4,161 articles · 21 videos found · page 76 of 140
Monochrome
Following a complete and welcomed overhaul of the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Automatic collection in 2021, last month the brand introduced its latest updated models in the series, with five new Aquaracer Professional 300 Date and three Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT versions, with captivating new dials, slightly reduced case sizes, and powered by the […]
Hodinkee
Down-sizing Longines' heritage dive watch makes all the difference.
Monochrome
For obvious reasons, the watch world tends to glorify complexity and the accumulation of functions into a single watch. We, at MONOCHROME, are no better than the rest of the crowd and we can spend days contemplating a Grande Complication watch, or a timepiece with a novel, ultra-complex escapment. However, we also tend to forget […]
![[VIDEO] Hands-On: the Anoma A1](https://wornandwound.com/library/uploads/2024/06/ANOMA_A1_9.jpg)
Worn & Wound
The age of the circular watch has ended. The mid-century divers, chronographs, and Calatravas are out. Ok, not really, but it looks like shaped, asymmetric, and sculptural watches are the next coming trend. Kicking this new era off have been a few releases ranging from the high-end and exclusive by Berneron to the mid-tier and provocative by Toledano + Chan to the relatively accessible yet exotic Anoma, whose first watch I’ve had the chance to spend some time with. On June 6th, 2024, Anoma Watches launched the A1, an asymmetrical, triangular-shaped watch with an appealing, soft look. Like a weathered pebble of polished steel, the A1 mixes a sense of mid-century watch and industrial design with a modern sensibility, preventing it from feeling like a pastiche recreation. Well-sized at around 38mm and with a vibrant blue dial with a green tint, it’s a memorable launch from a new brand. In the video below, I discuss the brand, the context of the A1’s launch, the design, and what it’s like to wear it. As this is the only shaped watch I’ve ever worn for any period, it was an interesting experience. At first, it was a bit jarring, perhaps, but its quirky charm won me over. With collectors, new and old, having more choices and easier access to watches than ever, brands need to offer something that will stand out yet not be just a novelty. With the A1, Anoma has achieved this, at least in my opinion. Priced at £1,300, or about $1,650 USD, the Anoma A1 is available for pr...
Monochrome
Customisation has fast become a watch industry standard, offering buyers a host of case materials, dial colours, strap options, etc… However, it’s not often that you come across a watch with four different faces, or rather, four different fonts for four revolving numerals on the dial. Designer and former watch restorer John Byrne’s Gyro Dial […]
Monochrome
Two years ago, Tudor announced its entry into the world of cycling, partnering with cycling legend Fabian Cancellara to create the Tudor Pro Cycling Team. Tudor soon developed a special edition Black Bay Chrono Dark for the team, which we discovered during a training camp with the team in early 2023. Just a few weeks […]
Hodinkee
A comparison of two solid new additions to Chopard's dressy high horology lineup.
SJX Watches
A. Lange & Söhne marks the 25th year of its landmark chronograph this year, with two commemorative editions so far – a tremendously expensive all-in-one edition and the relatively more accessible Datograph Up/Down 25th Anniversary. The first Datograph with a white gold case and also the first regular production model with a blue dial, the anniversary edition the result of a relatively modest cosmetic makeover – but unexpectedly compelling. Initial thoughts The Datograph in an imperfect watch – amongst other things it’s top heavy with a somewhat dated dial design – but it has an intrinsic appeal because its movement is outstanding. Even though it’s already 25 years old, the movement remains exceptional in terms of aesthetics. The fact that it’s 25 years old also makes the Datograph important, because Lange created such a movement long before such things became a thing. So the 25th anniversary of the Datograph is an occasion worth marking. Lange debuted two watches for the anniversary (with perhaps a third one to come): the complicated and expensive Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold Lumen, and the more accessible Datograph 25th Anniversary. On its face the Datograph Up/Down seems a bit mundane for an anniversary watch. Both the blue dial and white gold case are unique for the Datograph, but together the watch doesn’t look or feel that different. But like the Datograph as a model, the anniversary edition is imperfect yet appealing. Though it is plain...
Monochrome
Mr Roger Dubuis founded his eponymous brand in 1995, swiftly achieving success with timepieces that deftly balance traditional watchmaking craftsmanship and bold, expressive designs. Since 2003, the brand has been renowned for its expertise in tourbillon watches, starting with the calibre RD03. This fully integrated manufacture has since become a specialist in architectural skeletonised tourbillons, […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
The Type A dial, Flieger-style pilot's watch has been something I've coveted since diving deep into the watch collecting hobby. If I'm not dreaming about some of the prohibitively priced stuff out there, I often think of some of the best affordable options if I were to make this kind of addition to the collection. A few names come to mind, but I've had a soft spot for Archimede since meeting them in San Francisco one year and photographing one of the coolest Archimede watches ever. As the in-house watch brand of the Ickler case company in Germany, Archimede produces some of the most well-crafted and affordable timepieces in this space while remaining family-owned. Today, we're looking at the Archimede Pilot 39, one of their most popular models, and a watch that I'm sad to say goodbye to after experiencing it on loan from Archimede.
SJX Watches
For Ulysse Nardin, Watches & Wonders 2024 was all about the Freak S Nomad, which made its debut in a booth that featured a massive replica of the watch’s movement. While the Nomad is essentially just a new livery for an existing model, the aesthetic changes, which include a rotating guilloche dial, give the watch a sportier feel that suits the design. The Nomad is the second model in the Freak S collection after the original of 2022, and the latest in a long line of innovative watches that dates back to 2001. Interestingly, the Nomad is the first Freak to feature artisanal decoration, in the form of the guilloche dial, as compared to past models that have been more about technology than technique. Initial thoughts Mechanical watchmaking technology is fundamentally archaic, largely unchanged for more than a century. As a result, futuristically styled watches can easily come across as superficial. So it’s refreshing to consider the Nomad, which backs up its sci-fi styling with 21st-century materials and truly unique movement architecture that manages to be highly differentiated even a quarter-century after its launch. On paper, the Nomad is a large watch at 45 mm in diameter and 17 mm thick. Both of these numbers surprised me because after putting it on my wrist, it looks and feels smaller than it is. This is due, in part, to the lightweight titanium case, the muted colour palette, and the visual depth of the dial. Furthermore, the eye is naturally drawn to the central ...
Hodinkee
The brand's time-only line gets a new, relatively affordable take on a captivating dial.
Deployant
Louis Erard partners with Alain Silberstein again to create the new Smile-Day Grey, using the iconic design language of shapes, colours and the emoticons.
![[VIDEO] Hands-On: the Raymond Weil Millesime Collection](https://wornandwound.com/library/uploads/2024/06/RAYMOND_WEIL_18.jpg)
Worn & Wound
Sometimes the little moments inform our collecting more than the big ones. A big moment might be the first time Dad trusted you to wear his watch. While formative, there’d be a lot more two-tone bracelets on Instagram if those moments drove purchasing decisions. My “big moment” came on my seventh birthday. After weeks of begging for a digital watch, I opened a package to be greeted by black resin and the coolest digital screen I’d ever laid eyes on. The subsequent victory lap through the kitchen resulted in a trip to urgent care. Though I still have the scar to remember the watch that unleashed the horological nerd within me, my watchbox is currently void of a single digital watch. On the contrary, little moments are constantly influencing how I think about and consume watches. These are often as simple as offhand remarks I hear at a meetup or a comment I read on Reddit. One of these little moments came while I was listening to Rico’s Watches Podcast a couple years ago. A RedBar chapter head was the week’s guest, and he made some brief, unflattering remarks about Raymond Weil. Sharing a story of buyer’s remorse, he cited a lack of demand on the secondary market and a design language that was an amalgamation of other brands rather than something original. These quick quips stuck with me. As a newer collector, I’d already discerned that anything with “mall watch” vibes might not receive the nod of approval from my enthusiast peers. And, having personally ...
Monochrome
Oversized watches are a thing of the past…? Well, on paper yes. For two to three years now, many brands have been scaling down their watches. Timepieces can move back to 40mm or sometimes even less. Yet, some models are made to be big and bold. 1990s and early 2000s Panerai, the IWC Big Pilot […]
WatchAdvice
The Seiko Presage Cocktail Time has been a hit for the brand, and for under A$1,000, the watch packs a punch! What We Love The gradient Champagne dial with 3D sunburst effect The size is pretty much perfect for most wrist sizes The overall vintage style that epitomises the “cocktail” time theme What We Don’t Crystal is not sapphire by Hardlex Glass Has a minimal power reserve for a watch that may not be worn everyday The movement could be better finished as it is on display Overall Rating: 8.5/10 Value for money: 8.5/10 Wearability: 8.5/10 Design: 9/10 Build quality: 8/10 The Seiko Presage collection is one of those collections that has something for everyone at varying price points. Everything from more sporty full steel models to the dressier variants with beautiful dials and leather straps. Whichever way you look at them, both Seiko and the Presage have a firm place in the market, and rightfully so. Having had some hands-on experience with last year’s Australasian Limited Edition Lark Cocktail Time, and attending the showcase of this piece in Brisbane at Vintage Watch Co, I can see why these pieces have become so popular with watch enthusiasts and the general public alike. So how does the new Seiko Presage Cocktail time that was released earlier this month stack up? First Impressions With three model variants being released – an ice blue dial on steel, smokey brown on leather, and a champagne dial on a brown leather strap, it’s clear that Seiko is thinking a...
Worn & Wound
In case you couldn’t tell, we’re fans of Tudor in these parts. Yeah, yeah, nothing new; everyone likes a Tudor, but man, even in head-to-head combat, it’s hard to find much fault with their watches. Well, I’ll tell you a secret: I do have an issue with them. It’s not a big issue, per se, but it’s not nothing, either. Here’s the deal: when you get one, you choose which strap you want, and that’s it. Want the rubber and the bracelet? You better buy two. Ok, perhaps that’s an exaggeration, but as far as Tudor’s website goes, you can’t order the straps separately. Maybe an AD can, but who’s got time for all that? Now, hear me out; the other thing is that they make very good bracelets. If you, like me, are prone to the occasional Black Bay purchase, you will choose the bracelet over the other options. But those other options, the rubber in particular, are just so damn nice. What’s a collector to do? Well, for Tudor Black Bay 54 owners, there’s a new solution from our friends in Singapore, Delugs. Rubber straps are all well and good, but there’s just something special about one meant for your watch. One fitted to the exact shape of the lugs for that modern, integrated look. Introducing the Delugs Integrated Rubber CTS straps for various watches, including the BB54. Delugs was kind enough to send one over for some sweat-errr– road testing, so here are my thoughts. Despite the setup, I’m actually not a huge rubber strap person. I’m not a huge br...
Hodinkee
With ideas drawn from deep in Panerai's history, the new Elux Lab-ID does something few other watches have ever done.
Monochrome
Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak Selfwinding 34mm in 2020 as the smallest-sized option with mechanical movement. Since its debut, AP has expanded the range with several variations, ranging from simple stainless steel to diamond-covered pink gold versions. For 2024, Audemars Piguet added two new models to the Royal Oak Frosted Gold Selfwinding 34mm series-one […]
Monochrome
Changes to the appearance are often a more frequent feature of the TAG Heuer Monaco series than groundbreaking innovation in its mechanics. And over the years the brand almost always successfully implemented the use of new materials and updated designs, with the recent 2023 introduction of open-worked dials to the collection preceding the launch of […]
Worn & Wound
So far 2024 is a year where brands have been belting out bombastic bangers of watches one after another. So, when a different take on a beloved complication is dropped, we naturally crane our necks to peek at what’s new. The first Swiss chronograph in New Zealand based Beaufort’s lineup highlights the old school idea of a doctor/medic’s watch with a pulsometer as the primary complication. It takes this complication and sets it inside a case and dial that are elegant, yet industrial, but some of the changes made to the chronograph functionality caused me to ask some questions. The Beaufort Pulsatimer, upon quick inspection, might look like your average chrono, but the longer you linger over its construction, the more you’ll start to notice its unique styling. The case is almost totally brushed, with the exception of thinly polished chamfered edges and a polished inner bezel ring. The polished ring steps up from a brushed base bezel ring like the watch is laying its own foundation. And rising once more from the step bezel is a significantly raised box sapphire crystal. All this architecture pulls your eye into a dial that dramatically drops from the crystal with the sloped pulsometer chapter ring. Then we find a beautiful, vertically brushed copper-colored dial that Beaufort calls “Salmon.” They also have an all black, DLC coated version, a reverse panda black and silver dial, and an all silver dial version of the Pulsatimer. The architectural nuances of the ca...
SJX Watches
The recent debut of the Escale Time-Only was actually the second instalment of the design’s revival. Earlier this year, Louis Vuitton presented the Escale Métiers d’Art “Cabinet Of Wonders”, also time-only but with exceptionally elaborate dials decorated in a variety of artisanal crafts – all executed in-house at La Fabrique du Temps (LFT), the brand’s Geneva manufacture. The “cabinet” is a trio of watches with dials featuring Asian motifs inspired by a collection of tsuba, or Japanese sword guards, owned by Gaston-Louis Vuitton, the grandson of Louis Vuitton. Ranging from enamelling to marquetry to hammering, the dial decoration is intricate and three-dimensional. From left: Koi’s Garden, Dragon’s Cloud, and Snake’s Jungle Initial thoughts Like the Voyager Flying Tourbillon Plique-à-Jour, the Cabinet of Wonders is a tangible realisation of LFT’s swift buildup of an in-house métiers d’art workshop that encompasses enamelling, engraving, and guilloche. The métiers d’art workshop is just one facet of Louis Vuitton’s ambitious, wide-ranging development of its watchmaking division, a project that is still a work in progress but advancing at a pace rapid enough that it will go far quickly. The dials are lavish, complex, and finely executed. Although they are each decorated with a variety of techniques, the different textures, colours, and styles complement each other perfectly. The quality of the work is comparable to that of Van Cleef & Arpe...
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 […]
Hodinkee
In a battle between two cool, bold, and shiny G-Shocks in stainless steel, which one reigns supreme?
Hodinkee
The collaborative release might be the best budget GMT I've ever handled, and I don't make that claim lightly.
Monochrome
To many, watches are all about creating memories and lasting experiences. I still vividly remember where, when and how I bought one of my most precious watches, the Tudor Black Bay 79220N. It’s that connection that keeps me from ever selling it. But what if you wanted something more than just a ready-made product? What […]
![[VIDEO] Hands-On: the Amida Digitrend](https://wornandwound.com/library/uploads/2024/06/Amida_Digitrend_2.jpg)
Worn & Wound
Here’s the thing about wearing the Amida Digitrend: you can’t take a traditional wrist shot with it. It’s not an insignificant point in 2024, when the watch industry effectively lives on Instagram, and the currency through which influence is thrust upon brands, collectors, and all of the other personalities who have risen to prominence in recent years is the wrist shot. We expect them when our friends pick up a new piece for their collection, and it’s the first thing we ask for when a new watch is announced with a series of renders depicting the watch in some altered state. So can a watch find success with the enthusiast crowd if it’s virtually impossible to take a traditional wrist shot? Amida deserves a lot of credit, I think, for rolling the dice and finding out in real time. Their new watch, the Digitrend, is one of the most interesting and quietly daring new watches to hit the market in the last few years. It takes a design that’s fifty years old and revives it so successfully that it forces you to wonder what’s happened to the industry in the intervening decades. How did we go from the strange and clever problem solving of the Digitrend to a nearly endless stream of Black Dialed Divers based on the same rudimentary outline? The answer to that question is far outside the scope of this review, but it’s worth reporting that we may indeed be nearing an end to the watch market being saturated with straightforward vintage inspired sports watches. This is ...
Worn & Wound
Walking into Grand Seiko’s Madison Avenue boutique last week, I was ready for a fun evening with great company. After all, that’s what you expect anytime you go to an event hosted by Complecto. What I wasn’t expecting was the opportunity to check out the latest and greatest from Credor, the recently relaunched Locomotive, just a day after its public launch. Timed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Credor, the revival of the Locomotive resurrects a long-dormant design from probably the most influential and well-known watch designer of the 20th century, Gerald Genta, and it more than lives up to both his name, and that of Credor. And speaking of names; when is a Seiko, not a Seiko? I admit, it’s a slightly odd question, but it bears asking. Seiko sells watches at just about every conceivable price point for every conceivable customer. But whether you’re picking up a Seiko for $79.94 on Amazon or a Kodo Constant Force Tourbillon for $350,000, every watch in the Seiko lineup will always have something in common - the word “Seiko” on the dial. It’s hard to think of another watch brand that not only sells watches at such dramatically different prices, but that doesn’t shy away from putting the same name on their entire collection. Sure, there are slight differences we learn to decode. Grand Seiko and Prospex elicit different reactions from collectors than Seiko 5 or Astron but, fundamentally, Seiko proudly declares just about every watch they make a Seiko. ...
WatchAdvice
IN PARTNERSHIP: Almost 2 months ago at Watches & Wonders, Zenith released a chronograph version of their highly popular Defy Skyline – The Defy Skyline Chronograph and we thought let’s see how they compare to the OG. What We Love The edgy look, true to its DNA Quick change strap & bracelet system Accuracy of the 1/10th chronograph What We Don’t Clasp can irritate the wrist on the rubber Still no micro-adjust for the steel bracelet On the larger side and may not be for all wrists Overall Rating: 8.75/10 Value for money: 8.5/10 Wearability: 8.5/10 Design: 9/10 Build quality: 9/10 The Zenith Defy Skyline is no stranger to me. In fact, I’m very familiar with both the brand as well as the Defy Skyline having the Blue dial version as part of my collection. So, when I heard that Zenith were adding a chronograph version to the Skyline collection, part of me was curious as to how they’d look and wear, the other part was really looking forward to seeing them in person upon their release. And if I’m honest, part of me was interested in how they would compare to my Defy Skyline, which if you’re interested in comparing this review to my Owners’ Perspective, feel free to read it here. The Zenith Defy Skyline in blue – a good-looking piece if I say so myself! Initial Impressions Our first experience with the new Defy Skyline Chronograph was a brief one – amidst the chaos that is Watches & Wonders and at the Touch and Feel Session with the full range of Zenith’s laun...
Hodinkee
The initial offering from a new enthusiast-driven brand looks to perfect the everyday sports watch.
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