Results for IWC Big Pilot

Hublot Partners with Depeche Mode for the Spirit of Big Bang “Memento Mori”

Pre-Owned Picks: A Rolex 'Lefty' GMT-Master II, An IWC Mark XVIII, And A '90s Breitling Montbrillant

Plus a two-tone Cartier Santos, and a Vacheron Constantin Overseas on a rubber strap.

Tudor Predictions 2024 – The Potential Return of the Tudor Oysterdate Big Block Chronograph

A few days ago, the MONOCHROME team delivered our yearly forecast of potential launches for the 2024 Rolex Collection. As always, we try our best to guess what the Crown will be presenting at the watch industry’s largest fair, Watches and Wonders. While trying to imagine and design these potential Rolex models, we also started […]

Hublot’s Latest SAXEM Creation is a Dark Green Big Bang Unico

We all have our preferences in life. I like “The Sopranos” more than “Breaking Bad,” and thin crust pizza over thick. I like sparkling water over still, and would rather listen to vinyl records than CDs. I’m a Mac user, and I like 1990s action-thrillers more than almost any other type of movie. I’d rather be cold than hot, and I like staying up late more than getting up early. And when it comes to Hublot, I like their colored sapphire and SAXEM cases more than anything else they make. I just do, I can’t help it. The brand in general interests me to no end, but when I see they have a new colored sapphire watches, I get really excited.  For LVMH Watch Week this year, Hublot has unveiled a new and somehow, in the grand scheme of crazy watches, slightly more approachable version of a watch that I’ve been transfixed by over the last few years. There was, of course, the giant purple Big Bang Tourbillon in 2022, and a tennis ball colored version of the same watch (in their SAXEM material) in tennis ball yellow last year. This year, they’re sticking with SAXEM, but have gone back to the traditional dark green material traditionally used with this material in the new Big Bang Unico SAXEM Green.  If you’re reading this and asking yourself “What the hell is SAXEM? It sounds totally made up,” you are hereby forgiven. In my excitement for the new watch, I neglected to provide the primer on the material that is probably necessary if this is your first time hear...

If You’re Looking for a Big, Gold, Super Bowl Themed Chronograph, Breitling Has You Covered

In partnership with longtime brand ambassador Boomer Esiason, Breitling is launching an all-new Chronomat B01 42 Super Bowl LVIII Edition, with proceeds to benefit the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Boomer and his wife Cheryl established this foundation when they learned of their son Gunnar’s diagnosis of cystic fibrosis in 1993. It is dedicated to being the greatest enemy of this disease and in the past three decades it has contributed crucial financial backing in pursuing a future where all impacted by CF can savor life devoid of its symptoms. Having played in the NFL from 1984 to 1997, Boomer’s accolades on the gridiron include the NFL MVP award in 1998, NFL Man of the Year in 1995, First-team All-Pro in 1988 and Pro Bowl in 1986, 1988, 1989 and 1993. He was also awarded the Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor. Today Boomer can be found on The NFL Today on CBS, where he appears as anl analyst. His partnership with Breitling dates to 1995..  What sets this Breitling Chronomat apart from the standard line is the Super Bowl LVIII logo on the case back and its limited nature – there are just 58 individually numbered pieces. This 42mm chronograph is entirely made of 18 karat red gold, with a dark blue dial and black subdials. It will come on either a matching 18 karat red gold Rouleaux bracelet or black Rouleaux inspired rubber strap. Powering this piece is Breitling’s in-house B01 chronograph movement, which is COSC certified, as are all Breitling watches, and has a power...

Bulova Lunar Pilot Chronograph: The Ultimate Guide

When we think about watches and space travel, Omega’s Speedmaster Professional “Moonwatch” - the first watch qualified for missions by NASA and the first worn on the moon - is the timepiece that inevitably comes to mind. New York-based Bulova Watch Company, however, also played a noteworthy role during the height of the U.S.A.’s Space Race with the Soviet Union in the 1950s and ‘60s. The company, at the time headed by American war hero General Omar Bradley, established a partnership with NASA in which it provided precision instruments and timekeeping devices equipped with Bulova’s signature Accutron tuning-fork technology for 46 space missions.  Bulova even developed a watch built specifically for space travel, the electronic-powered Accutron Astronaut, which was worn in space for the first time in 1963, inside the Mercury Atlas-9 capsule that orbited the Earth. While the Omega Speedmaster established itself as the watch issued to astronauts of the Apollo program, which culminated in the July 1969 moon landing, Accutron Astronaut watches had become standard issue for the pilots of the U.S. Air Force’s X-15 experimental rocket-powered aircraft program and eventually for CIA pilots in their Lockheed A-12 supersonic jets. A Bulova Accutron clock remains in the moon's Sea of Tranquility to this day, placed there by Apollo 11 astronaut (and famous Omega wearer) Buzz Aldrin in 1969.  In 1971, Bulova personally gifted a one-of-a-kind, customized chronograph wa...

Zenith’s First New Release of the Year is a Pair of Blue Dialed Boutique Editions from their Pilot Collection

After a period of relative quiet in the watch industry over the holidays, as we head into mid-January it’s clear that we are not being fully launched into New Release Season, with news coming across our desks about watch releases from some of our favorite brands. Some we can share now, and some will have to wait, but it’s clear whatever respite we had between Thanksgiving and New Years is, well, completely over. First out of the gate among the big Swiss luxury brands is Zenith, with news about an addition to their Pilot collection, which was their big launch in 2023.  The Pilot collection took us by surprise last year. After several years of focusing on the Defy and Chronomaster lines, it felt like a left turn of sorts. But Zenith is rightfully incredibly proud of the Pilot and the heritage it represents. Zenith trademarked “Pilot” in 1904, and is famously the only watchmaker who can use the word solo on a watch dial. The watches we saw last year represented a new twist on a format we know well. They aren’t regurgitations of a historic reference, but feel like a modern realization of an aviation themed watch with contemporary proportions and materials.  The new boutique editions seen here take the Pilot Automatic and Pilot Big Date Flyback and add blue dials, offering an alternative to the jet black seen on last year’s collection. According to Zenith, the shade of blue seen on these dials is meant to evoke the night sky as seen by a pilot, but blue is a commo...

Introducing – IWC Welcomes the Year of the Dragon with a Burgundy-Toned Portugieser Chronograph

With watch brands across the board riding the Chinese New Year wave, there are no prizes for guessing which of the twelve animals represented in the Chinese Zodiac will be in the limelight this year. Admittedly one of the more attractive beasts to depict on a watch, the dragon replaces the rabbit of 2023 and […]

First Look – The Oris Father Time Limited Edition is a Cricket-Themed Bronze Big Crown

Given its complexity and often lethargic pace, cricket is not a sport that pops up in the crosshairs of watch brand alliances. However, in 2022, Oris struck an alliance with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), becoming the first official timekeeper in the club’s history. Celebrating this three-year partnership, Oris and the MMC have collaborated on […]

Pre-Owned Picks: A 'Tokyo 2020' Omega Speedmaster, A Patek Annual Calendar Ref. 5905/1A, And A 'Jackie Chan' IWC Portuguese

Plus a titanium Breguet Type XXi, and a Doppel-Felix Date from Habring².

Watches In The Wild: Thailand, Episode 2: We Flew Across The Country To See One Of The World's Greatest Pilot's Watch Collections

And we bring it to you now, in the second installment of our new video series.

Video Review – The Original and Accessible Mido Multifort TV Big Date

Over the past couple of years, the luxury sports watch segment has exploded in popularity. Fueled by a demand for seemingly impossible-to-get watches like the Royal Oak and the Nautilus, people started to look elsewhere. Many brands and even some independent watchmakers presented their own spin on the concept, resulting in a wide range of […]

Bremont’s Latest Made in Collaboration with Martin-Baker is a Stealthy Pilot’s GMT

You know when you run across something so rad that you realize “wow, I never knew I wanted that, but I totally do!” What if I told you there’s a watch that’s been made in collaboration with an iconic ejection seat manufacturer, and the watch itself has been tested to the same extremes as said ejection seats: vibration, extreme endurance, live ejection, altitude, and aircraft carrier deck testing? Well, Bremont and Martin-Baker brought life to a limited edition watch that expands on Bremont’s popular MB line - the MBIII Stealth is born. Limited to only 50 pieces, the MBIII Stealth is an almost totally blacked-out watch that would curl the toes of any secret agent. The case itself is 43mm of jet black DLC coated stainless steel with a knurled aluminum barrel, that pulls from the design elements of Martin-Baker ejection seats, and matches with the knurling on the duel crowns: one crown for setting and winding your watch, and the other is for the inner rotating 24-hour bezel. The MBIII Stealth has GMT and date functionality, made possible through Bremont’s chronometer certified BE-93-2AV automatic movement. The movement itself is anti-shock with a faraday ring that makes it both shock resistant and anti-magnetic, and it can all be seen through a smoked sapphire exhibition caseback that adds to the jet-setting super spy motif of the watch.  In fact, the only area in which any color can be found is underneath the sapphire crystal on the dial, whose Arabic numerals...

Pre-Owned Picks: An IWC Ingenieur Ref. IW3506 From The ‘80s, A Solid Gold Blue Dial Rolex Submariner Ref. 16618, And An Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Ref. 15510ST

Plus a killer complicated JLC Master Control and a read-to-dive Omega Ploprof.

[Hands-On] Ming Brings Lightweight and Big Textures to Dubai Watch Week

Ming has had a deep presence at this year’s edition of Dubai Watch Week, not just with their latest and greatest on display, but with Ming himself offering insights to his process, including creation of the ultra-lightweight LW.01, in the form of a speech given at the beginning of the show. He even found time to challenge Rexhep Rexhepi to a game of foosball in the halls of the show. At the booth, a selection of new Ming releases drew a consistent crowd throughout the week of the show, and we took the opportunity to get a hands-on look at a few of our favorites, including one of the best releases around the fair in Dubai: the 37.08 Sand.  If there’s one thing that Ming has excelled at in recent years it is the delicate interplay between forms and textures, and how they can be harnessed to create a unique dial and case experience. Their skill here was on full display this year in Dubai with two watches in particular, the 37.08 Sand, and the 37.04 Rose Gold. In addition, Ming released a 29.01 Dubai worldtimer for Arabic speaking collectors. A trend we saw realized across many of the exhibiting brands at the fair. Both the 37.08 Sand and 37.04 Rose Gold feature extraordinary dial work, though in very different ways. Beginning with the 37.08 Sand, which Ming says is the first in a series of watches that will showcase deep-relief textured dials, the initial offering does not disappoint in this department. The dial depicts a somewhat ambiguous wave pattern that could be int...

Seiko Rings in a Major Anniversary (Really, This is a Big One) with a Recreation of their Very First Wristwatch

We joke around here quite a bit about every year being an anniversary for something. Watch brands have never been shy about celebrating what most of the outside world would consider somewhat inconsequential milestones. Of course, hobbies like ours are built on obsessing over the inconsequential, so it makes a lot of sense at the end of the day. Sometimes, though, there’s a truly significant anniversary that everyone can get behind, and you better believe watch brands aren’t going to ignore those. To that point, next year marks the 100th anniversary of the Seiko brand, a pretty big deal if there ever was one. We’re just weeks away from the calendar changing over, and Seiko has taken the opportunity to get the celebration started a little early.  Seiko, to be clear, has a complicated history that starts before the name “Seiko” was ever used on a watch, so what we’re celebrating here is the 100 year anniversary of the first time that branding was used on a wristwatch. We’re quite certain that Seiko will have an entire lineup of limited and special editions to celebrate the milestone, but the first out of the gate is the entry seen here from the Presage collection, a tribute to that very first wristwatch from 1924.  Seiko is no stranger to dealing with their past, and they’ve taken many approaches over the years in interpreting historic references. The new Seiko Presage Kintaro Hattori Limited Edition (reference SPB441) is effectively a recreation of the orig...

The 1916 Company: The next big watch marketplace?

Hands-On: Forty-Eight Hours with the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Ceramic Carbon Beige Camo

If you’ve listened to the podcast, follow me on Instagram, read what I write here on the website, or even have just had a five minute conversation with me about something innocuous, like who makes the best fast food cheeseburger, there’s a good chance you already know that I’ve kind of become obsessed with Hublot. I try not to waste an opportunity to be sure people know that to overlook this brand on the basis of their perception in the larger watch community is to be, frankly, a snob. I don’t much care for snobs, or gatekeeping, or for not looking beyond the surface of a particular watch or brand, so the widespread Hublot-hate that cuts across the watch community is a continued annoyance.  Because the thing is, Hublot is very good at doing what they set out to do, and judging them on the merits of fulfilling their intention seems like the only fair way to evaluate them, or any brand for that matter. Hublot, as it exists today, is essentially a brand full of statement pieces, but made with intention and a real focus on materials. The common gripes that they’re gaudy, or over-the-top, or even overpriced miss the point entirely. They are exactly what they are supposed to be. For a watch to be “gaudy” it would have to be so unintentionally, and as far as I’m concerned, a watch that’s over-the-top should wear that attribute as a strength.  As much I like and admire Hublot for being a weird mix between class clown, Rebel Without a Cause, and, I don’t know,...

The outrageous Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Ceramic Carbon Beige Camo

Louis Vuitton is ready to participate in the big league of high watchmaking

Pre-Owned Picks: A White Dial Rolex Milgauss, The First Tudor With An In-House Movement, And A 'Jackie Chan' IWC Portuguese

Plus, a sports watch from Nomos and a a master class from JLC.

Are small dive watches the next big thing?

The Roundup: A 90’s Throwback Zodiac, A Bold Tissot, and A Mini Knife That Packs A Big Punch

The Roundup is the Windup Watch Shop’s weekly rundown of the latest and greatest watches, accessories, EDC, and other gear. We’ve curated a selection to fit everyone’s style and budget. Hit the links below to learn more and pick something special up for you, a loved one, or a friend!  Also, don’t forget to join the Windup Watch Shop’s rewards program to earn points with every purchase and save. The Roundup is the Windup Watch Shop’s weekly rundown of the latest and greatest watches, accessories, EDC, and other gear. We’ve curated a selection to fit everyone’s style and budget. Hit the links below to learn more and pick something special up for you, a loved one, or a friend!  Also, don’t forget to join the Windup Watch Shop’s rewards program to earn points with every purchase and save. The post The Roundup: A 90’s Throwback Zodiac, A Bold Tissot, and A Mini Knife That Packs A Big Punch appeared first on Worn & Wound.

Pre-Owned Picks: A Smiling Tudor Heritage Black Bay, A Breitling SuperOcean With Retro Appeal, And An IWC Mark XX In Blue

Plus the perfect dress watch from A. Lange & Söhne and a green Cartier Santos.

The Watch Market 2023: 5 Big Questions regarding Tudor, Rolex, Zenith, Oris, and Pricing

There are always things that fans ask of brands across any industry, and the watch world is no different. Why not a Omega Seamaster 300M without a helium escape valve, a smaller titanium Rolex Yacht-Master, and why isn't JLC more popular? Raman Kalra has a few more questions for 2023.