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Monochrome
Using the analogy of Grand Seiko and Seiko, Orient Star is the premium division of Orient watches (both part of Seiko Epson since 2017). Established in 1951, Orient Star produces more refined watches featuring complications and a characteristic Japanese balance of quality and value. Celebrating its 75th anniversary, Orient Star reimagines the design of its […]
Worn & Wound
When it comes to high end watches, we all have our little rabbit holes that we’re particularly and endlessly fascinated by. For me, H. Moser tourbillons have been points of obsession since the first time I encountered one. There’s something about Moser’s contemporary approach to design acting as a counterpoint to the classical way a tourbillon is typically executed that I find really appealing. One of my favorite experiences reviewing a watch remains my time with the Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack, which is certainly the most insane thing I’ve ever been trusted with for a watch review, and for sentimental reasons as well as just being an incredibly impressive piece of horological art, it’s probably among my favorite watches of all time. Today Moser launches a new tourbillon, in a new material, that has me thinking of that solid gold, Vantablack Streamliner once again. The Streamliner Tourbillon Concept Ceramic is the brand’s first ever watch in ceramic, and returns to the “Concept” dial format, something that inspires many hot takes on Instagram, but is a style I’ve always loved. The Streamliner is Moser’s sportiest watch, so it makes sense they’d debut an inherently sporty material on this platform. The 40mm case and bracelet are made entirely of ceramic in an anthracite gray color, and surfaces have been given a combination of satin finishing and polishing. Getting the finishing right on a high end ceramic watch is where the real “flex” i...
Monochrome
Most watches have a story to tell, but some carry several narratives woven together. The Leica ZM 1 and ZM 2 (previously named L1 and L2), taken out of context, are fine and interesting creations; add the story, and their appeal multiplies. Their allure goes beyond design or mechanics, drawing from Leica’s technical heritage, unexpected […]
Worn & Wound
Certain watch niches are riskier than others; for instance, seemingly every brand has tried a dive watch or chronograph because they are guaranteed crowd pleasers with straightforward functionality, whereas a world timer or moonphase complication is a little trickier to market to a general audience. In that corner of hyperniche sits the jumping hour watch, which to a non-watch nerd, is both visually and functionally baffling. But Bremont is no stranger to the jumping hour concept, having released successful models with the complication in the recent past. How have they fared with their latest iteration, the Terra Nova 38 Stealth Black? Let’s jump in and find out. While a seasoned horological expert may be familiar with a jumping hour complication, the casual shopper likely isn’t: basically, instead of displaying a sweeping hour hand, a jumping hour watch points to the current hour and “jumps” to the next hour once 60 minutes have elapsed. Conversely, it may instead display the hour in a window, with an imprinted disc moving below that ticks over to the next digit, much like a date window. The Stealth Black opts for the latter presentation, which gives it a clean, retro-futuristic design that differs from previous models in the brand’s jumping hour catalog, and their Terra Nova line more broadly. As the name suggests, the Stealth Black is characterized by its 38mm black DLC stainless steel case, finished in black diamond carbon-like coating, which gives it a sci-f...
Monochrome
Founded by Andreas Felsl and Tzuyu Huang in 2007, Horage approached watchmaking from an unconventional angle: rather than starting with design and sourcing movements, the company began by developing in-house calibres. Now Horage has a portfolio built around modular movement families, the automatic K1, the micro-rotor K2, the K-TOU with a tourbillon regulator and K-TMR […]
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On this channel, we review watches that are available for purchase on TeddyBaldassarre.com
Fratello
We have covered quite a few Venezianico releases over the past two years. If there is one thing that stands out, it’s how the brand has constantly raised the bar in design, quality, and movements. Midway through last year, Venezianico took a bold step into the future with the release of the Redentore Utopia. It […] Visit Hands-On With The Impressive Venezianico Redentore Utopia II to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
While design hallmarks have come and gone, few say “Grand Seiko” quite like the iconic Snowflake dial, first introduced in 2005. Inspired by the frosty Hotaka mountain range in the brand’s home prefecture, Nagano, light plays across the fine texture to emphasize the slight variations in depth on the surface of the dial. The result is nothing short of stunning, and helped shape Grand Seiko and their philosophy of the “Nature of Time”. So how do you build on an icon? You introduce tasteful variations. Easier said than done, of course, but Grand Seiko has done it successfully before, by introducing the Skyflake dial, a light blue version of the Snowflake. And now, we have two new Snowflake and Skyflake models to showcase the evolution of the icon: the SBGX359 and SBGX361, in a compact 33mm case, making them the smallest in the Grand Seiko 9F line yet. Even more impressive is the 9.1mm thickness, which is only possible thanks to the Caliber 9F51 quartz movement, which is the first new movement in the 9F line since 2020, and allows for an accuracy of ± 10 seconds a year. In natural Grand Seiko fashion, each movement is hand-assembled by watchmakers at the Shinshu Watch Studio at the brand’s Shiojiri facility and feature three-month aged quartz crystals and a manual regulation switch for accuracy fine-tuning during servicing. All of that is to say that this is not a basic quartz movement; it’s a Grand Seiko quartz movement, which is sure to excel in both function ...
Fratello
Sometimes, extravagant timepieces come along and light up my life as a watch writer. You should have seen the look on my face when three Gagà Laboratorio Labormatic models landed on my desk. I knew that they were coming in, but they still surprised me. These extravagant watches display bold Italian design that looks like […] Visit Hands-On With The Extravagant Gagà Laboratorio Labormatic Series to read the full article.
Monochrome
MeisterSinger’s single-handed watches have the distinct advantage of being immediately recognisable. Although there might be other brands with one-handers, MeisterSinger is the indisputable leader of the pack. With an emphasis on minimalist German design, MeisterSinger’s mono-handed watches offer a more relaxed approach to reading the time, but should not be equated with simple watches, far […]
Worn & Wound
There are two types of watch reviews I particularly enjoy writing. One is a review for a watch that is truly bonkers. Something either outrageously expensive, avant-garde in its design sensibilities, off the beaten path and kind of rare, or some combination of all of the above. These are the types of watches I personally gravitate towards as a collector (well, not the outrageously expensive part, but the rest of it) and I find that typically I have an awful lot to say about them. It’s fun to write these reviews because it feels like I’m sharing my actual enthusiasm for something in a really pure and direct way. The other type of review I like to write is for watches that are basically on the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to my taste. It’s a challenge (if not necessarily fun in the same way) to write about a watch that brushes up against my own biases. It’s a useful exercise as a writer to evaluate something that is outside of your wheelhouse and comfort zone. And it certainly makes for better and more interesting copy than writing about a watch that is simply generic, neither a challenge to your taste or something you’d plunk down the credit card for to purchase yourself. The new watch from Jack Mason is, for me, decidedly in that second category, a watch that I can tell from one photo is objectively nice and will have a strong following among enthusiasts, but is just not the type of thing I typically go for. The new Strat-o-timer GMT Frontier i...
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Monochrome
Independent watchmaking rarely stands still, but Horologer MING has made a habit of using evolution rather than repetition as its driving force. Since the brand’s founding in 2017, Ming Thein and his team have mastered light, form and restraint, while also pushing technical boundaries behind the scenes. With the recent launch of the fifth-generation design […]
WatchAdvice
Though the aftershocks of news surrounding Baume & Mercier is still being felt, does their new Clifton keep the ball rolling? Let’s find out! What We Love: Elegant, slim case silhouette One of the comfiest bracelets I’ve ever worn Baumatic = Best value? What We Don’t: Fairly ordinary appearance, not for those wanting dramatic flair Bracelet finishing invites scratches and smudges Crown operation feels off Overall Rating: 8.75/10 Value for Money: 9/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 9/10 Build Quality: 8/10 Is the dress watch dead? Both Matt and I have attempted to answer this question on separate occasions. Matt argued that, in the contemporary space, the dress watch has fallen out of favour. I, on the other hand, believe dress watches remain prevalent and are thriving within the accessible segment of quartz timepieces. However, there are still a handful of brands that have committed themselves to collections defined by elegant aesthetics and attainable price points. One of these brands, Raymond Weil, is one we’ve discussed extensively, but they are far from the only player in this market. WATCH EDUCATION: An Introduction Into Baume & Mercier Founded in 1830, Baume & Mercier has maintained a notable presence within this relatively accessible tier of luxury watchmaking. A long-time subsidiary of the Richemont Group since 1988, the brand has used this period to develop watches that are balanced yet distinctive, both in design and mechanics. While the Riviera collection...
Fratello
Urwerk is always up to something fun, and today’s new UR-100V Lightspeed Ceramic is proof. While we’ve seen this complication before, it now comes with some novel material innovations. Let’s have a closer look. It doesn’t feel like so long ago that we were visiting Urwerk’s headquarters during Geneva Watch Days. However, only six months […] Visit Introducing: The Urwerk UR-100V Lightspeed Ceramic to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
The Urwerk UR-100 has become one of my favorite designs in high end independent watchmaking. Whenever I encounter one (a rare event given the brand’s annual production of just around 200 watches total) I’m blown away by the way it distills the essence of the brand into a completely wearable, compact, package. I’ve always been a fan of the Urwerk philosophy, but until I tried on a UR-100 I always felt the watches themselves might be too ungainly or oddly shaped for me personally. There’s something about this case though, mostly its impressive thinness, that makes it feel like a “normal” watch on the wrist but still something otherworldly when you look down to check the time. That, to me, feels like a sweet spot. The latest from Urwerk brings a new watch into the UR-100 lineage with the UR-100V LS Ceramic. This is effectively a new variant of the original UR-100V LS (short for “light speed,” which we’ll get to momentarily) that appeared in 2024. The new watch features a white ceramic case, a first for the brand and more complex than it first appears, and the same whimsical ideology of its predecessor, and many other Urwerk watches, which are all in one way or another a commentary on timekeeping itself. All Urwerks (well, almost all) share a common wandering hour satellite time telling mechanism that has become their calling card. It’s actually a rather mechanically elegant way to tell the time, basically with a wandering hour “pointer” to a fixed ...
Monochrome
Since founding Sarpaneva Watches in Helsinki, the independent Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva has consistently explored an approach shaped by the Nordic visual universe, mechanical honesty and a powerful sense of narrative. Best known for his Korona case design and expressive moon displays, Sarpaneva has built a recognisable catalogue which offers a combination of traditional watchmaking […]
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Audemars Piguet introduced the Code 11.59 in 2019, emerging as a contemporary AP-style expression of classic watchmaking. Over the years, the line has matured, expanded and reviewed its proportions. Introduced in 2023, the 38mm case offered a more compact and versatile interpretation of the Code 11.59 design. In early 2026, the brand presents two new […]
SJX Watches
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 ...
Monochrome
Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas luxury sports watch family is now in its third generation, but its roots trace back to the 222 model of 1977. A well-represented collection with complications and straightforward time-and-date models, the Overseas is widely acclaimed for its attractive design, high-end finishings, in-house movements and versatility. In 2019, a tourbillon was added to […]
Worn & Wound
Few other watchmakers enjoyed as much success and cachet as Heuer, especially during the fervent 1960s and 1970s. Not only had it launched one of the world’s first automatic chronographs, but it pushed the envelope on modern design with midcentury-cool chronographs like the uniquely square Monaco. Heuer was riding high on the glamor of Grand Prix: the Heuer shield was as indelible to the backdrops of Monza and Le Mans as Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren themselves as the official timekeeper of Formula One. But, inevitably, the quartz revolution came for Heuer. Jack Heuer was the third-generation CEO of the company that bore his name, and he had been a savvy marketer, personally hawking chronographs to drivers like Jo Siffert and Nikki Lauda. By the 1980s, however, he found himself backed into a corner, and in 1982, he was forced to sell the company to Piaget and Lemania-a humiliating low point in his life, as he recounted in his autobiography. Yet, before he departed, he gave Heuer one saving grace. In 1979, he commissioned Heuer’s first dive watch, the Professional Series. At a trade show Jack had overheard a brief conversation about the unreliability of existing dive watches, and he aimed to emulate Rolex’s success with the Submariner and Sea-Dweller. (Incidentally, Rolex owned half of Heuer’s stock market shares, and nearly took over the company around this time.) Photo by Blake Rong Heuer had spent the decade building an electronic timing division, which b...
Monochrome
With 3 of its 4 main collections based on the original Royal Oak design, it’s fair to say that Audemars Piguet is a bit conservative in some aspects. But, from time to time, and not without great boldness, the brand releases something unexpected and not octagonally designed. As the best example of what AP can […]
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Fratello
Audemars Piguet is releasing a host of new models today, which we’re covering here on Fratello. I was quite happy to see this specific release article appear in my schedule. Among several rather impressive releases, this one leans most heavily on design, which is my jam. Meet the Audemars Piguet Neo Frame Jumping Hour. This […] Visit Introducing: The Sleek New Audemars Piguet Neo Frame Jumping Hour to read the full article.
Fratello
You’ve got to hand it to Papar Watch Co.; the young American brand certainly has a unique way of doing things. It all started with the radically brutalist Anillo GMT, and now the Cenote debuts. The Cenote Titanium + Blue and Rose Gold Titanium are dive watches with a design that builds on the angular, […] Visit Hands-On With The Angular Papar Cenote Titanium + Blue And Rose Gold Titanium to read the full article.
Deployant
The Hanhart Moby Dick 39 mm lands with the kind of confidence that doesn’t need to shout; it’s one of those releases where you can feel the brand trying to honor a ghost from its own archives, this odd, almost mythical white‑dial 417 that collectors whispered about for years, and finally deciding, “Alright, let’s bring it back, but let’s do it properly.”
Monochrome
Created in 2015, the Slim d’Hermès is a watch that combines a certain rigour with elegance, slenderness and the usual design touch of the brand, in particular its typography. First released in a time-only version powered by a micro-rotor movement, it is defined by its clean lines and angular, airy lugs that give the Slim […]
Monochrome
Since its founding, Atelier Wen has positioned itself as a link between contemporary watchmaking and Chinese cultural heritage. Created by Robin Tallendier and Wilfried Buiron, the brand has steadily built its own design identity, drawing from architecture, traditional crafts and modern manufacturing. The Perception collection, its integrated-bracelet sports watch, has become the core expression. Introduced […]
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