When one thinks of Quartz Watches, one thinks of the little round battery at the back of the watch. Well Quartz has gone automatic so to speak. In an Automatic Mechanical Watch the movement of the wrist winds the mainspring and thus powers the mechanical movement. In the Kinetic Watch, the movement of the wrist charges a highly efficient capacitor which powers the quartz movement. When the capacitor is charges, mens watches can store energy for 7 to 14 days and womens watches for 3-7 days. If the watch is worn every day the capacitor remains at full capacity. If the watch has not been worn in a while, the owner is alerted as the watch second hand begins to move in two second intervals. Some of the Seiko Kinetic Watch models have a See-Thru case back that uses a clear Hardlex (Mineral Glass) watch back, enabling the wearer unobstructed view of the watches movement.

An addition to the Kinetic Watches are the Kinetic Auto Relay Watches which are also charged by the motion of the wearers arm. However if the Kinetic Auto Relay Watch is not worn for three days, the watch senses inactivity and places itself into suspended animation to conserve energy. The cool aspect about this watch is that it can be shaken into re-activation and adjust itself to the precise time, up to four years of dormancy.

Seiko Kinetic Watches have been around for a while and are still highly popular.

With all this talk of finding alternative ways of powering our planet, Prada has taken heed and found an alternative means of powering their new innovative watch. Solar Power. Miuccia Prada gathered her team of designers to come up with a watch that does its part to conserve our natural resources.  The Solar Watch.  The watch face is carved from a photoelectric cell so that the quartz movement will keep on running.  No constant stream of sunlight is needed for this watch. Prada’s Solar Watch only requires sunlight once a month to  keep it running.The Prada Watch is Limited edition of 1000 individually numbered watches. In addition the watch contains a radio receiver to tune into the exact time.  This watch is so on the ball it even jumps to the correct time between London and Paris; however, try taking it to New York and you have it stumped.  This watch is only available in Europe and the radio receiver will not work in the US; however, the US sun is just as fine as the UK sun to keep it going.

The movement is housed within a gray titanium case and available in either a black or aged dark brown Saffiano Leather Strap. The forest green watch face hints at its “going green” intentions.

Since Movado was formed back in 1881, the company has had artistic creations  where the canvas is the watch.

Yaacov Agam created this 1980’s limited  edition watch series for the Movado Time Museum Collection.  A  colored watch band, and multicolored broken circles, and dotted hands creates a very unique watch.  This watch was sold in 2000 for $10,925.

The Andy Warhol Times/5′ was created to launch the Movado Artist Series.  The bracelet is made up of five self-contained watches depicting different New York City images. Andy Warhol was an American artist who was a central figure in the pop-art movement.

This watch is the product of Max Bill, a swiss artist founder of logical school of art designated Concrete Art. He created a watch that perfectly harmonizes the colors.  This watch aptly named “Bill Time” was commissioned by Movado for its artist series. This watch is almost surreal in its colors, perfect in its color arrangement and design.

This wonderfully  lighthearted watch was commissioned in 1994 for a very worthy cause. “Children of the World” is a Watch is  by Brazilian-born pop-artist Romero Britto for Movado Artist Series. This watch  was created to raise funds for a worthy cause.

This last Watch is an incredible Watch with three complete sets of mechanical movements although the Watch faces merge into one another.  Created by a post-modern  American artist,  James Rosenquist, this watch is called “Elapse, eclipse, ellipse.”

 

Movado Group Inc. (MOV symbol on the NYSE) is undoubtedly one of the worlds prolific watchmaker. Movado Group Inc. designs, manufactures and distributes watches from 9 well known brands.

1. Movado

2. Ebel

3. Concord

4. ESQ SWISS

5. Coach Watches

6. Hugo Boss

7. Juicy Coutre

8. Lacoste

9. Tommy Hilfiger

In addition Movado Group Inc. designs and markets jewelry and gifts exclusively for Movado Boutique Stores in the United States.

For an inspirational read about the life story of Gerry Grinberg, the founder of Movado Group Inc. Click on the Link.

http://www.movadogroupinc.com/company/cuban_frame.htm

J. LO SINGS ABOUT THEM. Charlize Theron peddles them. And every celebrity worthy of appearing in the pages of Us Weekly wears them: Luxury watches.

But luxury watches are not only for the famous. Today, titans of industry and even the soccer Mom crowd won’t leave home without a timepiece worth $5,000 or more fastened to their wrist.

And come on, admit it: You want one. Not necessarily one that Diddy would approve of, but one that’s classic. One that you can wear forever and maybe pass along to your kid someday. Truth is, once you cut through all the hype currently surrounding high-end watches, what you find is a real work of art: Luxury watches are masterpieces of traditional craftsmanship. A high-end watch can have 800 or more components — many of them handmade — and hand-assembled by trained watchmakers. A standard quartz watch, in comparison, is most likely machine-made and may have only 20 components inside.

How much should you expect to pay? Depends on the watch, of course. The luxury market bottoms out at around $1,000, but many watches easily cost 30 times that, says Andrew Block, senior vice president of marketing for Tourneau, one of the world’s largest high-end watch dealers.

As you might imagine, buying a Cartier or a Rolex is somewhat more complicated than picking out a Fossil or Timex at your mall. Here’s what to consider:

Maker
Rolex and Cartier are the best known among consumers, followed by Patek Philippe and Piaget, according to the Luxury Institute LLC’s latest Luxury Brand Status Report, which measures brand value.

Most luxury watchmakers are Swiss, but there are a handful from other countries, including Bulgari (Italy) and Cartier (France). Considering the brand will give you a sense of history and specialty. Breitling, for example, is favored by pilots for its aeronautic designs.

Movement
In watch lingo, “movement” is the mechanism that keeps the watch going. You won’t often find quartz (meaning battery-powered) watches in the luxury realm, says Block. “The artisans don’t think of quartz as an example of real watchmaking,” he says, as it doesn’t require a high level of craftsmanship.

Luxury watches are typically mechanical or self-wound. Mechanical watches must be wound, while automatics are animated by the motion of your wrist. (That’s right, you may be paying thousands of dollars, but you’ll still have to wind or regularly reset your fancy watch.)

Craftsmanship
The vision of “little old men in Switzerland staying up all night” and working on watches is largely true, says Terry Betteridge, owner of A.E. Betteridge, an estate jeweler in Greenwich, Conn. In fact, craftsmanship on luxury watches is so highly prized that many watches, like Gevril’s Soho Deluxe Automatic Calendar ($9,995), have so-called skeleton backs, which allow you to see the components in motion.

Complications
High-end watches do more than just show the time. They offer additional features called complications. A split-second chronograph will allow you to time two things at once — say, two people in a race, while a perpetual calendar will give you accurate dates and times through the year 2100. You’ll also find complications to monitor multiple time zones or even chime on the hour.

There are eight so-called master complications, which the best watchmakers employ in their various watches. The more complications offered in a watch, the higher the price and the more fragile the watch. For example, Alpina’s Startimer Automatic ($1,290) offers one complication, a perpetual calendar. The pricier Startime Automatic GMT Chronograph ($2,590) has three: perpetual calendar, second time zone and chronograph.

Exclusivity
With its $5,000-plus price tag, there’s no doubt that not everyone can afford a real Rolex Oyster. Yet it is a popular watch, which means its price — on the luxury scale — is relatively low. The level of prestige is further honed with special or limited editions. Special editions made for a set period of time (usually a year) or to commemorate an event can command top price. Glycine, for example, is known for its Airman 7 models ($3,625), which can display up to four time zones. But only 50 timepieces were made for its limited edition Airman 7 Gold, which goes for $20,000.

Specialization
Luxury watches come with all sorts of bells and whistles geared to appeal to gadget geeks and sporting types. Corum’s Admirals’ Cup Tide 44 ($26,000) measures the force of the tide and currents, based on the current moon phase. Jaeger’s Reverso line (Reverso Classique, $4,500), which allows the watch face to be flipped, was originally engineered for protection during polo matches. Sportsmen may enjoy these added features, says Betteridge, but know they are also hefty — both in terms of price and added bulk to the watch.

Materials
Stainless steel is the primary material used, but many makers also produce luxury watches in 18-karat gold. Unlike less expensive watches, this isn’t gold plating, but rather gold that has been alloyed with other metals to make it strong enough to withstand everyday wear. Depending on the maker, other materials may be used. Cartier, for example, offers watches in platinum or titanium, as well as rose, yellow or white gold. Its Tortue watch in yellow gold fetches $13,000, while the same watch in platinum is $20,000.

Details
Luxury watches tend to have little accents that make the watch truly a piece of art, says Block, such as highly-polished finish and curved clasp that make the watch more comfortable against your wrist. Designs may be hand-etched rather than stamped. You’ll see dials made of mother-of-pearl, a delicate material that isn’t often found in such large, flawless circles. And of course, any diamonds or other precious gems will contribute to the price. Rolex’s Oyster Perpetual Day/Date in white gold will set you back about $22,950. But if you want a dial with diamonds, expect to pay $25,200.

Bottom Line get a great price on a Movado watch here!

Credits to Smart Money

He was a co-worker. His name is Mike, although he cannot say it. I saw him an hour before his stroke. He was dropping off a 12 pack of Bounty Towel at the office. He seemed a little tired and stressed. No hint of the huge blood clot building up in his brain. He smiled and bid me farewell. Mike was always inquiring how I felt or if I had eaten.

He was not at work the next day; he was fighting for his life.

Two months later, Mike was still in his coma, he had overcome a potentially deadly infection and threads of response glimmered behind his closed eyes. A permanent employee had replaced a temporary employee who had replaced Mike. The permanent employee, a corporate fellow in starched collars and pointed shoes, sorted through Mikes old desk with military precision. The last traces of Mike were being flung into an office box. I had offered to take the box to his wife.

I heard a clink of glass on the bottom of the filing cabinet beside Mike’s old desk, and the new employee withdrew a watch. I recognized it immediately, the leather black strap was soft and worn and a gold dot clung to the 12 ‘o’clock position amidst a black face. It was a Movado Museum Watch. The employee flung the Movado Watch among Mikes dog-eared odds and ends.

“Hey! That’s Mike’s,” I said with a protectiveness that surprised me. I picked up the Watch and held it. I had seen Mike glancing at the Watch on so many occasions that ,to me, the Watch was an intimate extension of Mike. I felt the new employee had somehow invaded Mikes privacy. I was filled with a sudden urgency to return Mikes Museum Watch. I felt he needed the Watch.

I called Mikes wife, Susan.

“I found Mike’s Watch,” I said knowing how silly it sounded since Mike was in a coma and in no need of the time.

“Oh!” she said and hesitated. I could hear her throat clogging up. “Come see Mike,” she said after a moment.

“At the hospital?’ I said. Thinking to myself, “Obviously he is at the hospital. Why did I say that?”

She gave me directions and I headed there straight after work.

I tiptoed into Mikes room smelling hospital grade antiseptic. The room was dim. I stood by the doorway looking at Mike still form beneath Hospital blankets. Susan had fallen asleep by his side, her head on her folded arms, resting on the side of his bed. The room was still and I turned to leave.

“She’s asleep gotto go.” I thought feeling guilty but relieved. Then I felt the cool glass of the Movado Museum Watch against my palm. I squeezed it gently and tapped Mikes wife on the shoulder. She sat up immediately, used to being on the alert.

She held my arm, “You came.” she said, and I cried and she cried. I stretched out my hand and let the Movado Museum Watch lay flat against my palm. Susan took the watch from my hand and laid it against her cheek as fresh waves of tears rolled down her face. She carefully lifted Mikes wrist and around it she placed the Movado Museum Watch. I thought I saw Mike move his fingers in response, but I was not sure.

Mike struggled up from his coma two weeks later, and it was two weeks after that he started looking at his Watch. Four months later, Mike cannot walk or talk or feed himself, but every once in a while, he looks at his Movado Museum Watch. A small action powering Susan’s hope that Mike will recover.

Susan believes, the Movado Watch links Mike to his old life, and plays a role in his recovery.

For a NFL hero, a season-ending knee injury that requires surgery hurls a crashing blow. Tom Bradys’ team the Patriots have lost their best quarterback and their hopes of ever making it to the SuperBowl. As it stands the Patriots are struggling in a Brady-less field. No Brady means no constant NFL visual reminder of his lithe speed and power on the field. Companies who have endorsed Tom Brady for commercials are getting antsy as his football future is uncertain and while he is recovering, some are opting to remove their endorsement.

Last year Tom Brady raked in 10 million dollars in endorsements, his major brand sponsorships being Movado luxury watches, Coca-Cola’s Glaceau’s Smartwater, NetJets, a private jet service, Coty’s Stetson cologne and Atari’s Backyard Football game.

Movado has a new ad in November issues of magazines like Sports Illustrated, Forbes, Mens Vogue and GQ and have no intention of withdrawing them.
“He represents the qualities that we want consumers to think about when they think about our brand,” says Mary Leach, Chief marketing Officer.

Besides who says that just because Tom Brady is off the field he is not being watched. Tom Brady has developed an off the field personality and he has been advertised in non-sports magazines. He also dates supermodel Gisele Bundchen, the stunning supermodel who models the Ebel Beluga Watches. Yes, Tom Brady has a knee injury and yes, he requires surgery with a long recovery period, and yes, he will not be playing this season, but he will not be forgotten.

Movado has made the right choice to stand by Tom Brady, as he has become the face of Movado as much as the face of the NFL quarterback.

This watch is the Neolog. Now I turned to good old Wikipedea to find the concise explanation of the word Neo. I can explain the word sort of kind of but no where near as precise as Wikipedia.

Neo is a prefix signaling a “new” form or a revival of an old one.

Neolog refers to a new way of displaying time. This watch is kind of cool in that if you skipped the essential Pre K mathematical building blocks whereby a number represents an amount, you can still tell the time. All you need to know is how to count from 1 to 12. Three columns, representing hours, minutes and seconds. The time on the watch above would be 7:35. The little sticks of hours or minutes are bunched up in threes to make easy reading. Although it is an exceptional innovative design, I cannot squash the thought that the bars on the watch will suddenly pulsate a strange red and start emitting a hellish siren, “Warning, System overload, All personal leave the area, 10, 9, 8…”

This watch is designed by The Scopetime GmbH in Hamburg, Germany under the guidance of designer Arman Emami. What makes the Time Display unique is its incredible simplicity. In a world where innovation is the key to success, the simple design is often overlooked. An excellent example of this, is Movado’s Museum Watch. Its single round dot on the 12 ‘o’ clock position, is so simple yet timeless in its popularity.

At 200 Euros, the Analog Watch is affordable. In addition the Analog Watch caters to the general public, unlike the Binary watch which still has this belittling effect on me. Or even worse, the morse code watch - the cream watch with the red “whatevers” on the watch face and the blinking blue scary robotic morse code watch. No number watches that display the time - somehow.

Concord Tourbillon Timepiece in the C1 collection is a riveting watch. This Watch with its unique placement of the Tourbillon sends Concord into a the dimension of new cutting-edge innovations and futuristic designs. This watch has a multitude of unique characteristics:

• Tourbillon is placed on the outer circumference of the case rather than within the Watch Case. I have never seen this design on any other watch.
• A unique seconds indication.
• F lyback Chronograph enabling immediate reuse of the chronograph movement.
• A trust index display.

This watch incorporates a remarkable synergy of features. The exciting unique design was conceived, elaborated and assembled in 12 months, a product of incredibly creative minds. The timepiece ,created by Blade Design, screams unexpected cutting edge engineering. It is undoubtably one of the most successful timepieces Concord has ever released.

The first characteristic one notices about this watch is the Tourbillon placed outside the watch. An ingenious concept; however difficult to accomplish. Concord succeeded in creating the Tourbillon on the outside of the watch bybuilding is Tourbillon according to an orthogonal mechanical concept. The vertical Tourbillon is immediately visible on the wrist and providing the onlooker with a sense of wonder.

The unique seconds display goes its own way. The luminescent seconds appear via an open window on the side of the Tourbillon carriage and owing to the fact that the Tourbillon is Vertical, the seconds are clearly visible on the face of the watch.

The C1 is crafted with extreme technical sophistication and a unsurpassed design. The case measures 48.55mm in diameter and is 18.5mm thick making it quite an impressive watch. The metal face of the Concord C1 Tourbillon Gravity utilizes Concords hallmark layered construction. With premium shock-absorbent qualities and sturdiness, the C1 Tourbillon is protected against life’s falls. This timepiece is issued in limited edition of 25 watches. With this watch Concord has broken through boundaries and surged forward into the future of watchmaking.

Chopard L.U.C ,the acronym for Louis Ulysse Chopard, is a superior watch collection of impeccable quality. Conceived to honor, Louis Ulysse Chopard who founded Chopard in 1860. One of the most prestigious additions to the L.U.C Collection is the L.U.C Tourbillon. The Tourbillon is a complication highly coveted in the competitive world of Luxury Watches. Chopard has surpassed competition with the release of its manually wound movement ,built solely by the highly skilled and precision driven watchmakers of Chopard. The Watch is a victorious in its design, a watch Louis Ulysse Chopard would be proud of.

The L.U.C Tourbillon utilizes four mainspring barrels operating in a series. This watch will continue working for a admirable 8 days while being fully wound. A true engineering masterpiece. The one-minute Tourbillon is crafted to the microscopic perfection. A free-sprung Breguet hairspring and an exclusive Chopard “Variner” system is used to fine tune the inertia of the balance wheel thereby enabling the optimum adjustment for perfect precision. Impressively the L.U.C Tourbillon is one of the very few Tourbillons that have undergone and passed the rigourous testing of the C.O.S.C and consequently been awarded the title of Chronometer.

The fine movement is housed in a gorgeous case. The solid gold guilloche dial is beautifully crafted blending the boundries of art and horology. The caseback is transparent, treating the wearer to a movement where attention to the smallest detail is of the essence.

Punched onto the Watches movement is the distinguished Geneva Seal Hallmark, noting that this watch has fulfilled all the criteria and has been awarded the seal.