Latest watch news · Page 572

Newly established “micro” brand Anoma follows a familiar template: making particular vintage designs or genres affordable. But it’s approaching the concept with a different flavour. Instead of “sector” dials or Breguet numerals, the brand’s inaugural watch, the A1 First Series, is a clean, geometric form inspired by 1950s furniture. Initial thoughts The A1 is refreshing change from the typical “micro” brand offering that is too often a remake of a vintage Patek Philippe or dive watch. While the A1 won’t have the broad appeal of a conventional round watch, it is an interesting alternative for someone on a budget. The A1 is more typical of “micro” brand offerings in its fit and finish. It is done well for the price, but some compromises had to be made to achieve the affordability. The gap between the case middle and back, for instance, is quite obvious. This isn’t a criticism but a fact true of all brands in this genre. Vintage flavour Founded by Matteo Violet Vianello, a management consultant who’s a watch entrepreneur on the side, Anoma aims to be a “experimental and daring vision of watch design”. The A1 is not modelled on a watch, but instead a triangular table designed in the 1950s by French architect Charlotte Perriand. Earlier in her career Perriand worked at Le Corbusier’s studio, where she helped design several now-famous pieces of furniture, including the B 306 chaise longue. The watch reproduces the outline of the table with the cas...

[Re]Master02 and the best of vintage Patek Philippe.

One of the core challenges among modern watchmakers is balancing past, present, and future-honoring the traditions of this centuries-old art form, harnessing new technologies, and looking toward the next generation of collectors. When you think of a brand like Ulysse Nardin, you might assume its focus is chiefly on the latter two. It was nearly 25 years ago that the brand paved the way for the use of silicon in watchmaking, a material that has now become vital to countless manufacturers across the industry. Ulysse Nardin debuted its silicon escapement wheel in the Freak, aptly named for its seemingly absurd design featuring no dial, no hands, and no crown-the first of its kind. “The Freak is counterculture in watchmaking,” asserts François-Xavier Hotier, President of Ulysse Nardin Americas. “It breaks all the rules we knew before.”  In order to break the rules, you must know the rules, and Ulysse Nardin’s more than 175-year history is proof the brand knows a thing or two about traditional watchmaking. In the early days, the maison built a reputation for its marine chronometers and complex pocket watches. Even into the 21st Century, Ulysse Nardin has continued to emphasize its commitment to artistic craft, acquiring its own enamel-dial manufacture in 2011, a decade after the introduction of the Freak. Now, the latest incarnation of the Freak fully embodies the brand’s attention to the future, present, and past.  At Watches & Wonders earlier this spring, I...

Hodinkee and Parisian concept shop Merci have just released the Merci Instruments Beaumarchais H02 Limited Edition for Hodinkee for their second collaboration together. You’re undoubtedly familiar with Hodinkee, but for those uninitiated to the Marais-based store, Merci embodies Parisian chic while offering a curated selection of products ranging from home goods to fashion. Through its subsidiary brand, Merci Instruments, the company combines a lighthearted approach to watchmaking with an eye towards the past for inspiration.  The design of the Merci Instruments Beaumarchais H02 Limited Edition reflects a vintage aesthetic reminiscent of 1940s dress watches. Unlike traditional round or square cases, this watch features an octagon-shaped frame, adding a modern twist to its classic inspiration. The 36mm case exhibits multiple layers of depth, with a brushed steel rehaut, an anthracite grey hour track, and a vertically brushed center. Notable design details include the blue-painted seconds hand and the NYC and Paris markings at the 6 o’clock position. The watch is completed with an 18mm Honey Brown leather strap, which softens the angular features of this watch. The Beaumarchais H02 is equipped with the ultra-thin Miyota 9039 automatic caliber, which offers a 42-hour power reserve and ensures the 36mm case remains a sleek 9.8mm thick. The stainless steel 316L case is durable and water-resistant up to 10 ATM while the watch is also equipped with a sapphire crystal, making...

Introducing The Merci Instruments Beaumarchais H02 Limited Edition For Hodinkee - A vintage-inspired dress watch designed to be worn every day. Available now in the Hodinkee Shop.

Many may look at the pocket watch as a relic of a bygone era… But what happens if it is reimagined by Daniel Arsham, an artist known for ideating “fictional archaeology” through which he transforms everyday objects into future relics? Well, you get the Hublot Arsham Droplet, a fascinating mechanical sculpture merging the past, present […]

Forget about the edgy Big Bang. Here’s the fluid shape of water that tells time by Hublot. The brand from the Swiss town of Nyon worked together with the New York-based contemporary artist Daniel Arsham to come up with an object that is a pocket watch, a pendant, and a table clock. No, it’s not […] Visit Is It A Pocket Watch, A Pendant, Or A Table Clock? No, It’s All Of The Above! - It’s The Hublot Arsham Droplet to read the full article.

An artist famous for his “eroded” Future Relic works, Daniel Arsham also occupies a prominent place in popular culture thanks to his collaborations with brands from Porsche to Dior to Pokemon. Now he brings his unique style to Hublot with the Arsham Droplet, a sleek pocket watch (or pendant watch) in titanium and sapphire crystal that transforms into a desk clock. The Arsham Droplet reflects the recurring of past-and-future found in many of Mr Arsham’s work. “The [Droplet] looks futuristic to me… like it’s been pulled from the future,” says Mr Arsham, yet “people were last carrying pocket watch a hundred years ago”. Initial thoughts Having spoken to him about watches before, it is clear that Mr Arsham is a collector himself and owns watches that enthusiast would envy. This is why the Droplet is a lot more than many artist-watchmaker collaborations. Daniel Arsham Hublot has done a variety of artist collaborations in the past that were of varying appeal to me personally. I loved the Murakami, less so the Orlinski. The Arsham Droplet is not only appealing, but it is “surprising” as himself Mr Arsham describes it. Not only is it surprising because it’s a pocket watch in a novel shape and material, but also because “it doesn’t contain iconic elements I’ve used in the past” says Mr Arsham. The Droplet is not merely an “eroded” wristwatch or one dressed in Arsham colours. Instead it was conceived from the ground up, and the result is a fascinat...

A pocket watch might not be what we expected from the first Hublot and Daniel Arsham collab, but it kind of makes sense.The post Hublot and artist Daniel Arsham bring back organic design with the Droplet pocket watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The Breitling Navitimer 806 with a black dial and sub-dials was on my wish list for quite a time. But it is not an easy watch to get your hands on. Despite that fact, I had two of them within the last two years. Well, as of today, I don’t have any either anymore. Let’s […] Visit #TBT A Farewell Song For My All-Black Breitling Navitimer Ref. 806 to read the full article.

Corum releases four new watches within the Admiral collection with meteorite and malachite - aventurine dials. The 42 in SS cases, and the 38 in rose gold.

There’s no stopping the rise of small, independent brands hoping to secure a footing in the tricky world of watchmaking. While many fledgeling brands will pop up briefly and then fade into oblivion, we try to select brands with potential staying power. The latest to brave the scene is Anoma and its sculptural A1 watch […]

Summer is just around the corner, and dive-watch season is well underway. This means long days in the sun, traveling to exotic locations, and plenty of action in the water, like swimming, snorkeling, and maybe even diving. But as much as we enjoy long, sunny summer days with our divers, we wanted a watch that […] Visit Available Now: The Jacques Bianchi Marseille × Fratello JB200 PoulPro Night Diver Limited Edition to read the full article.

Since the turn of the year, I’ve been patiently awaiting the launch of the Anoma A1. Until a month ago, I hadn’t even seen a prototype picture, but I had heard enough from Matteo Violet Vianello, the man behind Anoma Watches, to get excited about what would come. Following a period with A Collected Man, […] Visit Hands-On With The A1 From Anoma Watches to read the full article.

Jacques Bianchi Marseille has teamed up with Fratello Watches to create a new iteration of their already popular JB200 PoulPro. The new variant released today is now dubbed the JB200 PoulPro “Night Diver”, due to its new nocturnal layout consisting of a black PVD case and a fully lumed dial, both features being a first for Jacques Bianchi.  Fratello is known for creating high quality and entertaining watch enthusiast content, and more specifically their infatuation with the Speedmaster that started with their founders creation of the #speedytuesday hashtag. Fratello has even collaborated with Omega due to the hashtag’s marketing success, and they’ve since branched out to create watch collaborations with many other watch brands just like this new Jacques Bianchi release. The JB200 diver was only just reissued in 2021, and it garnered some outstanding success due to demand from vintage watch lovers who were quite fond of the original from the early 1980s. The new “Night Diver” variant seen here is similar in many ways to the reissue, maintaining the 42mm case and 13.3mm thickness, as well as a lug to lug of 47mm.  The JB200 is relatively well proportioned on the wrist, although it does have a slightly heftier appearance when comparing to the benchmark Rolex Submariner 124060 with a 12mm thickness. Much of the fit disadvantage is offset by the rest of the specs, especially the lug to lug measurement which can at times be more important than the actual case size....

Behind the name Jacques Bianchi is actually a man who, during the 1980s, in his workshop based in Marseille (south of France) produced watches for French military divers. Working closely with COMEX and Jacques Mayol or Captain Cousteau, he was an important figure there. In 2021, the brand made a resounding comeback, faithfully reissuing the […]

A new watch brand that's taking a sculptural approach to design, the Anoma A1 is asymmetrical and highly considered.The post The Anoma A1 plays with sculptural forms at accessible price points appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes tend to forget about the Seiko “Samurai.” It’s not a model that is on my radar a lot, partially because Seiko releases so many watches at a breakneck pace. Another reason is that it’s angular case design is not one of my favorites. I prefer the rounder […] Visit Hands-On With The Updated Seiko Prospex “Samurai” SRPL11, SRPL13, And SRPL15 to read the full article.

One of the main topics of Seiko in recent years, besides renewing its classics and applying a downsizing strategy, has been to bring the GMT complication to its most affordable collections. It all started with the Seiko 5 Sports GMT, which made quite a solid impression on the team. The same concept has then been […]

We're bringing the Time+Tide Studio experience to Sydney, hosting our first Studio Pop-Up on the 29th and 30th of June.The post We’re bringing our first Time+Tide Studio Pop-Up to Sydney! appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

A true household name for Seiko enthusiasts, the Marinemaster has long been synonymous with the higher-end, professional-oriented dive watch of the brand. First released in 1999, the Seiko Marinemaster SBDX001 (and subsequent variations) became one of the most emblematic divers of Japan, only to be discontinued a few years ago. Last year, Seiko brought back […]

Barry Keoghan is Omega's latest celebrity ambassador, also sporting the new Speedmaster Moonwatch Bi-Colour in Moonshine and Sedna Gold.The post The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Bi-Colour indulges in two-tone sophistication appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Last November, Seiko introduced an updated version of its famous Marinemaster - or maybe it’s better to just say it was a completely new version. The smaller and angular case, the engraved dial, and the new bracelet design made it look very different from the beloved Marinemaster SBDX001. Today, Seiko is adding two new colorways […] Visit Hot Take: The Seiko Prospex SJE117 And SJE119 - New Additions To The Updated Marinemaster Collection to read the full article.

In an interesting twist, Stephen McDonnel, the developer of the MB&F; LM Sequential, initially envisaged the left side chronograph as a flyback chronograph, however, due to the number of technical issues to resolved, decided it would be safer to save that for a later version: and here it is. And with two flybacks!

Hello there! Welcome to this week’s episode of Fratello Talks. Today, we’re discussing the topic of wearing expensive watches on cheap straps. Does it make sense to wear a €3,000–10,000 watch on a €10 strap? Does a €300 OEM strap make sense to begin with? And where do you truly get your money’s worth in […] Visit Fratello Talks: Expensive Watches On Cheap Straps to read the full article.