Hodinkee
What Does The Word "Record" Really Mean In Watchmaking?
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." – Iñigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
21,748 articles · 6,035 videos found · page 333 of 927
Hodinkee
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." – Iñigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
Hodinkee
"You were supposed to get a good tree. Can't you even tell a good tree from a poor tree?" – Lucy Van Pelt, A Charlie Brown Christmas
Quill & Pad
The rules for the GPHG's Jewellery category state that the watches must demonstrate exceptional mastery of the art of jewelry and gem setting and are also distinguished by the choice of stones featured in them. Once again our panel has a favorite, but there's no consensus.
Hodinkee
"Small Daytona," big vintage energy.
The Iconic category emphasizes men’s or women’s watches from a brand’s emblematic collection, meaning one that has had a lasting influence on watchmaking and its history as well as having been on the market for more than 20 years. Five of the watches pre-selected here are either time-only or time with date; one lone chronograph completes the set.
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Quill & Pad
The watches here are as different as day and night, with only two perhaps comparable to each other because they both have jump hour displays (but even these two are as different as it gets with one very classic in looks and the other ultramodern). Additionally, we have two chronographs, a worldtimer, and a mechanical opus with two time displays. It will be hard to choose among all this mechanical charm, but our panel pushes on.
Quill & Pad
Complicated ladies' watches are not as rare as they once were, and the best thing is that they are not converted men's watches anymore but purposely designed and built specifically for female wrists. While there are a lot of absolutely stunning watches in the Ladies Complication category this year, they aren't that complicated and there are quite a few tourbillons. Nonetheless, our panel reaches something of a consensus.
SJX Watches
Singaporean collector Benjamin Chee has long been involved in watchmaking as a hobbyist, having set up two brands in the last decade, Maison Celadon for dress watches and Millechron for sports watches. While his earlier endeavours were powered by excellent Vaucher movements, Mr Chee’s latest venture is the most haute horlogerie to date. Taking its name from Mr Chee’s initials, the BCHH Celestial Voyager combines fine watchmaking with metiers d’art in series of pièce unique world-time wristwatches executed by independent watchmaker Andersen Genève. Cased in platinum, each of the seven watches in the series features a cloisonné enamel dial depicting a different stylised map. At the same time, the watches are accented by details like soldered lugs and a mother of pearl inlay on the back. Initial thoughts The Celestial Voyager is typical of Andersen’s products, meaning it’s classical in design and well made in an artisanal manner. But like many of Andersen’s watches, the Voyager is bespoke, so it reflects Mr Chee’s preferences and eye for detail. Take for instance the dial, which is elaborate in a discreet manner. The cloisonné enamel centre is the highlight, and most watches would stop there, but here the cities ring is made of sparkly aventurine glass. Elements like the cities ring play a supporting role, but getting them right often distinguishes the great from the good. The Celestial Voyager gets most of it right, and is one of the better looking...
Hodinkee
It's an honor to welcome the entire Crown & Caliber family into our community.
Hodinkee
A last minute chance to give the gift of time to your Valentine.
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Hodinkee
One of Certina's most historically important divers' watches resurfaces.
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A new vintage drop coming from beneath a foot of snow here at HODINKEE HQ.
SJX Watches
Established in 1948, Yema was once a French watchmaking giant, having equipped the French Air Force and the first French astronaut, Jean-Loup Chrétien. It entered a long decline in the aftermath of the Quartz Crisis, but was revived under its current French owners who took over in 2009. Now Yema is once again making tool watches for professionals in a tie up with the French Navy, or Marine Nationale. A collection of dive watches “jointly designed with French Navy personnel for marine professionals”, the Navygraf X Marine Nationale is led by a time-only, automatic dive watch, as well as a variant with a GMT function. It also includes a less expensive quartz model and a ladies version, though they will not be covered here. The Navygraf Marine Nationale Automatic (left), and GMT Initial thoughts Along with fellow French brand Baltic, Yema is one of my favourite brands at the US$1,000 price point. Its watches are well designed and executed for the price, often offering strong value. Given Yema’s historical relationship with the French military – the brand supplied watches to French air force helicopter pilots in the 1970s – Yema has legitimacy in military watches, and its collaboration with the navy makes sense. The white and blue combination – a nautical palette modelled on the emblem of the French Navy – is familiar but stands out on the wrist, being immediately reminiscent of the oceans. The maritime theme of the symmetrical and legible dial is reinforc...
Hodinkee
Twenty vintage watches just landed in the Shop, need we say more?
Quill & Pad
The GPHG Petite Aiguille category is for watches with a retail price between 4,000 and 10,000 Swiss francs. This is a category that stands closer to the general public as it comprises watches that are far more affordable than the other categories except the Challenge category (under 4,000 Swiss francs).
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Hodinkee
Fifteen (new) vintage watches to peruse in the HODINKEE Shop.
Quill & Pad
The GPHG foundation’s rules for the Jewellery category state that the watches must demonstrate exceptional mastery of the art of jewelry and gem setting. This is an especially difficult category to judge from still photos as you really need to touch and manipulate the jewelry and see the gems reflecting from different angles. Our panelists settle on two favorites as top contenders despite the fact that they haven't had a chance to handle these treasures.
Quill & Pad
The GPHG Diver's category contains watches linked to the field of diving, whose functions, materials, and design are suited to this activity. Diver's watches are fairly straightforward and the most successful ones tend look very much alike. However most of our panelists selected a winner from the outfield that looked very different to the norm.
Quill & Pad
The GPHG Calendar and Astronomy category emphasizes astronomical and/or calendar complications included in men’s watches. Sorry, ladies' watches, you don't seem to count here. The six nominated watches cover quite a wide gamut of styles, complications, and price categories. And our panelists' picks for winner cover a rather wide gamut as well.
Quill & Pad
In the GPHG Chronometry category, we find mechanical watches that contain at least one tourbillon, and/or a special escapement, and/or another development improving precision timekeeping. What we don't find, though, is much hard data regarding precision like timing test results or in most cases even a second hand. Precision watches without a second hand? Despite that, our panel predicts a clear winner.
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The Iconic category emphasizes men’s or women’s watches from a brand’s emblematic collection, meaning one that has had a lasting influence on watchmaking and its history as well as having been on the market for more than 20 years. Our panelists have mixed feelings about the Iconic category and are (nearly) split down the middle on picking a favorite.
Quill & Pad
The GPHG foundation describes the Men’s Complication watches as remarkable in terms of their mechanical creativity and complexity. But many of our panelists are scratching their heads as the perennial question "is a tourbillon a complication?" comes up yet again.
Quill & Pad
Relatively simple men's watches are perhaps the most popular watches by sales, and the nominated watches in the 2020 GPHG highlight that this is a vintage year for the genre. So it's not surprising that our panelists are split three ways in their predictions for the winner. Find out what we think about all of the contenders and how ruthless we were in comparing them here.
Quill & Pad
The GPHG foundation describes the Ladies Complication category for watches entered as “women’s watches that are remarkable in terms of their mechanical creativity and complexity." And our panelists wonder: is a tourbillon enough to take home the prize?
Quill & Pad
The GPHG foundation describes the Ladies category for watches entered as “comprising only the following indications: hours, minutes, seconds, date, power reserve, and/or classic moon phase. These timepieces may be adorned with a maximum of eight carats’ worth of gemstones.” While our panelists aren't quite unanimous, we do have a clear favorite as a winner here. Read on to find out why.
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