Tag Archives: Luxury Fake Watch For Sale

Omega’s New Watch Certification: What Makes It Different?

In December, Omega and METAS, the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology, held a joint press conference in Geneva to announce a new collaboration. Starting in 2015, Omega cheap replica watches that are badged “Master Co-Axial” will be officially certified by METAS, using a new testing system. But what does this mean for Omega, and for watch certification systems in general? Let’s take a look.

At the December Press Conference, held at the Cité du Temps in Geneva, Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek was joined by Omega President Stephen Urquhart and Christian Bock, the director of METAS, to discuss the new system.

Omega and Metas Press Conference

The new certification represents a higher standard of accuracy. Omega watches will now be certified for not just consistent timekeeping but also for antimagnetism and water resistance. METAS, which describes itself as “the federal centre of competence for all issues related to measurement and for measuring equipment and measuring procedures,” will become the impartial regulating body to ensure that Omega’s manufacturing standards meet the brand’s promises. Going forward, all Omega Master Co-Axial calibers will be tested to meet certain standards. Each movement must continue to function when exposed to magnetic fields greater than 15,000 Gauss. Each finished watch must also continue to function when exposed to magnetic fields greater than 15,000 Gauss. The high quality replica watch must keep consistent time, between 0 and +5 seconds/day, when tested at different temperatures and in different positions. Finally, each watch must be tested to ensure it achieves its stated power reserve and water resistance.

Omega Seamaster Master Co-Axial Chronometer

Omega’s move to develop a new certification system with METAS is significant for several reasons. For the last several years, Omega has been at the lead in developing new measures to protect top quality replica watches uk from magnetic fields. With the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra >15,000 Gauss, the brand has produced a cheap replica watch movement that can keep time consistently even after exposure to some of the most intense magnetic fields a person is likely to encounter. (Note: You can read WatchTime’s review of the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra >15,000 Gauss in our January-February 2015 issue or download it directly from our online shop by clicking here.)

The key to Omega’s design innovations is the use of antimagnetic materials inside the movement. Whereas the common solution to magnetism has been to shield the movement inside a soft iron Faraday cage, Omega’s antimagnetic watches use silicon balance springs which will not respond to magnetic fields at all. Since Omega has been publicizing its accomplishments in antimagnetic watchmaking, the new certification allows the brand to make this engineering achievement official, as a standard that can be confirmed by an impartial observer.

Another reason for the new certificate is COSC. For years, the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres has been the gold standard for the watch industry. This independent Swiss body tests uncased movements for timekeeping accuracy, and is the only institution in Switzerland that can sanction the use of the term “chronometer” on a watch dial. Omega has long been a major supporter of COSC. Of the 1.69 million discount fake watches COSC certified in 2013, more than 447,000 were for Omega, making it the second biggest chronometer producer after Rolex.

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However, in recent years an increasing number of watch brands have sought other standards of quality or have formed their own, often believing that COSC certification is too lenient. To pass the COSC test a watch movement must maintain accuracy between -4 and +6 seconds per day; however, a movement’s timekeeping can be affected during the casing-up process or when the rotor is affixed on an automatic – and all of this occurs after the COSC test has been completed. Since the new Omega testing will be performed on both the movement and on the finished watch – and since it has a narrower allowance, not permitting the swiss replica watch to lose seconds, only to gain – it should provide a higher standard than COSC. Omega will continue to certify its chronometers with COSC over the coming years, but the number of movements receiving COSC certification will decrease as more and more Master Co-Axial calibers receive the new METAS certification.

The new certificate will also have far-ranging effects on how and where Omega manufactures its luxury fake watches. While testing will initially occur in Omega’s current facilities, the brand has plans for a new factory with a dedicated testing site. Testing will be performed and checked onsite according to METAS specifications. Omega is also making it easier to get information on watch testing than before. The owner of a certified Master Co-Axial Omega will be able to log onto a site using the watch’s warranty card. There, the specific results of the individual watch, as well as the testing parameters, will be readily available. At the press conference in December, Hayek and Urquhart were encouraging about the fact that any brand can contract with METAS for an impartial certification system. While Omega has provided its particular standards for the Master Co-Axial movements, other brands could follow suit. Hayek expressed hopes that this development may lead to more widespread innovation. “This would benefit the entire industry – not only in Switzerland but in China and Japan and in other countries with a history of innovative watchmaking,” Hayek said.

Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra >15,000 Gauss - frontOmega Seamaster Aqua Terra >15,000 Gauss - back_560

 

Time Chimers: 4 Notable Minute Repeaters from SIHH 2015

It is not uncommon during the SIHH watch fair to hear the popping of Champagne corks and the clinking of glasses in the luxuriously appointed halls of Geneva’s Palexpo. This year, guests also heard the pleasant chiming of several new minute repeater best quality swiss replica watches from the exhibiting luxury watch brands. Here are four repeater watches from SIHH 2015 that caught our eye — and ear.

The A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater is the first Lange watch to combine  jumping time displays for the hours and minutes with a 10-minute interval repeater. The simple, legible dial belies the complexities of the movement and its chiming mechanism.  Since the time can be read quickly (jumping hours are displayed in a window at 9 o’clock, minutes are on two discs of different heights at 3 o’clock, and small seconds at the bottom of the dial), the wearer can then turn his attention down to the bottom of the dial, where the two black-polished steel hammers for the minute repeater are readily visible on either side of the seconds subdial. When the pusher at 10 o’clock is pressed, the hammers strike the gong encircling the dial. The hours hammer, with a lower pitch, is on the left side; the higher-pitched minutes hammer is on the right. Ten-minute intervals are signaled via a “double tone”: the higher pitch is hit with the lower one immediately following. The maximum duration it takes to strike out the time (at 12:59) is approximately 20 seconds. For more detail on the Lange Zeitwerk Minute Repeater.

A Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater soldier 560

To develop its prototype Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept RD#1, the luxury watch brand from Le Brassus partnered with the École Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), a Swiss organization dedicated to the study of acoustics. The result of their intensive sound research program is, according to AP, “the first chiming watch so acoustically considered as to become a sound concept in its own right.” By applying the principles of stringed instrument making to the development of the watch’s chiming mechanism, the brand has created a repeater discount fake watch with a significantly enhanced sound transmission. The movement features a brand-new, almost silent striking mechanism regulator, along with a column-wheel chronograph and a tourbillon.For more on this year’s Royal Oak Concept.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Acoustic Research

While not truly a “grand complication” in the strictest sense of the term (it lacks, for example, a chronograph function), the Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Grand Complication was nevertheless regarded as one of the most impressive debuts at this year’s SIHH. This is in part because of its astounding thinness (the 45-mm platinum case is just 12.6 mm thick, while the skeletonized movement, Cartier Caliber 9406 MC, is a mere 5.49 mm thick) and also because of its incorporation of several major haute horlogerie functions, which include a flying tourbillon and perpetual calendar in addition to a minute repeater. The bottom of the dial showcases the minute repeater, which is equipped with an inertia-free fly wheel, with its hammers and gongs on display thanks to the openwork of the movement.

Cartier Grande Complication soldier 560

Jaeger-LeCoultre has created many minute repeater watches over its long history, but this year the grande maison from Le Sentier rolled out its first repeater in a ladies’ collection, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Ivy Minute Repeater, a timepiece that is striking in more ways than one. The high quality swiss replica watches gets its name from the ivy motif on the white gold, blue-enameled dial, which features diamonds in a snow setting on the curling ivy leaves — symbolizing, JLC says, the evening of winter’s first frost in the Vallée de Joux. The bezel, lugs, caseband, crown, and push-piece are also diamond-set, making for a total of 548 diamonds, including 255 on the dial. Inside the 39-mm case is the new automatic Caliber 942A, whose innovative repeater mechanism is fitted with two patented trebuchet hammers that strike two crystal gongs connected to the sapphire crystal. The mechanism is also equipped with a silent regulator to reduce peripheral sounds. The repeater is activated by a single push-button rather than a traditional slide, and features a security system that ensures that the movement will not be damaged if the push-button is inadvertently activated while the repeater is already in motion.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Ivy Minute Repeater

Fratello Tuesday: 7 Iconic Chronograph Watches

From my blog, Fratellowatches.com, I offer up my personal list of Seven Iconic Chronograph Watches. If you don’t count the date feature, the chronograph is probably the most popular complication for wristwatches, as well as one of the most useful: one can find many uses for a chrono during his or her everyday life, such as timing diner preparation or in other work- or sports-related activities.

What makes a timepiece iconic? In most cases, it has something to do with age and heritage, but more importantly, in my opinion, its design should be truly timeless. If you can easily identify a watch as having been around since the 1950s or 1960s and that watch can still be worn today without looking old — well, that’s the definition of timeless. Another important aspect of an icon is that it should be easily recognizable as a specific model and brand. Think of the Royal Oak by Audemars Piguet, the Santos by Cartier, or the Datejust by Rolex.

Most of these best quality swiss replica watches do not need introduction, but I’ll introduce them anyway. You’ll notice that I’ve selected the most up-to-date versions of these chronograph watches, i.e., the models you can buy today.

1. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore

The original Royal Oak goes back to 1972 and was designed by the legendary Gérald Genta. The Royal Oak Offshore collection was introduced 21 years later in 1993 and was meant to be a more rugged and up-to-date version of the regular Royal Oak to attract a younger and perhaps a new target customer. The themed models from the Royal Oak Offshore collection bear interesting names as ‘Safari’, ‘Navy’, ‘Vulcano’ and so on. Watch aficionados even nicknamed them ‘Panda’ and ‘Elephant’.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore

2. Zenith El Primero

From all the chronograph watches listed in this article, Zenith is perhaps the only one where the movement is even more famous than the watch itself. The El Primero chronograph movement has a long (1969) and interesting history that I will save for a later article. This Zenith El Primero 36,000 VPH has the looks of those very first models from 1969 but crafted and designed to meet all current standards. This 42mm model however, will always remind you of those early automatic chronograph models due to its case shape and dial.

Zenith El Primero chronograph

3. IWC Portuguese Chronograph

The brand from Schaffhausen has a long and rich history, especially with its Portuguese family of watches, and yet the Portuguese Chronograph is the youngest watch in this Top 5. A clean and classically designed watch that you will recognize instantly as an IWC, the Portuguese Chronograph has an ETA/Valjoux 7750 movement and a case diameter of 40.9 mm. And its design should be as contemporary 50 years from now as it is today.

IWC Portuguese Chronograph

4. TAG Heuer Carrera

In 1963, Jack Heuer introduced the World to the Carrera, a chronograph watch clearly inspired by sports cars and the world of auto racing.  Now, 50 years later, the TAG Heuer Carrera is recognized as a legitimate icon. Last year’s 41-mm Carrera model was introduced to celebrate the 80th birthday of its founder, Jack Heuer. Collectors prefer the many vintage Carrera models that can be found at auctions and stores selling pre-owned watches.

TAG Heuer Carrera Jack Heuer 80th Edition

5. Breitling Navitimer

The oldest chronograph on this list is the Breitling Navitimer, introduced in 1952. The original watch was meant for pilots and featured a slide-rule bezel. With the slide rule, pilots were able to calculate ground speed, miles per minute, fuel consumption and other mathematical calculations. The Navitimer family came in a lot of shapes and sizes during the years, but we prefer the classical-looking Navitimer piece that comes closest to the original model from the early 1950s. Did you know that astronaut Scott Carpenter wore a Navitimer when he orbited the Earth in 1962?

Breitling Navitimer

6. Rolex Daytona

One of the most sought-after watches worldwide is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Rolex introduced an all-platinum version this year, with an ice blue dial and a chestnut-colored bezel. However, Rolex refuses to call this watch a special or anniversary edition, it is – like all Rolex models – part of its ‘regular’ collection. The cult of the Rolex Daytona started in Italy – so the story goes – with a magazine featuring Paul Newman wearing his Daytona on the cover of a magazine. The Rolex Daytona – especially the oldest models – fetches very high prices at auctions and has its own subculture among watch collectors.

Rolex Daytona

7. Omega Speedmaster Professional

The so-called “Moonwatch” has not changed much over the years. Introduced in 1957 as a watch for racecar drivers, it became the choice for NASA astronauts in 1965. In fact, it played an important role during the return of the damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft in 1970. Precise timing was necessary for a safe return into the atmosphere. Couldn’t any other watch have done the job? Probably, but fact is that the Speedmaster was the only luxury fake watch for sale able to pass NASA’s rigorous testing in its search for a space-worthy chronograph watch. The Moonwatch today has the same basic design as those used by NASA in those days; only minor details have changed. It is the pre-Moon models that are most sought after by collectors.

Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch