Quality in Watches

How do we define the term ‘quality’ in terms of watches?

Well, quality can relate to many things. Here a few to bear in mind. The number of jewels, the fact that watch is Swiss made, the quality of the finish (especially if hand finished), the rarity of the materials used (precious metals/stones), the number of complications, the attainment of a chronometer certificate, are all signs of a quality wristwatch.

Shocks Aplenty in Week One of the 2012 NFL Season

You'd think that a late kick off would give the Gods of Football time enough to deliver the memo to the 49ers, Cardinals, Buccaneers and Broncos that they were supposed to lose to the Packers, Seahawks, Panthers and Steelers respectively.

Obviously, they were too busy jawing over the Jets offensive explosion that saw the unit that managed just one preseason touchdown rack-up 48 points against a Bills team that was, in all honesty, lucky not to lose by a wider margin.

The unexpected results of the late games saw the 49ers confound those critics who dared suggest the successes of 2011 were a fluke, and installed them as serious contenders to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl after just one game. We also saw the Cardinals tandem of questionable quarterbacks perform admirably in defeating a hot Seahawks team, who were led out of the gate by rookie sensation, Russell Wilson. Wilson struggled in his first start, but still did enough to keep Pete Carroll happy, and bolster his confidence in his choice of signal caller for the season opener.

Many suggested the Panthers could challenge the Saints and Falcons for the top spot in the NFC South. I thought the suggestion was a bit of a leap as I see the Panthers as an exciting, but inconsistent 8-8 calibre team (Cam Newton and their running game is sensational, and their defence is coming along nicely, but I still don't see them putting a whole game together often enough to challenge seriously). Their loss to the Bucs, who were supposed to suffer at the hands of their three division rivals, really turns things on their head.

One game in is pretty early to be elevating teams to the level of contender and damning under-performers to a January in bed, and in the cases of the Cardinals and Buccaneers, caution should be exercised.

However, the 49ers and Broncos faced tests of which there are few stiffer. The Packers are expected to glide into the playoffs and the Steelers are expected the thump and bruise their way to a Wild Card at worst. The Bay team that fell agonisingly short against the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants, were supposed to get a wake up call, but now, after crushing their toughest scheduled opponent in Week One, who would bet against them notching up another 13+ win season? And the Broncos - an even less known quantity with a rehabilitated, but unconvincing Hall of Fame lock under centre - were expected to bow to the might of one of the NFL's most physical teams.

They didn't. They smashed the smash mouth pioneers right in the chops and move to 1-0, which, in the record-light AFC West, is probably one ninth of the way to a convincing division crown.

Sure, the Raiders and Chiefs are much improved and the Chargers will forever be the nearly team, but these Broncos, who aside from the tremendous upgrade at QB, are largely unchanged from the team that showed flashes of true guile and grit at points during 2011. With Manning finding his groove, they could run away with the West.

If Week One is a sign of things to come, the things to come will be very entertaining indeed.

Union Glashutte

Professional Watchmaking «Made in Germany»

Union Glashütte, synonymous with competence and passion, stands for fine German watchmaking at the highest level and an excellent price-performance ratio.

Right from the start, when Johannes Dürrstein founded the brand in Glashütte in 1893, his aim was to make Glashütte-quality watches at a reasonable price. His motto «Watches should have everything needed to make them accurate and beautiful but nothing that makes them expensive» was the basic idea when this traditional German watch brand was founded and has remained so to the present day. This pioneering spirit characterizes the Union Glashütte brand and its products even today.

The collection comprises three product lines for men (Belisar, Averin and Viro), one for women (Seris) and a collection of thoroughly classic ladies’ and men’s models (Noramis). Fitted with ETA mechanical movements that have been manufactured and refined in Glashütte, Union Glashütte brand watches are elegant timepieces of the highest quality. Their sophistication and exceptional design are an homage to Johannes Dürrstein, a man of fine aesthetic sensibility and devotion to detail.

Both connoisseurs and those new to the world of fine mechanical watches will find their favourite model at Union Glashütte.

Tissot

Innovators by tradition

Founded in 1853 at Le Locle, the birthplace of Swiss watchmaking, the Tissot brand is proud to have developed a strong tradition of quality and innovation.

Over the years, Tissot innovations have been acclaimed throughout the entire world: the first anti-magnetic watch in 1930; Astrolon, the first watch with a plastic casing in 1971; Rock watch, the first watch with a casing made of alpine granite in 1985, followed by Pearl watch, the first watch with a mother-of-pearl casing in 1986, then Wood watch, the first watch with a casing made of wood in 1987. In 1996, Tissot launched its first autoquartz models with 6-day autonomy and then, in 2001, its famous T-Touch models with seven additional functions activated by touching the watch’s crystal thanks to the extraordinary tactile technology developed with and by Swatch Group companies.

As well as this constant quest for technological innovation, Tissot has also built its reputation on an incomparable style and elegance. People the world over recognize the dynamic that has presided over the brand’s destiny for more than 150 years. Its deep involvement in sport, its role as Official Chronometer at top-level national, trans-national and global events and its partnership with champions such as Indy car driver Danica Patrick, MotoGP biker Nicky Hayden, footballer Michael Owen but also with Barbie Xu, star of the Chinese artistic scene, demonstrate the commitment and excellence of the brand that is «More than just a watch».

Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co.

In December 2007 Swatch Group and Tiffany & Co. announced a strategic alliance to further the development, production and worldwide distribution of Tiffany & Co. brand watches. Under the agreement, the new watch company, known as Tiffany Watch Co. Ltd and wholly owned by Swatch Group, will design and manufacture in Switzerland a complete range of high-end luxury watches.

The enormous prestige of the Tiffany & Co. brand and the Swatch Group’s watchmaking expertise and experience in the luxury segment form a powerful platform on which to build one of the world’s top luxury watchmakers.

Tiffany Watch Co. Ltd is a Swiss company. Its products are designed and manufactured in Switzerland and distributed selectively through Swatch Group and Tiffany & Co. retail distribution networks, including monobrand Tiffany & Co. watch boutiques in certain markets outside the United States.

Swatch

Revolution 51

The history of Swatch has already filled many miles of library shelves, as the fascination it exerts continues to sustain the chronicles of Swiss watchmaking. In the 1970s, the Swiss watchmaking industry was facing meltdown, undergoing the biggest crisis it had ever known. In 1979, Swiss watchmakers pulled off an amazing feat – they launched the «Delirium Tremens», the world’s thinnest wristwatch, made up of a limited number of components. This was soon to create a revolution in the world of watchmaking and lead to its renaissance: in 1983 Nicolas G. Hayek launched the Swatch, a plastic-cased watch consisting of only 51 components instead of the usual 91 or more, offering high quality at an affordable price. This wristwatch very soon spread its joy of life right across the globe. It was phenomenally successful – the most successful watch of all time – and its parent company, the Swatch Group, was to become the largest and most dynamic watchmaking company in the world.

Numerous watchmaking developments were to supplement the standard watch. Amongst others, the jewelry line Swatch Bijoux, the Metal Swatch Irony or the so called Swatch Specials, featuring products for special events like Christmas, Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day, were added to the two annual watch collections. Some amazing technological feats were unveiled, such as the Swatch Skin, the world’s slimmest watch, and the creation of Internet Time, a unique way of measuring time. Extraordinary qualities and milestones in the science and technology of sports event timing and data processing are regularly introduced at international events and competitions of fun sports such as beach volleyball and snowboarding.

Rado

A tangible interpretation of imagination

Innovative design and high-tech non-scratch materials are the essential distinguishing marks of the Rado brand. As a leader in the top-of-the-range market, Rado has become famous throughout the entire world for its research into materials science. It is the use of sapphire, ceramics, and even high-tech diamonds that affords the strong, unique character of the Rado watch.

Rado’s design concepts draw their inspiration from the intrinsic qualities of the materials used. For Rado, form is intimately linked to more intangible values, and the brand is as ever committed to the quest for outstanding new ideas. This philosophy of surpassing oneself and of tangible interpretations of the imagination has been rewarded with numerous international design prizes.

From 1957 to the present day, Rado’s story is marked by a prodigious number of pioneering innovations. One of the most sensational of these is without any doubt the creation of the «high-tech diamond » by the transformation of carbon into a nanocrystalline diamond with a Vickers hardness number of 10,000 ( V10K). This technological prowess has led to the hardest material in the world, with its own entry in the Guinness Book of Records