Hard Timers: How Hublot Conjured its Magic Gold
The Hublot brand is known for its use of unusual materials, including cermet (a mix of ceramic and metal), tungsten, and something the brand named Hublonium (an alloy of magnesium and aluminum). Now the company has unveiled one more: a very hard and therefore scratch-resistant alloy of gold Hublot has dubbed Magic Gold. Click here to read our report on how Hublot creates it.Despite all the excellent properties of conventional gold, it is very soft. Measured on the Vickers scale, 18k gold has a hardness of 140. By comparison, the steel alloy that's commonly used for watch cases and bracelets, 316L stainless steel, ranges between 200 and 240 on the Vickers scale. Rose gold is slightly harder than yellow gold because there's more copper in rose gold. Magic Gold, however, scores nearly 1,000 on the Vickers scale.Hublot is not the first to introduce a harder form of gold. In 2010, A. Lange & S?hne developed a gold alloy for its 165th Anniversary Homage to F.A. Lange watch. It refers

A Week On The Wrist: The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver
100 feet underwater isn't the best place to start wondering if you’ve properly screwed the crowns on a $17,100 mechanical timepiece. I had double- and triple-checked the seals and springbars back on land, while suiting up for a dive on the Hilma Hooker wreck in Bonaire, but just to be sure, I gave them another twist. I descended the sloping reef to the capsized ship, a freighter that sank in 100 feet of water not long after it was seized by authorities who had discovered 25,000 pounds of marijuana hidden aboard. Along with me was no ordinary dive watch - this was the Royal Oak Offshore Diver, the 2010 release from vaunted Le Brassus manufacture Audemars Piguet, with the lovely automatic calibre 3120 inside. It would be a crime against horology to flood this baby.The Royal Oak Version 2.0The ROO Diver represents a milestone for AP, just like the original Royal Oak did 39 years ago. Introduced in 1972 with the help of Gerald Genta it was the first true luxury sports watch, a st

Introducing The Richard Mille RM 56-02 Tourbillon Sapphire (Details & Pricing)
Back at SIHH 2012, Richard Mille introduced the RM 056, a split-seconds chronograph tourbillon with a full sapphire case. It was priced at $1.65 million and it turned a lot of heads. Then came the updated RM 56-01, which added a sapphire baseplate, bridges, and third wheel, upping the ante. Well, today we have another outlandish sapphire creation for you from Richard Mille, the RM 56-02. In addition to adding more sapphire to the mix, Richard Mille has taken cues from the RM 27-01 Nadal watch, suspending the titanium baseplate from the sapphire case with an elaborate cable and pulley system. And the price? You'll have to read on to find out.The RM 56-02 is about two main innovations: first, the unprecedented use of sapphire to create transparent components and second, the cable and pulley system that suspends the movement from the sapphire case. We'll tackle these in order. 2 OF 3 The three-part case is made entirely of sapphire crystal, which, in case you need a

My humble watch hunting adventure...
People say that one should enjoy their watch hunting experience. I cannot agree more.. Having acquired a BLNR recently, I was reading through some articles in the Patek Philippe section of this forum and was completely mesmerized by some amazing pictures of the Nautilus series. That stirred up my interest greatly and after doing some homework, I was completely hooked and determined to get my hands on the highly coveted 5712/1A. Holding a job as a regular middle class executive, I figured it would be challenging to fund for this purchase without having to sell my organs. Fortunately, I managed to devise a plan, so that I didn't have to part ways with my kidney or liver...Over the years, I had consolidated a handful of Omegas and Rolexes, many of which, had been lacking wrist time as if they were trying to reach out to a more deserving owner. Naturally, I proceeded to downsize my watch collection to consolidate some cash to serve as buffer for my next purchase. The balance funds will hav

Christmas Gift -- 5088P
I wait for 9 months before I receive the watch. It is a special watch for me.