Man-gagement rings

The tradition of the female engagement ring has existed for many years, but the idea of the “man-gagement ring” in the United States is a recent trend on the rise. Luxury jewelry designers such as Scott Kay have taken notice and created unique, versatile, and long-lasting pieces symbolizing the couple’s commitment, while still reflecting the groom-to-be’s unique personality. Using materials such as steel, rubber, and cobalt, these male engagement rings are considerably more durable than traditional gold bands, with a wide variety of designs to match the groom-to-be’s personality.



The tradition of his and hers engagement rings dates from the 15th century, with some European couples exchanging gold bands prior to the actual ceremony. The trend has gradually migrated to the United States: a poll on brides.com reveals that 45 percent of women would buy their fiances engagement bands. A recent celebrity example of this was when Jennifer Hudson gave her then-boyfriend a $15,000 ring to seal the deal.

There are several theories as to why this trend has developed, including extended engagement periods (due to the rising costs of weddings), more women proposing to men, and the emerging concept of a male engagement ring symbolizing greater gender quality.

A growing number of men are beginning to take the lead and instead of being “dragged into” a jewelry store, they are going in with their fiances to choose the design and features that best reflect their personality.

Brands such as Scott Kay offer a wide variety of male engagement bands from classic and subtle, to bold and contemporary designs.

Scott Kay luxury jewelry for both men and women is available at King Jewelers in Nashville, TN and Aventura, FL. For more information, please visit http://www.scottkay.com and http://www.kings1912.com

Breitling introduces aviation-inspired Chronospace

Breitling introduces aviation-inspired Chronospace with 1/100th of a second chronograph with split times, alarm, countdown, dual timezone display with independent alarm, 24-hour military time, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and perpetual calendar

Breitling recently introduced a new multifunction timepiece designed for intensive professional use in the world of aviation. With an innovative design and intense functionality, this new wrist instrument features a compelling array of functions geared towards the professional pilot.



The Chronospace includes 1/100th of a second chronograph with split times, alarm, countdown, dual timezone display with independent alarm, 24-hour military time, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), perpetual calendar – all powered by a chronometer-certified Breitling SuperQuartz™ movement that is ten times more accurate than an ordinary quartz caliber.

While functionality is the overriding feature of this model, it was also designed with user friendliness and ergonomics in mind.

The large dial features oversized hands and an NVG-compatible backlighting system enabling night-time read-off. It is also equipped with a circular rack-and-pinion mounted slide rule that is easily and accurately operated by rotating the star-shaped bezel. The double-caseback construction is designed to amplify the audible signals emitted by the Chronospace so as to reach 90 decibels.

The Chronospace is available on various wristbands, including a new bracelet in satin-brushed woven steel with a little vintage touch, and a sporty looking perforated rubber strap.



TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Movement: Breitling Caliber 78, officially chronometer-certified by the COSC, SuperQuartz™ (thermocompensated quartz), analog and LCD 12/24-hour display (NVG compatible). 1/100th of a second chronograph with split times, alarm, countdown, dual timezone display with independent alarm, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), perpetual calendar, battery end-of-life indicator.

Case: steel. Water-resistant to 5 bars. Bidirectional rotating pinion bezel (slide rule). Cambered sapphire crystal, glare-proofed on both sides. Screwed in caseback, with resonance chamber.

Dials: Volcano black, Mariner blue, Tungsten gray, Stratus silver.

Straps/Bracelet: leather, rubber Diver Pro, rubber Ocean Racer/woven steel Aero Classic.

Breitling timepieces are available at King Jewelers in Aventura, FL and Nashville, TN. For more information, please visit http://www.breitling.com and http://www.kings1912.com

Chopard introduces Happy Sport XL, available exclusively at King Jewelers

The Happy Sport XL is the latest addition to Chopard’s Happy Sport collection, known for its appeal to those with a taste for contemporary, daring timepieces for the past 20 years.

The latest newcomer to the collection takes a further step towards modernity and originality, while remaining faithful to the very essence of Happy Sport models: a decisively casual chic appearance illuminated by the presence of its famous moving diamonds.

This trendy new monochrome watch comes in brightly colored versions inspired by water and aquatic life: coral red, pool blue, or almond green, with an impressive 42 mm diameter case.

The extremely realistic motives of the dial recreate an incredible underwater vision. The entire watch is draped in a single color: the steel bezel, pearly lacquered dial, rhodium hands, and rubber strap are all in the same hue. The moving diamonds emulate the rays of the sun and accentuate the sparkling radiance of the Happy Sport collection.

Chopard timepieces, including the Happy Sport collection, are available at King Jewelers in Nashville, TN and Aventura, FL. For more information, please visit http://www.chopard.com and http://www.kings1912.com

Established in 1912, King Jewelers has proudly styled jewelry and timepiece aficionados from around the world. A pioneer among independent couture jewelers, King Jewelers has built an outstanding reputation steeped in quality, value and first-class customer service. King Jewelers features exclusive jewelry designers, offers in-house custom designs, private label jewelry collections, and is an authorized dealer for over forty luxury Swiss watch brands including Alpina, Bell & Ross, Bulgari, Breitling, Cartier, Chanel, Chopard, Concord, Dunhill, Ebel, Harry Winston, Hublot, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Jaquet Droz, Montblanc, Roger Dubuis, Swiss Army, TAG Heuer, and TechnoMarine. With two store locations in Aventura, FL and Nashville, TN, King Jewelers has won numerous awards as the Southeast’s top jewelry store and diamond wholesaler. With a diamond office located in Antwerp, Belgium since 1961, King Jewelers is able to offer Nashville and Miami custom diamond bridal designs and gem-quality loose diamonds at wholesale prices. King Jewelers is a member of the Jewelers of America, American Watch Guild, and the American Society of Appraisers. King Jewelers has GIA Certified Gemologists and offers expert jewelry and watch repairs.

DeWitt presents the “Dame de Pressy” to HM The Queen

At last month’s Queen’s Cup at Windsor Great Park, DeWitt participated as “Official Timekeeper” for its first major event of the Guards Polo Club, which also included a special presentation by Jérôme de Witt to HM The Queen - a special commemorative “Dame de Pressy” timepiece.

After the prize giving ceremony, HM The Queen was greeted by Mr de Witt in front of the Royal Box and presented with a commemorative DeWitt watch, specifically designed for the occasion: a dazzling Dame de Pressy, fully set with diamonds and with a pink alligator strap, changed at the last moment to match the color of the flower on her hat.


Photo: Centaur Photographic/Guards Polo Club

The Dame de Pressy was presented to her in an elegant white box with a selection of 6 additional color straps in a bottom discrete drawer. Mr de Witt showed HM The Queen the miniature logo of the Guards Polo Club, meticulously hand-reproduced on the sapphire crystal back of the watch. The “Queen’s Cup 1960-2010“ Dame de Pressy will be produced in a limited edition of only 50 pieces.

The second timepiece, specifically designed by DeWitt for the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s Cup, is a gentleman’s Tourbillon watch, inspired from the new Twenty-8-Eight model. The Guards Polo Club logo is this time reproduced on a small "applique" plate positioned on the dial. The reproduction of the logo on such a scale (8 mm) is literally a small work of art, requiring up to a week to apply the 12 different layers of color, each one to be treated separately with a special coating.

DeWitt timepieces are available at King Jewelers in Nashville, TN and Aventura, FL. For additional information, please visit http://www.dewitt.ch and http://www.kings1912.com

Established in 1912, King Jewelers has proudly styled jewelry and timepiece aficionados from around the world. A pioneer among independent couture jewelers, King Jewelers has built an outstanding reputation steeped in quality, value and first-class customer service. King Jewelers features exclusive jewelry designers, offers in-house custom designs, private label jewelry collections, and is an authorized dealer for over forty luxury Swiss watch brands including Alpina, Bell & Ross, Bulgari, Breitling, Cartier, Chanel, Chopard, Concord, Dunhill, Ebel, Harry Winston, Hublot, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Jaquet Droz, Montblanc, Roger Dubuis, Swiss Army, TAG Heuer, and TechnoMarine. With two store locations in Aventura, FL and Nashville, TN, King Jewelers has won numerous awards as the Southeast’s top jewelry store and diamond wholesaler. King Jewelers has GIA Certified Gemologists and offers expert jewelry and watch repairs. King Jewelers is a member of the Jewelers of America, American Watch Guild, and the American Society of Appraisers.

Breguet acquires impressive documents regarding the history of watchmaking

The memoires of watchmaker A.-L. Breguet, timeless pieces of watchmaking history, were auctioned on May 7th for a record sum of 2.3 million Swiss francs to Nicolas G. Hayek, President and CEO of Montres Breguet, just before his unexpected death in late June.

Breguet’s unfinished memoires disappeared after he passed away in 1823 . In early 2010, some of the nearly completed works were discovered. Seven manuscripts were in this collection, including:

1. The history of Breguet and his philosophy
2. One-hand watches and new repeater
3. Souscription watches and repeater mechanism
4. Perpétuelle watches and their repeaters
5. Equation of time, calendars and tourbillons
6. Marine horology
7. Marine chronometers, longitude watches, Breguet balance-spring

Many specialists consider this to be the most significant body of testimony in the entire history of watchmaking: an account of his career as well as a methodical review of his inventions. The auction process for these priceless documents was chaotic, with each manuscript going for four times its initial estimate, until the entire group of documents was regrouped into one lot and finally sold to the Breguet Museum after an intense competition among various institutions and private collectors. This collection, which may in due course be published, has regained its rightful place within the brand’s stunningly rich heritage.

Breguet timepieces will be available at King Jewelers this Fall in Aventura, FL and late 2010 in Nashville, TN. For more information, please visit http://www.breguet.com and http://www.kings1912.com.

Established in 1912, King Jewelers has proudly styled jewelry and timepiece aficionados from around the world. A pioneer among independent couture jewelers, King Jewelers has built an outstanding reputation steeped in quality, value and first-class customer service. King Jewelers features exclusive jewelry designers, offers in-house custom designs, private label jewelry collections, and is an authorized dealer for over forty luxury Swiss watch brands including Alpina, Bell & Ross, Bulgari, Breitling, Cartier, Chanel, Chopard, Concord, Dunhill, Ebel, Harry Winston, Hublot, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Jaquet Droz, Montblanc, Roger Dubuis, Swiss Army, TAG Heuer, and TechnoMarine. With two store locations in Aventura, FL and Nashville, TN, King Jewelers has won numerous awards as the Southeast’s top jewelry store and diamond wholesaler. King Jewelers has GIA Certified Gemologists and offers expert jewelry and watch repairs. King Jewelers is a member of the Jewelers of America, American Watch Guild, and the American Society of Appraisers.

Chopard releases special edition timepieces for exceptional anniversaries, available exclusively at King Jewelers

In recognition of two momentous anniversaries in 2010, Italian automaker Alfa Romeo (100 years) has joined forces with Chopard (150 years) in order to launch five new products.

This collaboration includes three wristwatches: the Gran Turismo XL Alfa Romeo and the GT XL Chrono Alfa Romeo (available in stainless steel or stainless steel coated with Diamond-Like Carbon – DLC), featuring a black dial with red hands and indexes, as well as the logo of the two brands. Endowed with 46-hour power reserve, the self-winding movements are chronometer-certified by the COSC and beat at 28’800 vibrations per hour. The 44 mm-diameter cases are water-resistant up to 100 meters and are protected by glare-proofed sapphire crystals. The three versions are issued in limited and numbered editions of 500.



Two additional products commemorating the occasion include a travel alarm clock and a table clock.



Chopard timepieces are available at King Jewelers in Nashville, TN and Aventura, FL. For additional information, please visit http://www.chopard.com and http://www.kings1912.com

Established in 1912, King Jewelers has proudly styled jewelry and timepiece aficionados from around the world. A pioneer among independent couture jewelers, King Jewelers has built an outstanding reputation steeped in quality, value and first-class customer service. With two store locations in Aventura, FL and Nashville, TN, King Jewelers has won numerous awards as the Southeast’s top jewelry store and diamond wholesaler. King Jewelers features exclusive jewelry designers, offers in-house custom designs, private label jewelry collections, and is an authorized dealer for over forty luxury Swiss watch brands including Alpina, Bell & Ross, Bulgari, Breitling, Cartier, Chanel, Chopard, Concord, Dunhill, Ebel, Harry Winston, Hublot, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Jaquet Droz, Montblanc, Roger Dubuis, Swiss Army, TAG Heuer, and TechnoMarine. King Jewelers is a member of the Jewelers of America, American Watch Guild, and the American Society of Appraisers. King Jewelers has GIA Certified Gemologists and offers expert jewelry and watch repairs.

Frédérique Constant Pays Tribute to Famous Pianist Frédéric Chopin with Commemorative Timepiece Available at King Jewelers

In celebration of the 200th birth anniversary of musical composer Frédéric Chopin, Frédérique Constant has launched the Limited Edition F. Chopin 2010. King Jewelers is proud to offer this exclusive timepiece, with only 1810 pieces created. Available in 2 styles, each watch is steel or yellow gold plated and features an ultra classical dial with a "piano keys" pattern in the center with an automatic winding mechanism and a brown or black Croco Calf strap. Each timepiece is delivered in a miniature Frédéric Chopin Piano.

The year of 2010 is the "Year of Fryderyk Chopin" in Poland, with hundreds of events planned worldwide to celebrate the anniversary of Chopin's birth. The Fryderyk Chopin Institute, an act of the Polish parliament which organizes concerts, conferences, and covers research and popularization of knowledge about Chopin's life and work, has officially licensed the Frédérique Constant Limited Edition F. Chopin.

Frédérique Constant is an independent family owned watch manufacturer based in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva. The company is involved in all stages of Watch Production, from initial design to final assembly and quality control. Frédérique Constant is associated with the core values and competences of passion, creativity, high quality, innovation and exceptional value.

Frédérique Constant timepieces are available exclusively in South Florida and Nashville at King Jewelers. For more information regarding Frédérique Constant watches, please visit www.frederique-constant.com or www.kings1912.com.

Established in 1912, King Jewelers has proudly styled jewelry and timepiece aficionados from around the world. A pioneer among independent couture jewelers, King Jewelers has built an outstanding reputation steeped in quality, value and first-class customer service. King Jewelers features exclusive jewelry designers, offers in-house custom designs, private label jewelry collections, and is an authorized dealer for over forty luxury Swiss watch brands including Alpina, Bell & Ross, Bulgari, Breitling, Cartier, Chanel, Chopard, Concord, Dunhill, Ebel, Harry Winston, Hublot, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Jaquet Droz, Montblanc, Roger Dubuis, Swiss Army, TAG Heuer, and TechnoMarine. With two store locations in Aventura, FL and Nashville, TN, King Jewelers has won numerous awards as the Southeast’s top jewelry store and diamond wholesaler. With a diamond office located in Antwerp, Belgium since 1961, King Jewelers is able to offer Nashville and Miami custom diamond bridal designs and gem-quality loose diamonds at wholesale prices. King Jewelers is a member of the Jewelers of America, American Watch Guild, and the American Society of Appraisers. King Jewelers has GIA Certified Gemologists and offers expert jewelry and watch repairs.