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Hodinkee
A Geneva court ruled Yoko Ono is the owner of one of the world's most valuable watches, but that's only the beginning of a story of extortion, theft, and a watch that traveled around the world. Now that we know where it is, will we ever see it?
SJX Watches
With “indies” all the rage now, auction catalogues usually have a generous helping of independent watchmaking. Amongst the many offerings from the genre this season, a handful stand out, including the Philippe Dufour Simplicity prototype no. 000 in Phillips’ Geneva watch auction that takes place on November 3 and 4, 2023. This is one of three prototype watches Mr Dufour made for the 2000 Basel fair when the Simplicity made its debut. Two of them were in white gold with a silvered guilloche dial – Mr Dufour himself frequently wears one of them – and the last was this watch, which is pink gold with a white lacquered dial. Initial thoughts Today Philippe Dufour has grown beyond the personality and is essentially a brand, an evolution that arguably took place after the 20th anniversary Simplicity was launched 2020. In contrast, this Simplicity prototype, along with the first 200 examples Mr Dufour made, encapsulates the artisanal beginnings of the man and his brand. At the time of the Simplicity’s launch, and for more than a decade after, Mr Dufour found neither fame nor fortune, given that he only made a handful of Simplicity watches each year and sold each for about US$40,000. The early watches are perhaps purer creations that capture the essence of Mr Dufour’s vision, which was to pay tribute to the heyday of Vallee de Joux watchmaking. Mr Dufour, of course, managed to do it slightly better, explaining why his creations are often regarded as having the best m...
![[VIDEO] Hands-On: The Surprising Zenith Pilot Automatic](https://wornandwound.com/library/uploads/2023/10/Zenith_05.jpg)
Worn & Wound
Zenith has taken a methodical approach to fleshing out the collections of their 4 families of watches, balancing a weighty heritage against an ethos that forces progress. How they’ve gone about this has been the subject of several of our reviews, and even editorials about the brand’s more recent history. Their newest collection of watches, released earlier this year at Watches & Wonders, explores another realm of the brand’s past: pilot watches. Zenith first filed a trademark for the French term “Pilote” in 1888, decades before the Wright brothers made history in Kitty Hawk, and to this day are the only brand permitted to print the word on the dial (they trademarked the English word “Pilot” in 1904). Zenith has made some unforgettable pilot watches in their day (the A3822 being a personal favorite), but it’s been many years since they’ve done so in a way that’s captured modern enthusiasts. Zenith has a checkered recent past when it comes to pilot watches, with releases dotted through the 20-teens not quite hitting the notes they needed to lay the groundwork for a permanent collection in the same way their classic sport watches have. But then, Pilot watches are a different breed altogether. Zenith’s approach with their newest collection of Pilot watches feels very different from those recent efforts, and feels like a genuine, modern approach to building a collection with some legs. To get a better sense of that direction, we spent some time with the ...
SJX Watches
I recently had the opportunity to see how the philosophy of “in-house” plays out in real life with a behind-the-scenes tour of the F.P. Journe manufacture in Geneva, and its newly opened case and dial factory in Meyrin, Les Cadraniers de Genève (CDG) and Les Boîtiers de Genève (BDG). The tour was impressive in its thoroughness and transparency. Montres Journe, the entity that makes F.P. Journe watches, comprises three entities at two sites in the Geneva metro area. The first is the F.P. Journe manufacture in downtown Geneva – incidentally not far from the Patek Philippe Museum – where all F.P. Journe movements are designed and manufactured, and where all watches are finished, assembled, and tested. The reception room at the Geneva manufacture. When F.P. Journe launched in 1999, this room was the entire production space for the brand, which subsequently acquired the rest of the building. The original production space is now a reception area and home to a portion of the Jean-Claude Sabrier library, acquired in 2015. The other two entities are Les Cadraniers de Genève (CDG) and Les Boîtiers de Genève (BDG) – which translate literally as “The Dial Makers of Geneva” and “The Case Makers of Geneva”. The two recently moved into a new building where CDG makes dials for F.P. Journe as well as third-party clients like Vacheron Constantin, Laurent Ferrier, and numerous other elite brands, while in contrast BDG makes cases and bracelets exclusively for F.P. Jou...
SJX Watches
When we first featured at the Santos-Dumont Skeleton Micro-Rotor right after it was unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2023, it was clear that the model had struck a chord among almost those who had the pleasure to see it in the metal. The design is distinctively Cartier in style, slightly whimsical, yet stands apart from almost everything else in the brand’s catalogue. Cartier’s legacy as a renowned jeweller is indisputable, and this timepiece is a fusion of its knowledge in jewellery and watches, with a good dose of the traditional Cartier style. From the lacquer case inlays to the artful skeletonisation, the result is a balanced face that is entirely original. Key takeaways The design is an ideal combination of a contemporary, tasteful skeleton movement with the historical Santos case design The plane micro-rotor is just right in size, neither too big nor too small, and adds just the right amount of whimsy without being gimmicky The large, as opposed to XL, case is ideal for the movement, but some might find it too compact As it is with all Cartier skeleton movements, the Etachron regulator feels out of place Initial thoughts I usually take a loupe to a watch for a closer look, and when I did so with the Santos skeleton the movement’s design shone through. The plates and bridges of the brand-new cal. 9629 MC are both structural and add to the aesthetic brilliance of this piece. Though Cartier has long made skeleton watches a hallmark of its line-up, the cal. 9629 M...
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Deployant
Piaget adds to the Altiplano Concept family with a new Ultimate model in a cobalt allow case and dark blue dial in time for Watches & Wonders Shanghai.
Deployant
Kicking off the Watches & Wonders 2023 Shanghai with Vacheron Constantin. VC released a slew of novelties for the show. Here are our picks and highlights.
Worn & Wound
Earlier this summer, Only Watch revealed their 2023 collection of watches set to be auctioned later this year in Geneva to raise funds for research on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and neuromuscular diseases. Participating brands from across the industry create unique, on-off watches (or clocks), some of which you can read about right here, and a few even took the opportunity to collaborate. While most of the watches were revealed, a few brands play things a little closer to the vest. One such collaboration was revealed this week during Geneva Watch Days, with Maximilian Büsser and Edouard Meylan introducing the H. Moser x MB&F; Streamliner Pandamonium. These two brands have a history working together, and tout a creative relationship that has given us co-signed watches in the past within MB&F;’s Legacy Machine collection, and H. Moser’s Endeavour collection. Their latest effort builds on themes we’ve seen them explore in the past, done in entirely new ways, within the H. Moser Streamliner. The watch is called the Streamliner Pandamonium, and it features a unique, one-off movement that sets a minute repeater around MB&F;’s flying buttress, with the hammers of the chiming mechanism being ‘operated’ by a small, hand-crafted panda DJ figure. You can also get a read on the time via the hands set around the 2 o’clock position, similar to the execution on the LM101 done with H. Moser. The case is rendered in steel for its resonating qualities, and is sized at 42mm in...
Worn & Wound
Massena LAB takes another big step this week with the introduction of a new collaboration with independent watchmaker, Sylvain Pinaud. The watch, a monopusher chronograph, is immensely impressive, shifting expectations around the collaborative space as a whole. We had the chance to meet Sylvain Pinaud in Geneva during Watches & Wonders 2022 at a space dedicated to the AHCI (The Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants), where his Origine watch made one of the strongest impressions of the entire week. The watch would go on to nab a GPHG award for Horological Revelation later that year. If you weren’t familiar with that watch, this latest effort should place him firmly on your radar. This project, done in collaboration with Massena LAB, uses Pinaud’s existing Monopoussoir Chronograph movement, and places it into a new platform with a slightly more classically designed 42mm titanium case. That case is how the collaboration began, with the new design coming at the request of William Massena himself. The process resulted in enough interest to create a limited run of 10 pieces. The watch itself makes an immediate impression, with an open dial revealing the beautifully finished chronograph works below. The movement, crafted by Pinaud, is hand wound, and features an integrated column wheel and horizontal clutch, which can be started, stopped, and rest all via the single button nestled discreetly within the crown at 3 o’clock. Turning the watch on its side reveals an...
Time+Tide
The new CarbonGold variants go back to 1993, the first time Bulgari combined high-tech with traditional luxury Extremely light due to their full carbon construction, the models are highlighted in 18k rose gold Ultra-thin is the name of the game, with both the automatic and perpetual calendar movements measuring in under 3mm For Geneva Watch … ContinuedThe post Bulgari weaves golden threads into their new Octo Finissimo CarbonGold collection appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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SJX Watches
In a surprising move, Rolex has just announced the takeover of Bucherer, the Swiss watch retailer that is the largest seller of Rolex watches worldwide. Long the odd one out amongst luxury watch brands for not having its own retail network – hitherto Rolex owned just one store in Geneva – Rolex now owns the world’s biggest watch retailer outside of China and Hong Kong. Though headquartered in the quaint mountain town of Lucerne, Bucherer is a global giant with 100 points of sale in Europe and the United States, with Rolex and Tudor represented in half of them. A Rolex retailer since 1924, Bucherer boasts annual sales of almost CHF2 billion, with almost two-thirds of that from the sales of Rolex and Tudor watches. As a result, Bucherer is the largest retail partner for Rolex, accounting for almost 10% of Rolex’s estimated CHF10 billion in turnover. It was no coincidence that Bucherer was the first retailer in the world to embark on the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned programme. Bucherer will remain as an independent business after the takeover, which has to be approved by competition authorities. The terms of the sale were undisclosed. A logical surprise Although the news of the takeover was unexpected, it is a logical progression of events. Established in 1888, Bucherer has been in the hands of its founding family since then, with the company currently led by Jorg G. Bucherer, grandson of founder Carl F. Bucherer. Now almost 90 years old, Mr Bucherer is an industry legen...
Time+Tide
At Watches & Wonders, Zenith overhauled their Pilot’s watch and debuted a new collection of Pilot Automatic and Pilot Big Date Flyback Chronograph watches. While most, when it comes to Zenith, think of the Defy and Chronomaster collections, they also have rich roots within the realm of Pilot’s watches. This is why a new pop-up … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: New Zenith Pilot pop-up exhibit coming to NYC from August 8 to September 10 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Released in March at Watches & Wonders, the Black Bay GMT “Opaline” is perhaps the most notable travel watch in Tudor’s line up thanks to a silvery-white dial that may or may not have been inspired by the Rolex GMT-Master “Pan Am”. A variant of the original model in black, the Black Bay GMT with a white dial is typical Tudor – namely excellent quality and outstanding value – but it might be a subtle reference to the mythical, and sometimes controversial, GMT-Master “Pan Am”. Though there’s no official reference to the potential historical inspiration, the GMT “Opaline” is an in-joke that a historically-minded enthusiast will appreciate. Initial thoughts To the casual observer, the Black Bay GMT “Opaline” might seem like yet another iteration of Tudor’s bestselling dive watch. In fact, the GMT might seem less appealing when set against the equally recent Black Bay 54 with its properly-vintage proportions. But the GMT “Opaline” deserves a second look. The softly-grained dial with its “polar” palette is clear, clean, and well-executed, and most importantly possesses a different feel compared to the black dial of the original version, especially since black is the de facto dial colour for sports watches and very, very common. Being a dual time zone and silvery-white, the GMT “Opaline” is different despite its traditional design. That said, the GMT “Opaline” is otherwise entirely the same as the model introduced in 2018, which mea...
Time+Tide
Rolex at Watches & Wonders this year can be described in two words: acid trip. Sure, there were the usual incremental updates to lines such as the GMT Master II and Rolex Daytona. And it was exciting to see the new 1908 have a sapphire caseback across all models and the platinum anniversary Daytona as … ContinuedThe post The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Celebration Dial is starting to hit the secondary market. Shocker, it is priced high… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
These are the kinds of midweek surprises I can get on board with. TAG Heuer has revealed a new Carrera Skipper chronograph in the 39mm chassis we saw (and loved) earlier this year at Watches & Wonders. This is a regular production variant of the Carrera that makes excellent use of the sublime Skipper colorway we first saw in the late ‘60s, and most recently in the 2017 limited edition Carrera Skipper for Hodinkee. The color scheme feels right at home in the modern Carrera shoes, with plenty of small details to discover along the way. Best of all, it doesn’t feel like a vintage recreation, it feels purely modern through and through, taking full advantage of the new ‘glassbox’ design of the Carrera. The latest Carrera sports a range of blue, green, and orange hues in a reflection of the original colorway which made the watch so distinctive. The base dial is a deep blue with contrasting seafoam hour totalizer at 9 o’clock, and multicolor minute totalizer at 3 o’clock, which splits the counter into 5 minute segments to more accurately find your position going into the start of a yacht race. The final five minutes, as well as the timing seconds hand, are rendered in orange, denoting their importance to the operation. There is a running seconds hand within a third, almost hidden sub dial appearing at 6 o’clock, which isn’t framed and thus is the same color as the base of the dial. Only the indexes and the hand itself give its position away. The unique new ‘gl...
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SJX Watches
Because it has a strongly defined identity and direction, Patek Philippe rarely surprises. The limited editions created for the recent Watch Art Grand Exhibition in Tokyo, for instance, were interesting and occasionally exceptionally complicated but predictable. However, Patek Philippe did surprise, albeit subtly, at Watches & Wonders earlier this year with the Calatrava 24-Hour Display Travel Time Ref. 5224R. Though the ref. 5224R is typical Patek Philippe in every aspect, from the slim case to the vintage-meets-modern design, it is distinctly different from the brand’s other offerings in both look and feel. Besides the 24-hour dial, a first for the brand in the modern day, the 42 mm case is also oversized by Patek Philippe standards. Despite being novel amongst current Patek Philippe offerings, the ref. 5224R is rooted in the brand’s history, being almost a direct descendent of the 24-hour-dial Chronometro Gondolo pocket watches of the early 20th century. Initial thoughts The ref. 5224R was instantly appealing when I saw it at Watches & Wonders. It is a large watch, but still elegant. And despite being a relatively simple watch – it’s essentially a two-time zone watch – the ref. 5224R has several interesting features both in terms of design and mechanics. The most obvious is the 24-hour dial. At a glance, it’s a peculiar feature for a modern Patek Philippe wristwatch, but it looks good and actually makes sense. Though it takes some getting used to when readin...
Time+Tide
Hey folks! Back in the Friday Wind Down saddle. I would have loved to share my experience during the Paris Breguet trip last week, but alas I was in transit to Geneva and could not punch it out in time. But, back in New York City, I wanted to give you a peek into what … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: A belated recap of the Parisian Breguet Type XX/20 event appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Teddy Baldassarre
Rolex, as always, made news at Watches & Wonders Geneva back in April with many of the new watches it will be releasing this year (we covered many of them here), but the Swiss luxury brand generated nearly as much buzz with an announcement about a watch that it won’t be making anymore. Back in March, Rolex announced that the Milgauss, a model it had been making continuously since 2007, with roots that go back even further, would cease production this year. The news was not necessarily a shock to everyone - the Milgauss was not on a par with Rolex’s most popular models, waiting-list mainstays like the Daytona, Submariner, and GMT-Master - but it was a disappointing splash of reality to the subgroup of Rolexistas who love the cult-classic antimagnetic watch, while also serving as a call to attention for watch-market speculators who rarely find a Rolex shortage that they aren’t eager to monetize. What makes the Milgauss such a niche favorite in the Rolex portfolio? Read on. Rolex founder Hans Wisdorf (above) could be described as many things: a visionary entrepreneur, a brilliant marketer, a founding father of the modern watch industry. But at his true core, Wilsdorf was essentially a problem solver. Just about every contribution that he and his company made to horological history sprang from a dedication to fixing or eliminating some issue that plagued watch wearers. Too tedious to wind your watch every day? Here’s the Perpetual movement (below). Your watch isn...
Time+Tide
All the rage at the IWC booth during the 2023 edition of Watches & Wonders was the revamped Genta Ingenieur, and rightfully so, for the most part. This story, however, is not about the Ingenieur, but IWC’s bread and butter – pilot’s watches – and more specifically, the brand new Pilot’s Chronograph 41 in stunning … ContinuedThe post IWC’s green-dialled Pilot’s Chrono in rose gold is a luxe take on a tool watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
At Watches and Wonders 2022, Martin Green was impressed with the Chopard L.U.C XPS 1860 Officer, a striking watch with a yellow gold case and a forest-green dial. So he made a little video for Instagram that went viral. Here he explains why.
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Time+Tide
At Tudor’s booth this year, the theme was evolution not revolution. While the titanium Pelagos 39 intensely stirred the best-modern-luxury-dive-watch pot, the brand’s main Watches & Wonders focus was the Black Bay range. Watch Andrew’s and Zach’s live reactions to the new releases below, and read on for a quick summary of each. Tudor Black … ContinuedThe post Why Tudor stole the show at W&W; 2023 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
One of my favorite releases from Watches & Wonders (W&W;) was the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph. Complicated Reversos are almost always interesting given the space constraints and commercial implications in developing rectangular movements, and the Tribute Chronograph is no exception. The new chronograph is a remake of sorts that honours one of the brand’s signature watches from the 1990s. While the original Reverso Chronographe Retrograde was a 500-piece limited edition in pink gold from 1996, the Tribute Chronograph is a regular production watch available in both pink gold or steel. Both versions feature a sun-ray brushed primary dial and partially open-worked chronograph dial on the reverse. Initial thoughts As a fan of the original Reverso chronograph, I am excited to see this concept brought back to life. The key elements that made the original unique, namely the distinct styles of the two faces and the compact, rectangular chronograph movement, have been retained and updated. Both the steel and pink gold references are attractive, but the pink gold version is arguably the most appealing with its gold-on-black livery that brings to mind vintage “gilt” dials. That said, there are a few trade-offs that give me pause. The large case of the Tribute Chronograph is potentially problematic for some wrists, and the simplified dial feels generic (whereas the original had a guilloche dial). I am also conflicted about the movement. On one hand, it’s gre...
Time+Tide
It was birthday season at Watches and Wonders 2023 with Swiss brand Alpina celebrating its 140th year of existence. Established in 1883, Alpina has become synonymous with sports watches since establishing its core design tenants of anti-magnetic, steel, shock-resistant, and water-resistant watches way back in 1938. In 2022, Alpina’s revamped Alpiner Extreme collection caught the … ContinuedThe post Alpina introduces an Extreme Alpiner quartet on its 140th birthday appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the L.U.C collection, Chopard unveiled a minute repeater at Watches and Wonders 2022, which once again demonstrates the technical prowess of the manufacture. Part of an upcoming set called The Trilogy of Sound, the L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire pushes the boundaries of the sophisticated grand complication genre and marks some firsts in the realm of haute horlogerie.
Time+Tide
Occupying a unique spot in the world of watchmaking, Seiko’s offerings provide an incredible span of diversity – from entry-level quartz pieces to haute horlogerie avant-garde wonders. Sprinkle in a bucketful of horological, historical significance, and one must admit that there’s no brand quite like Seiko. Among their more notable contributions has to be the … ContinuedThe post The storied history of the Seiko mechanical chronograph appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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