Hodinkee
Hands-On: Seeing Is Believing With The Mirrored Bulgari Octo Finissimo Sejima Special Edition
Swiss watchmaking meets Italian design meets Japanese architecture.
1,707 articles · 46 videos found · page 44 of 59
Hodinkee
Swiss watchmaking meets Italian design meets Japanese architecture.
WatchAdvice
What we like: Dial design is a real head turner Beautiful bracelet with mirror finishGreat price point for a Swiss chronograph What we don’t like: Some may not like the thickness of the watch Scatches will show up easily on the bracelet The watch can wear big for wrist sizes smaller than 6.5 inches Overall rating: 8.5/10 Value for money: 9/10 Wearability: 8/ 10 Design: 8.5/10 Build quality: 8.5/10 One of the most anticipated watches in 2022 has just been released, and Watchadvice has been given a chance to do a full in-depth review of it. The Tissot PRX Chronograph is the latest addition to the ever-popular Tissot PRX collection released last year. The Tissot PRX was a revamp of the original PRX created in 1978. Back then, Tissot released the PRX in an emblematic design with an integrated case and bracelet. The model stood out for its timeless design and sleek slender appearance. Unlike this modern reinterpretation, the original model came in various dial colours and different case shapes. The original Tissot PRX never had a chance to be in the limelight, as the model was released when Audemars Piguet released the Royal Oak in 1972 and Patek Philippe released the Nautilus in 1976. Now, however, I feel like the Tissot PRX (40 205) is getting the undivided attention it deserves. The latest Tissot PRX is a much-loved timepiece upon its release, with watch fanatics jumping on the bandwagon to get their hands on this piece. While the Tissot PRX is a fantastic watch an...
Hodinkee
The LM Split Escapement EVO is how MB&F; tackles a "simple and sporty" design brief.
Quill & Pad
Why is this timepiece important from a holistic view of horological history? The reasons are manifold and include the unheard-of technology nestled within its movement, the audacity of a German newcomer in challenging Swiss status quo, and the symbolic value for A. Lange & Söhne's rebirth as well as the golden age of mechanical timepieces.
Time+Tide
Doxa are a legend among revived Swiss watch brands, with a rich back catalogue of products to pull from that maintain an intense cult following. Their quirky designs are full of vintage flair and mystique, yet they’ve also proven themselves to be trailblazers in modern trends such as carbon fibre construction and refurbished movements. While … ContinuedThe post The top 5 Doxa limited editions appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
For years, Swiss brands have heavily invested in the Chinese market. Which has made sense, as year after year, the watch market there continues to be the largest in the world. Yet, with the recent pandemic and China’s love affair with lockdowns, many brands are realising some diversification wouldn’t hurt. And as they’ve scoured the … ContinuedThe post The Indian watch market: Switzerland’s next big target appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
The Swiss industry can feel a bit stuffy at times, a seriousness derived from a sense of luxury, heritage and timekeeping tradition. But we are increasingly seeing independents and micro-brands inject more playfulness into horology – from H. Moser & Cie, MB&F;, Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein, SecondeSeconde, Bamford and more. Another name you would … ContinuedThe post Studio Underd0g unveils Strawberries & Cream Chronograph inspired by Wimbledon snack appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
It’s quite common for microbrand watches to become a competing list of specifications trying to undercut each other on price, with buzzwords thrown around that promise great water resistance, sapphire crystals and Swiss movements. It’s hard to blame them either, because watch enthusiasts can be easily swayed by these claims of unbeatable value for money, … ContinuedThe post MICRO MONDAYS: The Retter 22 channels the style of Vacheron’s iconic 222 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
With the advent of Kickstarter it seems that anyone can start a watch brand these days, but there will always be a certain level of cachet required to be truly respected as a Swiss luxury brand, no matter the price point. So, with over 100 years of honest family-owned operation and consistent high-end products, why … ContinuedThe post IN-DEPTH: The Titoni Seascoper 600 is a dive watch from a brand you should know more about appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
The Swiss watchmaker has partnered with New York's "Billion Oyster Project" to release a new dive watch and raise awareness for a unique cause in the Hudson River.
SJX Watches
Though born in Japan, Yosuke Sekiguchi is steeped in the tradition of Swiss watchmaking. He moved first to France and then Switzerland some two decades ago, and is today fluent in French and skilled at watchmaking. After a career at complications specialists like Claret and La Joux-Perret, Mr Sekiguchi established his own brand in 2020 with the goal of building a historically-inspired timepiece of extremely high quality. The concept is a familiar one that has been interpreted in various ways by others, but Mr Sekiguchi arguably succeeds far better in both paying tribute to the historical inspiration and achieving impressive, artisanal quality. His first watch is the Primevère, which made its debut just earlier this year. It is an elegantly designed and clearly rooted in 19th century pocket watches, but also novel in several ways, reflecting Mr Sekiguchi’s unusual approach to the concept. Amongst other things, it is robustly constructed and larger than such wristwatches typically are. And while the movement resembles its vintage inspiration, it is fabricated and decorated in a finer, more artisanal manner than the 19th century original. NB: The Primevère pictured here is the first complete prototype with a gold-plated case, so it still reveals several obvious imperfections in the movement decoration. Mr Sekiguchi promises the the final product will be perfectly finished and I believe that it will be. Initial thoughts Although it appears to be a pocket watch reproducti...
Time+Tide
People often conflate wristwatches and horology as being the same thing. But the latter, in fact, encompasses hundreds more years of history and tradition . The art of luxury clocks, whether for travel or for display on a mantlepiece or desk, is often reserved for lofty Swiss brands who have made significant advancements in clock … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: Louis Vuitton’s travel clock comes with its own tailor-made trunk appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
The 1970s were a period of upheaval and turmoil for the mechanical watchmaking industry. This was the time of the “quartz crisis” during which the advent of quartz watches, with its superior accuracy at a much lower cost, had posed an existential threat to the Swiss watch industry. The quartz crisis led to a majorRead More
Hodinkee
The high-end Swiss watchmaker has absolutely nothing to hide – and this new case design proves it.
Time+Tide
You’d think that Doxa has covered most of the spectrum with their colour options - everything from bold oranges and yellows to toned-down silvers and blacks. For Watches and Wonders 2022, however, the Swiss manufacturer introduces a brand new colour to their lineup - the Doxa Whitepearl collection. Presenting as highly contrasting references with optional colour-matched … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: Doxa does everything white and it works appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
BALL are a bit of an oddity in the hierarchy of Swiss watches, having enjoyed such a rich history but not always getting the attention they deserve. They’re not exactly a budget brand, but their prices are definitely reasonable, so they fit into a very versatile pocket of luxury. Having been updated with three fresh colour … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The BALL Engineer III Marvelight Chronometer 40mm appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
Cali-based founder Aren Bazerkanian is inspired by Armenian culture, classical Swiss-French watchmaking, and West Coast architecture.
SJX Watches
Founded by a duo who each hail from families long involved in Swiss watchmaking, Norqain is only four years old but has managed to firmly establish its identity as a maker of affordable sports watches. The brand is now helmed by young team with an average age of 35 – now the average is being nudged upwards by the addition of Jean-Claude Biver to Norqain’s board. “My role… allows me to be associated with an exciting brand in an essential price-point for the Swiss watch industry,” says Mr Biver in the announcement of his appointment, “It is very important to have strong Swiss independent brands in different price segments and Norqain offers an exciting challenge to the status quo”. Norqain remains a small brand, but stands out for its use of calibres made by Kenissi, the movement manufacturer majority owned by Tudor and minority owned by Chanel. Perhaps thanks to the strong industrial base of both its owners, Kenissi’s movements are amongst the best in of the price-performance ratio. The brand’s ability to call on a supplier like Kenissi is due in part to its founders, who were born into the industry. Norqain’s lead founder is Ben Küffer, whose father, Marc, once ran Roventa Henex, the private-label watches that is perhaps the biggest of its kind in Switzerland. Another of Norqain’s founders is Ted Schneider, a member of the family that once owned Breitling. Notably, the chief executive of Kenissi is Jean-Paul Girardin, who held the top job at Breitli...
Deployant
In an interesting twist, industry veteran and legend, Jean-Claude Biver joins the new Swiss watch beandNorqain as advisor to the board.
Time+Tide
The domination of the Swiss watch industry feels like an eternal truth, especially given the age of some of the most popular brands which stretch back hundreds of years. They may have always had the upper hand when it came to high-end complications and ornate decoration worthy of royalty, but there was a period of … ContinuedThe post IN-DEPTH: How a fatal train crash became the catalyst for the Ball Watch Company’s success appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Tradition is a buzzword in Swiss watchmaking as what we see manufactured today is typically the result of centuries of brand heritage. In the modern era, many novelties are created through age-old techniques, but with design codes and constructions that, perhaps, speak more to the sensibilities of today. Breguet, however, in their Tradition line really … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Tradition Quantième Rétrograde gets a Breguet Blue makeover appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
One of the watches synonymous with the pioneer era of spaceflight is the Breitling Cosmonaute, which was worn by Scott Carpenter on the 1962 Mercury-Atlas 7 mission, making him the second American to orbit the Earth and the Cosmonaute the first Swiss-made wristwatch to make it into space. The Cosmonaute has been part of the Breitling catalogue in various forms in the decades since, but now for the 60th anniversary of Carpenter’s journey to space on board the Aurora 7 spacecraft, Breitling has unveiled a remake, the Navitimer B02 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute Limited Edition. The 362-piece edition is faithful to the original in terms of design, but upgraded with the in-house Caliber B02 and a bit of luxe in the form of a platinum bezel. A page from the 1964 Breitling catalogue showing the Navitimer-Cosmonaute ref. 809, the same model worn by Carpenter in space Initial thoughts I’ve always liked the distinctive aesthetic of the Navitimer – it is actually an aviation instrument – and the Cosmonaute is essentially a more complex version of the same thing, making it even more of an instrument. Granted all of that functionality has very limited use in the modern world, but it is still an appealing watch that possesses significant history. That in turn makes the Cosmonaute remake an appealing watch, especially since Breitling did a good job reproducing the original. The diameter remains the same but the modern-day version is necessarily thicker due to the in-house B02 movemen...
Deployant
Vacheron Constantin has had a blast at Watches & Wonder 2022, releasing a whole gamut of watches that reminds us why the luxury Swiss watchmaking Maison is known as the “grand dame of watchmaking”. From complicated and artistically stunning Les Cabinotiers pieces, to the faithful reissue of the legendary Ref. 222 sports watch that’s beenRead More
Time+Tide
The first expensive Swiss watch I ever purchased was an Ernest Borel Athletic. It’s a beautiful chronograph with a black dial that features a ton of depth. I bought it in 2016, while on my honeymoon in Toronto. It’s a watch that is forever associated with that time in my life and one I always … ContinuedThe post Collector’s Crossroads: How sentimental value can become the nemesis of an evolving collector appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
The Rado Captain Cook has proved a big hit since its launch in 2017 with its vintage-inspired looks reimagined with a smooth, contemporary edge that gives the watch a unique character among the hundreds of other Swiss dive watches. The range has gradually expanded over the last few years to include a 37mm version, different … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Rado Captain Cook 2022 collection appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
When researching rare vintage watches, there is usually a wide pool of resources. The same meticulous qualities that make the Swiss so good at watchmaking tend to make them even better at keeping records, which is partly why we still know so much about Doxa’s most famous 1967 releases, the SUB 300 and SUB 300T. … ContinuedThe post IN-DEPTH: The Doxa Army makes a welcome return to active duty appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Sotheby’s just concluded the first sale of the spring auction season, which now moves to Geneva with a series of auctions in the Swiss city starting the first weekend of May. The season opened strongly with several records set at Sotheby’s, most notably with The Nevadian Collector, a sale of Patek Philippe timepieces all owned by an American collector. Made up of 38 watches and one lot of vintage Gay Freres bracelets, the auction was led by an unsurprising favourite that sold for a record price – the possibly unique ref. 2499 in pink gold with a dial signed “Gobbi Milano”. Sotheby’s consultant Sam Hines bringing the hammer down on the ref. 2499 “Gobbi” Four telephone bidders competed for the watch, with bidding swift and aggressive. One of the bidders went big early on, taking the bid from HK$19 million to HK$30 million with one bid – an increment of about US$1.4 million. Eventually one of the phone bidders triumphed and set the record for the most expensive ref. 2499 ever sold at auction. The pink ref. 2499 “Gobbi” hammered for HK$50 million, resulting in a total of HK$60.265 million including the buyer’s premium. That’s equivalent to about US$7.68 million, making it the most expensive ref. 2499 ever sold at auction by some margin. The last record holder was the ref. 2499 “Asprey” that sold in 2018 for about US$ 4 million at Sotheby’s in Geneva – which was also sold by the Nevadian. While the ref. 2499 “Gobbi” was the headline lot,...
Time+Tide
Nivada Grenchen are one of those brands that make you wish you’d heard of them years before you first saw them due to their knack of delivering some of the most perfect executions of vintage reissues that can be found in the Swiss watch industry today. The Nivada Grenchen Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver Automatic takes … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Nivada Grenchen Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver Automatic appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
A core component of being an auction house is curation, often under the scope of a particular theme. But, even with a theme in mind, we often see an abundance of the usual suspects: Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille. Swiss auction house Ineichen, however, loves to work outside the norm. Sure, they … ContinuedThe post Five sleeper picks from the upcoming “Precious Blues” Ineichen auction appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Just as the biggest watch fair of the year opened its doors in Switzerland earlier in April, an industrial-scale watchmaking enterprise was born in France. Conceived as a vertically-integrated watchmaking group that makes movements for its own brands Aiôn Group, wants to establish “Made in France” as a key segment in a luxury-watch arena that’s dominated by Swiss, German, and Japanese players. Backed by government funding, Aiôn has the ambitious goal of producing 400,000 movements per year by 2025 in its new manufacture on the Mediterranean coast near Marseille. Although Aiôn has kept mum about the origins of its industrial capability, it is well known within the Swiss watch industry that the French group took over Swiss movement maker Felsa-Leschot, which was then moved lock, stock, and barrel to France. [Update April 20, 2022: Respected Swiss newspaper Le Temps published an article expressing scepticism about Aiôn, especially about the movement “factory” that Aiôn acquired. The article references the factory owner’s chequered history and involvement in multiple lawsuits. We believe the doubts expressed by the writer at Le Temps are well founded and would encourage everyone to read the article of March 16.] A Swiss foundation One of Aiôn’s founders is Anthony Simao, a French watchmaker who started his career in Swiss watchmaking, having worked at Breitling, Audemars Piguet, and Chronode. He then founded French watch brand Lornet, which has been merge...
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