Latest watch news · Page 869

Seiko introduces the King Seiko collection with four new references - limited edition in 37mm case, and three other novelties in 39mm case.

While some are finally shaking the sentiment off, it is no secret that watch snobs love to dismiss and knock quartz watches. And, I get it. The quartz crisis nearly rendered the mechanical timepieces we all love extinct. So it is easy to understand why horology lovers are so protective of mechanical watchmaking. That being … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The TAG Heuer Solargraph may just be the perfect luxury adventure watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Having redesigned the Polo to suit contemporary tastes in 2016, Piaget now debuts most complicated watch in its sports watch line, the Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin. With a steel case just 8.65 mm high, it’s dressed in the very current shade of dark green. Though the complication isn’t new for Piaget or even luxury-sports watches more broadly, the perpetual calendar takes the Polo into new territory as an upscale, complicated watch. The model was introduced in 1979 as a chunky watch with a geometric design rendered entirely in yellow gold, reflecting the popular style of the era. Today’s Polo bears little resemblance to its historical namesake and instead opts for a design in tune with today’s preference for sports watches in that aren’t round. Initial thoughts The new perpetual calendar is essentially the same proposition as its simpler brethren in the Polo line – a design and complication similar to more established luxury-sports watches, but at a more affordable price. So it has a patterned dial, cushion-shaped case, matching steel bracelet, and a retail price of US$58,500. That’s a reasonable ask considering its intrinsic features like finishing and complication.  On the other hand, the Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5740/1G or recently launched Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin ref. 26586TI cost well into the six figures – but they are also more sophisticated mechanically and executed with much more refinement. In short,...

Engineers Ireland is hosting two seminars by John McGonigle in which he will talk about the engineering of watchmaking, i.e. how watches are made. The first seminar will start at 18:30 of the 23rd of February 2023 and the second a month later on the 23rd of March 2023. Both seminars will be streamed online, but you do have to register.

In a bold move – which the brand claims is a world first in watchmaking - they’re opening up part of CODE41’s capital to the community.The post CODE41 shake things up (again) with a unique form of fundraising appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Where doomsday prepper meets Dimes Square hypebeast.

Audemars Piguet recently unveiled their first (very large) batch of new releases for 2023, and if your Instagram feeds are anything like ours, they absolutely took over. As expected, there were plenty of new Royal Oaks on display, and in a variety of materials and platforms. We also saw an expansion of the Code 11.59 collection, including an entirely new dial motif and a metal that many collectors have been waiting for. Now that the Worn & Wound editorial team has had a chance to wade through all the new watches, we thought we’d pick our favorites among the latest novelties.  Blake Buettner I’ll admit I have a slight soft spot for so-called ‘Jumbo’ Royal Oaks. That is, Royal Oaks that follow the original template of the 5402ST put forth back in 1972: a slim 39mm case with the “AP” at 6 o’clock where it belongs. I also have a penchant for steel sport watches (well documented in these pages) and the Royal Oak arguably opened the door for the high-end category of the genre. It’s a watch I had been enormously enamored with upon my entry to the hobby, though that enthusiasm has waned in recent years as the watch found itself on a moon-bound trajectory in the market, and an ever increasing variety of precious metal variants that, while handsome, deviate a bit too far from the simple, approachable(ish) nature of the original (for my taste, at least).  That said, the soft spot remains. When a new generation of the watch was announced last year, the 16202, in cele...

There’s a lot of talk among watch collectors of “signature watches.” Watches that essentially serve to define a brand, or even an entire category. The Omega Speedmaster, for example, is a perfect example of a signature watch. Can you even imagine Omega without it? You can’t – it’s integral to the whole operation. They have other collections, sure, but they live and die with the Speedmaster.  Does Oris have a signature watch? I walk by an Oris authorized dealer in my neighborhood just about every day, and there’s a giant decal on the side of their building prominently featuring an Oris Aquis. For as long as I can remember, this authorized dealer has had this kind of marketing in this specific place, always featuring an Aquis. Is the Aquis Oris’s signature watch? I think for many collectors it might be. It’s a modern tool watch (with an integrated bracelet, well before the hype) that has specs making it competitive with virtually any well known diver, but thanks to the aforementioned bracelet it has something unique about it that can only be Oris.  It’s possible that to an even wider swath of customers, the Divers 65 is the Oris signature watch. I can remember when this watch was first reissued in a modern context, and it was something of a phenomenon. It put Oris on the map for many enthusiasts entering the hobby at the beginning of a boom time for the entire industry, and remains a key watch in the vintage throwback category that virtually every brand...

While the Concept's movement may be the biggest achievement, the newest flying tourbillon chronograph might be the moment the Offshore comes into its own in a new, big way.

If you think about the typical Valentine’s Day gifts, whether it’s flowers or chocolates, they tend to lean on the temporary side of gifting. Here at Worn & Wound, we like our gifts to be much for long-lasting and put the fun into functional. So who wouldn’t love to get some bright red Victorinox gear to celebrate a day typically full of red bouquets that’ll decay or red boxes of sweets that’ll disappear more quickly than they probably should. We know we’d choose a Victorinox for Valentine’s Day. The post A Bright Red Victorinox Gift Guide for Valentine’s Day Giving appeared first on Worn & Wound.

Plus, an update on Vintage Watches here at Hodinkee!

The history of the Bulova Lunar Pilot Chronograph is a nebulous one. Sure, its claim to fame is that it was worn on the moon’s surface by astronaut Dave Scott during the 1971 Apollo 15 mission. As the story goes, Scott’s issued Omega Speedmaster malfunctioned during his second moonwalk, which opened up the door for his personal Bulova Lunar Pilot to get some action. But there were always questions to be answered in regards to where its design came from, what movement it used, and how it got into Scott’s possession in the first place. If you’re an Apollo enthusiast, moonwatch enthusiast, or both, then I’m sure these queries already have the gears turning. But before you move that cursor over to your browser search bar, I strongly suggest you stay right here and check out this editorial piece written back in 2016 by W&W; contributor, Hung Doan, as he covers all the bases in this interesting piece of investigative journalism. Alright, welcome back! Interesting bit of history, right? Dave Scott’s Bulova Worn On The Moon During The Apollo 15 Mission Fast forward to today, Bulova has announced that they are expanding their Lunar Pilot Chronograph line with two brand new models – a black dial and accompanying subdials harkening back to the traditional steel case special edition model and a cream textured dial with navy blue accents. Both variations get a new and improved case that’ll be more suitable for a wider range of wrist sizes, as well as a cleaner dial layou...

Louis Erard extends the range of one of the flagship models of its Excellence collection, the Petite Seconde, with three colours dial options.

The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph Panda is the sportiest member of the collection thus far Joins the black reverse panda model from 2018 with a silver panda colourway Powered by the in-house calibre 5200, complete with Geneva Seal and solid gold rotor engraved with a compass rose The Overseas from Vacheron Constantin has been the … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph Panda is the sportiest version yet appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

After nine hectic years as Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Quill & Pad, Elizabeth Doerr announces her well-earned retirement.

A frequent partner of notable personalities ranging from artists to celebrity chefs, Hublot’s most notable collaboration is the partnership with Takashi Murakami, the Japanese contemporary artist whose “Superflat”, anime-inspired art has gained acclaim and spawned a commercial empire. Having two sold-out Murakami editions under its belt, Hublot now debuts a third, the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami Black Ceramic Rainbow. More specifically, it’s a single unique wristwatch, along with a dozen more (slightly less) unique watches, for a total of 13. They will be sold via a lottery that can be entered only by owners of the non-fungible tokens (NFT) that were given to owners of the first two editions, the monochromatic original in black diamonds and its chromatic opposite, the transparent and technicolour Sapphire Rainbow. Hublot chief executive Ricardo Guadalupe (left) with Takashi Murakami at the launch event in New York Initial thoughts While Hublot puts out many collaboration editions, too many by my estimation, the Murakami watches stand out for being visually simple yet striking. And they have a whimsical aspect that captures Murakami’s style perfectly. The 13 unique editions combine the best of the prior two editions – the rainbow flower from the sapphire model with the all-black ceramic case. The monochromatic case is a perfect canvas for the rainbow flower, the essence of Murakami. And in terms of value, the Murakami watches – at least the first and cur...

Since I first wrote about the French brand Yema in 2020, they have come a long way in both their catalogue and their audience. New in-house movements, bronze cases, and expansion of their core ranges are all effects of their vast popularity and brand status beyond the micro. Although some of those new releases have … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Yema Rallygraf Meca-Quartz is one of the best budget racing watches around appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Back in the days, when the market for an affordable GMT was incredibly sparse, I distinctly recall the Bulova Accutron Astronaut as being one of the potential vintage options to add to the collection. At the time, I was already attracted to the aesthetic of a 24 hour steel bezel on a black dial watch, and the pairing of its faded green markers, as well as the italicized Astronaut wordmark, made it all the more appealing. Sadly, the Astronaut never made its way into the watchbox. Since then however, we’ve seen Bulova release several Accutron models in the form of the Legacy Collection, Spaceview, and DNA. But despite popular reissued designs like the Bulova Lunar Pilot Chronograph, we have yet to see a re-edition of the Accutron Astronaut GMT … until today. The new Accutron Astronaut is based off of the original 1968 “T” model featuring a distinct 41mm saucer steel case and a short lug set that just reveal themselves under the bezel. From overhead, the bezel eclipses the entire case making you want to look sideways at the thing. Like literally, sideways. Doing so displays the slim midcase that then angles inwards towards the caseback. No battery hatch here, as the caseback sports a semicircle exhibition display akin to that of a window on a space shuttle, providing an opportunity to peer inside at the Astronaut’s Sellita SW330 GMT movement. Despite the name Accutron, where its latter syllable is derived from the word “electronic,” from the original model’s t...

The small world of high-end steel chronographs gets a little bigger today with the introduction of a new Overseas Chronograph reference from Vacheron Constantin featuring a ‘Panda’ dial colorway. The Overseas Chronograph has seen a range of colorways over the years, including a reverse panda that currently exists in the collection, but never a white/silver base dial with contrasting black sub-dials. As this colorway is known to do on already handsome watches (and even some not so handsome watches), it looks pretty damn good. As presented here, we’re left with what might be the cleanest manifestation of the Overseas Chronograph design to date.  The Overseas collection was first launched in 1996 (though it is the spiritual successor to the 222 first introduced in the mid ‘70s), and the Overseas Chronograph has seen a variety of executions in that time. In 2016, the watch welcomed the in-house caliber 5200 which moved the distinctive dual-aperture date complication to a single aperture at 4:30. It also gained a couple of millimeters in the process, going from 40mm to 42.5mm in diameter, and to 13.7mm in thickness. That said, it’s still a pretty nice watch on the wrist, as the case tapers under the bezel, and it’s a pretty flat profile along the bottom, so while it’s not wearing quite as trim as something like a Daytona (the 4130 caliber shares the same dimensions as the 5200 btw), it’s indeed more comfortable than you might expect. The real star of the show h...

Introducing the new Bulova Lunar Pilot chronograph slimmed down with a new case diameter of 43.5mm. Read more for specs and pricing.

Piaget knows thin, and knows style. Can they put it together in a QP?

Louis Erard has unveiled their first new watches of 2023, and they build on one of the brand’s key developments from last year. Usually when this brand comes to mind, enthusiasts think of their watches with regulator layouts, and the many interesting collaborations they’ve undertaken in the last few years as they’ve really gained traction with collectors. The Petite Seconde, part of their Excellence collection, is perhaps a little slept on by comparison. These are simple three handers, and not as flashy or unusual as the regulators (well, except for this one), but they have a charm of their own and represent a kind of simple, elegant watch that used to be quite common but is now harder to find in an environment dominated by sport and tool watches. The new watches introduced today all use plenty of vibrant color, and come in a case size that collectors have been asking for.  The 39mm Petite Seconde case seen here made its debut just about a year ago with the Petite Seconde Terracotta, a coppery, earthy spin on a traditional format. Until that point, the Petite Seconde had only been available in a 42mm case, which while not enormous by most standards, certainly stretched the limits for a watch of this type, which is at least attempting to approach a certain level of refinement. Notably, the Terracotta was available in either a 39mm or 42mm case, while no such option has been made available for this colorful trio. We’re not sure if that’s a signal that Louis Erard ...

A decade after its first release, the MB&F; LM2 is back in a special palladium case Symmetrically opposed balance wheels connected by a planetary differential Movement developed by Jean-François Mojon of Chronode and finished by Kari Voutilainen By this point, it should be no surprise that whatever comes out of the fun factory in the … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: MB&F; LM2 Palladium celebrates its 10-year anniversary appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.