Watch brandsWatch wikiWatch videosVariousWatch calendarSaved articles
PopularRolexOmegaPatek PhilippeAudemars PiguetTudorGrand SeikoCartierSeikoIWCTAG HeuerBreitlingJaeger-LeCoultreA. Lange & SohneZenith

Results for Mechanical vs Quartz

3,073 articles · 475 videos found · page 93 of 119

Best Mickey Mouse Watches: History and Highlights Teddy Baldassarre
Dec 22, 2025

Best Mickey Mouse Watches: History and Highlights

Mickey Mouse is one of the world’s most iconic and recognizable characters and the smiling face of Disney Entertainment, whose vast universe of properties today encompasses everything from Cinderella to Spider-Man to Star Wars. The world first discovered Mickey way back in 1928, in the groundbreaking  black-and-white cartoon Steamboat Willie. It was one of the very first cartoon films with synchronized sound and a milestone achievement for Mickey’s co-creator, Walt Disney, who had founded his eponymous animation studio with his brother Roy O. Disney five years earlier, in 1923. Today, that studio is a worldwide force in entertainment and Mickey Mouse’s image can be found on just about every type of merchandise you can imagine - including wristwatches from a surprisingly diverse range of producers and at a wide range of price points. Nearly a century after first appearing on a watch’s dial, Mickey Mouse continues to claim a small but enduringly popular niche in the world of horology. Here is a brief overview of Mickey Mouse watches from the 1930s to Disney’s centennial year of 2023. [toc-section heading="Ingersoll-Waterbury and the First Mickey Mouse Watch"]   Photo Credit: Secondhand Horology Mickey’s instant popularity with audiences was such that it was only five years after his debut that the character found himself on the dial of a wristwatch. The circumstances behind the creation of the first Mickey Mouse watch, produced by the American watchmaker Inge...

The Watch Lord Nelson Left Behind SJX Watches
Hamilton their daughter Horatia Dec 17, 2025

The Watch Lord Nelson Left Behind

When Sotheby’s closed its Fine Watches online auction in London on December 17, the Victory Watch made by James McCabe and presented to Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson by the officers of HMS Victory sold for £152,400, fees included; below the low estimate. The price was unexpected for an object with an unusually intimate Nelson provenance: a gift from his officers that belongs to Nelson’s last weeks on land, before his victory and death at the Battle of Trafalgar, and to the choice he made to keep the watch at home. The Victory. Image – Sothebys (Turner, the battle of Trafalgar) Wikipedia Understanding the Victory The case bears the presentation inscription, “Pres. to Adml. Lord Nelson By the Officers of HMS Victory Aug 20 1805”. That date sits in the hinge of his final summer. Nelson had returned to England after a long, grinding command, and the country treated him as a national hero. He slipped away to Merton Place in Surrey to live, briefly, in the domestic scene he valued: a house shaped around his wife, Emma Hamilton, their daughter Horatia, and the familiar ritual of guests, dinners, and the small civilities of being ashore. The officers who commissioned the watch gave it to the man they knew at sea, and to the man they sensed existed elsewhere; the man who also wanted beauty, music, and calm within reach. Within a fortnight the strategic situation tightened. News that the French and Spanish fleets had combined at Cádiz brought recall. On September 14, 1805,...

Hands On: F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Vertical Joaillerie Rubis SJX Watches
Patek Philippe s 2022 launch Dec 9, 2025

Hands On: F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Vertical Joaillerie Rubis

Earlier this year F.P. Journe unveiled its most daring jewellery watch yet, the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical Joaillerie Rubis, set with the largest baguette rubies ever used in watchmaking. Despite the current popularity of high jewellery watches, the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical Joaillerie (TVJ) Rubis is an audacious undertaking that required eight years to accumulate the right gemstones – and the destruction of 61 carats of gem-quality rubies to make this single watch. Initial thoughts Haute joaillerie watches of this sort are not new; the 1980s and 1990s saw significant demand for gem-set complicated watches, especially in Asia. But Over the last decade such watches have shifted from niche offerings to an important (and resilient) pillar of the business for many brands. Coloured stones are seeing marked interest too, as a sort of trend within a trend, as exemplified by Rolex’s “Rainbow” Daytona, one of the brand’s hottest models. Patek Philippe’s 2022 launch of the gem-set Grandmaster Chime trio can also be seen as a milestone for the genre, with one of Geneva’s flagship fine watchmaking brands adorning its flagship watch with diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. A unique Piaguet minute repeating pocket watch that’s a fine example of 1990s gem-setting high horology But with the TVJ, it’s clear that F.P. Journe is not simply following industry trends – this watch is eight years in the making and belongs to a two-decade tradition of high jewellery tour...

Precious Pocket Watches at Sotheby’s, Including a US$7.7 Million AP SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet dubbed “Grosse Pièce” Dec 8, 2025

Precious Pocket Watches at Sotheby’s, Including a US$7.7 Million AP

Pocket watches were the main driver of value at Sotheby’s New York auction that just concluded today. The four most valuable lots of the sale were three pocket watches and one clock, totalling over US$16 million with fees. Notably, all four were accrued by the late Robert M. Olmsted over more than six decades, along with numerous other pocket watches in the sale. In all the Olmsted Collection brought over US$20 million, underling the late Olmsted’s discerning eye. The top lot was the most complicated watch ever made by Audemars Piguet, dubbed “Grosse Pièce” for its size. The oversized watch set a record for the brand, selling for just over US$7.7 million including fees. It seemed a rising tide lifted all boats as many other pocket watches in the sale, including those from brands with little cachet today, blew past their high estimates. The big results included a 1930s school watch with a flying tourbillon by German watchmaker Heinz Eberhard that sold for US$355,600 and an oversized tourbillon clockwatch by Charles Frodsham that sold for US$1.12 million. Interestingly, many of these pocket watches went to the same paddle. Patek Philippe The “Grosse Pièce” wasn’t the first timepiece in the sale to clear seven figures. That distinction went to lot 32, a previously unknown Patek Philippe paperweight desk clock made for Thomas Emery, which sold for US$2.73 million. It is one of only three known Patek Philippe desk clocks of this type, with the other two – made...

Francis Ford Coppola’s F.P. Journe FFC Breaks US$10 Million SJX Watches
F.P. Journe FFC Breaks US$10 Million Dec 6, 2025

Francis Ford Coppola’s F.P. Journe FFC Breaks US$10 Million

Francis Ford Coppola’s personal F.P. Journe FFC prototype shattered expectations at Phillips’ New York watch auction today when it achieved price of US$10.8 million including fees. One of the most talked-about lots this auction season, FFC’s FFC is the most expensive watch sold in 2025, and now the most valuable example of independent watchmaking by some margin. Big result in the Big Apple Despite chilly weather in New York, the action in the saleroom quickly turned hot. Auctioneer Aurel Bacs opened at US$1 million, but the bid instantly jumped to US$2 million. Several bidders then piled on, but the contest condensed to just four phone bidders past the US$4 million mark, including bidders represented by Tadzio Nuno and Paul Boutros, of Phillips’ Geneva and New York offices respectively. The action then settled into a head-to-head between bidders represented by Alex Ghotbi and Isabella Proia, once again of Geneva and New York respectively. Mr Ghotbi emerged the winner with a US$9 million bid, which brought the total to US$10.755 million with fees. The bidding was notable for being entirely on the phone – though one bidder was in the room but bidding on the phone – and also for being driven by clients outside of Asia. A record The result makes Mr Coppola’s prototype - one of only two made, and the only one in private hands - the most valuable wristwatch from an independent watchmaker ever sold at auction, exceeding the US$8.36 million achieved by the landm...

The Owl is an Ambitious Debut from L’Atelier Bernard SJX Watches
Dec 3, 2025

The Owl is an Ambitious Debut from L’Atelier Bernard

Independent watchmaking continues to draw enthusiasm from collectors, particularly as a new generation of creators begins to establish its voice. New brands are springing up to cater to that demand, and one of the most interesting recent debuts is The Owl by L’Atelier Bernard, a sold-out six-piece limited edition that blends unconventional aesthetics with equally unconventional mechanics. Handcrafted in Fleurier by the young duo Bernard Van Ormelingen and Bernard Braboretz, the watch showcases now familiar elements of artisanal finishing and inverted-movement architecture, along with something rarely seen, a duplex escapement, which makes The Owl a more distinctive entry in the crowded field of emerging independents. Initial thoughts The Owl is handcrafted by a pair of young and talented watchmakers, the Bernards who gave their name to the brand. Clearly a show of their shared aesthetic sensibilities and technical chops, the Owl is meant to kickstart the independent creators’ artisanal venture in Fleurier. One of the Bernards is not new to independent watchmaking; those who closely follow independent watchmaking might remember Mr Van Ormelingen’s name from Van Bricht, a now-defunct brand for which he produced guilloche dials. The Owl is unexpected and intriguing on several fronts. Its aesthetics, mechanics, decoration, and layout seem almost at odds with one another, yet the result is a distinctly artisanal object. There is no conventional dial; instead, the watch pr...

First Look – The New Zenith Defy Extreme Chroma Editions Monochrome
Zenith Defy Extreme Chroma Editions Dec 2, 2025

First Look – The New Zenith Defy Extreme Chroma Editions

Zenith continues to evolve its high-frequency El Primero chronograph platform with two new references that combine the brand’s core technical identity with a sharper, more architectural use of colour. The Defy Extreme Chroma Limited Editions mark the next phase of the Chroma concept, introduced in 2022 with the Defy 21 Chroma and followed by the […]

Christopher Ward And Studio Underd0g Unveil The Alliance 02 Pocket Watch Fratello
Christopher Ward Dec 2, 2025

Christopher Ward And Studio Underd0g Unveil The Alliance 02 Pocket Watch

It seems the last few weeks of 2025 will be full of new surprises in the watch world. We guessed that after Dubai Watch Week, things would slowly wind down, but it looks like we were wrong. A late, surprising release this year comes courtesy of two British brands demonstrating that there is true momentum […] Visit Christopher Ward And Studio Underd0g Unveil The Alliance 02 Pocket Watch to read the full article.

Insight: Shaping the Rolex Identity with a Century of Strategic Positioning SJX Watches
Rolex Identity Dec 2, 2025

Insight: Shaping the Rolex Identity with a Century of Strategic Positioning

The marketing history of Rolex shows a brand building its public face step by step through symbols, carefully chosen moments, and tightly controlled messages. From its beginnings in 1905, Rolex shaped a clear, recognisable image, with a strong emphasis on visibility, control and consistency. The company spent real effort defining what the name Rolex should evoke and how that image would appear in print, in shop windows and on people’s wrists. Where many watchmakers leaned on language around heritage and handcraft, Rolex developed a communication style rooted in achievement, trust and broad recognition. The brand favoured association: with pilots, swimmers, climbers, tennis players, orchestras, laboratories and prize-giving institutions. Sponsorships, endorsements and even model names formed a linked pattern, presenting the Rolex watch as the natural companion of records, frontiers and public success. Hans Wilsdorf, the founder, treated promotion and product as parts of the same task. He saw that a claim about performance gained weight when tied to a visible test or public event, and that reputation could grow through displays of endurance, accuracy and elegance under pressure. The waterproof Oyster case, observatory trials, Channel swims, aviation flights and Himalayan expeditions all served as stages on which the watch and the story moved together. Across the decades this approach produced one of the most coherent brand stories in modern watchmaking. Through long-standi...

Piaget Polo Review: How The '80s Luxury Watch Icon Holds Up Teddy Baldassarre
Piaget Dec 1, 2025

Piaget Polo Review: How The '80s Luxury Watch Icon Holds Up

While it’s more widely known for its jewelry these days, Piaget, founded in the small Swiss village of La Cote-aux-Fées by Georges Piaget in 1874, has been a watchmaker from the beginning. Its original trade, in fact, was making movements, and the company began making complete watches in In the 20th century. Before getting into the Piaget Polo, it's worth it to get into the brand's history in thin watchmaking. Since 1957, when Piaget created the historic 2mm-thick Caliber 9P, the company has been world renowned for the elegant thinness of its watches and movements. The world’s thinnest self-winding mechanical movement, Caliber 12P, followed Caliber 9P just three years later, in 1960, and Piaget has building upon these foundations ever since. Its most recent triumph in this area was the Altiplano Ultimate Concept, which debuted in 2018 as a prototype and hit the market in 2020; the entire watch, case and movement, is just 2mm thick, matching the wafer thinness of the original Caliber 9P. Along with Bulgari, another watchmaker known more for its jewelry, Piaget continues to embody the ne plus ultra of what ultra-thin watchmaking can accomplish.  [toc-section heading="The Integrated Bracelet Era Begins"] However, while “thin and elegant” remains the calling card of the Piaget watch brand overall, the market was looking for something a little different - a little bolder, perhaps - in the 1970s. Audemars Piguet had introduced its groundbreaking Royal Oak “Jumbo...

Introducing – The Arnold & Son Constant Force 11 Platinum Edition Monochrome
Breguet s renowned tourbillon escapement Nov 20, 2025

Introducing – The Arnold & Son Constant Force 11 Platinum Edition

Friendships matter in life, and what better way to celebrate the bond between two of watchmaking’s greatest individuals than with a tribute watch? Bringing together Abraham-Louis Breguet’s renowned tourbillon escapement and John Arnold’s beloved fusée-and-chain system, lovingly replaced with a constant force mechanism, the Constant Force Tourbillon 11 made a deep impression when launched earlier […]

News – The 6th and Last Konstantin Chaykin White Rabbit Watch to be Auctioned by Ineichen Monochrome
Konstantin Chaykin Nov 20, 2025

News – The 6th and Last Konstantin Chaykin White Rabbit Watch to be Auctioned by Ineichen

Announced in 2023, the Konstantin Chaykin White Rabbit Watch is an exceptional complication watch inspired by the enchanting world of Alice in Wonderland. Featuring no fewer than 16 complications, it takes the form of a reversible, transformable case (pocket watch to wristwatch and vice versa). This complicated and poetic “wristmon” was released in a limited […]

First Look – The New H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Perpetual Moon Concept Meteorite Monochrome
H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Perpetual Nov 20, 2025

First Look – The New H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Perpetual Moon Concept Meteorite

With its streamlined case, flexible integrated bracelet and sensual contours, H. Moser & Cie.’s sleek Streamliner luxury sports watch continues its journey onwards, and in this case upwards, with no signs of losing steam. Coinciding with Dubai Watch Week 2025, Moser unveils the new Streamliner Perpetual Moon Concept Meteorite, a hyper-accurate moon phase complication framed […]

Did Tudor Read Our Minds? The Ranger is Now Available in a 36mm Size (With a New Dial Color) Worn & Wound
Tudor Read Our Minds? Nov 19, 2025

Did Tudor Read Our Minds? The Ranger is Now Available in a 36mm Size (With a New Dial Color)

Tudor just released a watch that fans have been clamoring for and perhaps manifesting since at least 2022. That’s the year Tudor released a new 39mm Ranger to a great deal of fanfare and also a great deal of “Well, this would be even better if it was just a little smaller.” To be fair, that 39mm Ranger was perceived by most as an improvement over the 41mm Ranger, introduced in 2014 during an era when the enthusiast voice demanding vintage inspired watches match actual vintage proportions was much quieter. Now, with a new Ranger in 36mm, it feels like it’s finally back to the correct size.  What’s more, Tudor has taken this as an opportunity to release the Ranger in a new dial color. The “Dune” colorway is a really appealing, creamy off-white with contrasting black indices and Arabic numerals. The hands match the color of the dial but have been given a black outline to improve legibility, which looks great. The key difference between the black dial (also available in a 36mm size and unchanged in layout from the larger version) is that the Dune dial does not have lumed numerals, but small lume plots next to each numeral.  The case, of course, is smaller, but the general design and proportions do not appear to have changed. It’s dominated by a brushed finish which bolsters the tool watch roots of the Ranger, and has a water resistance rating of 100 meters. The Ranger runs on the COSC certified MT5400 automatic movement, which has 70 hours of power reserve on...

GPHG 2025: The Aftermath - LVMH Is A Big Winner, But Breguet Takes Home The “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix Fratello
Breguet Takes Home Nov 15, 2025

GPHG 2025: The Aftermath - LVMH Is A Big Winner, But Breguet Takes Home The “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix

Nothing is as disputed as an award ceremony. The outcome of an opinion will always face another opinion, and people will have opinions on the ceremony itself. You know what they say about people and opinions, so I won’t elaborate on that. What I will elaborate on are some of the winners of the GPHG […] Visit GPHG 2025: The Aftermath - LVMH Is A Big Winner, But Breguet Takes Home The “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix to read the full article.

Introducing – The New Awake Son Mai Fragments Limited Editions Monochrome
Nov 6, 2025

Introducing – The New Awake Son Mai Fragments Limited Editions

Awake has built a clear identity around thoughtful materials and craft, moving from early eco-focused projects to last year’s Son Mai lineup, watches that brought traditional Hanoi lacquer work and silver-leaf dials into a permanent, Swiss-powered collection. The Fragments series is the next chapter: three limited editions that fuse Vietnamese Son Mai lacquer with mother-of-pearl […]

In His Own Words: François-Paul Journe on the Clock That Started It All SJX Watches
Patek Philippe Museum François-Paul was determined Nov 4, 2025

In His Own Words: François-Paul Journe on the Clock That Started It All

Exactly one auction season ago, the Breguet Sympathique no. 1 made by François-Paul Journe became the most expensive timepiece sold in 2025, though the upcoming sales include other F.P. Journe creations that might give the Sympathique a run for its money. Inspired by Abraham-Louis Breguet’s greatest invention, the Sympathique no. 1 sold in May 2025 at Phillips in Geneva for CHF5.51 million including fees, at the time equivalent to US$6.61 million, to none other than François-Paul Journe. The price was just shy of the US$6.8 million that the Duc d’Orleans Sympathique sold for in 2012 – the buyer of that was the Patek Philippe Museum. François-Paul was determined to have Breguet Sympathique no. 1 for his upcoming F.P. Journe museum that is slated to open in 2026. Despite bearing another name on the dial, the clock will take pride of place in the museum, underlining its importance to the history of F.P. Journe. The tale of F.P. Journe as a brand is naturally inseparable from the eponymous watchmaker. Like his inspiration, Abraham-Louis Breguet, François-Paul Journe is more than a watchmaker, he is an entrepreneur who has built a brand, a legacy, and more than likely, a place in history. From the very beginning, decades ago as a young watchmaker in Paris, François-Paul Journe already possessed the vision that has now come to pass. Inextricably intertwined with that vision and the story of François-Paul Journe is Breguet Sympathique no. 1, for its origins encapsulat...

30 Of The Best Titanium Watches Teddy Baldassarre
Nov 3, 2025

30 Of The Best Titanium Watches

Titanium is by no means a new material in the watch industry. In fact, it’s been used on a commercial level in case construction for more than 50 years. Titanium in its raw form as a structural metal is 40% lighter than stainless steel while still just as hard. Among its appeal for watchmaking purposes are the facts that it is also highly resistant to corrosion by the elements as well as being hypoallergenic. There are different grades of titanium as well, which offer different characteristics based on how it’s alloyed with other metals. Titanium ranges in color from dark gunmetal grey to a steely silver which gives it versatility in different applications. Perhaps the most enticing aspect of titanium, particularly from the consumer side, is that despite its high-quality characteristics, there isn’t a massive discrepancy between its price versus that of stainless steel. With that in mind, we've compiled a list of 30 outstanding titanium watches in a range of price categories. Citizen Promaster Super Titanium Armor  Case Size: 41 mm, Integrated 23.5 mm Bracelet, Thickness: 10.5 mm, Lug-to-Lug: 43.7 mm, Water Resistance: 100 m, Movement: Eco Drive J810, Crystal: Sapphire, Price: $625 In 1970, Citizen launched the very first titanium wrist watch called the X-8 Cosmotron Chronometer. Today, Citizen uses what it calls Super Titanium, a titanium alloy coated with a proprietary hardening agent that increases the hardness of the metal to five times that of stainless steel. ...

Minase Introduces Handcrafted Yusai Dials For Its 5 Windows Mid, 7 Windows, And Divido Watches Fratello
Minase Nov 3, 2025

Minase Introduces Handcrafted Yusai Dials For Its 5 Windows Mid, 7 Windows, And Divido Watches

Tokyo-based artist Towa Takaya creates pigments from soil, plants, and minerals gathered during her travels, which she then uses to craft watch dials. Now, Minase is introducing handcrafted Yusai dials made by her for its 5 Windows Mid, 7 Windows, and Divido watches. Takaya’s goal is to create a dial showing the essence of nature […] Visit Minase Introduces Handcrafted Yusai Dials For Its 5 Windows Mid, 7 Windows, And Divido Watches to read the full article.