Two Broke Watch Snobs
6-Year Review: Does The Seiko 5 Sports Live Up To The Seiko SKX?
Our long-term wear tests compare the Seiko 5 Sports and the Seiko SKX on comfort, reliability, pricing, and who each watch is really for.
Results for Twin and Triple Barrel
29,634 articles · 2,003 videos found · page 423 of 1055
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Monochrome
Introducing – The New Lebois & Co Heritage Small Seconds Collection
A historical name of the watch industry (founded in 1934), Lebois & Co was revived in 2015 by Tom van Wijlick, a Dutch entrepreneur who’s also responsible for the comeback of Airain and its Type 20 and 21 pilot’s watches. Although still hesitant at the beginning, the brand truly found its stride with the 2022 release of the […]
Monochrome
First Look – The New Bell & Ross BR-03 GMT Compass
Bell & Ross has gotten a lot of mileage from its distinctive cockpit instrument-inspired watches with round dials in square cases and four exposed screws in the corners. Fusing these traits, the first BR-01 of 2005 with its whopping 46mm diameter squarely put the French brand on the horological radar. A year later, Bell & […]
Fratello
Why Every Watch Collector Needs A “Calatrava”
There’s something about a classic dress watch that resonates beyond fleeting trends. For me, it all started with the vintage IWC “Calatrava” Cal. 89 that I inherited from my grandfather. It is a watch from a bygone era when watchmaking was all about understated elegance, mechanical mastery, and timeless design. Recently, my Fratello colleagues discussed […] Visit Why Every Watch Collector Needs A “Calatrava” to read the full article.
Fratello
Introducing: The Maen × IFL Watches Manhattan After Dark Limited Edition
IFL Watches and Maen are back at it again! After the success of last year’s Graffiti collaboration, it seems that fans were clamoring for a follow-up. While the first watch focused on the bright, vibrant colors of street art during the day, the new Manhattan After Dark envisions the city when the shadows come out […] Visit Introducing: The Maen × IFL Watches Manhattan After Dark Limited Edition to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Complicated Collectors: John Pierpont Morgan
As part of a continuing series on great watch collectors, following the first studies dedicated to Elliott Cabot Lee and Thomas Engel, the third instalment turns to the horological world of John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (1837-1913). Based on the famous 1912 Chiswick Press catalogue, this analysis reflects the range and typological structure of his collection. These watches span devotional and allegorical forms, astronomical instruments, and multi-functional works of mechanical synthesis. While Morgan’s approach has sometimes been described as encyclopaedic rather than selective, the collection itself tells a different story, one in which historical resonance and technical refinement consistently overlap. The selection offers a tangible expression of Morgan’s collecting logic, in which cultural meaning, mechanical ingenuity, and symbolic intent were sought in equal measure. The man In the pantheon of American capitalists, J. Pierpont Morgan occupies a singular place: titan of industry, consolidator of empires, and paradoxically, one of the greatest cultural preservationists of his age. Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1837, the son of an ambitious transatlantic banker, he came of age amid the expanding architecture of American finance. His education, from early childhood, was European. He studied in Switzerland and later in Germany, where a brief period at the University of Göttingen introduced him to the German language and the foundations of art history. These formative ...
Fratello
Artem Takes A Bold Step With The Introduction Of Barenia Leather Straps In Its Loop-Less Style
Having iterated upon its Sailcloth and Signature Nylon ranges to near perfection, Artem turns its attention to unexplored territory. The typically adventure-focused Australian strap maker seeks to put its spin on classic leather straps. Its well-renowned Sailcloth and HydroFlex watch straps suit all climates and excursions, standing up to whatever you can throw at them. […] Visit Artem Takes A Bold Step With The Introduction Of Barenia Leather Straps In Its Loop-Less Style to read the full article.
Monochrome
Buying Guide – The Depth of Detail with Six Beautifully Textured Blue Dials
Every week, on Sunday morning, we entertain you (hopefully) with a series of watches sharing a common theme. While this can be anything, really, we revisit topics from time to time to see what’s new and fresh. One of the most popular topics of debate is colour, and as such, we revisit one of the […]
Fratello
Coming To Terms With A Motorbike Crash With My Tudor Heritage Ranger
I park my 1983 BMW R65 beside a quiet bend of the Hawkesbury River, not far from Wiseman’s Ferry. Sunlight reflects off the large 22-liter blue petrol tank. A little mid-morning mist still lingers along the valley, and the air feels soft with dawn‑cool dampness. Ahead lies the old convict road that once linked colonial […] Visit Coming To Terms With A Motorbike Crash With My Tudor Heritage Ranger to read the full article.
Monochrome
Book Review – The Book of Rolex, Accessible Knowledge about “The Crown” for Everyday Watch Fans
With well over a century of watchmaking from the day the brand was founded until today, the world of Rolex can be a daunting one. As the most prolific and widely known brand, and with countless references, generations and innovations coming from the Swiss manufacture, it’s understandable some might get absolutely lost in the details. […]
Time+Tide
How a sceptic ended up wearing an eight‑day Panerai more than the “sure things” in his box
Jason shares how the Luminor 8 Giorni PAM00915 pushed through his scepticism and became the first Panerai in his collection.The post How a sceptic ended up wearing an eight‑day Panerai more than the “sure things” in his box appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
The ABCs of Time – Beyond Steel or Gold, Unusual Materials Used for Watch Cases
Stainless steel, whether 316L or 904L, is now the most common metal for modern watch cases and bracelets. There’s a good reason for this: it’s robust, highly corrosion-resistant, easy to machine and polish, and very affordable. By and large, it’s the perfect watch case material. Gold and platinum are the go-to precious metals for cases […]
Teddy Baldassarre
The Best Rolex Blue Dial Watches
When you think of Rolex, the first colors your mind usually conjures up are green and gold, long the emblematic colors of the Swiss power brand and its world-famous “crown” logo. (Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf is said to have settled on these colors because they symbolized wealth and success.) Blue, on the other hand, is not a color that most watch aficionados readily associate with Rolex, though many will associate it with other watch brands, like Breguet, Breitling, and Rolex’s own little brother, Tudor. However, when Rolex does decide to do blue - whether it’s for dials, bezels, or some combination of both - it does so in a way that really speaks to the brand’s avid fan base. Over the years, some blue-dialed Rolex watches, in fact, are not only popular but have become recognized as classics. Here are seven Rolexes with blue dials - some discontinued and collectible, others still available in the current collection - that have demanded enthusiast attention. (Price estimates for the discontinued models on the list are courtesy of WatchCharts.) Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust 41, Ref. 126334 ($11,100) Rolex released the Datejust in 1945, and the model is today regarded as one of the world’s most classically elegant dress watches. The Datejust brought two now-familiar elements to the world of watch design, one of which can be found throughout the watch industry, the other being still closely associated with Rolex. The first was the addition of a date disp...
Deployant
New: CASIO X Back To The Future
Casio’s CA-500WEBF-1A “Back to the Future” edition is a thoughtful nod to both retro tech and pop culture. Rather than reinventing the wheel, Casio builds on the familiar silhouette of its classic calculator watch, the CA-53W, famously worn by Marty McFly in the original film.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Affordable Microbrand Watch Showdown: Baltic vs Nodus
After years of testing we compare Baltic and Nodus, weighing build, design, and value to help you pick the right affordable microbrand watch.
Teddy Baldassarre
The Eight Best Italian Watch Brands in 2026
Watchmaking is a trade that draws artisans and enthusiasts from around the globe, though as an industry it has taken root in only a relative handful of nations. Switzerland, of course, is widely recognized as the world leader in the horological arts, but nations including Japan and Germany have also made a name for themselves on the world watchmaking stage. As watch connoisseurship grows in the 21st century, former watchmaking powers like Great Britain, the United States, and France have started increasing their footprint in the industry. Italy, another country historically renowned for its meticulous craftsmanship and bold, stylish design language, has exerted its own small but impactful influence on the world of watches: it’s the birthplace of Panerai, for example, a brand that essentially opened the door for old-school military tool watches to enter the rarefied air of luxury. It’s also the ancestral home of Bulgari, which, despite being more famous for its jewelry, has earned awestruck respect in the watch world for its record-breaking, boundary-pushing ultra-thin complications. Even Italy’s world-famous luxury sports-car marques - Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati - have exerted a muse-like influence on watchmakers worldwide, in both design and technology, often through direct partnerships. Watches actually made in Italy, however, are relatively few - Panerai and Bulgari are far too rooted in Switzerland nowadays to be considered for this list - but each co...
Monochrome
Review – The Urwerk UR-150 Blue Scorpion, Streamlined, Redefined, Still with the Same Bite
Urwerk has spent nearly three decades rewriting the rules of how a wristwatch tells time. Since Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner founded the brand in 1997, the core idea has stayed very consistent: wandering satellite hours sweeping past retrograde minutes, executed as a sort of kinetic sculpture. Models like the UR-103 put the satellite carousel […]
Teddy Baldassarre
The Most Expensive Watch Brands: From Mainstream To Niche
The world of high-end watches is a bit mysterious, and that is largely by design. Flagship pieces are produced in limited quantities, and pricing generally falls into the "contact us for details" realm for many of the most expensive watch brands. New mechanical innovations make headlines and push the industry and its trends forward, but this comes at a cost, with the best in the game building a certain reputation by doing this consistently over the course of generations. The ultimate value that buyers and enthusiasts will perceive in these watches is created in time, and it goes without saying that this value is quite subjective in nature. There are a multitude of details that become more apparent, and are even demanded, at the higher end of watchmaking, however. There are vast differences in materials, finishing techniques, and even mechanical aspects such as an uncommon escapement design or power reserve delivery that separate the very top brands from what you might find at your local jeweler. Understanding the world’s most expensive brands will mean having a grasp on these differences. This is the kind of knowledge that will also go a long way in appreciating watchmaking as the art form that it is. As great art is more than some canvas over a wood frame, a mechanical watch is far more than some screws, springs, and gears. Within a watch, each of these components offer the watchmaker an opportunity for creative expression in the kinds of materials they chose to use...
Monochrome
Portrait – The Manteio Zeus, Self-Taught Watchmaker Alex Goetschi’s Divine Debut
For our latest independent watchmaking discovery, we talk to Alex Goetschi, a young self-taught watchmaker from Switzerland with a very interesting story. Under the name of Manteio, which comes from the Greek word for Oracle, he finds inspiration in Greek mythology. And what better topic for your first watch than the ‘King of the Gods’ […]
Deployant
TGIFridays: Sample photographs from the new Leica M EV1
We had the Leica M EV1 prototype on loan for a few days, and presented you with our review last week. Today, we show some sample photographs.
Monochrome
Introducing – Launching on Kickstarter, the new Northern Watches NW1 Bronze Age & NW2 Northerner
Northern Watches, launched by the Norwegian-born and Swiss-based watchmaker Stian Lofstad, arrives with a clear message: show the whole day at a glance, keep the design clean, and build it in Switzerland with proven movement. The debut range splits into two references, the bronze-cased NW1 Bronze Age and the steel NW2 Northerner, but the concept […]
SJX Watches
SJX Podcast: Breguet’s Big Pivot
On Episode 17 of the SJX Podcast, Brandon has just returned from WatchTime New York, an event that has emerged as the flagship watch fair in the United States since its debut in 2015. SJX shares his hands-on impressions of Breguet’s new ref. 7225, which features the return of the brand’s magnetic pivots and is the highlight of the 250th anniversary releases so far. We also examine the hamburger-sized 77 mm J. Player & Son ‘hypercomplication’ at Phillips – one of the most complicated and impressive British watches ever made, before wrapping up with a discussion about some of the pieces from JP Morgan’s own collection coming up in the same auction. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Youtube.
SJX Watches
Aubert Ramel Debuts with the Ouréa
While Aubert and Ramel is a new brand, and the Ouréa is a new watch, Thomas Aubert and Alexis Ramel-Sartori aren’t new to independent watchmaking, both having worked for a prominent name in the space. That experience is evident in a strong – and decidedly on-trend – debut that stands out even in a crowded market. Initial Thoughts It seems there are many finely decorated time-only watches on the market today; the two contributed to some of the better ones in their earlier careers. Now the pair strike out under their own name, and unsurprisingly, their first watch is quite good. Though the duo seem to know that already, as they have priced it close to, just a little below, leading independents. The Ouréa’s “scraped” dial brings to mind the wildly successful Chronomètre Artisans from Simon Brette. That probably isn’t coincidental, as the two both worked for Simon Brette. However, I perceive an even stronger, and more general, influence of Greubel Forsey in the Ouréa. It also calls back to Thomas Aubert’s Séléné, winner of last year’s F.P. Journe young talent competition. The scintillating teal accents, applied by atomic layer deposition, are a nice touch to set the watch apart, and the hands are incredibly well made. Interestingly, the filling in the hands is white lacquer rather than luminous material. That seems like a missed opportunity as the appearance would be nearly identical if it were lumed. It is also a shame that Mr Aubert’s recoiling sho...
Worn & Wound
Review: the Hanhart Aquasphere “Ocean Fade”
It’s amazing the way some watches don’t make sense until they do. That was absolutely my experience of the Hanhart Aquasphere when it showed up on my desk a few weeks ago. I mean, I love dive watches, but the Aquasphere was something entirely outside my realm of comfort, and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. At least, I wasn’t sure what to make of it until I realized something fundamental: I was thinking about the Aquasphere in entirely the wrong context. Sure, on paper, the Aquasphere is a strong addition to the stable of sub $2,000 dive watches on offer today, but in practice, the Aquasphere is nothing like the divers I tend to spend my time with. The Hanhart is a watch that’s big, over-designed, and not at all to my typical taste, but that just may be what I came to like so much about it. In a world where the prevailing trend in dive watches has been to look back into the twentieth century for design inspiration, there’s something fundamentally refreshing about a watch that isn’t meant to compete with the Black Bay even a little. Instead, the Aquasphere evokes a design language born in the ‘90s and perfected in the ‘00s, one that may not entirely appeal to many enthusiasts, but will hit square on for those collectors whose taste was formed by watch billboards of the era, and who find their minds drifting towards watches like the Breitling SuperAvenger or TAG Heuer Link. That does mean that this watch certainly won’t be for everyone, but for the...
Teddy Baldassarre
The Best Luxury Sport Watches
Luxury Sport watches are probably one of the most popular categories out there with no shortage of excellent options from the most mainstream to the most niche independent watch brands. While names like the Rolex Submariner and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak are seen as the staple watches in this category to aspire to, we asked our editorial team here to share their personal picks in this admittedly crowded category. So without further ado, let's take a look at our favorite luxury sport watches. Glashütte Original SeaQ Panorama Date There are dive watches that you wear to go diving and there are dive watches that you wear - well, maybe afterward, to the country club where you go to talk about diving. The Glashütte Original SeaQ is a prime example of a watch that can actually fill both roles. While it was established relatively recently, in 1994, Germany’s Glashütte Original can trace its lineage as far back as 1845, which also happens to be the year that watchmaking essentially arrived as an industry in Germany. As I cover in much greater detail in this article, a full century of horological tradition, centered in the town of Glashütte in the state of Saxony, came to an end with Germany’s defeat in World War II. It was replaced by a new era in which a state-owned conglomerate of once-independent heritage watch manufacturers, the Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe or GUB, shifted focus from artisanal techniques and luxuriously decorative timepieces to mass-produced tool watch...
Monochrome
Hands-on – The New Titanium Jacques Bianchi JB300 Profonde x Deepsea.edc
Every brand from Apple to Zenith touts at least one watch that is “built for adventure”, “to stand the test of time”, or to “take a licking and keep on ticking” (okay, maybe that last one is less current). One look at the watch marketing out there today, and you will be inundated with images […]
Hodinkee
Happenings: Lewis Heath To Lecture At The Horological Society Of New York
The anOrdain Founder will discuss the details of grand feu enamel and the different techniques employed in its production.
Worn & Wound
Nomos Plays the Hits: Introducing the Tetra Origins Collection
Nomos has had an incredibly interesting trajectory among watch enthusiasts over the past decade or so. If you got into the hobby at a certain time, Nomos was almost certainly one of the first “forum brands” that you’d be introduced to as a level up from some of the core enthusiast watches that you might be able to scrounge for in your local department store or pick up on Amazon. Nomos (and Sinn, and a handful of other brands) required a bit more expense, and a bit more effort to get your arms around, but once you did, you really felt like you were part of the club (no pun intended). And then things kind of settled. The enthusiasts who cut their teeth on Nomos did what enthusiasts always do, and discovered other cool things as the watch community migrated from the antiquated forums to Facebook and Instagram. Nomos never stopped releasing good watches, but there was a sliver of time when it felt like they were improving rapidly and we’d have exciting new releases from them on a regular basis. It didn’t really turn out that way – they’ve largely iterated on core designs, offering new sizes (usually bigger) and sportier specs (bracelets, and better water resistance). The hypothetical Nomos chronograph that I can recall so many anonymous forum users speculating about never materialized, and it seems like the brand has become very comfortable simply being Nomos and making Nomos watches. Things changed a bit this year at Watches & Wonders with the release of the...
Fratello
Taking A Look At The Current Favre Leuba Catalog
Watch fans worldwide were excited when Favre Leuba’s return was announced in August last year. The world’s second-oldest watch brand is a favorite among vintage collectors and has created some absolute classics. Upon the unveiling of the new collection, we quickly learned that Favre Leuba would honor the past with modern versions of these watches. […] Visit Taking A Look At The Current Favre Leuba Catalog to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Farer’s Moonphase Lights Up the Night
Farer has managed to carve out its own niche in the new wave of British-founded, Swiss-made brands, with playful (and skillful) use of colour and accessible pricing. Two new additions to the Moonphase collection continue that pattern: the Stratton and Burbidge feature Farer’s signature cushion-shaped case and crisp detailing that gives them an unmistakably contemporary feel despite their traditional inspiration. The Stratton is the second Farer model to feature a natural stone dial, this time in Eisenkiesel quartz, while the Burbidge, limited to just 100 pieces, flaunts trendy Eastern Arabic numerals and a playful blue-and-pink palette. Initial thoughts Farer’s brand identity is rooted in British design and Swiss production; in this respect it’s similar to Christopher Ward and Fears. The brand offers a playful, and often colourful, twist on traditional tool watch motifs. The Moonphase collection is among the brand’s dressier offerings, and the Stratton and Burbidge are each interesting in their own right. The most eye-catching of the pair is the limited edition Burbidge with Eastern Arabic numerals for the dial and date wheel. The blue and pink colourway is charming and the exotic numerals will likely prove to be something of a ‘secret handshake’ among those who are up-to-date with collector culture. The Stratton, named for British astronomer Frederick Stratton OBE, sticks to regular numerals but features a natural stone dial made of Eisenkiesel. The thickness...