The Baume and Mercier Riviera XXL Jump Hour reminds me somewhat of the Hublot $1m Big Bang, featured on this blog some time ago.

Here is the Baume and Mercier Riviera XXL Jump Hour:

and here is the Hublot $1m Big Bang:

The comments I made about the latter apply equally to the former. I have repeated them below, substituting Baume and Mercier for Hublot:

Don’t know about you, but the [Baume and Mercier Riviera XXL Jump Hour] does nothing for me. Not as a watch, anyway. I prefer to see it as an exquisite piece of jewellery.  In my opinion, there are only so many diamonds this side of decadence.

I am excited to write about the Uno. This is precisely the sort of thing I like to see from watchmakers.

Uno is manufactured by the German watchmakers, Botta. I have never owned any of their watches, but that will change.

I am much taken by the concept of using a single hand to tell the time. The Uno does it superbly, and what I most like about it, is that it does it without any fuss whatsoever. No bells and whistles, no loud colours, or anything like that. Well, I suppose, if the watchmaker has deemed that only one hand is sufficient to tell the time, he is hardly likely to go crazy with all sorts of props, is he?

This watch doesn’t cost the earth; you can get it for around $1,000.

Some specs: Automatic ETA caliber 2824 (there’s also a quartz variant, but let that pass). Stainless steel case. Water resistant to 50m.

Via Timezone.

I must have been looking the other way, but in the past few days, one of my favourite watchmakers unveiled a truly wonderful creation: the Vacheron Constantin Chronometre Royal 1907 does not depart much from the traditional Vacheron Constantin look we know and love, but in this model, there is clear evidence of daring and a lot of unfettered creativity. Yes, it features an 18k rose-gold case, almost standard with most marvellous watches nowadays, but it is the Grand Feu enamelled dial that wins all the awards with me.

This model has been released in a limited edition of 100 pieces, and it commemorates the 100 years since the presentation of the first Chronomètre Royal.

Some specs. Movement: Calibre 2460 SCC, automatic mechanical. 27 jewels. Power reserve:40 hours. Water resistant to 30m.

Via Timezone.

My first ever post about a Breitling watch. Over the past few weeks, I have been getting acquainted with some of their smarter watches, and I am more than taken with their latest one. (As an aside, I wonder what the good folks at the Breitling watch blog would make of this watch.)

This is the Montbrilliant Légende, and it is the most recent addition to, as well as the largest of, Breitling’s Navitimer series. And when I say large, I mean 47mm. As shown below, the case comes in two types; steel, and steel and rose gold. The steel and rose gold case is particularly striking with its black dial and two-tone bracelet. Having said that, the steel case affords a sleek, clean look. As I like to say, perfect for a vicar.

Breitling are rather proud of this watch, and understandably so. Hear them tell it in their own words:

By smoothly integrating the case and bracelet, Breitling has endowed this model with flowing, balanced lines that further emphasize its unique character.

Some specs. Movement: self-winding, high frequency. Caliber: Breitling 23. Power reserve: min 42 hours.

This is the TAG Heuer Grand Carrera Grand Date GMT. I’m not too fond of brown, so my preference would be for another colour dial.Good thing then, that there is also a choice of a black or silver dial. Nothing really remarkable about this watch. It is solid, and looks dependable - none of that unnecessary frippery that one now sees with depressing regularity on so-called ‘luxury watches’. But then this is TAG Heuer we are talking about. I haven’t yet seen any TAG Heuer watch that made me gasp in shock. Having said that, I haven’t also seen any that took my breath away. So there we have it: solid, but not much more.