Today's Jewelry

etails on these watches are really skimpy. What I do know is that English watch brand Arnold & Sonwill release 25 sets of these limited edition "Hornet History Collection James Cook" watches. Each set includes three watches - each with a different dial that include a trio of scenes from Cooks famous voyages. 

The dials are apparently not 100% hand-painted, but rather "hand-touch up painting." Really not sure what that means, but the miniature painting style dials fit the personality of the timepieces quite well - with their 18k pink gold case and retro navigational instrument theme. The first dial depicts "the landing at Botany Bay in Australia." Next you have "the discovery of Antarctica," and finally the gruesome sounding "Death in Hawaii" (where James Cook died in a riot). The voyages of James Cook are well recalled by historians today. For people with too much money and times on their hands. They can pick up one of these sets and retrace Mr. Cook's steps... (paddle rows?). 

The watches themselves has exclusive automatic movements and a series of functions. In addition to the time, the dials have a GMT hand (shaped like the sun), a big date indicator, and a rotating bezel that is used for a third time zone indicator. The four crowns on the case seem a bit overkill, so I am not sure what is going on there. Overall the pieces are neat, and the set is great for the well-off English explorer lover/collector/amateur. Each of the 25 sets of three watches will retail for 156,000 Swiss Francs.