For a brand that’s gone by what some consider a radical shift during the last twenty years since Loth took the helm, many are wondering exactly what to expect next. Today, however, Loth confirms to us that Graham Watches has finally hit it’s stride, and the important projects they’ve helped build during this time of expansion, not only for the brand but for the global community, has generated a strong future which we will see grow throughout our younger generations. In fact, he believes that we will return and realize that history has been created today. As they say, see what occurs next.Price for the Graham Chronofighter Oversize Navy SEAL Foundation featured within this article is $8,050, and it’s limited to 500 pieces, with some of each sale going to the Navy SEAL Foundation.Graham has just announced a new version of its Moon Watch, which includes an oversized moon phase indicator and flying tourbillon. It now comes in a 18k white gold case, using a black sapphire bezel and a black dial adorned with diamonds — all delivered in a bid to make the gorgeous and colossal Moon stand out from the dial even more.For this year, Graham is publishing a new version of its Graham Geo.Graham The Moon Watch that is comparable in all aspects, but comes with an 18k white gold case and black dial instead. It’s difficult to pick between them both, but I believe this new black dial variant captures the soul of the moon more completely and I particularly like how it contrasts against the diamonds which are set in the dial. If you’re wondering, these diamonds are not set about in random positions, but really represent five big constellations – Camelopardalis, Perseus, Cassioepia, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor, with the middle of the dial representing the North Star. To wrap it all up, this new Graham Geo.Graham The Moon Watch also has a dark Milky Way sapphire painted bezel.The new Graham Geo.Graham The Moon in white gold will include a matching black crocodile strap and is restricted to only 8 pieces, and will be priced at $295,000.
Back in 2013, Graham released a very avant-garde (putting it lightly) astronomical watch known as the Graham Tourbillon Orrery (hands-on here). Priced at over $300,000, this planetarium-style watch (which they referred to as a “planetarian” at the time) had an extremely complicated movement produced for Graham by Christophe Claret and was said to be a limited edition of only 20 pieces.
For 2017, the Orrery is back with some aesthetic tweaks as well as a nomenclature refinement, now being called the “Graham Geo.Graham Orrery Tourbillon.” The major “news” is that the planetarium-style display which has the Sun, Earth, Moon, and Mars on the dial now has different materials for the planets and the moon. The Earth is represented by a 3.2mm-wide polished sphere of Kingman Turquoise, while the moon (0.9mm wide) and mars (1.7mm wide) are each respectively made out of meteorites which have fallen to Earth and are said to have originated from the planetary bodies they represent.
The largest solar system feature on the dial is the sun, which is represented in true baroque style with a hand-engraved 18k pink gold bridge over the tourbillon that if you look closely has dual phoenix heads in it. All of this is said to be inspired by a machine produced by the brand’s namesake, George Graham, quite a long time ago.
Looking at the dial of the Graham Geo.Graham Orrery Tourbillon, it’s easy to get confused as to what you are seeing, though in reality the concept is rather straightforward. First are the off-centered hands for the hours and the minutes which are why the item is worth toting around on your wrist. Then, there is the tourbillon under the engraved cage which lends “haute horology” cred to the piece. From there, you have the more interesting astronomical functions which seek to track the relative movements of the Earth, Moon, and Mars around one another, as well as the sun. Heaven forbid you let the 72-hour power reserve wind down and have to reset this functionality yourself.
One additional function is a 100-year indicator on the back of the watch on the movement. Around the periphery of the movement is a year scale to track the current year. Graham watches distributors Replica includes two additional discs with the watch which can be installed by a watchmaker for two additional hundred year periods. Sometimes I really wish I had a time machine if only to see what’s going on with these watches 290 years into the future…
The spheres on the dial representing the celestial bodies are positioned in a manner that the wearer can view their relative positions to one another such as a traditional planetarium does. However, in this case, only a small part of the solar system is in view, so perhaps that is why Graham originally called it a “planetarian?” If you think of the diamond and engraved tourbillon case as the sun, then you can see the elegant layout with the Earth and its orbiting moon, as well as the red-colored sphere that represents Mars.
The elliptical orbit of Mars relative to Earth and the Sun are displayed via the track lines on the dial. The Earth’s path doubles as both a Gregorian calendar as well as Zodiac calendar. To get you in the mood for the classic theme, the months on the dial are written in their “original” Latin. Unlike the dark gray face of the original Orrery watch, this Graham watchmakers Replica Geo.Graham Orrery Tourbillon 2017 edition has a blue face.
The movement inside of the Graham watches limited edition Replica Geo.Graham Orrery Tourbillon is the caliber G1800 Tourbillon Orrery which operates at 3Hz (21,600bph) with a power reserve of three days. The watch case is large at 48mm wide (17.6mm thick) and is produced from 18k pink gold. Water-resistance is 50m… so take a light swim while knowing how far Mars is from our blue planet. This reference 2GGBP.U01A Graham Geo.Graham Orrery Tourbillon watch will be limited to eight pieces, and I believe the price is the same $330,000 as the original model. graham1695.com
