2,901 articles · 104 videos found · page 65 of 101
Time+Tide
What happens when a watch brand decides vintage isn’t the enemy — but a responsibility? In this fourth and final episode of season 1 of Vacheron Constantin: Inside the Archives, Andrew McUtchen, Justin Hast, and Vacheron Constantin Heritage Director Christian Selmoni go deep inside the world of restoration and Les Collectionneurs — Vacheron Constantin’s extraordinary … Continued
Fratello
If you collect vintage Angelus watches or are simply interested in the brand, there are a handful of pieces you must hold in your hands. One is the mighty Angelus Chrono-Datoluxe. Another, some argue, is the Medical. The third place on my imaginary podium goes to the Tinkler. Sadly, all three are as rare as […] Visit What Dreams Are Made Of: The Angelus Tinkler 1958 Steel Quarter Repeater to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
eBay Finds is back! This bi-weekly 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 Omax Spaceman Here’s a fun one to start off this week, a vintage Omax Spaceman. The 37mm steel case is PVD (?) coated to give it a dark color. It’s in good shape, unpolished with normal wear that you would expect. The square case is very angular and nearly a pyramid, giving it a definite space-age look. The angular crystal is also in good shape, protecting a stark white dial with black hands. The unique crown is original. There are no movement pictures but the watch runs per the seller. I’ve seen a few of these over the years, but they aren’t too common. Just a really neat an unusual watch that will be fun to wear without breaking the bank. View auction here Vintage Pac-Man Watch Is there anything more quintessentially 80s than Pac-Man?? If you lived the 80s like me, then Pac-Man is ingrained in your mind. Here’s your chance to relive that wondrous time with this killer vintage Pac-Man digital watch from Nelsonic! The watch is in amazing condition, looks like it was barely worn. The dial graphics are all intact and the four little direction buttons look new. The watch and the game are functioning properly, and the watch even comes on its original matching plastic br...
Monochrome
Many of the overtly vintage design cues of Montblanc’s 1858 collection are inspired by Minerva’s military watches from the 1930s, renowned for their precision and legibility in extreme conditions. Promoted as rugged, reliable companions for mountaineering and outdoor adventures, the 1858 Geosphere combines its retro looks with a worldtimer featuring two rotating globes depicting the […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Olive green joins the Oris Divers Date lineup: a 39mm, 200m ceramic-bezel diver with a vintage-military dial, priced at 2,450 CHF
Worn & Wound
Rowing Blazers and Seiko have partnered on their fourth limited edition collection, and they’ve once again teamed up with vintage watch dealer Eric Wind on the design. This partnership has produced a number of hits since the first collaboration appeared in 2021, and it all comes down to an obvious synergy between the participants. Rowing Blazers, Seiko, and Wind each occupy distinct areas of watch and style culture, but they overlap in such a way that these watches make a ton of sense in context. The new limited edition consists of two watches, each limited to 2,500 pieces, and harkens a return to the Rally Diver format the partnership began with five years ago. Available in both 38mm and 42mm diameters, the new Rally Divers are based on a Seiko 5 design from the 1960s that Wind says was both his first vintage watch purchase and a reminder of his father’s chosen daily wear watches from Wind’s childhood. It underscores something anyone who has chatted with Eric Wind for even a moment likely understands pretty intuitively, which is that while he is known professionally for dealing in blue chip vintage watches from Rolex, Patek, and others, he’s no snob when it comes to the watches he personally enjoys. His love for Seiko and accessible vintage is genuine, and this collaborative relationship has never felt forced. The Rally Diver is defined by its checkerboard “rally” bezel, an idiosyncratic choice for a dive watch that doesn’t have an obvious connection to ...
Fratello
Welcome back to another episode of Fratello On Air! Apologies for the late publishing time, but a baby and World Cup 2026 have us keeping odd hours. This week, we target a humorous but potentially dangerous subject. Misleading words when describing a watch, especially a vintage one, are rife within our hobby, so we attempt […] Visit Fratello On Air: These Are The Most Misleading Words In Watch Ads to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Cartier has always chosen to tell time a little differently. From the first Santos wristwatch in a distinct square case, to its compelling mystery clocks, the unorthodox Tank à Guichet, the counter-intuitive Santos-Dumont Rewind, and the magic of the Masse Mystérieuse, it's a mainstream maison that has rarely approached the art of telling time by running with the pack. Roy Davidoff (left), a vintage watch dealer and expert, and Kari Voutilainen (right), the renowned independent watchmaker, were among the panel of judges tasked with ranking the unique projects submitted for the Cartier Prize for Watchmaking Talents of Tomorrow. That unique sensibility is at the heart of the Cartier Prize For Watchmaking Talents of Tomorrow. It's an accolade that's been awarded 28 times over three decades. But Cartier has rarely spoken about the initiative that began way back in 1995. For its latest edition, we were given a glimpse into the process in which watchmaking students from Switzerland, France, and Belgium were tasked with creating a timepiece based on the motion of a pendulum and the theme of "reading and understanding time differently." The resulting creations from 11 finalist watchmaking students, tasked with building a piece in just 80 hours over three months, displayed both technical prowess and artistic expression, conveying bold and surprising approaches to telling time within the Cartier design language. Prizes were awarded at a ceremony in La Chaux-de-Fonds at C...
Monochrome
Paris is the inspiration behind this latest special edition again, but Zenith has done it differently this time. In 2024, the brand took cues from the city’s modern architecture and combined it with the sharp lines of the Defy Skyline Paris Edition. This time, however, Zenith has chosen its vintage-inspired El Primero watch, resulting in […]
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 Manually Wound Seiko Going to start off this week with a simple yet brilliant vintage Seiko. I’ve had a couple of these over the years, and it’s a great looking and reliable model. The steel case is around 36mm if I recall correctly, and this one is in excellent, unpolished shape. Classic round case with nice strong lugs. The dial is a bold blue, with a white bullseye ring and applied steel markers. Steel dauphine hands and no date give this a sharp, unique look that isn’t too flashy. The watch comes on the correct original Seiko beads of rice bracelet, which is so comfortable and great looking to boot. This example dates to April 1974. No movement pictures but the seller states it runs well, and my experience with these is that the movements are quite robust, like most Seikos. View auction here Vintage Waltham Next up is a nice vintage Waltham sporty/dress watch. The 34mm steel case looks sharp and unpolished, with stylish thin lugs. The classic silver dial is super clean, with nice applied steel thin arrow markers. It has steel dauphine hands with lume lines in them, and the second hand has a nice red arrow tip to help it stand out. No pesky date window to mar the peac...
Time+Tide
Neumann’s second collection introduces six textured dial options with a blend of vintage proportions and contemporary design.
SJX Watches
A hundred years after Marilyn Monroe’s birth, Blancpain is marking the occasion with the Ladybird Tribute Marilyn, seven watches modelled on a vintage Blancpain wristwatch once owned by Monroe herself. Rectangular in form and set with diamonds, the Ladybird Tribute is typical of 1940s style, but the movement inside is surprising. The cal. 510 inside is a tiny movement by modern standards, but is nonetheless high-spec. The calibre manages a respectable 50-hour power reserve and sophisticated, skeletonised construction, underlining the high quality mechanics typical of Blancpain. Initial thoughts We don’t normally feature such watches but the cal. 510 is worth a pointing out, even if it’s not a brand-new movement. Blancpain’s technical know-how was on full display with last year’s outsized Grande Double Sonnerie, but the cal. 510 proves the brand can still do a lot in a very small space. Most tiny ladies’ watches contain pedestrian movements, so the cal. 510 stands out. To start with, it’s a form movement conceived to fit the case. And while small, the movement incorporates a variety of notable features, including a free-sprung balance, longish power reserve, and appealing finishing. Notably, it is much more sophisticated than newer form movements from competing brands (with more expensive watches). The watch itself is retro, which is unsurprising given it’s a remake of Monroe’s original. While it might seem a little old fashioned, this will do well as a co...
SJX Watches
Specialising in affordable, “imaginary vintage” chronographs, Albishorn has added a twist to its military-inspired Type 10. At a distance, the Type X-Graph resembles yet another pilot’s chronograph with a black, textured dial, but up close it reveals a translucent polycarbonate dial that provides a peek at the skeletonised base plate of the movement. Inspired by 1930s acrylic-covered timepieces, the polycarbonate dial is in a gradient-grey tint, giving it a darker finish towards the edges. While the movement is mechanically identical to its predecessor, the calibre has been skeletonised to maximise the “X-ray” effect. Initial thoughts At first glance, the X-Graph appears little different from its predecessors, but up close it is noticeably more interesting. It’s essentially a twist on a skeleton watch – it’s clearly a no-frills, military-style watch, but with a see-through dial that reveals the open-worked movement. The X-Ray is still “imaginary vintage”, but with more imagination, underlining Albishorn founder Sebastien Chaulmontet’s unique take on watches that combines a historical perspective and unusual twists. This is born from his keen interest in vintage chronographs – he wrote a book on the subject – while also being head of research and development at Sellita (Albishorn is a side project, akin to a hobby). The brand’s catalogue now encompasses many variations of the single-button chronograph, but the X-Graph stands out as one of the m...
SJX Watches
Phillips’ spring auction season goes east for The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XXII on May 30 – 31. As usual, Phillips has put together a very strong lineup, and, as is often the case at watch auctions, Patek Philippe watches — both vintage and modern — have an outsized share of the catalogue. Lot 940 – Patek Philippe Bailey Banks & Biddle Triple Complication Patek Philippe produced this watch for Philadelphian jeweler Bailey Banks & Biddle around 1895, and it bears only the retailer’s name on the dial, which was not unusual. While the company came to a rather undignified end in the 21st century, it was once a manufacturing jeweller, medalist, and major Patek Philippe retailer. The dial is in rather rough condition by the standards of enamel dials, and while the dial may the most important thing to many wristwatch collectors, here the triple-complication movement is what matters. It features a minute repeater, chronograph, and perpetual calendar — which is presumably instantaneous. Note the lack of a minutes counter for the chronograph. While taken for granted on modern chronographs, most Patek Philippe triple complications did without it. In fact, the most common upgrade path for triple complications was a rattrapante, not minutes counter. The counterweighted pallet fork is also worth mention — this refinement disappeared as the Swiss lever matured and watchmakers realised a lighter pallet fork was better than a balanced one. The movement is fully functional, ...
Fratello
There are pilot’s watches and pilot’s-watch-style watches, and the Watch Angels × Alpina Startimer Pilot Chronograph Automatic IFR falls into the first category. This is a serious watch for serious pilots, not an aviation-inspired chronograph. The watch doesn’t have a vintage-cockpit aesthetic; instead, it’s a mechanical tool watch designed specifically to assist IFR-rated pilots during […] Visit Introducing: The Serious And Seriously Good-Looking Watch Angels × Alpina Startimer Pilot Chronograph Automatic IFR to read the full article.
Monochrome
The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa Deste is an annual highlight on the vintage car scene calendar. Every year, the very finest cars ever made get invited to the shores of Lake Como in Italy and proudly displayed for the public to see. But that’s not all, as a specialist jury picks the Best of Show out […]
Worn & Wound
Someday, when the history of the contemporary vintage inspired sports watch is written, the Longines Legend Diver will need an entire chapter devoted to it. It’s an incredibly important watch not just in this very specific genre (which at times over the last decade or so has been the most important segment in watchmaking) but in the annals of modern watch history. I sometimes think its influence is not quite given enough credit as it is often compared and lumped in with the Tudor Black Bay, but the Legend Diver is very much its own thing and set a course for Longines upon its introduction that the brand is still very much following to this day. There have been a number of iterations on the original Legend Diver format over the years, including limited editions and a very well received line of smaller, more compact Legend Divers in easy to wear 39mm cases. The latest Legend Diver, the Legend Diver 59, arrives today and feels like a return to the original reissue of the iconic diver in a number of ways. The most notable thing about the Legend Diver 59 (besides the name, which will likely invite even more comparisons, and probably some memes, comparing the watch to various numbered Tudor Black Bays) is the watch’s size. The case here measures 42mm, the same as the original reissue of the Legend Diver, as well as the actual original Legend Diver, which first appeared in, you guessed it, 1959. When I saw this watch in person at a Longines preview event in Dallas earlier...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Explore compact skin diver-inspired watches we’ve reviewed hands-on, with vintage charm, wearable proportions, and practical dive-watch details for daily use.
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...
Time+Tide
The Oak & Oscar Atwood is the retro-Americana inspired chronograph we've been waiting for, vintage touches with all the modern details
Hodinkee
Universal Genève means a lot to us at Hodinkee. It's been one of my favorite brands since the early days of our publication—one that's been with me through various moments in my career, through my growth in knowledge and passion for vintage watches, and a brand I've watched with anticipation, hoping it would come back. And today, we are sharing a conversation between myself and Georges Kern, former Breitling CEO and recently appointed CEO of House of Brands, which includes Breitling, Universal Genève, and Gallet, to chat over the recent results of a long-term project to bring Universal Genève back to the forefront. I don't think there's been a more hotly anticipated brand relaunch than that of Universal Genève. The announcement that Breitling (now House of Brands) had secured the rights to the dormant brand sent shockwaves through the industry. We—both in the industry at large and at Hodinkee—had high hopes for the relaunch, but the proof would come with the first releases. Let me tell you, I don't think anyone thought Universal Genève would go this far to knock it out of the park. Just before Watches and Wonders 2026, Universal Genève essentially stole the show before it began by launching a few dozen of its most iconic watches in both heritage-styled and reimagined forms. The Gerald Genta-designed Polerouter? Returned, not just in one size but two, and in multiple materials, dials, bracelets, and more. Oh, and a brand-new microrotor (well, three-quarter rotor...
Hodinkee
It was bound to happen. I've written nine Bring a Loupes, covering 38 watches (excluding Strays or Buyer Beware watches). Two weeks back, I picked a clunker of a Doxa Sub 300T, which, among other issues, had the wrong hands (I'd actually been more concerned with the dial), and in my enthusiasm for vintage Doxa divers, I screwed up and included it. My apologies, though, as Coleman Hawkins consoles, "If you aren't making mistakes, you aren't really trying." Scorekeeping the picks from two weeks ago, the Esso Breguet sold for €15,2000, the Juvenia Arithmo's still available, the Blancpain Bund sold for €15,500, the Doxa Sub 300T passed, the Chaumet sells Friday afternoon and has been bid to $12,000 at the time of writing, and the black dialed Seamaster sold for CHF 1,000. Strays A Universal Genève Railrouter. For sale on OmegaForums. A Gübelin Cioccolatone at Monaco Legend this weekend. For absolutely no reason whatsoever, here's a lovely Doxa Sub 300. As Stefon (from SNL) would say, this watch has it all: original (correct!) black hands, no-T dial, signed expandro bracelet and screw-down crown, and, of course, the OG thin case. These early thin-cased Doxa Sub 300s were made for only a year, and aside from minor paint loss on the bezel, this looks like an excellent example. If the Doxa's not your flavor and/or diving's not your bag, maybe this UG Railrouter'll do it for you. I have an overdeveloped fondness for railroad watches, which fondness is equaled by my appreciati...
Hodinkee
The spring auction season is sneaking up on us quickly. Things start early with Sotheby's Hong Kong auction (with its boatload of Cartier), which slightly edges Monaco Legend Group out of the gate, as their auction starts one day earlier. But on April 25 and 26, MLG will open its spring auction, which promises to be one of the more interesting and eclectic vintage-focused auctions of the season. That's not to say it's all vintage, of course. The auction starts out with a Bamford-modified blackout GMT (that the Parmegiani family behind the auction house seems to have an affinity for), an RM35-02 Nadal, a Journe Répétition Souveraine, and more Patek 5004s than you can shake a stick at, keeping things spicy. Lot 109 – F.P. Journe Répétition Souveraine – €400,000 to €800,000. There are 288 lots, and while the top lots sometimes feel a bit obvious to call out (mostly because everyone likely peers longingly at these watches and wishes they could bid), it's incredibly important to examine what is driving the top end of the market. And if you weren't paying close enough attention, you'd potentially miss the top lot. While it might look like a Rolex Daytona, like the ref. 116509 with a Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial and different indices, this is a whole different ballgame. Lot 78 of the auction is one of the "FAB 4" Daytonas, four unique platinum Zenith Daytonas, each executed with a hardstone dial (one with turquoise, one with lapis lazuli, two mother-of-pearl) made at...
Worn & Wound
One of the most interesting things to observe in recent years among brands that have been around for decades is how they handle reissuing vintage watches from their back catalog. Often, we see releases that seem to have been conceived in a boardroom by bean counters, with a lot of concessions to the original design made for modern consumers. This usually means making watches larger than they need to be, and using newer, higher performance materials when the old fashioned ones would have been just fine. So it’s a real treat when a brand releases a “new” old watch that is about as close to the original as possible. That’s the vibe we’re getting from the new Oris Star Edition, a mostly faithful interpretation of one of the more important watches in the brand’s history, dating back to the 1960s. The original Star was the brand’s first watch with an in-house lever escapement, something that was only possible thanks to the overturning of the Swiss Watch Statute, a law originally introduced in the 1930s to counter anti competition measures taken by watch manufacturers during the years of the Great Depression. An unintended consequence of the statute was that it limited brands like Oris to using pin-lever escapements. The law was eventually repealed with the help of Rolf Portman, a lawyer employed by Oris and tasked with fighting the statute. Portman is now Oris’ Honorary Chairman. Here we have a watch that is uncommonly true to the character of its vintage ins...
Monochrome
Danish microbrand Tangens was founded in 2023, and it did not take long for it to get going. A year later, it introduced the Komposition, a watch that quietly found its audience thanks to its neat, geometric design and a vintage sports watch aesthetic. The Komposition is an easy watch to wear, and so far, […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Baltic debuts the Heures du Monde, its first worldtimer, with stone dials, a vintage-inspired layout, and a Soprod C125 movement.
Worn & Wound
When we last checked in on Baltic, they were retiring one of their most popular lines, at least for the time being, with a diamond set version of their MR dress watch. It felt like an appropriate send off for the MR, which I think will be remembered as the release that put the watch world on notice that Baltic was capable of executing in categories other than purely sporty vintage inspired designs. The fact that the last MR prominently features Moissanite stones really reflects the path Baltic finds themselves on now, stretching well beyond what was frankly a somewhat generic playbook in the early days. Their latest collection, the Heures du Monde, is a worldtimer that further reinforces that idea. This is a tribute, of sorts, to the work of Louis Cottier, the Swiss watchmaker who effectively invented the modern worldtimer, creating movements for Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and others. His worldtimers are of course highly sought after by high end vintage collectors not just for their aesthetic beauty, but their historical significance. The principle behind Cottier’s movements, that the wearer should see the time in every timezone at once, at a glance, via rotating time zone and 24 hour scales, has become the predominant method for executing worldtime watches and is considered the standard in the watch industry. For the Heures du Monde, Baltic has modified a Soprod C125 caliber by removing the date and replacing the GMT hand usually found with that movement w...
Fratello
It is safe to say that the past 12 months have been all about the renaissance of the jump-hour watch. With the Cartier Tank à Guichets, Audemars Piguet Neo Frame Jumping Hour, Christopher Ward C1 Jump Hour Mk V, Maen × Nico Leonard Jump Hour, and Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence Pink Gold, we have seen […] Visit Celebrating The Spirit Of The 1920s With The Semicolon Anachron Jump-Hour Watch to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
When we talk about Longines on the website, we usually do so in the context of their vintage reissues and vintage inspired watches. They’ve carved out a niche for themselves in this particular area that is basically unrivaled among the big Swiss brands. From the Legend Diver onwards, they’ve done a remarkable job of raiding the archives and bringing back both popular and oddball references of historical significance. Similarly, their most important contemporary line, the Spirit Collection, is itself heavily influenced by the aesthetics and design codes of midcentury watches. That isn’t to say that Longines has neglected more contemporary designs. They’ve dipped into ultra-modern territory (with a great deal of success) pretty recently with bold updates to the Ultra-Chron, for example. But I think it’s fair to say that they aren’t necessarily the brand you look to if you’re thinking about picking up a solid, modern dive watch. It’s just not their lane, and some of their competitors have really nailed this genre down pretty hard. So this is the framework for a big relaunch this Spring for the HydroConquest, a line that has already gone through a handful of redesigns and shuffling over the years, most recently becoming a vehicle for a GMT complication in a case size that frankly strains even the most burly of wrists. There’s never really been anything wrong with the HydroConquest, per se, but for a variety of reasons it’s not usually mentioned in the s...
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 ...
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