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After an unusually long hot summer in Europe, autumn/fall has finally arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, and to celebrate, Gerald Charles has released two new models – a Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin and a Maestro 3.0 Chronograph, both in pink gold with chocolate brown dials and straps.
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During a visit to D.Dornblüth & Sohn in eastern Germany, Bhanu Chopra noticed a new matte black ceramic dial in the workshop and loved the look so much that he asked the independent watchmaker to replace the more standard silver dial on his Dornblüth 99.1 with the new black one. And he's very pleased with the result.
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In Ian Skellern's (far from humble) opinion, the Urwerk UR-100 is a breath of fresh air in the usually incredibly staid world of the dress watch. And the UR-100V Time & Culture II takes it to a whole new level.
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The Urwerk UR-120 is a thematic update for the UR-110 using what appears to be a very similar mechanism and dial layout. Even the case is generally the same. But while at first glance it shares much with the UR-110 in essence, when you start to compare the two this is a dramatically different watch, in particular when it gives you the Vulcan salute!
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The Zenith Defy Skyline is loosely based around the historical Defy, which had a faceted bezel (arguably the very first octagonal steel sports watch in 1969), but the Skyline switches it up to a dodecagon (12-sided polygon) and a bolder case silhouette. And this is not the only reason Joshua Munchow is so enamored.
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The Bell & Ross BR-X5 heralds a new design language that is still clearly Bell & Ross at its core but could be considered something dramatically different. And Joshua Munchow thinks it's a winner!
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At Baselworld 2019, when the curtains were finally opened at the Tudor booth, a watch that had widely been considered a myth by many was revealed to be 100 percent real! The Tudor Black Bay P01 has now arrived.
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Held on the fourth Friday of October – in 2023, the 27th of October – Champagne Day was originally established in 2009 by Californian wine educator, Chris Oggenfus, and has taken off, with events around the world. You might be like Ken Gargett and have wondered why we need an official Champagne Day. Surely, every day is perfect for champagne?
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What makes the Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph so pleasing is that it offers everything we have come to expect from the Aquaracer collection and more. It comes in a stainless steel case with matte black DLC coating and some extra-special lume to illustrate its sun-loving movement.
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Patek Philippe has no meaningful history of pilot’s watches, so the 2015 advent of the Calatrava Pilot collection was both an exercise in grasping at straws and a flight of fancy. The Pilot Annual Calendar Travel Time 5326G breaks new ground in design while offering enough features to justify itself
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2023 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore collection. Here Alexey Kutkovoy look at the ROO Diver watches, perhaps the most impressive and important non-chronograph design in the Offshore collection.
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Normally Ken Gargett would not highlight a retailer/supplier, but Dekanta offers special limited edition Japanese whiskies as well as many of the harder-to-find bottlings. And he does think this Asaka Aoi Edition Single Cask is a very fine whisky and definitely worth a look.
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As a fan of the extraordinary Seiko Prospex 1000, Dietmar Fuchs took the limited version of the reinterpretation of a famous Seiko diving watch diving and shares his real-world experience with it here.
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When Louis Vuitton announces the Watch Prize for Creative Independents late last year, I thought that’s fantastic, but I wish it was launched 20 years ago when independent watchmakers were much less appreciated.
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Trends rule a larger part of our lives than many of us wish to admit. Sometimes we follow trends consciously, but often we are subconsciously influenced in the choices we make. All brands perform a delicate tightrope walk, but they differ in how successful they are. Martin Green takes a look at how trends affect or don't affect now-iconic timepieces.
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As both an aesthetic and a mechanical evolution of the Krayon Everywhere, the Anywhere is first and foremost a sunrise-and-sunset watch. It has been significantly streamlined for a much cleaner dial so that much less effort is required by the wearer. Joshua Munchow has the complete lowdown here.
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Raman Kalra has had mixed emotions towards the Yema Navygraf Marine Nationale GMT, but also finding positives I never expected. Over the time with it, the Navygraf has shown him its personality and he has discovered small charms that weren’t obvious on first impressions.
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Unless you have been residing under a large rock in recent years, you are most probably (and perhaps quite painfully) aware that the classic steel sports watches designed by Gérald Genta for Audemars Piguet (Royal Oak) and Patek Philippe (Nautilus) are both beyond the financial reach of most people and in many cases simply not available even if you can afford them. Here Colin Alexander Smith shares six more affordable and more available sports watches that have caught his eye over the last few years.
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In this article, Alexey Kutkovoy continues to look back at the limited and special editions of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore collection, which turned 30 in 2023. Here he explores another side of ROO's history: watches dedicated to vintage and classic car rallies.
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While it is remarkable how Girard-Perregaux made the movement, it is even more astonishing how they turned it into such an incredibly good-looking watch. Compared to its predecessor, the Neo Constant Escapement has a very wearable size of 45mm in diameter at a thickness of 14.8mm. It sits nicely on even a smaller wrist thanks to relatively short lugs, while the titanium case keeps the weight down.
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Here is an entertaining little story about John Keil, his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, and a bunch of guys around a poker table – a story he's sure many watch guys and gals can relate to.
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What makes high end watches so desirable is the artistry involved. For some watches, it is artistry in their complexity, or their superlative hand finishing, or intricate dials, and some feature actual artwork like miniature painting. Then there are a very few timepieces that offer all of that artistry and more: one such timepiece is the unique piece Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Tiger.
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It’s been more than ten years since the De Bethune DB28 won the Aiguille d’Or at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève. Effectively the “Best Picture” at the “Oscars” of watchmaking, this recognition placed De Bethune among the elite company of Aiguille d’Or winners such as F.P. Journe, Greubel Forsey, Breguet, Audemars Piguet, A. Lange & Söhne, and Patek Philippe. A decade removed from its Hollywood ending, the DB28 remains a grail watch in every sense.
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When the news broke that Rolex was acquiring Bucherer, a move that caught everyone by surprise. Until now, Rolex did not have its own authorized dealers, except for one in Switzerland. However, Rolex decided that the opportunity to acquire Bucherer was too good to miss. Raman Kalra shares his thoughts on what this acquisition might lead to.
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Baselworld is no more, Watches & Wonders, while open to the public, is focused on press and retailers, and Geneva Watch Days (GWD), while growing, is still relatively small. In less than 10 years, Dubai Watch Week (DWW) has developed from relatively modest beginnings into the world’s greatest watch fair for collectors bar none. No other fair comes anywhere close in terms of access to brands, watchmakers, and fellow watch aficionados.
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In this fourth article commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore (following: 4 New 2023 Releases, Here Come ‘The Beasts’, and ROO F1s, High Octane Fairy Tales of Super Star Racing Drivers), here is the topic that initially interested Alexey Kutkovoy the most, i.e. the annals of the Royal Oak Offshore limited and special editions.
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“The Holy Trinity,” as any watch nerd knows, refers to the triumvirate of Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron Constantin. Colin Smith takes a look at what we mean – or think we mean - when we describe PP, AP, and VC as the “Holy Trinity” of watchmaking and when we describe a timepiece as our “grail watch.”
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Another year, another GPHG. Martin Green always likes to approach these awards as a way to view the state of the industry. Of course, it only shows part of it, as not all brands compete, but it still gives a good idea.
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Yamazaki 12-Year-Old from Japan is a whisky that Ken Gargett has loved every time he has had the chance to try it. The bottle he sampled for this piece was actually one from the back of his cupboard, which he has been sitting on for far too long. When a mate saw it, he implored him not to open it. But Ken of course did and shares the experience with us here.
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Raman Kalra initially preferred the Grand Seiko Skyflake case shape over the Snowflake, and found the light blue dial attractive. However, after considering Grand Seiko more seriously, he looked at a range of references. and it didn’t take him long to find the SBGA415 Winter.
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