A very worthwhile visit to De Bethune in Geneva (wristshots!)

De Bethune's watches have fascinated me for a long time, but for various reasons I had been unable to personally handle any of their pieces. Since I’m in Geneva, I decided to go by their boutique on La Place Longemalle. Store manager Kevin Bega was an excellent host and showed me plenty of De Bethune’s offerings. For a brand that produces around 400 pieces a year, it had a lot to offer, both aesthetically and technically.

Several things stood out to me about the watches. The first is how highly polished the titanium for many of the cases was, we usually see titanium as a dull sandblasted grey mass but De Bethune’s almost look like a combination of platinum and gunmetal. The second is how wearable its large 44mm and 42mm watches are, as an owner of 6.5-inch wrists, any number higher than 40mm is usually a good indication I shouldn’t even bother trying a watch on, but both the spring loaded lugs of the DB28 and the drop lugs of the DB25 Imperial Fountain Snake fit reasonably well. Other admirable characteristics include the black polished and interestingly shaped plates, round scale alligator lined straps (presumably by Camille Fournet), and use of silicum in the balance wheel and escapement and blued titanium for the 3D moon and other components.

I was glad to hear that the power reserve for most movements was 5 days (4 for the perpetual calendar). I’d perhaps like to see comfortable deployant clasps instead of the tang buckles, at least as an optional offering.

DB25 Imperial Fountain movement

DB25 with power reserve (40mm)

DB28 Aiguille D’Or limited edition (42.6mm)

Movement of the DB28 Aiguille D’Or limited edition

DB16 Perpetual calendar Tourbillon Dead seconds (43mm)

DB25 Imperial Fountain-Sold in a set of 12 zodiacs. With mystery-style hands

A journey to paradise: The MIH in La Chaux-de-Fonds

Vallée de Joux, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Glashütte aren't the first places that come to the traveller's mind. But these places ring with the familiarity of home for watch enthusiasts. This May I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Le Locle, which allowed me two hours at the Musée International d'Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds (LCDF). In order to get to LCDF from Geneva, the Inter-Regio train will take you from Geneva to Neuchâtel in about 80 minutes, from there take the Regio Express to LCDF which takes a little under half an hour. 

Taking advantage of the microscope: Natural history museum in Neuchatel

Bergeon Headquarters in Le Locle (very surprised it's not bright yellow)

Our trip included a detour to Le Locle 30 minutes regio express (RE) train ride from LCDF in order to make a purchase from my favourite horological tool maker, Bergeon. The train ride from Neuchatel stops at LCDF before going to Le Locle, passing through a few familiar names including Patek Philippe, Cartier, Jaquet Droz, Sellita (the ebauche maker), and Stryker (surgical implants).

 Patek and J*D

Sellita Ebauche

The museum is a short 10 minute walk from the LCDF train station, there are a few antique horology shops nearby offering various artifacts from tools to old displays from the 1950's, but I didn't see anything really worth buying. The entrance is built into a hill, making the place look a bit reclusive and library-like, there was sone construction going on at the entrance so we didn't linger in the rain longer than necessary. Museum admission is 15 CHF for adults and 10 CHF for students under 25 years old, an electronic tour guide is only 2 CHF and highly recommended. Lockers are free to use.

A panorama of the entrance (click for huge)

The lobby area filled with watches from sponsoring watchmakers including Swatch group (Glashutte Original, Breguet, Blancpain) and other companies (Vacheron, Ulysse Nardin, etc.) The MIH watch is available for sale for 6000 CHF in the museum shop which offers a selection of just-for-fun horology as well as more serious pieces including a fews Reuge music boxes. The selection of books is also quite good and include the latest George Daniels book. 

Entering the museum proper is a straight descent into the horological rabbit hole. There are timepieces from all throughout history from Clepsydras (water clocks) from 5000 years ago up to the the Ulysse Nardin Astrolabium by curator Ludwig Oechslin. There is also much for the horologically uninitiated, including teaching models, easy to understand background information, and animations. One of the best features of the museum is the fact that almost all the clocks are running. 

The first Swiss quartz clock

Incense based timer from China

A few of my favourite pieces are pictured below. There's not much else to say other than it's more than worth the trip there, prepare to spend at least 2 hours learning about the huge collection.

A very familiar slogan on a single-geared clock from the 1800's

A marine chronometer by Ulysse Nardin, this one featured a quartz attachment for adjustment

A clepsydra model, do not touch the water no matter what, it smells absolutely terrible

GP Three Golden Bridges, the museum houses many important modern watches

An extra large, working escapement model with overcoil

Engraver's tools

Engraving

Various watchmaking tools

Patek ref. 6002: Return of the most expensive Patek Wristwatch

*A video of the watch can be seen here

The full press release from Patek can be read here

The Patek ref. 5002, also known as the Sky Moon Tourbillon, is truly the stuff of legends. Unlike the stuffy 11 million dollar "pocket" watch or Eric Clapton's 4 million dollar vintage perpetual calendar chronograph, this is a true modern production watch of immense value. The price tag varied from 1.2 million Swiss Francs (Antiquorum auction on May 12th 2013 for a 18K pink gold iteration) to 1.9 million US Dollars (sold on PuristSPro Market Place for a black dialed platinum version). According to Antiquorum the specifications are:

42.8 mm diameter, 18 mm thick
Minute-repeating on cathedral gongs
Chronometer
One minute tourbillon regulator
Perpetual calendar
Flyback retrograde date
Nocturnal sky chart
Moon age
Lunar Orbit
Time of the meridian passage of Sirius
Time of meridian passage of the moon
Solar mean time
Sidereal time
A total production number of 25 pieces during the 8 years it was offered (until 2012)

Patek has now re-released the watch in a similar iteration, the 6002G, but replacing the original hands indicating perpetual calendar with the more elegant apertures. The moon age has also been replaced with a moonphase. Overall, the watch is both simpler (in terms of display) and more complex (in terms of overall apperance). A surprising choice was the use of white gold instead of platinum for the case material, especially considering the exclusivity of platinum and the similar market price of the two metals. No word on pricing yet, but considering the 1.2-1.9 million that the 5002 was being offered for, a price upwards of 2 million USD can be expected.

 The hand engraving is especially done using sharp tools for extreme detail, the central dial is completed using a cloisonné technique (involving the use of gold wire to form separate compartments which are then filled with enamel and fired), and the rest of the dial is made using champlevé (a technique where troughs are made in a metal disc and filled with enamel). The movements used in both 5002 and 6002 watches are almost identical, and the sidereal time and astronomical complication can be set to a city of the owner's choice.

This watch, as many similar pieces, are not meant to be "wearable", but rather as an exposition of skill, or dare I saw celebration of the ingenuity of mankind. As the MIH in La Chaux-de-Fonds states, watches are a representation of the physical universe, and the ability to model such infinite complexity is embodied in the 6002.

Technical data

Patek Philippe "Sky Moon Tourbillon" Ref. 6002

Movement: Caliber RTO 27 QR SID LU CL

Manually wound mechanical movement. Minute repeater, tourbillon, perpetual calendar with aperture displays and retrograde date, moon phases, sidereal time, angular progression of the moon

Overall diameter: 38 mm

Height: 12.61 mm

Number of parts: 686

Number of jewels: 55

Power reserve: Min. 38 hours – max. 48 hours

Balance: Gyromax®

Tourbillon: 1 revolution per minute; number of parts: 69; overall weight: 0.3 g

Steel cage; tourbillon, balance wheel, and fourth wheel on one axis

Frequency: 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour (3 Hz)

Balance spring: Breguet

Balance spring stud: Adjustable

Hallmarks: Patek Philippe Seal, rate accuracy certificate for Patek Philippe tourbillon watches

Displays: Front side, dial: Mean solar time in hours and minutes, perpetual calendar with retrograde date, day of week, month, leap year cycle, and moon phases

Back side, sky chart: Sidereal time in hours and minutes, time of meridian passage of Sirius and of the moon, angular progression of the moon, and moon phases.

Minute repeater: Hour, quarter-hour, and minute strikes on two “cathedral” gongs

Features: 

Case: 18K white gold with reliefed engraving

Sapphire-crystal glass front and rear

Dimensions: Diameter 42.80 mm

Height (crystal to back): 16.25 mm

Height (crystal to lugs): 17.35 mm

Crowns: At 4 o'clock to wind the movement and set the hands for mean solar time, hand-engraved

At 2 o'clock to adjust the sky chart, sidereal time, angular position of the moon, and the moon phase, hand-engraved

Slide: In the case flank to actuate the minute repeater Continued 7

Correction push pieces: Date and day between 11 and 12 o'clock (in the case flank) Month between 3 and 4 o’clock

Moon phase between 5 and 6 o'clock

Day of week between 6 and 7 o’clock

Front side: Gold dial with blue enamel in champlevé and cloisonné

Railway-track minute scale integrated in the blue champlevé enamel, Applied Roman numerals in white gold

Date numerals and markers, signature lettering, and movement number painted bright gray

Hands: Hours and minutes: leaf-shaped hands in white gold, hand-engraved

Date: slender double-leaf flyback hand in rhodiumed steel

Back side: Four metallized sapphire-crystal disks (sky chart) Hours and minutes of sidereal time: white counterbalanced baton hands

Strap: Hand-stitched shiny blue alligator with large square scales and handengraved fold-over clasp in 18K white gold

An objective comparison, Rolex vs Omega, Eppur si muove (and yet it moves...)

As said previously, I don't find brand comparisons particularly useful. However, they're a popular topic of discussion and can certainly be a useful reference. Rolex and Omega are probably the most compared of any of the brands, possibly because of their relatively close price range and popularity in the general luxury watch market. Instead of declaring "this brand is superior", I'm going to do a step-wise comparison of the brands in general, which one comes out on top will be more a matter of which aspects a user cares more about rather than which is "better". Most of the generalizations I will be making are the more modern popular models, i.e. for Rolex the professional series (Air-king, GMT, Submariner, Daytona, president/day-date) and for Omega their Speedmaster, Seamaster (professional and Aqua Terra), and DeVille. I will not be generally referring to the sky dweller, omega's co-axial tourbillons, the yacht master II or any other extreme examples.

History and company
Omega is, without a doubt, a member of the Swatch Group. There's really nothing wrong with Swatch ownership and this actually allows for them to develop superb movements at a cost efficiency not possible without such scale. Omega had many of its best creations in the 1960's, including the ever popular pie-pan constellation. Despite somewhat declining in the 70's and 80's, the brand had new life breathed into it when it adopted George Daniels' co-axial escapement in 1999. This, and subsequent events in the early 21st century gave Omega a more modern brand image, despite the company's older age (1848) than Rolex (1905). Omega is noted for three things historically: The NASA Moon landing, chronometer/observatory trials, and their co-axial escapement. Unlike Rolex, they release many special and limited editions which while interesting, I personally find gaudy and an over exploitation of their history, especially considering that the current "moon watch" Speedmaster has a very different movement than the original column wheel Lemania in the cal 321.

Still an independent company, Rolex is much younger than Omega, but its historical technical achievements are arguably greater. Rolex was the first to introduce a truly waterproof watch, it was also the first in GMT, divers, and automatically date changing watches. These unexciting but extremely practical accomplishments have been a theme for the brand throughout its history. Additionally, Rolex has held a stronger popular image than Omega, being worn by James Bond (in the books and early movies), Fidel Castro, and just about everyone else. Its exceeding popularity is also an issue, with production fluctuating around the 1,000,000 watches a year mark, Rolex is actually even less exclusive than Omega. Despite its prevalence, its history with Comex and Pan Am certainly put Rolex in the history books.

Movements
Quartz movements aside, both companies use well made, but not exceedingly well finished, movements. Omega has continued to forge ahead with its 8500 series co-axial movements while Rolex has taken a conservative approach and continued to use their 3000 series movements (with the exception of the Daytona). The key differences between the movements are: Rolex uses a breguet overcoil hairspring made of their parachrom blue antimagnetic alloy while Omega uses a flat hairspring made of a silicon alloy. Both use free sprung balances with variable inertia balance wheels and this is more or less a tie. Rolex uses the conventional lever escapement while Omega uses Daniels' co-axial escapement. There is plenty of information about the differences between the two but the theory is the co-axial does not involve sliding (rubbing) friction and this is more durable, but on the opposite hand it beats at 3.5 hz instead of 4 hz, while the technology is intriguing their is little to suggest it actually will last longer since a properly maintained lever escapement lasts an extremely long time anyway. But as in all things horology, theoretical advantage is often enough. The winding system of Omega is more durable but slightly louder than Rolex, Omega uses the conventional ball bearing system while Rolex uses a jeweled post. The issue with the jeweled post is that if the lubrication runs dry, the post will wear down and the weight of the automatic rotor is likely to scrape against the mainplate, wearing down the rhodium plating. The exception to this is the Daytona, which uses ceramic ball bearings.

Omega 8500 caliber showing the free sprung balance, double barrels, and co-axial escapement

Rolex 3136, notice the lack of ball bearing, blue Breguet overcoil hairspring, and free sprung balance

904L vs 316L Steel
Rolex continuously markets its use of 904L instead of 316L steel, Both grades of steel are high quality, but the Rolex reasoning is that because of professional diving use, sea water was found to slowly seep into the threads of the caseback. This causes corrosion in 316L and thus the change was made. This change is interesting and a nice touch, but again, not particularly technically meaningful to 99.9% of users.

Case, bracelet, and clasp
The cases made by both companies are comparable in quality, Rolex tends to be shinier and more "bling" with polished surfaces while Omega's use of brushed metal is more subdued. The ceramic bezel introduced by Rolex (and adopted by Omega) is a nice touch, making the watches look more modern. While it's nice to have a unscratched bezel, the lack of potential patina could be a downside (as is the high cost of replacing the bezel). While Rolex had a pretty abysmal hollow stamped link bracelet previously, its new solid bracelet is significantly better and feels slightly better than that made by Omega. The new Glidelock clasp is well machined, but there have been reports that the clasp is not as secure as it could be.

Rolex Glidelock clasp

This was previously covered in my review of the 14060M Submariner

Price, aesthetics, and others.
When it comes down to plopping down paper or plastic for whatever purchase, it's ultimately a personal decision. It's important to consider mechanical, technical, and historical factors but if you end up with a watch which you don't like, or can't afford, it really does no good. As always, buy what you can afford, buy what you like.

An interesting boxplot graph of 2011 watch prices by brand, Rolex and Omega both lie in the same tier