WatchTime Dec 2011

COVER STORY

• COCKPIT COLOSSUS Breitling’s massive Chronomat GMT features the next generation of its first in-house movement. We take this versatile pilots’ watch on a test flight.

TESTS & REVIEWS

• GROUP EFFORT Longines’s Column Wheel Chronograph contains a movement made exclusively for the brand by ETA, its sister company in the Swatch Group.
• SEND IN THE SEALS Jaeger-LeCoultre has introduced a limitededition Master Compressor Diving watch designed with the input of United States Navy SEALs. We put it though the WatchTime gauntlet.
• THREE DEEP A professional diver helped us test a trio of distinctively designed divers’ watches in their intended element.
• TAILORED TIME Customizable components and anti-counterfeiting features make Vacheron Constantin’s Quai de l’Ile appealing to collectors. How does it hold up as a practical, everyday timekeeper?

SPORTS WATCHES 2011

• SPORTS WATCH SHOWCASE Dozens of new watches for every sport you can think of.
• TOUGH TIMERS The great outdoors can be a risky place for your watch. Here’s a rundown of horological hazards and some watches that will help you cope with them.
• ONE-MAN BRAND Munich-based UTS has carved out a niche: German-made professional divers’ watches, all with cases made in-house by engineer Nicolaus Spinner.

FEATURES

• JUMP MASTER A visit with retrograde-display champ Jean-Marc Wiederrecht
• COMPLICATED LADIES Watch brands this year introduced a plethora of women’s watches powered by mechanical movements, from simple three-hands to chronographs to a minute repeater.
• THE KING OF CRYSTAL Georg Riedel, the notoriously press-shy, 10thgeneration scion of the Austrian glass-making dynasty, speaks about his appreciation of fine watches.
• CAPITAL CITY For centuries, Geneva has reigned supreme as the center of high-end watchmaking.
• REBUILDING BAUME The Great Recession walloped Baume & Mercier. Here’s how the Richemont Group plans to revive its most affordable brand.
• WATCHFEST A record number of watch aficionados saw a record number of watches and watch brands at WatchTime’s New York “Inside Basel/Geneva” event.

DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS

• EDITOR’S LETTER
• READERS’ FORUM
• WATCHTALK COSC chronometer figures, new Turbine models from Perrelet, and more
• WATCH QUIZ Our annual quiz on sports watches
• FINE CARS The new, fully loaded BMW 650i rolls out as a convertible and a coupe.
• FINE PENS The Paragon turned 80 this year and hasn’t aged a bit.
• FINE SPIRITS Rare and exclusive bottles for well-capitalized connoisseurs
• FINE CIGARS Now part of the General Cigar family, iconoclastic CAO enters a new era and releases a new blend.
• FACE TIME A photo mélange of readers and their watches
• LAST MINUTE Are we surprised Rolex signed Tiger Woods to a sponsorship deal? No. They should have done it a decade ago.