Results for Ball Watch

Grand Seiko at Watches & Wonders 2026: All-new Diver UFA, “Ice Forest” Gold UFA, Hand-Engraved ‘Mystic Waterfall’ by Micro Artist Studio

Albishorn Goes Green with the Thundergraph Khumbu

Albishorn returns with a new interpretation of its mountaineering chronograph, the Thundergraph Khumbu, swapping the original’s petroleum blue dial for a green colourway and introducing the brand’s first-ever bracelet option. Like its predecessor, the watch draws inspiration from the 1952 Swiss expeditions to Everest, this time taking its name from the Khumbu region of Nepal traversed by the climbing party on its approach to the mountain. Initial thoughts I was impressed by the original Thundergraph when it launched last year - it was my favourite Albishorn to that point. The Khumbu does not reinvent anything, but the bracelet option is a meaningful addition that should widen the appeal to a new segment of collectors. The stainless steel case is carried over unchanged at 39 mm at the case band, expanding to 42.7 mm across the bezel. The asymmetric form, red anodised aluminium monopusher at 9:30, and bronze crown engraved with the Albishorn logo - appropriately modeled on a snow-capped peak - are all retained. The case back also carries the same Swiss cross and rope engraving, the emblem of the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, which remains one of the more convincing elements of the brand’s ‘imaginary vintage’ concept. Khumbu green The petroleum blue dial of the original Thundergraph has been replaced by a mint green opaline hue, said to be inspired by the Khumbu glacier region, where vegetation survives in a harsh environment of ice and rock. The disti...

Omega’s New Constellation Observatory Collection Debuts, with a First for a Certified Chronometer

Omega pleased a lot of dress watch and vintage fans this week when they launched the new Constellation Observatory collection at their Swiss headquarters. Zach Weiss is on the ground in Bielle even as we speak getting hands-on with the new watches, and he’ll have a full hands on report with his own photography coming soon. For now, a quick rundown of the new collection, and why it’s a fairly major play for the brand.  The Constellation is a historic Omega collection that has changed a lot through the years, always remaining flexible with the current styles and trends of the day. This collection, though, is a direct shot at the hearts and minds of Omega purists, as its effectively a recreation of the original 1950s Constellation in its broad strokes. The cases and dials will be familiar to anyone who has collected or admired original Constellations, with highly angular cases and distinctive dogleg lug design.  That said, these are not one to one recreations of watches from the 1950s. The cases, on paper at least, are rather large for what most would agree is a riff on a classic dress watch. The diameter is 39.4mm, and case height is 12.23mm. The lug to lug span comes in at 47.2mm. So, not small by any means, but we’ll look forward to Zach’s impressions of how they actually wear soon enough.  As is typical with Omega these days, we have a wide variety of case material and dial options available. We get all three gold alloys that Omega likes to deploy (Sedna, Canop...

Introducing – The New Nomos Club Campus Full Rose and All Olive Editions

The Club Campus collection is Nomos Glashütte’s accessible, robust mechanical watches, designed with a younger audience in mind and made with the same in-house rigour as the rest of the catalogue. Since its introduction in 2017, the concept has remained, with clean Bauhaus-inspired construction, playful California-style dials, and a rotation of fresh colours. For 2026, […]

Hands-on – The All-New Omega Constellation Observatory Collection (incl. Video)

The launch of a new collection from a brand as important as Omega is always a significant event. In this particular case, however, it is not strictly the introduction of an entirely new design, but rather the unveiling of a new family of Constellation watches inspired by a historical model’s aesthetics. What also makes this […]

AI Designed My Custom Swatch Watch

Announced last year, Swatch’s AI-DADA platform is now live, enabling customers to design and build their own custom Swatch with a design that will never be repeated. With a low entry price and quick turnaround, I took the platform for a spin. Why AI Swatch has been a design-oriented brand since its debut in 1983. Not only has Swatch produced a dizzying array of original designs of its own, over the years the brand has collaborated with celebrated artists and leading institutions to democratise access to wearable art. About a decade ago, Swatch’s world-class logistics infrastructure enabled it to offer customised watches via an online configurator that enabled customers to mix and match different elements from a pre-selected range of options. That was quickly followed by the ability to generate a custom-printed design, by dragging a Swatch template over a selection of human-created patterns and designs. The AI-DADA system, launched earlier this year, builds on this basis in way that only Swatch could pull off. The system leverages an undisclosed large language model (LLM) to generate a custom design based on a user’s 300-character prompt. The result is a made-to-order Swatch of the customer’s own design, delivered in as few as five days. What’s more, the cost is little more than an off-the-shelf model, at just US$195. With little to lose, I took the plunge. AI-DADA Swatch watches are powered by standard quartz movements in the typical New Gent case size. Three str...

Is Timothée Chalamet How Indie Watches Enter Pop Culture?

I missed the Academy Awards on Sunday for the first time in, oh I dunno, 30 years? It’s a cliche to say that something is “my Super Bowl” but the Oscars really are. It was more than a little strange to catch up on the awards conversation the way most people do these days: through social media clips, podcasts, and, in our little community, celebrity watch spotting.  The Oscars are known as “Hollywood’s biggest night” but it could be argued, based on the volume of press releases in my inbox, that it’s the watch industry’s biggest night as well. Worn & Wound doesn’t typically cover celebrity watch spotting – we think it’s all a little silly given that most of the watches you see on wrists are placed there by stylists or are simply contractual obligations. But I hope you’ll indulge me a bit because I have some thoughts on what we’ve seen recently from one of the most talked about movie stars of the last several years, by cinephiles and watch enthusiasts alike, and I think it could be a watershed moment in how independent watches enter the cultural conversation.  I’m talking of course about Timothée Chalamet, star of Marty Supreme and three time Academy Award nominee. Chalamet has made news among the watch spotting crowd for the way he has casually worn some of the highest end and most sought after timepieces over the course of the last year. On Oscar night, he was wearing an Urban Jürgensen UJ-2, a six figure watch introduced less than a year ag...

Christopher Ward Introduces the C63 True GMT

Christopher Ward’s releases basically fall into two categories for me. There are the watches that the brand clearly intends to have broad appeal across a wide segment of the watch market. This is really most of their watches. Think of the Sealander and Trident collections, and indeed most of the Twelves, and you have watches that are very well made and attractive but not exactly groundbreaking. Then there’s the Loco, the Bel Canto, and some of their more experimental pieces that play with aventurine and sapphire dial elements. These watches veer into the avant-garde and serve as showcases for what Christopher Ward is capable of at a higher (but still very fair) price point. I’ll admit, I’m partial to the latter, and less interested in the former. The Loco and Bel Canto in particular really demonstrate Christopher Ward’s ambition to be more than just a former maker of homage watches. These watches fully escape the brand’s roots.  Their latest release, the C63 True GMT, sits somewhere in the middle. Built on the Sealander platform, the new True GMT is exactly what it says on the tin: a sporty multi-time zone watch with an independently jumping local hour hand. A “true” travel GMT, offering significantly more use while on the move between time zones than a “caller GMT,” still the standard for this type of watch under about $5,000.  What makes this watch special is that it represents nearly as much movement innovation and development as the brand’s more...

Hands-On With The Remarkable New Christopher Ward C63 Sealander True GMT

Christopher Ward is, without a doubt, one of the most active watch brands around today. It has consistently shown us how to push the envelope of what is possible in the realm of affordable watches. This has led to an extensive collection of watches that show great diversity. Simply compare the Bel Canto to the […] Visit Hands-On With The Remarkable New Christopher Ward C63 Sealander True GMT to read the full article.

Owner’s review: Hands-on with the Rolex Land-Dweller 36 – is it all just hype?

There has been a lot of thoughts and reviews on the Rolex Land-Dweller 36, but today an actual owner chimes in with his hands-on thoughts.The post Owner’s review: Hands-on with the Rolex Land-Dweller 36 – is it all just hype? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Swatch Group Responds to Morgan Stanley Report in Open Letter

Business News: Swatch Group Publishes Open Letter To Morgan Stanley Management Saying Longines Is Profitable And Tissot Sales Grew

Swatch takes aim at the numbers and methods of the widely read Morgan Stanley 'Swiss Watcher' industry report.

Hands-On With The New Farer World Timer Thorne Gold

Some colorways naturally lend themselves to a particular watch style. Think, for instance, of a blue-and-red “Pepsi” combination for a GMT watch, stark black and white for a Flieger, or simply the marriage of blued hands over a porcelain-white dial on any number of dress watches. I’m sure I’m missing many more. Some of those […] Visit Hands-On With The New Farer World Timer Thorne Gold to read the full article.

All black everything for the new IWC Portugieser Chronograph Ceratanium

IWC's dressy chronograph gets an unexpectedly sporty, all-black makeover.The post All black everything for the new IWC Portugieser Chronograph Ceratanium appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Last Call For Pizza! Studio Underd0g And Time+Tide Serve Classic Cheese And Burnt Pepper0ni Pizzas

The original Pepper0ni and Hawaiian pizza watches that our friends at Time+Tide cooked up with Studio Underd0g in 2024 started life as an April Fools’ joke the year before. Then, they turned into a very real, very tasteful, and very successful collaboration. They toured the world through a series of pizza parties and finished with […] Visit Last Call For Pizza! Studio Underd0g And Time+Tide Serve Classic Cheese And Burnt Pepper0ni Pizzas to read the full article.

The Greatest Horological Masterpieces of All Time: the George Daniels Space Traveller is a Masterpiece of Horological Genius

A series of features identifying the most extraordinary mechanical masterpieces in history, blending precision, innovation, and craftsmanship. We all have our favourite timepieces either in our collection or those incredible horological masterpieces that have been invented or created through the ages. This series will showcase examples from the previous centuries up to the present day and look at the importance and impact on modern day timekeeping.  The ‘Space Traveller’ was conceived as a timepiece to honour the astronauts that George Daniels admired. He was determined that his watch would be one that could be theoretically used by an astronaut, therefore he set out to make a watch that displayed, simultaneously, mean-solar and sidereal time. “When I was a boy, going to the moon was the stuff of science fiction. The astronauts who went were brave chaps, the technology was the most advanced in the world and if the opportunity presented itself, I would have liked to have gone with them.” George Daniels, Master Watchmaker George Daniels made some of the most important watches in his lifetime, fusing together art, science and engineering. Every part of the two Space Traveller watches were hand-made by Daniels (except for the springs and the glass) and represented the pinnacle of independent watchmaking at the time. This practice, known as the ‘Daniels Method’ was taken on by his apprentice Roger W. Smith, today a highly acclaimed independent watchmaker in his ...

Introducing – MeisterSinger’s New Panthero Jumping Hour Collection

Who doesn’t know MeisterSinger…? If you are into watches, with just a superficial interest, the name surely rings a bell: it’s a single-handed watch! Founded in Münster in 2001, the brand decided to build its identity around the idea that time doesn’t need to be dissected into seconds and minutes. By returning to the single-hand […]

Inclusive Exclusive Watchmaking - What’s It All About?

You can be a fan of Van Gogh while knowing you will never, ever have one of his works hanging on your wall. Can you be a fan of watches while being aware that you can’t afford the objects of your desire? Yes, you can, but only if you can let go of the concept […] Visit Inclusive Exclusive Watchmaking - What’s It All About? to read the full article.

The Best JDM Seiko Watches And Their Modern Alternatives

As we all well know by now, the watch-collecting hobby can get hyper-specific. Today, I am wading into the weeds of one of the most highly specialized sub-genres of the Seiko collecting universe, that of Japanese Domestic Market pieces from the brand, which I will be referring to here on out as JDM Seikos. Down below, I’m going to walk you through, first and foremost, what the term JDM Seiko actually means, then get into the most universally coveted models, and similar watches that you can more easily find in the brand’s international repertoire. [toc-section heading="JDM Seikos vs. “Japanese-Made”Seikos"] Image: Provenance Watches Given that Seiko is one of Japan’s most significant and historic watchmakers, you might be asking, as you find yourself here in this section, “Seiko is a Japanese brand, so aren’t all Seikos Japanese-Made?” As with most things, the answer is not as straightforward as the question. If we were to base our answer on the framework dictated by the U.S. Trade Commission standards, any watch that has a movement assembled in Japan is good enough to be considered Japanese-made. This casts a pretty wide net. Japan, on the other hand, follows the more rigorous parameters set by the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum). Based on APEC standards, a watch movement and dial components must be assembled in Japan to rightfully claim “Japanese Made” status. Across its catalog, if Seiko can rightly claim the “Japanese Made” label ...

Audemars Piguet’s Latest Gen Perpetual Open-Worked or All-Ceramic

Audemars Piguet (AP) debuts a trio of new perpetuals calendars, led by the first open-worked version of brand’s cutting edge perpetual calendar launched last year with the skeleton cal. 7139 inside the Code 11.59 and Royal Oak. And rounding out the trio is the first all-ceramic Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar powered by the cal. 7138. Initial Thoughts The open-worked version of AP’s latest-generation perpetual calendar movement arguably does most justice to a clever movement that is one of the most notable such movements on the market. While there was little visual difference between solid-dial versions of AP’s new perpetual calendars and the preceding versions, the open-worked examples are less similar, at least up close, as the perpetual calendar works are so clearly different. The new open-work dial givers owners a look at what is going on under the hood as they adjust the calendar, which I see as a significant value add given the unusual and innovative mechanics. While AP could have been more daring, the last year’s crop of Royal Oak Perpetuals were good looking watches. The new pair, in both Code 11.59 and Royal Oak formats, look nearly identical from an arms length to their predecessors. The open-worked models are mostly monochrome, the Code 11:59 is rhodium-plated white gold with a black ceramic mid-case while the Royal Oak is titanium with polished Palladium 500 bulk-metallic glass (BMG) accents and rose gold dial furniture. Neither break new ground for the b...

Masterpieces of Modernism: Swatch Debuts Guggenheim Collaboration

Having previously collaborated with almost every major art museum in the world, from MoMA to the Louvre, Swatch has licensed four masterpieces of 20th-century art from the Guggenheim, including works on display in New York and Venice. Accessibly priced, non-limited and available online, the Swatch x Guggenheim collection brings works from Monet, Degas, Klee, and Pollock to a wrist near you. Initial thoughts Painted dials have a long history in watchmaking, but the difficult nature of the work meant that for most of history they remained out of reach for all but the wealthiest clientele. While hand-painted dials are vanishingly rare and breathtakingly expensive, modern production methods mean that legendary masterpieces can now be easily scaled down and mass produced. Swatch was a pioneer in this regard, introducing its first artist collaboration with Kiki Picasso in 1985, just two years after the company launched its revolutionary plastic watch. The Picasso collaboration was the first of many, and since then there’s hardly a major art museum that hasn’t licensed selected works to Swatch. The works selected for this collaboration come from two different Guggenheim collections. Three of them are famously on display at the Guggenheim New York, while the fourth may be seen at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. The odd-looking double-length seconds hand is an homage to this transatlantic duality. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. Functionally, the four quar...

Hands-On With The Christopher Ward C60 Clipper GMT

Mention Pan Am to watch fans, and the first association that comes to mind is the iconic Rolex GMT-Master. It has become one of the watch world’s most popular stories, always reflected in the classic travel watch with its red and blue “Pepsi” bezel. But apart from a watch created for Pan Am pilots to […] Visit Hands-On With The Christopher Ward C60 Clipper GMT to read the full article.

All love, no deuces: here are 6 of the best tennis-inspired watches

With the Australian Open currently underway we've got tennis on our minds, so here's a guide to some of the best tennis-inspired watches.The post All love, no deuces: here are 6 of the best tennis-inspired watches appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The Greatest Horological Masterpieces of All Time: the Omega Speedmaster is Still Out of This World

A series of features identifying the most extraordinary mechanical masterpieces in history, blending precision, innovation, and craftsmanship. We all have our favourite timepieces either in our collection or those incredible horological masterpieces that have been invented or created through the ages. This series will showcase examples from the previous centuries up to the present day and look at the importance and impact on modern day timekeeping.  In the early 1960s, NASA realised astronauts needed reliable, tough wristwatches for space missions, especially for tasks outside the spacecraft like on the Moon. So, NASA secretly bought several chronograph-type watches off the shelf. They tested watches from Omega, Rolex, Longines-Wittnauer, and perhaps a few others under extreme conditions. “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its 5-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” These were the immortal words of Captain James T. Kirk, of the Star Ship Enterprise, played by William Shatner, in the hugely popular series, Star Trek, first broadcast in 1966. Today we are still fascinated with space travel and the extraordinary developments that have impacted on all of our lives since Mankind first set foot on the Moon on the 21st July 1969.  It is often stated that the technology that took Apollo 11 astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Mic...

The ABCs of Time – Watches Designed to Withstand the Most Extreme Conditions, From the Deepest Oceans to Outer Space

Let’s be honest, virtually no one who buys a Rolex Submariner or any 300m dive watch actually dives below 50 metres. In fact, the majority of dive watch owners today rarely, if ever, engage in diving. Most serious scuba divers use wrist computers, so traditional dive watches are often fashion statements as watch enthusiasts like […]