Hodinkee
Introducing: Atelier Wen Is "Proudly Made In China"
And their new Perception series is worth a look.
Hodinkee
And their new Perception series is worth a look.
Time+Tide
EDITOR’S NOTE: We recently ran the first parts of our Watch Confessions series in which Time+Tide interviewed anonymous members of the community to get them to share their darkest watch-related secrets. In this latest instalment, which you can read about in Issue 4 of NOW magazine, one man explains why he chooses to flip watches with … ContinuedThe post WATCH CONFESSIONS: “Yes, I flip watches. So what’s the big deal?” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
Atelier Wen introduces a new collection that features a stunning handmade guilloche dial, produced by a master craftsman in China.
Time+Tide
The Atelier Wen Perception is a phenomenal example of a brand owner with a specific vision who refused to cut a single corner in the execution of their watch. This year, Cartier released a new version of the Tank Chinoise that pays tribute to Chinese architecture. But that same sentiment means significantly more coming from … ContinuedThe post The Atelier Wen Perception is a masterclass of guilloché craftmanship appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
The United Kingdom boasts a number of independent micro-brands that are continuing the nation’s role as an important center for watchmaking, disturbing the peace and offering watches that give many more well-known brands a run for their horological money. Here are four such brands on why and how they do what they do…
Time+Tide
Audric launched their first watch in 2020, deep in the throes of the global pandemic. The SeaBorne stood out from the crowd of Kickstarter-funded dive watches due to its multicoloured flair, attention to detail and impressive bang for its buck. For their second watch, the Audric Strider, the brand has now pulled out all the stops … ContinuedThe post MICRO-MONDAYS: The Audric Strider is a stylish diver with hefty wrist presence for under $600 (if you’re quick) appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Here are three of Sabine Zwettler's highlights premiering at the Inhorgenta 2022 watch fair in Munich, each of which comes from a German brand and each of which will do anything but break the bank.
Hodinkee
Making a case for diversity.
Time+Tide
EDITOR’S NOTE: We recently ran the first, second and third parts of our Watch Confessions series in which Time+Tide interviewed anonymous members of the community to get them to share their darkest watch-related secrets. In this latest instalment, one watch guy explains how his watch purchases for his wife are heavily tinged with self-interest as he buys his wife … ContinuedThe post WATCH CONFESSIONS: “I buy my wife new watches to climb the waiting list” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
Laurent Martinez shows us his Patek, Breguet, a couple of Rolex – and a damned fine pair of boots.
Deployant
On Throwback Sunday, we pick six of our favourite watches with grand feu enamel dials. We first explored this topic in 2015. This is our updated list.
Quill & Pad
When they hear the name Fabergé, most people immediately think of Imperial Easter eggs. The egg tradition hatched in 1885 when Tsar Alexander III commissioned his first Easter egg from Fabergé as a gift to his wife, Empress Maria Feodor. This became a yearly tradition, with Fabergé creating 49 eggs in total for the Russian court up to 1916. Here we have the story of the Yusupov Egg of 1907 and how it was restored by Parmigiani.
SJX Watches
Just as the biggest watch fair of the year opened its doors in Switzerland earlier in April, an industrial-scale watchmaking enterprise was born in France. Conceived as a vertically-integrated watchmaking group that makes movements for its own brands Aiôn Group, wants to establish “Made in France” as a key segment in a luxury-watch arena that’s dominated by Swiss, German, and Japanese players. Backed by government funding, Aiôn has the ambitious goal of producing 400,000 movements per year by 2025 in its new manufacture on the Mediterranean coast near Marseille. Although Aiôn has kept mum about the origins of its industrial capability, it is well known within the Swiss watch industry that the French group took over Swiss movement maker Felsa-Leschot, which was then moved lock, stock, and barrel to France. [Update April 20, 2022: Respected Swiss newspaper Le Temps published an article expressing scepticism about Aiôn, especially about the movement “factory” that Aiôn acquired. The article references the factory owner’s chequered history and involvement in multiple lawsuits. We believe the doubts expressed by the writer at Le Temps are well founded and would encourage everyone to read the article of March 16.] A Swiss foundation One of Aiôn’s founders is Anthony Simao, a French watchmaker who started his career in Swiss watchmaking, having worked at Breitling, Audemars Piguet, and Chronode. He then founded French watch brand Lornet, which has been merge...
Time+Tide
As a materials expert, Hublot has done it all. Steel, titanium, carbon, proprietary precious alloys, and ceramic and sapphire in endless colourways. So, to say that there is now an opportunity to grab a watch from Hublot in an uncommon material may come as a bit of a surprise. But, the truth is Hublot does … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Hublot Classic Fusion 45mm Bronze Brown Limited Edition appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
Our rattrapante obsession continues unabated.
Quill & Pad
In 1995 Piaget, who was then part of the Vendôme group that would later become Richemont, entered the highest segment of the watch market by releasing a grande sonnerie wristwatch developed by François-Paul Journe. At the time, Journe was a freelance movement designer and hadn’t officially founded F.P. Journe yet.
Time+Tide
“It’s not the notes you play, it’s the notes you don’t play.” – Miles Davis. We’re all guilty of it. Nothing succeeds like excess, and as watch enthusiasts, the tendency to subscribe to the “more is more” philosophy is pretty common. Hyper-busy dials, openworked movements, or a Roman banquet’s worth of complications are often what … ContinuedThe post The Vacheron Constantin Patrimony remains a top discreet flex piece appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Welcome back to the Time+Tide Weekend Watch Crossword! We took a small break to focus on Watches & Wonders coverage, but, to refresh your memory, each week we post a new crossword for you to solve with clues that revolve around a particular watch-focused theme. Knowing that most of you come to the site each … ContinuedThe post Time+Tide Weekend Watch Crossword: #7 “Watches & Wonders 2022” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
Ginny Wright explains how to ask the right questions – and what's next for the house of the Royal Oak.
Deployant
We take a quick look at the recently released IWC IW389105 Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition “Lake Tahoe”, with live photographs.
Time+Tide
Watch brand collaborations with jewellers definitely aren’t as in-vogue as they once were, but Nomos’ team-up with Ace Jewelers proves that it should be done more often, as vendors of beautiful objects clearly know how to make a great looking watch. The Club 36 range from Nomos is one of their bestsellers, as its understated … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Ace x Nomos Club 36 Blue Limited Edition appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Konstantin Chaykin's Moscow Comptus Easter Clock masterpiece isn’t designed for the wrist but for the mantel. And it presents further evidence that the man Joshua Munchow dubs the “Wonderboy Russian Watchmaker” is one of the greatest watch- and clockmakers in the game today.
Time+Tide
For the last two weeks, the watch world has been transfixed by the “new”. New watches. New collections. Even new movements. And in such times, it’s easy for a brand to fall into this desire for novelty. But that isn’t the case for the young brand Norqain. For them, doing something new for the sake … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The trimmed down Norqain Freedom 60 Chrono 40mm appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Taking place every two years in Venice, Homo Faber is an exhibition dedicated to craftsmanship of all forms, ranging from glass to porcelain to fabric. Because its organiser is the Michelangelo Foundation established by Johann Rupert, the plain-speaking chairman of Richemont, several of the Swiss group’s watchmakers are taking part. One of them is Vacheron Constantin, which is presenting a pair of one-off striking watches at Homo Faber – the Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeaters Ultra-Thin “Thunder God” and “Wind God”. The watches each recreate one half of Wind God and Thunder God, a pair of folding screens made by 16th century Japanese painter Tawaraya Sōtatsu that depicts the titular gods of Japanese mythology. Initial thoughts Owned by a temple in Kyoto, the folding screen is a National Treasure of Japan, a cultural object deemed so important by the Japanese government that it cannot be exported. The screen is certainly a worthy subject for a high-quality miniature, and Vacheron Constantin appears to have done justice to it. The dial decoration is perfect for a repeater, since the brand’s cal. 1731 minute repeater movement is relatively large, resulting in an expansive dial that is usually blank. It’s an ideal canvas for artisanal decoration. Vacheron Constantin’s enamel work, whether in house or done by independent artisans like Anita Porchet, is usually impeccable. The repeater dials definitely look the part. In fact, the miniatures of the gods are im...
Quill & Pad
Celebrating its “rebirth” at Baselworld 2015, Fabergé introduced the first egg of the new era as a unique piece: the incredible Pearl Egg, “the first egg created in the ‘imperial class' since 1917.”
Time+Tide
Anyone who has encountered the Omega brand is no doubt familiar with the Moonwatch and possibly the most compelling and historically significant story behind a watch of all time. Strapped to the wrist of Buzz Aldrin, the Omega Speedmaster became the first watch to be worn on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. But … ContinuedThe post 50 years ago: The story of Apollo 13 and the Omega Speedmaster appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
There is a watch auctioneer focusing on bringing beauty into auctions rather than chasing world records by concentrating on (the) two highly popular brands: Ineichen based in Zurich. And here Elizabeth Doerr highlights eight timepieces in its next auction that she thinks we should be paying special attention to when others might not be. Ineichen's Precious Blues auction takes place on April 23, 2022.
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