WristBuzz
Chronoswiss Opus Dakar Sundown: Desert Gold Meets Skeleton Chronograph
The iconic Opus gets a warm makeover with a two-tone steel and red gold case and a skeletonised dial inspired by desert dusk
Results for Watch Dial Text Conventions
24,797 articles · 223 videos found · page 416 of 834
WristBuzz
Worn & Wound
Introducing the Anoma A1 Prehistoric
Anoma has announced the latest version of the A1, their watch with a unique triangular shape that brand founder Matteo Violet Vianello says was inspired by a free-form table designed by Charlotte Perriand in the 1950s. There have been a variety of derivations of the original A1 design since it launched, and it’s been a surprisingly versatile canvas for a number of different ideas and points of reference. The thing I like most about the Anoma project, even more than the shape of the watch itself, which I like a lot, is that those ideas largely come from outside the watch world. This industry is filled with references to its own past, and sometimes new watches feel like fist bumps acknowledging and celebrating, well, themselves. It’s refreshing to see a brand celebrating an artistic world that extends beyond watches – it really expands the aperture on what’s possible in terms of design. Anoma’s latest, the appropriately named Prehistoric, was inspired by a visit to the Brancusi sculpture exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The exhibition features primitive artifacts that Brancusi saw as the earliest examples of human creativity. The objects, such as arrow heads, axes, and other tools, got Vianello thinking about what is actually essential in design, and what is excessive. He was also influenced by the physicality of these objects, and how evidence of their making, the crude handwork, was still present thousands of years after their creation. The Prehist...
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Anoma A1 Prehistoric
What We Know Matteo Violet Vianello found the idea for his newest watch while standing in a room full of prehistoric tools. At the Centre Pompidou's Brancusi exhibition in Paris a couple of years back, Vianello, the man behind Anoma, saw the sculptor's collection of primitive tools and artifacts, which stopped him—and stayed with him. That visit became the starting point for the A1 Prehistoric, the latest limited run built on Anoma's signature triangular case. The case itself is hand-chiseled 316L stainless steel, a five-hour process undertaken by Steven Brunel, a French engraver whose work has been exhibited at the Louvre. Brunel works out of a workshop in Mornand-en-Forez, a village of about 500 people in the Loire region. The buckle receives the same treatment. Because the chiseling is done entirely by hand, Anoma says no two pieces will be identical. The dial carries the process further. Roughly 600 individual lines are cut by hand into a brass base in a sunburst pattern, then finished in a dark anthracite color meant to recall the look of worked stone or flint. Specs remain close to the standard A1: the case measures 39mm by 38mm, wearing closer to 37mm thanks to its lugless, triangular shape, with a 9.45mm thickness. Inside is the Swiss automatic Sellita SW100, the same movement Anoma has used across its lineup, running in a case rated to 50 meters of water resistance. The watch comes on a grey-grained Italian leather strap. Anoma will build 100 examples of the A1 ...
Monochrome
First Look - The New, Bolder and Sharper Hermès Cape Cod in Titanium
Since its debut in 1991, the Cape Cod has occupied a special position within the Hermès watch collection. Designed by Henri d’Origny (who also created the Arceau in 1978), its instantly recognisable “square within a rectangle” case was inspired not by an equestrian universe but by the links of an anchor chain, resulting in one […]
Fratello
We Didn’t Scratch It! Hands-On With The Stone-Washed Montblanc Iced Sea Automatic Date 0 Oxygen
I swear, the watch came out of the box looking like this; we didn’t do anything to scuff it up. The brand that sent us the watch did this on purpose. The latest Montblanc Iced Sea Automatic Date 0 Oxygen is a black dive watch that looks like it has been diving in the harshest […] Visit We Didn’t Scratch It! Hands-On With The Stone-Washed Montblanc Iced Sea Automatic Date 0 Oxygen to read the full article.
SJX Watches
In Depth: Patek Philippe Star Caliber 2000
The Star Caliber 2000 occupies a peculiar position in the history of grand complications. It was never the most complicated watch in the world. At its debut it ranked fourth — behind Patek Philippe’s own Calibre 89 and Graves Supercomplication, and the Leroy 01 — and in the quarter-century since, the complexity record has moved further still, most notably to Vacheron Constantin. The complication arms race the Calibre 89 inadvertently triggered ran its full course, and the Star Caliber 2000 was never part of it. What it did instead was something harder to measure and, as it turns out, more durable. It demonstrated that the tradition’s inheritance of unsolved problems — the desynchronised equation, the imperfect melody, and the moon exiled from the sky — was not inevitable. That each problem had a solution. And that the solutions, taken together, produced a different kind of watch: not necessarily more complicated but more coherent; not a larger accumulation of independent mechanisms but an integrated instrument in which every display refers to a single source of truth. The arms race In early 1989, as Switzerland prepared to celebrate the most complicated portable timepiece ever made, the man who had just assembled it returned to his bench. Paul Buclin had spent years assembling and setting up the Calibre 89 by hand — 1,728 components driving 33 complications. Weighing most of a kilogram, the watch itself required its own carrying case. The watch was a monument...
Fratello
Forstner Brings Out Bracelets For The IWC Mark XV
I have a form when it comes to writing about the IWC Mark XV. In fact, I previously called it my GADA watch of choice, praising the 38mm pilot’s watch for its balance, restraint, and everyday usability. The trouble with many vintage or neo-vintage timepieces, however, is that finding bracelets worthy of them can become […] Visit Forstner Brings Out Bracelets For The IWC Mark XV to read the full article.
Monochrome
Buying Guide - Diving Deep with Six of the Best New Dive Watches
As undoubtedly one of the most popular categories of watches, a good dive watch is a mainstay in anyone’s collection, whether you own one, ten or a hundred watches. Most of them will never be pushed to the limits of their construction, but that’s besides the point. There’s something soothing in wearing a watch that […]
Time+Tide
A visit to Cairns armed with the new Seiko PADI 60th Anniversary Limited Edition Diver
We visited the Great Barrier Reef with Seiko Australia to check out their latest Diver's Watch, alongside a very special turtle
Fratello
Sunday Morning Showdown: Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yellow Rolesor Vs. Oyster Perpetual “Jubilee”
It’s Sunday morning, so it’s time for a fresh cup of coffee to accompany a good ol’ watch brawl. This week, we picked two Rolex Oyster Perpetual models to go up against each other. Both were introduced during Watches and Wonders in April and were The Crown’s main releases for this year. The two new […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yellow Rolesor Vs. Oyster Perpetual “Jubilee” to read the full article.
WristBuzz
The Best Vacation Watches for 2026: Ten Picks from a Kollokium to a G-Shock
One Swiss surprise with a hand-painted island dial, one Seiko you can lose in a beach bag, one G-Shock for pool days, and eight more in between. Ten watches to actually enjoy on holiday, from €91 to €8,100.
Time+Tide
New releases from Awake, Greubel Forsey, MB&F; and more
A week where nostalgia was running high in the watch industry, there are releases here that will take you right back.
Deployant
New: Sartory-Billard SB10 250th Anniversary
Sartory-Billard marks its tenth anniversary with the SB10 250th Anniversary: a jumping hour watch built around an exposed American copper cabochon, CNC-engraved in the United States and hand-patinated in Scotland, assembled in France. Available to order July 4–11, 2026 only. The following post is based on press release information. Editorial commentary appears in italics. New:Read More
Worn & Wound
Watches, Stories, & Gear: Mechanical Keyboards, the Werwulf Trailer, and a Stunning New View of the Milky Way
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Fixing the Biggest Problem With Mechanical Keyboards I don’t think it would be fair to classify me as a luddite, but I would say I’m more of a nostalgist. While I have made a nice little career for myself online, I do miss when things were a bit simpler. You know, when tech oligarchs didn’t rule the world and I could play my little Flash games on Neopets and it would take four hours to download one song onto my Microsoft Zune. Sure, I have an office now, but it doesn’t have the same charm as a computer room. This, of course, is bootstrapped by the physical memories, too. The soft grey ball inside the computer mouse, for one. Turning the computer on with my big toe while balancing my dinner plate on my lap. And, of course, the clickity-clackity of the keyboard. It was elevator music to the millions of AOL messages I sent throughout my high school years and the bane of my father’s existence, who swore he could hear it from all the way down the hall. Now I use a Macbook and it’s a soft and gentle tap on my fingertips. Not to quote Joni Mitchell here, but you really don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone. All the same, I’m glad I’m not alone. It see...
Time+Tide
Depancel cools things down with the new Série-R Chronograph Ice Blue Limited Edition
Depancel introduces the Série-R Chronograph Ice Blue Limited Edition with a fresh vertically brushed blue dial.
Monochrome
In-Depth - The Origins & Evolution Of The Breguet Tradition Collection (Incl. Video)
Steeped in tradition, perfectly in place in the present, and not shy about welcoming the future, the Tradition collection by Breguet is perhaps the finest representation of Abraham-Louis Breguet’s true watchmaking vision. This cornerstone collection was introduced in 2005 and has reshaped the perception of modern watchmaking through something remarkable: the creation of a pocket-watch-style […]
SJX Watches
American Independent 1776 Atelier Debuts the Liberty 250
Texas-based independent 1776 Atelier commemorates America’s 250th year with the Liberty 250, a rose gold skeleton watch with sharp anglage on a movement that is overwhelmingly American made, from the main plate to the free-sprung balance. Initial thoughts The American watch industry transformed from a cottage industry heavily reliant on European imports to the world’s largest watch manufacturer in just a few decades, concentrated around a handful of massive, and capital intensive, factories. This meant that when Waltham, Elgin, and Hamilton closed their American factories in 1957, 1968, and 1969, respectively, the entire domestic watchmaking disappeared almost overnight. 1776 Atelier is one of a handful of independents trying to rebuild it. Founder Jason Lu is a Texan technology executive turned self-taught watchmaker who cut his teeth restoring pocket watches as a hobby. He was later mentored by Donat Kornagel of DK Precision — a prolific German movement customiser — and took anglage-guru Philippe Narbel‘s full week masterclass. Co-founder Zach Smith — WOSTEP-trained watchmaker and KERN-whisperer — also founded Hour Precision, one of the few American component suppliers. Two members of Hour Precision’s fleet of KERN CNC mills Together, their approach is antithetical to the so-called “American system” of industrial watchmaking, which failed in the US but lives on in Switzerland and Asia. Instead, they build watches in small numbers by labour-intensive ...
Monochrome
Introducing - March LA.B’s new Dive Watches, the Cool Belza Twin Models
Named after the month March, followed by an acronym for Los Angeles and Biarritz, indie French brand March LA.B has a portfolio of surfer-friendly products with retro-inspired watches, sunglasses, wetsuits, small leather goods and customised vintage Schwinn bikes. Congregated in the brand’s Surf watch collection are the stylish 1970s-inspired Belza divers and its Bonzer surfer […]
Monochrome
Introducing - The New Chronoswiss Pulse GMT Frosted Guilloche Gold
Presented in 2025, the Pulse collection was a significant departure for Chronoswiss. While retaining signature elements such as the onion crown, coin-edge bezel and layered dial construction, it introduced a newly designed case with an integrated-style bracelet and a very contemporary aesthetic. Earlier this year, the collection welcomed the Pulse GMT models, namely the Enamel […]
SJX Watches
Patek Philippe’s Milan Grand Exhibition Rare Handcrafts are La Dolce Vita
Patek Philippe has just offered a peek at the Rare Handcrafts collection conceived for the upcoming Watch Art Grand Exhibition Milan 2026 that begins in October at the CityOval exhibition hall in Milan. As is traditional for the exhibition collection, the watches are centred on themes local to the host country or region. Italy, unsurprisingly, offers abundant inspiration and the pair of watches revealed so far certainly evoke la dolce vita. The first is the pocket watch ref. 992/193J-001 “Burano” that features an enamel decoration modelled on the streets of the Venetian island known for its compact houses painted in bright colours. A variety of enamelling techniques were employed for this motif, including cloisonné for the buildings and figures and paillonné for the waterway. The second timepiece is the Dome Clock ref. 20179M-001 “Sicilian Oranges”. This depicts Palermo seen from a distance, with an orange grove in the foreground. As is traditional for Dome Clocks, majority of the decoration is in cloisonné enamel. Because of the size of the clock, some 15 m of gold wire was required to complete the motif. The Grand Exhibition takes places October 2-18, 2026, at CityOval in Milan. Entry is free but complimentary tickets are required and available via online registration at Watchart2026.patek.com.
Time+Tide
Chronoswiss brings the warmth of the desert to its latest skeletonised chronograph with the Opus Dakar Sundown
Chronoswiss unveils the Opus Dakar Sundown, pairing a two-tone steel and red gold case with a skeletonised, desert-inspired dial.
Fratello
Hands On Horology 2026 Hosted By Oracle Time Magazine - Photo Report
Last month, I attended the second — and soon-to-be annual — Hands On Horology event. Hosted by Oracle Time at Protein Studios in Shoreditch, London, the show brought together watch brands from around the world. Representatives from Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, China, Japan, Britain, Norway, the United States, and many other nations filled the venue. With […] Visit Hands On Horology 2026 Hosted By Oracle Time Magazine — Photo Report to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
Rolex Sky-Dweller Review: The Most Complicated Rolex Explained
The Rolex Sky-Dweller is a complicated travel and calendar watch that is one of the rare under-appreciated models by the brand.
Hodinkee
Photo Report: Pitti Uomo Summer 2026
Pitti Uomo, Florence's biannual fashion week and perhaps the world's foremost gathering of stylish men, arrived this year amid an epic heatwave. Thousands of designers, buyers, and guests made the pilgrimage anyway—sleeves rolled, shorts short, shirts linen. Hodinkee was there to document what they were wearing on their wrists. Rolex Sea-Dweller. A few trends worth noting: the "vacation watch" has arrived as a legitimate category. Quirky, colorful, and valued less for their specs than for the memories attached to them. Panerais, meanwhile, are making a quiet resurgence in their home city. Steel Rolexes and Omegas remain ubiquitous, as they have been for the past two years. But the men of Pitti Uomo are increasingly hunting smaller, more obscure, and frankly more interesting pieces. A vintage Jaeger wristwatch was the highlight for me personally. Enjoy! Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116520. Vintage Piaget. Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds. Panerai Luminor Power Reserve Automatic. Noah x Timex Lighthouse Watch. Rolex Bubbleback. Emilie Hawtin, founder of women's tailoring brand Clementina, with her Rolex Lady Datejust. Swatch Gent. Rolex Explorer. Baltic Tricompax Tour Auto. Longines Spirit Zulu Time. Rolex Explorer II ref. 16570. Benrus Type II. Darte x Praesidus X-1. A Longines Heritage 1945 that was inspired by a watch that Ben Clymer used to own. Q Timex Vintage Hodinkee Limited Edition. Emporio Armani Sinfonia. Cartier Santos. Cartier Tank Mus...
Worn & Wound
Straum Introduces the Frozen Metal Titanium, Featuring their Long Awaited Titanium Bracelet
Straum has announced a new permanent addition to their popular Jan Mayen Collection of sports watches, the all new Frozen Metal Titanium. While at a quick glance you could be forgiven for thinking this is simply an iterative redeployment of a proven sports watch formula, there are actually a handful of notable upgrades when you start looking at it a little more closely. Like just about every other watch Straum makes, it takes inspiration from the natural landscape and a spirit of outdoor exploration, but here we also have some additional refinements and hints at potential new aesthetic directions that will have many enthusiasts curious about the brand’s future. The first notable upgrade on the Frozen Metal Titanium is right there in the name of the watch. While not their first grade 5 titanium model, it does represent the debut of their long awaited grade 5 titanium bracelet. It has a blasted finish to match the case and an H-link design, and Straum says that it is fully backward compatible with other titanium watches in their catalog. That’s a big win for Straum’s existing customers, and makes good on what amounts to a social compact a brand makes when they develop an integrated bracelet sports watch: provide workable strap and bracelet options that your early adopters can take advantage of. The other new developments here can be found in the dial treatment. Straum is using a new galvanic treatment for this dial execution that they say “frosts” the edges of ...
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Longines Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve In Light Blue
What We Know Today, Longines follows up its 2024 release of the Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve with a new colorway, adding a light blue opaline dial to the mix. Yes, this one's just a new dial color, but it offers a completely different feel from the three previous models in the very conservative shades of cream, grey, and black. The Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve serves as an homage to a 1959 model from the brand with the same kind of power reserve indication, but you can bet that they weren't doing light blue in this watch back in the day. The hue on the front is a refreshing change, but the styling on the dial otherwise remains the same, with a sector dial framing the unique power reserve indicator right in the center. What makes it interesting is that the power reserve isn't just displayed by a rotating pointer, but rather by a dance between the two discs of the power-reserve hours track and the inner pointer. This means that, depending on how you've wound the watch, the positioning of the pointer from full to empty may not always be the same on the dial. This certainly makes for a less intuitive setup, though in all fairness, this piece of information is probably secondary compared to the time and date, for things you'd need at a glance. A date window sits at twelve o'clock, nicely framed in an appliqué, and is accompanied by applied hour markers throughout. The case is well-proportioned for a wide range of wrist sizes, although rather tall for a ...
Fratello
After Giving Us The Rainbow, Awake Now Gets Us The Pot Of Gold With The New Sơn Mài Frosted Leaf Royal Blue
Have you seen a rainbow anywhere lately? I haven’t, but every time I see one, I think about the pot of gold that’s supposed to be sitting right at the end of it. Independent watch brand Awake also makes me think there’s a connection between the two. Lex recently went hands-on with the Sơn Mài […] Visit After Giving Us The Rainbow, Awake Now Gets Us The Pot Of Gold With The New Sơn Mài Frosted Leaf Royal Blue to read the full article.
Monochrome
Introducing - The Bell & Ross BR-03 Helipad Is Ready For Take-Off
When I first saw this watch, it immediately started the iconic tune of the 1980s cult TV show Airwolf, centred around a top-secret supersonic helicopter operated by a fellow named Stringfellow Hawke. Aired from 1984 to 1987, it followed in the footsteps of shows like Knight Rider, The A-Team and Robocop. This new Bell & […]
SJX Watches
I’ve Seen the Future of American Watchmaking
American watchmaking seems to be on the rebound, though it bears repeating that the number of brands doing substantial work within the 50 states remains low. On the eve of the nation’s 250th birthday, we examine another aspect of the domestic watch industry: the state of its watchmaking training system. To bring this topic into focus, we visited the Watch Technology Institute (WTI) at North Seattle College (NSC) — the last remaining full-time public watchmaking programme in the US capable of granting a major certification. The Watch Technology Institute at North Seattle College. Image – WTI The state of watch education in the United States The United States was once a watchmaking powerhouse that forced a massive shift toward industrialised watchmaking in Switzerland. But the domestic industry faltered as consumer tastes shifted to favour wristwatches, and the nation’s industrialists effectively gave up on watchmaking to focus on other markets. That explains why most American watchmakers today are oriented toward the service and maintenance of Swiss-made watches. There’s been a renewed emphasis in recent years on making complete watches in the US — J.N. Shapiro’s Resurgence is a representative example — but the needs and trends of the broader market help explain America’s increasingly consolidated training landscape. Understanding WTI and SAWTA The history of WTI dates to the post-war era, when a large number of vocational schools were opened in the US to ...
WristBuzz
The Holy Trinity of Watches: What Patek, AP, and Vacheron Actually Have in Common
Why Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron Constantin sit alone at the top of the watch hierarchy, why Rolex isn't in the conversation, and which of the three is the right buy depending on what you actually care about.