22,842 articles · 225 videos found · page 31 of 769
Monochrome
It seems that promoting traditional watchmaking, its crafts and techniques, to protect watchmaking know-how and the women and men behind it, as well as supporting the emergence of new talents, has become quite a recurring theme these days. Don’t get us wrong, we most certainly encourage initiatives such as the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for […]
Hodinkee
The new Seiko Prospex Alpinist Mechanical brings technical upgrades to a fan favorite
Monochrome
A mechanical watch is a true work of miniature engineering, regardless of the expense. A sub-€300 Seiko 5 Sports has the same basic mechanical elements and wonder as a four-figure IWC, and is just a bit less detailed and accurate day-to-day. Almost self-sufficient and independent of electricity, a mechanical watch simply needs to be wound […]
SJX Watches
In the autumn of 1948, at Galerie Fischer’s auction house in Lucerne, a young Swiss watchmaker secured Lot 155, a Breguet pocket watch, No. 4763, circa 1848, with a straight-line club-tooth lever escapement. The case, fitted later by E. Brown at George Daniels’s suggestion to employ original movements and parts held in stock, aligned with his purpose. For most collectors, such a purchase might not have represented a pure Breguet. But for Gerd Ahrens, it was something altogether different: the first sentence in what would become a four-century narrative of mechanical ingenuity. Gerd Ahrens in his shop office on Schwanenplatz 7 around 1955. Image – Gerd Ahrens Foundation: a life built on wheels and springs Gerd Ahrens was born on September 18, 1920, in Hamburg, Germany, at a time when mechanical watches represented the pinnacle of portable precision. His father, Otto Ahrens, born in 1877, had already established himself as a highly respected watchmaker. Otto’s path, however, would be marked by the upheavals of the twentieth century. Before World War I, he had operated a successful shop in Paris and had built connections throughout the watchmaking centres of Inner Switzerland. The evidence of his skill was tangible: Otto personally built ten pocket watches, demonstrating not just commercial acumen but genuine mastery of the craft. Then the war came. Otto was forced to close his Paris shop in 1914, and the conflict left him penniless. A trained craftsman of the highest...
Fratello
Watch fans worldwide were excited when Favre Leuba’s return was announced in August last year. The world’s second-oldest watch brand is a favorite among vintage collectors and has created some absolute classics. Upon the unveiling of the new collection, we quickly learned that Favre Leuba would honor the past with modern versions of these watches. […] Visit Taking A Look At The Current Favre Leuba Catalog to read the full article.
Video
James Bond has worn some memorable watches over the years, but what about the people standing in his way? A villain's watch needs to do more than tell the time. It can hint at character, signal status, or offer a subt...
Monochrome
A legend in his own lifetime and the name behind countless watch icons designed for other brands, Gérald Genta (1931-2011) also produced masterpieces for his eponymous brand founded in 1969, including the Grande Sonnerie, considered the most sophisticated and complex chiming watch in the world. The current custodian of the Gérald Genta brand is Louis […]
Worn & Wound
Our friend, colleague, and founder of Vortic Watch Co, RT Custer, needs our support. After a sudden medical emergency earlier this summer, RT and his family face a long road to recovery. As a result, there is significant uncertainty around the future of Vortic Watch Co and its sister brand Colorado Watch Co, not to mention the physical, mental, and financial hardship that comes with any major medical event. We’re here to help spread the word of RT’s situation and urge the watch community to support his recovery. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO RT’S GOFUNDME CAMPAIGN Earlier this summer, RT suffered a massive stroke while traveling for work in Detroit. Very fortunately, RT was taken within minutes to a Level 1 trauma center, where he received clot-busting medication and underwent emergency surgery to remove a clot blocking over 90% of his right cerebral artery. He spent 10 days hospitalized, then 10 days in rehabilitation relearning to walk and manage daily tasks. Doctors expect a full recovery, but neurological healing will take time-roughly 12 months before considering a return to work and 2–3 years before resuming the full demands of running a company. RT’s wife, Lindsay, has stepped in to run business operations for both companies. In addition to being a great guy, RT has been an essential part of the watch community since Vortic was founded in 2013. He’s pioneered contemporary American manufacturing and has played a key role in keeping the long history of America...
Deployant
Casio releases its first ever mechanical watch - the EDIFICE EFK-100, available in a forged carbon case or steel case with 4 dial variants.
Time+Tide
TAG Heuer's most recognisable watch has had a fascinating history, but which examples of it rank as the best?The post The iconic (TAG) Heuer Monaco and 7 of its best limited edition references appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
Watch collecting is filled with stories of love at first sight, which I guess makes sense considering the hobby revolves around looking at watches. Stare at enough stranger’s wrists, browse enough boutiques and partake in enough endless scrolling sessions, and it’s only a matter of time before cupid’s horological arrow strikes. If your watch consumption habits are as excessive as mine, you’ll likely be struck on a regular basis. Knowing when to embrace these moments through distant appreciation and when to splurge by breaking out the credit card is a balancing act that comes down to personal finances and individualized collecting goals. Have stacks of cash and enjoy rotating through dozens of watches? Sounds like a green light to hit that buy button whenever your heart desires. Writing monthly checks for your kid’s extra curricular activities that are high enough to make even your inflated grocery expenses blush? We have plenty of room for you in the strapped for cash parents club, where we maintain concise collections that prioritize frill free practicality over opulence. As a proud member and self-designated ambassador of the latter group, I’ve set a limit of $300 for individual purchases. Yes, it sounds low, and compared with most of the collectors that are likely to appear in your Instagram feed, it is. But armed with patience and a penchant for bargain hunting, it’s really not all that limiting and has allowed me to embrace love at first sight with two B...
Video
An entire watch case that glows in the dark? Meet the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Ceralume (Ref. IW505801). Thanks to IWC’s proprietary Ceralume technology—blending ceramic powders with Super-LumiNo...
Worn & Wound
Happy Saturday! Dive watch summer continues – we’ve noticed some fun new divers, all limited editions, come across the transom lately. New water ready releases from Doxa, Wren, and Doxa are profiled below. We’re also spotlight the latest from Ming – while not a diver, it has a stealthiness to it that feels appropriate for the season. Let us know in the comments what you think of these new releases, and what we might have missed. Wren Diver 38 Wren is back with their second watch, the all new Diver 38. The brand, founded by Wrist Enthusiast’s Craig Karger, launched last year with the Diver One, and the new piece is a scaled down, and perhaps more refined take on the original concept. The new version of the watch is smaller, coming in at, you guessed it, 38mm, and is just 10.7mm tall (the original was 41mm in diameter and over 13mm thick). The dial has a sandwich style design, in either a gradient seafoam green or aqua colorway. According to Karger, the goal here was to move Wren into a new category that “balances practicality, comfort, and refined execution.” The Wren Diver 38 is available in date and no-date versions for $1,595. It runs on a ETA 2892 automatic caliber, and has 200 meters of water resistance. It’s mounted to a flat-link, stainless steel bracelet, and the ceramic bezel insert is fully lumed. Another nice touch: the rotor is skeletonized in the shape of a wren. More information on the Wren Diver 38 can be found on the Wren website here. Mi...
Monochrome
It’s been several years since the Swiss abandoned the truly affordable, sub-400-euro mechanical watch category. Once a gateway to Swiss mechanical watchmaking at reasonable prices, lower-end Swatch Group brands (Tissot and Hamilton) are now priced above that range. This situation, however, has been extremely beneficial to two Japanese giants, a sort of duopoly composed of […]
Teddy Baldassarre
Among the many questions a novice watch enthusiast is faced with, “Mechanical vs. Automatic Movement?” is one of the most basic, yet one whose answer is a bit more complex than a simple A-or-B explanation. In fact, “mechanical or automatic” isn’t even really framing the choice correctly. In the article below, we attempt to clarify the subject and answer the most pressing questions about these tiny engines inside your watch. What is a Mechanical Movement? A mechanical movement, like the Nomos DUW caliber below, uses a coiled metal spring, called a mainspring, that releases energy as it uncoils through a series of gears to drive a weighted, oscillating wheel called a balance wheel. The balance wheel’s oscillations are linked to an escapement, which periodically releases the gear train to move the hands forward to record the passing of hours, minutes, and seconds. In short, a mechanical movement in a watch is any type of movement that uses no batteries or electronic components to function - which makes them different from more modern inventions, like quartz, Spring Drive, and solar movements. Technical developments over the centuries are what led to the two types of mechanical movements we’re discussing here. Originally, the movement’s mainspring needed to be wound periodically by hand - first by a key, then by a small knob called a crown that was attached via a stem to the movement. Later, a type of movement was developed that could be wound “automatica...
Worn & Wound
American watchmaking is having a moment. And if there’s any day that’s worth celebrating, it’s the Fourth of July. Happy birthday, America, hope you like Damaskeening! Just in the last month or so, we’ve seen a new release from J.N. Shapiro that could point to an entirely new and more accessible concept for the brand. Cornell Watch Co. revealed their new Lozier, with a case, dial, crown, and handset machined in the United States. Colorado Watch Company, the Fort Collins, CO based brand making cases and dials in-house with movements assembled in the United States, just shipped their first batches of new watches to customers after extensive prototyping. And Keaton Myrick, who makes watches completely by hand in vanishingly small runs in Oregon and somehow has flown under the worldwide watch community’s radar for years, just saw a fantastic result in a public sale via Phillips that went for just over the high estimate. And it’s not just that there’s a lot of activity. The watches mentioned above are all, actually, very very good, and show that American watchmakers and brands can succeed in multiple ways, using different models. Myrick and Shapiro operate at the very highest end of the spectrum, while Colorado Watch Company has the ethos of a microbrand (the project was funded via Kickstarter, just like their sister brand, Vortic). The Cornell model, though, is probably the most interesting to me. The majority of the watch is manufactured in the United States, bu...
Monochrome
Some watches immediately grab your attention and interest, while some never seem to catch your eye. Others might be a bait-and-switch: you love it at first, but when you get your hands on it, the love affair is short-lived. I’ve had it happen with a Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical a while back. Loved it when […]
Video
We Argued Over The 5 Greatest Watch Categories - Here's Who Won! GADA, Diver, Dress, Chrono & Complication!
Fratello
You will remember a Ball watch once you encounter one. The brand’s distinct style immediately stands out from the large crowd of watches available these days. Several of Ball’s watches have tritium micro-gas tubes that light up in the dark. This unique form of lume has led to an instantly recognizable numeral style that defines […] Visit Hands-On With The Surprising Ball Roadmaster M Model A to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. The New Album from Shaky Eddie If you spend any amount of time consuming watch related content on the internet, chances are you’ve come across Oren Hartov’s byline. Oren has been part of the watch community for years, and has even written a series of articles on historic military issued watches for Worn & Wound. His work has also appeared in GQ, Esquire, Robb Report, Gear Patrol and a number of other publications. But in addition to being a prolific writer and editor, Oren is also a musician. When his band, Shaky Eddie, released their first album a few years ago, we linked you to it right here. Shaky Eddie just dropped their second album, “Dog Green Blues,” and we couldn’t be happier to spread the word among the watch community. Shaky Eddie is a jazz-fusion group featuring Oren on guitar and a crew of talented Los Angeles based session and touring musicians. The new album can be streamed on Spotify, and you can also support the project by picking up a copy of the album on vinyl at the band’s website. The Slate Truck: Customizable and Affordable New automaker, Slate Auto, has unveiled a new truck, aptly named “Slate Truck”. With a strong mini...
Fratello
One of the understated hits this year at Watches and Wonders was the 34mm A. Lange & Söhne 1815. If this is the peak of the trend for slight watches, then we “small-wristers” have been well rewarded. Today, we’ll take a closer look at the two variants of this charming dress watch. The longstanding 38.5mm […] Visit Hands-On With The 34mm A. Lange & Söhne 1815 to read the full article.
Hodinkee
After winning the first Louis Vuitton Watch Prize For Independent Creatives, Pagès is back with a simpler yet equally refined new release.
Hodinkee
After quietly launching last year, the young brand has just announced two new 'Monochrome' releases as former Cartier Senior Watch Designer Raphaël Abeillon joins as ALTO's Creative Director.
Video
We made it through New York Watch Week, and now we’re here to bring you this week’s Wrist Check Wednesday! Tim Jeffreys makes his laps around Hodinkee’s busy HQ to show you what everyone is wearing on their wris...
Fratello
In 2018, Krayon, the brand founded by independent watchmaker Rémi Maillat, won the Innovation Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) with its Everywhere watch. Four years later, Krayon bagged another GPHG award. That time, the complicated Anywhere won first prize in the Calendar and Astronomy category. With the new Krayon Anyday, a […] Visit Introducing A New Way Of Looking At The Date: The Krayon Anyday Is The World’s First Mechanical Agenda Watch to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Phillips Perpetual will shortly open a three-day exhibition dedicated to independent watchmaking at its London showroom. Independent Spirit will comprise five notable watchmakers whose work encapsulate the diversity of the genre: Konstantin Chaykin, Raúl Pagès, Theo Auffret, Charles Frodsham, and David Candaux. The watch boutique arm of the eponymous auctioneer, Phillips Perpetual conceived the exhibition as a small-scale event that will allow personal interaction with each of the watchmakers, or in the case of the long-departed Charles Frodsham, the brand’s representatives. The exhibition will be a rare opportunity to meet some of the leading lights of independent watchmaking. Amongst them is Raúl Pagès, a true artisanal watchmaker in the traditional sense. Mr Pages will have on hand examples of the Soberly Onyx, his inaugural watch, and the RP1 Régulateur à détente that won him the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize. Raúl Pagès While all of the other watchmakers at the exhibition are relatively young, Charles Frodsham is a continuously-operating, centuries-old brand – proof that independent watchmaking innovation can come from unexpected places. The movement of the Charles Frodsham Double Impulse Chronometer The only watchmaker absent is Konstantin Chaykin, who unfortunately was not able to travel for the exhibition due to travel restrictions resulting from his nationality. That’s unfortunately as the Russian watch- and clockmaker is a technician and artist whom I ...
SJX Watches
A mechanical watch is not always spot on; less-than-perfect timekeeping can happen, often due to an unruly oscillator. The solution is direct adjustments to the hairspring and balance assembly, either slowing down or speeding up the oscillator, a practice known as regulation. Watchmakers have devised multiple innovations to achieve this, including the free-sprung balance, exemplified by the Gyromax of Patek Philippe and Microstella of Rolex. While a simple concept in principle, the mechanics and practice of regulation are nuanced. Here we’ll delve into the theory of regulation and the primary regulating systems: the curb-pin regulator and the free-sprung (or variable inertia) balance. The Lange L043.4 with a screwed balance inspired by pocket watches Basic concepts In order to better understand watch regulation, we need to first cover some of the basic physics behind the watch oscillator: The component responsible for the running rate of a movement is its regulating organ. The regulating organ is made up of a hairspring paired to a balance, which together are also known as a harmonic oscillator. The natural oscillation period is the time it takes the balance to make a full swing, back and forth. The period is made up of two vibrations, one for each direction of the balance motion, with the escapement being unlocked at each vibration. Notably, the natural period of a balance wheel is intrinsic to itself and does not depend on the escapement type or the going train ratio. ...
Quill & Pad
In theory, a mechanical watch is very simple: it's 'simply' a spring (the mainspring) unwinding at a constant rate with hands attached to gears that rotate as the spring unwinds. Easy! Ian Skellern highly recommends anyone at all interested in mechanical watches to watch this video as it clearly highlights how a mechanical watch works.
Monochrome
Most watch enthusiasts probably know Vulcain for the so-called President watch, the alarm-equipped Cricket. Undoubtedly, the most important watch ever created by the brand born in 1858, there’s thankfully (for us collectors and the brand’s health) more than that in the brand’s historical and modern portfolio. Back in the 1960s, Vulcain had its fair share […]
Video
Omega launches not just one watch—but actually four new Seamasters. Two of them are the focus here since they're not limited and are additions to the main collection. Let's get one thing out of the way first—if yo...
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