I am like the watch paparazzi sometimes. Look what I saw being worn on the wrist of Christophe Claret, the very man who created this watch, and the name on the dial. How cool is that. Master watch maker Christophe Claret waited until last year to put his name on a watch with the Dual Tow, an incredibly impressive luxury watch that I discussed here. The vast details that make this watch interesting I attempted to cover there. There is no point in my spending an hour discussing the complex features and technical merits of the Dual Tow. The watch is a monopusher chronograph with a complex planetary gear system (that you can see), a chime that goes along with pushing the button (using a hammer and gong), a tourbillon, and the time read on rubber belts. All in an amazing watch case fit for a king – and with the price that these custom made limited edition pieces go for, pretty much only fit for a king. The standard Dual Tow watches start via customization on a special website where you choose the look.

For 2010 the Dual Tow (DualTow, not ever sure about it being one or two words), gets the “NightEagle” treatment. A dark case, new style on the rubber belt indicators, and tinted sapphire bridges over the dial. Essentially, there are sapphire plates (cut to look like parts of a stealth aircraft) sandwiched over the movement and the top sapphire crystal. The bridges have a purplish tint to them, and cover most of the movement (that was exposed in the standard Dual Tow watch). Time is read in the open sections over the belts. You need to look a bit closely to read the time, bu you can understand it pretty easily as it is digital. The font on the rubber belts now looks like that on a digital LCD screen – part of Claret’s vision of combing modern pieces of technology and convenience with luxury mechanical watch making.

The complex case is in PVD titanium and made to fit ergonomically on your wrist – which it does. The case is all made in-house by Claret, which is the same with the movement of course. The strap on the watch is actually leather, though it looks like rubber. Just an interesting way of finishing the leather I suppose. Attached to the strap is one of the coolest buckles you will ever see – which has some interesting ergonomic features, and the ability to have a 10mm “comfort extension.” The case is large though wearable, at 42.75mm wide and 48.20mm tall. It is water resistant to 30 meters.

The main dial for the watch is used for the chronograph seconds hand, and has a flange (in ceramic) with indicators. There are customizable precious stones placed at the “hour indicator” spots on the flange as well. In the bottom image they are likely black diamonds or sapphires. You’ll notice that the watch below and on the wrist of Mr. Claret are a bit different. This is due to the customization options the watch has. Claret prefers some white in his dark watch. So you have light colored stones around the dial, white rubber belts, and some white inserts in the crown and pusher. Looks pretty cool to me.

Another little change from the original Dual Tow to the NightEagle is the style of the tourbillon. The bridge now has Claret’s double C motif. Both watches are mechanically the same, but the NightEagle has enough cosmetic changes to make it different. I have a feeling the NightEagle will cost even more than the original – especially given the hard to make sapphire bridges in the dial. At the same time, the original is available with a gold case, while the NightEagle is in titanium. Either way, the prices are massive (in the half million dollar range), so if you are eager to get involved in getting one, ten thousand dollars here, or ten thousand dollars there isn’t likely going to perturb you. For me, I was excited to meet Christophe Claret and check out his new cool toy.