Elton John is going to present his first watch collection. Watches designed by the musician will be produced under the Chopard brand.

Basic material used for cases is white gold. Various models will be decorated with precious stones of different shades and colours: pink, yellow, black and chocolate diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Watches from this collection will be supplemented with straps of different colours: pink, yellow, blue, red, green or black. At the back case there is an engraved Elton John’s autograph.

New collection of watches was designed by Elton John with the help of Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, one of Chopard’s leaders. Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele and Elton Johs have been friends for quite a long time; they have many common interests including charity. By the way, this collection of chronographs are created to support The Elton John AIDS Foundation.

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Designer watches are usually made by watch brands in cooperation with well-known designers not only from watchmaking industry but also fashion designers, and sometimes even architects or artists. Such watches are really unique as they combine both horological complications and the touch of creativeness of famous designers. They are not mere timepieces to measure time but real works of art and fashion.

Practically all biggest watchmaking brands at least for once invited a famous designer to create a special collection of watches for real connoisseurs and collectors. The range of famous designer watches is really wide and is able to meet different tastes of customers. You can find famous designer models in watch collections of Bulgari, Ferragamo, Bulova, Chopard, Rado, Chanel and many others.

One of the brightest examples of successful cooperation of a watch brand and a famous designer is that of Dior and John Galliano. The results of this cooperation are really impressive. Take for example the latest novelty made by this alliance – Christal Dazzling, an absolutely marvelous timepiece and a piece of jewellery.

Moreover watchmakers very often work with designers from the world of motors. Suffice it to remember cooperation of Ferrari and Panerai, or Girard Perregaux which lead to creation of wonderful sporty watches worthy of F1 champions.

Famous designer watches are real trendsetters which set the example of an outstanding quality and appearance timepieces for all watchmaking companies to follow.

Technorati tags:watch, wrist watch, Swiss watch, chronograph, tourbillion, Armitron, Cartier, Casio, Citizen, Longines, Omega, Seiko, Swatch, Tag Heuer, Tissot, news

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Traditionally watchmaking is a men’s business. The term denoting a woman watchmaker doesn’t even exist. But today when the watchmaking industry transformed into a complicated and well developed business and the line between male and female professions disappeared women in the watchmaking are like hummingbirds (i.e. tiny rare creatures). But they exist and their creations are worthy of the greatest attention, and sometimes – even admiring.

Convincing Exceptions

There is a famous paradox: if cooking and sewing are female chores, why men are considered to be the best in the spheres of Haute Couture and Gastronomy? Psychologists give the following answer: “Women are good at tactics but they fail in strategy. They tend to concretize and can’t operate abstract notions freely. They are practitioners and not theorists.� It means that they can cook dinner or make a skirt, but creation of something special out of nothing is a task for men. Actually, that is why female names are rare in the history of the greatest discoveries and inventions.But every rule has its exceptions. And such great women as Sophia Kovalevskaya, Coco Chanel and Margaret Thatcher prove this fact.

In watchmaking the situation is similar. All inventions in this sphere were done by men. They created cases and movements; they manage big companies, set the trends and technical tendencies of market development. Women in watchmaking can be seen mostly in assembly shops or in testing departments as they are more attentive and delve into every detail.
But the role of women in watchmaking is not as humble as it may seem at first sight. If a woman has enough fantasy, commercial feeling and has passion for watchmaking, she can achieve great success in this sphere. One of the first ladies in this business was Alice Levy, the wife of the founder of Ebel – Eugene Blume. It is her to whom the company owes its success. In 1911 (the yer of the foundation of the company) while her husband traditionally continued his ancestors’ business – designing of the movements – madam Levy was developing design and appearance of the watches. She transformed Ebel watches from usual functional device into real must-haves, remembering that timepieces shuld not only be complicated and original but also stylish and beautiful. Mostly owing to Alice Levy Ebel watches became trend-setters.

Today women are absolutely able to be trend-setters in watchmaking industry. Life shows, that to achieve something, a woman should not only have talent, courage but also a little bit of good luck. There are several ways of climbing to the top of the ladder in watchmaking business.

How to Become a Watchmakeress

Family Business

This is maybe one of the most secure ways for women to be accepted by male members of the Haute Horlogerie club. But that is not surprising: it’s easier for a woman to become a connoisseur of jewellery and precious stones rather than of complicated movements. They become leaders of jewellery companies with delight, but not many of them are as delighted to manage a watchmaking company… In the later case a woman should at least be interested in watchmaking (usually this interest is cultivated in a family), and then she should have necessary acquaintances and contacts which again are collected in families of watchmakers. One of the most vivid examples of successful continuation of the family business is Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, daughter of Karl Scheufele, who in 1963 bought the brand Chopard. One more example of a successful woman-watchmaker is Jasmine Audemars who is the head of Audemars Piguet or Marie-Christina Buccelati the leader of Buccelati.

However, Alice Levy is an example to follow for many modern women who want to achieve success in watchmaking together with their husbands. They say that such attitude even strengthens their marriage. A wife, who is a talented designer, creates the watches and the husband sells them. In this way Delaneau company works (creative manager Christine Tevena) and Adler(chief designer Leila Adler). Or vice versa: the husband creates masterpieces and the wife does all paperwork. Not many people know that the CEO of Alain Silberstein is not the famous designer himself but his wife Sylvia.

Self-made Presidents

However there are cases when a woman achieves success in watchmaking owing to her talent and not to family of marriage. The brightest examples are Arlette Emch, the CEO of �К, and Isabelle Guichot, the CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels.

What is a “Woman’s Watch”?

Traditional opinion is that women are the best in designing watches for women. Well, this is reasonable. A watch made by woman may be less beautiful, less complicated and interesting, but they immediately attract attention. And that is not surprising: ability to attract attention is women’s prerogative. Women’s watches have few chances to become classics but they may become an example to follow. A woman’s watch is a wonderful idea that is discussed during the whole season. And then… Then new idea appears.

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CHOPARD L.U.C Tourbillon Tech Twist is a timepiece specially edited by Chopard for the Singapore’s first Grand Prix F1. This much-awaited technical marvel has been generating much industry interest since Chopard’s announcement of the exclusive movement during the 2008 Basel Watch Fair in April.

This piece is one-of-a-kind and is based on the Calibre 4TBST (Quattro Tourbillon Black Superlight Twist) combining the most advanced technologies including four barrel winding system, ultra-light escapement with silicon details and Winding Assistance System (W.A.S). All this is housed by a white gold case. The movement with a sporty black PVD coated mainplate and bridges is equipped with a tourbillon and a power reserve indicator. The arrangement is a bit unusual, as if rotated to a hour ahead. So the power reserve indicator moved to 1 o’clock, the tourbillon – to 7 o’clock, and the crown – to 4 o’clock. Four-barrel winding system provides 9-days’ power reserve.

L.U.C. Tourbillon Tech Twist is produced in a limited series of 100 pieces. One unique watch from this edition will be sold at a charity auction. All proceeds will be donated to the Challenge for the President’s appointed charities, which organizer, Singapore GP hopes to raise more than SGD 1 million.

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There is an old developmental game for children called Associations, when they have to name as many things as possible which they associate with the given name or phenomenon. But sometimes adults find this game interesting too. So let’s play?

What things come to your mind when I say “Switzerland“? Chocolate? Banks? Maybe someone will say “cheese”or “Swiss Alps” or even “Swiss Guard”… But I’m sure that most of you will think about true Swiss watches first. And indeed Swiss art of watchmaking long ago became one of the main symbols of the country and of success, and a true Swiss watch is something everyone of us dreams of, at least sometimes…

So what can we call a true Swiss watch? Well, of course, a timepiece made by one of numerous Swiss brands. As a rule all of them are highly reputable in the world of watchmaking (and sometimes you have to pay not so much as for the watch itself as for its reputation). The symbol of this reputation is a world-known inscription “Swiss made“. To this inscription actually a separate branch of Swiss law.

The watch is called Swiss if the following conditions were observed:

· The watch is based on a Swiss made movement
· The watch was assembled in Switzerland
· The watch was certificated in one of the Swiss cantons.

Some of Swiss watches feature “Geneve” mark on them which is usually plecad under the company’s name on the dial. To have the right to be marked as a “Geneve” watch, the timepiece has to correspond to the following requirements:

· The watch must be Swiss made
· At least one of basic assembling operations must take place in the canton of Geneva

The second requirement is made conditional by the fact that 50 % from the final cost of the product goes to the canton of Geneva.

Movements that meet al the strictest requirements of watchmaking are marked with Poincon de Geneve sign or Geneva Seal and are more prestigious. Geneva Seal has been confirming the highest quality of Swiss watches for 400 years already. Geneva Seal was given an official status in 1886 when 12 technical comments on a watch movement quality were confirmed. These requirement were so strict that only graduates of watchmaking school in Geneva could make watches corresponding to them. Today the criteria of Geneva Seal are brought into account with up-to-date level of technology development. Geneva Seal is still a sign that guarantees the highest quality of the timepiece.

Patek Philippe is the only firm whose watches without any exception are marked with this highest sign of watchmaking perfection.

Today the list of companies making true Swiss watches consists of 20 brands:
· Audemars Piguet
· Gerald Genta
· Piaget
· Blancpain
· Girard-Perregaux
· Paul Picot
· Breguet
· IWC
· Rolex
· Chopard
· Jaeger-LeCoultre
· Ulysse Nardin
· Chronoswiss
· Minerva
· Universal Geneve
· Corum
· Franck Muller
· Zenith
· Ebel
· Patek Philippe

Technorati tags:watch, wrist watch, Swiss watch, chronograph, tourbillion, Armitron, Cartier, Casio, Citizen, Longines, Omega, Seiko, Swatch, Tag Heuer, Tissot, news

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