Results for Swiss vs Japanese Watchmaking

Hands-On with the 100% Swiss-Made Piccola & Jofrette PJ1

It’s not entirely uncommon for my first encounter with a brand to be when they inquire about attending Windup Watch Fairs. There are a lot of brands out there, more every year, so it’s hard to keep up with every new launch. Conveniently, Windup is a great way for new brands to meet enthusiasts and potential customers (sorry, this wasn’t meant to be a Windup pitch), resulting in a natural amount of outreach. When new brands come in, whether to me or a colleague, we give them a quick review to see if they are a conceptual fit for the fair, which they are more often than not. Occasionally, a new brand will stand out, for one reason or another, and they’ll get the seal of approval and an immediate request for a sample to review. Such was the case with Piccola & Joffrete. What stood out wasn’t the watch’s design, though it is altogether pleasant if conservative; rather, it was what appeared to be a high level of finish and a dedication to Swiss manufacturing. Many watches say Swiss-made on them, the definition of which I’ll elaborate on below, but few say 100% Swiss-made like the Piccola & Joffretes. Typically, those that are 100% Swiss (which is also hard to tell as transparency isn’t a strength of the watch world) cost significantly more, likely starting in the five figures. So, the final aspect that made Piccola & Joffrete (PJ) stand out was their relatively reasonable price point, Swissness considered, of 2500 CHF. There are several criteria a watch must mee...

Dr. Martens vs. Blundstone: Who is the Chelsea Boot Champion?

Author A.A. Milne wrote in Winnie the Pooh, “When you see someone putting on his big boots, you can be pretty sure that an adventure is going to happen.” I’m of the opinion that one should always be prepared for a little adventure, and thereby a believer in a good pair of boots, just in case.  I can definitively say that shoes are not one of my many vices. If I’m leaving the house, there are two options I will wear 90% of the time: white Nike Air Force Ones, or a pair of leather Chelsea boots. I opt for the latter during the seven-month-long snow season we get in Colorado. Chelsea boots have been my staple since I can remember, as they’re versatile and easy to slip on as I’m running out the door. When I find something I like, I stick with it, only replacing something when necessary and never straying too far from what I know. It was a big deal then, when I swapped my Embury Leather Casual Dr. Martens Chelsea boots for a pair of Blundstone Classic 587s last March.  Dr. Martens were my brand of choice for six years. The same pair of Chelsea boots guided me through the streets of Paris in 2018 and a solo trip to Ireland four years later. My Blundstones are coming up on their first birthday this March, and have traipsed through dirt and debris along Route 66 as well as seven states and a handful of National Parks. Both brands have a lot to offer in terms of heritage, specs, and fit, and both deserve consideration in one’s quest for the perfect Chelsea boot. Bra...

Portrait – Watchmaking Apprentice Gaku Okada and his Fascinating Tempo Rubato Metronome ‘Watch’

A light rhythmic beat of a snare drum hits your ears, the deep thumps of the bass drum join in, and the chime of the cymbals rounds it off. A trumpeter starts improvising on the beat, ebbing and flowing back and forth in pace, producing a melody that resonates deep within your soul. Then, all […]

Interview – Van Cleef & Arpels’ Stéphanie Rault Explains the Brand’s Approach to Watchmaking

Each year, during the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve (or in short, the GPHG), one brand always stands out because it wins so many awards: Van Cleef & Arpels. It might not have been the name you expected; however, if you look at the sheer number of awards it has won over the years, it […]

Tiffany & Co. Watchmaking Kicks Off with Bird on a Flying Tourbillon

Having acquired Tiffany & Co. in 2020, LVMH set about remaking the storied American jeweller. That extended to Tiffany’s watch division, which now debuts the first flagship creation under new ownership, the Bird on a Flying Tourbillon. Led since 2021 by Nicolas Beau, the former chief of Chanel watches, Tiffany’s watch division turned to independent watchmaker Artime for the movement of the new tourbillon. Set with some 4 carats of diamonds, the Bird on a Flying Tourbillon features an off-centre dial layout with a flying tourbillon at seven o’clock, along with a turquoise marquetry dial bearing a pair of diamond-set birds in flight. Initial thoughts One of Tiffany’s best-known jewellery designs, the Bird on the Rock has been a fixture in the brand’s catalogue for decades. A horological twist on the concept, the Bird on a Flying Tourbillon is clearly part of an effort to position the design as a versatile icon that is Tiffany’s equivalent of the Serpenti. It’s a little bigger and thicker than the traditional ladies’ watch, though reminiscent of the MB&F; LM Flying T. The reason for the size is the AFT24T01 movement inside, which is more interesting than usual as it was developed for Tiffany & Co. by Artime, a recently established independent brand. The AFT24T01 has a high quality execution with appealing details, but it’s related to Artime’s own calibre for a men’s skeleton tourbillon, explaining its large size. As an opening effort, the Bird on a Flying...

Hands-On: Greubel Forsey's New Hand Made 2 Is Watchmaking In Its Purest Form

Three watches a year. Nearly 100% handmade. Top tier finishing. It's a special watch.

Introducing – Greubel Forsey Unveils Hand Made 2, the Second Step in the Brand’s Pursuit of Hand Watchmaking

While most watches made by Greubel Forsey are known to be some of the most impressive on the market regarding execution and finishing, today we’re looking at something even more special. Back in 2019, the independent watchmaker released Hand Made 1, a highly classical watch (at least compared to other, bolder creations) with a focus […]

Introducing – Japanese Watchmaker Otsuka Lotec Presents the No.5 KAI, With Satellite Hour Display

A not-so-young-brand that only appeared recently on the international scene and an independent watchmaker that we’ve named Japan’s new sensation, Otsuka Lotec is the brainchild of watchmaker Jiro Katayama. Even though these watches are extremely hard to get outside of Japan (yes, that means pure JDM coolness), the brand has started to gain recognition and […]

Just Because – The 10:10 Position of Hands is so Deeply Rooted in Watchmaking that AI can’t Generate Anything Different

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is on everyone’s lips. It’s a topic that divides and generates strong opinions (pros or cons), and it will, in the future, become increasingly important, whether you like it or not. These tools, at least the tools that we, the public, can use (image or text generators such as ChatGPT), are […]

Buying Guide – We Travel to France for Some More Exciting Non-Swiss Watches

A week ago, we covered some of the best watches coming from the Netherlands for the simple reason that both our founder Frank and myself are Dutch. However, part of the team comes from France, and as such, I thought it would be fun to have a look at French watches this time around! And when […]

Craft is Everywhere: How Statera Brought Old World Watchmaking to Brazil

When I first met Rafael Guimarães a few months ago, Statera hadn’t crossed my radar in a big way. The small brand, which has a fair claim to being the first watch brand born and built in Brazil, had already sold through a few production runs of nice-looking watches, but the brand had yet to make a real splash or to break out from the typical microbrand mold. Their first few releases certainly showed evidence of an eye for quality and detail, but for Rafael and his longtime friend and co-founder Antonio Almir dos Santos Neto (the two have known each other since they were five), it wasn’t enough. “For the first watch, the ST01, we made the design, and then the watch was fabricated in France… it was more like a [proof of concept] to see if we are able to sell watches,” Rafael explained. The obvious next step was to turn inward, to move away from external manufacturing and create what would be (and now is) the first independent watch not only conceived in Brazil, but made there as well. The result is the ST02 Esmalte Grand Feu, a handsome take on the everyday watch born out of a unique perspective paired with a generation’s worth of accumulated knowledge. How We Learn The path to the ST02 was neither short nor simple. Reaching the next level when you live and work in a part of the world with no history of watchmaking isn’t easy, and it’s not made any easier by Brazil’s restrictive tax structure. “We are fascinated by métier d’art. and we are fascinated ...

Revolution’s 100 Most Influential Women In Watchmaking

12 Technical Achievements in Watchmaking from 2024

The word I keep reading to describe the watch industry in 2024 is “conservative.” There is certainly a case to be made for that view (and my colleague Bilal Khan does so quite eloquently in yesterday’s article), but there is also, I feel, ample evidence of the industry’s ongoing (and, to my mind, essential) devotion to doing new things on the technical side. In this day and age, with the watch business so diversified, so international, and so independent of one another in their schedule of releasing new products (the Spring windfall that is Watches & Wonders Geneva notwithstanding), it can be easy to overlook these innovations when you’re trying to tie up the watchmaking year in a neat bow. Of course, every watch brand has its own approach. Sometimes it’s about setting records (Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget); sometimes it's about elevating a brand’s repertoire to the next tier of complexity (Breitling, TAG Heuer); often, it’s just about taking a fresh approach, or adding a clever twist, to existing complications (Nomos, Swatch). For those who may have missed them or even forgotten about them, here are the technical innovations in the horological world — major and minor — that I found worthy of attention in 2024. Ball Model M Roadmaster A With the Roadmaster M Model A, Ball Watch introduces a mechanical alarm function to its predominantly rugged, tool-oriented lineup for the first time. But it’s not just any mechanical alarm function but an “Alarm-Matic...

America’s Oldest Watchmaking Guild: The Horological Society of New York

Breaking News: Swiss Court Finds John Lennon's Patek Philippe 2499 Belongs To Yoko Ono

A bombshell decision on the hotly contested ownership of a seriously special Patek Philippe.

Why Does G-SHOCK Care About Bridging Japanese Heritage And Functional Technology?

Understanding Chanel’s Direction In The Watchmaking Industry

Gear Design: The Backbone of Watchmaking

Dennison Resurrects the Legacy and Elegance of One of the Forgotten Greats of 20th Century Watchmaking

Here’s Why The Crown is the Unsung Hero of Watchmaking and Why Rolex Wears the Crown

The crown is one of the most important yet underappreciated parts of a watch. The humble crown has played an extensive role in helping Rolex – and the rest of the watch industry – get to where it is today. Here's why.

How The G-SHOCK Premium Line Elevates Functionality with Japanese Soul

Opinion: Patek Philippe, the Cubitus, and Elitism in Modern Watchmaking

Last month, Patek Philippe launched their first new watch collection in decades: the Cubitus. It was met with, as you’ve surely seen by now, a chorus of widespread skepticism and bewilderment. Ostensibly a replacement for the now discontinued stainless steel Nautilus, the Cubitus borrows the bracelet and dial treatment from that watch, and makes the case square. The consensus seems to be that they turned one of the most elegant luxury sports watches ever made into something ungainly, and they didn’t even take the time to do it in a thoughtful way. Words like “lazy” and “ugly” fill out the diatribes from commenters who disapprove.  For me and the rest of the team at Worn & Wound, new releases from Patek Philippe are something of a spectator sport. I can’t speak for all of my colleagues, but feelings about the brand range from lukewarm appreciation for watches that are objectively well made and designed, to a more straight up boredom (that’s me), to some version of the “I don’t think of you at all” Mad Men meme (also me). It’s fair to say, though, that none of us are die hard Patek fans in the same way, for instance, that we follow new releases from brands like, I dunno, Grand Seiko, Christopher Ward, Armin Strom, Garrick, Tudor, and the like. The watches we get excited about span a huge range of accessibility both in terms of price and actual availability. But a good watch is a good watch.  This is all to say, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise t...

Introducing – Elka Watch Launches Loch Lat, Merging Watchmaking and Fine Whisky

Elka Watches is a relatively young brand built on a historical, defunct Dutch name, which was relaunched a couple of years ago by Hakim El Kadiri. Despite having no connection with the defunct Amsterdam brand, he wanted to pay tribute to the old Dutch brand and bring back the flair of the 1960s with modernised […]

Why Watchmaking Should Remain Focused On Excellence Amidst A Culture Of Criticism

Hands-on – The Otsuka Lotec No.7.5, a Japanese Artisanal Watch in a Class of its Own

Jiro Katayama, a car designer turned self-taught, independent watchmaker from Japan, is quickly gaining popularity with his brand, Otsuka Lotec. Despite the brand’s limited distribution – exclusively within Japan – enthusiasts worldwide are drawn to Katayama’s craftsmanship and industrial-meets-steampunk watch aesthetic. Travelling to Japan to secure one of his coveted timepieces, be it the retrograde […]