Latest watch news · Page 29

The most accessible side of the Japanese manufacturer, the Seiko 5 Sports range is wide, to say the least. Offering everything from classic dive-inspired models to compact field watches, Seiko also uses this platform to be more creative and introduces some rather unexpected collaborations. Think, for instance, Pepsi-styled watches actually made with Pepsi, a pink […]

Mike is taking a week off from the podcast, but that doesn’t mean you have to go without an episode. Instead of finding one guest to fill the gap, I figured, why not two? So this week, I sat down with Nick from DC Vintage Watches and Matt (one half of the Spirit of Time […] Visit Fratello On Air: Nick From DC Vintage Watches and Matt From SOTP Join The Show to read the full article.

Exactly a month ago, Thomas kicked off a series on the best watches we’ve ever owned. The idea is for each writer to describe his favorite watch, the one that served him most loyally and brought the most joy. Mine comes with a twist: it’s a watch I never technically owned, yet for over a […] Visit The Best Watch I Have Ever Owned: How The Tudor Black Bay Pro Became The Best Watch I Almost Owned to read the full article.

Following TAG Heuer’s first collaboration with Japanese racing squad Team Ikuzawa and Bamford Watch Department in 2023, the trio has returned for a second lap with the limited edition TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Team Ikuzawa, bringing the red-and-white livery of the racing legend to the popular “glassbox” format for the first time. Initial thoughts Unlike many other legacy Swiss watch brands, TAG Heuer has demonstrated an ability to reach beyond traditional design influences to infuse its watches with a diverse range of elements from contemporary fashion. Last year’s Fujiwara streetwear collab is a prime example. With racing being so strongly linked to TAG Heuer’s history and brand identity, the collaboration with Ikuzawa is conceptually very fitting and extends the brand’s reach beyond the starting grid, deeper into motorsport culture. The Carrera Ikuzawa gets the mid-sized 39 mm ‘glassbox’ case, which is just under 14 mm thick. The case takes its name from its dramatically domed crystal, which encompasses the raised dial flange underneath, in place of a traditional bezel. Despite numerous vintage design cues, the Carrera Ikuzawa doesn’t look or feel like a vintage watch or vintage reissue. The clous de Paris dial texture and the depth of the ‘glassbox’ construction help it maintain its contemporary look. A Chrono-first dial With so much in common with the standard Carrera, much of the difference is down to the dial, which blends design cues from...

After introducing the asymmetrical Mirage and then scaling it down for the Mirage 34, Berneron has changed direction for its third release. The Quantième Annuel is rigidly symmetrical — and the brand’s first complicated watch — but continues to embody the high-effort philosophy demonstrated by the brand’s debut models. That ambition extends beyond its instantaneous annual calendar mechanism to an unusual construction with replaceable steel bumpers designed to absorb everyday wear. Initial thoughts Deadpool, the titular super hero portrayed on screen by Ryan Reynolds — himself a budding watch collector — is known for his signature catchphrase, “maximum effort.” That might as well be the unofficial slogan for Berneron, a brand that has surprised collectors with the lengths it’s willing to go to get small details just right. The Berneron QA is available with silver or black dials. This was clear from the outset. When the brand made its debut with the Mirage in late 2023, collectors fawned over its full gold construction — which extends even to the spring bars — and its ovoid cal. 233 movement that takes full advantage of its asymmetrical case, which is said to follow the Fibonacci sequence. These attributes were repeated at smaller scale — small enough to require an entirely different movement — with the Mirage 34. The QA is Berneron’s third watch, and by far its most complicated. Once again, the “maximum effort” mentality is on display in all...

Two new limited editions bring natural stone dials to the Small Second collection for the first time in Chronoswiss's Modern Mechanical era. The Chronoswiss Small Second Stone Collection arrives in Jasper and Serpentine, each limited to 50 pieces with natural stone dials and caliber C.6000.

I occasionally have a hard time understanding why some brands are so popular. It’s not that they don’t deserve to do well, but I see brands that don’t seem to be doing anything much different from their peers, let alone special, yet are many times more hyped. Why does one Calatrava-esque watch with Breguet numerals outperform another? But with Ōtsuka Lōtec, I get it. In fact, I don’t just get it, I’ve fallen for it. Then again, Ōtsuka Lōtec isn’t like any other brand. Jiro Katayama, the brand’s founder and lead designer/watchmaker, works from a different playbook. Where other brands pursue finishing and neoclassical elegance, he seeks beauty in the raw and industrial. Inspired by analog machines, measuring instruments, gauges, and the industrial design of the pre-digital age, there is something rough and unintentional (though completely intentional) about his watches. Considering he taught himself watchmaking in a workshop nestled in Tokyo, there is a certain logic to this aesthetic. It’s not born in the farm-strewn hills of Jura, but rather in one of the densest cities in the world. Nor is his education from a lineage of tradition. You won’t find perlage or anglage; surfaces are typically raw, brushed metal, and rarely painted, with only the occasional red highlight. While potentially a love-it-or-leave-it aesthetic, it has resonated deeply with the watch community, touching on a pure joy of mechanics. But, there is more to it as well, as his watches...

Audemars Piguet has long embraced new materials and continues to expand its ceramics expertise, revealing a striking new version of the Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon. While the base of this 41mm model itself is familiar, the news is its material: the entire watch, case, bezel, crown and integrated bracelet are executed in “Bleu Nuit, […]

Louis Erard has been making collaborative watches for years. In fact, you can pretty easily point to limited edition collaborations as a venture that has sustained the brand over the last several years, and made them newly relevant to a broad spectrum of enthusiasts and collectors. Their collaborations tend to follow a familiar, tried and true format. For the most part, they work with established, often higher end, independent watchmakers, and graft the design signatures of those watchmakers onto various Louis Erard platforms, most often their Regulator. The list of collaborators at this point is extensive, with names like Chaykin, Kudoke, and Vianney Halter contributing to Louis Erard’s ongoing project. Their latest, though, is a little different. The Solstice Collection, a line unveiled last month with Brilliant Earth, represents a new approach, and takes Louis Erard’s name off the dial entirely.  Brilliant Earth is a jewelry brand founded in 2005 that has gained traction for their commitment to transparency in the sourcing of their precious metals and stones. Their public face is one focused on sustainability, and are known to use recycled precious metals as well as lab grown diamonds in their engagement rings and other jewelry. The Solstice Collection represents their first watch line.  The Solstice Collection consists of two watches, Summer and Winter. They are built on Louis Erard’s La Petite Seconde platform, and feature 39mm stainless steel cases and run on...

Twelve on Time is a conversation series that invites leading personalities from the watch industry to step beyond their work and speak more personally about their relationship with time, creativity, and craft. Through a set of twelve questions, the column aims to lift the veil on both the individual and their perspective on watchmaking, revealing […]

There are a handful of people in the watch industry whose fingerprints are on nearly every era of watchmaking and enthusiasm, and Michael Friedman is one of them. He's been the kid in the archives of the National Watch and Clock Museum, the specialist at Christie's fielding calls from Eric Clapton, the American who moved to Switzerland to become Audemars Piguet's Head of Complications, and, as of this year, the founder of his own independent watch company. Somewhere in between, he became the answer to a trivia question about a Kendrick Lamar lyric. Friedman will tell you none of that was the plan. Instead, it's the result of a decades-long fascination with why humans decided time was worth decorating in the first place, and he's spent every job since trying to answer that question from a different angle. That fascination started at Clark University in the 1990s, not in a watchmaking program but in a psychology class, where a professor named Bernie Kaplan got Friedman thinking about pattern recognition. From there he wandered into time theory: how different cultures measured it, ordered it, gave it meaning. The throughline he kept coming back to was that objects built to track time, like water clocks, obelisks, and wristwatches, have always been embellished, regardless of what they were worth. That idea, that timekeeping and decoration are inseparable, has quietly run underneath everything Friedman has done since, from advising Clapton on vintage Patek Philippe and Rolex at...

Founded in 1983 in Munich by the late Gerd Lang, Chronoswiss acquired renown for introducing the first serially produced regulator wristwatch in 1987. Now in the hands of Oliver Ebstein, with headquarters in Lucerne, the brand has been given a 21st-century visual punch, reinterpreting classics with vivid colours and multi-layered dials. In a departure from its off-centred […]

After launching timepieces inspired by the fantastic Arthurian mythology, Roger Dubuis thinks it’s time for a lesson on Japanese history. The new Excalibur The Kabuto Legacy takes inspiration from the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate, a turning point in Japanese history. The Geneva-based brand uses its high-watchmaking know-how and métiers d’art to create 28 timepieces […] Visit Heads Up For A Japanese History Lesson: The Roger Dubuis Excalibur The Kabuto Legacy to read the full article.

Chronoswiss unveils two new stone-dial configurations for its Small Second collection — the Small Second Jasper and Serpentine. These two watches mark the first use of natural stone dials in the brand’s Modern Mechanical era. Each limited edition of 50 pieces retains the same 40 × 50 × 11.5mm case introduced in 2025. Along with […] Visit Chronoswiss Recalls Its Rich History Through Two Stone-Dial Small Second Novelties to read the full article.

A simple watch that tells the story of the brand's past, present, and where it might be going in the future.

Chronoswiss Small Second Stone: the Jasper and Serpentine bring natural stone dials to the 40mm Small Second, limited to 50 pieces each, caliber C.6000.

Panerai combines a high-tech carbon-composite case with familiar vintage-inspired details in the new Luminor Marina PAM01707. The watch uses the brand’s proprietary Carbotech material for its 44mm cushion case. Paired with an automatic movement and 300m water resistance, it remains every bit the capable tool watch expected from the Luminor Marina family. What makes this […] Visit An Ideal Blend Of Old And New: The Panerai Luminor Marina PAM01707 In Carbotech to read the full article.

Panerai expands the use of advanced materials across its collections and reveals the new Luminor Marina PAM01707. The overall design remains unmistakably that of the classic Luminor, with the crown-protecting bridge, sandwich dial and 44mm proportions, but the latest addition pairs these familiar elements with a full Carbotech case. This lighter, highly corrosion-resistant version of […]

As Swiss watchmakers prepare for their summer holidays, episode 48 of the SJX Podcast rounds up some of the best summer-ready watches released in the first half of 2026, spanning nearly every price category. Affordable highlights include colourful and practical options from Kollokium, Baltic, and Seiko, while the higher-priced selections range from Tudor and Hermès to Grand Seiko, Vacheron Constantin, and Laurent Ferrier. At the very top, the Greubel Forsey Balancier 3 faces off against a unique quartet of gem-set Rolex Daytonas. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.