00/24 WatchWorld

Everybody knows James Bond wears an Omega in his movie adventures, most of us know Elvis Presley, Elvis Presley ‘loved his Hamilton Ventura watch and wore it on many occasions, even in his movie ‘Blue Hawaii in from 1961 and many of us know about Sylvester Stallone’s love from an early year for Panerai. But who knows that modern day action hero Jason Statham wears a Richard Mille? We do and we’ll tell you about it right here.

Famous triangle
The watch ‘The King’ made famous is the characteristic triangular shaped Hamilton Ventura. The watch originally purchased by Elvis would have had a leather strap and archive material reveals that, at his special wish, the jeweller exchanged this for a sturdy and shiny metal bracelet to satisfy his celebrity customer. The Ventura is still available, and Hamilton recently released a new Ventura Quartz, as a faithful tribute to the original 1957 model, which made watch-making history as the world’s first electrical, battery powered watch. Design detail of the case of the new model mirrors that of its 1950s ancestors.

When you think of men wearing watches related to the world of motorsports, names such as Jo Siffert, Steve McQueen en Paul Newman spring to mind. Men who lived in both the golden age of car racing and watching.

François-Henry Bennahmias (48) was nominated CEO of Audemars Piguet in January of this year and this month Jean-Christophe Babin (51) announced that he will leave TAG Heuer coming Summer for Bulgari. Bennahmias took over from former Maurice Lacroix boss Philippe Merck who left after just a few years.

Kristian Haagen: "Two years ago I bought this rare grey dial Heuer Monaco. Very thin on the ground and from the years that King of Cool actually could have worn it, instead of the blue dial version. Here seen with a pair of TAG heuer driving gloves."

Surrounded by pictures of Cameron Diaz – TAG Heuer’s female ambassador – I discovered the new TAG Heuer Link collection for ladies at the prestigious Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam. Marc Deckenbrock, PR manager for TAG Heuer, made a trip through Europe (he already visited Stockholm and Vienna) to reveal the stunning new ladies collection.  During a short presentation, Cameron Diaz told me in her video message: “The Link Lady is more than a timepiece, it’s a piece of jewellery. When I put it on my wrist, I don’t feel it. It is easy-to-wear, sparkling, and feminine.”

Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), the world leader in luxury goods, reported sales of 12.96 billion euros in the first half of 2012, 26% more than in the same period last year. The net profit increased with 28% to 1.68 billion euros. Fashion and Leather Goods (Louis Vuitton!) reported sales of 4.65 billion euros (+17%), Wines and Spirits 1.76 billion (+23%) and Fragrances and Cosmetics 1.72 billion (+14%).

Remember when a Heuer Monaco worn by Steve McQueen during the filming of Le Mans was hammered at $87.000 some years ago? You thought that was a high result? Well, forget all about that puny little number. On August 1st a Hollywood auction house sold yet another of the Monacos that McQueen allegedly wore for...wait for it....$799.500! No, I did not accidentially add an extra zero. $799.500 is an INSANE price and nobody saw that coming.

Technology doesn’t stop and leads to innovations like new materials and methods, challenging  watchmakers looking for solutions to often old construction problems. The results are sometimes spectacular. Some recent examples are presented here.

Cartier has just launched its second concept watch, the ID Two (ID stands for Innovation and Design). The first one was, three years ago, the ID One with an escapement not in need of regulation. The most striking feature of the ID Two is the transparant case of a material called Ceramyst. Inside the hermetically sealed monoblock case is a vacuum atmosphere  to eliminate air resistance inside the case, an important factor in energy loss. Due to other construction improvements the vacuum inside the case will be maintained for up to ten years.

I'm one day into my BaselWorld stint, but two parties in already. Last night there was a smart dinner on the Louis Vuitton boat, but before that a huge knees up with TAG Heuer to announce the Hollywood star Cameron Diaz as the brand's new ambassador.

BaselWorld Watch Fair officially kicks off today, but for many in the press things got underway yesterday. I had a few meetings, and went to a couple of parties with TAG Heuer and with Louis Vuitton in the evening. The highlight was a meeting with Patek Philippe to see the watch which is the exclusive cover story for the new issue of 00/24 WatchWorld, out today: the Ref 5204 Split Seconds Chronograph with Perpetual Calendar.