3,254 articles · 1,014 videos found · page 63 of 143
1969-1985 industry collapse triggered by the Seiko Astron. Cost Swiss watchmaking two-thirds of its workforce; rebounded via Swatch Group consolidation and Biver's Blancpain.
Christmas Day 1969: Seiko launches the world\'s first quartz wristwatch and detonates the Swiss watch industry.
The 2010 Spring Drive reference with a dial textured like fresh Shinshu snow.
Revolution
Long jumper Darya Klishina – the only Russian athlete to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2017 European Indoor Championships – takes an hour out of her training schedule to talk to Revolution.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
You heard it here, folks - Kaz's boss wants to put his seed in him. Plus, the guys revisit the "chicken sandwich watch"... and hey, Raketa? Kaz wants to know if you're hiring.
Deployant
One thing that impresses us about the Japanese would be their great attention to intricate details. The integrity of their efforts are telling- products from Lexus and Canon can easily testify that. But of course, when it comes to watchmaking, there are not many watchmakers that are close to matching this particular brand with regards to both quality andRead More
Deployant
Apologies for falling slightly behind on my postings. I was in Dresden for the final review of my book last week, and some blip with blogger.com caused the Friday post to disappear. But today, I go back one of my favourites…the Spring Drive… The bezel is in sapphire. Long before Rolex or anyone else startedRead More
Teddy Baldassarre Videos
In today's video we make another visit to Carat & Co. in New York to do some watch shopping. This time, joining us is YouTube's favorite doctor: Doctor Mike! In search of a new watch that he can wear every day, to and from the hospital, Doctor Mike is interested in the likes of Omega, Grand Seiko, IWC, JLC, & C
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Worn & Wound
As we do every year when we come back from Watches & Watches, we asked our team to pick their favorite releases of the show. This article is always telling, because our team has a way of looking beyond the hype and zeroing in on watches with real personal appeal. As always, it’s fun to see the logic behind these picks, whether they represent watches our team members would actually want to own, or were simply novelties they were overwhelmed by in the moment. Be sure to let us know your favorites from Watches & Wonders week in the comments below, we’d love to hear about them. Zach Weiss – Grand Seiko SBGZ011 “Mystic Waterfall” So many watches, so many wonders, how does one even begin to choose a favorite? Well, for me, the test is after a few days of being away from the show, what I am still thinking about. And this year, while there are a few, the one that impressed me not just as a watch, but as a piece of art was the Grand Seiko SBGZ011 “Mystic Waterfall.” Every few years, Grand Seiko drops one of their breathtaking hand carved watches, but none have been quite like this, at least for me. You see, the SBGZ011 has two firsts: it’s based on the 45GS case, my personal favorite, and it’s the first time the dial has been hand-engraved, too. Inspired by the Tateshina Waterfall, the SBGZ011 has been meticulously hand-carved on all surfaces of its 950 platinum case with an undulating, organic motif of marks that, at once, appear like flowers or little explos...
Teddy Baldassarre
Our curated selection of 10 of the best manual wind watches with options ranging from Timex to Grand Seiko and Nomos.
Worn & Wound
If Grand Seiko was once Seiko’s best-kept secret, as it was for decades, Credor was even more enigmatic. Once positioned above Grand Seiko and crafted exclusively from precious metals, it remains rare outside of Japan to this day. That changes now when Credor comes out from under its Seiko shadow to exhibit at Watches & Wonders for the first time with three novelties: two takes on the Goldfeather and a brighter, breezier dial on the Locomotive, one of Credor’s most significant watches - though in the 1970s you would have likely never heard of it. Credor Goldfeather Urushi Lacquer Dial Limited Edition GBBY967 The Seiko Goldfeather was hailed as a technological achievement when it was released in 1960 (still holding Seiko’s thinnest three-hand movement). Credor resurrected the Goldfeather name in 2023 with the same pursuit of mechanical thinness, plus beautifully detailed lacquer and enamel dials. On the new GBBY967, the dial’s urushi finish is lacquered and polished dozens of times, resulting in a stunningly smooth dark blue gradient that turns into black around the edges, as if peering into the ocean depths. The dial’s baton indices and the Credor and Goldfeather logos are hand-applied with platinum powder in the taka maki-e style: a lacquer art that produces a three-dimensional effect. The ultra-thin (just 1.98mm!) Caliber 6890 hand-wind movement underpins this special Goldfeather, which is limited to just 25 pieces and at $47,000 each. Credor Goldfe...
Fratello
British independent brand Pinion revives one of its earliest designs for a modern audience. Founded in 2013, Pinion launched the Pure the following year. That period also marked my renewed interest in watches after wearing a titanium Seiko for 15 years. I still own that Seiko today. Back in 2014, watch design looked very different. […] Visit Pinion Brings Back The Pure In A New 38mm Case to read the full article.
Monochrome
Two years ago, Credor, the higher-end and classic side of the Seiko Watch Corporation, unveiled a very special watch based on the Locomotive concept. This watch, once designed by no other than Gerald Genta, was first presented in 1979, before coming back in a modernised and limited version for the brand’s 50th anniversary in 2024. […]
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Monochrome
Although Grand Seiko is now firmly established on the international watch scene, Credor is still something of a niche brand. Founded in 1974 as the high-end division of Seiko Corporation, with a focus on refined, ultra-thin dress watches decorated with artisanal techniques, Credor was originally available only in Japan until the release of the Locomotive […]
Monochrome
Founded in 1974, Credor is Seiko’s high-end brand created to showcase Japanese haute horlogerie, artistic finishing and ultra-thin watchmaking. Originally exclusive to Japan, Credor began its international expansion in 2024 with the launch of the Locomotive model, a watch originally designed by Genta, and will consolidate its position as it will soon be exhibited at […]
Fratello
The first Credor watch I ever saw in real life was an Eichi II. We organized a trip for our readers to Grand Seiko in Japan several years ago, and one of the guests just pulled one out of his pocket (I kid you not). Credor is the cream of the crop, the crown jewel […] Visit Introducing: The New Credor Goldfeather Urushi And Tourbillon to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Since its launch in 2019, the Doxa SUB 200 has been one of my favorite value oriented dive watches to recommend. When it debuted, it was under $1,000 and really stood out in a crowd of vintage inspired divers. It was a particularly compelling option for enthusiasts who were after something affordable and loaded with a bit of history and was definitely not a Seiko. They were also getting that vintage appropriate sizing right before the pendulum swung all the way back toward watches under 40mm – the SUB 200 measures 42mm but wears significantly smaller thanks to the short lug profile. It was and is a great wearing, classically styled dive watch from a truly important dive watch brand. Doxa has just refreshed the SUB 200 and the watch that was revealed this week reflects a lot of what’s going on the industry at the moment, while also appearing to serve as a worthy heir (and complement) to the existing SUB 200. The new SUB 200 II sees Doxa making some unexpected refinements to the case and also offering the watch in a new suite of colorways and a novel case treatment. Taken together, it’s a significantly more contemporary execution of something we’ve all come to associate with pure vintage nostalgia. We’ll start with the case, which now measures 44mm in diameter. I did a bit of a double take when I saw that particular spec – we’re deep in the era of brands downsizing their iconic sports watches to accommodate the current appetite for sleeker, small-to-medium ...
SJX Watches
Each year I find it surprisingly difficult to crystalise what I want to see from Watches & Wonders – perhaps I find it hard to hope for things I know will never come. Sometimes dreams aren’t logistically possible. For example, a compact Spring Drive chronograph probably isn’t reasonable given Grand Seiko already has its hands full scaling production of another new Spring Drive movement. At other times, imagination is bound by brand strategy: Cartier could easily steal the show with a quartz Crash Must priced along the same lines as a Tank Must – but never will. But I believe that the following watches, which I’d like to see from Patek Philippe, Grand Seiko and Credor, and Tudor are plausible enough to hope for. The following images were created without the use of generative AI. Patek Philippe In 2023, Patek Philippe launched the ref. 5316/50P, a minute repeating tourbillon with retrograde perpetual calendar and smoked sapphire dial. It remains among the brand’s best complicated offerings, other than the ref. 6301p, at least in my view. Last year Patek Philippe followed up with the ref. 6159G, which featured a smoked sapphire dial and the same perpetual calendar on a more pedestrian base movement. But if there is one reference more deserving of the smoked sapphire treatment than any other, it is the ref. 5236p in-line perpetual calendar, as imagined below in platinum. In 2021, Patek Philippe revived the historic in-line perpetual calendar, which is strongly asso...
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Worn & Wound
It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last you the rest of your life. Okay, perhaps the quote from Groundhog Day has a bit too ominous of a tone when discussing a watch. Pretend maybe this was said in a nice way, give me a bit of a break (there’s been snow on the ground for 6 weeks) and we can move on with this hands-on of Traska’s newest entrance into the horological space – The Chronograph. This 39mm automatic chronograph is packed with features and comes in at a fairly reasonable $1650. The matte grey dial, unique approach to chronograph sub-dials, and attention to detail on finish and features makes this one stand out from the pack. Let’s take a closer look at this brand new piece from Traska that seems to check a lot of boxes that we as enthusiasts look for in our next watch. $1650 Review: the Traska Chronograph Case Hardened Stainless Steel Movement Seiko NE86 automatic chronograph Dial Tungsten grey with applied indices Lume BGW9 SuperLuminova Lens Sapphire Strap Hardened stainless steel bracelet Water Resistance 75 meters Dimensions 39 x 46.5mm Thickness 13.75mm Lug Width 21mm Crown Screw down Warranty Yes Price $1650 Case Clocking in at a very reasonable 39mm wide, the Traska’s hardened steel case wears great on my 6.75” wrist. The case features a mix of brushed surfaces with polished bevels. It’s a nice mix of finishing that blends the more matte elements with the high shine polishing, resulting in a case that is interestin...
SJX Watches
While silicon mechanical movement components have swept across Switzerland, adoption has been slow within the Japanese watch industry, stymied by Swiss patents and professed concerns over the material’s durability. To this day, it remains the unlikely domain of Orient Star, a small brand with priority access to Seiko Epson’s massive industrial base. This positions Orient Star to capitalise on consumer demand for increasingly long power reserves, without sacrificing performance. Thanks to an ultralight and geometrically efficient escape wheel with a patented design, Orient Star is able to deliver a 70-hour power reserve without resorting the same counter-productive trade-offs to balance energy made by some Swiss peers – here’s how it was done. A silicon wafer of escape wheels. Image – Seiko Epson The quest for longer power reserves Recent consumer demand for longer power reserves has sent the industry’s engineers scrambling for ways to increase the autonomy of existing movement platforms. A movement’s power reserve is dictated by the length of the mainspring, which unwinds at a constant rate. That is why using a chronograph doesn’t cause a watch to run down faster – usually. Of course, you need to find somewhere to fit that extra length of mainspring while maintaining the movement’s dimensions, such as by thinning out the barrel walls, narrowing the inner barrel arbour radius, or, reducing the thickness of the mainspring. However, while decreasing the ma...
Monochrome
Using the analogy of Grand Seiko and Seiko, Orient Star is the premium division of Orient watches (both part of Seiko Epson since 2017). Established in 1951, Orient Star produces more refined watches featuring complications and a characteristic Japanese balance of quality and value. Celebrating its 75th anniversary, Orient Star reimagines the design of its […]
Monochrome
Founded in 1948 by Henry Belmont, Yema was France’s top producer and exporter by the 1960s. Renowned for legendary models such as the Superman, which appealed to professional and amateur divers alike, Yema went the way of many other mechanical watch brands during the quartz crisis and changed hands, including a stint with Seiko, until a French […]
Monochrome
Whenever movements are discussed, attention tends to focus on the Swiss, which is understandable, but it excludes some of the biggest movement manufacturers. Seiko, Miyota and so on, let alone the Chinese, produce far more movements per year on their own than ETA or Sellita do, for instance. To put this into some form of […]
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SJX Watches
Orient Star marks a milestone with the M34 F8 Skeleton Hand Winding 75th Anniversary, combining the brand’s technically adept, manually wound skeleton calibre with a novel, laser-engraved meteorite pattern in a maximalist open-worked package. The M34 F8 Skeleton also stands out for the tech inside the mechanical movement: proprietary silicon escape wheel with a novel, optimistic geometry that helps the M34 punch above its weight from a technical standpoint. Initial thoughts Last year, Orient Star launched the brand’s first manually wound moon phase – made of mother-of-pearl no less – for fans of understated, formal watches. Now celebrating its 75th anniversary, Orient Star has cast aside restraint to mark the occasion with something for a more maximalist breed of collector. The new skeleton has a blacked-out case and bracelet and an open-worked version of its top-of-the-line F8 movement. Notably, the movement plates are bridges, which are exposed front and back, are decorated with a laser-etched meteorite motif that is impressively detailed. This skeletonised anniversary limited edition also features the latest technology from its powerhouse parent company Seiko Epson, including a silicon escape wheel with an especially advantageous design. While silicon is increasingly common in the watch industry, it is used primarily for hairsprings. This puts Orient on the list of short brands with a proprietary silicon escape wheel that includes blue-chip names like Patek Phil...
Monochrome
It was hard not to love, or at least feel some tenderness towards the Orient Bambino models (especially the Classic) released by the brand to mark its 75th anniversary. We are tempted again with the M45 F7 Small Second, as Orient Star (established in 1951, part of Seiko Epson since 2017) expands its Classic Collection […]
Monochrome
The Quartz Crisis of the 1970s and 1980s was a defining moment for the industry, to say the least. Following Seiko’s Astron in 1969, the first quartz watch to hit the market, a huge swathe of traditional brands closed down as cheap, extremely accurate and virtually maintenance-free Japanese quartz watches hit the streets. Add to […]
Worn & Wound
Turning on Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 masterpiece Pulp Fiction for the first time is a moment I’m sure many of us would like to relive. Among the many unexpected moments the film has to offer is a four-minute-long scene where Christopher Walken details the history of a Lancet trench watch and its unfortunate journeys through the human anatomy. The familial heirloom timepiece that Captain Koons passes down to his son, Butch, is often considered by watch buffs and film aficionados to be the true “Pulp Fiction watch” because of its inclusion in the iconic scene. I personally feel there’s another timepiece featured in the movie that should be in the running for that title as well (and no, I’m not talking about Harvey Keitel’s Gucci 3300M). The Timex Q Red Nebula never gets any clear-cut screen time, but for those keen-eyed viewers, it can be spotted on John Travolta’s wrist numerous times throughout the film. Several stories and blogs have been written about the history of the Lancet featured in the movie, but very little exists about this Timex Q in the watch space. Let’s change that, shall we? History of the Red Nebula This model was advertised as the ref. 989502 in Timex catalogues, but quickly gained the far catchier Red Nebula moniker because of its dial from consumers upon release. When it initially launched in 1977, it featured a faceted mineral crystal, similar to those seen on Seiko pieces from that era. The 1978 release of this same model features a...
SJX Watches
India Watch Weekend returns for the second time this year, underlining the growth of the luxury watch market in the country. While Indian clients have long been patrons of luxury watchmakers, many historically shopped outside the country in places like Dubai and London. Now clients are moving towards domestic consumption, explaining rising sales in-country and events like India Watch Weekend. India Watch Weekend is happening in Mumbai, the nation’s commercial capital. Amongst the brands taking part are big brands like A. Lange & Söhne, Grand Seiko, but also independents like Ming and Dunselman Watchmaking. Also present for the first time is the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), a trade body dedicated to horological education. The event will take place over the weekend of January 17 and 18 at the Four Seasons. It’s open to the public but tickets are required. For more, visit Indiawatchweekend.com, while tickets can be purchased online.
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