Category Archives: Omega Replica

Vacheron Constantin The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac

Posted on by

— With The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac, the manufacture celebrates the sign of the horse that will take over from the snake in February 2014. Focus on the platinum model.

Vacheron Constantin - La Légende du Zodiaque Chinois - 2014, Année du Cheval

Latest addition to the Métiers d’Art collection, the Legend of the Chinese Zodiac is a series of timepieces based on the 12-year cycle. These Replica Watchesare enhanced by enamelling and engraving.

China is famous for numerous discoveries including the invention of paper and is also known as the initiator of the art of paper-cutting or Jianzhi. This technique appears on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list and is echoed in Scherenschnitt, the popular art of paper-cutting born in the Pays d’Enhaut region of Switzerland. Sculpted in paper according to the principles of Jianzhi, the animals of the Chinese zodiac provide a remarkable demonstration of the art of using full and empty spaces.

 

Métiers d’Art La Légende du Zodiaque Chinois, 2014, année du cheval

Métiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac, 2014, year of the horse © Vacheron Constantin Replica Watches

 

Engravers and enamellers at Vacheron Constantin worked alternatively on this Year of the Horse model, crafted in pink gold or platinum and limited to 12 pieces each, reserved for Vacheron Constantin Boutiques exclusively.
The leaf motif, stemming from classic Chinese iconography, is directly engraved in the gold dial. The pattern remains semi-embedded and stands out from its gold base by a subtle stage-setting of variously accentuated reliefs creating a depth effect. The raised bamboo stalks appear to be floating over the dial.
With the horse engraving, on which the details of the mane and coat measure a mere fraction of a millimetre, the artisan provides a tangible expression of the artistic vision behind this creation.
Then comes the stage of Grand Feu enamelling, a technique invented in Geneva and which remains the exclusive preserve of a rare breed of artisans. By applying the enamel in successive layers, the enamel specialist further enhances the visual intensity of the colored dial. The necessity of maintaining tight control of the colour and the reactions to the firing process that takes place in a kiln at around 800 to 900°C, calls for a specific way of reasoning that takes years to acquire. A final layer of enamel is then applied before a final firing operation that vitrifies the dial and lends a shiny glazed effect that gives added definition to the floral motif.

© Vacheron Constantin Replica Watches UK

 

Calibre 2460 G4 animates the Métiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac timepieces. Vacheron Constantin perpetuates the art of Omega Replica watchmaking by providing a hands-free display of time. It does so through four windows respectively revealing the hour, the minutes, the day and the date. The first two indications are of the dragging kind and the last two of the jumping type, and each appears through one of the four apertures arranged around the central dial motif.
Beating at a rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour, the mechanical self-winding movement is equipped with a 22-carat gold oscillating weight adorned with a dynamic geometrical motif inspired by the shape of the Maltese Cross, the historical House emblem.

Wisdom and paradox

Posted on by

Confucius répétait qu’il est possible d’atteindre la sagesse par trois voies. Celle de la réflexion, la plus noble ; celle de l’imitation, la plus aisée ; et celle de l’expérience, la plus amère.

Not confined to philosophy and literature, the paradox has always been a part of the real world, and all the more so since the winds of globalisation have blown. Naturally, we’ve felt these winds too, even though Switzerland seems the least likely place to experience paradox. After all, this is a country where people go about their business in a methodical, organised manner. It’s no coincidence that Switzerland is the home of superlative Omega Replica watchmaking. A place where time has always been counted by hours and minutes, the phases of the sun and moon. The Swiss can bring order to anything, even complications…

Yet the most organised, seemingly logical contexts are those which can most benefit from a shot of paradox. Not to disturb the peace but as food for thought. The move from the rule to the exception implies a new equilibrium. Surely it’s a paradox that the people whose business is replica Omega watches UK are often the ones who waste time? More serious, can politics, whose goal is economic well-being, stem the spiral where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer?

Far from wanting to waste your time, we aim to shed new light on a complex reality. But what exactly is a paradox? It is a seemingly illogical proposal in apparent contradiction with experience yet one which is no less valid. In other words, an absurd truth.

Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius had a liking for paradox. He is, after all, remembered as the philosopher emperor. Further proof that wisdom also feeds on paradox. Confucius observed that we may learn wisdom in three ways. First by reflection, which is noblest. Second by imitation, which is easiest. Third by experience, which is the bitterest. Coming to grips with paradox means learning to be wise by way of a difficult and bitter path: that of experience.

The recent Forum de la Haute Horlogerie in Lausanne considered “A World of Paradoxes.” A path to greater wisdom? As the philosopher Kierkegaard said, “the paradox is the passion of thought, and the thinker without the paradox is like the lover without passion: a mediocre fellow.” A lesson to meditate.

L.Leroy International Chronometry Competition

Posted on by

— L. Leroy received the First Prize for Chronometry in the Tourbillon category in the Third International Chronometry Competition.

Dial detail of L.Leroy's osmior tourbillon regulateur or rose


This year, 17 Replica Watchesmaking houses took part in the competition: 14 Swiss, 1 German and 2 French, where a total of 38 chronometers were presented (double that of the previous competition in 2011).
The Award was presented at the Time Museum at the Palais Granvelle in Besançon on October 24, 2013.

Osmior Tourbillon Régulateur © L.Leroy

Over the course of its history, L.Leroy – a company founded in Paris in 1785 – has won a total of 384 Gold Medals in chronometry competitions. The Leroy 01, a legendary timepiece equipped with 26 complications, won the Jury’s Special Grand Prix at the 1900 World’s Fair and remained the world’s most complicated Omega Replica watches for nearly a century.

The self-winding Tourbillon Régulateur in pink gold from the Osmior range is an exclusive new creation by the House’s watchmakers inspired by the extraordinary timepieces displayed in the brand’s private museum. It offers a contemporary reinterpretation of the tourbillon system with an escapement train (pallet and wheel) machined from pure diamond, which makes the mechanism much lighter and harder.
The movement that drives the Tourbillon Régulateur is produced by the Manufacture Horlogère de la Vallée de Joux (MHVJ), part of the Swiss Festina Group, as is the Manufacture des Spiraux et Echappements SA, which produces the entire escapement, including the balance spring. Thanks to this major asset, the brand is able to equip the vast majority of its models with exclusive Manufacture calibres. “This prize is not merely something for our technicians and UK Omega Replica watchmakers to be proud of,” declared Group Chairman Miguel Rodríguez, “it is also proof that we command expertise worthy of the greatest names in fine watchmaking.”

IWC auctions unique piece and builds a school in Cambodia

Posted on by

The full proceeds of CHF 173,000 will be used to finance the construction of a new school building with integrated library in the province of Siem Reap, Cambodia

A unique piece by the Swiss luxury Replica Watches manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen was among the timepieces under the hammer at the Sotheby’s Geneva auction of Important Omega Replica Watches. The unique Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince” in platinum (Ref. IW502801) was sold for CHF 173,000. Together with the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, IWC is using the proceeds to support the construction of a school with a library in Cambodia, thereby contributing to the fight against illiteracy.

Seventy years following the first publication of “The Little Prince”, the most successful work by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, IWC Schaffhausen has again made a special contribution to supporting the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation. The Swiss luxury Rolex replica watches manufacturer put the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince” in platinum with midnight blue dial up for sale as part of an auction held by Sotheby’s Geneva. The unique timepiece was auctioned together with a limited reissue of the English first edition of “The Little Prince” and a reproduction of the original French manuscript. The full proceeds of CHF 173,000 will be used to finance the construction of a new school building with integrated library in the province of Siem Reap, Cambodia, which is already under way. “This auction is a sign of our respect for the Foundation’s commitment to fighting illiteracy. As a glob- ally successful company, we take our social responsibility seriously and have since 2006 maintained a collaborative relationship with Saint-Exupéry’s heirs and the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, which is based on the humanistic values of the renowned pilot and author,” comments Georges Kern, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, re- garding the auction.

Together agains t illiteracy

Olivier d’Agay, great-nephew of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Director Saint-Exupéry – d’Agay Estate, is delighted with the result of the auction: “Not only did the highest bidder acquire a precious unique timepiece, they can also rest assured that their contribution will be put to good use. With the proceeds of the auction we will help provide Cambodian children with a school education and thus a better future. Reading is key to their development and self-realization.” The Foundation works closely with the non-governmental organization Sipar, which combats illiteracy in Cambodia. More than 200,000 children have benefited from access to books and literacy activities through the creation of libraries and education centres. Mobile libraries bring reading material to remote areas, and every month Sipar publishes books in the national language Khmer, including “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Thanks to this cooperation and with the support of IWC Replica Watches Schaffhausen, a new school building with five classrooms and a library is currently being built in the village of Roluos in the province of Siem Reap. The school is scheduled to be opened in spring 2014.

“Without the commitment of strong partners such as IWC Schaffhausen, we would be unable to fulfil our mission,” emphasizes Olivier d’Agay. “IWC has close links with the world of aviation, and shares the values of Saint-Exupéry. We are working together to help young people to build their own futures, and encourage them to take responsibility and adopt an active role in society. We are delighted to be able to offer young people a perspective for the future thanks to the significant proceeds from this auction,” adds the great-nephew of the world-famous author.