Diamonds & Minute Repeaters &Tourbillions … OH MY!
This past weekend Hyde Park hosted its 24th Annual Watch Fair at our Cherry Creek location. The store was filled from open to close with watch lovers who came to see the best that our 16 brands carried. There were brand representatives present from almost all of the watch lines we carry. We had a unique chance to see some one of a kind pieces’, and even introduce a new line. Here are my highlights from October 14th and 15th:
In my opinion Breguet brought one of the most impressive selections to the event. Among the regular models that grace our case line, we had a Breguet Tradition Fusee Tourbillion and a 5447, Classique Perpetual Calendar Minute Repeater. The Fusee Tourbillion holds rich tradition; inspired by the design of the first tourbillon-equipped pocket watches devised by Breguet which was powered and driven by a fuse and chain system. The other rarity in the Breguet case was the most complicated watch at the show, a perpetual calendar with minute repeater. We had the chance to operate and walk our customers through the functionality of the very scarce minute repeater. The sound that billows from its gongs is unmistakable and truly breathe taking.
If you happened to be in the mall during the event this past weekend, it’s inevitable that the biggest crowd drawer was the custom built Bell & Ross motorcycle that was exhibited in the halls of the mall just outside our store. The bike is a modified Harley Davidson FSXTB Softail Nightrain that was accompanied by one of its builders from Shaw Custom & Speed in the UK. The Bike has B&R branding placed everywhere, but the piece de resistance was surely the Bell & Ross BR01 timepiece that is installed into the aluminum gas tank.
Not to be outdone by their custom made bike, Bell & Ross came equipped to the nine’s with watches as well. The pride of the pack? It has to be the pair of Limited Edition Airborne II and Airborne Tourbillion. The new Airborne II “Death from Above” watch which is cased in a 46mm rifle barreled (to simulate wear) steel PVD case and limited to 999 pieces. Whereas the Tourbillion is limited to only 20 pieces worldwide, and includes a gorgeous Black PVD Tourbillion cage at 6 O’clock.
Chopard’s case was overflowing with goodies this year, some Boutique exclusive pieces, some rare Mille Miglia pieces, and lots and lots of diamonds! It was hard to take your eyes away from the centerpiece of the Chopard case, a trio of animal themed diamond and mother of pearl women’s watches. The watches were produced in very limited quantities (25 of each worldwide), and have a portion of the profits going to benefit the World Wildlife Foundation.
The newest addition to the Omega family, the Ladymatic, an all-in house caliber, featuring caliber Omega 8521, spotlighting the world famous co-axial escapement, and silicon balance spring. The Unique shape of the 34mm case is the first thing that you will notice on the Ladymatic, followed by their spiral Mother of Pearl dials. The cases have been “wrapped” around a ceramic center that allows for a textured case that is purely Omega. The Ladymatic is currently offered in over 30 different color and material options including, Steel, Yellow, and Rose Gold; available with or without diamonds. This is truly a design that will be a home run with fans of Omega as well as watch aficionados.
It wouldn’t be a complete Hyde Park Watch Fair unless we unveiled something new and exciting for the company. This year we introduced the Movado Bold Line. A specific BOLD branch of the famous Movado brand only in about 350 doors in the US (compared to over 1200 with Movado) Movado Bold is a new look for the brand, and features bright, daring, fun colors and materials. The cases are made from steel and either their proprietary TR-90 composite cases (almost indestructible and very lightweight) or aluminum (colored in several ways). The models are available in a plethora of sizes and are available on either a strap or composite/rubber bracelet.
Josh Nigut
Watch Specialist
jnigut@hpjewels.com
303-333-4446
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