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The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Replica Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar Handwerkskunst

It’s that time of year again – Handwerkskunst time. As the end of the calendar inches closer and closer, Lange always gives us a mega watch that focuses on showing off the ornate handwork and often-overlooked crafts that the German manufacture is keeping alive. The elegant A. Lange & Söhne 1815 copy watches are always made in small quantities, involves a mix of complications and aesthetic flourishes, and, predictably, carries a price tag to match. This year’s introduction is no exception.

In the last few years, we’ve seen the Zeitwerk, the 1815 Tourbillon, and the Lange 1 Tourbillon all get Handwerkskunst treatments. There’s been heavy use of the special tremblage engraving technique which gives that unique grained texture to the surfaces of plates, bridges, and dial, amongst other special engraving and enameling techniques. This year’s watch continues that, but with a slightly more maximalist aesthetic.

The noble A. Lange & Söhne 1815 replica watches are one serious watch, both mechanically and artistically. When I first saw it, I let out an audible “woah.” But let’s start with the basics. The 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar Handwerkskunst is 41.9mm in diameter and 15.8mm high, with a case in solid white gold. It’s a pretty substantial watch, but I’ve got to say that after seeing it in the metal I think it’s definitely still wearable for those who don’t mind larger watches.

There’s a ton of functionality packed into this pieces, as you can probably guess from the name. Looking at the dial, you’ve got hour and minute hands, plus a sub-dial at six o’clock that shows the running seconds and the moonphase.

Then, there’s the split-seconds chronograph functions. The white and yellow gold central seconds hands (the latter is the split hand) are joined by a 30-minute totalizer at 12 o’clock that also contains the power reserve indicator. Finally, there’s a full perpetual calendar, with the day of the week and date at nine o’clock and the month and leap year cycle indicator at three o’clock.

There’s not just a lot of information on the dials of A. Lange & Söhne fake watches with gold hands though – there’s a lot of decoration too. The entire thing starts with a large plate of white gold. Then a series of stars are relief engraved around the areas where the numerals and sub-dials are positions. Iridescent blue enamel is then applied over the top, so the stars seem to be floating in a dark blue sky.

The silvered, circular grained sub-dials really pop against the blue, and the Arabic numerals are flush with the surface of the enamel. In all, the dial itself is comprised of five components, and this is the first time A. Lange & Söhne has combined engraving and enameling techniques to produce a single dial.

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Introducing The Zenith Fake Defy Lab, With A Revolutionary New Oscillator System

There are only two kinds of timekeepers, fundamentally. One relies on continuous processes that proceed at a fixed rate, such as water clocks and hourglasses (the rotation of the Earth on its axis is another example). The second relies on harmonic oscillators —– among these are pendulums, balances with balance springs, tuning fork timekeepers like the Accutron, and quartz crystals.

In the latter instance, an oscillator is kept in motion by a driving force, which is balanced by a restoring force to produce a natural frequency. You’ve probably heard bits and pieces about the new oscillator for the reliable Zenith replica watches over the last few months, and it’s a fascinating development. It’s something very new, and, at the same time, it’s based on the same immutable physical laws as any other harmonic oscillator.

The excellent Zenith fake watches into which this new technology has been placed is called the Zenith Defy Lab and Zenith describes it with pardonable hyperbole —– “the only mechanical watch embodying both an evolution and an improvement of the sprung balance principle presented in January 1675.”

That’s the approximate date on which the Dutch mathematician, physicist, and horologist Christiaan Huygens published his findings on the use of a spiral spring and balance wheel combination, in the Journal des Sçavans (the earliest known academic journal in Europe, which began publication in 1665).

The invention of the balance spring was not Huygens’s alone —– the Englishman Robert Hooke came up with the idea at about the same time —– but Huygens today is generally credited with having been the first to create a working mechanism.

The watch with balance spring wasn’t the first precision mechanical timepiece; that honor goes to the pendulum clock, which Huygens also is credited with inventing (the first pendulum clock to his design was completed in 1657). However, it was the balance and spring combination that made Zenith copy watches with mechanical movements more precise.

A harmonic oscillator is one in which, when the oscillator is pushed from its neutral position (hanging straight down, in the case of a pendulum) it’s returned to its neutral position by some restoring force which —– and this is the critical part —– is always proportional to the disturbing force. Put simply, the harder you push a harmonic oscillator the harder it swings back; anyone who’s ever pushed someone on a swing knows the feeling. It’s the proportionality of the restoring force to the perturbing force that gives a harmonic oscillator its “natural frequency.”

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IWC Ingenieur Replica Chronograph Special Edition Swiss Watches Hands-On

The first IWC Ingenieur went on sale some time during the mid-fifties and was designed to be a watch for scientists and technicians. However, the Ingenieur has undergone significant changes in recent years, not just in its design, but also in its purpose. The Ingenieur today is more of sports watch that is targeted at petrolheads and racing enthusiasts, but this trio adopts the more classic case design of pre-Genta models.

To further cement the Ingenieur’s positioning as the petrolhead’s watch of choice, IWC released three new IWC Ingenieur fake watches last year to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the annual Goodwood Member’s Meeting, a weekend-long vintage racing event.

When these three watches were unveiled last year, they also heralded a new look for IWC’s Ingenieur. Gone are the integrated lugs, crown protectors, and angular lines inspired by the earlier Ingenieur watches designed by the legendary Gerald Genta. Instead, the new Ingenieur Chronograph features a more classically-styled and restrained case design that has more in common with the very first Ingenieur watches from the ’50s.

In the past, the Ingenieur was notable for its self-winding movement, which featured the Pellaton winding system as well as its soft iron cage, which could withstand magnetic fields of up to 80,000 A/m. Said to be designed especially for scientists, researchers, and technicians who had to work in highly magnetic environments, it was to IWC what the Milgauss was to Rolex.

Back to these watches. Case diameter is a relatively modest 42mm, which isn’t too large as far as modern watches go. Most sport chronographs tend to be around 44mm and above these days, so the slightly smaller size of IWC Ingenieur copy watches with mechanical movements is bound to delight readers who love more moderately sized watches.

Unfortunately, at slightly over 15mm, the case is still quite thick, a malady that afflicts many modern sport chronographs. On the bright side, this, along with the chunky crown and chronograph pushers, ensures that these special edition Ingenieur Chronograph watches have considerable wrist presence.

On the inside, these decent IWC Ingenieur replica watches will be powered by IWC’s in-house Caliber 69370. This movement was specifically developed to replace the Valjoux 7750 used in entry-level IWC chronograph watches. As a result, the Caliber 69370 shares the same dimensions as the Valjoux 7750, but with two notable improvements. It features a column wheel instead of a basic cam, and has a more efficient winding system.

Power reserve is 46 hours and the dial configuration is similar to the Valjoux 7750, with sub-dials at 12, 9, and 6 o’clock as well. The key difference, however, is that the running seconds of the Caliber 69370 is at 6 o’clock rather than 9 o’clock. The movement is nicely finished and can be admired through a sapphire display case back.

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TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf Special Edition Fake Watches With Blue Leather Straps

Any watch brand would love to claim a truly “iconic” chronograph in their lineup, but TAG Heuer arguably has a couple, among which is the famous square-cased Monaco. When (pre-TAG) Heuer launched the Monaco back in 1969, it was the first Swiss-made automatic chronograph that was square and water-resistant. Now, they have revealed the delicate TAG Heuer Monaco replica watches that specifically recall Steve McQueen’s role in making the Monaco famous.

The Heuer Monaco found fame after Steve McQueen sported it on his wrist during his appearance in the 1971 film, Le Mans. In that same movie, McQueen’s character is sponsored by Gulf Oil, and you’ll see that his white livery also sported the blue and orange stripes, as in the famous picture above. So TAG Heuer Monaco fake watches with mechanical movements are inspired not only by the original Heuer Monaco, but also by Steve McQueen and his character in Le Mans. TAG Heuer says it is also a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Gulf racing stripes and its role in motor racing.

At its essence, TAG Heuer copy watches with red hands has remained true to the original. For example, the crown is still on the left of the watch case, there is a highly domed sapphire crystal, and the dial is blue with a sunray-brushed finish.


It is powered by the TAG Heuer Calibre 11 which is very similar to the movement found in the original Monaco with the benefit of modern production methods and tolerances. The Calibre 11 provides 40 hours of power reserve and beats at 4Hz. It is a time-tested and reliable movement and, much like the Calibre 1861 is to the Speedmaster, it is indelibly linked to the Heuer Monaco.

The steel case is 39mm in diameter but being square in shape means it wears much larger than you might think. The bezel and case both have alternating brushed and polished finishing to give the case some visual interest. Unlike the original Monaco, the pushers in the Gulf Special are square, which I think fits the aesthetic of the watch much better. As mentioned earlier, the watch has a highly domed and beveled sapphire crystal.

This was one of the hallmarks of the original Monaco from 1969 and one of the features that helped it to be water-resistant. Speaking of water-resistance, the reliable TAG Heuer Monaco fake watches are rated to 100m, even with its display caseback (which TAG Heuer has not provided an image of at the moment).

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Comparative Review: The Modern and Vintage Omega Speedmaster Mark II Fake Watches

This article comes to us from the “Speedy Tuesday” archives, and focuses on my opportunity to review, compare and contrast the modern Omega Speedmaster replica watches with its vintage predecessor from 1969.

After the Omega Speedmaster Professional won the race to the Moon in 1969, Omega thought it was time to come up with a watch that was perhaps a bit more up-to-date and ready for the 1970s — design-wise, that is, as the watch would still need to handle the same abuse as the Speedmaster Professional “Moonwatch” could. Sometime in 1969, Omega introduced the first Speedmaster Mark II, which was actually a Speedmaster Professional Mark II. (For non-native-English-speaking readers: the “Mark” in the name stands for a new or revised/improved version; it is similar to calling something a “2.0 version” these days.)

The Speedmaster Mark II came with the same Lemania-based movement as the Moonwatch, Reference 145.022. This movement is Omega’s Caliber 861 and was in production from 1968 through about 1996, when it was succeeded by the Caliber 1861 movement. Omega Speedmaster copy watches with Swiss mechanical movements had a barrel-shaped case that looked totally different from the asymmetrical Speedmaster Professional case. The regular Speedmaster, which was issued to NASA astronauts, was still in production, however. Throughout all the Speedmaster Mark series, the regular Speedmaster Pro remained available (and, of course, remains so today).

When Omega ceased production of the Speedmaster Mark II in 1972, the Mark III already had been introduced. The Speedmaster Mark III was succeeded by the Mark IV in 1973. Then there is the Mark 4.5 (which is a Mark IV with a different movement, an Omega Caliber 1045), which came on the market in 1974. The last one of the Speedmaster Mark series is the Mark V, introduced around 1984. Confusing, right?

There are even more models in between and some slight variations on the above. In any case, Omega decided to do a Speedmaster Mark II reissue in 2014, and we noticed that the watches were already in the Omega boutiques before their official introduction at Baselworld 2014. Just like the original Omega Speedmaster replica watches, there are a few variations available of the Omega Speedmaster Mark II Co-Axial 2014 models. There is a black-dial version and a racing-dial version as well as a Speedmaster Mark II “Rio 2016” Olympic Games edition (pictured below) that we saw during our appointment with Omega.

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Breitling Replica Watches Sold To CVC Capital Partners For Over $870 Million

Even in the exceedingly turbulent times that the watch industry has been enduring for nearly two years, it is rare news to see major brands exchange hands – and that is why today is a notable day, as it has just been announced that Breitling has been sold to CVC Capital Partners for more than 800 million euros – that is about 873 million US dollars or 866 million Swiss francs.

Until this moment, Breitling had been one of only a handful of properly independent major brands out there – Chopard and Patek Philippe remain two other family-owned big players in the industry, with every other mammoth brand either owned by one of the big four groups (Swatch Group, LVMH, Richemont, and Kering) or some other major entity, like Rolex and Tudor with the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation. The last big news of this nature was when family-owned Frederique Constant, Alpina, and Atelier de Monaco were purchased by Citizen Watch Co. last year.

Nevertheless, previous majority owner Theodore Schneider will remain with Breitling because, as part of the CVC Capital Partners deal, he agreed to re-invest for a 20% stake in Breitling. Ironically, it was as recently as May last year that Breitling vice-president Jean-Paul Girardin told Reuters he was confident in Breitling retaining its independence despite speculation about its future following the 2015 passing of Ernest Schneider who bought the brand in 1979.

Still, soon after that interview, Bloomberg (the breaker of today’s news) had reported in late November last year that Breitling was “on the block” for sale, after having been in the hands of the Schneider family since 1979. Breitling has very much been a family-run company in the sense that Ernest Schneider had been running it from the late ’70s until the early ’90s when his son, Théodore Schneider took over. While Théodore is the (exceedingly rarer) type of the quiet watch CEO who stays out of the limelight, he’s said to be very much taking part in running the business.

Late last year, when the speculation regarding Breitling’s sale sprung, analysts expected the manufacture that employs some 900 people and produces around 150,000 watches annually to fetch between 600 and 900 million Swiss francs (CHF). As of today, we know that Breitling has been acquired for over CHF866 million – with Breitling’s annual sales of about CHF420 million, this might give the company the financial stability it needed to make it through these troubling times and, hopefully, come out stronger once it’s over.

As for CVC’s official plans with Breitling, Daniel Pindur, Senior Managing Director at CVC says: “Using our network and expertise, CVC will work to make this global, iconic brand even more renowned and help shape the future of one of Switzerland’s last independent watch manufacturers. Specifically, we see significant growth potential for Breitling in both existing and new geographies by driving the digitization of the marketing and distribution channels in the company, helping to enrich the product and customer experience.”

Breitling, who produces some of the quality movements, dials, cases, and bracelets for its watches has tremendous potential and, on a personal note, I am a bit worried to see them become part of a large financial group. Times do change from better to worse and back in the watch industry, there’s nothing new about that, but I do hope that Breitling will stay away from cheapening its brand and its products in chasing higher temporary profits. If you’ve handled a Chronomat or Navitimer lately, you’ll know that Breitling has a long way down the quality food chain, as its movements, cases, bracelets, and dials remain some of the truly solidly built ones at a time when we already see a lot of high-end brands go for cheaper designs and quality of execution.

Challenges ahead of Breitling include fixing the strong discounting and vast grey market as well as gaining more traction in established and new markets through streamlined and more powerful branding and marketing. They produce a huge variety of timepieces from the $2,000 Colt Skyracer with a COSC-certified quartz movement and carbon composite case (hands-on here) through the Bluetooth-connected black rubber straps Bentley Supersports B55 copy watches (explained here) and true Breitling classics like the Navitimer 01 (reviewed here), to the bonkers-expensive, $40,000 Superocean Heritage Chronoworks (hands-on here). All this is to say that Breitling stands on a solid foundation of versatile collections, but their awareness and global presence has to be improved – something both parties expect “the network and expertise of CVC” to assist with.

More recent news from Arabic numerials Breitling copy watches  included their producing of chronograph movements for the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Chrono (hands-on here) and them sourcing a base three-hand movement from Tudor in return. This, though not confirmed, implied unused manufacturing capacities at Breitling and a break from industry-wide principle in that they chose not to invest in developing their own base manufacture caliber but rather source one with similar credentials.

The transaction between Breitling and CVC Capital Partners is expected to complete by around June 2017, subject to approval by competition authorities. How long and in what role Théodore Schneider will stay around at Breitling, we are yet to learn. The charming replica watches are worthy to try.