2,052 articles · 481 videos found · page 37 of 85
Revolution
The Advanced Fighter Weapons School In the 1970s, the Swiss mechanical watch industry was almost wiped out by an electronic threat called quartz technology, which instantly democratized accuracy in the form of cheap, Japanese-made watches. But ultimately, in the clash between soulless battery-operated machines and those handcrafted by human artisans, the mechanical watch won out, […]
Revolution
A. lange & Söhne’s saxonia thin is the manufacture’s slimmest watch to date In what must count as one of the biggest comebacks since the mechanical wristwatch reinvented itself in the post-quartz era as a luxury necessity, the thin dress watch - once driven underground and nearly into extinction by the dinosaurian dimensions toward which […]
Worn & Wound
The one handed watch is a curious thing. On the face of it, it seems illogical. On a mechanical watch, stripping away a more precise minute hand in favor of a single hour hand negates one of the things enthusiasts covet most: precision. Or, at least, the relative precision. Things like COSC certification and the hard work and ingenuity that go into making mechanical movements become secondary when you pull back sufficiently far from an ability to clock the time to the exact second (indeed, the COSC will not certify any watch without a seconds hand). But removing that hand is additive, as well. It forces the designer of a watch to think very critically about how that hand is going to tell the time, and the thing that actually defines one handed watches is not so much the fact that they only have a single hand, but the way in which that hand interacts with any timing markers on the dial. There are different approaches, of course. Avant-garde designs might strip out markers altogether, so that a dial’s texture or material can be the singular focus of a piece. This, to me, feels like the most jewelry oriented option possible. Another approach, and the one most often favored by Meistersinger, a brand known primarily for their one handed watches, is to focus like a laser on readability at a glance, designing markers and indices that are large enough and graduated to a degree that makes it relatively easy to get the precise time at a glance. I often think about the time I spe...
SJX Watches
The Kopf watch is the brainchild of German Polosin, a self-taught independent watchmaker who left Moscow for Bristol, England, where he runs Horological Underground. Conceived in 2016 and still in (limited) production today, the Kopf watch embodies the belief that a watch should be a form of mechanical sculpture. Its design feels more cybernetic than classical, combining an anthropomorphic ‘face’ with a hinged, jaw-like crown guard, hammered metal surfaces, and tritium-lit eyes. While the Kopf’s aesthetic recalls science-fiction icons like The Iron Giant or Futurama’s Bender, its construction reflects a deeply traditional craft ethos. In terms of style, German Polosin is far removed from the biker or heavy metal aesthetics one might expect from the creator of the Kopf watch. Initial thoughts It’s been more than six years since I first saw the Kopf while visiting German Polosin, the Russian [now English] independent watchmaker, who was still working in Moscow at the time. I was impressed that from the outset, the concept behind the Kopf watch was to express the art of metalworking. In this respect, he shares similarities with another independent watchmaker, the Finn Stepan Sarpaneva, who drew inspiration from biker subculture for his own creations. Mr. Polosin conceives watches as mechanical sculptures, with their shape and finish reflecting their functionality: “I would love to see it finished like… a Beretta or a Desert Eagle.” Kopf watch – the aesthetic...
Monochrome
Ochs und Junior, the independent brand founded in 2006 around the inventive genius of Dr Ludwig Oechslin, has built its reputation on watches that present complex astronomical or calendar displays in radically simple, functional designs. Models such as the perpetual calendar, annual calendar, and moon phase are already cult favourites among collectors who appreciate mechanical […]
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Deployant
Glashütte Original ventures into chromatic futurism with two daring new takes on its Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date. “Plasma” and “Fusion” fuse retro form with shifting, high-impact color-where digital inspiration meets mechanical precision.
Monochrome
The Lady Serenade and PanoMatic Luna are Glashütte Original’s mechanical watch collections for women. While the PanoMatic Luna is essentially a smaller version of the men’s model, the Lady Serenade collection was conceived as a ladies’ watch from the start. Last year, the Lady Serenade was given a moonlight serenade with the incorporation of a moon phase display and […]
Hodinkee
Orient Star’s new M34 F7 Semi Skeleton and M45 F7 Mechanical Moon Phase models combine cosmic inspiration with in-house automatic movements.
Monochrome
Inspired by the very first mechanical tower and table clocks that had not yet discovered the minutes hand, MeisterSinger’s disarmingly simple premise is to deliver the time with a single hand. However, a single hand is not necessarily equated with simple watches, and the brand’s repertoire includes complications like its chiming Bel Hora and moon phase […]
Monochrome
A long-established name in the watch industry, with a deep heritage in crafting some of the most impressive tool watches during the golden era of mechanical watchmaking, Favre Leuba ad to face ups and downs, with multiple owners. Recently, the brand has been revived with veteran industry leader Patrik Hoffmann at its head. Re-launched at […]
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Monochrome
The Lady Serenade and PanoMatic Luna are Glashütte Original’s two mechanical watch collections for women. While the PanoMatic Luna is essentially a slightly smaller version of the men’s model, the Serenade collection was conceived as a ladies’ watch from the start. Available with time-and-date functions, the Serenade takes on a new complication in the form of a moon phase […]
Teddy Baldassarre
The most sophisticated type of calendar watch, a perpetual calendar is endowed with a mechanical “memory” that enables it to record and display the time, day, date, month, and often the moon-phase, accurately for many years. The complex movement in a perpetual calendar compensates for the length of every month, including February in both leap years and non-leap-years, meaning that it should not need adjusting until the year 2100, which is the next annum in which the Gregorian calendar’s leap-year cycle is disrupted (it will be the first year since 1900 that is exactly divisible by 100 but not by 400, and thus not a leap year). As you'd expect, perpetual calendar watches (called "quantième perpétuel" in French) are extremely complicated in their mechanics and design, representing one of the highest pinnacles of high horology and priced accordingly. Throughout the modern wristwatch industry, only a relative handful of brands have mastered the art of the perpetual calendar: we showcase some of them, and their most impressive perpetual calendar timepieces, here. A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar Introduced in 2021, the Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar adopts the new approach taken to perpetual calendar design that the Saxon maison established in 2012 with the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar. In typical Lange fashion, the technical approach taken is complex in the service of user-friendly practicality. Its in-house, self-winding movement, Caliber L021.3, ...
Time+Tide
A lot has happened over the last seven days, but earlier today TAG Heuer ushered in their next generation of Connected Watch: the Calibre E4. Some collectors scoff at the idea of a smartwatch, claiming that such a digital device does not have the artistic essence of a traditional mechanical timepiece. But let’s face it, … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: TAG launches new Connected Watches, 2022 looks promising for Longines appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
With twin orbiting tourbillons and a highly mechanical display, the Louis Moinet Astronef builds on stylistic spacecraft origins and creates something entirely fascinating. Joshua Munchow heads into space to take a closer look.
Quill & Pad
Joshua Munchow feels a philosophical bond with John-Mikaël Flaux, an independent watchmaker and automaton designer, just from how Flaux describes himself and why he creates. Joshua loves the mechanical marvels he constructs, but it’s deeper than the result of his craftsmanship: Flaux is a mechanically curious person and his passion comes through in the objects he makes. Find out exactly what those are right here.
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Two Broke Watch Snobs
The FOIS is attainable, wearable, and relatively affordable when compared to the limited editions of the Speedmaster Professional and other Swiss mechanical chronographs like the Rolex Daytona, Zenith El Primero, and Breitling Navitimer.
Time+Tide
The key to producing some of the finest watches in the world is in part due to the Grand Seiko movements. Here's why they are so impressive.The post IN-DEPTH: Grand Seiko Movements – Part I, the Mechanicals appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Even amongst avant-garde watchmakers, De Bethune stands out for its substance – aesthetic and material innovation matched by technical ingenuity. At its core, the brand has reimagined the most fundamental aspects of mechanical timekeeping, from the barrel to the hairspring, while pushing the boundaries of traditional complications, be it the moon phase, tourbillon or chronograph. But arguably its most distinctive innovation is an aesthetic one, which has come to define the brand no less – heat-blued titanium. The brand has used the alloy for more than 15 years across various parts of the watch, even making almost a whole watch out of it. But now De Bethune has a twist on the theme, resulting in the DB28 Yellow Tones in brilliant golden titanium. Fiery yellow Though the colour of the new DB28 is striking, it is by no means loud, as the amber shade of yellow isn’t the same as yellow gold and doesn’t pass off as such. In fact, it looks more like fresh brass than gold. The colour was achieved through thermal oxidisation of the surface, essentially the same process as that used for blued titanium (and also the same for blued steel). The yellow surface, just like the blue, is the result of an oxide that forms on the surface of titanium when it is heated to a certain temperature. But amber yellow tone in this case was created by heating it at a lower temperature than used for blued titanium. Titanium undergoes different stages of oxidation when heated, and yellow is o...
SJX Watches
Seiko has cultivated its Presage collection as one that offers watches featuring dials decorated with artisanal techniques like Shippo enamel or Arita porcelain, but at extremely affordable prices. Now Seiko has just rolled out the first-ever Presage watches powered by the brand’s best-known innovation – the Spring Drive, an electronically regulated mechanical movement previously only found in Credor, Grand Seiko and Prospex watches. And the Spring Drive has been combined with a decidedly more traditional face, with both new models featuring vitreous enamel dials. Available in either white or black, the enamel dials are once again produced by master craftsman Mitsuru Yokosawa and his team, who are adept at producing enamel dials of high-quality and in large quantities, but relatively low prices. The clean and slightly retro dial design, however, is the work of the design studio founded by Japanese industrial designer Riki Watanabe. After his death in 2013, the design of his work was entrusted to his colleague, who stuck closely to Watanabe’s ideals of functionality and beauty in the conception of the watch. The dial is characterised by a striking clarity thanks to the high contrast between the hands, hour markers and dial, as well as Arabic numerals in Didoni typeface, a favourite of Watanabe. Notably, the date is properly integrated into the dial design with a date wheel that matches the colour of the dial, while the combination of the contrasting...
Time+Tide
Editor’s note: The Ulysse Nardin Marine Chronometer Torpilleur is a very interesting watch - a mix of modern build and very, very classical design. It’s a winner. Story in a second The Marine Chronometer Torpilleur shows a new, focused and driven face of Ulysse Nardin. I’m going to start this review talking not about mechanical … ContinuedThe post Set sail for glory with the Ulysse Nardin Marine Chronometer Torpilleur appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Time+Tide
Just the other day, Sandra was opining about the changing face of two-tone, and today this fine example of modern bi-colour watches hits the proverbial desk. The Record collection is Longines’ line of dressy daily wearers that offer a great entry point into some pretty serious mechanical watchmaking. And that’s because every single watch in the … ContinuedThe post Mixing business with pleasure in the form of the Longines Record in steel and gold appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Back in the 18th century, Pierre Jaquet-Droz wowed the courts of Europe with his Automates – three humanoid dolls, about one-third life-sized, that could variously write, draw and play music with uncannily lifelike gestures. Intended to promote his clocks and watches, and powered by scaled-up versions of mechanical watch movements, they were a stroke of … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Jaquet Droz Lady 8 Flower and the Lady 8 Petite appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
Studded with diamonds and rubies, the PanoMatic Luna proudly wears the colour of love, permitting this mechanical ladies watch to give its classic moon phase display a new, exceptionally enticing appearance.
Time+Tide
Inside every car guy there’s a watch guy trying to escape, and vice versa. We’re not sure, but it looks like ICON 4×4’s Jonathan Ward has found the perfect balance of these two mechanical passions. So if mechanical powertrains of the wrist- or road-based variety are your bag, he’s definitely worth a follow. NAME: Jonathan … ContinuedThe post WHO TO FOLLOW: @icon4x4 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
When I wrote the story last week of H. Moser & Cie’s upcoming new Smart Watch, I did not know what to expect. Today, pictures have been released, and even a tongue in cheek video to explain that the Smart Watch in question, is no Smart Watch of the electronic variety. Instead we have an […]
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