Latest watch news · Page 51

There’s a new indie brand in town… Stéphane Pierre enters the independent watchmaking scene with a strong personal story and vision. Based in Annecy and trained as a micro-mechanical engineer, he brings a background shaped by traditional watchmaking and the demanding environment of the naval and military sector, as he spent several years in the […]

A new independent voice emerges with the L’Impétrant, the debut watch from Stéphane Pierre, combining a bi-retrograde time display with an architecturally distinctive movement. Put together by an all-star roster of specialists, the L’Impétrant is a fresh take on a familiar format. Initial thoughts The central question with any debuting independent is whether ambition matches execution. Stéphane Pierre’s L’Impétrant is quirky and eccentric - and just as importantly seems well made thanks to the efforts of some 20 contributing specialists across fields such as movement construction, machining, electroplating, stamping and finishing. Given the evergreen popularity of the high-end, time-only format, it may well find its audience. The L’Impétrant’s visual staple is a set of enormous 19 mm retrograde hands - one for the minutes and the other for the hours. The bi-retrograde complication is no longer uncommon, but The L’Impétrant’s overlapping arrangement of the hands, and the luxurious construction of the mechanism, is unusual, helping it stand out within this niche. The mastermind behind the L’Impétrant has had an unusual career. Stéphane Pierre originally trained as a mechanical engineer and, intriguingly, has spent time working for both the Swatch Group and in the military sector. The L’Impétrant is essentially a very high-end time-only watch, and as such it enters a crowded market. However, rather than just developing a basic time-only watch...

While most attention in Porsche Design’s timekeeping history probably goes to the original 1972 all-black Chronograph 1 and its modern-day spin-offs, it’s far from all Porsche Design has done over the years. Released in 1972, the Chronograph 1 is still regarded as the cornerstone model for the brand, and as such is reinterpreted in a […]

We all have watches we absolutely love but would hesitate to recommend to someone else. That might sound contradictory at first, but spend enough time in this hobby, and it starts to make sense. Not every great watch is universally great. Some require a certain mindset, a specific wrist, or simply a willingness to embrace […] Visit Fratello Talks: Watches We Personally Love But Would Not Recommend to read the full article.

Two years ago, Credor, the higher-end and classic side of the Seiko Watch Corporation, unveiled a very special watch based on the Locomotive concept. This watch, once designed by no other than Gerald Genta, was first presented in 1979, before coming back in a modernised and limited version for the brand’s 50th anniversary in 2024. […]

Superlatives are thrown around often in watch conversations. We all enjoy videos like “the best” dive watches under $1000. When chatting with our friends we love to declare bracelets to be the most comfortable and dials to be the easiest to read. But if we are being honest with ourselves, that exaggerated language is often used to capture our fleeting excitement about great (though not necessarily the best) watches before moving onto the next shiny thing. When exaggerated language fueled by initial infatuation seeps into reviews and forums, it has a tendency to leave fellow enthusiasts feeling misled when they accept it as truth and hit the buy button only to be let down by reality. I bring this up because, after having been burned myself, honesty and grounded language are top priorities when I sit down to write a review. But in full disclosure, I found myself smitten as soon as I unboxed the Limited Edition ATTESA Shades of Red Super Titanium from Citizen. It wasn’t until I found myself questioning design choices after a few days of wear that I finally felt ready to put pen to paper without that honeymoon phase bias. Unsurprisingly from the photos of this watch that are stunning yet don’t fully capture its depth, my first jottings focused on the dial.  The Watch On March 3rd a total lunar eclipse was visible across all of Japan, an event Citizen commemorated with two “Shades of Red” watches inspired by the red moon visible during totality. The watch that has ...

Straum draws inspiration from the rare purple hues of the Norwegian northern lights to produce a captivating new gradient purple dial The post Straum explores a rarer side of the sky with its boldest Jan Mayen yet appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Baltic debuts the Heures du Monde, its first worldtimer, with stone dials, a vintage-inspired layout, and a Soprod C125 movement.

A fairly new brand from Japan with the goal of delivering “honest watchmaking from Asakusa” and “affordable Japanese watches,” Kiwame Tokyo has made quite some noise with its first two releases, the Kurotsuki and Usuki models as its inaugural pieces, and the IWAO Field series at the end of last year. Mixing vintage Calatrava elements, […]

Heinrich, the German brand that as of late has specialized in elaborate, machine finished dials in an array of bright colors (all set inside impeccably machined and finished cases) has just released the latest in their ongoing Radiance collection. The Guilloche Wave follows the Guilloche Swirl and the original Radiance, and continues to carve out the brand’s dress watch catalog. This is a somewhat unlikely turn for Heinrich, a brand that prior to the Radiance was primarily known for their modern tool watches. It’s been interesting to see how they’ve adapted easily to current trends for classical finishing with a contemporary twist, and creative use of materials, both design tenets that have always been readily observable under the surface at Heinrich, but seem to have found a moment in these last few years.  If you’re familiar with recent versions of the Radiance, the new Guilloche Wave will not exactly appear groundbreaking, but it does offer a new option for enthusiasts who either missed out on prior editions or simply want a dial with a more traditional guilloche execution. The Guilloche Wave has, you guessed it, a wave-like guilloche pattern emanating from the dial’s center. It’s interrupted by a lightly textured and rather small subsidiary seconds register at 6:00, and ends at a chapter ring surrounding the dial’s perimeter. The hour markers on these watches are not discussed enough – they’re applied and have a distinctive series of vertical lines r...

Nivada Grenchen's latest penguin-related Antarctic Erotic 38mm is a perfectly proportioned explorers watch with a naughty mechanical twist The post Nivada Grenchen’s new Antarctic Erotic 38mm is a serious explorer’s watch, with a not-so serious secret appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Exhibiting at Watches & Wonders in Geneva for the first time, Seiko’s high-end marque Credor is rolling out the Credor Goldfeather Tourbillon Engraved (ref. GBCF997). While the latest Credor is only a cosmetic variation of an existing model, but the latest Goldfeather Tourbillon is nonetheless a top-of-the-line model in both technical and decorative terms: the ultra-slim movement features a tourbillon, while the dial and movement are hand engraved. The hand-engraved cal. 6850 Initial thoughts Though this year’s Goldfeather Tourbillon is identical to last year’s edition save for decor, it looks strikingly different, underlining the different decorative techniques employed. While last year’s model was ornate and figurative, the latest version is clean and almost monochromatic. The lack of colour belies the complexity of the dial decoration. The entire dial is engraved, right down to the radial graining. Instead of conventional brushing, the radial pattern is achieved with a manual engraving technique. The stylistic different continues onto the movement, which is equally finely decorated, and also impressively slim. While the strength of the artisanal execution and ultra-thin watchmaking are obvious, the Goldfeather Tourbillon is fundamentally a facelift to a movement that’s been around for a long time. To go as far as its sister brand Grand Seiko, Credor would have to do something more novel. Fine lines The Goldfeather Tourbillon Engraved is self descriptive: it i...

The French watchmaker launches a debut built around a reworked natural escapement.

Nivada Grenchen has always seemed like a brand that embraces the fun side of life, and its latest release, the Antarctic Erotic, is proof of that. In watchmaking, erotic or animated scenes have existed for centuries, often hidden away and revealed only on demand. Nivada uses this heritage with a lighter, more contemporary tone without […]

Speake Marin extends their Ripples collection with a new thinner movement - the SMA06 in a novelty they call the Ripples Kármán Line.

In the run-up to Watches & Wonders, a new crop of emergent independents is making its debut. But even within a crowded field, the Cleguer Inspiration One manages to stand out with an ambitious proprietary escapement and clever construction. It’s a promising start for founder Mathieu Cleguer, an engineer who’s had a hand in developing several calibres for well-known independent brands. Initial thoughts The artisanal, highly finished time-only watch is a well-worn trope among independents, but occasionally one breaks from the pattern. The Inspiration One from Cleguer Horology is one such watch. Mathieu Cleguer is an industry veteran who has worked as a movement construction consultant and now produces watches under his own name. The opening salvo in what is planned to be a larger ‘Inspiration’ series designed to explore alternative escapements, the Inspiration One is built around the so-called innate escapement, a fresh twist on Breguet’s natural escapement. The system is Mathieu Cleguer’s own design, and from initial analysis it exhibits a surprising degree of ingenuity and is original in its execution. Discreet signature on the interior bezel. The open design - an off-centre dial with exposed escapement - is a familiar arrangement among independents, but the delicacy of the components gives it a refined quality. The 38.5 mm case is well-proportioned, though the 12 mm height borders on tall. While there’s room to develop a more cohesive design language goi...

Discovering new independent watchmaking talents is a rare pleasure – especially when it’s as compelling as the debut of Mathieu Cleguer’s brand. With his first creation, this watchmaking engineer introduces a singular vision where aesthetic purity meets technicality. At first glance, the Inspiration One captivates with its clean, balanced design elevated by superb finishing and […]

Torn between Citizen and Casio? After years of hands-on use, here’s which one actually fits your routine and gives you more value per dollar across key aspects.

Making a statement for a half-century celebration with a chronograph that pairs a unique dial with a new-old-stock caliber from 1976.

Introduced last year, the Pulse line is a departure from the classical regulator watches for which Chronoswiss became known in the 1980s. The collection keeps the key design elements such as the oversized onion crown, the coin-edge bezel, and the layered dial construction, but offers a contemporary case and an integrated bracelet. Just ahead of Watches […]

Chronoswiss has long been associated with traditional watch design. While the brand hasn’t lost that classic touch, it has drastically changed the overall appearance of its watches by using new materials and bold colors. On top of that, Chronoswiss has introduced designs that show how its signature style can evolve into modern watches with a […] Visit Hands-On With The Exciting New Chronoswiss Pulse GMT to read the full article.

The Chronoswiss PULSE GMT is a reimagining of a vintage Chronoswiss classic, but with more contemporary flair, and modern material choicesThe post The new Chronoswiss PULSE GMT brings some contemporary flair to a vintage classic appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.