It looks like a two hundred year old take on the digital watch for people who couldn’t read a standard clock face (a disturbing number even today). But no, this is a relatively modern creation, deliberately made to look old. Wrap your mouth around this: The Romain Jerome Titanic DNA Cabestan Vertical Winch Tourbillon. Don’t say it out loud, you will chew your own tongue.
A Tourbillon is a late 1700′s invention that helps regulate a mechanical watch by compensating for the effects of gravity as a watch moves around or is held stationary in different positions. Completely unnecessary on a modern quartz movement, it is a highly prized feature of watch collectors and enthusiasts. This particular watch not only has a tourbillon, but uses a vertical winch instead of traditional gears to move barrels instead of hands. The concept and basic design was created by Cabestan, a Swiss watch company, several years ago. Romain Jerome is another Swiss watch company that decided to make a series of steampunkesque watches – the Titanic DNA series – including a Cabestan Vertical Winch. The Titanic DNA series of watches are all made using a combination of new materials as well as rusted metals and coal dust salvaged from the wreck of the Titanic. I thought looting the Titanic was illegal, but I’m sure the folks at Romain Jerome aren’t bothered by that, because at US $490,000 for this watch, they were already a bunch of thieves.
If only I had a spare half mil lying around.
For $490,000 I want it to be made from the melted down ship's bell from the Titanic and built to withstand a visit to the Titanic.
And strapped to my wrist each morning by Kate Winslet.
Who else glanced at the name of this watch and wondered what Ron Jeremy had to do with the Titanic?
One was sunk deep in the Atlantic and the other was sunk deep in… I think we all get the point.
The trip odo in the Amazon sort of pops the tenth value instead of rolling it along. It is also four digits. That would be a neat idea for a watch.
A while back, I came across a diagram of how the 'drive belts' (it looked like a somewhat heavy thread to me) are threaded though the innards of a watch that looked very similar to the one in the photo but was much more modern looking (and probably cheaper), and it was pretty amazing. Not 500 large amazing, of course. I should have saved the picture because I can't find it again.
I have a friend who wears a pretty expensive watch (~$3000).
I don't think I'd ever spend that kind of scratch on a watch, but I can understand it. It is a fantastic watch. And it is probably worth the money, in some sense. I can even *kinda* comprehend $10,000 watches. It's a status symbol, wearable art, etc etc.
However, when you start talking about enough money to buy a BIG BIG house in most nice neighborhoods of the country… yeah, that's too much to spend on a watch.
awesome!!!