Two Broke Watch Snobs
Military Watch Showdown: Hands-On Testing The Marathon TSAR vs CWC SBS Diver
We’ve tested both of these iconic military watches to break down design, build, and military-grade toughness.
Results for Mother of Pearl Dial
31,832 articles · 2,206 videos found · page 531 of 1135
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Monochrome
Introducing – The New Zeitwinkel 082º x The Limited Edition
Since 2015, The Limited Edition, a British retailer founded by Pietro Tomajer, has been a champion of independent watchmaking, celebrating individuality, craftsmanship, and creative freedom. In the past, the Limited Edition collaborations included watches made with Armin Strom, Vianney Halter, Kudoke, Garrick, and many other independents. To mark its 10th anniversary, the UK-based retailer has […]
SJX Watches
Konstantin Chaykin’s Venus is Arty and Naughty
Konstantin Chaykin’s signature Wristmon has taken an unexpected twist with the Venus. Inspired by The Birth of Venus, Botticelli’s famous Renaissance painting, the wristwatch is modelled on the goddess Venus emerging from the sea, nude with flowing hair. Like the Wristmons, Venus tells the time with rotating discs, except the discs no longer represent the eyes. Appropriately, the Venus prototype will be sold in at auction on December 11, with all proceeds going to LILT Milano Monza Brianza, an Italian charity dedicated to preventing breast cancer. Initial thoughts The Wristmon is now a familiar concept, maybe too familiar. Venus is a clever twist on the idea; it’s essentially identical in terms of function, yet entirely different in look and theme. The Venus is also relatively subtle, despite the highly exposed central theme. At the same time, the Venus fits into a historical category of watches. In some ways it’s a variant of the tradition erotic watch, which existed in pocket watches and also modern wristwatches. The case of the Venus is also a bit more graceful than the average Wristmon. It has flowing lines and more importantly, only one crown, instead of the two for most Wristmon models. In short, I like the Venus. It is a smart new direction for the Russian watchmaker’s signature concept. Goddess on the dial Like the Wristmons, Venus indicates the time regulator-style. Hours and minutes are each indicated on rotating discs, while the “face” forms the ...
Fratello
Memorable Moments: What Shook The Watch World In 2025?
What shook up the watch industry in 2025? There are plenty of things, I suppose, but since the watch industry is a multifaceted entity, I think I should elaborate. In terms of innovative watchmaking, 2025 proved to be an interesting year. Many prominent brands released technical innovations that demonstrate how the universe of mechanical timepieces […] Visit Memorable Moments: What Shook The Watch World In 2025? to read the full article.
Monochrome
Introducing – Seiko 5 Sports Pink Panther Limited Edition SRPM07
With its 5 Sports collection, the brand’s accessible range that comprises almost infinite styles, Seiko isn’t shy of creating bold models and teaming up with unexpected partners. Recently, we’ve seen models inspired by Bruce Lee, Peanuts or Mooneys. There was even a pair of Pepsi-bezel watches made with… Pepsi! Now, the Seiko 5 Sports SKX […]
Fratello
Hands-On With The Charming Echo/Neutra Rivanera Piccolo
A little over a year ago, Echo/Neutra floored me with its Rivanera. The brand’s modern take on the classic dress watch quickly became one of my highlights of 2024. In fact, it impressed me so much that I added one to my collection. Now, a little over 12 months later, the Italian brand surprises us […] Visit Hands-On With The Charming Echo/Neutra Rivanera Piccolo to read the full article.
Fratello
Introducing: The Seiko 5 Sports Pink Panther Limited Edition SRPM07
For its latest 5 Sports collaboration, Seiko teamed up with MGM to celebrate the Pink Panther. It’s a joyful reminder of the prank-loving cartoon character I got to know through the famous series of movies that began in the 1960s with Peter Sellers as Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Six years after the 1963 premiere of The […] Visit Introducing: The Seiko 5 Sports Pink Panther Limited Edition SRPM07 to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Hands On: Chopard L.U.C. Grand Strike
The 30th anniversary of the Chopard L.U.C. manufacture was one anniversary among many this year, but it will likely be remembered thanks to the Grand Strike, the most complicated watch in Chopard’s history and its first grande sonnerie. Building on the successful Full Strike minute repeater architecture and making full use of the brand’s patented sapphire gongs, the Grand Strike is a chronometer-certified two-train clock watch with a push-button minute repeater. In this context, the presence of the tourbillon is almost a footnote. Initial thoughts I can count on one hand the number of brands that have created their own grande sonnerie wristwatch. It’s one of the few things in watchmaking that’s proven challenging enough to still be rare, even in the days of computer-aided design (CAD) and advanced manufacturing technology like wire erosion. For this reason, the grande sonnerie has a towering cultural presence among watchmakers and collectors, looming above all other complications. For Chopard, the Grand Strike represents the culmination of 30 years of the L.U.C. manufacture, the brand’s haute horlogerie division. The first impression of the Grand Strike is one of extraordinary depth. There’s not much of a dial, save for the minutes scale etched on the inside of the sapphire crystal, and the small concentric sub-dials for the dual power reserve displays. This depth shrinks the watch visually, and it feels dense and compact despite its rather large 43 mm size and...
Time+Tide
Laco and Circula team up on the ProLab, a two-watch collaboration celebrating their shared German roots
“Two watches, one idea”: this pair of watches from these two Pforzheim-based brands is the watch equivalent of artists in dialogue.The post Laco and Circula team up on the ProLab, a two-watch collaboration celebrating their shared German roots appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
W
Worn & Wound
Worn & Wound
The 2025 Hamilton Gift Guide: Four Iconic Watches, One Holiday Pop-Up
If you’re tired of gifting the same old “this-made-me-think-of-you” mug with a quote, Hamilton is once again stepping in to save your season. Our annual Holiday Gift Guide with this classic brand is back and it’s giving a whole lot of enthusiast charm, character, and just the right amount of cinematic sparkle. This year’s lineup celebrates five standout timepieces, each matched to a distinct persona in your family or immediate circle of friends. Think of this as your shortcut to giving a gift that actually feels thoughtfully chosen vs. that last-minute pick up. The post The 2025 Hamilton Gift Guide: Four Iconic Watches, One Holiday Pop-Up appeared first on Worn & Wound.
Teddy Baldassarre
What is a Quartz Watch? Everything You Need to Know
The advent of the quartz watch was the most disastrous event ever to befall the traditional luxury watch business, an existential threat that nearly toppled the watch industry as we know it. The invention of the quartz watch was among the most significant advances in the history of timekeeping and brought affordable wristwatches to the masses in a way that had never been seen before. These are the two main schools of thoughts on what the quartz watch has meant to the history of watchmaking, and both are essentially correct. As you contemplate whether to purchase a quartz watch, ponder the main differences between quartz and mechanical movements, and try to wrap your head around the various types of timekeeping technologies, let’s explore how quartz watches originated, how they evolved, and what their place is in today’s ever-changing watch world. [toc-section heading="Quartz Movements Explained"] Unlike a mechanical movement, which stores its energy in a wound mainspring inside a barrel and releases it through a complex series of gears to move the hands, a quartz movement derives its power from a small electrical charge provided by a battery, which then passes through an integrated circuit that applies the charge to a tiny quartz crystal cut into the shape of a tuning fork. Thanks to something known as the reverse-piezoelectric effect, that tiny charge applied to the quartz tuning fork crystal causes it to vibrate at an incredibly high rate that dwarfs the output of ...
Monochrome
First Look – Lederer Inverto Titanium 39mm, a Superb Inverted Take on the Central Impulse Chronometer
With the Inverto Titanium, independent watchmaking atelier Lederer refines the 2023 Central Impulse Chronometer InVerto, a large 44mm watch in a blackened case, into a compact, titanium-framed display of one of the most sophisticated escapement architectures in modern watchmaking. It’s a culmination of forty years of mechanical experimentation, distilled into 39mm of pure chronometric artistry, […]
Fratello
A Hands-On Introduction To The Playful And Elegant Serica 6190 TXD
Last year, Serica introduced its new 6190 M.S.L. (Mean Sea Level) collection. With the black, white, or gray dials and non-numerical hand-applied indexes, the watches are dressier alternatives to their sportier field-watch predecessors. Today, the Parisian brand adds another playful yet elegant dial variant to that dressier lineup. Let’s take a look at the new […] Visit A Hands-On Introduction To The Playful And Elegant Serica 6190 TXD to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Down to the Wire: De Bethune’s In-House Hairsprings
De Bethune plans to bring hairspring production in house, aiming to become one of the very few firms able to process alloy wire into a finished balance hairspring. This requires De Bethune’s new hairspring workshop to master wire drawing, rolling, cutting, heat treatment, and assembly. The rationale? “Externally produced hairsprings meet standards based on averages that do not enable fine adjustment of the dimensions to suit a particular balance wheel or its specific positioning in a calibre,” according to De Bethune. De Bethune’s “flat end curve” mated to a hairspring sourced from a supplier. Initial thoughts As De Bethune explains it, making its own hairsprings will allow the brand to tailor its hairspring to a specific balance or movement. Since its founding in 2002, De Bethune has presented itself as being on the cutting edge of chronometry, debuting a new balance design every year from 2004 to 2010. The brand was also quick to embrace silicon, and even briefly attempted a kilohertz magnetic oscillator system, Résonique. A new year, a new balance. Sometimes two new balances. Given De Bethune’s focus on chronometry, making its own hairsprings seems like a natural next step. However, there is a reason so few brands make their own hairsprings: the process is a difficult and demanding one that benefits greatly from economies of scale. For example, H. Moser & Cie. makes less than 4,000 watches per year, however, its sister company Precision Engineering claims...
SJX Watches
The Urwerk UR-230 Goes Dark
Urwerk’s latest satellite-display creation, the UR-230 Black Star, builds on more than two decades of the brand redefining the wandering hours complication. A concept first teased in the Harry Winston Opus 5 and later perfected in the UR-210, the retrograde-satellite display has become synonymous with Urwerk’s identity, and the Black Star demonstrates how far the idea has come. With a lightweight fibreglass-reinforced ceramic case, the Black Star is a 35-piece limited edition that looks to be the final instalment of the UR-230 series. Initial thoughts Urwerk didn’t invent the wandering hours display, but the brand deserves credit for dragging the complication into modernity in the late 1990s. While the brand has dabbled in watches with conventional hands, it’s still the satellite time display that carries the essence of Urwerk’s DNA. The UR-230 traces its roots back to the 2012 launch of the UR-210, which introduced the retrograde frame that travels with the satellite cube for hours. The concept for a retrograde hand paired with wandering hours dates back even further, to the 2005 launch of the Harry Winston Opus 5, which was also designed by Urwerk. While the concept has subsequently been elaborated with the UR-150 Scorpion, the UR-230 still looks strikingly advanced even after all these years. The latest black-and-yellow livery seems to be the flavour of the day, closely matching the brand’s recent collaboration with Ulysse Nardin. The signature detail of the...
Deployant
New: Urwerk UR-230 Black Star
Urwerk releases the final edition of their UR-230 collection with a new version which they call the Black Star. This concludes the trilogy.
Fratello
Going Hands-On With The Favre Leuba Deep Raider Collection
Not too long ago, I wrote an article highlighting the Favre Leuba collection. The immediate standouts for me were the Deep Raider divers. The Deep Raider Renaissance is a great modern evolution of the classic Deep Blue from the 1960s. However, it was the Deep Raider Revival that stood out even more to me, as […] Visit Going Hands-On With The Favre Leuba Deep Raider Collection to read the full article.
Monochrome
First Look – The 2025 Alpina Alpiner Extreme Automatic Freeride World Tour Special Edition
For its ninth year partnering with Alpiner Extreme Automatic Freeride World Tour Special Edition (FWT), Alpina introduces a fresh take on the Alpiner Extreme Automatic, a model positioned at the intersection of traditional Swiss watchmaking and high-altitude sport. While the brand has long aligned itself with alpine culture, this Special Edition, housed in the compact version […]
Time+Tide
The Time+Tide holiday gift guide: all the best gift ideas for watch enthusiasts
We've assembled a comprehensive list of gift recommendations for all sorts of watch lovers at all sorts of budgets.The post The Time+Tide holiday gift guide: all the best gift ideas for watch enthusiasts appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
In-Depth: Understanding Isochronism and Oscillators
The beginning of 2025 marked the 350th anniversary of the hairspring, the invention that made portable precision timekeeping possible. To commemorate the occasion, we published a series of deep dives covering the disputes around its invention, the evolution of spring materials over the years and the finer rules of forming Breguet overcoils. This final instalment examines isochronism. Some initial definitions and considerations A proper and universal definition of isochronism is: the property of an oscillatory system to maintain the same period of vibration despite variation in environmental factors. This implies that a vibrational system’s behaviour is inherent and external factors should not influence its frequency. A few basic terms help frame the discussion. The period, measured in seconds, is the time taken for the oscillator to travel from one extreme position, through equilibrium, and back again. Frequency, measured in Hertz, is the inverse of the period; a system with a constant period can serve as a stable timebase. The amplitude is the distance swept by the oscillator from the equilibrium point to its extreme position. In practical terms, when saying that a sprung balance has an amplitude of 330°, it means the balance wheel rotates a full 330° in one direction from its equilibrium point before swinging back. Figure I. Anatomy of a sinusoidal wave. In watchmaking parlance, isochronism means that an oscillator keeps the same period, regardless of its amplit...
Time+Tide
How the Australian watch community helped create the TAG Heuer purist’s ultimate Carrera
Co-designed by a group of Aussie watch enthusiasts, this Carrera Glassbox Australian Limited Edition melds cues from two iconic vintage Heuers.The post How the Australian watch community helped create the TAG Heuer purist’s ultimate Carrera appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
Five Watch Writing Cliches that We Need to Retire
According to Worn & Wound’s content management system, I’ve authored over 1,500 articles for this website. That’s a lot! A big percentage of those articles have been spent simply describing watches, and giving you my impressions and thoughts on how they succeed and fail in doing whatever it is they’re trying to do (besides keep time – that’s basically assumed going in). Over the course of 1,500 articles, I’m 100% positive that I’ve been guilty of using many of the watch writer cliches that all of us try to avoid. But it’s hard! There are only so many ways, after all, that you can communicate in writing that a particular color provides an accent on the dial, or that a bit of finishing is impressive but not mind blowing, or that the specs don’t tell the whole story of how a watch is experienced when you’re wearing it. Over time, I’ve tried to mitigate the use of cliches by simply not writing about the things that are so obvious they fall into the realm of cliche. For example: if a watch has a red seconds hand, you can see that it has a red seconds hand in the photos. There’s no need for me to characterize the red as a “splash” or a “pop” or anything else. It’s there. You, the reader, are intelligent and can decide if you like it or not, whether it needs to be splashier or poppier. I try to give you my thoughts on the whole package, cohesively. If I have any! I have to admit, sometimes, a watch is just a watch to me. It can be a perfectly...
Teddy Baldassarre
Best Solar-Powered Dive Watches For Every Budget
While solar-powered quartz technology has been around for decades, it’s still a relatively new innovation in the centuries-old watch world. I wouldn’t say the solar-powered revolution has fully arrived (especially as contemporary enthusiasts continue to find appeal in the craftsmanship of mechanical calibers in an increasingly digital world), but the technology has undoubtedly become more reliable and refined in recent years. The convenience and ease of being able to charge up your watch in both natural and artificial light sources, as well as the security of the long-lasting battery life, actually lend themselves well to more high-stakes and tactical situations. Riffing on that theme, I’ve scoured the watch industry for the best solar dive watches on the market. Down below, you’ll find what I believe to be the most compelling solar divers out there for your reading pleasure, offered at a wide range of price points so everyone can get in on the fun. [toc-section heading="Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster Dive Titanium"] Case: 44mm, Material: Super Titanium, Water Resistance: 200 meters, Caliber: E168 Solar, Price: $575 It was Citizen who truly revolutionized the genre of solar-powered watches in the '90s. The brand was the very first to launch pieces that could power up with both sunlight and artificial light sources with the launch of its Eco-Drive technology, and it remains a leader in the category today. While Citizen has quite a number of solar-powered watches that...
Monochrome
Introducing – Kiwame Tokyo Launches its Second Collection, the IWAO Field Watches
It’s only been a couple of months since we talked about Kiwame Tokyo, a new micro-brand from Japan with the goal of delivering “honest watchmaking from Asakusa” and “affordable Japanese watches.” The project of industry veteran Masami Watanabe, the brand started with an appealing Calatrava-inspired pair of watches offered at a fair price, the Kurotsuki […]
Worn & Wound
Timex, Todd Snyder, and a Mad Men Inspired Marlin
There’s something strangely fitting about a new Timex collaboration with Toddy Snyder dropping this month in the form of the new Olive Marlin seen here. The Marlin, in its current form, is frequently described as being inspired by the style of the Mad Men era. The AMC series started many menswear trends and the archives of sites like ours and many watch and menswear forums are ripe with stories about Mad Men’s watches, how to achieve the Don Draper look, and so on. Mad Men is on my mind right now though not because of the release of this new piece from Timex, but because of the quite hysterical gaffe made by someone at HBO Max, who inadvertently put up uncut and unedited versions of the show when it made its HBO Max streaming premiere on the first of the month. This was supposed to be a big moment for the debut of the new 4K scans of the show, but instead, everyone is talking about a puke hose. I’m not the biggest Mad Men guy out there, but I like the show well enough, and I watched a few of my favorite episodes over the weekend to test the waters on a full rewatch. Maybe I’ll report back on that, at some point. For now, I can say that the style of the show (not just the clothes, but entire production design) remains just about perfect at evoking a very specific era, and the watches always played a major role in that. The Marlin would have felt right at home on this set. For this new Todd Snyder collaboration, the dial has been given a coat of the designer’s ...
Teddy Baldassarre
I Gave An Omega Speedmaster To A Deserving Subscriber
We asked you on social media if there was someone you know that deserves the watch of their dreams. We received dozens upon dozens of stories highlighting potential worth recipients, but one stood out the most. Learn more about Lucas and why we chose to gift him his grail watch: the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch.Is there
Fratello
Sign Up For The January 2026 Speedy Tuesday Event In Hong Kong
Following a pause in Speedy Tuesday events (the last one took place at the end of 2023), we invite you to register for the upcoming Speedy Tuesday event in Hong Kong. This event will take place on January 13th, 2026, and will be co-hosted by Omega. Speedy Tuesday Hong Kong Event 2026 Nothing beats meeting […] Visit Sign Up For The January 2026 Speedy Tuesday Event In Hong Kong to read the full article.
Deployant
New: H. Moser Streamliner Genesis 2 – Act II
H. Moser releases Act II of their Genesis project which began with the Endeavour Centre Seconds Genesis as Act I, and continues the trilogo saga.
Monochrome
Introducing – The Spellbinding Van Cleef & Arpels Brassée de Lavande Automaton
Founded in 1906 in the Place de Vendôme, Van Cleef & Arpels is the signature behind delightful high jewellery and timepieces inspired by fairies, flowers and butterflies. With its rich history and impressive lineup of artisans, Van Cleef’s Extraordinary Objects collection is home to some of the most spellbinding automata. The Brassée de Lavande (an […]
Fratello
Introducing: The King Seiko Vanac SLA093 And SLA095 On Leather Straps
Earlier this year, Seiko unveiled new King Seiko Vanac models. The legendary Vanac name dates back to the 1970s, when it represented the creative and extravagant side of the King Seiko line. The modern Vanac models show significant influence from the ’70s classics. Although they are nowhere near as flashy, they have similar, angular cases […] Visit Introducing: The King Seiko Vanac SLA093 And SLA095 On Leather Straps to read the full article.