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The visible one minute Tourbillon is integrated into the Aventurine dial. Opaque or translucent, containing crystals that were engendered by fire in molten glass, Aventurine scintillates, subtly flecked with all possible shades of red, yellow and grey. Forged by human hands, often compared to the philosopher’s stone, Aventurine contains the secrets of the master jeweller’s alchemy.
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This last edition limited Ulysse-Nardin Genghis Khan minute repeater in platinum features a 42mm case, Aventurine dial, and a crocodile strap with deployment buckle. The Ulysse Nardin Genghis Khan minute repeater watch also features a manually wound tourbillon movement with a Westminster chime carillon minute repeater and animated battle scene figures. This is the last limited edition 30 piece series. The previous two were in rose and white gold.
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The Genghis Khan will be produced over the next 6-8 years in a limited edition of 30 pieces each in white and pink gold 18 ct.
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Ref. Nr. 789-80
Diameter 42 mm
Case Platinum case
Dial Aventurine dial with gold Automatons
Power-reserve Approx. 80 hours
Winding Manual Wind
Water-resistant 30 meters
Crystal Sapphire Crystals
Strap Leather strap
Buckle type Folding clasp
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[Source: Ulysse Nardin Home Page]

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Hamilton recently teamed up with Conservation International and Harrison Ford in order to create the “Khaki Conservation” edition. Created as an “eco-friendly” version of the Khaki Navy GMT, this unique timepiece features special design elements. It is a limited edition of recycled material for the packaging, Hamilton pledged to donate the proceeds to Conservation International.
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Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. Ford is best known for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. He is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. His four-decade career also includes roles in several other Hollywood blockbusters, including Apocalypse Now, Presumed Innocent, The Fugitive, Air Force One, and What Lies Beneath. At one point, three of the top four box-office hits of all time included one of his roles. Five of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry.

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Khaki Conservation Automatic GMT: Harrison Ford & Conservation International Special Edition – Diving watch, Swiss-made automatic movement featuring Greenwich Mean Time 2nd time zone, Main dial warm khaki hour/minute hands with luminous accents and khaki sweep seconds, 2nd time zone displayed by black/khaki-tipped hand, Main dial tan/yellow luminescent Arabic numbers, Interior rotating 2nd time zone marked by white 24-hour display, Tan/yellow numbers reveal quarter seconds and inner/outer minute track, Analog date display at 3, Brushed silver-tone stainless steel round bezel and case with polished steel brown accents, 2 polished screw-in logo crowns for time setting, Polished screw-in crown at 9 selects Conservation International ‘focus locations’, Stainless steel screw-in skeleton caseback marked with Mr. Harrison Ford’s signature and ‘Conservation International’ logo, Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, 200 meters/660 feet water resistant
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[Hamilton Home Page]

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(Patek Philippe Nautilus Dame Pink Gold)
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Three years after the successful launch of the new men’s Nautilus collection that marked the 30-year anniversary of this cult watch, Patek Philippe created Nautilus Dame Line. Its about a sportive concept that continues with the previous one, but adding the characteristic feminine touch according to its dimensions and aesthetic details. The feminine Nautilus features a E 23 SC calibre with a case that can be white or pink, gold.
The latest interpretation of the feminine Nautilus comes in white or rose gold with a silvery white or charcoal grey dial. The exclusive dial design of the original Nautilus, the archetype of the casually elegant watch for go-getting people with active lifestyles, has been refined for even greater feminine appeal. The new case with the slightly enlarged diameter (32 mm instead of 28.5 mm of the original Ref. 4700 model) radiates contemporary elegance.
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Quartz movement with date
Center sweep second hand
Caliber E 23 S C
Silvery white or charcoal gray dial, applied gold hour markers with luminescent coating
Gold bracelet with Nautilus fold-over clasp
Rose gold
Water resistant to 60 m
Case diameter (10-4 o’clock): 32 mm.

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Wristwatch Refferences:
White Gold / Black Dial:          Ref. 7010/1G
White Gold / White Dial:          Ref. 7010/1G
Pink Gold / White Dial:            Ref. 7010/1R
Pink Gold / Black Dial:            Ref. 7010/1R
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[Patek Philippe Home Page]

Anthony Zimmer (2005)

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(Chiara, Sophie Marceau, is wearing an IWC Portugese Wristwatch)

In Paris, the international police force and the Russian mafia are chasing Anthony Zimmer, who had an extensive plastic surgery, making not only his face, but also his voice, completely unknown. The means of reaching Zimmer is through his beloved mistress Chiara. While travelling François Taillandier is select by Chiara as if he were Zimmer and used as a bait to lure those that are pursuing her.

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Body of Lies (2008)

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(Ed Hoffman, Russell Crowe, is wearing a Breitling Emergency Wristwatch)

United State’s Central Intelligence Agency’s Middle East Representative, Roger Ferris, is based in Amman, Jordan, keeping a watch on a ’safe house’ and believes it to be frequented by young Muslim males. He has information that Al Saleem may be behind terrorist attacks, but lacks any evidence to apprehend him or any of his associates.

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I Am Legend (2007)

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(Robert Neville, Will Smith, is wearing a Hamilton Khaki X-Wind Wristwatch)
It is the year 2012. In the ruins of New York city. Robert Neville, who is a military scientist lone survivor of a biochemical disease -which was supposed to cure cancer 3 years previous-. Robert is trying to discover a cure for this disease and to find out any other people who might have also survived.
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Get Smart (2008)

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(Maxwell Smart, Steve Carell, is wearing Hamilton Field Multi-Touch Wristwatch)
American Maxwell Smart works for a Government spy agency in an administrative capacity. The Chief decides to assign Maxwell as a spy and partners him with sexy Agent 99, much to her chagrin. The duo, handicapped by Maxwell’s antics, will eventually have their identities compromised, and may be chalked up as casualties while back in America their attackers have already planted a bomb that is set-up to explode in a concert.
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Iron Man (2008)

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Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr., is wearing a Bvlgari Diagono Chronograph Wristwatch.

Tony Stark is a playboy and also an engineering genius. While in Afghanistan demonstrating a new missile he’s captured and wounded in order to assemble a missile, but instead, he creates an armoured suit and a means to prevent his death from the shrapnel left in his chest by the attack.

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Vacheron Constantin has chosen today to revive some of the finest moments in the quest for ultra-thinness. The brand is enriching its “Historiques” collection with two new creations directly inspired by its heritage, each lending a new and distinctively modern touch to one of two legendary calibres.

“Historique Ultra-fine 1955”
currently the world’s thinnest mechanical hand-wound watch
measuring just 4.10 mm thick

It is equipped with the mechanical hand-wound 1003 movement
the thinnest in the world at just 1.64 mm thick
rebuilt in 2010 – for its 55th anniversary – in 18-carat gold, and bearing the Hallmark of Geneva

“Historique Ultra-fine 1968”
equipped with the ultra-thin mechanical self-winding 1120 movement
featuring a new decorated oscillating weight, and bearing the Hallmark of Geneva

***

For Vacheron Constantin, celebrating the 55th anniversary of the birth of the ultra-thin Calibre 1003 provides an opportunity to revisit its heritage.

Considered to be one of the most beautiful and refined ultra-thin movements on the market, Calibre 1003 has been defying mechanical laws for over 50 years. It is extremely complex to produce and its adjustment calls upon the full measure of expertise cultivated by a fine watch manufacturer.

The decoration is extremely meticulous: Côtes de Genève, bevelling and chamfering, and drawing the steel parts with a file are all performed by hand. This exceptional degree of finishing earns the new version of Calibre 1003 the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva, an independent and sovereign certification awarded by the State of Geneva which thereby guarantees the origin, precision, durability and fine craftsmanship of models from a handful of Geneva-based watch companies.

For its 2010 re-edition, Calibre 1003 is presented in a round watch in 4N 18-carat pink gold measuring 36 mm in diameter, inspired by one of the three historical models introduced in 1955, reference 6099. The latter has been selected because of a design that already embodied a decidedly modern touch at the time of its launch.

Reference
Historique Ultra-fine 1955
33155/000R-9588

The World’s thinnest mechanical hand-wound watch
measuring just 4.10 mm thick to date

Movement
1003
Rebuilt in 18-carat gold for its 55th anniversary in 2010
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva
Mechanical, manual-winding
The thinnest in the world at just 1.64 mm thick

Thickness of movement
1.64 mm

Diameter of movement
20.80 mm

Jewels
18 jewels

Frequency
18′000 vibrations/hour

Indications
Hours, minutes

Power reserve
More than 30 hours

Case
18 carat 4N rose gold
Diameter: 36.00 mm. Thickness: 4.1 mm

Water resistance
3 bar, equivalent to 30 meters

Dial    18 carat gold, silvered opaline
Mirror-polished Maltese Cross and indexes

Strap
Black hand-stitched, saddle-finished
Square-shape scales alligator leather.

Clasp
Buckle in 18 carat 4N rose gold, polished half Maltese Cross

Vacheron Constantin has chosen to make 2010 a tribute year to its ultra-thin timepieces by reissuing, again within its “Historiques” collection, a square-shaped model dating from 1968 and equipped with the famous ultra-thin self-winding Calibre 1120.

In revisiting this watch, the Manufacture has adopted an extremely distinctive style: that of the 1960s. This 4N 18-carat rose gold timepiece creates a striking contrast between the strict square dial opening and the slightly curving case flanks.

Compared to the original 1968 watch (reference 7614), the watch now presented features updated technical characteristics in tune with modern times: water resistance to 3 bar, equivalent to around 30 metres; a sapphire crystal, and a clipped-down solid case-back exactly like the original model.

Despite such improvements, which generally tend to increase bulk, this watch measuring 35.2 mm along its sides is even thinner than its historical predecessor: 5.5 mm compared with 6.52 mm, making it one of the thinnest watches in its category.

Like the 1968 model, the contemporary version is equipped with the ultra-thin self-winding Calibre 1120. This exceptional movement driving hour and minute hands has powered some of the most prestigious ultra-thin self-winding watches in horological history.

Vacheron Constantin has chosen in 2010 re-issue two ultra-thin watches that have made their mark on its history, duly christened “Historique Ultra-fine 1955” and “Historique Ultra-fine 1968”.

Reference
Historique Ultra-fine 1968
43043/000R-9592

Movement
1120, Vacheron Constantin
Stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva
Energy    Mechanical, self-winding

Height of movement
2.45 mm

Diameter of movement
28.00 mm

Jewels
36 jewels

Frequency
19′800 vibrations/hour

Indications
Hours, minutes

Power reserve
More than 40 hours

Case
18 carat 4N rose gold
Square-shaped 35.2 x 35.2 mm, thickness: 5.5 mm

Water resistance
3 bar, equivalent to 30 meters

Dial
Silvered, 18 carat black finished indexes
Mirror-polished Maltese Cross

Strap
Black hand-stitched, saddle-finished
Square-shape scales alligator leather.

Clasp
Buckle in 18 carat 4N rose gold
Polished half Maltese Cross

[Vacheron Constantin Press Release]

For the first time in its history, Blancpain has created a special-shaped watch*. The Manufacture in Le Brassus is presenting an authentic jeweller creation set with over 500 diamonds and pink sapphires, and housing the world’s smallest self-winding movement, Calibre 615. This extraordinary timepiece is to be issued in a symbolically limited edition of 14 to celebrate Valentine’s Day 2010.

This exceptional creation is an anthem to Love and to Femininity, starting with the white and pink mother-of-pearl dial forming a heart and framed by a bezel set with over 500 diamonds and pink sapphires. A heart-cut diamond also appears at 12 o’clock, while the pin buckle is set with a pearshaped pink sapphire.

The exquisite beauty of this exceptional two-hand watch also lies in the slenderness of its movement. Blancpain is proudly reintroducing the famous “Lady Bird” Calibre 615, still regarded as the world’s smallest self-winding movement and which can be admired through the sapphire crystal case-back.

This shaped watch is delivered with two genuine satin straps – one black and the other white. It comes in an extremely elegant presentation box featuring a design reflecting the pure lines of this dainty Valentine’s Day model crafted in a strictly limited edition of 14.

[Blancpain’s Press Release]

The Associated Press, an American news agency, has named Tiger Woods its athlete of the decade.
AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists.

Tiger Woods is the first golfer to win four consecutive major championships. He is the youngest placer to have won 3 green jackets, he won the US Open in 2000 by an incredible 15 shots, and he has a total of 9 major championships to his name.

In 2001 he became the first golfer in history to hold all four major titles at once. Outside of golf, Tiger is one of the greatest sports champions in history. With his personality and his results, he is a perfect example of prestige and performance which are so important to TAG Heuer [Complete Post].

[AP]
[TAG Heuer]

( Ben Bernanke: the Man of the Year Award)

Last Monday, the TIME magazine’s managing editor announced the list for 2009’s Person of the Year, including Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, and giving the first award to Ben Bernanke.

Person of the Year, formerly Man of the Year, is an annual issue of the United States newsmagazine Time that features and profiles a man, woman, couple, group, idea, place, or machine that “for better or for worse, …has done the most to influence the events of the year”.
The tradition of selecting a Man of the Year began in 1927 as an attempt to remedy the editorial embarrassment earlier that year for not having aviator Charles Lindbergh on its cover following his historic trans-Atlantic flight.
Since then, individual people, groups of people, an invention or even a planet have been selected for the special year end issue. The only women to win the renamed recognition so far were those recognized as The Whistleblowers (2002) and Melinda Gates (jointly with Bill Gates and Bono in 2005). Four women were granted the title when it was still Man of the Year.
This 2009, the Time Magazine has nominated Ben Bernanke for the Man of the Year Award. He is the man sitting in his Washington office, talking about the economy without a commanding presence. His arguments aren’t partisan or ideological; they’re methodical, grounded in data and the latest academic literature.
Bernanke is the 56-year-old chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the U.S., an independent government agency that conducts monetary policy. And ever since global credit markets began imploding, its mild-mannered chairman has dramatically expanded those powers and reinvented the Fed.

[Picture: Albert Watson]
[TIME Magazine]
[Ben Bernanke's Blog]

Vladimir Putin is not only a Russian politician. He is the current Prime Minister as well as chairman of United Russia, and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when President Boris Yeltsin resigned in a surprising move, and then Putin won the 2000 presidential election. In 2004, he was re-elected for a second term lasting until 7 May 2008.
Putin is not only the Prime Minister, he is also passionate according to action activities. Apart from being a judo black belt, a fervent explorer of volcanoes, dips in Siberian rivers and plummets deep down lakes in mini submarines, he is a luxury Swiss watches looms large lover. Among the Russian politicians, Putin wears the most expensive watches, such as a $60,000 Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar watch and, also, he owns a Patek Philippe Calatrava.

Calibre 240 Q, 27 jewels, Gyromax balance, 22k gold minirotor, opaline-white dial with white gold applied hour markers and pearled minute divisions, two bevelled engine-turned subdials for the month with leap year and day with 24-hour indication, analogue date with integrated moon-phase display, two-part case, snap-on case back, platinum PP buckle, case, dial and movement signed.


Patek Philippe’s calibre 240 Q is the most splendid illustration of the manufacturer’s confident style and technical skills. It features 275 miniscule parts in a compact marvel incredibly thin due in part to the integrated off-centred 22k gold minirotor.

[Source: Patek Philippe]
Putin’s picture: AFP

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Silvio Berlusconi’s Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar Wristwatch

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(Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar)
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The most expensive watch worth US$540,000 Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar, worn by Italian Prime Minister and mega-wealthy industrialist Silvio Berlusconi. This Vacheron Constantin watch is worth over five hundred thousand dollars.
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The Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar was produced from 1946 through 2006. The discontinuance was a good strike news to those collectors fortunate enough to own one. This watch is in platinum, with the Vacheron Constantin reference number 30020/000P/7596.
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It features a platinum case, with Vacheron’s familiar flared lugs. Its front crystal is a sapphire one while the back crystal one is made of acrylic permitting the repeater tone to sound more purely and louder. Case dimensions: 37mm diameter by 10.5mm thick.
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Dial is silver with applied hour markers and sunken subdials. The following calendar information is shown: day, date, month, leap year, moonphase and age of the moon.
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Its movement: the manual winding Vacheron Constantin Caliber 1755 with 30 jewels and adjusted to five positions and temperature. The construction of this movement and its finishing are extremely beautiful. The repeater hammer and gongs can be seen at work, when the repeater is activated.
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Silvio Berlusconi was born in September 29^th, 1936. He is an Italian politician, the current Prime Minister of Italy as well as a billionaire entrepreneur. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister of Italy, a position he has held on three separate occasions: from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2006 and currently since 2008. He is the leader of the People of Freedom political movement, a centre-right party he founded in 2009. As of November 2009, he is the longest-serving current leader of a G8 country.
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[Vacheron Constantine Home Page]
[Interwatches' Vacheron Constantine' Gallery]

Willard Christopher “Will” Smith, Jr. was born on September 25, 1968. He is an American actor, film producer and also a rapper. Newsweek has called him the most powerful actor on the planet. Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and he has won multiple Grammy Awards.
Smith rose to fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince in the late 1980s and his role in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. His most notable films include Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men in Black, Ali, I, Robot, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, Hancock, and Seven Pounds. He is the only actor in history to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office as well as being the only actor to have eight consecutive films open at #1 on the domestic box office as a Lead Actor.

The adventures of two federal agent men Agent Kay and Agent Jay also known as “The Men in Black,” who keep an eye on aliens in New York City must try to save the world after the aliens threaten to blow it up.

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 and died in August 16, 1977. He was an American singer and actor. Cultural icon, widely known by single name Elvis. Often referred to as the King of Rock and Roll or simply the King.
Presley began his career in 1954 as one of the first performers of rockabilly, counting with such a versatile voice and he had unusually wide success encompassing many genres, including rock and roll, gospel, blues, country, ballads and pop. To date, he has been inducted into four music halls of fame.
Throughout his career, he set records for concert attendance, television ratings and recordings sales. He is one of the best-selling solo artists in the history of popular music, with sales between 600 million and one billion worldwide, and he is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture. Among his many awards and accolades are 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received at age 36, and being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 by the United States Jaycees.

Chadwick Gates (Presley) has just gotten out of the Army, and is happy to be back in Hawaii with his surfboard, his beach buddies, and his girlfriend. His mother wants him to go to work at the Great Southern Hawaiian Fruit Company, but Chad is reluctant. So Chad goes to work as a tour guide at his girlfriend’s agency.

Harrison Ford was born on July 13, 1942. He is an American film actor and producer. Ford is best known for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. He is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. His four-decade career also includes roles in several other Hollywood blockbusters, including Apocalypse Now, Presumed Innocent, The Fugitive, Air Force One, and What Lies Beneath. At one point, three of the top four box-office hits of all time included one of his roles. Five of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry.
In 1997, Ford was ranked # 1 in Empire’s “The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time” list. As of July 2008, the United States domestic box office grosses of Ford’s films total almost $3.4 billion, with worldwide grosses surpassing $6 billion, making Ford the third highest grossing U.S. domestic box-office star.

[Hamilton Web Page]

Morgan Porterfield Freeman, Jr. was born in June 1, 1937. He is an American actor, film director and also a narrator. He is noted for his reserved behaviour and authoritative speaking voice.
Freeman received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, and The Shawshank Redemption before winning in 2005 for Million Dollar Baby. He has also won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Freeman appeared in many other box office hits, including Unforgiven, Glory, Seven, Deep Impact, The Sum of All Fears, Bruce Almighty, Batman Begins, The Bucket List, Evan Almighty, Wanted, and The Dark Knight.

Thick as Thieves

In New York, the experienced art thief Keith Ripley invites the bold thief from Miami Gabriel Martin to team up with him. He plans to steal two valuable mysterious antiques Faberge eggs, located in a well protected Russian jewellery Romanov. Each egg is worth twenty million dollars on the black market, and Ripley needs his cut to free himself from his debt to a powerful mobster, known as Nicky. The reluctant Gabriel agrees to participate, after having a one night stand with Ripley’s goddaughter Alexandra Karolin. Meanwhile, the persistent Lieutenant Weber, who has unsuccessfully tried to put Ripley in jail for twenty years, figures out how to anticipate the movements of the criminal in order to catch him.

Breitling, the wristwatch manufacturer of the world’s finest men’s timepieces, was formed in 1884 by Leon Breitling, who set up the company at the tender age of 24 in Switzerland. Together with The First World War, when aviation combat machine took off, Breitling turned its attention to the aviation field, to being able to time keep it. Then, as the Second World War came, they introduced the famous “Chronomat” watch which was the first in the world to be fitted with a circular slide rule to aid with navigation. The peak of Breitling’s success came in 1962, when astronaut Scott Carpenter wore one of their watches in space – this watch became known as the “Cosmonaute” and is a very highly sought after timepiece today.
Breitling wristwatches remain the first choice of most of today’s commercial and professional aviators and new models such as the Breitling Emergency which sends out a radio distress signal if the wearer becomes lost, continue to keep the brand at the forefront of technology as well as style.

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama was born in January 17, 1964. Michelle is wife of the forty-fourth President of the United States, Barack Obama, and she is also the first African-American First Lady of the United States.

Michelle Robinson was born and grew up on the South Side of Chicago. She graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. After completing her formal education, she returned to Chicago and accepted a position with the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center. Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband’s presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men’s basketball coach at Oregon State University.

Michelle Obama chose her steel Cartier Tank Francaise. A very popular Cartier Tank watch tasteful and also luxurious. It comes in both male and female models with various levels of gilding.

The Cartier Tank Francaise watch, introduced in 1917 during the First World War, was Cartier’s most famous collection. Louis Cartier was inspired by the tough new war-machine, which was introduced to the fighting in Europe, and designed a rugged yet beautiful watch that became a classic. The Cartier Tank watch is manufactured in stainless steel, all types of gold or combined, and is available in three sizes: Cartier lady watches, with a 25mm x 20mm case; mid-size with a 31mm x 25mm case; and Cartier man watches with a 35mm x 29mm case. The case is rectangular, may be decorated with diamonds and has a cabochon crown; the dial is very easy-to-read and has bold roman numerals; the bracelet has rectangular links combined in a particular pattern-design that is similar to the tank’s track. Though the Cartier Tank watch is a classic formal watch, it is very reliable, and is also water-resistant.

[Cartier Homepage]

Audemars Piguet Jules Grande Sonnerie Watch.

The minute repeater carillon is a mechanism of great complexity that strikes the hours, quarters and minutes on request. These indications are obtained by 3 hammer strokes on different gongs: a low pitched one for the hours; a high pitched one for the minutes and one intermediate pitch (the one that allows for a carillon effect on the quarter hours). Striking power is calculated to achieve subtle balance and, if this balance gets to be too strong, it would muffle the sound. But in case of being too weak, the sound would be inaudible. Audemars Piguet developed the first minute repeating mechanism for a wristwatch in 1985.
Repeater movements consist of tiny parts manufactured to extremely fine tolerances. During movement assembly, the watchmaker has to hand-finish many of these components to arrive at the desired result.
While minute repeaters chime hours, quarters and minutes on 2 gongs with 2 hammers, the present watch, part of  “Jules Audemars” series, will chime the quarters with 3 hammers on 3 gongs, adding a further tone to the “dingdong” enchanted connoisseurs are so familiar with.

[Source: Audemars Piguet and Antiquorum's Magazine]

Once owned by U.S. actor James Coburn, the Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder, fetched $11 million at an auction in the luxury sports carmaker’s hometown of Maranello. The proud owner is a British national radio DJ celebrity Chris Evans.
The Ferrari 250 is a sports car built by Ferrari from 1953 to 1964. The company’s most successful early line, the 250 series included several variants. It was replaced by the 275 and the 330.

Designed for export to America, the 1957 250 GT California Spyder was Scaglietti’s interpretation of an open-top 250 GT. Aluminium was used in the hood, doors and trunk lid, with steel specified elsewhere for most models, though a few aluminium-bodied racing versions were also built. The engine was the same as in the 250 Tour de France racing car with up to 240 PS (177 kW; 237 hp). All used the long 2,600 mm (102.4 in) chassis.
45 were made before it was replaced by the SWB version in 1960, and it remains highly valuable for automotive collection, with one example auctioned on August 18, 2007 at Monterey, California for $4.9 million.

Replacing their LWB California Spyder with a SWB version, Scaglietti showed a new 250 GT Spyder California at Geneva in 1960. Based on the 250 GT Berlinetta SWB, it also introduced disc brakes and a 280 PS (206 kW; 276 hp) version of the 250 V12. About 55 were built.
A fiberglass-bodied replica of a 1961 250 GT Spyder California, based on an MG, was featured in the 1986 hit film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
A record price for a 250 GT at auction was set on May 18, 2008 when a black 1961 SWB example that had been owned by The Magnificent Seven star James Coburn was sold for 6.4 million Euros/£5.5 million/$10,894,900 (€7,040,000 including fees). The buyer was Chris Evans, a British radio DJ.

[Ferrari's Home Page]