35,860 articles · 309 videos found · page 829 of 1206
Quill & Pad
Mars is a planet with a lot of mystery, its red sand surface occupying the dreams of those who ache to set foot on its surface. For watch enthusiasts who want to make waiting until that happens a bit more bearable, Christiaan van der Klaauw introduces the Planetarium Dunes of Mars.
Revolution
Wei speaks one-on-one with Felix Baumgartner, a panelist from our Legends of Independent Watchmaking Horological Symposium at Geneva Watch Days 2022, to look back at the highs and the lows of the last 25 years of URWERK. Felix, a master watchmaker, co-founded URWERK with designer Martin Frei in 1997 and the duo have been upending […]
SJX Watches
In an unexpected, end-of-year announcement, Audemars Piguet unveiled the Code 11.59 Starwheel, reviving the wandering hours complication that had been absent from its catalogue since 2003. Inspired by a 17th century clock, the wandering hours made its way into wristwatches thanks to Audemars Piguet (AP), which debuted the first wristwatch with the display in 1991. Retaining the familiar three-disc hour display, the new Starwheel is nonetheless an entirely different watch from the compact original. Powered by an in-house movement contained in the Code 11.59 case, the Starwheel has physical presence by virtue of its size, but also a surprising degree of refinement thanks to the excellent finishing of the dial and case. Initial thoughts With a modern look defined by dark colours and instrument-like numerals, the Code 11.59 Starwheel looks pretty much the same as it does in photos – but it is far more appealing than expected. In the metal the watch has an impressive degree of visual detail, particularly the polished bevels on the dial components, and a reassuringly solid feel, all of which give it a great deal of tactile appeal. The refinement in terms of visual detail also translates into the movement, which is in-house both in terms of the base and module. Although it functions identically to the original Star Wheel, the Code 11.59 model has an improved display mechanism. Instead of the periodic rotation found in the original model, the discs rotate continually throughout ...
Time+Tide
Ah, the French. So stylish, yet so understated. I’m generalising, of course, but if you were ever searching for a watch with a vintage elegance that whispers, but never shouts, France’s Baltic has found their voice. Their Aquascaphe diver is pure mid-century perfection, familiar without ever seeming blatantly derivative. Oh, you’ll catch little glimpses of Blancpain’s … ContinuedThe post The Baltic Aquascaphe continues to sell out on a regular basis. Here’s why… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
Since 2015, Unimatic has become one of the most successful upstarts in the loosely defined microbrand category. Founders Giovanni Moro and Simone Nunziato have generated a true cult following for their minimalist aesthetic that captures the essence of particular sports watch designs, and in the process creates archetypes for each of their collections. They also […]
Revolution
Take a closer look at the U1 GMT in an all-white Cerakote coating with stonewashed finishing. Every single watch is unique and slightly different from other pieces due to the random wear patterns created during the hand-finished process, giving it a distinctive feel. For maximum legibility, the watch features a 24-hour matte aluminum bezel, black-tipped […]
Time+Tide
The practicality of a wristwatch is a controversial topic in a world of smartphones and atomic clocks, especially when you can get a bulletproof digital watch for less than $50. Inventing a separate timekeeping device that doesn’t strap to your wrist sounds more like a step backwards than forwards at first, but there are several … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The CODE41 Mecascape is a truly unique timekeeping device appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Twenty twenty-two will undoubtedly be the best year on record for the luxury-watch industry. Swiss watch exports recorded their highest ever monthly value in November 2022 and the total for the year will top CHF24 billion, another all-time record. Despite the stellar year – or perhaps because of it – the “novelties” for 2022 are fairly muted. Lots of nice watches made their debut during the year, but the truly outstanding and significant launches were sparse. That could be for a few reasons, including supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic or that brands simply didn’t need to try too hard since sales were easy. During Watches & Wonders, a chief executive of a high-end independent brand conceded that it was better to conserve ammunition for the inevitable slowdown. Watches & Wonders 2022, where sales were easy to come by. Image – Watches & Wonders Even if the genuinely notable were few, the volume of new releases was consistently high throughout the year. And it wasn’t just new models from existing brands, but also new faces, especially in the independent watchmaking space. There was plenty to keep watch aficionados occupied throughout the year. Still, the year’s top watches are pretty obvious. The very best will be remembered a decade from now as a significant or important watch. Other picks simply have soul and authenticity. With that in mind, our team compiled the year’s best in each of the major categories, ranging from establishment favourit...
Time+Tide
With its name first appearing on watches as early as 1927, Tutima have had a tumultuous yet resilient history. You may not be as familiar with them as some other German watchmakers, but they nonetheless excel in all corners. This latest release for the brand is quite a unique take on a traditional dress watch, … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Tutima Patria Small Second Blue & Gold appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
Bradley Tan may only be 34 years old but he has been a tattoo artist for more than half his life. Dedicating almost two decades to his craft has resulted in him being regarded as one of the best in the world, of the black and gray photorealistic style. He is also a passionate watch […]
Quill & Pad
Not long after Walter Lange reestablished his forefathers’ company A. Lange & Söhne, once Germany’s most famous watch manufacture, he recognized that training the next generation of watchmakers would be crucial for both the long-term prosperity of his company and the local watchmaking industry and population. Sabine Zwettler takes a look at how that training has evolved.
Time+Tide
Although I am a self-confessed lover of weird things, I could never really put my finger on why I hadn’t fallen for Meistersinger. I’ve always enjoyed their single-handed quirk and charm, and I’ve definitely recommended them to people who are looking for something different in the past, but it wasn’t until the new Meistersinger Singularis … ContinuedThe post How the Meistersinger Singularis Enamel Edition finally won me over appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Members of Generation X can truly say they were there for some seismic cultural shifts. Although some relics should definitely remain encased in the nostalgic amber of the past, not everything that burst forth from the New Wave Age was as disgusting as New Coke, or as cringe-inducing as parachute pants. Despite what boomers might … ContinuedThe post Vintage video game watches offer real wrist game appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
While Blancpain is best known for its retro dive watches and triple calendars, the brand’s catalogue includes a surprisingly broad range of complications, especially for a brand of its scale (but the fact that the brand is part of Swatch Group clearly helps). One of its most interesting recent complications is the Villeret Tourbillon Heure Sautante Minutes Rétrograde, the first Blancpain watch with either a jumping hours or retrograde display. Despite the lengthy name, the Tourbillon Heure Sautante Minutes Rétrograde, from now on simply THSMR, is a simple watch on its face, but one executed in an elaborate manner with details that speak to its quality. The dial is champlevé enamel with a symmetrical time display and “floating” flying tourbillon, while the movement has a six-day power reserve and bridges finished with guilloche. Initial thoughts Unlike most of Blancpain’s complications that formal and busy, the THSMR is an elegant watch with an almost minimalist design. The fired enamel dial has a figure-of-eight display that gives it almost perfect symmetry, except for the charmingly quirky hour window that is off-centre but just right. And up close the tourbillon appears to be “floating” thanks to a clear sapphire lower bridge. It is a fairly large watch as most Blancpain watches now are, though it’s not too thick at just over 11 mm high. But the size is grounded in its mechanics: the cal. 260MR is a sizeable movement with an impressive six-day power r...
Time+Tide
The first time I set foot in a luxury watch boutique was for a sim racing competition in 2019, driving a GT3 car around the Hungaroring. I won a pen, notebook, and baseball cap for my third place ranking, and figured that I’d pretty much peaked in my sim racing career. IWC went down a … ContinuedThe post Start your (virtual) engines… The IWC Esports Challenge at Battersea Power Station appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
A host of hidden gems means we have a vintage watch for everyone on your holiday list this year.
SJX Watches
A horological influencer in the Middle East, Hassan Akhras is behind the magazine Arab Watch Guide and Arab Watch Club (AWC), a community of collectors in the region. Like other regional clubs, the AWC has its share of limited editions made for its members, with the latest being the Piaget Polo Chronograph “Hope” Arab Watch Club Edition. Made to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the club, the edition is Mr Akhras’ first project with Piaget. Initial thoughts Special editions made for the Middle East usually intrigue me because they often have elements specific to the region, including the familiar Hindu-Arabic numerals on the dial. The Polo “Hope” takes a more subtle approach instead of the more overt styling often found on watches for the region. While the dial is eye-catching in its colour, the Hindu-Arabic numerals are found only on the chronograph registers and date wheel. Aside from the Hindu-Arabic numerals, the palette makes the Polo “Hope” an attractive watch. It’s distinctly different from the variants of the model to date. And even in its original form, the Polo S Chronograph has appealing dimensions at 42 mm in diameter and 11.2 mm in height. It’s a large, sporty watch but slim enough to slip underneath a cuff. Sadly, this timepiece is exclusive to its membership of the Arab Watch Club, and all 30 pieces have been sold out. First of many While Piaget has done limited editions for specific countries, the brand had not teamed up with a c...
Hodinkee
Powell heads to the cockpit once more in 2022 for our watch-related movie of the week.
Time+Tide
This trio of novelties from the Vacheron Constantin Égérie Moon Phase collection encompasses the brand’s incredible attention to detail and gem-setting savoir-faire. The first is a more simple, possibly even everyday, piece with a brand new bracelet, touted to fit like a second skin. The other two share a case and dial covered in diamonds, … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Vacheron Constantin Égérie Moon Phase stuns with its diamond-studded designs appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
In the realm of microbrand watches, Kickstarter has long been a preferred platform for launching new models, and even entirely new brands. It can be a sort of marketing test-bed for a fledgling brand, or a lower-risk method of funding production runs for more established ones. It’s pretty simple, really. If no one’s interested in … ContinuedThe post Three monster Kickstarter success stories that exploded into life appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
For its 25th anniversary last year, Parmigiani debuted La Rose Carrée, a grande sonnerie pocket watch that was entirely hand engraved and enamelled in blue. While it was a one-off creation, the pocket watch has spawned a collection of five minute repeaters, Les Roses Carrées. Each of the five will be unique and the very first is La Rosa Celeste, a minute repeating wristwatch that takes after the pocket watch in both decoration and detail. Initial thoughts As is typical of Parmigiani’s top-of-the-line compilations, La Rosa Celeste is impressive in both its decoration and complication, but it has an unusual modern feel. Although the case is intricately engraved, the clean dial gives it a contemporary feel, so it doesn’t have the old-fashioned ornateness that such watches often possess. With the lavish engraving and generous enamelling, the case makes a statement on the wrist, even more so with its size. At 42 mm in diameter and over 13 mm high, La Rosa Celeste is a big watch, a little too big to be as elegant as its decoration. But the size is no doubt also meant to give it presence, which it will surely have. La Rosa Celeste is finely crafted and artisanally decorated, which inevitably means it is expensive, or CHF600,000 to be exact. That’s a hefty sum but par for the course for a watch like this. Repeating roses and blue enamel Of all the elements of the watch, the dial is the simplest in terms of style. It’s almost minimalist with small, square hour markers...
Hodinkee
It's an all-pixelated affair for the new Depthmaster Pixel Art.
SJX Watches
While much of the buzz around Patek Philippe’s recent launches has been centred on the Nautilus ref. 5811/1G in white gold, the year has been mostly about other than the Nautilus and Aquanaut. Amongst the most notable new launches for 2022 is the World Time Flyback Chronograph ref. 5935A-001. Continuing with Patek Philippe’s development of steel watches beyond its traditional sports models, the ref. 5935A is a striking new take on a model that made its debut in 2016. Previously available only in precious metals (namely white gold or platinum), the ref. 5935A is the first of the model in stainless steel – and one of the brand’s few complicated watches in the metal. And the ref. 5935A is larger in diameter than its predecessor, but its most eye-catching feature is the dial in “rose-gilt opaline” (or “salmon” if you wish). Initial thoughts A World Time in steel is a big deal because the world time is arguably an iconic watch for Patek Philippe. Select vintage examples are amongst the handful of Patek Philippe references that can sell for high-seven or even eight figures. Granted the ref. 5935A adds a chronograph into the mix, but it is still modern take on a signature complication. The ref. 5935A retains the familiar Louis Cottier-type world time display that’s almost synonymous with Patek Philippe, but with contemporary materials and colours. And at 41 mm it is also larger than usual for a Patek Philippe complication, giving it something of a sporty feel...
Hodinkee
Can the right timepiece provide cold comfort in icy waters? Our former Complete Newbie columnist – now a real, professional watch writer – strapped on the Super Sea Wolf Compression Whitecap to find out.
SJX Watches
For almost as long as I’ve been interested in watches, I’ve tried to find an objective way to visualise the stratification of the various luxury watch brands. I’m as fascinated by the process of watchmaking as much as the products themselves, and I wanted to find a way to differentiate brands based on the production techniques they employ, yet do so objectively. I believe you can tell a lot about a brand’s values and capabilities by looking at their methods, but it can be difficult to penetrate the smoke and mirrors of luxury watch marketing to see what’s really going on behind the curtain. An objective measure: watchmaker-hours per watch In my review of the Saxonia Thin last year, I used the metric “watches per watchmaker” to illustrate the economics of A. Lange & Söhne. While this is not a perfect metric, it is simple and quantitative, and crucially, it can often be derived from publicly available information. Taking this analysis one step further, I added Swiss, German, and Japanese national statistics for working hours to calculate the maximum possible number of watchmaker-hours per watch for more than 50 luxury watch brands. The start of the map, the Saxonia Thin How to interpret this metric The watchmaker-hours metric is not the number of hours that a watchmaker spends on every watch. Rather, it’s the theoretical maximum number of hours that a brand’s watchmakers could possibly spend with each watch. This workrate can be viewed as a simple proxy fo...
Quill & Pad
First launched toward the end of 2021, the Continuum, now known as C by Romain Gauthier, is the boutique brand's take on a luxury sports watch without falling into the trap of trying to be just another voice in the steel sports watch market.
SJX Watches
Descended from Piaget’s ultra-thin dress watches that first emerged six decades ago, the Altiplano is the brand’s quintessential dress watch in the modern day. Minimalist and refined, the Altiplano is pared back, legible, and well-proportioned – not to mention very thin – as expected from a brand that launched its first ultra-thin watch in 1957. The latest addition to the ultra-thin lineup is the 21-piece limited edition that emerged from a collaboration between Piaget and auctioneers Phillips, the Altiplano Origin China Special Limited Edition. It will be available only at Piaget boutiques in China with the exception of the prototype numbered “00/21” that will be sold at Phillips’ upcoming Hong Kong sale on November 28. Initial thoughts Ordinarily found with a conservative and somewhat plain silver dial, the Altiplano gets a major makeover with a lacquered green dial paired with pink gold hands and indices that liven up its usual monochromatic look. It’s clearly a dress watch yet manages to stand out against all the other dress watches. That said, the dial is almost perfect, but not quite – the date window with a white date disc looks out of place. I would have preferred the dial to do away with the date altogether. The case remains the same as the standard model with a wearable and modern size of 40 mm matched with a thinness of just 6.36 mm that’s further enhanced by the slim lugs. Its height, or lack thereof, is thanks to the cal. 1205P, among the...
Teddy Baldassarre
There are a lot of cheap watches out there, and to be honest, many of them look the part. Making a watch that is inexpensive enough to appeal to a broad audience yet also capable of impressing a discerning watch enthusiast with its build quality, finishing, movement, and design is a challenging task for even the most experienced and resourceful of watch manufacturers. The brands and models we spotlight below, in our humble opinion, successfully tread the line between entry-level value (prices range from under $100 to just shy of $600) and noteworthy quality and aesthetics. Casio Vintage Gold A168GW-9VT Price: $65, Reference: A168GW-9VT, Case Size: 38.6mm x 36.3mm, Case Height: 9.6mm, Crystal: Resin Glass, Water Resistance: Water-Resistant, Movement: Quartz Digital While its most iconic contribution to the watch world is undoubtedly the mega-popular G-Shock, Japan’s Casio offers different styles of digital timekeeping in its retro-influenced Vintage series, the most “expensive-looking” of which is this gold-toned model with a rectangular resin case, a stainless steel bracelet, and an electro-luminescent backlit display screen. The watch features an array of useful functions including a 1/100-second stopwatch with elapsed times and split times, daily alarms, hourly time signals, an auto-calendar, and timekeeping options in both 12-hour and 24-hour format. Best of all, this combination of high functionality and gilded flair can be had for under $70. Scurfa Diver O...
SJX Watches
Having covered highlights from the independent watchmakers at Phillips’ The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XV, we now dive into the complicated timepieces in the sale that takes place on November 28 and 29 – an appropriate theme given that the three most valuable lots according to the estimates are complicated watches from Patek Philippe. In this roundup, we look at nine lots that stand out. Some like the ref. 5207P with the uncommon mahogany guilloche dial are six-figure, headline lots, while others are value propositions that might slip under the radar but worth noting, like the Cartier Privé Tonneau XL Skeleton Dual Time. Registration for bidding and the entire catalogue for sale can be accessed here. The ref. 5207P with a brown guilloche dial and matching obsidian inlays in the case and slide Lot 817: A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone “Buenos Aires” Here, we have the Lange 1 Time Zone that was first introduced in 2005. With the trademark Lange 1 dial layout and oversized date, the Time Zone maintains the recognisable Lange 1 style with its “Golden Proportions” despite being able to do much more than a standard Lange 1. This particular variant came about when Buenos Aires retailer Simonetta Orsini requested a limited edition for Argentina. The cities disc thus has Buenos Aires (“B. AIRES”) to indicate UTC-03:00, instead of Rio de Janeiro as is the norm for the model. But more significant for the Lange enthusiast is the silver dial with blue hands and ma...
Time+Tide
While other manufactures rely on hands or discs to convey information, HYT developed a means of utilising fluid to show the time – carving out their own unique lane within the watch design landscape. No easy feat. Being so distinct, however, can be polarising, but the brand is now under the helm of CEO and … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The HYT Moon Runner Supernova Red Magma and White Neon appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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