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Fratello
A new MB&F; release is always reason enough to sit up straight and pay attention. I am all eyes and ears, especially if it combines yellow gold with black onyx. Yes, Fratelli, I am easy to please. All jokes aside, we all know that MB&F; is not just about materials and colors. Every watch has […] Visit Introducing: The MB&F; Legacy Machine FlyingT Onyx Edition to read the full article.
Fratello
The sub-€1,000 segment used to be teeming with amazing watches from microbrands and long-established mainstream brands alike. Today, a lot of them have crossed the €1K mark. It can almost make you feel as if €1,000 isn’t a boatload of money, which it is, especially if it’s all in pennies. Jokes aside, although there may […] Visit Fratello Favorites: The Best Watches Under €1,000 - Thomas’s Picks From Seiko, Lorier, And RZE to read the full article.
Revolution
Worn & Wound
This weekend marked the 100th running of the 24 hour race of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France, and Rolex took full advantage of the occasion with the release of a new Daytona with a dial that recalls the now famous ‘exotic’ dial, aka Newman dial, of older references. This release is surprising for a few reasons, and may even offer some insight to what we might expect from Rolex moving forward. We’ll get to all that, but in many ways, this is the Daytona that enthusiasts have been asking for since the late ‘80s – it’s the ‘greatest hits’ watch, perfectly capitalizing on the the new Daytona chassis released just earlier this year at Watches & Wonders, which we went hands-on with right here. First and foremost, Rolex is not in the habit of dropping new releases outside of their regular yearly cadence. We last saw it with the release of the Deepsea Challenge in late 2022, the first commercial Rolex to tout their RLX titanium material. While that watch could be considered something of an outlier, given its rather extreme nature, the Daytona is another story entirely. This new reference, the 126529LN officially, joins the new collection as a regular production model. That reference number ends in four characters that have never appeared together in the Daytona family, the 29 indicating a full white gold case and bracelet, and LN, or Lunette Noir, meaning it sports a black Cerachrom bezel. Vintage Rolex Daytona reference 6263 with exotic dial The firs...
SJX Watches
Le Concours de Complexité is probably the smallest watch auction ever conducted by Phillips. Taking place online from January 13-20, the sale comprises just 11 watches. But all 11 are F.P. Journe watches, including important models like a Sonnerie Souveraine, Chronomètre à Résonance Ruthenium, and Centigraphe Anniversaire. So while the quantity is modest, the quality and value are high. And the watches all come with impeccable provenance. The former owner is a prominent businessman from Southeast Asia who is active real estate development. He purchased most of them brand new and has clearly kept them in immaculate condition. Le Concours de Complexité begins on January 13 and will run until January 20. Bidding and the catalogue can be accessed on Phillips.com. Below we round up a trio of highlights from the sale. The Sonnerie Souveraine Lot 8001 – Chronomètre à Résonance Ruthenium Synonymous with the independent watchmaker, the Resonance is correctly regarded as one of the most ingenious creations in contemporary watchmaking. Francois-Paul Journe was the first to implement the concept in a wristwatch, having been inspired by 18th century clocks operating on the principle of resonance. This example is one of the Ruthenium series that was launched in 2001. The name comes from the fact that the dial and brass movement bridges are plated in ruthenium, giving them a dark grey finish. Notably, the Ruthenium editions are the last F.P. Journe models to utilise brass m...
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Hodinkee
Technically, people, it's called the Hôtel de Horlogers. Either way, feel free to scatter my ashes here when I am gone.
Time+Tide
It’s always an exciting time when a company introduces a brand new model and a brand new movement at the same time, and it’s no different when it comes to the Fortis Stratoliner S-41. The WERK 17 movement, a collaborative effort between Fortis and La Joux-Perret, was space-tested before the release of the Stratoliner, which … ContinuedThe post The Fortis Stratoliner S-41 packs space-age looks and an important new movement appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Though born in Japan, Yosuke Sekiguchi is steeped in the tradition of Swiss watchmaking. He moved first to France and then Switzerland some two decades ago, and is today fluent in French and skilled at watchmaking. After a career at complications specialists like Claret and La Joux-Perret, Mr Sekiguchi established his own brand in 2020 with the goal of building a historically-inspired timepiece of extremely high quality. The concept is a familiar one that has been interpreted in various ways by others, but Mr Sekiguchi arguably succeeds far better in both paying tribute to the historical inspiration and achieving impressive, artisanal quality. His first watch is the Primevère, which made its debut just earlier this year. It is an elegantly designed and clearly rooted in 19th century pocket watches, but also novel in several ways, reflecting Mr Sekiguchi’s unusual approach to the concept. Amongst other things, it is robustly constructed and larger than such wristwatches typically are. And while the movement resembles its vintage inspiration, it is fabricated and decorated in a finer, more artisanal manner than the 19th century original. NB: The Primevère pictured here is the first complete prototype with a gold-plated case, so it still reveals several obvious imperfections in the movement decoration. Mr Sekiguchi promises the the final product will be perfectly finished and I believe that it will be. Initial thoughts Although it appears to be a pocket watch reproducti...
SJX Watches
Having introduced the ultra-advanced quartz Caliber 0100 in 2019, Citizen is now turning to mechanical movements. Making its debut in the flagship The Citizen collection, the Caliber 0200 is a newly-developed automatic with all the technical features expected of a high-end modern movement, along with more elaborate decoration thanks to the input of Swiss movement specialist La Joux-Perret. Citizen’s first new mechanical since 2010, the Caliber 0200 elevates its mechanical watchmaking to a new level in both construction and aesthetics. Similarly, the first wristwatch equipped with the Caliber 0200 boasts a more sophisticated degree of finishing on its complex case and integrated bracelet. The Caliber 0200 Initial thoughts Going by the images, the Calibre 0200-equipped The Citizen is an impressive watch. And going by Citizen’s other high-end watches, this will almost surely look as good in real life as it does in photos. Measuring an elegant 40 mm by 10.9 mm, the case has complex surfaces and impeccable finishing, and also a distinctive look. Though some of the design elements do bring to mind other watches, it is original enough, which is a feat given the proliferation of integrated-bracelet designs today. But the highlight is the movement, which is perhaps best described as a high-end workhorse calibre. The construction and specs tick all the right boxes, and so does the finishing, which is superior to many watches – Swiss and Japanese – in the same price range. Th...
SJX Watches
A member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) since its founding in 1985, Bernhard Lederer is a veteran of independent watchmaking. Though known amongst collectors for having founded the brand BLU in 2002, Mr Lederer is more of a watchmaker’s watchmaker, supplying movements and complications via his company MHM (short for “Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie et Micromécanique”). Born in Germany but based in Switzerland for decades, Mr Lederer’s technical prowess is on full view with his latest creation – the Central Impulse Chronometer (CIC). Seemingly a mere three-hand wristwatch on the front, the CIC is a actually a significant accomplishment – and undoubtedly one of the most notable watches of 2020 from a technical perspective. The movement is equipped with a natural escapements as well as dual gear trains. The construction is familiar – Mr Lederer describes it as a tribute to the late George Daniels and his landmark Space Traveller pocket watch – but improved and refined with the addition a remontoir d’egalité constant force mechanism for each going train. Initial thoughts With seemingly everything already having been done in watchmaking, it is not often that we encounter a genuinely interesting – and improved – twist to an already uncommon escapement. Here Mr Lederer rejuvenates the centuries-old idea of the natural escapement, but elevated by the added complexity and performance gains of twin remontoir going tr...
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SJX Watches
Having created a number of appealing and accessibly priced “tool” watches over the years including the Seastrong Diver Heritage and the KM-710, Alpina now unveils the Startimer Pilot Heritage Chronograph, powered by a single-button chronograph movement supplied by its sister company, La Joux-Perret. The Startimer Pilot Heritage Chronograph is the second mechanical chronograph in the Alpina catalogue; the first was the Alpiner 4 Manufacture Flyback, which had a Valjoux 7750, likewise modified by La Joux-Perret to include a flyback function. The brand Alpina was actually founded over 130 years ago but fell victim to the quartz crisis in the 1970s. Then in 2002, it was acquired by Frederique Constant, which was itself then acquired by Citizen of Japan in 2016. Now, like its sister company Frederique Constant, it specialises in accessibly priced watches, made possible in part by the movement making expertise of La Joux-Perret. As with most Alpina watches, the Startimer Pilot Heritage chronograph combines retro design with modern dimensions and build. Its styling is recognisably 1970s, and evokes the experimental spirit of the era without being overtly flashy or eccentric. Measuring 42mm by 40.7mm, the Startimer Pilot Heritage Chronograph features a cushion case with the chronograph pusher located at two o’clock. Like all cushion-cased watches of the 1970s, it has a radially brushed top surface and case band that are separated by a wide polished bevel, which enha...
Deployant
Introducing the new Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda Métropolitaine Galaxy & Tonda 1950 Galaxy, both timepieces with aventurine dials inspired by the brightest stars in the Val-de-Travers.
Revolution
Omega joins Orbis and the fight against preventable blindness with its support of the Flying Eye Hospital through a unique collection of De Ville Prestige timepieces.
Revolution
If you know vintage watches, you know Angelus. Manufacture La Joux-Perret is reviving the brand, and the first new watch is sure to be a surprise. To many collectors, Angelus is best known as a creator of great-looking chronographs and multi-complication watches, especially chronographs with date, day and moon phase displays. The brand’s notable firsts […]
Fratello
After a strong start last month, we’re back with straps from yet another atelier for your viewing pleasure. Here’s a brand-new (to us) name all the way from Singapore — Atelier Yang. It’s been a while since I received these wonderful straps, but we needed to build a strategy for the restart of the Watch […] Visit Watch Strap Review 72 — Atelier Yang to read the full article.
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Fratello
If you don’t shy away from a bold, technical statement piece, the new Panerai Submersible GMT PAM01495 might just be for you. It combines a skeletonized GMT movement with a 47mm titanium DMLS case and a 500m depth rating. It does so in typical Panerai style, with a lively sense of drama. Panerai tends to […] Visit Introducing: The Skeletonized Panerai Submersible GMT PAM01495 to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet (AP) and Swatch have teamed up to launch the Royal Pop, a series of lanyard-borne pocket swatches in eight pop art-inspired colourways set to hit stores on May 16th. It also debuts new manually wound Sistem 51 movements, including one with small seconds, to capture the pocket watch feel. This could be seen as AP having a little fun on a project set in motion by a Swatch-obsessed former CEO, or long-term thinking to cultivate the next generation of customers. Initial thoughts I imagine ambivalence will define the general reaction to the Royal Pop, as it should. A pop art-inspired pocket Swatch is a challenging product to casual watch buyers and enthusiasts alike. And I mean that as praise — it would have been much easier to go the MoonSwatch or Scuba Fifty Fathoms route, but much less interesting. Ref. SSX03L101N. Case in point, a non-enthusiast friend texted me over the weekend expressing interest in the Royal Pop under the common assumption that it would take after the MoonSwatch. In short, he was expecting a plastic Royal Oak. He was less enthusiastic — but not entirely put off — when I asked him how he’d feel about a manually wound pocket watch. Ref. SSX03R100N. While my favourite watches are overwhelmingly pocket watches (or pocket chronometers), I can’t see myself wearing one regularly, be it a Swatch Pop or a Nicole Nielsen tourbillon. I do, however, see myself attaching an Otg Roz Royal Pop to my keychain or workbag. Considering the recent ...
Fratello
If you are a regular Fratello reader, it will come as no surprise that I am a Zenith fan. The brand’s Chronomaster Revival A384 is my current favorite watch. There is nothing out there like it, and every time I put it on my wrist, I feel a mix of excitement and reassurance about how […] Visit Discovering The Magic Of The Zenith Chronomaster Revival A384 Tropical to read the full article.
Fratello
After weeks of teasing, today, we got an unexpected embargo lift on the Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop. Only a very few AI mock-ups were somewhat close to what Swatch has just released. And the young guys we saw on TikTok hoping to be sporting a very affordable Royal Oak on the wrist (or […] Visit Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop — The Most Unexpected Swatch Collaboration Yet to read the full article.
Hodinkee
The watch world hasn't seen an auction season like this in quite some time. Well, ever, frankly. Phillips set multiple records (43 by their count, though many are quite obscure), including a new record for the highest single sale of $96,328,083, besting their result from just last fall. If you add in their online auction, they passed $100 million for the first time ever. Sotheby's smashed the record for the most expensive A. Lange & Söhne ever (for a pocket watch, we might add)—a record that only stood for a few weeks, set during the house's Hong Kong sale. But it wasn't so much the overall numbers that were shocking as the fact of which watches were selling for what prices. So, what the heck is going on? Well, we were watching; some of us from afar, others (Andy Hoffman) in the auction rooms. Instead of focusing solely on broad strokes, let's look at five specific results and why they matter for the market. A Bog-Standard Stainless Steel Akrivia AK-06 is Now a $3.8 Million Watch, 30 Times Its Original Retail Rexhep Rexhepi is the hottest watchmaker of the new, young generation, and it's not particularly close. That's not a dig on his contemporaries, but rather a reflection of the realities of the market, where people are clamoring (to an unbelievable degree) to buy a watch from a man who has made very few watches in the first place, and the few that have come to market reach astronomical prices. There aren't many data points to go off of. Only twelve Akrivia or Rexhep ...
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Hodinkee
What We Know Want to see a magic trick? No, not the kind the Joker pulls in "The Dark Knight," but instead something pretty cool that Ming has cooked up with their new 29.06 "Peep Show." The watches below look markedly different, but the only thing that's changed is the direction the hands point. When Ming Thein showed me this watch last fall, I immediately got what was going on as he turned the crown. If you were doing the same, you'd see that the guilloché dial with a multiphase color-shifting coating (like on the 57.04 "Iris") slowly fades in and out of visibility, turning from a dazzling view to pitch black as the hands move. Any guesses on how it works? Well, it's kind of a trick question, because the hands aren't actually hands. Instead, they're polarized sapphire discs with a hands made of Super-LumiNova X1 fill. The two pieces of sapphire are linearly polarized, so when they're aligned (on top of each other or directly opposite each other), the polarizer lets light in, and you can see that metal disc with color-shifting treatment. As the hands rotate, you see less and less of the dial until it turns black when the two discs are at 90º to each other. When you learn the effect, it's pretty simple, but it's certainly effective in person. All this is in a 29-series case, which is a bit more reserved than the 57-series case. It's made in lightweight Grade 5 titanium, measuring 40mm by 11.8mm, with a 22mm lug width. The case has a 50-meter water resistance. Inside the ...
Fratello
What do Mark “The Manx Missile” Cavendish, Djamolidin “The Tasjkent Terror” Abdoujaparov, and André “The Gorilla” Greipel have in common? Nicknames that say something about their character and their profession — winning sprints. In pro cycling, sprinters are a different breed. They hide in the belly of the peloton, only to emerge in the final […] Visit Crossing The Finish Line With The Bravur Grand Tour Sprinter to read the full article.
Fratello
Swatch has been teasing us for the last week about a secret release scheduled to debut on May 16th. The teasers refer to the Swatch POP (a watch introduced in 1986), a lanyard, a “clac” sound, Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak, and a Sistem51 mechanical movement. View this post on Instagram A post shared […] Visit Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal POp: Here’s What We Know! to read the full article.
Fratello
Sometimes, you don’t want a color or a fancy finish on your dial, and occasionally, the second version isn’t always better than the first. That must be exactly what Ludovic Barrois from the French watch publication Le Petit Poussoir was thinking. That’s probably why, with his friend Guillaume Laidet, he released the Nivada Grenchen F77 […] Visit Hands-On With The New Nivada Grenchen × Le Petit Poussoir F77 Polar White MK1 Limited Edition to read the full article.
Fratello
Superleggera is Italian for “super light.” But to a petrolhead, the word means more. The term refers to a custom automobile body-construction method developed by Felice Bianchi Anderloni at the Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. Patented in 1936, the Superleggera system uses a framework of thin steel tubes shaped to the contours of the car […] Visit Hands-On With The New Chanel J12 Superleggera Caliber 12.1 — Is It Worthy Of The Famous Automotive Moniker? to read the full article.
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