Results for Mechanical Watch Accuracy

Bring a Loupe: A Platinum Swatch, An Oversized Eberhard, And A Gold Heuer Carrera

Our weekly picks of watches from around the web.

WATCHSPOTTING: NFL star Odell Beckham gives a masterclass on flexing wearing Richard Mille in his debut match with the Cleveland Browns

As a category, highly paid athletes are known for the occasional BIG flex. Bespoke cars, planes and all the rest are de rigueur for these guys. And, of course, the wristwatch, being both highly visible and highly valuable, is a great example of this. Now, wearing those factory diamonds on your downtime is one thing, … ContinuedThe post WATCHSPOTTING: NFL star Odell Beckham gives a masterclass on flexing wearing Richard Mille in his debut match with the Cleveland Browns appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

In-Depth: Realising Breguet’s Dream of the Natural Escapement

Abraham-Louis Breguet’s contributions to horology are as numerous as they are fundamental. Practically every avenue of watchmaking is built on the foundations he laid down, from the perpetuelle self-winding mechanism to pare-chute shock-protection for balance pivots. But most famous of all was the tourbillon, patented in 1801. It was crucial to the precision of mechanical pocket watches and clocks, the only kinds of timepieces in use then, which normally sat in an upright, vertical position. The Breguet Souscription pocket watch of the 1990s that replicated the 19th century originals, right down to the pare-chute escapement The tourbillon, however, was not Breguet’s only effort in improving chronometric performance. Prior to the tourbillon, he created the lesser known but more elegant echappement naturel, or natural escapement, in 1789. It was a double-wheel chronometer escapement that in theory, needed no oil. Breguet managed to incorporate it into just 20 pocket watches, but serial production of the natural escapement ultimately eluded him as its design had inherent shortcomings – primarily backlash in the motion of its wheels – that made it impossible to commercialise. The idea was ahead of its time, and it would take some 200 years before technology made the natural escapement feasible. The concept of natural escapements continues to fascinate watchmakers, many of whom have conceived modern-day descendants, the most recent of which is the Ch...

Business News: Richemont and Swatch Results; Massive Inventories at Swatch

Swiss watchmaking groups Richemont and Swatch Group just announced their first quarter and six-month results for 2019 respectively, with each going in opposite directions. Owner of brands like Cartier, IWC and Panerai, Richemont saw growth across most segments and regions. Overall sales were up 12% at constant exchange rates, with every region growing in the low teens save for the Middle East and Africa. Sales in Asia grew 10%, led by China, where demand is up due to lower taxes locally on luxury goods and more stringent checks on travellers importing items bought overseas. Most notable was the performance of its online channels, namely luxury fashion mall Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP), pre-owned watch merchant Watchfinder, and to a lesser extent. That growth is from a low base of comparison: last year’s first quarter for each platform was only two and one month respectively. That being said, online sales are still substantial, rising to 50% to €648m, almost equal to the €698m of sales in the Americas as a whole. The group’s watchmaking brands, which include A. Lange & Söhne and Vacheron Constantin, saw overall sales dip 2%. This was attributed to a reduction in the number of sales channels as well as reduced orders of new product by retailers. Up in Biel, where the Swatch Group has its headquarters, half-year sales were down 3.7% at constant exchange rates, to 4.07 billion Swiss francs. Net profit followed suit, shrinking 11.3% to 415m francs. For the full year, howe...

In-Depth: Taking The Swatch Group Manufacture Tour

Two hundred reporters, three days, six towns, six brands, zero Baselworld.

The Value Proposition: The Swatch Skin Classic

Slim, plastic, and tons of fun.

Time to Move: This week is Swatch Week!

Next week is Swatch Week. We will be focussing on the top 6 Swatch brands as we go live from Switzerland with "Time to Move"

HANDS-ON: Is this the most accessible true worldtimer on the market right now? The Christopher Ward C1 Grand Malvern Worldtimer

Worldtimers - which allow you to, at a glance, quickly determine the time anywhere across the globe - aren’t the most common complications. And typically, this level of mechanical wizardry comes at a cost. Typically. This handsome fella, the C1 Grand Malvern Worldtimer from UK-based outfit Christopher Ward, bucks the trend. Before we delve into … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: Is this the most accessible true worldtimer on the market right now? The Christopher Ward C1 Grand Malvern Worldtimer appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

News: Swatch Group says it will NEVER return to mega exhibitions like Baselworld

The Swatch Group's Nick Hayek announces increased turnover and profits for 2018, and that it will never return to Baselworld or any other mega exhibitions.

Report Cards: Snapshot of Swatch, LVMH, Richemont and a Peek into 2019

A sampling of financial information from the financial reports/releases of Swatch, LVMH, Richemont helps us take stock of 2018, and peek into 2019.

Introducing the Swatch Flymagic with Titanium-Based Nivachron Hairspring

Swatch Watches unveils the Swatch Flymagic featuring the Swatch Group’s latest innovation in watchmaking: the titanium-based Nivachron hairspring.

Swatch: The Mighty Engine that Could

When the Swiss watchmaking industry found itself in the pits, it took a visionary man and a most improbable Swatch to lift it to new heights.

Swatch Piú Nero SUOB157: The Poor Man’s Ressence?

The Swatch Swatch Piú Nero ref. SUOB157 with pricing, images, and quick look at this very affordable Ressence alternative.

RECOMMENDED READING: Wired’s tech take on the smartwatch 

For a site ostensibly about fine mechanical watches we spend a decent amount of time talking and thinking about watches of the smart variety. But we come at the genre (which is, thanks to Apple, the biggest category of watch in the game at the moment) from a fairly particular (dare I say biased) perspective, … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: Wired’s tech take on the smartwatch  appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Swatch Celebrates Mickey Mouse’s Birthday With Help From Damien Hirst

HANDS-ON: Grand Seiko’s dressy GMT – the SBGM235

Most of Grand Seiko’s mechanical watches are built around one base - the 9S calibre, which turns 20 years old this year. The brand has celebrated with a series of limited editions, and this, the SBGM235, is the latest. Coming from the brand’s elegance collection, the SBGM235 follows the same fundamental form as the cream-dialled … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: Grand Seiko’s dressy GMT – the SBGM235 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

VIDEO: Smarter than your average GMT – the Longines Conquest V.H.P. GMT Flash Setting 

If we’re completely honest, it’s hard to make quartz technology sexy. Which makes the achievement of Longines’ V.H.P. technology even more remarkable. Not only do these quartz Conquests look the part, with clean, slightly sporty style and some very nice dials, the movement ticking away inside has a host of features dedicated to improving accuracy … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: Smarter than your average GMT – the Longines Conquest V.H.P. GMT Flash Setting  appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Swatch Group Quits Baselworld

Throwback Sundays: Six Watches to Wear to a World Cup Match, from Our Archives

In this week's article, we take a look at six watches that we reckon will work well as a companion in the upcoming world cup matches.

Mid-Term Analysis: Swatch vs Richemont

With the staggering difference in stock price performance between Swatch Group and Richemont, we decided to dig deeper with an analysis on what had contributed to the disparity.

New: Swatch launches the SKIN Irony collection

Creating a #FutureClassic - Swatch launches the SKIN Irony collection where signature classic lines sway graceful contemporary contrasts and everlasting materials merge with elegant profiles and lustrous reflections.

Swatch Group 2017 Financial Result and Analysis

We take a quick glance at the recent Swatch Group 2017 financial result, and provide a short analysis on the both the current and future outlook of the conglomerate.

EDITOR’S PICK: We asked the Bulgari barman to match watches to whisky, and he absolutely nailed it

Editor’s Note: Look, it’s not the first time anyone has thought of combining watches with whisky. It is, however, surely the first time an Italian barman in Ginza, Tokyo did the matching. It was the kind of performance the hashtag #nailedit was created for. Consider for a moment that two Aussie guys dropped in to … ContinuedThe post EDITOR’S PICK: We asked the Bulgari barman to match watches to whisky, and he absolutely nailed it appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

VIDEO: Longines and ski timekeeping, a match made in the mountains a very long time ago…

When you visit the heart and home of Longines, at Saint Imier in the Switzerland’s Jura valley, the brand’s link with skiing is immediately demystified. This is a skiers paradise, and in the early days of the sport’s timekeeping in the 1920s, the Longines watchmakers would not have had to travel far to test their latest … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: Longines and ski timekeeping, a match made in the mountains a very long time ago… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Swatch Group Key Developments and Half-year results 2017

Swatch Group's first half showed positive results ins ales and an increase in operating margin. It managed to pursue macro strategies of sustained investmen