Hodinkee
The Grey NATO: Episode 113: The Isolation Tapes // May Q And A
Lots of questions, plenty of answers.
Results for Mainspring Types and Alloys
29,981 articles · 1,948 videos found · page 6 of 1065
Hodinkee
Hodinkee
The Grey NATO: Episode 105: The Isolation Tapes // More Q And A
Answering your questions from all over the world.
Hodinkee
Bring a Loupe: A '70s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, A Moonphase from IWC X Porsche Design, And A Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deepsea
Another week, another round of watches from the web worth knowing about.
Deployant
SIHH 2010: ALS Homage Moonphase and Lange 1 Tourbillon
We continue with the Homage series in honey gold. The 1815 Moonphase is a rehash of the original Emil Lange 1815 Moonphase which has been doing very well in the auction scene. The character of the 1815 dial design is apparent in the new watch. But the design shows a totally new watch…featuring the vapourRead More
Fratello
How Do You Like Your Rotor - Central, Micro, Or Peripheral? And What About A Hammer?
Is there such a thing as a best rotor? A pragmatic watchmaker might say a heavy central one that winds the mainspring the most efficiently is the best. A collector of traditional watches with similar movements might say that nothing beats a solid micro-rotor. And I know people with a deep fondness for technical watchmaking […] Visit How Do You Like Your Rotor - Central, Micro, Or Peripheral? And What About A Hammer? to read the full article.
Video
Vacheron Constantin Cardinal Points Draws Inspiration from Mount Everest | Watches and Wonders 2026
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SJX Watches
Moser’s Streamliner Goes All-Ceramic for the First Time
H. Moser & Cie. dips its toes into ceramic for the first time with the Streamliner Tourbillon Concept Ceramic, a bold watch that blends an original design with the high-tech proprieties of ceramic. Despite being a variation of a well-known model at its core, the new Streamliner is unexpectedly different and appealing, especially with a hand-finished ceramic bracelet, an unusual feature even in its segment. Initial thoughts The use of ceramic materials in watches is no longer a novelty. The inert and hard material is appealing for its near-invulnerability to scratches and high tech feel. Ceramics are typically employed for either for aesthetic or technical purposes, but usually for watch cases, while ceramic bracelets are almost exclusively the preserve of large brands that can afford working with the hard-to-machine material. Though still a niche brand, H. Moser & Cie.’s bestselling Streamliner is dressed entirely in ceramic, with a ceramic case paired with a ceramic bracelet. An all-ceramic bracelet is a rare sight from a brand of Moser’s scale. The matte, brushed finish of the ceramic exterior is at the opposite end of the colour spectrum compared with the bright red yet minimalist dial, giving this the signature Moser look. The granular, glossy finish of the fired enamel dial contrast and complements the matte, stealthy sheen of ceramic. The watch is paradoxical in some ways. Pairing Moser’s first ceramic case and bracelet with a tourbillon is somewhat incong...
Fratello
Seiko To Host The “Power Design Project Presents: Passionately And Obsessively Crafted Watches” Exhibition
Flying on Tuesdays or Wednesdays is usually the friendliest for your wallet. And the month of March also falls into that category. Excuse me for getting a little ahead of myself. Let me explain why I’m providing these potentially superfluous travel tips. The reason is a watch event taking place in Tokyo, Japan. From March […] Visit Seiko To Host The “Power Design Project Presents: Passionately And Obsessively Crafted Watches” Exhibition to read the full article.
Time+Tide
What’s the difference between a “caller” and “traveller” GMT watch, and which is right for you?
We explain the difference between the two main types of GMT watches, as well as the use cases for each.The post What’s the difference between a “caller” and “traveller” GMT watch, and which is right for you? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
SJX Podcast: Best of 2025 – Surprises
Episode 24 of the SJX Podcast covers the surprises and unexpected developments of 2025, a year marked by significant material innovation and bold statements from established brands. In this final episode of 2025, SJX and Brandon discuss Rolex’s landmark Land-Dweller with its revolutionary Dynapulse escapement, Breguet’s experimental magnetic constant-force mechanism that achieved unprecedented precision, and TAG Heuer’s industrialization of carbon hairsprings. Vacheron Constantin also surprised with an extraordinary 150 kg astronomical clock created for its 270th anniversary, temporarily displayed at the Louvre alongside a companion wristwatch. Thank you to all our listeners for joining us throughout 2025 – happy new year! Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Youtube.
Fratello
Introducing: The Ressence Type 3 Marc Newson - A Playful Nod To The Ikepod Megapode
In the eyes of Benoît Mintiens, a Ressence watch should tell the time in the most user-friendly way. That’s why he came up with discs that are more intuitive to read than more conventional hands. Someone who’s also intrigued by simplicity and functionality is industrial designer Marc Newson. Known for his work in the automotive, […] Visit Introducing: The Ressence Type 3 Marc Newson - A Playful Nod To The Ikepod Megapode to read the full article.
Video
The Super Freak Is the Most Complicated Time-Only Watch Ever Made | Watches and Wonders 2026
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Fratello
Different Strokes For Different Folks - The Types Of Watch Enthusiasts We Meet
We often speak of “the watch community” as if it concerns a homogenous group of like-minded hobbyists. In reality, though, the community consists of tons of subcultures and an almost infinite spectrum of different ways to enjoy the hobby. As Fratello writers, we have the pleasure of meeting virtually all of the types of watch […] Visit Different Strokes For Different Folks - The Types Of Watch Enthusiasts We Meet to read the full article.
SJX Watches
In-Depth: Balancing Mainspring Dimensions Inside the Barrel
In a past story, we explained how multiple mainspring barrels can be paired in parallel or in series, for either lengthening a movement’s power reserve or increasing the torque discharged into the going train. In this article we expand on this topic to analyse the inside of the barrel by exploring how mainspring size balancing influences the torque output and power reserve. Enthusiasts tend to throw around the loosely-defined term “mainspring packing” - especially when criticising a movement’s unsatisfying power reserve. This term refers to how a watchmaker can get a higher power reserve by balancing a spring’s dimensions and the space it occupies inside a barrel. While this sounds simple, the reality is more complicated. Skeletonised barrel showing the tight coiled mainspring inside the Piaget Altiplano Tourbillon Concept. In order to set the record straight, it’s necessary to analyse the topic thoroughly. This requires getting a bit technical, but an interpretation is included for those less interested in the underlying maths. This theory-heavy deep-dive tries to unravel the concept of mainspring packing and explores why optimisation is not a very straightforward business. The core elements This section covers the basics of mainspring and barrel geometry and establishes their relation with power reserve and torque. In order to see how specific dimensions affect both torque and power reserve, we will resort to some known functions and a little geometric...
Teddy Baldassarre
Tritium Watches: How They Work, And How They're Still Being Made
The need to read the time in the dark has been a challenge for the makers of timepieces for hundreds of years. The first solution was not a visual but an audible one: watches that could chime the current hour and minute on demand. These types of watches, aka minute repeaters and sonneries, are quite rare and expensive today and regarded as luxuries rather than the utilitarian inventions they initially were. In the 1900s, a more practical option presented itself: treating a watch’s dial with luminous paint that made its time display visible in darkness. And while this approach proved to be much more cost-effective and practical, it also brought a new set of challenges, as the earliest substances used on the dials were discovered to be unsafe, for the people who made the watches and, to a lesser extent, those who wore them. Let There Be Light The first material applied to watch dials for nighttime luminescence was radium paint, which, thanks to radium’s half-life of 1,600 years, offered a long-lasting glow during that period before dimming - the catch being that, as its name implies, radium (specifically Radium-226, which was used as the base of the “Radiomir” substance registered by Guido Panerai ) is radioactive. In the 1920s, the mostly female factory workers who painted the watch dials with radium compounds started falling ill and dying at alarming rates, leading to lawsuits against the companies that produced the material and eventually, safer working conditio...
Monochrome
In-Depth – The Return of the TAG Heuer TH-Carbonspring Oscillator, Inside new Carbon Monaco and Carrera Models
Since Christiaan Huygens paired a balance wheel and spiral spring in 1675, the hairspring has been the beating heart of every mechanical watch. Its material has always dictated chronometric performance. Steel, used for centuries, suffered from magnetism and temperature drift. Special alloys developed in the 20th century improved reliability – from Elinvar to Nivarox/Nivachron, made […]
Time+Tide
8 of the most expensive quartz watches that prove you don’t need a mainspring to look like a millionaire
Retro oddballs or haute horlogerie stunners, there's always a time and place for quartz movements, and these are some of the most expensive.The post 8 of the most expensive quartz watches that prove you don’t need a mainspring to look like a millionaire appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Video
A Squirrel-Hair Brush Is the Secret to JLC's Enamel Reversos | Watches and Wonders 2026
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SJX Watches
Insight: Hairspring Materials and Evolution Part II
Part I of our story on the evolution of hairspring materials covered temperature compensation along with the development of the first specialised balance spring alloy, Elinvar. The story brought us to the 1920s, when scientist and horologist Charles-Edouard Guillaume (1861-1938) finished his work on nickel-iron alloys and watchmakers begun embracing Elinvar springs paired with mono-metallic balances. In this second part we turn to newer hairspring alloys, like the now-ubiquitous Nivarox. Then we look at today’s landscape and the future, touching on research done by the Swatch Group with alternative, niobium-based alloys and also the specialised but obscure Seiko SPRON 610 hairspring. Lastly we discuss silicon springs, which are growing more prevalent across a range of timepieces. Elinvar’s weaknesses Elinvar was by far the greatest breakthrough in self-compensating alloy hairsprings at the time. Guillaume considered Elinvar good enough and not needing further improvement - unsurprisingly since he was its inventor - but other watchmakers and engineers continued to experiment with iron-nickel compounds because Elinvar’s inherent properties made it a good, but imperfect, material. Even though the alloy behaved predictably with temperature changes, its physical properties were not ideal to begin with. Elinvar was a soft metal, which posed its own suite of problems for spring applications. The importance of softness in terms of hairspring performance is not related ...
Time+Tide
What do the different types of stainless steel actually mean for your watch?
We cut through the marketing spin with a guide to the main grades or alloys of stainless steel used in modern watchmaking.The post What do the different types of stainless steel actually mean for your watch? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
G-SHOCK and The Surfrider Foundation Japan Focus on Conservation with the New G5600SFJ-9
Here in the wild year of 2025, you can buy watches made from all sorts of sci-fi sounding materials: titaniums of all types, fancy plastics, stalwarts like stainless steels, and yes, bio-ceramics. Casio and their iconic built-tough subbrand, G-SHOCK, have never been strangers to experimenting with the affordable end of material innovation, and in a new collaboration with environmental nonprofit The Surfrider Foundation Japan, they’ve taken up bio-based resin and mixed-color molding to create the new G5600SFJ-9. As is the case with all of G-SHOCK’s watches, the G5600SFJ-9 boasts a plethora of durability-first features. The brand’s Tough Solar and Super Illuminator tech power the digital readout, while the case enjoys shock resistance and 200 meters of water resistance. G-SHOCK fans will be pleased to see expected functions like a 48-city world timer, a 1/100-second stopwatch, a countdown timer, daily and hourly alarms and time signals, and both 12 and 24-hour time formatting. While none of this is particularly groundbreaking, it is reassuring to see G-SHOCK’s consistency across their frequent collaborations. Speaking of collaboration, The Surfrider Foundation Japan-a marine-focused nonprofit that celebrates the intersection of conservation and surfer lifestyle-lends its logo and #oceanfriendlylifestyle slogan to the face, caseback, and band loop. For thematic cohesion, the watch’s bright yellow hue is intended to bring to mind a sunrise on the coastline, and...
Teddy Baldassarre
Watch Movements: A Comprehensive Guide and FAQ
Watch movements, like the engines in cars, are the mechanisms that make the whole thing run, and if you're new to the world of avid watch enthusiasm, there's more to learn about them, and how they work, than you think. In this comprehensive guide to watch movements, we will attempt to answer every question that you might have about movements - their different types, their important parts, who makes them, and even a bit of history and trivia. What is a Mechanical Movement? A mechanical movement, the oldest type of movement in horology, uses a coiled metal spring, called a mainspring, that releases energy as it uncoils through a series of gears to drive a weighted, oscillating wheel called a balance wheel. The balance wheel’s oscillations are linked to an escapement, which periodically releases the gear train to move the hands forward to record the passing of hours, minutes, and seconds. Originally, the mainspring needed to be wound periodically by hand, first by a key, then by a winding crown attached via a stem to the movement. Later, a type of movement was developed that could be wound “automatically,” through the motions of the wearer’s wrist. What is the difference between a mechanical movement and an automatic movement? It isn’t really a question of difference: the latter is simply a specific type of the former, à la a Cognac and a brandy. The two main types of mechanical movements are manually wound (or “hand-winding”), in which the user needs to p...
Monochrome
Hands-on – The Big(ger) and Mighty Tudor Black Bay 68
The word is out-Tudor is swimming against the current downsizing trend, boldly introducing the new 43mm Black Bay 68 series. First impressions are in, and now all that’s left is to see how the customer responds. Tudor’s reasoning? The brand says it’s about “meeting the demand for various case sizes to fit all types of […]
Video
Audemars Piguet, Ulysse Nardin, Zenith, and More | Hodinkee Podcast | Watches and Wonders - Day 4
It's the final podcast from the fair, and Tim Jeffreys is joined by Andy Hoffman and Jamie Weiss. The discussion kicks off with the official launch of Hodinkee Australia, exploring the region's unique, outdoorsy colle...
Fratello
Studio Underd0g Targets Copycats With The Av0cado And Guacam0le 01Series Watches
Studio Underd0g continues to defy conventions with two new colorful additions to its 01Series chronograph range. The Av0cado and Guacam0le continue the playful mantra of Studio Underd0g by infusing color combinations to invoke various types of food. Adding these two style options may seem a bit old hat for Studio Underd0g since it has evolved […] Visit Studio Underd0g Targets Copycats With The Av0cado And Guacam0le 01Series Watches to read the full article.
Fratello
Introducing: The Ressence Type 7 - The Belgian Brand’s Surprising Take On The Integrated-Bracelet Sports Watch
Integrated-bracelet sports watches have been and still are a very popular genre among watch enthusiasts. And even though it’s a slightly more recent trend, GMT watches are also in high demand. That’s probably why Benoît Mintiens, the designer and founder of Ressence, decided to combine the two in one watch. We assume it’s a way […] Visit Introducing: The Ressence Type 7 - The Belgian Brand’s Surprising Take On The Integrated-Bracelet Sports Watch to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Introducing Mainspring London To The Windup Watch Shop
Named for the spring at the heart of a mechanical watch movement, Mainspring London offers high-quality storage, winders, and accessories for watch collectors. With inspirations ranging from motorsports to the walled gardens and storied quadrangles of Oxford, Mainspring London’s collections are designed to seamlessly – and with impeccable style - integrate your treasured collection into your home. Who said your collection storage couldn’t look as good as the pieces in it? To welcome Mainspring London to the Windup Watch Shop, we are starting with three pieces: the Technospeed 3-Slot Travel Watch Box, Monte Carlo 5-Slot Watch Box, and Guardian Single- and Dual-Slot Winder. The post Introducing Mainspring London To The Windup Watch Shop appeared first on Worn & Wound.
Fratello
David Scott’s Speedmaster Professional “Tribute to Astronauts” BA145.022-69
The Omega Speedmaster Professional BA145.022-69, also known as the “Tribute to Astronauts” watch, was the first Speedmaster in 18K yellow gold and intended for all active NASA astronauts, the US president and vice president, and several officials. In total, Omega gifted 31 of these watches to the NASA astronauts, most of them during the official […] Visit David Scott’s Speedmaster Professional “Tribute to Astronauts” BA145.022-69 to read the full article.
Fratello
Flying First Class - Hands-On With The Breguet Type XX In Rose Gold
We published a written hands-on review on this rose gold Breguet Type XX a while ago, but we also created a video recap of the review. Click the thumbnail above to start the video. Breguet Type XX in rose gold Breguet’s current Type XX and Type 20 models debuted in Paris in 2023 and created […] Visit Flying First Class - Hands-On With The Breguet Type XX In Rose Gold to read the full article.
Video
TAG Heuer, A. Lange & Sohne, JLC, Chopard, and More | Hodinkee Podcast | Watches and Wonders - Day 3
We’re 3 days into the show, and Tim is joined by Tantan and Andy to chat about some interesting evening events and the latest releases from JLC, Moser, Chopard, A. Lange & Sohne, and more.