Latest watch news · Page 1417

Invented by pioneering independent watchmaker Vincent Calabrese in 1980 – whose specialty remains intriguing shaped movements – the Golden Bridge has become a Corum signature – a tiny, baguette-shaped movement suspended in watch cases of varying shapes and sizes. Despite being almost 40 years old, the Golden Bridge remains an impressive feat of movement construction, and one that is not as highly regarded as it should be. The latest iteration of the watch is the Golden Bridge Round 43 Art Deco, which installs the Golden Bridge movement in a conventional, round case, but frames it on both sides with sets of brass wires, evoking the cables of suspension bridges. Two versions are available: one with gilded wires and a yellow gold movement, the other with rhodium-plated wires and a matching movement. Mechanically the CO 113 movement is identical to that found in earlier versions. Taking its name literally, the movement has its bridges and main plate in solid 18k gold. It was born out of Mr Calabrese’s original design – which was delicate and finicky – having been reengineered about a decade ago by Laurent Besse, an independent watchmaker who formerly worked for Corum after his own workshop went bust. The case is a large 43mm and made of titanium coated in diamond-like carbon (DLC), giving it a glossy black finish. Its size means it loses the delicate elegance of the originals, which were all contained in narrow, rectangular cases, but conversely the round cas...

Vacheron Constantin is one of the grand dames of Genevan watchmaking - tracing their lineage and continuous operation back to 1755, or 260-odd years.  Shortly after Vacheron Constantin’s founding, Captain Cook set sail for Australian shores, claiming it as British sovereign territory in 1770. It took Vacheron Constantin a little longer to make its way … ContinuedThe post NEWS: Vacheron Constantin opens first Australian boutique in Melbourne appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The Penfolds Grange 2015 is a wine that screams at you, demands that you take notice of it. It is no shrinking violet; it is complex and powerful. For Ken Gargett, this is the least ready of all recent Grange releases. And then there's the Special Bin 111A Clare Valley Barossa Valley Shiraz 2016. Sublime!

$2.5K can buy you quite a lot in this world – an economy plane ticket to just about anywhere on the planet, a car that’s probably (definitely) going to have questionable reliability or, if you’re so inclined, a really, really nice bottle of wine. And for us watch enthusiasts out there who already have a … ContinuedThe post 5 for $500: Building a great watch collection for less than $2.5K appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

It might be time for some new records. Or maybe not. Who really knows?

In their upcoming auction, Phillips is focusing their attention on the finest examples of highly coveted double-signed dials. A double-signed dial is where a brand has allowed the name of the retailer that will sell the watch to appear on the dial, alongside the brand’s name. Retailers that have had the opportunity to showcase their … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED WATCHING: René Beyer on Beyer double-signed dials appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

New in JeweLuxe this year is the duo of Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat, presenting a jumping second watch of their own development with Dominique Renaud.

Now you can make your watch kiss on-demand!

Japan's break-out microbrand gives us something big.

A lovely little three-hander from one of the hottest entry-level brands around.

When IWC celebrated its 150th anniversary last year, it unveiled a large line-up of commemorative watches, including the clever and well-priced Tribute to Pallweber digital jump hour (and also opened an expansive new factory). But there was one more anniversary that has been pretty much a company secret until now: the Mark XVIII gifted to staff members at IWC headquarters in Schaffhausen. Over lunch yesterday, I spotted the Mark XVIII on the wrist of IWC museum curator David Seyffer. Given Dr Seyffer’s position – and access to some of the rarest and most desirable IWC watches – I was surprised that he was wearing the entry-level Pilot’s Watch. But when Dr Seyffer handed the watch over, he explained, with an evident amount of pride, this was no ordinary Mark XVIII. On the front, the watch has a 40mm steel case and metallic, dark blue dial that’s similar to a standard watch in the IWC Pilot’s Watch line-up. But on the back, it features the IWC 150th anniversary emblem, and just below that, the name of the employee who received the watch. According to Dr Seyffer, it was chief executive Chris Grainger-Herr’s idea to gift each employee at IWC headquarters a watch as a token of appreciation for their contribution to IWC’s 150 years of success. Male employees were given a Mark XVIII on a black Santoni leather strap, while female staff members were given a Pilot’s Watch Automatic 36 on a steel bracelet. The total number produced is unknown, but IWC has about 700...

Editor’s note: The Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Yellow Sapphire perfectly typifies why the Swiss watchmaker is at the forefront of material innovation and design aesthetic - you just don’t see many watches out there like this. This particular Spirit of Big Bang was actually the first watch in the world to be made of … ContinuedThe post Black and Hello: Rediscovering the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Yellow Sapphire appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Linde Werdelin has once again teamed up with master engraver and artist Johnny “King Nerd” Dowell to create this – the Linde Werdelin Oktopus Volcano. Dowell, who was an engraver at the notable British gun makers James Purdey & Sons for 15 years, has previously worked with Linde Werdelin to create the Oktopus Reef and … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Linde Werdelin Oktopus Volcano appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

A steal in steel.

The French jeweler has transformed its Pont des Amoureux Poetic Complication into a complete range, sharing tales of love across the world.

Though RJ has long used pop culture icons – from Hello Kitty to Pokemon to Super Mario – on its watches, the Arraw Spider-Man Tourbillon is the most interesting to date, because it’s powered by a newly developed movement boasting a central flying tourbillon and a six-day power reserve. While earlier RJ cartoon- or comic-inspired were mostly standard watches with design tweaks, the new tourbillon modelled on Marvel’s web-slinger is mechanically interesting on several levels. The Arraw Spider-Man Tourbillon is powered by the RJ-7000, a hand-wound movement that, according to the brand, was developed in-house at its recently opened manufacture in Eysins, about 30 minutes from downtown Geneva. More notably is the fact that the concept of the movement was first developed by RJ chief executive Marco Tedeschi while he was studying micro-technical engineering at the École Technique de la Vallée de Joux (ETVJ). Central tourbillon The movement is fully skeletonised, with the large flying tourbillon sitting right in the centre. Though conventional tourbillons are extremely common, central tourbillons are notably uncommon. Only a few brands produce them, most notably Omega and Beat Haldimann, and now RJ. Open-worked to resemble a spider’s web, the tourbillon cage is made of titanium, and sits just over a pair of eyes taken from Spider-Man’s mask. Because the tourbillon sits right in the centre of the dial, the hands are are peripheral, sitting on the edge of the dial, b...

Alain Silberstein adds his signature splash of life into the Louis Erard Excellence Regulator as the Jura based watchmaker looks to kick off a refreshed watchmaking effort.

We caught up with AHCI Japanese Master watchmaker Masahiro Kikuno and saw the Wadokei Temporal Hour watch. He is exhibiting at JeweLuxe, drop by to visit.

Whether you’re an inveterate watch tragic, or just starting on your watch journey, the last year has been dominated by two main conversations. The drought of steel sports models (sorry guys, I got no answers for you on that one), and the future of Baselworld.  Now, if you’re coming in cold on the concept of … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: A deep dive into the future of Baselworld appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

A horological commemoration of a French flying boat's first transatlantic passage.

Launched by Breitling almost two decades ago as an upsized, sportier version of the then bestselling Chronomat, the Avenger has just been revamped into a streamlined collection made up of facelifted watches. Still retaining the styling of earlier generations of Avengers, the line is now made up of chronographs in three sizes (48mm, 45mm and 43mm cases), automatics in 45mm or 43mm cases, and a GMT. All models are rated to 300m and have a stainless steel case as standard. But the 45mm and 48mm watches are available in Night Mission livery – the best looking iteration – which means a black-coated titanium case and dial featuring military-inspired “stencil” numerals. Super Avenger Chronograph 48 Night Mission All the chronographs have the same basic specs, and the same COSC-certified Valjoux 7750 movement. The flagship model is the Super Avenger Chronograph 48, an enormous 48mm watch that’s probably too big for most, making the 45mm and 43mm chronographs more viable. The best looking watches of the line is the Avenger Chronograph 45 Night Mission, which manages to have a more modern military style that’s distinct from most other military aviation-type watches. Breitling ambassador and retired astronaut Scott Kelly The Average Automatic 45 Seawolf is a 45mm dive watch, powered by the Breitling Calibre 17, which is an ETA 2824. The specs are shared by the Avenger Automatic 43 that’s 43mm. Avenger Automatic 45 Seawolf And the last model is the Avenger Automati...

The integrated bracelet watch has become an icon, one that emerged from the ’70s as a response to a design-centric world. Or did it?

From 2020 onwards, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) will be known as Watches & Wonders Geneva, adopting the name of an event that first started in Hong Kong before migrating to Miami in the wake of the slowdown in the Chinese territory. Last year’s shock announcement by industry giant Swatch Group that it would depart Baselworld permanently set up off chain of events: a botched response that led to the resignation of the chief executive of the fair’s organiser MCH Group, and then a full-year loss for MCH. Some prominent brands like Breitling also decided to leave Baselworld, though the giants, like LVMH and Rolex, have opted to stay. Since then Baselworld’s new management has announced a flurry of new initiatives and programmes, starting with Baselworld announcing it would unite with SIHH after a decade’s separation. It’s also revealed an unimpressive hotel deal and more recently, a concierge service for visitors. All of that seems to have compelled the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), the organiser of SIHH – a watch fair in healthy condition compared to Baselworld – to do something as well. And so they have, with the goal of making the event more consumer centric. Rebranded but pretty much unchanged Palexpo forever Despite the name change, the format of the event appears pretty much the same. The Salon with its 30 exhibiting brands will take place as it always has, at the Palexpo conventional hall beside Geneva airport, loca...

As SIHH rebrands to become Watches & Wonders Geneva, it becomes apparent that the trade fairs are morphing into something new and perhaps unexpected. Elizabeth Doerr takes a look at the latest from SIHH and Baselworld.

In its 30th year, the Geneva trade show sees its biggest changes yet.

IWC’s latest limited edition is a surprisingly small run – 80 pieces to mark the 80th anniversary of the flight of the giant Latécoère 521 flying boat Lieutenant de Vaisseau Paris from New York to Lac de Biscarrosse in Southwestern France. Starting on Bastille Day, July 14, in 1939, the flight was the first nonstop crossing of the North Atlantic by flying boat. A passenger on the 28-hour, 27-minute journey was French aviator Antoine de Saint Exupéry. And it happens that one of IWC’s most popular sub-collections of pilot’s watches watches is Le Petit Prince, named after the famous novel by de Saint Exupéry. So the Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Chronograph Edition “80 Years Flight to New York” is an offshoot of the Le Petit Prince collection, with a few tweaks. It retains the vaguely retro flavour, with Gothic-esque numerals and lozenge hands, but instead of the standard blue dial of Le Petit Prince, the anniversary watch has a brown metallic dial, matched with brown ceramic bezel. The edition is based on the Timezoner Chronograph, usually available only in the standard black and white livery of IWC’s basic Pilot’s Watches. It’s an unusual watch that combines both a flyback chronograph and IWC’s proprietary “timezoner” mechanism. Originally developed by the defunct watch brand Vogard, the timezoner mechanism has a rotating world time bezel linked to the second time zone, so turning the bezel moves the 24-hour hand in one-hour ste...

Editor’s note: From a purely real estate perspective, the dial is the most important part of the watch. It’s what you look at most of the time, and it’s the functional heart and soul of the watch. And while I’m willing to admit that other parts of the watch might play a role, let’s roll … ContinuedThe post Aten-shun! The Longines Heritage Military is on parade appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.