Latest watch news · Page 137

Audemars Piguet (AP) is increasing its presence in what’s historically been the territory of Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. Not only is AP returning to Watches & Wonders, the industry’s flagship event held each year in Geneva, the brand is also expanding its footprint in the city’s suburb of Meyrin with an expanded case and bracelet manufacture. What and where Meyrin was already the home of AP’s case and bracelet manufacture, but the brand has been bulking up on industrial capacity and took over a U-shaped building, completed in 1965 for a pharmaceutical company, in 2023. The new facility increases its Geneva footprint almost four-fold, to 9,000 square metres, with room for 350 staff. While the brand has built new structures closer to home, the choice to renovate an existing historical building is notable. Fortunately AP’s employees won’t be stuck in the past, as the building has been modernised for energy management and to accommodate modern machines. The building is a short jaunt from Les Boîtiers de Genève, F.P. Journe’s case and bracelet manufacture, in what’s already a hotbed of horological activity, home to brands like Roger Dubuis and Chopard. In addition, the new facility will be home to what the brand is calling its New Technologies hub, presumably part of the brand’s new approach to research and development, known internally as the ‘Fab Lab.’ Industrial excellence We recently had the chance to hear directly from AP’s chief indu...

Abraham-Louis Breguet’s No. 160 exists first as legend. The standard account describes a secret commission for Marie Antoinette, incomplete when she faced execution, requiring forty-four years to finish. Theft, recovery, mystery, and royal romance: the narrative contains all the necessary elements of mythology. Yet this fame is recent. From its 1783 inscription in the order books through the 19th century, the watch remained largely unknown outside the Breguet workshop but for a few private collectors. Only when Sir David Lionel Salomons acquired it, nearly 140 years later, did the wider horological world learn of its existence, thanks to his careful cataloging and the watch’s public exhibition in 1923. Salomons gave credit to Breguet’s mastery on a scale previously unrecognised, establishing No. 160 as the supreme example of complicated watchmaking and the prime masterpiece of its maker. Sir David Lionel Salomons’s 1921 work on Breguet and the collection he assembled seems to be the first source to mention Marie Antoinette. Image SJX composite – Sotheby’s Subsequently, many sources have reported that the commission demanded every known watch complication and that no time constraints or limits were placed on its design or cost. The workshop records, however, tell a story that differs from both obscurity and legend. No. 160 appears in the 1783 order books as three words: “No. 160, Montre d’Or.” The entry stands alone, anonymous, unexplained and without cont...

The post Our Favorite Regulator Under $5,000 - The Louis Erard x Worn & Wound Le Régulateur Limited Edition appeared first on Worn & Wound.

We are not particularly big fans of openworked dials. But every once in a a while, one does come along which tugs at our heartstrings. We pick our top six.

I’ve always been a big fan of watches that have something moving on the dial, other than the smooth and consistent running of hour, minute and second hands. Whether it’s a dial-mounted balance wheel, a tourbillon escapement or even a winding rotor, I just love to see some type of action that goes beyond pure […]

Orient Star keeps the good times rolling with its next 75th-anniversary timepiece. As part of the Sports Collection M42, this Japanese dive watch complies with the ISO 6425 standard for diving timepieces. Because of this, it can officially be labeled with “Diver’s” and also state the 200m depth rating. The stringent tests ensure this watch […] Visit Introducing: The Orient Star M42 Diver 1964 1st Edition F6 Date 200m to read the full article.

King Seiko just debuted three new VANAC models with titanium cases and bracelets, bringing the line firmly into 2026.The post King Seiko debuts 3 new VANAC models in FULL TITANIUM appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Welcome to another Sunday Morning Showdown. Blink twice, and another seven days have flown by, bringing us to our favorite moment of the week. This time, Daan and Thomas take to the ring to defend two mid-century-inspired everyday watches. Daan represents the Baltic Hermétique, while Thomas defends the new Tissot Visodate. These watches are more […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Tissot Visodate Vs. Baltic Hermétique - The Battle Of The Mid-Century Everyday Watches to read the full article.

For almost all modern watches, besides a few exceptions (there is always an exception to the rule), the crown is literally the command centre that winds the mainspring, sets the time and controls common complications like dates, calendars and GMTs. Supplementary controls like pushers complement the crown, but they’re limited to specifics like chronographs or […]

A week that brought us new ventures from old names, final runs of creativity, and dominant displays of watchmaking all round. The post New releases from Breitling, Squale, Richard Mille and more appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

A closer look at the Breitling Navitimer Tribute to Concorde, exploring its movement, size, daily wear experience, design details, and how it compares to other modern chronographs.

On one path stands Blancpain, a brand wrapped in the romance of antiquity and contemporary defiance. On the other path stands Jaeger-LeCoultre, the intellectual powerhouse frequently revered as the watchmaker of watchmakers. Which do you choose? The post Clash of the Titans: A Comprehensive Guide to Blancpain vs. Jaeger-LeCoultre appeared first on Quill & Pad.

When the announcement of the Fears × Studio Underd0g Mim0sa landed in my inbox, I did not expect to eventually swim into the Pacific Ocean with one on my wrist. Yet that is exactly where this watch eventually found itself, bobbing around just off the coast of Sydney, thoroughly disproving the idea that colorful collaborative […] Visit Why I Bought The Fears × Studio Underd0g Mim0sa to read the full article.

Ayrton Senna da Silva. No one needs an introduction to that name, as he’s considered sporting greatness personified. Making an indelible mark in Formula 1 through sheer, unbridled talent and a relentless approach to racing (“if you no longer go for a gap, you’re no longer a racing driver”), he’s considered the greatest to have […]

Awake draws inspiration from the mythical underwater city of Atlantis for its latest handmade fumé blue dial.The post Awake dives into Atlantis with a mesmerising blue Sơn Mài dial appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

This introduction article is a bit different from the majority of release articles. Sure, I will go into the watch, the Jack Mason Palmera Skin Diver. However, it is the sales model that I find most interesting about this release. Jack Mason introduces this watch alongside a new program called Born & Raised, a “founder […] Visit Introducing: The Jack Mason Palmera Skin Diver And A New Way Of Bringing Watches To Market to read the full article.

The King Seiko VANAC blends a bold 1970s-inspired design with Seiko’s modern 8L45 movement and a new vintage-style leather strap. What We Love: The textured dials with the gold coloured accents The angular vintage-style case The proportions and size for ease of wearing What We Don’t: The movement accuracy could be better at this price point The leather straps could not be up everyone’s alley The clasp on the strap doesn’t feel as solid as the watch itself. Overall Rating: 8.1 / 10 Value for Money: 8/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 7.5/10 Build Quality: 8/10 The King Seiko VANAC is a watch designed to talk to the collector market, and as such, the VANAC name is one that long-time Seiko collectors will recognise straight away. Today, the modern re-interpretations of the VANAC stay relatively true to the original models, but of course, with modern materials and standards. They’re instantly recognisable with those in the know, and do harken back to a time where the Avant-Garde was becoming more the industry norm across certain collections. So, before we get into this review, let’s take a short walk back in time… King Seiko’s VANAC Line Returns In A New Lease On Life A Brief History Of King Seiko’s VANAC First introduced in 1972, the VANAC line represented a bold departure from the more traditional King Seiko dress watches. Designed primarily for the Japanese market, VANAC watches were intended to be Vibrant, Active, New, Advanced, Comfortable — the meaning...

The 1970s-inspired case design returns in a larger collection for the brand.

There comes a time in every watch collector’s life when they fall in love with a watch they know others in the hobby may potentially scoff at. Whether it be misconceptions around the brand, the use of cheaper movements and parts, seedy advertising campaigns, or just overall subjective taste in design, it’s a phenomenon that exists as one of the very few downsides of the collecting space. It’s important to note, however, that this frame of mind lies on a spectrum of course, with some watches being far more notable enemies of the wristwatch state than others. The Chase-Durer Wing Commander X is a watch that has fallen into the cracks of the watch market and a piece, I believe, may initially conjure negative sentiments by some corners of the collecting sphere.  Chase-Durer was originally advertised in magazines and on the very early days of the internet, where zealous dial-up internet subscribers would surf the World Wide Web in hopes of making their very first online purchase. They never held the same staying power as others of the watch industry, akin to the 38mm mail-order film cameras found in years’ worth of popular and print media when compared to Canon or Nikon. However, there is a lot to like about the brand and, in this case, the Wing Commander X. If you’re someone who’s on the fence about whether or not you’re a fan of this watch just from aesthetics and brand recognition alone, welcome in––let me walk you through what makes this an interesting pi...

Haute-Rive is a relatively young independent watchmaking atelier launched by Stéphane Von Gunten, previously the R&D; Director of Ulysse Nardin, where he was involved with filing no fewer than 30 patents. Quite a background. The first watch created under his own brand was the Honoris, and it was a powerful release, to say the least. A […]

The post A Sailor’s Edge: The GiantMouse Ace Iona appeared first on Worn & Wound.

All that and more in this week's edition of Hodinkee's What's Selling Where column.

Collaborations in watchmaking often result in timepieces that are pure fun, especially when they take a graphic and conceptual route. This is precisely the case with the new Bamford London B80 created with J. Press. Inspired by Ivy League culture and vintage collegiate aesthetics, this limited edition of 100 pieces rethinks one of the essential […]

From the Oscars red carpet to a home vlogging setup, hollywood celebs do their best to infiltrate the watch world.The post Unreleased watches hit the red carpet, AP opens new manufacture, Russell Crowe starts watch vlog appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Last year, Jorg reviewed the Berlin by the Hamburg-based brand Sternglas. Back then, it was a quartz-powered version of the watch inspired by the first train connection between Hamburg and Berlin, established in 1846. Now, the Sternglas Berlin is back, but it eschews the engraving on the case back commemorating the opening of the Berlin […] Visit Hands-On With The Newly Introduced Sternglas Berlin Automatik to read the full article.

Seiko releases their King Seiko Vanac, now in titanium case and bracelet. Three new references are released, with three dial colours.

I missed the Academy Awards on Sunday for the first time in, oh I dunno, 30 years? It’s a cliche to say that something is “my Super Bowl” but the Oscars really are. It was more than a little strange to catch up on the awards conversation the way most people do these days: through social media clips, podcasts, and, in our little community, celebrity watch spotting.  The Oscars are known as “Hollywood’s biggest night” but it could be argued, based on the volume of press releases in my inbox, that it’s the watch industry’s biggest night as well. Worn & Wound doesn’t typically cover celebrity watch spotting – we think it’s all a little silly given that most of the watches you see on wrists are placed there by stylists or are simply contractual obligations. But I hope you’ll indulge me a bit because I have some thoughts on what we’ve seen recently from one of the most talked about movie stars of the last several years, by cinephiles and watch enthusiasts alike, and I think it could be a watershed moment in how independent watches enter the cultural conversation.  I’m talking of course about Timothée Chalamet, star of Marty Supreme and three time Academy Award nominee. Chalamet has made news among the watch spotting crowd for the way he has casually worn some of the highest end and most sought after timepieces over the course of the last year. On Oscar night, he was wearing an Urban Jürgensen UJ-2, a six figure watch introduced less than a year ag...