Didier Cuche is one of the highest performing, most outstanding and most highly appreciated skiers on the circuit. Perseverant, perfectionist and rigorous in his approach to his sport, he has taken his career to impressive heights, determined to transcend his own limits.

The nomination was pronounced on January 14th in Zurich.

Corum CEO Antonio Calce said: “It’s fantastic! I congratulate Didier on his award, which brings great joy to all those who work for the company. Didier’s personality has made his mark on Swiss minds. As well as an elite sportsman, the public recognizes in him the dimension of the Man.”

CORUM associated with Didier Cuche under the banner of ‘Swiss made’ performance

Didier Cuche: Swiss skying champion and Switzerland's Man of the Year

Willpower, performance, a quest for perfection, Switzerland and the Neuchâtel mountains: these are the five values sealed by the partnership between skiing legend Didier Cuche and the Corum watch company. At 37 years old, the Swiss skier continues his breathtaking track record: a world championship title and an Olympic medal, four World Championship race medals, six crystal globes, 60 World Cup podiums and four victories in the prestigious Kitzbühel downhill event.

The ski champion has found in Corum the same keys that opened the doors to success in his own career: a quest for precision which leaves nothing to chance, technical mastery, concentration, and meticulous attention to details.

Didier said: “I see in Corum the same motivation I feel in my discipline. I devote 550 hours of physical preparation and 200 hours of skiing to competing in just 45 minutes of downhill racing per season. The time I spend on training and preparing my equipment reminds me of that taken by the company watchmakers in creating their watches. We are driven by the same desire for perfection and the same determination to perpetually set ourselves fresh challenges. I am therefore naturally enthusiastic and proud to be part of this family.”

It is indeed the impressive reputation of Didier Cuche that is important to Corum. The relationship that the company has established with the athlete is a long-term partnership that will contribute to enhancing the brand’s influence on the Swiss market.

An endlessly spinning genuine mother-of-pearl dial carrying the Sun and Moon in its fascinating dance: such is the master-stroke achieved by Corum with the new Admiral’s Cup Legend 38 Mystery Moon, especially dedicated to women. Without renouncing any of the design codes that have forged the identity of this iconic collection for over 50 years, the brand from La Chaux-de-Fonds provides an authentic demonstration of poetry and expertise in this stunning timepiece. Within the legendary twelve-sided case surrounded by 12 nautical pennants, a moon-phase display and a sunburst date indication play a fascinating game of chase without ever catching up with each other. This exclusive Corum-patented horological complication represents a landmark introduction to the Admiral’s Cup collection, which is thereby displaying its willingness to embrace feminine wisdom.

Admiral’s Cup Legend 38 Mystery Moon 
• Movement Self-winding movement, CO384, Corum patented
• Frequency 4 Hz, 28’800 vibrations/hour, 30 jewels
• Power reserve of 42 hours
• Jumping moonphase
• Spinning dial, 360° in 31 days
• Diameter 38 mm, bezel set with 72 diamonds
• Jumping date
• Faceted skeleton hands with superluminova
• Strap Black or white satin
• Triple folding clasp engraved with CORUM logo
• Water-resistance 99 feet/30 meters

For over 50 years, the Admiral’s Cup watch has embodied the brand’s tribute to the maritime world and to seamen. In 2011, this emblematic collection is now also interpreted in a more demure line featuring a slimmer stature and more rounded lugs. Aptly named Legend, this line features understated and classic models effectively propelling this forceful collection into a distinctively elegant and refined world.

Glamorous Haute Horlogerie: such is the new paradigm defined by the Admiral’s Cup Legend 38 Mystery Moon. Powered by self-winding Caliber CO384 endowed with a 42-hour power reserve, this watch drives the hour, minute, jumping date and jumping moon-phase functions. The mother-of-pearl disc of the latter indication appears in a satin-brushed metallic counter studded with stars – of which six are gem-set.

This fragment of the universe echoes the date display appearing on the opposite side of the dial through a round off-set aperture with beveled edges. This is where the magic weaves its spell as, bathed in the glow of a sunburst motif engraved in white or black Indonesian mother-of-pearl according to the version, the entire dial revolves around its center, pushing the aperture on to the new date in successive jumps and leading the moonphase subdial in its wake.

This breathtaking vision, swept over by openworked, faceted and luminescent hour and minute hands, is magnificently staged within a 38 mm-diameter steel case enhanced by a twelve-sided bezel set with 72 diamonds (0.58 carats). All the functions are adjustable via the single screw-lock crown engraved with the Corum key. The same emblem and name are metalized on the inner face of the sapphire crystal, while the caseback is protected by a second sapphire crystal secured by four screws.

This exceptional feminine model is water-resistant to 30 meters and secured to the wrist by a white or black satin strap equipped with a triple folding clasp bearing the engraved Corum logo.

While the Black Forest may be fabled for its fairy-tale hamlets and forests, it today is much more significant as Europe’s equivalent of a technological Silicon Valley, a leading techno-region making highly specialized industrial machinery, components and products, not least for the automotive industry. Stuttgart, the bastion of automotive giant Daimler Benz, is only 80 kms away.

Markus Lehmann, the owner and founder of Lehmann Präzisionsuhren Manufaktur, is a technician and inventor who since taking over his father’s company some 10 years ago has concentrated on making ultra-precision machinery for the watch, optical, aviation, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to that, in the 90s, Markus earned his spurs as a technical director in one and later as executive director in another important Swiss watch company. Today, Markus counts almost all famous watch brands among his customers. Though he mentions their illustrous names only on the quiet – or as they say in Germany, “hinter vorgehaltener Hand” – these companies depend on Lehmann’s creative and original technical skills and on his ultra-precise machines to produce some of the finest and most accurate parts for their watches. And we are talking tolerances of 1/1000 of a millimeter.

LEHMANN watches are characterized by high-precision, technological innovation and German design. The appearance of the watch reveals that the key components are aimed at perfection. The aesthetics of the design are extraordinary and classic, and lend Lehmann’s first watch the name Intemporal – timeless. Invisible rotor, precision engraved dial, individually worked hands and a retractable crown, such are just the most visible novelties introduced by Lehmann. The initial products range from a classic watch that shows the time and date, to a highly complex and extraordinarily beautiful Tourbillon.

Come 2012, Markus Lehmann is not only putting his technical know-how more directly to the service of manufacturing highly innovative ultra-precision watches under his own name; he is also investing his marketing skills in establishing a select network of retailers that will become his worldwide ambassadors for his extraordinary products. The fact that he has a well-running industrial business and that he is now fulfilling his dream, add to his composed attitude. The Stuttgarter Zeitung quotes him as saying, “I wish to create something that is of timeless beauty and that does not succumb to fashion.” In a similarly reflective manner Lehmann is approaching potential business partners carefully and with an eye for their personal values and goals.

The guests then at Lehmann’s launch celebrations were not primarily trade people, but important local dignitaries, then technicians who have made their contributions to Lehmann Präzisionsuhren Manufaktur, and the crème-de-la-crème of the horological press. Meanwhile, the press he has received in Europe has indeed created much interest among traders. Further among the special guests was also Vianney Halter, named Meilleur Horloger Concepteur by Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève just recently in November. Vianney has given Lehmann a license for the use of one of his inventions, the invisible rotor. Lehmann had himself thought up the idea of an invisible rotor, only to find that this particular invention had already been patented by Vianney Halter. Interestingly, this has led to an inspiring friendship between the two.

Philip A. Baechtold and Dr. Soipetch Resanond were among the few invitees from the trade. Philip and Markus had first met in 2010 and then repeatedly in 2011 to discuss potential strategies for LEHMANN. Baechtold Limited intends to introduce Lehmann Präzisionsuhren in Thailand later in 2012.

A historic note on Gut Berneck, the impressive home of Lehmann Präzisionsuhren Manufaktur Schramberg. The Schloss was built in the style of a neo-gothic castle in 1911 by architect Paul Schmohl, after being commissioned by Arthur Junghans. At the time, the latter was the largest watch manufacturer in the world, though the glory of the company has long faded. Keen to bring back a traditional watch-making industry to this former center of watch-making, the city of Schramberg offered Gut Berneck to Lehmann as a home for his new company.

Proud as he is of the honour his birth-town has bestowed on him, Lehmann cringes at any comparison of his product with that of the former mogul of watch-making. “Ours is a totally different product, smalles series, ultra precision, uncompromising design,” says Lehmann. “Nevertheless,” he adds, “I take it as a good omen, that once upon a time most of the watches worn in the world were made in Schramberg.”

And to think that it was in the Villa Junghans, where Lehmann’s dinner reception took place, that the doyens of German industry Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach, Arthur Junghans, Robert Bosch and Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin convened frequently, though very privately, and where the innovative idea for an electric sparc ignition for gasoline engines – integral to every gasoline driven automobile today – was first concocted.

Given the passion, the skill and determination invested by Markus Lehmann in his new enterprise, 28 October 2011 may well go down in history as the day the bar in the making of precision watches was again raised: from high to ultra.

In October, the run-off from Thailand’s rivers caused death, havoc and suffering in the central plains north of Bangkok. As waters gushed toward the Gulf of Thailand they inevitably converged on the country’s capital, where they met with changing levels and amplitudes of tides.

Bangkok Tide Tables Click to Enlarge

For the first time in 5 decades this metropolis of 12 million people came under threat of extensive, crippling floods and it was in this unfortunate situation that Philip A. Baechtold, CEO of Baechtold Limited, discovered the amazing advantage of knowing when the next high tide would occur and how dangerous it would be, just by glancing at his Admiral’s Cup Tides watch.

According to Bangkok’s Sewerage and Drainage Department , the most the critical threats arose twice a day when the high tide in the Gulf of Thailand coincided with the strong run-off from the Chaophraya river, a problem that was excacerbated by the full moon and new moon periods in mid and at the end of October, respectively, when the tides were at their fiercest.

To know the times of the high tides people could consult the tide tables of the Royal Thai Navy e online here.

However, CORUM offered a more adroit solution.

Enter the Corum Admiral’s Cup “Tides”

Said Philip: “I have been wearing a Corum Tide watch as one of my favorites for years, but I have never felt that the function of knowing the tides was of any use to me. But now that the high tides have been declared high-risk moments that could lead to flooding in Bangkok, I realize how useful it is to know exactly when the risks are highest.”

How can a mechanical wrist watch possibly provide information about a natural phenomenon as the tide?

In 1993 Corum, together with the Geneva Astronomical Observatory and the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the French Navy, develops a function for a wrist watch that derives the tides and their strenghts from the monthly cycle of the moom. The readings are valid for any location that has semi-diurnal tides, i.e. 2 ebbs and 2 floods a day, anywhere in the world.

The result is a sophisticated watch movment, CORUM caliber 277 built with Dubois-Dépraz on an ETA engine with an automatic winding system and a 42 hours power-reserve. This movment with this unique gearing is the core of the Admiral’s Cup Tides 48, the only watch capable of giving vital information about the tides with precision: lunar cycles and amplitude of the tide, estimation of water levels and strength of the currents with the time of the tide.

It is the multiple functions of this watch that have always made it attractive to Philip: hour, minute, seconds hand, date, and now the precise indications of tides, tide coefficient and lunar cycles, present tide, water levels, strength of the currents and the time of the tides. A timepiece that is unique and amazingly valuable.

Until today, the Admiral’s Cup Tides 48 by CORUM remains a unique, exclusive and hyper-technical timepiece. And with a glance at his watch, Philip at any moment can read critical information about the tides from his watch.

For an introduction to the intricate functions of the Admiral’s Cup Tides 48 watch by Corum, please contact Baechtold Limited by calling the company or sending an email.

This world premiere of the automatic variation is presented in red or in white gold and is being made in limited quantities. The case is tonneau-shaped, measures 37.2 x 51.8 mm, is made of of 18Kt red gold or white gold and is curved to ensure comfort. The gold color of the case matches the gold color used for mainplate and bridges, which are also made of 18Kt gold. Four antiglare sapphire crystals reveal the beautiful baguette movement from all sides.

The automatic linear-winding movement has been engineered over 4 years and has 194 parts. The complexity of this movement lies first and foremost in resolving the inertia inherent to any movement of this type. This challenge has been overcome with the use of precious and dense metal – an oscillating weight made of platinum – and a system that slows down the motion of the oscillating weight as it reaches each end and gaskets that bounce it back in the opposite direction. The movement runs at 28,800 bph. The barrel is miniaturized to match the vertical lines and feeds a 40-hour power reserve. The linear oscillating weight floats on rails, which are made in steel with PTFE Teflon coating, while the contact zones between the chariot and the rails are made of beryllium copper.

Production in 2011 is limited to 130 CORUM Golden Bridge AUTOMATIC watches in 18Kt red gold and to 70 in 18Kt white gold.

The inundation reached an extent without precedent in the past 50 years. Measured assurances by the government were washed aside as also many districts of Bangkok were hit by high waters. Emergency evacuation centers took in thousands. Desperate precautions by people and and businesses only worked where lower levels of waters occurred.

27 provinces, millions of people, 400’000 industrial workers and 10,000 factories were affected, according to an article published by the Asia Foundation. Over 300 people were killed. A story in the Guardian reported that strong floods also hit the central plains and the capital most seriously in 1942, and then in 1983 and 1995, adding, however, that “the cost of each flood has risen dramatically over the years, as the Thai economy has become more developed”.

As the inundation peaked at the beginning of November, there were worries about spreading diseases and shortages of food. The economic recovery was estimated to take months.

While BAECHTOLD LIMITED and its staff members took precautions, some homes were nevertheless severely affected. At the peak of the crisis, BAECHTOLD accommodated 11 people whose homes had became inhabitable at its premises. BAECHTOLD has affirmed its support of clean drinking water projects which are part of efforts made by the ROTARY CLUB OF BANGKOK SOUTH and which are primarily focused on clean drinking water systems for schools.

For more information, tune to TWITTER #Thaifloods or to other Thai media, as for example the BANGKOK POST or THE NATION.

Clean Drinking Water Systems is the largest long-running project of the Rotary Club of Bangkok South. In the past 15 years, 450 Clean Drinking Water Systems have been installed at schools in rural areas in Thailand, benefitting ten thousands of students and members of local communities. COINS ON SILOM, is the signature fund-raising event of the club and is staged annually in Bangkok inviting corporate sponsors and the public on Silom Road to make donations.

Philip A. Baechtold, managing director of Baechtold Ltd.: “I have personally witnessed the installation of dozens of clean water systems by the Rotary Club of Bangkok South in remote areas and I have seen how thousands benefit from these systems. Better water means better health, and better health is the key to pursuing important individual aims in education, family life, work and society. I am happy to associate our company and CADEAUX JEWELRY more closely with this fantastic effort. Rotary is an efficient and voluntary organization that provides aid to needy people and communities without organizational costs. Each Baht donated goes directly to someone in need.”

Baechtold’s corporate donation of Thai Baht 100,000 is put forward in the name of CADEAUX JEWELRY, for which Baechtold is licensee in Thailand. CADEAUX JEWELRY corporate communications campaign are focused on Elements of Life, which builds on linking essential elements needed for survival – such as clean water, fresh air – to precious elements that are imporant in social and economic exchange, value preservation, culture and art.

As to why a luxury brand like CADEAUX JEWELRY engages in providing people’s basic needs, Philip says: “If basic elements are lacking, people can not enjoy the luxury of precious ones. It is essential that people have access to clean water, fresh air, food, shelter and safety, but it is a distinctly human trait that we strive for betterment and advancement. Our histories and cultures are rich with precious objects and symbols that testify to human endeavor beyond basic means. Without basic elements we can’t survive, but without cultural, social and economic advancement we would not be human.”

For more information on this corporate social responsibility engagement, please call Baechtold Limited at 02 939 7030, Mr. Philip A. Baechtold, or CADEAUX JEWELRY at Peninsula Plaza, ground floor, 153 Rajadamri Road, Bangkok (daily from 11 – 19 h) or by phone 02 653 1909, Mrs. Duangporn.

ANDY MULLER’S Quality Criteria

The quality of the pearl is both the product and the design. Andy Muller

Andy Muller – pearl expert

For ANDY MULLER only large pearls of 5 – 5 ½ grams, with a diameter of 15 mm or more and top luster and color qualify. Such pearls are scarce. Only around 2500 pearls in decent quality that meet this criteria reach the global market each year, about 1000 in baroque shapes and 1500 rounds. ANDY MULLER prefers pearls from 2nd and 3rd operations with good luster, however, such pearls are scarce and some tolerance must be applied with regard to spots, especially on big pearls. Moreover, only pearls that are of natural color qualify.

Some more knowledge about pearls:

Akoya

Akoya pearls average 7 mm in diameter and 95% occur in Japan. The annual crop represents about 15% of all Akoya and South-Sea pearls harvested.

White-Lipped Oysters

Pinctada maxima produce pearls that average 12 mm in diameter. 96% occur in Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Burma and Okinawa (Japan). The annual crop represents about half of all Akoya and South-Sea pearls harvested.

Black-Lipped Oysters

Pinctada margaritifera produce pearls that average 10 mm in diameter. 96% occurr in Tahiti, some few in the Cook and Marshall Islands and in Fiji. The annual crop represents about 35% of all Akoya and South-Sea pearls harvested.

Cultivation, Origin and Scarcity

Cultured pearl production is around 100 years old. Quantities, sizes and qualities have continuously increased, especially since 1950. South Sea pearl production has grown twenty-fold since 1980.

Oysters are sensitive to their environment. Form and color are 65% dependent on environmental and only 35% on genetic factors. White-Lipped oysters change their color according to the waters, i.e to their geographic location. If these oysters are moved from one place to an other, the color of their pearls changes. The same oysters may produce white pearls in Australia or Indonesia, but golden pearls in Burma or the Philippines. Black-Lipped oysters thrive only in the Pacific around Tahiti and some islands to the south-south-east of Tahiti, especially within the lagoons where water exchange is maximal. If these oysters are transplanted to other locations, say to Australia, they die. Tahiti is the largest producer of black South Sea pearls with an annual harvest of around 20 tons, or about 13 million pearls of an average 1.5 grams/pearl and an average diameter of 10 mm.

The life cycle of an oyster begins as a larval organism that attaches itself to a hard object or to branches and then evolves into oyster spat. Any spat used in cultivation must be harvested from nature. The time that is needed to cultivate a pearl thus begins with the harvesting of larvae and its development into spat, then into oysters. Before oysters can be operated, i.e. implanted with nuclei, a development of 2 years is necessary. So while the time span for a pearl to form after implant in Tahiti is 18 months and 24 months in Australia, the total period from harvesting spat to harvesting a pearl is around 4 years.

Oyster cages will normally be suspended by a drop line at a depth of around 4 to 6 meters. Harvesting time is when the water is coldest, in the northern hemisphere in November to January, in the southern hemisphere in June and July.

Black-Lipped and White-Lipped oysters can be operated for a 2nd, 3rd and even a 4th time, and the size of the pearl cultivated increases each time. However, while white-Lipped oysters will produce consecutive pearls with good luster, the luster of pearls from Black-Lipped oysters will decline with each use. Hence, it is rarer to obtain a large black pearl with good luster. (Meanwhile Akoya oysters can only be used once, but multiple nuclei – say 4 to 5 pieces for 5 mm pearls – can be implanted into an oyster at one time.)

Black South Sea pearls with the best greenish-black “peacock” color, stronger skin and good luster are from the Gambier archipelago to the south-south-east of Tahiti. Besides black, white and gold, there is a rare occurrence of brown or “chocolate” pearls. While brown pearls currently seem to proliferate in retail shops around the globe, it is important to note that most of them are dyed. Also, very rarely are pearls found in oysters that have grown without an implanted nucleus, and less than a handful of such pearls reach the market each season.

Care and Handling

When handling and caring for pearls, it is important to keep in mind that they are organic items. Their color may fade when exposed to intense light over long periods, or they may be affected by cosmetics. Periodically wiping pearls with a micro fiber cloth or gently washing them in a mild soap solution helps.

ANDY MULLER training for BAECHTOLD sales team

CENTURY through time

CENTURY TIME GEMS LTD was founded in 1966 by Hans Ulrich Klingenberg in Biel, in the heart of Switzerland’s watchmaking region. Hans Ulrich harboured a vision of creating an exceptional watch, laying the foundations for the present-day CENTURY sapphire collection. He dreamed of creating a timepiece that would unite eternal beauty and a technically perfect construction in total harmony.

In 1959, he developed a brilliant invention based on the principle of creating a vacuum to ensure a totally water-, air- and dust-tight seal. This exclusive system lies at the heart of many designs and has been the object of numerous patents registered by CENTURY. In 1977, Hans Ulrich found the solution that allowed him to fulfil his vision. He invented two unique construction systems, “Megalith” and “Monolith”, for making scratch-proof sapphire cases, and combined these with the exclusive sealing system. These two innovative constructions systems were patented worldwide and are used to this day by CENTURY. Hans U. Klingenberg has left his mark on the Swiss watchmaking industry with his technical brilliance.

The CENTURY workshops are the setting for a mysterious, romantic process that blends the art of hand-cutting and polishing sapphire with the expertise of our master watchmakers.

A unique, eternal substance

CENTURY sapphire is the hardest substance after diamonds. Registering 9 out of 10 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, only another sapphire or a diamond could ever scratch its surface. CENTURY sapphire is also exceptionally light, a quality appreciated for its comfort on the wrist, day in, day out. When examined under the strongest magnifying glass, CENTURY sapphire reveals no trace of inclusions or discolouration: it is the jeweller’s dream of flawless perfection. The extreme durability and purity of CENTURY sapphire ensures that its sublime beauty will endure, unalterable, for generations to come, retaining its original luminosity, clarity and density of colour.

Shaped by expert hands

CENTURY watches have the most intricate sapphire cases in the world. To complete just one requires several days of superior craftsmanship, precision cutting and skilful polishing by hand in the Swiss workshops of CENTURY, using diamond-faced tools. All CENTURY craftsmen learn their skills in-house: only then can they master the art of making a CENTURY sapphire case, before handing down their expertise to the next generation and continuing the process of extending and refining a noble tradition. The work of the CENTURY expert team must be perfect; any mistake made during the cutting or polishing cannot be reversed.

Patented innovations

To protect CENTURY’S unique designs, CENTURY has registered patents and certificates covering the specialist construction of CENTURY sapphire watch cases. “Megalith” and “Monolith” are two processes which allow CENTURY watches to be hewn either from two pieces of sapphire, fused to be inseparable, or from a single sapphire block. These innovative processes are still in use today, particularly the Megalith system which is used to make all CENTURY watches as well as the reversible jewellery pieces that can be worn with either side showing.

Timeless, everlasting beauty

This technical mastery is at the heart of every CENTURY watch, brought vividly to life by the imagination of the CENTURY team of craftsmen who endow each timepiece with a magical essence, a gift of shimmering beauty for its future wearer.

CENTURY remains an independent family firm, now headed by the founder’s son, Philip Klingenberg who continues to develop the company and the CENTURY brand. He remains true to the corporate philosophy introduced by his father, while successfully combining it with a modern spirit of the times.

Prior to this the EURO had been hovering at CHF1.12, and just 2 weeks ago the SWISS FRANC had even reached 1:1 parity with the EURO. Over the past 1 1/2 years, the value of the EURO against the SWISS FRANC had declined from 1.57 to 1.00, or conversely, the value of the SWISS FRANC had appreciated. A recent article in the WALL STREET JOURNAL called the SWISS FRANC “paper gold” for its ability to attract investments fleeing the shaky US Dollar and Euro.

For the Swiss economy, which is primarily export oriented, the strength of the value of the SWISS FRANCS against the major currency blocks (EURO and US DOLLAR) has begun causing major problems and disruptions in Switzerland’s export industry, with thousands of SMEs and tenthousands of jobs negatively affected and at danger.

How the SNB manages to halt a further stengthening of the Franc, however, remains to be seen.