40,935 articles · 6,077 videos found · page 1068 of 1568
Time+Tide
With a piece of a WWII hero's Spitfire built into the case, the Zero West S5e and S6e have a hell of a story to tell.The post Zero West honour a WWII hero with a duo of Spitfire Escape models appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
Here is a quick, feel-good story that shows it’s always important to take care of those around you! A good Samaritan in the United States posted a photo on Reddit with a watch, noting that it was a gift from his neighbor. The neighbor wanted to thank him for all his help. We’ve withheld names […] Visit A Golden Gift: Redditor Receives Gold Rolex Daytona As A Token Of Gratitude From A Neighbor to read the full article.
Fratello
Why is there a Rolex GMT-Master II in the picture when this story is about quirky GMT watches? Well, that’s because no matter how far off the beaten GMT path you stray - Rolex set the path with a 12-hour dial combined with a 24-hour hand and a 24-hour bezel, and nearly everybody followed - […] Visit Quirky GMT Watches From Parmigiani, Papar, Rolex, And More to read the full article.
SJX Watches
I don’t often read spiels from watch sellers, though there are exceptions like Langepedia, a specialist in the German brand that I have long been a fan of. Alp Sever, the gentleman behind Langepedia, recently published a story that caught my eye. It was an ode to a watch already sold, but an important one worth commemorating, the Tourbillon Pour le Mérite ref. 701.008, a unique piece in white gold with silver sub-dials. Mr Sever’s story got my attention because I remember the watch. It first emerged publicly just over a decade ago at Christie’s, where it had been consigned by presumably the original owner (who was presumably someone connected with the brand’s corporate parent in the 1990s). I admired the watch in person during a preview exhibition, but back then it was as far out of my budget as the Lange 31’s mainspring is long. The unique dial has a concise, crisp aesthetic that is almost monochromatic and accentuated by the lozenge-shaped markers also found on the pink gold variant. Intriguing, another unique Pour le Mérite exists with a similar all-black dial, but with a smaller, 36 mm case. This “panda” iteration is more appealing, however, as is its conventional, 38.5 mm case. The unique Tourbillon Pour le Mérite sold for CHF437,000 at Christie’s Geneva in May 2014 – extraordinary at the time. In the same auction, a third-series Patek Philippe ref. 2499 in yellow gold sold for less. The Tourbillon Pour le Mérite was enjoying a little bit of a bo...
Fratello
Last year, I shared the story of finding an Art Deco Oris watch in a suitcase. I had been looking through the case at a vintage shop here in Sydney when I saw something glistening. It turned out to be a rather battered and rusty Oris watch. It didn’t run, but I liked the dial […] Visit Restoring An Old Art Deco Oris Watch Found In A Suitcase to read the full article.
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Two Broke Watch Snobs
I've never, not once, looked at a purple watch and thought to myself-"hell yeah". But Seiko has a way of making me reconsider things, especially when there’s a story behind the color. With the new Prospex SSC955, they’ve tied a punchy shade of Edo purple to something bigger: the World Athletics Championships coming to Tokyo in 2025. And the result is a solar chronograph that feels more thoughtful than flashy, which, frankly, is exactly what Seiko’s better at than most.
Teddy Baldassarre
The story of the Rolex Explorer 36 124270 began at Watches & Wonders 2021, which represented an important anniversary for Rolex in marking 50 years of the Explorer II, and expectations were high on what we might see the brand do with the collection. Contrary to some of the wilder predictions, Rolex played things relatively conservatively, bringing the new 3285 movement into the line while retaining the model's 42mm case. Ironically, a reversion to classic proportions did come, but it would be in the Explorer collection and a new Reference 124270, which moved back to a 36mm case size for the first time since the 39mm 214270 was introduced in 2010. This was seen as a very un-Rolex move at the time, but today, more than three years later, it’s a watch that makes a lot of sense, not just on its own, but for Rolex as a brand. The Rolex Explorer 36mm next to the older 39mm Rolex is a brand that generally moves in one direction and, until relatively recently, doesn’t go out of its way to acknowledge its past in any overt way. While Rolex still isn’t making throwback or vintage-inspired watches, the company has taken a slightly different approach in embracing its historic design DNA while transitioning its full range to the 32xx series of movements. Examples of this include the current generation of the Submariner, which has gone back to a thinner, more traditional lug; the Sea-Dweller Reference 126600, which uses a bit of red text on the bottom of the dial; and the most ove...
Fratello
It’s Sunday morning, so it’s time for another heated Sunday Morning Showdown. Two recently released summer divers take center stage in this week’s battle. The first is the colorful Tudor Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue.” The watch reintroduces the aesthetic of the 1990s Tudor Submariner ref. 79190 with its mirror-polished bezel. It is combined with […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Tudor Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue” Vs. Breitling SuperOcean Heritage B31 Automatic 40 Kelly Slater Edition to read the full article.
Monochrome
The title Just Because says it all… because today we’re not talking about the latest release of a brand for sale the next day in stores, waiting for you to spend your money. Today, we are publishing a story for a good cause, to benefit those in need, those who have fewer opportunities than many […]
Teddy Baldassarre
Making its debut at the 2023 edition of Watches & Wonders, the Tudor Black Bay 54 caused something of a riot with its dead-on vintage reimagining of the Oyster Prince Submariner Reference 7922 from, you guessed it, 1954. Truly, apart from some dial text details and a more contemporary handset, you could easily mistake one for the other from across a room. For fans of historically sized divers, this was pure catnip, without the accompanying headaches associated with vintage watches, most notably, fragility and authenticity. The larger blue Black Bay 58 (left) next to the 37mm Black Bay 54 (right) Getting both the look and a warranty proved to be impossible to resist, leading to waiting lists at ADs and plenty of Instagram FOMO. Let’s face it, many collectors are more attuned to the stylistic path that Tudor has taken in recent memory, with an aesthetic that’s more tool than jewel. The Tudor of yore was a more attainable Rolex, with models like the Tudor Sub nearly identical to the Rolex version, apart from the movement within. But as Rolex has sized up and blinged out, the two corporate siblings’ paths have diverged, with Tudor more than happy to scoop up the business of enthusiasts who prefer a retro feel in their timepieces. Like many armchair super-spies, I’m all-in on a watch that wouldn’t be out of place on Connery’s wrist in Thunderball, despite having never once fired a speargun. So now that the dust has settled and the BB54 has been out in the wild for ...
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Fratello
Today on Fratello, we’re sharing the story of how two adventurers crossed Antarctica on foot in 1989. One of those men, Reinhold Messner, wore an Omega Speedmaster on his wrist during the journey. Traversing a vast expanse of ice, snow, and howling winds is no small feat. Antarctica is one of the starkest landscapes on […] Visit Crossing Antarctica With An Omega Speedmaster to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
How well do you know your luxury watch brands? The timepiece industry is populated by many dozens of companies - a handful of them still independent, many others now members of a larger luxury-goods conglomerate - each with its own unique origin story, historical highlights, and technical and aesthetic brand DNA. Here we've gathered what we consider the 60 watch brands that should be on the radar of watch enthusiasts and given you a brief rundown of what makes each one special. In the interest of being informative (and transparent), we've divided them into sections: brands owned by the two major Swiss luxury groups (Swatch and Richemont), brands within the French LVMH Group, Japanese Citizen Group, and the small Swiss concern Sowind; the largest, best-known independent companies, and the leading brands among the rest of the independents. We've even added a little tidbit of trivia for each brand. TOP LUXURY WATCH BRANDS: SWATCH GROUP BLANCPAIN Blancpain was founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain, making it one of the oldest watch brands in existence - one of the few, in fact, that can say it’s been making watches longer than the United States has been a country. The maison offers a plethora of small and high complications in its extensive and elegant Villeret collection, named for the Swiss village where it originated before moving to the Vallee de Joux in 1983, including a so-called “complete” calendar, a signature complication but these days Blancpain ...
SJX Watches
A year ago, we covered a self-taught watchmaker who built his first piece by watch, Dewey Vicknair. Now the American gunsmith has completed his second watch, a regulator with a jump hour function that’s once again hand-made. He published a comprehensive photo essay detailing the steps in manufacturing the watch, which is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in a contemporary, yet fully manual watchmaking process. Initial thoughts The story of Mr. Vicknair is unlike most independent watchmakers. Now in his mid-fifties, he long ago built his reputation as a maker and restorer of firearms before turning to watchmaking. Self-taught, Mr. Vicknair is definitely a quick study; he adapted his metal-working skills to horology and produced his first watch swiftly. Even more interesting, perhaps, is the way he creates his own tooling. From a vertical drill press to various cutters and even custom tweezers for bending the hairspring overcoil, Mr. Vicknair seems able to build any tool to cater to his requirements. Artisanal watchmakers usually use restored vintage machines when making watches, but it is very rare that they develop the tools themselves. Mr. Vicknair’s extensive experience as a gunsmith gives him an excellent understanding of machinery that cannot simply be taught in watchmaking schools. His work is clearly that of a very talented mechanical craftsman who just happens to have mastered watchmaking – after having mastered gunsmithing. The watch itself is pre...
Teddy Baldassarre
The origin of Blancpain x Swatch is the story of two vastly different watchmakers. One is the oldest watch brand in the world, in existence since 1735, and renowned for making some of the most high-end luxury timepieces in the industry, regularly carrying prices of thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. The other traces its origins only to the 1980s and made its name by producing plastic-cased, mass-market fashion watches for youthful consumers at average prices around $300. Through a convoluted series of events arising from watch-industry upheavals in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the newbie department-store brand bought the historical prestige brand, making it part of a modern-day Murderers Row of legacy watchmakers within what is now known as the Swatch Group. Both brands continued to do what they did best, and never did their efforts really intersect. Blancpain has adhered to its philosophy of never, in its almost-300-year history, making a watch with a quartz movement. Swatch, by contrast, was the brand that brought quartz into the mainstream of Swiss watchmaking in the first place, and still uses quartz movements in most (but not all) of its voluminous output of watches. But the watchword (no pun intended) of the 21st Century timepiece industry seems increasingly to be, Never Say Never. The Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch (Obviously) Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch "Mission On Earth" In 2022 came a scenario that was somehow both unthinkable and inevitable at the same ...
Teddy Baldassarre
We never really know how – or when – it happens, but some watches manage to achieve an iconic status that gives them a certain immortality long after discontinuation. We know the types, from the Speedmaster to the Submariner to the Royal Oak. But not all icons are pricey and they’re certainly not all Swiss. Enter the Seiko SKX007, a watch without a nickname, whose reference number is as recognizable as any of the aforementioned icons I just listed. The SKX, as we call it shorthand, is the value king in all of horology because of its capability from top to bottom, literally. Today we are going to be examining the SKX007, a watch that Seiko has since moved on from and never truly replaced. We will look at it at face value (as well as current secondary market value), for the watch’s impact on collector culture, and for its staying power even in the face of no longer remaining in production. Seiko SKX007 History And Specs In order to properly contextualize the SKX007, we must go back in time to the 1970s, when Seiko made its first impactful dive watch. Notice how I say "impactful," as the lot of you ready yourselves to remind me not to discount the 62MAS. For the record, I am not – at least not entirely. The 62MAS has proven to be a classic for Seiko, but the diver that really put the brand on the map in terms of culturally relevant tool watches was the Ref. 6105 which was worn by Martin Sheen in the film Apocalypse Now. It has since gone on to take the name of his c...
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Deployant
Tudor released a new Black Bay 58, now with a brilliant burgundy dial and a matching bezel. The deep red hue isn’t just a bold aesthetic choice; it’s a tribute to a 1990s Tudor Submariner prototype that featured a similar burgundy dial and bezel. While that prototype never made it to production, its influence is undeniable in this new release.
SJX Watches
Rolex has entered uncharted territory with the Land-Dweller, arguably the most advanced and radical creation from a hitherto conservative brand. The Land-Dweller is significant, perhaps even game changing, not because of the integrated bracelet or patented solid lume, but because of the cal. 7135, a new calibre with an all-new double-wheel escapement known as Dynapulse and a ceramic balance staff. (This story details the technical advances in the movement; for a review of the watch, check out the accompanying story.) The Land-Dweller 40 mm in platinum The fundamentals Why is it significant, or even game changing? The cal. 7135 is the first in-house, serial production Rolex movement that is high frequency, beating at 5 Hz or 36,000 beats per hour. All things being equal, a higher frequency promises superior timekeeping. Despite the higher frequency, the cal. 7135 still has a 66-hour power reserve. That’s thanks in part to the Dynapulse escapement which is 30% more efficient than a conventional Swiss lever escapement, while occupying essentially the same volume of space. The balance assembly of the cal. 7135 Dynapulse is one of several innovations that make the cal. 7135 a landmark, especially since it will be produced at scale. While Rolex has traditionally been associated with incremental innovation, the cal. 7135 is a revolution. The Land-Dweller is the subject of 32 filed patents, 18 of which are unique to the watch. Moreover, 16 of the patents unique to the watch are ...
Fratello
Another Sunday, another showdown! This week, we’ll dive headfirst into the world of luxury dive watches, and two examples with legendary lineage will go head to head. The first is the latest iteration of the Rolex Sea-Dweller, a watch that finds its roots in the late 1960s as the professional brother of the Submariner. The […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech BOC IV Vs. Rolex Sea-Dweller Ref. 126600 to read the full article.
Quill & Pad
If the M.A.D.1 broke the rules, the M.A.D.2 spins a different story. Born from the mind of Eric Giroud – designer, rebel, and longtime MB&F; Friend – this timepiece is a love letter to the wild, electrifying spirit of 1990s club culture.
Hodinkee
The number one business podcast delivers the definitive story of one of watchmaking's – or the world's – most iconic brands.
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Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing info@wornandwound.com. The GTA 6 Hype is Getting Real Has there ever been a video game more hotly anticipated than the upcoming GTA 6? The latest entry in the Grant Theft Auto franchise doesn’t have an official release date yet, but developer Rockstar Games has indicated a late 2025 launch date. Beyond that, however, those in the know have been exceedingly tight lipped, which, as argued in this editorial in Screen Rant, has only served to bolster interest. Only a single trailer for the game has been released, and we’re now over a year removed from it, which has given fans plenty of time to speculate and hypothesize about what’s to come. It’s been reported that analysts expect GTA 6 could gross over $3 billion in its first year, with $1 billion coming from pre-orders alone, which would make it, by just about any measure, one of the highest grossing entertainment projects ever, not just in the realm of gaming, but in movies, music, etc. It’s too early to say for sure, but it wouldn’t be surprising if GTA 6 winds up being the piece of pop culture that 2025 is most remembered for. The Strange W...
Time+Tide
We get the chance to discover the intention behind Smyth's use of ingredients, and of course manage to tie watches into the story.The post How Clare Smyth turns humble, everyday ingredients into something special appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
This is the story of GaryG's pursuit, and eventual capture, of a classic vintage watch: a Type 20 “big eye” flyback chronograph manufactured by Mathey-Tissot.
Quill & Pad
There aren’t that many rules that GaryG applies to watch collecting, but one rule that he has found critically important is that it’s crucial to handle a watch before buying it. This story however is about how Gary completely violated that rule and nonetheless came away happy with a watch that few people would have guessed he would buy: the 2020-launched Oyster Perpetual 41 from Rolex with a bright turquoise blue dial.
Fratello
Our Fratelli Stories series shares some of the wonderful and interesting backstories of our readers around the world. Today, we speak with Robert Eames, who is an enthusiast for all sorts of watches and has a fascinating backstory. One vintage Seiko has particular resonance with him. Fratello reader Robert Eames wrote in after a story […] Visit Fratelli Stories: Retrieving NASA Rocket Boosters While Wearing A Seiko to read the full article.
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