Hodinkee
Breaking News: LVMH Watch Brands Leave Baselworld In The Wake Of Rolex, Patek Philippe, And Others
Yet another blow to the industry's oldest fair.
40,886 articles · 5,571 videos found · page 731 of 1549
Hodinkee
Yet another blow to the industry's oldest fair.
Revolution
In just a matter of weeks, nay, days, the Baselworld Group faces another shock exit by the brands under the LVMH Group - TAG Heuer, Hublot, Zenith and the House of Bvlgari.
Revolution
A breakdown of how our Founder spends his day in the age of COVID-19, and the essential role time, and watches, play in it.
Time+Tide
Stick a fork in Basel, she’s done. LVMH has just announced they’re following Rolex and Patek to Geneva in April of 2021. And I choose those words carefully. Of all the ways you could announce the death of Basel, a sausage has to be in the story. Because, overpriced snags sold daily in the concourse … ContinuedThe post LVMH is out, Basel is dead, so here’s the three things I won’t miss and the one tasty grilled treat that I will… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
When it rains it drips. And in April 2020, at a time when we need it most – our kingdom for some new watches to write about! – it drips technicolour divers, classic chronos and two absolute blue beauties. Seriously. Like blue dialled watches? Prepare yourself. In a case of simply weird timing, just a … ContinuedThe post Our 4 picks from the new IWC, Breitling, Bell & Ross and Montblanc 2020 releases appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Time+Tide
When the Monta Oceanking arrived one day, I didn’t quite know what to make of it. Luckily, I was able to secure a phone interview with Justin Kraudel, the president of Monta. Mr Kraudel is as enthusiastic about watches as any of us (perhaps more so) and was eager to school me on Monta in … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Monta Oceanking, a watch price-positioned between Seiko and Tudor appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Following the Navitimer 1 Airline Editions and the Aviator 8 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Breitling has now introduced its next limited-production capsule collection, the Superocean Heritage ’57. Modelled on the brand’s first dive watch, the SuperOcean ref. 1004, the new range also includes a lively rainbow limited edition with multi-coloured hour markers. As scuba diving and other aquatic sports became popular in the early 1950s, dive watches being a thing, with the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, Rolex Submariner and Omega Seamaster 300 all making their debut that decade. Breitling’s entry into the dive watch stakes as the SuperOcean. While the watch is now less known than its contemporaries, the SuperOcean had a strikingly bold and unusual design despite being some six decades old. It was characterised by a wide bezel with a concave surface intended to protect the domed acrylic crystal, and a dial featuring dagger-shaped indices with additional oversized spheres at the quarters. The quirky, retro style has been reintroduced in full with the Superocean Heritage ’57. Superocean Heritage ’57 Capsule Collection The capsule collection consists of three iterations: in stainless steel with a blue or black dial, and a steel case with a rose-gold bezel paired with a black dial. All are powered by the COSC-certified Breitling Caliber 10, which is an ETA 2892-A2. Entirely polished, the case measures 42 mm wide and 9.99 mm high, making it 4 mm thinner than the standard Superocean He...
SJX Watches
One of the most fashionable watches of the late 1980s and 1990s was the Breitling Chronomat with the distinctive Rouleaux bracelet, specifically the two-tone, steel-and-yellow-gold model with a dark blue dial. The watch of choice for assorted air force squadrons, the Chronomat was also spotted on major Hollywood stars of the era, most prominently Jerry Seinfeld and Bruce Willis. Breitling’s supercharged success after the Quartz Crisis – having been rescued by Swiss entrepreneur Ernest Schneider – was largely down to the Chronomat. Now the Chronomat on the Rouleaux bracelet is making its comeback, after having been discontinued several years ago. Abandoning the styling of recent, unsuccessful facelifts, the new Chronomat B01 42 returns with a tightly-executed design that incorporates several elements of the 1990s classic. A historic hit Launched to mark the 100th anniversary of Breitling in 1984, the Chronomat marked the brand’s return to mechanical watches. In 1979, the late Ernest Schneider took over an ailing Breitling, which until was then making mostly quartz watches with a military flavour. Having delivered the inaugural version of the Chronomat to members of Frecce Tricolori, the aerobatic team of the Italian air force, Schneider had a hit on his hands once the Chronomat was sold to the public. A page from the 1987 Breitling catalogue showing several versions of the Chronomat Though it had the same name as a vintage Breitling chronograph, the Chronomat l...
Revolution
Breitling introduces the Navitimer in its smallest package ever, dedicated to women who want the perfect mix of style and tradition.
Revolution
At the virtual Breitling Summit earlier today, CEO Georges Kern introduced a transformed Chronomat collection that’s styled as an all-round sports timepiece.
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Hodinkee
The icon comes in a new size, with a range of colors and materials.
SJX Watches
Just last year Montblanc unveiled the 1858 Split Second Chronograph, a Minerva-powered watch that was warmly received for being well-finished and complex, yet reasonably-priced. A retro-inspired, rattrapante mono-pusher chronograph, the watch cost US$30,000 – a solid deal as such things go. A few months after, Montblanc debuted the one-off Only Watch edition with titanium case and blue-agate dial that sold for a whopping 100,000 Swiss francs, with proceeds going to charity. The brand has now stepped things up a notch with the 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100 that channels the spirit of the Only Watch edition, featuring the same titanium case and paired with a fired enamel dial in graduated blue. Despite the similar styling, the new watch costs a lot less than the record-setting Only Watch Edition – but isn’t quite as good value as last year’s model. Smoky blue And that’s because while the bronze model had an ordinary dial of brass, this has been upgraded with a grand feu enamel dial, leading to a jump in the retail price of about US$7,000, which is about the typical premium for such a dial. The enamel dial starts off as a solid-gold disc, which is painted with a mixture of enamel powder, water and oil. It is then fired in an oven at over 800℃, melting the enamel powder and fusing it to the gold base. The process of adding enamel powder and firing is repeated multiple times so as to achieve the desired depth of colour. But unusually, the di...
Hodinkee
The Seven Summit Blues.
Deployant
A story of national prde in watchmaking. This time, from India, featuring the Bangalore Watch Company, as told by our Indian correspondent.
SJX Watches
Casio’s best selling G-Shock Full Metal – essentially the original G-Shock design of 1983 executed entirely in steel (or titanium) – is now available in yet another iteration. The G-Shock Full Metal ‘Grid’ (ref. GMW-B5000CS) is covered in a square-lattice motif that represents the “time tunnel that connects the past with the future”, a nod to the vintage inspiration of the Full Metal model. The case and bracelet are stainless steel that’s first finished with a black ion plating, and then laser engraved with the grid pattern, bringing to mind the laser-engraved pixel pattern on last year’s camouflage model. The laser not only light etches the surface, but also removes the black coating, revealing the steel substrate beneath. Both the case and bracelet are covered in the etched grid, with the motif continuing onto the crystal as a printed pattern, Aesthetics aside, the Full Metal ‘Grid’ is identical to the standard steel model. The case is the same size as well as weight, and contains the same electronic module that has the usual functions as well as smartphone connectivity via Bluetooth. It’s solar powered and charged via solar cells on the face; at full charge it’ll run almost two years with the power-saving function turned on. The screw-down case back also features the laser-engraved motif The Grid is priced at US$800, which is a step up compared to the US$550 for the entry-level black-coated model. That’s because it’s a limited-production s...
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Quill & Pad
The Montecristo No. 3 Cuban cigar is most certainly a good corona. That said, Ken Gargett confesses that it had been a few years since he had tried one. But when a friend offered him one recently, he quickly remembered why they should be in everyone’s rotation and what he had been missing.
Hodinkee
From Collectability, a look at how the legendary company gives back.
Hodinkee
A gold-plated deep cut firmly parked in the past.
SJX Watches
A brand specialising in affordable watches priced under US$2,000, Emile Chouriet has a fairly generic line-up, but with one obvious exception, the Héritier à Guichets. Showing the time and calendar in windows, the watch is inspired by timepieces of the 1920s, while having a titanium case with fancy lugs. Named after a 17th century French watchmaker, the brand was founded in 1998 by a Swiss businessman but acquired a decade later by Fiyta, a Shenzhen-based watchmaker best known for producing the chronograph issued to Chinese astronauts. Consequently, Emile Chouriet now focuses its efforts on the Chinese market, but the Héritier à Guichet combines an Art Deco style and novel time display that doubtlessly has wider appeal. Digital time displays became fashionable during the Art Deco period, with pocket watches sporting jumping or wandering hours, or even full calendar displays in an elongated window. The Héritier à Guichet takes inspiration from that early 20th century style, reproducing it in an affordable manner. A pale metallic grey with a radial-brushed finish, the dial consists of four windows, with the two closest to the centre showing the hours and minutes, while the outer apertures with wider bevels displaying the day and date. The hours and minutes, however, are not instantaneously jumping displays, instead they are “dragging” indicators that continually move just as conventional hands would. Also unusual is the case: though it has a moderate 40 mm di...
SJX Watches
Hours after the momentous but unsurprising exit from Baselworld by Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard, and Tudor, the fair’s organiser, MCH Group, issued a strident response expressing “great surprise and equally great regret” at the brands’ departure, while noting that all the brands were privy to the discussions about “postponing” Baselworld 2020 to January next year. And MCH Group then took a swing at its former exhibitors, implying a long-planned conspiracy to depart Baselworld: “[We] must therefore conclude that the relevant plans [to leave Baselworld] have been in preparation for some time and that the discussions concerning the financial arrangements for the cancellation of Baselworld 2020 are now being put forward as an argument.” Memories of days past – the main hall of Baselworld 2019. Photo – Baselworld Unilateral decisions, and more According to insiders, however, the MCH Group statement is only half the story. Most crucial were the circumstances surrounding the negotiations for changing the date of Baselworld, once the world’s largest watch and jewellery fair, a status that likely buoyed MCH Group’s confidence to unsustainable levels. The major brands, led by exhibitors’ committee head Hubert J. du Plessix – who is also the chief of investments and logistics at Rolex – were amenable to postponing Baselworld to January 2021. Amongst the most vocal proponents for the move were the LVMH-owned brands, namely Bulgari, Hublot, TAG...
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Time+Tide
My position on wearing a watch while playing sports is already well established – I think it is a very bad idea. However, recent footage of UFC legend Conor McGregor hitting the reflex bag with a series of “bare knuckle pin pointers” has once again stirred up quite the storm in watch land. Why? Well, “The Notorious” … ContinuedThe post Tools of the trade: The sports stars that actually wear their mega-luxury watches when they play appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
The point of the large watch fairs is (or was) the sheer scale of their visitor numbers. In no other venue can brands meet with so many clients, collectors and press, and vice versa. If a large fair is limited in visitor capacity by health restrictions, can it still dominate the launch cycles of big brands? Ian Skellern examines likely winners and losers of the brave new world of exhibitions in 2021.
Time+Tide
Baselworld looks almost certain to become extinct after Rolex, Patek Philippe and Tudor pull out. A timeline of events here.The post How did Baselworld die? What happened? We created a timeline of events, and it’s basically the plot of ‘Marriage Story’ appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard and Tudor have just announced leaving Baselworld to create a new watch show in Geneva with the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie's Watches & Wonders. The show will be held in early April 2021 at Geneva's Palexpo. This is going to be one interesting year full of new thoughts and ideas. Get out the popcorn!
Revolution
The linear display of information made famous by URWERK emerged first from an almost forgotten watch by Patek Philippe: the Cobra 3414.
Video
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