Latest watch news · Page 26

If you want to talk about iconic designs of the watch industry, then the Luminor collection by Panerai should certainly be on your list… Not only is this watch the brand’s most classic model, but it’s also one of the most recognisable shapes ever created. In recent times, Panerai has operated a “back to the […]

Ask watch fans about typical Panerai characteristics, and one of the first things they’ll mention is size. The watches’ large cases have become synonymous with the brand, along with Panerai’s iconic design style, sandwich dials, and the signature crown-protection bridge. But what if you like the Luminor but can’t pull off a 44mm or 47mm […] Visit Exploring New Territory With The 42mm Panerai Luminor PAM01710, PAM01711, And PAM01714 to read the full article.

The Cartier Cheich is one of the jeweller’s most unusual, and rarest, creations. Originally conceived as a prize for winners of the Dakar Rally during the years when the race was sponsored by Cartier, the Cheich was modelled on the rally’s emblem that is a stylised bust of a Tuareg tribesman wearing a headscarf – cheich is French for “sheikh”. Four originals in yellow gold were made, and amongst the recipients were Thierry Sabine, the founder of the Paris Dakar Cartier Challenge, and Gaston Rahier, a driver who won the rally in 1984 and 1985. Sabine’s death in 1986 put an end to Cartier’s sponsorship of the rally. Rahier’s watch was sold by Sotheby’s in 2022 for a little over €1 million with fees. But some 25 years after the original Cheich watches were made, Cartier made one more, in white gold no less. And that watch just sold for US$3.38 million including fees at Sotheby’s stellar Hong Kong auction, making it the most valuable Cartier watch ever sold publicly – and also the most valuable quartz watch ever sold. The result underlines the continuing demand for distinctive Cartier form watches, a category that includes the iconic Crash. The Cheich in white gold was originally commissioned by Giorgio Seragnoli, an heir to an Italian packaging dynasty who was once owned the world’s largest collection of Cartier timepieces, primarily wristwatches in white metals. A native of Bologna, sMr Seragnoli unfortunately exhausted even his considerable fortune...

In 2005, Roger Dubuis launched the Excalibur, an imposing 45mm watch that established many of the key aesthetic traits and mechanical audacity that characterise the “hyper horology” the brand practises today. The Knights of the Round Table collection, introduced in 2013, was conceived as a celebration of métiers d’art and took the Arthurian legend to […]

Mechanical movements attract most of the technical interest in watchmaking, but considerable engineering also goes into keeping them dry. For an everyday watch, the waterproof construction of the case and crown is central to its reliability, yet the way these components keep water out is often misunderstood. Screw-down crowns and case backs are widely regarded as the best way to seal a watch. But the choice is not always straightforward. On a hand-wound watch, for example, a screw-down crown must be unscrewed and tightened regularly, adding an extra step to winding and potentially compromising the threads. The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, on the other hand, features a conventional crown and is rated to 50 m. Even so, some owners remain wary of exposing it to more than an occasional splash. So the question is, how much protection can a conventional crown provide, and what does a screw-down construction add? To understand the distinction, we take a closer look at the crown, its tube and the gaskets that form the seal. As a disclaimer, this discussion concerns modern watches with seals in good condition; vintage watches and those long overdue for service should be checked for waterproofness prior to contact with water. A common misconception The actual waterproofness of a joint relates to the uniformity of the seal pressure. In this case, “waterproofness” is used broadly as the ability of a mechanical joint to keep water from seeping in under normal functioning conditions...

The doors just closed on our most ambitious event yet; FounderFest. Seven watches across three events in Melbourne, London and NYC.

Moser has long been a brand who’s unafraid to experiment and test boundaries, creating many designs that have elicited conversation or even debate. Now, the brand is making waves with a new digital timepiece. Here, a skeletonized dial reveals an architecture that combines digital technology with traditional watchmaking in the new Limited Edition Streamliner Off-Grid. Moser first experimented with a hybrid analog/digital timepiece last year with the Streamliner Alpine Mechanics Edition. The model features a sober black dial evoking the same vibe as the brand’s trademark Vantablack, but instead of the innovative coating, this black backdrop reveals a digital display at 6 o’clock. Appearing to hover above is the classic analog component in Moser’s typical blue fume. The model was released as a part of the brand’s collaboration with Alpine Motorsports and marked a world first as a timepiece engineered specifically for the needs of a Formula 1 crew, helping them communicate faster, shave off those crucial fractions of a second, and overall streamline operations (pun intended) through the capabilities of the digital display. Now, we get the next evolution of this hybrid style design. While Moser is certainly no stranger to rather out-there designs, the brand does have its own distinct design language, and even with this digital timepiece, we still see those stylistic signatures come through. At the base is, once again, the brand’s iconic Streamliner case with its ple...

When it comes to watch inspirations, automotive and aviation themes have long been part of the game. Video games, however, are catching up. We have already seen retro legends like Donkey Kong and Mario find their way onto dials, Seiko team up with Street Fighter V, and, just a few months ago, Omega brought the […]

What We Know Last year, I wrote about Moser's interesting play in its ongoing partnership with Formula 1 team Alpine Motorsports, when it introduced a pair of Streamliners, including its first ana-digi effort in the Streamliner Mechanics Edition. Developed with Sequent, a Swiss watch brand focused on producing its own self-charging smartwatches, Moser revealed this (not self-charging) new Streamliner as a connected watch for the Alpine mechanics team. For the general public, Moser released a 500-piece run of the Mechanics Edition watch. That edition was evidently successful enough for Moser to follow up with two new references of this ana-digi Streamliner, in a collection called the Off-Grid. And yes, the irony is not lost on me that any of Moser's mechanical creations are, in principle, way more "off-grid" than a watch you need to recharge. Moser leans into that kind of stuff, and it wouldn't be surprising to me if this was at least partially tongue-in-cheek. But I digress. The Streamliner silhouette on these new Off-Grid watches, with a diameter of 42.6mm and height of 14.4mm, certainly should feel familiar at this point. The diameter seems intimidating, but there is a very compact lug-to-lug fit here, given that there are no lugs to really speak of; rather, the strap attaches directly to the case (see how it looks on my 6.5" wrist). There are two versions here, both in steel—one with a blue PVD coating and one with black. The blue PVD version, which feels much more in...

One of Manuel Emch’s defining moves to put Louis Erard back on solid footing was his collaboration strategy. By inviting avant-garde independent watchmakers such as Alain Silberstein and Vianney Halter to create collaborative pieces using the brand’s signature Regulator display, he elevated Louis Erard’s cachet without tying it to stratospheric pricing. Another winning collaboration involves […]

Christopher Ward introduced the C63 Sealander in 2021 as a go-anywhere, do-anything watch. It was meant to be the brand’s contemporary, bread-and-butter line: a less specialized variation of the C60 Trident diver that had long been its core, while avoiding vintage pastiche. The Sealander was simple, easy to digest, and versatile. It was also, somewhat, a return to Christopher Ward’s original bang-for-your-buck ethos. When the C63 launched with a $695 three-hand automatic, it was a statement about the brand’s values, not just value. The GMT, meanwhile, started at $950 on a strap. Both offered a lot of Swiss-made mechanical watch for the money. the Sealander in 2021 Fast-forward five years, and I don’t know if any watch brand has changed quite as much as Christopher Ward. The Bel Canto arrived in 2022 and totally reframed how the company was perceived. The Twelve followed in 2023 and raised the standard of its core watches. Then came the Twelve X, which put its in-house movements and finishing capability in the spotlight, and finally the Loco, which proved the Bel Canto was not a one-off. Christopher Ward was redefining what value could mean in the context of avant-garde independent watches. As such, the brand that launched the C63 in 2021 is very different from the one releasing its replacement in 2026. It is bigger, has a much larger customer base, enjoys far greater awareness, and, frankly, has a better reputation. The new Sealander reflects that transformation, r...

What We Know It's likely that very few people, save the Grand Seiko diehards, remember the first manually winding 9S caliber in the GS collection. A distinction within a distinction, it did set the stage for a number of deeply loved models and the eventual development of one of my favorite movements, the relatively recent 9SA4. But back in 2001, Grand Seiko launched the SBGW003, a relatively simple-looking watch with an opaline white dial and distinctive applied gold numerals. It might seem a bit anachronistic, but that's why Grand Seiko is honoring the 25th anniversary with a very modernized homage, the Elegance SBGW325 'Arabic Blue.' To be fair, the new SBGW325 looks so much newer because the original was also a tribute to the past, furthering the aesthetic divide. Now, the watch features a deep navy blue dial inspired by Japan's indigo craft heritage, with silver-toned hands and indices, including the distinctive applied numerals to honor the original. There's also a touch of gold, a reference to the original indices, I'd imagine, with the central seconds hand and GS logo. The serif on the numerals seems to have been softened a bit as well. The Zaratsu-polished stainless steel case measures 37.3mm by 11.7mm with a 44.3mm lug-to-lug, capped by a box-style crystal. The watch is limited to a 30m water resistance but comes with a display caseback through which you can see the 9S64 caliber movement. That gives a 72-hour power reserve running at 4Hz. But overall, the watch ma...

A perpetual calendar, split-second chronograph, vibrating alarm, and a multilingual dictionary - all in one very Moser package. The H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner OFF-GRID blends a skeletonized analog dial with a 6 o'clock digital display, perpetual calendar, and split-second chronograph in a 42.6mm PVD steel case.

H. Moser stirs up the pot once again with a watch with a stunning looking entry level alternative. Hands-on Comprehensive Review of the Off-Grid.

H. Moser & Cie unveils new analogue-digital display multi-functional timepiece with its Streamliner OFF-GRID With multiple practical functions including perpetual calendar, split-second chronograph, and vibrating alarm, the watch features an “OFF-GRID” mode, displaying a multilingual dictionary Available in two colourways, both versions are limited to 1,000 pieces, with priority access given to existing Moser clients. … Continued

Today, H. Moser & Cie. is going digital with the new Off-Grid, a watch that takes the brand’s minimalist approach into some untapped territory. Available in two versions, the Off-Grid combines a 42.6mm PVD-treated steel case with a skeletonized dial and a digital display at 6 o’clock. One version pairs blue PVD with a Blackor […] Visit Both Online And Offline: The New H. Moser & Cie. Off-Grid Is The Digital Watch For Enthusiasts to read the full article.

Back in 2024, Swedish independent watchmaker GoS ventured far outside of the world of watch- and knifemaking it is known for, for a unique collaboration. Finding inspiration in the bespoke leather jackets, ready-to-wear goods, and accessories by Swedish designer Martin Key, the project resulted in a rather bold take on GoS’ usual work. While it […]

Can beauty be put into numbers? The surprising answer is “yes, it can.” The Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio have been turning up in discussions about beauty, proportion, and design for centuries. They are said to explain why certain things in nature look pleasing to the eye, from sunflower heads and pinecones to shells […] Visit Mathematical Horological Beauty: Hands-On With The Bianchet Tonneau UltraFino Ceramic Skeleton Deep Blue And White to read the full article.

Lang & Heyne has practised the Saxon approach to independent watchmaking since 2001, working near Dresden and offering watches that combine classical German design with highly elaborate hand-finishing. The manufacture names its collections after figures from the House of Wettin, the Saxon dynasty with an 800-year history in the region. The Friedrich III, originally introduced more […]

The Venezianico Redentore Levius pairs a featherweight grade 5 titanium case with hand-turned guilloché and an Italian-made V5000 movement.

Icons are icons for a reason. Some watches deserve the moniker, no question about it. But quite often, an icon casts a long shadow on other interesting timepieces in a brand’s catalog. The original Genta-designed Audemars Piguet Royal Oak has always overshadowed the Royal Oak Offshore. Due to the Offshore’s large size, bold styling, and […] Visit Shadow Icons: The Underappreciated References — Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore to read the full article.

This weekend’s results at Sotheby’s Hong Kong typify contemporary interest in independent watchmaking, and in special editions of series-produced watches. In contrast, the Sandberg Collection, assembled by former HSBC chairman Baron Michael Sandberg, paints a picture of another era of watch collecting, when elaborately decorated pocket watches and exotic automata ruled the auction room. The latest chapter in our Complicated Collectors series explores some of the most emblematic pieces of this extraordinary collection. Before it was dispersed at Antiquorum in 2001, the Sandberg Collection ranked among the most ambitious private assemblies of horological art formed in the latter half of the 20th century. Comprising over 400 timepieces, it reflected sustained engagement with both the mechanical and symbolic dimensions of watchmaking. Lord Sandberg, in his office in Hong Kong. Image – South China Morning Post The holdings spanned time and geography, from Geneva enamels and French musical complications to English automata and Islamic and Chinese adaptations, alongside early German and English forms, yet they build a coherent whole.  Instead of building around a single school or brand, Sandberg assembled a collection participating in a larger conversation: between European and Oriental markets, between religious and secular symbolism, and between utility and ornament. Lord Sandberg’s long residence in Hong Kong likely shaped both his access and his perspective. Chinese...

This is a late journal entry. I was super pre-occupied with GWD26 during the first week of September, where I usually document the August champagne.

A miniature revival that honors both a legendary collection and the woman who saved the brand. The Blancpain Lady B revives the iconic Ladybird collection at 70 years old, packing a mechanical movement into one of the smallest watch cases around.

In watchmaking, pretty much every complication started with the quest for a solution to a common problem. The tourbillon solved the influence of gravity on the balance spring, the chronograph provided the ability to time events as they happened, and repeater watches served as an audible timepiece for when the lights went down. Perhaps above […]