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Results for Caliber UN-118

902 articles · 2 videos found · page 23 of 31

Revisiting The First Ever In Person Review Of Rolex Land-Dweller WatchAdvice
Rolex Land-Dweller We take Apr 3, 2026

Revisiting The First Ever In Person Review Of Rolex Land-Dweller

We take a look back at our world’s first Rolex Land-Dweller review. We road tested it for a week out in the wild to see what the fuss was about. What We Love The movement innovation in the new Calibre 7135 The look and finish of the Flat Jubilee is stunning Comfort on the wrist is hard to fault What We Don’t Lack of microadjustment on the bracelet due to the clasp design Accessibility to buy will be a challenge Style cues may not be to everyone’s taste Overall Rating: 9.125/10 Value For Money: 9/10 Wearability: 8.5/10 Design: 9/10 Build Quality: 10/10 This article was originally published as World’s First Rolex Land-Dweller Review In The Wild! A week out from Watches & Wonders 2025, there were several Rolex leaks for the upcoming releases. One of these was the Land-Dweller. We had seen teasers obviously on Rolex’s social media, but then someone leaked the images, and this got the watch world buzzing. Unfortunately, these images would never have done the new Rolex models any justice whatsoever, thanks to their poor quality. However, it gave us enough to see what the new models were, and for me, piqued my curiosity as to what they would look like in person. The one thing I’ve learned with the Rolex is, and this is coming from someone who owns several pieces and actually loves the brand, you can never judge a book by its cover with them. And this year was certainly no different – the turquoise dial Daytona is actually quite stunning in the metal and on the wr...

Andreas Strehler’s Säntis is an Affordable Indie World Time SJX Watches
Mar 27, 2026

Andreas Strehler’s Säntis is an Affordable Indie World Time

Andreas Strehler is expanding his more accessible Strehler brand with the Säntis, a world time wristwatch that’s an evolution of the Sirna time-only from 2023. The Säntis continues with the style established by the Sirna, including the patterned titanium dial and tonneau-esque case. Powered by the same in-house automatic calibre as the Sirna, the Säntis is a classic Cottier-style world time with a cities disc and 24-hour ring. Unsurprisingly given Andreas Strehler’s well-known technical proficiency, the world time mechanism is integrated well into the calibre and is easily set entirely via the crown. Initial thoughts The Säntis is a traditional Cottier-style world time, but one executed well and as practical as a Cottier-style world time can be. While the Säntis is the first Strehler world time, it is not the first travel wristwatch by Andreas Strehler, who has made several in the past, including a bespoke commission. The watch exemplifies Andreas Strehler’s strength, which is high quality watchmaking and complications, but made more affordable under his Strehler label. Though produced in slightly larger numbers than his high-end watches, Strehler watches are still high-quality industrial haute horlogerie that represent strong value. The styling is a little generic, especially at a distance, but as with the Sirna, the watch reveals its details up close, giving it more personality. The patterned dial and hands are distinctive, though the dial is almost anonymous:...

Girard-Perregaux Chimes the Time In-House SJX Watches
Girard-Perregaux Chimes Mar 12, 2026

Girard-Perregaux Chimes the Time In-House

Girard-Perregaux (GP) is starting the year with an ambitious new calibre inside the Minute Repeater Flying Bridges, the in-house GP9530. Also equipped with a tourbillon, the symmetrical, skeleton movement is a micro-rotor automatic, making for an exciting pairing of complications. Notably, even during GP’s heyday as a manufacture, it depended on specialists for its repeater movements. The GP9530 is the brand’s first in-house minuter repeating calibre (though it does borrow from an earlier striking movement created with the help of a complications specialist). The strikework is exposed on the dial, while the reverse reveals the winding mechanism under circular bridges. Initial thoughts In the past couple of years GP has been slowly making a comeback, after a few slow years, as a serious and motivated manufacture. The comeback started with the release of the reworked constant-force escapement and accelerated with last year’s unveiling of the workhorse GP4800 and the GP9620 skeleton tourbillon. This is in some ways a return to form. Historically GP was a powerhouse in this respect, making complicated movements under its own name as well as supplying movements, both complex and simple, to other high-end brands. At that time, however, GP still did source repeater movements from the likes of Christophe Claret. In time, the evolution of the industry reduced the need for such outsourced movements, and the marquee’s lustre dulled. The Minute Repeater Flying Bridges and its ...

First Look - The IWC Portugieser Chronograph Ceratanium, the Icon in Dark Mode Monochrome
IWC Portugieser Chronograph Ceratanium Feb 26, 2026

First Look - The IWC Portugieser Chronograph Ceratanium, the Icon in Dark Mode

Since its introduction in 1998, the classic IWC Portugieser Chronograph (ref. IW3914) has barely evolved visually. It has only undergone a technical upgrade in 2020, with the introduction of a new generation featuring a manufacture calibre inside (ref. IW3916). And that consistency in the design and overall sporty-chic, nautically-inspired spirit is what makes this watch […]

Introducing - Spectacular New Editions of the Piaget Limelight Gala Precious Monochrome
Piaget Limelight Gala Precious Having Feb 24, 2026

Introducing - Spectacular New Editions of the Piaget Limelight Gala Precious

Having mastered the art of ultra-thin mechanical movements, Piaget made its foray into jewellery watches in the 1960s. Unveiled at the Basel Fair in 1969, Piaget’s 21st Century Collection showcased avant-garde jewellery watches, including textured gold cuffs with hardstone dials, powered by the brand’s ultra-thin 2mm manual-winding calibre 9P. In 1973, Piaget introduced the predecessor […]

Hands On: Breguet Classique Répétition Minutes 7365 Blue Enamel SJX Watches
Breguet Classique Répétition Minutes 7365 Feb 20, 2026

Hands On: Breguet Classique Répétition Minutes 7365 Blue Enamel

One of the most complicated offerings rolled out during Breguet’s landmark 250th anniversary collection from last year, the Classique Répétition Minutes 7365 is a new take on a complication (and movement) that’s been in the brand’s catalogue for decades. The 7365 repackages a historical, but reworked, calibre inside the new style case also used for the Classique Souscription, matched with a striking blue enamel dial that nonetheless retains the classic Breguet hands and numerals. The result is bolder and brighter than the average Breguet, but still recognisable. Initial thoughts More than any other anniversary model, the minute repeater 7365 demonstrates the rejuvenation of Breguet led by chief executive Gregory Kissling and his team. Even though the foundations of the watch go back decades, the 7365 looks fresh. It still looks and feels like a Breguet, but it doesn’t feel derivative. The case is similar to that found on other anniversary models, and a good diversification away from the old-school Breguet wristwatch case with straight lugs. Importantly, the case is quite a bit smaller than that of the 7365’s predecessor, which gives this a much more elegant profile. The dial is beautifully furnished with solid gold numerals and hands, but the bleu de France dial is too bleu for my tastes. It’s a few shades too bright for something this classical. That said, I can see the appeal of the colour, especially for someone who feels the average Breguet is too conser...

Orient Star’s M34 F8 Skeleton is Space-Age Tech SJX Watches
Seiko Epson including Feb 18, 2026

Orient Star’s M34 F8 Skeleton is Space-Age Tech

Orient Star marks a milestone with the M34 F8 Skeleton Hand Winding 75th Anniversary, combining the brand’s technically adept, manually wound skeleton calibre with a novel, laser-engraved meteorite pattern in a maximalist open-worked package. The M34 F8 Skeleton also stands out for the tech inside the mechanical movement: proprietary silicon escape wheel with a novel, optimistic geometry that helps the M34 punch above its weight from a technical standpoint. Initial thoughts Last year, Orient Star launched the brand’s first manually wound moon phase – made of mother-of-pearl no less – for fans of understated, formal watches. Now celebrating its 75th anniversary, Orient Star has cast aside restraint to mark the occasion with something for a more maximalist breed of collector. The new skeleton has a blacked-out case and bracelet and an open-worked version of its top-of-the-line F8 movement. Notably, the movement plates are bridges, which are exposed front and back, are decorated with a laser-etched meteorite motif that is impressively detailed. This skeletonised anniversary limited edition also features the latest technology from its powerhouse parent company Seiko Epson, including a silicon escape wheel with an especially advantageous design. While silicon is increasingly common in the watch industry, it is used primarily for hairsprings. This puts Orient on the list of short brands with a proprietary silicon escape wheel that includes blue-chip names like Patek Phil...

Grand Seiko’s Smallest High-End Quartz Models Yet SJX Watches
Grand Seiko s Smallest High-End Quartz Feb 12, 2026

Grand Seiko’s Smallest High-End Quartz Models Yet

Grand Seiko has installed its high-end quartz calibre 9F in a 33 mm stainless steel case with fan-favourite textured dials, making one of the most advanced analogue quartz movements available in the smallest and slimmest format to date. The compact proportions of the Grand Seiko Heritage Collection Quartz 33mm “Snowflake” SBGX359 and “Skyflake” SBGX361 are possible thanks to a new member of the 9F family: the cal. 9F51. Though smaller, the new calibre retains all the technical bells and whistles of this class-leading quartz platform. Ref. SBGX359 (Snowflake). Initial thoughts While Grand Seiko’s quartz models are generally known as good value propositions, with the cal. 9F in particular representing a lot of movement for the money, that has generally been less true of the brand’s smaller models. These maintain the brand’s standout case and dial work but with relatively pedestrian cal. 4J movements. Though above average in terms of quality and technology, the cal. 4J lacks the torque necessary to accommodate the exceptionally large and refined hands found on most Grand Seikos. Ref. SBGX361 (Skyflake). Given the brand’s recent emphasis on Spring Drive technology, seemingly at the expense of battery-powered quartz movements, that seemed unlikely to change. In this context, this duo is a pleasant surprise, with more likely to follow, and offers a no-compromise Grand Seiko experience in a smaller size without the high price tags of the ladies automatic line. A ...

Hands On: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked SJX Watches
Vacheron Constantin Feb 10, 2026

Hands On: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked

Audemars Piguet (AP) has updated the coveted Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked, which makes its debut on the next-generation perpetual calendar platform that debuted last year. The new calibre allows for individual adjustment of each calendar indication using just the crown – no stylus (or toothpick) necessary. The first outing for the skeletonised version of this class-leading perpetual calendar is in titanium, with mirror polished accents in scratch-resistant Palladium BMG and pops of rose gold on the dial and case back, though more colourways are sure to come in due time. Initial thoughts The latest generation of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar is arguably AP’s strongest product. It is heir to the archetypal integrated bracelet perpetual calendar sports watch, which, until recently, was held back to some extent by what had become a dated movement. In fairness, the same can be said of its obvious competitors from Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. That changed in 2025 when the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar was upgraded with the AP’s latest perpetual calendar movement, a significant release befitting the brand’s 150th anniversary year. The calibre 7138 introduced individual correction of the date, day, month, and moon phase using only the crown, allowing for quick adjustment without tools and with greater flexibility, and support for more indications, than existing solutions. And while we already understood the movement’s clever functionality, it rema...

Hands-on - The New Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Openworked Monochrome
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Feb 6, 2026

Hands-on - The New Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Openworked

Perpetual calendars are, without a doubt, an integral part of Audemars Piguet’s history, and the Royal Oak has carried its strand very convincingly since 1984. With the introduction of the Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Openworked powered by the new Calibre 7139, AP signals a clear generational shift. Released alongside a Code 11.59 counterpart, which […]

Roaring Twenties Marque Niton is Born Again SJX Watches
Feb 5, 2026

Roaring Twenties Marque Niton is Born Again

A long defunct Geneva watchmaker, Niton has been revived and is getting off the ground with the Prima, a historically-inspired jump hour watch. With some serious tricks up its sleeve – the proprietary calibre is surprisingly excellent – the Prima might just be the right new-meets-old infusion the watch market needs.  Initial thoughts Bringing back defunct but once illustrious watch manufactures is not a sure thing, and Niton might be more challenging than most given the lack of name recognition. The brand, however, did have a glorious, if short, history. The introductory model of the recently revived brand is the Prima. While the watch takes its inspiration from pieces made in the 1930s, the overall impression is more evocative of retro-futuristic 1960s. Rounded typography, thick indices, and a concentric pattern on the central minutes disk all make for a look that’s equally comforting and refined.  Arguably the best surprise is the in-house NHS01 inside the Prima. A square movement developed in-house, the ambitious, hand-wound NHS01 integrates the jump hour complication with the in-line minutes disk and small seconds display, all while bearing the coveted Poinçon de Genève. Seeing a small independent brand earn the demanding hallmark for its first run of pieces is nothing short of amazing. Both versions of the Prima sit at under the CHF50,000 mark, which places the model in the upper echelons of pricy independent time-only watches. However, one might argue the P...

Audemars Piguet Upgrades the Royal Oak Chronograph 38 mm SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet Upgrades Feb 4, 2026

Audemars Piguet Upgrades the Royal Oak Chronograph 38 mm

Audemars Piguet (AP) updates the Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph 38 mm with a new manufacture calibre, sapphire display back, while slightly tweaking the iconic design – and retaining the price of its predecessor. The new cal. 6401 comes with welcome quality-of-life improvements such as a longer power reserve and instantaneous date without tradeoffs in wearability, beat rate, or even cost, making this compact chronograph one of the most sensible and compelling offerings in the Royal Oak line. Initial Thoughts AP debuted the first Royal Oak chronograph in 1997 and it was powered by the Frederic Piguet cal. 1185, a landmark movement for automatic chronograph design. Now, nearly three decades later, AP is a true industrialised manufacture, and the cal. 1185 has been replaced with the new cal. 6401, a modern movement that with meaningful upgrades under the hood. This also comes with some minute tweaks to the dial and a crowd pleasing display case back, while the case and bracelet remain as excellent as always. Laudably, this comes without a significant price increase, with the new Royal Oak Chronograph 38 mm in steel costing only 3.6% more than its predecessor. New Engine AP’s new cal. 6401 is a solidly-spec’ed movement despite being small and thin for a modern chronograph. It’s wide and taller than the Frederic Piguet cal. 1185 but only slightly. It is 27 mm in diameter (up from 26.2 mm) and 5.7 mm tall (up from 5.5 mm) though even with the addition of a sapphire ...

Introducing - The Eclectic Bulgari Maglia Milanese Monete Secret Watch Monochrome
Bulgari Maglia Milanese Monete Secret Jan 20, 2026

Introducing - The Eclectic Bulgari Maglia Milanese Monete Secret Watch

Bulgari unites its rich heritage of goldsmithing and expertise in watchmaking with the Maglia Milanese Monete. A fabulous secret watch hidden by an ancient Roman coin, the Maglia Milanese Monete features a beautifully woven gold Milanese mesh strap and is powered by Bulgari’s miniature in-house Piccolissimo BVP 100 calibre. Unveiled during LVMH’s Watch Week in […]

Louis Vuitton Elevates the Escale Minute Repeater SJX Watches
Louis Vuitton Elevates Jan 19, 2026

Louis Vuitton Elevates the Escale Minute Repeater

Louis Vuitton sharpens its haute horlogerie credentials with the Escale Minute Repeater, a chiming complication paired with a jump hour and retrograde minutes display. Built around La Fabrique du Temps’s proven minute repeater calibre, the watch trades the previous Escale minute repeater’s world time function for a cleaner, more focused dial dominated by grey flammé guilloché. The result puts Louis Vuitton in direct competition with established players in complicated watchmaking, and comes complete with a discreet repeater slide hidden within the signature trunk-inspired lugs. Initial thoughts On the back of a strong 2025, Louis Vuittion doubles down on haute horlogerie, now in a more traditional case than last year’s Tambour. While the brand still offers the quartz Tambour Street Diver for just a few thousand dollars, Louis Vuittion’s ambitions clearly lie in the high-end. After years of strategic acquisitions and investments, the brand has the industrial base to compete and the know-how to do things its own way. The Escale Minute Repeater is the embodiment of Louis Vuitton’s ambitions, and is competitive with other minute repeaters from established haute horlogerie brands thanks to its modern movement and tasteful details. In short, it shows the brand understands the tastes of the day, and, more importantly, how to deliver a compelling package that leans into Louis Vuitton’s unique legacy and brand DNA. Furthermore, the minute repeater is something of a s...

TAG Heuer Debuts Track-Ready Carrera Split-Seconds SJX Watches
TAG Heuer Debuts Track-Ready Carrera Split-Seconds Jan 19, 2026

TAG Heuer Debuts Track-Ready Carrera Split-Seconds

Having recently given the Monaco a rattrapante makeover, TAG Heuer has unveiled the Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph, the first-ever split-seconds chronograph in the history of the storied Carrera line-up. The watch combines the brand’s contemporary ‘glassbox’ case design with the Vaucher-derived TH81-01 movement, the only split-seconds calibre in production capable of tenth-of-a-second resolution. Built of grade 5 titanium inside and out, the Carrera Split-Seconds is positioned as both a technical showcase and a halo product for the brand. Initial thoughts It’s more than a little surprising that the Carrera, one of the most storied names in sports chronographs, has never been made in a split-seconds variant until now. In the vintage era, many of Heuer’s peers introduced split-seconds chronographs with movements sourced from Valjoux, which also supplied the ebauches for the Carrera, which suggests the technology was well within reach. That said, the Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph is arguably worth the wait, marrying the contemporary glassbox case design with the one of the only split-seconds chronograph calibres capable of tenth-of-a-second resolution. It’s a coherent product in more ways than one, carrying on the brand’s history of commercialising third-party calibres in design-forward, performance-oriented watches. In terms of design, the Carrera Split-Seconds feels more refined than the Monaco Split-Seconds, avoiding the superfluous “rattrapante” a...

Introducing - The Tropical Sunset Colours of the New Mido Ocean Star 200C Monochrome
Mido Jan 12, 2026

Introducing - The Tropical Sunset Colours of the New Mido Ocean Star 200C

Mido’s flagship Ocean Star collection is a contemporary evolution of its 1940s Ocean Star dive watch family. Often described as an all-round ‘surf and turf’ model, the Ocean Star 200C, introduced in 2021, comes with upgraded features like ceramic inserts and textured, colourful dials and Swatch Group’s latest-generation calibre 80. The new Ocean Star 200C […]

Hands On: Panerai Luminor Perpetual Calendar PAM01575 SJX Watches
Panerai Luminor Perpetual Calendar PAM01575 Dec 29, 2025

Hands On: Panerai Luminor Perpetual Calendar PAM01575

The Panerai Luminor Perpetual Calendar GMT Platinumtech PAM01575 is one of the most unconventional perpetual calendars on the market, combining the brand’s military-inspired emphasis on legibility and robustness with a high-spec, crown-operated perpetual calendar movement designed for daily wear. Housed in a hard-wearing 44 mm Platinumtech case and powered by the P.4100 calibre, the PAM01575 challenges expectations for what a Panerai can be, applying the brand’s utilitarian DNA to one of watchmaking’s most respected complications. A user-friendly perpetual calendar Panerai is a brand rooted in its identity as a supplier of watches and dive instruments to the Italian navy. The brand’s utilitarian aesthetic, with bold dial markings and a distinctive crown guard, earned it a cult following in the early 2000s, and while some of the enthusiasm of that era has waned, the designs remain as recognisable as ever. Military watches are usually designed to be legible and robust, user-friendly traits that make them appealing to civilians. User-friendliness is something of a complication in its own right, and in some ways is one of the final frontiers of movement design. This includes both legibility, and the priority of information on the dial, and functionality, ensuring that the movement is easy to operate and resilient against mishandling. These issues are especially present when it comes to perpetual calendars, which must present a lot of information; George Daniels famousl...

Monochrome Turns to Habring² for the Seconde Morte SJX Watches
Dec 18, 2025

Monochrome Turns to Habring² for the Seconde Morte

The Monochrome Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte (MdS4) is a limited-edition collaboration between the team at Monochrome Watches and Austrian independent Habring², built around the brand’s signature jumping seconds complication. Powered by the hand-wound A11S calibre, the watch reflects the marque’s focus on technically robust, thoughtfully refined movements and offers a straightforward value proposition. Limited to 33 individually numbered pieces and sold exclusively through a short souscription-style sales window, the MdS4 highlights both Habring²’s technical merit and Monochrome’s aesthetic sensibilities. Initial thoughts Richard and Maria Habring are outliers in the field of independent watchmaking. Among the sole guardians of the Austrian watchmaking tradition, the husband and wife team produce a range of deceptively technical (yet honestly priced) watches. This rare combination makes the brand’s watches appealing to many insiders like the team behind the Dutch website Monochrome Watches, that have just announced their latest 1930s-inspired collaboration. While the watch and its movement are the work of Habring², the team at Monochrome turned to designer and Time+Tide contributor Pietro Pilla for the Art Deco-inspired dial design. The discreet black dial features applied Roman numerals that alternate with delicate teardrop-shaped indexes, a choice that helps prevent the dial from looking too crowded. The printed railroad scale that rings the dial i...

Exhibition Dedicated to Miniaturisation at AP House Singapore SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet s smallest Dec 17, 2025

Exhibition Dedicated to Miniaturisation at AP House Singapore

AP House Singapore is staging its first exhibition, making full use of the expansive space inside Singapore’s iconic colonial-era Raffles Hotel. 150 Years of Refined Elegance is a showcase of miniaturisation, covering Audemars Piguet’s smallest and thinnest movements, including an 18 mm-wide minute repeating calibre from the late 19th century. Taking place in the basement of the “house”, the exhibition starts with watches from the 1920s and ends in the current day that includes the Royal Oak Mini and the recently launched 38 mm perpetual calendar models. The Royal Oak Mini in “Frosted” gold Although not described as such, the exhibition naturally focuses a great deal on ladies’ watches, one of the recent themes of AP’s marketing. Unsurprisingly, one of the prominent figures in the exhibition is Jacqueline Dimier, chief designer at AP from 1975 to 1999 who conceived of the 29 mm Royal Oak for ladies shortly after the launch of the original “Jumbo” ref. 5402ST in 1972. Exhibition details The exhibition is open daily from 11 am to 8 pm and takes place at AP House Singapore located in the Raffles Hotel Singapore. Entry is free but registration is required; visits can be scheduled at Audemarspiguet.com.

Hands On: Biver Automatique with Exotic Stone Dials SJX Watches
Dec 12, 2025

Hands On: Biver Automatique with Exotic Stone Dials

Biver expands its Automatique line with a diverse set of new dials that underscore the brand’s fascination with permanence, ranging from billion-year-old mineral stones to finely executed enamel and traditional guilloché. In a year crowded with stone-dial releases, the latest Automatique models stand out for the coherence of the concept and the quality of execution, offering collectors a mix of exotic materials, artisanal craft, and a technically unusual calibre across a wide price spectrum. Initial thoughts Jean-Claude Biver talks a lot about eternity. The slogan for his namesake brand, “eternity has no competition”, is an eloquent expression of what drives the Biver family enterprise, founded with his son Pierre and now led by chief executive James Marks. Beyond the ability to keep time, mechanical watches appeal to enthusiasts precisely because they seem to exist outside of time. Few modern products are crafted from such noble or enduring materials, and for many people a mechanical watch is among the most lasting man-made objects they will ever encounter. Biver’s obsession with eternity is clear in the products themselves. In the case of the Automatique, the brand has chosen to use especially long-lasting materials like gold for the movement plates and bridges, going so far as to used a high-palladium gold alloy that will not tarnish over time. The overly robust cases are another clue as to the motivations of the people behind the Biver brand. Water resistant t...

Down to the Wire: De Bethune’s In-House Hairsprings SJX Watches
De Bethune s In-House Hairsprings De Dec 10, 2025

Down to the Wire: De Bethune’s In-House Hairsprings

De Bethune plans to bring hairspring production in house, aiming to become one of the very few firms able to process alloy wire into a finished balance hairspring. This requires De Bethune’s new hairspring workshop to master wire drawing, rolling, cutting, heat treatment, and assembly. The rationale? “Externally produced hairsprings meet standards based on averages that do not enable fine adjustment of the dimensions to suit a particular balance wheel or its specific positioning in a calibre,” according to De Bethune. De Bethune’s “flat end curve” mated to a hairspring sourced from a supplier. Initial thoughts As De Bethune explains it, making its own hairsprings will allow the brand to tailor its hairspring to a specific balance or movement. Since its founding in 2002, De Bethune has presented itself as being on the cutting edge of chronometry, debuting a new balance design every year from 2004 to 2010. The brand was also quick to embrace silicon, and even briefly attempted a kilohertz magnetic oscillator system, Résonique. A new year, a new balance. Sometimes two new balances. Given De Bethune’s focus on chronometry, making its own hairsprings seems like a natural next step. However, there is a reason so few brands make their own hairsprings: the process is a difficult and demanding one that benefits greatly from economies of scale. For example, H. Moser & Cie. makes less than 4,000 watches per year, however, its sister company Precision Engineering claims...

Introducing - The Baltic Prismic Stone Enters the Permanent Collection with New Patterns Monochrome
Baltic Prismic Stone Enters Dec 2, 2025

Introducing - The Baltic Prismic Stone Enters the Permanent Collection with New Patterns

Since 2017, the French watch brand Baltic has built its reputation on compact, retro-inspired designs with sharp detailing and accessible pricing. The Prismic collection, launched in 2024, marked a step up in refinement: a 1960s “cocktail watch” take with a complex steel-and-titanium case, crisp Dauphine hands and a slim hand-wound Swiss calibre. Later that year, […]

Audemars Piguet’s Intelligent Watch Winder Sets the Calendar SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet s Intelligent Watch Winder Nov 25, 2025

Audemars Piguet’s Intelligent Watch Winder Sets the Calendar

Audemars Piguet unveiled the unexpected at Dubai Watch Week: an intelligent watch winder created in collaboration with Dubai Future Labs. Designed specifically for the brand’s latest perpetual calendar calibre, the device uses computer vision, a motorised arm, and Bluetooth connectivity to wind the watch, read the dial, and set all calendar indications automatically. It’s a curious blend of haute horlogerie and consumer robotics. Initial thoughts Perpetual calendars have long bedeviled collectors and after-sales service departments alike. Often tedious to reset after non-use, they can break or bind if adjusted at the wrong time. In the past couple of decades, this problem has been largely solved by watchmakers like Dr. Ludwig Oechslin, Stephen McDonnell, Andreas Strehler, Greubel Forsey, F.P. Journe, and most recently by Audemars Piguet. Given that Audemars Piguet is among the names that have developed a fool-proof perpetual calendar, the intelligent watch winder seems like a solution in search of a problem. The choice of the launch platform is also puzzling. On one hand, I understand why Audemars Piguet would develop the winder for its new cal. 7138; it makes sense to promote the new product. But on the other hand, the box would be far more useful if it worked for the brand’s earlier generations of perpetual calendars, which are more liable to break from improper use and need to be adjusted using pushers in the case. There are also many more of them in circulation, ...

Chopard’s Striking Vision Fully Realised - L.U.C Grand Strike SJX Watches
Chopard s Striking Vision Fully Nov 19, 2025

Chopard’s Striking Vision Fully Realised - L.U.C Grand Strike

Chopard marks 30 years of the Chopard Manufacture with the L.U.C Grand Strike – its most ambitious complication to date, a minute repeating clock watch with grande et petite sonnerie striking on a pair of sapphire gongs. This comes on the heels of Chopard’s sister brand, Ferdinand Berthoud’s Naissance d’une Montre 3, making 2025 arguably the most significant year for Chopard, product wise, since the 1997 launch of L.U.C. Initial Thoughts For hundreds of years the sound of clocks coordinated human society. In fact, the very word “clock” comes from the Latin word clocca, meaning bell. Before the noise pollution of the modern day, the bells of clock towers could disseminate accurate time over several miles. It is only that many first complicated the first watches, which were made by clock makers during the 16th century, were equipped with strikes. In 2016 Chopard launched its first self-developed chiming watch, the L.U.C Full Strike, a two-train trip repeater with sapphire gongs. It is not much of a surprise, I’ve multiple people speculate that a grande sonnerie was the next step given the design depictions Chopard made with the Full Strike. Even the name, “Full Strike” sounds like the name of a grande sonnerie, not just a repeater. The Grand Strike is class leading technically, it’s only weakness, the middling strike work power reserve is easily forgiven when considering its size. Aesthetically, however, the watch struggles, at least for me, though the si...

First Look - The new Mido Multifort TV Big Date S01E02, a Fun Take on the Retro TV Test Card Motif Monochrome
Mido Nov 12, 2025

First Look - The new Mido Multifort TV Big Date S01E02, a Fun Take on the Retro TV Test Card Motif

Mido’s TV-shaped Multifort has quietly become one of the most distinctive value propositions in the sports-chic bracket. The core model provided you with the compact square-with-rounded-corners, TV-shaped case, a big date at 12 o’clock, and a modern Powermatic-based calibre, while last year’s S01E01 Test Screen showed how playful the format could be without losing seriousness […]

The New Ming 37.11 Odyssey Adds a GMT Complication to their Popular Dive Watch Form Factor Worn & Wound
Ming Nov 10, 2025

The New Ming 37.11 Odyssey Adds a GMT Complication to their Popular Dive Watch Form Factor

The latest from Ming is a continuation of their incredibly popular diver lineup, the current incarnation of which began with the 37.09 “Bluefin” and was later followed up with the 37.09 “Uni”. Both of those watches very effectively made use of a dual crown system (one for time setting, one for rotating an internal bezel that is not really a bezel at all), streamlined proportions, and Ming’s expertise in using sapphire and lume for both decorative and functional purposes. The new 37.11 Odyssey is an expansion of the ideas found in the Bluefin and Uni, with an added GMT feature and the option to spec the watch on the absolutely insane Polymesh bracelet. When we had our meeting with Ming earlier this year at Geneva Watch Days, this was the watch that brand founder Ming Thein was wearing on his wrist. I’ll be honest, the Polymesh bracelet kind of stole the show in that presentation, overshadowing the Odyssey just a little, but that’s simply because the Polymesh was a legitimately novel creation, while the Odyssey is something a little more familiar. That’s not a slight, of course. One of the things that makes Ming such an impressive brand is the way a clarity of design runs through each new watch they make, always in conversation with earlier pieces. That’s what helps you identify a watch as a Ming, but it can also mean that certain releases don’t create that vibrational spark of interest that really gets you excited.  That said, the Odyssey is an objectiv...

A GMT with Teeth: The Ming 37.11 Odyssey Bites Back SJX Watches
Ming Nov 10, 2025

A GMT with Teeth: The Ming 37.11 Odyssey Bites Back

Ming’s latest release, the 37.11 Odyssey, builds on the brand’s reputation for luminous, multi-layered dials and inventive designs. The Odyssey takes the visual depth seen in the Bluefin and Uni to the next level with a smoked sapphire dial that reveals the movement beneath, paired with shark-tooth hands and a multi-coloured luminous display. Despite its futuristic appearance, the Odyssey remains a practical travel companion. The compact 38 mm titanium case weighs just 42 g and offers 300 m of water resistance, while the Sellita SW330.M2 movement inside provides caller GMT functionality (with a twist). Available on a rubber strap, a titanium bracelet, or the brand’s new 3D-printed Polymesh strap, the Odyssey showcases Ming’s evolution from a design-driven micro-brand to a mature independent watchmaker with its own distinct language and value proposition. Initial thoughts The Odyssey is appealing because it plays to the brand’s strengths with regard to multi-layered, semi-transparent luminous dials. Like many of Ming’s best watches, including the similarly constructed Bluefin and Uni, the Odyssey provides a pleasing parallax effect thanks to the presence of luminous material on both the dial itself, as well as the underside of the sapphire crystal. The Odyssey takes the layered look even further by revealing hints of the movement through a smoked sapphire crystal dial. The movement is a typical Sellita GMT calibre, customised for Ming with anthracite-coated plat...