302 articles · 28 videos found · page 7 of 11
Monochrome
We all know that there are tons of brands that are dormant or defunct that are deserving of a revival, and a number of those are actually being brought back through passion and perseverance. One brand to add to that list is Monceau, a once-respected Swiss watchmaking name now in the hands of Simon Ryan. […]
Worn & Wound
Never one to shy away from their heritage as a British watchmaker, Fears has cooked up yet another savvy partnership that highlights their ability to innovate while holding down a cohesive aesthetic. This time, however, the collaboration isn’t with another watchmaker or boutique. Rather, it comes to us in the form of a watch built for “A Great British Odyssey” in which ultra endurance athlete Angus Collins will attempt to become the first person to complete an unsupported, solo row around mainland Great Britain. Fears has signed on as Collins’ official timekeeping partner, and has designed and produced a purpose-built timepiece for the task-a special version of their Brunswick 40mm, the EXPERIMENTAL 01. A savvy British watch fan may pause here and say, “hang on-since when does Fears do tool watches?” The EXPERIMENTAL 01 is the brand’s first foray into the ultra-utility category of timekeeping since the 1970s, and though it’s based on the structure of the Brunswick 40 (originally launched in October 2022), it also features eight highlighted improvements that make it purpose built for Collins’ task: a fixed bar attachment (laser-welded onto the lugs), a satinised case finish, 300 meters of water resistance, a glare resistant dial, Grade X2 Super-LumiNova on the hands and appliques, ultra-contrast hands, an MN Elasticated strap, and rigorous in-house precision time testing. Style-wise, the EXPERIMENTAL 01 draws heavily from its source material, the B...
Hodinkee
The dark side of the Ming, if you will.
Hodinkee
The long-time friend of Richard Mille has been wearing the watch for weeks, but only a few people have noticed – now we have all the details.
Revolution
Hodinkee
All that and more in this week's edition of Hodinkee's What's Selling Where column.
Hodinkee
After quietly launching last year, the young brand has just announced two new 'Monochrome' releases as former Cartier Senior Watch Designer Raphaël Abeillon joins as ALTO's Creative Director.
Monochrome
Watches, like most products from industrial activities, are ruled by constraints and compromises – whether these are commercial, technological, design-oriented or economical. This is why we, watch enthusiasts, can often be rather disappointed by many new releases. Surely, independent watchmakers playing in a much higher price range can overpass some of these constraints, as a […]
Monochrome
Montoir is a fairly new microbrand that launched its first dive watch in late 2023 and now has a follow-up on Kickstarter with new dial and bezel colours. We were impressed with Montoir’s first release as the watches were stylish, had serious 200m water-resistance and included a well-proven Sellita automatic. While the general formula remains […]
Teddy Baldassarre
About 15 years ago I came across a brand out of the Netherlands called d.m.h. which was, in reality, a single person by the name of Fred Dingemans, working out of a shed in his backyard. His creations were raw and slightly impractical, but they were also a pure expression of creativity, and unwaveringly original. These watches were captivating at a glance, showcasing a similar level of creative fidelity to what we were seeing from the likes of Urwerk and MB&F; at the time. This is a quality sorely taken for granted these days, with most of the newcomers wisely choosing to play it safe with practical, conventionally attractive creations that can go anywhere, and do anything. I have a well-documented love of practical tool watches that can go anywhere and do anything, but I often lament the homogeneous nature of watch design that this trend has brought us to. Truly novel expressions are a rare sight these days, but there has been exactly one to cross my radar over the past year that has brought a similar feeling to seeing a d.m.h. watch all those years ago, and that is the kollokium projekt 01. My first glimpse of kollokium came when I spotted one on the wrist of one of the co-founders while attending the Dubai Watch Week events of 2023. This individual, uncoincidentally, is also responsible for the avant-garde creations coming out of Louis Errard these days. His name is Manuel Emch, and he is one of three men (the others being Barth Nussbaumer, and Amr Sindi) behind koll...
Revolution
Revolution
Hodinkee
If you like phenomenal movements, technical innovation, and a whole lot of lume, this new watch is going to blow you away.
Worn & Wound
Ming is a brand that tends to elicit strong reactions from enthusiasts. They are certainly not to everyone’s taste, but those who love the brand really love the brand and are among the most enthusiastic collectors I’ve encountered in the watch world. I’ll be honest, Ming’s house aesthetic is typically not for me, personally, but I’ve gained a tremendous amount of respect for the brand as I’ve had a chance to talk to more owners about they find these watches so interesting. A big part of it, as it always seems to be, is the community built around that ownership experience. That community reveals itself in a public way via Ming’s Special Project’s Cave, a kind of skunk-works segment of the brand that is free to experiment as the brand develops new technologies. As Ming always points out when they release a watch from the Cave, the process always involves input from their customers, so you could think of the watches in this series as a real reflection of the brand’s owners. If that’s the case, their latest creation, the 20.01 Series 3, kind of proves my point about the vibrancy of the Ming community. At a high level, the 20.01 Series 3 is a precious metal chronograph utilizing the excellent AgenGraphe movement by Agenhor. But when you get closer (and closer) you realize that the 20.03 is perhaps the brand’s most avant-garde creation yet, which is saying something considering some of the projects that have come out of the Special Projects Cave to this p...
Monochrome
Founded in 2017 by a group of enthusiasts led by Ming Thein, the Swiss-Malay watch company MING has evolved from a small horological venture into one of the most intriguing independent watchmakers of our time. In 2021, MING introduced the Special Projects Cave, an initiative to foster customer involvement in creating experimental watches while advancing […]
Hodinkee
Richard Mille's most complicated automatic watch gets a material makeover.
Monochrome
The name Kollokium might not sound familiar to most of our readers. What is Kollokium…? Is it a brand? Not really. It’s a collaborative project between three friends, all fairly established names within the watch industry. Even the good people behind this venture aren’t sure what Kollokium really is. “This is where it all begins […]
Monochrome
New brands are created almost daily in the watch industry. Still, most of these newcomers or microbrands start with rather generic and accessible watches, powered by outsourced movements. Nothing wrong with that, but we sometimes wish for more. And ALTO, a new brand created in Paris, does bring a lot more. Radical design, out-of-the-box thinking, […]
Worn & Wound
Making judgments off photos alone is a necessity in the world of microbrands, a subset of watches often sold exclusively online. Unless you are lucky enough to attend an event such as Windup Watch Fair, purchasing a microbrand usually requires some educated guessing based on pictures and dimensions, and then praying you like the watch once it arrives at your doorstep, long after your money has left your bank account. Forming opinions without seeing a watch in the metal as I had many times before, I made up my mind weeks ago that the DUAL Series 01 from UBIQ was a watch I would love to own. With an impressive 200 meters of water resistance and a sapphire crystal, it had the specs enthusiasts such as myself want. Featuring a 39mm diameter and 47mm lug to lug case, I knew it would be comfortable. And, drawn in by the photos of captivatingly colorful dials and bezels, I was confident it would be a playful addition to my collection of mostly bland dive watches. After spending some time with the DUAL Series 01, I can confirm it is indeed a well-built, vibrant tool watch prepared to add spice to any collection. However, I am also walking away with a reminder that pictures alone fail to capture the entire story. $649 Hands-On: the UBIQ DUAL Series 01 Case Stainless steel Movement Miyota 9015 Dial Various Lume Yes Lens Sapphire Strap Rubber or bracelet Water Resistance 200 meters Dimensions 39 x 47mm Thickness 11.5mm Lug Width 20mm Crown Screw down Warranty Yes Price $649 Maybe i...
Hodinkee
Pharrell takes a runway bow for his second Paris show as creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear in jeans, a cowboy hat, and the world's thinnest watch.
Worn & Wound
If you frequent certain corners of Watch Instagram, you likely came across a new and somewhat mysterious project last week called Kollokium. They appeared almost out of nowhere with minimal teasing, and presented a watch that you can’t yet buy that is certainly unique. The real story, though, is in the ethos of the brand itself. Part of that ethos is that they don’t actually consider themselves a brand at all, but a “project based platform” that exists to explore alternatives to traditional watchmaking. It might help to start with the people behind the platform. Kollokium was founded in 2020 by three watch industry veterans: Manuel Emch, Barth Nussbaumer, and Amr Sindi. Emch is perhaps the most well known of the three, and has been leading Louis Erard since 2020, overseeing the brand’s incredible turnaround from through the smart execution of desirable limited editions with interesting collaborators. Nussbaumer is a watch designer who over the years has worked with Louis Erard, Petermann Bedat, and other brands (you can follow him on Instagram here). And Amr Sindi will be more familiar by his Instagram handle, @thehorophile. You might recall that Sindi collaborated on a limited edition release with Louis Erard earlier this year, and you’ll begin to see how these three individuals are all tied together, and the collaboration begins to make a bit more sense as a creative outlet that can exist apart from their respective day jobs. OK, so, the watch itself. The...
Hodinkee
At 8.8 grams for the manual movement and 10.8 grams for the automatic, it claims to have broken any previous known record – and looks phenomenal too.
Hodinkee
Inside the new collaboration between Akrivia and Louis Vuitton (and what comes next...).
Hodinkee
A world's first chiming chronograph from Akrivia kicks off a quintet of limited edition collaborations for Louis Vuitton.
Revolution
Hodinkee
RM has released an upgrade to the 2011 RM 030 and the tech specs are much improved.
Revolution
Hodinkee
Celebrating 100 years of Le Mans with a limited edition flyback chronograph.
Hodinkee
Two-tone dial, Breguet numerals, and details done right, all in a modern package, make for a fun homage to the classic Calatrava.
Worn & Wound
As I was considering how to begin this review, I found myself thinking about my own perception of how micro-brands get their start. Many of my favorite brands seem to come to life fully formed, with a watch or small collection that would appear to completely distill their essence, as if they’ve already gone through every possible growing pain. In the past few months I’ve come across more and more brands that seem to have figured it out immediately, with introductory watches that appear to be the product of a seasoned brand. Atmoss is the latest brand to make me feel this way with its debut watch, the SR-01. A clean and comfortable design presented as being a modern interpretation of a traditional pilot watch. One that has enough of what matters and none of what doesn’t, at least in my opinion. While pilot watches are not my primary focus as an enthusiast and collector, the SR-01 wound up winning me over, and has a suite of impressive specs that make it a legitimate entry into the genre at a price point that makes sense for those who might want to dabble in a watch with an aviation theme. The Right Specifications for the Right Price Although I try as much as possible to not put the words “specifications” and “price” in the same sentence, sometimes it’s impossible not to. Especially when the price tag of a watch falls well below the $500 mark. The SR-01 has a lot going for it considering its accessibility. First, reasonable dimensions with a case diameter...
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