Hodinkee walks us through the options from new watchmaker, Schofield, with a look at their Signalman offering. A strong “presence” on the wrist with this one. Let us know what you think.

Here’s a preview of Tsovet’s Spring 2012 line-up of watches, er, timing gauges. Made Swiss with aerospace grade parts these gauges are sure to be accurate and durable. They look like watches you could wear (or rather forget to take off) while checking equine prostates and clean with a quick and easy hose-off. We like the cool equilibrium between the minimalist faces and the rustic and/or military bands. We don’t like that they call them timing gauges rather than watches, but we also get cranky when the phone rings after 9pm.

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Marking the 40th anniversary of their iconic Royal Oak models, watchmaker, Audemars Piguet, brings forth a worldwide exhibition celebrating the history of the watch and the maker. “Audemars Piguet’s iconic timepiece Royal Oak, the world’s first ever luxury sports timepiece which sparked a complete paradigm shift in the watch industry, the Swiss Manufacture from Le Brassus in the Vallée de Joux has put together a unique, ephemeral exhibition.”

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 40th Anniversary exhibition debuts March 21 at the Park Avenue Armory (643 Park Ave.) with more than 100 timepieces on display. As well, a 300-page book showcasing the history of the Royal Oak will also be available through all exhibitions stops. Royal Oak features more than 233 illustrations and photographs inside.

More on the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 40th Anniversary exhibition online.

This new Hamilton Khaki Navy Pioneer watch serves as a tribute to the marine chronometers the company crafted for the U.S. Navy in the 1940s. More than just a wrist weight, it can also be displayed in a chronometer-style box and left on a desk. It retails for about $3,000, which we are guessing will seem like a song to all you marine chronometer enthusiasts out there. Here’s some watch porn, if you are still hungry:

(perpetuelle)

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A new entry from Bell & Ross, the Vintage WWI Heure Sautante might be one of the coolest watches we’ve seen in a long time, in bulk because it looks so little like a watch. Available in Pink Rose and Platinum—each with its own distinct design and features on the face—these look a lot more like steampunk barometers or perhaps dadaist eye charts than actual time pieces.

Again, that is awesome from where we sit. The very notion of wearing a watch has been called into question by the prevalence of phones that can keep perfect time among 3,000 other things, so now seems like a perfect opportunity to get frisky with the notion of what a watch needs to (and can) look like. You can dig into the specs on these lovelies over at World Tempus.

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We spotted this Cartier commercial during Sunday morning’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos. Not exactly Super Bowl ad rates, but this three minute spot reads more like a short film and must have cost a pretty penny to place. Some fancy watches can be spotted along this “journey between dream and reality … focusing on [Cartier's] history, its values and inspiration, its artistic and universal scope.”

“In 2002, Louis Vuitton marked its entry into the world of watchmaking with the creation of the Tambour watch. This iconic design, the hallmark of Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking expertise, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. In 2011, Louis Vuitton acquired La Fabrique du Temps, the fine watchmaking workshop which specialises in the design and production of fine-watchmaking movements, including tourbillons and minute repeaters. La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton continues to set ever-higher standards of excellence in the development of new complications.”

Our editor in Berlin calls, Richard Mille watches, “the Acronym of wrist watches… the highest form of watch making.” He may be onto something with that statement. Three new models were announced this week in Basel. The Tourbillon RM 039 Aviation E6-B Flyback in titanium , the RM 055 Bubba Watson and the RM 031 High Performance. The complications in the three above are very serious business. What we know on the surface is that the RM 039 Tourbillon (very serious business) in titanium will be released in a series of 30 pieces, while the RM 055 Bubba Watson “is housed in a white case made of AZT aluminum oxide and rubber-injected titanium.”  The look of these timepieces is less than an 1/8 of the full story. We recommend visiting Richard Mille online for much more information very soon.

For now, see more looks in our gallery.

More from G-town, Switzerland: Hermes delivered their new Dressage watch this week at Baselworld. Originally designed by Henri d’Origny, the latest take on the Hermes Dressage has similar dimensions as the former but with a larger opening around the dial, available in black or opaline silver. The new Dressage watch is available in two versions in pink gold and either in steel. (tz)

A special edition of 175 pink gold with black dial and alligator strap will be available to celebrate the 175 year history of Hermes.

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Geneva is on fire this week with both the Geneva Auto Show and Baselworld driving everyone to salivate over new cars and of course watches. Rolex dropped a solid set of new timepieces this morning, including a no-date Submariner (we’ll take a look later) and their new Yacht-Master watch in steel with a new 120 position/notch all-platinum bezel. The 40mm case comes with either a blue sunray or platinum sandblast finish.

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