3,646 articles · 18 videos found · page 48 of 123
Deployant
Kari Voutilainen’s simple time only watch…a la Dufour’s Simplicity is the Observertoire. I had the oppportunity to photograph this masterpiece in Motiers in January, after the SIHH when I visited with some good friends. The dial shows great restraint, and looks extremely handsome. The rose engine turned dial is made onsite at Kari’s premises. IRead More
Monochrome
For many years, Casio has been exclusively known for its quartz and digital watches. Indeed, in over 50 years of watchmaking, Casio has never produced a mechanical watch… Until last year, with the introduction of a game-changing collection, the Edifice EFK-100 Automatic, the first-ever mechanical offering from the brand. Accessible and pretty nice in design, […]
Fratello
Good morning, and welcome to another Sunday Morning Showdown! The days are getting shorter and colder in this part of the world, but that won’t stop our writers’ burning horological passion. This week, Jorg and Daan decided to pit the ombré-dial Rolex Datejust 36 and Grand Seiko SLGB015 “Lake Suwa” against each other. Both watches […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Rolex Datejust 36 “Ombré” Vs. Grand Seiko SLGB015 “Lake Suwa” to read the full article.
Monochrome
De Bethune is, without a doubt, one of my favourite independent watchmakers. And I’m not the only one on the MONO team who feels this way. I love the bold, futuristic design paired with incredible refinement, the almost philosophical approach of Denis Flageollet, the experimental work done on materials, the astronomical inspirations, and the sheer […]
Worn & Wound
I’ll keep it simple: when someone says “Vianney Halter,” the first thing that comes to mind is the Antiqua. Okay, well, that assumes you are a watch nerd who knows who he is, but if you are, an image of this bizarre, visually challenging, yet brilliant watch should appear in your mind’s eye. A perpetual calendar spreads across three decentralized portholes with riveted frames that cut through the central body’s perimeter; it’s a relic from another dimension. It’s also a late-1990s design, predating the modern era of haute horology, making it a truly important artifact of independent watchmaking. And it’s ultra-rare, with a production of just over 100 units in total. All were in precious metal, and one recently set a record at auction, fetching over a million USD. This isn’t surprising, as Mr. Halter’s name has gained new relevance in the last couple of years through collaborative launches. At the last two Geneva Watch Days, watches bearing his name were likely the most talked-about launches. In 2025, he teamed with Behrens to release the KWH, an unexpected design with a peripheral “snake” time display that the brand continues to manufacture in different case materials. Though five-figure, it’s actually one of the more accessible Halters available. While unique and exciting, the KWH speaks to a wholly different aesthetic than the Antiqua, which is why this year’s GWD launch, the Bvlgari Octo Finnissimo Dual Time x Vianney Halter, was so exciting....
SJX Watches
The first numbered Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph ref. 3970 returns to Geneva on November 8 as part of Sotheby’s Important Watches sale. Originally sold at the brand’s Geneva salon on Rue du Rhône on January 14, 1987, this example represents a pivotal moment in Patek Philippe’s recent history. The launch of the ref. 3970 ended the 30-year run of its predecessor, the ref. 2499, and began a new era for Patek Philippe chronographs. This example was born from that transition, bearing the lowest-numbered Lemania-based Patek Philippe movement: no. 875’000. Had this watch come any later, the brand may have kept it for the museum, as it did the first ref. 3971 (no. 875’030). Today, Patek Philippe’s perpetual calendar chronographs represent something of an entry point into the brand’s Grand Complications collection, but they were once the most complicated wristwatches on the market, with the brand building as few as 10 per year. But the market for high-end complicated wristwatches, which historically varied between none and niche, exploded during the 1980’s, transforming Patek Philippe’s perpetual calendar chronograph from a halo piece to a staple. That transformation began with this watch. A closer look This watch is no stranger to the auction block, having sold at Antiquorum in 2005 and 2015, with no apparent change to its condition throughout that time. Fittingly, it comes with its original box and certificate of origin. In most cases these deta...
SJX Watches
This November, Phillips will present Stopping Time, a selection of 16 Rolex chronographs owned by collector and publisher Pucci Papaleo, as part of The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV, taking place on November 7 and 8 at the Hotel President Wilson. The selection is the first instalment of Mr Papaleo’s collection of approximately 70 Rolex chronographs, dating from the 1930s to the 1970s – and all in outstanding condition and some can even be rightly described as “unpolished”. Phillips presents these 16 watches as a compact survey of the Rolex chronograph: early pieces made before the Oyster chronograph was established, the waterproof chronographs of the 1940s and 1950s, and finally the Cosmograph Daytona. The Rolex ref. 6239 of about 1969 with the “Paul Newman Musketeer” dial, lot 22. Image – SJX composite/Phillips The publisher becomes a collector To say that Mr Papaleo loves vintage Rolex is an understatement — he even gave his children watch-inspired names. Besides building an impressive collection of vintage Rolex, Mr Papaleo contributed to horological knowledge as a publisher and has produced a number of reference books regularly cited in auction catalogues. Pucci Papaleo and his Rolex ref. 3233 being offered by Phillips. Image – SJX composite/Phillips His interest in watches grew out of his work in publishing. He began his career managing a small publishing house of his own, making guidebooks to Rome, Venice, and Milan, always with fine photographs. By hi...
Worn & Wound
Maybe “trend” was always the wrong way to frame the watch industry’s collective obsession with stone dials? I don’t know about you, but I certainly feel like we might have reached a point where the stone dial is essentially just another colorway. Just as brands are expected to offer dials in blue, black, and white, perhaps we’ve reached that point where it should just be expected that they’ll offer an option (or several) in stone as well. I like the look of a stone dial, but I admit I’m getting quite bored of seeing them invade my inbox on a daily basis. This is the perspective of a guy with a very particular view on all the stone dial action. I’m not a casual observer. I work in the industry and I see, at least to some extent, how the nuts and bolts of the business works, and at the moment brands are simply cashing in on an unprecedented interest in stone (and mother of pearl) dials. Stone dials were never actually “rare” but they felt special before this boom because they were so infrequently used. Access to these dials is now virtually unlimited and, presumably, pretty affordable. So the rush continues, to the point I think where it’s just a static part of our ecosystem. And it’s that environment in which the newest member of the Farer Moonphase collection arrives. This is the Stratton II, the latest edition of what Farer says is their most popular moonphase model. The centerpiece (literally) of the Stratton II is a new moonphase disc made ...
Worn & Wound
Last month, the Swedish brand E.C. Andersson caught our attention with the release of the Timepod, a funky square watch with a unique detachable lug system. Zach Weiss and I were both pretty taken with it and even discussed at some length on the podcast. This is a brand that is appealing not just for their quality and design aesthetic, but their unique approach to manufacturing and watchmaking, making many components in-house in their own studio, and sometimes coming up with solutions to problems that don’t actually exist (that’s watchmaking in a nutshell in 2026). Their latest effort, the Cpt, is pitched as something a little more traditional than the Timepod or the Mytilus, the watch that initially made me take notice of the brand. The Cpt is described by E.C. Andersson as “Our take on a dress watch, sort of.” That last clause is doing some heavy lifting. This is a watch that straddles stylistic lines between nautical inspiration and midcentury dress watches but clearly retains E.C. Andersson’s core aesthetic, which at this point is pretty well defined by things like dial texture, and the shape of indices, which are more suggestive and abstract than traditional hour markers. The Cpt comes in a compact 36.5mm case that measures 8.5mm tall, not including the boxed sapphire crystal, another hallmark of the brand. The case is designed to be robust yet elegant, and has a full 100 meters of water resistance. In photos, it doesn’t present as a tool watch, and ha...
Hodinkee
For a few years, the general date for the Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition has been circled on my calendar. Fall 2026—somewhere in there, I'd have to find a way to visit Milan. I had hoped that I would go as part of my job, of course, but after missing the last exhibition in Tokyo, I knew that, even if I had to go on my own, it would be easier to visit Italy, a place that I feel very attached to thanks to the mentorship of the great Italian collectors and dealers. Luckily, a press preview was in the cards, and now that the event is wrapped up (it ran from October 2 to the 18th), I wanted to bring the experience to those who couldn't attend. One of the great parts about the Grand Exhibitions, this one being the seventh, is that the brand opens them to the public for free, bringing the history and savoir-faire of watchmaking to a new market at each show. While those of us in the industry get to see things like enameling demonstrations or movement construction as part of our jobs, the Watch Art Grand Exhibition brings that to life for those who aren't as lucky. More than that, Patek Philippe goes so far as to organize school trips from the local market, helping bring the craft to life for children. Patek Philippe's President Thierry Stern and his 24-year-old son Adrien Stern, who has worked at the company for 18 months and was touted (multiple times) by Thierry Stern as his successor alongside his youngest son. Stern repeatedly emphasized that Patek Philippe woul...
SJX Watches
The early days of the wristwatch were interesting for the variety of forms and functions that were conceived as watchmakers were experimenting with a nascent device. One such watch is the Audemars Piguet triple calendar with moon phase in platinum from 1927 that’s one of the top lots in Monaco Legend’s upcoming sale. Now almost 100 years old, this triple calendar exemplifies the period when wristwatches, particularly complicated ones, were expensive and cutting-edge objects. Form cases in general seem to have been fashionable when wristwatches were a novelty. Leaving aside the round “trench” watches used by soldiers, many of the landmark wristwatch designs for civilians were in form cases. Examples include the Cartier Tank, Santos, and Tonneau. Many such wristwatches were time only, but there was clearly a tiny handful of clients for complicated wristwatches. Calendar watches, many in form cases, were also in vogue. Most prestigious watchmakers produced such watches, albeit on a tiny scale in a near-artisanal manner, making each of these watches almost unique. Breguet, for example, sold a tonneau-shaped retrograde perpetual calendar in 1935 to Coco Chanel’s romantic partner. Audemars Piguet made fewer than 50 such rectangular triple calendar wristwatches in the 30 years from 1924, and this is the one example known in platinum. All of these watches were powered by the cal. 10GHSM, as this one is, save for the very first example that was made in 1924 and now reside...
Fratello
A few weeks ago, this vintage Rolex Submariner Date ref. 1680 landed on my desk. The owner, a low-profile but dedicated Rolex collector, came across it several years ago during one of his hunts. A prime example of provenance, this watch has quite an intriguing backstory. Rolex Submariner Date ref. 1680 This Rolex Submariner Date […] Visit This Rolex Submariner 1680 Belonged To An Oscar-Winning Hollywood Sound Engineer to read the full article.
SJX Watches
After several years in the red and challenging market conditions predicted, Zenith is seeking higher ground by focusing on high-end watchmaking, eliminating about 200 jobs in the process. As reported by Swiss newspaper Le Temps, chief executive Benoit de Clerk broke the news to employees on Thursday, citing the strong Franc, US tariffs, and weak demand from the Middle East and Asia. Zenith’s pivot was foreshadowed by the excellent GFJ line launched last year, and comes in the wake of Jean Arnault taking charge of the LVMH’s watch brands, namely Zenith, TAG Heuer, and Hublot, after having engineered Louis Vuitton’s ascent into fine watchmaking. The middle market, which Zenith flees, is particularly brutal – expensive to play in and competitive. Zenith is not the only one to abandon it, Mr de Clerk also referenced the closure of Montblanc’s Le Locle factory, as that brand too shifts focus upmarket. Zenith’s greatest strengths, its mature, capable manufacturing base and wide distribution, are oversized for the brand’s production volume. Unable to feed this beast or put it to work, Zenith will be cutting about a hundred jobs, roughly half of its workforce, in Le Locle, and a further hundred in retail and distribution. In 2024, LVMH announced plans to grow Zenith’s Le Locle manufacture to supply other group brands with movements. Hublot had been using Zenith movements for a decade already, and LVMH envisioned an entire catalog of Zenith-made “in-house” move...
WatchAdvice
Raymond Weil’s Toccata Heritage wears its inspiration on its sleeve, but is the flash backed up by substance? Let’s find out! What We Love: Elegant, flowing case Beautiful movement Incredible price point What We Don’t: Soft but fragile strap Power reserve feels low compared to on-paper Is luxury ever attainable? Overall Rating: 8.5/10 Value for Money: 9/10 Wearability: 8.5/10 Design: 8.5/10 Build Quality: 8/10 The definition of luxury is, for the most part, anyone’s guess. Maybe it’s the hundred-million-dollar, feature-laden superyacht crewed by Playboy models, or perhaps it’s something as mundane as a carton of eggs at the grocery store. I find that luxury is relative to one’s financial circumstances: a want that’s just slightly out of reach, not entirely necessary to one’s sanity or physical wellbeing, but something whose acquisition feels like reaching a new level in life. This is entirely different from a pipe dream, such as the aforementioned superyacht, but the watch world often treats the two as one and the same. Luxury watches aren’t often considered truly luxurious until they cross a certain price threshold, usually somewhere in the high four or five figures, if not six. But ‘accessible luxury’ isn’t quite the oxymoron the industry might have you believe, and Raymond Weil is proof. Since 1976, the independent watchmaker has sought to make traditional elegance more attainable, offering classically styled timepieces at comparatively acce...
Hodinkee
What We Know Clemence, the English microbrand, has launched a new limited-edition take on its incredibly good (and deservedly popular) Photic dive watch. The main difference between the new LE and the standard Photic MKII diver (which Jason Heaton spent time with earlier this year) is that it uses a Swiss Soprod M100 movement instead of the Miyota movements Clemence has used previously. While the new Clemence is largely identical to its non-limited-edition sibling, other changes include a fully luminous bezel with a numbered layout and a new color Clemence calls “Atoll Blue.” Clemence is deservedly known for its excellent use of color, and the addition of a new color to that palette is notable for a brand that has been deliberate in its rollout of new models. Like the Photic MKII, this new watch measures 38.5mm across (though the overhanging bezel measures closer to 39mm) and is about 46.5mm lug-to-lug. It’s also thin, at just 10.5mm thick (the switch to the Soprod movement hasn’t led to any dimensional changes). The watch comes on a three-link bracelet, features a micro-adjust in the clasp, and the Soprod M100 movement is regulated to tremendous accuracy (+/- 4 seconds a day). The Photic MKII Swiss Edition is priced at £949—or about $1,275—so it commands a slight premium of £599 (about £350) over the standard Photic. The Photic MKII Swiss Edition is limited to 25 pieces. What We Think Do I even have to say it? I absolutely adore this watch. The Clemence Pho...
Hodinkee
Zenith, the storied Swiss brand founded more than a century ago and known for its El Primero high-beat chronograph movement, will undergo major restructuring, forcing the LVMH-owned company to significantly reduce its workforce and scale back production and distribution, with plans to reposition the marque as a high-horology, low-volume watchmaker. The Zenith overhaul follows years of financial losses by the brand, founded by Georges Favre-Jacot in Le Locle, Switzerland, in 1865. Chief Executive Officer Benoit De Clerck addressed employees at the company's headquarters this week, announcing the restructuring and warning that the company could eliminate as many as 100 jobs, or about half the workforce at the manufacture. To complete the reorganization and reposition the brand by 2029, the company may also eliminate another 100 positions, including the watch brand's entire international team. A Zenith watchmaker. Management and executives are now in a formal "consultation process" with employees over the next three weeks to negotiate the terms of the restructuring and job cuts. Unia, the Swiss employees' trade union representing workers at the manufacturer, will meet with employees next week and join management in the consultation process, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to comment publicly. "We confirm that a staff consultation process was initiated today [Thursday] concerning a proposed ...
Hodinkee
The online watch community is a wondrous place. These days, social media like Instagram seems to bring together enthusiasts and collectors from all corners of the Earth, pulling them together in a little internet hub that somehow makes this already small, niche world even smaller. Sometimes, you’ll find yourselves chatting with and connecting with many people for many years, despite having never met them in person. Eivind Németh, or better known as @Edthezilla on Instagram, is one of those people for me. I first connected with him on the platform a few years ago, but to this day, we still haven’t met in person. Yes, we’ve been in many of the same rooms together, commented on each other’s content online, and more. But as fate would have it, a proper chat had never been in store until now. What caught a lot of attention in the online community recently was Németh’s most recent acquisition. A grail amongst grails—the Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain II. Normally, that would be a dream watch for most collectors. But there was one more twist—Németh would be receiving a piece unique. Like many, it was this moment that made me ask, “Who really is Edthezilla?” So, I reached out to hopefully (and finally) know a bit more about the guy. Here’s what I did know about Németh—he’s a collector from Norway, has been obsessed with Rexhep for longer than most, and has written about watches online for sites like Tidsonnen and Monochrome. Németh might take...
Time+Tide
These days it seems like the watch industry never really goes into rest mode. There are so many announcements and novelties each week. We’ll save the new releases for our upcoming Last Week in Watches, so right now I want to share some more under-the-radar bits of watch news revealed this week. Tudor signs Charlotte de … Continued
Worn & Wound
Breitling fills a big hole in their Navitimer collection today with the release of a pair of watches that feel like concerted efforts at engaging the watch enthusiast community. The new Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 and the Navitimer B02 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute are not limited editions, but part of the brand’s core collection, their presence there will surely please a wide swath of longtime Breitling fans, particularly those interested in vintage Breitling, and classic chronographs more generally. It’s somewhat hard to believe, but until today, Breitling did not have a manually wound Navitimer in their permanent collection. The hand wound B09 movement used in the Navitimer has been used in a handful of limited and special releases in the past, but it feels like the brand is really plugging a gap here with a manually wound version of what is arguably their most iconic watch. According to Breitling, this new version of the Navitimer is inspired by versions of the watch worn in the 1960s by race car drivers Jim Clark and Graham Hill, who were also pilots and would have been able to make use of the Navitimer’s slide rule bezel in flight. This is a watch that, at least in a contemporary context, straddles the line between the automotive and pilot watch worlds, and has been embraced by both cultures (which admittedly overlap a fair amount). The Navitimer B09’s case measures 41mm in diameter and is available with either a black or blue dial with white subdials, a c...
Monochrome
Aldo Kane, an expedition leader, former Royal Marines sniper, and television adventurer, has spent the better part of a decade as a Bremont ambassador, putting the brand’s watches through volcanoes, jungles, oceans and mountains. We talk about how the relationship began, why he prefers a simple mechanical watch to a wrist computer, and what eight […]
Worn & Wound
We know the trend of all black watches well – what was once a novelty has now become a regular part of most catalogs, so perhaps we can no longer call this a trend but an industry staple. I think the monochromatic concept really works on many different levels. It can make a watch ultra stealthy and discrete. For some models, it just looks sleek and sexy. For others, it can actually serve to bring out the best in the design. On the other end of the spectrum, we have models with so much tone on tone on tone – lacking any contrast through materials or textures – you can barely read them. These watches have understandably undergone some scrutiny. However, I find it a cheeky commentary on the fact we don’t really need our timepieces for any utilitarian purpose, and a color palette can simply be a design choice.So, in typical Ressence fashion, we have a twist on the all-black aesthetic with a deep blue hue the brand is calling Dark Night. If you’re familiar with Ressence, you know the brand is anything but motivated by trends – the opposite. This is a brand who literally came into being by asking the question, what if someone were to build a blueprint for a watch for the first time today without any constraints of what a watch should look like? The result was the Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS) offering human-centric readability with a layout engineered to look and process like a two-dimensional digital screen lacking traditional hands or a crown. Instead, the ...
Monochrome
H. Moser & Cie. has a particular way of approaching high complications, often combining elaborate mechanics with pared-back design – think Moser’s perpetual calendars. The Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton, introduced in 2022, was quite different; it featured a complex skeletonised movement, housed in the robust steel case of the brand’s sportier collection. For its latest […]
Monochrome
Founded in 1893 by Johannes Dürrstein in the Saxon town of Glashütte, Union Glashütte set out to make high-quality German watchmaking accessible to a wider audience. Today, part of the Swatch Group, the brand combines traditional craftsmanship with distinctive design and value for money. Its affinity for classic cars is captured in the retro Belisar […]
Fratello
Names of Swiss watch brands and models can be tricky to pronounce, especially the French ones. Does the name Jay-Jay Le Coot ring a bell? I will let you figure it out and bring up another name. It’s now an official name, but it stems from the trouble some had in pronouncing the original. In […] Visit Hands-On: The New Louis Vuitton Monterey In Green And Black Ceramic to read the full article.
Hodinkee
What We Know Earlier this year at Watches and Wonders, Belgian brand Ressence introduced the first watch in its collection with an in-house-designed RW-01 movement, the Type 11. That should theoretically mean a farewell (at least for most things going forward) to the base ETA movements that have powered all Ressence models to date, each paired with the brand's unique orbital Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS) module. Today's release of the Type 10, timed right alongside WatchTime New York, features the first oil-filled watch from Ressence to feature a proprietary movement. At a high level, the Type 10 might initially feel like a mix of several previous Ressence designs, but the final product somehow feels quite fresh. Much of it is due to the case and bezel. The silhouette of the 41.5mm case in grade 5 titanium gives this Type 10 a cushion-like shape, and it is paired with a flush-integrated rubber strap. It's a new feel for a Ressence. The entire case is coated for a glossy, dark blue hue, and that coloring extends all the way to the strap, buckle, and, of course, the dial. Ressence says this is a DLC coating, but to my knowledge, it's not possible to achieve a colored coating with the specific process—I believe this coating to be something different. If I had to guess, I'd say that it's a ceramic coating of some sort. There is ever-so-slightly a squared-off aspect to the design, with the bezel at twelve and six o'clock flattening out on its edge for a look that comp...
Monochrome
For those familiar with the work of Dutch independent watchmaker Laurens de Rijke, working under his De Rijke & Co brand name, you’ll know about the Capri as well. Following his Amalfi Series driver’s watch and series of whimsical Miffy Moonphase watches, both featuring rotatable cases, the Capri is cut from a different block yet […]
Worn & Wound
Spirit Halloween stores are popping up around the city, pumpkin beer has hit the shelves, and 80-plus-degree highs in Brooklyn are in the rearview mirror (please remain true). I’ve returned my most worn summer watch to the display box and this one included quite a few “firsts”. I received my Jan Mayen Stormy Seas, a collaboration between the Norwegian brand and The Real Time Show (a podcast I’ll admit I’m still ignorant of) in late May after a production issue with the rubber straps delayed the promised delivery date by about three months. I grew up on the west coast sailing with my parents (who until very recently lived fulltime on their 43ft Hans Christian Ketch named “Galatea”) so perhaps that’s why I’m drawn to a watch called “Stormy Seas”, but regardless I found the contents of the precision machined capsule absolutely stunning. This was the first watch I’ve ever pre-ordered. While it’s not my favorite business practice, I knew the risks involved and was quite happy when they included a second strap gratis for the inconvenience. It remained on my wrist almost exclusively for the next three months. As well as my first pre-order and first Straum, it is also the first watch I’ve owned on a rubber strap, my first titanium case, and first integrated bracelet (more on that later). Straum has been on my radar since a Limited Edition Jan Mayen they released with Fratello back in the Spring of 2023. I loved the textural details in that fiery red dia...
Hodinkee
What We Know Hermès has released two new versions of its H08 sports watch. It feels like the H08 has lived a lot of lives in the five years since it was originally released at Watches & Wonders 2021, and these latest releases bring yet another new look to a line that has expanded pretty steadily since then. Here, we have two new versions of the H08, each in a braided glass fiber composite case, but where previous watches that have used this material have coated it in a dark blend of aluminum and slate, with these new watches, Hermès has dropped the slate dust. The result is a lighter, brighter finish, complemented by ceramic accents in either bright blue or white. The blue watch also comes equipped with a rhodium-plated, "crystal sandblasted" textured dial, with blue details matching the ceramic bezel, while the white watch has a lacquered white dial. Each has details in Hermès' signature orange. Beyond the new finish and color, these are largely the H08 as we have come to know it, with a cushion-shaped 39mm x 39mm case, rubber strap, and Hermès' hallmark rounded numerals, and are powered by the automatic Hermès Manufacture movement H1837, a movement created exclusively for Hermès by Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier. Prices for each of these new versions of the H08 sit at $8,600. What We Think This is a pretty straightforward case of a new colorway, but a new colorway done extremely well. The H08 has existed in a funny position for Hermès since its release half a decade...
Hodinkee
For Eric Wind and Charlie Dunne, watches connect them to the past and help them build lifelong relationships with others. For the first time in Talking Watches, Ben sits down with two guests to discuss how a passion can be learned, sharpened, and passed along. The watches they bring not only reveal the charming details that define an exceptional vintage watch, but also the friendships and experiences that give collecting its meaning. There's *a lot* of inside jokes in this episode. Most of them on the casebacks. Longtime Hodinkee readers need little introduction to Eric. Before Wind Vintage, before Christie's, and before his many appearances in Reference Points, he was one of the site's earliest and most prolific contributors. Through Bring A Loupe, auction coverage, and deeply researched stories, Eric helped introduce a wider audience to the nuances of vintage collecting. His enthusiasm could make an obscure chronograph as compelling as a six-figure Rolex, and his scholarship gave collectors the tools to distinguish a merely old watch from an exceptional one. Since founding Wind Vintage in 2017, he has continued to approach the category with the same curiosity, exacting eye, and belief that great watches can be found at nearly every price. The Wind Vintage duo. Charlie entered the watch business through a different route. Before entering the trade, Charlie was a collector of watch books and a researcher; in 2021, while working in digital marketing, he used several weeks...
Worn & Wound
Toledano & Chan has introduced their latest release, the B/1 Dazzle. Eagle eyed GPHG watchers might have gotten a small tease of this one when nominations were released a few months back (it’s fairly routine for brands to submit embargoed watches, and they’re often revealed before the official launch as part of the GPHG voting process), but now the cat is fully out of the bag. The Dazzle is actually a pair of watches, both using Toledano & Chan’s now familiar case architecture inspired by the former Whitney Museum building, designed by Marcel Breuer, and Brutalist forms and ideas more generally. Now with several distinct releases under their belt, it’s becoming more and more interesting to see how Toledano & Chan iterate on this platform. The Dazzle might be my personal favorite of the executions of this case design to date. The idea for the Dazzle comes from camouflage used on battleships during the first World War. The so-called “dazzle” camouflage design was not meant to conceal, but to use complex geometry to confuse the enemy by disrupting proportion. The alternating black and white bars painted onto a ship that’s in constant motion would have been difficult for an adversary to pin down. The dazzle design language has been used in art and design for many years since, including on watches, but Toledano & Chan’s version plays with the idea in a few interesting ways that I haven’t seen before. Like the most recent B/1 releases, this one is in titani...
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