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Seiko s eBay Finds Apr 26, 2024

eBay Finds: A Pair of Great Vintage Chronographs, a Cool Rodania in Original Condition, and Some Classic Seikos

eBay Finds is back! This bi-monthly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at info@wornandwound.com for potential inclusion! Seiko Bell-Matic Alarm Watch  The Seiko Bell-Matics are well known amongst collectors, however this model is one you don’t see very often. The uniquely styled case is a big ol’ cushion shaped chunk of steel, measuring 39mm wide. This example looks unpolished and has the original brushed finish. The bezel has a nice blue acrylic insert that looks really cool. The dial is a super dark blue, and is in great shape, with bold steel hands and a red seconds hand. The crown is at 3 o’clock, and the alarm button is recessed at 2 o’clock. The watch comes on the original broad link bracelet, which is always a bonus. The movement is clean and the seller states the watch runs and works properly.  View auction here Vintage Vantage Chronograph Here we have a gorgeous vintage Vantage chronograph, with a stunning reverse panda style dial. The steel case has a slim bezel and slim, straight lugs, giving it that “poor man’s Carrera” look. The black dial with dual silver subdials is really sweet, and in great shape with nicely aged lume. Really a simple, classic chronograph that has a timeless design. The watch is powered by the workhorse Valjoux 7730, which is clean and recently serviced ...

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Apr 26, 2024

The Valjoux 92 Returns in the Depancel x Worn & Wound Collaboration

The post The Valjoux 92 Returns in the Depancel x Worn & Wound Collaboration appeared first on Worn & Wound.

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Louis Erard x Cédric Johner Collaboration Apr 26, 2024

Introducing The Louis Erard x Cédric Johner Collaboration

To say that Louis Erard has been on a roll would be a massive understatement. Watches like the Petite Seconde Guilloche and the Main II showcase a level of build quality, attention to detail, and finishing that is far above their price points. What has made all this possible is Louis Erard’s willingness to work with artists, craftsmen, and independent watchmakers to usher in new ideas and techniques. This openness to and appreciation for individual style and traditional methods has been the brand’s calling card as of late. In this same spirit, Louis Erard proudly introduces Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Cédric Johner, a new duo of watches created in collaboration with esteemed watchmaker and jeweler Cédric Johner. We’re excited to offer them right here in the Windup Watch Shop and discover what makes these two new watches some of the best and most personalized Louis Erard has ever created. To say that Louis Erard has been on a roll would be a massive understatement. Watches like the Petite Seconde Guilloche and the Main II showcase a level of build quality, attention to detail, and finishing that is far above their price points. What has made all this possible is Louis Erard’s willingness to work with artists, craftsmen, and independent watchmakers to usher in new ideas and techniques. This openness to and appreciation for individual style and traditional methods has been the brand’s calling card as of late. In this same spirit, Louis Erard proudly introduces Le...

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Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre Chronograph Moon Apr 25, 2024

Our Favorite Releases from Watches & Wonders Week

With Watches & Wonders in the books and a few weeks of space from the deluge of new releases, it’s time to look back on the show and figure out what really spoke to us. It was, by most accounts, a somewhat slow year for new releases, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of great watches to choose from for a retrospective article like this. And for this exercise, we’re not limiting ourselves to watches exhibited at Watches & Wonders proper, either. There were literally hundreds of brands with new watches to show throughout the city of Geneva during Watches & Wonders week. We didn’t see them all, but we caught as many as we could, and these are the watches that stand out as favorites.  Stay tuned tomorrow for favorites from our roster of contributors! Zach Weiss  I usually have difficulty picking favorites after events like Watches & Wonders. One sees so much, so quickly, that making judgments is difficult, and what’s left in one’s mind after is sort of an image cloud of memories. No single thing overtakes any other. But this year was different. Since the show, I’ve found myself thinking about two watches, or rather, one watch and one case/movement combo. The watch is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre Chronograph Moon in platinum. Yes, I’ve gone full fancy pants and chosen a nearly six-figure watch, but hear me out… it was gorgeous. Admittedly, the Duometre line is one that I’ve had a bit of a fascination with over the last year or so, as the original...

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Louis Erard Collaborates Apr 25, 2024

Louis Erard Collaborates with Jeweler and Watchmaker Cédric Johner for their Latest Limited Edition

Louis Erard continues with their aggressive limited edition release strategy this week with a new collaboration that sees the brand partnering with celebrated watchmaker and jeweler Cédric Johner. Johner began his career as a jeweler at the age of 15 in 1982, and turned to watchmaking later in life. He continues to work out of his Geneva workshop to this day, with a focus on traditional craft, including good old fashioned handwork with traditional tools. He practices what he calls “intuitive watchmaking,” which for him means creating a timepiece without a set plan. This obviously flies in the face of how most modern watches are created, but allows Johner a level of freedom and creativity in his design that would be hard to match otherwise. His work, which consists largely of one-offs and unique pieces, is often characterized by playing with expectations related to geometry and shape, which comes through clearly in this pair of limited edition regulators for Louis Erard.  The Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Cédric Johner limited editions consist of two watches in Louis Erard’s less frequently used 39mm Excellence case. The visual impression of these watches is immediately very different from any other Louis Erard collaboration thanks to the hexagonal bezel, which is a Johner hallmark. The dial arrangement, though, will be familiar to anyone who has been tracking these regulators over the years, with running seconds at 6:00, hours at 12:00, and a centrally mounted minu...

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Citizen group family Alpina brings Apr 25, 2024

Take An Early Peek at the Products of Windup Watch Fair San Francisco 2024

Windup Watch Fair San Francisco is right around the corner and if you’re like us, you’ve only got one thing on your mind: what watches am I going to see? Whether you are planning to stop at specific brands on your tour of the new venue in Fort Mason, or your plan is to wander through the 80 different watch and EDC brands, today we’re highlighting a selection of standout projects from our Lead Sponsors. As always, Windup is free and open to the public, thanks in large part to these brands who continue to support the enthusiast community. You can see all of these brands and more at the 2024 Windup Watch Fair in San Francisco: Fort Mason – Gateway Pavilion, 2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco Friday, May 3: 12PM – 6PM Saturday, May 4: 12PM – 6PM Sunday, May 5: 12PM – 5PM Free and open to the public You can see every product listed here and more from each sponsor on the Windup Watch Fair Product Showcase. While you’re on the site, be sure to sign up for Windup updates to make sure you continue to get the latest info in advance of and throughout Windup Weekend. Alpina One of the key brands in the Citizen group family, Alpina brings design and engineering talents to build luxury sport watches that operate with the highest available standards in precision and reliability through sporting environments. At Windup SF 2024, Alpina will showcase their Alpiner Extreme Automatic model, relaunched in 2022 after a 2009 introduction. Now with stainless steel bracelets, the watch c...

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Christopher Ward Introduces Apr 25, 2024

Christopher Ward Introduces the Twelve X, One of their Most Ambitious Watches To Date

To say Christopher Ward has come a long way in the last 20 years would be a significant understatement. Their direct-to-consumer model and their maximum 3X mark-up has quite literally made them heroes among independent micro-brands. In fact, you can easily argue that they have thoroughly outgrown the micro-brand moniker, having been responsible for plenty of genuine innovations in the affordable sector. The hits just kept on coming, especially over the last decade. In 2014 Christopher Ward launched their very first commercially viable mechanical movement. This was a 50-year first from a British watch company and it ruffled quite a few feathers. One indignant CEO of a large Swiss luxury watch brand approached them and said, “What gives you the license to do that?”. Clearly, they were on the right track. Since then, they have dramatically refined their case finishing (via their “light catcher” cases), reinvented the compressor dive watch, improved their bracelets, and added alternative case sizes to many references for a variety of wrists. However, nothing could have prepared us for the release of the immensely popular Bel Canto in November of 2022. A piece that quite literally flipped the watch world upside down. How do you follow something like that? Leave it to Christopher Ward to figure it out, and properly figure it out they did. Just at the peak of integrated bracelet sport watch mania, they threw their hat in the ring with The Twelve. Available in multiple siz...

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Grand Seiko Kodo I think Apr 24, 2024

The A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” is a True Super Watch

Each year at Watches & Wonders, we see a handful of novelties that I think can fairly be described as Super Watches. These are the truly audacious creations that are, effectively, out of reach for all but that 1% of the 1% that has the coin and the inclination to buy into something incredibly niche, that’s incredibly expensive, that (honestly) might be years away from actually being produced and successfully delivered. The Grand Seiko Kodo, I think, is a good example of a Super Watch. It stopped everyone in their tracks, had an eye watering price point, and was the ultimate artistic and mechanical expression of the brand that made it. This year had a few Super Watch candidates (including another Kodo) but I think the winner walking away was a watch from A. Lange & Söhne that took the radical step of combining all the things people love about the brand into one watch. A Super Watch, if you will.  The Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” was easily my favorite watch name to say aloud during the show. When someone would ask me what my favorite watch of the week was (a question you’re asked about fifty times per day, minimum) I’d reflexively say “Oh, the Lange,” and then continue, probably looking skyward while counting out the watch’s cumbersome title on my fingers, like a school kid figuring out a math problem, “the Datograph, perpetual, tourbillon, lumen,” (I’d always screw it up here) “in honeygold!” I’d be really proud of myself f...

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Apr 24, 2024

Mother’s Day Gift Guide 2024

Mother’s Day is just over two weeks away, so it’s the perfect time to begin brainstorming thoughtful gift ideas. Any mom – or caretaker – anywhere knows that time is the most precious and priceless gift a person can give, so what better way to show appreciation than with a special timepiece? The following watches are designed to bring smiles to their owners, and we hope this gift guide can be a starting point as you shop for your loved ones. As always, the Windup Watch Shop Team is standing by to answer any questions you have. You can book a consultation here. Mother’s Day is just over two weeks away, so it’s the perfect time to begin brainstorming thoughtful gift ideas. Any mom – or caretaker – anywhere knows that time is the most precious and priceless gift a person can give, so what better way to show appreciation than with a special timepiece? The following watches are designed to bring smiles to their owners, and we hope this gift guide can be a starting point as you shop for your loved ones. As always, the Windup Watch Shop Team is standing by to answer any questions you have. You can book a consultation here. The post Mother’s Day Gift Guide 2024 appeared first on Worn & Wound.

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Christopher Ward C1 Moonphase Someday Apr 24, 2024

Review: the Christopher Ward C1 Moonphase

Someday, a history of this period in affordable independent watchmaking will be written, and the chapter on Christopher Ward is going to be the longest in this hypothetical volume, for sure. They’ve been around since 2004, and in the ensuing twenty years have gone through just about every high and low a watch brand can experience. While the ultimate thrust of their story is one of incredible growth, those of us who have been around for a little while can probably remember a time when the thought of Christopher Ward winning GPHG awards and being the toast of the watchmaking town would have been fairly unheard of.  The Bel Canto, introduced at the tail end of 2022, changed all that, but the brand had been on an upward trajectory for years before. They’ve come a very long way from being one of the most hotly discussed watch forum brands (so hot, in fact, they have their own forum for C. Ward enthusiasts) know primarily for somewhat generic, but always well made, dive watches. Over the years, they’ve stepped up every facet of their business, with particularly large steps taken in case finishing and movement design. In a very low key way, they are capable of doing things at the higher end of their range that other brands at similar price points simply can’t equal.  While the Bel Canto deservedly gets a lot of the press, one my favorite little pockets of Christopher Ward over the last few years has been the inventive way they’ve incorporated the classic moonphase com...

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Rolex Apr 23, 2024

All of the New Portugiesers from IWC

One of the prevailing narratives to come out of Watches & Wonders 2024 was that it was, across the board, a pretty quiet year. That may have been true for some, but others, like IWC, came to play. A good portion of the attention IWC got this year was (justifiably) directed at the new Portugieser Eternal Calendar that Zach Kazan introduced a few weeks ago, but that watch was far from the only Portugieser IWC brought to Geneva this year. The Portugieser is not the first watch that springs to mind for most of us when contemplating IWC - far more likely would be some sort of Pilot’s Watch or, more recently, the Ingenieur - but it has been, at times subtly, possibly the most important collection in the IWC catalog. I know so many collectors for whom the Portugieser was their first nice watch, and it is a model I continue to see in the wild, especially in cities like New York or London where people still routinely wear suits to work. IWC, like Rolex, is a brand that prefers evolution over revolution when it comes to its designs - one only has to look at the slow transformation of the Pilot’s Watch for evidence of that. The last few years have seen the brand slowly tinkering with the Portugieser line, bringing it up to date and refining what was already a great watch to make it better. This year, they continued that process and introduced a slew of new models and colorways, all of which come together to make up possibly the best lineup of Portugiesers ever assembled. Co...

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Furlan Marri Apr 23, 2024

The Surprise Return of the Amida Digitrend

One of the most interesting stories to emerge from Watches & Wonders (and the surrounding events in Geneva that saw literally hundreds of brands exhibiting new novelties) is the seemingly robust state of truly creative watchmaking happening at all price points. Anyone who strolled through the Beau Rivage (where many of these brands were hanging out, either officially or unofficially) can rattle off a list of favorites: SpanceOne, Sartory Billard, Furlan Marri, and Beda’a are just a few that come immediately to mind. Another brand that we saw (in an unofficial capacity – literally a meeting taken in the Beau Rivage lobby) was Amida, which is not a new name in watchmaking, but a rethinking of a heritage brand that we’ll definitely be keeping our eyes on.  The new Amida Digitrend is a reimagining of a watch by the same name released in 1976. The unusual case shape takes inspiration from both classic sports cars and modern architecture, and the “driver’s watch” time display is a play on the original LED-style display, designed to be easily viewed from an angle with a hand on the steering wheel.  Amida has been relaunched by watch designer Matthieu Allègre (whose clients include Lyrique, Simon Brette, and others) and Clément Meynier, founder of Depancel. Their new venture is timed to mark the 50th anniversary of the original incarnation of Amida, and relies on a combination of heritage and nostalgia, as well as some clever modern watchmaking, to make the brand i...

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Christopher Ward Arcanaut Apr 23, 2024

[VIDEO] The Dial as a Canvas: Our Favorite Artistic Dials

Of all the watch collecting niches, few are more curious (and potentially divisive) than watches that are completely (or almost completely) without any markers and branding. In our hobby, legibility and a relative ease of use are often seen as high priorities, so what happens when a watchmaker decides to forego these things entirely in favor of pure artistic expression?  We’ve noticed an increase in dials of this type from brands as diverse as Christopher Ward, Arcanaut, and H. Moser recently, and it’s interesting to consider what each is attempting to accomplish. These watches fly in the face of the idea as a watch as a practical tool, and lean toward a more overtly artistic style of watchmaking. But that doesn’t necessarily make them impractical.  In this video, Zach Weiss and Zach Kazan look at a number of watches that prioritize the artistic vision of the maker by eschewing traditional markers, or other dial indicators that make it easy to precisely note the time at a glance. The post [VIDEO] The Dial as a Canvas: Our Favorite Artistic Dials appeared first on Worn & Wound.

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Hublot Novelties Apr 22, 2024

Hands-On with the New Hublot Novelties at Watches & Wonders

Over the course of three years visiting Geneva with the Worn & Wound team, a handful of traditions have begun to take shape. We carve out a night for a team dinner at Jeck’s, a hole-in-the-wall Singaporean restaurant that we stumbled upon in year one, and is consistently the best meal of the entire trip. We cover Tudor first, every year. I am in the habit of buying a Swatch at the Geneva airport on my way home. And every year, I have a meeting with Hublot, and I write a breathless article about the weird and wonderful stuff I’m shown. It’s consistently the meeting that underscores the “Wonders” bit about the week more than any other.  When I first took on the task of writing about the new Hublot novelties at Watches & Wonders, it felt like a defense of sorts. Of the brand, the watches, and even our decision to cover them. I think, thankfully, we’ve all moved on a bit from a time when Hublot was just universally lambasted as a loud and unserious brand for loud and unserious people. They have never really been that in my opinion, but there was a time when the watches, if not really interrogated, could have given you that impression on a surface level. Hublot is covered differently now, and in recent years I’m glad to see them getting their flowers from a watch media that previously skipped them entirely or openly derided them.  There are a variety of reasons for that, but a key one has to be that Hublot has, perhaps, calmed down a bit at the entry point in th...

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Cartier Starting Apr 22, 2024

Let’s Get Integrated: Five of Our Favorite Integrated Bracelet Sports Watches at Around $10,000

Not everyone loves a nice integrated bracelet watch in their collection, and there’s a few reasonable reasons why that may be. For one, you’re going to be stuck with the same bracelet for the rest of the watch’s natural life unless there’s an OEM leather or rubber equivalent offered by the brand (or perhaps on the aftermarket). Secondly, the integrated bracelet look can be somewhat of an acquired taste, not everyone is into that – and depending on the model the watch can appear dated, reminiscent of those oval cased watches of the past like the Universal Geneve Ultra-Slim Shadow on the Milanese bracelet.  But, for those of us who have caught the integrated bug, there’s no telling the depths we will explore in order to find that perfect integrated bracelet watch. This is a segment that will require a little more patience and finesse to discover. Once you buy the watch you have your sights set on, you can’t change much about the look afterwards, and the saying buy once, cry once really fits this category here.  Santos De Cartier Starting the list off with an absolute classic, and if you want to start here – and end here, I’d have a hard time disagreeing with you. The Santos De Cartier is an absolute icon in the watch world, dating all the way back to 1904 when it was designed by Louis Cartier for the Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. Its roots are deeply ingrained in the evolution of aviation and it retains the title of the world’s first pilot wa...

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Victorinox Apr 22, 2024

Watches and What Else: Kelly Haygarth Talks Women in Watches and Flips Us the Entrepreneurial Byrd

Kelly Haygarth, founder of Byrd Watch Co., is a tour de force. You will not find a more welcoming person who’s full of passion when it comes to bringing folks together in this hobby. I’ve been fortunate enough to hang out with Kelly and her husband, Peter, a few times and they’re both the life of the party. While this interview was full of laughs, Kelly definitely manages to exude a sense of community and takes time to get serious about what it means to be an entrepreneur in this space. Watches “My first real watch was this little 28mm Victorinox that Peter gifted me in 2013. I now realize this was his attempt at grooming me into the hobby,” Kelly told me. But, as she would later recall (and in spite of Peter’s grooming efforts), her love of watches began in earnest in 2019.  “Peter grew up appreciating them [watches], and I never really understood. […] One day Peter called me and said he had found this Tag Heuer Carrera Twin Time, and I didn’t know what any of that meant. He found it in a pawn shop and it looked all grubby, and said it was $600. I was like WHAT?!?! How much?! On a watch?!”  Kelly began laughing, “Wow. I think back to that innocence, and wow.” She went on to describe how Peter brought the watch home and disassembled it on their kitchen island and cleaned it to the point where it was beautiful. Kelly didn’t think much of it at first, but one day Peter asked if she wanted to wear it. “I didn’t take it off. It became my watch. ...

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Formex Worn & Wound VERO Apr 21, 2024

The Roundup: Limited Editions Galore and Much, Much More

This week we throw the spotlight on some special and limited editions, including partnerships between Formex, Worn & Wound, VERO, G-Shock, and even Warner Brothers! The watches range from hardcore mechanical sport watches to playful digital timepieces. We haven’t forgotten about gear either: the RIV from Giant Mouse is a huge EDC upgrade. This is this week’s Roundup; enjoy! This week we throw the spotlight on some special and limited editions, including partnerships between Formex, Worn & Wound, VERO, G-Shock, and even Warner Brothers! The watches range from hardcore mechanical sport watches to playful digital timepieces. We haven’t forgotten about gear either: the RIV from Giant Mouse is a huge EDC upgrade. This is this week’s Roundup; enjoy! The post The Roundup: Limited Editions Galore and Much, Much More appeared first on Worn & Wound.

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Shinola Apr 20, 2024

The Ultimate 4/20 Gift Guide Featuring the Limited Edition Shinola 420 Grassland Runwell

A tradition unlike any other, yes we’re talking about the green-but you don’t need clubs or a golf balls for this holiday. Today is 4/20, a day marked for camaraderie and resilience, in addition to community, advocacy, and creativity, that come from in the endless pursuit of a nice, little high. With continued successes in campaigns for the legalization of marijuana in the United States and around the globe, the stereotypical stoner persona is changing. While the days of crafting makeshift pieces in the neighborhood “spot” are (hopefully) far behind you, the team at Detroit-based Shinola have used their ingenuity to dedicate a special Runwell to continue to speak up for those incarcerated or affected by outdated cannabis laws. Take a look at Shinola’s latest release, in collaboration with actor Quincy Isaiah and his new film Grassland, as well as some giftable products from other innovative brands that are doing their part to get those who light up out of the dark. The post The Ultimate 4/20 Gift Guide Featuring the Limited Edition Shinola 420 Grassland Runwell appeared first on Worn & Wound.

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Apr 20, 2024

Watches, Stories, & Gear: Every Cybertruck Recalled, Matty Matheson’s New Brand, and a New Camera Strap from Peak Design

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Share your story ideas or interesting finds by emailing us at info@wornandwound.com Matty Matheson’s Pantry Staples If you’re a fan of the FX series “The Bear,” Matty Matheson needs no introduction. He plays Fak, the heavily tattooed handyman on the series, but his most significant contribution to the series might actually be behind the scenes. Matheson is a chef, and serves as a consultant on the show in addition to his acting duties, ensuring that the kitchen scenes and culinary creations depicted feel authentic. Now he’s launched his own brand, the Matheson Food Company, which will produce all kinds of simple pantry staples (sauces, salad dressings, boxed mac & cheese) with branding that draws heavily on our collective nostalgia for classic brands that were part of his childhood. This piece in Creative Review digs into the new brand and what makes it distinct in the food scene.  The First Trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap It’s possible that the trailer for Trap, the new film from M. Night Shyamalan coming this summer, gives too much away. In the event you want to be completely surprised, I won’t describe it here. But it’s also possible that th...

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Tudor s Black Bay 58 Apr 19, 2024

Tudor’s Black Bay 58 18K Finally Has a Matching Solid Gold Bracelet

In the pantheon of modern enthusiast brands, it’s hard to deny that Tudor sits at the top of the heap. One simple explanation for this is that Tudor is really good at giving us what we want - almost. They also have a history of giving us something exceedingly close to exactly what we ask for, with a slight twist, then having us fall in love with it anyway. When Tudor introduced the Black Bay 58, it was a clear winner. If you’ve ever been to an event where watch collectors gather en masse you’re sure to have run into one. But the original black colorway, with its heavily vintage coloring and gilt accents, wasn’t quite the modern aesthetic some people were looking for. That watch came three years later when Tudor dropped the Black Bay 58 Blue kind of out of nowhere on a random day in July 2020 (although pretty much any day that summer would have felt decidedly random). The Black Bay 58 was off like a rocket. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when, in 2021, Tudor released two more versions of the 58. What was a massive surprise was that the two new additions to the lineup were each made in precious metal. Naturally, people had thoughts. I, for one, was on board with the move, and the Black Bay 58 925 Silver is easily one of my favorite Tudors. For as much as people seemed to generally like these watches, there was a clear sense that something was missing. That something was a bracelet. Now, Tudor has solved that problem, at least for the Black Bay 58 18K. In just ab...

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Louis Erard Apr 19, 2024

Louis Erard and Atelier Oï Release their Second Collaboration

Getting outside Palexpo is essential during Watches & Wonders week. Not only because being inside the massive complex for days on end will quickly wreak havoc on your mental and physical health (it’s dry in there, and not seeing any natural light can’t be great for you), but because there’s so much watch related stuff happening in Geneva parallel to what’s going on at Watches & Wonders. Many smaller indies post up at hotels along Lake Geneva and take meetings with media and their dealer networks, and over the last three years these meetings have been some of our favorites to attend. One of them, with Louis Erard, produced an almost obscene level of interest. I think each of mentally bought a watch in the hour we spent chatting with CEO Manuel Emch.  The watch you see here, a new collaboration between Louis Erard and atelier Oï, is the only watch we can show you from that meeting. Everything else is under embargo, but will be revealed throughout the rest of the year. But man, I was glad to see this new limited edition on the table almost immediately after sitting down. It’s the same design as a watch in my own collection, featuring a dial made up of deeply cut striated ridges that fan out like a, well, like a fan, I guess. No markers or branding, but each ridge is effectively a minute marker, so telling the time is fairly straightforward after a brief adjustment period. This LE has a gold tone dial, which leaves a very different impression than my silvery gray v...

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Seiko Kitchen Timer “Just Apr 19, 2024

Just A Minute With The Seiko Kitchen Timer

“Just a Minute” is a short-form video series designed to present all the facts about our favorite products in under 60 seconds. These are easy to consume and provide quick but meaningful rundowns on everything you need to know. As always, we encourage you to join our rewards program to earn points and save with every purchase. The Windup Watch Shop team is also available to schedule a consultation with you and answer any questions you have. Today’s Just A Minute is dedicated to a clever kitchen timer from Seiko that utilizes both analog and digital time-telling to function as an invaluable tool in the kitchen. It comes in two colors, silver and black, and features handy presets for timers and even snooze-able alarms. To top things off, the QHE190 timers have smooth-sweeping seconds hands to remind you that Seiko is as good at making a kitchen timer as it is any sort of wristwatch. To learn more about these Seiko Kitchen Timers, watch our new video below. “Just a Minute” is a short-form video series designed to present all the facts about our favorite products in under 60 seconds. These are easy to consume and provide quick but meaningful rundowns on everything you need to know. As always, we encourage you to join our rewards program to earn points and save with every purchase. The Windup Watch Shop team is also available to schedule a consultation with you and answer any questions you have. Today’s Just A Minute is dedicated to a clever kitchen timer from Seiko...

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Bremont Rebrand Bremont made their Apr 19, 2024

Editorial: Our Reactions to the Bremont Rebrand

Bremont made their debut at Watches & Wonders last week, and they unexpectedly became the talk of the show. The new watches represent a dramatic departure from the design language Bremont has cultivated over the past 20 years, and serve as the introduction of Davide Cerrato at the helm of the company (he’s been CEO since spring of last year, but these new novelties are the first from the brand without the design input of founders Nick and Giles English). Relaunches are complicated, and we can’t recall a similar attempt at a rebrand that was so ambitious. To unveil a completely new strategy at a brand’s first Watches & Wonders under a CEO who has been in place for less than a year is a massive undertaking, and regardless of how you feel about Bremont’s new direction, there’s no denying that this was a big swing. Below you’ll find reactions to Bremont’s Watches & Wonders presence from Zach Weiss and Zach Kazan, both of whom had a chance to (briefly) go hands-on with the new novelties. We hope to have an opportunity to spend more time with these watches in the near future to bring you a more complete evaluation outside the fanfare and noise of the industry’s major trade show. Zach Kazan A somewhat slower year for big, flashy new releases at Watches & Wonders means that smaller stories about watches and brands that don’t normally generate a ton of heat will be talked about and picked apart in a way you wouldn’t necessarily see. Last year, when Rolex dropped...

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Audemars Piguet would launch their own Apr 18, 2024

A. Lange & Söhne Celebrates 25 Years of the Datograph

This is a pretty big year for A. Lange & Söhne. We’ve hit 25 years of the Datograph, which made its debut in 1999, and Lange is celebrating with a pair of very special limited editions of their iconic chronograph. One of them is truly off the wall, and we’ll get to that next week. For now, we’ll take a look at the Datograph Up/Down Limited Edition in white gold, with a blue dial. It’s a perfectly lovely example of the watch that many Lange collectors will insist put the brand on the horological map, and a strong counterpoint to the other Datograph that we’ll tell you more about soon.  First, it’s crucial to understand the importance of the Datograph not just in Lange’s collection, but in high end watchmaking writ large. When it was first unveiled in 1999, Lange was a young brand, only five years into their relaunch. They had earned the respect of connoisseurs in the late 1990s, but the introduction of their first in-house chronograph caliber with the Datograph took them to another level. This was years before Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet would launch their own in-house chronograph calibers, in an era where using supplied calibers from chronograph was common for brands at every level, including the absolute upper tier. It can be argued that the Datograph ushered in an arms race of sorts that would find many of the highest end watchmaking manufactures in a constant state of one-upmanship that goes on to this day.  There have been a variety of Datograph...

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Baltic Kicks off Apr 18, 2024

Baltic Kicks off the Tour Auto with a Limited Edition Tricompax Chronograph

The Tour Auto, rooted in the historic Tour de France Automobile dating back to 1899, has become a pinnacle of motorsport, featuring legendary drivers like Maurice Trintignant and iconic brands such as Ferrari and Porsche. Today, over 250 competing crews traverse France’s scenic roads and racetracks, captivating spectators. Baltic returns for a second year in the row as the Official Timekeeper, and, in commemoration of the event, has produced 500 Tricompax timepieces. The Tricompax’s colorway strikes a balance between tradition and modernity, drawing inspiration from the excitement and iconography of the race. Its dial, in a matte light beige, complements three black-ringed subdials, reminiscent of the Tour de France Automobile’s colors. Accentuated by a black railway track, it pairs harmoniously with the tachymeter scale bezel, designed for speeds of up to 200 km/h. The Tricompax is encased in a 39.5mm 316L stainless steel case, clocking in at a thin 13.5mm profile. With a 63-hour power reserve from the Sellita SW510-M manually wound movement, 50-meter water resistance, and its double-domed sapphire crystal, each feature of this watch is meant for the long-haul.  Each watch comes with both a steel flat link bracelet and a navy blue Alcantara strap, housed in a beautifully presented custom-made case. Also included in the case is a Rally Timer comprising two emblematic motorsport tools: a stopwatch with a matte light gray dial, operated by a Hanhart hand-wound movemen...

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Raymond Weil Apr 18, 2024

Raymond Weil’s Expanded Millesime Collection

If you had told me a few weeks ago that one of the brands I’d feel best about coming out of Watches & Wonders 2024 would be Raymond Weil, I’d probably have been pretty confused, because at that point I don’t think I even had a meeting set up with the brand, and their attendance at the show was not even on my radar. But Watches & Wonders, as ever, has surprises in store for everyone. And sometimes you wind up taking an unexpected appointment with a brand you frankly don’t really know much about or have paid much attention to over the years, and it completely wins you over. Raymond Weil, dollar for dollar and watch for watch, had one of the most impressive showings at this year’s Watches & Wonders, and they took me completely off guard.  Worn & Wound has covered Raymond Weil sporadically over the course of our website’s existence. CEO Elie Bernheim came on the podcast in 2017, and there have been a handful of new releases written about and reviews filed, but for the most part Raymond Weil has simply not appeared in these pages. Why is that? Well, for much of the brand’s history, they just haven’t caught the eye of the enthusiast. Raymond Weil has always positioned itself as a mass market brand making affordable watches for everyday people, not collectors or connoisseurs, necessarily. There’s nothing at all wrong with that, of course, it was just never really our wheelhouse.    View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Zach Kazan (@zkazan) But the b...

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Grand Seiko SLGH021 Featuring Apr 17, 2024

Hands-On with the Grand Seiko SLGH021, Featuring an All New Dial Texture and a Genbi Valley Inspired Shade of Green

We’ve already brought you news on what are likely the highest profile releases from Grand Seiko this year: the all new SLGW002 and SLGW003, the SBGC275 with an amazing dial that is only red some of the time, and, of course, a new Kodo. But there’s one more Grand Seiko novelty that caught our attention, the SLGH021. This is another reference in the rapidly expanding Evolution 9 Collection and features an all new dial texture from Grand Seiko in a color that will be familiar to fans of a highly sought after limited edition from a few years ago. The watches in the so-called Genbi Valley trilogy from 2021 have been collector favorites since the moment they were announced at the Couture show in Las Vegas. The different expressions of green in those dials were an immediate hit, and now Grand Seiko has gone back to the Genbi Valley for inspiration for this latest reference. The light green color of this dial is meant to evoke the scenery along the Iwai River that created the gorge now known as the Genbi Valley, which has been given a designation as a Place of Scenic Beauty in Japan.  For Grand Seiko collectors the truly exciting aspect of this release is the new dial texture. The molded pattern has a chaotic and almost organic quality to it, with distinctive small ridges throughout that look like crinkled paper, or confetti. In our meeting with Grand Seiko at Wathes & Wonders I found myself coming back to this reference over and over again – the dial catches the light in a...

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Ulysse Nardin Freak S Nomad Combines Apr 17, 2024

The Ulysse Nardin Freak S Nomad Combines Adventurous Contemporary Watchmaking with Old School Craft

Very few things put a smile on my face quite like the Ulysse Nardin Freak. It’s one of the first haute horlogerie watches I can remember encountering, well before watches were ever a hobby or preoccupation,  in a glossy magazine advertisement that I probably saw while waiting for a doctor’s appointment or something else similarly trivial and forgettable. The Freak, though, has stayed with me. How could it not? It’s one of the most cleverly named watches ever made, for one. And its “no dial, no hands, no crown” concept continues to endure, and even after multiple decades of horological innovation surrounding Ulysse Nardin (which they very much had a role in kicking off) it remains every bit as avante-garde, insane, and completely delightful as its always been.  For the third straight year, Ulysse Nardin has brought just one watch to show at Watches & Wonders. The Freak S Nomad, a follow up to 2022’s Freak S, is a futuristic tour-de-force that pays tribute to classical watchmaking at the same time as it shows us something we’ve never quite seen before. The movement, an imposing flying carousel that rotates around its own axis, features two balance wheels posted at a 20 degree incline linked to a vertically integrated differential mounted to ball bearings. Every Freak movement, no matter how advanced or comparatively simple (this one is the most advanced there is) is an exercise in problem solving. When the movement itself is in motion, it adds a whole layer o...

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Apr 17, 2024

Four Watches & Wonders Alternatives In The Windup Watch Shop

Watches & Wonders, the watch industry’s biggest annual fair, came to a close earlier this week. As usual the anticipation was palpable, and the payoff was – well, it depends on who you ask. Whether or not you were impressed with the novelties, it’s no surprise that many of the new releases are, in reality, quite a long ways off from being available (if they ever are for regular folks). No matter; the following Chronicle highlights four watches that aren’t merely more affordable alternatives – they offer the same spirit and aesthetic and are available today right here in the Shop. As always, the Windup Watch Shop staff are happy to meet with you to answer any questions you have. Without further ado, here are this year’s Watches & Wonders alternatives! Watches & Wonders, the watch industry’s biggest annual fair, came to a close earlier this week. As usual the anticipation was palpable, and the payoff was – well, it depends on who you ask. Whether or not you were impressed with the novelties, it’s no surprise that many of the new releases are, in reality, quite a long ways off from being available (if they ever are for regular folks). No matter; the following Chronicle highlights four watches that aren’t merely more affordable alternatives – they offer the same spirit and aesthetic and are available today right here in the Shop. As always, the Windup Watch Shop staff are happy to meet with you to answer any questions you have. Without further ado, here...

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Omega Continues Apr 16, 2024

Omega Continues the Countdown to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with a Pair of Speedmaster Chronoscopes

The Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope occupies a strange place in the world of Speedmasters. It was introduced to considerable fanfare in 2021, but hasn’t yet connected in a meaningful way with the enthusiast world. And yet, everytime I see one at a meetup or watch related event, I find myself really enjoying it. It’s the kind of watch that you forget about until you can’t forget about it anymore, if that makes any sense, and it feels like it’s one or two iterations away from figuring out exactly what its niche is in the Omega catalog. Today, Omega has announced two new versions of the Chronoscope to celebrate the upcoming Paris Olympics, offering a new chance to connect with one of the least discussed Speedmasters.  Watches made to celebrate the Olympics are nothing new for Omega, and they really love counting down to the big event, releasing watches to remind us that the games begin in a year, 100 days, and so forth. Olympic themed watches have often featured the Olympic rings in fairly obvious ways, but Omega seems to be steering away from that strategy, favoring the use of gold instead to signify a more thematic connection to the games. That’s what we get here, with a pair of Speedmaster Chronoscopes, one in steel with golden highlights, and the other in solid Moonshine Gold with a full gold bracelet, each featuring the distinctive, 1940s inspired chronograph scales that are the Chronoscope’s calling card.  The two watches feature the same dial, which Omega d...

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