Latest watch news · Page 1442

Some of the very best budget-friendly finds for your wrist.

Long offered in a dizzying range of iterations – all priced extremely affordably – the Seiko 5 Sports collection has, for the longest time, enjoyed stardom in the segment of watches below US$200. The affordability of the range and its core features – automatic winding, day and date, water resistance, a durable case and bracelet, plus the recessed crown at four o’clock – have been a gateway drug for aspiring watch enthusiasts who have never owned a mechanical timepiece. The Seiko 5 Sports line-up has just been streamlined, and now consists of five core variants, each conceived for a specific style of dress. The entire line-up will be made up of 27 specific models. All the watches are essentially “diver-lite”, looking much like Seiko’s “SKX” scuba diver’s watches but not built to the same robust standards. The new Seiko 5 Sports collection is centred on a common watch design, sharing the same case, rotating bezel, hands, and dial design. And the movement used across the line is the self-winding cal. 4R36. All the redesigned models are identified by the new Seiko 5 logo that has the “5” rotated 45 degrees to the left. The first Seiko 5 Sports from 1968 What seems to be missing from the revamp is a new version of the popular Seiko 5 Sports “field watch” that has a distinctive, military-inspired design and has long been a perennial favourite for first-timers to the watch world. Given Seiko track record in swiftly iterating a model into do...

A new slate grey dial for one of Tudor's most successful recent sports watches.

Seiko redesigned of their very popular Seiko 5 for a new look with five sub-lines within the Seiko 5 - the Sports, Suits, Specialist, Street and Sense.

We were so impressed with the 2017 Rado HyperChrome Captain Cook that we unanimously voted it for the Ultimate Value Watch of the Year Award, and even wanted one of our own. Meet the watch we have nicknamed “Ghost Captain”.

Alfredo Paramico doesn’t look like a watch collector. Living in Miami Beach, he looks more like an action hero, tanned like Baywatch and ripped like Schwarzenegger, and clad from head to toe in the latest designer capsules. However, in spite of this initial Wooster-esque impression, he is in fact one of the most well-known collectors … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: Alfredo Paramico on the vintage watch market appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Jonathon did not buy this watch - a stylish Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Geographic - instead, he managed to convince his grandfather to relinquish it. It was the first watch Jonathon remembers seeing and noticing that it was a *nice* watch (and honestly, it’s easy to see why). Now, it’s one thing to notice your grandfather’s watch … ContinuedThe post Watches run in his veins – Jonathon’s Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Geographic  appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Consumers, jewelers, and even some of his staff want Patek Philippe's boss to produce more steel watches. He won't. Here's why.

Editor’s note: Without doubt, the most popular dial colour for men’s watches is black. So, here’s the blackest, darkest dial we can think of - the H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept. To find out why this watch is so impossibly dark of dial, read on …  Few colours have the symbolic weight … ContinuedThe post Unfathomably inky – Moser’s Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Over the past two decades, Montblanc has evolved from a pure-play luxury pen maker into a serious contender in watchmaking. The company’s venture into watches began quite modestly in 1997, when it rolled out a line of watches powered by outsourced movements. But it was the 2007 integration of Minerva, a fabled maker of chronographs and stopwatches, that gave Montblanc bona fide watchmaking prowess. And by virtue of its own heritage, Minerva also bestowed a degree of legitimacy on Montblanc, along with an extensive archive of historical designs ready to be mined. Watchmaking prowess Le Locle, and then Villeret Earlier in the year I got to explore all facets of Montblanc’s watchmaking with a visit to Montblanc’s twin watchmaking facilities in Le Locle and Villeret. Both sit in the Vallee de Joux, the historical heart of Swiss watchmaking, and are about a 45-minute drive from each other. Each factory is dedicated to a distinct class of watchmaking – simpler and entry-level watches at Le Locle, and haute horlogerie at Villeret. Together, the two factories give Montblanc a unique diversity that has translated into three price categories of watches. Le Locle is responsible for both the first category, entry-level watches powered by Sellita-based movements, and the second, those equipped with mass-produced, in-house movements. Unsurprisingly, the facility produces tens of thousands of watches annually, all manufactured and assembled on an industrial ...

New washi paper dials for The Citizen Chronomaster AQ4020 - now 200 piece limited edition in red dial and in green dial, and a regular production in blue.

A fully lumed modern skeleton matched with a stealth black case

Delve into the history of dial design and the elements that make up some of the most famous watch faces of our time. In part 3: numerals.

The Naked Watchmaker is one of our favourite internet projects, and not just because of its punny name and the fact that the man behind it, Peter Speake-Marin, is one of the nicest people in the business. No, it’s fascinating because it offers a view of watches we don’t typically see. Deconstructed, and not in … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: This is what happens when you take apart the ultra-thin Bulgari Octo Finissimo chronograph appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The Captain Cook grows up.

A serpentine take on the passage of time.

David Newman was one of George Daniels’ oldest friends, having met the late watchmaker half a century ago. They shared a bond born out of a common love for watches, clocks and fast cars – Mr Newman is 78 but drives a Porsche 911. In fact, their friendship is best illustrated by a tale Daniels recounted with obvious relish in his autobiography All in Good Time: Reflections of a Watchmaker. Sometime in the early 1960s, just after Daniels bought a new home, he and Mr Newman had to push a naked Bentley chassis from a rented garage, through South Norwood High Street, past a police station, over a bridge and railway line, in order to install the half-complete automobile in Daniels’ new home. The chassis naturally got stuck at the bridge, causing a traffic jam several blocks long made up of spectators who just left a nearby Crystal Palace football game. With help from passersby, the duo managed to get enough momentum for the chassis to roll along on its own, although only Daniels was on board. More importantly, Mr Newman was also one of Daniels’ most trusted friends – the watchmaker appointed Mr Newman chairman of the George Daniels’ Educational Trust, making the former building surveyor the lead guardian of the Daniels legacy. Long retired from his professional career, Mr Newman now oversees the trust almost full time. Most of the trust’s substantial income goes to fund education, a cause close to Daniels’ heart. Though a negligible portion of the trus...

We bring you the details and our thoughts on the new Place Vendôme Tourbillon Suspendu for 2019: the Ombres and the Etincelles.

For the first time we've got a Big Pilot with a crown on the left.

In its fifth iteration, the Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition will be hosted in Singapore for the first time. Placed to emphasise the importance of Southeast Asian clients and collectors for Patek Philippe, the show will offer public insight to a number of the artefacts that typically remain in Geneva at the Patek Philippe … ContinuedThe post The Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition in Singapore appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Delve into the history of dial design and the elements that make up some of the most famous watch faces of our time. In part 2: Lume.

Created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the automatic chronograph movement that’s synonymous with Zenith, A Star Through Time embarks on world tour that starts in August, with the first stop being Singapore. Happening during the exhibition is a panel discussion that includes our founder, Su Jiaxian, as well as several watchmaking classes – details on how to attend are at the bottom. The exhibition The key attraction of A Star Through Time is an interactive, virtual tour of Zenith’s manufacture in Le Locle. It’s modelled on Le Monde Étoilé de Zenith, a collaboration between the watchmaker and Neuchâtel’s local tourism authority. Conceived to boost knowledge of watchmaking in the area, the project created a interactive, 360° experience that allows guests to go behind-the-scenes at the manufacture. Walking through the exhibition is akin to a stroll through a scaled down version of the Le Locle manufacture, including a virtual visit to the famous attic where, during the Quartz Crisis, watchmaker Charles Vermot hid the tools and plans to produce the El Primero, keeping them out of the hands of American managers who wanted to eliminate production of mechanical watches. The 400m2 exhibition also traces the evolution of the El Primero, illustrated by significant El Primero-powered watches, including the landmark early examples like the A386 in steel and G381 in 18k gold. Though dedicated to the El Primero, arguably the first ever sel...

Watch collecting has never been more present in the public consciousness. Before the quartz revolution of the 1970s, the idea of collecting watches was probably akin to collecting modern vacuum cleaners. It just didn’t make much sense. An old watch wasn’t vintage; it was just old. And a watch that was still ticking, and keeping … ContinuedThe post 5 affordable vintage watch options appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

You may not have heard this story – and there's a good reason why.

Some of my favourite releases from SIHH 2019 were the watches from the IWC Spitfire collection, which offers a host of twists on their classic pilot’s collection, and a few special limited editions - like the Timezoner Spitfire Edition “The Longest Flight”.  At SIHH we also learned more about the story of this watch, or … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: The Silver Spitfire’s epic 27,000-mile trip starts today (and IWC is on board) appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Editor’s note: Make no bones about it, skeleton watches are not to everyone’s taste. Legibility is sometimes less clear than a watch with a solid dial, but this is because time telling is almost ancillary to the stunning exposé that the watch offers. A skeleton dial offers a view typically reserved for a watchmaker in … ContinuedThe post Looking through Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Given an imaginary budget of S$12,000 retail, we go about to make six recommendations mostly off the beaten track. So you have options other than the usual.