It was the first time for me to host such a private collector dinner in Bahrain with top Piaget clients and members of our Arab WAtch Club.  We were staying at the Four Seasons, really one of the nicest hotels in Bahrain and among the Four Seasons chain globally.

The event took place at Cut in the cigar lounge, where we privatised the area so our guests feel more comfortable and cozy while having the dinner and also enjoying a nice cigar with some watches here and there!!

I was wearing on that night one of my favourite watches in the line up of Altiplanos. the 38mm Altiplano skeleton rose gold – an ultimate classiness on the wrist and a gentlemen’s choice especially when suited.

The guests started coming in and it was such a delight to reconnect to so many collectors that I have been in touch with mostly on Social Media without having the chance to meet in person.  One of the most enjoyable aspect of those evenings is to learn more about each collectors’ path in watch collecting and their theories and personal tastes.

From the AP savy collectors to the Patek and Rolex aficionados, we ended up all on a Piaget table discussing their latest Polo Skeleton that took our breath away ; specially the one with the diamond bezel – this is definitely my ultimate Polo skeleton choice.

As the cigars started to light up and the evening diverted into exploring more of the Piaget offering from the Polo range to the Emperador very unique designs; many collectors have set their eyes on one or two pieces – interestingly enough, the variety of opinions and tastes almost covered all the breadth of models we have been looking at throughout the night.

For some reason lately, all the watches that are catching my attention from Piaget have a diamond bezel – whether the Polo , the Altiplano or the Emperador lines. There is something extremely attractive on a men’s watch with a well crafted diamond bezel. In excess, it will look tacky , but in the right setting and the proper alignment, it is actually very tasteful.

After several hours of chatting , eating and smoking; we had to conclude a wonderful evening with very enthusiastic collectors from Bahrain with a very big Thank You to the Piaget and the Bahrain Jewelry Center teams who made this event happen

https://www.piaget.com/ae-en/watches/piaget-polo

https://www.bjc.com.bh/

The post An Evening with Piaget in Bahrain appeared first on Arab Watch Guide.

Both brands demonstrate a passion for refined craftsmanship and have been working together, sharing their understanding of design, materials and technology. This latest model celebrates the iconic Three Bridges pocket watch from the 19th century in a decidedly contemporary way, down to the smallest details, including the strap.

The latter is a world premiere, presented in black calf leather and featuring Girard-Perregaux Rubber Alloy, an innovative rubber insert injected with white gold. The design of the strap is intended to evoke thoughts of Aston Martin racing cars of the past.

Upholding Girard-Perregaux tradition, this model skilfully plays with proportions and shapes much to the delight of aesthetes.

The 44 millimetre case of the Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges – Aston Martin Edition is formed of Grade 5 titanium, a strong, hypoallergenic alloy selected by Aston Martin for its lightweight properties. It is suffused with black DLC, bestowing the watch with a stealthy appearance. Interestingly, titanium ore was discovered in Great Britain, the home of Aston Martin, back in 1791 by an English clergyman, William Gregor, in the same year Girard-Perregaux was founded.

A sapphire crystal ‘box’ is positioned front of house, as well as to the rear, coaxing light to illuminate the case interior, thereby augmenting readability. The movement eschews a mainplate, sitting between both panes of sapphire crystal and seemingly floating in mid-air. Three bridges, an iconic signature of Girard-Perregaux, span the dial and are formed of titanium with black PVD treatment and polished angles. The design endows the timepiece with an airy appearance, affording breathtaking views of movement components ordinarily hidden from view. While Girard-Perregaux has a long history of making the invisible visible, in this instance it has ventured off-piste, creating a watch whose movement appears to levitate within the case.

This is achieved by paring back the movement, causing the mainplate to seemingly disappear within the case, thereby creating the illusion of the movement flying within the case. It was this particular characteristic that led to the term ‘Flying Bridges’. 

The cage of the tourbillon, positioned in the lower portion of the dial, is ‘lyre-shaped’, a characteristic found on all the company’s tourbillons dating back to the 19th century. A blued hand affixed to the cage imparts the running seconds. The tourbillon cage, measuring a mere 10mm in diameter, is composed of 79 components which collectively weigh only 0.25 grams. This remarkably low figure helps mitigate energy consumption.

The barrel, positioned at 12 o’clock, is openworked, affording partial views of the mainspring. A white gold micro-rotor, positioned beneath the barrel, energises the mainspring and, unlike most automatic watches, it grants unobstructed views of the movement. The car company’s name is engraved on the vertical flank of the micro-rotor and is filled with white luminescent treatment which appears blue in restricted light. Likewise, the indexes and hands are also treated with white luminescent treatment and, once again, emit a blue glow in dim light.

Patrick Pruniaux, CEO of Girard-Perregaux, said, “We are delighted to partner with Aston Martin, entrusting their team with arguably our most iconic timepiece, delivering a fresh perspective on Haute Horlogerie. Rarely do we work with others to reinterpret the Three Bridges, however, on this occasion, we have made an exception, mindful of Aston Martin’s prowess for design.

“When viewing the design of an Aston Martin, you will note the firm’s distinctive front grille, first seen on the DB Mark III of the late 50s. Likewise, the scoops and side strakes found on the company’s modern-day models are functional elements, intended to improve airflow while enriching the overall appearance of each car.”

“At Girard-Perregaux we share a similar philosophy. For example, when the Maison released the now-legendary Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges in 1867, it transformed three functional elements into attractive aesthetic features and demonstrated an approach that we continue to employ today. Finally, this latest partnership provides a fascinating chapter in Girard-Perregaux’s 230-year history.”

Marek Reichman, Aston Martin Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, adds: “The greatest of the challenges we faced with the design of this new timepiece was that of scale, as one can imagine. We had to consider lines and proportion on a far smaller measure than we are used to in the realm of automotive design. That said, good design is good design, so whether it is a watch or a car, the principles remain the same. I’m delighted with the finished watch and congratulate everyone who worked on this project as this collaboration has produced a timepiece of great beauty.”

The Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges – Aston Martin Edition, a limited edition of 18 pieces, is immediately available worldwide in all authorised Girard-Perregaux retailers.

The post Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges – Aston Martin Edition appeared first on Arab Watch Guide.

My first project was in collaboration with Arminstrom and Dilusso; we have started chatting about the special edition in BaselWorld and from there it was just history.

The idea behind the watch was to create a small series inspired by beautiful art of the Arabic calligraphy that you see engraved at the case back with the saying “Time is Precious, Don’t Waste it”.

The dial is an open worked dial with a special blue color customized for us in a light shade. We decided to be the first in the region to change the numerals into Hindi Numerals on an Arminstrom watch. the rotor and barrels are in Gold very visible in the front and contrasting with the steel case and blue dial.

The watch as produced in a series of 10 watches all Sold out to club members only with their own numbers and personal engravings on each watch.

The watch comes with a DILUSSO Surprise Box :

100% Authentic designer goods sourced either from Authorized Dealers or direct from the brands;
All goods brand new with respective warranty (as provided by the manufacturer);
Solid Mahogany DILUSSO Box;
Hand Delivery*;
24×7 access to DILUSSO Customer Service;

The post Introducing the Arminstrom Gravity AWC 1st Edition appeared first on Arab Watch Guide.

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