In the small Swiss town of La Cote-aux-Fees in 1874 the Piaget family began making watchworks that quickly became the preferred movements of the most prestigious watchmakers in Europe. After the end of World War II, the Piaget company built a state-of-the-art factory and captured new markets, gaining more women clients by developing ultra-thin watches. Piaget became synonymous with luxury timepieces, and in the 1960s it leaped to international fame as the company opened a showroom in Geneva and presented products embellished with precious stones. The 1970s saw the debut of ultra-thin electronic mechanisms, and in the following decade clients commissioned Piaget to create the most precious watches in the world. In 1988 Piaget joined forces with Cartier and launched the great Piaget collections for the next millennium. This lavishly illustrated volume details the unique characteristics of Piaget movements, both wind-up and automatic; the crafting of quality watches by hand and by computerized machinery, in a melding of tradition and modernity; the creation of Piaget's trademark supple watchbands woven of gold wire; the quartz revolution; and the most recent and unique commissioned creations from the house of Piaget.

Piaget Watches and Wonders Since 1874

Cologni, Franco

Negretti, Giampiero

Reference

Abbeville Promotional

As supplier to the Royal Italian Navy and specialist in high-precision mechanisms, Panerai perfected the world’s first underwater timepieces in the 1930s, which were not only waterproof at 650 feet, but luminescent as well. Until recently these beautifully designed and technically proficient watches were known only to the Italian military and to a select group of connoisseurs, but today they have become a worldwide phenomenon avidly collected by sportsmen and "Paneristi" throughout the world.Original photography commissioned for the volume highlights the unique technical aspects of Panerai designs, with special sections devoted to the precision instruments invented for the Italian navy, and to international collectors such as Sylvester Stallone and Mike Horn, who wore a Panerai Arktos designed especially for him while making the first-ever solo circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle from 1999–2000. An extensively researched catalogue raisonné of the firm’s collections and archives provides a unique resource for collectors and watch specialists.

Panerai

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Burton, Simon De

Antiques & Collectibles

Flammarion

The Rolex tagline, "an obsession with perfection," is upheld by the brand's popularity. Often copied but never surpassed, Rolex--headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with 28 affiliates worldwide and relying on 4,000 watchmakers in over 100 countries--has been the leading name in luxury watches and the symbol of exemplary performance and prestige for more than a century. John Goldberger, editor of 100 Superlative Rolex Watches, has spent many happy hours browsing through watch shops, flea markets, conventions and auctions around the world for the past 35 years, collecting and studying vintage watches. In this well-appointed volume he presents comprehensive descriptions of 100 of the finest Rolex watches ever made and provides an extensive overview of Rolex's production, demonstrating the company's innovation in the technical and aesthetic evolution of watch design. More than 600 color illustrations and 400 descriptions provide the collector and watch enthusiast with invaluable information: reference numbers, casing, movement, relative calibers and year of production for each watch. The book covers many styles, including the earliest models, the Oyster, chronograph and moon phases, the sports model and the Daytona.

100 Superlative Rolex Watches

History

Damiani

John Goldberger has been collecting and studying vintage watches for over 25 years, which means he's spent many happy hours at jewelers' shops, flea markets, conventions and auctions around the world. His comprehensive and detailed illustrated book on the Omega family of Swiss timepieces is an indispensable asset to others who share his obsession, and to those who would love to--to armchair collectors. Omega Watches covers the history of more than 240 vintage models, with emphasis on their outer aspects--including the shape and outline of each case and its dial and movements, which are governing features for the collector, as well as clues to exceptional internal design. Goldberg has created a beautiful visual guide to Omega timepieces from the classic pocketwatch to the modern chronograph. Starting with the first models of the past century, Omega Watches displays the beauty, complexity and the collectibility of classic watches such as the Speedmaster, first produced in 1957, and the Seamaster, both of which are still produced today. All examples depicted are from private collections.

Omega Watches

This new monograph from the author of "Omega Watches" tells the story of the renowned Swiss watchmaker Longines, active since the nineteenth century. Longines timepieces, each one marked with a winged hourglass, have been made after the designs of Charles Lindbergh and became favorites of Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, not to mention contemporary stars and athletes. This photographic record of Longines's continuing elegance and technical superiority includes pieces among the most precious and refined ever made. The luxurious watches are photographed with exquisite detail, displaying their dials, movements, realtive calibers and accompanying cases. . A one of a kind, complete collection for collectors, insiders or enthusiasts.

Longines Watches

Omega was entrusted with timekeeping at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1932 and has since been the official timekeeper at 22 Olympics. That association has led to more than half a century of pioneering developments in timers and watches, from the first water-resistant photoelectric cell to the first photo-finish camera (an innovation that resolved the problem of group finishes in track events), and "contact pads" inside the pool at swimming competitions. They have continued to innovate, most recently with real time results online, available as soon as a swimmer hits the pool wall at the end of a lap. Yet it is the most tangible, touchable, wearable results of all this that brings Omega watches from the workplaces of athletes (including Michelle Wie and Michael Phelps) into the homes of design aficionados. John Goldberger, the editor of Omega Watches and Longines Watches here presents more than 50 years of rare and beautiful sport designs from the Omega line.

Omega Sports Watches

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