17,549 articles · 92 videos found · page 531 of 589
Monochrome
To our regular readers, Armin Strom needs no introduction. To those new to watchmaking, let’s say that over the past decade, the independent brand has established itself as one of the (very) few manufacturers to truly master resonance in a wristwatch. The Dual Time GMT Resonance has become one of Armin Strom’s signature platforms, evolving […]
Hodinkee
What We Know Awake is launching three new watches today, along with a new visual identity for the young brand. The three references—"Sunset," "Alba," and "Borealis"—take their names and color palettes from celestial phenomena: an ocean sunset, an incandescent dawn, and the Northern Lights, respectively. "Alba" The dials are the story here, and the story behind them is quite fascinating. The process begins in Hanoi, Vietnam, where master lacquerers apply multiple ultra-thin layers of Sơn Mài lacquer—derived from the sap of the Rhus Verniciflua tree—then meticulously polish each coat to build up the dial's color. Sunset gets pink, violet, and blue. Alba gets red, yellow, and orange. Borealis gets green and yellow. Once the lacquer work is complete, the dials travel to Italy, where they're handed to the Renzetti family—one of the last workshops in Europe still practicing hand guilloché—who work them on traditional rose and straight-line engine lathes, entirely by hand, for approximately 15 hours per dial. Each groove is unique to the individual artisan and the individual piece. "Sunset" The hands and indices are constructed with a steel cap system finished in polished, brushed, and engraved textures, filled with Super-LumiNova BGW9. The result is a lume solution that's discreet in daylight but comes alive in the dark, casting a soft halo over the lacquer and guilloché beneath. All of this sits inside a new 38mm stainless steel case, a first for Awake. It fea...
Hodinkee
Thierry Stern sat down with Ben Clymer at Watches & Wonders 2026 to walk through Patek Philippe's novelties, and his passion for the product comes through immediately. Nowhere is that more evident than with the Nautilus's 50th anniversary pieces. Compared to the 40th, this is an exercise in restraint. "My idea is to do the counter-steps," Stern said. The three limited-edition anniversary Nautiluses are stripped to hours and minutes only—no date, no seconds—perhaps the most compelling of which is a 38mm platinum case recalling the medium-size Nautilus models of the 1980s, powered by the 2.53mm Calibre 240, its micro-rotor engraved with "50 1976–2026". The wildcard—a personal highlight for Ben—was something genuinely unexpected: Patek's first-ever Nautilus desk clock, the ref. 958G, limited to just 100 pieces. Its white gold case translates the porthole-inspired Nautilus design to 50.65mm, with a hinged caseback that doubles as a stand. Technically a pocket watch, yet perhaps it's better suited to the table. Mr. Stern gives us a peek behind the curtain on how it came to be—and the story behind it is one you'll definitely want to hear. Thierry also walked Ben through the 5840P—the Cubitus's first grand complication, a skeletonized perpetual calendar he'd conceived early in the collection's development but deliberately held back, wanting the design language to land before the mechanics got complicated. The vintage Patek market is certainly booming, with the ref. ...
Hodinkee
What We Know Today, Breitling relaunches the Chronomat lineup with an updated design language that builds on the collection's major 2020 revamp and makes a few small adjustments that feel quite consumer-friendly. The refreshed collection spans the gamut of sizes and complications, with 22 variants, from chronographs to time-and-date models, in many dial colors and metals. There are three models in the new lineup: the Chronomat B01 42 chronograph, the Chronomat Automatic B31 40, and the Chronomat Automatic 36. The steel Chronomat B01 with ice blue dial and platinum bezel. In steel, the Chronomat B01 comes with a white, blue, or green dial and contrasting black subdials, while in two-tone steel and red gold, it features a grey dial. A full red gold variant features a brown dial, while a steel case with a platinum bezel comes with an ice blue dial. Chronomat Automatic B31 40mm. There is also a new model in this update, the Chronomat Automatic B31 40. It's the first time-and-date Chronomat in a 40mm diameter, which I think hits the sweet spot for the more sporty, aggressive Chronomat design and a wide range of wrists. It's also the first time we've seen the Caliber B31 on a Chronomat, as it was previously used in the Top Time B31 and a few SuperOcean Heritage models. In steel, there are three dial colors: blue, green, and white, while a steel case with a platinum bezel comes with an ice blue dial. For the Chronomat Automatic 36, a steel version is available in a classic bl...
Worn & Wound
Last year’s HU-01 took the watch world by storm, paying homage to Patek Philippe’s Calatrava 96 and offering it for a fraction of the source material’s price. Horologically Unique stuck closely to the Calatrava’s design language but added their own embellishments and twists. The original HU-01 modernized a classic to some degree, taking the original’s case dimensions of 31mm and bulking them up to 36mm, using a high-domed sapphire crystal, and installing an exhibition case back. Horologically Unique’s newest model, named the HU-01 Finale, takes the same general formula but adds a hint of luxury and a dash of more historically-accurate design elements. The Finale positions itself somewhere between the first HU-01 and the original Calatrava 96, both in aesthetics and pricing. So what makes the Finale a cut above its predecessor? The first notable difference can be seen with the two dials on offer: one in a brushed grey finish and the other with a stone dial made of jade. The latter model, nicknamed the “Yu” or “玉” meaning jade in Chinese, exhibits a gorgeous greenish-blue hue courtesy of the Burmese jade. It’s unlike most other stone dials I’ve seen, and I’m sure it will be a sight to behold in-person under direct lighting. Adorning both dials are a series of lab-grown diamonds, three baguette cut and eight round brilliant cut. Adding a bit of bling to a sterile dial is a unique choice, one I think helps add more character to what otherwise would ...
Hodinkee
What We Know For collectors, the Longines Legend Diver seemingly hit a sweet spot in sizing during its 39mm refresh back in 2023. But, as with many things in life, you can't please 'em all with just one version. So today's new Legend Diver 59 offers a much larger interpretation of the brand's tribute to its 1959 design, in a 42mm model that will surely make a lot of larger wrists happy. It's not the brand's only 42mm Legend Diver, technically speaking, since some older models are still listed in the catalog. But it's the first larger size to have come out since that 2023 refresh. The 42mm case has a thickness of 12.85mm and a lug-to-lug measurement of 50.1mm. As customary with the Legend Divers, two crowns sit on the right side of the case, with the one at two o'clock for rotating the internal bezel and the one at four o'clock to wind and set the time. What this new Legend Diver 59 offers as a new design touch comes in the dial. Whereas the current generation Legend Divers sport glossy lacquer dials, this Legend Diver 59 has a matte black grained-texture dial and internal bezel for a more rugged look. Adding to that aesthetic are new sandblasted hands and indices, which are then paired with three-dimensional Super-LumiNova accents in an old radium color. The Legend Diver 59 is COSC-certified, thanks to the ETA-manufactured but exclusive-to-Longines automatic caliber L888.6. It's a distinctly modern caliber, featuring a silicon balance spring and a power reserve of 72 hours...
Monochrome
Bell & Ross and the Patrouille de France partnership has already given us a few watches over the years, with the French aerobatic team bringing its blue colours and insignia to models like the BR-03 and BR-05 Chrono. This partnership reaches the brand’s latest collection, so now we have the new BR-X3 Patrouille de France. […]
SJX Watches
A. Lange & Söhne has been a sponsor of the Concorso de Eleganza Villa d’Este for 15 years now, but this year marks the first time a limited edition is debuting at the event: the Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold. Staged annually on the shores of Lake Como, the classic car show has historically awarded a unique Lange watch to the “Best of Show” winner. This year’s winner will once again receive a watch with an engraved hunter case back, but for everyone these there is the new Cabaret Tourbillon, a limited edition of 50 pieces that is the most appealing iteration of Lange’s most unusual, and least popular, wristwatch with a tourbillon. Initial thoughts The Cabaret Tourbillon is probably the least popular Lange tourbillon due to its shape and size; the original version was also relatively plain in terms of appearance. The new limited edition, however, looks and feels entirely different. Thought the dimensions are the same, it looks like a whole new watch with the Honeygold dial. The relief elements on the frosted surface give the dial a subtle depth, while the colour contrasts well with the case. Though this is not a Handwerkskunst edition, the dial gives it a special something. Ordinarily, a modest cosmetic makeover like this would be uninteresting, but here the gentle redesign elevates a watch that previously felt a little flat into something more inspired. I only wish Lange had given the movement a little extra decoration to set it apart from the standard calibre. As...
Worn & Wound
Venezianico makes a lot of watches. This is a fact that’s become unmistakably clear over these last few years as their footprint has expanded in the enthusiast community. Regardless of whether you know them for watches like this or watches like this, there’s a good chance they also make a watch that’s completely unlike anything you’ve already seen from them. Making a huge variety of watches at a high volume can be a bit of a gamble in this industry. There’s a sense among many enthusiasts that exclusivity is something to be protected, and when a watch brand casts a very wide net, it can dilute their messaging. We had a great discussion along these lines concerning Grand Seiko in a recent podcast. Clearly there was a moment a few years ago when that brand was flooding the market with new stuff, and their identity was a little lost. “Analysis paralysis” is a term often used by consumers to describe the feeling of shopping a brand that has too much stuff to sift through. The counter argument of course is right there in the Seiko family. No enthusiast would say that too many watches in the Prospex, Presage, and Seiko 5 lines, among others, is a bad thing. Between the many branches of the Seiko family tree, there are accessible options for everyone, and that’s historically been seen as a good thing for the community and the sign of a healthy brand appealing to a broad market. What this really comes down to is whether a brand is positioning itself as luxury ...
Monochrome
Skeleton watches are clearly a big part of Orient Star. Between the sporty Avant-Garde Skeleton, the more refined Orient Star Skeleton in the brand’s Contemporary Collection, and now this new Orient Star M34 F8 Skeleton Hand Winding created for the brand’s 75th anniversary, the Japanese brand has built a broad range of openworked watches over […]
Worn & Wound
As many are likely well aware, 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and as we approach the 4th of July, there are going to be a lot of reminders of America’s big birthday. The watch industry, as we know, loves an anniversary, and Marathon has gotten in on the act with the new edition of their Navigator pilot’s watch with a handful of patriotic nods to America’s founding. Marathon has been supplying the Department of Defense and various branches of the United States military with MIL-SPEC watches for many years, and the Pilot’s Navigator in particular has special resonance within their collection as it was originally developed in partnership with Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonia, TX in 1986. It’s a signature watch for Marathon and directly tied to the Canadian brand’s longstanding relationship to the American military, so it serves as a natural canvas for a limited edition. Various aesthetic features of the new Anthracite Stainless Steel Pilot’s Navigator have been inspired directly by the U.S. flag and the Star Spangled Banner. According to Marathon, the anthracite stainless steel case (coated in black ion-plating) is inspired by the line “the twilight’s last gleaming” in the national anthem. Similarly, the single red tritium tube at 12:00 is a reference to “the rockets’ red glare”. Lastly, a “1776” stamp can be found on the dial just under 12:00. It’s circled by stars, and a visual refer...
Hodinkee
Held on the mountainous slope of Vancouver's North Shore, the Vancouver Timepiece Show offered its second-ever installment this past April. The event offers a true enthusiast-driven platform for a variety of value-driven brands and is part of a now three-show-strong portfolio for Canada's Timepiece Shows, spanning Vancouver, Toronto, and, later this month, Montreal for the first-ever appearance. Less than a week after the big show in Geneva ended, I hopped on a plane and flew to Vancouver for a very different type of watch show. Held in a bright and airy space in The Shipyards of North Van, the Vancouver show evolved this year, with fewer brands showing but attendance up by about 20%, to roughly 3,000 people over the weekend. A smaller, more casual show than the Toronto event held in September, the Vancouver Timepiece Show reflects the local watch scene while attracting brands and attendees from a much wider range. Scroll on for highlights from the brands at the show and a good handful of local watch-spotting. A pastel Halios Seaforth with the 12-hour bezel. Very Vancouver. Some Marathon wares glowing under UV light. The newly released Marathon CeraShell Navigator evolves a 40-year-old classic with a new case material that offers improved bezel performance, conventional springbars (vs. fixed), and a lighter weight on the wrist. Micromilspec continues to impress with versions of their multi-talented Milgraph, seen here as a special 75-piece version called "Proj...
Hodinkee
What We Know Want to see a magic trick? No, not the kind the Joker pulls in "The Dark Knight," but instead something pretty cool that Ming has cooked up with their new 29.06 "Peep Show." The watches below look markedly different, but the only thing that's changed is the direction the hands point. When Ming Thein showed me this watch last fall, I immediately got what was going on as he turned the crown. If you were doing the same, you'd see that the guilloché dial with a multiphase color-shifting coating (like on the 57.04 "Iris") slowly fades in and out of visibility, turning from a dazzling view to pitch black as the hands move. Any guesses on how it works? Well, it's kind of a trick question, because the hands aren't actually hands. Instead, they're polarized sapphire discs with a hands made of Super-LumiNova X1 fill. The two pieces of sapphire are linearly polarized, so when they're aligned (on top of each other or directly opposite each other), the polarizer lets light in, and you can see that metal disc with color-shifting treatment. As the hands rotate, you see less and less of the dial until it turns black when the two discs are at 90º to each other. When you learn the effect, it's pretty simple, but it's certainly effective in person. All this is in a 29-series case, which is a bit more reserved than the 57-series case. It's made in lightweight Grade 5 titanium, measuring 40mm by 11.8mm, with a 22mm lug width. The case has a 50-meter water resistance. Inside the ...
Time+Tide
Our British Watchmaker's Weekender event finally came to NY, with 400 ticket holders coming to check out some of the best in British watches.
Worn & Wound
eBay Finds is back! This bi-monthly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at info@wornandwound.com for potential inclusion. Vintage Favre Leuba Chronograph Got a nice one to start off this week, this vintage Favre Leuba chronograph. The chunky 35mm cushion case is gold plated, and is in excellent condition. Nice edges and original brushed finish with stainless steel back. The back has the cool Favre Leuba hourglass logo engraved. It has a really nice chocolate brown dial with gold hands and applied gold hour markers. The subdials are also the same color brown, with red accents on the 3 o’clock dial. The large winding crown is also signed with the hourglass logo as it should. The gold and brown combo gives it a rich look. The watch is powered by the venerable Valjoux 23 manual wind chronograph movement. I have a chronograph with the same movement, and I can tell you that it is as buttery smooth as they come. The movement is clean and the watch runs well per the seller. View auction here Grand Seiko 4522-8000 Next up is a fantastic vintage Grand Seiko 4522-8000 hi-beat dress watch. The 36mm steel case is the epitome of Seiko’s “Grammar of Design” aesthetic, with broad flat planes, razor sharp edges, and a mix of brushed and polished finishes. Often these have been polished, and even the slightest...
Hodinkee
The watches of A. Lange & Söhne very rarely gets a chance to step out of the stoically traditional design language the brand has established since its relaunch in 1994, but one collection from the brand offers a unique respite from it all. Lange's Lumen series is now in its 16th year since the introduction of the Zeitwerk "Luminous" back in 2010, with its inaugural display of smoked sapphire, blacked-out details, and, of course, luminous numerals for the hour and minute discs. But while that model was the first to be executed, the following Grand Lange 1 Lumen in 2012 was the first model officially given the name "Lumen." Last month, at Watches and Wonders, Lange introduced the seventh Lumen in the lineup, with the new Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar Lumen. Following the absolutely bonkers Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon in Honeygold released in 2025 for the Datograph's twenty-fifth anniversary, this new glow-in-the-dark take on the very complicated Lange 1 model marks a pattern of increasing complication (and resulting price points) for the Lumen series. A closer look reveals that there's a lot going on, and for nerds, it's certainly a feast for the eyes. In person, the cold, austere look of the chunky, 41.9mm case in platinum immediately struck me, as it was a welcome return to the combination of a smoky, black look with white metal from the past two Lumen iterations in Honeygold (that Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon and its predecessor, the Zeitwerk). For a design ...
Hodinkee
What We Know French watchmaking is on an absolute tear lately. Even setting aside F.P. Journe (yes, he's based in Switzerland, but he is French), there's a growing list of brands pushing things forward in interesting ways. Two of the more relevant names in this case are Baltic and SpaceOne, the latter a collaboration between Théo Auffret of Auffret Paris and Guillaume Laidet, who has played a major role in reviving some major brands. Both have become important players in the more affordable end of independent watchmaking, but from very different angles. SpaceOne leans heavily futuristic, while Baltic—and Auffret more broadly—tend to stay rooted in classic design. That's what makes the new Seconde Majure from Baltic x SpaceOne so interesting. It feels like the watch someone with more traditional tastes, like me, has been waiting for. The Seconde Majeure might not come as a surprise to everyone. Baltic and SpaceOne were showing the watch around during Time to Watches in Geneva a few weeks ago, and they also sent over a prototype for me to preview ahead of launch. One quick note there: all of the photos I took were with the crown pulled out, so keep that in mind as you scroll through. For everyone else, you might need to catch up pretty quickly, especially since the watch is only available for a very limited time. But what you'll quickly see is that the watch is attractive for something affordable. And remarkably compact. Measuring 38.5mm by 12.5mm with a 47.5mm lug-to-l...
Worn & Wound
After taking my French lessons in Duolingo for the better part of three years, I’m happy to say that some of those grammar tips are still rolling around in the ol’ noggin when I have to type such names as Girard-Perregaux Laureato Chronograph in Chocolate – hey, if no one else is going to toot my horn, I might as well, right? Now, enough about me. This latest edition from the brand (which, impressively, has been around since 1791) gives the overall appearance of the Laureato model (which, only slightly less impressively, has been around since 1975) a warmer character with a brown hobnail dial, a matching rubber strap, and rose gold details against the slightly colder steel case. The Laureato elements haven’t gone anywhere on this iteration, they’ve just been updated to complement the chocolate tones. The octagonal bezel, crown, and chronograph pushers have all been executed in rose gold. The integrated rubber strap and tonneau-shaped 904L steel case keep the model’s trademark style while working within what Girard-Perregaux has described as “sporty-chic,” a phrase I’m not too fond of, but can’t deny does describe this watch quite well. The real depth and warmth come from the dial itself. Girard-Perregaux uses a brown Clou de Paris hobnail pattern, with matching subdials and rose-gilt baton markers and hands. The rubber strap I briefly mentioned above continues that same Clou de Paris texture, tying the Chocolate colorway together and keeping things in b...
Hodinkee
What We Know Usually, we only get one round of Naoya Hida & Co. releases each year, as the company manufactures so few watches per year (though that number is increasing) that one round of releases of 10+ models with around 10 watches per model per year is about the maximum. So imagine my surprise when we got a press release about a new collaboration between Hida-san and his retailer, The Armoury, to be released after the initial wave of releases. They've collaborated before (their "Lettercutter" is one of Hida's most beloved watches). This new release, the Type 4A-2 "Floating Feathers," is by far the most unusual and imaginative Naoya Hida watch yet. The watch uses a high-polish stainless steel Type 4 case (36mm by 42.9mm lug-to-lug, 11mm thick) with a central seconds hand, keeping the dial free for artistic expression. Mark Cho, co-founder of The Armoury, and designer Elliot Hammer say that they were inspired by decorative ornithological dials, botanical motifs, and nature scenes. As ornithology is the study of birds, my thought immediately went to "singing bird boxes," but hey, I didn't make the watch, so no one asked me. Hammer, who travels to Japan often, said he was taken by their attention to space and timelessness, and in the press release says, "if there are feathers, there must have also once been a bird." Rationale for the design aside, Naoya Hida & Co. has the benefit of a talented in-house engraver, Keisuke Kano, and used the bead-blasted Argentium silver di...
Hodinkee
What We Know There's just something about the Daniel Roth case that makes for an excellent watch. On the wrist, the ellipsocurvex shape sits comfortably between a round dress watch and a tank, and with the Extra-Plat case (extra-flat, in English) and slightly dropped lugs, it has incredible appeal once you put it on. Which makes it especially hard to convey that in text, but I'll try my best with the newest version that launched today, the Extra Plat Platinum model. I saw the watch a few months ago when the brand also announced the Extra Plat Skeleton, which was impressive in its own way. But I'd been waiting for a white metal Extra Plat since the brand relaunched (even though the price tag was bound to be outside my range). The Extra Plat Souscription was announced only a little over a year ago, and the new platinum version is already the fourth variant in the lineup (yellow gold for the souscription, rose for the next, the rose gold skeleton, and now this). There are only so many ways you can play with the concept, but the details matter even more because of it. The Souscription, pictured below, had a tonal dial and case with blue printing and hands, a treatment I liked a lot. I actually asked whether the brand planned to take the same approach with the following releases, and the answer, at the time, was no. I think the result is, frankly, a bit more legible. For comparison, I'm showing them all below, and you get a taste of what the front and back look like at the sa...
Worn & Wound
Material innovation is increasingly becoming a core pillar within the watch industry. Whether borrowing and reconfiguring materials from different industries or composing your own from the ground up, it is clear materials matter when it comes to both technical feats and aesthetics achieved in watchmaking today. Sometimes, I like to think of these cutting-edge materials as mile markers on the highway of horology. I am always considering the world 50 or 100 years from now, when the watches of the present will become the watches of yesteryear, when what we consider modern will become vintage. I believe that the application of new materials will be a mark of this era of watchmaking that will serve as a milestone moment in the ever-unfolding history of horology. For Rado, the story starts with a sapphire crystal. While the brand was not the first to use this in place of acrylic or other weaker options, it was among the early adopters. However, Rado took it a step further by patenting a sliding water-sealed mechanism with a tension-fit construction. Here, the thick, faceted sapphire crystal was secured under high pressure into the oval-shaped hard metal case with a specialized gasket, designed to be exceptionally tight. Its effectiveness sparked further curiosity – what if this same scratch resistance and robustness could be applied to other parts of the watch or the watch in its entirety? With that guiding principle, the quest that would lead to the creation of high-tech cera...
Hodinkee
There's no shortage of watches this auction season—more than 1,200 lots across the major houses—but volume isn't really the story. At Christie's and Sotheby's, the focus feels different this time around, moving past the hype-driven pieces of the early 2020s and back to some genuinely compelling and surprising watches. Last week, we published part one of our preview—today, we're finishing it up with part two. Christie’s I would argue that Christie's always has one of the more subtle and yet impressive catalogs. There are some truly fantastic pieces here and, as always, we'll start at the top. Lot 134, a unique and absolutely stunningly gorgeous (add all the superlatives you want) two-tone 14k pink gold and steel Audemars Piguet "Observatory-style" watch. Photo courtesy Christie's. If you're looking for a watch that my friend and current "Bring a Loupe" writer Weston Cutter called an "immediate knee-weakener," you need to sit down for this one. Lot 134 is a unique and absolutely stunningly gorgeous (add all the superlatives you want) two-tone 14k pink gold and steel Audemars Piguet "Observatory-style" watch. The watch is powered by a 13-ligne 13VZAS movement that was highly modified for precision as a time-only watch, with a large subsidiary seconds at 9 o'clock and a blank subdial at 3 o'clock. Bold numerals, bold design, it's the kind of thing you dream about if you collect early watches, and the estimate is a hilarious CHF 50,000 to 100,000. It should go for way m...
Hodinkee
What We Know For me, a De Bethune has to take a cue from Miles Davis. It better be "Kind of Blue." Over at EsperLuxe, the indie retailer outside of Boston, it seems like they agree with me. There are a few firsts in the new DB27 "Night Hawk," at least for the DB27 collection. Normally called the "Titan Hawk," it's previously come in a slightly more straightforward package, with concentric "microlight" circles engraved on the dial, the patented articulating lugs, and the crown at 12 o'clock. But there are many features here that the DB27 hasn't had before. For the first time, a titanium flame-blued "Starry Sky" motif appears on the dial, with stars laid out to mark the date and location where EsperLuxe finalized its partnership with De Bethune in 2021. Not new, but a good look, are the printed silver Roman numerals on the sloping middle dial, the printed railroad track, and the 5-minute intervals. The watch features mirror-polished flame-blued titanium hands with silver tips. The case is polished grade 5 titanium, with a midcase engraved in De Bethune's microlight style. But the kicker is the super-cool (again, first time ever) matte-blue titanium short, articulating lugs. I know that it's weird to go on and on about lugs, but some of you haven't had a chance to try on a De Bethune. Yes, the case is 43mm in diameter, 9mm thick (which is pretty good, considering it has an automatic movement), but with the hinge on the lugs, the lug can vary in range from about 50mm to 47mm...
Hodinkee
What We Know If there's a young brand that's certainly made an aggressive push in the realm of industrial-aesthetic haute horlogerie, it's Vanguart. Mark Kauzlarich told the brand's founding story last year, highlighting a team with an absolutely stacked resume in high-end watchmaking. So today, we're taking a look at the brand's newest take on its second watch, the Orb, with its newest treatment—pink ceramic. It's a unique offering in the space, certainly due to its all-pink livery, but also thanks to its collaboration with retailer Material Good for this 25-piece limited edition. The Vanguart Orb Pink Ceramic's exclusivity with the retailer is probably no surprise, given the large push by Material Goods' Yoni Ben-Yehuda to promote the upstart brand through its sales channels. Here, what was originally an aggressive machine in black and silver gets toned down in shades of powdery pink thanks to the inclusion of colored ceramic within the 41mm by 10.5mm titanium case, seen in both the side of the case as well as the function selector pusher in the crown (more on that in a little bit). The accent extends onto the openworked dial of the watch, which is more a three-dimensional city of components that puts the flying tourbillon on full display. The handset, skeletonized and filled with lume at the ends, sits above everything else. Though telling the time probably isn't the strict mission of the Orb, a nicely decorated minutes track sits between strips of pink, color and tex...
SJX Watches
Mathieu Cleguer makes his debut under his own name, with the intricate Inspiration One. The relatively young movement constructor is well known in the industry but has not produced watches under his own name until now. Having worked for various movement specialists — including a stint at Akrivia — Mr Cleguer launches Cleguer Horology with a thoroughly impressive debut featuring a proprietary escapement. Initial thoughts Although the market for artisanal time-only watches has becoming increasingly crowded, sometimes a new creation comes along that genuinely stands apart. This is the case with Cleguer Horology’s Inspiration One — a watch that that is surprisingly refined and technically imaginative for a new maker’s debut. Mathieu Cleguer is representative of a new class of independent watchmakers who are not ‘watchmakers’ in the traditional sense. Instead, he is an engineer, with the training and experience to bring fundamentally new concepts to life, so long as he can find the manufacturing partners and bench watchmakers to help realise his vision. It’s a fundamentally different background than what we’re used to seeing — George Daniels, Kari Voutilainen, and François-Paul Journe started their careers doing hands-on restoration work long before they designed movements of their own. But times have changed, and the emergence of engineer-led brands is a new trend made possible by the depth of the supplier network in Switzerland. For the visual design of...
Hodinkee
What We Know The Sealander sits at the core of Christopher Ward's lineup, serving as its everyday, approachable, price-conscious, do-it-all Swiss-made watch. For those considering a Christopher Ward for the first time and looking for a sport watch with the most bang for the buck, the Sealander GMT or Automatic three-hander has been a logical go-to. It's also been a major seller, with the 39mm white dial GMT often taking the honors as the top-volume model for the U.K.-based company. So when Christopher Ward embarks on a major overhaul and redesign of the Sealander collection, it's a significant moment. Unveiled today, and on sale beginning tomorrow, the new models bring a slimmer case and upgraded movement for the Automatic, refinements to the case and dial design for both models, a new 42mm size for the GMT, and upgraded, more user-friendly bracelets with tool-free adjustment and link removal. Starting with the Sealander GMT, the brushed case has been redesigned, giving a more refined, thinner profile and sporty finish, and is available in 36mm, 39mm, and, for the first time, 42mm. The new case offers sharper lugs with distinctly faceted, polished edges. The upgraded, refined finishing further emphasizes the crown guards that remain on the GMT case, adding to the overall rugged appearance. The brushed 24-hour fixed bezel with black lacquer-filled numbers is now less angled with a flatter profile to improve legibility while giving the watch more presence across the thre...
SJX Watches
A Vancouver native who studied watchmaking in Switzerland, Bradley Taylor spent the last four years working on his own movement, an endeavour that is has finally in the Ardea. Manually wound with three hands, the Ardea is powered by a hand-made movement made by Mr Taylor, who incorporated a retrograde seconds, setting this apart from the high-end time-only watches that are now common. Mr Taylor made his debut with time-only watches that were powered by high-quality, but essentially stock, Vaucher movements. The Ardea, in contrast, is of his own making. He fabricated his own movement by building on the vintage Omega cal. 30T2 architecture and then making most of the watch himself, right down to the guilloche dial and solid gold wheels of the gear train. Mr Taylor’s attention to detail extends to surprising aspects of the watch, like the platinum applied numerals in a custom typeface. Initial thoughts The Ardea, and especially its movement, is the product of substantial manual craftsmanship. From milling to filing to drilling to polishing – Mr Taylor does almost all of it himself and has documented the process with many photos and videos. As a result, the Ardea is more artisanal than other recent indie creations that are engineer-conceived timepieces, and Mr Taylor deserves credit. Tapping the main plate Applying guilloche to the dial ring with a hand-cranked rose engine Mr Taylor’s choice of movement construction is not surprising, since the Omega cal. 30T2 architectu...
Hodinkee
What We Know Bradley Taylor, a Canadian independent watchmaker working out of a 1,000-square-foot workshop in North Vancouver, has released the Ardea, his third watch and first with an in-house movement. Taylor, a rising talent in the space, trained in Le Locle under Henrik Korpela, earned a Patek Philippe Level II service certification in Geneva, and produced two sold-out series before beginning work on the Ardea in late 2023. The Ardea is offered in stainless steel or platinum 950 and measures 37.8mm in diameter with a 46.4mm lug-to-lug and a thickness of 10.9mm, including the crystals. The sapphire caseback is very slightly domed for wrist comfort, and the watch is rated to 5 ATM. The dial is 925 sterling silver, engine-turned on a rose engine that Taylor estimates is roughly 120 years old, and he restored it over three months. The pattern is a 36-scallop rosette with a progressive phase shift between each concentric pass, producing a characterful swirling texture. After the engraving, the dial is depletion-gilded, a silversmithing process that involves repeated heating and acid treatment until the dial's surface is pure silver. It is then sealed with Zapon lacquer. The text and markings are pad-printed on a Tampoprint machine that Taylor also restored himself. The applied numerals are machined from solid platinum and hand-polished to a spherical shape. The dial lettering and wordmark were designed by Ian Brignell, a Toronto typographer whose work includes the Paramou...
Hodinkee
What We Know Today, Zenith adds another variation of its modern revival of the unique A384 chronograph to its catalog, with the Chronomaster Revival A384 Tropical. This is, at a high level, just a new dial that's been added to the collection, and one that's done in a familiar Zenith way at that. Here, the inspiration is very much around tropical dials, with a base dial in a softly grained white, contrasted by brown accents in the subdials and tachymeter scale. Zenith calls it a "chocolate panda" configuration, and I think that's a pretty apt name. Text on the white portion of the dial is printed in black, including the "El Primero" script under the Zenith logo, while printing on the brown portions of the dial, such as the tachymeter and sundial markings, is all done in white. The aged, tropical theme continues with lume on the applied markers and handset executed in Old Radium Super-LumiNova, which certainly complements the warmth of the overall look. A bright red chronograph seconds hand sits front and center, and a date window sits between the four and five o'clock hour markers. The dial sits in that distinctive A384 case, with a compact, angular tonneau silhouette measuring 37mm. Pump pushers and a Zenith star-signed crown sit on the right flank of the case. Finishing is interesting throughout the watch, with radial brushing on the front slab of the case, polished facets, and horizontal brushing on the sides. It's complemented by Zenith's revival of the Gay Frères ladd...
Hodinkee
What We Know Unveiled as part of a slew of new releases for Watches and Wonders 2026, the Patek Philippe 5322G offers a chiming 24-hour alarm complication in a modern case and design, with a new movement and a slightly smaller size than the discontinued model it replaces. The watch is housed in a white gold 41mm Calatrava case that's 12.22mm thick and features hollowed-out lugs, the brand's signature 'Clous de Paris' or "hobnail" guilloché pattern on the case middle, and a single pusher at 2 o'clock. The alarm is programmed through the pusher, and it can be set via the crown in the second position, which the brand says works "intuitively." With a water resistance of 30 meters, Patek says the new 5322G is the only water-resistant chiming watch in the current collection. The new model replaces the Ref. 5520 Pilot Alarm Travel Time, which debuted in 2019 and was inspired by an historical aviator watch in the Patek museum in Geneva. Photo courtesy Patek Philippe. The model continues Patek's modern Calatrava style with a textured, lacquered dial in green or blue. The applied Arabic numerals and white-gold, syringe-style hands are both filled with luminescent material, adding to the contemporary feel. A hand display date sits at 6 o'clock, while the double-window aperture of the alarm function sits above the handset at 12 o'clock. Powering the 5322G is the new self-winding AL 30-660 S C caliber that chimes the alarm with a single hammer striking a classic gong around the case...
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