2,234 articles · 19 videos found · page 52 of 76
Monochrome
Founded in 2010 by Mister Ferrier, a veteran from the watch industry and an experienced racing driver, Laurent Ferrier has forged a reputation of creating from of the most elegant watches around, as well as mechanical marvels such as the natural escapement. Mechanically impressive, his watches were, design-wise, subdued and refined, the smooth and soft […]
Time+Tide
The PRX Robot Grendizer stands to entice a whole new audience to one of the strongest entry-level mechanical watches.The post Tissot brings two 1970s legends together with the PRX UFO Robot Grendizer appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
Ahead of Geneva Watch Days next week, Urwerk has unveiled what will surely be in the running for “Watch of the Year” talk when 2024 comes to a close. The EMC SR-71 is a new variation of one of the independent brand’s most discussed and honored timepieces. The original EMC, introduced ten years ago, is a former winner of the GPHG prizes in both the “Mechanical Exception” and “Innovation” categories. Even within the strange world of Urwerk, the EMC is an oddity, so it’s always exciting to see them return to this platform with a new variant. EMC stands for Electronic Mechanical Control, a term that seems to contradict itself but actually does a fantastic job of describing exactly what this watch does. What you need to know about how this watch operates is that the traditional time telling functions (hours, minutes, seconds, and power reserve) all operate mechanically. But integrated into the movement is an optical sensor linked to the balance that, on demand, can record the rate at which it is oscillating. Using light and an integrated circuit, the movement will tell you the delta between the timing rate of the mechanical movement and a reference oscillator (a 16,000,000 Hz mega-quartz oscillator in this case). Pressing a button on the side of the case activates a meter at roughly 10:00, telling you how fast or slow your watch is running. What’s more, the watch is equipped with a timing adjustment screw on the caseback that can be accessed by the owner wit...
Monochrome
In 2021, Tissot introduced the PRX collection, a lineup that perfectly captured the essence of its 1970s inspiration with a barrel-shaped case, integrated bracelet, and quartz movement. A few months later, the design was reissued, featuring the Powermatic 80 movement. It quickly became clear that the series was perfectly in tune with the growing trend […]
Fratello
Watch hands are not just literally at the core of any watch’s design. They are the functional heart of a watch, the final parts turning a complex mechanical chain into a time-telling device. As the primary point of focus when looking at a watch, they determine much of its looks. At the same time, they […] Visit Back To Basics: Watch Hands-The Most Underestimated Element In Watch Design? to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Things have changed an awful lot since the last time I reviewed a watch by Furlan Marri. That was all the way back in March 2021, and it was their debut release. It’s worth pointing out that at the time, the brand had virtually no public footprint, and I had to be somewhat cajoled into taking the assignment. But the humble, meca-quartz chronograph that put them on the map was genuinely impressive in the way it conveyed vintage watch design codes in an affordable package that, somehow, felt premium. I remember thinking that for the price Furlan Marri was asking for that watch (a pre-order deal of $330) you’d be hard pressed to find anything with better finishing or a more coherent point of view about what it’s trying to accomplish. Just a few years later, and Furlan Marri is in a very different position. It happened fast. Those meca-quartz chronos hit the market and were an immediate sensation, getting the thumbs up from John Goldberger and other notable collectors. It put an immediate heir of legitimacy around Furlan Marri, something that the best small brands get eventually, but not typically with such speed. When your debut watch, a battery powered homage that costs a few hundred dollars, is selling for many times its retail price on the secondary market, heads start turning rather quickly. $2780 Review: the Furlan Marri Disco Volante Case Stainless steel Movement Peseux 7001 Dial Celeste (blue/white), Verde (green/cream) Lume Yes Lens Sapphire Strap Leather Wa...
SJX Watches
Mechanical escapements remain the most fascinating and enticing field of horological study even in the 21st century. At its core, an escapement has a simple purpose: restore lost energy to the oscillating organ while regulating the discharge speed of the going train – thus allowing for time measurement. Straightforward as the concept is, executing an escapement well is a completely different affair. The escapement is perhaps the element of the mechanical movement that has undergone the most iterations since its invention. The reason is simple: escapements were, and remain, imperfect systems. In fact, the escapement is often the least efficient aspect of a mechanical movement in terms of energy transfer. That’s why watchmakers and engineers have devised innumerable variants in the search of the ideal escapement. Explaining escapement efficiency In physics the efficiency of a system is the proportion of useful work done relative to the total work done by said system. The result, measured as a percentage, speaks to the energy conserved within the system. For example, an 80% efficiency means that 20% of the total available energy is lost, with the remaining 80% usefully conserved. That said, an efficient escapement isn’t necessarily chronometrically-potent, since there are more criteria, apart from energy conservation, which reflect in a movement’s accuracy. The way in which escapement parts impulse to the balance, the proximity of the equilibrium point and the deg...
Fratello
Today, I’m looking at a watch that pays tribute to the Coppa d’Oro car race. There are a few alternate hobbies and interests that seem to complement watch collecting. Perhaps none come as close as the fascination with cars. It’s the similarity that they are mechanical objects with the sole original purpose of being useful […] Visit Hands-On With The New Echo/Neutra Cortina 1956 Coppa D’Oro Delle Dolomiti to read the full article.
Quill & Pad
One of Martin Green's favorite complications is the perpetual calendar, aka QP. While he knows that an annual calendar can do almost the same for a lot less, he is still mesmerized by the human ingenuity of being able to a miniature mechanical device that can even deal with leap years.
Hodinkee
Quartz-powered, ready for action, and with the option of a GMT function.
Quill & Pad
Technically, this F.P. Journe watch is called the “Chronomètre Optimum Black Label,” but it should be called the “Ultimate.” That’s how much Tim Mosso reveres and admires a timepiece Journe himself describes as the most accurate mechanical watch he knows how to construct.
Monochrome
Today, for our latest in-depth video, we’re going technical. This is what MONOCHROME is all about, after all. Sharing the knowledge behind fine horology and understanding how our beloved mechanical watches actually work. Today’s topic is one dear to our hearts, as it combines everything we love in fine watchmaking: high-end finishing, mechanical ingenuity, profound […]
Monochrome
Dutch watchmaker Christiaan van der Klaauw started producing astronomical complications in 1974 and earned worldwide acclaim following his creation, in 1999, of the smallest mechanical planetarium in the world with real-time orbits of the planets in the confined dimensions of a wristwatch. Ten years later, in 2009, Christiaan van der Klaauw handed over the reins […]
Time+Tide
We've seen tourbillons and minute repeaters aplenty - these watches sport some truly unique mechanical oddities.The post From death prediction to sunrise times, these are the most unique watch complications appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
The Seiko SKX is one of the most popular entry-level mechanical watches ever. There is a good chance that you, as a Fratello reader, have owned one at some point or still do. In any case, this is true for me. However, the original bracelet of that watch has always been controversial. It is infamously […] Visit Upgrade Or Switch Styles With The Forstner Model J And Model O For The Seiko SKX to read the full article.
Fratello
I love to read stories about watch selections that follow a theme. When I spotted Thor’s list of unusual rectangular watches last Saturday, I instantly started to put together a list of my own featuring rectangular vintage watches. Well, here we are! Besides two crazy mechanical complications, you will also find classic style and even […] Visit #TBT A Vintage Take On Alternative Rectangular Cool With Mido, Tissot, Wyler, And Seiko to read the full article.
Fratello
Grand Seiko’s first all-mechanical complicated watch debuted in 2022. It was a timepiece with a movement featuring a tourbillon with an inner carriage rotating at eight beats per second and a constant-force mechanism rotating at one beat per second. Not only was the Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon SLGT003 a complicated and ingenious watch, but […] Visit A Monday Morning With The Grooviest Watch In The World: The Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon “Daybreak” to read the full article.
Deployant
This Sunday, we take a look at the unusual, interesting and sometimes whimsical complications of our little corner of mechanical watches.
Worn & Wound
What was your first watch? Not your first mechanical watch, not your first nice watch, but actually your first watch. If you’re around my age, I’d hazard a guess that it was probably something fun. Neon Shark watches, bright G-Shocks, and outdoorsy Timexes were the thing on my playground growing up, and it’s a recipe that still works just as well approaching (or beyond) 30 as it did approaching 10. All this is to say that colorful and waterproof is a recipe for success, and one brand that really gets this is Vero. I don’t exactly remember the first time I crossed paths with a Vero, but I do remember the minty green dial standing out against the stark black bezel, and that I found myself pretty taken with their line of colorful dive watches from the get. It’s an interest I haven’t really shaken, and one only compounded by the latest iteration of their signature dive watch, the Open Water, now in a 38mm case. The big headline here is a series of subtle refinements to the Open Water model, all of which add up to a stark evolution of Vero’s flagship diver. To look at the new Open Water 38 in isolation, one might be hard-pressed to call out many of these changes but put the old and new models next to each other, and the difference will be clear. The most visually dramatic of these changes is the shift from a black DLC finish on the bezel to a boldly colored Cerakote treatment. A stark black bezel has been a key visual hallmark of the Vero Open Water, so moving...
Monochrome
One of my most memorable experiences when tumbling down the mechanical watchmaking rabbit hole is handling my very first tourbillon watch. I had already been writing for MONOCHROME for a while when it happened, and I knew about the complication and its function, but I had never handled one in person. It was at the […]
Time+Tide
Designed by Gérald Genta, launched as a quartz model, and iterated upon over the next decade, it's a fun-filled model from Omega's past.The post The oddball Gérald Genta-designed Omega that everyone forgets about appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak Selfwinding 34mm in 2020 as the smallest-sized option with mechanical movement. Since its debut, AP has expanded the range with several variations, ranging from simple stainless steel to diamond-covered pink gold versions. For 2024, Audemars Piguet added two new models to the Royal Oak Frosted Gold Selfwinding 34mm series-one […]
Hodinkee
Get ready to glow your mind with more luminous details than ever and a hybrid Meca-quartz movement.
Fratello
Hello there, and welcome to another episode of Fratello Talks. This week, Thomas, Lex, and Nacho discuss Seiko watches. A Seiko is a staple of most watch enthusiasts’ collections, whether it’s a first-ever mechanical watch or an inexpensive curiosity, a vintage rarity in museum-worthy condition, or anything in between. And though there will certainly be […] Visit Fratello Talks: Why Everyone Loves Seiko Watches to read the full article.
SJX Watches
When it comes to perpetual calendars – perhaps the most objectively useful complication – the MB&F; Legacy Machine Perpetual, or LM QP for short, sits neatly between classical architecture and iconoclastic construction. Now almost a decade old having been launched in 2015, the LM QP is a mechanical marvel coming from the mind of Stephen McDonnell. The LM QP’s beauty lies in Mr McDonnell’s rethinking of the perpetual calendar complication while integrating historical concepts. Rethinking the QP A perpetual calendar, or quantième perpétuel (hence “QP”), is a complex and layered mechanism, which makes it a challenging complication to implement in watches. Naturally, not all perpetual calendars are created equal, some being more innovative and others more classical in their construction. The first-ever serially produced perpetual calendar wristwatch, the Patek Philippe ref. 1526 that debuted in 1940; the basics of the perpetual calendar mechanism would remain largely unchanged for decades after The issue with classical calendar constructions is their vulnerability to wear and tear, shock, or careless operation by the user. Ironically, the most forward-thinking of perpetual calendar mechanisms try to solve these problems, but sometimes suffer from reliability issues rooted in the radical concepts employed. Mr McDonnell’s construction of the LM QP smartly manages to eliminate traditional weaknesses while avoiding new problems. The result is a reliable and innovati...
Deployant
Panerai releases a new mechanical Submersible with a special luminescence dial called the Elux LAB-ID. Here is our hands-on impression of the novelty.
Fratello
Watchmaking is a field steeped in tradition. Big brands pride themselves on boasting centuries of heritage. At the same time, the mechanical watch is, largely, declared technically obsolete in 2024. So it seems only natural that watch brands look to the past for design inspiration. Almost every major brand now has one or several reissue […] Visit Reissue Overload - Why Do Watch Brands Keep Looking To The Past For Good Design? to read the full article.
Monochrome
As we’re obsessed with fine mechanical watches, and preferably independent watchmaking, we feel obliged to showcase never-seen-before projects by people you also may have never heard of. And if it weren’t for me stumbling on an Instagram post by a befriended Japanese journalist, you might never have come across Quiet Club. A bit of an […]
Monochrome
Many may look at the pocket watch as a relic of a bygone era… But what happens if it is reimagined by Daniel Arsham, an artist known for ideating “fictional archaeology” through which he transforms everyday objects into future relics? Well, you get the Hublot Arsham Droplet, a fascinating mechanical sculpture merging the past, present […]
Worn & Wound
This year, Oris is celebrating its 120th anniversary with the release of a special edition timepiece, the Hölstein Edition 2024. Founded in the small village of Hölstein in 1904, Oris has built a legacy of creating high-quality mechanical watches with a devoted fan base that has been steadily growing over the last few years. This new release, a black-on-black Divers Sixty-Five, is an anniversary present Oris is giving itself, showing the subtlety and sophistication of the Swiss brand. The Hölstein Edition 2024 stands out with its distinctive design, marking the first time Oris has ventured into a full black-on-black aesthetic. The watch features a 40mm stainless steel case, bezel, and crown, all plated in black DLC. The hands, hour markers, dial text, date wheel, and lume are also rendered in black, complementing the overall monochromatic theme. The modern design is completed with a black rubber strap and a black-DLC-plated buckle. In terms of functionality and specifications, the Hölstein Edition 2024 is powered by the Oris Calibre 400. This in-house automatic movement boasts a five-day power reserve and superior anti-magnetic properties, ensuring reliable performance. As with previous Hölstein Edition releases, the caseback features an image of the Oris Bear, this time clad in swim trunks. The watch is water-resistant up to 10 bar (100 meters), making it suitable for various aquatic activities. Limited to just 250 pieces on a first-come-first-serve basis, the Höl...
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