28,015 articles · 176 videos found · page 348 of 940
Monochrome
When talking about the Speedmaster, most watch enthusiasts will immediately think about “The One”, the legendary Moonwatch Professional model. An evolution of the concept launched in 1957, the first watch worn on the Moon, and the only watch ever approved for NASA’s missions to the Moon, this iconic watch is only one element of a vast collection […]
Hodinkee
What We Know Say goodbye to oval subdials—Omega just announced a complete refresh of the brand's midsize Speedmaster 38mm collection. In total, there are seven new models replacing the outgoing lineup. The black-dialed variant, ref 324.30.38.50.01.002, draws on the look of the classic Moonwatch. 324.30.38.50.04.001 324.30.38.50.02.003 If the previous generation of the Speedmaster 38mm took a more luxe, fashion-forward approach, the new design language returns to form with more Moonwatch-adjacent styling. Not only are the oval subdials gone, but the bezel also takes a more traditional turn with a classic wide insert. The Moonwatch reference is even more pointed with the inclusion of the dot-over-ninety numbering on the insert's tachymeter, as well as an updated bracelet that feels like a shrunken-down version of the current five-link Moonwatch bracelet, down to the clasp with Omega's "comfort release" micro-adjust system that offers two positions and 2.3mm of adjustment. Across the board, the new refresh also sees a cleaned-up dial with less printed text and an applied Omega logo at 12 o'clock. Across the seven new variations, three are set in steel—a matte black Moonwatch-like dial with a black aluminum insert (and no date window at six o'clock), a glossy lacquered white dial with blue ceramic bezel insert (not too far off from the Milano Cortina edition we saw released last October), and a silver dial with a grey aluminum bezel insert and PVD-coated Sedna Gold hands...
Fratello
Every once in a while, I come across a great watch that makes me think, “Ah, yes, how could I forget about this release?” Multiple watches are released every day. Some get dedicated events, while others are subject to massive hype on social media. Many releases, however, don’t get the attention they deserve right from […] Visit Silent Sleepers: The Best Watch Releases No One Talks About to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
You know, I actually wasn’t going to write about this watch. An $18,000 vintage inspired dive watch from a brand that doesn’t hold a ton of personal relevance to me was just not super high on my list of priorities as Geneva Watch Days prep is now in full swing (this time next week, I will be surviving on CHF 10 Coke Zeros). But, over the weekend the collective watch internet kind of lost its mind over the new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 70th Anniversary Limited Edition, so I shifted my to-do list around a bit and, well, here we are. Of course, there have been a lot of memes and jokes about this watch sharing a certain similarity to the Seiko 62MAS and the many, many reinterpretations and reissues of that watch over the years. I’m frankly less interested in those aesthetic similarities than I am in the very conceit of this watch, what it illuminates about Blancpain, and the way it fits into the neverending conversation around price sensitivity that we’ve been having for months as we see MSRPs shoot higher and higher. But what I’ll say about the appearance of the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 70th Anniversary Limited Edition is simply that, at this point, 70 years on from the advent of this type of watch, I don’t think any brand really owns the aesthetic identity of something so generic. Lots and lots of watches from all kinds of brands look like this, just like lots and lots of watches look like a Speedmaster, or a Calatrava. The design tropes of these wat...
Monochrome
Small changes can go a long way, but when a watch goes from bracelet-only (sort of) to a leather strap, it can go a very long way. Especially when said watch is a true pioneer in the field, with historical relevance and iconic design importance. Sounds like a bold claim, but when it comes to the […]
Worn & Wound
Are you afraid of the dark? No, really—it’s one of the most common phobias and for good reason. The dark represents the unknown, the impossible, and the very idea of danger. And while that uncertainty often leads to an understandable (and innately biological) fear reaction, it also makes the dark exciting beyond measure. Why else would we send divers down to the crushingly dark abyss of the deep ocean? New York City-based microbrand Wren has taken that question head on, and turned it into a dive piece that embodies the environment it’s inspired by: The Wren Diver One Abyss. The single most striking thing about the Abyss is, of course, its namesake. The dial is black, with a black bezel, but it’s not a “normal” black; instead, Wren has made use of the Koyo Orient Japan-derived Musou Black water-based acrylic paint that absorbs 99.4% of visible light. Unlike other such “superblack” paints, like the infamous Vantablack, Musou Black is commercially available, and while it’s not quite as dark as the former, it bears a lot of similarities in composition. Koyo keeps the full breakdown close to their proverbial chest, but basically, what makes it “darker than dark” is its ability to bounce light back out, giving the human eye nothing to latch onto. This makes the color read as bottomless, giving it a strange, disconcerting “depth”, which Wren furthers by using a sandwich construction method for the markings and indexes (additionally coated with Super-Lumi...
Hodinkee
It's hard to believe that Geneva Watch Days, a watch fair that began in 2020 with fewer than 20 participating brands, now welcomes 68 watchmakers for its seventh edition. Taking place September 2-6, Geneva Watch Days has grown into one of the year's most jam-packed watch events, with brand presentations and launches spread across the city. Unlike traditional watch fairs like Watches and Watchers, Geneva Watch Days is decentralized, meaning that brands will present their latest creations at individual showrooms and locations across the city, rather than at one shared venue. At the center of the action is the Rotonde du Mont-Blanc, along the shores of Lake Geneva, where the event's Main Pavilion and Blue Box exhibition space will serve as central gathering points. The Pavilion will host discussions on the broader watch industry, while the Blue Box will showcase a curated selection of watches from different maisons in a themed exhibition. Five of the event's eight founding brands (Breitling, Bulgari, De Bethune, Girard-Perregaux, and MB&F;) will participate this year. They'll be joined by a diverse lineup of watchmakers, from major players like Zenith to independents such as Greubel Forsey, Ming, and Laurent Ferrier, many of whom will present new launches. On Thursday, there will also be a charity auction held by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo. The sale's profits will help provide scholarships for students of Switzerland's oldest watchmaking school, École d'Horloge...
Monochrome
The tourbillon, one of the most fascinating technical devices created, remains today a technical challenge that often comes at a cost. And when it comes to centrally positioned tourbillons, the landscape becomes even narrower. Only a handful of watches, mostly from independent watchmakers or high-end brands, feature this specific regulator: Omega (the first on the […]
Time+Tide
For one of its most recent releases, the Thai-based brand turned to forged carbon, developing the Wise ADAMASCUS A8.1 Forged Carbon Diver.
Fratello
This summer, I finally realized a lifelong dream — owning a Rolex GMT-Master II. More specifically, I always wanted Rolex’s famous pilot and traveler’s watch with a red-and-blue bezel. As fate would have it, I bought mine the same year Rolex discontinued that configuration from the current catalog. That decision didn’t influence my purchase, though. […] Visit Why I Bought The Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 16710 to read the full article.
SJX Watches
The Roger Dubuis (RD) Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar is something of a bridge across eras for RD, combining the brand’s seminal biretrograde calendar format with the 2000s-era Excalibur case, executed in RD’s current lavishly layered house style. The revised perpetual calendar module brings plenty of haute horlogerie finishing to the dial side, and should prove more reliable than past iterations as well. Initial thoughts The Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual is a new model, but it feels like a watch that has always been around, combining several familiar Roger Dubuis elements. Chief among them is the biretrograde format, which has been a staple of the brand since its founding era. When the Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar debuted last year, we speculated that a perpetual version was likely in the pipeline, and we didn’t have to wait long to find out. In terms of design, it’s pure RD through and through. The brand has offered glimpses of a return to its roots — the Hommage La Placide was well-received by neo-vintage enthusiasts — but it’s clear the brand remains committed to this bolder, more flamboyant vision of haute horlogerie that it has been championing since the launch of the Excalibur in 2005, albeit at a smaller size. Of course, the design won’t appeal to everyone, but that might be a good thing. Taste convergence favours the classics, but the polarising Excalibur aesthetic will appeal to those who appreciate traditional watchmaking but are ...
Monochrome
For those with a passion for mechanics, like surely many us have, there’s something magical about seeing a watch movement run. Seeing a whole bunch of minuscule parts working in perfect harmony to tell time, and well beyond just the passing of hours, minutes and seconds, just never gets old. With the vast majority of […]
Fratello
There are watches named after places, people, and the animals their designers admired on long-ago fishing trips. And then there is the Ollech & Wajs Early Bird, a watch named after a satellite. I liked this watch so much that I bought the re-edition. I have a bit of a long-term fascination with the Swiss […] Visit Spending Time With The New Ollech & Wajs Early Bird EB-24 to read the full article.
Fratello
Good morning, and welcome to another Sunday Morning Showdown. Blancpain surprised us this week with a vintage reissue of its 1968 Bathyscaphe. The 37.4mm case of the new Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 70th Anniversary features a sunburst dial and faux patina, while there’s a ceramic bezel insert and a modern automatic movement inside. Of course, Blancpain […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 70th Anniversary Vs. Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 38 to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Keychron 100-Key Macropad When I first saw this keypad, I really couldn’t figure out what it would be used for. Besides the alphabet, a few punctuation keys, and numerals 0–9, that still left about 50-odd keys for…what exactly? Cyrillic? Hebrew? Georgian scripts? Well, dear reader, I got it all wrong. It’s much cooler than that. Keychron’s new C100 8K is a 10-by-10 custom macropad, meaning nearly every key can be assigned to a shortcut, command, or macro. For most of us, yes, that is probably overkill. But for video editors, photographers, programmers, and even gamers, this big ass keypad can be customized around whatever commands they use most. I sort of think I’d look like Homer Simpson at the power plant trying to use this thing, but then again I’m just a simple writer and quite attached to good ol’ QWERTY. Amaran Desktop Mic If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I never shut up. And if I have something to brag about, I never shut up about that either. So when a couple weeks ago, I was interviewed for The Times radio in London, it was all I could talk about (hell, it’s my profile picture on LinkedIn even!). The interview went well enough, ...
Teddy Baldassarre Videos
Today in-store we have Devin Stone of the popular YouTube Channel, LegalEagle. However, there is a twist with today's Watch Shopping Episode. Instead of shopping for a new piece for himself, Devin is looking to reward thre hardworking members of his team. Follow along to see what watches he ends up choosing!
Monochrome
Following up on our recent ABCs of Time article on the history of watch bracelets, we turn our attention to clasps, which are much more than simple closures today. In fact, some of the best are R&D; marvels with intense engineering, CNC machining, extensive hand finishing and dozens of parts requiring extremely tight tolerances. The […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
We’ve worn both the Rolex Air-King 14000 and Explorer 14270. Here’s which understated Rolex we’d actually choose for everyday wear.
Monochrome
With such a name, it was just a matter of time before seeing travellers’ watches coming back to the Escale collection of Louis Vuitton – remember that escale is French for stopover. The inaugural version of this watch, first released in 2014 as a worldtimer featuring a highly distinctive dial with micro-painted flags, caused quite […]
Hodinkee
Earlier in April, right before the kickoff of Watches and Wonders, Swiss independent Sylvain Pinaud announced his third major creation since the founding of his workshop in 2018. First came his Monopoussoir Chronograph, then arguably the more recognizable time-only Origine series. This third entry in the collection is the pragmatically named Sylvain Pinaud Tourbillon—any guesses what complication this watch holds? I kid, but the new watches are an absolute treat to see and handle in person. Even though the intense wave of new releases from dozens of brands in Geneva may have quickly steered the online conversation away from these new watches toward Jubilee dials and Nautilus desk clocks, these watches did not go unnoticed by collectors. Thirty of them, to be precise. The Sylvain Pinaud Tourbillon was announced in three limited editions of ten pieces each, priced at CHF 180,000, and all three variants sold out within days. But before we get to the new watches, you might be asking what the situation is with the watchmaker these days, given that every decently well-known high-end independent watchmaker seems never to struggle with demand. That's pretty much the case here, too. Long story short, Pinaud and his team of 8 produce around 25 watches per year, and the Origine series has been fully allocated through its planned run through 2027. Given the sell-out of the Tourbillon and the sunsetting of the Origine, it kind of sounds like there isn't much to offer a prospective ...
Worn & Wound
Ahead of the launch of the new stone dial editions of Maen’s Manhattan 37 Ultra-Thin, I got to test drive the Obsidian Snowflake variation. This was my first time seeing one of the models from the collection in the metal in addition to previewing one of the new dial materials. While stone dials have been used in watchmaking for decades and aren’t an entirely novel trend, I do feel they’ve been a bit overdone. However, I tried to put aside my eye roll for yet another stone dial and appreciate what’s interesting about these particular executions. So, here are my hot takes after going hands on. First off, I have to give the brand credit for the choice of the stones for the collection, which are relatively unique. Instead of the typical trifecta of tiger’s eye, lapis lazuli, and malachite, Maen has opted for onyx, golden swan, and obsidian snowflake. While onyx is another mainstay, you can’t go wrong with the classic look of an all-black dial, this time with a stone twist. Moving on, I’ll admit even as the resident woo-woo girl, I was not too familiar with golden swan. Even though I didn’t see this one in person, the photos look gorgeous – the mix of rust and black give the same versatile look as your go-to tortoise shell sunglasses. This variant seems like it would literally go with everything and make a great daily wear. Saving the obsidian snowflake for last, this stone is perhaps the most artful and offbeat of the lot. If you’re a person who loves neutr...
Monochrome
Twelve on Time is a conversation series that invites leading personalities from the watch industry to step beyond their work and speak more personally about their relationship with time, creativity, and craft. Through a set of twelve questions, the column aims to lift the veil on both the individual and their perspective on watchmaking – […]
Monochrome
Customisation or unique pieces are nothing new in the Swiss watch industry, but are usually reserved for high horology or smaller ateliers, necessitating a level of flexibility that more established and mainstream brands can hardly achieve. That said, we had the opportunity to go hands-on with a unique piece recently that, besides its intrinsic singularity […]
Fratello
If you don’t like what you see, ask the maker to make something just for you. That’s sort of the principle behind bespoke watches. And all the historical high-end watchmakers have plenty of experience with that because custom-made timepieces are exactly how the watchmaking industry started centuries ago. Creating one-of-a-kind timepieces for demanding customers is […] Visit Bespoke One-Of-A-Kind And Off-Catalog Watches: A Story As Old As Time to read the full article.
Fratello
Another Friday, another list! This week, we follow up on last week’s list that was based on a discussion we had on Fratello Talks three weeks ago. In that episode, Robert-Jan, Nacho, and I discussed the ultimate decade for watches. RJ and I chose the ’90s as our favorite because new technology significantly improved overall […] Visit The Top 5 Omega Models From The 1990s to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Blancpain is marking the 70th anniversary of its lesser-known dive watch with the 1960s-inspired Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe. With a faithful 37.4 mm steel case and high-end movement, the Bathyscaphe will likely be welcomed by collectors who have been waiting for a more compact Fifty Fathoms. Initial thoughts Blancpain has an unusually rich history of producing dive watches — the Fifty Fathoms dates to 1953 and introduced the now-ubiquitous rotating dive bezel at roughly the same time as the Rolex Submariner. Blancpain’s early divers were commercial products aimed at military customers — then the only sizable market for such watches. That changed in 1956, when growing consumer interest in diving led to the release of the Bathyscaphe. This historic name was reborn in 2013, but the contemporary interpretation of the line was a significant aesthetic departure from the look of the original 1950s and 1960s models. Somewhat confusingly, Blancpain is marking the 70th anniversary of the Bathyscaphe with an homage to a 1968 model. Timeline aside, the anniversary edition features a period-correct 37.4 mm case and beige Super-LumiNova to capture the aged look of surviving originals. The arrow-tipped running seconds hand is another charming detail that reproduces the original look to good effect. During the 1950s and 1960s, Blancpain waffled between serif and sans-serif wordmarks, and the brand has opted for the latter for the anniversary edition. To my eye it strikes just the rig...
Worn & Wound
In the span of six short years, independent brand Studio Underd0g has positioned itself as a leader in the contemporary British watchmaking wave. Founded by designer Richard Benc in 2020, the brand quickly made a name for itself in the industry with an irreverent and cheeky style that adds a refreshing spin to the sometimes stodgy business of watch design. Studio Underd0g pairs unique colors with quality finishing while “reject[ing] all that needs to go, like stuffiness, pomposity, and the reluctance to try anything new.” The 02SERIES brings together that fun-loving spirit and the brand’s commitment to boundary-pushing innovation. This summer’s release of Gen2 – the second iteration of the field watch collection – makes meaningful improvements to a fan-favorite. Studio Underd0g’s 02SERIES offers a modern take on the famous Dirty Dozen – a group of twelve watch brands tasked by the British Ministry of Defence to create a field watch for military-issue during the last half of World War II. Chief among a long list of specifications the brands had to meet, the watches were to be tough, reliable, and highly legible. Nearly all field watches today pull their aesthetic from the form-factor popularized by the Dirty Dozen, and I was curious to find out what Studio Underd0g could offer apart from the typical iterations so often seen in this space. After a week on the wrist, I can say that the 02SERIES (Gen2) is unlike any field watch I’ve encountered before and is ...
Monochrome
To say that the PRX collection by Tissot is wide would be a genuine understatement… The range is vast, comprising classic automatic versions, quartz models, several sizes (40mm, 38mm, 35mm and even 25mm recently), standard steel editions, but also unexpected materials (titanium, damascuss steel, carbon) and all the colours you can imagine. And here, I’m […]
Hodinkee
What We Know Today, Czapek has lifted the curtain on a new limited-edition addition to its Promenade line of everyday dress watches. The Czapek Promenade Transparencies "Aqua Blue" expands on a design motif first introduced with the Fratello x Czapek Promenade Transparencies "Veridian Green," this time applying the Transparency concept to a wholly in-house-devised model. Here, the "Veridian Green" sapphire-gradient dial has been swapped for a similar "Aqua Blue" variant, with the fumé effect achieved through a special metallization process in which small dots of metallic coating are applied to a sapphire disc. The dots themselves — which measure just eight microns each — are laid out in varying density to achieve the gradient effect, which radiates out from the small seconds subdial at 4:30. Unlike the Fratello limited edition, which had applied markers, the Promenade Transparencies "Aqua Blue" uses light blue 3D Super-LumiNova markers, which match the lume on the handset. Visible through the translucent dial is the SXH7, a skeletonized take on Czapek's in-house SXH5 micro-rotor automatic caliber. The SXH5 was first launched by the brand in 2020, and now finds itself at the heart of a number of watches in the Czapek lineup, including the Antarctique and, as the SXH5.1, in the solid dial Promenade. The SXH7, which is visible from both directions, is handsome, with plenty of modern, somewhat industrial touches (like sandblasted plates) and enough handcraft to keep tradi...
Worn & Wound
Just ahead of Geneva Watch Days, we see the debut of a new haute horlogerie brand, brought to us in part by Wei Koh, founder of Revolution and the Rake, and a longtime fixture in the watch media landscape. The new brand, Legare, was founded by Koh and Guillaume Tetu, a watch industry veteran who counts Hautlence as well as TAG Heuer and Ralph Lauren on his resume. Koh and Tetu are incredibly well connected professionally, and the first watch out of the gate for Legare reflects that particularly well – this is the product of a lot of collaboration between many partners, and has plenty of pure watch nerd DNA in its inspiration as well. The brand’s first watch is the Chapter 1 AGP Inverted, and takes inspiration from a rare pocket watch made by Albert-Gustave Piguet, who would ultimately become well known in the watch industry for his work on the Lemania 2310 caliber. But the watch that Legare credits with shaping the Chapter 1 is a pocket watch he created while a student at the Vallee de Joux School of Watchmaking in 1932, when he was just 17 years old. That watch featured two large split bi-metallic balance wheels, whose rates were averaged by a differential. According to Legare, only six total examples of this pocket watch were completed. Legare’s conceit in making the Chapter 1 is essentially an answer to the hypothetical question of what if Piguet’s idea behind this movement had continued to evolve? This is an entirely original movement architecture (and diff...
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