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Time+Tide
This offbeat Luminor pairs a prominently domed sapphire crystal with a sandwich dial that uses Arabic numerals at every hour.The post Panerai’s PAM01759 Is a vintage-coded take on the Luminor Marina appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Teddy Baldassarre
Watch hands are more important to a timepiece's design than you might think. A watch can have the most beautiful dial in the world but it isn't really a watch unless it tells you the time. And while the wide world of watches does offer some intriguing exceptions to the classical analog style that's been established for centuries, the vast majority of timepieces still adheres to that formula: two main hands, one for the hour, one for the minute, sometimes joined by a third for the seconds, pointing to the time on a numbered ring. All watch hands do essentially the same jobs, so one might assume that little thought and creativity goes into designing and crafting such a utilitarian element of horology. One would be mistaken, however, since watchmakers over the years have created numerous hand types, each of which imparts its own distinctive character to a watch's overall aesthetic. Here is a rundown of a dozen of the most significant styles used on watches today, and a little about where each came from and how it got its name. [toc-section heading="Breguet Hands"] Designed by Abraham-Louis Breguet, founder of the eponymous luxury watch maison and inventor of numerous horological devices including the tourbillon, Breguet hands made their first appearance on a watch in 1783, Traditionally crafted in blued steel, they are recognizable for their slim shafts and “hollow moons” near the tips. An indicator of classically elegant design, and often paired with Roman numerals, or...
Monochrome
Not many contemporary watchmaking creations have influenced our perception of time display as dramatically as the 2001 Ulysse Nardin Freak and Urwerk’s wandering-hour satellites. Both were born from the late-1990s creative surge, when mechanical horology strongly demonstrated its experimental and innovative spirit. Ulysse Nardin’s Freak redefined the mechanical wristwatch by eliminating the dial, hands, and […]
Hodinkee
Jumping generations and hours.
SJX Watches
The Christopher Ward Bel Canto Lumière builds on the success of the original Bel Canto, which earned praise for being one of the most accessible chiming watches on the market. Its open-worked hour striker module remains the star of the show, combining a tidy architectural layout with a distinctive acoustic signature that sets it apart from anything else in its price segment. The Lumière keeps that mechanical drama intact but takes a futuristic turn with a smoked sapphire dial, luminous blue-green chapter ring, and a matching rubber strap that glows in the dark. The new execution gives the watch a distinctly modern, almost Tron-like character, yet it remains faithful to the core idea that made the Bel Canto a hit: offering a well finished, technically interesting hour striker at a reasonable price. Initial thoughts The Bel Canto made waves upon its release for being a visually dynamic hour striker at a price well below the norm for this complication. Not only cost effective, the hour striker module is neatly designed and well organised on the dial. In this respect, the Bel Canto exceeded previous attempts at making this complication affordable. In other words, it looks as good as it sounds. The last time we saw new dials for the Bel Canto, the brand went the traditional route with laser-etched guilloché and Roman numerals. This time, the Christopher Ward (CW) is going the other way, with a futuristic luminous treatment that extends to the rubber strap, encircling the wr...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Christopher Ward continues its 2025 hot streak with the C1 Jump Hour Mk V, a rare mechanical complication offered at a crazy value.
Fratello
In 2005, the Chronoswiss Digiteur MSA (Montre Sans Aiguilles) was a modern homage to the jump-hour watches of the 1920s and 1930s; today, it’s a reinterpretation of that 21st-century homage. The Chronoswiss Neo Digiteur Sand and Granit are watches without hands, featuring an updated look in stainless steel - the original Digiteurs were all made […] Visit Introducing: The Chronoswiss Neo Digiteur Sand And Granit - Two Homage “Montres Sans Aiguilles” In Steel to read the full article.
Time+Tide
This flying saucer-like watch sports a newly designed calibre with jumping hours and dragging minutes, accessible via a hinged cover.The post Czapek’s Time Jumper goes fully funky for the manufacture’s 10-year revival anniversary appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
In 2009, A. Lange & Söhne unveiled a timepiece unlike any other in the brand’s collection – past or post-resurrection. With no hands and a digital display powered by a mechanical heart, the Zeitwerk, translated from German as “time machine”, was the first mechanical wristwatch to feature a jumping digital display for hours and minutes. […]
SJX Watches
World time watches are notoriously imperfect, often out of sync with the realities of daylight savings and partial-hour time zone offsets. Yet their appeal endures thanks to their mechanical ingenuity and jet-set romance. The Richard Mille RM 63-02 Worldtimer stands out in both respects, with a planetary differential that enables the wearer adjust time zones with a simple twist of the bezel. Limited to just 100 pieces, the RM 63-02 offers commanding presence thanks to its 47 mm case in 18k rose gold and titanium, and its bold pink and burgundy colourway. While not a fit for every wrist or every budget, it’s nonetheless more wearable and accessible than expected. Initial thoughts From a strictly practical standpoint, the standard format for world time watches is inherently flawed, as about half the world observes daylight savings time for about half the year, and a fifth of the world’s population lives in time zones with partial-hour offsets. Flaws aside, they capture a certain jet set romance, and are frequently beautiful or clever. Richard Mille’s world timers are the latter, and maybe even the former too, depending on your disposition. The RM 63-02 is clever in its operational and conceptual simplicity, though the actual implementation is quite sophisticated, enabling the user to adjust to local time with a simple turn of the bezel. This functionality is reminiscent of the IWC Timezoner, which was itself based on a patent acquired from Vogard. Richard Mille’s app...
SJX Watches
Breguet’s 250th anniversary got off to a good start and the momentum continues with the Classique 7225, another take on one of the brand’s most inventive movements. Guaranteed to run within an impressive one second a day, the Classique 7225 contains the cal. 74SC that boasts a high-frequency balance wheel running at an uncommonly rapid 10 Hz, or 72,000 beats per hour. To achieve that without overwhelming friction, the balance pivot is magnetic, allowing it to “float” as it oscillates. The 10 Hz balance was launched some 15 years ago, but its predecessor, the Classique 7727, did not enjoy particularly attractive aesthetics. The Classique 7225 solves the problem with a striking dial modelled on an important series of tourbillon pocket watches from the early 19th century. To accommodate the dial layout, the cal. 74SC incorporates an additional constant seconds that can be instantaneously reset. Notably, the 7225 is not a limited edition, unlike its compatriot, the Classique 7235 launched at the same time. Initial thoughts The 7225 shows that Breguet’s revival is certainly well underway, stewarded by Gregory Kissling, who has been in the top job for slightly over a year. The 7225 isn’t a major revamp of the 7727, but it is far, far more appealing watch. The magnetic-pivot movement was ingenious at launch, and still is, but the 7727 was under-designed and over-logo’ed. With the 7225, Breguet’s ultra-chronometer finally has visual and tactile appeal. And it keeps...
Time+Tide
With these new "Golden Hour" updates to three key models, Blancpain's underrated Villeret line gets its time in the sun.The post Blancpain updates its Villeret line with subtle, yet well-considered tweaks appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Known for its avant-garde approach to watchmaking, Urwerk takes a surprise detour into orthodoxy with the UR-10 Spacemeter. At least at first glance, it is a round(-ish) sports watch with an integrated bracelet – and normal hour and minutes hands – as well as indicators you’ll find on no other watch. But conceptually, the UR-10 Spacemeter is typical Urwerk. The indicators on the dial are all astronomy related, bringing to mind past Urwerk models and the brand’s sci-fi style. Initial Thoughts Oddly, I find I find myself more impressed with the UR-10 aesthetically than technically. Urwerk has cultivated a military, sci-fi aesthetic that I’ve become enamoured with, especially the EMC. And, if the UR-10 is anything like its similarly sized and braceleted peers, it will wear well too. Then there are the dials, with ideal typography, which sit under a sapphire bubble and remind me of a flush-mounted ship’s compass. The complications are inspired by an unusual 19th-century regulator clock by Gustave Sandoz, and attempt to track both the Earth’s rotation and revolution. An interesting idea, but the execution is disappointing as the indications aren’t particularly mathematically accurate and based on arbitrary distances, like 10 km, rather than natural phenomenon like, say, a sidereal time watch, where one rotation of a sidereal hour hand corresponds to one rotation of the Earth. However, Urwerk likes to develop ideas over time, and the Spacemeter concept has potent...
Quill & Pad
At the heart of Dann Phimphrachanh's Seconde Vive is the jumping seconds mechanism. Dann’s goal was not simply to achieve a jumping seconds hand, but to create one that felt regular, smooth, and, as he puts it, “alive.”
Teddy Baldassarre
The need to read the time in the dark has been a challenge for the makers of timepieces for hundreds of years. The first solution was not a visual but an audible one: watches that could chime the current hour and minute on demand. These types of watches, aka minute repeaters and sonneries, are quite rare and expensive today and regarded as luxuries rather than the utilitarian inventions they initially were. In the 1900s, a more practical option presented itself: treating a watch’s dial with luminous paint that made its time display visible in darkness. And while this approach proved to be much more cost-effective and practical, it also brought a new set of challenges, as the earliest substances used on the dials were discovered to be unsafe, for the people who made the watches and, to a lesser extent, those who wore them. Let There Be Light The first material applied to watch dials for nighttime luminescence was radium paint, which, thanks to radium’s half-life of 1,600 years, offered a long-lasting glow during that period before dimming - the catch being that, as its name implies, radium (specifically Radium-226, which was used as the base of the “Radiomir” substance registered by Guido Panerai ) is radioactive. In the 1920s, the mostly female factory workers who painted the watch dials with radium compounds started falling ill and dying at alarming rates, leading to lawsuits against the companies that produced the material and eventually, safer working conditio...
Hodinkee
Indie (and previously affordable) star Jiro Katayama's brand announced the unexpected, with a tourbillon, sonnerie au passage, jump hour watch in a surprisingly compact shape.
Deployant
Unveiled at Geneva Watch Days 2025, the Ulysse Nardin Freak X Crystalium marks a new chapter in the brand’s ongoing exploration of mechanical and material innovation. Limited to just 50 pieces, this 43mm timepiece features a ruthenium-based Crystalium hour disc-each one uniquely formed through a vapor-deposition crystallization process. Priced at CHF 40,000, the watch pairs its shimmering dial with a black DLC-coated titanium case and the automatic UN-230 flying carousel movement.
Worn & Wound
The inaugural watch by haute Swiss independent Berneron, the Mirage 38, had a markedly poetic design. With a free-flowing case shape, twisting hands, and a distorted dial, it would be easy to consider it as a design of pure aesthetics. Looks deceived, however, as the form was driven by a movement concept that rejected the standard circular shape, allowing for a large barrel, and thus a 72-hour power reserve in a small and thin body. Nevertheless, the outcome was undoubtedly one of whimsy, where evocative design outweighed pure function, if there was a clever horological backing. Often, brands, especially young ones, stick to a theme to carve a niche for themselves within a crowded industry, but that’s not the approach of Berneron. For the brand’s second model, announced just before Geneva Watch Days, whimsy is nowhere in sight. Instead, the brand made a sharp turn into practicality and legibility, if through a decidedly haute lens. Titled the Quantième Annuel, it has a design that verges on the traditional, especially compared to the Mirage. The first model within their “quantième” collection, which will house their complicated pieces, the QA is an annual calendar jump hour with a design driven by logic in terms of how it is read, the movement architecture, and how it is set. The flow of the dial is meant to be top to bottom, left to right. Following that order, time is read hour, minute, second, and the day, date, and month. The hour is digital, as it is a jump ...
SJX Watches
Behrens teams up with Vianney Halter for the bold, electric meter-inspired KWH Watch, in white or rose gold. A unit of measurement for electricity, KWH is short for “kilowatt-hour” and refers to the electric meter inspiration for the design. The extremely dense movement combines the brand’s chain-driven hour display with rotating minute and power reserve cylinders, and a surprise on the back. It also represents a new frontier for the Chinese brand, as its most expensive offering yet. Initial Thoughts While Behrens’ watches do not always appeal to me aesthetically, I think the brand is an ideal champion for Chinese watchmaking. Unlike some brands marketing Chinese-built watches to global enthusiasts, Behrens is Chinese owned and operated. The brand’s founder, Lin Bingqiang, cut his teeth making parts and custom modules in Shenzhen for brands down in Hong Kong before starting Behrens in 2012. An exploded view of the 870 part movement. Many Chinese manufacturers excel at the engineering and manufacturing side, but have weak soft skills and lack vision. Behrens is strong on all fronts, and this is the brand’s most ambitious, and expensive, project yet. The brand may be over-reliant on computer-generated imagery, but I can confirm these watches are real, functional, and doing the rounds at Geneva Watch Week. Case On the heels of a collaboration with Konstantin Chaykin, Vianney Halter’s partnership is now with Behrens. This comes only days after Mr Halter’s coll...
Fratello
Back in the ’90s, I got really into watches. I remember sitting across from a guy on the train who was wearing a Rolex Explorer - one without the white gold surrounds on its hour markers, so probably a reference 1016. I asked him about it, and he said he had owned it for a […] Visit Earthen Co.’s New Summit Collection Convinced Me About Ceramic Watches to read the full article.
Time+Tide
The Brunswick 38, Brunswick 40.5 Jump Hour and the Redcliff 39.5 Date have all received fresh details such as dials and surface coatings.The post Fears gets ready for Geneva Watch Days 2025 with three atypical takes on its best-sellers appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
Scrolling through Arnold & Son’s portfolio reveals a neat mix of classical watchmaking codes and contemporary touches across all collections. One of the finest examples is the DSTB 42, which reveals its jumping seconds mechanism smack-bang on the dial. That’s also the reasoning behind its name, by the way, as DSTB refers to Dial Side […]
SJX Watches
The recently launched 222 in steel may be the watch of the hour, but Vacheron Constantin continues to build out the Overseas line with a facelift for the Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin ref. 4300V that gets new dials in burgundy and pink gold, both with pale blue accents. While the new pair are built on old bones, they remain competitive and appealing thanks to the extremely slim profile, great dials and well-appointed bracelets. Initial thoughts While the fad for integrated bracelet sport watches has cooled off, the genre remains remain popular and new contenders emerge every day, compelling established players to reinvent themselves. The Overseas Perpetual Calendar is definitely an established player in this segment and competitive with most of the market, at least for now. The thin movement inside has a proven track record by virtue of its age (the basic architecture debuted in 1967). Moreover, the Overseas perpetual also deserves praise for being very good looking, especially with the new burgundy dial. The blue accents work surprisingly well against the burgundy, though less so against pink gold. That said, the age of the movement is significant. It was easy to ignore the movement when the same was true of its peers. That is changing; Audemars Piguet overhauled the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar with an all-new movement earlier this year, which features an entirely crown-set calendar. While I think the difficulty of setting perpetual calendars with pushers is exa...
Monochrome
Following the natural path an hour or minute hand takes over a dial, in most watches, at least, it’s a simple fact of form-follows-function that the vast majority of watches are round. But what if you want to stand out a bit and play around with shapes and sizes? Well, to answer what could happen […]
Monochrome
When A. Lange & Söhne first revealed the Zeitwerk in 2009, it marked a bold break from convention. A high-end Saxon watch that abandoned the familiar hands-on-dial format in favour of a purely mechanical digital time display, large jumping numerals for the hours and minutes, powered by an ingenious constant-force escapement. Since its introduction, the […]
Fratello
Why is there a Rolex GMT-Master II in the picture when this story is about quirky GMT watches? Well, that’s because no matter how far off the beaten GMT path you stray - Rolex set the path with a 12-hour dial combined with a 24-hour hand and a 24-hour bezel, and nearly everybody followed - […] Visit Quirky GMT Watches From Parmigiani, Papar, Rolex, And More to read the full article.
SJX Watches
The signature complication of Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking, the Spin Time is a jump hours with a twist that is now 16 years now. Earlier this year, the complication was given a major technical and aesthetic update with an all-new collection, the Tambour Taiko Spin Time, featuring a new case and a new movement family – both developed and produced in-house. The flagship model is the Tambour Taiko Spin Time Flying Tourbillon that combines the jumping hours with a central flying tourbillon – a logical use of the peripheral arrangement of the time display. Though the most complicated (and expensive) of the line, the Flying Tourbillon has all of the key elements of the Tambour Taiko, including the redesigned case and a new movement made by La Fabrique du Temps (LFT), Louis Vuitton’s Geneva watch manufacture. Initial thoughts Whether or not you like the watches themselves, the Tambour Taiko Spin Time collection is a statement of intent by Louis Vuitton. The brand has made substantial investment in vertical integration and manufacturing, essentially watchmaking, and the Tambour Taiko line-up is proof of that. More specifically, the family of movements that underpins the Tambour Taiko illustrates the industrial-haute horlogerie capability that Louis Vuitton has developed in a relatively short period of time, the very sort of competence required to build a high-end watch brand at scale. The movements in the Tambour Taiko collection now number three, but are all part of the s...
Worn & Wound
Many watches are designed to perform specific tasks or serve specific purposes beyond telling the time. Divers have bold markers and ratcheting bezels, pilot watches are oversized and might include a second time zone, track watches feature chronographs or tachymeters, etc, and then, there’s the Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin Time-Eaters. Featuring a giant eyeball for the hour hand, a spinning set of teeth for the seconds, and a double-sided arm that’s giving a one-finger salute, they don’t seek to fulfill a practical purpose. Instead, I’d classify them as “memento absurdum,” which is to say, objects that remind you of the absurdity, whether in life or watch collecting. If you’re thinking, “Now, wait a second, didn’t they just come out with a new Time Eater like a few days ago?” you’d be correct. A 42mm model with a navy blue chapter ring and a darker silver than previous versions, it was a handsome, if iterative, addition. But the Time-Eater is back once again, this time with a substantial change: it now has a tourbillon. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Louis Erard use a tourbillon movement, specifically the “affordable for a tourbillon” BCP T02 by Olivier Mory, which appeared on a few of their Alain Silberstein collabs. The Time-Eater Tourbillon (TET from here out) is basically a reedition of one of the first two Time-Eaters, which was initially introduced in either a 39mm case with a purple chapter ring, or a 42mm case with a green ch...
Hodinkee
More than just an updated color, the watch features a new function perfect for the 24-hour race.
Deployant
Another entry into the 24 hour racing watch genre. This time by Stowa, reknown for their value for money timepieces, in collaboration with ABT Sportline.
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