Ulysse Nardin Imperial Blue Offers Westminster Chimes and Flying Tourbillon
Ulysse Nardin has a notable history in chiming watches, from its Gold Medal-winning minute-repeater chronograph at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair to modern timepieces such as last year’s Stranger. At Baselworld 2014, Ulysse Nardin introduced its latest haut-de-gamme chiming watch, the Imperial Blue.The Ulysse Nardin Imperial Blue boasts not only a Grand Sonnerie Westminster Carillon �� which rings out four notes (“Mi-Do-Re-Sol”) for each passing hour and chimes the hours, quarter hours and minutes on demand �� but also a flying tourbillon with an eye-catching, blue sapphire bridge.A Grand Sonnerie function, which dates back to around 1300, is a rarity in a modern wristwatch, with only about a half-dozen manufacturers producing them, including Ulysse Nardin. It differs from a minute repeater in that the latter only chimes the time when it is activated by the wearer, whereas the former will also sound the time each quarter hour on its own.Among the technical challeng

Only Watch 2011 Raises �4,563,000 to Support Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research
The fourth edition of the biennial Only Watch Charity Auction was held at the Hotel Hermitage in Monaco on September 23, in the presence of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. The sale brought an outstanding �4,563,000, doubling the 2009 results. The auction room was full and the sale generated intense internet and telephone bidding from around the world. Ronnie Wood from the Rolling Stones attended to show his support for the cause. Find complete results and images of the top five lots inside. Below, left to left to right in the foreground: Ronnie Wood, Luis Garcia (Directeur de Recherche CNRS), Philippe Ferreyrolles, Monique Pettavino, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, Tess Pettavino, Ga?lle Tallarida (Managing Dierctor Monaco Yacht Show), Peter Rigby (Chief Executive Informa), Paul Pettavino, Luc Pettavino (President AMM) Photo: ? Claude Charvin Only Watch is a fabulous event. The amount raised by the auction has doubled to �4.5 million! But what is also great with Only Watch is that w

Remembering General Norman Schwarzkopf & His Watches
"I always wore two watches during the [Gulf] war. The one on my left arm was set on Saudi Arabian time and the Seiko on my right arm was set on Eastern Standard Time. That way I could quickly glance at my watches and instantly know the time in both Saudi Arabia and Washington, D.C. Sincerely, H. Norman Schwarzkopf General, U.S. Army, Retired." Words from recently departed General Norman Schwarzkopf in a letter to the Antiquorum auction house in the late 1990s when he donated one his watches for a charity auction.The watch was a Seiko SKX009 diver and was on his wrist for at least the entirety of the early 1990s Gulf War. According to the letter and many images from the time, General Norman Schwarzkopf indeed "double wristed it" with a watch on each wrist. Mark of a true watch guy? At auction, the Seiko which can be purchased new for about $200 today went for $11,000.Four star generals in the US military are quite rare but "Stormin' Norman" was among them. His strategic brilliance and l

The Nivrel Shark Sea Tourbillon Is A Rare Tourbillon In A Sea Of Glamour
We know that tourbillon watches are expensive. The complex little movements are at a premium based on the difficultly of manufacture and the prestige of owning one. The bar has been set pretty high with all variations of multi axis tourbillons and flying tourbillons that give a great view of the action. What ever happened to just the basic tourbillon? Because more tourbillon watches go for $50k and up, the proprietors of such luxuries feel the need to spruce them up with lots of gilding and fancy appointments to justify the prices. That is typically the case with most tourbillon watches that feel more a like novelty than like something worth wearing on a daily basis. But it doesn't need to be that way.The Nivrel "Sea" series has always been a diver's watch line that I have admired. I know of Nivrel's reputation for high quality construction and meticulous attention to detail (what else would you expect from a serious German watch maker?), and now I know that they have gently entered in

Bracelet for 5726A-001
Does anyone know if you can purchase and place the stainless steel bracelet on the 5726A-001 which comes on a strap? The strap looks nice on the Nautilus but it would nice to know if one can retrofit the bracelet as well.