layout hinting at the movement, for those who are interested or know such things) finished with an engraved rotor, adorned with Geneva stripes, blue screws and perlage on the mainplate and bridges.

Coming on a alligator straps, these are replica watches that aren’t about pretending to be anything other than what they are – replica watches to be used for functionality and not fashion, and for longevity. For those wanting to enter the world of luxury replica watches and want something with more than one useful function on it, this is another classic offering from Baume & Mercier.

Categories
IWC Replica

Replica IWC Portofino MonopusherChronograph Hands On

WW15IWCPortofinoMonopusherChronograph1

Debuting at Elegant Replica Watches & Wonders 2015, IWC released a new Portofino Monopusher Chronograph which we had the opportunity to see in Hong Kong. Available in either red gold (with white dial) or a rather handsome white gold (with gray-brown dial), inside resides the manual-wind Calibre 59360 with an eight day power reserve. The chronograph function has been built on top of the base movement which is also found IWC’s Portugiser eight day model.

Visible through the open case back, the movement features 36 jewels and a mainplate with circular graining, bevelled edges and Geneva stripes.

You will note the centre elapsed-seconds hand, a minute sub dial at 12 o’clock for the chronograph function, date at 3 o’clock, constant small seconds at 6 o’clock, and a power reserve indicator between 8 o’clock and 9 o’clock.

Both models feature delicate gold leaf-shaped hands, and applied gold hour markers. The white dial model has a great clean look to it that is quintessentially IWC, but I like the elegant dressiness of the moody dark dial.

Measuring 45mm with a thickness of 13 mm, the red gold version (Ref.IWC515104) comes on a Santoni brown alligator leather strap with matching pin buckle and the white gold model (Ref.IWC155103) comes on a gray strap.

[Horologium attended Replica Watches & Wonder 2015 at the invitation of Richemont Australia]