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

Worn & Wound · Page 62

3,186 articles  ·  Page 62 of 107
Raising the Bar: A Recap of the 2024 San Francisco Windup Watch Fair and EDC Expo Worn & Wound
Christopher Ward Fortis May 23, 2024

Raising the Bar: A Recap of the 2024 San Francisco Windup Watch Fair and EDC Expo

Each Windup Watch Fair is special in its own way. We make memories, strengthen old connections, make new ones, and hopefully walk away with a cool watch on our wrists. But speak to anyone who attended the 2024 Windup Watch Fair and EDC Expo in San Francisco, and they’ll instantly tell you there was something extra special happening there. The Venue This was the first time that we held the Fair at Gateway Pavilion, a two-level, open-floor plan environment on Pier 2, within the Fort Mason complex, an arts and culture campus operated by the National Parks Department. With its stunning views, ample natural light, and wide-open arrangement, it became an ideal place to bring enthusiasts together.  The Brands All in all, we ended up having 94 unique and incredible brands participate in the show between both watch and non-watch companies-the largest Windup to date. We want to give a massive thank you to each and every sponsor who came to the event and a special thanks to our Lead Sponsors: Alpina, anOrdain, Christopher Ward, Fortis, and Oris. It was incredible to see the wide variety of new watches and products at the Fair, many of which were launched to the world for the first time at the event itself. You could literally feel the enthusiasm in the air! The Enthusiasts Speaking of enthusiasm, the crowds that came each day of the three-day event were energized and engaged. Thousands flocked to our Fort Mason venue to soak in both the products and the panels! They came to lear...

Read article
Serica Introduces the 6190 M.S.L, a New Generation of their Classic Field Watch Worn & Wound
Serica Introduces May 23, 2024

Serica Introduces the 6190 M.S.L, a New Generation of their Classic Field Watch

It’s hard to believe, but this year marks the fifth anniversary of Serica, one of our favorite small brands to emerge in the affordable, independent watch scene. In a relatively short period of time, Serica has developed a truly distinct design language that bridges the gap between vintage sports watches and casual elegance, often with just a hint of a military inspired aesthetic. They’re really quite unlike any other watch on the market, and yet they’ve always felt immediately familiar. Their newest release, the 6190 M.S.L Chronometer, isn’t exactly a watch made to celebrate the brand’s fifth year of existence, but it’s impossible to see it and not reflect on the path they’ve taken and growth they’ve experienced over the last half decade.  The new 6190 is an updated take on what many fans of the brand would surely say is Serica’s calling card, the simple, military inspired field watch. When the brand launched their very first field watch, it showed promise but was perhaps a little rough around the edges. In the ensuing years, everything about the brand’s output has been slowly and subtly tweaked, and the 6190 feels like a culmination of that constant improvement.  The specs, of course, are more robust than Serica’s watches of five years ago. This, in a lowkey, watch nerd way, is perhaps the most exciting recent development for the brand. Since last year, Serica has made a commitment that all of their watches will be certified as COSC chronometers. ...

Read article
An Icon Turns 100: A Century of the Montblanc Meisterstück Worn & Wound
Montblanc Meisterstück May 22, 2024

An Icon Turns 100: A Century of the Montblanc Meisterstück

For over a century, Montblanc’s Meisterstück fountain pen has left an indelible mark on the world of pens. As a pen guy myself, it’s hard to overstate this fact. Since its introduction in 1924, the Meisterstück, aptly translated as “masterpiece” in German, has long been the hero product among a series of hero products from the German brand. To put it mildly: when you close your eyes and think of Montblanc, you’re undoubtedly thinking of a Meisterstück.  This year, the brand is celebrating their 100th anniversary. A milestone for any company, it’s especially exciting to ring in the centenary with the Meisterstück due to its intersection of style, performance, and luxury. Origins and Evolution of the Meisterstück To understand the Meisterstück, we must first understand the company background of Montblanc. In the early part of the 20th Century, Montblanc didn’t have the same cachet as it does today. The market was inundated and while the brand was known as a reliable pen, it wasn’t the luxury brand we know and love today. In fact, Montblanc wasn’t even Montblanc then. The founding company was called Simplo and produced a variety of writing instruments at price points that were more economical to keep up with market competition. But Simplo had big plans and in 1924, the Meisterstück was added as  the hero product which defined their luxury category. In a short time, the Meisterstück would be the springboard which would launch a range of luxury goods...

Read article
[VIDEO] Review: The Grand Seiko Tentagraph SLGC001 Worn & Wound
Grand Seiko Tentagraph SLGC001 Grand Seiko May 22, 2024

[VIDEO] Review: The Grand Seiko Tentagraph SLGC001

Grand Seiko releases a lot of watches. If you’re a cynic, this might be what you’d identify as the brand’s defining characteristic. They’ve developed a reputation for endless variants, swapping dial colors, textures, case shapes, and movements in every conceivable combination. There’s a joke about weather in New England, that if you don’t like it, all you have to do is wait, and you could make a similar one about Grand Seiko: if you’re after a particular dial/color/case combo that doesn’t exist yet, there’s a decent chance it’ll materialize eventually.  But for all the SKUs in the Grand Seiko catalog, and the genuine variety you’ll find there, something was missing: a mechanical chronograph. There’s long been a line of Spring Drive chronographs (and Spring Drive chronographs with a GMT complication) but, kind of surprisingly, there’s never been a purely mechanical chrono under the Grand Seiko banner.  $13700 [VIDEO] Review: The Grand Seiko Tentagraph SLGC001 Case High-intensity titanium Movement 9SC5 Dial Blue Lume Yes, hands and markers Lens Sapphire Strap High-intensity titanium bracelet Water Resistance 10 bar Dimensions 43.2 x 51.5mm Thickness 15.3mm Lug Width 23mm Crown Screw down Warranty Yes Price $13700 That changed a year ago with the launch of the Tentagraph, the centerpiece of Grand Seiko’s Watches & Wonders 2023, and easily their most ambitious release of the year. If you take the Kodo out of the equation, it’s almost certainly t...

Read article
Just In Time For Summer: Five Divers Under $1,000 Worn & Wound
May 22, 2024

Just In Time For Summer: Five Divers Under $1,000

Few kinds of watches are as universally beloved as the dive watch. For myriad reasons – durability, legibility, history, and more – the classic dive watch, for essentially its entire history, has been a smashing success. We think it’s easy to see why: diver’s watches capture a sense of adventure and (mostly) anachronistic utility that still feels cool today. Their aesthetic has never really gone out of style, and there is no arguing that a solid dive watch is exactly what a lot of enthusiasts think of when they imagine what a “nice watch” is. Like with EDC gear or sports cars, there’s a sense of enjoyment of knowing that our tools are more than up to the task. Thankfully, an entry into the dive watch game doesn’t cost an arm and a leg; in fact, here are five dive watches under $1,000 that we would strap on any day for life’s adventures. Without further ado, let’s, um, dive in. Few kinds of watches are as universally beloved as the dive watch. For myriad reasons – durability, legibility, history, and more – the classic dive watch, for essentially its entire history, has been a smashing success. We think it’s easy to see why: diver’s watches capture a sense of adventure and (mostly) anachronistic utility that still feels cool today. Their aesthetic has never really gone out of style, and there is no arguing that a solid dive watch is exactly what a lot of enthusiasts think of when they imagine what a “nice watch” is. Like with EDC gear or spor...

Read article
Massena LAB Teams Up with Raúl Pagès Once Again for the Limited Edition “Absinthe” Worn & Wound
Patek Philippe watches May 22, 2024

Massena LAB Teams Up with Raúl Pagès Once Again for the Limited Edition “Absinthe”

Massena LAB has announced a new collaboration with independent watchmaker Raúl Pagès inspired by one of the most important Patek Philippe watches of the last century. The Absinthe, which serves as the direct follow-up to the pair’s massively successful 2022 release, the Magraph, brings together a proprietary hand-wound movement, a strikingly green dial (reminiscent of the infamous spirit for which the watch is named), and all the vintage charm we have come to expect from Massena LAB in one surprisingly affordable (and highly limited) package. William Massena is one of those rare figures in the watch industry who everyone seems to know. He’s an outsized presence who seemingly manages to be everywhere at once and have a hand in every facet of the watch industry. Over the last few years though, his name has come to be associated primarily with Massena LAB, where he consistently produces some of the most talked about limited editions and collaborations on the market. This latest release follows closely on the heels of a watch introduced last month. That watch - a collaboration between Massena LAB, Pagès, and Phillips Auction House in association with Bass & Russo - debuted the M690 movement used in the Absinthe and drew inspiration in its layout from the iconic (and record-setting) 1952 Patek Philippe ref. 2458 produced for J.B. Champion, Jr.  That watch was one of only two Patek wrist watches to have been fitted with an Observatory-grade movement, and its unique d...

Read article
A New Book Highlights Rare Watches and Thirty Years of European Watch Company Worn & Wound
May 21, 2024

A New Book Highlights Rare Watches and Thirty Years of European Watch Company

Being a watch collector sometimes means acquiring many other things that are tangentially related to the hobby. We talk about this stuff all the time on Worn & Wound. It’s not just the watch “stuff” that you’d expect, either. Things like straps, storage, and tools of course will naturally accumulate as a collection grows, but there are seemingly endless additional rabbit holes one can fall down that in one way or another support a watch collecting habit. Anyone who has been to a Windup event (or any large watch meetup for that matter) has surely noticed all of the collectors with nice cameras slung over their shoulders. You have to document these things somehow, right? And the bounds of enthusiasm stretch to things like sneakers, apparel, writing instruments, and EDC related gear, all areas we’ve explored in these pages, and all areas that have embraced watch collectors and that watch collectors, in turn, have welcomed. And then there are the books. Certainly many in this community have built libraries of watch reference volumes over the years. There are many to choose from, and some offer rare glimpses of watches with beautiful photography that gets you as close as you can to a dream watch short of owning it.  Last week saw the release of a new volume that borrows on three decades of tradition and knowledge for a book that is packed with information on some of the rarest watches. The Connoisseur’s Guide to Fine Timepieces is inspired by the life’s work of A...

Read article
Jaeger-LeCoultre Finally Adds their Geographic Complication to the Polaris Collection Worn & Wound
Jaeger-LeCoultre Finally Adds their Geographic May 21, 2024

Jaeger-LeCoultre Finally Adds their Geographic Complication to the Polaris Collection

There are few brands that the watch community collectively holds in higher esteem than Jaeger-LeCoultre. Think about the truly historic names in watchmaking and you’ll find vocal groups of detractors for just about every single one. But JLC is different, and always seems to be above the fray. The “watchmaker’s watchmaker” stuff is a clever bit of marketing, but it’s actually true, and keeps the brand both insulated from the watch world’s hot-take culture protected by legitimate ties to some of the most important watches ever made. But if there’s one thing, one very small thing that enthusiasts and collectors can poke at with Jaeger-LeCoultre, it’s their recent fumbling in the area of sports oriented watches.  Now, you might be saying to yourself that JLC just isn’t a “sports watch” brand, and that refined dress watches and expert technical watchmaking is their brand and butter. Of course that’s true, but JLC has made great sports watches in the past with innovative cases and movements by their own design made to be robust enough for nearly any activity. It’s a genre they’ve played in for decades. The Reverso, of course, now thought of as a dress piece, was originally conceived for polo players. If you do a Chrono24 search for Memovox references from the 1970s you’ll find no shortage of oversized, funky, cases. And of course we can’t forget the last great sports watch line Jaeger-LeCoultre had, the impressively overbuilt Master Compressor co...

Read article
Timex and The James Brand Launch their Latest Collaboration: a Traveler’s GMT in Titanium Worn & Wound
Timex May 21, 2024

Timex and The James Brand Launch their Latest Collaboration: a Traveler’s GMT in Titanium

Timex has been on a roll as of late, with multiple successful collaborations with Keith Haring, Jackie Aiche, Seconde/Seconde, and the Peanuts gang to name a few. We recently featured the World-Famous Tennis Player Time x Peanuts on Worn & Wound. Their latest collaboration appears to be an effort to step it up a notch and they have clearly succeeded in doing so.  Introducing the fully titanium Timex x James Brand GMT. And it is not just any GMT, it is a proper traveler’s type, with an independently adjustable local hour hand. Envisioned by renowned Italian watchmaker and Timex Chief Creative Director Giorgio Galli and designed by the team at The James Brand, this all-new co-branded GMT watch has the analog soul of the classic field watch. Why James Brand? They believe that the things you carry say something about you. They design tools that are practical, not tactical, with a modern and minimalist design aesthetic that never feels out of place but is still clearly “James Brand.” That principle has been carried over in the brand’s previous watch releases and continues with this new GMT. This barrel-shaped watch measures 41mm in diameter and has a lug width of 20mm, which is a great size for strap swapping. Likewise, the accompanying titanium bracelet and rubber strap have quick-release spring bars for easy changes. Powering this timepiece is the Miyota 9075 automatic 24 jewel movement, which has a power-reserve of 42-hours, and it can be admired through the screw-d...

Read article
Kollokium Returns with their First Official Release Worn & Wound
Louis Erard May 20, 2024

Kollokium Returns with their First Official Release

Back in December, we told you about one of the most curious projects to come across our desks in a long time. A new watch from a new brand, Kollokium, began making the rounds on social media and the watch-internet in the days and weeks following Dubai Watch Week. Everything about it seemed almost intentionally mysterious and vague, and their marketing materials, if you could even call them that, pointed to the watch’s so limited it’s impossible to buy friends and family run, and didn’t even guarantee a second installment. Obviously, this worked hugely in Kollokium’s favor, and watch enthusiasts with adventurous taste have been anxiously anticipating a follow up. Now it’s here, the aptly titled Variant “B”.  A brief refresher on Kollokium for those who need it: it’s the brainchild of Manuel Emch, Barth Nussbaumer, and Amr Sindi, three watch industry veterans who each come from a different side of the larger watch world. Emch will be familiar to many as the CEO of Louis Erard, and has guided that brand to new heights in the last several years with a string of popular limited editions and smart collaborations. Nussbaumer might be less well known by name, but is someone you’ve almost certainly encountered through his watch designs – he’s worked for many brands over the years, including TAG Heuer, Hautlence, Peterman Bedat, Jaquet Droz, and many others. And Sindi is better known by his Instagram alias @thehorophile, one of our favorite spots to look at gr...

Read article
3 Standouts at the Backbone Media Spring Showcase: Gerber, Wiley X, and Thule Worn & Wound
May 20, 2024

3 Standouts at the Backbone Media Spring Showcase: Gerber, Wiley X, and Thule

Backbone Media has been a long-standing force in the outdoor industry as a media and PR agency representing some of our most beloved gear brands. Each spring they bring a curated selection of their clientele to NYC for their Spring Showcase. The Worn & Wound team was on the scene and here are 3 standout products that we couldn’t stop talking about. Gerber – ComplEAT Cook Set  We likely all know the Portland, OR-based brand Gerber for their multitools, as well as their folding and fixed blades. However, their new modular camping cook and dining set was a show-stealer. The 16-piece ComplEAT Cook Set has everything you need to easily feed a group of hungry campers. It features a stock pot and sauté pan, both with generous cooking surfaces. The dining set comes with space-maximizing designs that complement their custom utensil sets perfectly. Best of all, when it’s time to break camp, everything packs together in the storage bag for ultra-compact stowing between destinations. Wiley X – WX Founder Sunglasses It’s not only great to visit Backbone’s Spring Showcase to see what’s new from some of your favorite brands, it’s great for discovering new brands as well. One of those discoveries for us was the sunglasses brand Wiley X out of Texas. They have been creating tactical and safety lenses for military and tactical use since 1987 and now have a stylish line of daily use sunglasses that don’t sacrifice any of the safety and ballistic ratings of their professio...

Read article
Vertex Commemorates D-Day with the M36 Worn & Wound
Casio n May 20, 2024

Vertex Commemorates D-Day with the M36

This coming June 6 marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Vertex, the UK based watch brand headed by Don Cochrane, supplied 1,776 watches to British forces on D-Day, and to commemorate the occasion the brand has released a new reference. The M36 feels very much like a watch that Vertex could have produced at any time, but it makes particular sense in the context of the D-Day anniversary. It’s impossible to look at a watch in this style (and these proportions) from a brand with the history of Vertex and not think about the past.  The M36 was conceived as a watch that would borrow significantly from vintage military issued timepieces. To a certain extent, all Vertex watches do this. It’s in the brand’s DNA and is inescapable in the watches they make. But the M36 goes a few steps further. The case, for one, is a compact 36mm in size, which is true to the vintage watches that Vertex would have supplied, and makes the new watch a solid option for virtually anyone today. The sapphire crystal is box shaped as opposed to domed, which gives it an additional layer of vintage charm, and the straightforward dial layout with large Arabic numerals and a railroad minutes track are right in line with WWII era watches.  The watch runs on a workhorse automatic Sellita caliber and is equipped with an anti-magnetic Nivarox hairspring. The crown screws down, and provides 100 meters of water resistance. There’s also plenty of molded X1 Super-LumiNova on the dial, which if it glows anyth...

Read article
New To the Shop: The Nivada Grenchen F77 Worn & Wound
Nivada Grenchen F77 We have May 19, 2024

New To the Shop: The Nivada Grenchen F77

We have a soft spot for Nivada Grenchen here at Worn & Wound. Founded in 1926 in Switzerland and distributed in the United States both under the Nivada Grenchen and Croton marques, Nivada Grenchen watches are renowned for their durability and quality. Models like the Antarctic, Chronomaster, and Depthomatic earned the respect of consumers, both professional and otherwise. In 2020, the then-dormant brand was revived with the mission of staying true to its mid-century aesthetic with modern technology. One of the latest models to hit the block is the Nivada Grenchen F77, a watch we are proud to offer here in the Windup Watch Shop. A deep dive reveals a timepiece that is both true to its predecessor and incredibly relevant today. We have a soft spot for Nivada Grenchen here at Worn & Wound. Founded in 1926 in Switzerland and distributed in the United States both under the Nivada Grenchen and Croton marques, Nivada Grenchen watches are renowned for their durability and quality. Models like the Antarctic, Chronomaster, and Depthomatic earned the respect of consumers, both professional and otherwise. In 2020, the then-dormant brand was revived with the mission of staying true to its mid-century aesthetic with modern technology. One of the latest models to hit the block is the Nivada Grenchen F77, a watch we are proud to offer here in the Windup Watch Shop. A deep dive reveals a timepiece that is both true to its predecessor and incredibly relevant today. The post New To the Shop:...

Read article
W Worn & Wound
Worn & Wound
Rado Did you know May 18, 2024

Graduation Gift Guide: Remembering Their Big Day with Rado

Did you know that Rado was one of the first watch brands to use high-tech ceramics in their timepieces?  In 1986, they launched the Integral, a style icon, which combined sapphire and ceramics. The goal was to create a watch that could withstand the rigors of everyday life and come out unscathed. In the decades that follow, many other brands have adopted this technology, yet Rado remains at the forefront. As the wheels of scholarship and innovation keep on turning, an education, just like high-tech ceramics, can protect and prepare for all of life’s upcoming challenges. In honor of graduation, in this gift guide we have selected 7 Rado watches that would make excellent companions as your graduate enters life’s next chapter. The post Graduation Gift Guide: Remembering Their Big Day with Rado appeared first on Worn & Wound.

Read article
Watches, Stories, & Gear: A Look Inside Long Pond Studio, Conan O’Brien Hits His Stride, and the first Dune: Prophecy Trailer Worn & Wound
May 18, 2024

Watches, Stories, & Gear: A Look Inside Long Pond Studio, Conan O’Brien Hits His Stride, and the first Dune: Prophecy Trailer

“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. This week’s Watches, Stories and Gear is sponsored by Mudita. Check out the new Mudita Element and a link to their Kickstarter below. Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing info@wornandwound.com Brett F. Braley-Palko’s First Novel, Arthur We’re incredibly excited to feature our very own contributor, Brett Braley, in this week’s Watches, Stories, & Gear column. Brett has written his first novel, Arthur, and it was released just yesterday by the Thane and Prose imprint. Set in midcentury London, the comic novel’s plot involves the titular character and a pair of accomplices as they plot to save his dogs from certain eviction. To know Brett is to know his wry sense of humor, so if even a small amount is on display in Arthur, it’s sure to be worth a read if you’ve enjoyed his work here on Worn & Wound. You can order a copy of Arthur right here.  Dune’s Prequel TV Show is Coming  The first trailer for the highly anticipated Dune prequel series premiered this week, and judging from a first look, it seems like the small screen version might actually somewhat match the scope of the epic films. Dune: Prophecy is set 10,000 years before...

Read article
New To The Shop: Gerber Gear Worn & Wound
Casio n when we have May 17, 2024

New To The Shop: Gerber Gear

Our readers know that Worn & Wound is all about celebrating the spirit of adventure and enthusiasm that comes from the appreciation of quality products and the communities around them. This includes watches, of course, and also gear. Our love for the heritage, craftsmanship, and ownership experience of these watches and tools means we carefully curate our selection in the Windup Watch Shop. We don’t just stand by what we carry; they are things we would be thrilled to own and enjoy ourselves. It’s a special occasion when we have the privilege of introducing a new brand to the Shop, and today we get to do just that. The brand? Gerber Gear. And the products? Simply fantastic. Our readers know that Worn & Wound is all about celebrating the spirit of adventure and enthusiasm that comes from the appreciation of quality products and the communities around them. This includes watches, of course, and also gear. Our love for the heritage, craftsmanship, and ownership experience of these watches and tools means we carefully curate our selection in the Windup Watch Shop. We don’t just stand by what we carry; they are things we would be thrilled to own and enjoy ourselves. It’s a special occasion when we have the privilege of introducing a new brand to the Shop, and today we get to do just that. The brand? Gerber Gear. And the products? Simply fantastic. The post New To The Shop: Gerber Gear appeared first on Worn & Wound.

Read article
The Seiko H601-8020: The Arnie’s Long-Lost Little Brother Worn & Wound
Seiko H601-8020 May 17, 2024

The Seiko H601-8020: The Arnie’s Long-Lost Little Brother

A wristwatch synonymous with biceps and AR-15s, Seiko’s H558-5009 “Arnie” continues to maintain its popularity in the watch collecting community today. Aside from its screen time in several Arnold Schwarzenegger films, its hefty 46mm case and rather sophisticated analogue-digital movement make the Arnie a unique and desirable timepiece. Other variations of the Arnie include the “Upside Down Arnie” H601-5480 and “Baby Arnie” H556-5029, both of which have their own following and are collectible in their own right. Unfortunately, their typically high price tags in today’s market make these variants fairly unobtainable to the everyday hobbyist looking for a fun weekend watch. However, the Seiko Sports line’s 1980s catalog is far more diverse than one might imagine, and within it exists the perfect alternative to the bulky Arnie and its cousins.  The H601-8020’s Inception and Design While Seiko’s history is well documented by the company and its dedicated fanbase, little information exists regarding the brand’s Sports SQ line. Their initial attempt at durable wristwatches came by way of the Seiko 5 line––starting in 1963 with the Sportsmatic 5––but the roots of SQ and Sports branding is a little less clear. Focusing only on the US market, it can be assumed SQ began appearing on dials somewhere in the mid 1970s and the Sports moniker (in this specific use) shortly after in the early 1980s. Of course, there are several variations of “sports” u...

Read article
Micro-Brand Digest: Italian Divers, Canadian GMTs, and More! Worn & Wound
Casio May 17, 2024

Micro-Brand Digest: Italian Divers, Canadian GMTs, and More!

Welcome to the Worn & Wound Micro-Brand Digest, a semi-monthly roundup of all the new micro-brand news we’re following, from concepts that show promise, to Kickstarter launches to restocks, and everything in between. Small independents, and affordable micro-brands spurred the creation of Worn & Wound over 10 years ago, and they still drive our enthusiasm in a big way. Here’s what’s caught our eye this month. If you’ve come across a project you think qualifies, hit us up at info@wornandwound.com for inclusion. Sherwood Watches U.K. based Glynn Reynolds began his watch journey at a very young age. Like so many of us, his gateway watch brand was Casio and before long, he purchased more watches than he can remember. In the effort to find the perfect watch, and with a background in graphic design, he spent much of his time tweaking existing watches to improve their esthetics. In 2019, Glynn started an Instagram page and his designs started garnering interest from fellow watch enthusiasts, which led him to take the plunge and start his own micro watch brand. Why Sherwood? Pretty simple, as he spent his entire life in Mansfield (Nottinghamshire) England, and the village he currently lives in is a stone’s throw away from Sherwood Forest. Incidentally, the latter happens to be the very forest that provided cover for one of history’s most famous and storied outlaws, Robin Hood. Like Robin Hood or yore, Sherwood (the watch brand) takes most of the money that would have be...

Read article
Sartory Billard and Grail Watch Collaborate on the New SB07 “Ghost” Worn & Wound
May 17, 2024

Sartory Billard and Grail Watch Collaborate on the New SB07 “Ghost”

The trajectory of Sartory Billard over the last few years has been one of the most unusual and interesting stories in the world of independent watchmaking. The brand had long been established as a leader in fully bespoke watches. The entire premise of the brand was built on the idea that every piece is unique, with wide customization options available to virtually every aspect of the dial. They’ve also been associated with great value, and were generally seen as an affordable option for adventurous fans of independent watchmaking who wanted something literally unique well under five figures. None of that has changed, really, but Sartory Billard’s recent output has seen them upping the ante considerably, with a new tourbillon movement and plans for an even more complex caliber featuring jumping hours and jumping minutes. Another example: a new collaboration with Grail Watch featuring an incredibly ornate and over-the-top mirror finish on nearly every visible surface.  Grail Watch 11, the Sartory Billard SB07 “Ghost,” takes the brand’s integrated bracelet sports watch design and a design motif they’ve become known for and turns the proverbial volume up past the breaking point. Of the many options Sartory Billard offers to customers in their customization program, one particularly popular one is their fully polished dial. The SB07 seen here takes that idea and expands it to the case and bracelet, effectively making the steel components “invisible,” hence the ...

Read article
HYT Reinvents Itself with the T1 Collection Worn & Wound
HYT May 16, 2024

HYT Reinvents Itself with the T1 Collection

It’s hard to relaunch a brand. We’ve seen it over and over in the watch industry: brands, in an attempt to reinvigorate themselves, gain more traction in the market, and adapt to changing times, will sometimes make a decision to completely rethink their philosophy, aesthetic, and core models. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and there are varying levels of intensity in how fully relaunched a brand will actually go. Sometimes the shift is drastic, with new logos, new ideas, new price points, and completely new watches. And sometimes it’s more subtle, representing a small but noticeable and important tweak that fundamentally changes something about the presentation. HYT, a high end Swiss brand that has been through its fair share of tumult recently, debuted a new collection recently that we got a chance to look at during Watches & Wonders week, and it struck me as one of the smartest recalibrations we’ve seen from a brand in a long time.  If you know HYT at all, you know them for their unique time telling system that involves moving liquid around the dial through a pair of bellows that expand and contract throughout the day. There is quite literally nothing else like it on the market, and the watches have always had a half futuristic, half steam-punk vibe to them. There is real horological ingenuity at the heart of HYT, but the watches, in the past, have often been dominated by literally showing you the mechanism in a way that was, to put it bluntly, a bi...

Read article
Celebrating 30 Years of the Lothar Schmidt Era at Sinn HQ Worn & Wound
Sinn HQ May 16, 2024

Celebrating 30 Years of the Lothar Schmidt Era at Sinn HQ

On an unusually warm day in early March, I was invited to visit Sinn headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. Sinn had prepared a special program including a special exhibition showcasing their technologies over the last 30 years in the main foyer. This was followed by a factory tour, and finally seeing their latest collection.  Most of us are familiar with the origins of Sinn, which all started with Helmut Sinn, who was a flight instructor, and former World War II pilot. The company’s core business under his ownership was the manufacturing of navigation clocks and pilot chronographs. In 1994, certified engineer Lothar Schmidt acquired the company from Helmut Sinn and renamed it to “Sinn Spezialuhren GmbH”. Lothar Schmidt worked previously with IWC, and was also part of Günter Blümlein’s team to revive A. Lange & Söhne. This year Sinn is celebrating 30 years since Mr. Schmidt acquired the company. It was a coincidence that the day of my visit, news broke regarding Mr. Schmidt’s succession plans. He will celebrate his 75th birthday this year, and announced plans to create a foundation similar to the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, that will own the shares of Sinn and its subsidiary companies. Mr. Schmidt also owns the SUG casemaker in the famous watchmaking village of Glashütte.  Over the past 30 years, Mr. Schmidt, with his engineering background, has developed several technologies for Sinn watches. In 1995, Ar-Dehumidifying Technology was introduced for the first tim...

Read article
W Worn & Wound
Worn & Wound
May 16, 2024

[Video] Windup Meet & Greet: Paulin is a Brand Built for the Design-Minded

While at the recent 2024 Windup Watch Fair in San Francisco, we had the chance to spend some time with fine folks at Paulin, a watch brand out of Glasgow, UK. Their booth was a hit with Windup attendees and they made the fair the launch moment for their new collaboration with the type design house OH no. Check out this Windup Meet & Greet video to learn more. The post [Video] Windup Meet & Greet: Paulin is a Brand Built for the Design-Minded appeared first on Worn & Wound.

Read article
Zodiac Partners with RedBar for a New, Glowing Limited Edition Worn & Wound
Zodiac Partners May 16, 2024

Zodiac Partners with RedBar for a New, Glowing Limited Edition

The latest limited edition from RedBar, the global network of watch meetup groups, is a nearly radioactive release made in partnership with Zodiac. It’s a subtle nod to a piece of Zodiac history that is not particularly well known while simultaneously paying proper respect to RedBar itself, all in the familiar trappings of a Super Sea Wolf diver. And, yes, the whole thing glows, and quite impressively.  Officially unveiled last night at a release party in New York, the Zodiac x RedBar Super Sea Wolf Pro Diver takes the brand’s most professional, 300 meter water resistant and ISO certified diver and effectively turns it into the type of brightly glowing orb many of us would have been obsessed with as children and still get pretty excited about today. Lume dials, when done well, have a pretty fun charm to them. There’s just something about seeing a larger than normal concentration of this stuff activated in a dark room. And the lume on this new collaboration is truly impressive, and that’s coming from someone who is on the record as not being a hardcore lume guy (I don’t even travel with a little UV light).  Like any good execution of a full lume dial, we have multiple colors of lume at work for contrast in both well lit situations and total darkness. The dial itself appears as a pale shade of green in the light, and glows an electric blue/green when charged. The hour markers, hands, and bezel hash marks are white in the daylight, and glow bright green. Important...

Read article
Bravur Adds a New Cycling Inspired Watch to their Growing Collection Worn & Wound
Bravur May 15, 2024

Bravur Adds a New Cycling Inspired Watch to their Growing Collection

Pink is everywhere you look these days. Whether at the movies with Barbie and Mean Girls or on the pitch and track with Inter-Miami and Alpine, pink is undoubtedly experiencing a moment. If you need further proof of this, look no further than Pantone, which has named a shade of pink its ‘Color of the Year’ for not only 2024, but did so for 2023 as well. So it’s no small wonder that we’re seeing pink crop up in watches of all stripes recently. One brand that has made great use of pink over the last few years is Bravur, a Swedish micro-brand making excellent watches inspired by cycling. I finally got to see their collection in person at WindUp Watch Fair in San Francisco recently, and I can attest that they are one of those brands whose watches got stuck in the corners of your mind, persistently refusing to give up space. This latest release from the brand is the Grand Tour La Corsa Rosa IV, a chronograph inspired by the Giro D’Italia (think an Italian version of the Tour de France). Now, I am not the person to dive into the intricacies of international competitive cycling, but I can tell you that, similar to the Tour de France’s yellow jersey, each day’s leader in the Giro D’Italia wears a pink jersey, and that it was this jersey which inspired the black and pink chronograph’s colorway. As the Roman numeral in the name would indicate, this is the fourth release in the Grand Tour La Corsa Rosa line of watches. While the most obvious nod to the race are the ...

Read article
Collector Profile: Modern Day Patronage with @onlybuyingtime Worn & Wound
May 15, 2024

Collector Profile: Modern Day Patronage with @onlybuyingtime

A few weeks back, I found myself sitting at the end of my kitchen island on a phone call with a man I have never met, but with whose collection I am intimately familiar. After all, CB - better known as @onlybuyingtime - has over 30k followers on Instagram, he is a voting member of the GPHG, and he is the owner and caretaker of, quite frankly, one of the most diverse collections of independent watches I’ve seen anywhere. CB has been collecting for the entirety of his adult life, though his fascination with watches extends back further. As he describes it, CB had “fun watches as a kid,” but it was only in adulthood that he really started collecting in a tangible way. “It wasn’t like I had a parent or anybody that was really into watches. I think I really fell into it as an adult and realized this is something that’s very unique to each man. It tells a lot about a personality. If you are in a sports watch vs. a dress watch; the colors, the make, the models, the complications, all that stuff tells a lot about somebody. And for me, it’s just another level of expression.” Modern Day Patronage One of the great treasures of Philadelphia is the Barnes Foundation which is, for those unfamiliar, one of the world’s stand-out collections of impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern art. When I first moved to Philly in 2022, it took me less than a week to visit the Barnes for the first time, and, in a city filled with great museums, it remains my favorite, and...

Read article
Four EDC Picks With Free Domestic Shipping Worn & Wound
May 14, 2024

Four EDC Picks With Free Domestic Shipping

We have an exciting announcement to make here at the Windup Watch Shop: all products under $100 are now also eligible for free domestic shipping in the continental United States! This essentially opens our entire online store to enjoy this new perk. Our goal is to make it even easier and more appealing to shop the very best products – whether watches, clocks, gear, or straps at any price point. Today’s special highlight is on some of the best gear under $100 available right here in the Windup Watch Shop. From multi-tools, to knives, to storage solutions – there’s something useful in here for just about everybody. As always, the Windup Watch Shop Team is available for consultation to answer any questions you have – or even set up a demo. Reach out today to learn more! We have an exciting announcement to make here at the Windup Watch Shop: all products under $100 are now also eligible for free domestic shipping in the continental United States! This essentially opens our entire online store to enjoy this new perk. Our goal is to make it even easier and more appealing to shop the very best products – whether watches, clocks, gear, or straps at any price point. Today’s special highlight is on some of the best gear under $100 available right here in the Windup Watch Shop. From multi-tools, to knives, to storage solutions – there’s something useful in here for just about everybody. As always, the Windup Watch Shop Team is available for consultation to answe...

Read article
Video Interview with Ressence’s Benoît Mintiens Worn & Wound
Ressence s Benoît Mintiens One May 14, 2024

Video Interview with Ressence’s Benoît Mintiens

One of my favorite stops at Watches & Wonders is always Ressence. Located in the hall of smaller booths that mostly house independent brands, their clever and unique designs always stand out. This year, they didn’t have any novelties to speak of, though it was my first opportunity to see their most recent releases: the Type 1 Round Multi-Color, and Type 3 Eucalyptus. Both left an impression, but the subtly whimsical hues in the Type 1 Round Multi-Color won me over, becoming one of the watches I’ve thought about most since the fair. Since there weren’t any releases just for Watches & Wonders, we decided to sit down with brand founder Benoit Mintiens and discuss what Ressence does. We talked a bit about their approach to design and the concepts behind their simple-on-the-surface timepieces. Their watches are truly different from anything else, so, unsurprisingly, so are their goals. Check that conversation out below. The post Video Interview with Ressence’s Benoît Mintiens appeared first on Worn & Wound.

Read article
W Worn & Wound
Worn & Wound
Marathon May 14, 2024

Marathon’s SAR Lineup Outfits the Inaugural Windup in a Bay

In 2022, a group of intrepid watch enthusiast divers began a grand tradition of coupling a Lake Michigan dive adventure with the Windup Watch Fair in Chicago, affectionately referred to as Windup in a Lake. Well, this tradition has expanded to include more divers and, as of last week, a new destination. Monterey Bay was the inaugural location of the first Windup in a Bay, part of our Windup Watch Fair San Francisco festivities. Best of all, our friends at Marathon were interested in participating in this adventure as well.  When search and rescue pros from around the world reach for a mission timer, the Canada-based watchmaker Marathon has been a go-to solution for over 80 years. So, their SAR collection-short for, you guessed it, Search and Rescue-was an ideal catalog to outfit the team of pros who gathered to kick off this dip into the Pacific. For this trip to the iconic Monterey Bay, we paired a slew of dive-rated Marathon SARs with five watch enthusiasts, each with major diving chops. Here’s our official photo recap and impressions from the team. The post Marathon’s SAR Lineup Outfits the Inaugural Windup in a Bay appeared first on Worn & Wound.

Read article
Depancel Introduces their First Série-R Watch with an Automatic Chronograph Caliber Worn & Wound
May 14, 2024

Depancel Introduces their First Série-R Watch with an Automatic Chronograph Caliber

Depancel has carved out a nice little niche for themselves making highly specific automotive and racing inspired watches. These watches are frequently geared directly at watch collectors who are already steeped in car culture, with colorways inspired by classic racing liverys and case designs that emulate specific vehicle designs. Their square shaped watch, the Série-R, might appear somewhat derivative of another famous square watch connected to the racing world, but it has its own thing happening that sets it apart just enough. And this one, surprisingly, is the first chronograph in the Série-R collection.  Previous iterations of the Série-R have primarily been the home of a calendar complication with an execution that is chronograph-like, featuring subdials at 3, 6, and 9 for the calendar indicators. The new Série-R, in a “Tangerine” colorway and limited to 300 pieces, could have been easily predicted by Depancel fans. We get effectively the same layout as the calendar, but we’ve entered race mode with a three register chrono.  The new Tangerine colorway looks great, with a blue base dial with a sunray finish in the interior circular section and vertical ridges outside to fill the square. Orange and white accents figure prominently throughout, with a bold stripe down the dial’s left side, crossing the 9:00 subdial.  The case might appear like a standard square at a glance, but there’s a little more going on. The shape is meant to evoke a radiator grille,...

Read article
Farer Introduces the Banzare, a Limited Edition GMT with a Textured Dial Worn & Wound
Farer Introduces May 13, 2024

Farer Introduces the Banzare, a Limited Edition GMT with a Textured Dial

We’ve been covering Farer for a long time on Worn & Wound. To say they are a core brand in our little enthusiast corner of the watch world would be an understatement, and it’s been exciting to see them grow, experiment, and further develop their own unique design language. For as long as I’ve been covering the brand, it’s been the colors that have stood out. They have just always had a knack for picking interesting and unusual color combinations. And their typical release strategy underscores that point – they’ll frequently release a handful of watches in the same style at one time, each adopting different color palettes, and thus emphasizing the impact those decisions have on the finished product. Their latest release, the Banzare GMT, is not part of a multi-watch drop, but it does feature a striking new dial texture for the brand in a color that some die hard Farer fans are sure to appreciate.  The GMT has become a signature complication for Farer, probably because it gives the brand a chance to explore colors and contrasts in natural ways. Think of the different elements of the dial that need to be navigated here: the dial itself, the main hour markers, the time telling hands, the GMT hand, the GMT hour scale, the date, the minute track, and we haven’t even gotten to the various wordmarks yet. There’s a real challenge in making sure all of those elements play well together, and it’s something Farer has always excelled at.  The Banzare gets a plum col...

Read article

Comments

No comments yet, be the first to weigh in.

Leave a comment

All comments are reviewed before they go live. Email is for our records only - it's never published.