Chopard Happy Sport Silver Tone Dial 18 Carat Rose Gold Ladies Watch 274893-5003

Cartier Artistic Crafts & High Jewelry Watches For 2012
At the exclusive watch show SIHH, Cartier has one of the largest booths. A lot of their space is dimly lit with museum style showcases offering glimpses of items you probably won't see anywhere else. Given that the show is not open to the public, most people will never see these pieces at all. In the cases are a range of artistic and high-jewelry creations that the French brand has produced for the year. Some of these are piece uniques, some parts of limited editions, and some might not even be sold at all. Whatever the nature of the item, I am usually sure to find at least a few beautiful things.Not all of these items are watches, but most are. High-jewelry (or haute joaillerie as it is often known) enjoys having "mystery display" watches where dials are only revealed after opening or sliding something to the side. That is certainly the case with an item I have not covered in this article, but will in a separate piece. It is just too amusing to be part of a pack, and is how Cartier do

Montblanc Villeret Grand Chronographe Enamel Dial Watch
Most people haven't followed Montblanc's ascension to a high-end watch maker like I have. The path they made from even making timepieces in the first place to where they are now is interesting, and only took about 10 years. Villeret 1858 collection watches are among their highest-end pieces and rely on Montblanc Villeret - which was formerly Minerva. This Grand Chronograph Enamel Dial is like an old-world pocket watch in wrist watch form. Even the back of it opens up like a pocket watch. The enamel dial (here in blue) is quite amazing, and at 47mm wide - this isn't your usual petite classy timepiece. Oh, and the movement decoration is really good.See my full article on the Montblanc Villeret Grand Chronographe Enamel Dial watch here.See Montblanc and Minerva watches on eBay here.See Montblanc items on Amazon here.

Watch & Car Art Together By French Artist Philippe Burlet
French painter Philippe Burlet knows his way around a brush as well as cars and watches. Burlet's medium of choice is watercolors, which he uses to aptly recreate the essence of sport racing and the watch loving spirit. Although relatively obscure in the United States, Burlet is a favorite among European motor sports enthusiasts, who often commission work from the talented painter.Burlet was not always an artist, but lived a life around automobiles. Somewhere in the mix he developed an eye for watches and seemingly became fascinated by their connection to fine cars. Burlet has a penchant for painting Ferrari cars both new and old. Though he does of course recreate other automobiles in watercolor as well.His art featuring watches portrays them in a larger than life manner, appearing bigger than their accompanying cars. This interesting practice serves to emphasize the shape and function of the watches as opposed to their status as timepieces only. This type of work can only come from so

Bought myself a new toy
Today I was up at the mid Michigan antiques festival in Midland. I have had an itch for a vintage Omega Seamaster for a long time. Well I finally found one, 14k gold top and a stainless caseback Seamaster Deville. The hand and dial are mint. Its in running condition, but needs a servicing, and the crown isnt correct, but only paid a $150 for it. I think i got a pretty good deal. I want to put a beads of rice bracelet on it. Would a full gold or a 2-tone bracelet be correct for this model?SANY0025.jpgSANY0018.jpgSANY0021.jpg

Picked up my first Speedmaster
While looking for a 1972 Speedmaster, something came along that piqued my interest in all things orange: Reference 3570.40!