Quill & Pad
RIP Mr. Armin Strom: A Master of Skeletonization
With great sadness, the independent Swiss watch manufacture Armin Strom announces the death of its founder, Mr. Armin Strom at the age of 86.
2,433 articles · 16 videos found · page 53 of 82
Every Rolex GMT-Master and GMT-Master II: Pepsi, Coke, Batman, Batgirl, Sprite, Root Beer, Polar.
40 mm × 11.85 mm, lug 20 mm, Cal. 3285
40 mm × 11.85 mm, lug 20 mm, Cal. 3285
40 mm × 11.85 mm, lug 20 mm, Cal. 3285
Quill & Pad
With great sadness, the independent Swiss watch manufacture Armin Strom announces the death of its founder, Mr. Armin Strom at the age of 86.
Revolution
Worn & Wound
As a journalist in the watch industry for over a decade, I’ve received dozens upon dozens of emails, DMs, LinkedIn messages, and even WhatsApps from unknown numbers pitching me on new watches and brands. I remember the thrill of these messages early in my career, but after twelve years and thousands of timekeepers later, it’s hard not to become a bit jaded. A couple months ago, one of these messages popped up in my inbox about a new brand coming to market and the model that would be their debut offering. After a few weeks of writing back and forth, I begrudgingly relented and agreed to get together over drinks to see what the brand and watch were all about. Admittedly, I walked into the meeting ready to be thoroughly underwhelmed with the arrogance that I’ve already seen it all, and it would take a lot to really blow my socks off. I was prepared to politely nod and smile, provide a few encouraging words welcoming the brand to the community, and be on my way to the event I had later that evening. But after just a few minutes with Josh Blank, founder of Papar and creator of the Anillo, the brand’s inaugural timepiece, I was eating my words. Josh’s watch story and approach to watchmaking is anything but ordinary. He’s a lawyer who splits his time between his home in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico-a lifestyle he and his wife/business partner Emily have built for their daughters to be bilingual. These elements of p...
Hodinkee
An FXD for the skies.
Quill & Pad
Ball Watch have stepped up their game with an innovative mechanical alarm watch with second time zone and a manufacture automatic movement plus their trademark super bright tritium tubes that light up the night. This is no chirping cricket!
Hodinkee
A cool complication, but a design that could use some refinement.
Worn & Wound
I am no stranger to the road, often finding myself lost on winding backcountry roads, grabbing cocktails in random local bars, and hunting for the hidden gems that make travel great. It can be easy to get lost in these adventures, jumping over time zones with an unwillingness to turn back towards my standard everyday life. That is where, annoyingly, a watch becomes more than just a watch. It becomes the rope tied to schedules and obligations that unobtrusively pulls you back to reality through the whirring of a rotor. While I certainly can not claim to be the modern American artist for whom this watch was designed, I have seen its inspiration scattered throughout random roads lost to different eras still holding the memories of its previous travelers. So, it seemed only fitting that part of my time spent with the new Trafford Touring GMT would occur on a spur-of-the-moment road trip down to West Virginia. Trafford is a brand I am very familiar with having been hooked on Nathan’s designs since he first shared a single teaser image of the Crossroads (his previous, rectangular model) in a watch Facebook group. Of course, I backed the Kickstarter grabbing myself a cabaret dial version, and then would eventually go on to get to know Nathan more during our collaboration on a certain “Wonderful” video I am sure many of you have seen by now. It was at this time that Nathan shared more teasers with me, this time of a round case with a similarly bold design language featuring ...
Monochrome
In 2020, five years after reviving the name of a distinguished 19th-century Geneva-based Czech-born Polish watchmaker with the launch of the Quai des Bergues collection, Czapek introduced its take on the popular genre of steel sports watches with an integrated bracelet, the Antarctique, powered by the brand’s first in-house movement. The model quickly gained well-deserved […]
Los Angeles, California instantly conjures images of sea, sun, and starlets. However L.A. is also a treasure trove of architectural gems, many of which have become icons of both film, design, and culture. Many of these buildings were either designed during or heavily influenced by the Art Deco movement of the 1920s and ‘30s. March LA.B is a French watch company that’s deeply inspired by the design cues emanating from Southern California in the early 20th century-specifically in Los Angeles-hence the “LA” embedded within their name. Their watch design nods to the great architectural icons built during this booming area oozing with style, sophistication, and a certain je ne sais quoi. We took March LA.B’s newest model, the AM2 GMT, along for the ride while photographing three of L.A.’s most iconic Art Deco architectural gems, the Los Angeles Central Library, the CalEdison Building, and the Griffith Observatory. Coming all the way from Biarritz, France (a.k.a. the B in their name), the AM2 GMT was created to be an ideal companion for both cross-continental travel and curated urban exploration. The post Exploring and Photographing Art Deco Gems in Los Angeles with March LA.B’s New AM2 GMT appeared first on Worn & Wound.
Monochrome
March LA.B is an eclectic French brand founded in 2008 by three friends who are passionate about surfing and 1970s retro design. CEO Alain Marhic came to the table with his experience at Quicksilver Surf and creative director Jérôme Mage with his very own JMM eyewear brand. With a portfolio of shaped watches, surf-inspired watches, […]
Revolution
Revolution
Two Broke Watch Snobs
A quick look at the new Monta Noble Voyager - Monta's latest travel-inspired iteration of their popular Noble series. Check out photos, specs, and pricing.
Hodinkee
Plus, a US-exclusive Grand Seiko and a flagship pointer date from Oris.
Revolution
Monochrome
TAG Heuer is renowned for its automotive heritage and racing chronographs, but the brand also boasts a strong nautical and water-sport legacy, particularly with its Aquaracer dive watch collection. Introduced in 2004/2005 as the direct successor to the 2000 series, the Aquaracer line has become a cornerstone in TAG Heuer’s portfolio. The collection was fully […]
Worn & Wound
We’ve been covering Farer for a long time on Worn & Wound. To say they are a core brand in our little enthusiast corner of the watch world would be an understatement, and it’s been exciting to see them grow, experiment, and further develop their own unique design language. For as long as I’ve been covering the brand, it’s been the colors that have stood out. They have just always had a knack for picking interesting and unusual color combinations. And their typical release strategy underscores that point – they’ll frequently release a handful of watches in the same style at one time, each adopting different color palettes, and thus emphasizing the impact those decisions have on the finished product. Their latest release, the Banzare GMT, is not part of a multi-watch drop, but it does feature a striking new dial texture for the brand in a color that some die hard Farer fans are sure to appreciate. The GMT has become a signature complication for Farer, probably because it gives the brand a chance to explore colors and contrasts in natural ways. Think of the different elements of the dial that need to be navigated here: the dial itself, the main hour markers, the time telling hands, the GMT hand, the GMT hour scale, the date, the minute track, and we haven’t even gotten to the various wordmarks yet. There’s a real challenge in making sure all of those elements play well together, and it’s something Farer has always excelled at. The Banzare gets a plum col...
Hodinkee
Available in silver or with touches of bright pink, Zodiac's recent release is just in time for warmer weather.
Revolution
Hodinkee
The 58 has been cleared for travel.
Hodinkee
The lion's mane pattern of the dial is something that you have to see to truly appreciate.
Worn & Wound
The Navitimer is one of a very small handful of watches that is quite simply an undisputed classic. If you say the name, it conjures an immediate image in the mind’s eye: a busy pilot’s chronograph with an uncommon (but completely useful) slide rule bezel. It has the look of a real flight instrument because in a very real sense that’s exactly what it is. But the very idea of what a Navitimer can be has changed a lot in recent years, with the introduction of references that skip the chronograph entirely. The Navitimer is now more than just a single iconic watch, it’s a collection of aviation inspired watches that use the classic as a starting point but branch out into all kinds of new areas. It’s the kind of thing that purists, frankly, sneer at. But it’s an undeniably shrewd move by Breitling to get the Navitimer name out there, and the watches on the wrists of new customers who may not be interested in a toolish chronograph whose design hasn’t changed much for decades. So now, in an expansion of the collection tied to Breitling’s 140th anniversary, we have a new Navitimer GMT and Automatic 41. The Navitimer Automatic 41 is perhaps the most straightforward execution of the Navitimer aesthetic, sans chronograph, yet. It’s not the first Navitimer in a 41mm case without a chrono complication, but it is the first without a date at the 6:00 position. This dateless execution is considerably cleaner and will probably be of greater appeal to enthusiasts than ...
Revolution
Monochrome
Like many other brands born during the golden era of watchmaking, and in particular the early days of the professional dive watch, Squale might not sound familiar to a mainstream audience but has to be considered an emblematic maker of dive watches for seasoned enthusiasts. 65 years ago, in 1959, Squale launched its first watch; […]
Monochrome
When two masters of their respective crafts meet, it’s very likely greatness will ensue. However, while masters may strengthen each other, it’s difficult to find common ground when crafts might seem at odds. Despite this, a positive and uniquely intriguing outcome is still a possibility. Such is the case with the collaboration of Raúl Pagès, […]
Worn & Wound
“Just a Minute” is a short-form video series designed to present all the facts about our favorite products in under 60 seconds. These are easy to consume and provide quick but thorough rundowns on everything you need to know. We continue to receive great feedback about this format, so we intend on creating more videos just for you. As always, we encourage you to join our rewards program to earn points and save with every purchase. The Windup Watch Shop team is also available to schedule a consultation with you and answer any questions you have. Finally, use code WWSFIRST on your first purchase from the Windup Watch Shop to enjoy 10% off select items. Today’s double feature hails from the DIN Hamburg line from Laco. Based in Pforzheim, Germany, Laco approaches its 100th anniversary by continuing to build purposeful tool watches for a variety of specialists. The DIN lineup is particularly interesting as its watches are built to the exacting standards of the Deutsche Industrie Norme, now known as the German Institute of Standardization. The two references featured today may share the same foundational case, but they are two very different watches indeed. The pilot watch is exactly what you’d expect from a company that cut its teeth on building pilot’s watches, while the GMT is a paragon of legibility in the skies. Check out the video below for more, and shop the full Laco collection in the Windup Watch Shop here! “Just a Minute” is a short-form video series de...
Hodinkee
Caller or flyer, it's all about how you spin it.
SJX Watches
Based in Pennsylvania, Dewey Vicknair is a respected gunsmith who specialises in restoring rifles and shotguns, and has been doing so for decades, gaining an esteemed reputation in the process. Now in his mid-fifties, he is also a self-taught watchmaker who has been performing watch servicing on the side. Recently Mr Vicknair made the leap from fixing watches to making one. Mr Vicknair explained the genesis of his first watch: “When I saw your stories about Atelier de Chronometrie and what they do with vintage Omega movements, I was inspired.” His inaugural creation is a hand-wound wristwatch of his own making, literally. Although the movement started out as a 1950s Omega cal. 266, Mr Vicknair reworked majority of it and made many parts from scratch, including the going train bridge, as he did for the case, dial, and even the gasket for the crown tube. Because he made most of the parts himself, Mr Vicknair had to fabricate the equipment required to make the parts, including a cutter for the gasket and a screw holder for black polishing. He even did the silver plating of the movement parts himself. It is an unexpected accomplishment for a first-time watchmaker. Initial thoughts Ordinarily I would be sceptical of an unknown watchmaker seeking publicity for a new project with a five-figure price tag. But a few things changed my mind. One was seeing Mr Vicknair’s unusually thorough documentation of his production process, which is almost entirely manual – even the mach...
Hodinkee
We asked two highly qualified watchmakers to share their favorites Nomos creations.
Worn & Wound
Worn & Wound has always been about the active lifestyle: exploring the world around us, getting our hands dirty, and, more generally, using our gear – from watches, to knives, to pens – how it was meant to be used. We believe the value of the products we use and create comes from their utility, and in using them we can fully appreciate them. This spirit of adventure and action is what inspired us to collaborate with BOLDR on what can only be considered a rig of a watch: The BOLDR x Worn & Wound 3XT GMT Limited Edition. Read on to find out what makes this watch special and why we’re proud to offer it here in the Windup Watch Shop. As always, remember to join our rewards program to earn points and save with every purchase! Worn & Wound has always been about the active lifestyle: exploring the world around us, getting our hands dirty, and, more generally, using our gear – from watches, to knives, to pens – how it was meant to be used. We believe the value of the products we use and create comes from their utility, and in using them we can fully appreciate them. This spirit of adventure and action is what inspired us to collaborate with BOLDR on what can only be considered a rig of a watch: The BOLDR x Worn & Wound 3XT GMT Limited Edition. Read on to find out what makes this watch special and why we’re proud to offer it here in the Windup Watch Shop. As always, remember to join our rewards program to earn points and save with every purchase! The post The BOLDR x ...
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