Two Broke Watch Snobs
Bulova vs. Seiko: Are Affordable Watch Fans Sleeping on Bulova?
After nearly a decade reviewing affordable watches, we ask: has the community been overlooking Bulova in favor of Seiko?
34,622 articles · 173 videos found · page 699 of 1160
Two Broke Watch Snobs
After nearly a decade reviewing affordable watches, we ask: has the community been overlooking Bulova in favor of Seiko?
Worn & Wound
It’s amazing the way some watches don’t make sense until they do. That was absolutely my experience of the Hanhart Aquasphere when it showed up on my desk a few weeks ago. I mean, I love dive watches, but the Aquasphere was something entirely outside my realm of comfort, and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. At least, I wasn’t sure what to make of it until I realized something fundamental: I was thinking about the Aquasphere in entirely the wrong context. Sure, on paper, the Aquasphere is a strong addition to the stable of sub $2,000 dive watches on offer today, but in practice, the Aquasphere is nothing like the divers I tend to spend my time with. The Hanhart is a watch that’s big, over-designed, and not at all to my typical taste, but that just may be what I came to like so much about it. In a world where the prevailing trend in dive watches has been to look back into the twentieth century for design inspiration, there’s something fundamentally refreshing about a watch that isn’t meant to compete with the Black Bay even a little. Instead, the Aquasphere evokes a design language born in the ‘90s and perfected in the ‘00s, one that may not entirely appeal to many enthusiasts, but will hit square on for those collectors whose taste was formed by watch billboards of the era, and who find their minds drifting towards watches like the Breitling SuperAvenger or TAG Heuer Link. That does mean that this watch certainly won’t be for everyone, but for the...
SJX Watches
Rolex has just unveiled a fully branded line of accessories for office dwellers, featuring both cufflinks and a genuine Submariner desk clock. The move not only extends the brand’s product range, but reinforces its lifestyle dominance beyond its traditional domain. With its decades-long reputation for precision, quality and retail discipline, Rolex has planted a new flag: high-end accessories built with the same seriousness and iconic design language as its wristwatches. Initial thoughts Rolex has earned its dominant position in the Swiss watch industry in large part by taking everything it does very seriously. So it’s not surprising to see that the formal launch of a full line-up of accessories is treated with due seriousness. This is not the first time that Rolex has offered cufflinks; some references were exhibited at Watches & Wonders this year and have been quietly available for purchase at brand boutiques for some time. But the formal roll-out on the website is a decisive step, and reveals that Rolex wants to give its legions of fans another touchpoint with their favourite brand. On the other hand, the official desk clock is new and quite surprising in its execution, though perhaps it shouldn’t be. Rendered in a heavy 80 mm stainless steel body with a real Cerachrom ceramic bezel and sapphire crystal, it feels like a true Submariner (albeit one that is not water resistant). In terms of value, the accessories are expensive in an absolute sense but are priced rea...
Worn & Wound
I am often asked by people unfamiliar with Pittsburgh what they should do when in my hometown. Other than eating fries on a salad (yes, it’s a regional dish and yes it’s great), seeing a Pirates game, and checking out Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, the recommendations usually always turn to the Andy Warhol Museum. Many people would be surprised to know that Warhol, an iconoclast of the 60’s New York counterculture scene, is a Pittsburgh native. The grey skies, patchwork of neighborhoods, and working-class personality of the Steel City don’t necessarily jive with the glamour of Warhol and his Factory. But, nonetheless, his native son status endears me to him. That is why I’m quite interested in Piaget’s collaboration with The Andy Warhol Foundation, and the release of their limited-edition Collage watch. As many may know, the artist was a bit of a compulsive collector and one of his hobbies was watches. Upon his death, there were seven Piagets, four of which returned to the Swiss maison. This, in turn, sparked the beginnings for a partnership that, I believe, elevates Warhol’s legacy beyond pop art into the luxury world. The Collage is as much a balance of Piaget’s house design as it is a celebration of Warhol’s work. The creative team behind the Swiss brand took six months to even find a starting point, traveling to New York to view the artist’s archives and trying to find a balance between iteration without being too on-the-nose. “With such...
Fratello
Watch fans worldwide were excited when Favre Leuba’s return was announced in August last year. The world’s second-oldest watch brand is a favorite among vintage collectors and has created some absolute classics. Upon the unveiling of the new collection, we quickly learned that Favre Leuba would honor the past with modern versions of these watches. […] Visit Taking A Look At The Current Favre Leuba Catalog to read the full article.
Monochrome
Farer is a British watchmaking brand founded on the principles of adventurous design, accessible quality, and mechanical integrity. It builds its reputation by blending Swiss craftsmanship with bold colour, texture, and storytelling. Every Farer collection feels both familiar and fresh, rooted in heritage but always forward-looking. The Moonphase Collection, launched in 2023, brought that same […]
Monochrome
A slightly more discreet member of the Nomos family, the Metro is a more youthful, cosmopolitan, and modern take on the brand’s clean design language, compared to the deliberately austere Tangente and the classic Ludwig. Soft in shape, elegant with a twist, the Metro is a watch that deserves more attention. And, with the latest addition to the collection, […]
Fratello
Within the opulence of Harrods’ luxury London department store is a joyous journey through Vacheron Constantin’s eclectic history. Even by the northeastern entrance is a suspended forced-perspective Maltese Cross with “270” emblazoned upon it. This represents 270 years of Vacheron Constantin’s continuous operation, the longest of any watch brand. Winding through the halls of Harrods […] Visit The Quest: Vacheron Constantin’s 270th-Anniversary Exhibition At Harrods, London to read the full article.
Time+Tide
The GPHG-winning Chinese firm celebrates the world's tallest mountain with a techy tourbillon piece with a dial made from Everest itself.The post CIGA design’s Everest Summit frames a central tourbillon with real Everest bedrock appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
After a series of chronographs, the Dutch-based brand Lebois & Co returns with a trio of three-handers. Please welcome the Heritage Small Seconds collection. The silver Script, blue Baton, and black Numeral Founder’s Launch editions are COSC-certified chronometers with perks for early adopters. A “Chronomètre Lebois & Co” sweater inspired by Parisian streetwear is waiting […] Visit Introducing: The Three-Watch-Strong Lebois & Co Heritage Small Seconds Collection to read the full article.
Fratello
Before the year ends, we will hold one final event with Breitling in The Hague (Den Haag), just in time for the golden season. On November 28th, we would like to welcome you to the Breitling boutique to discover some (gold) wonders. Join us on November 28th - Register now After having two earlier events […] Visit Join The Golden Breitling × Fratello Evening In Den Haag On November 28th to read the full article.
Time+Tide
At around US$3,000, the Hanhart 415 ES Panda offers favourable specifications for its price.The post Does the Hanhart 415 ES Panda deliver top spec for money? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
Creativity, impeccable artisanship, and a good dose of poetic licence are hallmark traits of Hermès watches. With such a rich repertoire of luxury goods, design features often migrate from one product line to another, as seen in the beautiful, handcrafted dials inspired by the brand’s colourful silk scarves. The latest transversal exchange concerns the decidedly […]
Fratello
The Seiko Speedtimer traces its roots back to the 1960s, offering plenty of sports timing and racing pedigree. Today, I got a chance to go hands-on with the line’s latest incarnation, the solar-powered SSC959 limited edition. I say “limited,” but Seiko is producing a whopping 3,000 of these. Perhaps more important than its numerical limitation […] Visit Hands-On With The Seiko Speedtimer SSC959 European Limited Edition to read the full article.
Time+Tide
With its classical proportions and dressy shape, this new release from Raymond Weil seems perfectly timed for party season. The post The Raymond Weil Toccata brings classical music to classical watch design appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
Ask enthusiasts to name an affordable and fan-favorite series of dress watches, and chances are that Raymond Weil’s Millesime collection will pop up in several answers. We love the Millesime, a charming line of retro-styled watches with a model for everyone. Now, the brand follows up the highly successful Millesime with the new Toccata Heritage. […] Visit A Hands-On Introduction To The Raymond Weil Toccata Heritage Series to read the full article.
SJX Watches
The new Citizen Attesa Platinum Shine collection leans into the brand’s two greatest strengths: cutting-edge quartz technology and mastery of titanium. With three limited edition references in a new platinum-coloured hue, Citizen demonstrates why it’s still the leader in titanium watches, 55 years after making the first one. Thanks to a decadent recrystallised titanium bracelet and nearly scratch-proof Duratect coating, the new Attesa proves that quartz can still feel luxurious. Ref. CB0284-66A. Initial thoughts Almost as soon as quartz timekeeping technology began to mature and prices began to fall in the 1980s, makers of quartz watches began to cede the luxury end of market to brands that focused on mechanical watches. But that never stopped a few brands, Citizen and Seiko chief among them, from pursuing the development of ever-better quartz technology and bringing it to market in a premium format. The ultimate expression of this focus is probably the Citizen cal. 0100, the most accurate wristwatch in the world. The Citizen 0100 – the world’s most accurate wristwatch. But quartz is just one part of the equation for Citizen, which has also achieved a leading market position in two specific fields. The first is solar power. Light-powered watches is nothing new, dating back to 1972, but it was Citizen’s advances in the late 1970s that propelled this technology forward. In 1995, the brand debuted Eco-Drive, which remains the leading light in solar-powered timekeep...
Monochrome
Following the success of the Millesime collection, a series of vintage-inspired, 1930s-based watches that have been praised by enthusiasts and industry insiders (including us), Raymond Weil is back with yet another “Heritage” collection, despite being a relatively young brand founded in 1976. Surfing on the renewed interest for shaped, classic and dressier timepieces, the brand introduces the […]
Worn & Wound
The Windup Watch Fair, especially the New York City edition, has increasingly become a venue for brands to debut new watches aimed at their enthusiast fans. It makes a lot of sense if you’ve ever been to a Windup – there’s an incredibly high concentration of watch lovers in a single place, and many of them are in what you might call a buying mood. And of course, the new stuff is often the most enticing when that particular mood strikes. This year, Serica got in on the act, debuting new references in the Parade collection, their unexpected but incredibly well executed “dress watch” from last year. “Dress watch” is in scare quotes here because of course it’s quite a bit more complex than that, but it’s perhaps easiest to understand the Parade when you view it as a contrast (and complement) to Serica’s sportier offerings. A quick refresher, in case it’s needed, on the Parade. Serica refers to the case as “stadium” shaped because it’s based on the architecture of the Roman Stadium, with straight sides that blend into an elliptical shape at 12 and 6. On the wrist, it presents as an oval, but a look at the case in profile (or any angle other than top down) reveals the case construction makes this one tough to pigeon hole. It offers 100 meters of water resistance while being just 8.2mm tall thanks to “sandwich” style construction that uses screws that hold the case together from the back and are housed in and protected by the bezel. This is far f...
Teddy Baldassarre
How much do you really know about Citizen Watches, the tough and stylish Promaster collection, the proprietary Eco-Drive technology, and other signature innovations of the Japanese brand, like the exclusive Super Titanium and the recent series of automatic calibers in the luxurious Series 8 models? In this article, we explore the history of Citizen Watch Company from its founding to the modern day and spotlight a dozen notable watches in today’s Citizen collection that have caught the attention of the Teddy Baldassarre team. By the end, you should be much closer to answering the question of whether Citizen watches are good-quality and whether they're for you. Citizen History and Early Milestones With its very high-tech lineup and avant-garde designs, one might be inclined to think Citizen Watch Company is a relatively new player on the worldwide watch scene. One would be mistaken, however. The company today known as Citizen traces its roots all the way back to 1918, when it was founded as the Shokosha Watch Research Institute by Kamakechi Yamazaki. The name “Citizen” first appeared on the dial of a pocket watch that Shokosha produced in 1924; it is believed to have been suggested by Yamazaki’s close friend Shinpei Goto, then the mayor of Tokyo, who believed such a watch should be universally appealing and accessible to all “citizens” of Japan. Shokosha merged with the Schmid company, a Japan-based manufacturing firm founded by expatriate Swiss watchmaker Rodo...
Monochrome
Celebrating 75 years of the United Arab Emirates’ leading watch and jewellery retailer and founder of Dubai Watch Week, Ulysse Nardin releases a special version of its Diver Air for Ahmed Seddiqi. Touted as the world’s lightest mechanical dive watch, the Diver [AIR] surfaces in blue attire to mark the retailer’s anniversary. Introduced earlier this […]
Fratello
Welcome to another episode of Fratello On Air! This week, we discuss the triumphant return of Seiko to the forefront of value-laden watchmaking. For some, perhaps the massive Japanese company never left. From our perspective, though, 2025 has been a turning point. We feel that the brand has truly listened to its fan base and […] Visit Fratello On Air: Seiko’s Triumphant Return to read the full article.
Fratello
Welcome to the first round of the Fratello Dress Watch Season contest, our effort to identify the best new dress watch of 2025. If you thought we’d kick the series off quietly, you are mistaken. The first match in round 1 immediately sees a major clash of entirely different watchmaking philosophies. Lex defends the Grand […] Visit Fratello Dress Watch Season: Round 1, Match 1 - A. Lange & Söhne 1815 34mm Vs. Grand Seiko SBGH368 to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
The Tudor Black Bay 58 Burgundy was released at this year's Watches & Wonders to nothing short of acclaim by enthusiasts. Not just a fresh color, this is a redesigned Tudor Black Bay 58, essentially from top to bottom. What you’re looking at is the next generation of everybody’s favorite Black Bay size, and it debuts in a color you simply cannot ignore, and one tied to Tudor history. The Burgundy Black Bay 58 took the burgundy color usage of Black Bays from the past while leaning into the bright color scheme much more boldly than before. Rather than just adding another bezel color, Tudor decided to make the whole dial and front of the case a study in this shade of red. Where the past few years have seen Tudor experiment with satin-finished dials in its hardcore sports watches, from the Pelagos to the Black Bay 54, the 58 range has been steadfast in its use of matte or textured dial surfaces. That all changed with this iteration, as we get a punchy, sunburst burgundy dial color. You might think this is an infusion of modernity in a model known to harken back to the past, but it isn’t. It’s just harkening to a different moment in time – to a watch that Tudor never technically released. Indeed, that would be a certain 1990s Tudor Submariner Ref. 79190 prototype that had a similar red bezel/red dial combination. And while that watch never made it to the production stage, it heavily influenced the brand’s decision when it released the very first Black Bay with a bu...
Monochrome
One of Swatch Group’s mid-level brands, Mido is beginning to get the attention it deserves with well-designed, robust watches that won’t break the bank. The recent revival of Mido’s 1970s TV-shaped watch, rechristened the Multifort TV Big Date, is a testament to the brand’s knack for transforming vintage designs into coveted models with contemporary specs. […]
Teddy Baldassarre
Cartier is a household name, easily crossing the threshold from watch insider (or luxury-object insider) to fully accepted in the broader cultural zeitgeist as a sort of “things dreams are made of” aspirational fare. If Rolex is the man’s peak piece of horological wanting, then by goodness, Cartier occupies an equal space in the minds of women watch buyers. Here we will go through some of the best Cartier ladies' watches. (Yes, of course there are plenty of women who look to Rolex the same way a man does, and vice versa with men and Cartier. The two brands stand shoulder to shoulder as perhaps the most recognizable names in the game.) To achieve the status of being labeled influential in watchmaking is one thing. Very few reach the rarified air of transcending the category altogether. Considering that watches are one of a very few pieces of physical "jewelry" that a man can wear, it’s remarkable that Cartier has been able to carve out a place of legitimate watch enthusiasm for the woman buyer who has far more choices in the category. Granted, Cartier operates in space beyond just watches, unlike the aforementioned Rolex. Cartier History Becoming the most recognizable name, along with Rolex, in the watch industry, is a feat that Cartier didn’t accomplish overnight. The luxury jewelry house was founded back in 1847 in Paris, France, by Louis-François Cartier. However, Cartier's rapid ascension as a watchmaker and jeweler came during the third generation of fam...
Hodinkee
After years of not getting Cartier's "sports watch," it's finally making sense to me.
Quill & Pad
“We’re only making two hundred and fifty of them,” they say, causing your ears to perk up like a Doberman’s. “Just two fifty,” you ponder, eyebrows raised. “Correct,” says the salesperson, pulling a well-rehearsed “You don’t see one of these every day” face. Dazzled by the prospect, you throw your credit card down.
Time+Tide
The AP House Manchester isn't your typical high-end watch boutique, and it's home to some properly special timepieces.The post Andrew shares his favourite Audemars Piguet watches available at AP House Manchester appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
Sinn releases a new variant of their U50 dive watch, now in a blue dial with 3 strap options, and now feature a beautiful matt-blue dial.
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