Latest watch news · Page 12

This story has been republished from our friends at Hodinkee Australia. What We Know Toledano & Chan, the horological design collaboration between artist and collector Phil Toledano and watch designer Alfred Chan, is back with their latest brutalist architecture-inspired watch, the Oshinobi. This one throws a new concept into the mix: concealment. O-shinobi is a Japanese term used to describe a person of high rank traveling incognito, which should give you a hint at how this Toledano & Chan watch works. It’s a secret watch, fitted with a horizontally sliding cover that reveals an organically shaped and concave dial set with two carats of snow-set diamonds. To fly even further under the radar, the crown is hidden, accessible from the underside of the case at 12 o’clock. The inspiration for the Oshinobi's dial and crystal shape also comes from this idea of concealment, inspired by natural geodes that look like any other rock until they’re cracked open to reveal a world of crystals festooning the inside. The result is this architecturally aggressive bracelet shape that hides an organically shaped, irregularly diamond-studded secret inside. Phil, Jamie, and I sat down over the weekend to talk about the Oshinobi, and he tells me that he’s long been fascinated with vintage secret watches that conceal their dials. Hearing conversations in the watch community about safety concerns about traversing cities with flashy watches, he sees the Oshinobi as the antidote. Phil Toled...

Wren, the microbrand founded by Wrist Enthusiast’s Craig Karger, has just unveiled the Vessel, a sharp left turn from the brand’s well received dive watches, and easily their most ambitious watch to date.  Craig has been teasing the Vessel for at least the last year, and if you’ve seen him at the Wren booth at recent Windup events and other shows, or just around NYC watch events, it’s possible you’ve seen him wearing prototypes of the Vessel or discreetly showing it off alongside his dive watches. It’s been a long road, and the lengthy run up to the release reflects the complexity of the project compared to the Diver One. I remember the first time Craig showed me a render of what would become the Vessel, it was hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that this would be the next model from his still new brand. It seemed like a watch going in a completely different direction.  The Vessel is an avant-garde integrated bracelet sports watch, built around a contemporary feeling tonneau case shape with a design by Max Resnick, who has worked with Traska, Anoma, and others. The case has an architectural look defined by sharp angles, and is crafted from 904L steel. It measures 39mm by 39mm and is 10.6mm thick. There’s a pretty dramatic taper from the widest part of the case (it’s middle section) and where the lugs meet the bracelet. While the integrated bracelet sports watch has been done to death at this point by just about any brand you can name, the Vessel ...

As a watch enthusiast, one should be a movement enthusiast too, right? Sure, everyone loves a handmade, ornately finished, über-high-end independent movement labored over for hundreds of hours, but I’m talking about something more industrial. The movements for the masses, so to speak. If you’ve been into this hobby for even a short time, you’ve likely seen models featuring movements from ETA, Sellita, La Joux-Perret, Soprod, Miyota, Seiko, and maybe a couple of others. Well, there is another whose name you might have bumped into here and there, poised to become a much larger player: Manufacture AMT (Advanced Mechanical Technology). Manufacture AMT was founded in 2018 and is owned by Sellita, though it operates as a separate company. This is, admittedly, somewhat confusing, as they clearly share IP, as shown in the movements. Regardless, AMT largely does white-label development for brands and offers only a small, nonpublic catalog to third parties. The AMT5000 chronograph, used by Hanhart, Oak & Oscar, Furlan Marri, and a few others for several years, is a good example of what AMT is all about. Based on the SW500 but improved in many ways, AMT5000 variants feature column wheels and flyback functionality as standard features across automatic and manual configurations with different subdial layouts. We all love a hand-finished movement, but what about the ones that power most of our watches? As a confessed movement enthusiast, I reached out to learn more about AMT’s ...

What We Know For all the conversations about what to do when a dial is damaged, possibly fit for restoration, or a watch needs some repair, I don't recall many examples of watches with dials that come pre-repaired. That's essentially what Arsène Lippens has launched: a watch inspired by the Japanese craft of Sashiko, which artfully patches and repairs textiles (largely denim) to extend their lives and turn them into something beautiful. In collaboration with Pey van der Wel, a Dutch artist who runs SASHIKODENIM, the brand's new limited edition of 10 pieces is the second in its "Threads of Time" series celebrating textile crafts. The watch is a relatively straightforward release as an entire package: a 37.5mm by 9.9mm 316L stainless steel case housing a manually wound Sellita SW210-1b movement with a 48-hour power reserve. The case is water-resistant to 50 meters, with a solid caseback and a box dome anti-reflective crystal on the front side. The thickness largely comes from the depth required for the dial, which is the star of the show. The dial is made of denim, with 12 individual hour markers hand-stitched one thread wide through the dial, with a cross-hatch at 3, 6, 9, and 12. Of course, none of these dials are the same, and you could argue that some, including the one shown here, might not be perfectly aligned to the hour marker. But so be it. The watch celebrates a centuries-old handcraft and its beautifully imperfect nature. Of course, the watch comes with a denim s...

Since 2020, Mido has marked “Día de los Muertos” with special editions inspired by the Mexican tradition of remembering the dead through colour, symbolism, and celebration. For 2026, the brand launches the Multifort TV Big Date Día de los Muertos Alebrijes, bringing the collection’s most recognisable square-shaped case together with an important element of Mexican […]

Meet the lead sponsors bringing new releases to Windup Watch Fair NYC 2026: Bremont, Brew, Bulova, Christopher Ward, and Oris.

Challenging conventions is part of NORQAIN's DNA. For CEO Ben Küffer, that aim to "redefine what a Swiss mechanical sports watch could be" has been instrumental to the brand's success. For its latest release, the family-owned Swiss brand announced three new models in a first for the brand: grade 5 titanium. The Wild ONE Skeleton Titanium 39mm and 42mm reimagine the brand's signature sports watch, incorporating grade 5 titanium into the watch's top plate with the bottom retaining NORQAIN's signature NORTEQ carbon-fiber-composite.The result is a rich visual contrast and lightweight construction. "Titanium certainly has a future within NORQAIN," Küffer says, "but only where it adds something meaningful to the design and performance of the watch." Each possesses a distinct identity, with the 39mm—limited to 400 pieces—opting for a grey palette based on titanium's muted character, featuring light yellow dial accents and Super-LumiNova for technical performance and legibility. The 42mm, by contrast, opts for a slightly bolder coloring with mint green details for a bolder visual presence. Both are powered by the skeletonized in-house NK26/1 automatic movement, a COSC-certified chronometer with a 65-hour power reserve. The star of the new collection, however, is the all-new Wild ONE Meteorite Titanium 42mm. The Meteorite takes the brand's flagship watch and incorporates Grade 5 titanium and an anthracite iron meteorite dial, combining contemporary high-tech design with ancie...

Following the trio of porcelain-dial watches launched in 2025, German brand Glashütte Original continues its collaboration with Meissen, bringing together two Saxon manufactures, with Glashütte Original responsible for the watch and Meissen for the porcelain dial. While earlier editions explored the “Mystic Maison” and “Collage” motifs, the latest Senator Meissen edition turns to a long-established […]

Baltic marks its role as Official Timekeeper of The Rift with a 400-piece Hermétique limited edition, now available in 34mm and 37mm sizes.

Earlier this year, I got a whole new appreciation for the Nomos Metro after sitting down with its creator, Mark Braun. The collection first came into the Nomos catalog back in 2014 and debuted the brand’s proprietary swing escapement system, which was developed over seven years with the Fraunhofer Institute and TU Dresden. Form was equally important to function in the original design, featuring a galvanized and silver-plated dial with a soft white color punctuated by black, red, and green markings in an arrangement that subtly played with asymmetry. Over the past 12 years, the Metro has gone on to take many other forms – some ditching the asymmetry by removing the power reserve indicator and shifting the Nomos logo to 12 o’clock and others ditching the white dial for full color alongside versions in rose gold as well as special editions for select markets. Today, we get the next evolution with the Metro Date Power Reserve Ice Blue. True to the collection’s DNA, this new incarnation offers new details both aesthetic and technical, including a brand-new mechanical caliber.With the latest addition to the Metro lineup, we see Nomos continue to use this collection as a launch point for new technical advancements. It marks the first model in the Nomos catalog to house the new hand-wound caliber DUW 4701, which offers a patented quick-set date and a power reserve of up to 52 hours. This entirely new movement continues the story of mechanical innovation that began with the...

To celebrate the 100th Anniversry of German flag carrier Lufthansa, Sinn launches the Sinn 103 St Sa Lufthansa, a limited edition of 100 pieces.

New York-based Wren has introduced the Vessel, an integrated-bracelet sports watch with an unusually elaborate sapphire crystal. Designed by Max Resnick under founder Craig Karger’s direction, its futuristic case and crystal mark Wren’s first departure from the dive watch format and help establish a broader identity for the brand. Initial thoughts The name Wren is a portmanteau of Wrist Enthusiast, the online watch publication founded by Mr Karger. The brand’s first watch, the Diver One, was introduced in 2024, and Wren has stuck to dive watches ever since. The Vessel, however, is anything but a diver. By venturing far beyond its initial design language, Wren has carved out considerable space in which to develop its identity. In doing so, Wren has taken a page out of the Berneron playbook with a sophomore effort that is almost as different from its debut as it could be. Perhaps because the look is so different, the Vessel features an aqua blue seconds hand and winding rotor to match the dial colour of the original Diver One. The Vessel’s design was penned by British designer Max Resnick under Mr Karger’s creative direction. Originally trained in automotive design, Mr Resnick has worked with several other small brands, including Anoma and VPC. The vision called for an integrated-bracelet sports watch that avoided channelling the same handful of historical designs from the 1970s. The resulting look has more in common with Alto than Audemars Piguet. The angular desi...

Introduced in 2024 when the brand fully revamped its dive watch collection, the 43mm Supermarine Full Ceramic has since appeared in Polar White, Jungle Green limited editions, and a non-limited Tactical Black version. Now Bremont expands the series with the new Deep Blue, a 250-piece limited edition that brings another colour to a collection built […]

Wren leaves dive watches behind with the Vessel, a futuristic integrated-bracelet sports watch with a wild faceted sapphire crystal.

The Bremont Supermarine Full Ceramic Deep Blue adds a dark blue ceramic case to the brand’s 500 m dive watch collection. It’s a more casual take on the Supermarine, with a restrained colour and carefully finished case that give the Sellita-powered diver a more stylish, less tactical character. Initial thoughts Sometimes it’s surprising how much difference a colour can make. In the case of the Bremont Supermarine, the navy blue hue of the ceramic case and bezel results in a look that is quite different from that of its black ceramic stablemates. The deep blue colour is very subtle, and to my eye looks less plasticky than some brighter blue ceramic competitors. The prominent texture of the brushing on the case gives it vaguely a metallic appearance, and it at a glance it could almost pass for PVD-coated steel. While ceramic is not a perfect material and can crack under extreme torsion or if dropped onto a sufficiently hard surface, the real-world benefits outweigh these edge cases. The natural scratch-resistance of ceramic pays dividends when changing straps, for example, as the spring bars cannot scratch the inside of the lugs when finding their seat. There’s also an ancillary benefit to ceramic, which is that service watchmakers will not be tempted to try to polish it. The Supermarine’s strengths lie in its finely executed dial and relatively slim case. The wave-inspired dial pattern is dramatic without being overpowering, while the 13 mm thickness and flat case ...

There were already Jungle Green, Tactical Black, and Polar White versions of this watch, and now there’s a fourth variation. The Royal Marine-approved Supermarine Full Ceramic Deep Blue is an aquatic-colored extension of Bremont’s dive-watch collection. This limited edition of 250 pieces has a colder, darker look inspired by the point where ocean and ice […] Visit The Royal Marine-Approved Bremont Supermarine Full Ceramic Deep Blue Makes Its Debut to read the full article.

Craig Karger's brand pivots hard with a futuristic integrated-bracelet sports watch built around a genuinely wild sapphire crystal. The Wren Vessel is a New York microbrand's first non-dive watch, featuring an integrated bracelet and an unusually elaborate faceted sapphire crystal.

It's not often that a microbrand makes a complete pivot in design language. In fact, I'd argue that it's rarely advisable. Once you've built an audience around your existing design codes, introducing a product with virtually zero overlap with what your customers already love is a massive gamble. But NYC-based microbrand Wren, created by Craig Karger of Wrist Enthusiast, has taken that risk today with a completely new design called the Wren Vessel. Last year, I spent some time with the Wren Diver 38 models, which stuck to the brand's singular design language centered around vintage dive watches. Not the most groundbreaking concept in the microbrand space, even if the watches are impressively specced for the price point. But I think it's quite interesting to see that the brand's ambitions are much higher than what it's currently offering, and today's new watch marks the next step for Wren. For this new watch, the brand teams up with designer Max Resnick, a watch designer with a background in automotive design who's done work for other microbrands like VPC, Traska, and Anoma. The final result feels quite original, despite the high-level concept of a modern, integrated sports watch being explored by many brands in many other ways. Wren logo aside, the Vessel shares almost no similarities with the rest of the brand's designs. The Vessel brings a new, integrated(ish) bracelet design that feels almost retrofuturistic in its silhouette, with a generally tonneau shape but executed ...

A 250-piece limited edition in dark blue ceramic that gives Bremont's 500m diver a more wearable, less tactical personality. The Bremont Supermarine Full Ceramic Deep Blue arrives as a 250-piece limited edition, adding a dark aquatic blue to Bremont's ceramic dive watch lineup.

Announced in June 2026, Basilia marks the return of a watch and jewellery fair to Basel, just a few years after the spectacular collapse and disappearance of Baselworld. Three months after its announcement, Basilia Jewellery & Watch Fair appears to be gaining momentum. Will the new Basel show turn early exhibitor interest into a successful and […]

In a surprise move, a consortium led by Montres Journe and comprising Chanel and Pierre Jacques, the former chief executive of De Bethune, has acquired Ebel from its longtime American owners, the Movado Group. According to the deal announcement, the consortium is buying 95% of Ebel for US$66.5 million, with the remaining shares to be retained by Movado. The three-party consortium evidently brings different skills to the table, including the financial firepower of Chanel, the watchmaking know-how of François-Paul Journe, and the operational and managerial expertise of Mr Jacques. Movado, on the other hand, might be relieved to have unloaded Ebel, which it unsuccessfully tried to revive over its two decades of ownership. From left: François-Paul Journe, Efraim Grinberg of Movado, Frédéric Grangié of Chanel, and Pierre Jacques. Image – Pierre Jacques Once a high flying brand that was one of the biggest in Switzerland during its 1980s and 1990s heyday, Ebel was famous for its Sport Classique, often nicknamed “wave”, which featured integrated bracelets resembling a wave. Launched in 1977, the model launched Ebel into the stratosphere, with its workforce growing 15 times and revenue reaching nine figures. Ebel was led during this time by Pierre-Alain Blum, grandson of its founders and a shrewd marketer. In the year just after the Quartz Crisis, Ebel was a luxury giant. Amongst the indicators of Ebel’s success and scale during this period: Cartier turned to Ebel to p...

Today, in a special episode of Fratello Talks, Nacho and Lex are in Geneva for a chat with independent watch designer and entrepreneur Sylvain Berneron. The conversation kicks off with Berneron’s career in design, his time at major watch companies, and his decision to establish a brand of his own. Berneron’s background is somewhat unusual […] Visit Fratello Talks: Sylvain Berneron to read the full article.