Latest watch news · Page 228

Another cocktail-inspired collaboration from these British brands is just as intoxicating as the last, with a deep brown dial that dances in the light. The post Studio Underd0g x Fears serves up another cocktail masterclass in the Manhattan appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Just five years after its launch, Czapek responded to a request from friends and shareholders for a luxury sports watch. Released in 2020, the elegant Antarctique sports watch, featuring an integrated bracelet and powered by the brand’s first in-house calibre, was a fresh face on the scene. Responding to yet another request from clients, Czapek […]

When it comes to planetarium wristwatches, Christiaan van der Klaauw (CvdK) has little competition, since it owns much of the intellectual property behind the complication. But that hasn’t stopped the brand from competing with itself, and the result the Grand Planetarium Eccentric Meteorite, the most complete model of the solar system ever put in a wristwatch. It’s a maximalist approach to the planetarium concept that’s almost overwhelming in look and feel, thanks to the rich texture of its solid 44 mm meteorite case and busy dial. Building on the Grand Planetarium Eccentric from 2024, the Eccentric Meteorite manages to squeeze in the astroid belt, which is itself embellished with chunks of meteorite that originated on Mars. Intended to be a limited edition of three pieces, it’s possible that just two will be made given the limited quantity of meteorite on hand. The sun at the center of the dial functions as a running indicator, rotating once per minute. Initial thoughts The planetarium is among the most romantic of all complications due to its inherent uselessness; unlike a minute repeater or perpetual calendar, there’s not much action that can be taken with the information provided. But mankind has sought to understand its place in the universe for millennia, and the planetarium offers an intuitive way to visualise our real-time location relative to the sun and the other planets in our solar system. There’s also a strange appeal to the glacially slow speed of...

The Shield expands its 1926 line with new models tracking the phases of the moon each month.

Glashütte Original was founded in 1845, and to commemorate this milestone, the brand has unveiled a stunning new PanoLunarTourbillon. As we’ll see, the watch showcases the best of the manufacture, featuring an in-house movement and dial. With a limited production run and flagship status, this watch won’t be for everyone, but it’s a great example […] Visit Looking At The New Glashütte Original PanoLunarTourbillon to read the full article.

Tissot is one of our favorite brands here at Fratello. The company’s blend of history and industry-leading value also makes it a popular pick among buyers. Often, at the heart of this value proposition is an impressive movement. The Powermatic 80 has been in production since 2012, but it still offers impressive specs. Watches such […] Visit Tissot’s Beating Heart: The Powermatic 80 And Powermatic 80 COSC to read the full article.

When you think about Tudor, you probably have in mind the image of a cool Submariner-inspired dive watch, with a retro-styled case and dial, and a solid manufacture movement by Kenissi inside. What I’ve just described is basically the Black Bay collection, which has been the brand’s cornerstone for over a decade. With this in […]

In a surprise launch from a brand best known for its dive watches, Tudor just rolled out the 1926 Luna. It’s a thinnish, 39 mm dress watch with a moon phase – a first for Tudor – as well as a date, though in the typical Tudor style the case is still rated to 100 m and fitted to a solidly constructed steel bracelet. And unusually for a new launch from Tudor, the 1926 Luna is equipped with an ETA (or Sellita) calibre, which means lower specs than models powered by Tudor’s in-house movements, but also substantially more affordable at just US$2,800 or CHF2,400. The 1926 Luna debuts in three dial colours, including a champagne iteration that was conceived with the help of Jay Chou, a Taiwanese singer who’s one of the most famous musicians in the Mandarin-speaking world. Initial thoughts Tudor has long excelled at sports watches with high specs and low prices – making them some of the best value propositions out there – but dress watches have always been a weakness. The brand has made several attempts at dress watches with mixed results. The 1926 Luna, on the other hand, is much more promising. The design is classical, even a little conservative, but the look is appealing. The brushed dial in metallic colours give this a much more modern look than the rest of the 1926 line, which appears a little dated. Purists will complain about the date window, and it probably looks better on a leather strap than a bracelet, but the 1926 Luna is a strong proposition in its price...

Inspired by 40s calendar watches and sporting a two-tone grained sector dial, this Master Control is an exercise in understated panache.The post Jaeger-LeCoultre pays homage to the 1940s with a gorgeous grey sector dial Master Control Calendar appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Founded by a crypto billionaire, Vast is developing the first-ever commercial space station, and IWC is now its official timekeeper. The IWC-Vast partnership continues the watchmaker’s recent involvement with commercial and civilian space travel, which included a series of special watches for the first all-civilian space flight in 2021. The Vast control centre Vast was founded in 2021 by Jed McCaleb, an entrepreneur who set up the now defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox and later helped develop Ripple, a crypto platform. With a ten-figure fortune from his crypto ventures, Mr McCaleb has funded Vast and its ambition of creating artificial gravity space stations. Inside Haven-1 Sometime in 2026, Vast is planning to launch Haven-1, a small space station in low Earth orbit. Over the next two decades, Vast aims to build larger stations and eventually a fleet of them. Haven-1 under construction What can we expect from IWC partnership? According to IWC, the tie-up will “enable IWC to… develop spaceflight-ready watches. At Vast headquarters, Vast engineers will test prototypes… in a similar way to some of the hardware that will fly on Haven Demo and Haven-1 – a testament to the authenticity of IWC’s aerospace lineage.”  

Formex, founded in 2000, is renowned for its rugged action watches. The brand’s bestselling Essence, a sporty, all-terrain model with sharp case architecture, a patented suspension system, and COSC-certified movements, made its debut in 2018 and was refreshed in 2021 with a wider range of dial colours. Marking its 25th anniversary, Formex released its first […]

Usually, new dial variations tend to be the least surprising novelties in the watch world. If we’re talking about a new Grand Seiko dial, though, I’m all ears. When I first saw the Grand Seiko SLGB005 in a lineup of six models, it didn’t instantly grab my attention. The recently released “Sunrise” Tentagraph SLGC006 and […] Visit Hands-On: The New Grand Seiko SLGB005 With A Mesmerizingly Beautiful Purple Dial to read the full article.

Is there such a thing as an endgame watch? It’s not something we often consider. But just about two weeks ago, Henry wrote an article about his new Rolex Sea-Dweller 16600, referring to it as the ultimate diver and his “endgame” watch. This got us thinking about what this would be for us, so today […] Visit Fratello Talks: Endgame Watches to read the full article.

Earlier this year, at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2025, Grand Seiko unveiled a new and rather important collection, fitted with a brand new movement and carrying a meaningful name, the Spring Drive UFA. Now, if you’re a GS fan, you’ll immediately spot the connection with the VFA models of the past, as the new Ultra […]

Grand Seiko unveils a second model in its Ultra Fine Accuracy (UFA) collection, the Evolution 9 Spring Drive UFA SLGB005. Featuring a violet-black dial inspired by Shinshu winter sunrises and powered by the latest generation spring drive technology, it represents everything Grand Seiko does best. Limited to 1,300 pieces, the 37 mm SLGB005 is made from the brand’s proprietary Ever-Brilliant steel, an especially hard-wearing alloy that’s making its debut in the Evolution 9 Spring Drive line-up. Initial thoughts The Spring Drive UFA SLGB003 “Ice Forest” was arguably one of the most important releases of this year, finally delivering a long-awaited mid-sized Grand Seiko Spring Drive, complete with an adjustable clasp and tightened accuracy rating. The SLGB005 feels like a worthy counterpart in another metal, quantifiably excellent inside and out. The SLGB005 retains the nearly perfect proportions of its titanium sibling at 37 mm in diameter and 11.4 mm thick, in a slightly heavier Ever-Brilliant steel case. Though Grand Seiko has used this material in the past, it’s the first time it’s been used for a Spring Drive watch in Evolution 9 guise, and also the first to be made at Shiojiri. This is a new colour of an existing dial pattern. Grand Seiko’s dial work is always excellent, especially the hands and dial furniture, which are finished to unusually high standards. The Spring Drive movement remains the same and excellent. While not mechanical, I’d argue that Spr...

Grand Seiko's U.F.A. range now has a purple dial limited edition and a first-ever Ever-Brilliant Steel case and bracelet.The post Grand Seiko unveils new SLGB005 ‘Ice Forest – Violet Dawn” U.F.A. limited edition in steel appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The new model in Ever-Brilliant Steel gets a dial as dramatic as the movement is accurate.

Grand Seiko releases a new addition to their Spring Drive U.F.A model with Caliber 9RB2 which was first shown at WWG this year. The new release is in a special stainless steel and a deep violet textured dial. Press Release information with commentary in italics. New Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.F.A. The Grand Seiko SpringRead More

Since its rebirth in 1994, A. Lange & Söhne has built an enviable reputation among collectors, based in large part on its rich portfolio of movements. Visiting the manufacture in Glashütte, it’s easy to see why; nearly all of the roughly 650 staff are engaged in some aspect of movement production. As a result, in little more than 30 years, Lange has commercialised 75 distinct calibers and has the manpower to apply a consistent level of finishing across the entire range, from the simple to the sublime. Historically, this single-minded focus on movements has meant that dials have often taken a back seat. Though uniformly high quality and made of noble materials like sterling silver and solid 18k gold, the brand’s dials tend to be simple, classical, and austere. An obvious exception that springs to mind is the sapphire crystal-dialed Lumen series, but sapphire crystal is a common material in watchmaking and these dials tend to be produced in a relatively industrial manner. Despite its focus on movements, Lange began to stretch its wings with artisanal dials as far back as the year 2000, first with enamel and later with mother-of-pearl, guilloché, tremblage, free-hand engraving, aventurine glass, and onyx. Most of these dials were produced by suppliers, but the brand has quietly built an immensely talented team of engravers and enamellists since launching the Handwerkskunst editions in 2011, and now crafts some of the industry’s most extraordinary dials within its own...

It’s all about case and dial materials these days in the design world it seems, and Bell & Ross have certainly not shied away from experimentation. The French brand expands their repertoire of big, brash, and blocky timepieces with the new BR-X3 line, conceived as an avant-garde interpretation of the classic BR-03 design, and a cousin of the popular BR-X5, featuring two new models: Titanium Black and Blue Steel. While the names of these new references are straightforward, their designs are everything but. Both feature the iconic rounded-square look that graces most Bell & Ross watches, with a round dial accentuated by a square case. Both cases measure 41mm in diameter, but likely wear bigger due to their shape and 13.30mm thickness. Three-plate dial construction, an openworked rubber strap, an anti-reflective sapphire crystal, and 100 meters of water resistance are also standard on both watches. As a final shared element, both references are powered by a Calibre BR-CAL.323 automatic mechanical movement, which promises a hefty power reserve of 70- hours.  The differences between the two BR-X3 models are easily explained by their nomenclature, but worth diving into further nonetheless. Titanium watches are massively popular these days, and for good reason: they wear incredibly light on the wrist, regardless of size, and promise durability in spite of that weight. The Titanium Black BR-X3 follows that trend, featuring a micro-blasted grade 2 titanium case in an appropriate...

It seems like more and more, we’re uncovering new gems from the land of the Rising Sun. There seems to be a real surge in exciting independent watchmaking with an eye for tradition, craftsmanship and creativity in Japan, and we are loving it! Brands like Otsuka Lotec, Kurono Tokyo and Quiet Club are just a […]

Not going to lie, that invisible strap goes kind of hard.

Late last month, ahead of Geneva Watch Days, Ming debuted the 57.04. It was a big moment for the brand, being not only a very cool release (who doesn’t love a destro monopusher chronograph), but also the first launch in a new generation of Ming watches, complete with a radically new design language. Still, just because the new is here doesn’t mean we’re quite done with the old, and as if to remind us of that, Ming is today announcing a new, slightly more familiar watch: the MING 37.05 Lunatic. This new watch is somewhat of a farewell from Ming. It’s the third iteration of the 37.05, and the brand promises that it will be the final version of the watch, which was first introduced back in November of 2021 and kicked off the 37-series of watches. Like the first two executions of the 37.05, the MING 37.05 Lunatic is a Moonphase and date watch housed in a stainless steel case. Like its predecessors, the watch measures 38mm across and 11.9mm thick - although 3mm of that height comes from the domed sapphire crystals found on both the front and back of the watch - and is powered by a Sellita for MING 288.M1, a hand-wound time, Moonphase, and date movement based on the Sellita SW288.1. While I haven’t had the good fortune to see the 37.05 Lunatic in person just yet, I have been lucky enough to encounter its older brothers, and - assuming no radical change unaccounted for by dimensions or specs - can attest that the 37.05 wears as one would expect from a Ming, part...