Latest watch news · Page 214

Petermann Bédat is an independent watchmaking brand based in Renens, near Lausanne. The founders, Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat, first met at the Geneva Watchmaking School. After gaining experience at prestigious houses such as A. Lange & Söhne, Harry Winston and Andersen Genève, or restoring vintage timepieces, they decided to create their own brand. The […]

Petermann Bédat has just unveiled its third model, the Reference 1825, which arrives two years after the Reference 2941 Split-Seconds Chronograph. The brand’s simplest watch to date, the 1825 is three hands but far from basic. In fact, the 1825 illustrates the cliche that less is more. Founded by duo Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat, the brand departs from current fashion with the 1825, which has a restrained aesthetic front and back, though the movement incorporates enough subtle flourishes to make it distinctive and distinguished. The proliferation of open-dial time-only watches with overwrought finishing makes the quiet presence of the 1825 stand out. The cal. 233 of the 1825 Initial thoughts The recent enthusiasm for independent watchmaking has tended to focus on time-only watches of a specific sort, with open dials, exposed movements, and lots of finishing techniques. Naturally, independent watchmakers and brands have delivered in response to that demand. In comparison, the 1825 is old school in style and form, almost plain in fact, but I like it precisely because of that. The 1825 is appealing on two levels. One is tangible – it is an appealing watch on the wrist and clearly executed to a high level. The other is philosophical – I applaud Petermann Bédat for not going with current fads. The 1825 isn’t imaginative or radical, it is simply a simple watch of high quality that feels like it was conceived and executed by sincere, competent watchmakers. All ele...

The Norqain Independence Skeleton Chrono gets a high-visibility orange makeover, emphasising its sportiness.The post Norqain reveals a new orange colour for its most advanced chronograph appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Petermann Bedat release their third watch as the next chapter of the maison. This is a return to the basics with a time only model they call the 1825.

Our hands-on guide to the best dress watches: picks across budgets with sizing tips, pros and cons, and insights from on-wrist testing.

The Flyway Fata Morgana is the latest addition to Isotope’s collection of characterful, design-first watches. Inspired by the rare optical phenomenon in which land and sky appear to merge, it represents perhaps more of a poetic concept than a mere wristwatch. This new 36mm model introduces a mirror-polished titanium dial to an already rather exotic […] Visit Introducing: The Isotope Flyway Fata Morgana - A Mirror-Polished Optical Illusion to read the full article.

Arnold & Son introduced its first integrated luxury sports watch last year with the Longitude Titanium, featuring three dial colours. The 2025 Longitude Titanium 5°W Edition is the latest variant with a single dial colour inspired by the hue of the North Atlantic’s surface as autumn storms approach. Specifically, it’s from the waters off Lizard […]

Now that is something paradoxical… An Urwerk watch equipped with centrally-mounted hands rotating traditionally on top of a round dial, with concentric counters underneath. That’s nothing what you’d expect to see from Urwerk, a brand known for its unconventional displays of the time with wandering hours and satellites. Look at our retrospective of the entire […]

As the first complication launched by the revived Blancpain in 1983, the triple calendar with moon phase is arguably the brand’s signature. Now Blancpain has reveal the latest generation of the model, the Villeret Quantième Complet Phases de Lune. The new version is primarily a cosmetic facelift, which includes a blue ceramic moon phase disc, but it builds on solid foundations. The model retains the innovative and patented under-lug correctors for the calendar that make for easier setting and a clean case outline. The new Villeret Villeret Quantième Complet Phases de Lune (centre) is being launched alongside the the Quantième Phases de Lune, a 33.2 mm model for ladies (left), and Extraplate, the time-and-date base model (right), both of which have been similarly facelifted. Initial thoughts The triple calendar is a simple complication, but functions and aesthetically pleasing in the traditional layout that Blancpain employs. Though it is widely found across brands, Blancpain probably offers the most advanced triple calendar watches on the market thanks to its sophisticated movements. And Blancpain manages to do so at a reasonably competitive price relative to its peers. At a distance, the facelifted models look pretty much identical to the earlier generation – a good thing if you like the look, but the classical style might look dated to some. I find the aesthetic appealing, especially with details like the serpentine date hand and recessed dates scale. The facelift...

With these new "Golden Hour" updates to three key models, Blancpain's underrated Villeret line gets its time in the sun.The post Blancpain updates its Villeret line with subtle, yet well-considered tweaks appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Blancpain’s iconic Villeret collection feels like it has been around for a very long time, but officially, it’s ‘only’ existed for just over two decades. But beyond semantics, the spirit and style of the Villeret had long been established a further two decades before. In 1983, Blancpain introduced a watch that would become emblematic: theRead More

Known for its avant-garde approach to watchmaking, Urwerk takes a surprise detour into orthodoxy with the UR-10 Spacemeter. At least at first glance, it is a round(-ish) sports watch with an integrated bracelet – and normal hour and minutes hands – as well as indicators you’ll find on no other watch. But conceptually, the UR-10 Spacemeter is typical Urwerk. The indicators on the dial are all astronomy related, bringing to mind past Urwerk models and the brand’s sci-fi style. Initial Thoughts Oddly, I find I find myself more impressed with the UR-10 aesthetically than technically. Urwerk has cultivated a military, sci-fi aesthetic that I’ve become enamoured with, especially the EMC. And, if the UR-10 is anything like its similarly sized and braceleted peers, it will wear well too. Then there are the dials, with ideal typography, which sit under a sapphire bubble and remind me of a flush-mounted ship’s compass. The complications are inspired by an unusual 19th-century regulator clock by Gustave Sandoz, and attempt to track both the Earth’s rotation and revolution. An interesting idea, but the execution is disappointing as the indications aren’t particularly mathematically accurate and based on arbitrary distances, like 10 km, rather than natural phenomenon like, say, a sidereal time watch, where one rotation of a sidereal hour hand corresponds to one rotation of the Earth. However, Urwerk likes to develop ideas over time, and the Spacemeter concept has potent...

Well, well, well, Seiko is on a nice roll! Last week, we covered the new limited-edition Prospex GMT Seashadow, and it garnered the type of enthusiasm we used to see with all Seiko releases. Additionally, the limited edition of watches has already sold out. Today, it seems that we have another mega hit in the […] Visit Introducing: The New Seiko “Rotocall” Series to read the full article.

The latest Blancpain releases are classical watchmaking refined with a purpose. Long before the Villeret collection officially gained its name in 2003, Blancpain had already set the template in the early 1980s with a small, classically framed complete calendar moonphase (Cal. 6395). The look with the double-stepped bezel, Roman numerals, and slim cases became the […]

A retro watch is a modern watch evoking a style from a bygone era - usually, in the case of dive watches, the 1950s and ’60s. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the “Retro Age” began in the watch world, but I don’t think we’re far off by considering the introduction of the Tudor Black […] Visit Retro Dive Watches Are Suffering From An Identity Crisis: They All Look The Same! to read the full article.

On episode 14 of the SJX Podcast, Brandon Moore and SJX unpack the new Louis Vuitton Monterey and discuss where fashion brands fit in the contemporary fine watchmaking landscape. Are collectors who ignore these kinds of products intellectually lazy? We also cover the latest from Lange, which just added a stone onyx dial to the Saxonia Thin – is it the perfect watch for your next soiree? Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Youtube.  

The “One Watch Collection” is one of our favorite thought experiments. Thinking through whether we could scale back, or if we started over, if we’d do things differently, helps many of us hone in on what makes the watches we love special in the first place. Today, our contributors wrestle with the idea of a one watch collection, making their choices for the watch they’d wear forever, and explaining their thought process.  As always, we want to hear from you. Let us know in the comments if a one watch collection is even feasible, and what your one watch choice would be. Alec Dent – Rolex Datejust “Wimbledon” I have what you might call a theoretical fondness for the one-watch collection. I love the idea, but I also have more than one watch and can’t imagine selling most of the watches in my collection. If I could go back to the beginning of my watch collecting journey, though, there’s no doubt in my mind that I’d be a one-watch guy and that that watch would be a Rolex Datejust. It’s water resistant to 100m, it’s durable, it can be dressed up or dressed down, and it epitomizes classic design. What more could you need from a watch? I’m particularly partial to the 36mm two-tone “Wimbledon” dial with a fluted bezel and a jubilee bracelet, but the Datejust has been around for so long - 80 years this year! - there are countless variations from which to choose. (If I wasn’t here advocating for the Datejust as a one-watch collection, I might adva...

A hit when it was launched a dozen years ago – time does fly – the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon was the first-ever Speedmaster in ceramic. Now Omega has refined and reworked the concept – the case is now almost 1 mm thinner – while retaining the all-ceramic construction and distinctive aesthetic. The new Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon (DSOTM) makes its debut in four variants. The first two stick closely to the original, right down to the same automatic cal. 9900 movement, but in a slimmer format. More notable is the manual-wind version containing the cal. 9908, the first DSOTM offering with this movement, making it even thinner. And it has no date to boot. Rounding out the quartet is the Speedmaster Grey Side of the Moon (GSOTM) that is also manual-wind but powered by the historically-based, Moonwatch-famous cal. 3861. This adopts the lunar-textured surface, front and back, first seen on the Apollo 8 edition. The first manual-wind DSOTM that has a black-and-red livery Initial thoughts Contemporary collectors are spoiled for choice when it comes to the Speedmaster, which is available in seemingly endless configurations. While that’s arguably a criticism, it demonstrates Omega’s industrial prowess, which enables the brand to deliver large volumes of watches that are objectively high quality and equipped with some of the industry’s best chronograph movements, without keeping customers waiting. Regardless of the shade of grey or black, the watches are ins...

Angelus and Massena LAB return with a second collaboration that once again leans hard into classic mid-century chronograph codes. After the first collaborative project, the 2023 Chronographe Médical, which reintroduced the brand’s vintage tool-watch spirit and the La Fabrique collection, and the recent Chronographe Télémètre established a small-case, hand-wound monopusher as a core design, the […]

This year marks Zenith’s 160th anniversary, which has already been celebrated with the launch of several blue-themed watches. With this specific collection, the brand is in for an encore of its best watches or movements, including the return of the legendary calibre 135. The story continues today with two very limited Defy Zero G models […]

While the dial and case will get the most attention, it's what's under the hood that's worth a bit more attention.

The Carrera Extreme Sport series by TAG Heuer returns for 2025 with three new references: a travel-ready Twin-Time chronograph that merges a true GMT into the openworked Extreme Sport template; a rose-gold chronograph that disrupts the collection’s tool aesthetic using precious metal; and a Tourbillon Extreme Sport F1 75th Anniversary limited edition that celebrates seven-and-a-half […]

In the ever-growing sea of impressive microbrands, Swiss upstarts Furlan Marri have carved out a niche of dressy watches with vintage flair. That’s not giving them full credit, of course-they’ve also managed to create a wholly recognizable visual style within a few short years, to the point where “Furlan Marri-esque” is a perfectly reasonable compound adjective to sling around. Continuing their current theme of circular motifs, the brand is expanding their Cornes de Vache (“cow horns” in French, referring to long, curved lugs) collection of automatic watches with the Blue Sector joining the lineup, bringing a classically upscale blue and silver colorway to a collection already bursting with color.  Like the other Cornes de Vache models already available, the Blue Sector is housed in a circular 37.5mm polished stainless steel case with cow-horn lugs, connected by a bridge at the 6 and 12 o’clock positions. Lug-to-lug, the case measures in at 46mm, with a 10.5mm thickness, placing it on the small-to-medium side of the dress watch spectrum. The sector dial from which the reference pulls its name features the same layout as the other Sector models, with double-stamped indications and applied Breguet-style indexes. The dark blue of the dial is further diversified by the textured center circle, split into four. The 12, 3, 6, and 9 numerals echo the quartering theme, and feature an elegant, vintage script. These numerals, along with the hands, indexes, and other ...

Zenith’s 160th anniversary celebration continues with the Defy Zero G, a sapphire-cased watch equipped with the brand’s latest generation, gimbal-like “Gravity Control” escapement module. Available in either clear or deep blue sapphire – both with a lapis lazuli dial – the 46 mm anniversary model is a literal showcase for the innovative cal. 8812 S, which features a gimballed escapement platform that keeps the balance wheel in a horizontal position at all times. Originally developed in 2008 and refined in 2018, the Zero G mechanism is a modern homage to Zenith’s legacy in competitive chronometry and marine navigation. Initial thoughts Today, the Zenith brand is synonymous with the El Primero chronograph movement, launched back in 1969. But outside of that, the manufacture has always been a major force in Swiss precision watchmaking. For decades the brand regularly took home the top prizes at chronometry trials from Neuchâtel and Teddington. Zenith already paid tribute to its past success in competitive chronometry with the G.F.J. cal. 135, which also features a lapis lazuli dial, but it’s reassuring to see the brand made time to bring out one of its more recent developments for its anniversary year. While the days of chronometry trials are long past, Zenith has still managed to make a name for itself when it comes to the accuracy of wrist-worn timepieces - at least theoretically. Back in 2008 the brand unveiled a curious mechanism, with the escapement fu...