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Results for WOSTEP (Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program)

40,190 articles · 236 videos found · page 1004 of 1348

Does Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas 34.5 Redefine Watch Sizing? (Hands-On) WatchAdvice
Vacheron Constantin s Overseas 34.5 Redefine Jul 25, 2026

Does Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas 34.5 Redefine Watch Sizing? (Hands-On)

Vacheron Constantin have bolstered their 34.5mm collection, but is ‘small’ the new ‘mid-size?’ Let’s find out! What We Love: A compact but unisex sizing Remarkable quality-of-life features Gorgeous red dial What We Don’t: A big ask for a small watch No Geneva Seal on the movement Can 34.5mm be considered midsize? Overall Rating: 9/10 Value for Money: 8.5/10 Wearability: 10/10 Design: 9/10 Build Quality: 8.5/10 The effects of a shrinking watch world have been felt across all brands. No, not ‘shrinking’ as in fewer watches, but rather the growing trend towards smaller case sizes. Everyone from the highest levels of luxury to the most obscure microbrands has shifted to accommodate the change, and, as a result, it has redefined what constitutes a ‘small’, ‘medium’, or ‘large’ watch. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence in the industry. In the past, even 40mm designs were often referred to as ‘jumbo’. As proportionality has become a greater priority for consumers, it has become just as important for watch brands. Vacheron Constantin, despite its age, has proven remarkably adept at responding to these shifts. In 2023, the brand introduced a new 34.5mm size to its flagship Overseas collection. Sitting between the significantly smaller 30mm models and the more traditionally masculine 41mm cases, the 34.5mm joins the collection as its ‘mid-size’ offering. It’s an unusual size for a watch, especially one positioned as the middle ground within...

Citizen Garrison BM8560 vs TAG Heuer Autavia: An Affordable Pilot Watch Alternative? WatchRider
TAG Heuer Autavia Jul 24, 2026

Citizen Garrison BM8560 vs TAG Heuer Autavia: An Affordable Pilot Watch Alternative?

I own both the Citizen Garrison and the TAG Heuer Autavia WBE5116.EB0173, and the difference between them goes far beyond price. The Citizen Garrison uses Citizen’s light-powered Eco-Drive movement and a remarkably light Super Titanium case, while the TAG Heuer Autavia is a Swiss automatic pilot watch with a COSC-certified Calibre 5 movement, a 42 mm steel case and a distinctive blue smoked dial. One is accessible and practical, designed for easy daily ownership. The other is a discontinued premium model with strong aviation heritage. That makes this an unusual but revealing comparison. Can an affordable Citizen Garrison provide the same wrist presence, legibility and everyday enjoyment as a significantly more expensive TAG Heuer Autavia? And how much do the Autavia’s automatic movement, finishing, heritage and premium positioning actually change the ownership experience? In this comparison, I will examine their design, comfort, materials, movements, readability and real-world value. For anyone searching for the best affordable pilot watches, or wondering whether an affordable pilot watch alternative can compete with a premium Swiss model, these two watches offer a fascinating answer. Case Size, Quality, and Comfort Both watches are very well made, but I sincerely prefer the Citizen’s case. The TAG Heuer Autavia has the solid construction and clean finishing expected from a premium Swiss watch. Its stainless-steel case feels substantial, and the transitions between i...

Introducing - The Hanhart Aquasphere Dive Watch, now in Matte Black Monochrome
Jul 24, 2026

Introducing - The Hanhart Aquasphere Dive Watch, now in Matte Black

In 2024, German brand Hanhart went beyond its traditional pilot’s watches with the Aquasphere, a dive watch that combined robust specifications with the brand’s distinctive design. The new Aquasphere Matte Black, fundamentally unchanged, brings a darker, more restrained execution that emphasises functionality over flair. It swaps the original blue colourway with a black and white […]

Ready For A Treat? Hands-On With The Lebois & Co Heritage Atelier Small Seconds Fratello
Jul 24, 2026

Ready For A Treat? Hands-On With The Lebois & Co Heritage Atelier Small Seconds

Lebois & Co doesn’t need an introduction here on Fratello. We’ve been covering the brand since its (re)introduction in 2014. Last year, Lebois & Co introduced the Heritage Small Seconds collection, inspired by the original models from the 1940s and 1950s. Today, we see two new variations featuring special dials made by Swiss dial specialist […] Visit Ready For A Treat? Hands-On With The Lebois & Co Heritage Atelier Small Seconds to read the full article.

Hands-on - The Ressence Type 11 with Proprietary Movement, a Game-Changing Step for the Brand Monochrome
Ressence Type 11 Jul 23, 2026

Hands-on - The Ressence Type 11 with Proprietary Movement, a Game-Changing Step for the Brand

Founded in 2010 by Belgian industrial designer Benoît Mintiens, Ressence questioned, from the start, something fundamental: how we read time. Its patented Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS), with its constantly rotating discs replacing conventional hands, has become one of the most recognisable displays in modern independent horology. Until recently, however, Ressence relied on a seriously […]

Orient Stretto 2026 Watches Are Now Reaching Stores in Ten Colourways WatchRider
Oris ed retailers Jul 23, 2026

Orient Stretto 2026 Watches Are Now Reaching Stores in Ten Colourways

The colourful Orient Stretto models introduced earlier in 2026 are no longer just press-release watches: they are now appearing in official online stores and at authorised retailers. That change from “coming soon” to “available to buy” is the real news. Ten automatic references have arrived together, divided between the compact three-hand Stretto Date and the more elaborate Stretto Day & Night, giving buyers everything from restrained navy to unapologetic pink, orange and multicolour dials. The Stretto collection reaches stores Orient announced these watches on 10 February 2026, followed by the Japanese release on 26 February and an international launch during March. The important update is that the models can now be found in stores. Orient’s official UK shop lists all ten references with sterling prices and purchase pages, while Orient Germany shows the collection in euros. Availability will naturally vary by country and dealer, and the seasonal or limited references may disappear first, but collectors are no longer looking at prototypes or waiting for an undefined release date. Stretto itself is a young name, introduced in 2025 for Orient’s urban Contemporary range. The name comes from the Italian musical term for a passage that quickens towards a climax. That sense of accelerating energy suits this colourful second act rather well. The cases retain the architectural dial details of the original series, especially the wedge-shaped applied markers that Orient ...

A Difficult Question That Needs Answering: When Are Watches Art? Fratello
Jul 23, 2026

A Difficult Question That Needs Answering: When Are Watches Art?

During lunch with Aurel Bacs and Alex Ghotbi from the auction house Phillips, I started wondering out loud, “When are watches art?” What sparked my question was last month’s Phillips auction, which was the highest-grossing watch auction in US history. The sale made a record US$75.8 million, and every single lot was sold. No fewer […] Visit A Difficult Question That Needs Answering: When Are Watches Art? to read the full article.

Fratello Talks: How Our Grail Watches Have Evolved Over Time Fratello
Jul 23, 2026

Fratello Talks: How Our Grail Watches Have Evolved Over Time

Ask any seasoned collector what his or her grail watch was upon first entering the hobby, and chances are the answer will be very different from what it is today. As our knowledge grows and our tastes mature, so too do the watches we aspire to own. Sometimes the grail gets bigger, sometimes it gets […] Visit Fratello Talks: How Our Grail Watches Have Evolved Over Time to read the full article.

Hands-On: The Haim Watch Co. Annum Hodinkee
Jul 22, 2026

Hands-On: The Haim Watch Co. Annum

Haim Watch Company, a Chicago-based microbrand, marked its fifth anniversary in 2025 by introducing an intriguing new timepiece called the Annum. I first saw the watch last fall at the WindUp Watch Fair in New York City, where the brand's founder, M. Zakir Miah, brought along a prototype that immediately caught my attention. Visitors at the event received a sneak peek of the Annum alongside previous creations like the Viajero worldtimer, a model I reviewed last year. Since that initial preview, the Annum has undergone a bit of an evolution, including a subtly redesigned case and a few small tweaks to the dial. In its final iteration, the Annum offers a compelling complete calendar watch that punches well above its weight and continues what Haim Watch Company has achieved with its Viajero: creative, supremely wearable takes on complications that stand out the price point. The Annum comes in three dial variations. "Dark Cobalt" and "Stone White" are solid-colored dials with a sunken-in CNC guilloché center section and applied hour markers on the grained outer dial ring. But when it was time to pick which variant I'd spend some time with for this hands-on, it was the semi-transparent "Fumée" dial that I wanted to see, and it wasn't even close. From afar, the Fumée iteration reminds me of the dials of great skeletonized perpetual calendars of old, thanks to the display of the module underneath the smoked PVC (plastic) dial. On this dial, the subdial rings and minutes track ...

In-Depth: IWC’s Pioneering ProSet Perpetual Calendar SJX Watches
IWC s Pioneering ProSet Perpetual Jul 21, 2026

In-Depth: IWC’s Pioneering ProSet Perpetual Calendar

IWC’s history is dotted with landmark innovations such as Albert Pellaton’s pawl winding system, Kurt Klaus’ famous perpetual calendar, and Richard Habring’s split-seconds chronograph module; the ProSet perpetual calendar system continues this legacy. This bidirectional perpetual calendar module made its debut earlier this year at Watches & Wonders inside the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet, and remains true to IWC’s identity as an engineer’s manufacture. A smaller Big Pilot QP The Big Pilot ProSet unveiled at Watches & Wonders blends the manufacture’s latest engineering feat with the beloved styling of the pilot’s watch. The ProSet system is currently only available inside the 42 mm Big Pilot. Powered by a downsized base calibre, the 42 mm ProSet is the first Big Pilot under 46 mm to include a perpetual calendar. IWC has a tweaked and scaled down the its signature Kurt Klaus module in the past for the 42 mm Portugieser and some Portofinos, but somehow it never made into the reduced Big Pilot collection. Unfortunately, these smaller watches lacked the now-iconic digital year display, and instead featured a subtler (but more forgettable) leap cycle aperture. The ProSet brings back the four-digit year display, making this watch almost indistinguishable from the original 46 mm version. Apart from some styling choices, the main difference in the displays is the lack of a power reserve indicator. The cal. 82665 inside is powered by a single mains...

In-Depth: IWC’s ProSet Perpetual Calendar SJX Watches
IWC s ProSet Perpetual Calendar Jul 21, 2026

In-Depth: IWC’s ProSet Perpetual Calendar

IWC’s history was dotted with landmark innovations such as Albert Pellaton’s pawl winding system, Kurt Klaus’ famous perpetual calendar, and Richard Habring’s split-seconds chronograph module. Though IWC has arguably been thin on such innovation in recent years, the ProSet perpetual calendar is a long overdue return to form. The calendar’s clever features make it true to IWC’s identity as an engineer’s manufacture. Set entirely via the crown just like the Kurt Klaus calendar, ProSet can also be adjusted forwards and backwards, making it both idiot-proof and convenient. A smaller Big Pilot This bidirectional perpetual calendar module made its debut earlier this year at Watches & Wonders inside the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet, which blends the manufacture’s latest engineering feat with the beloved styling of the pilot’s watch. The ProSet system is currently only available inside the 42 mm Big Pilot. Powered by a downsized base calibre, the 42 mm ProSet is the first Big Pilot under 46 mm to include a perpetual calendar. IWC has a tweaked and scaled down the its signature Kurt Klaus module in the past for the 42 mm Portugieser and some Portofinos, but somehow it never made into the reduced Big Pilot collection. Unfortunately, these smaller watches lacked the now-iconic digital year display, and instead featured a subtler (but more forgettable) leap cycle aperture. The ProSet brings back the four-digit year display, making this watch almost ...

Introducing: Breitling Top Time B01 Chronograph 41 Tribute To Aston Martin DB5 Hodinkee
Breitling Top Time B01 Chronograph Jul 20, 2026

Introducing: Breitling Top Time B01 Chronograph 41 Tribute To Aston Martin DB5

What We Know Breitling's Top Time has long been a unique outlier in the Swiss brand's line-up. A chronograph model with a square (ish) cushion case launched in 1964, it aimed to attract a new crop of younger consumers with its hipster design.  The Top Time soon made it onto the wrist of no less an icon than James Bond in the 1965 film adaptation of Ian Fleming's Thunderball, which saw Sean Connery's 007 sport the watch while driving an elegant and refined British sports car, the Aston Martin DB5.  The rest, as they say, is history. The U.K.-built Aston became synonymous with the U.K. secret agent. The Top Time? Not so much. While it thrived as a model line for Breitling, Bond moved on to a series of other watch brands in subsequent installments of the film series, from Rolex to Seiko, and these days, Omega, via a longstanding product placement deal.  Now Breitling, following the successful launch last year of the limited edition Top Time B01 'Racing' Series in 38mm, and the deal this year to hook up with Aston Martin as a sponsor of its F1 team and other motoring endeavors, is giving us its tribute to the DB5 in three limited edition models that aim to capture the refined elegance and power of the grand touring car on the wrist.  The new Top Time Chronograph B01 Tribute To Aston Martin DB5 case measures 41 millimeters by 47.9 millimeters and13.8 millimeters thick. The dial of each limited-edition model features a wood inlay rehaut, meant to evoke the wooden steering w...