zelin0802 / August 24, 2022

Jacob & Co: the mechanical watch masterpiece on the wrist of the top rich that shocked the jaw

The Astronomia Everest watch was made for explorer and environmental activist Johan Ernst Nilson. In addition to the constantly “rotating” and “revolution” celestial galaxies and tourbillons, the watch is specially embedded with miniature transparent buckets containing real water, which Nilson collected at the South and North Pole. When you turn the watch, you can see the water sloshing in the bucket, clearly marked “North Pole” and “South Pole”.

In fact, there are even smaller and smaller groups of people.

Everyone knows that there is a watch brand that can be bought by the rich second generation, with an average price of one or two million. Why is it expensive? Because of its cool movement, outstanding design and strong sense of movement. There was once a jewelry brand that launched a colorful watch with a price of more than 50 million US dollars at a certain annual watch exhibition. Treasure, its movement is just a small negligible quartz movement, and the greatest value is the accumulation of countless unique colorful treasures on the case.

If time, machinery, complications, art, music… wishes, feelings, emotions can be realized and condensed on a mechanical watch, it is a great thing and a meaningful work, and it is worth a lot of money to have.

However, there is another extremely niche and high-end watch brand in the world: first of all, you may not have heard of it, because it is only accessible to a few tenths of the “tenth of a few” that we mentioned earlier. The brand that I have and I own, its masterpieces of watches that make us stunned and stunned, all have unrestrained machinery and imagination. At the same time, because this brand was born in the production of luxury jewelry, its wrist watch Watches, while mechanically complex, creatively extravagant and unimaginable, are also an astonishing operation in rare jewelry design and jewelry setting.

The beautiful universes and solar systems we once imagined as children, our dreams, all kinds of hard-to-reach worlds, are brought to our wrists…and live, real and time-synchronized.

All the unimaginable and complex mechanical structures and devices are realized by it and presented in the space of the replica watches online.

Compete for “engine”, speed and unrivaled coolness with the fastest and coolest sports cars in the world.

Fascinating mechanical fetish: the mysterious three-axis tourbillon. A fascinating mechanical fetish, actually in the arms of a dazzling diamond…

The romantic Hundred Gardens, through complex mechanical functions and dazzling jewels, are extremely gorgeously presented on the wrist. Vivid cinematic stories, deep emotions, and thoughts are presented on the wrist through complex mechanical functions and music boxes. A splendid, unimaginable, complex mechanical jewelry watch that everyone can’t refuse. The domineering golden dragon hovers above his wrist.

All of its jaw-dropping and unpredictable mechanical & jewelry masterpieces will make your jaw drop when you see it for the first time…envy, adore, and covet. But the most dazzling things must have the most “dazzling” pricing.

This brand is from the United States. It set up its base in Geneva, Switzerland, almost 10 years ago, and made crazy watches with top professional watchmaking teams. Regal brand: Jacob & Co. Jack Bao.

In fact, in 2006, Jack Bao had shocked the watchmaking industry with a 31-day ultra-long power mechanical watch named “Quenttin”. Later, it was more famous for its long-power Lange’s 31-day long power mechanical watch. Not yet born. It’s just that Jack Bao was unknown at the time, and he made a record-breaking stuff, but it didn’t make any waves.

“I’m bored with making mass-market jewellery” decides the same: I’m even more bored with making mass-market fine watches… And professional watchmaking must never be far from the centre of fine watchmaking. Arabo decided in 2012 to open its watch business headquarters in Geneva, and in 2014 launched the Astronomia collection. This series shocked the world as soon as it was launched, and caused a flurry of gulls in the haute horlogerie industry…

I still remember the first time in late 2014 or 2015, the first time I saw a small video of the Jackpot Astronomia watch, wow! trench! I also have no professional and appropriate adjectives, only such a simple exclamation. As a watch person who likes different things, I am deeply attracted. I just want to see and touch the real thing as soon as possible, and can’t wait. What attracts me is not only the “trenches” of the Jake Bao celestial body series, but also its unrestrained creativity, pure and naive fantasy world (galaxies, universe, music, ideals…), bold design, conceivable Knowing the difficulty of production and unparalleled mechanical sense.

Although Jack & Bao’s charming watches are rare in kind, on the Internet, Jack & Bao has skyrocketed overnight. In addition to the already shocking celestial body series, Arabo’s creative ideas flowed out of control, he opened a door, and all kinds of exaggerated and surprising watches were produced.

Arabo, an American entrepreneur, skilled craftsman and creative master of extraordinary mechanical watches and jewelry, has created ASTRONOMIA celestial body series, TWIN TURBO double tourbillon series, BRILLIANT halo series, THE MYSTERY mysterious time series for Jake Bao in just a few years , EPIC series, OPERA opera series, OIL PUMP oil pump series, FLEURS DE JARDIN hundred garden series, BILLIONAIRE billionaire series, PALATIAL series and more than a dozen series of watches. In terms of complex functions, the tourbillon is regarded as a standard configuration, while the minute repeater, chronograph, tourbillon, hollow, action couple and other complex functions and devices often keep pace with the size of the watch.

Leaving aside the dazzling celestial body series that are launched every year with peculiar new products, the latest Twin Turbo Furious series and Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon sapphire crystal version of the latest collaboration with Bugatti are simply subverting us. Imagining the scale of top luxury watches and mechanical watches.

Especially the full sapphire crystal model of the Bugatti Chiron cooperation model, the whole watch is a Bugatti Chiron that is stunned by the situation on the wrist! The most amazing thing is that when you press a button under the case that is similar to the start button on a sports car, the “engine” mechanical part of the central area of ​​the watch dial, like the 8.0-liter W16 quad-turbo engine of the Bugatti Chiron, will be connected with the watch. The engine of a sports car is turning fast and rhythmically! Even people who drive sports cars rarely see what the engine tells the speeding! At the same time, the tourbillon, which is inclined 30 degrees at 12 o’clock, is also continuously rotating and timing at the speed of 60 seconds. This watch is so cool to wear on the wrist. As for showing off, who can compare with it? No one.

Minute repeater of the Twin Turbo Furious Fast and Furious Double Tourbillon series watch, this one is full of jewels, two three-axis tourbillons rotate side by side, can repeat the time at the same time, and have a special winding crown like a hand-cranking machine. Hao watch, although my wrist is a bit big, but I can’t restrain me from strongly recommending it to those who are full of momentum and have enough wrist size. It’s so cool and arrogant. It truly confirms the existence of Jack & Bao’s identity as a masterpiece of machinery & jewelry on the wrist of the top rich.

Among the relatively “people-friendly” Jack & Treasure watches, the most recommended is the Epic series hollow watch. The price is not high, but from the production details to the design, it fully conforms to Jack & Treasure’s sense of luxury. It is also very mechanical, which is relatively easy A good value for money Jack & co watch.

zelin0802 / June 20, 2022

Zenith “El Primero 50th Anniversary” Anniversary Set

Your own cheap Zenith El Primero museum – with room to grow.

1969 was largely a watershed year in watchmaking. The year marked the beginning of what was almost over – the first commercial quartz watch, the Seiko Astron, debuted in Tokyo on Christmas Day. As it happens, something else debuted that year, and its fortunes would be profoundly affected by that launch. Zenith El Primero is the world’s first full-rotor automatic high-frequency chronograph, and one of three self-winding chronograph movements launched that year, along with Seiko’s own 6139 movement, and Breitling/ Tag Heuer/Bren Collaboration, calibre 11. Of the three movements, only one is still in production, and it’s still in production after 50 years, Zenith celebrates its debut with a 50th Anniversary Collection, which includes three different El Primero timepieces , these timepieces were particularly important in the development of the movement – and a few extras.

El Primero’s history is a bit peculiar in the 1970s—in 1971, the Zenith cheap Watch Company was sold to the Chicago Zenith Radio Company, which decided the future was quartz (a not unreasonable assumption at the time). Zenith Chicago decided in 1975 to shut down El Primero production, and all the tools, components, and pretty much everything else in the building should be sold or thrown away. The rest is history, and watchmaking legends – builder Charles Vermot, a Zenith employee who had the vision (or stubbornness, or both) to fight the boss and put El Primero’s Tools and plans are hidden in the factory attic. Gradually, people became interested in it – first from Ebel and then, most crucially, from Rolex,

In the intervening decades, El Primero made its way into more and more Zenith watches, and at the same time, it underwent a technological evolution. Two of the most important advancements increased the resolution of the chronograph. The 36,000 vph chronograph was a major technical achievement in 1969, and in 2010 the El Primero Striking 10th took the next step. While the Striking 10th has the same frequency as the original El Primero, it has a new chronograph gear train that supports a central hand that rotates every 10 seconds, a 30-minute counter and a 60-second counter at 6 o’clock Three o’clock – allows direct reading of 1/10 second intervals. In 2017, the cheap Zenith Defy 21 was introduced with two independent balance wheels, one vibrating at 36,000 vph and the other 360,000 vph, allowing it to be timed with a resolution of 1/100th of a second. Original El Primero reference. The 1969 A386 has been fully reproduced in the 50th anniversary series trilogy, while the Striking 10th appears in Chronomaster 2 El Primero, and the Zenith El Primero Defy 21 is even more perfect.

The set comes in a display box and, interestingly, there’s a place for an extra watch. In addition to the original, El Primero already exists in 1/10th and 1/100th versions, with empty slots marked “1/1000th of a second” – the idea is for the future, when the 1/1000th of a second El Primero production model becomes In reality, those who own the 50th anniversary set will have the option to buy it and complete the collection. (There is no possibility that there will be a mechanical chronograph with 1/10,000th of a second).

The A386 version is an extremely faithful reproduction of the 1969 original. According to Zenith, they actually even laser scanned the original model to ensure the reissue was as high-fidelity as possible. One major difference between the replica and the original is the use of a sapphire crystal on the new model (the caseback is also sapphire, while the original A386 had a solid caseback). The movement is the latest production version of the original calibre 3019 PHC, the calibre El Primero 400 – for all the relatively subtle modern updates and technical improvements, it’s still an A386 for anyone looking for the best of both retro and A modern classic El Primero design that will please a lot, including the 38mm case diameter.

Powered by Caliber 3600, the Chronomaster 21 El Primero is very different in style from the original Striking Tenths watch (reviewed by HODINKEE founder Ben Clymer when it was officially unveiled in July 2011). The most notable update is the addition of a ceramic bezel, which makes it easier to read elapsed time from 1/10 of the central seconds hand (as well as providing an additional measure of scratch resistance). It’s still fairly classic and has a fairly strong visual connection to the A386, albeit with a slightly larger 42mm case, thanks to the iconic tri-colour overlapping sub-dials. review4uwatch.com

Defy El Primero 21 is stylistically the most significantly different member of the series from the original. The open dial is controversial among El Primero retro fans, but this model does retain the original tri-color sub-dial. If you have any doubts about the version of El Primero you’re looking at, when you start the chronograph, they disappear instantly – the second hand makes one revolution per second, which is a breathtaking thing. It’s the largest of the three at 44mm in diameter, but the titanium case makes things lighter on the wrist, and as a technological powerhouse, it’s the undisputed front runner of the collection.

This includes, I should mention, a few things other than the collection itself – a visit to the Zenith Manufacture to see the El Primero movements and watches being made. The set includes a mold for the El Primero 400 chronograph coupling wheels, if you are one of the owners, you can use your mold to make a pair of these wheels when you are at the factory; your name will be Engraved in it, and part of the exhibition at the entrance to the attic, Charles Vermot hides El Primero from decades ago.

Of course, this set seems to be aimed squarely at relatively wealthy El Primero enthusiasts, but in its own right it is also an interesting museum showing the evolution of high-frequency chronographs in general, and the El Primero in particular. Adding to the customer experience when buying a special or limited edition is something we’re likely to see more of as high-end watch brands seek to further differentiate themselves from one another. All manifestations of the El Primero are unique in the history of watchmaking – if you are a cheap men watch nut with a card, you should probably experience it for yourself and appreciate its unique place in the history of watchmaking, not to mention it Miraculously survived the singularity of the Quartz Crisis.