Teddy Baldassarre
Universal Genève Is Back. Here's What You Need to Know About the New Watches
An iconic Swiss watchmaker, known for avant-garde designs and inventive movements, picks up where it left off.More
3,803 articles · 47 videos found · page 39 of 129
Teddy Baldassarre
An iconic Swiss watchmaker, known for avant-garde designs and inventive movements, picks up where it left off.More
Monochrome
Delbana, founded in 1931 by Goliardo Della Balda, has always delivered classical Swiss watchmaking at approachable prices. The brand launched the stainless steel Della Balda in 2021, later followed by a PVD yellow gold version in 2022, as a tribute to Goliardo and also returned to using mechanical movements. For its 95th anniversary, the brand […]
Fratello
There’s something very satisfying about seeing a watchmaker push a familiar idea a little further without losing the thing that made it appealing in the first place. That was my first reaction to the new Qian GuoBiao Skylight Original and Skylight Sun. On paper, the concept is simple enough. This is Qian GuoBiao’s first partially […] Visit Qian GuoBiao’s New Skylight Models Might Just Be My Favorite Watches From Him Yet to read the full article.
Monochrome
Angelus is a historical Swiss watch brand founded in 1891 in Le Locle by Albert and Gustav Stolz, known for technically ambitious and award-winning chronographs, multi-complication watches and even chiming models. After a long period of dormancy following the quartz crisis, the brand was revived in 2011. Tapping into its rich archive, Angelus has gathered […]
SJX Watches
Since “Jacob and Jeweller” made its first foray into fine watchmaking two decades ago, Jacob & Co. has positioned itself as a master of maximalism in all its forms, both bejewelled and technical, with some of the brands’s most audacious creations free of gem-setting entirely. The story of Jacob & Co.’s rise as an independent watchmaker features a celebrated cast of constructors. While other brands focused on vertical integration, Jacob & Co. opted to become a patron of promising complication specialists and independent watchmakers, funding their visions while challenging them with its own. Now, 20 years on, Jacob & Co. has evolved into a major player in the ultra-high end watchmaking segment, and is one of the fastest growing brands in an otherwise downbeat market; according to the brand, its 2025 watch sales were close to CHF300 million at retail. The brand’s obvious success is due to both its astute commercial instincts, founder Jacob Arabo’s inimitable personality, and also its ability to bring technically demanding movements to market and iterate on them with remarkable regularity. The gongs of a minute repeating Astronomia, one of the line’s many flankers. Few brands have managed to build credibility in both jewellry and watchmaking simultaneously. On the occasion of the brand’s 40th anniversary, it’s worth looking at how Jacob & Co. has succeeded where others have failed. Chapter 1: The Quenttin Jacob & Co.’s first 20 years were somewhat quiet on...
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...
SJX Watches
Bonniksen makes its debut with the aptly named Le Carrousel, a 30-second carrousel wristwatch that will launch under the secondary banner of Naissance d’une Montre 4, which means it will be fully handmade. Le Carrousel’s completion date has not been announced, but good things take time, especially when made without the assistance of automated machinery. Left to right: Bonniksen co-founder and CEO Jason Chevrolat, Greubel Forsey CEO Michel Nydeggar, Bonniksen co-founder Maximin Chapuis, and David Bernard from the Time Æon Foundation. Initial thoughts It’s shaping up to be a big year for independent watchmaking, with a number of new and old names making their debuts. Bonniksen is among the latter, and looks to be a good-faith effort to do justice to the legacy of the inventor of the carrousel. While the rebirth of an old name is a familiar (if not tiresome) formula, one can’t help but appreciate the care with which the name of Bonniken makes its return. For one thing, the movement, which still exists only in sketches and models, is a true carrousel, built to co-founder Maximin Chapuis’ design after 5,500 hours of technical research. In other words, it’s not just an old name attached to an off-the-shelf calibre. The fact that it will debut as a Montre 4 in the Naissance d’une Montre project is another reason to take the effort seriously. If that weren’t enough, the brand has apparently been given the blessing of Bonniksen’s living descendants, which helps t...
SJX Watches
Russian independent watchmaker and ACHI member Anton Suhanov returns with his third wristwatch, the dynamic Flamingo. Featuring Mr Suhanov’s first in-house movement, the Flamingo positions its massive balance wheel dial-side, and has a few other tricks up its sleeve as well. Initial thoughts Anton Suhanov made a name for himself for his inventive clocks, but more recently has turned his attention toward the more lucrative wristwatch market. Mr Suhanov’s first two wristwatches were modular constructions piggybacked on stock movements. Despite this common approach, his modifications were transformative, making his movements feel more personal and “in-house” than some truly in-house movements that are more traditional in concept. This evident commitment to the craft quickly gained Mr Suhanov a good reputation. After about four years of development, Mr Suhanov has unveiled a calibre he can truly call his own, the cal. Su26.1L. He built the movement from scratch, which gave him complete freedom both in terms of design and functionality. The result is a movement that possesses a number of unique and charming traits, both technical and aesthetic in nature. While the design of the Flamingo as a whole is deeply original (especially the use of non-functional ruby pallets for the hands), some elements on the dial side remind me of similar features of Greubel Forsey’s watches. For example, the two small sub-dials - a 24-hour indicator and small seconds - are rem...
Monochrome
As announced about a year ago, Corum is back in Swiss hands following a management buyout after the exit of Chinese Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group. As Watches and Wonders is fast approaching, it is time for the new management to lift the veil on their strategy to get the brand back on track and […]
Teddy Baldassarre
These iconic style purveyors have made serious bids for high-horology cred. More
Teddy Baldassarre
When it comes to household-name Swiss watch brands, Omega is near the top of the list, and for plenty of good reasons. Now more than 175 years old, the company can lay claim to several icons of the watchmaking world. They’ve also never relented in their pursuit of cutting edge chronometrric technology, with many innova
Monochrome
Stockholm-based, Dutch-rooted microbrand Maen is now a rather familiar face, being known for compelling and accessible watches such as the Skymaster Chronograph or the Manhattan series. Last year, however, the young brand made quite some noise by collaborating with Nico Leonard, a fellow Dutch watch YouTuber, widely known for his outspoken style. The result was a fresh, […]
Time+Tide
Swiss independent Arsène Lippens keeps things toned down for its new Classico Collection, but it lets the fine details do the talkingThe post Is restrained refinement the new attention grabber? Arsène Lippens new Classico Collection aims to find out appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
The Dutch-born CEO of Swiss brand Frederique Constant talks value, pricing, volumes, success with women's watches, and the challenging U.S. market.
Hodinkee
The head of the storied Swiss dive watch brand prioritizes affordability even as much of the industry goes premium. Plus, Tim Jeffreys drops by to talk about Grand Seiko's new brand ambassador, Shohei Ohtani.
Hodinkee
The head of the Swiss movement maker explains the economics of producing the engines that drive timepieces.
Monochrome
Albishorn is one of these intriguing newcomers on the independent scene. The brand operates under the concept of “Imaginary Vintage“, designing watches that were never made but could have been. Following the Maxigraph and Type 10 in 2024, both explained by plausible historical scenarios, the 2025 Thundergraph was (or could have been) made for alpine […]
SJX Watches
Albishorn returns with a new interpretation of its mountaineering chronograph, the Thundergraph Khumbu, swapping the original’s petroleum blue dial for a green colourway and introducing the brand’s first-ever bracelet option. Like its predecessor, the watch draws inspiration from the 1952 Swiss expeditions to Everest, this time taking its name from the Khumbu region of Nepal traversed by the climbing party on its approach to the mountain. Initial thoughts I was impressed by the original Thundergraph when it launched last year - it was my favourite Albishorn to that point. The Khumbu does not reinvent anything, but the bracelet option is a meaningful addition that should widen the appeal to a new segment of collectors. The stainless steel case is carried over unchanged at 39 mm at the case band, expanding to 42.7 mm across the bezel. The asymmetric form, red anodised aluminium monopusher at 9:30, and bronze crown engraved with the Albishorn logo - appropriately modeled on a snow-capped peak - are all retained. The case back also carries the same Swiss cross and rope engraving, the emblem of the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, which remains one of the more convincing elements of the brand’s ‘imaginary vintage’ concept. Khumbu green The petroleum blue dial of the original Thundergraph has been replaced by a mint green opaline hue, said to be inspired by the Khumbu glacier region, where vegetation survives in a harsh environment of ice and rock. The disti...
SJX Watches
A new independent voice emerges with the L’Impétrant, the debut watch from Stéphane Pierre, combining a bi-retrograde time display with an architecturally distinctive movement. Put together by an all-star roster of specialists, the L’Impétrant is a fresh take on a familiar format. Initial thoughts The central question with any debuting independent is whether ambition matches execution. Stéphane Pierre’s L’Impétrant is quirky and eccentric - and just as importantly seems well made thanks to the efforts of some 20 contributing specialists across fields such as movement construction, machining, electroplating, stamping and finishing. Given the evergreen popularity of the high-end, time-only format, it may well find its audience. The L’Impétrant’s visual staple is a set of enormous 19 mm retrograde hands - one for the minutes and the other for the hours. The bi-retrograde complication is no longer uncommon, but The L’Impétrant’s overlapping arrangement of the hands, and the luxurious construction of the mechanism, is unusual, helping it stand out within this niche. The mastermind behind the L’Impétrant has had an unusual career. Stéphane Pierre originally trained as a mechanical engineer and, intriguingly, has spent time working for both the Swatch Group and in the military sector. The L’Impétrant is essentially a very high-end time-only watch, and as such it enters a crowded market. However, rather than just developing a basic time-only watch...
Monochrome
A fairly new brand from Japan with the goal of delivering “honest watchmaking from Asakusa” and “affordable Japanese watches,” Kiwame Tokyo has made quite some noise with its first two releases, the Kurotsuki and Usuki models as its inaugural pieces, and the IWAO Field series at the end of last year. Mixing vintage Calatrava elements, […]
Hodinkee
After 266 years in business, the store will close at the end of 2026, with Patek Philippe taking over in 2027 to create a brand showroom, according to the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
Monochrome
Worldtimers are mechanically complex watches, relying on coordinated discs to show all time zones at once. That is not quite what Baltic is doing here. With the new Heures du Monde, the brand takes a different route, bringing it in under EUR 1,500 and building on a Swiss GMT movement to rethink how the information […]
Fratello
That’s heavy sh*t, man. Two years ago, we had the chance to go hands-on with the Fleming Series 1 Launch Edition Tantalum. In that alloy, which is roughly twice as heavy as steel, the watch made a lasting impression. It was “heavy” in hippie-speak because of its refined case shape, intricate dial details, and remarkable […] Visit Hands-On With The Fleming Series 1 Mark II Redwood Watch - High-End Watch Evolution At Its Finest to read the full article.
Fratello
Last year was Breguet’s 250th anniversary, and the brand treated us to many beautiful new watches to mark the occasion. However, it also made me think about how its new leadership would handle the regular collection of Breguet watches. We see the first results today, with the new Breguet Tradition Seconde Rétrograde 7037, a previously […] Visit Introducing: The Breguet Tradition Seconde Rétrograde 7037 to read the full article.
Monochrome
10 years ago, a young architect named Michiel Holthinrichs had the idea to create watches… But not like every other young indie watchmaker. What made it unique? The Ornament 1 was the world’s first 3D-printed stainless steel watch. And it certainly had a design of its own, inspired by Michiel’s previous career. The specially-commissioned watch […]
Teddy Baldassarre
Before we get into my review of the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Bullseye, let's get some context about the brand out of the way. Oris traces its foundation to 1904, when two natives of the Swiss watchmaking town of Le Locle, Paul Cattin and Georges Christian, opened their watch factory in the German-speaking Swiss town of Hölstein. Cattin and Christian named their company “Oris” after the Orisbach tributary, a brook near the factory.A maker of pocket watches and, by 1925, the increasingly popular wristwatches, Oris enjoyed a long period of growth and expansion throughout the following decades and even made its own movements. Losing its independence during the consolidation years of the Quartz Crisis, Oris regained it in the 1980s, when a management buyout transformed the company and solidified its mission to make only mechanical watches going forward. Today, Oris is well established as a staple for value-conscious collectors of Swiss-made watches. While much of its modern output is devoted to sport-oriented timepieces, like the popular Aquis and Divers (formerly Divers Sixty-Five) diving watches, the brand’s most recognizable and emblematic collection is the Big Crown Pointer Date, which has been a mainstay of the brand’s portfolio - and in constant production - since 1938. It was the first watch with a date indication displayed via a central hand on an outer scale, and it took the other part of its model name from its signature design element - an oversiz...
Worn & Wound
Omega pleased a lot of dress watch and vintage fans this week when they launched the new Constellation Observatory collection at their Swiss headquarters. Zach Weiss is on the ground in Bielle even as we speak getting hands-on with the new watches, and he’ll have a full hands on report with his own photography coming soon. For now, a quick rundown of the new collection, and why it’s a fairly major play for the brand. The Constellation is a historic Omega collection that has changed a lot through the years, always remaining flexible with the current styles and trends of the day. This collection, though, is a direct shot at the hearts and minds of Omega purists, as its effectively a recreation of the original 1950s Constellation in its broad strokes. The cases and dials will be familiar to anyone who has collected or admired original Constellations, with highly angular cases and distinctive dogleg lug design. That said, these are not one to one recreations of watches from the 1950s. The cases, on paper at least, are rather large for what most would agree is a riff on a classic dress watch. The diameter is 39.4mm, and case height is 12.23mm. The lug to lug span comes in at 47.2mm. So, not small by any means, but we’ll look forward to Zach’s impressions of how they actually wear soon enough. As is typical with Omega these days, we have a wide variety of case material and dial options available. We get all three gold alloys that Omega likes to deploy (Sedna, Canop...
Monochrome
As you might remember, Louis Vuitton and De Bethune recently introduced the third chapter in LV’s ongoing journey through independent watchmaking, the LVDB-03 Louis Varius Project, following the LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie made with Rexhep Rexhepi, founder of Atelier Akrivia, and the LVKV-02 GMR 6 made with Finnish-born watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. While we were expecting to […]
Monochrome
The Club Campus collection is Nomos Glashütte’s accessible, robust mechanical watches, designed with a younger audience in mind and made with the same in-house rigour as the rest of the catalogue. Since its introduction in 2017, the concept has remained, with clean Bauhaus-inspired construction, playful California-style dials, and a rotation of fresh colours. For 2026, […]
Worn & Wound
When we talk about Longines on the website, we usually do so in the context of their vintage reissues and vintage inspired watches. They’ve carved out a niche for themselves in this particular area that is basically unrivaled among the big Swiss brands. From the Legend Diver onwards, they’ve done a remarkable job of raiding the archives and bringing back both popular and oddball references of historical significance. Similarly, their most important contemporary line, the Spirit Collection, is itself heavily influenced by the aesthetics and design codes of midcentury watches. That isn’t to say that Longines has neglected more contemporary designs. They’ve dipped into ultra-modern territory (with a great deal of success) pretty recently with bold updates to the Ultra-Chron, for example. But I think it’s fair to say that they aren’t necessarily the brand you look to if you’re thinking about picking up a solid, modern dive watch. It’s just not their lane, and some of their competitors have really nailed this genre down pretty hard. So this is the framework for a big relaunch this Spring for the HydroConquest, a line that has already gone through a handful of redesigns and shuffling over the years, most recently becoming a vehicle for a GMT complication in a case size that frankly strains even the most burly of wrists. There’s never really been anything wrong with the HydroConquest, per se, but for a variety of reasons it’s not usually mentioned in the s...
Question, suggestion, or just want to say hi? Drop a note.