Carol Besler

Carol Besler has written about watches for more than 20 years. From 1990 to 2005 she was editor and publisher of Canadian Jeweller magazine, while contributing regularly to several other publications, including International Watch, Robb Report, Patek Philippe Magazine, Financial Post and Worth. From 2006 to 2009 she was editor of the ladies edition of International Watch and remains a regular contributor to International Watch, Journal Haute Horlogerie, Haute Living, Watch Journal, Robb Report, Fashion Magazine, The New York Times (Watch Your Time), Sharp For Men, The Book For Men, Nuvo, Experience (for Bombardier) and the custom magazines about watches and jewelry published by Tufts Communications.

POSTS BY Carol Besler

Haute Living Watch of the Week: Glashütte Original PanoMaticInverse

Haute Living Watch of the Week: Glashütte Original PanoMaticInverse

The beauty of the mechanical movement is front and center in the PanoMaticInverse. Components of the automatic Caliber 91-02 reversed, with the aim of highlighting the manufacture’s signature fine adjustment system – a duplex swan-neck mechanism – by making it visible on the dial side. Beneath it beats the pulsating heart of the watch, the escapement. Also visible on the dial side are the blued screws and red rubies of the three-quarter dial plate, which is rhodium plated and decorated with Glashütte ribbing. Positioned against this backdrop are the off-center hour and minute dial, characteristic of the Pano line, as READ MORE

Ralph Lauren SIHH 2014

Ralph Lauren SIHH 2014

Ralph Lauren’s Sporting, Stirrup and Slim Classique collections are quickly becoming iconic, gaining a foothold for this power house brand’s watch division, a partnership with the Richemont Group. At the SIHH this year, it introduced several gentlemanly sports watches in its showcase Sporting Collection, beginning with the Black Safari Flying Tourbillon. It contains the Caliber RL167, made exclusively for Ralph Lauren by La Fabrique du Temps. The very sporty case is shot-blasted stainless steel with a black finish, and the dial has an elegant outer ring of elm burl wood. The Classic Chronometer and the RL67 Chronometer were also introduced READ MORE

Best Baselworld Previews 2014

Best Baselworld Previews 2014

In a couple of weeks we’ll be walking the 36 miles of aisles at Baselworld, the world’s largest watch fair in Basel, Switzerland, gathering info on all of the exciting new watch introductions. For now, we bring you a sneak preview of five new pieces about to make their debut: The Louis Moinet Qatar Tourbillon (pictured above) features a dial made of fragments from a meteorite found in Qatar after a 10-day hunt in the desert. The hand-engraved applique around the periphery of the dial depicts two bent swords and sand dunes, a tribute to the state of Qatar. With the READ MORE

Haute Living Watch of the Week: A. Lange & Söhne Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time

Haute Living Watch of the Week: A. Lange & Söhne Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time

The pink gold version of this watch was introduced recently, after being launched in a limited edition platinum series. It is the brand’s first chiming wristwatch and uniquely shows the hammers and gong on the dial side, on each side of the subsidiary seconds dial. Every 15 minutes, the mechanism triggers the striking of one of the two gongs. Three higher-pitched tones sound each quarter hour, while a low-pitched tone chimes the top of the hour. The watch has a double jumping mechanism, with hours appearing in a window at the top left, and minutes at the top right. In READ MORE

Jaeger-LeCoultre SIHH 2014

Jaeger-LeCoultre SIHH 2014

Jaeger-LeCoultre is known for its innovative complications and its ultra-thin watches, and the manufacture’s introductions at the SIHH 2014 were even more impressive than usual. This year’s masterpiece is both innovative and ultra-thin. The Hybris Mechanica 11 Minute Repeater is the eleventh creation in the haute horology Hybris Mechanica collection and, at 7.9mm thick, represents the world’s smallest minute repeater/grand complication with an automatic movement. The absence of an upper bridge – it is a flying tourbillon – and the presence of a new flying balance wheel makes it 25% thinner than the typical tourbillon escapement. Another impressive detail is the READ MORE

Best Enameled Dials at SIHH 2014

Best Enameled Dials at SIHH 2014

Whether grand feu, champlevé, plique à jour, cloisonné or miniature painting, there is nothing like the unmistakable, porcelain-like sheen of an enameled dial. The product of multiple firings and painstaking hand work, the look of enamel is vintage, clean, luxurious and occasionally glamorous. The beauty of enamel is equally appealing in white on a traditional dial, or in more colorful, miniature compositions on a watch dial, often in floral or animal patterns. These five watchmakers, all of whom exhibited at the SIHH 2014 in January, are masters of the craft. Vacheron Constantin Metiers d’Art Fabuleux Ornements, champlevé enameling in 10 READ MORE

Luxury Watch Trends 2018 - Baselworld SIHH Watch News

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