Hodinkee
Asking Akio Naito – President Of Seiko Watches – About Grand Seiko In The USA
What does Grand Seiko's new Madison Avenue boutique represent for the brand in America?
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Hodinkee
What does Grand Seiko's new Madison Avenue boutique represent for the brand in America?
Worn & Wound
You’ve got two options. First, you can craft or find a device that can bend space and time so that you can travel back to an alternate universe in which the MIL-W-46374F Type 6 SANDY 660 was widely issued and battle-worn, and readily available. Second, you could just pay closer attention to what Tornek Rayville (under its current MKII Watch umbrella) is doing and snag a version that’s better than the slightly obscure original. Maybe I’ve been reading too much science fiction lately, but as fun as the first option sounds, the second option is probably the right move. Today, we’re looking at Tornek-Rayville’s take on a lesser-known mil-spec watch with a short-lived history of service but plenty of potential. The spec called out for a navigator-style watch with a rotating bezel, quartz movement with antimagnetic properties, water resistance, and a focus on legibility. The TR Type 7B “Blakjak” is a modern take on the post Gulf War-era watch that improves upon the spec while adding some premium touches that us watch collectors will appreciate. Let’s dig in and take a closer look at the latest and greatest from Tornek Rayville. Case The first thing that struck me when unboxing the watch was the sheer size and weight of it. The 7B ships on a quick-release stainless steel bracelet and includes a nylon and rubber strap. I took it off the bracelet and popped it onto a nylon strap of my own for the initial evaluation. My wrist is pretty average, measuring in at 6.75...
Monochrome
Before chiming mechanisms appeared in miniaturised form inside table clocks and, eventually, pocket watches and wristwatches, our ancestors relied on the bells of clock towers to tell the time. Minute repeaters, which strike the hours, quarters and minutes on request, require extraordinary horological skill and a trained musical ear to create. Speake Marin’s latest watch, […]
SJX Watches
In an unsurprising move given recent fads, Piaget just announced the Polo 79, a yellow gold wristwatch that is essentially a remake of the original, with a slightly larger case that captures the proportions of the original and an impressively slim movement. Initial thoughts The Polo 79 is a predictable launch, coming shortly after the Vacheron Constantin 222 and IWC Ingenieur, which are of course products of Piaget’s sister companies. The new Polo sticks to the same formula, gently updating the aesthetics and installing a new movement, but largely preserving the same design. So the Polo 79 can’t be commended for creativity, but it is executed well. That said, creating a new design in the spirit of the original – namely geometric forms, slim, and sporty – would have certainly made it a more interesting watch. The Polo 79 is slightly larger than the original, but substantially thicker thanks to a self-winding movement. The original, on the other hand, was equipped with the quartz cal. 7P, an incredibly thin movement that fit the trends of the time. The increase in size means the new Polo feels like a bulked up version of the original, which was small and flat in keeping with 1980s style. To accommodate modern tastes, the Polo 79 sacrifices the thinness of the original. That is regrettable but forgivable, since it would not be possible to achieve sufficient water resistance (the Polo 79 is rated to 50 m) as well as automatic winding in the dimensions of the original c...
Fratello
Don’t look so surprised! You already knew exactly which watches would go head to head in this week’s Sunday Morning Showdown. The Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 was probably the watch that was most frequently mentioned after Piaget released its new Polo 79 this week. And it makes sense. They’re both based on an earlier version […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Piaget Polo 79 Vs. Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 to read the full article.
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Deployant
Today, we welcome the Year of the Dragon, and take the day off our usual publishing schedule to wish all our readers, friends and family a very Happy and Prosperous New Year! We will be back tomorrow for more watch and horological lifestyle content.
Worn & Wound
This Chinese zodiac assigns an animal to represent each lunar new year, cycling through the 12 animals who according to myth came down from heaven to help the Chinese people celebrate the spring. This year is the year of the dragon, which promises to bring good fortune and strength-and, of course, year of the dragon special edition watches. Worn & Wound has already covered some of the best ones out there, but one article (and even two) isn’t enough to cover them all. The IWC Portugieser Chronograph might be the most beautiful year of the dragon watch to come out thus far. The wine colored dial with gold numerals and hands that just ooze luxury, and pays tribute to the Chinese new year on its movement, which features an intricately carved gold dragon rotor. The watch comes with a black calfskin strap, but the rubber strap in a wine that matches the dial provides a stunning complement. IWC has done a few Chinese new year models in the past-this one is far and away the best. The brand’s year of the rabbit had a similar wine and gold coloring, but lacked a two-subdial chronograph complication like the year of the dragon. 2022’s year of the tiger was a chronograph but as a three-subdial chronograph with day and date windows, the dial just feels crowded and lacks the more elegant simplicity of this year’s model. And the metal work on the dragon rotor blows away the last two years’ animal rotors. Tag Heuer uses the inverse color scheme of the special edition Portugi...
Fratello
Another Friday, another Top 5! This week, we’ll focus on watches that celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. Tomorrow is the start of the Year of the Dragon, which prompted many watch brands to release amazing limited-edition pieces depicting the animal that symbolizes luck, prosperity, and wisdom. The dragon is also an imperial icon that […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Chinese New Year Watches - Featuring Jaeger-LeCoultre, Breguet, Blancpain, And More to read the full article.
Fratello
In this week’s episode of Fratello Talks, we’re taking a look at three affordable watches that punch above their weight. Nacho, Thomas, and Morgan have set their sights on sub-€500 offerings. This is a space in which the likes of Seiko, Hamilton, and even Tissot once reigned supreme. Today, it’s the battleground for many microbrands, […] Visit Fratello Talks: Affordable Watches That Punch Above Their Weight to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
Watches with pink dials used to be fairly rare, and confined almost exclusively to dainty timepieces aimed at jewelry-loving ladies. In recent years, however, pink tones have found their way to a wide variety of timepieces, ranging from dressy and elegant to casual and sporty - many of which have found an avid audience among male enthusiasts as well as female. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we’ve compiled a list of pink-dialed watches (along with several that qualify more as “salmon,” pink’s peach-toned, more muted cousin) in a variety of price ranges from under $1,000 up to $25,000. While many would primarily be regarded as ladies’ watches, the goal here is to spotlight timepieces with unisex appeal: every timepiece here is 34mm or larger, and almost none have a trace of jewelry. Maurice Lacroix Aikon Tide Pink Price: $750, Case Size: 40mm, Thickness: 11mm, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Quartz Introduced in 2022, Maurice Lacroix’s beach-ready Aikon Tide has a case constructed from a revolutionary composite material that combines ocean-recovered plastic with glass fiber. The resulting substance is twice as hard as standard plastic and five times more resistant, with the added bonus of also having a smaller carbon footprint than regular PET. This model’s pink dial bears the familiar aesthetic hallmarks of the brand’s flagship Aikon sport-luxury collection, including the distinctive “clawed” case, somewhat Royal-Oak-...
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Monochrome
Despite offering a plethora of well-designed and attractively priced watches, coupled with a rich history, Junghans relishes its somewhat under-the-radar reputation. Integral to Junghans’ contemporary image are the original Meister timepieces dating back to the 1930s and the iconic Max Bill collection, which debuted in the 1960s when the esteemed Bauhaus designer collaborated with the […]
Monochrome
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Grand Seiko‘s introduction of the 9R movement, featuring its revolutionary Spring Drive technology. The concept, conceived in the 1970s and which took decades to implement, aimed to blend the force of a mainspring with electronic watchmaking technology and surpass the precision of conventional mechanical watches. Now, 9R-family calibres […]
Fratello
Welcome to another edition of Sunday Morning Showdown! This week, we have a face-off between two watches from the same house. It’s a battle of old versus new, gold versus steel, and most of all, unabashed luxury versus (relative) affordability. We would like to know which Cartier Tank you would spend your money on. Would […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Cartier Tank Louis Cartier Vs. Tank Must SolarBeat to read the full article.
Fratello
G-Shock is slowly introducing new versions of its classics within the Master of G line. This series of professionally specced watches contains some of the brand’s most famous models. Among them are the Mudman, Mudmaster, Gravitymaster, Frogman, and Rangeman, the last of which is the subject of today’s review. At first glance, the new G-Shock […] Visit Hands-On With The Imposing G-Shock Rangeman GPR-H1000 to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
There’s a whole category of watches that I have come to genuinely love that I think can be fairly described as highly impractical art objects that also tell time. I wrote about one quite extensively here, and if you follow me on Instagram or have chatted with me in real life or in the Worn & Wound+ Slack community (which, to be fair, is technically “real life”) you know that I gravitate more and more toward the avant-garde, and love challenging designs that try to break what a watch even is. The new limited edition regulator from Louis Erard fits into this category nicely, and indeed was made in partnership with a Swiss abstract artist with a reputation for this type of challenging work. The new Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Olivier Mosset is perhaps the brand’s most purely abstract creation yet. Let’s start with the obvious question: how do you tell the time on this thing? This is not an unreasonable query – many who have encountered this watch on Louis Erard’s Instagram feed since its unveiling on Tuesday morning have been confused enough to send their question into the void. I won’t say it’s “simple” because even I have to admit that telling the time on this thing is probably difficult in a pinch, but the idea is straightforward. It’s a regulator, with the top hand reading the hours, the middle the minutes, and the bottom the seconds. But the task of actually reading the time is intentionally (I’m assuming) made more challenging for a few reas...
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Time+Tide
Not only does the M-10 do away with a typical method of telling time, but it also does away with a typical automatic winding system.The post Hublot slides into the future with the MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System Titanium appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
Today, Hublot is releasing a fascinating timepiece, the likes of which most of us have probably never seen. According to CEO Ricardo Guadalupe, “I gave our designers and watchmakers carte blanche, and this is the fruit of their labors.” Well, they certainly didn’t hold back! Let me introduce you to the Hublot MP-10 Tourbillon Weight […] Visit Introducing: The Hublot MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System to read the full article.
Monochrome
What comes after Black Friday, the Christmas holidays, and the New Year’s Eve celebrations? That’s right, Blue Monday. Labelled to be the most depressing day of the year, Blue Monday is typically connected to the third Monday in January, which this year would have been the 15th. This means that, for what it’s worth, we’ve […]
SJX Watches
Longines’ latest launch is unexpected in featuring a novel take on a useful complication: the Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve has a power reserve indicator positioned at the centre of the dial, on the same axis as the hands. Though unusual, the central power reserve is actually found in the Conquest ref. 9028 from 1959, making this something of a vintage remake, which makes its debut just in time for the 70th anniversary of the Conquest collection. Initial thoughts The current Conquest collection is somewhat forgotten because it’s positioned between Longines’ sports watches like the Spirit and the vintage-inspired Heritage and Master models. Fortunately the new Conquest is interesting enough to stand out. Even though it’s not a new invention, the central power reserve indicator is uncommon. Furthermore, this particular power reserve display is a clever two-disc construction that makes the indicator a bit more life, so it adds visual flair to the dial. The central power reserve is arguably more legible than conventional indicators that are smaller. At the same time it gives the dial a pleasing symmetrical layout. Because of the symmetry, the date indicator at 12 actually works well and improves the dial design. Perhaps only downside of the design is the seemingly chunky case. Like many other Longines models, this Conquest appears to have thick lugs despite being fairly compact in diameter. In terms of price, the Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve is mor...
Fratello
It’s the little things that matter. If you believe so, please take a closer look at the new Nomos Orion Neomatik New Black, which comes in three iterations. At first glance, these watches all look pretty much the same, but they’re not. There are three sizes, for instance, and Nomos also plays with different color […] Visit A Hands-On Introduction To The Nomos Orion Neomatik New Black In Three Iterations to read the full article.
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SJX Watches
A year after revamping Pilot collection with fresh-faced aesthetics, Zenith releases a pair of boutique editions – the Pilot Automatic and Pilot Big Date Flyback. Both feature blue dials with a linear horizontal pattern inspired by stamped aluminium body panels of vintage aircraft. Initial thoughts Zenith is best known for El Primero of 1969, a high-frequency chronograph calibre now in its second generation, which is the movement found in both new Pilot models, although the former is not a chronograph. Both, however, share the same design that defines the current Pilot line-up. Unveiled last year, the Pilot has a friendlier, more modern face than most aviator’s watches that tend to be military-inspired. It has all of the hallmarks of a pilot’s watch, including large Arabic numerals and legibility, but manages to look distinct from all the other pilot’s watches on the market. Although blue is hardly a novel colour, the new patterned dials adds to the contemporary look, being even less military-esque than last year’s models in conventional black. The Pilot Automatic retails for US$7,500, while the Pilot Big Date Flyback retails for US$11,500. The time-and-date automatic is relatively pricey for a simple watch, although the high-beat, in-house movement helps justify the price somewhat. On the other hand, the chronograph is competitive against similar watches from rival brands, particularly since the calibre inside is the latest generation of the El Primero. Moreov...
SJX Watches
Now best known for its extravagant and occasionally provocative timepieces, Franck Muller tapped on a Japanese artist who specialises in manga-style paintings for the Cintrée Curvex Ryoko Kaneta Dragon Limited Edition. This collaboration, which will only be available at the brand’s stores in Asia, transforms the mythical beast into a playful character with doll-like features typical of Ryoko Kaneta’s work, with 12 dragons on a turquoise dial bearing the brand’s signature oversized Arabic numerals. Initial thoughts Unlike most dragon-themed watches that take themselves seriously, the Cintrée Curvex dragon edition leaves behind the traditional, regal portrayal of the creature as seen in Parmigiani’s automaton clock or the recent Breguet Classique. Instead it’s a fun timepiece that blends the trademark Franck Muller style with contemporary Asian art and a trendy colour palette. A look through Ms Kaneta’s portfolio shows her aesthetic has been successfully ported over onto the watch, with the dragon characters sharing the manga-doll appearance of her characters. Unlike most character-theme collaborations that feature bold figures at the dial’s centre, the manga dragons are integrated into the numerals, evoking the traditional concept of dragons navigating through the clouds. That said, I would have liked Ms Kaneta to add her touch to the branding on the dial for a more complete visual makeover. With a price of around US$13,400, this limited edition is somewha...
Worn & Wound
The Lunar New Year is set to begin on Feb 10th, coinciding with the date of the new moon, which will fall at 22:59 UTC on February 9th. This will be the Year of the Wood Dragon, which is said to bring authority, prosperity, and good fortune. We are in luck, as the good fortune starts early with multiple releases from many brands celebrating the new Lunar Year. Here are three stand out releases. First up, the Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Dragon. Since 2020, the Blast Tourbillon has been Ulysse Nardin’s symbol of unconventional know-how and for this Lunar New Year, they are quite literally releasing their inner dragon. They have crafted a 5N rose gold hand-sculpted dragon that coils its way around and through the skeletonized “X” structure. The entire case is made of 5N rose gold and DLC coated titanium. Limited to 88 pieces, it is 45mm in diameter and the MSRP of $100,600. Next up is the Blancpain Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar. In 2012 Blancpain achieved a world first, with a watch that combined both the complex Chinese calendar and a Gregorian date and moonphase. To celebrate the Lunar New Year, Blancpain has engraved a dragon on the red gold rotor flanked by a red ruby. This ultra complicated movement has 464 individual components on 6 layers and its complexity nearly matches that of a minute repeater. The dial has been created in full fired grand feu enamel, its green color harmonizing with the red gold case. Limited to 50 pieces, it is also 45mm in d...
Fratello
Today, we’ll go hands-on with models from the newest Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot series. These are great-looking watches that bring a healthy dose of everyday utility along with cues from pilot’s watches. Expect great legibility and specs. Also, because this is Hamilton, all of that goodness is affordable. The Hamilton Khaki series will always have […] Visit Introducing: The Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot Series to read the full article.
Deployant
The Panerai Luminor Due was a collection which was first introduced in 2017, as the mid-sized, unisex Luminor model. The movement then was designated as the OP XXXIV which is assumed to have been renamed the P.900 caliber which is now found inside the new Due. The 42mm case Luminor Due bears the same crown guard as the iconic Luminor Marina, but with only 50m water resistance. Its slim profile and polished case is a marked stylistic variation from the original dive watch. The new dial color adds a nice statement to the hybrid classic timepiece.
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