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Results for Telemeter Scale

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Telemeter Scale

Chronograph scale converting flash-to-sound time into distance. WWI artillery-spotting origin; vintage Longines / Lemania / Heuer.

The Latest Massena LAB Collaboration is a Rare Heritage Inspired Moser Worn & Wound
Massena Lab Collaboration Oct 16, 2024

The Latest Massena LAB Collaboration is a Rare Heritage Inspired Moser

If you’ve been paying any attention to H. Moser & Cie. over the last few years, one thing should be abundantly clear - the Swiss watchmaker likes to keep things simple. While they may occasionally indulge themselves with an overwhelming quantity of dial text, or acquiesce to the need for a chronograph scale, Moser has increasingly adopted a minimalist approach in their watch design, with wide open expanses of dial and invisible logos taking center stage alongside hammered enamel finishes, minute repeater strikers, and elegantly finished hands.  Today, Moser is throwing all that out, and, in partnership with Massena LAB, the brand is looking back to its history for what is, in many ways, its most traditional release in years. The Endeavour Chronograph Compax would, from anyone else, barely qualify as newsworthy. After all, what brand hasn’t dipped back into the well to create a historically-minded steel sports watch in recent years? Moser hasn’t, and that’s what makes this collaboration so interesting. Even the Heritage model, the closest the brand has come to the format, isn’t so much a recreation as a reimagination, a consideration not of how to make an old watch feel new, but a thought exercise in what H. Moser & Cie. might have made were the modern brand to find themselves in a different era. This new watch is not that. Though not a direct reproduction of any particular model, the new Endeavour Chronograph Compax is a genuine reflection on Moser’s history...

The Nomos Tangente Gains a Double Date SJX Watches
Nomos Tangente Gains Oct 3, 2024

The Nomos Tangente Gains a Double Date

Nomos gently upgrades its classic wristwatch with a new calibre and double-date display: the Tangente 2date retains the signature Tangente design but with the addition of a quickset, twin date display. The same date is indicate twice, on the date disc at six o’clock and then again with a pair of brackets on the date scale located on the dial’s periphery. It’s powered by the DUW 4601, a new calibre that’s based on Nomos’ longstanding Alpha movement. Initial thoughts The Tangente 2date is essentially another iteration of a familiar model, inside and out. Though it still makes appealing, well-priced watches, Nomos hasn’t introduced anything truly novel in some time, and the Tangente 2date reflects that. As the name implies, the only novel element is the double date display that adds detail to the dial, which is fairly stark in its original iteration. At the same time, the date is useful in filling the excess space on the dial that results from the small movement relative to the case. However, the double date is redundant in terms of functionality, and from that perspective, feels gimmicky. The view from the back is appealing, with the extra-wide date module forming a decorative ring around the base movement. The DUW 4601  movement, however, is not exactly novel. Though Nomos describes the calibre as “newly developed”, the DUW 4601 employs the basic architecture of the Alpha, which in turn was a reworked Peseux 7001. In fairness, the DUW 4601 is substantially ...

The Raymond Weil Millesime is Now 35 mm SJX Watches
Raymond Weil Sep 26, 2024

The Raymond Weil Millesime is Now 35 mm

Essentially smaller versions of the preceding models, the Millesime Central Seconds and Millesime Moon Phase in 35 mm are the latest additions to Raymond Weil’s successful line of vintage-inspired watches. Debuting with five different variants, the new Millesime models retain the aesthetic that made the earlier versions popular: a contemporary interpretation of “sector” dial watches of the early 20th century. Initial thoughts Regarded as a “mall watch” brand for years – but nonetheless a profitable business of decent scale – Raymond Weil hadn’t been on the radar of most watch enthusiasts for some time. So when the Millesime won the award for watches under CHF3,000 at last year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), many of us were surprised. The Millesime, however, is more than a “mall watch”. It has good proportions with a “sector” dial that is well-balanced, and underneath is a no-frills, reliable Sellita movement. It is an affordable watch and has the build quality to match, but that is a fact rather than a criticism. Priced between US$1,650 and US$2,575 depending on the model, the 35 mm Millesime remains good value. It brings the “sector” dial-look to someone who wants a smaller watch. Vintage-inspired aesthetics The new Millesime takes after the original model, which was just under 40 mm. The case is nearly identical in design, a three-part affair with a flat bezel, large, fluted crown, and “glass box” sapphire crystal that ...

Three Geneva Watch Days Takeaways From a First Time Attendee Worn & Wound
Girard-Perregaux H Moser & Cie Sep 12, 2024

Three Geneva Watch Days Takeaways From a First Time Attendee

For watch collectors, enthusiasts, and industry veterans, it’s kind of hard to believe that Baselworld hasn’t existed in a meaningful way since 2019. Covid (and a rapidly changing industry) killed the industry’s biggest trade show in 2020, and as soon the show was on life support, many began prognosticating about the future of large scale industry events. Over the course of the last five or so years, the watch world has settled into a groove, with Watches & Wonders (formerly the far more exclusive SIHH) largely replacing Baselworld as the big spring must-attend watch event, with an ever growing roster of brands exhibiting at the show, and even more taking meetings in unofficial capacities adjacent to it.  Baselworld being effectively replaced by another show was probably somewhat predictable, but a turn of events that fewer saw coming was the rise of Geneva Watch Days as a major end-of-summer tentpole event for the watch community. Originally conceived in 2020 as a way for a small handful of brands (Breitling, Bulgari, De Bethune, Girard-Perregaux, H. Moser & Cie and MB&F;) to bring watch collectors together in a pandemic ravaged year, the event has grown to over 50 official participants and many more exhibiting on the fringes, taking advantage of the influx of collectors and watch industry types on the city of Geneva while the event is up and running.   If you talk to people who have attended Geneva Watch Days since it began, you’ll hear a lot of chatter about t...

Longines Debuts the First Non-Limited Spirit Zulu Time in Titanium Worn & Wound
Longines Debuts Aug 15, 2024

Longines Debuts the First Non-Limited Spirit Zulu Time in Titanium

Longines has been experiencing significant success in the enthusiast space since their pilot-style Spirit line of watches launched. Over the last few years, they have introduced 39mm variants and a GMT version called the Spirit Zulu Time. Zulu time is a military term that refers to Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). These timepieces, also known as GMT watches, can show a second time zone using a third hand and a 24-hour scale on the dial. In December 2023, Longines partnered with Hodinkee to produce a special version of the Zulu Time in grade 5 titanium, featuring a 39mm case and limited to only 500 pieces worldwide. This special edition bore a striking resemblance to another brand’s popular GMT watch but was significantly thinner and much less slab-sided, which appealed to many collectors. As successful as that model was, Longines did step away from the original charm of the Spirit collection, leaving enthusiasts wanting a grade 5 Titanium GMT watch that was not a limited edition. They have heard the call and have just announced a new 39mm Spirit Zulu Time in this material, which fits right in with all the others in the lineup. Why are we explicitly mentioning the titanium grade used in these watches? In wristwatches, there are generally two types of titanium used. Grade 2 and grade 5, and while they both have the key qualities that make the material special (they are both very light), there is a tangible difference. Grade 2 titanium is commercially pure titanium, which ...

First Look - Union Glashütte Presents New Editions Of The Racy Averin Chronograph Monochrome
Union Glashütte Aug 15, 2024

First Look - Union Glashütte Presents New Editions Of The Racy Averin Chronograph

Back in 2008, Union Glashütte introduced the square-cased Averin. This bold chronograph watch looked quite different from most, thanks to a unique display for the date. A central three-handed pointer followed a three-line scale. Different, unique and quite fun for sure! Now though, the brand has decided to simplify things a little and morph the […]

REVIEW: Hands-On With The Limited Edition King Seiko KS1969 WatchAdvice
Grand Seiko Aug 10, 2024

REVIEW: Hands-On With The Limited Edition King Seiko KS1969

The King Seiko KS1969 Limited Edition is a timeless tribute to Seiko’s heritage, reimagined for the modern era. What We Love: Like current Seiko models, this latest King Seiko gets a modern slimmed-down reinterpretation. The multiple polished finishes from the case, bezel, and dial elements to the bracelet! The greenish-blue colour combined with the dragon-scale pattern makes the dial pop! What We Don’t: Not everyone may agree with the choice of dial colours for this collection from Seiko The movement needs to match the build quality and high level of finishing on the timepiece. It would’ve been great to get the date wheel to colour-match the new dial colours! Overall Rating: 8.9/10 Value for Money: 8.5/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 9/10 Build Quality: 9/10 In July this year, Seiko unveiled a new series of King Seiko dress watches to revive a classic heritage design. Before we get into this latest creation, we first need to look at King Seiko and some of the signature designs that came with it. The name of King Seiko is just as important to Japanese watchmakers as the name and brand of Grand Seiko. The story goes that King Seiko was first launched in 1961 alongside Grand Seiko, who were direct competitors of each other. Seiko did this because of the brand’s relentless pursuit of perfection and quality, as the rivalry between King Seiko and Grand Seiko would produce some exceptional timepieces. The 1960s were seen as the golden era for Seiko, as the brand quickly...

In-Depth - Visiting Bremont, Understanding The Evolution and Answering Collectors’ Concerns Monochrome
Bremont Understanding Aug 1, 2024

In-Depth - Visiting Bremont, Understanding The Evolution and Answering Collectors’ Concerns

Today, for once, we won’t be travelling to Switzerland. We’re heading to a slightly more unusual place, in a country that’s not primarily known for its watchmaking industry. In a little town called Henley, about 30km away from London, is one of the very few large-scale watch brands of the United Kingdom, in fact probably […]

Introducing - The Military Themed Bremont Broadsword Recon Bronze Monochrome
Bremont Broadsword Recon Bronze One Jul 31, 2024

Introducing - The Military Themed Bremont Broadsword Recon Bronze

One of the few large-scale watchmaking companies based on UK soil, Bremont has, over the years, forged strong connections with Britain’s Ministry of Defence, supplying the British Army with dedicated watches. As a tribute to this partnership and MoD watches of the past, Bremont created the Broadsword series, inspired by the all-important Dirty Dozen. First available […]

Norqain Debuts the Latest in their Neverest Collection Worn & Wound
Norqain Debuts Jul 8, 2024

Norqain Debuts the Latest in their Neverest Collection

Mt. Everest has long held a grip on our cultural consciousness – and for good reason. Not only is it Earth’s highest mountain, but it takes an almost superhuman amount of determination and grit to scale it. Then, of course, there is the rich history of the Himalayas, making for an even more fascinating landscape – geographically and culturally – for our imaginations to explore. With all of this in mind, it seems that NORQAIN’s latest in their Neverest collection shows appreciation to the history, mystique, and people of the region through their Glacier Black and Ice Blue references. The 41mm DLC coated Neverest GMT Glacier Black features a black glacier dial inspired by the crevasses on Mt. Everest, with a second time zone and a 24-hour indication on a black and white ring surrounding the dial. The DLC black coating brings the overall appearance of the watch together, while the red-gold plated indices and hands add some contrast. The 40mm Neverest Glacier Ice Blue boasts an ice blue glacier dial with cracks that mimic the crevasses on Mt. Everest. The dial features diamond-cut, faceted blue indexes filled with white Super-LumiNova and blue diamond-cut faceted hour and minute hands. The steel case is paired with a blue ceramic bezel and is water-resistant up to 200 meters, ensuring reliability under even the most extreme conditions. Both watches are powered by a NORQAIN Manufacture Caliber by Kenissi. The Glacier Black model runs on Caliber NN20/2, which offers a ...

First Look - Meet the New Arinis Collection, the Lake Diving Watch from Elka Monochrome
May 10, 2024

First Look - Meet the New Arinis Collection, the Lake Diving Watch from Elka

Microbrands are reshaping today’s watchmaking landscape in remarkable ways. These small-scale ventures craft enticing timepieces, leveraging modern technology, marketing strategies, and the combined expertise, passion, vision, and business acumen. What’s particularly striking, at least for some, is their ability to deliver well-designed, high-quality watches at compelling prices, often packed with features typically associated with much […]

Zenith Chronomaster Sport Guide Teddy Baldassarre
Zenith Feb 23, 2024

Zenith Chronomaster Sport Guide

When the Zenith Chronomaster Sport won the Chronograph Prize at the 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie Genève, the watch world’s most prestigious awards, it was emphatically something new and different: the first chronograph watch able to measure 1/10-second chronograph readings on its bezel scale. However, despite the fact that the Chronomaster Sport collection can still be considered “new” in a practical sense, its origins, both aesthetic and technical, can be traced back much further, all the way to some of the earliest horological milestones of Zenith, one of the Swiss watch world’s most honored and accomplished watchmakers and the inventor of the groundbreaking movement that animates all the Chronomaster models, including the Sport. I spoke with Zenith’s Head of Heritage, Laurence Bodenmann, to help trace the evolution of the Chronomaster Sport and its strong ties to several noteworthy models of the past.    Zenith traces its impactful watchmaking history all the way back to 1865, and an ambitious 22-year-old watchmaker named George Favre-Jacot. A contemporary of the influential Swiss artist and designer Le Corbusier, a pioneer of avant-garde architecture, Favre-Jacot adopted a similarly modernist approach to watchmaking when he founded his atelier in Le Locle in the Swiss Jura. Taking cues from American watch firms like Waltham and Elgin, which had found success by introducing mass production into the traditionally artisanal trade, Georges Favre-Jacot & Co.,...

First Look - The New Tissot PR516 Chronograph Mechanical (Incl. Video) Monochrome
Tissot PR516 Chronograph Mechanical Incl Feb 22, 2024

First Look - The New Tissot PR516 Chronograph Mechanical (Incl. Video)

Drawing from over 170 years of watchmaking heritage, Tissot frequently delves into its archives for inspiration. The company has a penchant for reviving iconic models that have left an indelible mark on its history. Consider any timepiece from the Heritage series – the 1973 Chronograph, the 1938 Heritage COSC, the Visodate, or the 1938 Telemeter […]

First Look - The New Zenith Chronomaster Sport Titanium Monochrome
Zenith Chronomaster Sport Titanium Zenith Feb 8, 2024

First Look - The New Zenith Chronomaster Sport Titanium

Zenith captured the attention and resonated strongly with enthusiasts in 2021 by unveiling the Chronomaster Sport collection. Setting itself apart from its predecessors, the series introduced several distinctive elements. Notably, the bezel graduated to 1/10th of a second, a departure from the traditional and arguably redundant tachymeter scale found on many chronographs. Following multiple variants […]

Hands-On With The Otsuka Lotec No.7.5 - A Jump-Hour Watch With Monochromatic Swagger Fratello
Otsuka Lotec Jan 24, 2024

Hands-On With The Otsuka Lotec No.7.5 - A Jump-Hour Watch With Monochromatic Swagger

As a keen observer of the independent side of Japanese watchmaking, I felt honored when Precision Watch Co. reached out on behalf of Jiro Katayama. Katayama-san is a small-scale watchmaker I have been following for a few years. What I find fascinating is his self-taught watchmaking, a quality he shares with Hajime Asaoka that beggars […] Visit Hands-On With The Otsuka Lotec No.7.5 - A Jump-Hour Watch With Monochromatic Swagger to read the full article.

Interview: Hind Seddiqi, Director General of Dubai Watch Week SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet Nov 29, 2023

Interview: Hind Seddiqi, Director General of Dubai Watch Week

Having began as a small-scale and mostly regional event in 2015 – I was there and thought it would become important one day – Dubai Watch Week (DWW) has since grown into an expansive horological extravaganza with an international audience. With some 23,000 visitors, a 42% increase over the 2021 event, this year’s DWW is the biggest to date. Sixty-three brands took part, ranging from giants like Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Chanel, to independent watchmakers like F.P. Journe, Rexhep Rexhepi, and H. Moser & Cie. Some brands even launched all-new products at DWW. MB&F;, for instance, launched its headline creation for the year, the HM11, at the event. As Director General of DWW, Hind Seddiqi is one of the individuals who makes DWW possible. We discussed with her vision for DWW, ranging from its emphasis on independent watchmaking to the future of horological education in the region, which includes a WOSTEP watchmaking academy in Dubai. The interview was edited for length and clarity. The MB&F; HM11, one of the watches launched during DWW SJX: I remember the first Dubai Watch Week was inside the mall. Now it’s a separate setup that’s impressive. And even though it’s grown, I like the fact that you retain all the independents. Hind Seddiqi (HS): [Indpendents are] extremely important and if you enter into the [fair] in the afternoons you will see they’re the ones who are the busiest with customers wanting to meet the watchmakers. SJX: How do the independents relate to...

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 Quadriptyque: 11 Complications (Plus Flying Tourbillon) are Impressive, But the Fact that it’s So Wearable is The Real Magic - Reprise Quill & Pad
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre Nov 18, 2023

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 Quadriptyque: 11 Complications (Plus Flying Tourbillon) are Impressive, But the Fact that it’s So Wearable is The Real Magic - Reprise

It wasn't until Ian Skellern had the opportunity to handle the four-faced Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 for himself that he understood the sheer scale of JLC’s achievement and gazed in newfound awe. Even though he had read the dimensions of Calibre 185, they were just numbers: in reality, it was much smaller and more wearable than he was expecting. Calibre 185 is by no means a small watch, but, as he reports, it is small for the sheer amount of complications packed inside.

[Hands-On] H. Moser Refines Streamliner with New Small Seconds Blue Enamel Worn & Wound
H. Moser Refines Streamliner Nov 17, 2023

[Hands-On] H. Moser Refines Streamliner with New Small Seconds Blue Enamel

H. Moser made waves with their Streamliner watch when it was first released in 2020 thanks to the unconventional case and integrated bracelet design. In a market flooded with integrated bracelet sport watches, the Streamliner somehow manages to stand apart with its scale-like bracelet. It’s a watch we’ve taken a closer look at here, and here. This year, the Streamliner takes a new form in a move toward a more wearable experience in the form of the Small Seconds Blue Enamel. The result is a 39mm watch with a revised case and bracelet design that remains true to the original DNA while being far more wrist-friendly in the process.  The Streamliner has always been defined by its bracelet, with the cushion case transitioning to a dial with largely minimal takes on complications from perpetual calendars to chronographs. The newest addition adjusts the proportions of everything just enough to make a tangible difference on the wrist, without compromising the impact of the shapes and forms at work. In fact, the bracelet is in peak form with this release, combining the dramatic architecture with a silky taper that works incredibly well in practice. What’s more, the tweaks reduce some of the tension between the shoulder of the case and bracelet integration, making for an overall more graceful appearance. That said, if you were never a fan of the Streamliner, this new example isn’t likely to change that. This is still a Streamliner through and through, and fans of the watch l...

Recent Limited Editions: MAEN and BOLDR Creations with Worn & Wound Worn & Wound
Boldr Creations Nov 9, 2023

Recent Limited Editions: MAEN and BOLDR Creations with Worn & Wound

It’s been a busy year here at Worn & Wound and the Windup Watch Shop, and one of the most enjoyable aspects of being in this space is the ability to get creative and collaborate with our partners on exciting new products. Limited Editions, or LEs, allow creative juices to run wild while conceptualizing something on a smaller scale for those who are in the know. They also provide avenues for new folks to join the hobby and for everyone to have the chance to own something extra special. Two of our recent LEs are the MAEN x Worn & Wound Manhattan and the BOLDR x Worn & Wound 3xT GMT. Offered at similar price points, these are two very different but equally intriguing collections – let’s take a closer look. It’s been a busy year here at Worn & Wound and the Windup Watch Shop, and one of the most enjoyable aspects of being in this space is the ability to get creative and collaborate with our partners on exciting new products. Limited Editions, or LEs, allow creative juices to run wild while conceptualizing something on a smaller scale for those who are in the know. They also provide avenues for new folks to join the hobby and for everyone to have the chance to own something extra special. Two of our recent LEs are the MAEN x Worn & Wound Manhattan and the BOLDR x Worn & Wound 3xT GMT. Offered at similar price points, these are two very different but equally intriguing collections – let’s take a closer look. The post Recent Limited Editions: MAEN and BOLDR Creations ...

Inside Vortic as they Launch the Colorado Watch Company Worn & Wound
Rado Watch Company Sep 26, 2023

Inside Vortic as they Launch the Colorado Watch Company

The story of American watchmaking is long, complex, and undertold. It’s regrettably easy to consign the period of this country’s history as a global titan in watch production to an appendix in the greater history of watchmaking writ large. But the fact remains that the United States, in the 19th century and well into the 20th, produced millions of timepieces at an incredible pace, developing manufacturing technologies that would scale and improve both here and abroad. We don’t make watches at such a scale anymore, but there is a growing movement in the American watchmaking space that looks to that period as inspiration, and as a reminder that if it can happen once, it can happen again. The Vortic Watch Company is one of the key players in a new age of watchmaking in America, and they’ve just announced a major step forward that redefines what the company does, and where it might be heading in the future.  I have always thought of Vortic as one of the bedrock companies in the burgeoning microbrand space. They are a mainstay at Windup Watch Fairs, and carry many of the hallmarks of the most successful and well established microbrands. The watches are original and purely their own thing, their team is accessible, and the identity of the brand itself is well considered and established. But it would be incorrect to think of them as purely part of the pack, or even as part of an upper tier of the pack given their longevity and success. They occupy a truly unique niche th...

21 Small Dive Watches for Men and Ladies, from Under $100 to $10,000 Teddy Baldassarre
May 10, 2023

21 Small Dive Watches for Men and Ladies, from Under $100 to $10,000

Dive watches, as many of their enthusiasts know, are not generally known for being understated in their dimensions. This is, of course, by design, and in the service of both legibility and safety. To be used underwater, often in very dark conditions, a watch needs to be sizable enough (as well as luminous enough) for the wearer to discern both the time on the main hands as well as the remaining immersion period as set on the dive scale bezel. For these and other practical reasons, most watches built for diving tend to come in at 40mm and above in diameter. However, as the dive watch has become more a fashion statement and less a wearable tool - for ladies as well as gents - watchmakers have responded by downsizing some of their popular divers to offer more choices for a wider range of wearers, including those who will likely never wear their timepiece underwater. In some cases, the designs of these more modestly sized dive watches are even drawn from the brands’ archives, from historical eras in which smaller sizes were the norm, even for purpose-built tool watches like those made for divers. Using a 40mm diameter as our upper limit of “small,” here are 21 small dive watches, in ascending order of price, all of which combine professional-grade water resistance (at least 100 meters) with unisex appeal. Vostok Amphibia Price: $99, Case Size: 39mm, Thickness: 15mm, Lug-to-Lug: 49mm, Crystal: Acrylic, Water Resistance: 200m, Movement: Automatic Vostok Caliber 2416 Th...

Kudoke Introduces the Kudoke 3 SJX Watches
Mar 27, 2023

Kudoke Introduces the Kudoke 3

German independent Kudoke has carved out its own niche with a distinctive blend of English-inspired movements and Germanic attention-to-detail in its Handwerk line of watches. The latest addition to the line is the Kudoke 3, which largely sticks to the successful formula of prior models, but offers a twist in the form of a split-level dial and triple-scale hour display. Once known primarily for ostentatiously skeletonised Unitas calibers, such as the watch worn by Dominic Monaghan’s character in Last Looks, Kudoke hit the reset button in 2019 with Handwerk line comprised of the Kudoke 1 and 2. The collection introduced a more restrained design aesthetic and importantly, brand’s first proprietary movement. The Kudoke 3 continues down this path, but goes further in terms of creative design. The Handwerk collection (from left): Kudoke 1, Kudoke 2, and Kudoke 3 Initial thoughts As a fan of modern German (and historical English) watchmaking, I’ve been impressed with the brand’s work since the launch of the Kudoke 1. Like Habring² and Laine, Kudoke offers a compelling alternative to mass-produced luxury watches. The Kudoke 3 is a thoughtful and unconventional addition to the Dresden-based brand’s growing collection, offering a novel time display with three scales for the hours along with a three-armed hour hand. This triple-scale calls to mind the distinctive seconds register of the 1990s Daniel Roth tourbillon (recently reborn as the Tourbillon Souscription), but ...

Happy Birthday, Swatch Worn & Wound
Casio ns but Mar 3, 2023

Happy Birthday, Swatch

Swatch, the brand that is just about everyone’s first watch, celebrated their 40th birthday this week. On March 1, 1983, Swatch unveiled its first collection of plastic cased, battery powered watches, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that it just might have saved the Swiss watch industry. After a long period of dominance in the mass production of watches, quartz watches made by Japanese companies at a massive scale radically changed the watchmaking landscape, putting the traditional mechanical watchmaking industry into something of a tailspin. The massive success of Swatch through the 80s and into the 90s injected cash and enthusiasm into Swiss watchmaking that the industry still benefits from to this day.  We write about anniversaries all the time in these pages. As we’re all fond of saying, “Every year is an anniversary year.” But in the coverage of the big Swatch 4-0 that I’ve seen this week, I’ve much more commonly heard it referred to as a “birthday,” and I think that’s important. Anniversaries can be joyous occasions, but the word implies a certain seriousness that isn’t right for Swatch. A birthday is different. It’s fun, there’s cake, and hopefully some color. That’s how I think of Swatch (minus the cake).  Swatch and I are just about the same age. I turned 40 in October of last year, and it’s interesting to think about the brand approaching middle age, as I, much to my dismay, seem to be doing as well. Does Swatch also have naggi...

Nivada Grenchen Gives Us the Best of All Worlds with Chronoking Meca-Quartz Worn & Wound
Nivada Grenchen Gives Us Mar 2, 2023

Nivada Grenchen Gives Us the Best of All Worlds with Chronoking Meca-Quartz

Nivada Grenchen’s Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver represents their interpretation of a multi-functional steel sports chronograph teeming with vintage attributes. The collection’s signature – a two subdial display, tachymeter scale integrated into the outer dial, and a rotating bezel that subtly incorporates a 12 hour display giving the already highly capable chronograph the ability to track another timezone. The vintage aesthetic doesn’t just harken back to the designs of your classic steel sport of watch of the 60’s and 70’s, it actually pulls from the very same design cues of the original Nivada Grenchen chronographs. Nivada’s current Chronoking Manual in particular retains the collection’s design language, but doubles down on the age-old appearance with its chocolate-toned subdials and yellow markers. Topping it all off, the Chronoking encases a Sellita SW510 manual movement in a tidy 38mm case. These are all attractive features and the norm within the Chronoking, as well as the rest of the Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver collection. The only caveat here is that their chronographs are positioned within a crowded price tier filled with brands offering something relatively similar in design and function. However recently, Nivada Grenchen released a very enticing iteration of their Chronoking in the Chronoking Meca-Quartz. Albeit sold out, the Nivada Grenchen Chronoking Meca-Quartz includes all the charming traits and functionality at an approachable $479. Vi...

5 Times a Watch Surprised Me After the Fact Worn & Wound
IWC Tribute Jan 11, 2023

5 Times a Watch Surprised Me After the Fact

Watches can be tricky things to judge without getting some real world wrist time. Details like their scale or finishing details can be lost in even the best of images, and that’s to say nothing of more intangible things, like their heft or the way the bracelet wraps around your wrist. Try as we might, we still sometimes end up writing a watch off, or worse still, prematurely lauding it, before allowing enough hands-on time to appropriately confront our biases. These watches have a way of coming back to us, and like many things in life, a way of surprising us after the fact. With each example, we hope to learn a bit more about our blind spots, and take a bit more pause when scouting the landscape ahead.  These are some examples of watches that surprised me after their initial launch, and what I learned from the experience. Jump into the comments below to share your thoughts and experiences. The IWC Tribute to 3705: Learning to Ignore the Numbers IWC has ridden their Pilot and Big Pilot ranges heavily in recent years, and while I enjoy the aesthetic of these watches, I’ve never been fond of the on-wrist experience with any of them. When I first saw the Tribute to 3705, I was quick to dismiss it based on some of the numbers, predominantly the thickness measurement north of 15mm. But then I got my hands on one, and it was the watch that triggered a reassessment of how I think about the numbers around watches. I even wrote an article implying you to do the same. The Tribut...