Hodinkee
The Grey NATO: Episode 96: Doxa
A deep dive on a classic dive watch brand that's never light on personality.
26,987 articles · 271 videos found · page 721 of 909
Hodinkee
A deep dive on a classic dive watch brand that's never light on personality.
SJX Watches
News last weekend that Switzerland’s competition regulator, COMCO, also widely known by its German acronym Weko, was weighing a ban on ETA movement sales to third-party brands caused a major stir in the watch industry – and a terse, lengthy response from Swatch Group, ETA’s parent and Switzerland’s biggest watchmaking conglomerate. The move was ostensibly to allow alternatives to ETA – once Switzerland’s dominant supplier of mechanical movements – to develop. According to the Swatch Group, the ban was entirely without merit, especially given the fact that ETA was no longer the biggest supplier of movements to the industry. That title now belongs to Sellita, which supplied a million movements in 2019, compared to half the number for ETA. Now COMCO has formalised the year-long ban in an announcement that puts in place a “temporary suspension of the supply of [ETA] mechanical movements to customers”. The ban will be in force until COMCO makes its final decision by the summer of 2020. The ban, however, allows ETA to sell its movements to existing clients that are small- and medium-sized watch brands, defined as having less than 250 employees, which will probably be of little consolation to ETA. According to a Swatch Group spokesman quoted by Reuters, the majority of ETA’s movement sales are to companies with more than 250 employees, and as a result, ETA foresees it won’t be able to sell any movements next year. According to the statement, the ban is foun...
Hodinkee
A watch to capture the insouciant coolness of Italy’s golden era of motorsport.
Revolution
Hamilton creates a big, beefy military watch that celebrates another slice of American history.
Quill & Pad
If ever there was an unlikely concept, it would have to be the idea of Greubel Forsey – the masters of ultra-finished, mechanically inventive, and (at least in GaryG's view) imposingly dressy watches – coming out with a sporty watch.
SJX Watches
The conventional calendar used in most of the world is the Gregorian calendar, which has 365 days and an extra day in February every leap year. Consequently, and quite sensibly, almost all calendar watches display the Gregorian calendar. But there are other calendars used by various cultures and countries, like the Japanese calendar used for its Imperial eras, and also the Islamic, or Hijri, calendar. And now for the very first time, Parmigiani Fleurier has created a wristwatch with a Hijri perpetual calendar. Founded in 1996 by watchmaker Michel Parmigiani, the brand has long been synonymous with inventive and complex watches, most notably the supercar-inspired Bugatti timepieces. In 2011, the brand unveiled the Hijri calendar table clock, a US$2.5 million creation elaborately constructed in silver, rock crystal and semiprecious stone. Now Parmigiani has refined the concept and miniaturised it for the wrist with the Tonda Hijri Perpetual Calendar. A lunar calendar Made up of 12 lunar months and used to track important dates and events in Islam, the Hijri calendar differs from the common Gregorian Calendar in being a lunar calendar, one based on the cycles of the moon, and not Earth’s revolution around the sun. Its 12 months have either 29 or 30 days, resulting in a year that’s between 10 and 12 days shorter than the conventional 365-day year. The Islamic calendar began in 622 AD when the Prophet Muhammad moved from Mecca to Medina, both in present-day Saudi Arabia, ...
SJX Watches
In its usual tasteful yet quirky style, Hermès has unveiled a pair of wristwatches featuring dials decorated in wood marquetry, tiny pieces of exotic woods assembled like a puzzle to form striking, abstract motifs; last year Hermes did the same in leather. Created by a young French marquetry artist, the dials start with a line drawing on tracing paper, which is then digitised and scaled down to the size of the dial. The reduced drawing is then printed out and cut into its component parts with a scalpel, forming the pattern for cutting. Each piece is then glued to a thin slice of exotic wood that is then cut with a small electric fret saw. The resulting bits of wood are then assembled with a tweezer, and occasional gentle hammering, before the dials are sanded and varnished, making them seem like an unbroken whole. Monochromatic yet intriguing enough to make you look twice, the Arceau Astrologie Nouvelle reproduces the pattern from the silk scarf of the same name. The original Astrologie scarf featured a classical star chart, but in 2012 designer Cyrille Diatkine reinterpreted the motif – nouvelle is French for “new” – breaking it up into alternating and inverted segments. The Astrologie Nouvelle motif has been recreated using tulipwood, a wood that can vary in colour from white to dark blue according to Hermès, resulting in the contrasting colours of the dial. Its case is 41mm and 18k white gold, containing the H1837 automatic made by Vaucher, a movement maker...
Revolution
Revolution’s resident hi-fi expert takes an audiophile’s ear to Ulysse-Nardin’s audibly impressive new striking watch.
Time+Tide
The topic of watches and their worth has been the talk of 2019. With never-ending threads of comments on social media, expressing frustration at the current prices of some pieces, retailers attempting to negotiate the challenge of managing wait-lists, and the growth of The Flipper in the world of watch buyers, it seems that 2019 … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: How watches became financial assets appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
We begin our holidays special with 3 watch selections from each of our writers. This time the watches are categorised by price, with three tiers of prices under 1) SGD10,000, 2) SGD25,000; and 3) Limitless.
Quill & Pad
Bart and Tim Grönefeld have been so successful that they cannot keep watches in stock, and people who order one of their models right now might have to wait at least a year. However, Martin Green didn't visit them to buy a watch, but rather to talk with the Dutch brothers about watchmaking and other perhaps more personal subjects. Please enjoy this somewhat different video!
SJX Watches
Originally introduced in stainless steel and red gold earlier in the year, Blancpain has just unveiled the top of the line Villeret Ultraplate 6605, now in platinum with a deep blue dial in an 88-piece limited edition. Ultra plate is French for “ultra flat”, and it aptly describes the line, which includes both automatic and hand-wound models. The new Villeret Ultraplate 6605 is essentially the hand-wound, time-only version of the self-winding (plus date) Ultraplate 6223 that’s a decades-old mainstay in the Blancpain line-up. At 40mm wide and just 7.39mm high, the Ultraplate 6605 is compact on both dimensions and exceedingly elegant. It’s also slightly larger but thinner than the automatic 6223. Entirely polished, the platinum case is done in typical Blancpain style, with a thin, double-stepped bezel and slim, short lugs that allow the watch to wear smaller than expected. The deep blue dial has a simple sun-ray finish and features applied Roman numerals in white gold, along with a pair of elegant, open-worked leaf-shaped hands – a tiny detail but one that lightens the dial. Powering the watch is the hand-wound cal. 11A4B. Though a new movement, it is based on the automatic Frederic Piguet cal. 1150 introduced in 1988. The 11A4B is essentially an enlarged, hand-wind variant of the cal. 1150, with a diameter of 27.8m versus the 1150’s 26.2mm. Some of the enlargement is thanks to wider base plate and bridges, while retaining the original architecture – explain...
Hodinkee
A big result for a big watch – and all for charity too!
Quill & Pad
‘F.P. Journe Invenit et Fecit’ by Jean-Pierre Grosz narrates the story of François-Paul Journe, one of the most successful independent watchmakers of our time. This book outlines both Journe’s incredible and – dare I say – courageous career and delves into his personal life, which wasn’t always rosy and light. A very atypical career that deserves the attention it receives with this book, Elizabeth finds it is a must-read.
Hodinkee
A cross-section of old-school watch design and modern-day watchmaking ability.
Time+Tide
It’s been a big year for Chopard, thanks in part to the release of the Alpine Eagle, the first ever steel watch from the brand, and one of the most discussed watches of the year. As this new sports watch got the world talking about Chopard, we thought it was the perfect time to take … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: 5 reasons Chopard are horological heavy hitters appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
A high-functioning do-it-all that glows in rose gold. The watch, not me.
Revolution
After the launch of the Full Titanium G-SHOCK on Shop.Revolution.Watch, we were honored to co-host an exclusive dinner with the father of the G-SHOCK, Kikuo Ibe
Revolution
Phillips’ upcoming Game Changers watch auction in New York brings together some of the most extraordinary watches owned by the most extraordinary people.
Time+Tide
Few watches released in 2019 have had the ability to garner nothing but praise. There are, of course, certain timepieces that are highly revered - think the new Rolex GMT-Master II ref.126710BLNR, for example. But that watch brings with it a sizeable amount of polarity. No, for the entire horological community to get behind a new … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Longines Heritage Classic appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
Greubel Forsey makes a sports watch. As expected, something wholly different from the rest of the field, while bearing a ‘sport’ imprint.
WatchAdvice
Zenith introduced the Pilot Type 20 Chronograph Adventure as part of the unveiling for their 2019 Baselworld line up. The Chronograph was released alongside the Type 20 Extra Special Adventure which is the three-hand layout of the Pilot model. Zenith does have a vibrant history with pilot models, which stretches back to the early 19th century. The Zenith Type 20 Montre d’Aéronef released around 1939 is a timepiece that closely resembles the current Pilot Type 20 editions. The iconic cathedral hands with the Gothic-font Arabic numerals and the large knurled bezel have all been carried over from the original Type 20 Montre d’Aéronef model. The pilot models only lasted up until 1960, where Zenith stopped production of their aviation watches bar one or two models so that the brand could more solely focus on racing chronographs. In 2010 however, the brand came back to its aviation pedigree and once again started the manufacturing of pilots watches, which was when the modern Pilot Type 20 collection was born. It’s great to see a design of a watch remain unchanged for almost eight decades and shows how true to their history Zenith are. Zenith has given the Pilot Type 20 Chronograph Adventure a more 21st century modern and urban look. Typically when thinking urban colours or colours of nature, one is drawn to the likes of green and brown. Zenith has utilized these colours extensively throughout the Pilot Type 20 Chronograph Adventure. The 45mm casing has been produce...
Time+Tide
Here’s a question for you: how do you modernise something as traditional as a time-only dress watch? Do you utilise new-age materials? Or maybe blow-out the proportions of the timepiece? It’s a conundrum that Baume & Mercier faced with their understated range of Baume & Mercier Classima wristwatches. Their solution was to give owners the … ContinuedThe post When classicism meets contemporary: The Baume & Mercier Classima appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
I’m fortunate to be able to say I’ve met a couple of world number one tennis players in my time. Ash Barty, current women’s number one, is not like any of them. She has no star vibes as such. No X Factor. No celebrity aura. What she carries with herself, which comes across in person, … ContinuedThe post The ‘Barty Party’ hits Australia, and there are just 123 Rado watches available to celebrate appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Even within the rarefied realm of haute horlogerie, Greubel Forsey has taken watchmaking to a level of craft few others can match – not just in terms of finishing, but innovation in chronometry while also establishing its own inimitable, three-dimensional aesthetic. And now, the brand has combined all of that onto its first sports watch – the GMT Sport. While nearly identical to the existing GMT in terms of function, combining a world time with an inclined tourbillon, the GMT Sport looks nothing like any other Greubel Forsey. And its movement is mostly made of titanium, having been reconstructed to fit into the new ovoid case. Despite being strikingly different, the watch is tremendously impressive on many fronts, especially in its finishing and construction. The new look Depth rated to 100m, the GMT Sport is a large watch that is organic in shape, with no right angles, a handful of edges, and only few flat surfaces. But it has a mechanical-looking style, with lugs secured to the case by visible screws and prominent pushers. The construction is complex and masterful, with the most unusual feature being the crystal and bezel, which are curved on multiple planes. When viewed from the top, the case appears circular, but it is in fact, tonneau-shaped with an oval bezel that is curved vertically from 12 to six o’clock. To fit the curvature of the case, the crystal is also oval-shaped and curved, which further highlights the architectural depth of the movement. The circ...
Deployant
MB&F; collaborates with Eric Coudray and Kari Voutilainen to produce a triple axis tourbillon watch. Design by Eric Giroud. The Legacy Machine Thunderdome.
SJX Watches
The flying tourbillon wristwatch for women – the Legacy Machine FlyingT – that MB&F; launched last year foreshadowed its latest watch – the Legacy Machine Thunderdome, boasting the fastest ever triple-axis tourbillon developed by independent watchmaker Eric Coudray. No doubt multi-axis tourbillons are hardly new, especially after Jaeger-LeCoultre unveiled its first Gyrotourbillon in 2005 – which was also developed by Mr Coudray – but the LM Thunderdome takes the concept further by every metric, primarily by building on past ideas to achieve higher cage velocities than ever before. Most intriguingly, the Thunderdome movement incorporates a tourbillon lever escapement first devised by Albert H. Potter – a talented American watchmaker who worked in Geneva in the late 19th century – as well as an unusual multi-axis tourbillon that utilises a carrousel for its outermost cage, christened the TriAx. The ingenious construction of the tourbillon is thanks to Mr Coudray, who now runs complications workshop TEC Ebauches and is best known for the numerous exotic tourbillon movements he has developed. After his two-decades at Jaeger-LeCoultre where he became the resident technical genius, Mr Coudray worked for several brands of varying levels of credibility, including at Cabestan where he perfected its vertical tourbillon, and more recently at Cecil Purnell, where he created the Spherion tri-axial tourbillon, which has a similar construction to the Thunderdome. Besides...
SJX Watches
In early June 2019, American mountaineer Cory Richards embarked on his third attempt at scaling Mount Everest – after successfully reaching the summit twice before, including once without oxygen – but had to give up halfway due to dangerous weather. In fact, the year’s climbing season was one of the deadliest in recent years, with 11 climbers dead or missing. Prior to his valiant but unsuccessful attempt at Everest, Mr Richards worked with Vacheron Constantin to develop a watch for the occasion. He wanted something light, robust and able to track two time zones. Mr Richards at Everest base camp wearing the Overseas Dual Time prototype. Photo – Vacheron Constantin/Keith Ladzinski The beefed-up Overseas The result was the one-off Overseas Dual-Time prototype that looks a great deal more aggressive than the average Overseas. In fact, the designers at Vacheron Constantin managed to boost its presence and sportiness without bulking it up too much; the diameter remains the same. Mr Richards wore the watch up Everest, and now Vacheron Constantin has donated it to charity. Exactly as it was when Mr Richards left Mount Everest, with scratches on the case and fraying on the strap, the prototype will be sold at Phillips’ upcoming New York watch auction, with all proceeds going to the National Geographic Society. Though identical in size to the standard Overseas Dual Time – the case is 41mm in diameter – this prototype has a bulked-up case, primarily with the addition...
SJX Watches
A year ago, H. Moser & Cie. debuted the Heritage Pilot’s Watch, a retro, aviation-inspired watch with grey fumé dial for Swiss retailer Bucherer that was then a one-off unlike anything else in the brand’s line-up. Now the watch has officially joined the collection as the Heritage Centre Seconds Funky Blue, positioned as an entry-level model priced under US$14,000. The watch has a familiar design, for good reason: it’s modelled on early pilot’s watches from the 1920s that were produced by a host of brands including Longines and Zenith, and also Heinrich Moser, the predecessor of H. Moser & Cie. At the same time, according to Moser chief executive Edouard Meylan, the Heritage watch takes some inspiration from early 20th century wristwatches that were converted pocket watches with wire lugs soldered on for wear on the wrist. While the Heritage measures 42mm in diameter like a majority of Moser’s watches, it is just 11.1mm high, making it one of the brand’s slimmest models. Its stainless-steel case features an onion-shaped crown and thin lugs to mimic wire lugs. The case is largely polished, punctuated with fine, vertical fluting on its flanks, a detail taken from another watch in the Moser line-up, the Pioneer. The dial is a dark, metallic blue finished with sunburst brushing and the brand’s signature fumé treatment that gradually darkens towards the edges. But the most distinctive feature are the large Arabic numerals – modelled on the painted radium ...
Time+Tide
Last time I covered a Sotheby’s Australia auction, it was my first time attending a watch auction, and while there were a number of highlights, the sale was heavily weighted towards jewellery. In December, however, Hamish Sharma, the Head of Jewels at Sotheby’s Australia, and his hardworking team have produced a sale that not only … ContinuedThe post 7 exceptional watches at the next Sotheby’s Australia auction appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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