Vacheron Constantin �Quai de l�Ile� Watch

via Selectism.com by Jeff Carvalho on 7/28/09

More chrono beauties from the Only Watch Charity Auction in Monaco. The Vacheron Constantin offering comes from their tantalum metal �Quai de l�Ile�. This is how they put it.

�Tantalum is a metal that is used by the airspace and airplane industry, as well as in surgery� says Julien Marchenoir, Head of Marketing Communications at Vacheron Constantin. �It has gray-blue tones and is very difficult to work with being much harder than any metal we normally work with.� The tantalum case of this watch is diamond-cut, the same way as you would cut platinum, but since it is very hard it is costly to cut as it destroys the cutting tools so they have to be constantly remade.

Needless to say, the �Quai de l�Ile� is something special.

Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon Watch up for $1.300.000

via Born Rich by Nandini on 7/9/09

For those who have the riches to deck their wrist with a Patek Philippe watch, here�s a chance to own one of the rare Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon watches at SoKoBe, a high end jewelry company. Though all Patek Philippe watches are special, sky moon is special for a number of reasons. This double-faced wristwatch is one of the most complex wristwatches ever made. One side features a perpetual calendar and the other side features a celestial view with displays of star movement, moon orbit and moon phases.

Sapphire crystals on the watch are used to show the motion of the moon, moon phases and the sky chart. The timepiece is made up of about 694 handmade pieces, and each gear is hand polished, which reduces friction and adds to the watch�s precision and longevity. Only two are produced each year, which makes it truly a collector�s edition. The watch is available on sale for a $1.3M, which too is a special price for the recession, otherwise the watch has a history of going up for as much as $1.7 million in a Hong Kong auction, and the watch�s value will continue to increase over time. So, anyone care to make an investment here?