Ariel Adams

POSTS BY Ariel Adams

Gyro Time: Zenith Christophe Colomb Watch

Flash back to the years of great horological luxury optimism around 2005 to discover the origin of this interesting Zenithtimepiece. It is a time when high-end watch sales were moving along on a greased track like a fast moving locomotive. The key to the game seemed to be the ability to shock and awe the luxury consumer by making high-end timepieces as complex as possible. It all started with the tourbillon – a complex spinning escapement that delights the eye, and frustrates the watch maker. Brand after brand began to offer their own tourbillon based timepieces, until the holy grail of READ MORE

Unconventionally Simple: Carl F. Bucherer Manero ChronoPerpetual Watch

Oddly enough, when Carl F. Bucherer does a “specialty watch” it tends to look quite traditional in style. You’d think the reverse would make more sense – though this is not true with this avant garde brand. The limited edition Manero ChronoPerpetual is quite a classic looking timepiece by most angles – though it does have its eye catching quirks. Carl F. Bucherer enthusiasts will view it is as being the brand’s vision of what a traditional looking perpetual calendar watch with a chronograph complication might look like through a Bucherer lens. At the same time, the watch is being produced in READ MORE

A Swiss Italian Racer: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Jarno Trulli Chronograph Limited Edition Watch

Continuing their partnership with great Formula 1 racers, Swiss Audemars Piguet introduces this limited edition Royal Oak Offshore Jarno Trulli Chronograph watch. Trulli has enjoyed a relationship with Audemars Piguet for a few years and finally joins a short list of great Formula 1 drivers (such as Juan Pablo Montoya and Rubens Barrichello) who receive the honor of having Audemars Piguet timepieces named after them. Surprisingly, this watch shifts directions in terms of design and personality, representing a new approach for the presentation of a race themed Royal Oak Offshore timepiece. It is a watch for race fans as much as it is for READ MORE

Villeret Blue: Montblanc Villeret Grand Chronographe Enamel Dial Watch

Montblanc timepieces come in a few different personalities. Some are pretty and fashionable, some are classy and compliment their heritage as a pen maker, and some others have an even higher-end demeanor. A few years ago Montblanc purchased the famous watch maker Minerva, and since then watch lovers started to see some truly impressive feats of horology come from the brand. Montblanc has done so well with their watches as of late, that perceptions of the brand in America are shifting to that of primarily a watch maker instead of primarily as a pen maker. Montblanc’s best watches tend to be READ MORE

Perpetually of The Past: Girard-Perregaux 1966 Perpetual Calendar Watch

Many of today’s watch brands seem to have a fascination with the past. It is true that “retro themed” designs are en vogue right now, but a propensity for nostalgia is common in the world of horology. Can you blame them? Watch making today is the furtherance of a tradition hundreds of years in the making. The golden age of mechanical watch innovation has passed long ago. Today’s most passionate watch makers work to continue a long tradition rather than work to define it. For this reason the ‘best of the best’ look longingly at the past when the complicated READ MORE

Mechanical Mascot: Cartier Rotonde Grande Complication Skeleton Watch

A watch unlike the vast majority of Cartier timepieces out there, limited to just 30 pieces, this just might be Cartier’s most expensive (non-precious stone laden) watch ever. The Rotonde Grande Complication Skeleton is a unique beast — a fighter in Cartier’s ongoing battle to proclaim itself as a serious watch maker. A battle that Cartier is quickly winning with a slew of complex and beautiful mechanical timepieces that it has been releasing over the last several years. Cartier watches have a popularity that stem from design. Like a reliable pair of old gloves, “fans of class” know they can READ MORE