2,767 articles · 2,114 videos found · page 55 of 163
Hodinkee
After nearly a year of waiting, we've got a closer look at the yellow gold Le Mans. But why choose between the two metals? We've got both of Rolex's hottest releases in recent memory.
Quill & Pad
When Ball Watch asked Dietmar Fuchs to test dive one of the company’s newest watches, the Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer, he hesitated at first. Ball didn’t jingle a diving bell for him, but something else from its history jangled: a brand’s “history” section is always the first thing he checks before testing a watch and he discovered Ball Watch has the credentials. So he dove in and now shares his experience and thoughts on the watch here.
SJX Watches
Over the last decade, metal alloy hairsprings seem to fallen out of favour across watchmaking, with even conservative, haute horlogerie brands like Breguet and Patek Philippe turning to silicon balance springs. Not to mention large-scale makers of sporty watches like Omega and Tudor, which already transitioned to silicon balance springs. Rolex, however, stands out. The Geneva marque continues to employ a hairspring fabricated of its proprietary blue alloy – the Parachrom hairspring. The Parachrom hairspring inside the cal. 4131 of the Cosmograph Daytona The advantages of alloy The use of blue Parachrom is rooted in the simple fact that the right metal alloy boasts performance that is at least on par with its silicon counterpart – while offering some distinct advantages missing in silicon. Alloy hairsprings are traditionally made of Nivarox (and its family of related alloys), a special alloy that neither oxidises nor change its dimensions with variations in temperature. Invented in 1933 and almost a century old, Nivarox is a mix of nickel and iron, making it a ferromagnetic alloy, thus susceptible to influence from magnetic fields. The cal. 3255 of the Day-Date 40 is equipped with a Parachrom hairspring. Image – Rolex In order to make its hairsprings more resistant to magnetism and to bypass the Swatch-imposed monopoly on Nivarox hairsprings (Nivarox-FAR being one of the key companies of Swatch Group), Rolex set out to develop its own hairspring alloy in the early 2...
Quill & Pad
The rise of the internet, and the consequent evolution of the watch-watching community, has inevitably amplified the phenomenon whereby certain objects have come to exert an extraordinary hold over the collective imagination. Here, Colin Alexander Smith debunks three watch myths circulating widely and freely online and in print concerning former French president Nicolas Sarkozy's Rolex and Patek Philippe, the Khanjar Rolex Sea-Dwellers, and what in fact Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were wearing on their wrists as they summited Mount Everest.
Fratello
It’s Sunday morning, so it’s time for your weekly dose of early-morning caffeine! Pour yourself a hot cup of coffee, grab a seat, and let’s get going. This week, Jorg and Mike return to the battlefield with another interesting duo of contenders. We read your comments, dear Fratelli! Today’s matchup is a much-requested battle that […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT Vs. Rolex Explorer II Ref. 226570 to read the full article.
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Fratello
Another Friday, another Top 5! It’s December, so we are rapidly approaching the year’s end. Like every year, we will be looking back at some of our favorite watches. This first list is a summary of some of the surprising releases of the last 12 months. And by “surprising,” we don’t just mean stellar surprises. […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Surprising Watches Of 2024 - Featuring Rolex, Patek Philippe, IWC, And More to read the full article.
Fratello
Brellum is back with another limited-edition watch, the Pandial Bicompax Black DLC Ti Chronometer. As we’ll see, it has a familiar case shape with a new case color. Also, it’s the second piece from the brand to use a chronometer-certified La Joux-Perret movement. Brellum focuses on small runs. Therefore, the releases come frequently. The latest […] Visit Introducing: The Brellum Pandial Bicompax Black DLC Ti Chronometer to read the full article.
Fratello
Indeed, we already put the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M up against the Rolex Submariner in March of this year. Surprisingly, it was the first time those two classics faced each other during one of our Sunday Morning Showdowns. However, those two watches both had a date. With this week’s introduction of the new black no-date […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: No-Date Divers - Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Vs. Rolex Submariner to read the full article.
Fratello
Over the past year, I’ve enjoyed smaller, simpler watches from the ’40s and ’50s. This change in my collecting course has been fun and relatively inexpensive. Does that mean I’ve given up on later vintage and more modern pieces? Absolutely not, but as you’ll see with the majority of today’s pre-owned and vintage favorites, the […] Visit The Fratello Watch List: Mike’s Pre-Owned And Vintage Favorites From Cartier, Vacheron, And Rolex to read the full article.
Quill & Pad
Why is it that watch brands celebrate watch anniversaries so enthusiastically? The answer isn't as complicated as you might think . . . here we illustrate the answer with some major brands like Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Chanel, and Omega.
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Fratello
Are you looking to close out the year with a bang? If so, you’d better do that with a banger of a watch that, for some reason, never found its way to your wrist. Missed opportunities are a thing of the not-so-distant past, so on my hit list are three of my favorite pre-owned watches. […] Visit The Fratello Watch List - Lex’s Pre-Owned Favorites From Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, And Rolex to read the full article.
Quill & Pad
Omega, Tudor, Chopard, and many more watches all boast “COSC Chronometer” status on their watches, but what exactly does this certification entail? In this episode of How-To, Tim breaks down what exactly a watch needs to achieve to get COSC status and what defines a chronometer.
Monochrome
Brellum was founded in 2016 by Sébastien Muller, a fourth-generation watchmaker who set up shop in Porrentruy, Switzerland. With a limited production of around 299 watches a year and an emphasis on chronometer-certified movements, Brellum’s policy of direct sales to avoid middlemen allows the brand to keep its prices in check. One of this independent […]
Fratello
Over the past year, we’ve reviewed several watches from Brellum. The team has always been impressed with the pieces’ build quality and relative affordability. However, we and our readers have been hoping for smaller-diameter watches. That day is here with the new Brellum Duobox 39 Chronometer. Previously reviewed Brellum watches have measured in the 42–43mm […] Visit Hands-On With The New Brellum Duobox 39 Chronometer to read the full article.
Fratello
Welcome to another installment of the Fratello Watch List! Thomas and Daan opened the series with several interesting picks. Some of them could easily be on my list too. But as there is so much to find in the world of pre-owned watches, it’s easy to come up with a series of different options. Like […] Visit The Fratello Watch List: Jorg’s Pre-Owned And Neo-Vintage Favorites From Omega, Rolex, And Tudor to read the full article.
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Fratello
During Geneva Watch Days 2024, we had the opportunity to visit Lederer. The brand focuses on highly technical escapements, which are made by Bernhard Lederer. The new Lederer Triple Certified Observatory Chronometer stood out among the various timepieces we saw due to its impressive movement and testing schedule. My colleague Dave Sergeant and I paled […] Visit Hands-On With The Lederer Triple Certified Observatory Chronometer to read the full article.
SJX Watches
One of the most valuable watches to go on the block this auction season is the Rolex Daytona “Rainbow” 16599SAAEC. Part of Phillips’ Reloaded auction taking place on November 8, 2024, the Zenith-powered Daytona is the original “Rainbow”, having been produced in 1994, some 18 years before the serially-produced Daytona “Rainbow” was introduced. Like all automatic Daytona models prior to 2000, this Daytona “Rainbow” is powered by the cal. 4030, which is a Zenith El Primero modified by Rolex. But this Daytona is unique in having a singular model reference of 16599 followed by the suffix “SAAEC”, short for saphir arc-en-ciel, French for “sapphire rainbow”. A rainbow history Though the Daytona “Rainbow” is perhaps the most famous gem-set Rolex model today, it took a while to catch on when it was introduced. It debuted as a regular production model in 2012 with the Daytona ref. 116598RBOW in yellow gold and ref. 116599RBOW in white gold. The Daytona ref. 116599RBOW in white gold At launch the Daytona “Rainbow” was not the object of frenzied desire as it is now, but by 2018 it was sought after. And that year Rolex debuted the Daytona ref. 116595RBOW in Everose gold that boasted the upgrade of baguette-cut rainbow indices. The facelift was also applied to the yellow and white gold versions, both of which now sport baguette-cut rainbow indices as well. As with the first generation model, variants with gem-set dials and bracelets also exist. The Day...
Fratello
Welcome to our new series, the Fratello Watch List! I get to kick off this short series of articles exposing some of our writers’ watch hit lists. We all have a (not-so-)little list of references we plan on owning or maybe just dream of acquiring someday, don’t we? In my case, it is a list […] Visit The Fratello Watch List: Thomas’s Pre-Owned And Vintage Favorites From Lange, Rolex, And Cartier to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
The Rolex Yacht-Master occupies a prominent but, for many, difficult-to-define area within the company’s overall portfolio. It’s regarded as a popular dress watch but is firmly positioned within the “Professional” collection. It looks a lot like a Submariner but isn’t really a dive watch, so it’s really not like a Submariner at all. It’s designed as a men’s watch but has become a canvas for some very feminine executions. And unlike other Rolex models that offer an original “I” and a second-generation “II” version, like the GMT-Master and Explorer, the Yacht-Master I and II are scarcely related in their design or functions at all. And yet, the Yacht-Master remains a top-tier timepiece both for Rolex and its legions of fans, and in its relatively short span on the market has welcomed a number of innovative materials and technologies into the Rolex fold. Read on to discover more about the Rolex Yacht-Master (in all its various versions) and what makes the model unique among its Oyster Perpetual brethren. 1967 - 1969 - The Prototype: Cosmograph Yacht-Master Rolex Cosmograph Yacht-Master, circa 1967 (photo: Rolex Magazine.com) While the Yacht-Master as we know it today traces its genesis only to 1992, the name appeared on a Rolex dial several decades before - on a watch that resembled more an evolution of the Daytona than of the Submariner - indicating that a sailing-themed watch was something that Rolex had been tinkering with as an organization for...
Quill & Pad
The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic and the Rolex Explorer 36 both have automatic movements, three hands, black dials, and 100-meter water resistance. Both they couldn't be more different as Perry Heim explains.
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Fratello
Another Friday, another list! After last week’s Patek Philippe Nautilus list, it’s time to move on to Rolex. This week, we jump into the world of the vintage models that came before the iconic watches we know today. Some have the same cases and dials with one simple difference: the famous names we know today […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Rolex “Pre-Icon” Models to read the full article.
Quill & Pad
If you’re in the market for a new watch, Tamim Almousa's advice is, if there’s a Rolex that you like, go for it. But if you just want a Rolex, you’re probably better off with an Omega. Here he explains why.
Fratello
It’s not common for a watch of great rarity related to the Space Race of the Apollo Era to appear in a watch or space auction. Even more uncommon is finding several distinctive examples of rare watches from two premier Swiss brands related to mankind’s voyage to the Moon. Within RR Auction’s current Space Exploration […] Visit Space Watches: Edgar Mitchell’s Rolex GMT-Master 1675 And Dave Scott’s Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 to read the full article.
Fratello
What do you see when you look up at the sky at night? Stars? The Moon? I see possible watch dials. Okay, not always, but I have to admit I have a soft spot for meteorite dials. The idea of having a wafer-thin slice of a rock that fell from the heavens on your wrist […] Visit Meteorite Monday Is A Thing: Otherworldly Meteorite-Dialed Watches From Omega, Rolex, Zodiac, And More to read the full article.
Hodinkee
The original Oyster Perpetual was one of the first watches collectors fell for; today, the Bubbleback represents an era of Rolex that still has a charm all its own.
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