10x

A Berlin Story

I flew to Berlin two days ago, essentially, to attend a dinner party. If that sounds decadent, well, you don’t know the half of it.

Last night, A. Lange & Söhne, the prestige watch brand from Germany’s Saxony region, staged one hell of a launch party. In a temporary event space located in the heart of the city’s storied Mitte district, not far from the copper domed Berlin Cathedral and the space-age TV Tower, the brand unveiled the new Lange Zeitwerk, a mechanical timepiece featuring a jumping numeral display that uniquely blends the horological sophistication for which Lange is known with an aesthetic of unambiguous modernity.

Berlin was an inspired choice of venue. No other city feels quite so progressive. Last night’s dinner is a good example. Lange flew in retailers and press from around the world, teasing the event with an invitation bearing one simple quote from Ralph Emerson: “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” That in no way prepared us for the meal, the details of which remained top-secret until moments before we were led single-file, hand to shoulder, into a room enveloped in complete darkness—and when I say darkness, I mean pitch-black visual deprivation the likes of which I’ve never experienced.

Blind waiters from the unsicht-Bar, a popular local restaurant where diners are seated and fed in the dark, were on-hand to serve us a three-course meal featuring risotto and ox paired with crisp German whites. The disembodied voices of my fellow diners were the only things that kept me from breaking into a panic.

I’m still not sure what the connection between the Zeitwerk (which, by the way, loosely translates to “opus of time”) and dinner in the dark is but that hardly matters. On a scale of sex appeal, the event, the city and, of course, the watch take top honors.

Missing Breitling raises eyebrows

A simple turn of the knob on Steve Fossett's Breitling Emergency wristwatch might have saved his life. So why would the experienced 63-year-old adventurer, the first man to complete a non-stop flight around the world in a hot air balloon, leave home without it on a flight over the Nevada desert?

Authorities and investigators posed this question, and many more, in a recent article that reveals their suspicions about Fossett's mysterious accident—which was ruled fatal after a month-long search produced no remains of the aircraft or its pilot.

The Breitling Emergency's built-in microtransmitter broadcasts on the 121.5 MHz aircraft emergency frequency once the protective cap is unscrewed and the antenna is extended.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist or a chronograph enthusiast, but I wouldn't take a commercial flight—let alone pilot a plane—without the Breitling Emergency (assuming I owned one).

The timepiece wasn't the only life-saving equipment Fossett left behind. Lieutenant Colonel Cynthia Ryan of the U.S. Civil Air Patrol said the multi-millionaire did not take a parachute either.

Boys just wanna have fun

It seems as if looking good and telling time just aren't enough anymore. Nowadays, men's watches have to ensure a good time to keep their attention.

While some technology-driven timepieces play music, connect phone calls and snap pics, others indulge the wearer with old-fashioned fun.

Web site Bornrich.org helps James Bond wannabes by sharing details about the Veldini Q wristwatch. It's equipped with spy tools such as set of pick locks, a glass cutter and a blade. Still in pre-production, the watch will be available in sterling silver, gold, rose gold and platinum.

Watchluxus.com features a watch with a reproduction of "A Bold Bluff," from the dogs-playing-poker series by artist Cassius Marcellus Coolidge. Manufactured by Andersen Geneve, the Tact Poker timepiece has an hour display on the case middle. If you forget what a royal flush looks like, just check the time. Six time indications have been replaced with winning poker hands.

Andersen Geneve takes fun to the extreme and offers adult entertainment on the go. Watches from its Eros collection show provocative—and I use the word loosely here—Libertine love scenes on the back. Who knew high-end could get down and dirty?

Reykjavik: Cold but cool

It's nearly 10 a.m. in Reykjavik and daybreak is minutes away. At 64 degrees north latitude, Iceland's exotic capital city is a rather unusual place to be in January, when gale-force winds blow the snow and hail sideways, but given my years-long desire to visit, I couldn't pass up an invitation that landed in my in-box in November.

Piaget, the Swiss watch and jewelry brand owned by Compagnie Financière Richemont, was planning a collection themed "From Paris to New York," a jeweled paean to the iconic landmarks of the two cities. In a clever promotion, the brand decided to stage its pre-SIHH (the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie show in Geneva) global press preview in a city that is literally halfway in-between.

"Thematic collections like this are becoming a highlight for the brand," said Philippe Leopold-Metzger, Piaget's worldwide president, before unveiling a series of high-intensity jewels and watches inspired by Manhattan's Chrysler Building and Statue of Liberty and Paris' Eiffel Tower and Grande Roue (ferris wheel), such as the Polo Tourbillon Relatif shown left in a profile view.

The extravagance with which Piaget introduced this collection—a proposition that involved flying 120 journalists from around the world to Iceland, notorious for being one of the world's most expensive cities—suggests that in the run-up to this year's watch fairs, the pressure to woo the media has become all the more intense.

Jaunts such as this one became de riguer for the major Swiss brands a few years ago, when it became clear that collectors were looking to editorial to help them understand the widening world of haute horlogerie. Now, hardly a month passes without another brand staging some far-flung, luxe adventure in the hopes of impressing upon the media a sense of its brand ideology, not to mention its largesse.

It’s about time

The similarities between a Swiss-made timepiece and a Wimbledon champion or PGA Tour winner is excellence in performance, a concept that can be easily conveyed in an ad campaign. So why are watchmakers, who typically pursue endorsement deals with star athletes, now placing Hollywood heavy hitters in their ads?

With E! Online, Access Hollywood and Us Weekly inundating consumers with celebrity news, actors and singers have more recognition and likeability than ever before. Not to mention, the outlandish tales of A-listers' decadent lifestyles place the products they advertise even more in the spotlight.

After all, who doesn't imagine her caviar-conditioned hair blowing in the wind on a 2.2-acre Bermuda estate similar to the one Catherine Zeta-Jones calls home? Luxury jeweler DiModolo hopes we all see ourselves living as lavishly as Zeta-Jones now that she is the new face of its six-year-old brand, which will launch its first timepiece collection on Oct. 4, according to Women's Wear Daily.

The article on WWD.com also reports that Swiss watchmaker Omega has placed its global ambassador Nicole Kidman in the brand's U.S. ads for the first time. She'll appear on billboards and in the November issues of Vanity Fair, W and Gourmet wearing the Omega De Ville co-axial chronograph.

Now that the list of campaign faces for luxury watch brands reads like a "Who's Who in Hollywood," there's less guesswork behind the models in the ads. You probably just saw one in this summer's box office smash or recently saw another headed to jail for his second DUI. Don't worry Baume & Mercier; Kiefer Sutherland's indiscretion won't change the fact that men around the world long to emulate the attitude and style of 24's Jack Bauer.

Man watch

Instead of judging a man by the shoes he wears, set your eyes further north and check out his wristwatch. Men's timepieces make definitive style and status statements similar to the way a pair of lace-up black Kenneth Cole oxfords suggests a man has reasonable income and fashion sense.

Take a look at the watches in the online and print September issue of Details magazine and on Askmen.com and make a mental sketch of what type of man will be shopping for these fall finds. A few pre-conceived notions about the customer approaching your jewelry counter in search of a new timepiece may be just what you need to seal the deal.

B.B.'s Best: The girlie edition

Hearts and teddy bears might have a girlie connotation, but these designers definitely put a grown-up spin on them.

Exhibitionist

Earrings in 18-karat gold with pink tourmaline.

I love these earrings because the pink hearts make them sweet while the flames make them spicy. I think these stud earrings would be a great accent to a bold gold necklace and some stacked bangles for a casual, fun look.

These earrings are actually pretty tame for Exhibitionist designer Michael Spirito, who specializes in tattoo-inspired jewelry laden with skulls and bones.

Suggested retail price is $550.

Tous, (212) 219-1444

Forget pocket watches—I'd rather have this stainless steel and diamond-encrusted watch pendant. The watch houses a Japanese quartz movement, and the case features 359 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 1.8 carats.

Since 1985, Tous has incorporated hearts into each collection, offering it as a "token of tenderness" for those who wear the pieces or give them as gifts.

Suggested retail price is $2,370.

B.B.'s Best

Chopard

"Copacabana" earrings in 18-karat white gold with sapphire and diamond posts, multicolored, pastel sapphire briolettes and tear-shaped opals.

Almost as beautiful as the Brazilian beaches from which they get their name, these earrings combine flirty movement and subtle color for a look that promises to get noticed.

When I think of Chopard, I usually think of diamonds or watches, but these earrings show that there's more to the venerable Swiss house. The company has been making luxury watches and jewelry since its founding in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard.

Suggested retail price is $39,500.

Festina, (800) 648-9702

A great-looking watch, the "Shockwave" dynamically integrates the trendiest watch materials of the moment: 18-karat rose gold (in the case and buckle), black titanium (in the bezel) and carbon fiber (in the dial and the textured, padded strap).

A Swiss automatic Valjoux 7750 movement, visible through the exhibition case back, powers the watch.

The watch is edgy, sporty and sophisticated with an entry-level price (for 18-karat gold) that promises to appeal to the younger consumer—it could easily go from the office to a night out to a more casual setting.

Suggested retail price is $4,995.

B.B.'s Best

Calgaro

"Bora Bora" necklace in sterling silver with pearls and amethyst drops.

I'm noticing more and more lariats out there, and I have to say I love the trend. It's easy, versatile and fun.

Suggested retail price is $1,290.

Voila Watches

"Grande Cruz" watch in stainless steel with enamel dial and leather strap.

The oversized case of this bold, colorful chronograph is precisely curved and incorporated with four independent lugs that adapt to snugly wrap around the wrist. It comes in a variety of colors, including ivory, midnight blue, cognac brown, amber and charcoal black. The timepiece offers a 1/10th-second Swiss chronograph movement, an oversized date feature at 12:00 and is water-resistant up to 30 meters.

But beyond all the technical stuff, I like this watch because it's nice to look at. It offers the time in a stylish way without being overly bold.

Suggested retail price is $496.

B.B.'s Best: The Vegas edition

The designers and manufacturers who showed their wares in Las Vegas did not disappoint. Retailers looking for over-the-top designs and fashion-forward pieces definitely had no trouble. But I thought the show also offered a lot of basics, perfect for everyday wear without breaking the bank. Here are a few of my faves:

Casio
Who knew a Casio could be so cool? Remember those G-Shock and Baby G-Shock watches that were so fabulously sporty and hip a few years ago? Apparently they never went away!

But this year, Casio has unveiled a new look for the line, with seven new models that embody the same G-Shock toughness but include a stylish, new analog/digital design.

With 30-city world time, auto LED light, countdown timer, stopwatch and five alarms, the watches are considerably high-tech, in addition to being suprisingly cute.

There are several female-focused versions of the watch, but I prefer this G011BD model, which features a black dial and a gold ion-plated watch case and band.

Suggested retail price for the G011 series is $150.

Frederic Duclos, (866) 898-3636
With the increased focus on necklaces this year, basic earrings such as studs and smaller hoops have become staples, but that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice style.

The brilliant checkerboard cut of these gems set against the matte sterling silver setting creates a stunning, though subtle, look.

I think that sometimes as fashion editors we get so caught up in the latest look that we forget that a lot of women just want basic jewelry they can wear to work or to pick up their kids from school, without emptying their wallets.

Frederic Duclos is an award-winning French designer specializing in contemporary 24-karat gold and sterling silver jewelry.

Suggested retail price is $124.