Where:
Govberg Jewelers
34105 Chagrin Boulevard
Moreland Hills, OH 44022
216.487.6441
It was a beautiful evening in Ohio last night for the Time in a Bottle Watch Talk at Govberg Jewelers located in Mooreland Hills. For those of you who don’t know Govberg, they are a family owned company that has quite an extensive knowledge of watches & jewelry. Knowledge that spans back to 1916 to be exact.
When you have the right ingredients it makes for a perfect combination and that is what Govberg achieved last evening. That perfect combination was wine, good food, great people and WATCHES or what I refer to as desert. I had the absolute pleasure to be accompanied by my lovely wife for the evening, although she is not so impressed by my love, correction, my passion for watches. The evening though was such as success that she had a great time.
When we arrived there was already a very nice turnout of watch enthusiasts this began to fuel my excitement even more. We were quickly greeted by a friendly smile from Linda Silver of Govberg. She immediately made us feel right at home. I was also able to meet Brian Govberg. He was a gracious host who was just as enthusiastic about all the watches as I was. I did not know where to start, so many great things to take in. First stop at my wife’s suggestion, a glass of wine of course. Then onto the watches.
Present were ambassadors from several watch brands that included Bremont, Breitling, Ball, and Panerai. I was eager to take as much in as possible like a kid getting to the window displays at Halley’s Department Store. I made my way in a counterclockwise motion around the room. It made the most sense for me to go in reverse direction of the crowd. Yes, I always march to the beat of my own drum.
PANERAI
My first stop was at Panerai. The display case was full of wrist candy. Chris Sclafani the ambassador for Panerai, was happy to assist me with all my Panerai questions. Chris was eager to share with me what Panerai has in store for 2016. The highlight of the Panerai section was the mini rotor that was rotating inside the Radomir. I love the touch of modern with the mini rotor and the touch of vintage with the case design coming together in a perfect combination of old and new.
Check out Panerai’s website to see what is coming out in 2016: http://www.panerai.com/en-us
Breitling
My next stop was Breitling, where I met Ryan Sain from Breitling. Ryan’s friendliness was inviting and he was there every step of the way to assist me answering all my questions. We even spent time looking back at past Breitling watches. Ryan was delighted to hear that one of my first published reviews was on the Breitling Seawolf Avenger SS.
Link to the review: https://greatmazinger.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/review-breitling-avenger-seawolf-stainless-steel-baton-dial-version/
It brought back fond memories seeing the Seawolf Avenger inside the Breitling case. Ryan had just returned for Baselworld and had plenty of new watches to show me inside his catalog. Breitling has some very special watches that are coming out this year. Check out their website to see the upcoming models: http://www.breitling.com/en/
The B50 immediately caught my eye in the display case. It’s an ultimate tool watch for the watch loving adventurer. It was amazing to get to handle one in person. Ryan allowed me to have some special one on one time with the B50. What is cool about the B50 cockpit is the fact that the battery is rechargeable. I love that feature, no more replacing watch batteries, instead just “plug it in” before bed and in the morning you are good to go.
About the B50 from Breitling’s website: Representing the ultimate pilot’s instrument, this multifunction electronic chronograph features a titanium case equipped with the exclusive Breitling Caliber B50: an analog and digital-display SuperQuartz™ movement specially developed for aviation. It innovates with an ultra-readable display, outstanding user friendliness and a broad array of functions. In its “Night Mission” version, the Cockpit B50 comes with a black titanium case achieved by a highly resistant carbon-based treatment, complete with a matching rubber strap. An exceptional look for a peerless instrument.
Next Ryan showed me the Chronospace Military. The watch and strap combo on this watch really stood out in the display case. You can definitely spot it within a full case of watches. Definitely eye catching. The strap is a very well made durable, custom canvas strap. The military green is absolutely breathtaking.
About the Chronospace from Breitling’s website: The Chronospace Military combines technology and power, with a black steel case achieved by a carbon-based treatment and an ultra-sturdy military-type fabric strap. The bidirectional rotating bezel with compass scale features a highly original star-shaped design facilitating handling even with gloves. The extreme precision of the time display and short-time measurements is powered by a SuperQuartz™ movement, chronometer-certified by the COSC. The ideal companion on every mission and in the most extreme conditions.
SuperQuartz™, thermocompensated quartz electronic, analog and 12/24 hr LCD digital display, display backlighting (NVG compatible), EOL indicator. The case is a 46mm x 15mm.
Here is a picture of the beautiful watch that Ryan was wearing, the Breitling Transocean Unitime Pilot. This watch was very nice stylistically but it was even nicer in terms of function. It has a remarkable power reserve, coming in at 70 hours. The case is a 46 mm x 15.40 mm high case.
About the Transocean Unitime from Breitling’s website: Featuring a satin-brushed steel case, this worldtime chronograph combines a Manufacture Breitling Caliber B05 with a black and white technical look echoing Breitling’s grand tradition of watches for aviators. The dial enables simultaneous readings of the time in all 24 timezones, complete with an ultra-practical crown-operated setting system as well as automatic adjustment of the date to local time in both directions. This instrument also comes with a blue dial, a red gold case, as well as in a “Blacksteel” limited series. The peak of user friendliness.
Bremont
So from Italy, to France and now I make my way to the UK to meet with Michael Pearson from Bremont. I have done some reviews on Bremont watches in the past and I am currently working on a review of the Alt-1 WT.
Links to my prior Bremont reviews:
https://greatmazinger.wordpress.com/2014/12/12/review-bremont-martin-baker-ii-aka-the-mb-ii/
https://greatmazinger.wordpress.com/2014/11/29/watch-review-bremont-supermarine-500/
I met Michael electronically about a year or so ago. I have to tell you that he is one of the nicest people you will ever meet in the watch industry. Bremont is very lucky to have him and he definitely knows his stuff. Online I have seen Michael in action but to see him interacting in person is truly something amazing. His extensive knowledge of Bremont watches and enthusiastic personality drew people in.
The case was filled with all kinds of Bremont goodness, but of course there was one watch present in particular that I absolutely needed to get hands on. I will let the pictures below make the introduction.
The Bremont Victory, I can’t even describe in words how beautiful this watch is in person. This was Michael’s baby, which made me a bit nervous to handle it. I managed though.
About the Victory from Bremont’s website:
HMS Victory remains the oldest serving warship still in commission. Launched in 1765, she became famous as Lord Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
The Bremont Victory was a completely unique timepiece, commemorating both the ship and Nelson himself. Incorporating original oak timber and copper from the vessel, the watch also housed a very special BE-83AR chronograph movement with retrograde seconds and date. It was available in a limited run of stainless steel and rose gold models and part of the proceeds were donated towards a major refit to preserve HMS Victory for future generations.
Michael brought along another little gem, the limited edition Norton. I don’t know which I was drooling over more, the Victory or the Norton, both are prime examples of the capabilities of Bremont design. Bremont’s cases are some of the most impressive cases on a watch. I personally believe that when Daniel Craig retires from the James Bond role that the new Bond needs to wear a Bremont.
Here are some great examples of what Bremont does that goes beyond the call of duty in terms of rugged design:
BREMONT B-EBE2000 WATCH CASE TREATMENT: All Bremont watches are treated for hardness with B-EBE2000 technology. During this special stage in the case production the metal is heat-treated and defused with carbon, then bombarded with electrons. The process dramatically increases the hardness and scratch resistance of the stainless steel. On the Vickers’ scale of hardness, for example, B-EBE2000 produces a watch case with a value of 2000Hv – approximately seven times that of the normal stainless steel used for watch cases.
BREMONT ROTO-CLICK®: Many Bremont watches have been designed from a clean sheet of paper. New bezel technology designed and built in-house is now integrated into a number of models such as the MB. The bezel rotates while gliding on a series of four ball bearings. These bearings knit into the gearing of the bezel to produce a most satisfying click for every minute rotated.
BREMONT ANTI-SHOCK
Designed by Bremont initially for the MB range of watches, our unique rubberised movement mount encloses the inner workings. A flexible ring then connects the mount to the outer case, absorbing shocks and allowing the inner case and movement to float.
ANTI-MAGNETIC FARADAY CAGE
A number of Bremont models are designed to withstand the detrimental effects of magnetism on a watch’s movement. With a limited amount of space available, this is achieved by encasing the movement in a soft-iron Faraday cage. Any potentially harmful magnetic fields are then routed around the movement.
TRIP-TICK® CASE CONSTRUCTION
All Bremont watch cases use Bremont Trip-Tick® construction consisting of three parts:
- The hardened steel bezel element, containing the sapphire crystal.
- The central body section, consisting of a titanium or DLC treated middle barrel.
- The steel and crystal case back.
- The separate middle section offers flexibility in both durability and design. It allows us to manufacture cases from different metals, such as titanium, to alter the watch’s weight. DLC, meanwhile, adds to the variety by using contrasting colours to distinguish between models.
Ball Watch Company
http://www.ballwatch.com/global/
Ball was present at the event as well, unfortunately the rep was busy with customers for most of the evening so I was unable to speak with him. There were some great Ball watches but I will have to make another trip to Govberg to get some hands on time with them.
I want to personally thank Linda and Brian for the lovely evening full of wine, watches and fun. I also want to thank all of the watch brand ambassadors it was an absolute pleasure meeting and talking to them. I could have spent many more hours looking at all the beautiful watches. I needed at least a week with each brand to fully cover all of the watches.
If you live in the area be sure to pay Govberg a visit. Their store is beautiful and the selection of watches is remarkable. If you can’t make it into their actual store you can check out their website at:
I noticed that Brian was wearing a lovely and breathtaking Patek on his wrist. Unfortunately the night ended too quickly before I was unable to get a wrist shot.
Thank you so much for reading.
Stay tuned I have exciting reviews in the works for the weeks and months ahead.
Stephen Mazinger
Additional pictures:
Time to Blog Watches 