You Never Get Over your First Love

Eterna, on the whole, reminds me that we very seldom operate from a place of rationality.  And if we're being honest with each other, that runs true in pretty much every facet of the luxury industry.  Common sense tells you that, in essence, it's just a watch.  Calm down, collect your thoughts, be reasonable...

Courtesy of Eterna

Now my common sense tells me that Eterna is, at the moment, not exactly living its "best life".   If my inside sources are to be believed, there is no actual CEO pulling the levers, but rather a consultant who is, well... consulting.  And in the big scheme of things?  Nothing wrong with that, as my understanding they are in "Sleeping Beauty" mode, waiting for Prince Charming to plant one on them.  The head of the movement division has "moved on", and suffice it to say, nobody is entirely sure as to what's next.

But obsession is a very curious thing, and so long as it is kept in a relatively healthy perspective, I suppose that there are worse things to be obsessed about than the Kontiki Bronze Diver.  I can rationalize all that I want, but for me Eterna has always been a romantic connection.  Something that I have never been able to adequately explain in black and white.  It is, I guess, my own sense of Eterna sais quoi.

Although it was a limited edition a few years back, it appears to still be available.  For those so inclined, here are the pertinents -

Ref: 1291.78.51.1430

MOVEMENT
Calibre Maison Eterna EMC 3902A, power reserve 65h, 28’800 v.p.h, 30 jewels, 1 ball bearing

CASE
All brushed bronze, rotating bezel with green ceramic ring, case back secured with screw, sapphire crystal opening in stainless steel
 

CRYSTAL
Scratch-resistant, anti-reflective sapphire crystal
 

DIMENSIONS
∅ 44 mm / 14.05 mm
DIAL
Green, matte structured
 

STRAP & CLASP
Brown waterproof leather strap, bronze pin buckle
 

FUNCTIONS
Hour, minute, second

I for one would really like to see a feel-good, love story-triumphant comeback.  But for now I will live with my obsession.

Introducing Akrone

Now regular readers of Tempus Fugit will know that I am, at heart, somewhat romantic when it comes to watches from France.  I have only been to France twice - a 3 day get-away to Paris with Wendy back in 1999, and a day and 2 nights in Besançon back in 2015 -
Turning Right Again

And this past BaselWorld, I got a chance to finally meet some folks face to face from another up-and-coming French brand, Akrone.

Akrone is (at its heart) a modest effort by a small, committed group to offer something interesting and outside of the mainstream, but at a very competitive price.

As many brands coming up these days, Kickstarter was the catalyst to launch, with the K-01 in 2015 (if I have my chronology correct), which was delivered early the next year (2016).

Courtesy of Akrone

A ceramic case that measures 40 mm, it came with a Miyota self-winding (automatic) movement.

The second salvo was the K-02, a titanium dive watch -

Courtesy of Akrone

This one was 41 mm in diameter, made of (you guessed it) titanium, and powered by ETA's 2892.

Next up was the K-04, and if I am brutally honest?  I am kicking myself for missing this one -

Courtesy of Akrone

The case is of stainless steel, and measures a very sane 38 mm in diameter, but with a twist - the lug width is 20 mm.  The green dial just speaks to me.  The movement, once again, ETA's 2892.

Shamelessly borrowed from the world-wide info-web

As I said, I regret that I missed this one, but as is often the case, I was at the tail end of the conga-line on this one.  Needless to say, I have my eyes locked on Chrono 24 to see if one will ever shake loose ; )

Which brings us to today.  Moving on from the Kickstarter platform, Akrone is now up and moving on their own steam, and will be delivering a truly striking group of chronographs in the coming weeks, these are the K-05 chronographs -

Courtesy of Akrone

It is available in three dial variations with the blue with silver sub-dial (the Steve) being one.

Another option being the Old Timer (with a name that probably speaks to me a little too directly), and is one of the two that I would personally pick.

Courtesy of Akrone

Courtesy of Akrone

The other that gets the Henki seal of approval is the Outlaw Dark Side -

Courtesy of Akrone

Courtesy of Akrone

It is also available with a non-DLC coated case -

Courtesy of Akrone

And last, but not least?  

Courtesy of Akrone

A Panda.

The basic pertinents include a case size of 41 mm in diameter, that is made of stainless steel.  Hours, minutes, seconds and a bi-compax chronograph.  The movement is ETA's 2894-2 automatic with blued screws.

And for the poor sad souls like myself who missed the K-04, there is still an option out there, the K-04 Romantic Black -

Courtesy of Akrone

This is the SHIT THAT KILLED ELVIS!

As with the previous Kickstarter version, 38 mm stainless steel case  with a gold DLC finish.  The dial is what Akrone describes as a "black smoke finish", and it is DEAD COOL!  The movement is ETA's 2892.

This past March, Akrone could be found (by those with a map, compass and rescue search dog), in the somewhat ill-fated Incubator.  Let's hope that the brands that displayed there will get some real assistance and support from the BaselWorld organizers next year.  Having said that, I suspect we will all be seeing and hearing quite a bit more from the now Nantes based brand.  

Stay tuned!

The Flying Grand Regulator Skeleton

From Chronoswiss -

Courtesy of Chronoswiss

Limited to 30 pieces, the case is of stainless steel and measures 44 mm in diameter.  The movement is (per Chronoswiss) the Chronoswiss caliber C. 677S, manual winding, modified on Regulator dial; skeletonized

The Tangente Sport neomatik 42 date

From NOMOS -

Courtesy of NOMOS

This is the latest iteration of the Sport collection.  Water resistant to 1000 feet, the Tangente Sport neomatic measures (you guessed it) 42 mm in diameter.  The case is of stainless steel and measures 42 mm in diameter, with a height of 10.9 mm.

Courtesy of NOMOS

The movement is the NOMOS DUW 6101, automatic, with a power reserve of 42 hours.  

Courtesy of NOMOS

But what caught the attention of most folks at BaselWorld was the bracelet.  All too often, bracelets are more of an after thought than an actual design decision.  Not so with the new bracelets from NOMOS.  

Typically, we tend to think of Horween leather straps when we think about NOMOS. 

Add caption

Well, the only constant in life is change.  And in true NOMOS style, this change was carefully considered and mapped out.  The result is a bracelet that truly pairs with the now iconic NOMOS designs.  

Courtesy of NOMOS

The result is a bracelet that is sleek, well structured, and above all? Comfortable.

Here are the pertinents -

CASE

stainless steel, bipartite  
sapphire crystal glass back

GLASS

domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating inside and out

WINDING

automatic

DIMENSIONS

diameter 42.0 mm 
height 10.9 mm 

WATER RESISTANCE

30 atm (suitable for diving)

DIAL

galvanized, white silver-plated, hour indexes with sand-colored superluminova 
1000 ft inscription at six o’clock in red

HANDS

rhodium-plated, hour and minute hands with superluminova inlay in dark blue 

STRAP

sport bracelet

CALIBER

DUW 6101
automatic

MOVEMENT HEIGHT

3.6 mm

DIAMETER

15 ½ lines (35.2 mm)

POWER RESERVE

up to 42 hours

JEWELS

27

BR V2-94 Bellytanker Bronze

From Bell & Ross -

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

This is a new take on the Bellytanker.  The Bellytanker has been a big hit for Bell & Ross, inspiring some unique partnerships and limited series, this latest take is a welcome addition.

Here are the pertinents -

Movement: calibre BR-CAL.301. Automatic mechanical.

Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds at 3 o'clock. Date. Chronograph: 30-min timer at 9 o'clock, central chronograph seconds.

Case: 41 mm in diameter. CuAI7Si2 bronze. CuAI7Si2 bronze
bezel with scale and anodized aluminum insert and tachymeter. Screw-down crown and push-buttons. Sapphire case back.

Crystal: ultra-curved sapphire with anti-reflective coating.

Water-resistance: 100 meters.

Strap: black calfskin leather.

Buckle: folding. Satin-polished CuAl7Si2 bronze.