Two Broke Watch Snobs
This Approachable 38mm Dive Watch Goes Toe-to-Toe With Bigger-Name Alternatives
The Certina Action Diver 38mm gets subtle upgrades for 2025, including fresh materials and refined styling.
23,424 articles · 175 videos found · page 38 of 787
Two Broke Watch Snobs
The Certina Action Diver 38mm gets subtle upgrades for 2025, including fresh materials and refined styling.
Revolution
Monochrome
Luca Soprana is an independent watchmaker, not widely known by a large audience, yet highly regarded by collectors and industry insiders for his work with renowned brands. Situated in Vaumarcus, near Neuchâtel, his Atelier 7h38 focuses on restoration as well as developing and producing high-end movements for external clients. While some projects have been unveiled […]
Hodinkee
A whole lot closer than the loupe you keep on your desk.
Revolution
Monochrome
Genus, an independent brand hailing from Geneva, is the brainchild of Catherine Henry and Sébastien Billières. In 2007, Sébastien Billières co-created GMTI, a company specialising in manufacturing of ‘Geneva Seal’ movements for brands, and gained broader recognition in 2019 with the highly acclaimed Genus GNS1, featuring an exotic time display. Fast forward five years, and […]
Quill & Pad
London, one day in the not-too-distant future, the final board meeting of the Lux Timepieces III Fund had been a stormy one. Principal investor Igor Abramovich had flounced out after throwing his Roger W Smith Series 1 on the boardroom table, where it shattered into dozens of meticulously handmade pieces . . . hang on to your hats because this is a wild and laugh-out-loud ride!
Quill & Pad
The Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar is a welcome addition to the collection. It is one of those very wearable perpetual calendars, ready to put a smile on the face of its owner every time he or she looks at it, and in martin Green's opinion, that's a quality every Piaget should possess.
Hodinkee
We're coming at you live from Apple Park.
SJX Watches
While lesser known than wristwatches like the Tank and Crash, the mystery clock is as quintessentially Cartier as its wristwatch counterparts. Bonhams’ upcoming Hong Kong auction includes a prime example of the classic Cartier “Model A” mystery clock. The first type of mystery clock developed by Cartier, the Model A, made its debut in 1912 and the first example was sold to banker J. Pierpont Morgan. Compact but striking in its details and transparency, the Model A is essentially a block of rock crystal sitting on a mineral stone base with accents of gold, enamel, and diamonds. This example that will go on the block at Bonhams dates to 1928 and sits on an onyx base. The mystery clock, however, wasn’t invented at Cartier. Instead the clock with floating hands was conceived by Maurice Coüet, a clockmaker who was first a supplier to Cartier before joining the jeweller. Coüet in turn was inspired by the work of 19th century clockmaker-turned-magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, the inventor of the mystery clock concept. The Model A is a two-axis mystery clock with the driving pinions for the hands hidden in each column of the frame Notably, the Model A clock is being sold to benefit an Australian conservation non-profit, thanks to the late Antony Coote, a farmer and businessman whose family formerly controlled Angus & Coote, a storied name in Australian retail that was once the biggest jeweller in the country. After selling his family’s stake in 2006, Coote turn...
SJX Watches
For me, watches are and always have been about people – those that make them, those that design them, and those that buy them. And while many of you reading this will do your utmost (likely on a daily basis) to keep your interest in watches in check with your bank balance, every so often you meet a collector, an enthusiast, who takes things to a whole other level. Somebody who has gone all in, a collector who takes it to a level that even insiders like Thierry Stern of Patek Philippe rank them amongst the greatest collectors of all time. Patrick Getreide is that individual. Having spent the past four decades quietly building one of the world’s greatest privately-owned collections of wrist and pocket watches, he has now put all of his timepieces on show for the world to enjoy and admire. The show I feel hugely privileged and excited having visited the exhibition on its opening day in London. Privileged because there were only a few press invited; excited because I believe it will open up our passion to more and more, aligning watchmaking with art, where it belongs. The exhibition comprises 168 best-of-the-best vintage and contemporary museum-quality watches, among which are unrepeatable special orders, ultra-rare, limited editions, the most valuable examples of their type, and the largest number of Patek Philippe pieces once owned by the celebrated American collector Henry Graves Jr. now in private hands. It is also the first curated exhibition of a private collection ...
Hodinkee
It's been a pretty big week for watches.
Hodinkee
And yeah, he wore it on the field.
Four months after first partnering with LVMH and Zenith, George Bamford announces a new collaboration with crowd pleaser TAG Heuer.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Our review of the Nodus Sector II Field Titanium explores its lightweight titanium case, Sequoia dial, bracelet, and whether it redefines the modern field watch.
Monochrome
There’s a new indie watch brand on the scene. It seems that we’re telling this story every week. Sometimes, or should I say rather often, these new ventures are coming with pretty fascinating inaugural watches. So is the case of Atelier Pieters, a company founded by couple Maarten and Jessica Pieters. Two watchmakers, one workshop, […]
Worn & Wound
This year’s edition of the Windup Watch Fair in Chicago is in the books. As always, the Chicago show played host to a huge variety of brands that covered every imaginable genre of watch, price points up and down the spectrum, and truly offered something for every taste. And as is the case with every Windup these days, it was an opportunity for many brands to debut brand new watches for an audience hungry for something special. There was no shortage of limited edition releases and entirely new watches timed for unveiling at Windup this year, as well as a bunch that launched recently and were getting their first public look. This list is by no means exhaustive, but here are five watches I saw at Windup in Chicago over the weekend that are either brand new or almost new that really stood out to me. Let me know in the comments what I may have missed – even with three days to wander around, I’m sure there are watches I simply didn’t get a chance to see. Vulcain Cricket Titanium There’s just something so charming about the Vulcain Cricket. Alarm watches are an anachronistic niche within an already anachronistic hobby. Setting a mechanical alarm on your watch when simply saying the words “Siri, set an alarm for…” feels like an act of rebellion in the digital age. I’m not sure how many owners of modern (or vintage) Crickets actually use the alarm function for practical purposes (it’s one of the great parlor tricks at a watch meetup, of course) but knowing...
Fratello
There’s a specific kind of disappointment that comes from encountering a watch on a brand’s website and feeling precisely nothing. The dial is sharp, the case gleams, and the lug angles are geometrically perfect. And yet, somehow, you close the tab unmoved. You’ve just been the victim of a render. It looked fine, sure, but […] Visit Why Watch Renders So Frequently Leave Us Underwhelmed to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Cartier has always chosen to tell time a little differently. From the first Santos wristwatch in a distinct square case, to its compelling mystery clocks, the unorthodox Tank à Guichet, the counter-intuitive Santos-Dumont Rewind, and the magic of the Masse Mystérieuse, it's a mainstream maison that has rarely approached the art of telling time by running with the pack. Roy Davidoff (left), a vintage watch dealer and expert, and Kari Voutilainen (right), the renowned independent watchmaker, were among the panel of judges tasked with ranking the unique projects submitted for the Cartier Prize for Watchmaking Talents of Tomorrow. That unique sensibility is at the heart of the Cartier Prize For Watchmaking Talents of Tomorrow. It's an accolade that's been awarded 28 times over three decades. But Cartier has rarely spoken about the initiative that began way back in 1995. For its latest edition, we were given a glimpse into the process in which watchmaking students from Switzerland, France, and Belgium were tasked with creating a timepiece based on the motion of a pendulum and the theme of "reading and understanding time differently." The resulting creations from 11 finalist watchmaking students, tasked with building a piece in just 80 hours over three months, displayed both technical prowess and artistic expression, conveying bold and surprising approaches to telling time within the Cartier design language. Prizes were awarded at a ceremony in La Chaux-de-Fonds at C...
Fratello
Welcome back to another episode of Fratello On Air! This week, we talk about car watches, a curious subgenre within our hobby. Sure, the automobile industry is massive and has an equally huge fan base, but collaborations between watch and car brands often misfire. This draws us into a conversation about what we think of […] Visit Fratello On Air: The Curious Case Of Car Watches to read the full article.
Fratello
Beaucroft introduces a new watch line called The Arc. This collection builds on one of Beaucroft’s defining designs, the Seeker, which established the brand’s signature flowing case and dial lines. Now, The Arc pushes that idea further. It remains an easy-wearing everyday watch but brings subtle improvements in construction and feel. The name comes from […] Visit Introducing: Beaucroft The Arc — An Evolution Of The Seeker Watch Range to read the full article.
Fratello
The Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop watch resulted in long queues at Swatch boutiques worldwide. We witnessed the chaos and mayhem at several of them on May 16th. Police had to enforce order, stores had to close, mall owners were angry, and managers of nearby shops were pissed because they couldn’t open or had […] Visit The Swatch Collaboration Effect — Here’s What Happened (This Time) to read the full article.
Monochrome
Kross Studio has never been about conventional watchmaking, whether through its openworked designs or collaborations tied to everything from Star Wars to Batman. Last year, the Geneva-based brand introduced the MT1 Tourbillon, a manually wound tourbillon with a smooth lug-less case, crown-free construction, and fully openworked movement design. It was also a watch that carried […]
Time+Tide
BA111OD's new Chapter 7 Skeleton makes a case for the best value, best-looking skeletonised integrated sports watch you've seen so far
Fratello
Panerai excels at advancing watchmaking through bold material innovation. Its latest breakthrough introduces the world’s first watch case machined from hafnium. The metal appears here in a 47mm Submersible case. Hafnium ranks among the rarest industrial metals on Earth. Global output measures only a few dozen tons annually. The element exists solely within zirconium ores […] Visit Panerai Pushes Material Science With Its New Submersible Navy SEALs Afniotech Experience PAM01089 In A Hafnium Case to read the full article.
In today's review we're take a closer look at the smaller sized Pelagos in Tudor's lineup: a heavy-duty tool watch worthy of the designation in a wearable 39mm case.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Dude, I love this. The Leatherback Sea Turtle line has been part of Luminox's catalog for a while now, and even the larger "Giant" format with its 44mm case already existed. What's new with the Luminox Leatherback Sand Turtle Giant XS.0326 is the case material. Instead of the stainless steel or Carbonox carbon fiber composite we're used to seeing from Luminox, this version uses fiberglass. The post Luminox Built an Affordable Dive-Inspired Field Watch Out of Fiberglass appeared first on Two Broke Watch Snobs.
SJX Watches
Patek Philippe celebrates the semicentennial of its coveted sports watch with the 50th Anniversary Nautilus Collection, a trio of two hand precious metal watches in white gold and platinum – and an unexpected pocket watch desk clock. The deletion of the seconds hand is a return to the line’s aesthetic roots, also demonstrated by a new 38 mm case size, very close to that of the original. But, it remains on the precious metal path Patek Philippe began in 2021 when it axed the steel ref. 5711. Initial Thoughts These anniversary editions are the truest to the original Nautilus that we’ve seen in recent memory. The sans seconds ref. 3700/1A, launched in 1976, was powered by the JLC 920-based cal. 28-355C, which the calibre 240 was meant to replace. While Audemars Piguet stuck to the two hands plug date format with the Royal Oak Jumbo, Patek Philippe migrated the Nautilus to its new sweep-seconds platform. I believe something was lost when Patek Philippe added a sweep seconds hand to the Nautilus, though understandable from a business perspective given that watches with seconds hands generally have broader appeal than those without. That is recovered here, and the deletion of the calendar sets it apart from the original enough to not be a “reissue”. A smaller 38 mm Nautilus, with better proportions than the existing Ladies models, in also appreciated. The 38 mm platinum ref. 5610/1P-001. It is a shame then that the return of a two hand Nautilus is to be a fleeting one,...
Fratello
British independent brand Pinion revives one of its earliest designs for a modern audience. Founded in 2013, Pinion launched the Pure the following year. That period also marked my renewed interest in watches after wearing a titanium Seiko for 15 years. I still own that Seiko today. Back in 2014, watch design looked very different. […] Visit Pinion Brings Back The Pure In A New 38mm Case to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
I feel that the contemporary watch market has a noticeable lack of fun, exciting, and unique watch case designs. Brands have put a major emphasis on dials made from rare materials or composed of intricate designs recently, but very few companies have put time into producing cases that offer a special experience for the wearer. Round and tank-styled timepieces are, and will forever be, the norm within the watch industry. However, this gap in the modern market gives collectors a chance to look back into vintage catalogs to familiarize themselves with fads and stylistic ventures of previous horological eras. With this in mind, I’d like to take a trip back to 1968 and examine the creation of the Hamilton Fontainebleau series, specifically the 6004 “Day ‘N Date” reference, to exhibit just how innovative case design can truly be. It’s typically an overlooked piece of the design formula, but when a watch features a case profile unlike any other, it certainly stands out among the pack. A Brief History of Fontainebleau and the 6004 In 1966, the patents for Hamilton designer Ulrich Nydegger’s new case were published. A couple of years later, the first few Fontainebleau models hit the market and garnered a decent amount of popularity. It wasn’t until 1969’s Fontainebleau Chrono-Matic chronograph, however, that the line would see a substantial amount of press and recognition for its innovative design. The collectibility of the Chrono-Matic model continues to increase o...
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