watches – South Coast Plaza https://www.southcoastplaza.com Tue, 16 Nov 2021 19:49:06 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 Visit the Newly Opened Audemars Piguet https://www.southcoastplaza.com/stories/2021/10/visit-the-newly-opened-audemars-piguet/ Wed, 13 Oct 2021 06:26:56 +0000 https://www.southcoastplaza.com/?p=62061

VISIT THE NEWLY OPENED AUDEMARS PIGUET

The boutique offers the newest Royal Oak watches and other coveted timepieces

Renowned Swiss fine timepiece manufacturer Audemars Piguet has debuted its South Coast Plaza boutique, an Orange County exclusive. Inspired by the brand’s home in the Swiss Jura Mountains, the 1,200 sq.-ft. boutique has an understated and handsome contemporary aesthetic accented by curated sculptures and a dramatic photograph of alpine trees rising above rolling fog.

Among the men’s and women’s timepieces on display are the new Royal Oak Offshore models and the latest women’s novelties such as the Royal Oak Frosted Gold Selfwinding in 34mm, available for the first time with a light blue tapisserie dial.

The origins of Audemars Piguet date back to the 1800s, when Jules Louis Audemars (1851–1918) and Edward Auguste Piguet (1853–1919), two young and ambitious watchmakers, established their workshop in 1875 in their home village of Le Brassus. Believing in the power of the Vallée de Joux’s network of artisanship and following their firm convictions, they set on crafting unique complicated mechanisms by hand at a time when serial production was looming with the rise of industrialization.

Refined chiming, chronograph and astronomical watches, assembled and finished by hand, have remained the beating heart of Audemars Piguet ever since.

Among the watches in the Swiss maison’s history, the Royal Oak remains the most iconic. Designed by Gérald Genta and introduced in 1972, the Royal Oak was unexpected, with its large 39 mm tonneau-shaped case, octagonal bezel with eight exposed hexagonal screws, engine-turned “Tapisserie” dial, faceted bracelet and body of hand-finished steel. This watch broke the mold of design codes at a time when most dress watches for men were round, smaller in size, classic in design and made of precious metals. Genta’s idea was to protect the world’s thinnest self-winding movement with tough armor: stainless steel. An unconventional material in haute horlogerie then and much harder to work with than gold, steel was elevated for the first time to the same status as gold.

THE ROYAL OAK WOMENS NOVELTIES

ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE SELF-WINDING CHRONOGRAPH 42MM PETITE

ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE SELF-WINDING CHRONOGRAPH 42MM MEGA

ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE SELF-WINDING CHRONOGRAPH 43 MM

The Royal Oak has since grown to become a series prized by horological connoisseurs, along with other notable timepieces in the Audemars Piguet collection, including the Millenary and the Jules Audemars Grande Complication. As for Audemars Piguet, the company has become one of the world’s most esteemed Swiss timepiece maisons, while remaining independent, family-owned and still rooted where it all began – in Le Brassus.

Audemars Piguet

LEVEL 2, NORDSTROM WING
949.265.7832

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]]> 15+ Years of James Bond and His Omega Seamaster https://www.southcoastplaza.com/stories/2021/10/15-years-of-james-bond-and-his-omega-seamaster/ Mon, 11 Oct 2021 14:26:06 +0000 https://www.southcoastplaza.com/?p=61895  

15+ YEARS OF JAMES BOND AND HIS OMEGA SEAMASTER

Daniel Craig returned as 007 one last time with his trusted Omega.

When Daniel Craig returned to the big screen for the last time as James Bond on October 8, he had a faithful companion to mark the moment.  For more than 15 years, 007 has been battling the bad guys, drawing the attention of gorgeous women, racing sexy cars through streets around the world, hurtling through the air, or diving in deep waters – and almost always with a special incarnation of an Omega Seamaster encircling his wrist.

It’s fitting that after inhabiting one of the most rugged yet dashing characters onscreen, Craig had a say in what he wore for his final outing as the world’s favorite spy. In the latest Bond movie, “No Time To Die,” he wears the Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition chronometer.  One could easily surmise that the new design – a burly case with a sleek bracelet – echoes Bond’s physicality and enigmatic persona.  

Lightweight yet strong by virtue of its Grade 2 titanium materials, the handsome watch sports a brown tropical aluminium bezel ring and dial and is slightly slimmer than the standard Diver 300M models because of its domed sapphire-crystal glass. The 007-edition Diver is powered by Omega’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8806, which has achieved the industry’s highest standards of precision, chronometric performance and magnetic resistance.

This fall, the Omega boutique at South Coast Plaza offers the Seamaster 300M 007 Edition identical to the model Bond wears in the film, as well as a version with a NATO strap.

Join us for a nostalgic look at some of the Omega watches worn by Craig in James Bond movies since 2006, and the Omega watches that they inspired – for fans to own:

NO TIME TO DIE (2021)

Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition chronometer with a titanium case and bracelet

SPECTRE (2015)

Seamaster 300 SPECTRE Limited Edition with rare lollipop seconds hand and black and grey NATO strap (no longer available)

SKYFALL (2012)

Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M steel on steel chronometer  (contact the boutique for availability)

QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008)

Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M steel on steel chronometer pays homage to Omega’s dive watch heritage (no longer available)

CASINO ROYALE (2006)

Seamaster Diver 300M steel on steel chronometer, the first Omega model worn by Daniel Craig (no longer available)

The Daniel Craig era of Omega 007 timepieces could not have begun more definitively than in a buzz-worthy scene in “Casino Royale” when femme fatale Vesper Lynd meets Bond for the first time. She walks down the aisle in a train and sits across from him, engages him in a lively repartee, then notices his watch and inquires about it.

“Omega,” he says.

“Beautiful,” Lynd replies.

 The rest is Bond –  James Bond – history.

OMEGA

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