Breitling was founded in 1884 and from its onset was fastidiously focused on producing the absolute best precision chronographs and timers. And with that central goal constantly driving the brand, Breitling has churned out some of the most impressive and precise timepieces with a particular emphasis on aviation watches. We take a quick look at the history and significance at Breitling’s most popular and breakthrough models.

Navitimer
The Navitimer was released in 1952 and specially designed for pilots and aviation crews. Its most distinguishing featured is its slide rule bezel, used to make crucial in-flight calculations like fuel consumption, air speed and distance. Breitling is largely credited with making the slide rule bezel incredible popular with the introduction of the Navitimer. Today, the Navitimer is a highly sought after watch, prized for both its practical design and first class performance.

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Superocean
The Breitling Superocean marked Breitling’s—the longtime premier manufacturer of aviation watches—foray into diving watch design and production. The Superocean debuted in 1957 when diving watches were enjoying their heyday. But the Superocean stood out from its competitors with a water resistance of 200 meters. Today, the Superocean’s practical and recognizable features are its large Arabic numerals and oversized hands which were originally designed for ease of reading under water.

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Super Avenger II
As its name would suggest, the Breitling Super Avenger II is super-sized. The Super Avenger was recently introduced to the Breitling lineup in response to modern tastes’ preference for robust and hefty watch sizes. Even still, this contemporary addition upholds the core tenets of the Breitling brand: superior precision and an emphasis on utility. Breitling fans are particularly drawn to the Super Avenger for its dramatic size and enjoy it as a bold statement piece.

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Colt
The modern-day Breitling Colt was inspired by the Colt Military, a watch originally introduced in the 1980s and designed for military operations. The updated design was renamed simply the Breitling Colt and was distinguished for its broad, uni-directional bezel with four engraved rider tabs. The Breitling Colt is incredibly popular with new collectors as a signature and reasonably priced model.

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Breitling for Bentley
In 2002, Breitling partnered with Bentley, the British car manufacturer internationally renowned for its luxurious and posh cars. Breitling naturally borrowed inspiration from Bentley’s sophisticated fleet of vehicles and translated that allure into a mesmerizing collection of fine timepieces. The Breitling for Bentley collection includes mesmerizing conversation pieces and exquisite watches, decidedly worth of its namesake luxury brands.

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If this piqued your interest in Breitling watches, learn more about the Swiss watchmaker’s impressive history and how they grew into the premier manufacture of aviation watches here.

When two people get engaged, the engagement ring is always at the center of attention. Tons of emphasis is placed on planning the engagement and, of course, choosing the perfect engagement ring. But one aspect of getting married is often overlooked: the wedding band. Ironically, selecting this symbol of a couple’s love and their bright new future together is often one of the last things on brides’ to-do lists. To help you choose the best wedding band to represent your marriage, we’ve rounded up these expert tips for navigating the wedding band market.

Start Looking Early
Couples often make the mistake of waiting until just days before the ceremony to start looking for their wedding bands, limiting them both budget-wise and design-wise. It would be a good idea to make this one of the first things you check off as a couple: that way, you have all the time in the world to have your rings custom-designed and correctly-sized.

Another reason why you might want to put the wedding band first is so that you have the budget for it. If you want it custom-designed or even engraved, those services will pad up the cost of the ring. Before you shell out a few extra hundred dollars on upgraded floral centerpieces for your reception, you should definitely make sure that the ring that’s supposed to last you a lifetime is covered.

Consider Your Lifestyle
Obviously, you will be wearing your wedding band every day. Depending on the kind of
lifestyle you lead and the kind of work you do, you might want to find a ring made of more durable materials. If you work a lot with your hands, for example, or if you’re accident-prone, you might choose platinum or even stainless steel. If you’re afraid of losing the ring, stay away from a big, expensive diamond and consider a cheaper (but more unique) design that features colored gemstones. (You could also take some inspiration from this post about unique engagement rings and wedding bands!)

Coordinate with Your Future Spouse—Or Don’t
There’s no hard-and-fast rule that says you and your spouse need to have matching
wedding bands. If yellow gold is your preferred metal tone but your S.O. is fonder of silver, feel free to wear the metal of your choice. You may be perfect for each other and still have completely different tastes in jewelry, after all, and you should celebrate that! At least the different ring styles will complement your individual personalities more while still commemorating your lifelong commitment to each other.

If you are interested in rings that complement each other or totally match, it might be smart to purchase them together. Many jewelry stores offer wedding band sets for couples who want complementary or matching rings. Some stores even offer sets in different metal tones so that you and your future spouse can have rings with matching motifs set in metals that complement your individual style or skin tones.

For a truly personalized experience, you can also choose to custom-design wedding bands for yourselves. That way, you can determine exactly the degree to which you want to match and have an incredibly personal ring design to celebrate your love.

If you’re interested in saving some money on your wedding ring, consider TrueFacet marketplace! Contact our concierge service here and receive personalized assistance to find the wedding bands of your dreams.

Shopping for a men’s wedding band can be tricky: for an amateur to jewelry, the different settings, metals, and textures can be overwhelming. This is the ring that will accompany you through all of life’s ups and downs and symbolize the everlasting love you have for your future spouse, so it’s only appropriate that you take every factor into consideration here. We’ve put together this simple guide to different wedding band styles to help you choose the right ring for you.

Start with your budget.
Before you start thinking about your ring’s design, consider your budget which will be major player in making your ultimate decision. Different metal types (like yellow or white gold versus platinum) vary greatly in cost and you can save yourself a hefty chunk of change if you opt for white gold over platinum or skip on any precious stones. Jewelers can easily adapt your wedding band vision to fit within your budget—they just need to know what you’re comfortable with spending first.

Think about your lifestyle.
The kind of lifestyle you lead determines the metals you should use in your wedding band. If you’re very active or you use your hands a lot for hard work, you might want to opt for a more durable metal that will survive all the nicks and scratches of the hard contact your hands get into like platinum or stainless steel. If you want to learn more about the different types of metal that are commonly used in jewelry like wedding bands, visit our post about them here.

Figure in your personality.
Your wedding band should be representative both of your lifelong commitment to your significant other and your unique personality. Some couples may choose to match their wedding bands, but it’s certainly not a requirement. If you and your future spouse decide to have free reign on your individual wedding bands, then you should really infuse significant elements of yourself into the design. For example, if you’re a classic kind of guy looking for something low-key, a plain gold or silver ring is probably for you. If you lean more modern, then choosing a less traditional metal like rose gold or tungsten carbide might suit you more.

Remember that size matters.
Of course it’s important for your wedding band to be sized correctly, but that’s not what we’re referring to here. One thing that affects men’s wedding bands (and not women’s) is width. Depending on your style, you might be interested in a wider or chunkier ring or a small, unobtrusive one. Some styles don’t work for everyone, though: on smaller hands, the wider ring would look too big and swallow up your finger. While on larger hands, a thin ring would look underwhelming and too dainty. Try on rings of different sizes and widths to figure out which style complements your hands best.

Amp it up.
The options for men’s wedding bands are so varied these days that you can truly find the perfect ring for you, if not just design it yourself. First of all, even if you want a ring without any inlays or precious stones, it doesn’t mean it has to be plain. You can choose a ring with different kinds of textures that can really elevate its appearance: besides the typical high-shine texture, there’s also a matte brushed texture that looks masculine and luxurious and a hammered texture that draws the eye and strays from the traditional.

Inlays
If you are considering inlays or precious stones, a whole world of possibilities opens up for you. Using an inlay can really shake up the design and break up the uniformity of the metal. Choose a ring with a different texture than the outer metal for an interesting and cohesive look, or add in some wood or stone for an eye-catching, masculine element.

Precious stones
Diamonds and colored gemstones don’t have to be reserved for women’s jewelry! Whether you like a little bling or a lot of it, adding precious stones can really upgrade your ring’s look and set it apart from others. A ring with small, channel- or tension-set stones, for example, includes an element of color and shine that adds movement to the design without sacrificing any of the ring’s masculinity. Likewise, bigger, more imposing stones in a wedding band attract the eye and look impressive.

Audemars Piguet ranks as one of the most revered and prestigious watchmakers of all time. Founded in 1875, Audemars Piguet (also commonly referred to as simply “AP”) is one of the world’s oldest Swiss watchmakers and has maintained its esteem with impeccable and avant-garde designs. Here we explore the history and unique features of AP’s signature models.

Royal Oak
Unquestionably, Audemars Piguet’s most recognizable and sought after models is the Royal Oak. Designed by legendary watchmaker Gerald Genta, the Royal Oak made a disruptive debut in 1972; the Royal Oak, with its highly unconventional octangular-shaped bezel inspired by a diver’s helmet, defied industry convention as a steel dress watch. Moreover, its staggering price tag (3300 Swiss Francs) made it ten times more expensive than its contemporary Rolex Submariner and critics largely dismissed the Royal Oak as a miss by Audemars Piguet. However, over time, the Royal Oak gained high-profile industry fans who considered the Royal Oak as a prized addition to their collection. In turn, the AP Royal Oak has blown up into one of most iconic designs and remains a highly sought-after and prestigious collector’s item. To learn more about the history of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, read our post on the topic here.

Royal Oak Offshore
A spinoff of the Royal Oak, the equally impressive and distinguished Royal Oak Offshore was released to commemorate the Royal Oak’s 20th anniversary. The Royal Oak Offshore borrows its core design elements from the Royal Oak but, in step with modern tastes, boasts a hefty and robust size. Interestingly enough, like its predecessor, the Royal Oak Offshore was greeted with an initially cool reception. But, when looked at through the lens of 20/20 hindsight, the Royal Oak Offshore is considered the pioneer of the luxury sport watch trend. Today, the Royal Oak Off shore counts rapper Jay Z. and basketball legend LeBron James as some of its celebrity fans.

Jules Audemars
The Jules Ademars watch lifts its name from one of the Audemars Piguet founders and dutifully plays tribute to the watchmaker’s illustrious history and tradition. Strikingly different AP’s weighty and sporty Royal Oak and Royal Oak Off Shore models, the Jules Audemars collection is impeccably sophisticated and clean. The exquisitely refined design is marked for its round case and elegantly stark bezel; these two understated features ultimately distinguish the luxurious Jules Ademars watch.

Millenary
The Audemars Piguet Millenary—so named in honor of the third millennium—is distinct for a variety of reasons: a striking oblong case, asymmetrical dials, stepped lugs and bezel, and, perhaps above all, a beautifully skeletonized dial. This mesmerizing dial dramatically showcases the intricate movement housed inside. The eccentric Millneary sits beautifully within the Audemars Piguet’s collection as a premier example of the brand’s impeccable design aesthetic.

Want to learn more about Audemars Piguet? Read our post on the History of Audemars Piguet to learn about the brand and how it was on the verge of collapse before the Royal Oak’s introduction.

Because it’s been a dreary winter. Because you got a sweet tax refund. Because you earned it. Or just because! Treat yourself to one of these fashionable finds that you can enjoy and wear every day.

1. Tiffany & Co. Paloma Picasso Tic-Tac-Toe Brooch, $499
Brooches are a cool way to personalize any ensemble and we particularly love to pin them on the collars of jean jackets or trench coat lapels. And as Instagram-fanatics, we can’t help but immediately feel endeared to this hashtag-look-a-like brooch by Tiffany & Co.

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2. CHANEL CC Rhinestone Black Stud Earrings, $449
Upgrade your simple, everyday stud earrings with a luxe pair by CHANEL. The iconic interlocking Cs in a smaller size makes for a cool, subtle statement.

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3. Mawi Rose Gold Necklace with Black Crystals, $120
This Mawi necklace is the perfect dress-up-dress-down addition to your wardrobe. Wear it to brunch with a plain white tee and cropped jeans. Come Monday, layer it over your shift dress to add a stylish punch to your office-friendly ensemble.

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4. 14K Yellow Gold Friendship Bracelet, $140
We love this grown-up take on the childhood friendship bracelet. This stack-friendly piece will easily slip into your wardrobe and will definitely be a style you can sport all day, every day.

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5. Tourneau Yellow Gold and Leather Vintage Watch, $98
This vintage Tourneau watch feels remarkably fresh and modern with its square watch case and minimalist dial. The leather strap, meanwhile, preserves that perfectly retro vibe.

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6. Diane Von Furstenberg Yellow Gold Plated Brass Snake Chain Tassel, $225
As big of a statement piece as this necklace is, this DVF long pendant necklace with a retro twist is surprisingly easy to throw on with virtually any neckline: crew neck tees, fitted turtlenecks and even flowing boho wrap dresses.

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7. Fendi Classico Watch, $475
With its timeless shape and mixed metals, this Fendi watch offers a lot of style flexibility and will beautifully match any outfit.

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8. Mikimoto 18K Yellow Gold & Pearl Ring, $335
Pearls always feel romantic so we love this Mikimoto single pearl ring as a fashionable and personal addition to your wardrobe—a sweet little reward for yourself.

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9. 14K Yellow Gold Hoop Earrings, $378
Yellow gold hoop earrings are a classic addition to any jewelry collection. We love the light weight of this pair which makes them appropriate for day and evening wear.

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10. Michele Mini Urban Black Diamond Women’s Watch, $495
Michele watches have been on the up-and-up since the brand became a favorite of the street style stars. This deco-inspired shape and sleek design makes for a smart watch to wear to the office and through the weekend.

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11. 14K Yellow Gold & 0.26ct Diamond Pinky Ring, $281
One trend that is on the rise: vintage pinky rings. We love the sentimental look and feel of these antique rings and wearing them on your pinky finger has become a super fashion-forward way to sport it.

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12. Skagen SKW2511 Women’s Watch, $105
The ultra-minimalist design makes for a big style statement on this Skagen watch. It’s also a good size for slender wrists—over-sized while offering a comfortable fit.

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13. 14K Yellow Gold and 0.5ct Black Diamond Solitaire Necklace, $250
This delicate chain and single diamond necklace is the perfect gift-to-me: it immediately feels personal and its small and graceful design means it won’t clash with any outfit.

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14. Cartier 18K Yellow Gold Diamond Dome Ring, $351
The popularity of everyday diamonds—jewelry with small or pavé diamonds that don’t feel so stuffy or too precious to wear on non-special occasions—is on the rise. Get ahead of the fashion curve with this ring by Cartier that features a delicate diamond in a bezel setting.

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15. Jordan Scott Design Thin Dia Bypass Ring, $375
Jordan Scott Designs puts a cool spin on the everyday diamonds trend with their edgy open ring design. This delicate-meets-daring ring will make for a fresh accent piece in your jewelry collection.

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Hero image courtesy of Viva Luxury.

TrueFacet CEO Tirath Kamdar kicked off Valentine’s Day with an appearance on Fox morning talk show “Mornings with Maria Bartiromo”. The three-minute segment found Tirath, accompanied by Rosecliff investor and Fox Business consultant Michael Murphy, explaining the ins and outs of the TrueFacet marketplaces. Tirath also showed off his jewelry appraisal chops by describing the differences between an authentic Cartier Love Bracelet and a fake one. Thanks to Maria Bartiromo for having Tirath on the show and letting him show the audience why TrueFacet is the way to go!

A tachymeter scale is a very complicated-looking ring of numbers (from 700 to usually 60) that runs along your chronograph watch’s bezel. Besides its complex appearance, the tachymeter bezel serves a very helpful purpose and converts elapsed time (in seconds) to speed (in units per hour). So a tachymeter can tell you how fast a car, a plane, or even a runner is traveling over a fixed distance.

What’s unique—and perhaps a little mind-bending—about a tachymeter is that it functions independent of a specific unit of distance (think miles, kilometers, etc.), so long as that same unit is used in all your calculations. So a 120 reading on the tachymeter scale can mean 120 miles per hour or 120 kilometers per hour.

Here, we break down how to read and use your tachymeter bezel to calculate speed.

The Difference Between a Chronograph and a Tachymeter

One common point of confusion is considering a chronograph interchangeable with a tachymeter. These two functions are, in fact, different. Similar to how all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares, all watches with tachymeters have chronograph functions, but not all chronographs include a tachymeter.

A chronograph is, simply put, a stopwatch. A tachymeter, meanwhile, measures speed.

How to Read a Fixed Tachymeter Bezel

A tachymeter bezel is used to calculate speed or, in other words, measure elapsed time over a fixed distance. As daunting as the bezel looks, it’s incredibly easy—and surprisingly intuitive—to read a tachymeter scale rating.

To use a tachymeter bezel, press the chronograph pusher to start the stopwatch. Once the object (for instance, a car driving one mile) passes the finish line, press the pusher again to stop the stopwatch. Then reference the tachymeter scale marker adjacent to the second hand; this figure tells you the speed of the car. So, if a car travels one mile in 40 seconds, the tachymeter scale reading will be 90 for a speed of 90 miles per hour.

Calculating Slower Speeds

The above example is a very straightforward way to measure speed.  But, what if you’re measuring the speed of a runner? A tachymeter bezel can only be used to time an object traveling for less than 60 seconds. So, to determine a jogger’s speed, you’ll need to do some simple math.

The tachymeter’s calculations rely on a fixed distance, so you’ll need a shorter distance that a runner can reach in under 60 seconds. In this example, we’ll use 200 meters as our fixed distance. Using your tachymeter as outlined above, you time the runner as traveling the 200 meters in 20 seconds. Your tachymeter will read that the runner was sprinting at an impossible 180 kilometers per hour. So, to get the actual speed, you have to do some simple calculations; knowing that 200 meters is 1/5^th of a kilometer, you’ll divide 180 by 5 (since the runner traveled one-fifth of a kilometer) and your runner’s speed was 36 kilometers per hour.

Calculating High Speeds

On the flip side, what if you’re measuring the speed of a plane or racecar that will travel more than one mile in 60 seconds?

In instances of an object traveling very quickly, you’ll need to extend the fixed distance (say from one mile to ten miles) for an accurate calculation. Let’s say a jet takes 30 seconds to fly 10 miles. Your tachymeter will indicate a speed of 120 miles per hour. But, because the fixed distance is actually 10 miles (or, differently said, 10 times further than one mile), you’ll multiple that tachymeter scale reading by 10 to calculate a speed of 1,200 miles per hour.

To learn more about watch complications, check out our post on how to use the chronograph function here.

Impress your friends with these 10 odd facts about the cost of an Olympic gold medal, the exacting precision of the timers and the reason why Olympians bite their medals.

1. A 2018 Winter Olympic gold medal is only worth $577.
Tabling all the symbolic value of an Olympic gold medal, if you melted the medal down, it would be worth $577 USD. A melted-down silver medal would retail for roughly $320 and the bronze ring in for a grand total of $3.50.

2. The gold medal is not solid gold.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but the Olympic medals have not been made of solid gold since the 1908 games. At the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, athletes received the first gold-plated medals. Today the medals are made with at least 92.5% silver and plated with 6 grams of gold.

3. If the gold medal were solid gold, it would be worth $25,000.
The Pyeongchang gold medal weighs a hefty 586 grams (or 1.29 lbs) and is the heaviest medal in the history of the games. If the gold medal were made of solid gold and sold for scrap metal, it would be worth a whopping $25,000 USD.

4. Olympians really only bite their medals for the benefit of photographers.
The now-iconic pose of athletes grinning and biting down on their gold medals was a photo-op largely concocted by photographers. The idea behind this stance is traced back to the Gold Rush when prospectors would test the purity of gold by sinking their teeth into gold nuggets. If they were able to bite the soft metal, it meant they had pure gold. The irony is that, today, Olympic medals are only made of roughly 1.34% gold. So, when athletes pop their medal into their mouths and mug for the camera, it’s really just for the benefit of photographers and on-lookers who have come to adore this classic shot.

5. There are only two companies in the world that meet the exacting timing standards of the Olympic Committee.
Omega and Seiko are the only two brands that meet the Olympic Committee’s timing standards. As such, Omega has been the official time-keeper of the Olympic Games 28 times (including the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games) and Seiko five times. The official timekeeper of the games is responsible for providing the staff and the state-of-the-art technology needed to precisely time all the events.

6. At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, there will be 300 timekeepers.
Because nothing but the best in precision timing will be accepted by the Olympic Committee, Omega is bringing 300 timekeepers, 350 trained volunteers and 230 tons of equipment to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games. For comparison, back in 1932 when Omega made its inaugural appearance at the Los Angeles games, there was a single technician who was outfitted with 30 stopwatches to time all 117 events.

7. It takes two years to install all the timekeeping technology.
Well before the opening ceremony, Omega’s team descended upon PyeongChang to unload the aforementioned 230 tons of equipment—including scoreboards, photofinish cameras and photocells—and laid down miles and miles of optical fiber. And in the year before the start of the Winter Games, Omega’s staff thoroughly tested and cross-checked the equipment to ensure its accuracy and precision.

8. Olympians’ times can be measured at one millionth of a second.
The accuracy of the timing technology can go all the way down to a microsecond or one-millionth of a second. For comparison, it takes 300-400 microseconds to blink an eye. While this may seem excessive, take into consideration the 100m butterfly race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics when Michael Phelps beat Milorad Cavic of Serbia by a mere one-hundredth of a second, the length of time it takes for lightning to strike.

9. Real-time sports reporting was introduced in 1964.
The clock timer in the corner of our television screens is a modern fixture of the Olympic Games. But this feature was introduced fairly recently; in 1964, Omega introduced the Omegascope, technology that allowed them to display the athletes’ times on TV. This groundbreaking addition heightened the intensity of the Olympic Games for fans at home and forever changed the viewing experience.

10. When Seiko became the Official Timer of the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, the Japanese brand did not make a single sports stopwatch.
When Tokyo was selected to host the 1964 Olympic Games, Japan saw an opportunity to rapidly build its economy and made an incredible push to use exclusively Japan-made products. In turn, Seiko president, Shoji Hattori, petitioned to have Seiko the Official Timekeeper of the games. The only problem? Seiko didn’t own any stopwatches designed for sports. Impressively, in five short years, the entire company rallied to introduce 36 models and 1,278 timing instruments (manned by 172 employees) to successfully and accurately time the Tokyo Olympic Games. This incredible feat overhauled Seiko’s brand image and catapulted them into international notoriety.