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Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog is one of those works that has become part of popular culture, taking the form of a balloon animal and turning something quite temporary and playful into a permanent, almost monumental object. Hublot‘s new collaboration transforms the normally sleek Classic Fusion into a watch that, like the balloon dog, looks inflated: […]

Today, Louis Moinet continues its fascination with the cosmos. The brand’s latest creation, the Moon Meteor, is a limited edition of just 12 pieces that turns the dial into a miniature cosmic scene. Hand-painted nebulae, real meteorite fragments, and a precise astronomical moonphase display come together under a domed sapphire crystal in a lightweight Grade […] Visit Illuminating The Cosmos: The Louis Moinet Moon Meteor to read the full article.

Hublot has just unveiled the Classic Fusion Balloon Dog by Jeff Koons, its latest — and arguably most striking — collaboration with a contemporary artist. Crafted from anodised aluminium, the case of the watch is delicately machined to almost perfectly replicate the creased, metallic look of a mylar balloon. The plump inflated look extends to the dial and strap, and the watch can be had in three different colours — red, blue, and silver — each of which is limited to 200 pieces. The Balloon Dog is powered by the HUB1710, an upmarket execution of the in-group Zenith Elite platform. Initial thoughts Jeff Koons is likely one of the few contemporary artists with mainstream name recognition outside the world of fine art. While he is arguably best known for his large-scale sculptures, including the Balloon Dog referenced by his collaboration with Hublot, he has had a prolific career and worked in numerous mediums. But it is his ability to replicate the tight, creased look of inflated latex and mylar in materials like stainless steel and aluminium that have cemented his status in the world of contemporary art. The Classic Fusion Balloon Dog taps exactly this expertise, crafted in anodised aluminium with a rounded, puffy form that transforms the sharp, angular Hublot style into something more soft and playful. The result is immediately recognisable thanks to the thoughtfulness of the execution. The familiar Hublot details are present, but have been carefully machined to loo...

Hublot is no stranger to opening its doors to outside creativity, with some of its most memorable (and often infamous) releases of the past few years in collaborations with artists and designers—Takashi Murakami, Daniel Arsham, and Samuel Ross, to name a few. Late last week, the brand dropped the news that the next big name in line for a collaboration would be the contemporary American artist Jeff Koons, most widely known for his series of bright, shiny balloon dog sculptures in a whole range of colors. Image courtesy of Hublot Balloon Dog (Orange) - Image courtesy of Christie's Rabbit - Image courtesy of Christie's Koons' name has reached a certain level of infamy and popularity alike in the art world, as the world's most expensive living artist today. His Balloon Dog (Orange) piece hammered at Christie's in 2013 for a whopping $58.4 million dollars, breaking auction records for an artwork by a living artist. Then, in 2019, his 1986 Rabbit piece shattered that result, selling for more than $91 million and taking the title. To this day, both pieces remain among the top ten most expensive artworks by living artists. Naturally, Koons faces criticism from critics and the wider public, from the overt commercialism and kitchiness of the art to the factory-style production methods he employs. Regardless, it's impossible to deny how iconic and recognizable the Balloon Dog series is worldwide. With that iconic look and a touch of infamy, the Balloon Dog feels like the perfect su...

Hublot teams up with Jeff Koons for a watch that looks exactly like what you think it does, and pulls it off better than it has any right to. The Hublot Classic Fusion Balloon Dog by Jeff Koons arrives in anodised aluminium with a case machined to mimic the look of a mylar balloon. Here's our take.

Singer Reimagined steps away from its signature cushion case and into sharp, 1970s sport-watch territory. The Singer 1970 DualTrack marks a dramatic design shift for the brand, trading its cushion case for angular lines, a tall bezel, and a semi-integrated bracelet.

The new Hublot Classic Fusion Balloon Dog by Jeff Koons Limited Editions fuse an iconic work of art with an iconic watch design.

It looks like Charlie Paris has been updating its catalogue one collection at a time. It was only recently that it refreshed the Alliance line-up with new sapphire-dial models, and now the French brand takes up the Concordia. This collection in the past has delivered the blacked-out Concordia Automatic Kraken, as well as the original Concordia […]

Having formed its brand identity with a cushion-shaped case inspired by 1970s designs, Singer Reimagined is now turning to another facet of that decade’s designs. The 1970 Dualtrack is angular with tall bezel and semi-integrated bracelet, marking an entirely new design language for the brand, which is an offshoot of cult “restomod” automaker Singer Vehicle Design. Like the earlier version of the model, the 1970 Dualtrack is a twin time zone watch with a “caller” GMT indicated via a 24-hour ring. It’s powered by an unusual movement with four spaced out barrels that combine for a six day power reserve. Initial thoughts The 1970 is a natural extension of Singer’s retro style that’s conceptually logical, but also appealing in terms of product. The new case design is wearable and also different enough from the cushion-shaped case to make it distinct. If anything, the 1970 might be too ordinary, making it less recognisable as a Singer creation. That said, the design is thoughtful. The attention to the detail in the design reflects Singer founder Marco Borracino’s background as a designer. The angular case has polished, chamfered edges that continue into the bracelet, while the polished bezel has high, fluted sides. It’s clearly inspired by the 1970s, but executed to a higher level than actual 1970s watches in this style that tended to be entry-level timepieces. And compared to the cushion-shaped cases that defined Singer until now, the new 1970 case is more c...

About two weeks ago, during Geneva Watch Days, I visited the Singer atelier in Geneva. It’s a beautiful place, slightly hidden on a street near the lake, where Singer Reimagined works on its watches. There, I got a first glimpse of what the brand introduced today — the Singer Reimagined 1970 DualTrack. The Singer Reimagined […] Visit Singer Reimagined Keeps The GMT Hits Coming With The 1970 DualTrack to read the full article.

While Glashütte Original‘s Seventies collection has become associated with its bold, square-shaped chronographs, the German manufacture also once offered Seventies Panaroma Date models without the chronograph function. Revisiting the decade with a substantially reworked watch, the brand returns to that time-and-date simplicity and presents the new 70s collection of integrated sports watches, alongside the existing […]

The rubber-clad Hublot Big Bang Original Soft Touch is a montre à tact, but not as you know it. The original tactile watch was invented by Breguet in 1799. It was a pocket watch featuring a hand that could be touched, allowing one to read/feel the time. You can touch the new Big Bang all […] Visit Do You Have a Soft Spot For The Rubber-Clad Hublot Big Bang Original Soft Touch? to read the full article.

Independent watchmaking has attracted designers from outside traditional horology before. Still, few have arrived with such a clearly defined architectural vision as Neode (from neod, an Old English word meaning desire and earnest endeavour). Architect Marius-Daniel Dumitrascu founded Neode, stepping away from architecture to devote himself entirely to developing the timepieces. Driven by a desire […]

Echo/Neutra updates its 1956 Chrono GMT with two new colourways  With a brown-and-taupe Cappuccino model and a deep-wine-toned Purple model, both inject colour into a highly functional watch with chronograph and GMT functions.  Available now, the Echo/Neutra 1956 Chrono GMT in both Cappuccino and Purple start at US$2,400 on a strap.  Echo/neutra has gotten a lot … Continued

Rolex expands its complicated offerings with the unexpected Perpetual Padellone, a vintage-inspired, instantaneous annual calendar named after the ref. 8171, a saucepan-shaped triple calendar from Rolex’s past. Despite the padellone nickname, first coined by Italian collectors, the Perpetual Padellone is a very different watch from its namesake. It is a modern Rolex through and through, with the quality and functions expected of a modern Rolex. The mechanics are latest generation, with aesthetic choices give the watch a contemporary look, putting the Perpetual Padellone at the intersection between vintage collectors and the wider public. Initial Thoughts Rolex is a forward-looking brand, which explains why this Padellone goes without the namesake sauce pan-esque case, and employs a base movement at the frontier of mechanical timekeeping. The Padellone of today is naturally a far better watch than the ref. 8171 “Padellone” of the 1950s. It is modern and it is a Rolex, which means essentially perfect quality. A very well-preserved 8171 in steel But it is more than just a triple calendar built to Rolex standards. The new Padellone contains an incredible base movement shared with the Land-Dweller, a new calendar that changes instantaneously around midnight and can handle both 30- and 31-day months on its own, and a moon phase that will err by a day in 122 years. Then, there are also the dramatic upgrades to finishing – both outside and in – and build quality, especia...

Venezianico goes lighter and more Italian with the Redentore Levius, pairing a titanium case with a hand-guilloché dial and an in-house-spirit movement made on home soil. The Venezianico Redentore Levius combines a lightweight titanium case with a hand-guilloché dial and an Italian-made movement. Here's what's actually new.

Without a doubt, one of the most talked-about recent releases is the Formex Aria Manufacture Chronometer, or simply Aria, as most people will refer to it. After I wrote the introductory article based on the press info, I was curious to learn more. While the design didn’t necessarily make me swoon, I know Formex well […] Visit The Formex Aria Proves The Phrase “Don’t Knock It ‘Til You Try It” to read the full article.

IWC’s magnetism-resistant Ingenieur SL is now 50 years old so the brand is marking the occasion with the Ingenieur Automatic 50th Anniversary, a pair of limited editions that unsurprisingly take inspiration from a historical model. In 40 mm and 35 mm respectively, the two editions share the same brushed silver dial. The two are otherwise identical to the regular production versions, which means a sharply executed case and bracelet, but an industrial movement that doesn’t live up to the price. Initial thoughts Today’s Ingenieur is a derivative design, being based on Gerald Genta’s original of the 1970s (which explains the resemblance to the Royal Oak et al). But it is still a good looking watch, with a case and bracelet that are tangibly well done. The 50th anniversary edition isn’t creative by any stretch of the imagination, but still appealing in look and feel. But at launch in 2023 the Ingenieur was already pricey, especially considering the industrial, cost-effective ValFleurier movement. Still, the price then was forgivable given the wider landscape and integrated-bracelet-sports-watch fad. Now the larger, 40 mm version is US$15,000, which is pricey and difficult to rationalise. The 40 mm and 35 mm, both of use employ different but equally industrial calibres SL reborn The anniversary editions are based on the standard 40 mm and 35 mm models respectively. The two are essentially identical in design and quality; both contain different but comparable movements....

Big news from Rolex today as the brand has released a complicated dress watch, their first in recent memory. The Perpetual Padellon is an instantaneous annual calendar with a moonphase complication and sits within the 1908 collection, which launched three years ago. This new watch appears to be a very explicit and direct homage to one of the brand’s most revered vintage references, the 8171 “Padellone”. It shares more than a few visual characteristics with that piece, and of course the name of the new watch is lifted straight from the nickname given to the vintage piece by collectors and dealers.  The Perpetual Padellone is available in 18k Everose gold and 950 platinum, and measures 39mm in diameter, 12.2mm tall, and 45.1mm from lug to lug. It’s worth noting that the original 8171 was a fairly large watch for its day, measuring 38mm in diameter, so the new reference comes surprisingly close to being right on the money in terms of sizing if we’re comparing it to the vintage watch.  The biggest difference between the 8171 and the Perpetual Padellone is likely mechanical. The 8171 was not a true annual or perpetual calendar, but a “simple” triple calendar, which was quite common in the 1950s. Each indicator simply advanced in sequence and not in relation to any other, which means a correction is going to be necessary virtually every month. The Perpetual Padellone is a true annual calendar and only needs to be corrected once per year.  The case, whether plati...

Maybe this would be better saved for a Hot Takes episode of the podcast, but I’ll go ahead and spill it here instead: the new Bremont Terra Nova 35mm Jumping Hour watches are the best they’ve made since the big rebrand a few years ago. The fact that they are part of the Terra Nova collection is itself interesting, as this collection in particular was met with so much skepticism (including by us) when they were launched. But now, over two years removed from the drama of the brand’s big shift, there is a real sense that they’ve settled in, and the watches, when laid out on a table together in the way you experience them at a Geneva Watch Days meeting, feel more coherent.  I’ve always felt that these Terra Nova Jumping Hour watches were charming, but there was something a little ungainly about the size. The smaller montre à guichet style jump hour pieces at 38mm in diameter, wear every bit of that dimension and a little more simply because most of what you see when you look down to check the time is bare metal. The larger 40.5mm Jumping Hour pieces with an aperture arrangement running right to left across the dial felt similarly oversized for a complication that historically is characterized as something kind of delicate.  But when I picked up the new 35mm pieces, particularly the montre à guichet on a bracelet, the size felt really dialed in. I’ve been thinking a lot about the “correct” size for certain watches after reviewing smaller versions of Moser’...

Rolex has added a rather unexpected complication to its Perpetual collection with the new Perpetual Padellone. Taking its name from the vintage reference 8171, the watch combines a 39mm case with an annual calendar and a moonphase display. At first glance, it is perhaps the dial that grabs your attention, particularly the blue enamel moonphase […] Visit Hot Take: Rolex’s Perpetual Padellone Annual Calendar Takes A Nod From The Past to read the full article.

The Squale Galeazzi Artiglio combines 1960s skin-diver style, 600m water resistance and a cool Wet Indicator in a 500-piece limited edition.