Blancpain: “The Great Wave” Part II

Blancpain “The Great Wave”, Métiers d’Art studio. Introduced in 2016 and equipped with Blancpain’s Calibre 13R3A manual-winding movement, it features a Mexican silver obsidian dial, the “canvas” for which the white gold applique for the waves are first fixed to a Shakudō base before being coated with a unique patina which is the result of immersing it into a bath of rokushō salts. An alloy of gold and copper, Shakudō was first used by Blancpain on its Ganesh watch. Photo: © TANG Portfolio. Elfa / Timmy. BaselWorld 2016.

“The Great Wave”, Blancpain’s 2016 Métier’s d’Art creation, is an artistic timepiece that is inspired by the motion of the sea, and that obviously refers to the waves. In fact, it is inspired by The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the famous woodblock print created by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760 to 1849). He created the famous The Great Wave or … More

Blancpain: “The Great Wave” Part I

Blancpain “The Great Wave”, Métiers d’Art studio. Introduced in 2016, it houses the Calibre 13R3A manual-winding movement with 8 days of power reserve and features a silver-toned obsidian dial that is hand-decorated with hand-engraved gold waves, finished with rokushō lacquer. Photo: © TANG Portfolio. Elfa / Timmy. BaselWorld 2016.

In Blancpain’s 2016 Métier’s d’Art creation, “The Great Wave”, the artwork on the dial is inspired by The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the famous woodblock print created by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760 to 1849), For the movement, Blancpain has modified its 8-day manual-winding Calibre 13R0 into what is now known as the Calibre 13R3A. The 8-day power reserve has … More

Cyrus Klepcys Chronograph: How it works

Cyrus Klepcys Chronograph. Powered by the Calibre CYR314 automatic movement made in partnership with Jean-François Mojon. Photo: © Cyrus

It may not look like a chronograph but it is one. The Cyrus Klepcys Chronograph works like a regular chronograph but what is different is in how the chronograph is started, stopped and reset. Reading the elapsed time when using the chronograph is different as well. The chronograph minutes counter is at the 12 o’clock position while the chronograph hour … More

Omega, the Olympic Games and Joseph Schooling

On 12 August 2016, Rio de Janeiro time (13 August, Singapore time), 21-year old Singaporean Joseph Schooling secures a Gold Medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in a world record time of 50.39 seconds for the 100-metre butterfly, defeating world champions like Michael Phelps and Chad Guy le Clos. Photo: © TANG Portfolio. 2016

There is only watch brand synonymous with the Olympic Games – Omega. The brand’s association with the Olympic Games began in 1932. That year, for the very first time, one single private company was given the responsibility to be the timekeeper across all the events at the Olympic Games and it was Omega. Omega supplied one timekeeper and 30 high-precision … More

Omega: How are swimming events timed (at the Olympic Games)?

How Omega times swimming events. Illustration: © Omega

What brand is the Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games? Since 1932, Omega has been the Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games. Who is responsible for starting and stopping the timers recording the times of swimmers at international swimming events such as the Olympic Games? In the past, timekeepers with their time-recording instruments will time the swimmers. However, these days, … More

Omega Seamaster Bullhead “Rio 2016”: Bull Run since 1969

Omega Seamaster Bullhead “Rio 2016”. Ref: 522.12.43.50.04.001. Olympic Collection. Introduced in 2015, it features the Omega Calibre 3113 Co-Axial automatic movement with 52 hours power reserve and is water-resistant to 15 bar (150m / 500ft). Limited to 316 pieces. Priced at SGD12,400. Photo: © Omega.

The Omega Seamaster Bullhead made its debut in 1969 and it was a watch for rally drivers to time their laps. Its characteristic features are the two pushers at 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock, apart from the central chronograph seconds hand and the 30-minute chronograph counter at 12 o’clock. The “Bullhead” was coined by collectors due to the shape of … More

Montblanc 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim: Stop and Go! (Part II)

The self-winding Calibre MB 29.20 found in Montblanc’s 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim is only 4.5mm thick which means it is one of the slimmest automatic tourbillons around. Its tourbillon bridge is in steel. Photo: © TANG Portfolio. Elfa / Timmy. 2016 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie.

In part I of our article on Montblanc’s 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim, we explained the quick stop-second feature which allows one to halt the movement, set time to the precise second and restart it manually via the crown. In addition, the brand claims that its ExoTourbillon outperforms standard tourbillon constructions. This is because the weight of the tourbillon cage is disconnected … More

Montblanc 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim: Stop and Go! (Part I)

Montblanc 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim. Launched in 2016, it houses Montblanc’s Manufacture Calibre MB 29.20 automatic movement featuring the quick stop-second function and 50 hours of power reserve when fully wound. Priced at SGD48,100 / EUR34,500. This is one of the most reasonably-priced Swiss-made tourbillons. Photo: © TANG Portfolio. Elfa / Timmy. 2016 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie.

The ExoTourbillon Slim utilises Montblanc’s patented ExoTourbillon with the add-on of a quick stop-second feature. With the quick stop-second function, one can halt the movement, set time to the precise second and restart it manually via the crown. This quick stop-second mechanism uses a “whip” to stop the large screw balance. Optimal geometry and kinematics were analysed to find the … More