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30,868 articles · 164 videos found · page 306 of 1035

A Difficult Question That Needs Answering: When Are Watches Art? Fratello
Jul 23, 2026

A Difficult Question That Needs Answering: When Are Watches Art?

During lunch with Aurel Bacs and Alex Ghotbi from the auction house Phillips, I started wondering out loud, “When are watches art?” What sparked my question was last month’s Phillips auction, which was the highest-grossing watch auction in US history. The sale made a record US$75.8 million, and every single lot was sold. No fewer […] Visit A Difficult Question That Needs Answering: When Are Watches Art? to read the full article.

Fratello Talks: How Our Grail Watches Have Evolved Over Time Fratello
Jul 23, 2026

Fratello Talks: How Our Grail Watches Have Evolved Over Time

Ask any seasoned collector what his or her grail watch was upon first entering the hobby, and chances are the answer will be very different from what it is today. As our knowledge grows and our tastes mature, so too do the watches we aspire to own. Sometimes the grail gets bigger, sometimes it gets […] Visit Fratello Talks: How Our Grail Watches Have Evolved Over Time to read the full article.

Hands On: Rolex Submariner Date Desk Clock Ref. 909010LN SJX Watches
Rolex Submariner Date Desk Clock Jul 23, 2026

Hands On: Rolex Submariner Date Desk Clock Ref. 909010LN

Late last year, Rolex unveiled its accessories line, comprised of a range of cufflinks and the Submariner Date Desk Clock ref. 909010LN. In the typical Rolex fashion, the new accessories are conservatively styled; the desk clock is essentially a Submariner face enlarged to 80 mm. But in typical Rolex fashion, the clock is impressively made. The Submariner desk clock is an impressive piece of desk-bound timekeeping. Execution is top class with flawless fit and finish, while the mechanics (or more accurately, electronics) are advanced: the quartz movement incorporates a 400-year perpetual calendar, and surprisingly, decorative finishing. Initial thoughts The Submariner desk clock is an impressive object, sizeable, heavy, and clearly well made. It has to be seen – and held – in person to understand the quality of make. Elements like the brushed steel case (that’s ironically not water resistant), engraved bezel insert, and decorated movement speak to the precision manufacturing and finishing. This clock is a beautifully-made industrial creation. That said, the design is a boring. It’s basically a Submariner face blown up to 80 mm. Fans of the design will be pleased as Rolex did replicate the details of the wristwatch artfully, right down to the engraved flange around the dial and tiny crown within “Swiss made”. Fortunately, the insides of the clock are more advanced than the design. The cal. 8335 displays the time and date, but the date is actually a secular calend...

Breitling Goes Back to Its Racing Roots with Three New Top Time Models Celebrating the Iconic Aston Martin DB5 Worn & Wound
Breitling Goes Back Jul 22, 2026

Breitling Goes Back to Its Racing Roots with Three New Top Time Models Celebrating the Iconic Aston Martin DB5

Breitling is no stranger to a racing inspired watch. Its history with the sport traces back to the debut of its Top Time collection back in 1964. Over the years the brand has most notably worked with Bentley Motors to create automotive-inspired wristwatches and dashboard-style clocks. In addition, we’ve seen Breitling commemorate several iconic models through its Top Time Classic Cars line, like the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, and Shelby Cobra. Earlier this year, Breitling made a pivot, announcing it was teaming up with Aston Martin and the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team as the official watch partner. The duo’s first timepiece was the limited-edition Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 with a titanium case, carbon-fiber dial, and Aston Martin racing green accents. Now, we get another edition as Breitling gets back to its original racing roots with three new Top Time models that pay tribute to the Aston Martin DB5. The DB5 hailed from the same era as the original Top Time and was first introduced by Aston Martin in 1963. The model became one of the most iconic cars to grace the silver screen, namely films in the James Bond franchise, and cemented the luxury carmaker’s place in both automotive and pop culture history. Today, the two brands bring this spirit of the 60s into the modern era with the new Top Time B01 Chronograph 41 Tribute to Aston Martin DB5 in a trio of limited editions. The details of the new designs marry the codes of both makers with both tactile...

Hands On: Piaget Polo 79 Sodalite SJX Watches
Piaget Polo 79 Sodalite Jul 22, 2026

Hands On: Piaget Polo 79 Sodalite

The Piaget Polo 79 Sodalite adds five panels of blue semi-precious stone to the brand’s flagship bracelet watch. It is a worthwhile extension of the collection that draws on an authentic Piaget speciality and gives the revived Polo 79 a stronger identity of its own. Initial thoughts Stone dials are now widespread, to the point that any new watch with a mineral dial feels a bit like an exercise in jumping on the bandwagon. But Piaget has been making watches with semiprecious stone dials since the 1960s, and helped establish the category altogether. As a result, the Polo 79 feels authentically Piaget, even though stone dials are now commonplace enough to seem generic. The case dimensions and build quality are unchanged — at 38 mm wide and 7.45 mm high, the Polo 79 remains compact and elegant, while the full white gold case and bracelet give it a heavy, dignified feel. The alternating brushed surfaces and polished gadroons are naturally finished to a high standard, and the rhodium plating will ensure the colour of the 18k white gold stays cool and bright indefinitely, even if it makes later refinishing a little more complicated. The watch is powered by the latest in a long lineage of Piaget micro-rotor calibres that reaches back more than 60 years. It’s still one of the thinnest automatic movements in the world, though it comes up a little short on power reserve by today’s standards, at 44 hours. Otherwise identical to the white gold Polo 79, the sodalite dial adds ab...

Hands On: Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux SJX Watches
Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux Jul 22, 2026

Hands On: Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux

Parmigiani Fleurier (PF) continues its exploration of “mysterious complications” with the Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux, a fully functional and surprisingly legible chronograph that is indistinguishable from a normal three-hand watch — until it isn’t. Pressing the conveniently placed chronograph monopusher summons a chronograph on demand, fully equipped with central minutes and hour totalisers, which disappears just as easily. Despite being one of the most ambitious chronographs on the market, it is priced relatively accessibly, at least in steel. Initial thoughts At first glance, the Chronographe Mystérieux is nearly indistinguishable from a normal three-hand watch, unless you spot the pair of rose gold hands secreted under the mean time hands. Depressing the chronograph button at eight o’clock causes these, along with the sweep seconds hand, to fly back to zero and being timing intervals up to 12 hours. The concept is not unlike that of the Maurice Lacroix Memoire 1, little-known halo piece that debuted in 2007 for EUR300,000. The Chronographe Mystérieux would work the same way without its hour and minutes hands, but their presence ensures the user can still read the time when the chronograph is running. The result is a highly legible dial, enhanced with an almost excessively fine grain d’orge guilloché that, like the undersized 18k gold hour markers, gets out of the way of the hands. At launch, PF offers two variants of the Chronographe Mystérieux ...

Hands-on - The Patek Philippe Annual Calendar 5396R-016, Celebrating 30 Years of an Ingenious Complication Monochrome
Patek Philippe Annual Calendar 5396R-016 Celebrating Jul 21, 2026

Hands-on - The Patek Philippe Annual Calendar 5396R-016, Celebrating 30 Years of an Ingenious Complication

Introduced in 1996 with the reference 5035, Patek Philippe’s Annual Calendar was neither a simplified perpetual calendar nor an upgraded complete calendar, but an entirely new mechanism protected by a patent; we explained the full story of its creation and evolution in this article here. By automatically distinguishing between months with 30 and 31 days, […]

Dispatch: A Love Letter To "The Valley of Complications" Hodinkee
Jaeger-LeCoultre was Jul 21, 2026

Dispatch: A Love Letter To "The Valley of Complications"

Two months ago, I spent a Friday lunch eating a sandwich called the Crazy Poulet at Notos Bar Restaurant in Le Sentier with Mark Schmid, who is a sort of jack-of-all-trades in the marketing and communications department at Audemars Piguet. Schmid has quickly become someone I'd consider a friend, whom I appreciate for our candid conversations, his willingness (and frequency) to correct my confusion between l'accent aigu and l'accent grave in articles, and, more recently, his gastronomic suggestions. I'm sure this story will require a few more corrections from Mark, for which I apologize (mostly to him) in advance, but I wanted to share a recent experience that illustrates why I love Switzerland's Vallée de Joux, past and present. Le Sentier, pictured back in 2022 on the author's first trip to Switzerland. The town, now home to the headquarters of Jaeger-LeCoultre, was the hometown of Samuel-Olivier Meylan, the first watchmaker in the valley who began crafting timepieces around 1743 and set the stage for what is arguably the most important geographic location in watchmaking. "People ask me what I'd want to do if I didn't work at Hodinkee," I said. "Sometimes I say that I wish I could be the head of the tourism bureau for the Vallée de Joux." "Well, maybe you could be our advocate in New York," he said. "But if you came back here on a Thursday night at 4 o'clock, this place would be full. You'd hear watchmakers talking about all the things they were up to at AP, JLC, Blancp...

Nomos Introduces New Tetra 27 References Worn & Wound
Nomos Introduces New Tetra 27 Jul 21, 2026

Nomos Introduces New Tetra 27 References

When it comes to more modestly sized watches, Nomos has long been ahead of the current trend of smaller models. The brand is built on clean, conservatively proportioned designs across its collections. The Tetra – Nomos’ square offering – was part of the inaugural lineup introduced back in 1992 alongside the Tangente, Ludwig, and Orion. The model has always been offered in 27mm and 29mm and later, a larger 33mm was added with the Tetra Neomatik. Now, the smaller 27mm size gets two new additions: the Tetra 27 white and Tetra 27 duo. With the Tetra 27 white, we get the most classic expression of the model – pared down 27.5mm by 27.5mm square proportions with only 6.1mm of thickness making up a polished stainless steel case framing a crisp white dial. Here, we have central hours and minutes with a subtle touch of color thanks to blue steel hands and a mix of stick and Arabic numerals. Tucked at 6 o’clock, you’ll find a flat small seconds register as opposed to the recessed one seen in other models with its own micro hashmarks and tiny blue steel hand. No frills, no fuss, just an ultra-classic dress watch design with a nod to Art Deco styling, which extends from the square case to the double-stepped lugs. Alternatively, the Tetra 27 duo offers a bit more interest with a two-tone type of dial featuring concentric squares thanks to a soft grey inlay at the center and the same gray creating a frame across the minute track adding just a bit of contrast to the stark whit...

Introducing - The Impressive, Complex Louis Vuitton Escale en Alaska Pocket Watch Monochrome
Louis Vuitton Escale en Alaska Pocket Jul 21, 2026

Introducing - The Impressive, Complex Louis Vuitton Escale en Alaska Pocket Watch

Travel has always been at the heart of Louis Vuitton, and the Escales Autour du Monde collection, like all Escale watches, has a great poetic sound to it. The name, which translates as “Stopovers Around the World,” recalls Francisca Mattéoli’s celebrated book documenting Gaston-Louis Vuitton’s remarkable collection of hotel labels gathered during his travels; there’s […]

Hands-On: The Raymond Weil A.R.T. Date Delivers Sport-Chic Style At An Accessible Price WatchAdvice
Raymond Weil A.R.T Date Delivers Sport-Chic Jul 21, 2026

Hands-On: The Raymond Weil A.R.T. Date Delivers Sport-Chic Style At An Accessible Price

Raymond Weil’s first integrated-bracelet sports watch blends 1970s inspiration with compact proportions and accessible contemporary luxury. What We Love A design inspired by 1970s integrated-bracelet watches Strong variety of colours and finishes Excellent integrated-bracelet option for the price What We Don’t No bracelet micro-adjustment Dial finishing could have more character Movement could offer greater autonomy Overall Rating: 8.4/10 Value for Money: 8.5/10 Wearability: 8.5/10 Design: 8/10 Build Quality: 8.5/10 Raymond Weil has gone through quite a resurgence over the last couple of years, bringing the brand back into the spotlight and creating watches with genuine substance behind them. The Millésime collection, for example, helped reposition Raymond Weil when it was introduced in 2023, combining vintage-inspired styling with thoughtful design. It also won the Challenge Watch Prize at the 2023 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, showing just how well received the collection was. Raymond Weil Millésime Tri-Compax Review – The Best Colourway Yet? Since then, the brand has continued building on the collection, introducing various complications and aesthetic interpretations to keep it evolving. In fact, I loved the 2025 Millésime Tri-Compax Chronograph so much (see the review above!) that after having it in my hands for just 30 minutes, I placed an order for one! However, Raymond Weil’s resurgence cannot be built on the Millésime collection alone. This ...

Hands-on - The Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Raticosa, Revisiting One of the Race’s Legendary Roads Monochrome
Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Jul 21, 2026

Hands-on - The Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Raticosa, Revisiting One of the Race’s Legendary Roads

Chopard, the Official Timekeeper and World Sponsor of the famous Italian endurance rally since 1988, has released countless chronographs inspired by the Mille Miglia race, its drivers and its iconic route. The Raticosa Pass has already been honoured once before, with a limited-edition series in 2021, and this 2026 Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Raticosa pays […]

Get Your Groove On With The Grape-Dial Glashütte Original Sixties Chronograph Fratello
Glashütte Original Sixties Chronograph I always Jul 21, 2026

Get Your Groove On With The Grape-Dial Glashütte Original Sixties Chronograph

I always thought of Glashütte Original as a modest watch brand. However, the German watchmaker does indeed use its Vintage Collection to experiment with more than the usual black, silver, and blue dials. This is where the new Glashütte Original Sixties Chronograph Annual Edition comes in with its groovy purple dial. I even got to […] Visit Get Your Groove On With The Grape-Dial Glashütte Original Sixties Chronograph to read the full article.

Hands On: TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph TH20 SJX Watches
TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph TH20 Earlier Jul 21, 2026

Hands On: TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph TH20

Earlier this year, TAG Heuer unveiled the latest iteration of a longstanding model, the Monaco Chronograph TH20. It’s essentially a reissue of the Monaco ref. 1133 made famous by Steve McQueen, but not a one-for-one remake, and it’s the best to date. The Monaco TH20 retains the familiar dial design and case outline, but the case has been reworked in both design and material. The square case is sleeker and more lightweight, being in titanium instead of steel. And it gets upgraded with the TH20 movement, instead of the ETA 2894-2 found in many earlier generations of the model. Initial thoughts I’ve always liked the Monaco, especially the ref. 1133 B. It’s a distinctive and arguably iconic design that evokes the 1970s. And it’s different from more famous 1970s designs, which are mostly sports watches with integrated bracelets. Though the Monaco is not particularly ergonomic due to the size and shape, it is cool. The ref. 1133 remake has been in TAG Heuer’s catalogue for a long, long time with many, many iterations to date. Most earlier generations were powered by the ETA 2894 – an ETA 2892 with a module on top – that was a convenient solution for the left-hand crown. The new Monaco is an all-around upgrade with the in-house TH20 movement and titanium case. The TH20 is a competent calibre with solid specs, albeit still very industrial, but good enough for the price segment. The titanium case is a less obvious improvement in terms of design, but it improves the ...

In-Depth: IWC’s Pioneering ProSet Perpetual Calendar SJX Watches
IWC s Pioneering ProSet Perpetual Jul 21, 2026

In-Depth: IWC’s Pioneering ProSet Perpetual Calendar

IWC’s history is dotted with landmark innovations such as Albert Pellaton’s pawl winding system, Kurt Klaus’ famous perpetual calendar, and Richard Habring’s split-seconds chronograph module; the ProSet perpetual calendar system continues this legacy. This bidirectional perpetual calendar module made its debut earlier this year at Watches & Wonders inside the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet, and remains true to IWC’s identity as an engineer’s manufacture. A smaller Big Pilot QP The Big Pilot ProSet unveiled at Watches & Wonders blends the manufacture’s latest engineering feat with the beloved styling of the pilot’s watch. The ProSet system is currently only available inside the 42 mm Big Pilot. Powered by a downsized base calibre, the 42 mm ProSet is the first Big Pilot under 46 mm to include a perpetual calendar. IWC has a tweaked and scaled down the its signature Kurt Klaus module in the past for the 42 mm Portugieser and some Portofinos, but somehow it never made into the reduced Big Pilot collection. Unfortunately, these smaller watches lacked the now-iconic digital year display, and instead featured a subtler (but more forgettable) leap cycle aperture. The ProSet brings back the four-digit year display, making this watch almost indistinguishable from the original 46 mm version. Apart from some styling choices, the main difference in the displays is the lack of a power reserve indicator. The cal. 82665 inside is powered by a single mains...

In-Depth: IWC’s ProSet Perpetual Calendar SJX Watches
IWC s ProSet Perpetual Calendar Jul 21, 2026

In-Depth: IWC’s ProSet Perpetual Calendar

IWC’s history was dotted with landmark innovations such as Albert Pellaton’s pawl winding system, Kurt Klaus’ famous perpetual calendar, and Richard Habring’s split-seconds chronograph module. Though IWC has arguably been thin on such innovation in recent years, the ProSet perpetual calendar is a long overdue return to form. The calendar’s clever features make it true to IWC’s identity as an engineer’s manufacture. Set entirely via the crown just like the Kurt Klaus calendar, ProSet can also be adjusted forwards and backwards, making it both idiot-proof and convenient. A smaller Big Pilot This bidirectional perpetual calendar module made its debut earlier this year at Watches & Wonders inside the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet, which blends the manufacture’s latest engineering feat with the beloved styling of the pilot’s watch. The ProSet system is currently only available inside the 42 mm Big Pilot. Powered by a downsized base calibre, the 42 mm ProSet is the first Big Pilot under 46 mm to include a perpetual calendar. IWC has a tweaked and scaled down the its signature Kurt Klaus module in the past for the 42 mm Portugieser and some Portofinos, but somehow it never made into the reduced Big Pilot collection. Unfortunately, these smaller watches lacked the now-iconic digital year display, and instead featured a subtler (but more forgettable) leap cycle aperture. The ProSet brings back the four-digit year display, making this watch almost ...