Results for WWI Trench Watch

Wear this Pride-themed Swatch in Malaysia and you face a three-year jail term

A couple of weeks ago, T+T reported how Swatch were suing the Malaysian government after it seized 172 of their watches from stores. The reason for the seizure?  The watches, which come in either rainbow colours or a single colour with a rainbow trim, were released in support of Pride, the movement that promotes the … ContinuedThe post Wear this Pride-themed Swatch in Malaysia and you face a three-year jail term appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Aquastar Returns to Their Origins with New Model 60

In 1960, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh made their record dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench within the Trieste bathyscaphe, a feat not equaled until 2012 by James Cameron in the Deepsea Challenger. The story of the Trieste is the stuff of legends, the watch brand we generally associate with the trek is of course, Rolex, who’s experimental Deep Sea Special survived the crushing 10,916 meters of depth strapped to the exterior of the vessel (something they did again with the Deepsea Challenger). Enthusiasts are likely also aware of the Lognines stopwatches aboard the Trieste (as well as Piccard’s own 13ZN Chronograph), but there is another watch tied to this story, and this is the JeanRichard Aquastar 60 worn by Don Walsh. A watch that’s being honored in the release of a new Model 60 by Aquastar this week.  The Aquastar 60 was designed by the brand’s founder, Frédéric Robert in 1958, and represents the earliest design DNA of the storied brand. The new Model 60 captures the spirit of the original in many of the right ways, while carving a new path all its own in the process. The watch falls very much into throwback territory which, these days, has a very blurry boundary between modernity, it seems. Whatever the case, the Model 60 is a simple, sharp diver that embodies many of the base design codes of the genre in the best ways possible. The newest Model 60 gets a lovely skin-diver-esque 37mm steel case with square lug design that places all emphasis on the bus...

Hands-On with the Vario Versa

Vario is a Singapore-based watch brand founded in 2016. Over the years, they have launched several watches with varying aesthetics though mostly drawing on historical watches as inspiration, such as their rugged 1918 Trench model. Their most recent model, the Versa, also pulls from the past, taking its inspirations from the Streamline/Art Deco era, but mixes in a reversible design for a watch that is both dual-time and dual-faced. A first, to our recollection, in the micro-brand space, the Versa is a surprising release that manages to be clever, while also quite affordable. Apart from the functionality, the Versa is also a rare, small-scale rectangular dress offering from a micro brand. Launched in three versions, the Versa is $428 and powered by not one, but two quartz calibers. For this hands-on, we’ll be taking a look at the blue variety. $428 Hands-On with the Vario Versa Case Stainless Steel Movement 2 x Ronda Slimtech 1062 Dial Silver/Blue Lume NA Lens 2 x Flat Sapphire Strap Black Leather Water Resistance 5 ATM Dimensions 26 x 40mm Thickness 18mm Lug Width 20mm Crown 2 x Push-pull Warranty Yes Price $428 Notable Specs and Features The Versa is a watch defined by a novel and enjoyable feature: it’s essentially two watches in one. The watch head consists of two main components, a frame, and a watch module. The module is created with two slim, small quartz watches mounted back to back, dials facing out, and crowns at twelve. The module is attached to the frame via ...

OK, cool… But who is the new 50mm titanium Rolex Deepsea Challenge really for?

Today, inspired by the experimental watch that accompanied filmmaker James Cameron on his historic 10,908-metre (35,787-foot) descent into the Mariana Trench on March 26, 2012, Rolex has revealed their first ever all-titanium production watch: the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge in RLX Titanium with a depth rating of 11,000 metres.  As cool as it is to … ContinuedThe post OK, cool… But who is the new 50mm titanium Rolex Deepsea Challenge really for? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The new Hamilton Railroad Pocket embodies an American tradition

Hamilton’s history is a rich one. After taking over existing manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania and establishing the Hamilton Watch Company in 1892, the brand was first focused on producing accurate railroad pocket watches, before shifting production to wristwatches after WWI, eventually only producing military watches during WWII. The new Hamilton Railroad Pocket watch focuses on … ContinuedThe post The new Hamilton Railroad Pocket embodies an American tradition appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

HANDS-ON: The Dan Henry 1975 is a diver that’s playful yet refined and costs under $300

While the last few releases from Dan Henry have focused on the post-WWI era of military chronographs, the micro-turned-major brand return to a more lighthearted spirit with their most “modern” watch so far - the Dan Henry 1975. While the concept of a diving watch rose throughout the 1950s and was popularised in the 1960s, … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Dan Henry 1975 is a diver that’s playful yet refined and costs under $300 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

WATCHES & WONDERS: Hublot hit a purple patch and release a brand new case shape

Editor’s Note: Watches & Wonders means a bombardment of fresh releases, so we’re offering a quick overview of each brand’s new novelties – touching on each new reference or collection and their headlining points. Stay tuned throughout the week for deeper coverage, some of which will include live pics and our hands-on perspective. But for … ContinuedThe post WATCHES & WONDERS: Hublot hit a purple patch and release a brand new case shape appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Phillips to auction Rolex Deep Sea Special – and my own encounter with a real monster of the deep

Early November will see Phillips auction a very unusual, and not made for public, Rolex Deep Sea Special. This watch was based on the experimental Rolex that rode the outside of the Trieste bathyscaphe that, in January 1960, dove to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, some 10,900 metres deep. Following the successful dive and … ContinuedThe post Phillips to auction Rolex Deep Sea Special – and my own encounter with a real monster of the deep appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

MICRO MONDAYS: The William Wood Triumph collection is a set of chronographs ready to catch fire

William Wood is known for their well built and accessibly priced timepieces, all of which are inspired by fire rescue and the brave people who put their lives on the line every day. We’ve covered the full backstory of the brand and its name before, but just to recap: William Wood was the name of … ContinuedThe post MICRO MONDAYS: The William Wood Triumph collection is a set of chronographs ready to catch fire appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Business News: Swatch Group Sales Plunge on Pandemic Closures

Swiss watchmaking conglomerate Swatch Group just announced its half-year 2020 results and unsurprisingly, it took a huge hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the group, which owns brands like Omega and Longines, had a good start in January with an operating margin of 17.3% – with the watch and jewellery brands performing a bit better than movement- and component-production division – the lockdown progressively imposed across the world since February severely impacted sales, leading to a steep declines in revenue and half-year operating loss, a first for the group. Group sales for the first half plunged 43.4% at constant exchange rates from a year earlier, resulting in an operating loss of CHF327m, compared to a profit of CHF547m for the same period in 2019. Most of the drop in sales was attributed to the lockdowns in most countries, resulting in widespread store closures. The Swatch Group saw up to 80% of both its own boutiques and third-party retailers close, meaning it had to rely on partially “partially feasible” e-commerce. And even after lockdowns were lifted, the group permanently vacated some of its retail space, as evidenced by disputes with its former landlord in Hong Kong, which has sued the Swatch Group for several million in allegedly unpaid rent. Due to its swiftly-streamlining retail network, the group’s employee count was trimmed by 6.5% since December 2019 to approximately 33,700 employees. This was also confirmed by anecdotal evidence fro...

Business News: Swatch Group Annual Profit Falls with Hong Kong Slowdown

Hong Kong’s political unrest has resulted in the first fall in annual profits at the Swatch Group since 2018. The world’s biggest watchmaking group, which owns brands like Omega and Longines, just announced its 2019 results, showing declines in both sales and profits. Net profit fell 13.7%, while sales declined 1.8% at constant exchange rates, or 2.7% at current rates, to 8.24 billion francs. The drops in profit and sales were primarily due to a drastic contraction of its business in Hong Kong – a city with a population of just 7.4 million – where Swatch Group owns over 90 retail stores, largely catering to shoppers from the China. Sales in Hong Kong for the second half of 2019 fell by 200 million francs. While Hong Kong was the key driver of the decline, it was not the only one. The luxury watch business in general is suffering from anaemic growth, which is also evidenced by the watch division results at diversified luxury groups like LVMH and Kering. On a more positive note, Swatch Group has managed to fulfil its stated aims of reducing operating expenditure and thinning inventory. Operating expenses dipped about 6%, while operating cash flow rose 30% in 2019. And after several consecutive years of growth, the group’s inventories declined by 1% in 2019, to a still-substantial 6.85 billion francs at cost. It’ll be a slow 2020… With Swatch Group predicting the situation in Hong Kong will continue to be “challenging” in 2020, it is in a weaker positio...

Swatch Introduces the Big Bold Jelly

One of the iconic Swatch watches from its 1980s heyday was the Jelly Fish (ref. GZ010), which was unveiled in 1983, the same year Swatch itself was launched. A quartz movement entirely exposed in a clear plastic case – accented with brightly coloured hands – the Jelly Fish was a bestseller that encapsulated what Swatch was all about: no-frills but fun watchmaking. The Jelly Fish remained in production, in one form or another – there was even a COSC-certified chronometer limited edition (GK124) in 1990 – for over two decades. Now the spirit of the Jelly Fish returns as the Big Bold Jelly, essentially the same idea but in a larger watch case. The Big Bold Jelly features a quartz movement inside a Big Bold case, just like the recent limited editions created in collaboration with fashion label A Bathing Ape (BAPE). The case is a large 47mm in diameter, with the crown unusually positioned at two o’clock. But just as with the original Jelly Fish, the case is clear plastic, while the band is translucent silicone. And the hands are rendered in bright colours – red, yellow and blue – with a bit more colour provided by the gilded wheels within the movement. Key facts and price Big Bold Jelly Ref. SO27E100 Diameter: 47mm Height: 11.75mm Material: Clear plastic Water resistance: 30m Movement: Quartz Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds Strap: Silicone with aluminium pin buckle Availability: At Swatch stores Price: US$110 For more information, visit Swatch.co...

Swatch Inaugurates New Headquarters in Biel

A long snaking building that stretches some 240m, the new Swatch headquarters in Biel, or Bienne in French, is the culmination of five years of work. Selling about 9.5m watches a year for about 450m Swiss francs of revenue, according to Swiss bank Vontobel, Swatch was the foundational company of its parent, the aptly named Swatch Group, which also owns Omega and Longines. Like many of its parent company’s recent projects, the Swatch building was designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, the 2014 Pritzker Prize winner who is best known for his works of wood or paper, as well as his temporary structures for humanitarian aid. Its new home is covered in a honeycomb timber grid that incorporates windows, nine balconies and solar panels. Visible from the inside is the Swatch logo, derived from the Swiss cross, incorporated into some of the grid’s cells. And hidden within the structure is a network of wires and cables for telecommunications, electricity and the like. The Swatch headquarters, with the Omega building at the far left The Swatch building ends in La Cite du Temps, which sits in front of the Omega factory and headquarters Shigeru Ban, Nayla Hayek, and Nick Hayek Jr at the opening ceremony on October 3, 2019 The glass-walled Swatch store in front of the new headquarters With the new headquarters in the background Light, flexible and sustainable, the timber beams used for the outer structure number some 4,600, all precisely cut to fit with join with each other per...

BUSINESS NEWS: Why the Swatch Group has millions of watches sitting in warehouses

The Swatch Group have published their 2019 Half-Year Report, revealing some interesting information. The group has reported an increase in their inventory levels, which include components, movements and watches, to a total of 7.1 billion Swiss francs (up 2.6 per cent from 2018). More broadly, the group, which owns brands such as Tissot, Longines and … ContinuedThe post BUSINESS NEWS: Why the Swatch Group has millions of watches sitting in warehouses appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Omega now rules the deep seas with the Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional

Big news overnight from the house of Omega – they can now claim the lofty (well, the opposite actually) title of deepest diving watch ever. Just how deep are we talking here? How about 10,928 metres? That’s the depth Victor Vescovo took his submersible, Limiting Factor into the Mariana Trench. And on that sub, was the Omega … ContinuedThe post Omega now rules the deep seas with the Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Swatch Group-Audemars Piguet Collaboration Creates Non-Magnetic Balance Spring

The Swatch Group announced on 29 August the creation of a revolutionary balance spring with exceptional paramagnetic characteristics. This balance spring is made from a new non-magnetic compensating alloy called Nivachron™ which the Swatch Group developed in collaboration with Audemars Piguet.

Swatch Sistem51 Review: Should You Keep The Receipt?

The first time that I was introduced to a Swatch Sistem51 was in a marketing email from Hodinkee announcing their collaboration with Swatch. The Swatch Sistem51 cost $150, which piqued my interest immediately. It was only a fraction of the cost of anything else that Hodinkee offered (besides a magazine).

Press release: Swatch launches Spring-Summer 2018 collection

Swatch introduces its Spring-Summer 2018 collection, which dives into the Swiss watchmaker’s DNA. Spring and summer are all about the great outdoors, and Swatch takes the party from the garden to the street before heading to the beach.

Rare Watches: Voyage to the bottom of the sea: Part 1: Rolex Deep Special

We get hands-on with the Rolex Deep Sea Special. Very rare hands-on with the first watch ever to have been to bottom of the Mariana Trench.

The AP X Swatch Royal Pop: The Royal Oak Gets Swatch-ified With Eight New Pocket Watches

The duo plays to their strengths with a fleet of Bioceramic pocket watches packed with a new movement and endless styling possibilities. More

Thomas’s Watches And Wonders 2026 Favorites: Conservative Classics Catch My Gaze

As Fratello writers, my colleagues and I always have this article in the back of our minds as we work our way through the Watches and Wonders peak workload. We all know that sooner rather than later, Head of Content Nacho will schedule a Watches and Wonders 2026 favorites article for each of us, so […] Visit Thomas’s Watches And Wonders 2026 Favorites: Conservative Classics Catch My Gaze to read the full article.

Serica Watches Review: The French Brand With The Silent Dials

A look at Serica watches, the French microbrand that has gained a reputation with newer collectors and enthusiasts alike.

Swatch Drops Four Jellyfish-Themed Affordable Dive Watches at $155

The Swatch Scubaqua returns with four new affordable dive watches at $155, including two with built-in Swatch Pay at no added cost.

Rolex at Watches and Wonders 2026: Daytona Enamel, Jubilee Gold Day-Date , Centenary Oyster Perpetual, and the Return of Yatch-Master II

Trilobe’s new Paris manufacture is a new chapter for French independent watchmaking

Trilobe has just made its most consequential move yet: the opening of a full manufacture in the heart of the Opéra district of Paris.The post Trilobe’s new Paris manufacture is a new chapter for French independent watchmaking appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.