Hodinkee
Watch Of The Week: Ming's First Tourbillon Reminds Me How Much I've Grown
My love for watches has sent me down paths I never expected – this Ming is at the center of it all.
21,000 articles · 5,746 videos found · page 32 of 892
Hodinkee
My love for watches has sent me down paths I never expected – this Ming is at the center of it all.
Hodinkee
And no, we're not talking about dial colors.
Revolution
Hodinkee
Just when you thought you were out.
Hodinkee
Aldis Hodge, Aurel Bacs, Jean-Claude Biver, and others make some pretty tough decisions.
Video
Teddy Baldassarre
Before we get into my review of the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Bullseye, let's get some context about the brand out of the way. Oris traces its foundation to 1904, when two natives of the Swiss watchmaking town of Le Locle, Paul Cattin and Georges Christian, opened their watch factory in the German-speaking Swiss town of Hölstein. Cattin and Christian named their company “Oris” after the Orisbach tributary, a brook near the factory.A maker of pocket watches and, by 1925, the increasingly popular wristwatches, Oris enjoyed a long period of growth and expansion throughout the following decades and even made its own movements. Losing its independence during the consolidation years of the Quartz Crisis, Oris regained it in the 1980s, when a management buyout transformed the company and solidified its mission to make only mechanical watches going forward. Today, Oris is well established as a staple for value-conscious collectors of Swiss-made watches. While much of its modern output is devoted to sport-oriented timepieces, like the popular Aquis and Divers (formerly Divers Sixty-Five) diving watches, the brand’s most recognizable and emblematic collection is the Big Crown Pointer Date, which has been a mainstay of the brand’s portfolio - and in constant production - since 1938. It was the first watch with a date indication displayed via a central hand on an outer scale, and it took the other part of its model name from its signature design element - an oversiz...
SJX Watches
H. Moser & Cie. dips its toes into ceramic for the first time with the Streamliner Tourbillon Concept Ceramic, a bold watch that blends an original design with the high-tech proprieties of ceramic. Despite being a variation of a well-known model at its core, the new Streamliner is unexpectedly different and appealing, especially with a hand-finished ceramic bracelet, an unusual feature even in its segment. Initial thoughts The use of ceramic materials in watches is no longer a novelty. The inert and hard material is appealing for its near-invulnerability to scratches and high tech feel. Ceramics are typically employed for either for aesthetic or technical purposes, but usually for watch cases, while ceramic bracelets are almost exclusively the preserve of large brands that can afford working with the hard-to-machine material. Though still a niche brand, H. Moser & Cie.’s bestselling Streamliner is dressed entirely in ceramic, with a ceramic case paired with a ceramic bracelet. An all-ceramic bracelet is a rare sight from a brand of Moser’s scale. The matte, brushed finish of the ceramic exterior is at the opposite end of the colour spectrum compared with the bright red yet minimalist dial, giving this the signature Moser look. The granular, glossy finish of the fired enamel dial contrast and complements the matte, stealthy sheen of ceramic. The watch is paradoxical in some ways. Pairing Moser’s first ceramic case and bracelet with a tourbillon is somewhat incong...
Time+Tide
We explain the difference between the two main types of GMT watches, as well as the use cases for each.The post What’s the difference between a “caller” and “traveller” GMT watch, and which is right for you? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
Despite frigid temperatures outside, the Windup Watch Shop showroom in Brooklyn was buzzing with energy as Oris and Worn & Wound hosted an evening dedicated to one of the brand’s most beloved new releases: the Big Crown Pointer Date “Bullseye.” Fans, enthusiasts, and first-time Oris buyers alike packed the space, turning a cold winter night into a warm celebration of independent watchmaking. Representing Oris for the evening were VJ Geronimo, CEO – The Americas; Josh Shanks, Director of Marketing and Communications – North America; and Megan Hines, Marketing Coordinator. Their presence gave attendees direct access to the people behind the brand, creating an atmosphere that felt both intimate and entertaining. Guests were treated to extensive hands-on time with the full Oris collection, with special attention naturally focused on the the Big Crown Pointer Date “Bullseye.” The watch drew a steady crowd throughout the night, with attendees eager to experience its striking dial and classic proportions in person. Professional wrist shots were available to everyone, and a steady rotation of guests took advantage of the opportunity to capture studio-quality photos with their favorite pieces. In keeping in theme with the hero watch of the evening, guests were also invited to try their luck and making a Bullseye-of the dart variety. The Worn & Wound crew took special interest in this activity in particular. The evening also had its share of Oris merch and mater...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
The new Mido Multifort 8 One Crown delivers a simplified integrated bracelet watch design powered by the brand’s Calibre 80 movement.
Video
Teddy Baldassarre
Before getting into the Rolex Yacht-Master Titanium here, we have to address the collection as a whole. The Rolex Yacht-Master is one of the most unsung in the brand’s catalog, with owners who either opted to be left-of-center relative to their other Crown-loving friends, or those who wandered into a watch store one day and said “I want a Rolex, and I’ll take what you got!” While the latter manifests itself on a daily basis and also accounts for the lion’s share of Sky-Dweller and two-tone Daytona purchases, the former has made the Yacht-Master something of a cult classic for those who don’t necessarily need to be submerged in water and would rather just be chilling beside it (with a lunch prepared below deck and a glass of dealers choice in hand). One doesn’t need to be a literal yacht master to own a Yacht-Master. Heck, you don’t need to own a yacht or have a friend that owns one. Instead – at least traditionally – the Yacht-Master was for the ones who took things less seriously, who wanted a watch that toes the line between tool watch and…um, fancier tool watch. It was and still remains – also – for the one that burst through the boutique door without a clue what they're after so long as that coronet is on the dial. But the Yacht-Master has changed. In 2023, Rolex took what had typically been an at least partially precious watch and turned the toolish knobs way up. This is how we ended up with the Yacht-Master Titanium, 42mm of sports wit...
Worn & Wound
One of the most unexpected but delightful trends to emerge in watches over the last few years is the rise of the “Japanese Calatrava” style watch. Even if you haven’t heard this term thrown around, you probably know exactly the type of watch I’m talking about, as there have been several that have emerged relatively recently. The small dress watches made by Kurono Tokyo are an obvious example, and perhaps the genesis of it all. Brands like Kikuchi Nakagawa and Noaya Hida are also part of this conversation at the more luxurious end of the spectrum, and of course there are a variety of affordable watches that sit nicely in this category or are tangential to it, like Kuoe and Orient (which admittedly has been doing this for many, many years). I like this trend because it feels like a small segment of the watch world is pushing back on the dominant force in watches over the last decade: the vintage inspired sports watch. I’m no hater – I own a few vintage inspired sports watches and can appreciate the good ones, but they are so ubiquitous it’s tough to see them as anything but generic. The simple Calatrava style watches coming out of Japan are of course similarly generic, but are a welcome flip side to the sports watch coin, and I like the idea that someone entering the hobby now might find themselves down a rabbit hole of small dress watches as opposed to Submariner-style divers. I’d be very curious what that collector has in their watch box five or ten years...
Fratello
Audemars Piguet is celebrating its 150th anniversary by introducing plenty of novelties, and they’re not watches. The brand from Le Brassus is also presenting new movements. The latest perpetual calendars now feature an ingenious crown, for instance, but the biggest news of the year is undoubtedly the launch of the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Selfwinding […] Visit Audemars Piguet Has Reinvented The Chronograph: What Does It Mean To The Watch World? to read the full article.
Monochrome
Exactly one year ago, Rolex, with the help of author Nicholas Foulkes and publisher Wallpaper, took us by surprise when releasing the first-ever Crown-authorised book, The History of the Oyster Perpetual Submariner Watch. While such initiatives have been done on multiple occasions by other brands, a historical book receiving the stamp of approval of Rolex […]
Teddy Baldassarre
GMT watches, and other types of watches with useful complications for travelers, are enjoying a surge of popularity these days, with watchmakers large and small stepping up to produce travel watches with both user-friendly mechanics and attractive design, at a variety of price points. Yet, if you’re new to the watch game, you still might be a bit curious about what is a GMT watch, how to read and set them, and how one style differs from another. In this feature, we attempt to address all the pertinent questions you may want answered before purchasing a GMT or any style of watch with the ability to show multiple time zones. What is a GMT watch? GMT is the abbreviation for “Greenwich Mean Time,” the system of world timekeeping based on the calculation of mean solar time from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. Established in 1884 at the International Meridian Conference, the Prime Meridian was conceived as a straight line running from the North Pole to the South Pole directly through Greenwich, serving as the point of zero degrees longitude from which 24 separate time zones divide the Earth: the Eastern Time Zone of the United States, for example, is designated as GMT -5 (i.e., five hours west of Greenwich, which is GMT 0). A GMT watch is essentially a timekeeper designed in that same utilitarian spirit, allowing its wearer to read the time in at least two time zones simultaneously. Many such watches actually use the initials “GMT” in their model names, whi...
Video
Monochrome
Oris has long defined itself as a maker of mechanical watches for “today’s world citizens”, with a clear commitment to function, value, robust engineering, supported by original looks. The new Big Crown Calibre 113 extends that philosophy by combining the brand’s historic pilot’s watch design with one of its most advanced hand-wound movements. Initially introduced […]
Worn & Wound
Since 2022, you could be forgiven for thinking of Atelier Wen as “the Perception company.” The brand didn’t start with their popular integrated bracelet sports watch, but as the demand for these types of watches grew, Atelier Wen has done their best to keep the Perception at the forefront of the conversation. They’ve done this through small runs of new dial colors and limited editions with various partners that allow them to play not just with color but the guilloche work that is the Perception’s calling card. But it was never Atelier Wen’s goal to make the Perception their own version of the Royal Oak, a watch that completely defines the brand to the point that other collections are barely playing second fiddle. The conceit of the brand has always been to celebrate traditional craft techniques through the lens of Chinese culture. Look at their first release, the porcelain dialed Odyssey, alongside the Perception and you begin to see the brand’s vision more clearly. Now, a new collection has been unveiled, that will hopefully continue to broaden the brand’s appeal. The Ancestra is a rather ambitious dress watch that’s quite complex in its design, but in a somewhat under the radar way. The centerpiece of the watch is the 925 silver dial which incorporates two traditional artistic crafts: hand hammering and grand feu enamel. The dial is produced by Kong Lingjun, a master Chinese enameler. After the dial is hammered, Lingjun gets to work on the enamel pr...
Teddy Baldassarre
Watch movements, like the engines in cars, are the mechanisms that make the whole thing run, and if you're new to the world of avid watch enthusiasm, there's more to learn about them, and how they work, than you think. In this comprehensive guide to watch movements, we will attempt to answer every question that you might have about movements - their different types, their important parts, who makes them, and even a bit of history and trivia. What is a Mechanical Movement? A mechanical movement, the oldest type of movement in horology, 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. Originally, the mainspring needed to be wound periodically by hand, first by a key, then by a winding crown attached via a stem to the movement. Later, a type of movement was developed that could be wound “automatically,” through the motions of the wearer’s wrist. What is the difference between a mechanical movement and an automatic movement? It isn’t really a question of difference: the latter is simply a specific type of the former, à la a Cognac and a brandy. The two main types of mechanical movements are manually wound (or “hand-winding”), in which the user needs to p...
Worn & Wound
This year, it’s all about the Pointer Date for Oris. New for Watches & Wonders 2025, Oris has unveiled a selection of new references featuring what many would consider the brand’s iconic complication. According to Oris, some version of a watch with a pointer date complication has been in production for nearly 90 years, which is quite a significant chunk of time in the watch landscape. The pointer date currently finds its home in the Big Crown Pointer Date collection, part of the brand’s lineup of watches with an aviation influence. The oversized crown, of course, was meant to be usable by pilots wearing gloves in the cockpit, and everything about the dial, including the red tipped pointer date hand, has been designed with easy legibility in mind. The new pointer date watches in the collection stay pretty close to this tradition, but add new dial colors that are a bit less sober than what we typically think of when it comes to aviation inspired watch designs. First up, new versions of the Sellita powered Big Brown Pointer Date in a trio of vibrant colors: yellow, blue, and lilac. These watches are available in the traditional 40mm stainless steel case most often used for the Big Crown Pointer Date. They’re also available for the first time with a stainless steel, H-link bracelet with alternating brushed and polished finishing and a folding clasp. I think the addition of a bracelet changes up the look of these watches in a pretty major way, making them immediately ...
Worn & Wound
In recent days, much of the watch internet has been abuzz with the apparent news of a new Rolex collection with the somewhat hard to believe name of Land-Dweller. Leaked images of the Crown’s new watch began to emerge in the days leading up to this year’s Watches & Wonders, and, as you’d expect from the internet, debate ensued. The shots purported to capture a Datejust-adjacent design with sharper lines and, perhaps, an integrated bracelet. The official Rolex teaser for Watches & Wonders on Instagram seemed to confirm many of the details that had already been guessed, and then a very Daniel Craig at the Olympics style image of Roger Federer wearing the watch hit social media via the tennis star’s (and Rolex ambassador’s) Instagram account. It appeared to everyone at this point that the Land-Dweller was real – we only had to wait for the details. Rolex has made those details public as of today, with the announcement of the new Land-Dweller collection. This is much more, though, than Rolex jumping on the integrated bracelet sports watch bandwagon (although, it is that, at least a little bit). The Land-Dweller is also an important moment for Rolex as a movement maker, as it introduces their new, patented, direct impulse escapament which goes by the trade name Dynapulse. It uses dual silicon wheels and introduces us to Rolex caliber 7135. More on that caliber in a moment, but first, the broad strokes of the Land-Dweller collection. The new collection features a f...
Video
Fratello
Wearing a Rolex signals different things. The most obvious ones are success and money. Conformity is another one. Wearing a watch from The Crown is like saying, “I made it, and I want everybody to know it.” I’m sorry, Rolex fans who admire the brand for its technical innovations, achievements, et cetera. For most, the […] Visit Wear A Rolex If You Want To Be Different - A Rolex Perpetual 1908 Dress Watch, That Is to read the full article.
Fratello
Two years ago, when Rolex acquired Bucherer, a multi-brand retail store with over 100 locations, it also included the jeweler’s watch brand Carl F. Bucherer. So, as of 2023, the Rolex crown was protected by the Tudor shield and a second brand with a history that dates back to 1888. You would think that a […] Visit Rolex Shuts Down Watch Brand Carl F. Bucherer, And That’s Hardly A Surprise to read the full article.
Quill & Pad
The crown is one of the most important yet underappreciated parts of a watch. The humble crown has played an extensive role in helping Rolex – and the rest of the watch industry – get to where it is today. Here's why.
Fratello
Let me put it this way: if you want a crown on the dial, looking at a shield instead doesn’t cut it. Luckily, the “Age of Alternatives” seems to have ended. Yes, some references still play hard to get, but more and more watches that were in high demand over the last few post-COVID years […] Visit No Alternatives: Why Buying A Watch In Place Of Another Is A Fallacy to read the full article.
Quill & Pad
Unlike the niche-like fairs in Geneva, the Hong Kong Clock and Watch Fair (HKCWF) located in the world’s second largest watch exporter after Switzerland, drives the energy to the next level. It focuses not only on watches of all types, from mechanicals to smart, but also on components, fashion, trade and commerce. Marton Radkai reports his impressions of the fair.
Video
Question, suggestion, or just want to say hi? Drop a note.