For me, skeleton watches are usually either hit or miss. Too much decoration of the light weight bridges can take away from the simplicity of the piece and distract you from the actual movement. Not enough care and polish can make a skeleton watch look cheap and cliched. Ulysse Nardin seemed to execute this one perfectly for my tastes: the fit and finish is impeccable and the overall styling has an extremely pleasing balance of eye catching aesthetics along with being understated enough to not cry out for attention.
I was formally introduced to the watches of Claude Bernard at BaselWorld 2013. To be honest, with our limited time in Basel this year I wasn't entirely sure about taking the time away from some of the other Hall 1 mega-brands and the dozens of creative independent watchmakers that are present to showcase their newest horological masterpieces. We usually prefer to photograph timepieces that include complications and happen to be financially out of our grasp; tourbillons, minute repeaters, perpetual calendars, and so forth. But we did sit down with the company to discuss their history along with their current goals and agenda. Buy the end of the meeting I knew that it was time very well spent. Claude Bernard has a great line of affordable timepieces with time-tested workhorse movements, 316L steel cases and they are built in the watchmaking mecca known as Switzerland.
"Today, the Tourbillon has been beaten by the Harmonious Oscillator" Those are fairly strong words spoken at the 2010 Elegant Watch press conference by the CEO of Rudis Sylva, Jacky Epitaux. Is there enough science to back up that claim and what has Rudis Sylva created since then? I was fortunate enough to sit down with Jacky during BaselWorld 2013 and he spoke about the technological advances of the Harmonious Oscillator as we viewed the newest addition to the Rudis Sylva lineup, the RS 12 Grand Art Horloger.
Enter now for your chance to win a brand new Swiss automatic watch from Claude Bernard. Elegant style and sophisticated details make this a great addition to any collection.
You might be intimidated by the name Christie’s. The grand ol’ house has been in existence since James Christie sold his first chamber pot in 1766. Yep, Christie’s is older than the United States. And I’m sure you see the headlines where Christie’s makes world record prices in a lot of categories, including art and, of course, watches. This means if you’ve got a small budget you can’t afford to buy or sell at Christie’s, right? Nope. I’m here to tell you that Christie’s is not intimidating at all. People like you and me can come in and get the same great experience. Really.
