Hodinkee
Bring a Loupe: An Audemars Piguet VZ SSC, A Girard-Perregaux 'Playboy,' And More
All that and more in this week's edition of Hodinkee's What's Selling Where column.
3,676 articles · 1,035 videos found · page 137 of 158
1969-1985 industry collapse triggered by the Seiko Astron. Cost Swiss watchmaking two-thirds of its workforce; rebounded via Swatch Group consolidation and Biver's Blancpain.
Christmas Day 1969: Seiko launches the world\'s first quartz wristwatch and detonates the Swiss watch industry.
The 2010 Spring Drive reference with a dial textured like fresh Shinshu snow.
Hodinkee
All that and more in this week's edition of Hodinkee's What's Selling Where column.
Monochrome
Founded in New York in 1921 by Romanian-born brothers Benjamin, Oscar, and Ralph Lazrus, Benrus relied on Swiss production, centred in La Chaux-de-Fonds, and during the 1930s and 1940s, it became known for its pilots and military watches. Early models such as the Flyer and Airman were popular among the airline pilots, helping establish the […]
Deployant
Lederer releases a new version of the Inverto, now in titanium. The announcement was in November 2025, buty we did not cover that release.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Looking for an integrated bracelet watch that wears well and isn’t hype? These 3 passed our real-world testing. Explore our honest insights.
Monochrome
Independent German watchmaker Stefan Kudoke has spent the last decade quietly building a very characterful portfolio. His HANDwerk line, led by the Kudoke 1 and Kudoke 2, established a signature design language rooted in traditional Saxon craft, with a pretty poetic twist. The Kudoke 3, launched as a graphic, playful evolution, was presented in salmon […]
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Two Broke Watch Snobs
Explore the best Rolex Submariner homages we’ve ever reviewed. These are dive watches that respect the original iconic design without feeling cheap or disposable.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Explore the best blue dial watches we've reviewed across various styles with hands-on picks by budget with real-world pros and cons.
Revolution
Monochrome
The Glashütte-based brand introduced the Campus line to its Club collection in 2017 with a clear goal: to appeal to a younger generation, particularly graduates. Over the past few years, the Club Campus series has grown, adding fresh, playful colours while maintaining the same good technical foundation. The Campus watches featured Future Orange and Absolute […]
Quill & Pad
The Superbia Humanitatis Louis-Elysée Piguet/Franck Muller/Paul Gerber super complication is one of the most legendary watches of our time. And what a story! And here it is in its entirety: from 1892 when Piguet made the movement through 1992 when Franck Muller altered it, all the way through the present day when Paul Gerber modified it three more times to make it the most complicated wristwatch in the world.
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Monochrome
A little while ago, we brought you the story of Quiet Club, an exciting new chapter in Japanese independent watchmaking with a unique perspective of what a watch should be. Following the first interview to learn more about how the three men behind Quiet Club found each other, and the initial launch of the fascinating […]
Revolution
Teddy Baldassarre
While it was established relatively recently, in 1994, Glashütte Original can legitimately trace its lineage as far back as 1845, which also happens to be the year that watchmaking essentially arrived as an industry in Germany. As I cover in much greater detail in this article, a full century of horological tradition, centered in the town of Glashütte in the state of Saxony, came to an end with Germany’s defeat in World War II. It was replaced by a new era in which a state-owned conglomerate of once-independent heritage watch manufacturers, the Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe or GUB, shifted focus from artisanal techniques and luxuriously decorative timepieces to mass-produced tool watches for military and civilian customers. Many of the watches produced in the GUB era - spanning the Cold War years from 1951 up to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990 - are largely forgettable, but Glashütte Original, the luxury-watch firm that emerged from the dissolution of the GUB, has cherry-picked the most interesting and memorable of those utilitarian timepieces, produced in the late 1960s and ‘70s, for modern reimagining in its “Spezialist” series. Serving as the base model for the Spezialist models is a single, now-collectible divers’ sport watch from 1969, the Spezimatic Type RP TS 200, which was the first dive watch produced in Germany (technically, at the time, East Germany) that met the international ISO 6425 standard. Glashütte Original paid tribute to the fondly rem...
SJX Watches
An outlandish concept that originally sprang from the mind of Carole Forestier Kasapi, the Ulysse Nardin Freak of 2001 was perfected by Dr Ludwig Oechslin and then made reality thanks to the advent of silicon in watchmaking. Lightweight and magnetism resistant, silicon was used for the escape wheels but that was only the beginning of the story. [This story, the third and final instalment in the series, details the history of silicium, the proprietary Ulysse Nardin silicium hairspring, and the patented Grinder rotor. The Saga of a Scientific Timepiece Part I covers the origins of the Freak, from its conception to realisation, as well as its distinguishing characteristics, namely the inventive movement construction and unique escapement. Part II deals with the evolution of the unique, high-performance escapement.] Silicon, Silicium, Silinvar Now used interchangeably with silicon, silicium is actually French for “silicon”, but now it is also used as the trade name for the proprietary form of silicon used by Ulysse Nardin for movement components, namely silicon with a hard oxide outer layer that gives the material thermocompensating properties. Silicium was developed by Swiss scientific institute Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM) in collaboration with Ulysse Nardin. Notably, the material is also known as Silinvar, which resulted from a separated but related CSEM project backed by a consortium made up of Rolex, Patek Philippe and Swatch Group. As a ...
SJX Watches
Having explored the origins of the Ulysse Nardin Freak, from its concept by Carole Forestier Kasapi to its realisation by Dr Ludwig Oechslin, we now turn to the Freak’s more recent innovations, starting with the Dual Ulysse Escapement. [This story explains the evolution of the unique, high-performance escapement of the Freak. Part I, covers the origins of the Freak, from its conception to realisation, as well as its distinguishing characteristics, namely the inventive movement construction and innovative escapement. Part III details the history of silicium, the proprietary Ulysse Nardin silicium hairspring, and the patented Grinder rotor.] A new and improved version of the Dual Direct escapement in the original 2001 Freak, the Dual Ulysse made its debut in 2005 inside the Freak 28’000 V/H, colloquially known as the Freak 2. Slightly larger than the original model but otherwise very similar, the Freak 2 operated at 28,000 beats per hour (4 Hz), a higher frequency than the 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz) of the original Freak. One of the factors which made possible the increase in frequency was the revised escapement christened the Dual Ulysse Escapement. A diagram showing the key parts of the Dual Ulysse Escapement. Image – Ulysse Nardin The Dual Ulysse Escapement Another creation of Dr Oechslin’s, the Dual Ulysse departs from the classical natural escapement à la Breguet that the original Dual Direct Escapement was based on, but it still bears some resemblance to its...
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Hodinkee
Family, tragedy, wrestling, and Rolex anchor our watch-related movie of the week.
SJX Watches
Novel ways of telling the time or exhibiting the movement have long been the focus of the avant-garde horologists. Independent watchmakers like Ressence or Urwerk have built their brands on doing away with conventional hands. Such idiosyncratic approaches to watchmaking challenge the traditions of horology, making for a more interesting horological landscape. Even before Urwerk introduced the pioneering three-dimensional cubic hour display in 2005, there was the Ulysse Nardin Freak. Launched in 2001, the Freak literally changed the face of watchmaking by transposing the movement into the dial. Two decades after its launch, the Freak is still regarded as a landmark for its audacity, from both aesthetic and technical perspective. [This story covers the origins of the Freak, from its conception to realisation, as well as its distinguishing characteristics, namely the inventive movement construction and unique escapement. Part II deals with the evolution of the unique, high-performance escapement, while Part III details the history of silicium, the proprietary Ulysse Nardin silicium hairspring, and the patented Grinder rotor.] The origins The beginning of the Freak lay in 1997, when Carole Forestier-Kasapi, then a young and talented movement designer who only recently graduated from technical college, won the Prix de la Fondation Abraham-Louis Breguet, a contest conceived to mark A.-L. Breguet’s 250th birthday that sought to recognise watchmaking ingenuity. Now the head of m...
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 by emailing us at info@wornandwound.com An Amazing Bike Collection At Worn & Wound, we love collecting rabbit holes. Obviously we’re very focused on watches, but the collecting bug hits people in different ways, and figuring out what excites people about the “stuff” they acquire is a lot of fun, and makes it feel a little less like “stuff” and more like an extension of their personality. This week in Classic Driver, writer Jan Baedeker has found a perfect example of this principle in Adrian Elmiger, who has amassed an incredible collection of classic carbon racing bicycles, with a number of SUVs, snowboards, and other conveyances thrown in for good measure. Even if you’re not a cyclist, getting a window into Elmiger’s world is worthwhile, and Baedeker paints a rich and rewarding portrait. The piece is also filled with incredible photography that makes us want to get back to Switzerland as soon as possible. The Death Stranding Video Game Inspires a Watch It feels like watches and gaming have been on the precipice of a major crossover moment for years. They are two enthusiast cultures that are linked in a nu...
Revolution
Bernhard Lederer, a highly skilled Master Watchmaker of German origin, has established himself in the heart of Swiss watchmaking, Saint Blaise near Neuchâtel. His exceptional craftsmanship and innovative concepts stem from a unique perspective of “Thinking Different.” With a deep appreciation for the horological heritage and a profound respect for esteemed figures like John Harrison, […]
Revolution
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Hodinkee
It's not just the moon that's the "star" of the show with Ming's new release.
Hodinkee
This big hunk of watch now comes in mint green and a very swoony blue green.
Worn & Wound
When the Boeing 747 was revealed to the world in 1968, it instantly introduced a new era in air travel. Those in attendance, press and interested aviators alike, had no words for what they were looking at. The sheer size of the aircraft and its distinct upward curve above the flight deck was nothing like any other plane that was carrying passengers 30,000 feet up in the air at the time. It quickly became a coveted experience to travel in a Boeing 747, and that’s saying something considering this was a time where people got dressed up to fly in an airplane. Not like now, where sweatpants, a cozy hoodie, and noise canceling headphones are the norm. Flying back then was an event. The lore of the Boeing 747 only grew, as it was featured in many films including the 1973 James Bond flick, Live and Let Die. Even till this very day, the 747 is the aircraft of choice for the President of the United States. Introducing For The First Time Ever, The Boeing 747 But like all good things, they must come to an end. After 1,570 individual jets and 53 years of navigating the skies, the Boeing 747 has finally decided to retire. And to celebrate the original jumbo jet, Breitling has released a limited edition piece in partnership with Boeing called the Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 Boeing 747. Breitling has a history that is deep rooted in aviation. Their very first designs, from dial layout to various complications, were created with pilots in mind. With both brands having a rich heritage i...
Revolution
Braving the frigid temperatures of NORQAIN’s first international boutique at Wisma Atria in Singapore, Wei speaks to CEO Ben Küffer about how the young brand got its start and what it means to have authenticity and independence in writing your own history. In the few short years since its founding, the family-owned and family-run company […]
Hodinkee
Because you can't wear them all.
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