Fratello Friday: Are You Buying Authentic Watches?

The issue of  included an article called “Buyer Beware.” It was an interesting read, but mainly focused on the topic of how counterfeit latest Bretling replica watches pose a potential risk for the watch industry. In this article, I would like to put the focus more on the buyers of counterfeit watches or — even worse – the so-called “Frankenwatches.”

Many buyers of cheap, counterfeit watches are simply people who would love to own a Rolex but have a budget of about $25. They know they are buying a fake watch; they have no intention of buying the real thing. And the watch will probably go well with their fake Louis Vuitton bag and Hermès belt (people still wear these things?).

So let’s skip that discussion as well. You and I are not in this category and probably never will be. Fake watches are for fake people.

Let’s make a distinction between counterfeit watches and Frankenwatches as well. A counterfeit watch – or bracelet, as I mentioned in my small introduction – is a complete fake. Nothing is genuine about the Breitling replica watches uk. Some makers of counterfeit watches are quite good these days, which means they make them out of decent stainless steel, get most of the little details correct, and perhaps even provide a fake box and fake papers. Be very careful about those. Two things will probably give away it is fake: 1.) The price. It is probably too good to be true. 2.) The movement. There will be some other things as well, mainly in the details of the watch. So either make sure you are able to verify whether there is valid movement inside or study all the details of the watch to be sure. Ideally, you would bring a similar watch with you that you know to be genuine.

Fake Rolex Back  - Movement

Frankenwatches are another thing, and in my opinion, even more dangerous. A Frankenwatch is a watch that consists of (mainly) original and genuine parts but they are either not period-accurate or did not originally come with that specific timepiece. An example would be a Rolex Submariner from 1965, with a movement from a more recent Rolex watch Rolex (maybe not even a Submariner), a wrong bracelet, a bezel inlay from a later model, and an aftermarket plexiglas crystal. This, or another mix of ingredients, can make it hard to determine whether a watch is genuine or not.

In both cases, you need some self-education to avoid buying either a counterfeit cheap Breitling replica watches or a Frankenwatch. The level of education varies, of course, and also depends on whether there is a lot of documentation on a brand or specific watch, or whether there is little or none.

Kill Bill 2 - Fake Rolex

The easiest way to prevent yourself from buying a counterfeit or Frankenwatch is by going to an authorized dealer and buying a new watch. However, that doesn’t solve the issues in the market of pre-owned and vintage watches. Some discontinued and vintage watches are so high in demand – with corresponding price tags – that it also attracts scum. Scum that tries to make a fortune from of the passionate collectors and buyers of pre-owned and vintage watches that think they have found their Horological Holy Grail.

Some Breitling replica watches for sale brands are eager to characterize the internet as a bad place, more or less the sewer of society. We know better, of course. This view, in my opinion, mainly comes from brands that do not have a clear strategy or vision regarding online sales yet and use it as an excuse to avoid the discussion. However, other brands are very helpful if you need more information about a discontinued watch or even a vintage watch. Some will inform you whether the parts are original, and sometimes may even offer to do a check-up on the watch. In the latter case, however, this of course means that you’ve already bought it. If a lot of money is involved, a seller might agree to have the watch checked for authenticity at a brand’s service center. Unfortunately, John Mayer came to this decision a bit too late, but it is how he found out some of his watches were no good.

Fake Rolex Datejust - German writing on dial

Buying a genuine watch is a matter of doing the homework. Whether you do the research yourself or would rather “borrow” a bit of knowledge from other collectors or sources, it will prevent you from making many mistakes. From rather stupid ones (like my own fake bracelet) to ones that were about to remain unexposed if you didn’t made that extra mile. This rule does not only apply to internet sales, of course, but also to pre-owned and vintage watches sold by traditional brick-and-mortar shops and auctions (yes, people, Frankenwatches and counterfeits even show up there once in a while).

Common sense and education is key when it comes to purchasing a Breitling fake watches from any channel other than an authorized dealer or brand boutique. There are some really great books out there that can make you a virtual expert on this subject matter, brand forums with a lot of knowledgeable contributors and of course various watch blogs that have covered a lot of different of wristwatches. Absorb as much information as you can and do not forget to ask about a second opinion when you are in doubt. If you have any tips to share, please leave a comment below.

Brand to Watch: Aerowatch and the Aerowatch Renaissance Orange Tornado

Aerowatch is a small brand with a big history. At Baselworld 2015, the Jura-based brand debuted the Renaissance Orange Tornado, a new skeletonized watch with bright accents on the dial. It’s worth taking a look at both where this latest Breitling replica watches company comes from and what it’s doing today. Here’s the Aerowatch story behind the Renaissance Orange Tornado.

Aerowatch isn’t the most familiar name in the watch world, but it has the kind of solid Swiss heritage that many small independent brands would do anything for. Originally founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1910, Aerowatch aspired to being a watchmaker for the future. As the name suggests, the brand had its eye on an English-speaking international market, and during the golden age of flight it wanted to be the first name in aviation-themed timepieces.

Aerowatch-Historical Ad 560

But the path forward was not so easy. The brand moved repeatedly, first to Fleurier, then to Neuchâtel. Throughout, it remained a family-run business. When Maxime Crevoisier took over the company from its original owners in 1942, he set it on its course as a specialist in pocketwatches and pendant Breitling replica watches uk for men and women.

He and his son Georges built up a distribution network in more than 30 countries. The business continued along through the following decades. In 2001 the Crevoisiers sold Aerowatch to Denis Bolzli, who now runs the company with his two sons. It is based in Saignelégier in the Swiss Jura, close to the French border.

Aerowatch Headquarters 560

A key thing to know about the brand is that Aerowatch only entered the wristwatch market very recently. Throughout the 20th century it remained a pocketwatch company. It was not until 2004 that the brand began to work on original wrist cheap Breitling replica watches with fine Swiss movements. Today it has a range of models for men and women, with quartz and mechanical calibers.

An important moment for the brand was 2009, when it launched its first Grandes Squelettes models. Skeletonized models are always a pleasure to gaze into, but all the more so when the movements they reveal have some history to them. That’s definitely the case with Aerowatch’s Grandes Squelettes: they’re powered by hand-wound Unitas movements, which have a heritage dating back to the 1950s.

Aerowatch Orange Tornado soldier 560

The Renaissance Orange Tornado uses a skeletonized bridge design. It’s built off of concentric circles that emanate outwards from the balance, located at 8 o’clock. (This subtle asymmetry was also used in the Black Tornado, which was introduced several years ago; other Grandes Squelettes models have different designs.) Two bright orange hands with luminous coating are mounted at the center; a seconds subdial is at 6 o’clock. Simple, luminous hour markings are found around the perimeter of the dial, making for easy reading. The small seconds display has no markers, but the orange hand should make its position easy to spot nonetheless.

One real treat in looking at the Renaissance Orange Tornado is that its barrel is open for view. As you wind the movement via the crown, you can see the mainspring contract. And as it winds down over the course of 46 hours, you’ll be able to monitor the remaining power just by glancing at it.

Aerowatch Orange Tornado mainspring CU 560

The Breitling replica watches uk uses a Unitas 6498 movement, a 16 1/2-ligne manual caliber. Now owned by ETA (and sometimes known as the ETA 6498), it runs in 17 jewels and has a pocketwatch-style power reserve of 18,000 vph. The movement has been skeletonized, decorated, and chamfered by hand.

The Renaissance Orange Tornado is sizable: it has a 45-mm diameter. Its case is made of polished stainless steel with a black PVD coating. The ring around the dial is matte black with orange markings for the hour indexes. The front sapphire crystal is domed. The watch is water resistant to 50 meters.

Aerowatch Orange Tornado back 560

Available at Aerowatch retailers since March, the Renaissance Orange Tornado costs $2,580. It comes on a black leather strap with orange overstitching and has a steel folding clasp that’s coated in black PVD.

From 21st to 25th APRIL, Zenith will line up for the start of the Tour Auto Optic 2ooo

Written in the stars… The same quest for excellence, the same passion, the same elegance – the two partners were always destined to meet. They will finally come together on the starting line of the 24th Tour Auto. Zenith will be the official timekeeper of the competition, and three connoisseurs of mechanical beauty Breitling replica watches and speed will set off, along with their co-drivers, under its banner. On their wrists, the El Primero Chronomaster 1969 Tour Auto Edition, a sporty model specially designed for the event.

Legendary competition, legendary driver.

Following his record freefall which earned him a definitive place in history, Félix Baumgartner will now get behind the wheel of a 1955 MERCEDES BENZ 300 SL to take up the speed challenge on behalf of Zenith. From the stratosphere to the tarmac, he needed a new arena in which to test his limits by competing against other champions, with his sights set on performance right up to ultimate victory, maybe…

Driver in the Tour Auto. To be there on the starting line, in one of 230 unique sports cars, in a legendary competition… a childhood dream that Felix will see realised. Zenith, which since 1865 has been partnering with men and women who truly live and breathe their passion, is every bit as excited as the man himself at the prospect of this new adventure. The second episode in the story of this duo for whom adrenaline and courage are their lifeblood.

However, Felix won’t be the only one driving with and on behalf of Zenith …

The competition also features Dominique Vananty at the wheel of a 1965 PORSCHE 911, Daniel Spadini in a 1964 JAGUAR E Type 3.8L and his co-driver, Aldo Magada, President and CEO of Zenith.

They will all start on 21st April under the Zenith star, aiming to make it shine it with the brilliance of record times, cheered on by all fans of mechanical beauty!

And what better way to start this performance race than with a little miracle of precision on your wrist?

To mark the event and open this unprecedented sporting chapter, Zenith has designed an exclusive model which crystallises the spirit of its partnership with the Tour Auto. Haute Horlogerie and collector’s cars are linked by fastidious expertise, as well as a desire for perfection and elegance: The El Primero Chronomaster 1969 Tour Auto Edition joins them forever by combining the revolutionary chronograph movements for which the Le Locle Manufacture has become famous, with a design whose finely nuanced colours and symbolic elements reveal a subtle automotive influence.

The cheap Breitling replica watches is equipped with the El Primero 4061 self-winding chronograph movement for an added sporty touch. The design of its open dial reflects the spirit of competition and the world of classic cars, with an aperture at 11 o’clock that provides a view reminiscent of the impressive sight that greets you when you open the bonnet of a racing car.

Subtly arranged, the blue, white and red that evoke the French flag are symbolic. Another detail that connoisseurs will not fail to notice: the mushroom-type push-pieces for the chronograph functions each have an undercut, blue for the chronograph start and red for the reset. The case has brushed horns and middle hoops for a resolutely sporty look. With its triple deployant buckle, the strap recalls the gloves worn by classic car drivers: perforated blue calfskin with a protective black rubber lining for an immediate association with sports and performance cars. The Tour Auto logo (on the crystal) and the watch number in the series appear on the steel case back. The cover of the special box features the Tour Auto logo, and its blue interior matches the watch’s predominant colour. A dream of a model for drivers and connoisseurs of classic sports cars, the El Primero Chronomaster 1969 Tour Auto Edition is available in a limited edition of 500 pieces.

A hub to connect live and follow the Tour Auto in real time.

With the competitors lined up and an Haute Horlogerie Breitling fake watches dedicated to the event, this promises to be an extraordinary spectacle. The brand has activated its Zenith Hub to allow spectators to get up close and personal.

Over the course of 2000 km, including several timed sections on circuits and closed roads, as well as friendly stages, right up to the final on the Basque coast at Biarritz, the web platform will feature a live broadcast of all social media feeds on Zenith and the Tour Auto.

 

Girard-Perregaux – Minute Repeater Tourbillon with Gold Bridges

Deeply attached to its origins and to watchmaking traditions since 1791, Girard-Perregaux regularly shows in its Breitling replica watches uk creations to what extent innovation can contribute to the dynamism of the watch industry. By giving a totally new dimension to the mechanical structure of the striking mechanism, the Minute Repeater Tourbillon with Gold Bridges watch underlines the Swiss Manufacture’s constant determination to advance technically while respecting the aesthetic conventions and time-honored expertise that are so close to its heart.

The mechanical structure of this Minute Repeater Tourbillon with Gold Bridges offers an original opportunity to simultaneously observe on the dial side both the components of the striking-mechanism and the hammers that produce its sound by striking the wires of the gongs. In a major innovation, this positioning of the components facilitates optimum sound transmission when the cheap Breitling replica watches uk is on the wearer’s wrist. This underlines a desire not only to create a mechanism that is as attractive as it is efficient, but also to place it clearly on display for the enjoyment of one and all.

Girard-Perregaux took the ambitious decision of asking its teams of watchmakers and engineers to create a brand new type of caliber with a totally original mechanical structure that makes the invisible visible. Underlying this approach is an implicit desire to perpetuate the Firm’s expertise and watchmaking tradition, embodied by the Tourbillon with Gold Bridges also found in this model.  This emblem of the Girard-Perregaux brand, the design of which was patented in 1884, is today perceived as the aesthetic, technical and even symbolic essence of one of the most venerable Swiss watch manufactures still in existence.

Innovation through tradition

How to produce a strong, clear sound from a wristwatch equipped with a minute repeater mechanism only too often continues to be a stumbling-block for many Breitling fake watchmakers.  Scores, if not hundreds, of different solutions have been proposed in order to perceptibly improve the volume of sound produced by these timepieces, the principle of which first emerged at the turn of the 17th century.  However, Girard-Perregaux purposely chose not to implement any of the previously existing solutions.  None of these succeeds in both beguiling the ear by diffusing a powerful melody and delighting the eye by giving the wearer the opportunity to observe the components of the striking-mechanism during the course of their movements.

With its desire to infuse a spirit of creativity into the notoriously tradition-bound world of watch complications, the Girard-Perregaux Manufacture proposes a classic watch that displays on its front side not only a Tourbillon with Gold Bridges, but also, still on the same side, the majority of the components that enable the minute repeater complication to produce a strong, clear sound, even when in position on the wrist. To achieve such a result, the watchmakers were obliged to re-design not only the entire manual caliber, but also its method of construction and operation.

Giving sound the quality it deserves

The approach adopted here, which is as complex as it is original, perceptibly improves acoustic performance while offering observers the opportunity to appreciate the subtle mechanism of the minute repeater complication not only with their ears but also with their eyes. It should be noted that this is set in motion by sliding a bolt traditionally placed at 8 o’clock on the left-hand side of the case-band.  Sliding this trigger-piece rewinds the spring contained in the minute repeater barrel.  Once the maximum limit has been attained, this minute repeater winding mechanism releases the “on-off” control – an organ designed to prevent the striking-mechanism from starting if the winding of the trigger is not fully completed, thus preventing an incorrect acoustic indication of the time. The enhanced structure that allows the components of the striking-mechanism to be seen through the opening cut into the dial and the astute positioning of the hammers and gongs on the same side, enables the observer to follow the triggering operations with his gaze, while at the same time also new Breitling replica watching the hammers strike the gongs. It will be seen that, of all the minute repeater components, the only one that remains both invisible to the eye and almost undetectable by the ear is the complex organ known as the flywheel. Designed to regulate the hammers’ striking speed, it operates on the case-back side so as to limit any sound emissions, however feeble they may be, and thus guarantees this watchmaking musical instrument’s acoustic qualities.

In these enhanced conditions, the delicate components of the striking-mechanism, each given their own traditional finishing, wind up and then release the hammers so as to strike with absolute consistency first the hours (in a low tone), then the quarter-hours (in a combination of high and low tones), and finally the minutes (in a high tone).

The decision to position the two gongs facing the inner side of the hour circle crafted in 18K gold, and to also place here the hammers (the shape of which is inspired by the Gold Bridges first patented in 1884), goes beyond mere aesthetic considerations.  This positioning enables the acoustic wave, duly regulated at a carefully calibrated frequency, to reverberate harmoniously and not, as is only too often the case, to be confined by the excessive proximity of surfaces such as the skin, well known as possessing a density that easily absorbs sound waves.   In addition to this, the relationship between the size of the case and that of the caliber has been carefully studied so as to offer the best possible volumetric arrangement, as in the case of musical string instruments. Even better, the inside of the case has been specially crafted and finished so as to limit any acoustic interference that might arise.  And since there is no room for false notes in a musical performance, the sapphire crystal case-back has been crafted to give it the delicate curvature found in the majority of musical instruments equipped with a sounding-box, and the aim of which is to maximize the volume in which the sound can reverberate.

Half musical instrument, half kinetic sculpture

It is the highly unusual structure of the striking-mechanism, together with the adoption of a number of subtle technical solutions for this complication that has allowed the Minute Repeater Tourbillon with Gold Bridges to perform so exceptionally well.   Thus, in order to enhance the transmission of the sound wave between the heels of the two gongs, the link between the main plate and the 18K pink gold case-band has been stiffened. This is not all, however. To increase the speed of the hammers and consequently their striking impact, they are each mounted on a pair of jewels acting as ball-bearings so as to reduce friction.  The design of this structure has such a harmonious visual impact that it may seem simple.

However things that look easy are in fact often exceedingly complex to achieve. No fewer than 270 hours of painstaking labour by a master watchmaker are required to assemble and adjust this magnificent mechanism. This work is made all the more arduous by the fact that the method of production of the minute repeater complication, with its hammers placed on the same plane as the racks used to wind them up prior to striking, makes it necessary to adjust the hammers outside the movement using a special tool simulating their future position.  Nevertheless the final result is there for all to see, and these small components made from black polished tempered steel and beveled to highlight their original design inspired by the best replica Breitling watch‘s three gold bridges, produce thanks to their high degree of inertia a clear, powerful note at each strike.

A mechanical structure inspired by the Girard-Perregaux tradition

To house this exceptional mechanism, Girard-Perregaux has chosen a round case with a domed case-band prolonged by the slender lugs that are characteristic of models in the Haute Horlogerie collections.  Its gently inclined bezel allows for a wide opening out over the movement and facilitates the captivating spectacle of the minute repeater mechanism, of the hammers, gongs and Tourbillon. The emblematic arrow-shaped gold Girard-Perregaux Bridges and marking-plates identify the pedigree of this mechanism, with its irreproachable finishes, crafted in accordance with the long traditions of the Manufacture. The caliber is also revealed on the case-back side with a third Gold Bridge and the Girard-Perregaux logo engraved on the main plate.

A black alligator strap with a pink gold triple folding clasp adds the finishing touch to this timepiece.