Well Done Double Retrograde From Pierre DeRoche: New Brand On The Scene

I have to applaud a new grand that releases relatively sober and legible timepieces. The Double Retrograde from the new Swiss watch brand Pierre DeRoche is an obvious "homage" to Gerald Genta, but well done nonetheless;making for a legible watch that strays from the norm.

A retrograde watch is one that has a hand that moves along a liner arc. Once it reaches the end of that arc, it simply jumps back to the beginning position. This is as opposed to traditional cyclical nature of watch hands. Retrograde hands are often used to emulate gauge meters, but can serve a very good purpose when it comes to legibility. Being a new twist on analog time telling, a double retrograde would have two such retrograde hands. According the Pierre DeRoche double retrograde have one hand for the hours and another for the minutes. It maintains a traditional cyclical subsidiary dial for the seconds.



The Double Retrograde is powered by a Dubois Depraz automatic mechanical movement (one of the fancier names in watch making). Pierre DeRoche boasts that they use materials and finished often saved for movements on the dials of their watches. This give them more of an industrial look, but nothing can remove the designer quality of this timepiece.

Available in handful of color choices (and with diamonds) the Double Retrograde is likely to be one of Pierre DeRoche's more memorable timepieces, although I seriously doubt it will be priced to be a bargain Gerald Genta (quite likely the opposite). Look for them soon at your continental Pierre DeRoche boutique or similarly rare store.

Bertolucci Stria Luce Watch With Fossil Shaped Jewels

Last year's Bertolucci Stria watch amazed me with its ability to recreate the essence of barnacles, in a woman's luxury watch. It was about as nice as a barnacle could ever hope to be. Admittedly, watchmaker Bertolucci took influence from Mediterranean sea shells as inspiration for the precious metal and jewel formed timepieces.

This year's follow up to the Stria is the limited edition of five pieces Bertolucci Stria Luce. Using the same case shape and design, the theme behind the watch has been adjusted. This is the first time that I have seen fossil-shaped jewels on any watch. Actually, it is the first time I have seen a trilobite formed out of a peridot, or any gem for that matter. To form the look of ancient sea creatures, the gems are carved on the bottom side to resemble various carapaces and creature shells. Stones used include peridots, topazes, citrines, and amethysts (total of 14.45 carats). In between the colorful stones, 331 diamonds are set, which are used on the bezel as well (total of 1.47 carats). The 29.7mm wide case, hands, and strap buckle are crafted from 18k rose gold, while an ETA quartz movement powers the watch.

The dial is guilloche engraved mother of pearl, which apparently is tricky to do without damaging a mother of pearl based dial plate. The result is a fine sunburst pattern on the dial. One thing you can do with the watch is turn the cover on top of the dial to revolve where the porthole to the face is. This way you can view the time better as well as admire various decorations located on the face. Another unique beauty from Bertolucci.

Valentine Essentials: A Diamond Pendant

Whatever you're doing this Valentine's Day certain things are essential, and one of them is a pretty diamond necklace to complement your little black dress. Whether you hint around with hopes of getting it on vday as a gift from your sweetie or decide to treat yourself, a pretty new diamond pendant will not only make you feel beautiful this holiday but it will also be something you can wear again and again for years to come. Totally worth splurging on (this Harry Winston Snowflake is on my wish list!).