Deployant
Richard Mille: RM28
Interesting dive watch…big, bold, beautiful: the Richard Mille RM28
Results for Grail Watch
21,754 articles · 134 videos found · page 680 of 730
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Deployant
Philippe Dufour Simplicity
This is the iconic watch of the century…created by grand master watchmaker Philippe Dufour…after many years of only making super complicated watches…his portfolio before the Simplicity was the world premiere of a Grand et Petite Sonnerie on a wristwatch, and the world premiere of a wristwatch featuring dual, escapements to a single train known asRead More
Deployant
Watchscapes: Jaeger LeCoultre Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire
Very interesting watch by JLC. Dual train, one running a constantly running foudroyante hand…furiously spinning in 1.6s steps at the rate of 1 revolution per second…mesmerising to watch. Here are our watchscape photographs of the Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire. As usual, images will open up 1920 pixels wide as wallpapers when you click on them.Read More
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Max Busser & Friends: Horological Machine No 4
The MB&F;’s latest creation the Horological Machine No. 4 is an imposing watch…quite large, though it sits well on the wrist. MB&F; HM4 Thunderbolt Made from titanium and sapphire crystal, the watch is a rather interesting piece of sculpture…reminiscent of a rocket ship or a jet engine. Two engine like scuptures, I guess that isRead More
Hodinkee
Business News: Watches And Wonders 2027 To Feature More New Brands Including Berneron And Porsche Design
Watches and Wonders, the year's largest and most significant horology event, held each spring in Geneva, will welcome ten more brands for the 2027 edition, including Berneron, Porsche Design, and Singer Reimagined, bringing the total to 75. This new group will join Breitling's House of Brands, which announced earlier this year that it will participate. Watches and Wonders organizers said the diversity of the 13 brands attending the show for the first time in 2027 underscores the varied slate of watch industry participants now part of the event, ranging from Rolex, Cartier and Patek Philippe, to now Stollenwurm, an upstart Swiss high-horology marque named for a mythical creature and founded by a former Boston-based biotech executive. Berneron will also join the roster for Watches and Wonders 2027. Launched in 2022 and led by designer (and ex-Breitling executive) Sylvain Berneron, the brand has earned accolades from the industry and collectors; its limited production, shaped case, and full-gold movement pieces have soared in value on the secondary market. A rare example of the Mirage in 34mm, the white gold Viridian with a chrysoprase dial, sold by the brand to a client for about CHF 51,000, recently fetched $521,400 on the auction site Loupe This. The Berneron Quantième is the brand's second model line.Photo credit: Mark Kauzlarich Berneron recently told Hodinkee in an interview that the prices paid for his watches on the secondary market are "unsustainable," and...
SJX Watches
IWC Marks 50 Years of the Ingenieur
IWC’s magnetism-resistant Ingenieur SL is now 50 years old so the brand is marking the occasion with the Ingenieur Automatic 50th Anniversary, a pair of limited editions that unsurprisingly take inspiration from a historical model. In 40 mm and 35 mm respectively, the two editions share the same brushed silver dial. The two are otherwise identical to the regular production versions, which means a sharply executed case and bracelet, but an industrial movement that doesn’t live up to the price. Initial thoughts Today’s Ingenieur is a derivative design, being based on Gerald Genta’s original of the 1970s (which explains the resemblance to the Royal Oak et al). But it is still a good looking watch, with a case and bracelet that are tangibly well done. The 50th anniversary edition isn’t creative by any stretch of the imagination, but still appealing in look and feel. But at launch in 2023 the Ingenieur was already pricey, especially considering the industrial, cost-effective ValFleurier movement. Still, the price then was forgivable given the wider landscape and integrated-bracelet-sports-watch fad. Now the larger, 40 mm version is US$15,000, which is pricey and difficult to rationalise. The 40 mm and 35 mm, both of use employ different but equally industrial calibres SL reborn The anniversary editions are based on the standard 40 mm and 35 mm models respectively. The two are essentially identical in design and quality; both contain different but comparable movements....
Hodinkee
Bring a Loupe: A Pair Of Issued Smiths, A Gübelin 18K Triple Date Moonphase, A Universal Genève Ferrovie dello Stato, And Much More
Happy Friday, folks, and congrats on bustling through another week. Hopefully you're staring down a welcome break of a weekend with rest and good cheer. Scorekeeping last week's picks, the Zenith De Luca sold for €4,750, the Carlo Ferrara for €2,816, the Gen 1 Speedmaster X-33 for 2,000 SGD, and the Patek Philippe 1415 will sell this Friday. Strays Photo courtesy of The Saleroom. For those suddenly enthusiastic about vintage Zenith De Lucas that look an awful lot like the Daytona of the same time period, here's an excellent example, but if you'd rather a Zenith with a little more color and flash and water resistance, here's a great-looking vintage Defy. This Gübelin pocket watch is breath-arrestingly lovely, as are both of these (dog leg, non dog leg) 18k Omega Constellations. This Vintage Meister Anker chronograph is a catch-22 watch in that it looks really cool, but it's also got a plated case, and it's powered by an Ebauches Bettlach pin-lever movement, so proceed with caution. On September 18, Millon in Paris will host an auction that's listed as the "Collection Monsieur B," and whoever Monsieur B is, he's got phenomenal taste. Among the offerings are an Omega Chronometer Seamaster 'Sparkle' reference 168.022, a Universal Genève Polerouter Super, an Omega Holy Grail, a Sinn EZM 1, and a Zenith El Primero A386, but there are tons more you should go check out. Finally: Memosails forever. A Pair of Issued Smiths The British Ministry of Defense issued the Smiths W10 ...
Deployant
GWD26 Armchair Pick: Daryll’s top 3 from the new releases
GWD2026 which watches will Daryll pick this year? Daryl, ever the contrarian, makes his unconventional picks of the best of GWD26.
SJX Watches
The People Have Spoken: Seiko’s Crowd Favourite 62MAS
Last year Seiko let fans vote on which of four vibrant dial colours would adorn an upcoming diver, and the people made the right choice, picking this vibrant Daytime Blue for the Prospex 1965 Heritage Diver Fan-Selected HBC011. While a bit late to hit the beach, the latest 62MAS homage maintains all that was already good about Seiko divers, namely looks and tenacity, with key upgrades to the bracelet, for a reasonable price. Initial Thoughts Last year marked 6o years of Seiko diver’s watches, which can be traced back to the original 62MAS (refs. 6217-8000 and -8001) launched in 1965. Seiko let the many fans of its diver’s watches decide how to celebrate, giving collectors a choice of four colourways: Sunrise Orange; Daytime Blue; Late Afternoon Green; and Sunset Red. The online poll was open for the entire month of July, which was long enough for me “to get around to later” but short enough that it had already closed by the time I remembered to vote. Unsurprisingly, the trendiest colour, and the one I would have voted for, Daytime Blue, won. From left to right: Sunrise Orange; Daytime Blue; Late Afternoon Green; and Sunset Red. Seiko has disclosed no plans to bring the other three colourways to market at this time. The vibrant blue and stamped dial make the HBC011 stand out from the pack of 62MAS-inspired models, though it changes the character of the watch so entirely that this bubbly beach watch doesn’t feel like a 62MAS at all. Which is a good thing, as the mo...
Hodinkee
Here Are The Finalists for the 2026 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève
Last week, the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) announced the finalists for the 2026 edition of watchmaking's premier awards ceremony, which will be held in Geneva on November 7. Being a finalist has the potential to be a big deal for any participating brand, but it can be a watershed moment for small first-timers (of which there are a couple this year). It's also a list I've been waiting for with some anxiety. The winners of the 2025 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève. Photo courtesy GPHG. This year, I'm lucky to be on the jury with 23 other journalists, collectors, and watchmaking industry members, including the jury's first-time president, Wei Koh. Among them are many talented friends and people whom I've gotten to know over my years in the industry, including Michael Tay (Group Managing Director of The Hour Glass in Singapore), Hind Abdul Hamied Seddiqi (CEO of Dubai Watch Week), the talented watchmaker Rémy Cools and incredible automaton maker François Junod, my friend Justin Hast, artist Wes Lang, and a few others. Without going on too long or being too saccharine about the whole thing, it really is quite cool to be on the jury with such smart and talented members. Nothing is without flaws, and like I'll get to in a moment, there are a lot of brands not competing that I would love to see in the mix. But one of the things that I think about a lot (and which goes unmentioned far too often) is the number of people putting their heart, soul, and tremendous a...
Fratello
Sunday Morning Showdown: Zenith Chronomaster Solo Sport Vs. Breitling Chronomat Automatic B31 40
It’s Sunday morning, which means it’s time for a coffee and a heated installment of Sunday Morning Showdown. After a busy week with plenty of Geneva Watch Days madness, it’s time to settle down and enjoy a lazy Sunday. The only excitement comes from this battle of sporty three-handers. Both are derived from popular chronographs, […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Zenith Chronomaster Solo Sport Vs. Breitling Chronomat Automatic B31 40 to read the full article.
Deployant
Live from GWD26: Chopard L.U.C 1963 Heritage | Hands on Impressions on novelties
Karl-Fritz Scheufele showed me the new Chopard L.U.C 1963 Heritage watches. This refresh of the collection is masterminded by his design ideas.
SJX Watches
Beyond the Familiar: A History of A. Lange & Söhne’s 1815 Collection
Ferdinand Adolph Lange was born in Dresden on February 18th, 1815. Thirty years later he’d found his eponymous company, and 145 years after that a new A. Lange & Söhne would rise from the proverbial ashes of East Germany. The A. Lange & Söhne we know today debuted in 1994 when the brand launched four watches: the Arkade, Saxonia, Lange 1, and the flagship Tourbillon Pour le Mérite, which established a set of visual codes that would later define the 1815 collection. Today, the 1815 family is primarily known for its many time-only variants, the 1815 Up/Down, and, of course, the 1815 Chronograph. However, the 1815 collection also includes some of the brand’s most extraordinary, unusual, and rarely seen models. Lange 1815 Emil Lange Moon Phase (1999) The Tourbillon Pour le Mérite of 1994 defined the 1815 collection’s design codes, specifically the printed Arabic dial that is vaguely reminiscent of a pocket watch despite being an almost from-scratch design. However, it was not officially badged as an 1815. That designation arrived the following year with the refs. 206.021 in yellow gold and 206.025 in white gold. These introductions saw the rectangular movement inside the Arkade and Saxonia reformatted to make it presentable through a display case back. The extra space was put to use in the followup 1815 Up/Down, which added the namesake power reserve indicator and recreated the running seconds. In 1999, Lange launched the 1815 Moonphase Emil Lange (1849-1921) to mark...
SJX Watches
Beyond the Familiar: A. Lange & Söhne’s 1815 Retrospective
Ferdinand Adolph Lange was born in Dresden on February 18, 1815. Thirty years later he’d found the eponymous company, and 145 years after that a reborn A. Lange & Söhne would rise from the proverbial ashes of East Germany. The A. Lange & Söhne we know today debuted in 1994 when the brand launched four watches: Arkade, Saxonia, Lange 1, and the flagship Tourbillon Pour le Mérite, which established a set of visual codes that would later define the 1815 collection. Today, the 1815 family is primarily known for its many time-only variants, the 1815 Up/Down, and, of course, the 1815 Chronograph. However, the 1815 collection also includes some of the brand’s most extraordinary, unusual, and rarely seen models. Photo credits: @lelangelust and @scatteringphotons Lange 1815 Emil Lange Moon Phase, c. 1999 The Tourbillon Pour le Mérite of 1994 defined the 1815 collection’s design codes, specifically the printed Arabic dial that is vaguely reminiscent of a pocket watch despite being an almost from-scratch design. However, it was not officially badged as an 1815. That designation arrived the following year with the refs. 206.021 in yellow gold and 206.025 in white gold. These introductions saw the rectangular movement inside the Arkade and Saxonia reformatted to make it presentable through a display case back. The extra space was put to use in the followup 1815 Up/Down, which added the namesake power reserve indicator and recreated the running seconds. In 1999, Lange launched...
Teddy Baldassarre Videos
Why I Bought The IWC Ingenieur - Long-Term Ownership Review
It was spring 2023, and I was in Geneva as I usually am this time of year at Watches and Wonders. This was an eventful year of releases, and one of the brands that dominated the discourse was IWC with the relaunch of the Ingenieur, which paid tribute to its 1970s Gerald Genta connections. Up until this point, I liked
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Oris ProPilot X Gonzo Edition (Live Pics)
What We Know Oh hey. It's me, your resident Muppets enthusiast here at the 'Dink. I'm a proud owner of the first collaboration between Oris and The Muppets, the ProPilot X Kermit Edition, and last year, I covered the follow-up ProPilot X Miss Piggy Edition, which took the creative exercise in a very different direction. In all honesty, I thought that might have been the end of the partnership between Oris and Disney regarding the Muppets, but it looks like they're not quite done yet. Today, Oris announces its Muppets hat trick with the new ProPilot X Gonzo Edition. Gonzo in his peppery shirt. © Disney. The third entry continues to see an iconic Muppets character introduced and incorporated into a different model within the ProPilot X line. Kermit showed his face on the date window of the 39mm ProPilot X Cal. 400 in titanium, and Miss Piggy hid on the winding rotor of the 34mm ProPilot X in steel. For the third entry in the Muppets series, Oris has taken "go big or go home" in a much more literal sense by pairing the Great Gonzo, the death-defying stuntmuppet, with the largest watch in the ProPilot X line, the ProPilot X Calibre 115. The titanium case of this grade 2 titanium ProPilot X has a diameter of 44mm, a thickness of 12.6mm, and an expansive lug-to-lug measurement of 52mm. But the case is large because the movement is very large, with the manually wound Calibre 115 inside featuring a giant mainspring barrel that gives the watch a whopping ten days of power reserve....
Hodinkee
Introducing: Vacheron Constantin Métiers d'Art Tribute To The Animal Kingdom
What We Know Last week, Vacheron Constantin presented the latest in their Métiers d'Art collection, the Métiers d'Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom. The impressive collection, which is based on Vacheron's four-aperture display Métiers d'Art watch, is made up of six watches, each featuring a facsimile of an animal made out of an unexpected blend of materials and construction. Notably, each dial in the series was created not by a watchmaker, but rather by an independent artist. This last part is key to the Métiers d'Art idea, which offers watches as a platform for artistry of all sorts, resulting in a collection unlike any other I can think of. The six watches that make up this collection are the: Feathersnake, which features a snake made of several hundred pieces of Lophophore and Goose feather; Glassoctopus, which features a hand-melted and shaped glass octopus set on a hand-guilloched gold-base coated in dark blue; Oraygami, which sets a fever of origami paper rays again against a hand-guilloched gold-base finished in blue; Tigerbroidery, which renders a tiger through an embroidered silk dial using yellow and white gold wire, black ceramic–coated wire, and British and Japanese silk; Papercroc, which uses paper sculpture to evoke a crocodile; and Woodenwings, which features a marquetry dial rendition of a flacon. To go into the process behind each of these dials would take up far more time and space than is available here (maybe something to go into if ever I get to ...
Fratello
An Artistic Homage To Venice: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel “Turner Series”
Jaeger-LeCoultre once again turns its iconic Reverso Tribute into a canvas for fine art. Hailing from the manufacturer’s Métiers Rares atelier, these four new creations celebrate the Venice-inspired works of J. M. W. Turner. The watches debut at the Homo Faber Biennial exhibition, which takes place in Venice throughout September. Curated by the Michelangelo Foundation […] Visit An Artistic Homage To Venice: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel “Turner Series” to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Introducing: Studio Underd0g 02Series "Mantis"
What We Know Not even two months on from the initial launch of the updated 02Series Gen 2, Studio Underd0g is jumping headfirst back into limited editions with the Special Edition 02Series Mantis. The headline here is a bright green, full-lume dial, which Studio Underd0g claims is the brightest to ever grace a watch from the brand, but it's also worth reiterating some of the changes that the brand brought to this watch earlier in the summer. The biggest change separating the 02Series Gen 1 and Gen 2 is the new case used for the latter. Upsized by half a millimeter to 37.5mm, the case has also been thinned out and now measures just 11.5mm rather than 12mm, and a full 2.1mm of that comes from the domed sapphire crystal. With lug-to-lug holding steady at 46mm, the updated case finds itself squarely in the Goldilocks zone for many collectors. There are also some meaningful technical updates in the new watch. Tolerances are tighter, and the SW210 movement has been replaced by the SW200-2 M (modified to remove the automatic winding system), which brings with it an accuracy of ±7 seconds per day and 63 hours of power reserve. The whole watch is assembled in-house at the D0ghouse, Studio Underd0g's newly established workshop, and is an evolution of the Horologium. All that said, the real reason to buy this watch is the dial. Like most watches from Studio Underd0g, the 02Series Mantis uses a sapphire sandwich dial construction, with a transparent sapphire disc printed with the min...
Hodinkee
Introducing: The AnOrdain Model 1 Porcelain (Live Pics)
What We Know Today, Glaswegian brand AnOrdain, known for its handcrafted grand feu enamel dials, introduces the second entry in its porcelain dial series with the Model 1 Porcelain. Counterintuitively, it follows last year's Model 2 Porcelain, which marked the brand's first watch with a porcelain dial. While the dials are still produced by hand in AnOrdain's Glasgow workshop, using a traditional porcelain-making process (no zirconium ceramic sheets or injection-molded clay slurry), the firing of the clay and vitreous glaze at high heat for these porcelain dials can be done at a much larger scale. AnOrdain provides a comparison here of production rates—50 vitreous enamel dials per month across seven enamellers, while one ceramic specialist can produce 30-40 porcelain dials. And though it may be easy to assume porcelain dials are more forgiving and capable of higher yields, the brand notes that the final dials come from an approximate total of 300 produced, meaning there's still a mighty high rejection rate associated with porcelain dialmaking. The Model 1 Porcelain starts with, well, the brand's Model 1 case design in stainless steel. It is a reasonably compact watch, with a diameter of 38mm, a lug-to-lug measurement of 46mm, and a thickness of 11mm. The Model 1 silhouette features a short lug design with broad outer polished faceting, making the lugs feel even slimmer on the wrist. Polishing is also found on the smooth, rounded bezel, while the midcase and screwed-in cas...
Worn & Wound
Introducing the Xeric x Worn & Wound Sector Limited Editions
When it comes to watches, “weird, wonderful, and complicated” rarely mix well with “value,” which makes Xeric such a fun anomaly of a brand. Not afraid of odd-shaped cases, wild colors, and unique ways of telling time, Xeric has forged a catalog unlike any other brand’s. You won’t find vintage divers or Calatrava-esque dress watches among its offerings, or much else that could be considered “on trend.” You will find, however, wandering hours, upside-down movements, jump hours, and retrograde displays, mostly under $2,000, with many under $1,000. The post Introducing the Xeric x Worn & Wound Sector Limited Editions appeared first on Worn & Wound.
Fratello
Channel Your Inner Navy SEAL With The Doxa × Belmont Watches SUB 300 Beta “Frogger”
Doxa and Belmont Jewelers collaborated on this limited edition SUB 300 Beta, which they are calling “Frogger”. This is the kind of watches that make a suburban Gen-Zer — yours truly — feel way more badass than he should. Because this collaboration of 100 individually numbered pieces gets its name from the Navy frogmen and […] Visit Channel Your Inner Navy SEAL With The Doxa × Belmont Watches SUB 300 Beta “Frogger” to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Happenings: Hodinkee Happy Hour Returns To SoHo This Thursday
Earlier this month, we had the pleasure of hosting our Hodinkee Happy Hour at One Vanderbilt. If you missed it, don't fret! We're excited to announce the next installment of Hodinkee Happy Hour, which will take place at the Watches of Switzerland store in SoHo, just a stone's throw from the Hodinkee office. Expect the same casual format as our Hodinkee Happy Hours, with great food, drinks, and watches. Space is limited, so be sure to RSVP using the link below to secure your spot. Our Editor-in-Chief, James Stacey, will be there, along with other members of the Hodinkee team. We'd love for you to join us, whether it's your first time or you've already attended several Hodinkee events. There will be plenty of food from Upside Pizza and beers from our friends at Grotta to go around. Date:Thursday, August 27, 2026, 4:30 - 6:30 PM Location:Watches of Switzerland, SoHo60 Greene StreetNew York, NY 10012 Click here to RSVP.
Hodinkee
Recommended Reading: 'Universal People, Universal Dreams' Is A Timely, Heartfelt Telling Of One Man's Collecting Journey Into The Rarest Of The Rare
Last week I kicked off a mini-series where I'm finally taking some great books off my shelf and sharing them with the world. We covered a brand-backed "Grand Seiko" book by ERG Media, which set a great tone. This week we're looking at another brand-focused tome, the much more recently released "Universal People, Universal Dreams," which documents the hyper-focused collection of one man. But it's more than a book about Universal Genève. I first met the author and publisher, Luca Mignini, a few years ago, though I'm not exactly sure where. Maybe at an auction in Geneva? At some point, he just turned into a fixture in my vintage watch sphere, a person who could turn up anywhere there was a vintage watch. At the famed antique fair in Parma, Italy? Sure. Luca Mignini and Max Bernardini He had a prototype Universal Genève Space Compax/Polerouter Sub dive watch made for the U.S. Navy, which I shared in my photo report from the fair. On that same trip, he just randomly showed up as I was looking at Patek 1518 dials with Max Bernardini (Uncle Max, to his close friends) at his shop right across the street from "The Last Supper" in Milan. That later encounter makes sense, as Bernardini (and his team, including Mauricio Gimenez, who is named as "The Trusted Advisor" in the book) was instrumental in curating the collection. Mignini frequently travels between his home in Rome and Milan, where he serves as a professor at Bocconi University. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mignini and B...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Affordable Dive Watches for Vacation: Picks We’d Pack for Stress-Free Travel
Discover the best dive watches for vacation, tested for pool days, beach trips, heat, low light, and long hours on the wrist. See which divers earn travel duty.
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Glashütte Original Senator Chronograph And Senator Chronograph Navigator
What We Know Today, Glashütte Original introduces two new flyback chronographs, replacing the Senator Chronograph Panorama Date models currently in the collection. While both models fall under the brand's Senator line, the new Senator Chronograph and Senator Chronograph Navigator could not be more opposed in aesthetics and spirit. First is the new Senator Chronograph Navigator, which departs significantly from the Senator line's overarching classical design language. With only a few exceptions, you're most likely expecting to see at least a few Roman numerals on any Senator dial. But the Navigator takes the chronograph down a much more utilitarian route, with what I believe is the brand's only conventional tool-watch design outside the SeaQ dive watch lineup. The matte black dial features three-dimensional, solid, luminescent applied Arabic hour numerals, while the rest of the dial text is printed in white to provide sharp contrast and improve legibility. The large subdials for the running seconds and elapsed minutes are snailed in texture, while a recessed faceting frames the oversized Panorama Date at six o'clock. The sword hands here are filled with a generous proportion of Super-LumiNova, and the remaining hands are all finished in white lacquer. The Senator Chronograph, sans Navigator, streamlines the layout of the outgoing Senator Chronograph Panorama Date for a more conventional look while still feeling familiar. A galvanic silver dial in soft white holds solid-gol...
SJX Watches
Hands On: Credor Locomotive “Dawn Blue” GCCR995
A new day is dawning for Credor, which made its Watches & Wonders debut with the Locomotive “Dawn Blue” ref. GCCR995. Designed by Gerald Genta, the Locomotive was once the brand’s flagship sports model in the same vein as its more famous Swiss siblings, but with a quirky integrated-unintegrated bracelet. The obvious quality of the titanium case and bracelet make up for a weak spec sheet, but leave room for the Locomotive to grow alongside the newly international Credor marque. Initial thoughts The Locomotive is a great example of a watch that is more than the sum of its parts. In fact, it’s (almost) inexplicably nice for a watch with such a strange design, a mundane movement, and a micro-adjust-less pin-and-collar bracelet. While it’s cliché to say a watch looks better in person than photographs — and underestimates what a good photographer can do — I would say the Locomotive feels much better in person, like a watch of its price point should. The defining update for this edition of the Locomotive is its embossed dial, which features a repeating hexagon motif. The grooves that fill each cell are oriented at different angles, giving the dial a shimmering personality that changes with shifting light. At some angles, the dial is a uniform blue, while other angles produce an almost chequerboard-like effect. This backdrop is coated with layers of clear lacquer, enabling the Credor wordmark and (superfluous) “Automatic” text to float neatly above the three-d...
Worn & Wound
Version Watches, and a Uniquely French Take on Midcentury Design
Cybèle Vigneron and Carla Lanfranchini first met at the Strate École de Design outside of Paris, arriving at the institution with enviable backgrounds: Lanfranchini had served as an artistic director and graphic designer at Dom Pérignon and Château de Pommard, while Vigneron honed her career in store design planning and visual merchandising at Cartier, Bulgari, and Berluti. The two became fast friends. After both earning dual degrees in design as well as business management, they established Version Watches in 2024. They were entering a crowded field where microbrands have never been more popular, with even greater opportunities for designers and watchmaking visionaries to express themselves. Over the past two years, as they worked in separate cities and handled branding, design, distribution, and a successful Kickstarter launch, the two-person team were motivated by uniqueness: “we wanted to approach watchmaking from a pure designer’s perspective rather than just assembling off-the-shelf components or relying purely on nostalgia,” said Vigneron. We first saw Vision on display in New York at Tempus Takumi, a showcase of independent watchmaking that pointedly focuses on watches made outside of Switzerland. Alongside the design-driven, accessible collections from Germany’s MeisterSinger and Japan’s Minase, Version fit right in. Both founders were present and clearly happy to show off their creations, making their debut to an American audience. Accessibility i...
Monochrome
Hands-on - The Yellow Gold Minerva The Unveiled Chronograph Limited Edition 30
Minerva‘s Unveiled Chronograph series is an exercise in turning conventional watchmaking inside out. Instead of hiding the movement under the dial, which would require taking the watch off the wrist to admire its calibre through the display caseback, the manufacture reverses its architecture, making the chronograph mechanism and its distinctive hand-finished components the main attraction […]
Worn & Wound
Hands-On: Vario’s Navi Collection Goes International
As I expand my knowledge of microbrands, I was super excited to receive a sample from Vario, a Singapore-based company that’s been going strong for a decade. The brand’s latest offering builds on its Navi collection, which first joined Vario’s catalog in 2021. The line holds firm to its nautical roots with its sleek and refined interpretation of a porthole throughout the case and dial along with its compass and anchor hands and sailor-cap crown. Over the past five years, the Navi has taken a few forms, from the inaugural jump-hour to special editions like the Popeye and Vario’s collaboration with Watch Enthusiasts India (WEI). In 2024, we saw the introduction of a single-hand version, offering a slow-time display with an Engine Order Telegraph (EOT) 12-section dial in which each of the 12 sections is broken down into 15-minute intervals for a general reading of the time rather than one to the exact minute. Now, Vario builds on this design with five new colorways and, for the first time, new languages. With this extension of the Navi collection, Vario is taking the line into international waters starting regionally with Chapter One: Europe. The foundation of the models remains the same as what we saw in the original and now sold-out single hand version. The case is rendered in 316L stainless steel and executed in highly wearable proportions at 38mm in diameter and 11mm in thickness. The lugs strike a good balance of geometry and curvature that allows the model to si...