Tag: Technical

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Swiss Replica

HANDS-ON :Replica De Bethune DB28Maxichrono

DB28Maxichrono2

During Baselworld 2014 De Bethune introduced a new chronograph with what they call the ‘Absolute Clutch System’. With a price tag of some CHF 166,000, exactly what sort of chronograph this is, has been the prevailing question. Well I recently got to find out, when Alessandro Zanetta visited Sydney and I had the opportunity to see it (and other new releases) at The Hour Glass, Sydney.

At first glance you will notice the first special aspect of this swiss replica watch – that the (monopusher) chronograph’s seconds hand, 60-minute counter and 24-hour counter are all co-axially mounted in the centre, along with the hour and minute hands.

The DB28 features the recognisable De Bethune case and floating lugs, which mean that, as with all their pieces with this lug system, it is incredibly comfortable on the wrist. The case is 5N rose gold, 45mm and with a thickness of 11mm. You will note that the (dual-setting) crown, which is also monopusher for the chronograph function, is at 12 o’clock.

Through the open case back, with its 1800 Vickers sapphire crystal, can be seen the manual-wind DB2030 Calibre with a frquency of 36,000 VPH. The calibre conssits of three hundred and eighty-four parts, and is hand finished and decorated, including hand-polished steel bridges. There is a silicon/white gold balance wheel and a balance-spring with flat terminal curve.


As an explanatory segue, the small spiral balance-spring is the heart and most important part of a replica watch movement, its beat regulating the energy delivered from the main spring barrel and gear train at fixed intervals. The balance spring is attached in a small slot in the collet on the balance staff and its outer end is attached to a stud fixed to the balance bridge or cock. To compensate for the spring’s irregularity of the expansion and contraction, the terminal curve was invented, with the last turn of the spring (that is connected to the fixed stud) bent in a non-concentric manner.

For those who do not know, the development of its own balance wheels, balance spring with flat terminal curve and a silicon escape wheel are a crucial part of De Bethune, and they have a dedicated website devoted to it called ‘De Bethune Résonique’. Click on this link to read more about it.

The DB28’s dial is silver-toned and multi-layered, with an interesting contrast of the rose gold case and black lugs. The five centrally mounted hands are skeletonised hand-polished blackened steel for hours and minutes, flame-blued (that very De Bethune ‘blue’) for the hours and seconds chronograph counters. The chronograph minutes hand is in rose gold. Starting from the outside and working your way in you can see separate chapter rings for measuring elapsed intervals of 60 seconds, 60 minutes and 24 hours of elapsed time respectively.

According to De Bethune, the ‘Total Clutch System’ used in this piece improves the chronograph performance by correcting issues existeng in those replica watches with vertical and/ or horizontal clutch systems e.g. the friction that the vertical clutch is known for will be reduced and the slight delay when starting a chronograph with horizontal coupling is also eliminated.  As they put it, the absolute clutch operates in a system engaging the two traditional clutch methods to allow the different chronograph counters to function semi-autonomously:

1) The chronograph seconds are governed by the new absolute clutch system
2) The minutes counter is controlled by a shifting pinion
3) The hours counter is engaged by a horizontal clutch

This is a total of three different types of clutches, behind three semi-independent systems, controlled by three column-wheels.

The design of this chronograph, apart from being ingenious, is also very clear and easy to read. The one part about which I cannot quite make my mind up is the typeface for the hours/ minutes; in particular whether I prefer the less blocky typeface used on the DB29 Maxichrono Tourbillon. It makes the DB28 MaxiChrono more sporty than its tourbillon sibling (as do the different lugs) but perhaps it’s a case of becoming accustomed to it.

This version is rose gold, with short or long floating lugs in mirror-polished blacked zirconium, but it also comes in a polished titanium version that unfortunately was not travelling with Alessandro.

Although not a limited edition, the complexity of the piece means that there will be a limited annual production, with only twenty made in 2014.

Categories
Rolex Replica

PEPSI MAX : the 2014 Replica Rolex GMT-MasterII

Rolex2014GMTMasterII4

The good news from Rolex at Baselworld 2014 was that there was a Pepsi bezel for the 2014 GMT-Master II. The bad news was that Rolex decided to use it on a 18 carat white gold version first, rendering it slighlty difficultly priced for those who wanted it most.

Since the fist Rolex GMT-Master appeared in 1955, it has become one of their most recognisable and enduringly popular models, with varying sizes, calibres and detail changes in that inimitably Rolex way. One of the most distinctive sports replica watches in the world, the original red and blue bezel is affectionately referred to as the ‘Pepsi bezel’, in a non product placement reference to the soft drink. Ever the brand of incremental changes, they are also the band of unexpected choices, as recently evidenced by the use of Syloxi initially in a woman’s replica watch and of putting this new replica watch in a white gold case.

Developed in cooperation with Pan Am pilots, the GMT-Master became the airline’s official timepiece, allowing pilots to read the time in two time zones, and with the contrasting red and blue key for legibility.

The first GMT-Master bezel inserts were made of transparent Plexiglas painted half red and half blue on the underside. In 1959 the Plexiglas insert was replaced by one in anodised aluminium. Various other combinations have made appearances but for the majority of purists, the Pepsi bezel has always been the only one worth thinking about.

The Ref. 116719, as this new model is called, is 40mm and contains the Rolex in-house Calibre 3186 movement that was also in last year’s blue/ black Cerachrom-bezelled GMT-Master II. The GMT/ second time zone function of the name is operated via the usual independent hand.

The patented red and blue Cerachrom’s manufacturing process involves a red ceramic bezel inlay being made and then modifying half of the insert to a blue colour by a process of changing the chemical composition of the red grains. At 1600°C the ceramic reaches both its hardness and blue/ red colouring. The 24 hour scale is engraved in the ceramic and then coated with platinum via a PVD process. The platinum is then diamond-polished until only the platinum inside the numerals and graduations remains.

For those unfamiliar with Cerachrom, let’s go back a bit.

Patented and developed in-house to be used for bezels, it was unveiled in 2005 via the black insert of the Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II. The portmanteau name is a combination of ‘ceramic’ and ‘chrom’ from the Greek for ‘colour’, but the range of colours is restricted by the manufacturing process. The colours are created by adding mineral pigments that can withstand high temperatures before it is fired.

Making a Cerachrom bezel begins by mixing basic ceramic powders made of very fine zirconium dioxide or aluminium oxide powder which are mixed with pigments and a binding agent. The resultantpaste is shaped into a bezel blank by high-pressure moulding. A first stage heat treatment eliminates the binding agent. Next, the substrate is impregnated with a metalised chemical solution. The insert is then heated, as mentioned above, to 1600°C to create a solid single insert piece. As the ceramic is so hard, both inner and outer circumferences of the insert must be precision-machined using diamond tools, after which the numerals and graduations are engraved into the ceramic.

In 2013 Rolex unveiled the first two-colour Cerachrom insert bezel, in blue and black, but the red and blue of 2014 is more important to collectors and enthusiasts. So what is it like ‘in the metal’? Well first things first – this is, remember, a white gold case, so there was a feeling of caution when handling it, something that would not be an issue if it were stainless steel.

The red and blue colours are strong and vibrant and it looks and feels like what it is – an expensive sports replica watch. For those who are familiar with last year’s model, as referred to earlier, it will all look pretty similar. As with all Rolex Cerachrom bezel inserts, it is exceptionally resistant to scratches and corrosion, and Rolex states that the colours are unaffected by ultraviolet rays and therefore, won’t fade. Whether this is a pro or a con will depend on to what degree you enjoy, perhaps, the variations in Pepsi bezel colour that time has brought to the old models.

My thanks to The Hour Glass Sydney for access to the Rolex GMT-MASTER II and Rolex Baselworld 2014 releases.

Categories
Rolex Replica

Replica ROLEX : Syloxi and the Oyster Perpetual Datejust Pearlmaster34

Rolex2014LadyDatejustPearlmaster34a

It’s funny sometimes.

I was at The Hour Glass in Sydney looking at some of the Baselworld 2014 releases from stylish replica Rolex when three blindingly shiny replica watches came into sight. Now it’s no secret that replica watches-with-more-stones-than-I-can-count-on-all-digits are an exception rather than a rule at Horologium, and that by and large those that do make an appearance have precious stones as part of a broader artistic sensibility in the form of an image, or where the stones are a discreet part of the bezel, or something unusual. It’s rare that stone-bedecked replica watches show their dials here.

However, something about the sheer weight and strong presence of this trio grabbed my attention that day. I thought to myself that even if these aren’t, aesthetically, something that I would select, not to mention how hyper-aware one would have to be  from a practical standpoint with stones on the bracelet, the thought crossed my mind that Rolex does incredibly well with women’s replica watches, and with bejewelled women’s replica watches, so it was important for me to acknowledge this and to feature it.

It was only after I started to write this that I realised something. I had unknowingly chosen to take photos of three rather significant replica watches whose announcement at Baselworld 2014 had somehow passed me by.

I realised that these Oyster Perpetual Datejust Pearlmaster 34s weren’t ‘just’ bejwelled women’s replica watches, but that their release heralded an important breakthrough by Rolex. Why they chose to do this via these replica watches, I can’t guess, but for those who are wondering – these are the timepieces in which the almighty big R chose to unveil its first commercially available replica watches equipped with a silicon hairspring called ‘Syloxi’, developed in-house after decades of research.

The ‘Syloxi’ name derives from ‘silicon’ and ‘silicon oxide’, and the new hairspring is made in-house by a process known as deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) developed by the Centre Suisse d’Electronique et Microtechnique (CSEM) which, with the backing of Rolex, the Swatch Group, and Patek Philippe, has researched the use of silicon in replica watchmaking.

A replica watch’s oscillator comprises of a hairspring and a balance wheel. Minimising disturbances to it from temperature variations, shocks, magnetism etc is critical. Silicon has been increasingly used by replica watch brands in their movements, and in instances such as this, where it is covered by an oxide layer, it has the added bonus of being thermo-compensating.

What makes the Rolex Syloxi different is its (patented) shape and geometry. It is flat, and its pitch and thickness varies along the hairspring. The inner coil of the hairspring is flexible and its other end is rigid and fixed to the balance bridge at two points.


So we come to the ‘unassuming’ Datejust Pearlmaster 34 which features the Syloxi hairspring courtesy of the automatic Calibre 2236. It is vailable in 18 carat yellow, white, or Everose (TM) gold, with a number of precious stone options including diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and rubies.

The three shown here are amongst a number of options :

1. Yellow gold model with a bezel set with twelve baguette-cut pink sapphires and twenty-four baguette-cut light-pink sapphires. Its dial is 18 ct yellow gold paved with 455 diamonds, the hour markers and hands are 18 ct yellow gold appliqué. With this, you can have either an 18 ct yellow gold bracelet or an 18 ct yellow gold bracelet with 186 brilliant-cut diamonds, as per the photos in this post.

2. White gold model with a bezel set with with twelve baguette-cut blue sapphires and twenty-four baguette-cut light-blue sapphires. Its dial is 18 ct white gold, rhodium plated, and paved with 455 diamonds, hour markers and hands are 18 ct white gold appliqué. This is naturally also available with either an 18 ct white gold bracelet or one with 186 brilliant-cut diamonds if you’re feeling fearless.

3. Rolex’s trademarked Everose alloy model with an 18 ct white gold bezel set with thirty-two brilliant-cut diamonds. Its dial is 18 ct white gold, rhodium plated, paved with 455 diamonds, hour markers and hands are Everose appliqué. Bracelet-wise it’s available in a choice of either 18 ct Everose gold or 18 ct white gold set with 186 briliant-cut diamonds.

Not that most of those wearing these is likely to find themselves in this position, but their waterproofness is 100m.

Would some have expected this innovation to have made its first appearance in a men’s replica watch? Or if a women’s replica watch, a more sedate model? Perhaps, but with four patents exclusive to Rolex and a fifth for the material itself shared with Patek Philippe and the Swatch Group, it will make its way into men’s replica watches as well. In the meantime, Rolex movement geeks will have to be satisfied with these groundbreaking women’s replica watches, which start at CHF37,000 and go up to a hefty six figures depending on your replica watch/ bracelet combination.

ADDENDUM : with thanks to the replica watchnerd, who did some investigating, for those who are interested, this appears to be the Syloxi patent.

Categories
Swiss Replica

HANDS-ON : Replica Thomas Prescher Triple Axis Tourbillon RegulatorSport

ThomasPrescherTripleAxisRegulatorSport1

One of the most engaging (and perhaps marginally frustrating) parts of the replica watch world is that sometimes, you are confronted with so many interesting things on people’s wrists and appearing miraculously out of hidden jacket pockets that you aren’t quite sure which way to look first.

Sometimes, you get even more lucky and find yourself unexpectedly meeting the friendly and down to earth Heike and Thomas Prescher and being confronted with a multiplicity of tourbillons.

For those new to them the tourbillon, which means ‘whirlwind’ in French, was invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet in the late 1700s (and patented in 1801) with the aim of counteracting the effects of gravity on a replica watch by mounting the escapement and balance wheel in a rotating cage, to negate positional gravitational effects on a timepiece and improve accuracy.

As I’ve noted before, whether tourbillons are necessary or not in modern replica timepieces is a moot point. People love looking at them, wearing them, and making them. After all, what’s not to like about a whirlwind on your wrist? Their creation is a replica watchmaking art, which is why they command a premium, and their popularity in modern replica watchmaking bodes well for the continuation of this level of craftsmanship, skill and micro-engineering. It has also meant that with more replica watch brands creating tourbillons, more complex multi-axis ones have become the goal to aim for, with independent replica watchmakers and small brands at the forefront of this progression. It is very much arguable that Thomas Prescher has his own special place in this pantheon.

Thomas Prescher traces his own horological influences to Anthony Randall and Richard Good, British clockmakers who produced two and three-axis tourbillons in the 1980s, interpreting Good’s work in creating a triple-axis tourbillon cariage clock for firstly pocket replica watches, and then wristwatches. The third axis would revolve hourly.

Meet the Triple Axis Tourbillon Regulator Sport. ‘Sport’ not in the sense that this over half a million dollar replica watch is for all your hiking/ diving/ cycling/ paragliding activities, as I’d really not recommend this, but ‘sport’ because it is more informal than his other creations.

The first impressions of this replica watch are that it’s actually surprisingly discreet. At 43mm and 17mm thick, when you get to to terms mentally with having it on your wrist, you will find that it’s comfortably sized and weighted. It can be ordered in 18k gold or 950 Pt, since it’s able to be customised, so the weight will vary accordingly. Bearing in mind that it is housing a triple-axis tourbillon, the thickness is to be expected. A triple axis tourbillon with its spiral-shaped movement takes up a certain amount of space.

Movement wise it uses an in-house manual wind calibre 3W6A.3 beating at 21,600VPH and with a power reserve of forty hours. The plates and bridges are gold-plated brass and wonderfully hand-engraved/ guillochéd; it’s a very interesting juxtaposition of clean lines and intricate handwork. The tourbillon itself is visible through both sides of the replica watch, mesmerisingly so. The first Axis is that the entire tourbillion spins around at its point of connection; when it hits the red arrow indicator, this is the minute revolution. The second and third axis points of the tourbillion are that it spins vertically and horizontally in its cage. The height of the tourbillon rotation is 12.2mm and the size of the cage, 13.4mm.

Thomas Prescher created the first flying double-axis tourbillon with constant force in the carriage in a wristwatch, which was presented at Baselworld 2003 and 2004. The tourbillon is powered by a constant-force mechanism called a remontoire. He created this constant-force mechanism to equalise the effects of a wound and unwound mainspring, friction, and gravitation, thereby ensuring that an even force is always supplied to the oscillation regulating system of the double-axis tourbillon. The constant force reloads six times per second.

The Triple Axis Tourbillon Regulator Sport is, as the name indicates, a regulator with subdials, and its functions are confined to hour, minutes and seconds.

As mentioned earlier, the case is available in either 18 carat gold or Pt 950. Both versions have a crystal sapphire crystal on front and back, and are individually engraved with a replica watch number. The dial is 1.2mm of solid silver, hand guillochd, with 18ct gold applied indices, daphine-shaped hands, and what he calls a “hand-engraved name and number-plate”.

The thing about triple axis tourbillons is that they are ever so rare ‘in the wild’. To see one unexpectedly takes a certain amount of time to get one’s mental faculties around, and somewhat to my regret, it has only been in the time following my unfortunately all-too-brief interaction with it that I’ve thought more about it and had the time to properly appreciate it, albeit without the actual replica watch in front of me. If I’m lucky, perhaps I will have another chance one day to ‘have a play’ with it, as they say.

A ‘protip’, as they say – if you are fortunate enough to find a Thomas Prescher replica watch in your hands, step away from everyone for a few minutes to somewhere silent (or less racuous) and take the time to have a proper look at it.

Categories
Zenith Replica

BASELWORLD 2013 : Replcia Zenith’s Christoph ColombHurricane

ZenithColombHurricane1

Baselworld releases often have the cheap replica watch industry equivalent of a restaurant’s ‘soft opening’ up to months before the actual fair, and so it was at the end of January 2013 in Geneva when I visited Zenith’s temporary digs and saw one of this year’s official Basel releases, the Christoph Colomb Hurricane.

The very distinctive Christoph Colomb complications fall under Zenith’s ‘Acaemy’ collection, and have the large fishbowl like sapphire crystal protrusion at 6 o’clock which worries anyone who sees the replica watch (potential ding magnet). Its purpose, however, is not just to be quirky – Zenith have suspended the escapement and balance in a cage so that it looks like a floating mechanical ball, to try and increase the preciseness of time measurement – no matter how the wearer moves his or her wrist, you will see that the balance will always move back to a horizontal position – it is called a ‘cardanic suspension’, or ‘gimbal’.

As well as the gimbal, the Hurricane also utilises a chain-and-fusée, visible underneath the main hour and minutes subdial, to control variations and stabilise force as the mainspring unwinds. Although it seems to be popping up here and there of late, a chain-and-fusée is a rare beast and technical feat; and it took Zenith some two years to get it right for the Hurricane. The chain is made of 585 components and is 18cm long. The movement inside it is the manual wind El Primero 8805, with a fifty hour power reserve.

The hours and minutes are at 12 o’clock, small seconds at 9 o’clock, and power reserve indicator at 3 o’clock. The hour markers are black lacquer and the hands blued steel. The 45 mm rose gold case has an open case back for the owner’s viewing pleasure.

Categories
Seiko Replica

HANDS-ON with the replica Seiko AstronGPS

The Seiko Astron GPS Solar doesn’t have the clean beauty of the NOMOS Nomos Zürich Weltzeit or the classicism and elegance of the Patek 5130 World Timer, but as a purely functional travel replica watch (not to mention its accuracy) that is price-accessible to far more people, it is, dare I say, just pretty damn cool and desirable.

Some may think that the target market is tech/ geeky/ gadget-loving males and geeky male replica watchnerds. I admit that I thought this, and I went to look at them with the expectation that I’d find them interesting in a distant-admiration sort of way, but that they were highly unlikely to really appeal to me on an aesthetic or tech-geeky level.

My preconceptions were, I admit, challenged.

I still suspect that it will appeal most to those with a liking for gadgets and for replica watches, but against all expectations, I found myself being really quite taken with them. Perhaps it was a lot to do with the sheer fun of pressing the GPS activation pusher and replica watching the seconds hand move that I liked. It is actually rather amazing, and when you think about the fact that Seiko have some one hundred patents for this replica watch, including for micro GPS technology, it’s really quite an astonishing little bit of wristwear.

Firstly, for a summary about the Astron GPS (including model variations), see this earlier post. This is Seiko’s first solar powered GPS replica watch, using a patented low-energy receiver that picks up GPS signals and identifies the time zone, time and date using at least four GPS satellites, covering thirty-nine time zones. The replica watch updates automatically once a day, and also on demand.

Because I have covered the specs before, I will not repeat them but focus on what it is like to have on your wrist and play with ‘in the metal’.

Firstly, size. When writing about it after its Baselworld announcement (for another blog), I mentioned that at 47mm, it would probably be too large for most people. This is another thing that I will have to retract. It is definitely large, and especially for a Seiko, but it sits on the wrist more like a 44mm case, and is quite lightweight, whether in stainless steel or titanium. The case shape and lugs mean that it is far more comfortable than you’d intuitively expect of a 47mm case.

I tried both the bracelet and the silicone strap versions. My preference is for the latter, and to some degree I think that the replica watch seems smaller on silicone for those whose preference is not for such a large replica watch, but the bracelets are solid and comfortable. The rest (colour, steel vs. titanium, the limited edition versus regular production models etc) is a matter of personal taste.

In terms of the original PR photos versus ‘in the metal’, the Astron GPS stacks up well. If you liked it in the photos, there’s a pretty strong likelihood that you will like it when you try it on. One thing that was harder to pick up in the publicity photos is that this is a very architectural replica watch. The dial has a lot of actual physical depth, the hour markers standing up in sharp contrast to the rest of the dial, giving it a 3D almost canyon-like effect.

So, how do you activate the GPS reception? Well you press on the pusher at 2 o’clock for six seconds, at which point the seconds hand will jump to 6 o’clock to let you know that it is ready to receive the signal. It will then jump to the hour number indicating how many satellite signals it is trying to get reception from i.e. if it jumps to 4 o’clock, it is trying to receive information from four satellites. It will then take between 30 seconds and two minutes to receive these signals, at which point your replica watch will sync. How accurate is it? To 1 sec.

The pusher at 4 o’clock is for setting the time zone. A quick push will show your current time zone and then jump back to regular time keeping. If you push and hold it for more than 4 seconds, you will be able to manually adjust the time zone – use the 2 o’clock (or 4 o’clock) pusher to scroll through the cities listed and then the hands can calibrate to the selected time zone. Press the 10 o’clock pusher to reset to your current time zone.

If you are wondering how important the launch of this technological advance is for Seiko, take a look at this video of its Europe launch.

If you are under any illusion of how popular this replica watch already is, a mere matter of weeks after its launch it has not only been a hot topic online and even been covered by generalist men’s magazines, but Seiko sold a truly astonishing one thousand odd Astron GPS replica watches in Japan in the first week of its launch. Yes you read correctly – 1,000.

Five days after its arrival in Sydney (not exactly known as a hotbed of Seiko aficionados), which had a far smaller initial allocation, it had sold so well that there are now two left.

If you are in Australia, the Astron GPS it is not readily available. There is one authorised dealer in Melbourne and there will be two in Sydney. At the moment, if you want to take a look/ buy/ order in Sydney, visit or phone Fredman SVW. If in Melbourne, the AD is Salera’s. If you’re not in either city, just give either AD a call. The second Sydney AD Regal is not due to have any for another couple of weeks, and their allocation is as yet unknown.

Which one do I like the most? The SAST011 – it’s the most stealthy looking one. If I was a frequent traveller across time zones, I would find this incredibly handy, and although my preferred replica watch case size is 36-42mm, I can see myself wearing the Astron GPS.

Seiko have a dedicated Astron website, so should you need help with operating your replica watch, it is close at hand.

The technological developments of the Astron GPS Solar are incredibly important to Seiko. So much so that they rank it up there with their development of the Spring Drive in 1999, the Seiko Kinetic in 1988, their first ever solar replica watch (1977) and of course, the world’s first quartz replica watch, the Astron after which this is named, which was launched in 1969.

You can read about the first Quartz Astron and its sleek 40th anniversary commemorative edition here, about the Spring Drive here, and if you still haven’t had enough of Seiko, take a look at the unusual Izul.