Louis Vuitton has a long standing relationship with the yachting world. for 25 years, the Louis Vuitton Cup has been a race to determine the challenger to the America’s Cup regatta. Vuitton recently began sponsoring the LV Trophy, a series of regattas worldwide, the next of which begins on March 9 in Auckland.
Watchmaking has become a major emphasis for Louis Vuitton. The introduction of the Tambour series in 2002 was a major benchmark and new introductions of complications and beautiful high jewelry pieces have been going strong ever since. The company has a dedicated team of master watchmakers and has developed interesting complications.

The LV Cup Regatta Chronograph features a regatta function, which counts down the 10 minutes prior to the start of the race. This enables the sailor to time his maneuvers to be as close as possible to the starting line when the gun fires. There are 5 separate windows (in the shape of a spinnaker) that change colors as the start nears: going from white to blue to red. The chronograph has a fly back function so you can end and start a new countdown with one push.

Features: water resistant to 100 meters, blackened steel case, transparent caseback, fly back chronograph, regatta function.

The SIHH show, held in January, is as exciting for watch collectors as the Super Bowl is for football fans. Collectors, editors and retailers anticipate the yearly show for months.

This year’s SIHH offered some amazing complications and innovations. Montblanc introduced a double-dial watch, Piaget introduced the world’s thinnest automatic movement for its Altiplano watch, and IWC launched a new Portugese Grand Complication, featuring a minute repeater and a moonphase.

Montblanc’s new Metamorphosis watch has literally two faces. On the top layer is a watch that displays the hours, minutes seconds, and date. The minutes are displayed with a retrograde large hand that progresses from 0 to 60 across the top part of the watch, then flies back to zero. The second hand also comes from the center and goes one revolution every minute. The hours are displayed in the top sub dial by one hand. Date is at the 6 o’clock sub-dial in a hand display. Now for the excitement: when a lever on the left is pulled and the push button is pushed, the two subdials split in half down the center and slowly move under the dial like wings. Once the top sub-dials have disappeared, the lower dials rise up and you have a chronograph. The top sub dial shows the hours, and the lower one shows the minutes up to 31 minutes. Seconds remain with the large hand. It’s hard to describe this watch without seeing it in action. To watch the video, hosted by designers Johnny Girardin and Franck Orny, visit Montblanc’s web site on this page.

IWC’s new introduction features a moonphase and minute repeater, with its dial engraved with a globe. IWC originally launched the Portugese series in the 30’s for two Portugese marine merchants who wanted accurate timepieces while at sea.
This watch boasts a minute repeater, perpetual calendar, moonphase, and chronograph. It’s an automatic movement and done in rose gold. The case back has a beautiful sextant engraving.

Piaget has set a record for the world’s thinnest automatic movement. This year celebrates the new Altiplano! The new movement is just 2.35mm thick. This represents and solidifies Piaget’s mastery of ultra thin calibers. The watch is done in either white or pink gold, and it’s handsome, elegant.

Panerai introduced this amazing new chronograph in titanium at SIHH last year.

The look is signature Panerai. Yet with its engraved tachymeter on the bezel, light blue dial, and white luminous coating of both the subdials and all minute markers, its appearance is much more detailed than your classic “clean” Panerai model. One of the best features of the titanium Daylight Chrono is its light weight, despite its 44mm size. Titanium is about 56% as dense as steel, and it comparable in its strength and resistance to corrosion.

The watch has an automatic movement, called the Panerai OP XII with a power reserve of 46 hours and a strong anti-shock device. All of which you’d expect from this brand that’s been producing the Luminor for more than 60 years.

The watch is also available on an alligator strap, which is also very handsome. The strap and bracelet can be interchanged with a tool that’s supplied with the watch.