MIKA selected world-renowned timepiece watchmaker, PIAGET, to wear is his new album (The Boy Who Knew Too Much) video: Rain.

 

Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr, MIKA

Mika was born on 18 August 1983 under Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr’s name. He is a London-based, Grammy-nominated and BRIT Award-winning singer-songwriter, who has a recording contract with Casablanca Records and Universal Music. He rose to fame at the start of 2007.

Mika was born in Beirut, the third of five children born to a Lebanese mother and an American father. When he was a year old his family was forced to leave war-torn Lebanon and moved to Paris After listening to Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box,” he wrote his first song, which he describes as an “awful” piano instrumental called “Angry”. The first piano piece he learned to play was «Les Champs-Élysées» from Joe Dassin. The family moved to London when he was nine years old. There, he attended the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, where he experienced severe bullying. He also had problems with dyslexia. In response to these experiences, Mika was home-schooled by his mother at the age of 11, for six to eight months. He then attended St Philip’s School in Kensington where he was the head of the Schola Cantorum (the St Philip’s Choir). Later he attended Westminster School and the Royal College of Music, which he left to record his first album at Casablanca Records. He has also slightly altered his given name, Mica, changing the “c” to a “k” because he was frustrated by how often people would mispronounce it.

MIKA has selected world-renowned timepiece maker, PIAGET, to wear in his latest music video “Rain” from his new album, The Boy Who Knew Too Much. The song “Rain” continues the international success of Mika and its music video does not disappoint. Piaget was the natural partner for this imaginative, vibrant, high-energy video that embodies Mika’s playful and exuberant style.

A superb and elegant 18 carat pink gold and chocolate brown dial Piaget Altiplano watch adorns Mika’s wrist throughout his performance. Loyal to its characteristic pure lines and well-respected classicism, this watch is equipped with an ultra-thin hand-wound movement of 2.5 mm thickness. The sapphire crystal back enables to admire all aspects of the movement decoration, such as circular Cotes de Geneve and blued screws which are the signature features of Piaget movements. This iconic ultra thin watch perfectly captures the modern, brightly coloured, graphic essence of this music video.

[Source:  Piaget’s events]

Filed under: Luxury, Luxury Watch, luxury watches, Mika, Mika and Piaget, Piaget, Piaget Watch, Piaget Watches, Timepiece, Watch, Watches, wristwatches

Madoff auction welcomes bids on wristwatches like: Rolex, Ulysse Nardin, Blancpain, Piaget, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, IWC and Jaeger LeCoultre.

(Bernard Lawrence “Bernie” Madoff)

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Bernard Lawrence “Bernie” Madoff was born on April 29, 1938. He is the former Chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange and the admitted operator of the Ponzi scheme that might be “the largest investment fraud in Wall Street history”.
In March 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 felonies and admitted to turning his wealth management business into a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars. Madoff said he began the Ponzi scheme in the early 1990s. However, federal investigators believe the fraud began as early as the 1980s. The amount missing from client accounts, including fabricated gains, was almost $65 billion. The court appointed trustee estimated actual losses to investors of $18 billion. On June 29, 2009, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum allowed.
Madoff founded the Wall Street firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC in 1960, and was its chairman until his arrest on December 11, 2008. The firm was one of the top market maker businesses on Wall Street, which bypassed “specialist” firms by directly executing orders over the counter from retail brokers.
On December 10, 2008, Madoff’s sons told authorities that their father had just confessed to them that the asset management arm of his firm was a massive Ponzi scheme, and quoting him as saying it was “one big lie”. The following day, FBI agents arrested Madoff and charged him with one count of securities fraud. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had previously conducted several investigations into Madoff’s business practices since 1992, which critics contend were incompetently handled.
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Madoff lots are 196-299 & 301-386.
U.S.Marshals Service
National Forfeited Jewelry Auction
Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 10 AM
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During the auction conducted live on Saturday, November 14th at the New York Sheraton Hotel & Towers and online simulcast utilizing http://www.proxibid.com., many of Madoff’s belongings were auctioned. And so, his wristwatch collection. Between the wristwatch brands he was a fun, like Rolex, there were many Cartier, Ulysse Nardin, Blancpain, IWC, Hublot, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Piaget and Bulgari’s expensive watches.
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Some of them, the most expensive Rolex and some from other wristwatch brands:
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234
ROLEX: Gents 18kr vintage Rolex chronograph wristwatch; silver/white dial w/ black sticks & Arabics; 36.10mm round case; Black stitched crocodile strap (tang); Serial 66658 (1936); professionally restored.
$23000 – $26500

235
ROLEX: Gents 18ky vintage Rolex Oyster chronograph wristwatch; Monochrome motif; gold dial w/ luminous sticks & Arabics, 3 gold sub-dials; 35.1mm round case; Brown stitched Alligator strap (tang); 17 jewel Rolex Genève mechanical winding mvmt; Case 4048; Serial 58105 (1935). Note: Professionally restored.
$54000 – $58000

236
ROLEX: Gents st.steel & 18kr & 18ky vintage Rolex Oyster chronograph wristwatch; rose gold bezel, yellow gold crown; white dial w/ black sticks & Arabics; 34.6mm round case; Brown stitched Alligator strap (tang); 17 jewel Rolex Genève mechanical winding mvmt; Case 3668; Serial 146583 (1940). Note: Professionally restored.
$60000 – $63500

237
ROLEX: Gents 18ky vintage Rolex O.P. “Monoblocco” chronograph wristwatch; aka “Prisoner Watch”; domed plastic crystal; black dial w/ rose tri-sticks & Arabic numerals; gold hands; polished bezel; 35mm round case; dk brown alligator strap (tang); Model 3525; 17 jewel Rolex mechanical winding mvmt; Serial 380223 (1945).
$75000 – $87500

248A
WATCH: Gents st.steel Ulysse Nardin San Marco GMT wristwatch; black dial w/ luminous Arabic numerals; syn saph crystal; date at 3 position; dual-time at 11 position; 37mm round case; Black stitched leather band w/ tang buckle; Automatic mvmt; Model 203-22; Serial No 978.
$1500 – $2000

250
WATCH: Gents st.steel Blancpain Leman chronograph flyback wristwatch; white dial w/ white sub-dials (3); syn saph crystal; date at 6 position; 38.2mm round case; brown alligator strap w/ deployant buckle; Automatic mvmt; Model 2185-1127-53B; Serial No 294.
$4000 – $5200

251
WATCH: Gents 14kw Piaget Gouverneur Automatique chronograph wristwatch; light blue dial w/ matching sub-dials (3), Arabics; syn saph crystal; date at 6 position; 34.2mm round case; black alligator strap w/ 18kw Piaget tang buckle; Automatic mvmt; Model 12978; Serial 810797.
$4500 – $5800

253
WATCH: Gents 18kw Patek Philippe Annular Calendar wristwatch; black dial w/ silver Roman numerals; date at 6 position; 3 black sub-dials; syn saph crystal front & back; 36.95mm round case; black alligator band w/ 18kw deployant buckle; Model 5035G; 35 jewel Patek Philippe automatic mvmt, Cal. 315/198, Serial 3059777.
$12500 – $15600

254
WATCH: Gents 18ky Audemars Piguet Huitieme chronograph wristwatch; crème colored dial & sub-dials (3); date at 3 position; gold hands; 40.4mm round case; dkBrown alligator strap w/ 18ky AP double deployant clasp; Automatic mvmt; Serial C54966.
$6000 – $8000

258
WATCH: Gents st.steel IWC Portuguese chronograph wristwatch; silver dial w/ rose gold markers; 40.9mm round case; stitched brown alligator strap w/ tang buckle; Automatic mvmt; Model IW3714-01; Serial 2697455.
$3000 – $4000

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WATCH: Gents 18kt rose gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Duo wristwatch; Night/Day dials; brown crocodile strap w/ 18kr deployant buckle; Mechanical, winding mvmt; Case 270.2.54; Serial 1961500.
$4000 – $5100

Metropolitan Ballroom
New York Sheraton Hotel & Towers
811 Seventh Avenue
New York City, NY 10019

The auction was conducted by:
´Gaston & Sheehan Auctioneers

[Source: CanadaEast]

Filed under: Audemars Piguet, Audemars Piguet Watches, Bernand Madoff, Blancpain, Blancpain Watch, Blancpain Watches, IWC, IWC Watch, IWC Watches, Jaeger Lecoultre, Jaeger Lecoultre Watch, Jaeger Lecoultre Watches, Luxury, Luxury Watch, luxury watches, Madoff, Mens, Patek Philippe, Patek Philippe Watch, Patek Philippe Watches, Piaget, Piaget Watch, Piaget Watches, Ref., Rolex, Rolex 2009, Rolex Accuracy, Rolex and Sports, Rolex Watc, rolex watches, Timepiece, Ulysse Nardin, Ulysse Nardin Watch, Ulysse Nardin Watches, Watch, Watches, wristwatches

Piaget Fingerprint Watch Created for Chris Ludacris

Proceeds from $28,200-valued timepiece to benefit National Runaway Switchboard. Music icon Chris “Ludacris” Bridges not only left his fingerprint on music, film and philanthropy worlds but also it was used to design a unique Swiss-made watch by Geneva-based Piaget. The Ludacris Fingerprint timepiece, valued at $28,200

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Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977) better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Ludacris is the highest-selling Southern hip hop solo artist of all time with over 17 million units sold in the United States and 24 million records sold worldwide. Ludacris has won SAG, Critic’s Choice, MTV, and Grammy Awards during his career.

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The song “Politics As Usual” from Ludacris’ mixtape The Preview has stirred controversy due to lyrics in the song criticizing Reverend Jesse Jackson (“Now Jesse talkin’ slick and apologizin’ for what?/ If you said it then you meant it”), John McCain (“McCain don’t belong in any chair unless he’s paralyzed”), President George W. Bush (“Yeah I said it, ‘cuz Bush is mentally handicapped/ Ball up all of his speeches and throw ’em just like candy wraps/ ‘Cuz what you talkin’ I hear nothin’ even relevant/ And you the worst of all 43 presidents”), and insulting Hillary Clinton (“Hillary hated on you, so that bitch is irrelevant..”).

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Piaget took Ludacris’ fingerprint earlier in 2007 and shipped it to Piaget’s offices in Switzerland where the piece was created. The Fingerprint watch is crafted in 18 K white gold with 78 brilliantly cut diamonds circling a 38 mm case. The watch’s face is based on the distinctive pattern of whorls and swirls of the fingerprint which are set with 286 sparkling cut diamonds. The piece features a 430 P movement (the engine of the watch), one of the thinnest of its kind. Piaget is among the few Swiss manufacturers that actually produce their own movements.

[Piaget’s brand history]

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For further information, Piaget.

Filed under: 1, Chris Ludacris, Luxury, Luxury Watch, luxury watches, Piaget, Piaget Watch, Piaget Watches, Timepiece, wristwatches

Antiquorum’s Important Collector’s Wristwatches, Pocket Watches and Clocks Auction, June 27th, 2009 at the Mandarin Oriental (Hong Kong)

Antiquorum announced in Geneva, last June 10^th, its upcoming event: the “Important Collector’s Wristwatches, Pocket Watches and Clocks” sale prepared to be celebrated on June 27th, 2009 at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. The auction will feature 479 lots and will bring together a remarkable selection of the finest timepieces by world-renowned watchmakers.

Between the highlights we can find:

Lot 479 / Patek Philippe

Ref. 3974, a 18K yellow gold minute-repeating gentleman’s wristwatch with black dial, perpetual calendar, leap year indications and moon phases, estimated between 2,000,000 and 2,700,000 HKD (300,000 and 400,000 Sfr).

Lot 360 / Patek Philippe

Ref. 3450, an 18K yellow gold wristwatch, made in 1982, with perpetual calendar, moon phases and a red dot for the leap year indication, estimated between 1,350,000 and 1,700,000 HKD (200,000 and 250,000 Sfr).

Lot 110 / Horological Machine No.1″, No. 15, by Busser & Friends

Tourbillon with 7-Day Power-Reserve Maximilian Busser & Friends, “Horological Machine No.1”, Ref. 10.TR41. Made in a limited number, circa 2006. Extremely fine and innovative, oversized, self-winding and manual, water-resistant, 18K pink gold wristwatch in the form of an eight, with four mainspring barrels providing 7-day power-reserve and visible one-minute tourbillon regulator.

Estimate: 400,000 HKD – 550,000 HKD

Lot 272 / Grande and Petite Sonnerie, Minute Repeater – Perpetual Calendar (made in 1997 by Franck Muller)

Caliber 97, Grande et Petite Sonnerie Minute-Repeater, Perpetual Calendar Franck Muller, Geneve, “Grande et Petite Sonnerie, Minute-Repeater – Perpetual Calendar.” Made in 1997. Unique, fine and rare, astronomic, grande et petite sonnerie minute-repeating, platinum and diamond-set wristwatch with retrograde perpetual calendar, equation of time, moon phases and 24 hour display.

Estimate: 1,750,000 HKD – 2,500,000 HKD

Lot 173 / Piaget Diamond & Sapphire Rocaille

Diamond & Sapphire Rocaille Piaget, Ref. 3259. Made in the 1960’s. Extremely fine, rare and elegant, 18K yellow gold, diamond and sapphire-set lady’s bracelet watch with an integral 18K yellow gold, diamond.

Estimate: 60,000 HKD – 87,000 HKD

Lot 290 / Vacheron Constantin Platinum, sapphires and diamonds
Platinum, Sapphires and Diamonds Vacheron & Constantin, movement. Made in 1923. Very fine and rare, sapphire and diamond-set platinum lady’s wristwatch.

Estimate: 55,000 HKD – 85,000 HKD

Lot 379 / Mirror Image Pair “Farewell to the Beloved”

Mirror Image Pair – Farewell to the Beloved Swiss, Geneva. Made for the Chinese market circa 1830, and attributed to the Frères Oltramare. Extremely fine and very rare, mirror-image pair of 18K gold and painted on enamel, pearl-set center seconds, musical, quarterrepeating pocket watches playing music on the hour or at will.

Estimate: 900,000 HKD – 1,200,000 HKD

AUCTION
Saturday June 27, 2009
MANDARIN ORIENTAL HONG KONG
2nd Floor, Victoria & Chater Room, 5 Connaught Road,
Central, Hong Kong
Tel. + 852 2522 0111 Fax + 852 2810 6190
Antiquorum Auctioneers (Hong Kong) Ltd.
Suite 1405, 9 Queen’s Road, Central, Hong Kong
Tel. + 852 25 22 41 68 Fax. + 852 25 22 41 38

Session 1: lots 1 – 110, at 11 a.m.
Session 2: lots 111 – 479, at 2 p.m.

Filed under: Antiquorum Auction, Antiquorum Hong Kong Auction, Luxury, luxury watches, Patek Philippe, Patek Philippe Watch, Patek Philippe Watches, Piaget, Piaget Watch, Piaget Watches, Ref., Vacheron Constantin, Vacheron Constantin Watches, Watch, Watches, Womens

2009 The Piaget Polo Watch: 30th Anniversary

For the last 30 years, Piaget has been associated with the polo universe. Thirty years ago, the watchmaker brand produced the first polo watch.

The Piaget Polo watch, with its unique style and design, was launched in 1979 and soon became one of the brand’s iconic models. Inspired by the characteristic elegance of the polo clubs and their associates, the Piaget Polo Watch was adopted not only by the polo circle but also by stars as a luxurious object. It was a symbol of its time as it became a new way of wearing entirely gold timepieces.

It was then during the 80s that Piaget, under the lead of Yves G. Piaget, associated the watch brand to polo sport as it was an activity that clearly reflected the brand’s values: boldness, rigour and precision.

In order to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of this emblematic collection, Piaget gave birth to five new versions in 2009 with a remaining faith to the 1979s design, the historical dials reveal their precious character without ostentation. Piaget’s anniversary models pay tribute to the characteristic design of the collection. But the landmark above all is represented by the new sporting chic model that opens up a whole new phase for the watchmaker company.
1979-2009: the Piaget Polo collection has made its mark on 30 years of watchmaking history. A brand icon, Piaget Polo is more timeless than ever.

Filed under: luxury watches, Mens, Piaget, Piaget Polo Watch, Piaget Watch, Piaget Watches, Womens

Piaget & Co Watches History

Piaget & Co. was founded in 1874 by Georges Piaget, a farmer who became a watchmaker in the village of La-Cote-aux-Fees. He decided to assemble watches in order to earn some extra money during the winters.Not much is said about the company’s first years, only that his sons took over the business and run their father company through the First World War, the Second World War and the Great depression.

Before World War II, Piaget watches were sold through other companies which engraved their names on the dials. However, after World War II, Gerald and Valentin Piaget, the founder’s grandsons, took over the company and decided to give the company a turnover and place it in the marketplace following a plan. A new collection of wristwatches was released and caused an awesome sensation. The rest is history.

Foreign markets such as the United States opened up during the 1950s and this led to the establishment of branch offices in New York, Geneva and Germany. It helped that the company introduced a number of innovative movements during this period, such as the ultra-thin nine line “9P” movement. This allowed Piaget to create a popular series of elegant, ultra-thin wristwatches for both men and women. Another commercially successful movement was the “12P”, which was the world’s thinnest automatic watch movement until 1967.

In order to have a strict control of quality, the company bought up several case and bracelet manufacturers.

A few years late, Piaget’s market started to change its focus. The watches featured an appearance of fine jewellery.

Not only could the dials be found in a number of styles, but also the materials used became exotic. There were more jewellers than watchmakers employed by the House.

Nevertheless, though Piaget did not ignore the new quartz technology, it continued manufacturing mechanical wristwatches.

Companies such as Rolex and Omega began to dominate the sports watch field, Piaget took a very sensible decision: he decided to specialise in the dress and jewellery watches.

Piaget was recognized as one of the world’s most successful watch companies in the 1970s, thanks to successful model as the polo watches, which has an appealing solid gold bracelet.

Piaget successfully brought the counterfeiters in Hong Kong and Italy to court, putting an end to the problem.

Nowadays, Piaget is extremely well known for its ladies watches and solid gold dress watches.

Though complicated watches continue to be produced in limited quantities, most Piaget watches are jewellery-oriented. To wit, Piaget buys several thousand carats of the best quality gemstones, together with five tons of gold. It should also be mentioned that every component in a Piaget watch, besides the movement, is made of solid gold, even the dials.

Filed under: Piaget, Piaget Watch, Piaget Watches

Piaget & Co Watches History

Piaget & Co. was founded in 1874 by Georges Piaget, a farmer who became a watchmaker in the village of La-Cote-aux-Fees. He decided to assemble watches in order to earn some extra money during the winters.

Not much is said about the company’s first years, only that his sons took over the business and run their father company through the First World War, the Second World War and the Great depression.

Before World War II, Piaget watches were sold through other companies which engraved their names on the dials. However, after World War II, Gerald and Valentin Piaget, the founder’s grandsons, took over the company and decided to give the company a turnover and place it in the marketplace following a plan. A new collection of wristwatches was released and caused an awesome sensation. The rest is history.

Foreign markets such as the United States opened up during the 1950s and this led to the establishment of branch offices in New York, Geneva and Germany. It helped that the company introduced a number of innovative movements during this period, such as the ultra-thin nine line “9P” movement. This allowed Piaget to create a popular series of elegant, ultra-thin wristwatches for both men and women. Another commercially successful movement was the “12P”, which was the world’s thinnest automatic watch movement until 1967.

In order to have a strict control of quality, the company bought up several case and bracelet manufacturers.

A few years late, Piaget’s market started to change its focus. The watches featured an appearance of fine jewellery.

Not only could the dials be found in a number of styles, but also the materials used became exotic. There were more jewellers than watchmakers employed by the House.

Nevertheless, though Piaget did not ignore the new quartz technology, it continued manufacturing mechanical wristwatches.

Companies such as Rolex and Omega began to dominate the sports watch field, Piaget took a very sensible decision: he decided to specialise in the dress and jewellery watches.

Piaget was recognized as one of the world’s most successful watch companies in the 1970s, thanks to successful model as the polo watches, which has an appealing solid gold bracelet.

Piaget successfully brought the counterfeiters in Hong Kong and Italy to court, putting an end to the problem.

Nowadays, Piaget is extremely well known for its ladies watches and solid gold dress watches.

Though complicated watches continue to be produced in limited quantities, most Piaget watches are jewellery-oriented. To wit, Piaget buys several thousand carats of the best quality gemstones, together with five tons of gold. It should also be mentioned that every component in a Piaget watch, besides the movement, is made of solid gold, even the dials.

Filed under: Brands History, luxury watches, Mens, Piaget, Piaget Watch, Piaget Watches, Watch, Watches, Water resistant, Womens