Two Broke Watch Snobs
Kiwame Tokyo’s New Automatic Dress Watch Takes Minimalism Seriously
The new Kiwame Tokyo Yane pairs a rectangular case with Japanese architectural references, a minimalist lacquer dial, and a Miyota automatic movement.
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Two Broke Watch Snobs
The new Kiwame Tokyo Yane pairs a rectangular case with Japanese architectural references, a minimalist lacquer dial, and a Miyota automatic movement.
Monochrome
To say that the PRX collection by Tissot is wide would be a genuine understatement… The range is vast, comprising classic automatic versions, quartz models, several sizes (40mm, 38mm, 35mm and even 25mm recently), standard steel editions, but also unexpected materials (titanium, damascuss steel, carbon) and all the colours you can imagine. And here, I’m […]
Monochrome
Independent watchmaking brand Czapek introduced the Promenade collection in 2024 as a more classic and elegant vision of its contemporary watchmaking. Since then, the model has been used for several creative dial executions, such as the Plissé, Diamond Drops, and Goutte de Rosée editions, as well as the Promenade Transparencies Viridian Green, made in collaboration […]
SJX Watches
In the lead up to Geneva Watch Days, Czapek has unveiled the Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue — a gradient blue variant of a sapphire-dialled dress watch the brand released in late 2024. The watch breaks little new ground but the blue-on-blue look reveals a keen eye and an awareness of colour theory. Initial thoughts I have mixed feelings about sapphire dials, but I liked Czapek’s approach to opening up the Promenade when the brand launched its “Viridian Green” collaboration with Fratello in 2024. The “Aqua Blue” edition gets many of the same things right, with a dark-enough tint that the exposed movement elements don’t overwhelm the design. In fact, at some angles, the exposed movement looks more like a graphic element, akin to the Octo Finissimo Automatic BVL 138 Sketch. On the wrist, when the movement is not back-lit, the dial appears much darker, and the movement components are even less obvious. This split personality extends to the overall format of the Promenade, which is conveniently sized at 38 mm and is about 11 mm thick. The latter dimension is a bit chunky for an automatic dress watch with a micro-rotor movement, but it gives the watch a robust, almost sporty feel. And the extra thickness likely contributes to the reassuring 50 m test depth. An optional milanese-style steel bracelet completes the transformation from dressy to sporty, should one wish to do it all with one watch. A close look reveals thousands of printed dots that are responsible...
Quill & Pad
You can surf the web all you want, but there is nothing like actually seeing a watch in the metal, feeling its weight on your wrist, the firm yet gentle grip of the strap, and gazing into the depth of its dial and realizing: "This is The One." And a fair is one of the best places to find a match.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Orient Mako II vs Kamasu: two near-identical Japanese divers, one classic and one sharper. Here's which affordable automatic diver to buy and why.
Time+Tide
Blancpain revives a 1968 Bathyscaphe for its 70th anniversary, with a 37.4mm case, vintage-inspired details and a 100-hour movement.
Time+Tide
The new Glashütte Original Senator Chronograph and Senator Chronograph Navigator pay tribute to the history of German chronograph watches.
Teddy Baldassarre
One classic flieger, one maritime observer, both with in-house movements and the most versatile quick-change bracelets the brand has ever offered. More
Fratello
Over the past few years, we have seen great changes within the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms lineup. The brand celebrated the 70th anniversary of its iconic diver in multiple “acts.” On top of that, Blancpain created a full collection of Fifty Fathoms models in different sizes, offering something for everyone and addressing an issue many enthusiasts […] Visit A Nice Vintage-Inspired Surprise: The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 70th Anniversary to read the full article.
Fratello
“Droit au But,” translated roughly as “Straight to the Goal,” has been Olympique de Marseille’s motto since the club’s foundation in 1899 and appears beneath the “OM” crest. OM is one of the most recognizable clubs in French football. Its greatest achievement came on May 26th, 1993, when OM defeated AC Milan 1–0 in Munich […] Visit A Heavenly “Match” — The Olympique De Marseille × Jacques Bianchi Marseille JB200 Chronometer Limited Edition to read the full article.
Fratello
Two watches should be enough, at least in theory. If you had no budget limitations and could own only two watches, which would you choose? The challenge isn’t simply to pick two favorites. With only two spots available, both watches need to earn their place. In this episode of Fratello Talks, Nacho is joined by […] Visit Fratello Talks: Building A Dream Two-Watch Collection to read the full article.
SJX Watches
A new day is dawning for Credor, which made its Watches & Wonders debut with the Locomotive “Dawn Blue” ref. GCCR995. Designed by Gerald Genta, the Locomotive was once the brand’s flagship sports model in the same vein as its more famous Swiss siblings, but with a quirky integrated-unintegrated bracelet. The obvious quality of the titanium case and bracelet make up for a weak spec sheet, but leave room for the Locomotive to grow alongside the newly international Credor marque. Initial thoughts The Locomotive is a great example of a watch that is more than the sum of its parts. In fact, it’s (almost) inexplicably nice for a watch with such a strange design, a mundane movement, and a micro-adjust-less pin-and-collar bracelet. While it’s cliché to say a watch looks better in person than photographs — and underestimates what a good photographer can do — I would say the Locomotive feels much better in person, like a watch of its price point should. The defining update for this edition of the Locomotive is its embossed dial, which features a repeating hexagon motif. The grooves that fill each cell are oriented at different angles, giving the dial a shimmering personality that changes with shifting light. At some angles, the dial is a uniform blue, while other angles produce an almost chequerboard-like effect. This backdrop is coated with layers of clear lacquer, enabling the Credor wordmark and (superfluous) “Automatic” text to float neatly above the three-d...
Worn & Wound
Don’t look now, but Longines is having an uncommonly strong year. The release of the reworked HydroConquest dive watch in March remains one of the most discussed new releases of the year from a major brand, and their quiet but smart update of the Master Collection in June was also well received. Last month, they launched a new version of one of the more curious watches to be plucked from their archives in recent years, and while it’s certainly more of a niche product than the diver or the classically styled pieces in the Master Collection, it shows that the brand is still considering the enthusiast in spite of what is clearly a larger, big tent approach focusing on core models. The Longines Conquest Central Power Reserve in light blue is the third such watch following cream, anthracite and black dials introduced in 2024. These are incredibly charming watches in person, and lift from a design that originally debuted in 1959. It’s a fairly straightforward watch, with the central quirk (literally) being a power reserve indicator represented by a subdial in the dead center of the dial. The date appears at 12:00, and studying the dial reveals an idiosyncratic sector-like layout that is easily readable and visually interesting. The case of the Longines Conquest Central Power Reserve measures a tidy 38mm in diameter and 12.3mm thick. That is a tad taller than I’d typically like on a watch in this style, but I think it’s the price we pay for a modern, tech forward mo...
Monochrome
Minerva‘s Unveiled Chronograph series is an exercise in turning conventional watchmaking inside out. Instead of hiding the movement under the dial, which would require taking the watch off the wrist to admire its calibre through the display caseback, the manufacture reverses its architecture, making the chronograph mechanism and its distinctive hand-finished components the main attraction […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
The Tutima Flieger T5 brings a smaller titanium case and a familiar ETA-based automatic to the brand's modern pilot-watch family. A TBWS first look.
Hodinkee
This story is a special presentation from Hodinkee Japan, written and illustrated by Masaharu Wada, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief for Hodinkee Japan. For a young brand to revisit roughly 98 percent of the movement components in a GPHG-winning watch after receiving the award might ordinarily sound like cause for concern. But when I visited Fam al Hut's workshop in Taicang, Jiangsu Province, China, I came away feeling almost the opposite. More than anything else, that fact seemed to capture exactly where the brand stands today. A large industrial elevator takes you to the second floor, where the doors open onto a long central corridor. To the right, behind glass walls, designers and engineers gather around technical drawings. To the left is a production floor lined with five CNC machines and other machine tools. Farther inside are a prototyping room, a finishing department, a clean room for movement assembly, a quality-control room, a stockroom, and even a dedicated room housing a femtosecond laser machine. Not everything is made here. Cases and sapphire crystals, among other components, still come from outside suppliers. What Fam al Hut has built, however, is an environment in which it can control the design, prototyping, machining, assembly, testing, and continued development of its movements. For such a young independent brand, the scale of the operation was far beyond what I had expected. Fam al Hut was founded in 2024. The following year, its debut watch, the MARK 1 Möb...
Monochrome
Since the debut of the Independence Skeleton in 2022, followed by the fifth-anniversary Skeleton editions in 2023 and the more compact 40mm model introduced last year, Norqain has established its approach to skeletonisation. Without chasing the extremes, the brand offers a combination of a contemporary openworked design and the robust, adventure-ready character that defines the […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Find out what our testing reveals about luxury dive watches, where the premium shows on the wrist, and how closely mid-price alternatives match the experience.
WatchAdvice
We go hands-on with the new Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver, and see why this is the watch Grand Seiko fans and watch enthusiasts have been wanting! What We Love The new case size and dimensions That dial, I mean, seriously?! The new bracelet and clasp design What We Don’t The lack of a date window The full titanium construction may not be to everyone’s liking The anti-magnetism could be increased to accommodate modern life Overall Rating: 8.75 / 10 Value For Money: 9/10 Design: 8.5/10 Wearability: 9/10 Build Quality: 8.5/10 This year, Grand Seiko upped the ante and took the fight to the swath of other luxury dive watches on the market with the release of its new Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver, which was released at Watches & Wonders 2026. It was the dive watch Grand Seiko enthusiasts had been wanting and waiting for. A smaller, more wearable diver that was a little more contemporary than the models it replaced. With a raft of changes, including a smaller, better-proportioned case, a redesigned bracelet, new micro-adjustment and a more modern dial aesthetic, the new Ushio 300 Diver ticked so many boxes. Plus, Grand Seiko decided that steel was too heavy for a sports watch, so they made it from High-Intensity Titanium instead. The 2026 Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver models We had the privilege of previewing it before Watches & Wonders, and while the article I wrote up for the Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.F.A 300 Ushio Diver was a ...
Worn & Wound
As I expand my knowledge of microbrands, I was super excited to receive a sample from Vario, a Singapore-based company that’s been going strong for a decade. The brand’s latest offering builds on its Navi collection, which first joined Vario’s catalog in 2021. The line holds firm to its nautical roots with its sleek and refined interpretation of a porthole throughout the case and dial along with its compass and anchor hands and sailor-cap crown. Over the past five years, the Navi has taken a few forms, from the inaugural jump-hour to special editions like the Popeye and Vario’s collaboration with Watch Enthusiasts India (WEI). In 2024, we saw the introduction of a single-hand version, offering a slow-time display with an Engine Order Telegraph (EOT) 12-section dial in which each of the 12 sections is broken down into 15-minute intervals for a general reading of the time rather than one to the exact minute. Now, Vario builds on this design with five new colorways and, for the first time, new languages. With this extension of the Navi collection, Vario is taking the line into international waters starting regionally with Chapter One: Europe. The foundation of the models remains the same as what we saw in the original and now sold-out single hand version. The case is rendered in 316L stainless steel and executed in highly wearable proportions at 38mm in diameter and 11mm in thickness. The lugs strike a good balance of geometry and curvature that allows the model to si...
Hodinkee
Some version of this story has been in the back of my mind for months, maybe years. Because I see, hear, and experience so many wild things in my watch life that it's hard to really understand, I thought the best thing I could do was share them with you. Some of the below are simple opinions; others are hard and true facts. I think I have a unique position in the watch space as the president of a large media outlet (so I see traffic information and click tendencies), I'm a long time consumer of all kinds of watches (vintage, new, independent, big and small), something of a pundit on the industry for large media outlets, a participant in basically all the organizations that focus on the watch industry, and of course, an officer at one of the largest modern watch retailers in the world. Beyond that, the amount of DMs I get from total strangers asking me watch questions is simply b-a-n-a-n-a-s (should that be a series unto itself?). So I thought I'd take some of what's been on my mind from all of the above sources and put it on paper to be read, debated, and (dis)agreed with. So, here are five things that are happening in the watch world that make zero sense, and five more that make a ton of sense. FIVE THINGS HAPPENING IN TODAY'S WATCH MARKET THAT MAKE ZERO SENSE 1. Complicated (Vintage And New!) Patek Philippe Is Trading Below Where It Should Be Trading The 5270G is a fantastic watch, and even at retail, represents very solid value compared to what else is happening out...
Monochrome
Tutima, based in Glashütte, earned its wings in the 1940s with its military and pilot’s watches and, in 1941, produced Germany’s first two-pusher flyback chronograph (later referred to as the Flieger). In 2019, Tutima released a contemporary, less tool-oriented, time-and-date take on the Flieger. The latest model to join the squadron is the Flieger T5, […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Seiko revisits Japan’s first wristwatch with two new Presage models featuring enamel and urushi dials and a 72-hour automatic movement.
Hodinkee
What We Know It may not always come as a surprise when Seiko releases a new collaboration, at least in the abstract. Still, it is always exciting to see just who Seiko has chosen to partner with, and what that partnership can turn into. This time, Seiko has paired itself with Tradman's Bonsai, a Japanese creative collective whose mission is to celebrate and continue exploring the traditional art of Japanese Bonsai through both the creation of Bonsai spaces and the pursuit of collaborations with brands in the street culture, fashion, and art worlds. The result here is the latest addition to Seiko's Presage line, Seiko's dressier alternative to other, more technical watch families likeProspex. It's also the line Seiko often uses to celebrate heritage Japanese aesthetics and artistry, making it a perfect canvas for Seiko to honor Bonsai, an art form that involves growing, cultivating, and shaping small-scale trees with rigorous dedication and precision. With this watch, Seiko has evoked Bonsai trees in several ways, most clearly with the introduction of a new dial color and texture. Inspired by the bark of aging pine trees, the new pattern gently spirals outward from the center of the dial and is paired with a deep green gradient treatment and a dual-curved sapphire crystal with an AR coating on the inside. A 38mm stainless steel case with a fluted bezel and yellow-gold-tone finish houses the dial and the watch's 6R51 movement, a time-only automatic from Seiko with a 72-hour ...
Worn & Wound
Jacques Bianchi, the Marseille based brand specializing in dive watches, has released the first watch in what is expected to be an ongoing partnership with Olympique de Marseille, the city’s historic football club. This has been a big summer for soccer, of course, with the World Cup being held in North America right in the middle of summer, and if your individual case of football fever hasn’t exactly been cured yet, the new diver based on the brand’s popular JB200 platform might be of interest. And even if it’s not, it’s an interesting diversion from Jacques Bianchi that might point to some broader ambition from the brand as it relates to artistic craft, and chronometry. First, let me say that while I have no particular allegiance to Olympique de Marseille, I have a soft spot for soccer watches. The first watch I bought after writing about it for Worn & Wound was a Timex x Nigel Cabourn “Referee Watch,” which sits on my desk to this day, ticking away. Soccer of course has a unique approach to timing among the major team sports in that a clock counts up to the end of a 45 minute half, with the referee having a great deal of latitude to add time to the clock at his or discretion that takes into account the normal stoppages of play. This principle is further complicated by the fact that the referee solely holds this information – the clock counting up that players and spectators see in the stadium or on television is essentially always just an estimate. The ...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Discover the 8 best field watches under $1,000 we've actually worn and tested. Find the ones that best balance comfort, legibility, and long-term ownership.
Monochrome
Since founding his independent brand in 2022, Sylvain Berneron has built a reputation around a distinctive approach to form, mechanics and scarcity. His experience on the creative side of major organisations clearly shaped his understanding of both product design and the power of restraint. His first watch, the Mirage, established that philosophy immediately. Introduced in […]
Time+Tide
Two modern takes on an ancient metal in both solid dial and skeletonised forms from the daring Franck Muller
Monochrome
Few racing circuits are as well-known outside the car fan community and command the respect and mythology of the Nürburgring Nordschleife. For almost a century, it has served as the proving ground for racing drivers, manufacturers and performance cars, and few brands are more closely associated with it than Porsche. Beyond countless motorsport victories, every […]
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