Hodinkee
Introducing: The Christopher Ward 'C63 True GMT' Adds A Local Jumping Hour Hand GMT To The Lineup
The UK's biggest watch brand says building a flyer GMT movement was a trying and 'painful' endeavor that took longer than expected.
1,015 articles · 35 videos found · page 2 of 35
Hodinkee
The UK's biggest watch brand says building a flyer GMT movement was a trying and 'painful' endeavor that took longer than expected.
Monochrome
Otsuka Lotec… The Japanese brand (or should we call it an atelier) that makes some noise in the global watch collecting community, despite being unavailable outside of Japan – which might partially explain its popularity. A true JDM sensation, Otsuka Lotec is the brainchild of Jiro Katayama, a car designer turned self-taught, independent watchmaker, specialised […]
Monochrome
Who doesn’t know MeisterSinger…? If you are into watches, with just a superficial interest, the name surely rings a bell: it’s a single-handed watch! Founded in Münster in 2001, the brand decided to build its identity around the idea that time doesn’t need to be dissected into seconds and minutes. By returning to the single-hand […]
Hodinkee
We take a look at the surprising new release, its competition, and the future of something built on the past.
Worn & Wound
I have what you might call a love/hate relationship with Audemars Piguet. They are, without a doubt, makers of some of the finest watches in the world. Objectively speaking, there’s a level of craft involved with the production of AP watches that is hard to match at the scale at which they operate. Every Royal Oak I’ve ever handled feels like a perfectly made thing without any compromises. I honestly can’t say the same about equivalent watches from other brands in the so-called Holy Trinity. And yet, there’s so much baggage with Audemars Piguet in our current watch culture. I wrote about it here, specifically as it relates to the Royal Oak and how it has become a signifier of wealth and status that has overshadowed watchmaking and watch culture. I find this flex culture to be a huge turn off, and the way AP seems to lean into it, by producing more and more varieties of Royal Oak, some with mini sculptures of Marvel characters on the dial, to be a signal that they’re a willing participant in the watering down of their brand. But then Audemars Piguet will go ahead and release something beautiful that is not a Royal Oak and I’m reminded that derisively referring to them as The Royal Oak Company (something I’ve done frequently over these last few years) is ultimately unfair. Earlier this week, as part of a larger drop that included several exotic Royal Oaks, a pocket watch, and more, AP launched what might be one of the riskier watches they’ve introduced in...
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Hodinkee
With a new case, and new movement, it’s a new(ish) look for Audemars Piguet for 2026. But if you look back far enough, you’ll find the brand’s inspiration, and imagine what might be coming.
Revolution
Monochrome
With 3 of its 4 main collections based on the original Royal Oak design, it’s fair to say that Audemars Piguet is a bit conservative in some aspects. But, from time to time, and not without great boldness, the brand releases something unexpected and not octagonally designed. As the best example of what AP can […]
Monochrome
A name with strong historical importance, François Czapek was once the business partner of a certain Antoine Norbert de Patek. However, it’s mostly since the rebirth of the brand in 2015 that the name Czapek became popular among watch enthusiasts. This year, the independent brand is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its revival by unveiling […]
Monochrome
Chronoswiss has always moved in its own rhythm. From the regulator wristwatches that defined its 1980s identity to today’s bold Lucerne-built timepieces, the brand has never shied away from doing things differently. Few statements were as radical as the Digiteur, a watch without hands, powered by a mechanical calibre, yet read like an early digital […]
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If you want the best piece of watch collecting advice I can possibly give you, here it is: Stop treating your watches like investments, get out of your comfort zone, and start making actual memories with them.
Monochrome
Since Bremont changed hands in 2023, concerns arose that the rugged, aviation-themed watches of the British brand, founded by the English brothers, would disappear under Davide Cerrato’s management. Now that the dust has settled and Bremont has reinstated its iconic Trip-Tick case with its MB (Martin-Baker) Altitude models, the brand appears to be back on […]
Monochrome
The Gerald Charles brand was founded by the legendary designer Gérald Genta in 2000, with backing from the Zivani family. After the designer’s death in 2011, Federico Zivani set about reviving the brand and has since created a solid collection of watches around the idiosyncratic yet immediately recognisable Maestro case. Celebrating 25 years of the […]
Monochrome
Founded in 2016 by Qatari entrepreneur Hader Al Suwaidi, Beda’a was born from the vision that the Middle East region could be not just a market for luxury watches, but also a contributor to the industry. The brand’s trajectory is now shaped by engineer-designer Sohaib Maghnam acting as CEO and Chief Designer. Before joining Beda’a […]
Monochrome
Following our Buying Guide of watches that go “DING” or even produce an entire orchestra of dings to signal the time, we’re now shifting focus to a very different but equally captivating complication, the Heures Sautantes, or Jumping Hours! This departure from the typical indication of time often relies on a hand or disc to […]
Monochrome
Just a couple of weeks ago, we brought a very interesting Dutch watchmaker to your attention: Fred Dingemans. Through his eponymous brand, dingemans mechanische horloges (Dingemans Mechanical Watches), Fred offers a true slice of artisanal watchmaking, with a lot of work done by one man, by hand. While his three-hander in bronze was already quite […]
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Here’s the mistake:
Worn & Wound
Mido had a bonafide hit on their hands in 2020 with Ocean Star Decompression Timer, a colorful skin diver based on the original Ocean Star divers from the 1960s. The brightly colored sectors allow divers to time decompression stops by sight, but for those of us who tend to spend most of our time topside, it was just a fun way to incorporate some color into a style of watch that sometimes veers toward the sober. The viral success of that release (it sold out quickly and seemed to dominate Instagram for a brief period of time) makes it somewhat surprising that Mido hasn’t returned to the format more frequently in the years since, but here we are with what I think many would argue feels like a natural follow up. The Ocean Star Decompression Worldtimer takes the colorful sector layout of the Decompression Timer and applies it to another complication altogether. The execution is actually rather simple, even if the dial appears to be extremely complicated. In the dial’s interior, we have the same decompression table as seen in the prior version of the watch. But at the perimeter, Mido has added a 24 hour scale, and instead of a traditional dive bezel, we get a rotating city ring for time indication. Importantly, the bezel maintains a minute scale, with 10 minute intervals marked off in the midst of international cities, which means you could still use this watch as a dive tool if you needed to. The dial is a lot of fun, and if you were drawn to the original, there’s a ...
Hodinkee
Fears brings the design, Christopher Ward brings the movement. The watch brings the subtle decadence.
Hodinkee
The "Back to Black" is expensive, weird, and a new favorite.
SJX Watches
A member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI), John-Mikaël Flaux is no stranger to automata and clocks. His most recent creation however, is something smaller and wearable – an automata wristwatch, the Homage to Al-Jazari. The watch pays tribute to the Elephant Clock, a fascinating and exotic timekeeper conceived by the 12th century inventor and mathematician, Ismail al-Jazari. While not an exact replica of the original – the ancient clock was powered by water and gravity – Mr Flaux’s creation artfully captures the theme of the clock with a jumping half-hour automata and an equivalent 24-hour day night indicator, complemented by miniature painting on the front and back. Initial Thoughts The Homage to Al-Jazari is undeniably intriguing, both mechanically and visually. The watch has a brave design that is striking. The complexity of the dial means legibility isn’t the best, or even decent, but that’s besides the point. While its key complication, a jumping half-hour mechanism, is not technically complex, the integration of the thematic elements into a cohesive display modelled on the ancient clock means the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In other words, the Homage to Al-Jazari lives up to its name. But it is also a missed opportunity. The jumping automata display would have been perfect if paired with a simple chiming function, though that would’ve significantly increased the complexity, due to the requirement of a base ...
Deployant
Sartory-Billard marks its tenth anniversary with the SB10 250th Anniversary: a jumping hour watch built around an exposed American copper cabochon, CNC-engraved in the United States and hand-patinated in Scotland, assembled in France. Available to order July 4–11, 2026 only. The following post is based on press release information. Editorial commentary appears in italics. New:Read More
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Worn & Wound
It’s tough to think of two accessible indie brands that are more diametrically opposed in terms of their general aesthetic than Baltic and SpaceOne. One is focused largely on classic, vintage influenced designs, while the other is firmly contemporary, futuristic, even, and has made a name for itself by innovating new ways to make high end complications accessible. But they have similar sensibilities, I think, when it comes to widening the aperture of watch enthusiasm in general. They make it feel easy to break into a once difficult to access hobby with watches that are genuinely interesting and cool irrespective of price. And so a collaboration between Baltic and SpaceOne (both French brands) is maybe not as absurd as it would appear at first blush. Their first watch made in partnership, the Seconde Majeure, takes elements of what makes both brands special and smashes them together in a very satisfying way. It’s one of the best watches I’ve had a chance to see so far this year (it was being previewed at Chronopolis in Geneva last month, and at our Windup event in San Francisco just last week). The Seconde Majeure is designed around a jumping hour module designed by Theo Auffret with three visible components. A large minute disc sits atop a control wheel that makes a full rotation every 60 minutes, and provides a hand-free readout of the minutes from a central location on the dial. As the minute disc completes a rotation, it engages with a star wheel that has 12 t...
Fratello
You’ve seen the combination of a jumping hour with sweeping retrograde minutes and a sub-seconds register before. The Delphis is, after all, one of Chronoswiss’s more recognizable creations. The dial layout is dominant but also open to different designs. At Chronoswiss HQ in Lucerne, the design team drew inspiration from the Art Deco movement that […] Visit Introducing: The Chronoswiss Delphis Art Deco - A Jump-Hour Watch From And For The Roaring Twenties to read the full article.
Monochrome
Since its recent revival under the MELB Group (owner of Moser and Agenhor too), Hautlence has focused on unconventional time displays with mechanical animation rather than traditional indications. The Sphere, first introduced in 2022, quickly became the brand’s signature series, combining a multi-axis spherical jumping hour with a retrograde minute. The new Sphere Series 4 […]
Fratello
It is safe to say that the past 12 months have been all about the renaissance of the jump-hour watch. With the Cartier Tank à Guichets, Audemars Piguet Neo Frame Jumping Hour, Christopher Ward C1 Jump Hour Mk V, Maen × Nico Leonard Jump Hour, and Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence Pink Gold, we have seen […] Visit Celebrating The Spirit Of The 1920s With The Semicolon Anachron Jump-Hour Watch to read the full article.
Fratello
The 150 Heritage pocket watch, the Neo Frame Jumping Hour, and the skeletonized Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar might have stolen most of the limelight when Audemars Piguet presented many novelties in January. Nevertheless, the pieces I was probably most curious to see and try on were a series of three tool watches. Well, these are […] Visit Hands-On With The Three New Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Diver Watches In Steel to read the full article.
Video
72 hours. 8 watch stops. One vintage watch I still can't stop thinking about.
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