Hodinkee
My Mother, The Reluctant Watch Collector
And how she became one, with two family heirlooms.
Results for Kenissi MT5xxx Family
683 articles · 3 videos found · page 9 of 23
Hodinkee
Monochrome
Introducing - Wempe Celebrates its 100-year partnership with Junghans with a Limited Edition Meister Chronoscope
Wempe, the family-owned retail giant founded in 1878 in Hamburg, has become one of the biggest names in luxury watch sales. Now in the hands of a fourth-generation Wempe, the retailer has 29 showrooms worldwide and produces special editions with leading German watchmakers. Designed together with Wempe, the latest 100-piece limited edition, which celebrates Wempe’s […]
Monochrome
Introducing - The New Ulysse Nardin Diver Hammerhead Shark Limited Edition
Few brands are as deeply embedded in maritime chronometry as Ulysse Nardin. With nearly 180 years of watchmaking heritage, the brand’s ties to all things nautical find expression in the more classical Marine collection and the brazenly contemporary Diver family. Following the 2018 relaunch of the Diver Chronometer 44mm series and a series of Diver […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Timekeeping at the Edge of the World: Four Watches Across Iceland
Iceland is a place of extremes: glaciers, geothermal hot springs, and black sand beaches shaped by volcanic fury. It’s also a place where time seems to slow down and I thought it was ideal for reflecting on both nature and time spent with family-shaping memories I'll never forget. Watches were also part of the journey, of course. And as I prepared for the trip, the exercise behind choosing which timepieces to bring was something I deeply enjoyed. Now that I'm back, I just wanted to reflect on those choices and how they played a role in my first trip outside the US since the COVID era. I needed it, and it was awesome.
Monochrome
Introducing - The Colourful Nomos Metro Neomatik x Ace Jewelers
Ace Jewelers and Nomos join forces again to create two special Dutch-themed pieces to celebrate the Amsterdam jeweller’s 50th anniversary, following the original Orion De Stijl Limited Edition, the Club Campus Amsterdam, the Zürich Weltzeit Amsterdam and the Tangente 38 Amsterdam. The model selected for this new series is the Metro, a family rarely singled […]
SJX Watches
Obituary: René Beyer, Owner of the World’s Oldest Watch Store
René Beyer, the eighth-generation owner of Beyer Chronometrie in Zurich, died suddenly on April 13, 2025, at the age of 61. Beyer was a towering figure in Swiss watchmaking circles, known not only for helming his family’s 260-year-old business, but also for his passionate stewardship of its famed clock and watch museum, his warm ties with independent watchmakers, and his family’s close relationship with Patek Philippe. He is survived by his wife. Beyer’s passing was first reported by Zurich newspaper Inside Paradeplatz. Born in 1963 into the Beyer dynasty that began in Germany in 1760, Beyer grew up surrounded by clocks and watches. Like his father, Theodor “Teddy” René Beyer, he qualified as a watchmaker himself, learning the business from the ground up. Beyer’s role in the family business started in 1986 when his father suffered a heart attack and was forced to step back. A decade later, Beyer had formally taken over as managing director and proprietor of Beyer Chronometrie, becoming the eighth generation to run the venerable retailer, which first opened in Zurich in 1822. Unlike many of its peers that expanded nationally and internationally, the business remained a local operation in Zurich. Like many watch retailers of the old-school, Beyer was synonymous with his store. The store on Bahnhofstrasse, the main shopping street of Zurich A retailer and curator During his nearly three decades at the helm, Beyer carried on his father’s legacy and bol...
Hodinkee
Chopard’s Alpine Eagle XL Chrono: The Journey To Modern Mastery
Explore the evolution of Chopard’s Alpine Eagle XL Chrono, from its debut to the latest titanium and Rhône Blue edition. Discover how this luxury timepiece blends family legacy, cutting-edge technology, and a commitment to ecological preservation.
Monochrome
Introducing - The New Biver Automatique Yellow Gold & Atelier Series Carbon Edition
In 2023, Jean-Claude Biver, an industry veteran who requires no introduction, returned to the spotlight after retiring from his latest position at LVMH when, with his son Pierre, he unveiled the Biver Carillon Tourbillon, the debut timepiece from the newly minted family-name brand. True to form, expectations were sky-high, with the launch setting a tone […]
Monochrome
First Look - Hitting the Sweet Spot… The new Raymond Weil Millesime Small Seconds 35mm
Raymond Weil’s Millesime collection, launched in 2024, is a charming retro-inspired family that has caught many a watch aficionado’s eye. Injecting a new lease of life into a brand that was often overlooked, the Millesime family is out to conquer the market of neo-vintage dress watches with modern specifications. Coupled with competitive prices, the Millesime […]
Monochrome
First Look - The Sleek Black and Blue Wetsuit of the De Bethune DB28GS Swordfish
Introduced in 2010, De Bethune’s DB28 family distils the essence of Denis Flageollet’s unique watchmaking style with its futuristic silhouette, floating lugs, delta-shaped barrel bridge, exposed balance wheel, and, more often than not, the brand’s signature blued titanium elements. In 2015, the DB28 was revisited in a sportier version with a 100m water-resistant case known […]
Monochrome
First Look - The New IWC Ingenieur Automatic 35
IWC’s Ingenieur collection has been slated for growth this year, welcoming new sizes, materials, and complications. Representing the most compact member of the family to date, the new 35mm Ingenieur is a smart move to conquer more wrist sizes in the ever-expanding unisex sector. Presented in three variants, the smallest descendants of Gérald Genta’s design […]
Monochrome
Introducing - The Surprising New 34mm Diameter of the A. Lange & Söhne 1815
The name of A. Lange & Söhne‘s 1815 watch family refers to the year Ferdinand Adolph Lange was born, the founder of precision watchmaking in Glashütte, Germany. Inspired by F.A. Lange’s pocket watches, all 1815 models are hand-wound and feature classical details like the peripheral railway-track minutes scale. One of the most traditional, understated yet […]
Monochrome
First Look - An Upgraded Movement and Design for the Frederique Constant Classic Perpetual Calendar
Released in 2016 with a price tag of EUR 8,000, Frederique Constant’s Perpetual Calendar Manufacture was one of the most affordable QPs on the market. Powered by FC’s in-house calibre FC-775, the perpetual calendar appeared in the Slimline family and the sportier Highlife collection. For Watches & Wonders 2025, the perpetual calendar returns in a […]
Monochrome
First Look - TAG Heuer Refreshes its Carrera Day-Date and Carrera Twin-Time Models
Jack Heuer’s Carrera chronograph is the stuff of legends. Released in 1963 and named after the dangerous Carrera Panamericana, the Carrera is still TAG Heuer’s flagship model. The current Carrera collection has eight sub-families, including the recently introduced Date family, home to the Day-Date and Twin-Time models. Released just four years ago, the Day-Date and […]
Monochrome
First Look - The New IWC Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar 41 (Incl. Video)
IWC’s stellar piece for Watches & Wonders is the Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar, the first complication to join the family since it was revamped in 2023. What’s more, the 41mm Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar is the first stainless steel model at IWC to bear the names of two legends in the world of watchmaking. Evoking the imprint […]
Monochrome
Introducing - The New Chronoswiss Q-Repeater Collection
Gerd R. Lang, the founder of Chronoswiss, developed a distinctive design language featuring old-school regulators, jumping hours, knurled bezels, large onion crowns and screwed lugs. In the hands of the Ebstein family since 2012, Chronoswiss has maintained the regulator and other traditional displays but injected new life into its collections with a bold mix of […]
Monochrome
Introducing - The Gerald Charles Maestro GC39 Jumping Hour 25th-Anniversary Edition
The Gerald Charles brand was founded by the legendary designer Gérald Genta in 2000, with backing from the Zivani family. After the designer’s death in 2011, Federico Zivani set about reviving the brand and has since created a solid collection of watches around the idiosyncratic yet immediately recognisable Maestro case. Celebrating 25 years of the […]
Monochrome
Introducing - The Favre Leuba Chief Tourbillon Limited Edition
Favre Leuba is among the oldest of watchmakers, founded in 1737 and ultimately sold by the family in the mid-1980s following the quartz crisis. Although ownership changed multiple times, it’s latest and perhaps most compelling relaunch happened last year when Patrik Hoffmann, former CEO of Ulysse Nardin took the helm and the new Chief Tourbillon […]
Monochrome
Introducing - The Elegant Fears Watch Co. Arnos Pewter Blue
Fears Watch Company might seem like a relatively new brand, but it was actually founded almost 180 years ago in the UK in 1846. Although it ultimately shut down in 1976 after 130 years (like so many others in that era), the founder’s great-great-great grandson Nicholas Bowman-Scargill brought the family-run business back in 2016. The […]
Monochrome
Introducing - Fresh Dial Colours and Textures for the Delma 1924 Tourbillon
Delma, founded in 1924, is a family-owned brand based in Lengnau, Switzerland, with a solid track record of rugged, high-performance sports watches adapted to racing, airborne and diving pursuits. Last year, Delma surprised its fan base with the release of a tourbillon to celebrate its 100th anniversary powered by the brand’s first proprietary movement. Following […]
Monochrome
Introducing - The New Nomos Minimatik 39 Date Collection
The Nomos Minimatik is a small family of slim watches, a 35.5mm model with just two dial variations, powered by the brand’s in-house DUW 3001 Neomatik automatic movement. Expanding the collection, Nomos Glashütte now introduces three new references, the Minimatik 39 Date, marking the brand’s latest addition to the dress watch category. The new Nomos […]
Teddy Baldassarre
Glashütte Original Reveals New "Frosted" Dials for Senator Excellence
German luxury watchmaker Glashütte Original has been on a streak of masterful moon-phase creations in recent years, releasing some absolutely exquisite dial colors in its PanoMaticLunar model (including the green-dial model I review here) and unveiling the first PanoLunarInverse model toward the end of 2024. Today, the brand continues shooting for the moon, in a visual and horological sense, with the launch of two new versions of its Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase family boasting two eye-catching - and historically inspired - new dial colors. Both of the watches’ dials - one in frosted silver, the other in frosted copper, achieved in a galvanic process - are created in homage to the rich mineral deposits once mined in the Ore Mountains, near the state of Saxony and the watchmaking town of Glashütte. Their finely grained surfaces, meant to evoke the thin layers of ice on the mountain rock, play host to the familiar and elegant details of the Senator Excellence family - including hand-applied, blued Roman numeral markers in gold and blued, polished poire hands complemented by a central seconds hand with the brand’s “double G” symbol as counterweight. The watches’ signature functions occupy carefully chosen spots on the dial without disrupting its overall clean, harmonious look. The large “Panorama” date display settles snugly in a double window at 4 o’clock, while the moon-phase elegantly balances it in the opposite corner above, its ...
Monochrome
Introducing - The New Raymond Weil Freelancer Complete Calendar
Thanks to the accomplished vintage design of its successful Millesime collection, Raymond Weil is emitting a stronger signal on the watchmaking radar. While the brand has been active since 1976, it really came to the fore with third-generation members of the founding Weil family and their winning bet on the Millesime. Determined to bring the […]
Hodinkee
Introducing: The M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.2 Has Arrived And It's Playing Two Groovy Tunes (Live Pics)
The successor to the watch that made MB&F; "Madness" affordable is back, with a design from a new friend of the MB&F; family.
Time+Tide
Omega introduces a worldtimer function to the Planet Ocean line
The world time complication makes its debut in the Planet Ocean family with these two unapologetically large watches. The post Omega introduces a worldtimer function to the Planet Ocean line appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
What I Discovered on My Visit to The Aristo-Vollmer Factory
I recently visited the Aristo Vollmer watch and bracelet manufacturer in the Black Forest town of Pforzheim. Aristo-Vollmer was founded 14 years ago as a merger of two well-known companies from the towns of Birkenfeld and Pforzheim. After three generations in the possession of the founding Epple family, the watch manufacturer Aristo Watch was sold in 1998 to Hansjörg Vollmer, a member of the founding family of watch bracelet manufacturer Vollmer, which has been associated with Aristo since 1927. Hansjörg Vollmer is a grandson of the founder of the metal bracelet manufactory Vollmer (Vollmer, Evvo, New Line), which was founded in 1922 and had maintained business relations with Aristo since 1927. After World War II, the production of bracelets moved from Birkenfeld to Pforzheim where it is still located next to the Pforzheim train station. Since 2005, the Aristo-Vollmer’s portfolio includes watch brands (Aristo, Aristomatic, Aristocrat, Messerschmitt, Vollmer, Bellana, Aristella, and Erbprinz) as well as bracelets (stainless steel, titanium, carbon), buckles, and deployant clasps. The bracelets are used for its own watch brands, and supplied to retailers, as well as outside the group. Recently Aristo added Klaus Jakob’s Jacques Etoile brand, which we’ll come back to a little later. Hansjörg is an intriguing personality, very driven yet approachable. He is a high-speed fanatic and professionally races BMW motorcycles, and even custom builds them upon request. I att...
Worn & Wound
Hands-On: The MK II Fulcrum 39
One of my favorite games to play when visiting family is something I like to call “Guess, That, Price!” Here’s how it works: I excitedly dump out my rolls and pouches to reveal to the group what watches I have in for review at that time. They then pour over the details, proudly identifying the features of each watch, and then guess the retail price of each piece to see who comes the closest. On my most recent episode of “Guess, That, Price!” I had with me a trio of watches, one of which being the new MK II Fulcrum 39. As it made its rounds, they began calling out features such as the bezel action, the weight of the watch, and the overall rugged visual appearance. When prompted, the three contestants gave me their estimated MSRP of $22,000, $26,000, and finally $31,000. Yes, they are pretty bad at this game. However, what they lack in accuracy is made up for in providing an interesting data point for me. This watch has the potential to carry a higher perceived value than its actual asking price which is not something that typically happens. It pushed me to explore the watch further. From the outset, I’ll admit I was a little disappointed with the new Fulcrum. A massive fan of MK II and Tornek-Rayville, I had inflated expectations that this piece would blow me away. To put it bluntly, this is my least favorite watch they have produced to date. I hate that I am writing that, and I hate that I am admitting that, but at the end of the day sometimes things fall sho...
Worn & Wound
Fears and Topper Collaborate Again on the Redcliff 39.5 Burlingame Edition ‘Confetti’
At first glance, the Fears Redcliff Confetti Burlingame Edition appears to be a classy sport watch with splashes of colorful character. But as the fourth collaboration between the British watchmaker and Topper Jewelers (a family-owned retail store in Burlingame, California, that has long served as a major hub of Bay Area watch enthusiasm) the Confetti isn’t just a tasteful splash of pop-art wrapped in a sleek, dressy package-it’s also a symbol of joy, and an ode to overcoming adversity. The Confetti’s unapologetically exuberant dial motif was hand-drawn by John Caplan just after completing three years of chemotherapy in his fight against Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Caplan’s design was emblematic of the relief and joy both he and his family felt following the conclusion of his treatment: “…I kept thinking about how it would feel to be finally finished [with my three years of chemotherapy],” Caplan says. “My father and I discussed the idea of making something inspirational that would both recognize the journey we’ve gone through as a family and also be a joyful thing to look at…after some experimentation, we presented my hand drawn confetti concept to Nicholas [Bowman-Scargill], and after a few discussions, we all knew that we had something worth developing.” The stand-out pastel blue of the running-seconds hand is John’s favorite color, adding an extra touch of triumph and joy to the center of the Confetti concept. “I love using bright colors in my...
Worn & Wound
The Greatest Horologists You’ve Never Heard Of: Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy (1780-1854) - A Champion of British Craftsmanship
Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy was the last of the great Vulliamy family of Royal clockmakers and five-times Master of the Clockmakers’ Company. He was Royal Clockmaker to King George IV, King William IV and Queen Victoria and the driving force behind the formation of the Clockmakers Library and Collection – now Clockmakers’ Museum – from 1814 onwards. The Public Face of Clockmaking The Vulliamy family was known for producing high-quality timepieces, often regarded as some of the finest in Britain during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy was the last of four generations of Royal clockmakers based at 68 Pall Mall, London from 1753. Early in life he joined his father Benjamin in the family business, which by then was best known for its ornamental clocks and metal furnishings. Upon his father’s death in 1811, Benjamin Lewis inherited control of the business. Following the end of the Napoleonic wars he began to shift its output towards emerging new markets, particularly those brought about by the development and expansion of institutions like the new Houses of Parliament, government departments and London’s clubland. In all his products he aimed for high quality, reliability and accuracy. He created clocks for public buildings and important institutions. Some of his works are still present in places like the Horse Guards Parade and the Royal Exchange in London. This magnificent and imposing clock No. 1394 (below) was purchased for use in ...
Teddy Baldassarre
Grand Seiko Sport Collection Guide
After a relatively short time in the international market — and an even shorter time as a truly independent brand rather than an elevated product family — Grand Seiko has indisputably come into its own as a top-tier luxury watchmaker. Despite the inescapable fact that it still shares ownership and an industrial base with the parent Seiko brand, Grand Seiko has successfully put distance between its high-end output and Seiko’s more accessible, mass-market offerings. In fact, one could argue that enthusiasts and collectors have largely pigeonholed Grand Seiko as the luxurious, elegant dress watch brand and “Regular” Seiko as the sports- and tool-watch brand. But this perception would not be entirely accurate. Grand Seiko makes its own fair share of sporty timepieces with robustly built cases, less-than-modest case dimensions, and practical functions and complications, despite packaging all of these attributes into timepieces that are distinctly more luxurious — and accordingly more pricey — than their Seiko counterparts. Most of these watches fall within the aptly named Sport collection, which made its official debut in 2017, the same year that Grand Seiko established itself as its own brand. The roots of the Sport family DNA reach back significantly further — starting in 1998, with the launch of the Caliber 9S5 inside the first automatic Grand Seiko in more than 20 years, and continuing through the introduction of the first Grand Seiko model with a GMT func...