42,923 articles · 270 videos found · page 1048 of 1440
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Christopher Ward keeps using the Twelve as a canvas. The Pic'n'Mix set pairs six candy-colored dials with a 36mm Grade 2 titanium case and no date.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
From affordable everyday divers to serious tool watches, these are the Seiko models that stood out most during a decade of hands-on reviews.
Fratello
If you thought MoonSwatch madness had finally cooled down, think again. Swatch CEO Nick Hayek has pulled off another headline-grabbing marketing masterclass, leaving the watch world in equal parts awe and amusement. To commemorate the Apollo 11 Moon landing, Swatch quietly opened applications for an ultra-exclusive edition of the MoonSwatch. The catch? Swatch is capping […] Visit A Real Gold Rush — Swatch’s Apollo 11 MoonSwatch Sets A Wild New Record: 1.2 Million Applicants For 1,969 Pieces to read the full article.
Fratello
When I went hands-on with the Ulysse Nardin × Urwerk UR-Freak late last year, I walked away genuinely surprised, and that doesn’t happen to me much anymore. I never saw that partnership coming. Ulysse Nardin had never made a collaboration watch in its modern history, and Urwerk has always felt like a creative universe of […] Visit Five High-End Watch Collaborations I’d Love To See Happen to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Watch designer Franc Vila kicked off his comeback with the FVF1 skeleton tourbillon, which he then followed up with the FVF2, a non-tourbillon watch that likewise indicates the time and day. The FVF2 Openwork strips away the dial, giving the watch a more mechanical appearance thanks to the exposed under-dial works, revealing the jumper spring for the retrograde day indicator. The reverse of the Openwork is identical to that of the standard model. The manual-wind movement blends contemporary and traditional elements — the striking, angular design works surprisingly well as a canvas for haute horlogerie finishing. Notably, the FVF2 movement is also its case: the base plate is one with the case middle, an approach FVF describes as a “unibody” architecture. Initial thoughts Because the FVF2 was created by a designer, it has a unique aesthetic that blends many elements and inspirations. The look doesn’t overemphasise any singular influence, making it more interesting than most time-only watches on the market today, many of which converge on the same few historical styles. Even though the FVF2 is a little bit of this and a little bit of that, everything comes together well. The standard FVF2 has a dial, offered in a wide range of materials, while the Openwork version does not. That is essentially the sole distinction between the two, but it makes a big difference in terms of aesthetics. In this sense the Openwork is similar to Roger Smith’s open-dialled watches, especi...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
We compare the Casioak and GW6900 on design, comfort, functions, timekeeping, and the one question that matters: which gets worn more?
Two Broke Watch Snobs
The Khaki Field Power Reserve lineup doubles with blue and green dials. Our take on the 40mm case, the H-23 caliber, and that six o'clock dial text.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Explore the best dress watches under $1,000 that we'd actually buy, including mechanical classics, standout quartz picks, and overlooked microbrand options.
Deployant
Parmigiani Fleurier and Singapore's Sincere Haute Horlogerie has done it again! This time they released the Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Soft Violet SHH Edition.
Fratello
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
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.
SJX Watches
Late last year, Rolex unveiled its accessories line, comprised of a range of cufflinks and the Submariner Date Desk Clock ref. 909010LN. In the typical Rolex fashion, the new accessories are conservatively styled; the desk clock is essentially a Submariner face enlarged to 80 mm. But in typical Rolex fashion, the clock is impressively made. The Submariner desk clock is an impressive piece of desk-bound timekeeping. Execution is top class with flawless fit and finish, while the mechanics (or more accurately, electronics) are advanced: the quartz movement incorporates a 400-year perpetual calendar, and surprisingly, decorative finishing. Initial thoughts The Submariner desk clock is an impressive object, sizeable, heavy, and clearly well made. It has to be seen – and held – in person to understand the quality of make. Elements like the brushed steel case (that’s ironically not water resistant), engraved bezel insert, and decorated movement speak to the precision manufacturing and finishing. This clock is a beautifully-made industrial creation. That said, the design is a boring. It’s basically a Submariner face blown up to 80 mm. Fans of the design will be pleased as Rolex did replicate the details of the wristwatch artfully, right down to the engraved flange around the dial and tiny crown within “Swiss made”. Fortunately, the insides of the clock are more advanced than the design. The cal. 8335 displays the time and date, but the date is actually a secular calend...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Timex Deepwater Meridian 200 vs Rolex Submariner: a hands-on comparison of how much of the dive watch experience $260 really buys.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Compare Seiko vs Orient dive watches through hands-on insights into case design, movements, lume, and ownership. Find the brand that truly fits your priorities.
SJX Watches
The Piaget Polo 79 Sodalite adds five panels of blue semi-precious stone to the brand’s flagship bracelet watch. It is a worthwhile extension of the collection that draws on an authentic Piaget speciality and gives the revived Polo 79 a stronger identity of its own. Initial thoughts Stone dials are now widespread, to the point that any new watch with a mineral dial feels a bit like an exercise in jumping on the bandwagon. But Piaget has been making watches with semiprecious stone dials since the 1960s, and helped establish the category altogether. As a result, the Polo 79 feels authentically Piaget, even though stone dials are now commonplace enough to seem generic. The case dimensions and build quality are unchanged — at 38 mm wide and 7.45 mm high, the Polo 79 remains compact and elegant, while the full white gold case and bracelet give it a heavy, dignified feel. The alternating brushed surfaces and polished gadroons are naturally finished to a high standard, and the rhodium plating will ensure the colour of the 18k white gold stays cool and bright indefinitely, even if it makes later refinishing a little more complicated. The watch is powered by the latest in a long lineage of Piaget micro-rotor calibres that reaches back more than 60 years. It’s still one of the thinnest automatic movements in the world, though it comes up a little short on power reserve by today’s standards, at 44 hours. Otherwise identical to the white gold Polo 79, the sodalite dial adds ab...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Discover the best watches that punch above their weight delivering thoughtful design, impressive quality, and better ownership experience than their prices suggest.
Teddy Baldassarre
Enamel and lacquer are two of the most well known dial finishing techniques, here we establish the differences and similarities between the two.
Worn & Wound
When it comes to more modestly sized watches, Nomos has long been ahead of the current trend of smaller models. The brand is built on clean, conservatively proportioned designs across its collections. The Tetra – Nomos’ square offering – was part of the inaugural lineup introduced back in 1992 alongside the Tangente, Ludwig, and Orion. The model has always been offered in 27mm and 29mm and later, a larger 33mm was added with the Tetra Neomatik. Now, the smaller 27mm size gets two new additions: the Tetra 27 white and Tetra 27 duo. With the Tetra 27 white, we get the most classic expression of the model – pared down 27.5mm by 27.5mm square proportions with only 6.1mm of thickness making up a polished stainless steel case framing a crisp white dial. Here, we have central hours and minutes with a subtle touch of color thanks to blue steel hands and a mix of stick and Arabic numerals. Tucked at 6 o’clock, you’ll find a flat small seconds register as opposed to the recessed one seen in other models with its own micro hashmarks and tiny blue steel hand. No frills, no fuss, just an ultra-classic dress watch design with a nod to Art Deco styling, which extends from the square case to the double-stepped lugs. Alternatively, the Tetra 27 duo offers a bit more interest with a two-tone type of dial featuring concentric squares thanks to a soft grey inlay at the center and the same gray creating a frame across the minute track adding just a bit of contrast to the stark whit...
Deployant
Quick take with hands on and live photograps of the Montblanc 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen Mount Elbrouz, the highest mountain in Russia and Europe.
Fratello
Welcome to another episode of Fratello On Air! This week, we discuss sleeper watches from the ’90s and ’00s. It was an interesting period for timepieces, representing a transition from smaller, often quartz-powered models to mechanical ones. Let’s just say that watchmakers were finding their collective feet again with interesting results. Still, there were gems, […] Visit Fratello On Air: Sleeper ’90s And ’00s Watches Worth Waking Up For to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Earlier this year, TAG Heuer unveiled the latest iteration of a longstanding model, the Monaco Chronograph TH20. It’s essentially a reissue of the Monaco ref. 1133 made famous by Steve McQueen, but not a one-for-one remake, and it’s the best to date. The Monaco TH20 retains the familiar dial design and case outline, but the case has been reworked in both design and material. The square case is sleeker and more lightweight, being in titanium instead of steel. And it gets upgraded with the TH20 movement, instead of the ETA 2894-2 found in many earlier generations of the model. Initial thoughts I’ve always liked the Monaco, especially the ref. 1133 B. It’s a distinctive and arguably iconic design that evokes the 1970s. And it’s different from more famous 1970s designs, which are mostly sports watches with integrated bracelets. Though the Monaco is not particularly ergonomic due to the size and shape, it is cool. The ref. 1133 remake has been in TAG Heuer’s catalogue for a long, long time with many, many iterations to date. Most earlier generations were powered by the ETA 2894 – an ETA 2892 with a module on top – that was a convenient solution for the left-hand crown. The new Monaco is an all-around upgrade with the in-house TH20 movement and titanium case. The TH20 is a competent calibre with solid specs, albeit still very industrial, but good enough for the price segment. The titanium case is a less obvious improvement in terms of design, but it improves the ...
SJX Watches
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...
SJX Watches
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 ...
Hodinkee
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...
Teddy Baldassarre
The unusual but ergonomic design spanned several decades and product families. More
Two Broke Watch Snobs
We tested 14 dive watches under $1,000 to find which ones deliver the best comfort, durability, performance, and long-term value.
Worn & Wound
We have some exciting news to share. Worn & Wound has acquired Lorier. Lauren and Lorenzo Ortega, Lorier’s founders, will remain partial owners of the business and retain creative stewardship of the brand, with Lorenzo serving as Creative Director. The goal of this partnership is to unlock Lorier’s full potential, freeing Lauren and Lorenzo to do what they love most: designing great products and engaging with the Lorier community. In turn, Lorier gains access to Worn & Wound’s infrastructure of customer service, fulfillment, product procurement, logistics, and more. Together, we’ll scale operations to meet the overwhelming demand for Lorier. This will take time. There’s significant pent-up demand for Lorier’s core line, and in one week we’ll be unveiling updated versions of some of the brand’s most popular models: the Hyperion, Hydra, Falcon, and Astra. We’ll be honest, we expect this run to sell quickly. But, rest assured, we’ll reinvest to increase production runs, rerelease other core models, and develop new lines. Until now, Lorier was run solely by the Ortegas. They poured everything into it, building a remarkable brand and an even more remarkable community. But as demand for Lorier grew, Lauren and Lorenzo hit a crossroads. With their capacity tapped out, they either needed to find the right partner to help them scale or consider options for exiting the company. Thankfully, they chose the former. We’re honored to be entrusted with Lorier’s ong...
Teddy Baldassarre
The two luxury marques embrace their shared history of '60s James Bond style.More
Monochrome
Stone dials have long held a special place in fine watchmaking. No two are ever alike, each preserving colours, textures and patterns formed over millions of years. For Gerald Charles, working with stone means embracing a challenge. The Masterlink is anything but round, and its asymmetrical silhouette leaves almost no margin for error. See how […]
SJX Watches
On the morning of March 30, 1937, 16-year-old King Farouk I of Egypt visited the workshops of Vacheron & Constantin in Geneva. He had been on the throne for less than a year. His father, Fouad I, had died in April 1936, leaving him the crown, the palaces, and a collection that included one of the most complicated watches the Swiss had ever produced. The welcome was formal, as the company’s records and the following morning’s edition of La Suisse both confirm. The young king was received by the company’s directors and shown the workshops. He was already, by multiple accounts, deeply interested in watches as objects to be understood from the inside — the tour of the manufacture was a pilgrimage. Vacheron Constantin, before Plan-les-Ouates. Image – SJX composite/Vacheron Constantin At some point during the visit, Farouk made a remark that passed into the house lore of Vacheron & Constantin and into several of his subsequent biographies, though seldom accurately. The original French, as La Suisse reported it, was precise: “C’est qu’on n’abîmera jamais autant de montres que je n’en ai abîmé étant enfant!”, which translates as “One will never ruin as many watches as I ruined as a child.” Secondary sources have rendered this with démontées — dismantled — in place of abîmé; a small but telling substitution that transforms an admission of destruction into evidence of mechanical curiosity. A child who dismantles watches is a nascent watchmaker. ...
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