Time+Tide
From Genta's Offshore gripes to getting Rolex to revive a moonphase, Emmanuel tells all.The post “You killed my Royal Oak!”: Emmanuel Gueit reveals the stories behind his legendary watch designs appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
Ba111od releases their next new collection, now designated as Chapter 8 with a set of seven new automatic models. 4 three hand and 3 moonphase watches.
SJX Watches
Now into the second half of its second century, Piaget unveiled the Polo Flying Tourbillon Moonphase, an eccentric entrant in the crowded field of luxury sport watches. The charm of the watch lies in its unusual feature set: an extravagant dial and easy wearing format, which includes interchangeable rubber and leather straps. Housed in a sleek, 44 mm titanium case, the Polo Flying Tourbillon is the most complicated watch in the Polo collection since the underrated Polo Tourbillon Relatif introduced two decades ago. Initial thoughts I have a soft spot for watches like the Polo Flying Tourbillon that don’t fit neatly into any pre-conceived category. It’s risky to make watches like this; watches that look a bit odd on the spec sheet but feel good on the wrist. On one hand, it’s overtly sporty with a titanium case, a rubber strap, and a robust 100 m water resistance rating thanks to dual gaskets in the crown. Looked at from another perspective, it’s a piece of true industrial-haute horlogerie with a flying tourbillon and a thoughtfully executed pointer-style moonphase indicator, sans date. This last detail stands out to me, because the date and moonphase complications usually go hand-in-hand. To be clear, I don’t miss the date; its absence contributes to the care-free nature of the watch. The 44 mm titanium case looks large on paper, and indeed, the diameter is accentuated by its 9.8 mm case height, which is on the thinner side as such things go. But the Polo wears w...
Worn & Wound
There’s almost nothing you can say to convince me the latest MoonSwatch, the not so elegantly named Mission to Earthphase Moonshine Gold, is not the product of a ChatGPT prompt entered by a Swatch exec. Maybe it said “What should the next entry in our never ending profit squeezing machine that is the MoonSwatch collection be called?” I can imagine an artificial intelligence suggesting something as silly, and also reminding the good people at Swatch that blue, and gold, and Snoopy are all very critical design characteristics that should be included. Honestly, I hope AI is the culprit. I’d hate to think that human beings at a brand that I hold in such high regard are responsible for such a shallow mismatch of buzzwords and incoherent thematic elements. Let’s take stock of what we’re looking at here. This is a Bioceramic, quartz MoonSwatch much like all the others. It follows the original Earthphase model from last year and includes not just a moonphase complication, but an “Earthphase” that depicts the “phase” of the earth as seen from the moon. Useful? No. Whimsical? Perhaps. There are a lot of little details though that are a bit of a grab bag of prior elements of MoonSwatches and Speedmasters of the past. Most notably, Snoopy and Woodstock are depicted right on the dial, watching the cosmic dance play out in front of them. The moons on the moonphase indicator are MoonShine gold plated. The graphical inspiration for the moonphase complication is the...
Time+Tide
Timeless and traditional, here's our guide to some of the best moonphase watches on the market.The post 12 of the best moonphase watches making the most of the romantic complication appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
In two dusty tones, the new addition to Glashütte Original's Senator line shows balance and poise in its design. The post Glashütte Original brings sultry shades of silver and copper to their signature Senator Panorama Date Moonphase (live pics) appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
The Patek Philippe 5002 Sky Moon Tourbillon launched in platinum for the 2001 model year, the 12-complication featured two dials. Dial one was devoted to a moonphase indicator and a perpetual calendar with retrograde date display. On the sub-dial display for months, simple text promised a tourbillon regulator within the case.
Worn & Wound
One of the things I really enjoy about covering microbrands and small independents is seeing how young brands develop in unexpected ways over time. My first exposure to De Rijke & Co. was through Zach Weiss’s review of their Amalfi 1S back in 2020. At that point, the brand’s calling card was their trick case design that allowed the wearer to easily rotate the dial for a better viewpoint while driving, as well as customized design options so clients could effectively create their own unique version of the watch. This “gentleman driver’s” watch, as they referred to it, remains quite appealing, and the case of course is still a part of their collection. In no way, however, could it have predicted the success the brand would find making watches featuring the “Miffy” character, a staple of Dutch children’s books since the 1950s. Over the last three years, De Rijke & Co. has released several Miffy themed watches that go well beyond simple character dials. The Miffy motif has been used to experiment with bold colors, lume, and different expressions of the moonphase complication. These watches are whimsical, a lot of fun, and quite far removed, in my opinion, from the earlier Amalfi pieces, and it’s fascinating to consider how the brand got to this point. Today, they’ve unveiled what is said to be the final Miffy watch. According to the brand, the new White Ceramic Miffy Moonphase has been in the works for three years. It is, it turns out, quite complicated...
Monochrome
The unique story of Miffy and De Rijke & Co starts back in 2022, when Dutchman Laurens de Rijke, founder of his own watchmaking company, launched something very unexpected: the Miffy Moonphase. The iconic Dutch cartoon bunny is known and loved the world over, and carefully protected by a foundation honouring Dick Bruna’s (Miffy’s creator) […]
Monochrome
The Lady Serenade and PanoMatic Luna are Glashütte Original’s mechanical watch collections for women. While the PanoMatic Luna is essentially a smaller version of the men’s model, the Lady Serenade collection was conceived as a ladies’ watch from the start. Last year, the Lady Serenade was given a moonlight serenade with the incorporation of a moon phase display and […]
Deployant
Vacheron Constantin introduces a host of commemorative models, including the Patrimony Moon Phase Retrograde Date, to celeberate the brand's 270th birthday.
Worn & Wound
Sometimes, no matter how many hours we spend scrolling on Instagram and monitoring various watch-focused group chats, things slip through the cracks. Watches that check all the right boxes to rise above the noise of a crowded market go unnoticed and become sleeper hits instead of hits, and creativity that deserves widespread celebration instead receives a splattering of quiet applause. For collectors that enjoy witnessing brands evolve and develop distinct design DNA in real time, it can be a bummer to discover your radar missed something great. But on the bright side, this scenario allows for instant gratification and the opportunity to speed run a brand’s evolution to the present day. This was my experience when Italian microbrand echo/neutra released the Rivanera at the end of last year. Like many of you, I was pleasantly caught off guard by the rugged take on the classic rectangular dress watch, but didn’t recognize the name divided by a distinct slash on the dial. This sent me digging through surprisingly sparse reviews and forum threads where I discovered that the Rivanera was far from beginner’s luck, and was actually the result of a year’s long evolution that began in the way many do, with a safe and somewhat generic field watch on Kickstarter. Watching aging YouTube videos, this actual first release called the Averau (which later included a very cool moon phase) looks like exactly the type of watch I would’ve chased in 2019 when specs and MSRP were my pr...
SJX Watches
This spring, one of the most important horological creations of the late twentieth century returns to public view. As part of The Geneva Watch Auction: XXI taking place on May 10 and 11, Phillips will offer the Breguet Sympathique No. 1, the first of twenty exceptional clocks commissioned by Breguet in the early 1990s. The primary creator of this landmark clock was none other than Francois-Paul Journe, then a young watchmaker. Completed in 1991 for the Art of Breguet auction, No. 1 is not just the prototype of the modern Sympathique series, it is its most ambitious. The example, paired with a tourbillon wristwatch, is equipped with a constant-force remontoir and moonphase display. In retrospect, it reads as a mechanical manifesto, foreshadowing Journe’s later independent work. More than a highlight of its upcoming sale, No. 1 represents a rare continuation of one of watchmaking’s great inventions, a direct link to Abraham-Louis Breguet himself. Detail of Sympathique no. 1 Of Breguet’s many breakthroughs, from the tourbillon to the pare-chute, none captured the marriage of mechanical brilliance and poetic vision quite like the Pendule Sympathique. Designed to wind, set, and regulate a paired watch automatically, it embodied a new kind of horological harmony: a master timekeeper caring for its portable counterpart. The calendar on Sympathique no. 1 By the late 20th century, these clocks had become near-mythical. Only a handful were ever built, most housed in royal coll...
Time+Tide
The eclectic Finland-based watchmaker has unveiled his latest take on one of his most important watches.The post Sarpaneva explodes onto the scene with a new Supernova, featuring stone dials and an out-of-this-world moonphase appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
In the year and three months since they reintroduced the El Primero Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar, Zenith has been cooking up new references and colorways for the crowd-favorite complication. Next in this wave is the new 18k Rose Gold & Black model, wrapped in the ever-popular material and boasting the same sportiness mixed with refinement that the Triple Calendar has become known for. Housed in a 38mm case (46mm lug-to-lug) and sharing proportions with previous stainless steel models, the new Rose Gold variant also features hour markers, subdials, and hands in the material-and coated in SuperLuminova SLN C1- to contrast the sleek black of the dial. A matching black calfskin leather strap with a rose gold folding clasp completes the look, giving the Chronomaster a profile that oscillates between elegant and intimidating. Inside, the new Chronomaster features the same El Primero 3610 movement with automatic column-wheel chronograph functionality. The complete calendar and moonphase indications both lend the dial a swath of functionality and add aesthetic flavor. Also carried over from previous models is the 60-hour power reserve and 50 meters of water resistance, placing the Chronomaster solidly in the dress-to-sport watch camp. A new colorway and case material for an iconic and consistently popular line of watches is always exciting, and Zenith has delivered with this new (and familiar) Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar reference. Whether or not rose ...
Monochrome
Founded in 2016 in the Swiss Jura by Sébastien Muller, a fourth-generation watchmaker, Brellum is an independent brand known for its direct-to-consumer model and limited annual production of no more than 299 COSC-certified chronometers. The brand debuted with the Duobox collection, recognised for its classic design, accessible pricing, and limited editions, including models featuring a […]
Fratello
Brellum releases many small runs of watches during any given year, so I was surprised to find that it’s been nearly six months since our last review. Now we’re back with a look at the new Duobox Triple Calendar Moonphase LE Chronometer. Yes, that’s a mouthful, but the welcome news is that the watch now […] Visit Introducing: The Salmon-Dial Brellum Duobox Triple Calendar Moonphase to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Orient Star’s new M34 F7 Semi Skeleton and M45 F7 Mechanical Moon Phase models combine cosmic inspiration with in-house automatic movements.
SJX Watches
The anniversary celebrations continue at Vacheron Constantin, which has introduced 270th anniversary versions of the Patrimony Self-Winding and Patrimony Moon Phase Retrograde Date featuring asymmetric guilloche-style dials depicting the Maltese Cross. Both models are part of Vacheron Constantin (VC)’s 270th anniversary collection, with the simple automatic limited to 370 pieces each in either 18k white or rose gold, while the retrograde date limited to just 270 pieces in each metal. Initial thoughts This watch is all about its dial, which it shares with the Traditionnelle. I liked the look immediately, which is subtle yet appropriately self-referential for such an occasion. I often find the Patrimony to wear on the large side, given the expansive dial and slim bezel, but in this case I think the asymmetry of the dial design helps shrink the watch visually. The Patrimony Self-Winding duo Both references stick to roughly the same dimensions of their standard production counterparts, 40 mm by 8.65 mm thick for the simple automatic, and 42.5 mm by 9.7 mm for the retrograde date. Both sets of figures are on the larger end of the spectrum for dress watches, but this sizing should work well to highlight the special dial. Despite their functional differences, both models share the same automatic base caliber from the cal. 24xx movement family, which is configured either for central seconds or to accommodate the retrograde date mechanism. This 4 Hz movement platform has a relat...
Worn & Wound
Frederique Constant proved that a perpetual calendar watch could be priced within reach of the general market with the release of their original Classic Perpetual Manufacture back in 2016. Nine years later, the Geneva-based brand’s redesigned and refined new Classic Perpetual looks to continue that tradition. Housed in a steel 40mm case that sports slimmer lugs and softer angles than previous models, the new Classic promises elegance and functionality in equal measure. The salmon “sunray” dial and silver diamond-cut indexes ooze cocktail party elegance, but keep the color scheme in check in order to draw full and worthy attention to the complications: a date counter at 3 o’clock, moonphase at 6, weekday counter at 9, and month and leap year counter at 12, all of which are stepped to add dimension to the dial. A discreet sector dial minute track runs the perimeter for a touch of vintage flair, while the Frederique Constant signature sits below the moonphase window at the 6 position. None of these features will be a surprise for seasoned calendar collectors, of course, but the combination of the salmon dial, silver dauphine hands and indexes, and subtly reshaped Classic case will draw appreciation from those in the market for a dress watch that punches above its price point. The included dark brown alligator leather strap adds another point of class to the Classic, as does the onion-style crown-this is a watch to be worn while toasting a great achievement in the ...
Time+Tide
Two of Britain's most beloved independent watchmakers team up for a whimsical take on a moonphase, melding CW's technical expertise with Mr Jones' art.The post Christopher Ward gets arty with a double-British collab, the Mr Jones Celestial limited edition moonphase appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Swatch and Omega have followed up February's MoonSwatch 1965 with a neon pink moonphase MoonSwatch that's meant for lovers.The post Pretty in pink: the MoonSwatch Mission to the Pink Moonphase is a rocket ship to romance appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
Not even a month ago, I wrote an article about the new Speedmaster MoonSwatch 1965. That was the 30th iteration of this collaboration between Swatch and Omega. Now we’ve got the next one, number 31, the Mission To The Pink Moonphase. Those who followed the press conference on Swatch Group’s annual results could have seen […] Visit Meet MoonSwatch #31 - The Mission To The Pink Moonphase to read the full article.
Deployant
The Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase now comes with 'frosted silver' and 'frosted copper' dials.
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