Revolution
The Holy Trinity, Part 2: The Rule Breakers of the Swiss Watch Industry
In Part 2 of our series on the watch industry’s greatest leaders, we look at three individuals who have transformed the landscape of Swiss watchmaking.
Results for The 1985 Swatch Consolidation
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Deployant
1-on-1: Comparing the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph and the Vacheron Constantin Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955
In this 1-on-1, we compare the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph and the Vacheron Constantin Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955.
Time+Tide
RECOMMENDED READING: This is what the future of the secondary watch market looks like
The buying and selling of second-hand watches has traditionally been an unglamorous, possibly even seedy, affair. The traditional image of that side of the industry has been one of tight margins, hard sales talk and the ever-present threat of fakes. Well, in the last few years it’s a part of the business that’s been undergoing … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: This is what the future of the secondary watch market looks like appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Felix’s first nice watch – an Archimede Pilot that’s still in the rotation 10 years on
So it’s a little bit weird to be writing an intro blurb for my own ‘Every Watch Tells a Story’ video, but there you go. I’d also say that my own ‘story’, brief as it is, doesn’t stack up to some of the others we’ve got in terms of drama. But it is my story, … ContinuedThe post Felix’s first nice watch – an Archimede Pilot that’s still in the rotation 10 years on appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Chanel Watch Design Chief on Reimagining the J12
Perhaps the most successful ladies’ watch design of the 21st century, the all-ceramic J12 made Chanel a significantly player in watchmaking. After a run of nearly 20 years, the first generation J12 finally bowed out at Baselworld 2019, where it was replaced by the new J12. Possessed of not just a new design, but a “manufacture” movement produced by a joint venture of Chanel and Tudor, the new J12 is a major event for Chanel not just because it will sell in vast numbers, but because it’s the first entry-level watch powered by proprietary movement. The man behind the revamp of Chanel’s star wristwatch is Arnaud Chastaingt, a modest man with a keen eye for detail who leads the Chanel Watchmaking Creation Studio. A graduate of two Paris-based design schools, the École des Arts Appliqués and Strate School of Design, Mr Chastaingt spent a decade styling watches at Cartier before joining heading across the city to Chanel. The Calibre 1 inside the Monsieur de Chanel Since starting at Chanel in 2013, Mr Chastaingt has overseen a slew of new designs, most notably the brand’s first in-house, high-end men’s watch, the Monsieur de Chanel (which really impressed me at its launch). Unlike most watch designers, Mr Chastaingt oversees the design of the entire watch, including the movement, explaining why Chanel’s own movements share a distinctive house style centred on repeating circles. I recently spoke with Mr Chastaingt explain the genesis of the J12. He wa...
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QUICK LOOK: The Doxa SUB 300T Aristera, the Lefty Edition of the Classic Orange Dive Watch
SJX Watches
Introducing the Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph “Only Watch”
Montblanc recently introduced the 1858 Split Second Chronograph with a bronze case, black, multi-scale dial, and a monopusher, split-seconds Minerva movement inside. Priced at just 33,500 Swiss francs, it is a bargain as such things go. Now Montblanc has taken the covers off the one-of-a-kind, titanium version with a blue agate dial created for charity auction Only Watch 2019. Though it costs a bit more – the estimate is 42,000-48,000 Swiss francs – the watch still feels like a steal. The dial is made of blue agate, a hard, semiprecious stone, with a graduated colour that darkens towards the edges. Design-wise it’s the same as that found on the bronze model: inspired by a 1930s aviator’s chronograph made by Minerva, it has a double chronograph scale – a telemeter on the outer rim and a snail-shaped tachymeter in the middle. The contrast of white and red against the blue dial is both refreshing and striking. Notably, the dial forgoes the faux-aged “lume” of the bronze model; the cathedral hands and numerals are instead filled with white Super-LumiNova, letting the retro design speak for itself. The large dimensions of the case remain unchanged from the standard bronze model – 44mm in diameter and 14.55mm high – but it’s significantly lighter thanks to the lightness of titanium. The sapphire caseback reveals the gorgeous, hand-wound and hand-finished MB M16.31. It is essentially the MB M16.29 derived from a pocket watch movement, but w...
Time+Tide
A winning watch – The Seiko Astron Novak Djokovic wore as he hoisted the Wimbledon 2019 trophy high
Editor’s note: Beyond being one of the greatest tennis players of our time, Novak Djokovic is a pretty great watch ambassador. He’s been with Seiko since 2014, and over the years the watch he’s most often seen wearing (and occasionally lending his name to a limited edition) is the Astron. So, after he beat Roger … ContinuedThe post A winning watch – The Seiko Astron Novak Djokovic wore as he hoisted the Wimbledon 2019 trophy high appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
Introducing: The TAG Heuer Monaco 1989-1999 Limited Edition (Live Pics & Pricing)
The classic Monaco gets a serious '90s makeover
Revolution
Introducing the Monaco 1989–1999 Limited Edition
TAG Heuer introduces number three of five limited editions, created to mark the 50th anniversary of their iconic Monaco chronograph this time, celebrating the 90s.
Time+Tide
RECOMMENDED READING: Trust in the Tool Watch
As you might have noticed (here, here and here), I’m quite interested in bulletproof watches being used in situations with bullets (figuratively). I enjoy, as much as the next guy, reading about the (somewhat theoretical) limits of well-made watches, if it be temperature, altitude or water pressure. But what I love even more is reading … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: Trust in the Tool Watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Video
REVIEW: The Most Authentic Pilot's Watch of Stowa, The new Flieger Original
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Ep. #134 – Watch Spotting in Italy and Shooting The Shit
We're back from our break! And more important, Mike's back from Italy and he's sharing what it was like falling for a Roman taxi scam, breaking the window in his AirBnB, losing his passport, and (obviously) what watches he saw over there.
SJX Watches
The Forgotten Most-Complicated-Watch-Ever Made for the Most Famous Banker Ever
The timepieces that held the title of “most complicated watch ever”, as well as their famous owners, are mostly well known – save for the long-lost English grand complication commissioned by banker J. Pierpont Morgan. Morgan was a great collector of watches, and his grandest timepiece was a double-dial, astronomical pocket watch made by J. Player & Son. It was the most complicated English watch ever made, and perhaps the most complicated watch in the world at the time of its completion. Though Morgan’s watch has long been surpassed in complexity by other hands, and it bears the name of a defunct English brand, it has arguably the greatest provenance of all super-pocket watches. Unlike James Ward Packard or Henry Graves, who were both wealthy, accomplished, and little known individuals outside their fields, Morgan is still the best known banker in history; the biggest bank in the United States today bears his name. The grandest of all time But first, a brisk walk through the grand complication hall of fame. The most famous most-complicated-watch-ever is, of course, the Patek Philippe Graves “supercomplication”, which sold for US$24m in 2014 and still holds the record for the most expensive watch ever sold. Commissioned by American banker Henry Graves Jr in 1925, and delivered in 1933, the Graves pocket watch outdid the now obscure Leroy 01 that was sold in 1904 to a Portuguese millionaire. And it also surpassed the various watches produced for automobile ...
Time+Tide
The ultimate watch glossary – chronograph scales. What they mean and how they work
Telemeters, tachymeters and the rest. They look cool, but how do chronograph scales work?The post The ultimate watch glossary – chronograph scales. What they mean and how they work appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
RECOMMENDED READING: An introduction to the watch internet
Despite what many may think, the birth of the watch internet happened a long time before Instagram was around. Back in those days (in an almost Grecian purity), the forum was king, with moderators wielding the sword of truth, slaying inaccurate idiots with all of the mercy Zeus was known for. These forums, most popularly … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: An introduction to the watch internet appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
The most interesting watch bracelets of 2018
Thanks to their central function in the time-telling process, watch dials often get a significant amount of coverage in the horological media. But this often ignores the thing that keeps the dial on your wrist in the first place - the bracelet or strap. Considering the most customisable part of a watch is the bracelet - and … ContinuedThe post The most interesting watch bracelets of 2018 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Watch Expert Builds The Best Affordable Watch Collection
SJX Watches
Breguet Introduces the Type 20 for Only Watch 2019
Among vintage military watches, some are more interesting and significant than others. They include the IWC Mark 11 and Rolex “Milsub”, and also the early Type 20 chronographs made by Breguet for the French air force and navy in the 1950s. Breguet has revived the first-generation, military-issue Type 20 for Only Watch 2019. The one of a kind remake is faithful not just in terms of dimensions and aesthetics, but also the movement. Instead of a modern calibre, it is powered by a refurbished, vintage Valjoux 235 movement, just like the original. Breguet Type 20 “Only Watch” And a bit of nomenclature explanation before proceeding: “Type 20” refers to a French military specification for pilot’s chronographs, which refers to the original, military-issue watches. Watches produced for the civilian market, including the modern day models, are identified by the model name in Roman numerals – Type XX. The origins After WWII, Breguet was one of several watchmakers, including Mathey-Tissot, Airain, Vixa, Auricoste, and Dodane, that supplied Type 20 chronographs to the French Air Force and Naval Air Force. While the actual Type 20 specification has been lost, the general consensus is that it called for a watch a prominent seconds track, a 38mm-ish case with a screw-in back and thickness of not more than 14mm, accuracy of within eight seconds a day, and most crucially, a flyback chronograph with a start-stop function that would work reliably at least 300 ti...
Hodinkee
Recommended Reading: The Apple Watch Will Outsell All Swiss Watches In 2019
The war for our wrists is far from over.
Time+Tide
RECOMMENDED READING: It might be the biggest, but the Apple Watch hasn’t crushed the Swiss
Fun fact: Last year the Apple Watch shipped 22.5 million units. In the same period, the Swiss watch industry exported 23.7 million watches. Scary stuff if you’re a Swiss watch brand. Especially scary if your business is rooted in quartz watches - the market sector that’s being most aggressively eroded by the Apple onslaught. This … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: It might be the biggest, but the Apple Watch hasn’t crushed the Swiss appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
The 369-Year Old Watch in Mint Condition
A “new old stock” Rolex or Patek Philippe from the 1950s is a marvel. So this Jehan Cremsdorff pocket watch – which was made around 1650, making it almost 370 years old – is miraculous. So incredible is the Cremsdorff that for pocket watch collectors, the last time it was sold was a landmark event; the watch was the “Bao Dai” or “Paul Newman” or Grandmaster Chime “Only Watch” of the 1980s. Part of the epic collection of pocket watches owned by a late German billionaire, which also includes the George Daniels Space Traveller I, the Cremsdorff watch is an incredible object that has been mysteriously well preserved over the centuries, with only minimal restoration to the enamel. Though little is known about him, Jehan Cremsdorff was a watchmaker active in Paris during the late 17th century. Its immensely elaborate enamel work indicates Cremsdorff probably made the watch for a royal or noble client; the identity of the original owner is lost to time, but the watch came from Sweden when it was first sold publicly. Made of thin sheets of gold, the case is entirely enamelled, inside and out, an artistic accomplishment that was done by a now unknown Parisian enameller. The outer case is decorated with champleve and relief enamel, forming a remarkably intricate and vivid flower motif. And for good measure the outer case is also set with diamonds on both sides. The inside faces of the case are finished in a brilliant turquoise enamel that’s been...
Time+Tide
Dialled in – the 10 most interesting watch dials of 2018
As we naturally personify the objects we come into contact with, the hour and minute indicators on a watch become articulating hands, and the dial becomes a face. Just as we will closely study the faces of the people around us, we search for meaning in the faces of our watches as we read the … ContinuedThe post Dialled in – the 10 most interesting watch dials of 2018 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Could this be the Best New Microbrand? A 200m Automatic GMT Watch That Looks Awesome for $399
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Breguet Type 20 Only Watch 2019
The brand's unique contribution is a vintage-influenced, manually wound flyback chronograph that uses a historical column-wheel movement.
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Unique Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A For Only Watch 2019
A bonafide mega watch gets the salmon-and-steel treatment.
SJX Watches
Introducing the F.P. Journe Astronomic Blue for Only Watch 2019
A young Francois-Paul Journe created his sixth ever watch in 1987; it was an “astronomic planetary watch”, a pocket watch with faces on each side. Over three decades later that has been reimagined as the Astronomic Blue, a prototype grand complication made for Only Watch 2019. Mentioned by Mr Journe in an interview late last year, the Astronomic Blue is a hand-wound wristwatch with astronomical functions on two faces, as well as a minute repeater and tourbillon with remontoir d’egalite. The complications total 18, and are powered by a movement made up of 758 parts, making it more complex than the Sonnerie Souveraine. The astronomic planetary watch of 1987, signed “Journe à Paris” Like the preceding F.P. Journe watches made for Only Watch, namely the tourbillon and split-seconds, the Astronomic Blue has a tantalum case and mirrored blue dial like that found on the Chronometre Bleu. The case is 44mm in diameter and 13.75mm high, making it comparable in size to the discontinued Sonnerie Souverain and recent Tourbillon Souverain Vertical. Remembering 1987 As with many of Mr Journe’s early creations, the pocket watch was inspired by both Abraham-Louis Breguet and George Daniels, a quality that is echoed in the Astronomic Blue. Like the George Daniels Space Traveller, the front shows sidereal and mean solar time on two symmetrically arranged sub-dials, while the reverse has a ring-type annual calendar and equation of time indicator, which is reminiscent of the...
SJX Watches
Tudor Introduces the Black Bay Ceramic One “Only Watch”
Continuing the tradition of one of a kind dive watches for Only Watch that started in 2015, Tudor has just unveiled the Black Bay Ceramic One. Entirely clad in matte black but composed of several different materials, the Black Bay Ceramic One is starkly different from any other Tudor dive watch. The 41mm case is made of ceramic, while the bezel is black-coated titanium fitted with a ceramic bezel insert. Both the case back and crown and black-coated steel, but the back is unusual – it’s the only Tudor watch with a display back aside from the little loved North Flag. The sapphire back reveals the MT5602 movement, a “manufacture” calibre with 70-hour power reserve and silicon hairspring. The dial is all-black to match, with the markings and text printed in glossy back to distinguish them from the matte black dial surface. The hands and hour markers are filled with black Super-Luminova, which will glow green in the dark, albeit dimly. And the strap is rubber, but lined on the top with matte black alligator, which is the same construction as the rubber-calf strap found on the recently launched Black Bay P01. The Black Bay Ceramic One (ref. M7921/001CN) has an estimate of 4,500-5,500 Swiss francs. If past Tudor watches made for Only Watch are anything to go by, it will blow right past the estimate straight out of the gate and probably finish just over 300,000 Swiss francs. It’ll be sold on November 9, 2019 at Christie’s in Geneva. Visit onlywatch.com for the ...
SJX Watches
Introducing the Akrivia Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch”
Akrivia’s entry for Only Watch 2019 is a unique variant of its critically acclaimed Chronomètre Contemporain but with an added bonus – the platinum case is made by storied case specialist Jean-Pierre Hagmann. The first outing at Only Watch for Akrivia and its founder Rexhep Rexhepi, the unique Chronomètre Contemporain is equipped with a dial made of grey-blue fired enamel featuring white enamel markings. But the dial is unusual for having a hand-hammered finish, a decoration typically only applied to gold dials, giving it a granular surface. The view from the back of the 38mm platinum case is identical to that of the standard model, save for the “JHP” hallmark on the lower right lug. It’s short for Jean-Pierre Hagmann, a semiretired case maker who was responsible for some of the most exquisite watch cases of the 1980s and 1990s. Amongst his work is the incredibly complex case of the Patek Philippe Star Calibre 2000 pocket watch. The Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch” is the first watch to emerge from the recently inked collaboration between Akrivia and Mr Hagmann. Stay tuned for more on this. The Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch” has an estimate of 40,000-60,000 Swiss francs, and will go under the hammer on November 9, 2019 at Christie’s in Geneva. The complete Only Watch 2019 collection can be seen on onlywatch.com.
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