Maitres du Temps - Chapter One

Maitres du Temps is a new brand launched in Geneva earlier this year by industry veteran Steven Holtzman. The brand is unique in that it assembles small teams of independent master watchmakers to create "exclusive and unparalleled masterpieces." The first watch, appropriately named Chapter One, is a stunningly beautiful watch created by Mr. Christophe Claret, Mr. Roger Dubuis, and Mr. Peter Speake-Marin. The watch is fantastic start to what's sure to be a long successful history for the company.

Steven Holtzman, the brands founder, began working in the field of horology over twenty-five years ago when he sold and distributed watches in the United States. In 1997 he created Helvetia Time Corporation (HTC) to distribute high-quality Swiss watch brands, including Roger Dubuis and Jean Dunand. Helvetia Time Corporation became one of the few high-end, independent watch distributors in North America. Now with the creation of Maitres du Temps he is raising the bar for watchmakers everywhere.

The Chapter One timepiece, was indeed a collaboration of giants in the watch industry. Each of the master watchmakers brings their unique strengths and expertise to the development of the timepiece. It is a world-first combination of complications crafted from 558 components. It is the first wristwatch to feature a tourbillon with mono-pusher column wheel chronograph, retrograde date, and retrograde GMT, as well as moon phase and day of the week on their own rolling bars. The two rollers work simultaneously with the time, date, GMT, and chronograph. The 18K red gold case is a large 62.60 mm x 45.90 mm and has a sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective coating. The watch comes on an alligator strap with 18K red gold deployant buckle.

Bell & Ross BR Instrument Grand Minuteur

Bell & Ross has had great success in its 16 years as a company, but its biggest success has been with their Instrument watches launched in 2005. This year Bell & Ross introduced the BR Instrument Grand Minuteur, a 10-hour monopusher chronograph with flyback. The Grand Minuteur features one of a kind functions, an hour counter connected to a large counter, a timer that measures short times and an additional flyback function that launches a new measurement almost immediately. The dial was created with pilots in mind, with the large flyback chronograph display for easy readability. The extra-large case is 44mm x 50mm but is kept relatively light by using an angled rib structure and a Diamond Like Carbon finishing coat.

A tourbillon version of the Minuteur was also released this year. The BR Instrument Minuteur Tourbillon has a very similar design to the Grand Minuteur, but the chronograph and the time display have been switched and the power reserve and small seconds hand have been moved so the tourbillon would fit on the dial. The case is the same extra large diameter but is made from satin-polished pink gold. Both watches are water resistant to 100 meters and are available on either an alligator or a rubber straps.