6,187 articles · 2,614 videos found · page 123 of 294
Fratello
It has been nothing but an enjoyable experience to watch Fratello’s Thomas van Straaten build his watch brand. I greatly respect the passion and determination that Thomas puts into VPC Watch Co. Today, VPC launches its second model, the Type 39VM. This new dive watch is nothing short of impressive. The fact that the Type […] Visit Introducing: The Impressive VPC Type 39VM to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Every year in January, Oris hosts a preview event for media in Vail, CO to show new novelties that will be introduced during the first quarter of the year, and previewing their focus for Watches & Wonders. While much of what we saw was under embargo and will only be revealed in the coming months, there was one new release that landed on the day of the brand’s presentation. The new Big Crown Pointer Date Bullseye joins the collection this week, and slightly rethinks the Pointer Date formula that has been so successful for Oris over these past several years. Many of the best watches in this collection have worked thanks to a bold use of color (teals, greens, reds, and of course last year’s vibrant canary yellow version all come to mind). But this watch is more about graphics and contrast. The dial here makes use of gray and black tones in contrast to create what amounts, in practice, to a sector dial. Red accents provide some visual interest, but the dominant feature here is the cool “tuxedo” style presentation. At the preview event I thought it worked really well, particularly when you get the dial into strong natural light. The gray sections have a reflective quality that works well against the more matte black interior ring. It has a lot more depth than I was expecting, and legibility is really great thanks to the high contrast. The Big Crown Pointer Date Bullseye is housed in a 38mm stainless steel case that at this point will be quite familiar to many. There...
SJX Watches
Omega continues to widen its already diverse Speedmaster offerings with the Speedmaster Moonwatch in “reverse panda” livery. Available in steel or 18k Moonshine gold, the latest iteration of the classic chronograph features a black dial in mirrored black lacquer with contrasting white registers, along with a ceramic insert for the tachymeter bezel. It’s something of a riff on the Moonwatch with a white lacquered dial launched in 2024. Initial thoughts This is an appealing variation of a classic. It might bring to mind past models with similar “reverse panda” dials, but the double-layer lacquered dial looks and feels quite different from earlier dials. The glossy surfaces is a pleasing upgrade that gives this a little more refinement. Like other recent Moonwatch iterations, this facelift moves the spaceflight-qualified chronograph upmarket while still retaining its technical credentials thanks to the Master Co-Axial cal. 3861 inside. Admittedly this strays a little from the “tool watch” roots of the Moonwatch, which was originally a no-frills chronograph. But the upgrades are not merely cosmetic – the dial is actually superior in terms of execution and finish, as is the bezel, case, and most importantly, movement. The cal. 3861 is clearly a big step forward compared to its predecessor. The lacquered dials don’t cost that much more than the standard equivalent with a matte black dial, which makes them a good alternative for someone who wants a Moonwatch tha...
Worn & Wound
Joe Ottati is the owner of Ottati Car Detailing, a founder of VALT Auto Club, and a part-time Auction Specialist for Cars & Bids. He is also a co-host of the VALT podcast, which can be found on YouTube. Soft-spoken but always ready for a chat, many Bay Area car enthusiasts have likely had a conversation with Joe Ottati from the other side of a folding table, beneath a big VALT Auto Club tent. As one of the club’s founders, Ottati’s dedication to growing the car scene in the Bay Area and keeping it as inclusive and positive as possible can easily be seen in the way he interacts with everyone that comes through the tent: with kindness and small hints of the vast wealth of car knowledge within. But cars aren’t Ottati’s only hobby; he extends that interest in all things mechanical to his wrist, too. Like most of us watch nerds, Ottati’s first timepiece came in the form of a Casio. As an 8th grade graduation gift, he received a green G-SHOCK, a watch that he still owns. “It still keeps accurate time on the same battery, fourteen years later,” he says. We are currency outside his shop in Concord, where he details cars as his main job. Inside, a smörgåsbord of European beauties lie in wait, but he steers the conversation back to watches, first. “After graduating high school, I was gifted an Autodromo Stradale, which was my first mechanical watch,” he explains, “I wore it literally every day for years.” The exhibition caseback displaying the Miyota moveme...
Monochrome
Independent Finnish master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen is regarded as one of the best in his field. Working from his atelier in Motiers, which he founded in 2002, Voutilainen is known for his high-end watches with in-house movements and hand-guilloché dials. His latest watch, the 216TMZ Worldtime, features a movement with a direct-impulse double escapement, first […]
Video
SJX Watches
Episode 24 of the SJX Podcast covers the surprises and unexpected developments of 2025, a year marked by significant material innovation and bold statements from established brands. In this final episode of 2025, SJX and Brandon discuss Rolex’s landmark Land-Dweller with its revolutionary Dynapulse escapement, Breguet’s experimental magnetic constant-force mechanism that achieved unprecedented precision, and TAG Heuer’s industrialization of carbon hairsprings. Vacheron Constantin also surprised with an extraordinary 150 kg astronomical clock created for its 270th anniversary, temporarily displayed at the Louvre alongside a companion wristwatch. Thank you to all our listeners for joining us throughout 2025 – happy new year! Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Youtube.
SJX Watches
After four years leading the relaunch of Urban Jürgensen (UJ) alongside co-chief executive Alex Rosenfield, Kari Voutilainen is returning to the bench and dedicate his time to watchmaking and development, while Mr Rosenfeld will assume the role of sole chief executive. Despite this change, the relationship between Mr Voutilainen and UJ remains strong; he will still be involved, albeit in a more hands-off capacity as a shareholder, board member, and senior strategic advisor. From this vantage point, Mr Voutilainen, who has a long history with UJ, should retain substantial influence over the brand’s direction. Initial thoughts The news of Kari Voutilainen stepping back from day-to-day executive responsibilities at UJ seems natural, and was probably inevitable. Having gotten the relaunched brand into orbit, Mr Voutilainen is putting things in the hands of the team at UJ to carry on. Judging by the steady pace of deliveries so far this year, there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic about their capabilities. One reason this change seems natural is that it follows a similar move at Voutilainen earlier this month. Mr Voutilainen has been planning for the future and putting management teams in place to build a long-term business and free up more of his own capacity for working on new watches and movements. His daughter, Venla, is also stepping down from her role as chief operating officer at UJ in order to assist with the family business. Kari Voutilainen alongside recently ...
SJX Watches
By the early 1930s, Henry Graves Jr lived a life shaped by precision, inheritance, and permanence. It was from this vantage - both social and literal - that he took up residence behind the limestone façade of 834 Fifth Avenue, Rosario Candela’s neo-Renaissance co-operative that replaced hulking mansions with what contemporary coverage called “a series of luxurious homes” in a building that was promised to be “a worthy and lasting landmark”. The promise held: in 2007 the New York Observer called the address “the most pedigreed building on the snobbiest street in the country’s most real estate–obsessed city.” This reputation was sustained in part by its prodigious roster of illustrious owners, from Berwind and Rockefeller to Murdoch and Blavatnik, names that reflect the same social altitude that drew Graves there in the first place. 834 Fifth Avenue where Henry Graves Jr. lived when he received the Supercomplication in 1933. Image – The New York Public Library/collage. From the window of his high apartment, Graves could watch the constellations lift over the dark mass of branches and the curving drives, the lamps along the park paths thinning as the air cleared towards the river. Inside, in a room lined with paintings and prints, a heavy yellow gold watch lay on a table. Opened on its reverse dial, it carried that same sky, compressed into enamel and gold, calculated for this exact latitude and this exact view. The Supercomplication framed the night ...
SJX Watches
From one-off artistic creations to new escapement technologies, 2025 delivered more than its share of surprises and unexpected developments. Brands with institutional research and development departments led the way with unexpected material breakthroughs, while Geneva’s oldest watchmaker surprised (and delighted) with a clock of astronomical proportions. Rolex Land-Dweller and Dynapulse Escapement - SJX Given its institutional nature, Rolex rarely surprises, but when it does, the brand does so in a big way. The Land-Dweller was unquestionably one of the biggest debuts from Rolex in a long time. The integrated bracelet design is certainly a departure from the prevailing house style, but the Land-Dweller is a landmark mainly for the movement inside, the cal. 7135 that boasts the Dynapulse escapement. While Rolex movements have enjoyed largely incremental improvements for years, the cal. 7135 in the Land-Dweller is a radical break because it’s an all-new movement with an all-new escapement. The Dynapulse escapement is one of the most forward-thinking inventions by Rolex, arguably ever. A double-wheel, detached and indirect-tangential impulse escapement, the Dynapulse is arguably among the most advanced escapements on the market today – and the cal. 7135 is probably the most precise self-winding movement on the market. More crucially, it is being produced at scale. A new escapement is an achievement, but a new escapement manufactured in large numbers is a bona fide fea...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
From microbrands to legacy Swiss producers, explore the best world timer watches our editorial team has ever reviewed.
Video
Monochrome
Kari Voutilainen is one of the most respected names in independent watchmaking. Since founding his atelier in 2002 in the Swiss Jura, the Finnish-born genius has been creating timepieces that combine the best of traditional craftsmanship with true mechanical ingenuity. His watches won’t be mistaken for someone else’s work, with elaborate guilloché dials, exceptional finishing […]
Worn & Wound
Every few years, a new independent hits the scene with something that hits just the right notes to get all the factions of the watch world vibrating at the same frequency. However, no recent newcomer has managed to unite the watch echo chamber the way Swiss independent Berneron has. When Berneron unveiled their debut offering, the Mirage, in 2023, it was universally lauded as the most intriguing and refreshing new watch seen in ages. The Mirage was a legitimately unique take on upscale watchmaking, with a striking aesthetic and design narrative as unexpected as its asymmetrical shape and wildly ambitious bespoke movement. The Mirage’s styling was initially met with comparisons to the Cartier Crash, but the reality is its melted case shape was an elegant solution for housing the watch’s impressive mechanics–a case shrink-wrapped around a new caliber that was designed from scratch, free from the rules of traditional movement design. The Mirage was a helluva of a breakout hit; it had mystique, it was technically impressive, and it was different without resorting to arbitrary design choices. The Mirage’s success would be difficult to replicate, but with the Quantième, Berneron has both side-steped the sophomore slump and cemented the reputation of its founder and Creative Director Sylvain Berneron as a true visionary and a generational talent. The Quantième applies Berneron’s virtuosic technicality to a watch that embraces a more traditional look than the Mir...
Teddy Baldassarre
The Longines Heritage Classic Sector Dial has, in its relatively short time on the market, set itself apart from the rest of the Swiss brand's vintage-inspired Heritage series with its combination of retro charm, understated dimensions, and minimalist aesthetics, all at a very approachable price point, Here is a closer look at the watch, with a brief foray into other recent timepieces that just might have been inspired by its success. [toc-section heading="A Bit of Longines History"] Longines was founded in 1832 in the Swiss Jura town of Saint-Imier by Auguste Agassiz and two partners. Agassiz (above, left) became the sole proprietor in 1846 after both partners, attorneys by trade, retired from the watch business, and shortly thereafter, he brought his nephew, an enterprising economist named Ernest Françillon (above, right), into the company. It was Françillon, in 1867, who moved all of the firm’s various watchmaking disciplines - which were scattered throughout dozens of independent workshops called établisseurs - under one roof, to a factory that was situated in a scenic area called “Les Longines” or “The Long Meadows,” thus giving the company its now-familiar name. In 1889, Francillon registered the famous Longines logo with a winged hourglass - today the world’s oldest unchanged, active logo according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Among Longines’ many milestones under Françillon’s management were the company’s ...
Teddy Baldassarre
The PRX stormed onto the scene in 2021 as an intriguing integrated bracelet watch at an approachable price point that had yet to be seen in the category. Four years, later, the Swiss brand has introduced what many would argue should have been offered all along: a sizing sweet-spot 38mm case in Titanium, or the surprise
Worn & Wound
Editor’s Note: In addition to being a writer and member of the international watch media community, Bhanu Chopra is also the co-founder of Micro Praha, a regional watch fair in Prague, which just celebrated its third year. We asked Bhanu to share his thoughts on the evolution of the event, as well as some photos from this year’s festivities. Regional watch fairs have been around for several years, but their focus remained mostly mainstream brands and few independent brands. I remember visiting Vienna Time and Munich Time in the mid-2000s, and seeing Lange & Sohne and Habring booths in the same hall. Three years ago, Ondrej Vislocky and I, two watch enthusiasts and friends, took the initiative to create a micro brand watch fair for the Central European region. Prague happens to be in the very heart of Central Europe with easy access to Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Italy, and even the Nordic countries. It also happens to be the city where we live. We are big fans of micro brands, so we wanted to bring our enthusiasm to Micro Praha. The U.K. has a very active micro indie scene with fairs throughout the year. There are watch fairs in Germany, France, Italy, and Poland, but the participation remains very regional. Micro Praha brings together brands from around the globe. This year 82 brands participated, representing 24 countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Poland, the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Finland, Singapore, Taiwan, Sweden, the U.K., and Czech Republic....
Video
Monochrome
Albishorn is a young brand with a rather peculiar concept. Created by Sebastien Chaulmontet, ex-La Joux-Perret, in charge of the revival of Arnold & Son and Angelus, and now serving as the Head of Innovation and Marketing at Sellita Watch Co SA and Manufacture AMT, the brand launched with a rather cool idea: imaginary vintage. […]
SJX Watches
Seiko pinks out its affordable bestseller with the Seiko 5 Sports SKX Series 38 mm Pink Panther, a tribute to the award-winning animated short staring the vexatious feline. In addition unique dial, bezel, case back, and crown, the 9,999-piece limited edition is delivered in themed packaging along with a pink nylon strap – complete with pink paw prints. Initial thoughts Since its launch in 2019, the Seiko 5 Sports has served as a platform for seemingly countless co-branded limited editions. These collaborations span streetwear labels, anime franchises, consumer brands, artists, and American cartoon characters, from Snoopy to the Pink Panther. The “5KX” base makes commercial sense for such projects, offering the mass appeal of an easy-wearing diver-style watch that remains affordable enough for an impulse buy. While Seiko’s entry-level mechanical watches are arguably not as cost-competitive as they once were given the rise of micro-brands (many of which rely on Seiko-sourced movements), they remain a better value than most mass market watches given the brand’s in-house know-how and storied history. Editions like this Pink Panther model add extra appeal, both in terms of the theme as well as the (relatively) limited run. The Pink Panther The Pink Panther debuted in the 1963 detective comedy film of the same name as an animated embodiment of the titular pink diamond. Created by American animators Hawley Pratt and Friz Freleng, the character soon eclipsed the film its...
Monochrome
With the Inverto Titanium, independent watchmaking atelier Lederer refines the 2023 Central Impulse Chronometer InVerto, a large 44mm watch in a blackened case, into a compact, titanium-framed display of one of the most sophisticated escapement architectures in modern watchmaking. It’s a culmination of forty years of mechanical experimentation, distilled into 39mm of pure chronometric artistry, […]
Fratello
What do you do when you have a good thing going? You double down, of course! Formex spent years developing a ceramic Essence with best-in-class finishing and a first-ever ceramic micro-adjustable clasp. The Swiss brand fitted it with a skeletonized dial for its debut earlier this year. And then, Formex doubled down indeed. This September, […] Visit Formex Doubles Down On Ceramic With The Essence Ceramica Automatic COSC “Dark Matter” 41mm to read the full article.
Monochrome
For its ninth year partnering with Alpiner Extreme Automatic Freeride World Tour Special Edition (FWT), Alpina introduces a fresh take on the Alpiner Extreme Automatic, a model positioned at the intersection of traditional Swiss watchmaking and high-altitude sport. While the brand has long aligned itself with alpine culture, this Special Edition, housed in the compact version […]
Video
Fratello
Following a pause in Speedy Tuesday events (the last one took place at the end of 2023), we invite you to register for the upcoming Speedy Tuesday event in Hong Kong. This event will take place on January 13th, 2026, and will be co-hosted by Omega. Speedy Tuesday Hong Kong Event 2026 Nothing beats meeting […] Visit Sign Up For The January 2026 Speedy Tuesday Event In Hong Kong to read the full article.
SJX Watches
On 27 April 1927 a nurse walked into a room at the Cleveland Clinic carrying a leather case. The patient was sixty-four, a section of skull removed, the ache of radiation still working behind his eyes. On the charts he appeared as James Ward Packard, co-founder of Packard Electric and Packard Motor Car Company. To the nurse he was a difficult case. To Geneva he remained the client for whom Patek Philippe had just completed movement number 198’023, an astronomical watch that had absorbed three years of calculation and bench work. James Ward Packard. Image – Lehigh University Photograph Collection Inside the case lay a carillon minute repeater on three gongs, coupled to a full perpetual calendar with moon phase, equation of time, and sunrise and sunset indications calculated for Warren, Ohio. On the reverse, a deep blue sky disk carried five hundred and twelve gold stars, turning at sidereal speed around a small Polaris. The sky above his birthplace had been compressed into a circle of lapis and gold, moving in his hands as it moved above the town where he had been born, built factories, endowed an engineering laboratory, and which he now understood lay beyond any realistic hope of return. Consolation held little appeal for him. Packard placed his trust in precision, in the ability to describe a situation so exactly that it became bearable. The watch answered a question he had circled since childhood: if the world always exceeds your grasp, can you still know, to the min...
Worn & Wound
While far from Topper Fine Jeweler’s first collaboration, the original Doxa x Topper Sub 300 “Great White” quickly came to define the strong suits of both the watch boutique and the celebrated Swiss brand. That original Great White was based on Doxa’s iconic Sub 300 model, but with some cheeky changes; namely, a luminous white dial, and the distinct lack of a date window. A year later, Doxa and Topper have teamed up again to produce a new version of the Great White, with the specs, and complications, shaken up. The new Doxa x Topper Sub 250T GMT “Great White” brings back the previous model’s cushion case design, but with slightly smaller dimensions. Measuring in at 40mm by 42.9mm in diameter, the new Great White trades in a fraction of the water resistance (250 meters versus the 300 meters offered on the Sub 300), but swaps in a brand new GMT complication that both shakes up the visuals, and adds a new layer of practicality. I had the opportunity to wear the new Great White for a few days, and my impressions of the overall design are largely the same as they were for its predecessor: the luminous white dial and Pantone 2955 C dark blue details create a look akin to porcelain pottery, while also calling to mind the iconic fish after which the watch is named. The beautiful beads-of-rice bracelet is back, and very easy to adjust, thanks to a micro-adjustment clasp and easy-to-remove links. It pairs wonderfully with the sleek cushion case and elevates the Gre...
Worn & Wound
For those familiar with New York-by-way-of-Hong Kong menswear retailer The Armoury, Mark Cho’s move into watches won’t come as any major shock. His brand has long flirted with watchmakers and collaboration over the years, including with H. Moser & Cie., UNIMATIC, and Paulin. Now, Temporal Works, co-founded with The Armoury’s creative director, Elliot Hammer, is the natural progression for the brand. Their inaugural collection, Series A, reflects the same approach that has defined The Armoury since it opened in 2010 (and why the store has recently been named one of New York Times’ top 50 menswear stores in the country). Taking inspiration from a bygone era of tailoring, The Armoury is all wood-paneled, brick-walled masculinity that celebrates an inherent grace when dressing well. The Series A has this same throughline, using Cho’s singular vision of his retail store – masculine, elegant, and minimalist. In fact, the connection between Temporal Works and his existing brand is a throughline explicitly made by the founder, who noted, “Our goal was straightforward: create watches as thoughtfully designed and effortlessly wearable as a perfectly tailored navy blazer.” This jumping-off point seems to work in both Hammer and Cho’s favor, as the Series A clearly shows an unwavering vision of a brand identity that feels complementary without being derivative (something other lifestyle-to-watch brands like Louis Vuitton and Montblanc sometimes struggle with). This...
Monochrome
When it comes to watch brands, Moser is something of an iconoclast. From the start, Moser took a less conventional path, often taking jabs at the watchmaking industry with the Swiss Alp watch, deriding smartwatches, and the Swiss Mad watch with its Swiss cheese case. Time has worked its way, and Moser’s preoccupations have matured […]
Video
Question, suggestion, or just want to say hi? Drop a note.