Chopard is expanding its Happy Sport series; it is adding Chopard Happy Sport XL to the collection. The collection already includes the Happy Sport Chrono Steel and the Chopard Happy Sport Mark II Chronograph. The new addition, Chopard Happy Sport XL is set inside a 42mm stainless steel dial; the case is sapphire crystal and it comes in a variety of dial color options.

The Chopard Happy Sport XL comes in blue, coral and green mother-of-pearl, it has a 30-meter water resistance, Swiss quartz caliber movements and 5 floating diamonds. The Chopard Happy Sport XL prices start from $7,230.

In the timepiece industry, Audemars Piguet is still an infant; it has been in existence for five years however the industry is very competitive so to survive five years is something to celebrate and that is exactly what Audemars Piguet has done.

To commemorate its fifth anniversary and being the official timekeeper of Tour Auto for the fifth consecutive year, it has launched Royal Oak Offshore Tour Auto 2010 Chronograph.

Audemars Piguet’s association with  Tour Auto doesn’t end there it also supports two teams, the Blanchard/Cloché-Dubois ladies’ team driving an AC Bristol and the Mecenat Chirurgie Cardiaque team at the wheel of a Jaguar MK1

The Royal Oak Offshore Tour Auto 2010 Chronograph is enclosed in stainless steel measuring 42mm, the crystal is sapphire, the caseback is engraved with the Tour Auto logo and bears the legend “Royal Oak Offshore – Serie Limitee.’’ It is water resistant to 100 meters, the movement is the Swiss automatic AP caliber 2326/2840 with a power reserve of 38 hours and all parts are decorated by hand.

We should thank the fashion gods for this new “heritage” aviator sunglasses collection from Gucci. Following the recent trend by various fashion houses, the Gucci “heritage” aviator sunglasses collection is influenced by its louche glamour of the ’60s and ’70s.

The Gucci heritage” aviator sunglasses collection is made up of three new models; 1627/S, 1622/S, and 3108/S and they all feature the vintage red and green Gucci stripe and “G” logo on both temples and complete the theme  with a special edition leather case and carrying pouch. The case has a wide signature stripe while the pouch has a matching strap.

The Gucci 1627/S is a well fitting unisex aviator, the 622/S is a slightly larger unisex cross between an aviator and a wrap and the 3108/S is a more feminine style. The collection is now available for $174, $180 and $170 respectively from haute online eyewear boutique Eyegoodies.

Not everyone knows Tag Heuer as an eyewear maker but as it turns out, they have quite an extensive eyewear range and recently it added this Squadra Night Vision optics and Purple Temples Glasses to its collection.

Both collections are engineered to enhance contrast at night, reduce eye fatigue and increase the ability to make out all those important details after dusk.

The one-piece lend is fitted with titanium arms, elastomer and soft rubber ; it is firm enough to hold your head and flexible enough to fit under helmets. The Sqaudra glasses were worn by the Audi drivers who won Le Mans this year. The Squadra Night Vision Optics is available in two shapes and is priced at $450.

The second collection by Tag Heuer is the Purple Temples; the collection comes in Zenith Rimless Curve, Zenith Rimless Curve Glamour and Squadra. Prices range from $330 to $350.

Prada has launched a collection of Swing Sunglasses to match the modern femininity of its Autumn/Winter 2010 collection.
The swooped frames of the Swing Sunglasses collection combine a slightly 1950s cats -eye shape with the simple ultra-minimalist lines of Prada‘s 1990s fashion.

The collection’s arty image and video campaign features supermodel Angela Lindvall and was shot by Steven Meisel. The launch took place at Joe’s Pub in New York City this week; it also featured a “Manga Contest.” The participants have to design a fantasy heroine who must wear Prada Swing sunglasses in the comic strip. The winner will be invited to create a Manga-style heroine with a starring role in a Prada publication.

Prada Swing is priced at £125 and will be available at Prada boutiques and selected retailers worldwide from October.

Fashion and technology have come together to give us the Versace Unique; the phone is a collaboration between fashion giant Versace and mobile technology powerhouse LG.  The Versace Unique can only be described as a phone for the affluent and fashion conscious consumer; it is made of scratch-proof sapphire crystal touch screen framed by lacquer and ceramic panels and polished stainless steel or 18-carat gold hardware. The Versace Unique is presented in a fine calfskin leather case and can be found at Harrods. Price starts from £4,800 ($7,200).

Technical Specifications

Quad-band

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enable connection

3G network

5-megapixel flash camera

8GB internal memory expandable to 32GB

7.62 cm (3 in.) in length,

WVGA full touch screen

Dolby Mobile technology

MP3 music files and video

30 hours of playtime.

As a tribute to its very first Le Mans victory in 1970, Porsche Designs have unveiled this limited edition Porsche Le Mans 1970 dashboard watch. The Porsche Le Mans 1970 dashboard watch celebrates the 40^th anniversary of the famous win; the watch is inspired by the Porsche 917 winning car and is modeled after the race car’s steering wheel. The Porsche Le Mans 1970 dashboard watch comes with black calf leather, red stitching and features a titanium pin buckle.

Only 917 pieces of the Porsche Le Mans 1970 dashboard watch will be released to retail outlets in September 2010.

Maximilian Büsser & Friends (MB&F) have outdone themselves again with the launch of the MB&F HM4 Thunderbolt; the aviation inspired wristwatch took three years to make.

Though the MB&F HM4 Thunderbolt wristwatch has a hand for the hours, another for the minutes and a power reserve indicator, it is no ordinary watch; the chronograph has 50 jewels and 311 components inside. The bezel spots five sapphires and the watch is finished with black hand- sewed calfskin strap that comes with a titanium and white clasp. The MB&F HM4 Thunderbolt wristwatch is priced at $158,000.

Technical Specifications
Engine:
Three-dimensional horological engine developed 100% by MB&F
Manual winding with two mainspring barrels in parallel
Power reserve: 72 hours
Balance frequency: 21,600bph/3Hz
Number of components: 311
Number of jewels: 50
Functions:
Hours, minutes and power reserve indicator
Hours and minutes on right dial, power reserve indicator on left dial
Separate crowns for time setting and winding
Case:
Grade 5 titanium and sapphire
Dimensions: 54mm wide x 52mm long x 24mm high
Number of components: 65
Articulation of lugs: 3°
Sapphire crystals:
Five sapphire crystals: 2 x dials, 1 x central case section, 2 x display panels (top and bottom)
Strap & Buckle:
Black hand-stitched calfskin strap with titanium/white gold custom designed deployment buckle attached to articulated lugs
‘Friends’ responsible for Horological Machine No4 “Thunderbolt”
Concept: Maximilian Büsser/MB&F
Product Design: Eric Giroud – Eric Giroud Design Studio
Technical and Production Management: Serge Kriknoff/MB&F
Production logistics: David Lamy/MB&F
Movement Development: Laurent Besse, Béranger Reynard and Patrick Lété of Les Artisans
Horlogers
Movement manufacturing: Daniel Uhlmann/Azuréa Technologies, Nicolas Broquet/Broquet
Décolletage, Yann Ryser/Tital
Hand-finishing of movement components: Jacques-Adrien Rochat and Denis Garcia of
C-L Rochat
Movement assemblage: Didier Dumas and Georges Veisy/MB&F
Case and buckle construction and production: Jean-Pierre Kohler and Lionel Gavignet of Profusion
Martin Stettler of Stettler
Dominique Mainier and Bertrand Jeunet of G.F.Châtelain
Dials: François Bernhard and Denis Parel of Nateber
Hands: Pierre Chillier, Isabelle Chillier and Félix Celetta of Fiedler
Strap: Olivier Purnot/Camille Fournet
Presentation box: Olivier Berthon/Berthon & Co

As the saying goes, diamonds are a girl’s best friend but it’s safe to say shoes come a close second and a combination of both can make a girl easily fall in love.

Say hello to Eternal Borgezie Diamond Stiletto, a creation of jewelry designer Christopher Michael Shellis for British jewelry house Borgezie.

The Eternal Borgezie Diamond Stiletto which took three years to develop is hand crafted from solid gold and features 2,200 diamonds along the straps and edge of the shoe totaling 30 carats.

If you can afford it, each pair of the Eternal Borgezie Diamond Stiletto has a starting price of £100,000 along with a £1,000 a year guarantee.

“Black Cobra,” the latest model in Urwerk’s CC1 series took three years of research and development to perfect the linearly countdown of the hours and minutes without compromising accurate timekeeping.

“Black Cobra,” uses a world first animated dial by a rotating disk displaying the seconds, both digitally and linearly.

The dials of the watch show the hours, minutes and seconds; flip the watch over and you see a more naked version of the hours and minutes laid out like two computer program progress gauges.

The new ‘Black Cobra’ is in a black PVD coated case made from black AlTiN – a complex aluminium titanium alloy, better known as Aluminium Titane Nitride. Inside the watch is an Urwerk made calibre UR-8.02 manually wound mechanical movement.

The Urwerk UR-CC1 Black Cobra watch will be limited to just 25 pieces; see http://www.urwerk.com for more information.

Technical Specifications

Model: UR-CC1

Case: available in either grey gold with titanium base plate (limited edition of 25 pieces) or black gold with titanium base plate (limited edition of 25 pieces); brushed-satin finish

Movement: calibre UR-CC1; automatic winding regulated by “fly brake turbine” pneumatic shock absorber

Indications: linear display retrograde for hours and minutes with jumping hours; second display both digital and linear

Dimensions: 45.7mm x 43.5mm x 15mm

Dial and Bridges: ARCAP P40. SuperLumiNova treatment on hours, minutes and seconds displays