Hodinkee
Happenings: The Horological Society Of New York To Hold Classes In Chicago and Austin
These next classes will be hosted by Oak & Oscar, Grand Seiko & Ben Bridge Jeweler.
966 articles · 138 videos found · page 32 of 37
Hodinkee
These next classes will be hosted by Oak & Oscar, Grand Seiko & Ben Bridge Jeweler.
Worn & Wound
Audemars Piguet recently unveiled their first (very large) batch of new releases for 2023, and if your Instagram feeds are anything like ours, they absolutely took over. As expected, there were plenty of new Royal Oaks on display, and in a variety of materials and platforms. We also saw an expansion of the Code 11.59 collection, including an entirely new dial motif and a metal that many collectors have been waiting for. Now that the Worn & Wound editorial team has had a chance to wade through all the new watches, we thought we’d pick our favorites among the latest novelties. Blake Buettner I’ll admit I have a slight soft spot for so-called ‘Jumbo’ Royal Oaks. That is, Royal Oaks that follow the original template of the 5402ST put forth back in 1972: a slim 39mm case with the “AP” at 6 o’clock where it belongs. I also have a penchant for steel sport watches (well documented in these pages) and the Royal Oak arguably opened the door for the high-end category of the genre. It’s a watch I had been enormously enamored with upon my entry to the hobby, though that enthusiasm has waned in recent years as the watch found itself on a moon-bound trajectory in the market, and an ever increasing variety of precious metal variants that, while handsome, deviate a bit too far from the simple, approachable(ish) nature of the original (for my taste, at least). That said, the soft spot remains. When a new generation of the watch was announced last year, the 16202, in cele...
Time+Tide
Editor’s note: Last Saturday the 2023 WWE Royal Rumble was held, so we are looking back at that time the greatest of all time Ric Flair told the tale of losing his Rolex watch in a bowl of spaghetti. Anyone who knows professional wrestling knows of the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. The WWE Hall of … ContinuedThe post WOOO! That time wrestling legend Ric Flair lost his Rolex in a bowl of spaghetti appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
When F.P. Journe unveiled his Octa Sports line of watches back in 2011, we (the royal watch collecting "we") could simply not believe how light they were. After all, the F.P. Journe "lineSport" pieces, being the Octa Sport and the Centrigraphe (CTS), were made entirely of aluminum. Yes, aluminum! They were so light, they almost felt fake (seriously). They were not fake, they were just absurdly light, and absurdly cool.
Time+Tide
Off the top of your head, what’s your mental picture of a Rolex owner? Some cigar-chomping big-shot in an oak-panelled office? A thrusting young professional who delights in his watch as a conspicuous status-signifier? Or simply a lover of fine watches who appreciates the formidable consistency and build quality of the Crown? The reason I … ContinuedThe post This is the identity of the average Rolex owner (they’re not who you might expect)ww appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Who doesn’t love a good watch spot? You know you’re in the presence of a true watch geek if they feel the need to pause the film every time a timepiece makes a cameo. But at times, these discoveries can feel a bit predictable. Musicians are constantly found wearing AP Royal Oaks or Nautilus references, … ContinuedThe post 6 of the most unlikely watch spots from Daniel Craig to Jason Bateman appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
We’ve all seen iced-out Royal Oaks and Datejusts on the wrists of Supreme-donning hypebeasts, but every once in a while, we’re surprised by the flash of a slim, two-handed piece hiding underneath oversized cuffs. While there is certainly a predominant brand in the sector of streetwear dress watches, I firmly believe that there are other … ContinuedThe post Dress watches that are unlikely streetwear champions appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Conceived sub-brand of RGM, one of the original independent watchmaker in America, Equation of Time is a maker of affordable watches often created in collaboration with collectors, with the latest being the Fat Arrow Collaboration Watch. The dial of the watch reproduces a 2015 artwork created by watch photographer Atom Moore that’s a riff on the pilot’s wristwatches supplied to the Royal Air Force in the 1950s by brands like Omega and IWC. Like the military-issue originals, the Fat Arrow Collaboration is a compact, hand-wind timepiece with the feel of a vintage remake, but st apart with a dial that’s clearly modern and definitely original. Initial thoughts The Fat Arrow Collaboration (FAC) is one of many watches inspired by vintage military timepieces, but it is cleverly different. It utilises the historical arrow emblem used to mark British military equipment as a decorative element. Mr Moore’s original artwork, Fat Arrow, is an artistically-altered photography of a CK 2777 “Fat Arrow” wristwatch, one of many that Omega supplied to the Royal Air Force starting in 1952. The FAC retains the feel of the vintage original with an identically-sized case, but with Mr Moore’s Fat Arrow mashup as the dial. That makes the FAC different enough, in fact, to be interesting despite being a no-frills watch. Fat Arrow by Atom Moore The dial is covered with both the “Fat Arrow” and “Thin Arrow” in all their respective iterations. That might sound excessive, but ...
Time+Tide
The British royal family has endured another calamitous year. Prince Andrew cemented his position as a global embarrassment after settling his sex abuse case out of court, Megan and Harry polarised the nation with their self-serving interview on Oprah, and it’s barely a year since Prince Phillip died. As an institution, the monarchy appears increasingly … ContinuedThe post Swatch celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with “How Majestic”, a colour-changing watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
All the Royal Oaks likely to make us go broke – plus lots more lots of watches to watch.
Quill & Pad
The new Montblanc Patron of Art Homage to Victoria & Albert limited edition pen collection comprises two 4810 and two 888 editions, with one honoring Victoria and the other Albert within each edition. The LE100 and the LE8 editions each honor the royal couple together as one pen. Nancy Olson explains what makes them so special.
Time+Tide
START YOUR ENGINES: In 2018, we had a little dalliance with the brand that used to inhabit our HQ space, and now lives next door: Royal Enfield. Basically, we had a few beers one afternoon and found some matte-black, lightly modded common ground between watches and vintage-inspired bikes. The result: a Time+Tide motorcycle, later raffled off … ContinuedThe post William Wood is raffling a motorbike, we also raffled a motorbike. Which one is better? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
This next round of classes will be hosted by Oak & Oscar.
SJX Watches
Soon to open in London and then in other countries in 2022, the OAK Collection is perhaps the first time a private collector is staging an exhibition that’s open to the public. Taking place at the Design Museum with free entry, the OAK Collection exhibition is made up of just the highlights from the owner’s collection, but already numbers over 160 watches. [Edit December 1, 2021: The exhibition in London has been postponed to spring 2022.] Organised into thematic sections, the OAK Collection – short for “one of a kind” – is dominated by Patek Philippe. Most of the watchmaker’s most important historical timepieces are represented in the collection, including a ref. 2523 world time with a blue enamel dial, as well as exceptionally rare variants of the refs. 1518 and 2499. And the collection naturally includes modern-day, special-order Patek Philippe watches commissioned by the owner. One of the exhibition’s highlights is the Patek Philippe ref. 2523 world time with a blue enamel dial that also takes centre stage on the event poster And the collection includes five pocket watches that once belonged to Henry Graves Jr, the American banker who was one of Patek Philippe’s most important clients in the first half of the 20th century. Outside of the Patek Philippe Museum, the OAK Collection contains the largest number of watches that once belonged to Graves. Amongst the former Graves watches in the OAK Collection is the 1935 observatory tourbillon pocket watch ...
Time+Tide
IWC rarely shy away from a limited edition, especially not when it’s in celebration of military icons. New to the IWC catalogues is a batch of Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Editions that celebrate three F/A-18 Super Hornet flying squadrons of the US Navy - the Royal Maces, the Tophatters, and the Blue Angels. The dial As … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: The IWC Pilot’s Watch Limited Edition collection celebrates the real Top Guns appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
As one British alliance lies wounded from failing to remain in touch with the times, another is going from strength to strength. Indeed, unlike the Royal Family, the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers has time on its side. Late last year, while Britain was coming to terms with the double whammy of another … ContinuedThe post INTERVIEW: British Watchmaking’s brave new dawn appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Best known for its pilot’s watches, Breitling has long enjoyed relationships with airforces across the world, including the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF), especially its fabled aerobatic team, the Red Arrows. Continuing a partnership that is three decades old, Breitling has just announced the Chronomat Red Arrows Limited Edition. This is the latest in several Red Arrows editions that began in the 1990s, but the first that’s based on the latest-generation Chronomat, which also means it’s the first with an in-house movement, the Caliber 01. Not as revered by enthusiasts as the Navitimer with its distinctive slide-rule bezel, the Chronomat is nonetheless underrated. Introduced in 1984 to mark Breitling’s 100th anniversary, the modern-day Chronomat was a return to form for the brand, being a bold, brand-new design equipped with a mechanical movement, specifically the Valjoux 7750. Made even more distinctive with its Rouleaux bracelet made up of baton links, the Chronomat quickly became a bestseller that defined Breitling in the 1990s. Initial thoughts Given that fact that perhaps the best known Breitling-Red Arrows watch was a 1995 Chronomat with a red dial, the new edition makes perfect sense. That said, the Red Arrows watch is essentially the same as the standard Chronomat with a blue dial, but with the Red Arrows logo at 12 o’clock. Having more Red Arrows-specific elements incorporated to the design would have made it more distinctive, but since this ...
Time+Tide
Monarchists in Britain have endured a tough time of late. Just before coronavirus went literally viral, there was a right royal rumble as Prince Harry and Meghan quit the royal family. As if that wasn’t bad enough, 2021 now sees the royal family in danger of losing another of its crown jewels, the King George … ContinuedThe post Britain runs the risk of losing another of its crown jewels – King George’s Breguet pocket watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Who doesn’t love a good watch spot? You know you’re in the presence of a true watch geek if they feel the need to pause the film every time a timepiece makes a cameo. But at times, these discoveries can feel a bit predictable. Musicians are constantly found wearing AP Royal Oaks or Nautilus references, … ContinuedThe post From Daniel Craig to Ronaldo Jr, six watches we never expected to spot on these wrists… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
A royal watch has sparked some serious speculation – and Vanity Fair has the scoop.
SJX Watches
RJ Watches, better known as Romain Jerome, has just gone bankrupt. Announced almost exactly a month after De Grisogono met the same fate, the bankruptcy of RJ Watches SA is the consequence of its majority shareholder, a company controlled by a member of the Saudi royal family, deciding to “stop investing in the company”. Though RJ was never a major watchmaker – its peak revenue was around 20 million Swiss francs – the brand was often in the headlines thanks to its shrewd and occasionally ridiculous marketing. Founded in 2004 and named after the two sons of its founder, Alain Bajulaz, RJ started out making mechanical golf-counter watches, but swiftly took a drastic new direction after Yvan Arpa was appointed chief executive in 2006. By then owned by the Saudi investor, RJ enjoyed a brief period of turbocharged, and in hindsight unsustainable, growth under Mr Arpa. A former Hublot manager, Mr Arpa was a fervent marketer of the most preposterous ideas that were somehow weirdly compelling. Amongst his creations were the rusty-looking Titanic DNA watches and timepieces sprinkled with actual Moon dust. Perhaps the masterpiece was a rusty-Titanic double tourbillon that had no hands and did not tell the time. The 2008 collaboration between Romain Jerome and Cabestan producing the Titanic DNA tourbillon – and now both brands are no more The case has a stabilised and protected rusty-look finish Mr Arpa and the company parted ways in 2009 amidst a lawsuit, and he went o...
SJX Watches
Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, ruler of Oman since 1970, has died at the age of 79. He had been ill with cancer for several years. Widely respected as a statesman who deftly navigated the complexities of the Middle East while turning Oman into one of the most developed countries in the region, Qaboos was also known as a music lover who set up a royal orchestra, and a collector of cars, watches, and boats – the Oman Royal Yacht Squadron is a fleet of seven yachts, including the third and seventh longest in the world. In horology, Qaboos built one of the world’s largest watch collections, including numerous royal timepieces, clocks and watches once owned by royalty. Assembled with the help of John Asprey of the famed London luxury emporium – where Qaboos was one of the top clients for many years – his diverse collection included many important historical timepieces, including examples of the Breguet Sympathique, but also modern-day creations by Francois-Paul Journe. But he is probably best known as being a generous gift giver, who often bestowed watches marked with the Omani national emblem, a khanjar over two crossed swords. Many were given to British military personnel who served in Oman, and some of these watches have gone on to become record-setters at auction. Last year, Phillips sold a Rolex Daytona gifted to a former captain in the Royal Yacht Squadron for 312,500 Swiss francs. A 1988 Sympathique clock panelled in pink chalcedony that was made by Francois-Pa...
Time+Tide
Editor’s note:Benvenuto Cellini was an Italian goldsmith and sculptor born in the last year of the 15th century, who would go on to become one of the most important precious metal workers of his time, finding employment with the royal families of Europe and the Vatican. It is this talented artisan who was the inspiration … ContinuedThe post Italian influence in the Rolex Cellini collection appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Founded in 2004 and selling its watches solely online, Christopher Ward has done some interesting watches at affordable prices, most notably the hand-wound, mono-pusher chronograph of 2017. But its latest is more straightforward: a range of watches inspired by vintage British military-issue timepieces. Unusally, the new models are licensed by the British Ministry of Defence to bear “the insignia of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force” for public sale. While not actual military-issue watches, the line draws on well-known watches once supplied to the arms of the British armed forces, with the army and air force models managing to best capture the look of the originals. Christopher Ward, admirably, cites the exact vintage inspiration for each of the new watches, so the new dive watch, for instance, is loosely based on the Omega Seamaster 300 supplied to the Royal Navy. All three new watches have a “glass box” sapphire crystal, and are powered by a COSC-certified Sellita SW200, a robust and cost-efficient automatic movement. Each model is named after the respective training academy for the service arm, starting with the C65 Dartmouth. It’s named after Britannia Royal Naval College, which sits beside the port of Dartmouth in southern England. The case is steel, 41mm, and rated to 150m. According to the brand, it is modelled on the Omega Seamaster 300 “Big Triangle”, a specific type of the dive watch that Omega supplied to the Royal Navy...
SJX Watches
One can understand the opacity of the first published analysis of John Harrison’s first sea watch, colloquially known as H4 and the forerunner of the marine chronometer, in The Principles of Mr Harrison’s Time-keeper. Edited by the British Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne, it was published by the British government in 1767; and hereafter referred to as Principles. Principles was both incomplete of enough information to allow the duplication of the watch, which Harrison (1693-1776) started in 1755 and finished in 1759, and contained somewhat incoherent description that only makes sense a posteriori after examination of the watch. ‘Principles of Mr. Harrison’s Time-keeper’ Amazingly, it was one hundred years later the next review took place. I can echo Harrison M. Frodsham’s comments in his review in Horological Journal of May 1878 when he said, “Former explanations taken from Harrison’s description are necessarily unsatisfactory, as his was very obscure, probably purposely so.” Although this may be dismissed as 19th Century gossip by some scholars, this may have arisen in part to protect any military advantage, given the importance of H4 to maritime navigation. Considering H4’s historical performance, it is odd that the otherwise comprehensive A Treatise on Modern Horology in Theory and Practice (2ndedition) by Claudius Saunier, published in 1887, barely mentions Harrison and certainly not H4’s technical content. Perhaps it was because it was so quic...
Time+Tide
There are only three days until our competition for Australian watch lovers to win a Royal Enfield Stealth Black Time+Tide Special Edition closes. Entering is as easy as going here, letting us know what the last watch you bought was, filling in your details and joining our mailing list for all of those subscriber-only good-times. … ContinuedThe post Our motorbike competition is closed, but the digital buying guide is still free to download appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Maybe I’m getting old and grumpy (I am), or maybe it’s a genuine shift driven by the increasing visibility and Instagramability of this hobby/lifestyle choice/money pit we call watch collecting, but I’m noticing an increasing homogeneity in what people are collecting. Steel sports this, royal that, unobtainable the other. Where are the weird, interesting and … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: Going to a watch meet-up? Leave the Sub at home appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
The Omega Speedmaster ’57 Co-Axial Chronograph gets aboard a pair of retro-styled Royal Enfields for a trip along the open roads of California.
Deployant
First introduced in 2011, the Ref. 5270 is part of a long, illustrious line of perpetual calendar chronographs produced by watchmaking's most revered maison. This year, the reference receives a royal makeover that will break even the most seasoned of connoisseurs: a platinum case and yes, a salmon dial.
Time+Tide
Usually, an event recap refers to one single event. This one, however, details a week-long bash during Melbourne’s Motorclassica that saw the town literally painted red when the Royal Exhibition Building was lit up in a bold Italian red, with Hublot and Ferrari logos stamping the iconic site. It also included the largest ever convoy … ContinuedThe post EVENT: Ferrari celebrates 70th birthday with best possible party wingman, Hublot – week-long bash ensues appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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