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Results for The Dirty Dozen

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The Dirty Dozen

Twelve Swiss makers who supplied the 1944-45 British MoD W.W.W. specification: Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, IWC, JLC, Lemania, Longines, Omega, Record, Timor, Vertex.
Cartier Privé Les Opus is a Trio of Greatest Hits SJX Watches
Cartier Privé Les Opus Apr 13, 2026

Cartier Privé Les Opus is a Trio of Greatest Hits

Cartier’s crowd favourite Privé line is now 10 years old and the jeweller is returning to its greatest hits for the occasion with two offerings, the first being the flagship Cartier Privé Les Opus. “Opus” is a trio of watches, all in platinum, each being of the most desirable models in the Privé collection – Tank Normale, Tortue Chronographe Monopoussoir, and Crash Squelette. Both the Tank Normale and Tortue Monopoussoir are variants of earlier models, retaining the same case and movement as before, but now with silvered dials featuring red markings. The Crash skeleton, on the other hand, is a new model powered by a new calibre, the 1967 MC, a hand-wind movement with hand hammered bridges. The Crash skeleton is limited to 150 pieces, while the other two models are regular production The second anniversary trio is Cartier Privé La Collection, yet another trio of greatest hits, but in yellow gold and not limited edition, which we’ll detail in another story. Cartier Privé La Collection made up of the Tank Cintree, Tank Normale, and Cloche Initial thoughts It is now a given that Cartier will mine its rich archive for new launches and Les Opus is exactly that. Given the strength of Cartier’s iconic designs, all three watches in the collection are appealing, with the Crash being a little more novel than its siblings in the line-up thanks to its skeleton movement. None of the three watches win any awards for imagination or innovation, but that is arguably besides...

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Watches & Wonders: Bulgari Launches an Octo Finissimo in 37mm Worn & Wound
Bulgari Launches Apr 13, 2026

Watches & Wonders: Bulgari Launches an Octo Finissimo in 37mm

The Bulgari Octo Finissimo is a certifiably unique watch that you can identify on someone’s wrist from across a room. Part of this is because of its exotic integrated design, and the other part is that they are kind of huge, despite being very thin. That contrast has always been part of the appeal, but also part of the problem. For years, the Octo Finissimo has represented an avant-garde take on modern watch design. Thin, minimal, architectural, and kind of brutal, it exists as a distant relative of a Genta-era idea, but pushed into something more experimental. It has also built its reputation on technical achievement, frequently contending for the world’s thinnest watch, and holding that title more than once over the last decade. But this year, Bulgari isn’t focused on thinness. Instead, they’ve turned their attention to something far more practical: wearability. For the first time since the line launched in 2014, Bulgari has introduced a smaller “consumer” model, bringing the Octo Finissimo down to 37mm. On paper, that might not sound like much. In practice, it changes everything. The standard 40mm models were always a bit deceptive. While 40mm is not particularly large for a round watch, the Octo Finissimo is anything but round. These watches are essentially flat squares with wide integrated lugs, creating a large corner-to-corner span and a cuff-like presence on the wrist. The result is a watch that wears significantly larger than its width suggests. It’s...

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Aaron Becsei Rebrands, Launches Becsei J.Z.A. SJX Watches
Apr 13, 2026

Aaron Becsei Rebrands, Launches Becsei J.Z.A.

Hungarian independent watchmaker Aaron Becsei, long known for his expert craftsmanship and flamboyant designs, has rebranded and launched the Becsei J.Z.A., a finely made time-only watch with a more digestible design that should broaden his reach with contemporary collectors. Like Mr Becsei’s earlier work, the J.Z.A. is substantially handmade and will be produced in limited numbers - eight pieces, to be specific. Initial thoughts Aaron Bescei is an independent watchmaker of the old school - a craftsman with the bench experience to produce a watch from scratch. This aspect of his craft is noteworthy in a segment crowded with engineers and constructors that typically farm out finishing and assembly. He’s also been around awhile, having been granted admittance to the AHCI in 2009, though for more than a decade he’s traded under the phonetic pronunciation of his name, Bexei. After a relatively quiet period, the third-generation Hungarian independent watchmaker returns with a rebranded business and a new round watch that manages to stand out despite its now-common format. Mr Bescsei’s previous watches were extravagantly finished with impressively wide, rounded bevels and other lovely details. In many ways, he was a decade ahead of the demand for such watches, but his designs were often maximalist and baroque. His earlier watches, the Dignitas, in particular, featured a massive rectangular case and engraved scrollwork - an aesthetic in tension with contemporary tas...

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Franc Vila’s FVF2 Time & Day is Quirky Haute Horlogerie SJX Watches
Apr 10, 2026

Franc Vila’s FVF2 Time & Day is Quirky Haute Horlogerie

FVF Genève’s second model after the FVF1 skeleton tourbillon, the FVF2 Intrepido Time & Day is a more concise and accessible watch. It’s essentially a familiar formula – time (plus day) and a hand-finished manual wind movement – the FVF2 nonetheless manages to stand out thanks to brand founder Franc Vila’s eye for design. Pictured here with a black mother of pearl dial, part of a five-piece edition, the FVF2 has a pleasing asymmetry. The movement is composed of intriguing geometric forms and quirky details like the square winding click, while also being traditionally decorated with generous bevelling and black polishing. The case is an unusual “unibody” construction where the base plate and case middle are one and the same Initial thoughts The FVF2 might seem like yet another time-only watch with a fancily decorated movement, and it is just that, but not quite. Its creator, Franc Vila, is an industry veteran rather than a newcomer, and is now making a comeback after rising and falling with his original brand some two decades ago. Unlike many recent calibres that try to do more with more, the FVF2 movement is more minimalist but has a recognisable style and artful details. The calibre is characterised by geometric forms that encompass finer elements like the winding click, while also retaining a clear classical bent with the prominent going train and finishing. The treatment for the titanium base plate requires superheated gases to create an oxide layer on t...

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ArtyA’s Uber-Complex Complexity Debuts For Watches And Wonders Fratello
Apr 6, 2026

ArtyA’s Uber-Complex Complexity Debuts For Watches And Wonders

Some watches hit you with the spec sheet and leave you to make sense of the rest later. The new ArtyA Complexity doesn’t really feel like one of those. Yes, the headline is big, and yes, it was always going to grab attention at Watches and Wonders next week. Still, the thing that stood out […] Visit ArtyA’s Uber-Complex Complexity Debuts For Watches And Wonders to read the full article.

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Introducing - Bell & Ross BR-X3 Micro-Rotor, More to See Than Just Time Monochrome
Bell & Ross BR-X3 Micro-Rotor More Apr 6, 2026

Introducing - Bell & Ross BR-X3 Micro-Rotor, More to See Than Just Time

Parisian brand Bell & Ross has long worked with open dials, showing more of the movement instead of covering it up. With the BR-X3 line, that approach also sits well within the brand’s circle-within-a-square design language introduced in 2005. After last year’s BR-X3 Tourbillon Micro-Rotor, this new BR-X3 Micro-Rotor keeps the same idea, but this […]

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Titanium and Fresh Colorways Collide as Straum Expands Its Jan Mayen Arctic Collection with a New Limited Edition Capsule and Permanent Pieces Worn & Wound
Straum Apr 2, 2026

Titanium and Fresh Colorways Collide as Straum Expands Its Jan Mayen Arctic Collection with a New Limited Edition Capsule and Permanent Pieces

Today, two of Straum’s core concepts come alive in a new twist on the Jan Mayen Arctic collection, now in titanium for the first time in addition to stainless steel. The four original colors, in both titanium and stainless steel, now become part of the brand’s permanent catalog. Plus, there’s the debut of an entirely new dial colorway. Last year, we saw the expansion of the brand’s offerings with the classic Jan Mayen design rendered in lightweight titanium as well as the unveiling of four thoughtful and stunning Arctic dials. By now, you probably well know I’m a sucker for a mesmerizing dial design, especially one with a story and deeper meaning behind it. The brand’s limited edition capsules of Arctic dials tick all those boxes. The inspiration draws from Straum’s Norwegian roots with a subtle and abstract interpretation of the country’s natural beauty through intentional use of texture and color to elicit the feeling of the landscape rather than something too literal. We’ve previously seen four editions, each handsome in their own right: one reflecting the bold hues of the Aurora sky; one called Alpine Glow, fading from the crisp blue frost of the mountains fading to a light pink sunset; Meltwater Teal, which quite literally mimics a waterfall cascading down the dial thanks to the perfect execution of ombre white to teal; and lastly, the most understated among the bunch called Tundra Brown with a bronze tone. In addition to a new metal – swapping tit...

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Raymond Weil Marks 50 Years with 50 Year-Old Valjoux 23 SJX Watches
Patek Philippe ref 1436 “Tasti Tondi” Mar 31, 2026

Raymond Weil Marks 50 Years with 50 Year-Old Valjoux 23

Building on the success of its retro wristwatch, Raymond Weil is marking its 50th anniversary with the Millesime “The Fifty”. While it retains the familiar “sector” dial of the Millesime, the Fifty boasts upgraded mechanics in the form of a “new old stock” Valjoux 236 dating from 1976, the year of brand’s founding by the eponymous Raymond Weil. The Fifty combines the vintage movement with a thoughtful design that includes an appropriately sized 37 mm case – steel but with a white gold bezel no less – and novel texturing on the “sector” dial. Notably, the Fifty is also priced well at under CHF9,000. Initial thoughts The base model Millesime is good for what it is, combining an appealing design with an affordable price. The Fifty is more expensive, but arguably even better, because it still has an appealing aesthetic, but now with an excellent movement and a fair price. Watches powered by a vintage Valjoux 23 usually cost more – Singer Reimagined’s equivalent costs almost double – making the Fifty a good value proposition. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that it evokes the Patek Philippe ref. 1436 “Tasti Tondi”. But it’s more than just accessible; the design of the basic Millesime has been elaborated on in a concise and logical manner. The result is a watch that clearly resembles the standard model, but with finer details, including the linear patterning on the dial centre. I disagree with some minor details, like the luminous hands that don...

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Baltic’s Affordable Heures du Monde Worldtimer SJX Watches
Baltic s Affordable Heures du Mar 31, 2026

Baltic’s Affordable Heures du Monde Worldtimer

The value-forward, design-savvy French micro-brand Baltic debuts its first worldtimer, the Heures du Monde with a trio of stone dials – sodalite, tiger’s eye and labradorite, each limited to 200 pieces as a lead up to a future regular production version. It’s a fully functional and sharp-looking vintage-styled worldtimer, with a modern set of features that includes a brushed ceramic bezel, plenty of lume, and a surprising 100m depth rating, for a reasonable price. Initial thoughts Stone dials and worldtimers are each in vogue, and it is only natural to combine the two – especially as worldtimers as a genre are predisposed to vibrant dials, such as enameling, engine turning, or miniature painting. It doesn’t hurt that the Heueres du Monde is a competent watch and fair value proposition over all. Baltic pitches the model as an homage to the work of Louis Cottier, who invented the format. It specifically takes after his earliest worldtimers, which comprised a simple 24-hour disk geared to the hands, and a rotating bezel with the names of cites arrayed around its perimeter. The sodalite, tiger’s Eye and labradorite dials are tasteful, fit the overall watch, and will no doubt age better than many other stone dial offerings from micro-brands today. That said, it was the probably the right decision on Baltic’s part to make these colourways limited, as it doesn’t fit with what I suspect is a more vintage, rather than neo-vintage, vision for the model. Given the br...

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First Look - A New Generation of Longines HydroConquest 300m Diver, in 39mm and 42mm Monochrome
Longines HydroConquest 300m Diver Mar 26, 2026

First Look - A New Generation of Longines HydroConquest 300m Diver, in 39mm and 42mm

Born in 2007, the HydroConquest is Longines‘ classic 300m, modern dive watch. While the Legend Diver is there to evoke the past, the HydroConquest is meant to be a contemporary offering, mixing strong diving credentials with a daily-oriented, sleek design. Until now, we’ve come to know the watch in this form here, when it benefited […]

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AI Designed My Custom Swatch Watch SJX Watches
Swatch Mar 25, 2026

AI Designed My Custom Swatch Watch

Announced last year, Swatch’s AI-DADA platform is now live, enabling customers to design and build their own custom Swatch with a design that will never be repeated. With a low entry price and quick turnaround, I took the platform for a spin. Why AI Swatch has been a design-oriented brand since its debut in 1983. Not only has Swatch produced a dizzying array of original designs of its own, over the years the brand has collaborated with celebrated artists and leading institutions to democratise access to wearable art. About a decade ago, Swatch’s world-class logistics infrastructure enabled it to offer customised watches via an online configurator that enabled customers to mix and match different elements from a pre-selected range of options. That was quickly followed by the ability to generate a custom-printed design, by dragging a Swatch template over a selection of human-created patterns and designs. The AI-DADA system, launched earlier this year, builds on this basis in way that only Swatch could pull off. The system leverages an undisclosed large language model (LLM) to generate a custom design based on a user’s 300-character prompt. The result is a made-to-order Swatch of the customer’s own design, delivered in as few as five days. What’s more, the cost is little more than an off-the-shelf model, at just US$195. With little to lose, I took the plunge. AI-DADA Swatch watches are powered by standard quartz movements in the typical New Gent case size. Three str...

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King Seiko VANAC Review: Vintage 1970s Style Meets Modern Seiko Engineering WatchAdvice
Seiko VANAC Review Vintage 1970s Mar 20, 2026

King Seiko VANAC Review: Vintage 1970s Style Meets Modern Seiko Engineering

The King Seiko VANAC blends a bold 1970s-inspired design with Seiko’s modern 8L45 movement and a new vintage-style leather strap. What We Love: The textured dials with the gold coloured accents The angular vintage-style case The proportions and size for ease of wearing What We Don’t: The movement accuracy could be better at this price point The leather straps could not be up everyone’s alley The clasp on the strap doesn’t feel as solid as the watch itself. Overall Rating: 8.1 / 10 Value for Money: 8/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 7.5/10 Build Quality: 8/10 The King Seiko VANAC is a watch designed to talk to the collector market, and as such, the VANAC name is one that long-time Seiko collectors will recognise straight away. Today, the modern re-interpretations of the VANAC stay relatively true to the original models, but of course, with modern materials and standards. They’re instantly recognisable with those in the know, and do harken back to a time where the Avant-Garde was becoming more the industry norm across certain collections. So, before we get into this review, let’s take a short walk back in time… King Seiko’s VANAC Line Returns In A New Lease On Life A Brief History Of King Seiko’s VANAC First introduced in 1972, the VANAC line represented a bold departure from the more traditional King Seiko dress watches. Designed primarily for the Japanese market, VANAC watches were intended to be Vibrant, Active, New, Advanced, Comfortable — the meaning...

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Hands On: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Malachite 37 mm SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Malachite 37 Mar 20, 2026

Hands On: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Malachite 37 mm

Audemars Piguet expands its stone‑dial lineup with the new Royal Oak Self-Winding 37 mm and 41 mm in yellow‑gold featuring malachite dials, continuing the brand’s cautious re-exploration of trendy stone dials. Initial thoughts Last month Bad Bunny, the most-streamed musician in the western hemisphere, took the field for the Super Bowl LX halftime show wearing this yellow gold Royal Oak Selfwinding 37mm. A design as recognisable as any in watchmaking, worn on the wrist of the “King of Latin Trap” in front of over a hundred million viewers - a significant marketing coup for Audemars Piguet. It was also an implicit endorsement from Bad Bunny’s stylist Storm Pablo, who procured the watch within days of its announcement. Bad Bunny during the Apple Music Super Bowl LX halftime show. Image – Apple Pricing remains surprisingly reasonable, with the 37 mm pegged to the same price as the turquoise-dialled sibling from a few years ago, while the 41 mm model is priced just 4% higher than a regular production Royal Oak in pink gold. That’s a large step up in absolute terms, but that comes with the (price) territory. It is important to point out that despite the premiums brands often attach to stone dials, most are not particularly expensive to make. When it comes to malachite, the raw material cost is negligible, with African mines in and around the Copperbelt producing gemstone-quality malachite by the literal ton. Audemars Piguet made the right choice by avoiding t...

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Introducing - Awake Son Mai Silver Leaf “Atlantis Blue” Monochrome
Mar 19, 2026

Introducing - Awake Son Mai Silver Leaf “Atlantis Blue”

Awake, the young Parisian-based indie brand founded by Lilian Thibault in 2019, is a keen advocate of sustainability and fosters an eco-friendly approach to watchmaking. Introduced in 2024, Awake’s Son Mai collection is a fitting spokesperson for the brand’s philosophy and features handcrafted lacquered dials created by Vietnamese artisans. Combining minimalist design to highlight the […]

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Farer Launches their Cushion Case in a Smaller Size Worn & Wound
Farer Launches their Cushion Case Mar 12, 2026

Farer Launches their Cushion Case in a Smaller Size

Ever since I got the results back from a DNA test I sent off to Ancestry, I’ve become something of an unrepentant Anglophile. That doesn’t mean I’ve covered my walls in Union Jacks or suddenly embraced everything coming out of Britain (I still think The Beatles are just okay). But even so, I do have a bit of a soft spot for all things English – and you can include Farer in that mix. Farer has long been a watchmaker that I’ve admired, not least of all because there’s a good chance that anyone on their payroll and I are related (it is a rather tiny island). In reality, Farer has built a brand on two pillars which have made it undeniably eye-catching: a keen sense of color and a suite of watch types for anyone’s personal preference. And with the release of their latest 35mm Cushion Case collection, we see both of these qualities in action. The new models build on the cushion-shaped case Farer first introduced in 2022, but bring the design into a smaller format. Measuring 35mm across and just 10mm thick, the new collection has had some design changes to better suit the updated diminutive size. Subtle adjustments to the case architecture give the design a slightly sharper and more contemporary feel. The bezel now slopes more dramatically, helping the polished surfaces catch the light from multiple angles. That curvature continues through the case sides into Farer’s distinctive “bat ear” lugs, while a scalloped section between them allows the strap to sit clo...

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Talking In-House Movement Manufacturing With Hublot’s Chief Product Officer, Sadry Keiser Fratello
Hublot s Chief Product Officer Mar 11, 2026

Talking In-House Movement Manufacturing With Hublot’s Chief Product Officer, Sadry Keiser

Hublot regularly makes headlines. Most of the time, however, these headlines revolve around marketing and branding. A new superstar ambassador or a crazy limited edition is more likely to generate exposure than pure watchmaking prowess. Now, in part, this is down to Hublot’s doing. The house focuses on being radical, and it doesn’t mind stepping […] Visit Talking In-House Movement Manufacturing With Hublot’s Chief Product Officer, Sadry Keiser to read the full article.

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Kurono Tokyo’s First Dive Watch is Also a Dress Watch Worn & Wound
Kurono Tokyo s First Dive Watch Mar 10, 2026

Kurono Tokyo’s First Dive Watch is Also a Dress Watch

If you forced me to place a bet, perhaps on a platform like Kalshi, on what the latest release from Kurono Tokyo would be, there’s probably no way I’d put even a nickel of my own money on a dive watch. And if you told me that the dive watch in question would be of a unique modular design, I’d probably just be even more confused. That’s basically how I felt when I first saw the news of the new “Kurono Diver’s” watch from Kurono, which is basically two watches in one, and represents a hard left turn for a brand that we thought we had figured out. I feel like I talk a lot about how nice it is to be surprised in this industry, and this is a great example of a watch that I don’t think anyone saw coming and gives us all a chance to contemplate something a little different. Before we get into the Diver’s though (the name of the watch is stylized somewhat confusingly with the possessive apostrophe ‘s’), it’s worth setting the proper context for Kurono Tokyo, because this watch upends a lot of the expectations collectors probably have for the brand. The first thing to understand is that Kurono is the brainchild of watchmaker Hajime Asaoka, widely recognized as one of the great independent watchmakers in the world. His Kurono line has become popular over the last few years as it gives enthusiasts who might not be inclined to pay well into the five figures for an Asaoka branded watch a chance to get a lot of his aesthetic in an affordable package. It’s a dif...

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