Thursday, June 27, 2013

Our Tribute To Panerai

As a pre-owned luxury jeweler we get a lot of gorgeous inventory cycling through our showroom. We've seen thousands of Rolexes, Patek Philippes, Vacheron Constantines, and Audemars Piguets throughout our time in the watch industry.

Even though we have been appraisers and dealers of the finest luxury arm candy for over three decades, we still get a tinge of excitement for each quality piece that finds its way into our hands.

As a result of our never-ending enthusiasm for our products and the brands we carry, Gray & Sons is proud to announce we will be creating tribute videos for those brands that never cease to impress.

Our first "Epic trailer"--as we like to call it--is an homage to Panerai.

We hope you enjoy.


A word about Panerai:

Panerai's watches are a natural blend of Italian design, Swiss technology and passion for the sea.
Panerai was born in 1860 in Florence during the cradle of the Renaissance. The art and the science which have made Italy famous throughout the world are values that Officine Panerai expresses through its watches, which it reinterprets over time with passion, technical excellence and exclusive design.

A watch-making laboratory, highly specialized since the nineteenth century, supplier of measurement and precision instruments to the Italian Navy in the nineteen hundreds, fine watchmaker and international brand in the twenty-first century. The deep-rooted links with the world of the sea, the true heritage of the Brand, bestow on each watch a sporting character that is unique and authentic, like the history of Panerai.

See our exclusive pre-owned Panerai collection


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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Gray & Sons Partners with Best Buddies to Present a Limited Edition Jaeger LeCoultre Atmos Regulateur Transparent Table Clock

An Elegant and Pronounced Timepiece Available For Purchase In The Name Of A Worthy Cause...


Eunice Kennedy Shriver dedicated her life to improve and enhance the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities. She – sister to President John F. Kennedy – was the founder of the Special Olympics and a leader in the worldwide struggle to understand and aid the disabled. 

Upon her death, she asked that her son, Anthony Kennedy Shriver, sell her prized limited-edition Atmos Regulateur Transparent Glass Table Clock number 1/50 in the name of her lifelong commitment to this worthy cause. Today, Gray & Sons is proud to be the fine watch and jewelry establishment selected to oversee the sale and handling of this prized timepiece. The Atmos clock is being sold for the benefit of Best Buddies International, a global non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization that Anthony Kennedy Shriver founded in 1989 to create opportunities for friendship, employment and leadership training for people with intellectual disabilities.

This timepiece is a Jaeger LeCoultre Atmos Regulateur Transparent Table Clock: #1 of 50. It is powered by minor changes in temperature and atmospheric air pressure. The first simple Atmos was invented by Jaeger LeCoultre in 1928. It features a glass case and transparent dial with Arabic numerals, mechanical calibre 582 movement with moon phases, month, and 24-hour display.

The last new retail price for this clock was $62,000, but you can own this Kennedy Heirloom and fine clock for only $44,500 including insured delivery from Gray & Sons. Part of this purchase may be considered a tax deductible donation- please check with your tax advisor. 

Hand Delivery & Set-Up By Master Watchmaker Available For Additional Fee.

If you would like to purchase this clock, call Gray & Sons at 1-800-918-2608 anytime from 9am to 6pm EDT.

What makes the Atmos Clocks by Jaeger LeCoultre so special?

The Atmos clocks do not need a power plug nor a winding key. Instead, they get their energy from temperature changes in the environment. The following explanation is taken from the Atmos wikipage:

“Its power source is a hermetically sealed capsule containing a mixture of gas and liquid ethyl chloride, which expands into an expansion chamber as the temperature rises, compressing a spiral spring; with a fall in temperature the gas condenses and the spring slackens. This motion constantly winds the mainspring. A variation in temperature of only one degree in the range between 15 and 30 degrees Celsius is sufficient for two days’ operation.

In order to run the clock on this small amount of energy, everything inside the Atmos has to work in as friction-free a manner as possible. For timekeeping it uses a torsion pendulum, which consumes less energy than an ordinary pendulum. The torsion pendulum executes only two torsional oscillations per minute, which is 60 times slower that the pendulum in a conventional clock.”

As pictured on Atmos Adam’s website:
Click here for the official Jaeger LeCoultre Atmos pages: 
http://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/la/en/watches/atmos-classique


If you are interested in supporting Best Buddies, please make a tax deductible donation to this worth-while cause at:  www.bestbuddies.org/donate.
Or send a check to:
Jen Miller
Best Buddies International
100 Southeast Second Street, Suite 2200
Miami, FL 33131

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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

How Will 3D Printing Affect The Watchmaking Industry?

There have been shocking developments in the 3D printing market. From where we stand, everything from food to flesh can now be 3D printed.

For example. a 3D printed watch:
Image found 3DPrintingIndustry.com

This new technology completely disrupts classical manufacturing as we know it, and the best part is that 3D printers can now be purchased for as little as $400.

Here at Gray & Sons, our expert watch restorers and repairers could not be more excited for this technology. As an independent watchmaking establishment, we have a full team of watchrepairmen who spend hours and even days replicating the intricate insides of the luxury watches we are sworn to restore to Like New condition. It can be time-consuming, expensive, and even dangerous to hand manufacture these pieces, which cannot be purchased individually since upper-crust watch factories refuse to sell parts to smaller establishments. 3D printing will make these headaches and expenses a thing of the past.

To back up our excitement, consider this: The Economist just ran a lengthy special report on 3D printing, which it calls “A Third Industrial Revolution”.

What is 3D printing?


According to the Wall Street Journal, three-dimensional printing and other forms of what is known as 'additive manufacturing' use neither machines nor molds. They build an object from the bottom up by piling razor-thin layers of material on top of each other until a three-dimensional shape emerges. The computer-guided technologies enables individuals to create objects, particularly prototypes, without a shop full of metal presses, cutting lathes or plastic injection molds. In contrast, traditional methods like milling and drilling are subtractive - start with a large blank and whittle it down.

Consider the process of making a hammer. Traditionally, the head has to be moulded and cast and thousands would have to be made to amortise the cost of the mould, which can only make a hammer head and nothing else.

But a 3D printer can print the head and handle, just one of each, at the cost of the material only and the software programming. And then it can go on to print whatever else is desired.

3D printing can produce nearly anything from nothing but a 3D model, meaning the sky is the limit.

What will 3D printing mean for watchmaking?


3D printing has already found a home in major watch factories, where the process is used to make resin prototypes of watch cases to evaluate form and size. And the process can become so advanced, it can create designs out of metals, woods, and other natural materials and even the inner movements as well!

Gray & Son's own Expert In-House Watchmaker Junior Whyte believes 3D printing will be game-changing news for the watch industry. "In the watch industry now, most of the top of the line companies like Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, etc, don't want to sell their watch parts to watchmakers. It will especially be great for watchmaking establishments who are not authorized dealers. Watch supply stores won't have to get their parts from the upper-hand watch houses like Cartier, Vacheron Constantine and other Swiss watchmakers who typically refuse to sell their parts to individual watchmakers. Overall, this would lessen the monopoly on luxury watches and repair."

Another side-effect is that watch designers can have more freedom to produce out-of-the-box ideas, no longer constrained by the molds and machinery at hand, since the printer can print out anything!

In short, emphasis will be placed on design rather than construction, making it possible for watches to become more detailed and interesting and at the same time easier to repair.


Sources:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323716304578483062211388072.html
http://www.watchesbysjx.com/2012/04/3d-printing-will-radically-change.html


See How 3D Printing Works:


3-D printing is a revolutionary new technology unlocking a world of innovation in design. The WSJ's Diana Jou explores everything from high fashion dresses to medical models made from nothing but a printer.

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Wednesday, June 05, 2013

The Vintage 1945 Lady by Girard-Perregaux

Girard-Perregaux recently unveiled the new Vintage 1945 Lady, the perfect addition to its BaselWorld 2013 collection, showing off the brand’s skill in creating feminine watches.


The Vintage 1945 Lady features a single rows of diamonds along the sides of a steel case. The straight lines and curves outlining this watch are an ode to Art Deco of the early twentieth century.




The gentle curve of the case and the smooth, elegant lines outlining the dial elevate this watch to true luxury status. The delicate diamonds marking the 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock create a beautiful blend of form and function on this uniquely female mechanical timepiece.



You can find rare and beautiful pre-owned Girard-Perregaux  watches on our website at https://www.grayandsons.com/fine-watches/other-watches-brands/girard-perregaux.html 


We recently acquired this gorgeous womens Vintage 1945 with diamonds that is particularly inspiring. It can be seen here: https://www.grayandsons.com/w520840-girard-perregaux-25870d11a1d111b.html

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