Monochrome
Known for its highly decorated, openworked in-house movements finished to very high standards, Armin Strom entered the dress watch category in 2021 with its surprisingly restrained Tribute 1 model in 2021. While still bearing most of the attributes of the brand, design-wise or technically, the Tribute collection was simpler, more discreet and mostly, featured almost […]
Time+Tide
Complicated, openworked, draped in platinum and handsome navy tones, this watch is a reminder of what makes GO such a singular brand.The post Glashütte Original’s PanoMaticCalendar “Blue of Dawn” is inspired by their watchmakers’ early morning starts appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Though it was launched in 2022, the Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon Skeleton still stands out within the catalogue for being the only Overseas in titanium. Vacheron Constantin (VC) has rolled out a pair of limited editions in the lightweight metal, a logical choice for sports watches, but the Overseas tourbillon, in both skeleton and conventional format, is the only regular production model. With its lightness and colour, the metal adds to the appeal of the Overseas tourbillon (which was already pretty good in steel). The skeleton version is further enhanced by the style and finishing of the movement, which is as good as expected of VC, and better than preceding calibres. Initial thoughts The Overseas tourbillon is a large watch and it feels large, but fortunately it is slim, giving it an elegant profile – which is how the best luxury-sports watches should be. Because it is in titanium – which is an uncommon metal for high-end sports watches – the watch is also light, even with the bracelet. This gives it an appealing feel on the wrist. The Overseas tourbillon looks good on its face, and is also surprisingly legible despite being skeletonised. The open-worked movement gives the watch a technical appearance that suits the material and purpose, while the prominent tourbillon showcases its haute horlogerie qualifications; the tourbillon is one of the most elaborately decorated elements of the movement. But one of the best traits of this watch is relative – the...
Worn & Wound
While not my style, I can see the appeal of a skeleton-style watch–it’s admittedly engrossing to watch the internals of your timepiece tick away, and an exhibition caseback can only show so much when it’s plastered to your wrist. So, I am not the target audience for watches like the new Maurice Lacroix Label Noir Aikon Manufacture Skeleton, but if you are, I’ll do my best to give you all the juicy details. Founded in Zurich in 1975, Swiss watch brand Maurice Lacroix is known for stylistically brash and boundary-pushing watches; even their tamer models tend to feature bright colors or adventurous materials, and they have quite a few creative skeleton pieces in their catalogue, particularly in their Aikon line. The new Aikon Manufacture Skeleton, in collaboration with Geneva-based Label Noir, pushes that ethos ever-forward. Measuring in at a large-and-loud 45mm in diameter and 12mm in height, the black DLC-plated stainless steel case bears dual-segments at every other hour, framing the sapphire skeleton dial. A screw-down crown ensures 100 meters of water resistance, and two provided straps shake up the aesthetic profile of the watch: the gray leather strap gives it a much more subdued look, while the turquoise rubber alternative lends it a much louder persona. Translucent black varnish on the sapphire dial gives the watch an almost smoky look at the edges, and creates a highlight point of clarity in the middle of the dial, where the turquoise-plated hands meet. ...
Fratello
What do you do when you have a good thing going? You double down, of course! Formex spent years developing a ceramic Essence with best-in-class finishing and a first-ever ceramic micro-adjustable clasp. The Swiss brand fitted it with a skeletonized dial for its debut earlier this year. And then, Formex doubled down indeed. This September, […] Visit Formex Doubles Down On Ceramic With The Essence Ceramica Automatic COSC “Dark Matter” 41mm to read the full article.
Revolution
Time+Tide
Norqain introduces two luxe, skeletonised takes on the Wild One 39mm just in time for the holiday season.The post Norqain celebrates the start of the holiday season with two precious metal 39mm Wild One Skeletons appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Armin Strom debuts its first skeletonised take on its architectural One Week design, decked out in warm rose gold, for Dubai Watch Week 2025.The post Armin Strom’s One Week Skeleton Rose Gold goes fully openworked, in serious style appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
For the second time this week, TAG Heuer has introduced a rather audacious Monaco. Yesterday we told you about the all new Air 1, a flagship of sorts that puts all of TAG’s resources to bear on a split second chronograph with no compromises. Today, TAG debuts a Monaco that’s a bit more accessible but no less specialized, a watch that is meant for F1 fans celebrating the unique experience of the circuit’s night races. Even a casual F1 observer (I count myself in this category) can appreciate the spectacle of a night race. It’s a very different aesthetic experience than a race run during daylight hours, and the new limited edition Monaco seen here really leans into that night race vibe with some dramatic applications of color throughout. To start, it’s built on a 39mm titanium case that has been DLC coated, and given a skeletonized dial treatment that we’ve seen from a bunch of earlier Monaco limited editions at this point. Where this watch really sets itself apart though a gradient effect that is layered throughout the dial and unique lume application. Multiple lume colors are employed to draw the eye to either the chronograph or time telling functions, depending use case. The chronograph totalizers at 3 and 9 are rendered in blue, with turquoise hands, while green glowing lume is found on the primary hour and minute hands. There’s also additional purple lume throughout the minute track, and the bridges themselves have been given a gradient effect that range...
Hodinkee
The new Monaco Chronograph is inspired by Formula 1 night racing while the Split-Seconds Air 1 utilizes 'Selective Laser Melting' for the case.
Monochrome
Bremont’s rise has been tied to modern aviation-leaning tool watches with solid mechanics built to be used. After the more experimental Terra Nova pieces, the British brand regrouped around its core strengths with the Altitude collection: a cleaner, aviation-inspired collection that also invited complications. At the top sits the Altitude Perpetual Calendar GMT Mono-Pusher, with […]
Monochrome
With its position as Official Timekeeper of Formula 1, TAG Heuer has been hard at work delivering F1-themed watches during the entire 2025 season. Besides the Formula 1 Chronograph and special edition Carrera watches, the Monaco range is probably one of the most relevant vessels for racing-inspired models. The emblematic square chronograph, once worn by […]
Monochrome
The Armin Strom One Week is an expression of the manufacture’s priorities: visible mechanics, measured proportions and an insistence on hand finishing. Where the recent Titanium Skeleton emphasised lightness and a contemporary tool-watch stance, the new One Week Skeleton edition reframes the same openworked architecture in rose gold, retaining the mechanics as the object of […]
Worn & Wound
Dubai Watch Week is upon us, and TAG Heuer is using it as a launching pad for for a new version of what is objectively one of the most impressive watches they’ve ever made. The Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1 builds on the Monaco Split-Seconds that was introduced at Watches & Wonders in 2024. That one, you’ll recall, had a movement fashioned largely from titanium and weighed in at just 85 grams. The retail price at the time was a head scratching CHF 135,000, but it was also an incredibly impressive caliber and feat of engineering. Rattrapante chronographs like this are indeed quite rare, and certainly one with a caliber made of titanium is unheard of and adds additional layers of complexity to whole endeavor. The new Air 1 version of the watch is still 85 grams, but it achieves that weight even with new solid gold components in the case. The design of the case, still in the iconic Monaco square, has been substantially reworked and inspired by design and manufacturing processes that are part of the Formula 1 landscape. The case has effectively been hollowed out, with intricately skeletonized case flanks designed to maximize the weight to performance ratio. TAG Heuer achieves this through a process they refer to as Selective Laser Melting (SLM). This is an additive manufacturing process that is typically applied in aerospace, medical, and automotive manufacturing, and like other forms of 3-D printing it’s essentially a cheat code in achieving otherwise impossi...
Deployant
Angelus releases a new version of their Flying Tourbillon Skeleton, now dressed with orange accents. This is a 25 piece limited edition.
SJX Watches
The Christopher Ward Bel Canto Lumière builds on the success of the original Bel Canto, which earned praise for being one of the most accessible chiming watches on the market. Its open-worked hour striker module remains the star of the show, combining a tidy architectural layout with a distinctive acoustic signature that sets it apart from anything else in its price segment. The Lumière keeps that mechanical drama intact but takes a futuristic turn with a smoked sapphire dial, luminous blue-green chapter ring, and a matching rubber strap that glows in the dark. The new execution gives the watch a distinctly modern, almost Tron-like character, yet it remains faithful to the core idea that made the Bel Canto a hit: offering a well finished, technically interesting hour striker at a reasonable price. Initial thoughts The Bel Canto made waves upon its release for being a visually dynamic hour striker at a price well below the norm for this complication. Not only cost effective, the hour striker module is neatly designed and well organised on the dial. In this respect, the Bel Canto exceeded previous attempts at making this complication affordable. In other words, it looks as good as it sounds. The last time we saw new dials for the Bel Canto, the brand went the traditional route with laser-etched guilloché and Roman numerals. This time, the Christopher Ward (CW) is going the other way, with a futuristic luminous treatment that extends to the rubber strap, encircling the wr...
SJX Watches
Vacheron Constantin’s 270th anniversary Les Cabinotiers offerings include a variation on a theme with the Armillary Tourbillon “Myth of the Pleiades”. Having been introduced several years ago, the Armillary Tourbillon is a double-axis regulator with a bi-retrograde time display. This unique iteration is dressed entirely in yellow gold, and intricately hand engraved across all of the case surfaces. Initial thoughts The Armillary Tourbillon “Myth of the Pleiades” channels the same celestial inspiration found on the other 270th anniversary watches into mythological storytelling, blending the brand’s signature double-axis tourbillon with sculptural engraving. Still inspired by the stars, this unique piece takes its theme from the Greek myth of the Pleiades - seven sisters transformed into stars who have guided sailors for millennia. The watch is as much about artistic expression as it is about mechanics. The heavily open-worked dial exposes much of the movement beneath, showcasing the double retrograde system for the hours and minutes. The champagne-toned bridges share the same warm hue as the Cosmica Duo, while the finishing throughout is of the highest standard. The cal. 1990 inside remains as appealing as ever, with skeletonised snail cams and beautiful swirling levers for the retrograde works, all tightly packed on the right side of the dial. The blued hands point to a numbered half-circle sector, which is useful since reading the time on this “halved” fo...
Fratello
A decade after its revival, Czapek once again surprises with an intriguing creation - the Time Jumper. This is a modern interpretation of a 19th-century pocket watch crafted by François Czapek. The 40.5mm wristwatch with a half-hunter cover presents a fresh twist on traditional guilloché and partially conceals the new open-worked caliber 10.01. In celebration […] Visit Introducing: The Czapek Time Jumper - A Flying-Saucer-Shaped Half-Hunter Watch With A Spacy Optical Effect to read the full article.
Fratello
On this week’s episode of Fratello Talks, Nacho and RJ sit down with Claude Greisler, co-founder and master watchmaker at Armin Strom. Together, they explore Claude’s journey from a young apprentice to leading one of Switzerland’s most technically inventive independent brands. The trio discusses how Armin Strom evolved from a workshop known for skeletonization to […] Visit Fratello Talks: With Claude Greisler Of Armin Strom to read the full article.
Monochrome
For many years, you’ve probably known Roger Dubuis for its bold, angular watches with openworked movements and tourbillon(s), most of them under the Excalibur collection. And while most are technically very impressive, this isn’t exactly the style that Mister Dubuis defined when he created the brand in the mid-1990s. The earliest watches, known as the […]
SJX Watches
Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Roger Dubuis (RD) revisits its earliest triumph with the Hommage La Placide, a 28-piece limited edition that reimagines the brand’s signature bi-retrograde perpetual calendar. Named for the late Dubuis’ childhood Boy Scouts nickname, the Placide celebrates the classical roots of the Geneva-based manufacture while honouring the design codes that first put RD on the map three decades ago. Faithful to the originals yet refined in execution, the Placide reaffirms the brand’s ability to merge mechanical ingenuity with expressive design - a reminder that beneath its modern flamboyance lies genuine horological pedigree. Initial thoughts Roger Dubuis today is best known for its over-the-top, modern design - skeletonised movements, sharp case lines, and a visual language that often borders on the theatrical. It’s a far cry from the brand’s origins three decades ago, when Dubuis himself was focused on classical watchmaking rooted in Genevan tradition. Paying tribute to those early creations, the Placide reimagines the bi-retrograde perpetual calendar that first established the horloger genevois 30 years ago. The bi-retrograde perpetual calendar was first conceived in the late 1980s, when Dubuis collaborated with Jean-Marc Wiederrecht to develop a novel perpetual calendar mechanism featuring twin retrograde indicators for Harry Winston. It was only in 1995, upon founding his own brand, that Dubuis introduced the complication ...
Monochrome
The Impulsion by Louis Moinet is already one of the more extroverted ways to pair a chronograph and a tourbillon. For Dubai Watch Week 2025, the brand dials up the theatre with a sharp new act: the Impulsion Titanium Green, a limited edition that blends carbon, smoked sapphire and green-and-red colourway with the same openworked […]
SJX Watches
In a past story, we explained how multiple mainspring barrels can be paired in parallel or in series, for either lengthening a movement’s power reserve or increasing the torque discharged into the going train. In this article we expand on this topic to analyse the inside of the barrel by exploring how mainspring size balancing influences the torque output and power reserve. Enthusiasts tend to throw around the loosely-defined term “mainspring packing” - especially when criticising a movement’s unsatisfying power reserve. This term refers to how a watchmaker can get a higher power reserve by balancing a spring’s dimensions and the space it occupies inside a barrel. While this sounds simple, the reality is more complicated. Skeletonised barrel showing the tight coiled mainspring inside the Piaget Altiplano Tourbillon Concept. In order to set the record straight, it’s necessary to analyse the topic thoroughly. This requires getting a bit technical, but an interpretation is included for those less interested in the underlying maths. This theory-heavy deep-dive tries to unravel the concept of mainspring packing and explores why optimisation is not a very straightforward business. The core elements This section covers the basics of mainspring and barrel geometry and establishes their relation with power reserve and torque. In order to see how specific dimensions affect both torque and power reserve, we will resort to some known functions and a little geometric...
Monochrome
Most of us associate Hamilton with robust military field watches employed by the US Army during WWII and their successful second lease of life in the Khaki collections. One of the quirkier models to emerge from Hamilton’s American era was the Ventura, the world’s first publicly available battery-powered watch, with a crazy, futuristic, asymmetrical case […]
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