Video: How Harry Winston’s New Opus XIII Works
As per usual, Harry Winston generated a fair amount of buzz at the 2013 Baselworld watch fair with the latest timepiece in its haute-de-gamme Opus collection. This year’s piece, the Opus XIII, turned heads with its 242 functional rubies and unconventional time indication by means of tiny, pivoting markers around the dial. Developed in cooperation with watchmaker Ludovic Ballouard, who helped develop F.P. Journe’s Grand Sonnerie, the Opus XIII has 11 triangular hour hands, which peek out from a dome in the dial’s center and retract at the end of each hour, and 59 little minute markers (each five-minute marker is red-tipped), which pivot toward the center of the dial as a new minute begins. At the end of the hour, all 59 minute markers pivot back to their original position?at once, in a dynamic, wave-like motion, and the process begins again. To see the watch, and its ultra-complicated twin-barrel movement, in action, click below the photo to see Harry Winston’s o

Hydromechanical Horology: Inside the New HYT H1
One of the most talked-about timepieces of the 2012 Baselworld watch fair was the HYT H1, an unusual-looking watch that indicates the time by means of two liquids �� one green, one clear �� that flow through a tiny tube along a peripheral hours scale. WatchTime technical editor Mike Disher explores the technology behind the watch and its movement, and we provide wallpaper images, prices, and an informative video. Water clocks were the first complicated systems for measuring time. A millennium after they were invented, Confucius said that time flows away like the water in a river. The metaphor comparing flowing water to passing time is deeply ingrained in us. Lucien Vouillamoz recognized this, and in 2002 he proposed bringing the water clock into the 21st century and putting it on your wrist. Many ideas are more easily said than done, and this proved to be one of them.Over the next several years, the concept evolved into a system in which a small, flexible reservoir, or bellows, would be

Ball Engineer Master II Pilot GMT Watch
One of the reasons I really enjoy Ball watches so much is the incredibly prolific nature of their watch department. It isn't just the amount of new watches Ball releases each year, but also the sheer variety that interests me. That, and the fact that despite all the visual novelty, most Ball watches are good at retaining that sense of core brand DNA which makes their products distinct and noticeable. Another new 2014 model is this Ball Engineer Master II Pilot GMT timepiece.Ball even goes so far as to name the designer personally - something which is highly unusual in the watch industry, especially when it comes to watches priced under $100,000, when "art" is sold more than the sheer utilitarian nature of the watch. The Ball Engineer Master II Pilot GMT watch was designed for Ball by Magali M��trailler, a talented female watch designer who also created their well-regarded Ball for BMW watch collection, as well as design work for Jaeger-LeCoultre. What I think most typifies Magali M��trai

Montblanc Villeret Grand Chronographe Enamel Dial Watch
Most people haven't followed Montblanc's ascension to a high-end watch maker like I have. The path they made from even making timepieces in the first place to where they are now is interesting, and only took about 10 years. Villeret 1858 collection watches are among their highest-end pieces and rely on Montblanc Villeret - which was formerly Minerva. This Grand Chronograph Enamel Dial is like an old-world pocket watch in wrist watch form. Even the back of it opens up like a pocket watch. The enamel dial (here in blue) is quite amazing, and at 47mm wide - this isn't your usual petite classy timepiece. Oh, and the movement decoration is really good.See my full article on the Montblanc Villeret Grand Chronographe Enamel Dial watch here.See Montblanc and Minerva watches on eBay here.See Montblanc items on Amazon here.

Handmade vs. Machine
I know that most high-end watches are hand assembled, but I֪ not sure just how much of the watch is actually handmade anymore. I֪ more familiar with Rolex so I was wondering what portion of AP's are handmade and hand finished?I would assume that the specialty pieces are more apt to be handmade but I֪ mainly concerned with the vanilla models that AP offers.