Fratello
Would you believe me if I told you we have never featured a dedicated article about a vintage Nivada Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver article on Fratello? I had to check twice, but it’s true. Let’s fix this with a scarce version of the Nivada CASD. This one is one is ref. 85004/4076, aka the “Orange […] Visit #TBT Why The “Orange Boy” Is The Best Vintage Nivada CASD You Can Get to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
Blancpain is the oldest Swiss watchmaker in existence, founded in 1735, as well as one of the most respected and, it is fair to say, one of the most intimidating for a newcomer to approach. This is not just because of the uniformly high prices - nearly all fall within a five-figure range - but also because of the vast diversity within the maison’s collection, which has emerged naturally after literally centuries of uninterrupted watchmaking. Many savvy watch enthusiasts, even ones relatively new to the game, are at least passingly familiar with the brand’s Fifty Fathoms dive watch and its place in that popular category’s historical pantheon, but remain largely unaware of other intriguing timepieces within Blancpain’s portfolio - some simple and understated, others paragons of horological complexity. Moreover, some of these aspirational aficionados are likely seeking out their first Blancpain watch, and attempting to decipher exactly what an entry-level timepiece from the venerable brand would be - what it costs and what it offers for that price. Continuing our “Price of Admission” series (which kicked off with Bilal Khan’s spotlight on Cartier), I will be examining the least expensive choices for an entry-level Blancpain, covering dress and sport options as well as a variety of case materials. Like most any watch brand in the luxury category, Blancpain’s most approachable models from a price perspective are those in cases of steel, rather than pr...
Fratello
The Seiko SKX007 is one of the most popular entry-level mechanical watches ever produced, period. But is it still worth adding one to your collection in 2024, even though it was discontinued five years ago? Let’s find out. The Seiko SKX007’s popularity is no small feat, even for a large and culturally powerful manufacturer like […] Visit Is The Classic Seiko SKX007 Dive Watch Still Worth Your Time In 2024? to read the full article.
WatchAdvice
Part of Zenith’s Watches & Wonders 2024 releases was a long-overdue Revival of a popular retro model. But does the 70s aesthetic still hold up today? Let’s find out! What We Love: Retro design & old-school cool Tough specs make for good for daily wear Plenty of adjustments for even the smallest wrists What We Don’t: Clasp feels lacking in design Challenging to pull off and style with outfits Smudges easily – a byproduct of all high-polish watches Final Score: 8/10 Value for Money: 8/10 Wearability: 8/10 Design: 8/10 Build Quality: 8/10 We at Watch Advice were busy throughout all of 2024’s Watches & Wonders. So many brands, so many releases, and all in one place? April was the season for Watch Heaven. With your eyes darting from brand to brand, it’s easy to get lost in the fog of the amazing new models – however, if you don’t slow down and look around, you might realise that you missed something special. ‘Under-the-radar’ is a somewhat apt description of Zenith’s releases at this year’s biggest watch fair. While there were two new modern defy models worth celebrating, one release didn’t seem to get as much press as everything else did. Designed in the ’60s, the Zenith Defy lineup was a distinctive collection in a sea of retro timepieces. However, they were built for one purpose: survival. Zenith wanted to make the most resilient Swiss watch of its time, and they made sure that no stone was left unturned. The vintage goodness that is the Zen...
Fratello
Although I’ve told the story to many people, I’ve never put pen to paper and written the account of my Rolex Submariner 5512. The tale is probably more common than we think in light of what Rolex was 60 years ago. A watch like the Submariner could withstand the rigors of water-related activities and had […] Visit A Vintage Rolex Submariner 5512 With Stories To Tell to read the full article.
Fratello
Due to my smaller wrists, I tend to wear custom-size straps and adjusted bracelets. However, there are other options. The Artem nylon watch straps are a cut above typical offerings. I’ve paired one with a vintage Tudor Submariner for today’s review, and I’ll answer why it’s worth selecting a premium nylon strap over a flimsy […] Visit Hands-On With Artem Nylon Watch Straps to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
Picture the scene: a hectic work week ends with a quick bite at your favorite Italian trattoria, then you hustle a few blocks afterwards to a dimly lit West Village jazz club to catch a blazing first set from the house band. Glancing down at your wrist, you see you have just enough time to cab it to the airport for the redeye to Paris for a well-deserved long weekend, beachfront on the Côte d'Azur. But the watch on your wrist isn’t a vintage Rolex GMT-Master or Omega Seamaster 300, although either would be a fine choice to segue from the office to the French Riviera without missing a beat. No, your timepiece is from Serica, a microbrand based in France with enough Continental cool and midcentury charm to appear as if it just popped out of a time capsule from 1962. If ever a modern sports watch evoked the Mad Men era, this is it. Even though it’s only been in existence since 2019, Serica doesn't feel like a typical microbrand. In fact, it has the aura of an established horological icon, one with its own storied history and visual language. And if it’s not readily apparent, I’m positively obsessed with the entire Serica aesthetic. Serica's French-designed, Swiss-made creations blend the refinement of classic Parisian fashion with the urbane cool of a European matinee idol. The company’s debut release was the W.W.W field watch, followed by the 5303 diver that made its bow in 2021, in both black and white-dialed variants. A new colorway was offered the followin...
Fratello
Another Friday, another list! Last week, we looked at the rarest Rolex Submariner references. This week, we have shifted our focus to Tudor. We decided to have a look at our favorite five vintage Tudor references. Most people will know the classic Submariner models, but there is plenty more to enjoy from the Tudor brand. […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Vintage Tudor References to read the full article.
Monochrome
Inspired by some of the most iconic dive watches produced in the 1950s, Titoni introduced its Seascoper 600 dive watch in 2020. Boasting a formidable 600m depth rating and a Swiss-made COSC-certified in-house automatic movement, the Seascoper 600 was joined by a younger brother two years later: the Seascoper 300. With half the water resistance […]
SJX Watches
While the history of the Rolex diver’s watch begins with the Oyster Perpetual Submariner of 1953, one of the brand’s landmark achievement in water-resistant cases is more recent: the Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea launched in 2008 that incorporates the Ringlock system. With the innovative Ringlock system, Rolex surmounted an enduring obstacle in building a deeper-diving watch – a case that grew in proportion to the depth rating. The Ringlock system is a patented case architecture that fundamentally rethought the traditional approach to a diver’s watch, which allowed the Rolex Deepsea to achieve a water-resistance rating of 3,900 m with a 44 mm case. The utility of the Ringlock was proven in 2022 with the Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge that took the Oyster case to the limits of horological engineering. Featuring a 50 mm case in RLX titanium, the Deepsea Challenge is water resistant to 11,000 m – the all-time water-resistance record for a mechanical wristwatch. The latest addition to the deep-diving collection, the Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea in 18k yellow gold. Image – Rolex A deep history The history of Rolex is inextricably intertwined with the water-resistant wristwatch. Six years after establishing the brand in 1908, Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf wrote to Bienne-based movement maker Aegler, “We must find a way to create a waterproof wristwatch”. By 1926, Wilsdorf had achieved his goal with the launch of the Oyster, a waterproof wristwatch which ha...
WatchAdvice
We go hands-on with the newly released Seiko Prospex Marinemaster 1968 Heritage Diver’s Watch to see how heritage and tradition meet modern-day needs! What We Love: The textured dial and 3D markers add depth to the watch High legibility making time reading easy The easy-wearing ergonomic design What We Don’t: The bracelet clasp design is still lacking in finesse Crown placement at not quite 4 o’clock seems off-balance The closed caseback hides what would be a nice-looking movement inside Overall Rating: 8.375/10 Value for Money: 8/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 8.5/10 Build Quality: 8/10 Seiko has been on a bit of a walk down memory lane with many of their releases this year, looking back at the old vintage models from the 1960s and ’70s as inspiration and reviving some of these pieces for modern-day customers. It seems that this is a little bit of a trend currently, and has accelerated over the last few years with people looking for different pieces to place on their wrists. Many brands in the watch world have gone down this path, and it does make for some great vintage homage or revival pieces and a slight break away from the norm. Seiko has some great heritage pieces, and with their latest release, Seiko has gone back over 50 years to 1968, just three years after their very first dive watch and re-incarnated it in 2024 in the form of the Prospex Marinemaster 1968 Heritage Diver, with a black dial and white dial variant to choose from. First Impressions We had ...
Time+Tide
After creating waves upon its release, we wanted to dive into the pages of Oyster Perpetual Submariner to see what all the fuss was about.The post We read the Rolex Submariner book so you don’t have to appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
As I explained in my last piece, I am something of a Black Bay collector myself (picture the meme), having fallen for the 79220N Heritage Black Bay in 2015. Prior to this, however, I had already decided two years previously that I would buy a Rolex Submariner one day, somehow. Today, I want to focus on the 79220N Heritage Black Bay, the 79000N Black Bay 54 and the 124060 Submariner in my collection.
Worn & Wound
I’d be hard-pressed to name a watch more iterated upon in the last few years than Zodiac’s Sea Wolf. The retro-inspired diver has been at the heart of a true brand renaissance and was at the forefront of the vintage revival movement that has so characterized the watch world over the last decade. Today, Zodiac is looking back to one of its earliest dive watches with the new Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Ref. 691. There is, as with most things watch-related and pre-internet, some debate as to the initial launch date of the Zodiac Sea Wolf, but regardless of the date, there’s no doubt that Zodiac released the Sea Wolf as part of the first wave of dive watches back in the 1950s, but while watches like the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, Rolex Submariner, and Omega Seamaster 300 soared (or dove), the Sea Wolf fell into the background - obscured to all but the most devoted watch enthusiasts alongside other early generation dive watches like the Eterna Kon-Tiki and Enicar Sherpa-Dive. By the time I got into watches in the early 2010s, the Zodiac Sea Wolf was one of the great secrets of the enthusiast world. Great examples could be had for a few hundred bucks, so for not much money, you could have a great-looking vintage dive watch with some real history. That all started to change when Zodiac, under the larger umbrella of Fossil Group, revived the Sea Wolf in 2015. The Zodiac Sea Wolf was immediately brought to the center of the horological world and has continued to stay relevant in t...
Monochrome
Named after the famous British explorer, Rado’s 1962 Captain Cook was the brand’s first dive watch with an impressive depth rating of 220 metres. Produced in very low numbers, the Captain Cook drifted off the map in 1968. With its consolidated reputation for high-tech streamlined ceramic watches, Rado took a surprising tack in 2017 by […]
Quill & Pad
It’s a testament to the auteur vision of De Bethune’s Denis Flageollet that the DB28 GS Yellow Submarine is unrecognizable as a dive watch. But the DB28GS Yellow Submarine is a dive watch without doubt – and without duplicate.
Fratello
Another Friday, another list! This week, we leave our lists of watches with famous movements behind and focus on the Rolex Submariner. As some of you will know, Rolex, Wallpaper*, and Nicholas Foulkes collaborated on Oyster Perpetual Submariner: The Watch that Unlocked the Deep. The book came out last week, and it brilliantly covers the […] Visit Fratello Top 5: The Rarest Steel Rolex Submariner References Ever Produced to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Don't let the modern reference on the cover fool you, this new book is full of vintage gems.
Fratello
Christopher Ward teamed up with seconde/seconde/, resulting in a rather quirky version of the C65 Aquitaine. Let me introduce you to the C65 Desk Diver limited edition. Unlike most of seconde/seconde/’s subtle jabs at the watch world, this is a full-on tongue-in-cheek redesign of the C65 diver. Christopher Ward will produce 500 of these C65 […] Visit Introducing: The Christopher Ward × Seconde/Seconde/ C65 Desk Diver to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
There seems to be a clear correlation between watch enthusiasts and cinephiles. From Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Seiko H558-5009 (mentioned in one of my previous articles) to Marlon Brando’s bezel-less Rolex GMT Master 1675, watches and their film counterparts have been the focus of discussion in the watch collector space for years. While an Arnie will cost you around $500 and 1675s over $10k, pieces of film history can be obtained by hobbyists of all tax brackets. However, even the several hundred-dollar price for a girthy Seiko diver may still be out of the price range for many collectors who find the allure of Hollywood memorabilia sitting in their watch case to be intriguing. Enter the Timex Camper. In the opening sequence of Ethan and Joel Coen’s 2007 masterpiece film No Country for Old Men, protagonist Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin) tracks game animals across the West Texas plains. He bends down on one knee, takes his watch out, and holds it to the sun––attempting to use the shadows of the handset on the dial to track his direction. The audience fortunately gets a few frames of the watch on screen. What’s shown is a Timex Camper, dark green, with a matching fabric strap. It’s rather small in the shot, but us collectors will take whatever wristwatch screen time we can get. The Camper’s aesthetics obviously differentiate it from the aforementioned Arnie and 1675, but its most important trait for us is its price. For well under $100––commonly li...
For this latest edition of our ongoing Enthusiast Spotlight series, we’re excited to introduce you to 2nd Class Petty Officer Brock Stevens, a Navy Diver with over 5 years of active duty experience. During his service, he’s accumulated more than 9,000 minutes of bottom time. He is currently stationed at the MARMC Dive Locker in Norfolk, VA, and serves as a Ship Husbandry Repair Specialist, maintaining aircraft carriers, submarines, and other surface ships. As a proud co-founder of the MARMC Dive Locker ROV team, Brock leads a group dedicated to utilizing cutting-edge ROVs for underwater inspections and retrievals. Outside of his military role, Brock is a tool watch enthusiast with an ever-growing collection of dive watches. Additionally, he’s passionate about photography and pursues this passion by documenting his adventures, watches, and EDC on Instagram as @deepsea.edc. For this edition, we’ve equipped him with Marathon’s brand new reissue of the first of their iconic SAR line. The watch famously featured a MIL-SPEC Type I dial with a cyclops date. It relaunches today as the 41mm OSAR-D (Original Search and Rescue with Date). Hey Brock, Thanks for joining us for this latest edition of Enthusiast Spotlight. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do for a living. My name is Brock Stevens. I’m a US Navy diver. I’ve been a diver for a little over five years now as a Ships Husbandry Specialist working on repairing aircraft carriers and submarines. When...
Time+Tide
Vintage skin diver touches inspired by the Omega Seamaster 300, and oversized dial elements make up the Fleux FLX003.The post The Fleux FLX003 is a modern, vintage skin diver appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
You might not need them, but they're very cool nevertheless.The post 7 of the best deep dive watches that are a must for your next trip to the Mariana Trench appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
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 SilverWave Diver Here is a fantastic and scarce vintage Seiko SilverWave diver. The SilverWave model is one of Seiko’s earlier sport divers, and is arguably the coolest design. The 36mm steel case has a deeply grooved crown at 4 o’clock, and a snap on case back. There were a few different variations, but this model was rated to a depth of 30 meters. The silver dial has simple stick markers, but the coolest feature is the internal rotating dive bezel. By turning the crown in the ‘in’ position, the internal bezel rotates. This is something Seiko has done on many models, but I think the SilverWave may have been the first. Seller states the watch runs, and it’s in overall great condition for this watch which is usually found pretty beat up. View auction here Benrus Sea Lord Next, a nice vintage Benrus Sea Lord (great name btw), complete with box and papers. The gold plated case is excellent and looks unpolished, and the crown is original and signed with the Benrus “B” logo. The silver dial is simple and clean with a radial brushed finish, with applied gold stick markers and big stick hands. The vintage stretch gold band is most likely a replacement, but it’s definite...
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