HAUTE TIME : Freak Diavolo, Chronograph La Monegasque,The Yacht-Master II and Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia

Morning in Monaco: The Roger Dubuis Chronograph La Monegasque

If you love a comeback story, Roger Dubuis is probably already on your radar –since its founding in 1995 it’s built a huge portfolio of models and complicated movements, but a few years ago some connoisseurs were muttering that it had become too much of a good thing.  Since then, Roger Dubuis has concentrated its efforts, and with the new Monegasque (“Monegasque” is to Monaco what “New Yorker” is to New York) collection, the essential identity that made it great is in clearer focus than ever before.

The new Chronograph “La Monegasque” is an homage to the classic, two register dress chronographs of the 1930s and ‘40s, updated with a case design that’s a nod to the “Sympathie” watches Roger Dubuis introduced in some of its very first watches, which are still beloved by connoissueurs.

Inside is a Roger Dubuis in-house automatic chronograph movement, caliber RD 680 –it’s an automatic chronograph with a micro-rotor winding system that allows an unobstructed view of the movement, which is finished according to the stringent requirements of the Geneva Seal. In its distinctive, slightly Art Nouveau case, the Chronograph La Monegasque is a great combination of homage to the past, and daring to be dashingly different.

$24,000 $38,300

[highlight_text] With a power reserve of over eight days, the Freak Diavolo is a devilishly delightful new incarnation of the original. [/highlight_text]

Speak of the Devil: The Ulysse Nardin Freak Diavolo

Painting was never the same after Picasso; watchmaking was never the same after the Ulysse Nardin Freak.  Launched in 2001, the Freak had no hands. Instead the entire movement rotated once per hour under its giant sapphire crystal; there was no crown – instead, the time is set by turning the knurled bezel – and the mainspring took up the diameter of the entire case, basically making case and movement one.

Though Ulysse Nardin founder Rolf Schnyder passed away this year, his legacy lives on in the new Ulysse Nardin Freak Diavolo. The Diavolo is the Freak squared.  To the existing Freak, now considered one of the great classic designs of the post-quartz watchmaking era, Ulysse Nardin has added a flying tourbillon. As the Freak was already a tourbillon of sorts – albeit one that defied conventional classification- the Freak Diavolo is essentially a tourbillon within a tourbillon. The Freak Diavolo’s  escapement components are made entirely of lightweight silicon, which unlike the escapements found in virtually all other watches requires no oil.

With a power reserve of over eight days, the Freak Diavolo is a devilishly delightful new incarnation of the original – and a fitting tribute to Rolf Schnyder, a man as legendary as the watches he helped create.

$153,000

Complicated Countdown: Rolex Introduces The Yacht-Master II in “Rolesor”

Yacht racing’s a special blend of luxury and skill, and for the lovers of this princely but demanding sport, Rolex makes the Yacht-Master II.  Though it’s not the best known Rolex, it is the most complicated.  The Rolex Yacht-Master II is also the most recently introduced major new model from Rolex, having debuted in 2007 as the second member of the Yacht-Master family. The original Yacht-Master, which does not feature any complications, was introduced in 1992.

The Yacht Master Two is nothing less than a programmable countdown timer, designed specifically for the most critical minutes of a sports sailor’s life: the countdown to the start of a regatta, or yacht race. To help a yachtsman cross the starting line at exactly the right time, the Yacht-Master II has a countdown hand that can be set to time anything from a 1 to 10 minute starting interval, and when it’s re-set, it will return to the pre-programmed starting position.

It’s highly complicated inside, but easy to use and read, and for 2011 Rolex introduces it in Rolesor – 18k rose gold –Rolex uses its own alloy, called “Everose” a combination of gold and platinum that won’t fade – with a scratchproof, brilliant blue ceramic “Cerachrom” bezel.  It’s the ultimate luxury sports watch for the ultimate luxury sport.

$28,150

Star Child:  The IWC Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia

One of the most complicated watches ever to come from IWC of Schaffhaussen, the The Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia gets its name from its ability to display both standard time and sidereal time, or “star” time. Since it’s star-rise rather than sunrise that marks a new sidereal day (the reason has to do with the difference in distance from the Earth to a star vs. the sun) a sidereal day is a little shorter than a solar day (23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.1 seconds.)  Used by astronomers, sidereal time forges a poetic link between earthly time and the cosmos.

The Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia also features a tourbillon fitted with an ultra-rare “constant force” regulating device, basically a second, miniature mainspring that is wound by the primary mainspring once per second. These devices were invented originally for ultra high precision navigation and observatory clocks.

Finally, on the back is a calendar, a star chart, and indication of the time of sunrise and sunset, all customized to the owner’s home city. The Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia is a superb example of technical know how and sheer beauty, and the few who are lucky enough to own one can rest assured of having something that’s their own private piece of heaven.

750,000

CHF

Jack Forster is the U.S. editor-in-chief of Revolution (www.revo-online.com), the world’s finest resource for lovers of fine watchmaking

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