Louis Vuitton,watches replica is going back to the basics. The Lockit Louis Vuitton Handbags line brings back the 1958 design,watch replica, which paves the way for the classic lines and durable leather. One of my personal favorites is the Louis Vuitton Suhali Lockit MM which is designed with natural grain no chemical goat leather. At the LV store in Bal Harbour I fell in love with this bag and its smooth leather yet durable shape. The hardware is a shiny golden brass that flows perfectly with the sienne,replica rolex watch, blanc, or black colored leather. Rolled leather handles with shiny brass links lead to the zip top closure that shows the lockit line signature leather key clochette and LV padlock. On the inside there is micro monogram textile lining along with a flat and cell phone pocket. Measurements of this bag are 16.3″ x 11.8″ x 7.9″. DROOL. Available at your nearest LV boutique or eLuxury for $2470.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Louis Vuitton Suhali Lockit MM
Reed Krakoff alligator tote back in stock at Net-a-Porter
When we discussed Reed Krakoff’s Fall 2010 handbag line last week, many of you mentioned that your favorite was one we had omitted: the Reed Krakoff Alligator and Felt Boxer II Tote. The bag’s omission was intentional: I think it’s beautiful enough to deserve its own post.
When it first appeared on Net-a-Porter two weeks ago, it managed to sell out before I even woke up (which, admittedly, was later than a real adult should be waking up for work), but a second shipment has come in. So, you know, gather up that extra seven grand you have laying around, because this thing doesn’t come cheap.
Whether or not the bag is really worth $6900 is up for debate – some brands charge far more for any brand with alligator elements, and although this one isn’t entirely alligator,rolexwatch, the trim is pretty significant. The color variation of the skin is perfection, and the juxtaposition with the neutral cream felt adds a richness to the bag that is hard to resist, even for someone like me who has a more hard-edged personal aesthetic. For anyone worried about durability,Submariner replica, the bag’s gusset and much of the back panel are made of caramel leather,quality watch replica, so the felt is in many ways as much of an accent as the exquisite alligator. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $6900.
Monday, January 9, 2012
about Daniel Roth’s
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Bruno Meier is also
Friday, January 6, 2012
Joseph Bonanno's watch on auction Patek Philippe, given to him by Lucky Luciano
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Giuseppe Bonanno (January 18,replica and watch, 1905 ?��Ǩ��� May 12, 2002), better known as Joseph Bonanno, was a Sicilian-born American organized crime figure who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family in 1931 until his retirement in 1968. Joseph Bonanno was instrumental in forming The Mafia Commission, which was designed to oversee all Mafia activities in the U.S. and serve to resolve conflicts between the Mafia families. Joseph was married to Fay and they got three childeren. Salvatore “Bill” Bonanno (who was quite a character himself as well), born 1932; Catherine, born 1934; and Joseph Jr., born 1945.
Joseph Bonanno received this Patek Philippe ref.1516 from other Sicilian mobster Charles “Lucky” Luciano. Lucky Luciano was also member of the “Commission”. This watch is included in Antiquorum’s upcoming auction and is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from his daughter, Catherine Bonnano. Lucky Luciano gave this watch to Joseph Bonanno in 1957, in Sicily.
Bonanno seems to be the prototype Godfather for Mario Puzo’s novel, The Godfather. There is also a TV movie,uboat classico, written by (a.o) Bonanno himself,replica rolex watch dealer, called Bonanno: A Godfather’s Story.
Antiquorum estimates this watch between 5000 and 8000 USD. If you (possibly can) imagine what this watch has seen during its use, it is almost frightening. The estimate is therefore – in my opinion – frighteningly low.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
BaselWorld 2011 – Rebellion Will Be Revealing Their Predator Chrono Mono-Pusher - Fratellowatches.c
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Rebellion, Masters of The Power Reserve, will be revealing their Predator Chrono Mono-Pusher during this coming BaselWorld show. Last year,replica rolex submariner, they introduced the Predator Chrono with the regular start, stop and reset buttons. This year,rolex replica, they are going Mono-Pusher. This means that there is only one button – on top of the crown – for starting, stopping and resetting the chronograph mechanism.
Will this Predator Chrono Mono-Pusher be a true competitor for Hublot’s Big Bang, AP’s RO OffShore or the LW SpidoSpeed Chrono? All these watches are crafted from high-tech materials and have a strong relationship to the racing world.
Click here for my article on this pre-Basel release by Rebellion!
James Bond watches - Fratellowatches.com
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Just two days ago, I received an e-mail from Dell over at www.jamesbondwatches.com telling me that he is in the progress of creating the most comprehensive list of timepieces used in EON Productions (by Albert R. Broccoli) a.k.a. the 007 movies. His website is all about timepieces in Bond movies, so you’ll find the known big brands like Rolex, Omega, Seiko,rolex swiss replica, Pulsar and Breitling, but there are also a lot of ‘unknown’ watches used in these movies. If you are able to identify the unknown watches or can be more specific about some of the used timepieces, please participate!
Picture of this Omega Seamaster Professional 2531.80 by Antiquorum.com
You can find the complete list at:
Enjoy,buy wrist watch!
IWC Watch Show Amsterdam 2009 Ace Jewelers
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From left to right: Jacqueline Romers, me, Rich Pontier and Bernard Werk
It took a while before I liked IWC. They are easy to adore, especially the classic looking models like the IWC Portuguese and Flieger. However, I always thought these watches were overrated. Asking almost 6000 Euro for a Portuguese Chronograph, with an ETA/Valjoux 7750 movement seems kind of optimistic. However, I must admit that IWC does a very nice job in finishing these fairly common movements.
And of course, a watch is more than a movement. The finish on IWC’s watch cases and bracelets is superb as well. IWC also has a rich history in watch making and is one of the first watch factories to produce their watches ‘green’. In the case of IWC, this means that their factory in Schaffhausen uses hydro-powered machinery for the production of watches.
Last year I bought this Ingenieur 3227-01 and since then, I have a subscription on their inhouse magazine (called Watch International) and try to keep track of IWC a bit more. Ace Jewelers, friend of the show, lead by Alon Ben-Joseph, is having this annual IWC show in his shop in Amsterdam.
I posted only a few blogs on the SIHH 2009 and IWC, but mainly on the new Ingenieur Mission Earth. The new Aquatimer was a bit of a disappointment, at least that was I thought it was. Having repeatedly told Alon of AceJewelers that it reminded me about the Citizen diver watches, they are actually nice and impressive watches.
As you can see below, the Aquatimer actually looks quite un-Citizen-ish on my wrist. I admit I was wrong.
Especially the case and dial are superb! The rotating bezel has this shiny finish which I really like. Perhaps this was also the case on the former Aquatimer, but I don’t recall that. Below you see the gold version again, next to the galvanized rubber model and stainless steel model.
I do wonder what the use is of a chronograph on a diver’s watch,used rolex watch, but who am I to question a diver’s tool watch. Another model that I followed with interest since its introduction, is the new Big Ingenieur Chronograph. It is LARGE, but when you do eat enough pan cakes, it will grow on you! The non-chronograph version was a bit of a disappoinment really, although looking nice at first glance, I noticed that the edges of the case were not as sharp anymore as on the discontinued 3227-01 Ingenieur.
The crowd during the show was a healthy mix of people, all of them with a good interest in (IWC) watches. As you can see on the picture below, I’ve met with Rich Pontier, who took some very nice photographs (being a photographer) of the event and met some old friends like Bernard Werk (Watching magazine), Frank (Monochrome) and Ernie Romers (WatchUseek) and his wife.
Host of the show,wholesale high quality leather custom handbags, Alon Ben-Joseph (below) brought his family and his lovely girlfriend Chantalle (who was wearing a very nice Portuguese Chronograph in white gold).
I would like to thank Alon (Ace Jewelers) for organizing this nice event! The drinks, snacks, service and talk was a great way to start the week. I also would like to thank Ernie Romers for taking all these nice pictures with his new camera
More pictures of the event can be found on Rich Pontier’s website. You will also find some great pictures of the IWC tourbillons and minute repeaters in his photo collection.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Off-Shore Montauk Highway For Sale
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Yes, the number of limited edition Off-Shore models is almost as pathetic – perhaps even worse – as the number of Omega Speedmaster Professional variations, but it seems that brands still feel that there is a market for them. However, there is this specific limited edition Royal Oak Off-Shore – of 300 pieces – that catched my interest last year already (read about it here), the Montauk Highway watch.
During my visit to New York last May, I paid the Audemars Piguet boutique on East 57th street a visit and they happened to have one on display. I could finally see it in the flesh, as Audemars Piguet dealers are very rare here in The Netherlands. The nice sales manager let me fiddle around with it a bit and realized very quickly that I wasn’t a potential buyer,italian leather bags supplier, but merely an AP-adept. Which was OK for her as well. Sadly, most of the time when you are not buying they lose interest very quickly and can become rude. At least in this boutique they understand that I might be coming back when I hit jack pot.
Anyway – I am fully aware that I am drifting away from the Montauk Highway watch -, this watch made a huge impression on me, although the dial colors could be considered a bit too playful to keep interest in this watch. Due to the fact that there were only 300 available of these watches, and only for the official Audemars Piguet boutiques in the United States (Florida and NY), I didn’t expect them to pop up here at a watch dealer in The Netherlands. Interwatches has a NIB (New In Box) Montauk Highway up for sale, with a price tag of 16.950 euro. That’s approximately as much as the three others I see for sale via Chrono24. However, Europeans who want to have a Montauk Highway special should not forget about taxes,replica watch, customs and so on when they buying a watch from overseas.
Click here to see all the details of this watch over at Interwatches. Photos courtesy of Interwatches.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Watches At The Miljonair Fair In Amsterdam
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Last Friday, a friend and I visited the Miljonair Fair. Not that we are millionaires, probably not even together, but Amsterdam Diamond Center (part of Gassan Diamonds) gave us tickets to come to the show.
Gassan Diamonds had one of the biggest booths at the fair, including a few shop-in-shop boutiques from Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC,hublot replika, Omega, Breguet,rolex replica watch wholesale, Ebel, Breitling, Cartier and Ateliers de Monaco. Being a huge fan of Atelier De Monaco, I was very pleased to see them here. Pim Koeslag of Atelier De Monaco took a lot of time to show their timepieces and do some explanation on them.
Pim Koeslag giving some explanation on one of their exquisite timepieces to my friend Ger.
Below, you’ll see some of the photos I took of Rolexes that were on display by Gassan. One of the most special (and expensive) pieces of them is the white gold Submariner studded with baguettes and emeralds. Price tag: A whopping 220.000 Euro. It was sold on the first evening of the fair.
The rest of the photos can be found in the Dutch Forum over at WatchUseek. If you can’t read/understand Dutch, the pictures will do just fine Click here to see the full photo report.
Tudor Heritage Chrono - Does It Live Up To Its Hype
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Introduced at the BaselWorld 2010 exhibition, the Tudor Heritage Chrono was the talk of the day for months to come. Authorized Rolex/Tudor dealers created waiting lists for people who desperately needed one. The vintage Tudor Monte Carlo Chronographs ref.7149, 7159/0, ref.7169/0 and the 7031/0, the original models on which the Heritage Chrono is based, skyrocketed to 10K Eur and over. I have written an in-dept and chronological story on the Tudor Monte Carlo a while ago already for MotoringExposure,cheap leather handbags wholesale, click here to read it.
The Heritage 70330N and the Monte Carlo ref. 7169/0, photo courtesy of Ryan5446
A few months after the Heritage Chrono became available in stores in June, I see them popping up for sale from owners who wanted to be the first on the waiting list. So, I am wondering, what’s the status of the Tudor Heritage Chrono? Does it live up to its hype?
To be honest, I think – of all the big brand’s releases last year – the Heritage Chrono is a very interesting timepiece. Tudor is on the map again with their new watches, I have seen two Tudor dealers in Milan/Italy last month, with all Tudor-stickered front-walls. Besides the new Heritage Chrono ref.70330N watches, they’d put a vintage Monte Carlo next to it, to show its resemblance.
With a list price of 3.050,- Euro (4200 CHF), I was actually amazed to find out that they are for sale through Chrono24 in large numbers already, starting at 2.600,– Euro. Although I don’t think there was much wrong with the list price, the going prices are a bit more friendly. You don’t have a lot of alternatives for a solid and well built iconic chronograph these days, the Tudor fits in quite well with other classics such as the Omega Speedmaster Professional and IWC Fliegerchronograph (with discount). All of them have a 3rd party movement (Lemania, ETA) and focus on customers who have a weak spot for icon watches.
Vintage Tudor chronographs,man watch, Tudor and their racing connection was always there.. (photo courtesy of Ryan5446).
As I’ve already written at the start of this blog post, I’ve seen a lot of Rolex enthusiasts buying a Tudor Heritage Chrono and selling them again quite quickly after they got it. A part of these sellers were probably in it for the money, making a fast buck, but I also think that it doesn’t give them the same feeling as their Rolexes do. Is it the ETA (with DD chronograph module) that spoils the fun? Don’t think so, as Rolex enthusiasts don’t care much for movements generally. Who knows should leave a comment below.
What Started It Bruno Rubinksi's AP Royal Oak!
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Someone over at TimeZone’s AP forum asked the following simple question: Which AP started it for you? My answer needed some extra work, as Audemars Piguet’s 1998 catalogue (simply called #1, as part of a trilogy of catalogues) says it all for me. AP asked fashion entrepreneur Bruno Rubinski why he chose the AP Royal Oak (‘Jumbo’) and printed that in their catalogue.
Now,wholesale quality handbags, there is no sponsoring story or sleek copy-write article in there, just Bruno Rubinski explaining why he loves that watch and that he bought it pre-owned and in a poor condition. To me, the story sounded quite authentic (although I assume at least someone reviewed it ; – ) ) and I think AP showed a lot of guts printing it in their catalogue. It is at least something different from ambassadors promoting a watch they got for free.
Below is a picture of his (now rare) ref.14802 or 15002, I am not sure about that. Both are rare finds these days though.
This is the AP that started it for me,cheap designer wholesale handbags, the Royal Oak. Some hate it (actually a lot of people), some grow towards it and only few call it love at first sight. I belong to the last category I’m afraid.
Anyway, I scanned the four pages from AP’s #1 catalogue and posted them in the thread over at TimeZone. You can click here for all the scans in a higher resolution.
Ocean7 LM5 Review - The World's Most Beautiful Diver
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To be honest, until recently Ocean7 wasn’t brand that had watch models that I could mention from the top of my head, except for the LM-7. The Ocean7 LM-7 has probably been the watch model that people will know this brand for, it is a homage to dive watch watches of the 1970s according to the official Ocean7 website. People will immediately recognize the LM-7 being a homage to the famous OMEGA Seamaster Plo-Prof of course. To be honest, Ocean7 did a pretty good job in creating an alternative for the vintage OMEGA Seamaster Plo-prof. This was in the period before OMEGA re-introduced their own homage to this watch a few years ago with their new in-house caliber 8500 movement.
Anyway, Ocean7 is a brand that I’d like to call an ‘internet community’ watch brand. There are more brands like this, like Sinn, Tutima, Xetum and a lot of others. It is a brand that is being carried on the hands of watch connoisseurs who are active on forums and blogs and like to attend watch meetings to discuss their favorite watches. The largest watch community website, Watchuseek, has the official Ocean7 forum and owners and prospect buyers are showing their love and enthusiasm for this brand.
I got the opportunity to review the LM-5 dive watch by Ocean7, one of their more recent models and Ocean7 even claims it to be the world’s most beautiful diver. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there isn’t much you can’t like about this particular model. It reminds us about one of the high-end diving timepieces by Blancpain, the Fifty Fathoms, which is indeed one of the most beautiful divers in the world according to many. Ocean7 is actually being quite honest about their styling cues used for their watches, hence this LM-5 design and the design of the earlier mentioned LM-7 Plo-Prof.
One of the things that the official Ocean7 website doesn’t say, but what I want to mention here, is that this proofs again that a nice and “good quality” watch doesn’t need to be that expensive. A lot of people have other priorities for their saving money but do want to own a quality timepiece. In my opinion, Ocean7 jumped into this market with quality mechanical watches for a decent price.
On to the watch review. First of all, I would like to note that I am not a talented photographer like my colleague Ming Thein is. The sapphire crystal and the high polished watch case makes this a beautiful timepiece, but very difficult to photograph without all the reflections in the dial and case, as you can see below.
As you can see, the watch has quite some detail. The bezel with large luminous Arabic numerals has a sapphire crystal inlay really stands out. The corresponding numerals on the glossy black dial makes it a very readable watch. There is only Ocean7 wording on the dial, no other referrals to the model type, type of movement that has been used or the water resistance level. Only the stainless steel case back reveals the make and model of this watch, together with the fact that it is water resistant to 200 meters / 20 atm. The dial has a small date aperture between 4 and 5 o’clock, Ocean7 luckily used a black date wheel to have the whole date feature blend in perfectly with the rest of the watch.
The watch comes with either a 3D carbon leather strap, a stainless steel mesh bracelet (+ $199.- USD) or both (+ $269.- USD). The leather strap is referred to as 3D carbon because of the structure of the strap. It happens to be a very soft and comfortable strap, but I think I would prefer either the mesh bracelet or a black alligator strap. I know, very undive-ish, but I think I would like the look of it. The strap comes with a solid working double deployant clasp, also known as the ‘Cartier’-clasp or butterfly-clasp. It works very simple but effective, first you close one side of the clasp, then the second part and press till it clicks. Secured. The clasp is being released again by pressing the two buttons.
Ocean7 paid a lot attention to the details of this watch, as you can see on the picture above regarding the winding crown. The crown is easy to grasp and has been finished with the engraving of the company’s O7 logo. The diving bezel is unidirectional, like a bezel of a diver’s watch should be of course. The bezel is easy to operate,italian leather bags supplier, a tad bit heavy to turn but with firm clicks. There is almost no play in the bezel, which is giving me a comfortable feeling about the quality of the mechanism.
All-in-all, the LM-5 an attractive no nonsense watch that gives value for money and makes me hungry to learn more about that big fat LM-7 Plo-prof model they have in their collection as well. For only $899.- USD, the LM-5 is honestly priced and even with the optional choices like the mesh bracelet and COSC certified movement (+ $399.- USD) this watch is still far cheaper than a lot of other diving watches of similar quality. Personally, I would skip the COSC movement and go for the mesh bracelet option instead.
Although I am not sure what type of movement’s in side the COSC model, this model has the ETA 2824-2 movement. Like a diesel engine that has been seen in a lot of other watch brands as well, including Longines,high quality watch, Breitling and so on. Mind you, that the finish of this ETA movement probably differs from the ETA movement used in the more expensive brands.
Aren’t their any cons? Of course, there are some. Like I already mentioned, the one-side anti-reflective coating makes it a bit shiny in combination with the glossy dial. On the other hand, the only time this bothered me was when I was trying to take pictures of the watch. I also am not a fan of these type of straps, but that’s a matter of taste in my opinion.
One of the things I didn’t mention yet, is the domed sapphire crystal of which the surface is below the sapphire bezel. This means that if you put the watch on its top (i.e. on the bezel), the crystal doesn’t touch the surface of the desk or table you put it on and won’t scratch or damage (although I know sapphire is hard to scratch, it’s the idea that I like).
Specifications:
Swiss Made Polished Steel Case Swiss Automatic Movement 42 mm diameter 13mm height Swiss Super-LumiNova Dial Markers and Hands Domed Sapphire Crystal With Inside Anti-Reflective Coating Domed Sapphire Bezel Insert, Fully Illuminated Water Resistance – 20atm/600ft 22mm Lug Spacing Screw Down Crown Unidirectional 120 Click Bezel 3D Carbon Leather Pattern Sport Strap with Double Deployant Pushbutton Release Buckle Optional German Matching Mesh Milanaise Bracelet with engraved OCEAN7 Logo Optional COSC Chronometer Grade MovementOcean7 sells their watches directly via their webshop at www.ocean7watchco.com. Their official forum is located over at Watchuseek and you can also become a member of their Facebook page.
Chrono24 Website Update
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Chrono24 is world’s most famous marketplace for watches,online watches, a pretty impressive achievement with so much competition going out there. Since a few days,wholesale handbags online, Chrono24 put their new website on-line, in beta release so to speak, but fully functional. The website now also includes blog articles by Ariel Adams, Ben Clymer, Tom Mulraney and yours truly.
The management of Chrono24 is open for suggestions and comments on their new website. Please visit the website and let them know what can be improved or simply give them note that you like their new version, since we are all using their platform to look for our new watches
In the meanwhile, my first blog post is on-line at Chrono24, click here to read it.
The Voice Of Holland's Ben Saunders Chose A Rolex Submariner 16613
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Ben Saunders (pictured left), who seems to be the most favorite candidate of Dutch talent show ‘The Voice of Holland’, chose a Rolex Submariner ref.16613!
Ben Saunders went to Jaap (on the right) of Precisionwatches to get his new crown. Ben,watches repplicas, who picked up his new watch at PrecisionWatches, used to wear Cartier before. This coming Friday,private label handbags, we will probably see him wearing his new Rolex during the first The Voice of Holland show in 2011.
More information on the Rolex Submariner 16613 can be found here.