Results for Cyclops Lens

Rolex Daytona: A Comprehensive Guide to the Iconic Racing Chronograph

The Rolex Daytona is today one of the most coveted and collectible luxury watches in the world, and indisputably a legend among racing-inspired chronograph wristwatches. But it was far from an overnight success. Read on to discover how the Rolex Daytona went from languishing on retailers’ shelves in the early 1960s to inspiring years-long waiting lists and stratospheric auction prices in the 21st Century, and how some racetrack cred and Hollywood star power lent a hand along the way. Since its founding in 1905, Rolex has grown to become the world’s undisputed king of luxury sport watches and one of the most influential innovators in watchmaking history. Rolex inventions like the waterproof Oyster case, the self-winding Perpetual movement, and the user-friendly magnifying Cyclops lens have had widespread influence in the watch industry, and iconic watch models like the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master have become the standards against which others in their category are measured. All that said, Rolex was relatively late to the game when it comes to one of the most popular sport-watch fields: the chronograph. By the early 1950s, the decade in which all three of the aforementioned Rolex models debuted, competitors like Breitling, Longines, and Heuer (today’s TAG Heuer), all of whom had established themselves as specialists in chronographs since before the 20th Century, were dominant in the space. Rolex had dabbled with chronograph models intermittently since 1937, b...

The New Casio Oceanus Manta OCW-S6000AP-1A Leans Into Japanese Artisan Craft

... Read more The post The New Casio Oceanus Manta OCW-S6000AP-1A Leans Into Japanese Artisan Craft appeared first on Two Broke Watch Snobs.

Piaget leans into stone dials for Watches and Wonders 2026

Piaget flexes its stone dial mastery at Watches and Wonders 2026, debuting a new Polo 79 Sodalite, Polo Perpetual Calendar Onyx, and more.The post Piaget leans into stone dials for Watches and Wonders 2026 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

TAG Heuer lines up on pole position with the latest Formula 1 Chronograph

Having taken over F1 as title sponsors, TAG Heuer reveals their Formula 1 challenger for the upcoming season.The post TAG Heuer lines up on pole position with the latest Formula 1 Chronograph appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Introducing the URWERK UR-105 Bronze Guardian Lions Engraved by Johnny ‘King Nerd’ Dowell

The series continues with the UR-105 Bronze Guardian Lions with the engraved artwork of our in-house master engraver, Johnny “King Nerd” Dowell.

Panerai Leans Traditional with the Radiomir Officine PAM01385

Pared back in style, this vintage-inspired limited edition from Panerai takes a simple approach in revisiting a historical design. With a faux-aged dial colour and conical crown, the Radiomir Officine PAM01385 celebrates the anniversary of the original Radiomir prototype of 1935. Priced well at just over US$5,000, it’s a limited edition with just 300 examples being made.  Initial thoughts  The execution of this is clean and will please those who appreciate historical Panerai design. There is nothing added on that doesn’t need to be there, and there are small details which play to those who know their Panerai history. It’s not an exact remake of a vintage model, but has a functional aesthetic that sticks to the spirit of the originals. As an aside, while I’ve never been a fan of mock ageing, the “tropical” dial is an even colour that doesn’t have a fake gradient to it, and so it can arguably be seen as a simple colour choice, rather than recreating faded pigment.  Another notable detail is the 45 mm case. Oversized by most standards, it’s actually more compact than the average historical Radiomir as well as modern-day remakes, which were usually 47 mm. This makes it more wearable, while still looking big enough to retain the Panerai feel. Given the historical background of this design, and the appealing, no-frills design, the price of US$5,400 is good value, particularly when compared against Panerai models like the Radiomir California. With just 300 piec...

Review: new Light Lens Lab M Mount 35mm f/1.4 ASPH

Here is our hands on review of the new Light Lens Lab  35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873", a homage to the legendary Leica Summilux-M 345 Aspherical.

Dubai Watch Week Highlights Through The Lens

It’s been a while since my last appearance on Fratello. However, those of you who have been reading for a long time may remember me as the previous photographer. For those who don’t remember me, now you know. What you may also know is that Dubai Watch Week recently closed its doors, and I was […] Visit Dubai Watch Week Highlights Through The Lens to read the full article.

Behind The Lens: The Philippe Dufour Simplicity

As regular readers know, the idea of the Behind the Lens series is to present great watches as seen from a variety of visual perspectives. Mostly, I feature watches on loan from my generous friends, but this time let’s look at a piece that I am very fortunate to have in my own collection: the legendary Simplicity by Philippe Dufour in a 37 mm white gold case with white lacquer dial.

12 of the best watches putting the macro lens on the micro-rotor

From affordable micro-rotor micros to high-end wonders pushing the complication forward, these are the best micro-rotor watches around.The post 12 of the best watches putting the macro lens on the micro-rotor appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Behind The Lens: Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts Ref. 5089G-018 Geneva Harbor Wood Marquetry Watch

What does Patek Philippe mean to you? For GaryG, Patek Philippe is a firm both mindful of the traditions of horology and clearly focused on its own legacy. This is exemplified by the brand's Rare Handcrafts: watches and clocks displaying traditional arts, including engraving, enameling, micro mosaics, and a favorite of his: wood marquetry. Here Gary gets behind the lens to shoot Reference 5089G-018, a 175th anniversary limited edition with wood marquetry dial.

Behind The Lens: Patek Philippe Advanced Research Reference 5550P Perpetual Calendar

Welcome to a new installment of “Behind the Lens.” This time our subject is the Patek Philippe Advanced Research Reference 5550P, a truly lovely perpetual calendar with some interesting technical twists.

Behind The Lens: Patek Philippe Ref. 5950A-001 Split-Seconds Chronograph

Given GaryG's musings on these pages about the relative roles of rarity and complication in driving the value of a watch, he thinks it appropriate to dedicate this “Behind the Lens” entry to a piece that is both complicated and limited in production: Patek Philippe’s Reference 5950A. What’s so special about this watch? Well, first of all it’s a split-seconds chronograph. What else?

Behind The Lens: Shooting Watches With The Hasselblad X1D-50C – Reprise

GaryG ordered a Hasselblad X1D. He had never shot with a medium-format camera before, and the resolving power, color rendering, and ability to seemingly wrap light around a subject completely blew him away. So when Hasselblad announced that it would be offering a 120 mm macro lens for the X1D, he was among the very first to sign up. But did it make a difference in his watch photography?

Behind The Lens: McGonigle Tuscar One Of Ten – Reprise

For those of you who are regular readers of GaryG's “Behind the Lens” series, it’s no secret that he and his watch pals are big fans of independent watchmaking. Here Gary points his lens up close to a rare McGonigle Tuscar One Of Ten.

Behind The Lens: Philippe Dufour Duality – Reprise

In this installment of Behind the Lens, GaryG shares a series of photographs of one of the great watches of our time, the Philippe Dufour Duality. The Duality, with its linked twin escapements, was originally planned for production in a series of 25 watches. In a turn of events that seems almost unbelievable today, a lack of initial demand eventually led Dufour to limit production to just nine pieces, one of which is owned by a good friend of Gary's.

Behind The Lens: Twice The Fun With Two Vianney Halter Antiquas – Reprise

It’s no secret that GaryG is a big fan of Vianney Halter and his work. He strongly believes that one of the defining moments of his development as a watch collector was taking the plunge and buying one of Halter's landmark Antiquas in pink gold. But how do two of these rare watches look side by side under the unforgiving lens of GaryG's camera? Find out here!

Giveaway: TACS Limited Edition Automatic Vintage Lens Watch

Announcing our Giveaway! Stand a chance to win a TACS Limited Edition Automatic Vintage Lens Watch before its Kickstarter announcement.

New Release, Hands-on Review and Giveaway: TACS Limited Edition Automatic Vintage Lens Watch

We get an exclusive hands-on session on the new TACS Limited Edition Automatic Vintage Lens Watch. And you stand a chance to win the review sample!

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...

Introducing: The Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon Skeleton

Vacheron Constantin’s Les Cabinotiers workshop is its skunkworks division devoted to the most exclusive single-piece editions. Each watch is a special commission by connoisseurs seeking one-of-a-kind timepieces to express their unique artistic vision. Les Cabinotiers dates to the 18th century, when master watchmakers, known as cabinotiers, worked in the brighter top floors of Genevan workshops. […] Visit Introducing: The Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon Skeleton to read the full article.

Introducing: The Rado True Round × Les Couleurs Le Corbusier Special Editions

Rado has a long-standing collaborative relationship with Les Couleurs Suisse. Until now, this has led to 12 releases that used Le Corbusier’s 63-shade color system, which he described in his book Polychromie Architecturale. For its latest collaborative effort, Rado took it a step beyond just using the Swiss-French architect’s color system. While these watches each […] Visit Introducing: The Rado True Round × Les Couleurs Le Corbusier Special Editions to read the full article.

Revolution Awards 2025: Best Astronomical Watch - Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grande Complication La Première

These Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers La Quête métiers d’art pieces tell centuries-old stories

The Les Cabinotiers Homage to Epic Warriors Minute Repeater and The Labours of Heracles unite grand feu enamel and hand‑engraving.The post These Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers La Quête métiers d’art pieces tell centuries-old stories appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The latest Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers watches celebrate art, science and myth