Latest watch news · Page 156

There’s an odd sort of feeling to taking a Rolex Explorer II into the ocean. Even here, off the rolling waves of Sydney’s eastern beaches, you notice something about this watch that most sports watches I’ve spent time with simply don’t share: it feels in its element. You don’t take a 16570 into the surf […] Visit Why I Could Fall In Love With The Quirky Rolex Explorer II Ref. 16570 to read the full article.

Orient Star marks a milestone with the M34 F8 Skeleton Hand Winding 75th Anniversary, combining the brand’s technically adept, manually wound skeleton calibre with a novel, laser-engraved meteorite pattern in a maximalist open-worked package. The M34 F8 Skeleton also stands out for the tech inside the mechanical movement: proprietary silicon escape wheel with a novel, optimistic geometry that helps the M34 punch above its weight from a technical standpoint. Initial thoughts Last year, Orient Star launched the brand’s first manually wound moon phase – made of mother-of-pearl no less – for fans of understated, formal watches. Now celebrating its 75th anniversary, Orient Star has cast aside restraint to mark the occasion with something for a more maximalist breed of collector. The new skeleton has a blacked-out case and bracelet and an open-worked version of its top-of-the-line F8 movement. Notably, the movement plates are bridges, which are exposed front and back, are decorated with a laser-etched meteorite motif that is impressively detailed. This skeletonised anniversary limited edition also features the latest technology from its powerhouse parent company Seiko Epson, including a silicon escape wheel with an especially advantageous design. While silicon is increasingly common in the watch industry, it is used primarily for hairsprings. This puts Orient on the list of short brands with a proprietary silicon escape wheel that includes blue-chip names like Patek Phil...

The official role of Heritage Director seems to be growing in prominence across watch brands. It makes sense – a reverence for history has always been at the heart of the art of watchmaking. With that in mind, it is likely there have long been resident historians at established maisons or perhaps even those holding the title Heritage Director working behind the scenes. But more and more, we are seeing these individuals at the forefront, and there seems to be a direct correlation with what is happening in the industry at large within the vintage and pre-owned spaces.  For more than five years now, we have seen the vintage and pre-owned market grow in new ways with both a greater emphasis and prevalence of reputable dealers and marketplaces and a greater interest and demand from collectors. In turn, more and more brands seem to be getting invested in the acquisition, preservation, and in some cases redistribution of their own vintage pieces. While the role of Heritage Director was perhaps once limited to elements like museum curation and historically contextualizing modern collections, the position seems to be expanding into new realms.  Heritage Director Matthieu Sauret Jaeger-LeCoultre is the perfect case study. Matthieu Sauret stepped from the role of Director of Product to the maison’s Heritage Director 2013 after starting his career at Yves Saint Laurent, another historic brand whose legacy spans more than six decades. “In 2019, Catherine Rénier, our CEO called...

Most watches have a story to tell, but some carry several narratives woven together. The Leica ZM 1 and ZM 2 (previously named L1 and L2), taken out of context, are fine and interesting creations; add the story, and their appeal multiplies. Their allure goes beyond design or mechanics, drawing from Leica’s technical heritage, unexpected […]

These next classes will be hosted by Tiny Jewel Box, Atlanta Watch Society, and Oak & Oscar.

A look at some horse-themed special editions as we gallop into the Lunar New Year.

Certain watch niches are riskier than others; for instance, seemingly every brand has tried a dive watch or chronograph because they are guaranteed crowd pleasers with straightforward functionality, whereas a world timer or moonphase complication is a little trickier to market to a general audience. In that corner of hyperniche sits the jumping hour watch, which to a non-watch nerd, is both visually and functionally baffling. But Bremont is no stranger to the jumping hour concept, having released successful models with the complication in the recent past. How have they fared with their latest iteration, the Terra Nova 38 Stealth Black? Let’s jump in and find out. While a seasoned horological expert may be familiar with a jumping hour complication, the casual shopper likely isn’t: basically, instead of displaying a sweeping hour hand, a jumping hour watch points to the current hour and “jumps” to the next hour once 60 minutes have elapsed. Conversely, it may instead display the hour in a window, with an imprinted disc moving below that ticks over to the next digit, much like a date window. The Stealth Black opts for the latter presentation, which gives it a clean, retro-futuristic design that differs from previous models in the brand’s jumping hour catalog, and their Terra Nova line more broadly. As the name suggests, the Stealth Black is characterized by its 38mm black DLC stainless steel case, finished in black diamond carbon-like coating, which gives it a sci-f...

The diver has pretty much become the quintessential watch - and here are some of the best.The post 13 of the best dive watches for all sorts of aquatic adventures appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The one handed watch is a curious thing. On the face of it, it seems illogical. On a mechanical watch, stripping away a more precise minute hand in favor of a single hour hand negates one of the things enthusiasts covet most: precision. Or, at least, the relative precision. Things like COSC certification and the hard work and ingenuity that go into making mechanical movements become secondary when you pull back sufficiently far from an ability to clock the time to the exact second (indeed, the COSC will not certify any watch without a seconds hand).  But removing that hand is additive, as well. It forces the designer of a watch to think very critically about how that hand is going to tell the time, and the thing that actually defines one handed watches is not so much the fact that they only have a single hand, but the way in which that hand interacts with any timing markers on the dial. There are different approaches, of course. Avant-garde designs might strip out markers altogether, so that a dial’s texture or material can be the singular focus of a piece. This, to me, feels like the most jewelry oriented option possible. Another approach, and the one most often favored by Meistersinger, a brand known primarily for their one handed watches, is to focus like a laser on readability at a glance, designing markers and indices that are large enough and graduated to a degree that makes it relatively easy to get the precise time at a glance. I often think about the time I spe...

Founded by Andreas Felsl and Tzuyu Huang in 2007, Horage approached watchmaking from an unconventional angle: rather than starting with design and sourcing movements, the company began by developing in-house calibres. Now Horage has a portfolio built around modular movement families, the automatic K1, the micro-rotor K2, the K-TOU with a tourbillon regulator and K-TMR […]

Daniel Roth announced a subtle shift in its direction with the recent Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton. While the brand’s prior models like the tourbillon were essentially remakes of models made by the brand in the 1990s, the Extra Plat skeleton is an entirely new model that shares practically nothing with historical designs save for the case shape. Because the Extra Plat skeleton is, well, skeleton, it ably shows off the quality of execution on both sides. Beyond finishing, the movement also stands out for details that illustrate the taste of its constructor(s). It’s telling that the movement could have been done more simply without anyone noticing, but it wasn’t. Initial thoughts Daniel Roth’s resurrection got off to a strong start, underpinned by watches with top quality execution. The initial models, however, were remakes of 1990s originals. A brand with Daniel Roth’s ambitions (and well-resourced backer) won’t go very far with only replicas of historical models. The Extra Plat Skeleton illustrates the people behind the brand understand that. The Extra Plat Skeleton, in contrast, is the first all-new model rolled out by Daniel Roth in its current form. It encapsulates all of the strengths of the brand, namely the capable, high-end watchmaking of La Fabrique du Temps (LFT) and the distinctive double-ellipse case. While the Extra Plat Skeleton is powered by a movement derived from that in the Extra Plat, it is clearly a different calibre. And because the movemen...

Louis Moinet’s universe is populated with exuberant timepieces that often merge steampunk aesthetics with elaborate mechanical movements and exotic materials. As the brand whose founding father invented one of the very first chronographs in 1815 – the Compteur de Tierces – a fact that the brand discovered in 2013, chronographs have resumed their place in […]

Welcome to another episode of Fratello On Air. This week, we hop into our time machine and travel back 10 years to 2016. As we’ll see, in some ways, this wasn’t so long ago. Yet, in others, it was a different lifetime. Join us as we look back on fonder days. This podcast player is […] Visit Fratello On Air: Taking Our Time Machine Back To 2016 to read the full article.

Jason Lee's hunt for a "Goldilocks" Panerai led him to the Luminor Venticinque PAM02025 - here's why it's so compelling.The post Finding my “one” Panerai: hands-on with the Luminor Venticinque PAM02025 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC) is the largest Swiss independent testing facility for watch movements. Founded in 1973, this non-profit foundation aims to guarantee the precision of Swiss watches through a neutral, independent, and rigorous method. Watches with movements that passed the tests can be called “COSC-certified chronometers,” accurate to within -4/+6 seconds per […] Visit A Closer Look At COSC’s New Excellence Chronometer Certification to read the full article.

Space-themed watches represent a sizable proportion of the luxury watch industry. In fact, there are so many that at times it seems like the Space Race itself might have been contrived solely as a marketing concept for luxury watches. But with a story this good, who can say no? Of course, it helps that the Raketa Baikonur is an appealing watch in its own right with convenient dual-time functionality and an attractive instrument-like 24-hour dial. Initial thoughts “They’ve got a man up there! It’s Gagarin!” Even though this imagined line was written for the 1983 film adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff, it sums up the tension that underpinned the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The statement refers to Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who became the first human in space in 1961, orbiting the Earth in 108 minutes. It’s a suitably dramatic event to commemorate with a wristwatch, especially from Raketa, a brand named in honour of Gagarin’s flight. Instrument-like dials can be boring, but the designers at Raketa did just enough to keep it interesting, referencing the brand’s emblematic Big Zero at noon and midnight, without taking it too far. An internal rotating flange offers an auxiliary 24-hour scale, adjustable by the second crown. This facilitates keeping track of two time zones with full AM/PM resolution, something that’s actually quite rare. The dial also positions noon at the traditional 12 o’clock position, which is wel...

Today, we welcome the Year of the Fire Horse, and take the day off our usual publishing schedule to wish all our readers, friends and family a very Happy and Prosperous New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

We have covered quite a few Venezianico releases over the past two years. If there is one thing that stands out, it’s how the brand has constantly raised the bar in design, quality, and movements. Midway through last year, Venezianico took a bold step into the future with the release of the Redentore Utopia. It […] Visit Hands-On With The Impressive Venezianico Redentore Utopia II to read the full article.

The vintage watch market is constantly littered with timepieces featuring organizational logos, slogans, and company mascots on their dials. Wristwatch anniversary gifts and promotional products were incredibly common throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries because of their ability to advertise on someone’s wrist, similar to cars with advertising wraps for insurance and real estate companies nowadays. Many of these watches have degraded in value over time as a result of their engraved case backs and personalizations that some collectors find unappealing. However, there are some timepieces of this genre that hold their value to this day, my favorite example being the iconic Domino’s Pizza Rolex Air King that always seems to worm its way onto my Instagram feed. The watch at the heart of this article would easily be passed by many collectors on their escapades through online auction websites. I’ll admit it: I glanced right over the listing several times when it was first posted, foolishly thinking it was another inexpensive piece of advertising from the 1970s. It wasn’t until I put two-and-two together, realizing that the Italian-American Civil Rights League was an organization I had previously researched and had established an interest in, that I went back and instantly added the watch to my cart. For those of you unfamiliar with this organization and its history, allow me to introduce you to them and illustrate just how rare this watch’s existence is today. A...

As we have seen recently, when we analysed the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry’s report and its export data, the watch industry isn’t at its best; exports are down, sales are declining for large conglomerates, and there are challenging times ahead for 2026. Outlooks remain cautious, as the industry is likely to continue facing […]

A novel take on the dive watch designed by Eddy Burgener that rocks a rubber Bund strap.

The post The Roundup: Hand-Hammered Titanium, A Retro Devil Diver, And Must-Have EDC Gear appeared first on Worn & Wound.

Following a big career change and a stint working for Jaeger-LeCoultre and Narbel, Dunselman shows off her in-house skills as an alumnus of the Grönefeld brothers.

While design hallmarks have come and gone, few say “Grand Seiko” quite like the iconic Snowflake dial, first introduced in 2005. Inspired by the frosty Hotaka mountain range in the brand’s home prefecture, Nagano, light plays across the fine texture to emphasize the slight variations in depth on the surface of the dial. The result is nothing short of stunning, and helped shape Grand Seiko and their philosophy of the “Nature of Time”. So how do you build on an icon? You introduce tasteful variations. Easier said than done, of course, but Grand Seiko has done it successfully before, by introducing the Skyflake dial, a light blue version of the Snowflake. And now, we have two new Snowflake and Skyflake models to showcase the evolution of the icon: the SBGX359 and SBGX361, in a compact 33mm case, making them the smallest in the Grand Seiko 9F line yet. Even more impressive is the 9.1mm thickness, which is only possible thanks to the Caliber 9F51 quartz movement, which is the first new movement in the 9F line since 2020, and allows for an accuracy of ± 10 seconds a year. In natural Grand Seiko fashion, each movement is hand-assembled by watchmakers at the Shinshu Watch Studio at the brand’s Shiojiri facility and feature three-month aged quartz crystals and a manual regulation switch for accuracy fine-tuning during servicing. All of that is to say that this is not a basic quartz movement; it’s a Grand Seiko quartz movement, which is sure to excel in both function ...

This three-hander boasts a 24ct gold-plated brass dial, with a laser-engraved depiction of a horse, drawn in incredible detail by Armand Billard.The post Sartory Billard marks the Year of the Fire Horse with a special Chinese New Year edition appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

As Orient Star marks its 75th Anniversary in 2026, the brand continues to look upward, quite literally, for inspiration. The new M34 F8 Date 75th Anniversary Limited Edition is the first Orient Star to feature a meteorite dial, even though the brand has long used the cosmos, star clusters and celestial phenomena for poetic explanations: […]

Louis Moinet follows up on their 2024 release of the first edition of Speed of Sound, with an ultra limited edition of just 3 pieces each in 3 new colours.