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Results for Swiss vs Japanese Watchmaking

4,699 articles · 44 videos found · page 30 of 159

The Parivas Exo.1 and the Rise of Additive Manufacturing in Watchmaking Worn & Wound
Holthinrichs May 25, 2026

The Parivas Exo.1 and the Rise of Additive Manufacturing in Watchmaking

Last year at the Windup Watch Fair in New York City I was approached by Jared Woods and Mickey Brown, the co-founders of Parivas, a brand that I had not heard of until he walked up to me with his business card in hand. At the time, Parivas hadn’t really launched officially. They handed me a rough prototype of a 3D printed watch and loosely explained the concept behind the brand, which approaches watch design through the perspective of engineering, making use of the most cutting edge additive manufacturing technologies. It seemed like a cool, ambitious project. There are lots of cool, ambitious projects, many of them led by talented watch industry outsiders, and I’ve found that sometimes there’s an inverse relationship between the coolness and level of ambition and the ultimate success rate. Now Parivas is here in a much more official capacity, with the launch of the Exo.1, a $7,500 3D printed design object with an intricate lattice frame and a trademarked finishing technique of the brand’s own invention. It comes at a time when 3D printed watches are having a bit of a moment. Holthinrichs and Apiar have released notable watches with 3D printed cases, and Ming manufactures an incredible bracelet that might be the single most impressive 3D printed watch object I’ve handled. The technology is clearly improving and it seems like enthusiasts are more receptive to these ideas than they ever have been. The one thing all of these brands have in common is that they claim ...

Finally, a Japanese Manhole Inspired Watch with a Cloisonné Enamel Dial Worn & Wound
Isotope Osaka Cloisonné Enamel Mar 24, 2026

Finally, a Japanese Manhole Inspired Watch with a Cloisonné Enamel Dial

Having none myself, I’m always a bit impressed when it comes to those who have artistic talent – and that goes doubly for those who can appreciate the everyday beauty around them. This is especially true when those two virtues combine to form a beautiful little timepiece, like the Altmann × Isotope Osaka Cloisonné Enamel, a new collaboration between English watchmaker Isotope and designer, illustrator, and typographer Björn Altmann. The first, and perhaps only, thing you will notice about this watch is its dial, which is based on a municipal manhole cover featuring Osaka Castle. Now, you may be asking yourself, why Japanese manhole covers? I can assure you that you are not alone in that. Apparently, after a Wikipedia deep dive, it is something of an urban art form and a show of civic pride throughout Japan. In fact, more than 15 million manhole covers across the country feature some sort of carved, imprinted, or painted design. This was a niche interest of Isotope founder José Miranda, which eventually led Miranda to Björn Altmann’s book Manhole Covers of the World. This, in turn, led to this collaboration you see before you today. The intricacy of the dial does not stop with its source material. The dial itself is made in grand feu cloisonné enamel, using fine silver wires and multiple rounds of firing to build out the design and color. The process took close to a year to develop, and in the end only five dials were successfully completed, which helps explain ...

Ming Watch Brand Review: Independent Watchmaking With A Decentralized Teddy Baldassarre
Ming Mar 9, 2026

Ming Watch Brand Review: Independent Watchmaking With A Decentralized

When it comes to luxury watches, rarely is a timepiece experienced on the wrist before it is admired through a lens. Horological photography has evolved so much that high-resolution imagery and macro-cinematography have become a virtual loupe, portraying the watch’s qualities and character through focus stacking and special lighting. For brands like MING, the photograph is the primary medium of truth, since the founder of the company is a world-class photographer. Ming Thein spent years dissecting the world’s finest timepieces through the lens of a camera. Before long, he became one of the industry’s most respected photographers, forming an obsession with light and how it behaves on the surface of a watch. Since building his own brand, Ming Thein has continued to nurture this special relationship between timekeeping and imagery, so much so that it has become part of the brand’s unique story. Every curve of a flared lug or inverted lume track on a dial is designed to catch, bend, and manipulate light – a philosophy that has translated into a string of global successes, including the "revelation" of the 17.06 Copper and the 2024 GPHG-winning 37.09 Bluefin. [toc-section heading="The Brainstorm That Gave MING Its Lift-Off"] Early concept sketch Plenty of business ideas have probably been dreamt up while racking up air miles, but the origins of MING were perhaps among the most unexpected. During a return flight from a 2014 watch fair, cruising 30,000 feet above the gr...