3,476 articles · 11 videos found · page 36 of 117
Monochrome
What if you want to see as much as possible of a mechanical movement, without compromising the practicality of an automatic one? The simplest answer, sort of, is the micro-rotor automatic, of course. This neatly integrates a small winding mass into the movement, without obscuring it from view. It also challenges manufacturers to flex their […]
Quill & Pad
GaryG's thoughts have turned to one major system that is always there, but generally hidden from sight: the movement. Here are a few of his favorites and why. And in the philosophy of putting my money where my mouth is, these movements have appeared in one or more watches that he has owned personally.
Time+Tide
The Japanese movement powerhouse is well-known for its use in microbrands - but there's much more to it.The post The ultimate guide to Miyota’s history and most common movements appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Marketing material for the modern mechanical watch almost always includes a description of the movement’s frequency. You may have even sensed that the higher the frequency, the more accurate a movement gets. But is this entirely true? Find out here.
Deployant
After almost 30 years of absence, Manufacture France Ebauches returns to making mechanical movement manufacture under the auspices of the Festina Group.
Hodinkee
They range from 31mm to 41mm. We've got color changes and a new movement. But the best day-to-day improvement might just be the quick-adjust clasp.
Time+Tide
If you spend any time on the watch internet whatsoever, you’ll quickly become familiar with ETA and Sellita, eventually recognising Kenissi, Vaucher and others. While the big two manufacturers are responsible for most of the industry’s Swiss movement supply, with other smaller ones filling the gaps, notable manufacturers are often underappreciated. One such maker is … ContinuedThe post THE Plus are specialists in Swiss production, and could be the future of “in-house” movements appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Movement masters Agenhor have had their fingers in so many pies that one article can’t cover all of their unique takes on complications. We’ve already looked at their involvement with the likes of Arnold & Son and Harry Winston, and today explore their involvement with Fabergé, Hermès, MB&F;, Parmigiani Fleurier and Van Cleef & Arpels. … ContinuedThe post Agenhor, and the many movements of the Genevan complication masters (Part 2) appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
ETA now can operate freely in Switzerland's more competitive mechanical movement market, COMCO says.
Quill & Pad
One of IWC’s most emblematic timepieces, the Portugieser chronograph has been a cornerstone of the brand’s collection for many years. The Portugieser, which first appeared back in 1939, has not always been a bestseller. The truth is, IWC failed with three separate launches before the Portugieser finally became a success in the early 1990s. Sabine Zwettler shares a brief history of the Portugieser here and introduces the six new chronograph variations powered by an in-house movement.
SJX Watches
French startup Semper & Adhuc is making its debut with a familiar proposition: affordable, time-only watches, but with a historically conscious twist – each watch is powered by a homeless vintage movement. Also unusual is the fact that while the movements are Swiss, namely the A. Schild AS 1012, every other part of the watch, including case, dial, and hands, is made in France. The brand was started in 2016 by watchmaker Colin de Tonnac, who spent several years at Patek Philippe in Geneva before setting up Semper & Adhuc in Bordeaux. The inaugural line-up is made up of three minimalist watches with quirky details and form cases, but the most interesting bit is the slightly romantic rationale behind the movement inside. Saving abandoned movements All three models are powered by the same calibre, the hand-wound AS 1012 produced by A. Schild, a Grenchen-based movement maker that was once one of Switzerland’s largest. Produced from 1936 to 1960, the AS 1012 is an unusual movement because it is, or rather was, an oval form calibre destined for ladies’ watches, explaining the compact size of about 13 mm by 15 mm. It has 17 or 21 jewels depending on the version, and a 36-hour power reserve. Examples of the AS 1012 and its variants The AS 1012 was inexpensive and robust, making it popular enough that millions were produced. And after the Quartz Crisis, a good number of the movements – likely the majority of them – were in watches that were no longer desirable. That wa...
Quill & Pad
Loved the world over by collectors and watch brands alike, the Zenith El Primero has been keeping the world on time since 1969. And Rolex choosing to use the movement was high praise for Zenith indeed. The El Primero is still considered an exceptional chronograph to this day, and watchmaker Aston Tracy explains why.
Time+Tide
It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Zenith El Primero. The movement, an elegant, high-beat column-wheel chronograph, is impressive enough. It’s even more impressive when you factor in that this miniature engineering feat was the first automatic chronograph to be presented as a working prototype - after seven long years of development. Just as … ContinuedThe post The history of the Zenith El Primero – 6 moments that defined one of the most important movements in watchmaking appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Ever since the Swatch Group clamped down on the availability of the once ubiquitous ETA movements, the name Sellita has become ever more more prominent in the world of third-party movement supply. But we’re willing to bet you don’t know much about the Sellita itself, beside the fact that their movements are in an awful … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: How much do you know about Sellita movements? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
The path of Felipe Pikullik has never been about sudden breakthroughs, but about steady, hands-on progression. Early pieces from his Berlin atelier were built on reworked Unitas movements, extensively modified, skeletonised and hand-finished to create something much more personal than their origins suggested. From the poetic Sternenhimmel to the more expressive ZBM1, and later regulator-style […]
SJX Watches
On Episode 16 of the SJX Podcast, SJX and Brandon discuss ongoing horology events in Paris and Singapore, and debrief on the new Piaget Andy Warhol. It’s also the debut of a new segment comparing two watches head-to-head. First up is the Ulysse Nardin Freak – how does the original, now 25 years old, stack up to the new Freak S? Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Youtube.
Worn & Wound
One of the continuing small surprises of the watch landscape over the last few years is Tudor’s building of new relationships with professional athletes and sports teams. David Beckham, of course, has been an ambassador for years, but in a relatively short period of time Tudor has established relationships in pro sailing (Alinghi Red Bull), rugby (the All Blacks), cycling (the Tudor team was actually founded back in 2018), and F1 racing. Over time, these partnerships have produced watches, and today we get the latest example, a Black Bay Ceramic with a blue dial made for the Visa Cash App RB Formula One team. The Black Bay Ceramic is one of the most under the radar Black Bays in the collection. It’s the only modern Tudor sports watch in ceramic, and up until today was available only with a black dial that complements its black ceramic case. It’s perhaps most notable though as the answer to a trivia question: what is the first Tudor to have a movement with METAS certification? When this watch was released and it was the only one in the collection with this designation, it was a truly odd thing. Tudor has since filled out their METAS line a bit, so it’s no surprise that the new Black Bay Ceramic Blue is also METAS certified. To match the Visa Cash App team’s livery, the watch has been produced with a bright blue dial. Eagle eyed F1 fans have already spotted the watch on the wrists of team members, so it’s not a complete surprise to see it here. It obviously giv...
Worn & Wound
Dual time watches have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity thanks to a new crop of movements boasting variations of the complication, and that’s a very good thing, netting us new GMT watches like this Seiko, this Zodiac, and this Lorca, among many others. What’s rarer is a novel take on presenting the complication. That’s exactly what we get from a new watch from ochs & junior, which ditches the fourth hand altogether, and provides a second set of adjustable hour markers instead. This is the ochs line two time zones aka the due ore raw. The traditional GMT configuration is lauded for its simplicity which boils down to a 24 hand dutifully lapping the dial once each day, usually accompanied by a set of 24 hour markers against which to read it independently of the 12 hour markers for the local time. There are plenty of exceptions, of course, but not nearly enough in the sub-exotic realm. The Nomos Zürich world time is one such example, and now this ochs & junior represents another such breath of fresh air. The two time zones seen here utilizes the classic ETA 2824-2 that’s been modified to host a disc containing a set of hour markers in Arabic numeral form under the dial. The standard 31-tooth date disc has been replaced with a 48-tooth disk that’s independently adjustable through the crown. This makes for an intuitive display that’s easily managed and read. Simply add or subtract the difference between your home and local time zones and set the display accordingl...
Worn & Wound
A few weeks ago, Zach Weiss told us about a little watch from Vario with a neat party trick. The Versa is actually two (quartz) watches in one, and thanks to a hinge, the dials can be flipped around to your liking, giving the owner options for a second time zone, or just a fun tactile sensation that is rarely seen at the Versa’s modest price point. Now, in a proverbial “Hold my beer…” moment, Hamilton has introduced a watch in their Face-2-Face series, a Jazzmaster that’s somehow both a business and a party on the front and back thanks to a clever rotating case design. The Face-2-Face III continues a line that Hamilton has been working with since 2013, creating elaborate double-sided dial watches within the updated Art Deco framework of the Jazzmaster collection. These watches take a maximalist approach that is the antithesis of Hamilton’s pilot and military watch bread and butter, but in doing so serve as a reminder of the brand’s sometimes surprising ability to create a design that is truly off the wall. This is the brand that created the X-01, after all. The Face-2-Face III starts with a 44mm case that can be flipped around on its axis by the wearer to display one of two distinct dials. The primary display is for time telling and chronograph functionality, while the secondary dial provides a view of the movement and a series of scales that one can use in concert with the chronograph. The architecture of the main dial is multi-layered, creating a sense ...
SJX Watches
Last year was the 25th anniversary of A. Lange & Söhne’s modern-day revival in 1994, also the debut year of the iconic Lange 1. For the occasion, ten limited edition Lange 1 models were unveiled over the course of the year. The line-up ranged from the basic to the ultra complicated, but one of the standouts was a model in the middle of the spectrum – the Grand Lange 1 Moonphase “25th Anniversary”. Introduced in 2003, the Grand Lange 1 was essentially an upsized Lange 1, with a larger but slightly thinner case – and the same L901.0 movement found in the standard Lange 1. The result was an awkward, cramped dial with overlapping displays that abandoned the orderly asymmetry of the classic Lange 1 dial. Nine years later, the Grand Lange 1 movement was redesigned to create the cal. L095.1, which accommodated all of the indications on a dial with the correct proportions. A moon phase was added to the movement the following year, which increased its thickness slightly. The 25th anniversary edition is a second generation Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase with a subtle, beautiful twist – and one of the most appealing models from the anniversary line-up. Anniversary livery Though large, the watch is notably flat, giving it an elegant profile on the wrist. With a height of 9.4 mm, the white gold case is still thinner than that of the basic Lange 1, despite having the additional moon phase complication. The tripartite case construction has a brushed middle between the polish...
SJX Watches
When it comes to finely-finished, time-only movements, the ultimate Seiko offerings are the Credor Eichi II and Grand Seiko Spring Drive 20th Anniversary. The Japanese equivalent of watches like the Akrivia Chronometre Contemporain and Philippe Dufour Simplicity, the pair are the work of the Micro Artist Studio and finished to the same magnificent level, broadly speaking. (The Grand Seiko 8 Day is of the same quality, but it is a much larger and more complex watch.) Because the movements, the 7R14 in the Eichi II and 9R02 in Grand Seiko SBGZ001 and SBGZ003, are fundamentally identical, comparing the finer details of the two – an enlightened, obsessive nitpicking – makes for some interesting conclusions. The 7R14 in the Eichi II (left) and the 9R02 of the Grand Seiko SBGZ001 The sampled are both finished examples that were purchased in stores, and not prototypes, so both are representative of their respective model and movement. Though both were made in the Seiko-Epson’s Micro Artist Studio, probably by the very same craftsmen, the Eichi II was produced in 2015, while the Grand Seiko SBGZ001 dates to 2019, which is the year of its launch, and is the property of Mark Cho, founder of menswear retailer The Armoury. Same but different Both movements share the same architecture and layout, with the key functional difference being the power reserve, in both duration and display. The Eichi II’s 7R14 has a single barrel and a 60-hour power reserve, indicated on a fan-sha...
Deployant
The De Bethune DB28…amazingly beautiful watch. The design is quite unique…the case is in the design language established by De Bethune. The watch shown is rose gold. The lugs, which are mobile and able to pivot to follow the shape of the wrists and its movements is a contrasting hue of flame treated blued titanium.Read More
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Rolex Submariner vs Seiko Marinemaster: Our hands-on experience reveals the differences in craftsmanship, comfort, movement performance, and everyday wear.
Fratello
Contrary to what many watch enthusiasts think, a watch’s design usually starts with the caliber, not the case or the dial. Most of the time, the movement is the limiting factor that a creative team needs to build a design around. But there are multiple ways of solving the puzzle. One involves creating a different […] Visit Hands-On: The New Christopher Ward C1 Loco Classic Continues The Loco Series In Style to read the full article.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
The new Seiko Marinemaster HBF003 pairs a green sunray dial with the Caliber 8L45 automatic movement. Here's what makes this diver interesting.
Fratello
Grand Seiko has just added the limited-edition SBGW325 to its Elegance Collection, paying tribute to the SBGW003 from 2001. That model was the first Grand Seiko to feature a manually wound 9S mechanical movement, the Caliber 9S54. The new watch revisits one of its most distinctive details, the blocky Arabic numerals, while introducing a deep […] Visit Hot Take: Grand Seiko Introduces The SBGW325 to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Since its inception in 1969, Zenith’s groundbreaking El Primero movement – the first automatic, integrated, high-frequency chronograph caliber – has been synonymous with the classic complication. Now, Zenith takes the essence of this historically significant movement and highlights the high-frequency component with its first time-only application in the Chronomaster line. With the new Chronomaster Solo Sport, form and function go hand in hand. The three-hand display offers a design that is decidedly less sporty than its chronograph counterparts. However, the new collection continues a throughline we’ve seen within the Chronomaster lineup, making it both fresh and familiar to the model family. The Solo Sport has a 40mm build that fits well within the Chronomaster range of 37mm for the vintage-inspired revival models up to 41mm for the standard chronograph sport models. As we’ve also seen in the typical sport models, the Solo Sport models feature a ceramic, unidirectional rotating bezel. Ceramic extends to the dial, which presents a new “Z” pattern. Depending on the version – white, black, or brown – this pattern is engraved on either a sunray-finished white ceramic dial or a polished black or brown ceramic surface. Additionally, the black version is also offered in a no-date variant for a total of four Solo Sport styles. The “Z” motif is repeated once more on the stylization of the seconds hand. The more geometric elements of this dial design continue ...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Hands-on review of the refreshed Mido Ocean Star 200, comparing three new dial colors, updated design, Caliber 80 movement, and wearability.
Hodinkee
What We Know TK What We Think Something someone said someone. TK The Basics Brand: Model: Reference Number: Diameter: Thickness: Case Material: Dial Color: Indexes: Lume: Water Resistance: Strap/Bracelet: The Movement Caliber: Functions: Diameter: Thickness: Power Reserve: Winding: Frequency: Jewels: Chronometer Certified: Additional Details: Pricing & Availability Price: Availability: Limited Edition: For more, click here.
Hodinkee
What We Know Every year on June 1, Oris celebrates the founding of its brand by releasing watches named after its hometown. This time, they're doing so with 250 numbered pieces based on the brand's new Artelier watch. The new version features small seconds, a 120-hour power reserve, the Caliber 401 movement, and an interesting retro-futuristic style. The new Oris Hölstein Edition 2026 has a stainless steel case measuring 39.5mm by 11.1mm, a 45.5mm lug-to-lug, and 30m water resistance. The dial is light grey with a subtle fumé effect from its shape, with a brighter subsidiary seconds dial in a mirror finish and a small red seconds hand. That silver, domed dial and claw-style hour markers make the watch feel a bit like a throwback to the late 1960s, but with modern specifications. The hour and minute hands have Super-LumiNova. As a bonus, the movement (while not COSC-certified) has an accuracy of 3/+5 seconds per day and is highly anti-magnetic. It's also automatic winding. The caseback uses a special laser treatment that engraves the Oris Bear, features the words "Hölstein Edition 2026," and produces a mirror-like, iridescent rainbow finish. To steal the description from one of the greatest haircuts known to man, it's business in the front and party in the back. The watch retails for CHF 3,800. What We Think Oris has been doing these limited editions, as far as I can tell, since 2020, and each one has been anything but traditional. Obviously, the Oris bear often plays a ...
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