Happy New Year!

The Escapement has taken some time off to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. We will return early in 2010 refreshed and ready to pass along more news, and opinion on the watch industry. We look forward to gaining more readers, as well as working along side some of the best sources for information in the industry.

Coming in early January; a profile and interview with a smaller American based brand that is up and coming in the industry.

We hope you have a happy and fruitful 2010!
Cheers!

Concord's C1 QuantumGravity Tourbillon No. 1

Just a little something extra for those who are interested in such things. Earlier today Concord posted a new video on their official YouTube channel which shows the first of their C1 QuantumGravity Tourbillons getting cased and tested before it gets shipped to its new owner [apparently to arrive for Christmas delivery]. This watch is the first of only 10 pieces that will be made of the outrageous watch. So you have potentially 9 more chances to pick one up.



Regular readers may recall that the C1 QuantumGravity was the first recipient of The Escapement's ultra prestigious "Craziest Watch of the Year Award".

Your Own Personal....Hublot?

Groundbreaking English electro-pop artists Depeche Mode have had a successful, and at times rocky, world tour this past year to support the release of their 12th album 'Sounds of the Universe' which hit the stores in April. Depeche Mode recently announced that they would also be performing a benefit concert at London's Royal Albert Hall on February 10th, 2010 to support Teenage Cancer Trust an organization that assists younger cancer sufferers.

To commemorate the event and give the charity a large boost in its bottom line; Swiss watchmaker Hublot announced that they will be producing 12 special edition 'Big Bang' series watches [which it looks like they are nicknaming "pop"]. The dials of each watch will feature the album art work for all of Depeche Mode's releases. Hublot will put the watches up for auction on a dedicated website beginning February 1st, 2010, all of the proceeds from the sales will go directly to the Teenage Cancer Trust. The auction website will become available through both Hublot's , and Depeche Mode's official sites.

Depeche Mode:
Andrew Fletcher, Dave Gahan, & Martin Gore

No photos of the watches have been released as of yet, but I will get them up as soon as they appear. Those interested in attending the concert can purchase tickets through www.livenation.co.uk.

Pierre DeRoche Swings for the Fences

Pierre DeRoche, the small Swiss firm located in Le Lieu, known for their technically complex timepieces with a flare for the avante-garde, officially announced today they have brought on Japanese baseball star pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada as an ambassador for their brand. In a ceremony on November 22nd, Mr. Wada was presented with a Pierre DeRoche GrandCliff TNT Royal Retro in celebration of him coming on board.

Tsuyoshi Wada is a superstar among Japanese baseball fans known widely for his time on their national baseball team in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. His outstanding playing was rewarded with a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics and a gold medal in the 2006 world championship. Along with excellent performance inside the lines of the baseball diamond Mr. Wada is also highly respected for his charitable work outside of the stadium; mainly focusing on work with children which includes a highly revered vaccination program that was organized by his foundation.

Matching the number on his jersey; Pierre Dubois, CEO of Pierre DeRoche, presented Tsuyoshi with the twenty-first [No. 21] GrandCliff TNT Royal Retro watch from the limited production piece of which only 201 will be made. Below are the nuts and bolts of the piece that Mr. Wada was presented.

The Pierre DeRoche GrandCliff TNT Royal Retro

VISIBLE MOVEMENT:

Exclusive self-winding Dubois Dépraz calibre, 58 jewels. Decorated, engraved oscillating weight. 12-pivot central bridge and 6 chamfered and satin-finished seconds bridges . Moving retrograde hand indicators. Minute wheel with Pierre DeRoche logo. Hands affixed by a transversal pin. 6 retrograde seconds hands on gears; strip-spring return. Date at 6 o'clock.

FUNCTIONS:
Hours, minutes, retrograde seconds in six 10-second sectors, date.

CASE:
Black PVD titanium middle, steel bezel, horns, crown-shield and crown, 47.5 mm in diameter.

STRAPS:
Crocodile with safety folding clasp.

GRCTNT10005ACTI0-001CRO - Limited edition 201 pieces

Felix & Martin Checking In

I know, I know it's been a while since I posted something for that I sincerely apologize. I could go into a list of reasons why...but really, who cares?

Anyway, I was greeted with an email this morning from one of my favorite, young watch firms Urwerk stating they are going to be unveiling their latest creation in the middle of January 2010. There was an invitation to join them at the Four Seasons Hotel in Les Bergues to see what was next in their line. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend, unless someone want to pony up some airline tickets, and a hotel reservation for me...Anyone?.....No? OK I will however be receiving the press kit for the new piece, which I presume will be sent to me electronically around the time of the showing. I will, of course, be doing something up on it as soon as I receive information.

Urwerk founders: Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei

The email notifying me, and the registration page had no hints of any kind as to what we are about to see. It could be yet another variation on the UR-202 platform or something even more off the wall...I guess we'll just have to wait and see.