Thursday, March 23, 2017

MIDO – OCEAN STAR Caliber 80 TITANIUM


MIDOOCEAN STAR Caliber 80 TITANIUM Automatic

A sporty, robust and lightweight timepiece designed 
for conquering the ocean depths

OCEAN STAR Caliber 80 TITANIUM

Extremely light, robust and very comfortable to wear, the new Ocean Star Caliber 80 Titanium has all the right assets to appeal to underwater explorers. Its titanium case and rubber strap make it incredibly lightweight. Diving enthusiasts can also count on its water-resistance up to a pressure of 20 bars (200 m/660 ft), its unidirectional rotating bezel and its strap, which features a folding clasp also made from titanium and a diving extension.

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Several touches of orange on the strap, dial and bezel recall the Mido identity and highlight the sporty style of this timepiece. Equipped with the Caliber 80, a latest-generation automatic movement that provides it with up to 80 hours of power reserve, the Ocean Star Caliber 80 Titanium is perfectly suited to all those looking to conquer the ocean depths.

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Built to withstand any storm, the Europa Point lighthouse watches over the Gibraltar Strait. Its powerful beam of light is an essential point of reference for sailors approaching the shores of the Iberian Peninsula. Created in 1944, the Ocean Star collection evokes safety and reliability. It draws its inspiration from this robust, slender monument, the symbol of a structure guiding mankind in its conquest of the seas.

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This timepiece is not for the faint-hearted: resistant and unswervingly reliable, the new Ocean Star Caliber 80 Titanium is designed for exploring the ocean depths. Proudly sporting the Mido colours, it is fitted with a polished and satin-finished titanium case. Renowned for its hypoallergenic properties, titanium is lighter and more resistant than stainless steel. Featuring a folding clasp also made from titanium and a diving extension, the orange rubber strap of the Ocean Star Caliber 80 Titanium makes it an extremely lightweight model that is particularly comfortable to wear.

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Combined with remarkable water-resistance up to a pressure of 20 bars (200 m/660 ft), these characteristics are sure to appeal to all diving enthusiasts. For maximum safety, the grained anthracite dial is equipped with a unidirectional rotating bezel that features a sandblasted anthracite aluminium ring used to measure diving time. This ring also features a white Super-LumiNova® dot at 12 o’clock. Generous touches of white Super-LumiNova® also adorn the indexes and hour and minute hands to guarantee perfect readability, both underwater and at night. The tip of the seconds hand, meanwhile, is adorned with orange Super-LumiNova®.

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Measuring 42.5 mm in diameter, the robust case of the Ocean Star Caliber 80 Titanium houses the Caliber 80, a latest-generation automatic movement that ensures exceptional autonomy, with up to 80 hours of power reserve. Its dial is protected by a sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective treatment on both sides. It features an aperture indicating the day and date at 3 o’clock.

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Several touches of orange on the dial, bezel and tip of the seconds hand, together with the orange strap, recall the Mido identity and highlight the sporty style of the Ocean Star Caliber 80 Titanium. The case back is adorned with a starfish, the symbol of the Ocean Star collection – a final detail that is sure to appeal to all those who love exploring the ocean depths.

Other versions of this model are also available.

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TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Ref: M026.430.47.061.00 TITANIUM case

Movement
Automatic Mido Caliber 80 (ETA C07.621 base), 11½’’’,
Ø 25.60 mm, height: 5.22 mm, 25 jewels, 21,600 vph,
NIVAFLEX NM mainspring, ELINCHRON II balance-spring.
Finely decorated elaborate movement with blued screws,
oscillating weight decorated with Geneva stripes and Mido logo.
Functions: HMSD+Day.
Adjusted on 3 different positions for high accuracy.
Up to 80 hours of power reserve.
Case
Satin-finished and polished TITANIUM Ø 42.5 mm, 2 pieces,
unidirectional rotating bezel with anthracite sandblasted aluminium ring,
white Super-LumiNova® dot at 12 o’clock,
sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides,
screwed crown, case back with polished starfish in relief, engraved serial number.
Water-resistant up to a pressure of 20 bars (200 m/660 ft).
Dial
Blue, vertical satin-finished, applied polished indexes with white Super-LumiNova®,
day and date at 3 o’clock.
Hands
Satin-finished and polished skeleton hour and minute hands with white Super-LumiNova®,
seconds hand with orange Super-LumiNova® on the tip.
Strap
Orange rubber, titanium folding clasp with diving extension.
Titanium folding clasp with diving extension.

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Press Release - 2017
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press.mido.ch 
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www.Mido.ch

BLANCPAIN – VILLERET 8 Jours Manuelle Gold Edition - Unique pieces














BLANCPAINVILLERET Métiers d’Art 8 Jours Manuelle - The “Battle of the Queen Cows” Gold Edition - Unique pieces


Blancpain’s Métiers d’Art Workshop pays tribute to Switzerland presents: The Battle of the Queen Cows

Baselworld 2017

Blancpain and its Métiers d’Art Workshop present a new one-of-a-kind model crafted in gold and in the brand’s cherished shakudō alloy, depicting abattle of the queen cowsstaged in front of the iconic Matterhorn.


This breed of cows from the Val d’Hérens have been part of the Swiss national heritage since 1861. Their ancestors were already present in the Valais in 3,000 BC. Thanks to their sturdy nature and their short legs, these animals are capable of climbing to heights of 3,000 meters and more, and are above all known for their traditional fights held each spring as part of the ritual of taking them up to the alpine meadows.

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These bovines with their strong and combative personality vie with each other to establish a hierarchy among the herd, by butting each other with their head and horns. A cow is declared the winner when its opponent turns away or refuses the fight in a token of submission. At the end of this face-off, the herd’s “queen of queens” is thus designated. This status enables it to lead the others in the common quest for lush pastureland. On the dial of this model, Blancpain pays tribute to another national emblem: the legendary Matterhorn. Towering to an altitude of 4,478 meters above sea level, it is Switzerland’s best-known mountain due to its pyramid shape, and its ascension remains a powerful symbol for alpinists the world over.


Shakudō and rokushō

Shakudō is an alloy composed of gold and copper. Historically it was employed to adorn sword sheathes, decorative objects and jewelry. The artisans engraved the shakudō and added other ornamentation. On the new Blancpain timepiece, the dial appliques depicting the cow fight are fashioned in gold and hand-engraved. They are affixed to the shakudō dial and held in place by miniature feet.

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Once joined together, these three elements of the dial are given a rokushō patina, which is a copper salt bath into which the dial is dipped. The tint and its intensity are determined by the number of dipping treatments and their duration. It is the studied eye and artistic sensitivity of the engraver that determine the nuances and depth of the rokushō treatment. The Blancpain logo and the Matterhorn are hand-engraved on the shakudō dial by an in-house artisan working with extremely accurate tools.

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The cows’ necklace is in yellow gold, incorporated into the red gold cow applique using the damascening technique, which consists of hollowing a cavity into the applique to be filled with another metal, in this case yellow gold. The latter is then meticulously hammered into the cavity in order to spread it uniformly and thereby smoothen the surface of the applique that will then be engraved and polished, also by hand.


The movement

This new Blancpain timepiece is as distinguished technically as it is aesthetically. This 42mm timepiece is fitted with the manual wind caliber 13R3A. In this watch, the power-reserve indicator is placed on a bridge on the reverse of the movement, visible through the sapphire case back.

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This movement achieves an 8-day power reserve thanks to its construction with three series-coupled mainspring barrels that unwind in succession. The second barrel takes over from the first before its strength is depleted, and then the third barrel does the same. This construction thereby guarantees the movement’s precision.

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Technical specifications
 References:  6612-3616-55B
Collection: VILLERET Metiers d'Art 

Model:  The “Battle of the Queen Cows”

Complications
8 Day Hand-Winding ∙ hand-decorated and engraved gold-damascened Shakudō dial ∙ power-reserve indication on the bridge side ∙hand-winding
Case
18ct Red Gold
Thickness: 10.55 mm
Diameter:  42.00 mm
Water resistance:  3.00 bar
Between horns:  23.00 mm
Back:   Sapphire crystal
Engraved on the back of the timepiece - Unique piece
Dial
Engraved gold-damascened Shakudō dial.
Appliques depicting the cow fight “battle of the queen cows” are fashioned in gold and hand-engraved.
Hand-decorated and hand-engraved, Rokushō.
Movement
Calibre 13R3A

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Hand-Winding
Power reserve in hours:  192 hours (8 Day )
Calibre diameter:  30.60 mm
Calibre thickness:  4.57 mm
Jewels:  28
Power-reserve indication on the bridge side
3 mainspring barrels
Breguet overcoil
Secured movement
Titanium free sprung balance with gold regulation screws
Components:  211
Limited edition of Unique Piece
Strap
Alligator leather straps - origin: Bespoke Mississippiensis
Brown color strap
Folding clasp

*Each bar corresponds to a 10-metre water column.
* Blancpain reserves the right to modify this model and its technical characteristics.
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Blancpain S.A.
Le Rocher 12
1348 Le Brassus
Suisse
International PR: Aude Rosati
Tel.  (+41) 21 796 3636
Fax (+41) 21 796 3637
E-mail: pr@blancpain.com
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GREUBEL FORSEY – BALANCIER Gold Edition




















GREUBEL FORSEYBALANCIER White Gold Limited Edition


BASELWORLD 2017: Greubel Forsey 
BALANCIER in White Gold

La Chaux-de-Fonds, March 2017: As the latest addition to the family of Greubel Forsey timepieces, the “Balancier” perfectly embodies the watchmak-ers’ fundamental principles. It is a timepiece that crystallises all the unique qualities of Greubel Forsey with remarkable understatement.

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Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey have been pushing the limits of fine watchmaking for many years now, tackling the challenges of complexity every day. And yet, after the Double Tourbillon 30°, the Quadruple Tourbillon, the Tourbillon 24 Secondes and many other bold complications like the Grande Sonnerie, the “Balancier” was self-evident. Greubel Forsey was bound one day to create a timepiece of great purity, featuring a unique and original balance wheel.

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Their creativity is immediately evident in the asymmetry of its case, which has almost become a constant of Greubel Forsey’s universe. Every detail of the “Balancier” carries the unmistakable stamp of a true Greubel Forsey timepiece – the watchmaking Maison’s values are manifest in the refinement and purity of its lines and dial, the inventive architecture of its balance wheel, the sharp profile of its hands, and the engraving on the reverse of the timepiece.

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The watchmakers’ inventiveness is strongly in evidence in the new balance wheel. It was entirely developed and made at the Atelier, with its six gold mean-time screws, and it boasts remarkable aerody-namic qualities. The technical nature of this balance wheel generates exceptional regulating power, a mark of great chronometric stability.

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Outstanding workmanship is very dear to Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, and it shines through in the wholly hand-executed barrel-polishing, bevelling and finishing of the balance wheel bridge. Such operations require prodigious expertise and know-how, particularly for the hand decoration of all the parts.

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The hand-countersunk and polished centres of the flame-blued steel hands offer another example of mastery in the craft, while the engraved gold plates on the back of the timepiece are also a pure master-piece of hand-finishing skills.

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The “Balancier” is available in a limited edition of 33 pieces in its white gold version.

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Press release  - 2017
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GREUBEL FORSEY SA
For further information: 
Communication Department 
press@greubelforsey.com – +41 79 194 2884
Eplatures-Grise -16 P.O. Box 670 
2301 La Chaux-de-Fonds - Switzerland
+41 32 9254545
+41 32 9254502
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