I love timepieces - I have my whole life I think because, to me, Time was a mysterious invisible force that kept moving regardless of what was happening around it. And so instruments that could measure Time - track its progress at it moved through reality were really interesting. My brother and I even made our own Nelson clock out of Tootsie Pops, which will be the subject of a future hub.

There was an elderly woman who lived in the neighborhood and baked treats like cookies and brownies, and sometimes my brothers and I would go over there, being careful not to touch anything.

In her parlor, as she called it, amid the doilies and overstuffed chairs, stood a tall Grandfather clock in a dark mahogany case with giant brass pendulums inside, which struck deep, somber tones on the hour and half hour.

I loved looking at the face of the clock, which was a big smiling Moon on a backdrop of stars. The face reminded me of the Mona Lisa because, although it smiled, it was only a half smile, and a little surreal. Even though it didn't seem too friendly looking, I was still fascinated with that clock and would stare at it every time I went over there.

The look of a timepiece, particularly mechanical clocks and pocket watches, held enormous appeal, and still do.

First, the movements, which drive the timepiece: the winder, mainspring, setting mechanism, etc., all symbols of an age before electronic watches and clocks. Although clock and watch makers were precise and intensively labored for many hours, these timepieces could never be as accurate as modern ones; always shy a few seconds, for all their clever metallurgy and jeweled movements. The next interesting element is the watch dial or clockface, particularly white dials or clockfaces with plain black Roman numerals, which are especially beautiful in their simplicity.

The age of electronic timepieces and digital clocks and watches seemed to foreshadow the end of the Golden Age of timepieces, as people wanted to sport the latest digital gadgets, clocks and wristwatches. Typically, however, many modern consumers become disenchanted with trends and fads and retreat to the classic to stoke the fires of their nostalgia. Or maybe they just like something exquisitely and completely hand-crafted and not off of an assembly line.

Which brings me to the subject of this hub: The Million-Dollar Watch

The Daniel Roth Grande Sonnerie with Moon Phase

I first heard of this watch by way of one of the HD channels, in which they detailed the art of handcrafting incredibly expensive timepieces. This watch is essentially the Ferrari of watches. It consists of materials that include solid gold, silver-plated gold, enamel components fired at the site, numerous funtional jewels and hundreds of parts, all painstakingly handcrafted and assembled in tiny workshops by master watchmakers in France (the Valle de Joux). Every jewel has a function and is not just for aesthetic purposes.

But it is not just the materials that make this watch so expensive - This watch is so exquisite that it is literally a work of art. Certainly a work of thoughtful precision and attention to the tiniest detail, tested and retested along the way during each phase of its complex design. Every component, from those in the striking mechanism to the decorative moon phase component is handmade by the watchmakers.

The self-winding watch has a tourbilion movement, which is a highly complex and delicate mechanism that somehow manages to compensate for gravitational effects to provide the most accurate non-electronic measurement of time.

In horology, a tourbillon or tourbillion (pronounced /tʊərˈbɪljən/, French: [tuʁbijɔ̃], "whirlwind") is an addition to the mechanics of a watch escapement. Invented in 1795 by French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, a tourbillon counters the effects of gravity by mounting the escapement and balance wheel in a rotating cage, ostensibly in order to negate the effect of gravity when the timepiece (and thus the escapement) is rotated. Originally an attempt to improve accuracy, tourbillons are still included in some expensive modern watches as a novelty and demonstration of watchmaking virtuosity. The mechanism is usually exposed on the watch's face to show it off. - Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourbillon

Here is an example of tourbillon technology:

There are many luxury ("luxe") watches out there. Perhaps you have heard of Rolex watches. Or the formidable-looking Omega Constellation, which is what James Bond wears when he is sipping martinis, romancing double agents and saving the world from treacherous spies. But if there was one watch which qualifies as the Mac Daddy of luxury watches, this one would be it.