My friends, the alchemists at Baume et Mercier are at it again. Brewing up something for this fall. Its directed at all of us die-hard racing enthusiasts. Last year, Baume & Mercier surprised and delighted us with the release of the Capeland Shelby Cobra collection. Created in partnership with Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc. in Las Vegas, the line was a complete success, so this year they are doubling down. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Watches
White Tie, Black Tie, And Watches: Is It Ever Okay To Wear A Watch With A Tux?
Reblogged from Hodinkee WEDNESDAY MARCH 30, 2016
The trend in men’s style over the last few hundred years has been towards less and less complexity, but every once in a while, one still gets an invitation that says, “black tie.” There’s a tendency to think of the black tie dress code as something rigidly fixed, but despite that, there’s still room for sometimes very varying ideas on what, exactly, is or is not okay for a gent to don at a black tie event – and one of the subjects we’ve seen HODINKEE readers wax right wrathful over, is whether or not you should or should not wear a watch. Let’s get into this delightfully contentious subject and see whether or not, whether pro or stridently con, you’re on the right side of history and custom.
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The Ralph Lauren 867 Square Model, white gold, 27 mm.
WHO MADE THE FIRST DIVE WATCH? ROLEX? BLANCPAIN? PANERAI?
Get a bunch of watch nerds together in a room and ask them who made the first dive watch and you’re likely to hear a discordant harmony of “Rolex!” and “Blancpain!” Continue reading
Something Swell at Antiquorum, The Baume Mercier Capeland Cobra
It’s no secret that I am a big fan of car themed watches. It’s also no secret that I love when teams collaborate to create something truly magnificent, and that is precisely whats going on here:
In March 2015, Baume & Mercier announced its partnership with Carroll Shelby International Inc. to create two exclusive, limited edition watches born from the DNA of Shelby’s most revered creations. Following the success of this launch, Baume & Mercier announces a second installment in its collaboration: A one-of-a-kind Capeland Shelby® Cobra timepiece that will be auctioned at Antiquorum in New York City on December 15, 2015, with all proceeds going to the Carroll Shelby Foundation. Bids may be placed online, over the phone or in person.
Patek Phillippe- A critical time for watchmakers- Reblog from CBS Sunday Morning
It’s about time to look at the extremes of timekeeping, including the watch on my wrist. Small in every way, except for its $25,000 price tag. Martha Teichner examines the Patek Philippe mystique:
http://www.cbsnews.com/common/video/cbsnews_video.swf
Luxury Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe is discrete about the famous owners of its timepieces. Ostentatious, they aren’t. Expensive, they are.”We generally start about $12,000, $13,000, and we go up,” said Larry Pettinelli, president of Patek Philippe USA. “There are some very complex pieces that are over several million dollars.” Continue reading
Patek Philippe Museum-Geneva
I recently had the opportunity to do something really cool! I took a trip with one of my best friends on a whirlwind tour of all the great cities in Europe. I am sure over the course of the year I will write about most of the places that I’ve been, but I plan to start with something close to my swell readers heart. Continue reading
Something Swell from Rolex
On my recent trip to Europe I made a pilgrimage to Geneva, any good watch aficionado needs to see this at least once. The headquarters for many of the biggest brands are here, and the pulse of the entire industry can be felt. for fun I snapped some pictures at Rolex, have a peek, the visit was totally swell.
Geneva Fountain
Baume et Mercier Clifton Tourbillon
Now, I should have gotten to this much sooner, but I have had an extremely busy summer and fall, and with that How to be Swell took a bit of a back seat, sorry to leave you guys hanging. Part of what I was busy doing was hanging out in Geneva checking out some beautiful watches in their native land. I even made a stop at The Richemont group, home of Baume et Mercier. There was so much to see, and I hope this post was worth the wait. This watch I am about to tell you about certainly is, it’s the flagship of the Baume Mercier catalog. Continue reading
Hodinkee’s “Talking Watches” with Jean-Claude Biver
As a blogger myself, I frequent a number of other watch blogs and websites, one of my favorites is Hodinkee. They have a beautiful site (check it out), and do an excellent job of covering the watch industry as a whole, from top to bottom and everything in between. They have a reoccurring feature that I really enjoy called “Talking Watches”, where they interview some famous collectors and see their collections. I typically view, enjoy and move on, but this episode really caught my attention. It featured a titan in the watch industry, one Mr. Jean-Claude Biver. Continue reading
Omega “bullhead” Chronograph
This is an absolutely swell watch re issued from omega this year. Its a great funky looking watch with one of their new coaxial movements in. I love the vintage look of many of these watches being issued lately, but this one is one of the most interesting to look at, I especially like the red stitching and lettering and the racing strap. Re blogged from Hodinkee:
The late 60s were an exciting time for Omega. The Constellation line was in full stride, the Speedmaster was heading into space, and the Seamaster Bullhead was finding love in a growing sea of sporty chronograph fans. More than 40 years later, the Speedmaster is still on top of its game and the Constellation is… well it’s still here (though a far cry from the 561s of the 60s). The Bullhead however, was been but a faint memory, only discussed within the nerdiest of WIS “watch idiot savant” circles (you know who you are). That’s about to change though, thanks to a faithful re-issue of the 1969 Bullhead Chronograph unveiled in Basel this year.
How to be Swell 