Hodinkee
Introducing: Ressence TYPE 9 ARM ‘Scattering Sun’ with The Armoury
The brand's thinnest watch meets The Armoury's love of a classic twist.
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Hodinkee
The brand's thinnest watch meets The Armoury's love of a classic twist.
SJX Watches
Seiko adds a new limited-edition to its line of affordable dress watch with the Presage Classic Series Upcycled Leather Strap that sports knurled bezel, golden-brown gradient dial, and with a leather strap made from shoe leather offcuts supplied by Regal, a Japanese shoemaker best known for its leather dress shoes. Initial Thoughts Though strange on the surface, the Seiko Presage and Regal tie-up makes sense. Both are affordable, solid offerings in their respective segments, and also distinctly Japanese. Notably, Regal is launching the saddle shoes that produced the offcuts later this week. The watch itself is a good looking iteration of Seiko’s familiar entry-level dress watch. The bezel and smoked dial are a pleasing combination that set this apart from most Presage models. Seiko didn’t mention the impetus for this collaboration in press materials; I suspect geography was a part. Regal builds its top of the line shoes in the town of Morioka, near Morioka Seiko Instruments, the heart of Seiko’s domestic mechanical watch production. That proximity lends a lot of authenticity to the collaboration for me, and I wish it were part of Seiko’s messaging, though I understand most consumers don’t care. At the same time, Regal is little known outside Japan, but its shoes are a fixture in major Japanese department stores. The transient nature of leather straps is arguably a shortcoming in watches like the new Presage, or the Kodo Constant Force Tourbillon at the other en...
Monochrome
Last year, for Watches & Wonders 2024, Grand Seiko introduced a rather important new model – well, a pair of models, to be precise, with the Birch Bark SLGW003 and SLGW002. A new member in the Evolution 9 family, it was the first to be categorised as thin and elegant, but also came with something […]
Worn & Wound
There’s a style of watch that I’ve grown particularly fond of over the last few years, and I sometimes find it hard to articulate why. The high end, exotic independent on a rubber strap calls to me like the Sirens. There’s something about the mix of high and low that appeals to me, I think, as it does with everything else I like, from Monty Python to the films of Bong Joon-ho. I also just find a good rubber strap to be one of the most comfortable ways to wear a watch, particularly (but not exclusively) in the warm weather months. And so I’ve nursed a years-long appreciation for Hublot (who basically invented this idea) and have a watch box disproportionately tilted to watches that give me the same feeling (a pair of Arcanauts, and a Bel Canto that lives on rubber year round spring to mind). It should not be surprising, then, that MB&F;’s EVO line has become a personal favorite. The EVO series of watches take Legacy Machine pieces (conceived as MB&F;’s collection inspired by classical watchmaking) and give them a sporty treatment, replacing leather straps with rubber, and adding water resistance and screw down crowns. It makes a ton of sense to create “everyday wear” versions of these watches (if you’re spending into the six figures on these pieces, I imagine you’d want to wear them more frequently, right?) and making them more casual and sporty in appearance is such a natural idea it’s almost hard to believe these haven’t existed from the beginning. N...
Monochrome
While the name Gérald Genta (1931-2011) is associated with some of the most successful and enduring watch designs of the 20th century, the designer also expressed his creativity through his own brand, Gerald Charles. Following the designer’s death, the Gerald Charles brand was revived by Federico Zivani. Inspired by an idiosyncratic case designed by Gérald […]
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Ehm ... so is this unofficially official? Omega JUST announced their new brand ambassador and it happesn to be one of the top contenders for playing the next James Bond :-D!
SJX Watches
On the ninth episode of the SJX Podcast, SJX and Brandon Moore sit down to discuss recent watch launches during Geneva Watch Days, highlighting standout pieces like the hand-made Ferdinand Berthoud (the first of which will be sold at auction) and the Berneron annual calendar, and also reflecting on the flavours of the day like artisanal finishing and user-friendly calendar watches. Also on the docket, the record-setting Patek Philippe 1518 in steel returns to auction while a second is up for private sale, and reflecting on our reassuring recent encounter with Breguet’s new chief executive. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Youtube.
SJX Watches
Behrens teams up with Vianney Halter for the bold, electric meter-inspired KWH Watch, in white or rose gold. A unit of measurement for electricity, KWH is short for “kilowatt-hour” and refers to the electric meter inspiration for the design. The extremely dense movement combines the brand’s chain-driven hour display with rotating minute and power reserve cylinders, and a surprise on the back. It also represents a new frontier for the Chinese brand, as its most expensive offering yet. Initial Thoughts While Behrens’ watches do not always appeal to me aesthetically, I think the brand is an ideal champion for Chinese watchmaking. Unlike some brands marketing Chinese-built watches to global enthusiasts, Behrens is Chinese owned and operated. The brand’s founder, Lin Bingqiang, cut his teeth making parts and custom modules in Shenzhen for brands down in Hong Kong before starting Behrens in 2012. An exploded view of the 870 part movement. Many Chinese manufacturers excel at the engineering and manufacturing side, but have weak soft skills and lack vision. Behrens is strong on all fronts, and this is the brand’s most ambitious, and expensive, project yet. The brand may be over-reliant on computer-generated imagery, but I can confirm these watches are real, functional, and doing the rounds at Geneva Watch Week. Case On the heels of a collaboration with Konstantin Chaykin, Vianney Halter’s partnership is now with Behrens. This comes only days after Mr Halter’s coll...
Monochrome
Launched in 2015, the Pioneer collection has become H. Moser & Cie’s vision of an everyday watch: robust yet elegant, refined yet versatile, and water-resistant to 120m. Alongside it, the brand has also explored original ways of displaying time, like the Flying Hours, introduced in 2018 in the Endeavour line and marking Moser’s entry into […]
Monochrome
The year 1969 is etched in Zenith’s history as the birth of El Primero, the world’s first high-frequency automatic chronograph calibre. It was also the debut year of the Defy, a rugged sports watch nicknamed the “vault” for its robust construction and avant-garde angular design. Over the past few years, Zenith has revisited these late-1960s […]
Monochrome
What follows is not just the story of a watch, but also that of an extraordinary project – the Naissance d’une montre 3 or Birth of a Watch 3 in English. The Naissance d’une Montre started as a collaborative initiative launched in 2009 by the Time Æon Foundation to preserve and transmit traditional watchmaking techniques. […]
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Monochrome
Earthen Company is a new brand for 2025, based in Hong Kong and founded by watch enthusiasts. As co-founder Johnathan Chan (also one of the co-founders of the Horology Club) puts it, “We’re collectors and designers first, not watchmakers.” The emphasis is on modern materials with a retro vibe, so the team designed a trio […]
SJX Watches
Launched last year as a concept watch of sorts – and the brand’s first-ever chronograph – the Nano Foudroyante now joins Greubel Forsey’s regular production catalogue, albeit in a small-run limited edition as is convention for the brand. The new Nano Foudroyante retains all of the key elements of the original Experimental Watch Technology (EWT) version – we examined that watch in-depth earlier this year – including the miniaturised lightning seconds mounted on the tourbillon cage. The design also remains the same, but gains colour in the form of a blued seconds scale and blued steel hands, while the case is now entirely in white gold. Initial thoughts The Nano Foudroyante is essentially a cosmetic variation on the original, but it looks notably different, though it feels the same; the watch is dense, heavy, and clearly high quality. The blue accents and faux-fabric rubber strap give the sort of informal, but not quite sporty, appearance that is popular today. In contrast, the original EWT version of the watch was old-school complicated watchmaking in its monochromatic grey-and-silver livery. The two versions still look pretty similar, however, and I would have hoped Greubel Forsey did more to set this apart from the EWT version. Alternatively the EWT iteration could have been made more radical or extreme, which is not a bridge too far for a “experimental” limited edition. That said, the watch is still technically impressive with its novel approach to the fo...
Monochrome
Scrolling through Arnold & Son’s portfolio reveals a neat mix of classical watchmaking codes and contemporary touches across all collections. One of the finest examples is the DSTB 42, which reveals its jumping seconds mechanism smack-bang on the dial. That’s also the reasoning behind its name, by the way, as DSTB refers to Dial Side […]
Teddy Baldassarre
Watches differ widely not only in their designs, materials, and functions but also in their ability to resist the detrimental effects of water and moisture. Some watch enthusiasts, especially those who wear their timepieces for diving, know exactly what they're looking for in terms of waterproofing, but many others might be unsure exactly how safe it is to wear their watch in the swimming pool or even to wash the car. What do watches' water-resistance ratings like 5 ATM or 10 ATM mean in the real world, and how exactly do industry terms like "bars" and "atmospheres" help you determine how waterproof your watch is? Here we address some commonly asked questions about water resistance in watches and break down what the most common depth ratings mean in practical terms. What was the first water-resistant watch? Since the invention of the wristwatch, watchmakers have been coming up with solutions to address an inconvenient reality: namely, that water and tiny mechanical parts, such as those inside a watch movement, simply do not mix. The technical challenge of making a portable timepiece that could withstand exposure to water became even more prominent in the mid-20th Century, with the rise of diving as a tactical and eventually also a recreational pursuit. The first innovator to seriously take up the gauntlet was Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf, who developed the now-famous Oyster case in 1926. Its groundbreaking design combined a threaded, hermetically sealed caseback and a cro...
Worn & Wound
Albishorn has accomplished quite a bit in its first year. It was around this time in 2024 that we were introduced to the brand through a collaboration with Wiiliam Massena. The Maxigraph introduced the tantalizing concept of the brand in an easily digestible way: these would be “imaginary vintage” watches inspired by alternate versions of watch history. It’s a clever spin on the well understood and perhaps overused idea of the “vintage inspired” watch that allows for a great deal more creativity and whimsy. Zach Weiss recently reviewed the Albishorn Type 10 and was impressed with both the execution and concept behind the piece. The new Marinagraph, available in two versions, is the next iteration of the Albishorn project. On its surface, this is a chronograph inspired by the classic regatta timer. And, in some ways, it’s exactly that. But of course Albishorn has crafted a much more interesting story behind the Marinagraph, which is based on telling the “untold chapter in the evolution of the skin diver chronograph.” Albishorn says that the Marinagraph story starts with the 1958 running of the America’s Cup, the sailing competition that was first contested in 1851. The 1958 race was the first one after a period of dormancy, and introduced 12-Meter class yachts to the competition, which represented a significant advancement in technology to the sport, carrying sailing into a new, modern era. The Marinagraph is a watch that might have accompanied the cre...
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SJX Watches
Awarded annually by the Musée International d’Horlogerie (MIH), one of Switzerland’s leading timekeeping museums, the Prix Gaïa recognises individuals who have contributed to watchmaking in three categories. This year’s winner in the “History [and] Research” category is Dr Helmut Crott. Best known for having founded the eponymous auction house, Dr Crott is also an author, scholar, and former owner of Urban Jürgensen, amongst other roles. In 2021 he authored Le Cadran, an in-depth study of dials and dial making techniques of 20th century wristwatches. Le Cadran by Dr Helmut Crott Past winners of the Prix Gaïa include Reinhard Meis, Jonathan Betts, Pierre-Yves Donzé, Kathleen Pritschard, and Ludwig Oechslin, all scholars and authors who have contributed substantively to the body of knowledge in the field. Alongside Dr Crott, this year’s winners are Jean-Jacques Paolini for “Entrepreneurship”, and Roger W. Smith for “Craftsmanship [and] Creation”. As the successor to Georges Daniels’ brand of English watchmaking, Mr Smith now produces watches under his own name, with his achievements and timepieces well known. Jean-Jacques Paolini Mr Paolini, on the other hand, is less known outside the industry, but he is arguably most responsible for building the enterprise that’s the largest employer in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In 1980, Mr Paolini took over his family’s case and bracelet manufacturing business, developing its operations sufficiently that it was acq...
Monochrome
Roger Dubuis introduced the Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph in 2023, debuting it in a lightweight carbon case inspired by supercar engineering and embodying the brand’s vision of hyper horology – bold, expressive, and technically advanced watchmaking. Also in 2023, the Excalibur Spider Revuelto Flyback Chronograph was unveiled alongside the launch of the actual Lamborghini Revuelto. […]
Teddy Baldassarre
Here’s the headline: this summer, the namesake and flagbearer of the Glashütte watchmaking region, Glashütte Original, has opened its own, dedicated dial manufacture. You might be asking yourself, “I thought G.O. already did everything in-house, what’s the deal?” And while you would be right to ask, the basis of the question is also correct. Glashütte Original, while owned by Swatch Group, does, in fact, “do everything in-house,” or to be more specific: 95% of everything. However, up to this point, the dials for G.O. watches were made in a facility six hours away in Pforzheim. This move has brought production to a 5,000-plus-square-foot facility that is just a quick float down the babbling Muglitz River - 450 meters, to be exact. In a market where collectors are placing increasing importance on “in-house” everything, this is a big move for a company that has been preaching the Homemade Gospel from the Saxon hilltops for decades. Not only does this allow for more agile production timelines, but it increases G.O.’s production capabilities as a whole. G.O. brought me to Germany to see the new facility and to tour the full manufacture as well. In addition to the photos here, which won’t tell the full story, we also have a full video touring the manufacture. This sort of care for detail and attention to craftsmanship is deeply ingrained in the region, and in Glashütte Original as a brand. The people at this manufacture take the namesake very seriously...
Monochrome
In recent years, basically since the introduction of the ceramic bezel on the steel edition (the 116500LN), the Daytona has become the hottest watch in Rolex’s portfolio, but also remained a fairly conservative model, with a rather parsimonious use of colours. This hasn’t always been the case, though, and in the past, we’ve seen wild […]
Fratello
When people mention Pepsi in the watch world, they refer to the red and blue colors on a GMT or dive bezel. Rolex’s GMT-Master was the first watch with such a bezel, but Seiko also made numerous watches with red and blue bezels. In a surprising turn of events, Seiko has now launched two new […] Visit Introducing The Seiko 5 Sports × Pepsi Limited Editions - Are These The First Watches With Official Pepsi Bezels? to read the full article.
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Fratello
Whenever I see a MoonSwatch in the wild, and there are many of them, it’s likely no longer on its original strap. Many people have changed it out for something more comfortable, like a rubber or textile strap. I also wear my MoonSwatch on an aftermarket strap, because even though it’s easy to adjust, the […] Visit Hands-On With The Rubber MoonSwatch Strap On My Mission To Saturn to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
Any listing of the best world time watches on the market today is best prefaced by explaining the difference between this type of travel watch and the more common GMT watches category. Whereas a GMT watch is designed to simultaneously display the time in both a traveler's local time zone and his or her home time zone, a world-time watch allows its wearer to quickly glimpse the time in numerous other time zones across the world in addition to the local and home time, often in visually spectacular fashion with globe-themed dial designs. Here we've found 25 world-time watches that are worthy of your notice, with price tags ranging from eminently affordable (Tissot, Ball, Nomos) to exclusive and expensive (Breguet, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe). Unlike our roundup of GMTs, we didn't disqualify watches with additional complications but we did err on the side of watches more recently introduced to the market. And you'll be happy to discover a few of them that you can purchase directly from our online store. (In the case of the limited editions showcased here, some of which may now be available only on the secondary market, prices listed reflect the MSRP at the time of release.) A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone Price: On Request, Case size: 41.9mm, Thickness: 10.9mm, Lug Width: 22mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 30 meters, Movement: Manually Wound L121.3 The now-iconic Lange 1 has been the flagship of the reconstituted A. Lange & Söhne brand since its introdu...
Monochrome
For many, watchmaking is synonymous with Switzerland. While the Swiss industry remains influential, several other countries also play significant roles in the production of timepieces. Germany, Japan and China are obvious examples. But India, too, is increasingly important, both as a manufacturing hub and a growing market. At the heart of India’s watch industry is […]
Fratello
Every once in a while, a big box with Seiko watches arrives at the Fratello office. It contains the brand’s releases for the upcoming months and allows us to review and photograph them ahead of time. I still remember when I discovered the Seiko SPB317 in there, back in 2022. I immediately fell in love […] Visit From Homage to Heritage: Why I Traded My Seiko SPB317 for the 6105-8000 to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
There’s almost nothing you can say to convince me the latest MoonSwatch, the not so elegantly named Mission to Earthphase Moonshine Gold, is not the product of a ChatGPT prompt entered by a Swatch exec. Maybe it said “What should the next entry in our never ending profit squeezing machine that is the MoonSwatch collection be called?” I can imagine an artificial intelligence suggesting something as silly, and also reminding the good people at Swatch that blue, and gold, and Snoopy are all very critical design characteristics that should be included. Honestly, I hope AI is the culprit. I’d hate to think that human beings at a brand that I hold in such high regard are responsible for such a shallow mismatch of buzzwords and incoherent thematic elements. Let’s take stock of what we’re looking at here. This is a Bioceramic, quartz MoonSwatch much like all the others. It follows the original Earthphase model from last year and includes not just a moonphase complication, but an “Earthphase” that depicts the “phase” of the earth as seen from the moon. Useful? No. Whimsical? Perhaps. There are a lot of little details though that are a bit of a grab bag of prior elements of MoonSwatches and Speedmasters of the past. Most notably, Snoopy and Woodstock are depicted right on the dial, watching the cosmic dance play out in front of them. The moons on the moonphase indicator are MoonShine gold plated. The graphical inspiration for the moonphase complication is the...
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