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On a tight budget, or don't feel like picking up a Weishi? With a few pieces of audio equipment, you won't need to!The post How to make your own DIY timegrapher appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

In this installment of Exploring Evergreens, I’ll take a look at the Omega Seamaster 120 ref. 168.1501. This was a mainstream model in Omega’s catalog for nearly a decade during the 1990s. Today, however, it has been all but forgotten. It’s a clean design that has stood the test of time, and it ultimately paved […] Visit Exploring Evergreens: The Omega Seamaster 120 Ref. 168.1501 to read the full article.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the biggest retailer in the United Kingdom, Cartier is introducing the Tank Louis Cartier Watches of Switzerland 100th Anniversary. Clad entirely in gold, the 100-piece limited edition features the classic Tank LC case matched with a minimalist dial featuring a sunburst brushing and a pair of mirrored Roman numerals along with blued steel sword hands, while the movement is mechanical, specifically, hand wind. Initial Thoughts The Tank LC is an undoubtedly a classic dress watch, perhaps even iconic, but not all Tank LCs are created equal. While all share the same case, the dials vary substantially. The Watches of Switzerland (WOS) edition stands out, even amongst the numerous recent iterations of the model. Here the dial manages to be both minimalist and extravagant because it has barely anything markings yet is entirely in gold, with the reflective numerals adding extra shine. Because this is identical to the standard model aside from the dial, some might find it too small at 25.5 mm wide. It does, however, make an excellent black tie watch, particularly in this all-gold guise. The WOS edition costs £12,700 including taxes, which is about the same as the equivalent standard version of the Tank LC. In fact, it’s £100 less expensive than the multi-tone dial. This certainly makes this a compelling proposition since it is looks very much like a classic Cartier yet different from the other versions of the model. Just gold The WOS edition is ...

American designer Ralph Lauren has forged an emporium on his vision of laid-back sophistication carefully choreographed in settings designed to evoke a certain lifestyle. Ralph Lauren’s preppie collegiate apparel incarnated by the Polo shirt of 1971, for instance, was equated with the game of polo, and his Safari apparel collection of 1984 harnessed the designer’s […]

A few brands and watches stand high above the rest. They are known to almost everyone and have become icons. Watches of this stature are not cheap, however, there are alternatives out there that are as compelling in their own right for a fraction of the price. 

A special limited edition (only 12 pieces) of the Chopard L.U.C XPS 1860 Officer SHH Edition with a magnificent blue guilloche dial is released.

Cue all the jokes about not being able to see it because it's camo.The post BezelHold’s Hat-Trick Marine Camouflage is an antidote to boring (and subpar) watch rolls appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Sometimes, adding a dial color can shine a new light on a watch. Both H. Moser & Cie. and MB&F; have done just that. That’s why we’ll unpack both releases in one article. The first is the much-praised H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Perpetual Calendar, and the second is the stunning MB&F; LM Perpetual Evo. […] Visit New Dials For The H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Perpetual Calendar And MB&F; LM Perpetual EVO to read the full article.

As we approach the leap day of February 29, the unofficial day of commemoration for perpetual calendar owners, it’s worth considering the technical advances in perpetual calendar movements of the past 20 years. The perpetual calendar is, and has always been, a staple of haute horlogerie. But for most of its history, the technology remained largely stagnant. It wasn’t until the beginning of the modern era, in the 1980s when Swiss watchmaking was regrouping after the Quartz Crisis, that a new generation of watchmakers revisited this complication in earnest. In particular, they sought to address fundamental weaknesses in the way traditional perpetual calendar designs switch from one date to the next. The quintessential perpetual calendar layout, here in the first serially-produced perpetual calendar wristwatch with a leap year indicator, the Audemars Piguet ref. 5516, which was produced in the late 1950s One of the more recent – and most notable – efforts at reimagining the complication came from Stephen McDonnell, who developed the MB&F; Legacy Machine Perpetual. According to Mr McDonnell, the traditional approach to the perpetual calendar was a flawed premise. “For decades in the Swiss watch industry, and even until the present day, it has been accepted and expected that [perpetual calendar] watches would often be damaged by owners while trying to correct them,” explains Mr McDonnell, “This was seen simply as an unavoidable factor of [perpetual calendar] owner...

The latest release from Louis Erard expands their Excellence Petite Seconde range, and includes another release in that collection’s 39mm case size. Louis Erard has really become a collector favorite over the last few years with their many collaborative limited editions and (relatively) affordable ways to buy into design codes that traditionally represent true high luxury watchmaking, and they’ve done it mostly on the back of a 42mm case. It’s always notable when we see them release something new in their easier to wear 39mm case size, and with the Excellence Petite Seconde Guilloche (in two sizes) we also have a watch that’s really playing into that high luxury aesthetic with an unusually complex dial. These watches are really a celebration of guilloche itself, and seek to present the decorative technique in a more classical way than something like the brand’s much more contemporary guilloche LE from a few years ago. The larger 42mm watch features gray and black tones, while the smaller 39mm watch features a rich blue and gray for contrast.  The dials are made in four parts, and highlight contrasting guilloche patterns. The central section has a traditional wave-like pattern that is meant to cast light directly from the dial’s center. An outer section, where you’ll find the hour track, features what’s known as a “panier” motif, which has the appearance of slightly staggered scales. This pattern is repeated in the small seconds subdial at the 6:00 posi...

The world of independent watchmaking has always been a place of passion, inspiration and excitement for us. It has been at the heart of MONOCHROME from the get-go, and even today we find joy in discovering new and intriguing watchmaking adventures from all corners of the world. This time we stop in Morbihan, France, to […]

A chef's three-continent journey, told through watches.

ARDIO is an independent U.S. brand based out of Pennsylvania and founded by Ron Oley. The Caribe is the brand’s first watch and is the product of over three years of design effort. ARDIO keeps a fairly quiet online presence, with their main website and an Instagram page being the most accessible sources of information for prospective buyers. According to Oley, each component of the Caribe is designed from scratch and the watches are assembled in small batches. This particular run is capped at 300 pieces per colorway with each watch triple-checked by three separate parties and hand-regulated before shipping. There are five dial colors offered at this time: light blue, gauge brass, isotope green, gilded black, and sunrise orange. I had the opportunity to review the blue and brass options. My first impressions of the watch were very positive. I had initial concerns about how it would wear on my wrist, since it looked sizable in the travel case it came in and felt fairly hefty before trying it on. Case diameters of 40mm can wear a myriad of ways depending on other factors – it seems to be a size where the number on paper doesn’t give the wearer the full picture of the fit. However, the Caribe really feels like it wears true to size due to its well-proportioned lugs and slim bezel. Part of the illusion of its overall dimensions can likely be attributed to its height: a double domed sapphire crystal adds two millimeters to its vertical presence, but also offers a nice effe...

The term ‘dress watch’ is as ambivalent as 'ultra-thin.' There are no fixed parameters to guide whether a watch is a dress watch or not so Martin Green has made his own definition and highlights 4 dress watches that you might not have considered.

Everything you need in a watch. Nothing you don’t. For our latest limited edition collaboration, we looked to the past to usher in the next generation of Braun’s mechanical watchmaking.

It’s been a while since we last saw Clarkson, Hammond and May, whether on screen or here, at MONOCHROME. A few days ago, Amazon Studios unveiled the second to last episode of the three middle-aged men’s car show, The Grand Tour. Combining this and the fact that Top Gear has been taken off air by […]

Retro colours and a sinister depth rating make Bulova's new travel piece a real corker.The post Bulova’s Oceanographer Devil Diver GMT brings travel-ready utility to a fiendish retro classic appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

I don’t think I would be wrong in saying that Girard-Perregaux doesn’t get much attention these days. The brand seems to pop up on the radar every so often, but - at least in the circles of obsessives I travel in - their name seems to resist coming up in discussion, and I have only very rarely seen modern GPs in the wild. That’s a shame because Girard-Perregaux continues to put out fantastic pieces and the release of the Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge Meteorite is just the latest example of how GP has continued to strike a rare balance between history and modernity. Girard-Perregaux has been around for a very long time, with its lineage (though not its name) reaching back as far as 1791. Less than a century later, Constant Girard, who would marry Marie Perregaux leading us to the now-familiar name, had developed what would become the hallmark of the brand; a symmetrical three-bridge design that would eventually lead to the creation of La Esmerelda in 1889. That pocket watch featured three beautifully finished gold bridges and was recognized with a gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition. Despite its distinctly 21st century look, the Bridge collection, to which the Free Bridge Meteorite belongs, is inspired by and pulls from that history - especially by that very special 19th century watch and those three gold bridges. Where La Esmerelda showed off its bridges thanks to a hunter caseback, the Free Bridge Meteorite wears its bridge (it only sports one of the ...

In 2019, Omega introduced the hand-wound caliber 3861 in both Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary editions. Then, in 2020, the brand used it as the movement for the Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award edition with an automaton on the case back. One year later, Omega introduced an update of the Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, featuring a […] Visit The February 2024 Fratello × REM Strap - Caliber 3861 to read the full article.

Louis Erard continues its path onwards and upwards with yet another artistic iteration of its Excellence Petite Seconde. A flagship model at Louis Erard since 2020, this model is an attractive dress watch with a small seconds counter available in 39mm and 42mm cases. The uncluttered dial of the Petite Second has been treated to […]

A new collaboration from Reservoir with the cartoon character Popeye - their fourth. This time in partnership (exclusive) with Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons.

Are you the struggling partner of a watch enthusiasts? Adam's words may offer some comfort and advice.The post Advice for the non-watch-loving partner of any watch nerd appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

What if you like the looks of the angular Zenith Defy Skyline with its 12-sided bezel, but the running 1/10th-of-a-second indicator on the dial makes you nervous? The Defy Skyline Tourbillon with its 60-second tourbillon at 6 o’clock is the way to go. Yes, it’s a pricey alternative, but before we dismiss this Defy on […] Visit Introducing: The High-Frequency Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon In Steel Or Ceramic to read the full article.

When TAG Heuer revamped the Carrera in 2023 to create the “Glassbox”, it managed to transform a vintage remake into something more modern. The result was praised by enthusiasts, and arguably expanded the brand’s audience. This year TAG Heuer built on the same concept with the Carrera Dato “Glassbox”, a design inspired by the ref. 3147 of 1968. Featuring an unusual date window at nine, the Dato has a single 30-minute register at three o’clock, giving it an asymmetric layout that still has visual balance. Quirky dial design aside, the Dato is standard Glassbox, right down to the highly domed crystal and in-house TH20 movement. Initial Thoughts I write this as the owner of the Carrera “Glassbox” with a black dial, nicknamed “reverse panda”, which was my first-ever TAG Heuer. I was never really a fan of the brand before but when I saw it, I was impressed by the aesthetics. Most striking was how much the dial stands out when on the wrist due to the relatively short lugs. I ended up pulling the trigger on the Glassbox after a few months of contemplation. The Carrera Glassbox in the “reverse panda” colourway On paper, the Dato is not much different from the original Glassbox, since it has exact same specifications aside from the dial’s colour and layout as well as a minor movement tweak to remove two counters. In reality, however, the aesthetic changes make it an entirely different watch. The Dato is a cleaner design that gives something of a dress-watch...

Pulling out all the stops before Watches & Wonders 2024, watchmaker Arnold & Son presents two skeletonised models powered by one of the world’s thinnest flying tourbillon movements, now dubbed Ultrathin Tourbillon Skeleton. While these new models have been treated to some design tweaks and a new tourbillon carriage, these editions of the Ultrathin Flying […]

In this week’s episode of Fratello On Air, we ponder what’s wrong with the watch industry. Before you jump to conclusions, we’re not upset. We have a wish list and think that certain areas within this sector could use further thoughts or updates. Get ready for a lengthy episode! So, what’s wrong with the watch […] Visit Fratello On Air: Opportunities For The Watch Industry to read the full article.

Pre-owned Grand Seiko quartz watches come with Rollie-beating Zaratsu-polished greatness at no extra cost. So, where’s the catch? There is none. I know many of you are still on the fence about even considering quartz for your collection, and I understand you. I was there myself for years until the charm of budget-winning meca-quartz got […] Visit Pre-Owned Spotlight: Grand Seiko Quartz Value Is Unbeatable to read the full article.