Results for The Longitude Problem

Gronefeld One Hertz, the brothers and another watch

The Gronefeld brothers in Holland are one of the secrets of high end horology. Independents, they were both trained in the stables of Renaud et Papi. And have been making their own watches, as well as contracting for others from their little workshop in The Netherlands. I had the opportunity to meet them several timesRead More

Malmaison by The Hour Glass at Knightsbridge: most beautiful store in the world?

Malmaison by The Hour Glass in Knightsbridge stands as one of the most beautiful stores purveying luxury in the world. A brainchild of Michael Tay, this store is a treasure house to showcase luxury. Not satisfied with just offering the world’s best watches, Malmaison now also offers a beautiful line of menswear, luxury perfumes andRead More

The Grand Seiko Spring Drive Chronograph

One of my favourite watch making house is the often overlooked Seiko. They have a long history and tradition of making fine timepieces as well as of innovation. But most collectors focus too much on Swiss timepieces. But yes, Virginia, excellent watches do come from outside Switzerland. Germany, and increasingly England, and of course Japan.Read More

Urwerk 2012: Golden Shield and Extreme Closeups of the rotating pods…

Urwerk watches lend themselves to my work very well. The movements and time display system is 3 dimensionsl, with beautiful angles and curves. And they are quite a work of art. This issue, I focus on one of their newer watches. The Urwerk U-110 nwo with a new gold bezel…known as the Golden Shield. ComfortableRead More

SIHH 2012: A tour of the booths

The Booths at the SIHH get more and more amazing each year. This year is no different. As with last year, I took some time to go around to photograph the booths. Here is a selection I omit the largest display – the one by Cartier, because it is spread across several booths…in fact itRead More

SIHH 2012: Audemars Piguet reinvents the Royal Oak

SIHH 2012: Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the Royal Oak with beautiful re-issues. Has it been 40 years since Gerald Genta had this brilliant idea of putting a octagonal bezel in a stylized tonneau case? Indeed it has been, and yet, the Royal Oak looks as fresh today as it didRead More

A closer look at Leica S2 and Summarit-S 120: photographing the amazing Kari Voutilainen Vingt-8

Following up on last Friday’s remarks using DeBethune’s remarkable DB25T as an example, today’s post I use the same combination on the Voutilainen Vingt8 (28). Also photographed in L’Atelier by The Hour Glass using my usual set-up. I have featured the Vingt-8 before. As I described earlier, this is a magnificent watch. As mentioned inRead More

A closer look at Leica S2 with Summarit-S Makro: photographing the stunningly beautiful Debethune DB25T

Following up on my walkabout impressions of the quite remarkable Leica S2, here are some photographs I made in L’Atelier by The Hour Glass using my usual set-up. I have featured the Db25T before, it is a remarkable watch. I particularly love the jumping seconds hand, and the beautiful Caliber 2109 with the magnificent bridgeRead More

Store Visit: Malmaison by The Hour Glass

Store Visit: Malmaison by The Hour Glass: Emporium Extronaire The Malmaison by The Hour Glass is not quite new…in fact, it opened its doors just after SIH 2011…almost a year ago. But the store continues to amaze me. This is a veritable temple of luxury, conceived and created by Hour Glass’s intrepid Executive Director MichaelRead More

Independence The Art of Horology…a visit to the store in Hong Kong.

Independent Watchmaking Salon in Hong Kong March of the Independents It is no secret that I am an ardent admirer of independent watchmakers. I was one of the first to invest in Philippe Dufour, by purchasing and writing about him. As early as 1999, I wrote an early article which appeared in The Business TimesRead More

SIHH 2012 Novelty: EXCLUSIVE: The Lange new Datograph Auf/Ab

December 20, 0900 CET Lange announces the replacement for the 11 year old Datograph with a new and improved Datograph. I attended the launch event in Dresden, and managed to spend a full morning with the watch, photographing, examining, pondering. Here are the exclusive live photographs and my personal impressions. Reinventing classics is an activityRead More

Moser Perpetual: a more detailed study of the finishing

I photographed the Moser Perpetual 1 some time ago…the photographs appear here. As a followup, this is a detailed look at the movement, showing the salient features of the quite excellent finish: Zooming in on the escapement: The entire esacapement, can be unscrewed at the ends of the bridge, and removed. Moser provides service centersRead More

Freak Diavolo: minute of silence for the late great Rolf Schnyder

The latest iteration of The Freak…with Rolf’s signature on the plate attached to the dial at 6. The plate releases the lock on the bezel, which also serves as device to set the time. The watch is amazing in simplicity…no crown…set the hands by turning the bezel. Wind the watch by turning the rear bezel.Read More

Jaeger LeCoultre Gyro Tourbillon - the final edition in Rose Gold

Jaeger LeCoultre has been pushing the envelope of high horology for some time. With the Gyrotourbillon announced in 2004. The original series is produced in a platinum case, and I had the opportunity to photograph and view the final run of 30 pieces in rose gold. The Gyrotourbillon has grown more beautiful in its newRead More

SIHH 2011: The booths at the show

Year after year, the Salon International de Haut Horologie (SIHH) showcases the best of watches in the industry in the huge, invitation only show in Geneva. This is my 10th year attending SIHH. And with each year, the booths become more and more amazing. As the Founder of the Lange Owner’s Group, I naturally useRead More

Urwerk 2011: The UR 110 The Amazing Sculpture

Urwerk is always amazing. The watches they make are not strictly for telling the time, but avant garde sculptures which mesmerises because of the way it reminds one of science fiction creations. One can only imagine the designers at Urwerk: the talented Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner have spent (or mis-spent) their youth marvelling atRead More

Watchscapes: Dufour Duality - the ultimate one watch to rule them all

The Philippe Dufour Duality...ultimate in discreteness, and totally unassuming in character, but what a gorgeous, and ultra-complicated movement within.

MB&F;: the Frog

The MB&F;’s Horological Machine No 3…nicknamed The Frog is a special adaptation of the HM3…with a bit stonger visual design of the dial, providing the impact like they are buldging…like a frog’s eyes. The rotor carries the battleax logo.

SIHH 2010: ALS The Annual Calendar, Double Split, 1815 Chrono, and Little Saxonia

The Lange Annual Calendar…the first Lange watch to bear this complication is shown below: The annual calendar offers a lower cost alternative to the perpetual calendar…and also a cleaner, easier to read dial layout. Very handsome watch, clean dial layout, very legible. Movement again in characteristic Lange finish. The annual calendar movement is under theRead More

Credor by Seiko: The Eichi

The Japanese have a passion, when they often do, and will be prepared to be totally obsessed and fully committed to the task. Such is the wonderful story behind the extreme high end Credor series by Seiko. As many of us know, Seiko makes many low end watches…chances are, most of us have owned one,Read More

20 Of The Best Dive Watches For Small To Medium Sized Wrists

The Seiko Presage Just Got One of Its Most Convincing Heritage Designs Yet

Seiko revisits Japan’s first wristwatch with two new Presage models featuring enamel and urushi dials and a 72-hour automatic movement.

Color Rules the Day with the New Art Dial Detrolas from Shinola

With generative AI slop permeating even our most sacred of artistic spaces these days (don’t Google “AI in museums”, it will ruin your day), any honest-to-god expression of creativity can feel like a breath of fresh air. Watches can be a great escape in this regard, and watchmakers, from industry heavy hitters like Swatch to beloved microbrands like Fears, have recently released pieces inspired by aesthetic movements to bring a little bit of artistic integrity to your wrist. Detroit-based watch brand Shinola is throwing their hat in the multi-colored ring with two new vibrant models in their Detrola collection, inspired by the annals of American midcentury art, and at a price point that should appeal to many. Let’s take a gander.  The Detrola line is Shinola’s premier “pop” collection, featuring colorways that are a little bolder than the usual fare. With a clean field-dress design ethos, each Detrola watch comes in at 41mm in case diameter, making them ideal for everyday wear. Materials vary across the lineup, and the two new Color Theory models both feature polished cream TR90 resin co-molded with a stainless steel core. A thickness of 9.72mm keeps the watches slim on the wrist, and while the longer lugs add a bit of presence, giving the models a 45mm lug-to-lug width and allowing for 20mm straps. It’s a simple silhouette that allows the dial design to set the pace aesthetically, which works in the Color Theory models’ favor.  Each of the two models s...

Benrus Type 1 Mil Spec Review: A Modern Military Watch That Gets the Details Right

Benrus Type 1 Mil Spec review after a week of wear, covering its 39.5mm case, military-inspired design, ETA 2892 movement, comfort, and more.

ProTek Goes Big With the Aggressor Series 4000, a 45mm Affordable Dive Watch

ProTek's new Aggressor Series 4000 is a 45mm carbon diver with 25-year tritium tubes and 300m of water resistance, running a Miyota 2035.

Jérôme Lambert, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre, explains the new Master Control Collection

FounderFest: The Baltic Heures du Monde “Horizon Line” is a worldtimer that takes the French brand into entirely new territory

Baltic’s Heures du Monde “Horizon Line” Time+Tide Studio Edition pairs a forged carbon dial with a worldtimer complication.

Certina DS Action Diver 38 Titanium: The Tool Watch You've Been Waiting For?

By shrinking its flagship diver to 38mm and upgrading to full titanium, Certina has created a compelling tool watch for a hair over $1,000.More

The Dive Watches That Changed Everything

Exclusive insider review: the new Watch Ho x Selten Yum Cha

Yum Cha, anyone? Watch Ho & Co(mmunity) has just unveiled its third anniversary club watch in collaboration with Selten, affectionately named Yum Cha (飲茶)