928 articles · 13 videos found · page 21 of 32
Monochrome
It’s almost upon us, the most festive time of the year. Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and plenty of others all kick off this month. And with it, there will be plenty of parties, dinners, social gatherings and other events filling up our agendas and keeping us occupied. To keep track of time in the most pleasurable […]
Fratello
Breguet introduced the Tradition Chronographe Indépendant 7077 back in 2015. The watch displayed awe-inspiring watchmaking inventiveness. How about two balance wheels, two gear trains, an arc-shaped minute totalizer, a power reserve indicator, and a mesmerizing open-worked look on both the front and back? What more could you ask for? Well, if I put on my […] Visit Introducing: A New Blue Outfit For The Awe-Inspiring Breguet Tradition Chronographe Indépendant 7077 to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
The best bit of trivia I’ve heard about the Ball Watch Company, founded by its eponym, Webster Clay “Webb” Ball in 1891 — and one I have admittedly kept alive in conversations over the years — is that the expression “on the ball” actually has its origins in the world-renowned accuracy of the railroad watches the company produced in the early 20th Century. The legend, likely apocryphal, has it that “on the ball,” which today denotes a general sense of efficiency and promptness, once referred to a train being dependably on time thanks to the conductor’s use of one of Webb Ball’s meticulously adjusted pocket chronometers. Whether or not any of this is true, what cannot be disputed is Ball Watch’s impressive track record in making tool watches — initially for keeping the railways that knitted together the modern, interconnected United States running smoothly, and eventually pieces engineered specially for divers, pilots, firefighters, and even storm chasers. Ball’s latest release is the Roadmaster M Model A, a timepiece that ushers a mechanical alarm function (that’s the “A”) into the lineup for the first time. As a diehard fan of the somewhat niche complication (I sing its praises and explore its storied history here), I was excited when the Ball Watch team sent me the heads-up on the model several months ahead of its debut and even more eager to get my hands on it for a review. As with most Ball watches, the case of the Roadmaster M Mode...
SJX Watches
Ulysse Nardin’s entry-level Freak has been dressed up with a flinque enamel dial in a limited edition for Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the Middle East’s most prominent luxury watch retailer. The Freak X Enamel Seddiqi features a “Yas Blue” guilloché enamel dial with the signature carousel carrying an oversized oscillator and silicon escapement that acts as a minute hand. Initial thoughts The Freak X is a descendent of the original Freak, but simplified for user-friendliness and affordability. The Seddiqi edition combines the appeal of the Freak X with an artisan ally decorated dial – a combination of contrasts that are complementary. While the enamel might seem contrary to the high-tech nature of the Freak X, it complements the aesthetics of the watch. The striking, translucent enamel forms a pleasing backdrop for the carousel. Priced at AED154,000 or around US$42,000, the Freak X Enamel Seddiqi is a little more expensive than the base model Freak X, but still amongst the most affordable Freak models. Inversed calibre In 2001, Ulysse Nardin revolutionised watchmaking the Freak, a watch that reimagined the conventions of movement construction with an unprecedented design that relocated the going train and oscillator to double as the minute hand. And the watch was the first-ever application of silicon in watchmaking. The Freak X has the trademark carousel minute hand, but features a convenient automatic movement and crown, eliminating the need to wind the watch every f...
Worn & Wound
Sooner or later, you just knew it was going to happen. For as long as there’s been a Pelagos, and as long as there’s been a Tudor GMT movement, and as long as there’s been a human impulse to speculate, there’s been a call for the Swiss brand to release a Pelagos with the ability to track multiple time zones. It just makes sense for the brand’s most tool-forward dive watch: GMTs are what the people want and it’s an undeniably useful feature. And so, like an infinite number of chimpanzees at an infinite number of typewriters are certain to eventually produce the works of Shakespeare, now Tudor has finally issued a diver with all the features their loyal fans have been asking for. Titanium case: check. GMT movement with chronometer certification: check. Rotating 24 hour bezel: check. Spring bars: hey, no one has it all. The all new Pelagos FXD GMT “Zulu Time” might feel like an inevitability on the one hand, but on the other it still has a fascinating mix of little quirks that are capable of surprising even the most loyal Tudor fans (and speculators). Like the very first Pelagos FXD, this one is presented under a partnership with the French military. Specifically, the Zulu Time has been developed with the needs of the Aéronautique Navale (French Naval Aviation) in mind, and according to the brand the watch has been designed for the “adverse real-world conditions” faced by their personnel. For the original FXD, that meant a bi-directional bezel set up in...
Worn & Wound
When time really counts - whether you’re speeding around a race track, plotting a navigational course, or timing the beats of a patient’s heart - you need a stopwatch. At one point, the function of a stopwatch was completely separate from that of a wristwatch. Enter the chronograph. Adding a stopwatch compilation - that is, a feature beyond telling the time - to a traditional watch was revolutionary when it was invented in the nineteenth century. Today, they are one of the most popular types of watches amongst enthusiasts for their storied heritage and visual appeal. (As Omega will have you know, they’ve even been to the moon.) But for many enthusiasts, they can feel out of reach - mechanically complex, they require significantly greater purchase and service costs. Luckily, there’s an alternative: quartz. Quartz chronograph movements circumvent those two major shortfalls, allowing for greater reliability and reduced cost. With that, here are some of our favorite affordable chronographs for beginners. Should you see anything you like, the Windup Watch Team is available via consultation to answer any questions you have. In addition, all of these products are eligible for free domestic shipping across the US. When time really counts - whether you’re speeding around a race track, plotting a navigational course, or timing the beats of a patient’s heart - you need a stopwatch. At one point, the function of a stopwatch was completely separate f...
Worn & Wound
If you’ve been paying any attention to H. Moser & Cie. over the last few years, one thing should be abundantly clear - the Swiss watchmaker likes to keep things simple. While they may occasionally indulge themselves with an overwhelming quantity of dial text, or acquiesce to the need for a chronograph scale, Moser has increasingly adopted a minimalist approach in their watch design, with wide open expanses of dial and invisible logos taking center stage alongside hammered enamel finishes, minute repeater strikers, and elegantly finished hands. Today, Moser is throwing all that out, and, in partnership with Massena LAB, the brand is looking back to its history for what is, in many ways, its most traditional release in years. The Endeavour Chronograph Compax would, from anyone else, barely qualify as newsworthy. After all, what brand hasn’t dipped back into the well to create a historically-minded steel sports watch in recent years? Moser hasn’t, and that’s what makes this collaboration so interesting. Even the Heritage model, the closest the brand has come to the format, isn’t so much a recreation as a reimagination, a consideration not of how to make an old watch feel new, but a thought exercise in what H. Moser & Cie. might have made were the modern brand to find themselves in a different era. This new watch is not that. Though not a direct reproduction of any particular model, the new Endeavour Chronograph Compax is a genuine reflection on Moser’s history...
Time+Tide
Rather than the soothing tones of usual minute repeaters, Bulgari's latest chiming trio represents the devil's interval: the tritone.The post Would the Bulgari Octo Chiming watches have been banned in medieval Rome? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
Every once in a while, you see a watch that raises more questions than it can answer. The Nomos Tangente 2date is such a watch. The biggest question is, “Why?” Since an answer isn’t immediately at hand, more and more questions arise. Is this a watch that can keep track of two different dates? Is […] Visit Just When You Thought The Heated Date Debate Couldn’t Get Any Hotter, The Nomos Tangente 2date Shows Up to read the full article.
Fratello
Last year, TAG Heuer released two colorful versions of its 42mm Carrera Chronograph. Of course, the watches took inspiration from car racing. This year, the brand continues on the same track with a new limited edition that is only available in Europe. Although this one is also colorful, it’s a bit more toned down and […] Visit Introducing: The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph European Limited Edition In Green to read the full article.
Fratello
By now, you probably know we’re fans of RZE here at Fratello. The brand’s titanium watches are affordable, and they all have a strong explorer attitude. The RZE Fortitude GMT is a proper pilot’s watch that allows you to track an additional time zone. Today, the new RZE Fortitude GMT-S debuts, with the capital “S” […] Visit Hands-On: The New RZE Fortitude GMT-S With Vivid Blue And Gray Sunburst Dials to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
For as long as I can remember, movies have been my deepest obsession and primary interest. Watches came much later in comparison and followed half a dozen other deep dives into hobbies both mainstream and incredibly niche (talk to me about Scotty Cameron putters and the minute audible differences between two different brands of high end speaker cable sometime). But movies are my first love and I naturally look for connections to them in just about every other facet of life. Something a friend will say will remind me of a random piece of dialogue from some obscure 90s comedy, or a piece of music takes me back to a needle drop in a Scorsese or Wes Anderson film. And, yes, I scroll through Instagram and see watches and think about movie star ambassadors, or the films where they’ve been spotted. No brand has a longer or prouder history of being tied to the movie industry than Hamilton. Their watches have appeared in films for decades, both intentionally and accidentally, and we’ve covered much of this history at length. There’s a pattern to how these things usually work: as a movie approaches its release date, the watch brand’s PR team reaches out to websites like ours to pitch stories and introduce the watch (particularly if it’s a new variant or an entirely new watch), and that’s how these articles take shape and the watch and movie become connected in the public consciousness. The Murph, though, is a little different. Hamilton was a partner on Christopher Nolan...
Quill & Pad
Back in August 2023, Ian Skellern published an article titled: New McGonigle Ogma for 2024: No Watch, No Photos, No Sketches, No Launch, But First Editions Already Nearly Sold Out. Stephen McGonigle has now released a short 4-minute film featuring his new Ogma and its (and his) Irish roots.
Quill & Pad
One of the best parts of the Patek Philippe 5270P Perpetual Calendar Chronograph is a caseback spectacle. Watch carefully, and the chronograph minutes jumper displays action that corresponds to the dial-side instant jumping chrono minute
Fratello
As someone who lives and breathes watches daily, I make it my business to keep track of as many brands and new releases as possible. However, there are a select number of brands that I avidly follow. Laurent Ferrier is one of them. The company designs piercingly clean watches that resonate with me. Today’s new […] Visit Laurent Ferrier Unveils The Classic Auto Sandstone to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
How long would it take you to invent an entirely new kind of watch movement? Five years? Ten years? If your answer was 27 years, you’d be on the right track. That’s how long it took the Spring Drive movement to go from idea to reality at Seiko. Initially conceived of by Yoshikazu Akahane in the 1970s, the development of the Spring Drive movement grew out of efforts to solve problems endemic to early quartz movements, though the project would not bear fruit until Baselworld 1999 when the first trio of Spring Drive watches was released to the public (something Akahane would, tragically, not live to see). Five years later, Spring Drive would finally reach Grand Seiko with the introduction of the 9R series of movements in 2004. 20 years later, the 9R series of Spring Drive calibers remain a core pillar of the Grand Seiko catalog, and GS is ready to celebrate that anniversary with the introduction of two profoundly autumnal limited editions. Each of these limited releases is powered by a Grand Seiko 9R series movement and each is inspired by the fiery red tones found throughout the Hotaka mountain range come fall. First up, we have the SBGY035, driven by a hand-wound Caliber 9R31 Spring Drive movement. Similar in execution and design to the popular SBGY007 Omiwatari, this thin dress watch claims inspiration from the vibrant leaves that coat the landscape of Hotaka each fall. An ombré finish made up of deep red tones is paired with a textured dial, and is accented by sparin...
Monochrome
The Villeret Collection of Blancpain comprises the brand’s most classic and elegant timepieces. They offer a wide range of functions, from the basic time-only models to more complex complications like the minute repeater, perpetual calendar, dual-time zone, chronograph, and more. Recognizable by their distinctive double-stepped case design, these watches are a testament to aesthetic excellence. […]
Monochrome
From the undulating hills an hour west of the famous Silverstone race track in the UK, come cars that are beyond belief. Nestled in the picturesque town of Wardington, Oxfordshire, is Tuthill Porsche, a company that’s been rather busy perfecting early Porsche 911s. Under the slogan “The Porsche 911, as it was intended” Tuthill prepares […]
Worn & Wound
How does a vintage Tissot connect to Felipe Pikullik and some of the watch world’s most exciting and dynamic young independent watchmakers and brands? If you said through Dutch collector Niels Pedersen, you’d be very much on the right track. Take a quick look over at Niels’s Instagram (@nielsmpe) and you’ll be greeted by a genuinely envy-inducing assortment of watches. Even more remarkable? That each and every watch feels totally at home in Niels’s feed, whether he’s posting a one-of-a-kind piece from an under-the-radar indie, or his latest pickup from Seiko. So what does a collector like Niels look for in a watch? Well, it turns out it’s a pretty simple recipe. “Basically, I’m design-driven, so it has to be aesthetically pleasing. So that’s the first… and I want something that’s simple, fixable, and reliable because I’ve been sending watches back and forth to the manufacturer so many times,” he told me. “Design-driven and something that’s reliable, I’d say.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Niels Pedersen (@nielsmpe) Just because it’s easy to express doesn’t mean this simple philosophy wasn’t a lesson learned over time. The path that transformed Niels into the collector he is today started at a young age, with a little help from his mother. “When I was a kid, my mom used to travel to Asia all the time for work, and every time she would come home, she would have some kind of knockoff watch, either with Porsche o...
Deployant
The Stowa Verus GMT Chrono Black Forest Limited Edition marks Stowa's commitment to craftsmanship and design. This timepiece, limited to only 10 pieces, features a modern and military aesthetic with a highly functional approach. It houses a Valjoux 7754 chronograph movement with an uncommon single minute subdial and GMT handstack.
SJX Watches
The Jumping Hours Black Jade Stone is Andersen Genève’s new take on its minimalist, digital hour timepiece. Retaining the same specifications, it once against uses the wide expanse of the dial for visual effect. The dial is a large, seamless piece of black jade just 0.4 mm thick that’s been lapped to a perfectly flat, mirrored finish. The glossy black dial is unadorned save for the hour display 12 o’clock, along with a pink gold minute hand matched with pink gold-powder printing. Initial thoughts Bringing to mind vintage jump hour pocket watches with its clean dial, the Andersen Jumping Hours is a perfect canvas for dial decoration given the available space. Even though it looks plain at a distance, the black jade dial is striking in its colour and simplicity, while also revealing the natural grain up close. The time display, however, is unconventional. While the hours are easy to read, the minute register at six is easily and often mistaken for the seconds. Though I can understand the design-driven purpose of the minute sub-dial, I would have done it another way to make reading of the time more intuitive. The quality of work is typical Andersen, which is artisanal and visibly so. It doesn’t have the perfect execution found in a Voutilainen or Akrivia but is done well. The price is commensurate with the quality – at about US$59,000 is more or less mid-range amongst high-end independent watchmakers. Time only in black jade One of the pioneering independent watchm...
Monochrome
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Credor, a brand that began as Seiko‘s high-end line, offering timepieces crafted from precious metals. Today, Credor is renowned for its commitment to superior craftsmanship and aesthetic sensibility, which is evident in every aspect of its watches, from design to the intricate movements made up of countless minute […]
Monochrome
The ref. 5236P, unveiled by Patek Philippe in 2021, is a veritable time capsule inspired by the linear perpetual calendar pocket watches of the 1950s and 1960s. Think of the ref. 725/4 with its American digital perpetual calendar or the ref. 699, which also boasted a minute repeater. The magic lies in its calendar display, […]
Worn & Wound
Some people, if you were to ask them, would say that the most exhilarating moment in sports is the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the winning run at the plate. Others would say it’s penalty kicks at the World Cup, the final two minutes of a basketball game, or a last-minute Hail Mary. Ask me the same question, and you’ll get a different answer. For my money, the most exciting moment in sports comes at the end of a tennis match. Unlike soccer, football, or basketball, tennis isn’t a sport where you can run out the clock. To win, you have to earn the last point and, until that happens, a comeback is never out of the question. Despite matches sometimes lasting for hours, time isn’t explicitly a factor in tennis, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter, and there is no stronger evidence for that than the strong connection between some of the world’s leading watch brands and the sport of tennis. This past weekend, I got to experience that connection firsthand with a visit to the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where Rado was serving as the tournament’s official timekeeper. With Rado’s clocks tracking the passing time both on and off the court, there was no better host to welcome us to Rock Creek Park, or with whom to celebrate one of my favorite sports in one of my favorite cities. Though Rado’s relationship with tennis extends back much further (well over thirty years), this is only their second year partnering with the Mubadala Citi DC Open. But just because...
Fratello
One of the most anticipated track and field events closed up the first week of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. I’m talking, of course, about the men’s 100-meter finals. Though more than a few exciting gold-medal events occur throughout the two weeks, few get as much attention as this one. Thanks, perhaps, to the once-in-a-generation […] Visit Looking Back At All The Omega Speedmaster Olympic Games Special Editions to read the full article.
SJX Watches
A limited edition that is classic Cartier in terms of style, the Santos-Dumont Rewind is elegant but whimsically different. The Rewind retains the exact same dimensions of the standard Santos-Dumont “Large” model, but is unique in two ways. The more obvious is the dial, which is carnelian, a brown-red mineral stone with a nuanced colour. Less obvious at first glance is the reversed hour track around the dial that complements hour and minutes hands that track anticlockwise – hence “Rewind”. Initial thoughts The Santos-Dumont Rewind captures the traditional Cartier style, but with a twist. As a result, it’s more than a standard Santos-Dumont, but not too much. Most of its defining elements are not apparent at a distance, so it’s fairly subtle. Everything is just right, and makes for a compelling watch. Although this is the Large model (rather than the Extra Large that I personally prefer), the platinum case has a good heft. The bright colour of the metal also contrasts well with the dark red carnelian dial that reveals interesting shading up close. The grain of carnelian is more subtle than the mineral stones commonly found in watches, particularly malachite and lapis lazuli. This suits the low-key complication well. As for the hands that go backwards, it takes some getting used to. The complication is clearly pointless, but appealing because it has an elegant simplicity that suits the watch. The Rewind costs US$38,400, which is fair enough for a wristwatch w...
Time+Tide
Sector, scientific, railroad - this Art Deco dial style has multiple names, but is undoubtedly a watch enthusiast favourite.The post 10 of the best sector dial watches appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
When it comes to Panerai, we’ve seen the brand getting slightly out of track from time to time, with complex movements, smaller watches with low water-resistance and innovative materials that didn’t feel too convincing. So, when the brand introduces a nice-looking, straightforward model that does everything you want from a Panerai, we somehow have to […]
Teddy Baldassarre
Annual calendar watches have been on the scene for a while now, though they remain a somewhat niche area of horological interest - not as revered as lofty complications like the perpetual calendar and minute repeater but also not as obsessed over as more down-to-earth mechanisms like chronographs and GMTs. And yet, the annual calendar offers not only one of the most practical functions for an everyday wearer, but has also proven to be a canvas for some truly engaging designs. As per its name, an annual calendar displays the day, date, and month and need only be manually adjusted by its wearer once per year, at the end of February. Patek Philippe's Aquanaut Luce Annual Calendar introduced in 2023 Most of the wristwatch complications we’re familiar with are relatively ancient in origin, and almost all of them old enough to have debuted in pocketwatches rather than wristwatches. The first wristwatch chronograph, made by Longines, appeared in 1913; the first minute repeater for the wrist goes all the way back to 1892, invented by Louis Brandt, founder of Omega; and the first wrist-borne perpetual calendar made its debut in 1925, engineered by none other than Patek Philippe, which had actually invented the compact-sized movement for it as early as 1889, using it at the time in a ladies’ pendant watch. The annual calendar, by contrast, even though it might seem to today’s enthusiasts to be a fixture among luxury watch complications, is much younger, tracing its origin st...
Worn & Wound
I think it might surprise some longtime readers and friends to learn that I kind of love the Olympics. I’m not the biggest sports fan and generally scoff at watches tied to athlete ambassadors and endorsements, but the sheer spectacle of the Olympics gets me everytime. I won’t sit here and say that I’m some great expert on competitive swimming or track and field, but without fail, every four years, I get drawn into the inherent drama of it all. So I’m looking forward to this weekend, when the Paris games begin in earnest, and following along as much of it as I can. And while it’s not the reason I’ll be tuning in, I’m mentally prepared for an absolute onslaught of Omega advertising and branding to blanket the telecast. Omega, of course, is the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games, and they have a long history of producing watches to mark the occasion. They began counting down to Paris one year ago with a nicely refined white dialed Seamaster featuring a gold bezel. Gold, unsurprisingly, factors heavily throughout Omega’s run of Olympic watches. For mark the start of this year’s Games, Omega has unveiled a watch that, fittingly, makes use of all of the metals associated with the Games, the Omega Paris 2024 Bronze Gold edition. Omega fans will immediately recognize this watch as a new version of the fan favorite CK 859, a limited production piece in a throwback 1930s style that is the antithesis of the often oversized sports watches Omega has special...
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