watches with red bezel

Here are some interesting skeletonized versions of Piaget's new Polo 45 (FortyFive) collection timepieces. I spotted these watches at Piaget, though I don't believe there has been any press about them. Piaget may be waiting to announce them, but here they are. There is a chronograph and three-hand version, and they are pretty much the same Piaget Polo 45 you are now familiar with, but with stylized, skeletonized dials. Under the dials is the in-house made Piaget movement with perlage polish. The the dials retain all the necessary markers and numerals, but are otherwise skeletonzied. A liberal amount of red is used adding to the sporty feel of the watch. Many people feel that the Piaget Polo FortyFive watch collection was a mistake to begin with. Being overpriced and under-styled. Others really liked it though - and for those people I think these skeletonized models will be a hit. Piaget uses a large red circle over the date window, which is a nice touch. I don't think these watches have the typical Piaget polish that we are used to, but that isn't really what the Polo FortyFive collection is all about. While the hour markers do a good job of popping out on the dial, the hands need a lot of improvement to be legible enough. I understand that these skeletonized Polo FortyFive watches are going to be commercially available but in limited amounts. Look for them sometime this year at a price that is likely a slight premium over the standard Piaget Polo FortyFive automatic or chronograph models. Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com. Gallery: Piaget Polo 45 Skeletonized Watch

Audemars Piguet Millenary Minute Repeater Hand-Wound in Titanium (Ref. 26371Ti.OO.D002CR.01)AP will soon present its new Audemars Piguet Millenary Minute Repeater hand-wound watch in titanium (Ref. 26371Ti.OO.D002CR.01.) The official premiere of the timekeeper is scheduled for the SIHH 2011 trade show that will take place in January, 2011.While some premium watchmakers concentrate their efforts on creating timepiece that look “scandalous” and “daring,” the real super-brands like Audemars Piguet tend to go the other way around: they build their watches around daringly innovative mechanisms.The new Audemars Piguet Millenary Minute Repeater watch is one of these rare examples.Although some persons will buy this watch mostly for its unconventional look, its main selling point is the new manual-wind movement, which is equipped with a reworked version of the lubrication free escapement created by Audemars Piguet.The modified escapement is still based on a mid-eighteenth century design by certain Robert Robin, but also offers a new construction of the balance wheel, which is composed not of a single balance- spring, but of two balance-springs placed top to tail.According to the company, the new system combines high efficiency of a direct impulse escapement (meaning the balance wheel receives an impulse directly from the escape wheel) with the robustness of the time-proven Swiss lever escapement.Compared to the traditional Swiss lever escapement that didn’t change much during the last 200 years, the new system allows for better efficiency (and therefore extended power reserve,) higher accuracy (it ensures automatic compensation for potential poising flaws) and makes the module easier to make since it eliminates the need for the overcoil terminal curves.As it is often done with these types of movement, the three-barrel AP Caliber 2910 uses two different energy storage facilities that supply power for the time-measuring device and for the minute repeater module.The first pair of barrels allows for a power reserve of 165 hours (almost 7 days!) and the third barrel is reserved for the minute repeater.Since the striking mechanism and its gongs require enormous (on this scale) flow of power, the third barrel is also huge, being two and a half times larger than normal components.Other highlights of the mechanism include a balance-stop system and a new winding safety system that prevents time-setting while the striking mechanism is chiming its notes.The watch is delivered in a traditional for the Millenary line oval-shaped case in brushed titanium, which is for some unknown reason left non-water-resistant.The bezel of the same shape is done in polished titanium that provides the Audemars Piguet Millenary Minute Repeater with its superb looks.The oval-shaped dial of the watch leaves enough space to show current time and also display the very flat opposite-facing double balance-spring system that makes the watch so interesting.