Revolution
Integrated-Bracelet Sport Watches · Page 15
Revolution
Teddy Baldassarre
Piaget Polo Review: How The '80s Luxury Watch Icon Holds Up
While it’s more widely known for its jewelry these days, Piaget, founded in the small Swiss village of La Cote-aux-Fées by Georges Piaget in 1874, has been a watchmaker from the beginning. Its original trade, in fact, was making movements, and the company began making complete watches in In the 20th century. Before getting into the Piaget Polo, it's worth it to get into the brand's history in thin watchmaking. Since 1957, when Piaget created the historic 2mm-thick Caliber 9P, the company has been world renowned for the elegant thinness of its watches and movements. The world’s thinnest self-winding mechanical movement, Caliber 12P, followed Caliber 9P just three years later, in 1960, and Piaget has building upon these foundations ever since. Its most recent triumph in this area was the Altiplano Ultimate Concept, which debuted in 2018 as a prototype and hit the market in 2020; the entire watch, case and movement, is just 2mm thick, matching the wafer thinness of the original Caliber 9P. Along with Bulgari, another watchmaker known more for its jewelry, Piaget continues to embody the ne plus ultra of what ultra-thin watchmaking can accomplish. [toc-section heading="The Integrated Bracelet Era Begins"] However, while “thin and elegant” remains the calling card of the Piaget watch brand overall, the market was looking for something a little different - a little bolder, perhaps - in the 1970s. Audemars Piguet had introduced its groundbreaking Royal Oak “Jumbo...
SJX Watches
Vyntage Horology Debuts the Sleek and Sophisticated Strata
One of the surprises of Dubai Watch Week was the chance to go hands-on with the Strata, the latest watch from Vyntage Horology. Slim, lightweight, and water-resistant to 100 m, the Strata nods to the cushion-case designs of the 1970s without reviving any specific model, instead pairing a radiant burgundy dial with a silky grade 5 titanium case and bracelet for a look that feels contemporary rather than nostalgic. Vyntage itself was conceived by Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi, chief executive of Ahmed Seddiqi - the Gulf region’s largest retailer and a pillar of Dubai’s watch scene for 75 years. The brand was created to bring an Emirati sensibility to Swiss watchmaking, and its retailer backing gives it a degree of stability and visibility uncommon among small, typically internet-native marques. Initial thoughts The Strata is a ‘go anywhere, do anything’ watch par excellence, managing to be both slim and lightweight, while water resistant to 100 m. Despite its name, Vyntage is not in the business of remakes. The Strata nods to 1970-era cushion-case sport watches with integrated bracelets, but it is not a revival of any specific model. Instead, the combination of a rich burgundy dial and a silky titanium case and bracelet gives the watch a contemporary presence that sets it apart from conventional retro-themed offerings. Ahmed Seddiqi, the Gulf region’s largest watch retailer and a fixture in Dubai for 75 years, has long catered to a collector base oriented tow...
Fratello
Hands-On With Wempe’s Iron Walker Diver Bronze
In 2020, Wempe presented the Iron Walker family of watches. The retailer’s in-house brand, Wempe Glashütte, manufactures these watches to expand Wempe’s offerings in the popular class of steel watches featuring a sporty design with an integrated bracelet. The Iron Walker family comprises slightly sporty (Automatic and GMT), sportier (Chronograph), and fully sporty (Diver) watches. […] Visit Hands-On With Wempe’s Iron Walker Diver Bronze to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
Maurice LaCroix Aikon Review
The watch industry only gets more and more competitive each year. Some brands have managed to thrive, and independent watchmakers are more game for the challenge than ever. Others, still, get somewhat lost within the mix. Today, I’m taking a deeper look at a brand that I honestly don’t hear much about, and, through the vehicle of its current flagship model, exploring what it has to offer. As you’ve already guessed from the title of this here article, the subject at hand is the Maurice LaCroix Aikon collection. Characterized by classic integrated bracelet style with a few specific quirks to the mix, the Aikon collection hasn’t managed to go mainstream like some similar competition. Down below, I’ll be walking you through a primer about the brand, the key ingredients of the Maurice LaCroix Aikon, and some personal ramblings on what the collection has to offer, and what it’s lacking. [toc-section heading="Context"] Like many Swiss watch brands, Maurice LaCroix has a history that can be traced back to the end of the 19th century. However, that historical journey is among the more atypical out there. This 19th-century connection is the Maurice LaCroix ties to its parent company, Desco von Schulthess, which was founded in Zurich in 1889, and for many years, had nothing to do with watches. Initially starting in the silk trade, after WWII, Desco von Schulthess expanded into luxury goods and acted as a distributor for Swiss watches to the Asian market. In 1961, the co...
Time+Tide
Girard-Perregaux goes multifaceted with the new Laureato Three Gold Bridges
GP masterfully combines its signature movement design with its integrated sports watch for the latter's 50th anniversary.The post Girard-Perregaux goes multifaceted with the new Laureato Three Gold Bridges appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
It's Complicated: A Vacheron Constantin Overseas And Losing A Fight Against Hamburgers
How Guest Editor Eddie Huang found peace with a Vacheron QP while the menu for his new restaurant forced an existential crisis.
Fratello
Hands-On With The Spinnaker Challenger Automatic Popeye Anchor Arms Limited Edition
Over the past few years, we have seen a ton of fun watches with famous comic characters, from the return of Disney characters on several Gérald Genta watches to famous DC characters on the dial of Audemars Piguet’s much-praised Royal Oak Concept models. Of course, there are also the famous Omega Speedmaster Snoopy models. However, […] Visit Hands-On With The Spinnaker Challenger Automatic Popeye Anchor Arms Limited Edition to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Gérald Genta Genissima Oursin Goes Big With New 41mm Models (Live Pics)
A larger size, rubber straps, and increased water resistance offer a more contemporary twist on the Oursin.
Hodinkee
Introducing: Audemars Piguet And Dubai Future Foundation Unveil An Automatic Watch Winder That Sets The New 41mm Perpetual Calendar Royal Oaks
Setting an easy-to-set watch just got even easier, and more futuristic.
Monochrome
Introducing - The Gérald Genta Gentissima Oursin Goes Bold, With a 41mm Case and Meteorite Dials
Gérald Genta, the famed creator of some of the most influential and daring watch designs, founded his eponymous brand in 1969, and in 2023, it was relaunched. Guided by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton and Artistic Director Matthieu Hegi, Genta’s creations were revisited with both reverence and ambition. The Gentissima Oursin series, introduced last […]
Monochrome
First Look - The New H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Perpetual Moon Concept Meteorite
With its streamlined case, flexible integrated bracelet and sensual contours, H. Moser & Cie.’s sleek Streamliner luxury sports watch continues its journey onwards, and in this case upwards, with no signs of losing steam. Coinciding with Dubai Watch Week 2025, Moser unveils the new Streamliner Perpetual Moon Concept Meteorite, a hyper-accurate moon phase complication framed […]
Hodinkee
Introducing: Bulgari Mattar Bin Lahej x Octo Finissimo
The brand re-envisions what an Emirati collab can look like, with impressive results.
Monochrome
First Look - The New Bulgari Octo Finissimo Mattar Bin Lahej Limited Edition
Attaining iconic status in the world of watchmaking is no easy feat. This, however, is what Bulgari has achieved in just ten years, with the bold contemporary Italian design and sophisticated Swiss mechanics of the Octo Finissimo lineup. Its impressive lineup turned the Roman Maison into a master of ultra-thin mechanical watchmaking, as the brand has […]
Monochrome
First Look - The New Girard-Perregaux Laureato Three Gold Bridges, Merging Past And Present (Incl. Video)
After the release of what is regarded as the blueprint of the first integrated sports watch in 1972, others quickly followed, including Girard-Perregaux. Launched in 1975, the Laureato was the brand’s answer to the growing demand for a watch with an integrated design. It is one of the earliest, yet also one of the most […]
Revolution
Girard-Perregaux Laureato Three Gold Bridges Returns in Fine Form
SJX Watches
A Haute Horlogerie Makeover for the Girard-Perregaux Laureato
Girard-Perregaux (GP) unveils the second chapter of the Laureato’s 50th anniversary with the Laureato Three Gold Bridges Tourbillon. First launched as part of the earlier generation Laureato in the 1990s, the tourbillon has been reimagined with a monochromatic palette in a limited edition of 50 pieces that evokes GP’s golden age as a modern-day manufacture. Initial thoughts Few tourbillon movements are as iconic as the GP Three Gold Bridges. The concept debuted in a tourbillon pocket watch in 1867 and the manufacture has since adopted the signature arrow-shaped bridge as its logo and even employed the motif in movements without a tourbillon. Fortunately, the new Laureato is very much a tourbillon; this combination of two icons should please both fans of the brand and enthusiasts alike. The GP9620 tourbillon movement is good example of high-quality, in-house watchmaking, and is evidently constructed and finished to a high standard. Derived from the GP9400 series of movements, the GP9620 features improved finishing and a new monochromatic palette. Remaining true to the original three bridges design, the proprietary calibre retains the visual identity of early GP pocket watch tourbillon movements, including the brand’s iconic tourbillon cage immortalised as its own design by Reinhard Meis in his book Das Tourbillon; very few brands have a tourbillon they can truly call their own. But the movement also incorporates modern amenities like automatic winding – thanks...
Fratello
Introducing: The Girard-Perregaux Laureato Three Gold Bridges
The new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Three Gold Bridges is the latest introduction to celebrate the iconic watch’s 50th birthday. Just last month, the Fifty debuted to great fanfare with its purely retro appearance. Today’s release blends the original look with one of Girard-Perregaux’s most well-known contributions to watchmaking. The triple-bridge movement was introduced in 1867, so […] Visit Introducing: The Girard-Perregaux Laureato Three Gold Bridges to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Highlights: Magnificent Matched Sets at Phillips Hong Kong
Matching sets are a motif of Phillips’ upcoming Hong Kong auction, with the most spectacular being the Concord Saratoga Splendour, a set of four minute repeating, high jewellery wristwatches representing the four precious stones – diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald – each with a distinct movement made by Christophe Claret. Also on offer is a set of three watches from Glashütte Original with Meissen porcelain dials, and a Patek Philippe Pagoda quartet. Lot 857, a matching pair of Bovets depicting Hong Kong harbour by day and by night. Image – Phillips Such sets enjoyed popularity at the top end of the market during the 1980s and 1990s, often centred around the four precious coloured stones, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. Perhaps the ultimate example of the matched set is the most complicated Patek Philippe watch, the Calibre 89, that was originally launched as a set of four in yellow, rose, and white gold, and platinum. Unfortunately, many of these sets have since been split up. Can these three escape that fate? Lots 858 to 862 – Concord Saratoga Splendour Set Concord was one of a few brands that saw great, but ephemeral, success during the 1980s and 1990s, in the same vein as Gerald Genta, Ebel, and Corum. In 1995 Concord launched the Saratoga Exor, a minute repeating tourbillon with perpetual calendar and bimetallic thermometer, set with 15.85 carats of baguette diamonds. With a price tag of CHF2 million, it was probably the second most expensive w...
Monochrome
First Look - The New Daniel Roth Tourbillon Platinum Edition
It’s revival season in the watchmaking world, as revered names like Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth find a new lease in the capable hands of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton (LFTLV) manufacture. A pivotal figure in the rebirth of Breguet and the return of high-end mechanical watchmaking, Daniel Roth’s story makes for a fascinating […]
Revolution
Bvlgari Mattar bin Lahej x Octo Finissimo
Teddy Baldassarre
The 20 Best Racing Watches From Affordable to Luxury
High-end watches and high-performance cars have long been intertwined, and the cross section between watch aficionados and car-racing enthusiasts has always been large. So it makes sense that "racing watches" - i.e., watches built to be worn and used in the arena of motorsports, many with automobile design language built into their aesthetic DNA - have long represented a popular sub-genre in the wider luxury sport-watch universe. Here we spotlight 20 auto-racing watches from 19 brands (one brand merited two entries on the list; we think you'll agree which one), ranging in price from eminently affordable to super-luxury. We've included some acknowledged icons of the genre as well as watches from a few brands you may not have considered. Gentlemen (and ladies), start your engines... and we're off! [toc-section heading="Vaer RS1 Rally Chronograph"] Price: $249, Case Size: 40mm, Thickness: 11.8mm, Lug-to-Lug: 48mm, Lug Width: 20mm, Water Resistance: 100 meters, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Seiko VK63 Mechaquartz Vaer founders Ryan Torres and Reagan Cook pooled their collective life savings to start their own watch brand because “we couldn’t afford the watches we liked and didn’t like the ones we could afford.” Based in Venice, California, Vaer released its first watches, assembled overseas, in 2017, and began manufacturing in the U.S. just one year later. The RS1 Rally Chronographs take their cues from timepieces worn by race car drivers in the 1960s and ‘70s and...
Worn & Wound
Zenith Introduces a Limited Edition Defy Extreme with a Lapis Lazuli Dial
I love the Zenith Defy. I never miss an opportunity to tell people that it’s my favorite sports watch line of all time. I’m guessing that I’ve had a version of this conversation so many times over the years that my colleagues and watch-friends can feel it coming at this point. I can sense that eye roll is not far behind me going over once again how the Defy has always represented the ideal meeting place between the avant-garde and true sports watch engineering. Look, I make no apologies. If you can’t see that the Defy has been a subtle influence on everything from the Royal Oak to the most generic Rolex sports watches, well, stay tuned for my long threatened multi-part solo podcast series unpacking my personal obsession with these watches. One of the things that has always fascinated me about the Defy is how it can be anything. The watches in this collection have never fit neatly into a specific mold, and unlike, say, the Rolex Submariner, which has basically looked like the same watch since its debut, the Defy has always been a shapeshifter. The only thing steady about the design has been that it could always morph and change into something radical and different, and often something that is not to everyone’s taste (even longtime fans of the collection). That’s basically what’s been on my mind since learning of the new Zenith Defy Extreme Lapis Lazuli, a maximal take on the sports watch that latches on to some current trends. This is a Defy Extreme, so it...
Monochrome
First Look - The New Parmigiani Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante with an Arctic Rose Dial
Parmigiani Fleurier’s turnaround, orchestrated by CEO Guido Terreni, is remarkable because it has been achieved on the back of one collection: the Tonda PF. Introduced just four years ago, the Tonda PF family now accounts for 85% of the brand’s sales. Often described as the brand’s luxury sports watch with an integrated bracelet, the adjective […]
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