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James Dowling shares with a special watch from his personal collection: The never-produced Oysterquartz Perpetual Calendar with the calibre 5355.

Today, if you ask nearly anyone, “What’s the epicenter of watchmaking?” the answer will resoundingly be, “Switzerland,” but you might be surprised to learn its neighbor to the west is largely responsible for the birth of modern watchmaking as we know it. In France, the earliest clocks date back to the Middle Ages, primarily used by clergymen. Fast forward a few hundred years, you’ll find the first “wearable clocks” emerging in France by the end of the 1400s.  Over the next couple hundred years, watchmaking became an increasingly thriving industry in France. However, the horological community experienced its first disruption in 1685. That year, King Louis XIV revoked of the Edict of Nantes, which had granted the minority Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantly Catholic at the time. As a result of the revocation, there was a mass exodus of Huguenots from France across the border to Switzerland, many of whom were-you guessed it-watchmakers.  King Louis XIV Still, the real golden age of French watchmaking came in the 1700s in conjunction with another major moment for the country: the Age of Enlightenment. During this time, Paris became the heart of the watchmaking industry. Here, in the Île de la Cité (one of two natural islands in the Seine River right in the center of the City of Light), is the Place Dauphone, a public square on the western end of the island opposite the ico...

I’m pretty sure that at one point in every watch enthusiast’s life, the inspiration to design your own watch pops into your head. Through buying, owning and possibly selling watches, we tend to get a pretty good feeling of the pros and cons of what’s out there. The next step would be to put that […]

Many of us are guilty of it: in an entire collection, every last dial will be monochrome. White here, black there, and a dash of silver or grey mixed in. If one is particularly daring, there may even be a dark blue dial added in. But versatility isn’t everything - sometimes, a bright, in-your-face dial is the perfect antidote to a grey day. Watch dials have historically been places of decoration. Painted enamel dials were popular in the nineteenth century, with such vivid imagery as landscapes, battles, and hunting scenes adorning them. Though neglected through the early twentieth century, the colorful dial - now in more vibrant bursts of color - saw a vivid return in the mid-twentieth century when companies were scrambling to produce new timekeepers for the burgeoning underwater sport of SCUBA diving. A colorful dial can signal the change in seasons. For many, a bright dial immediately conjures images of sunny vacations, warm water, and worn paperbacks, while a muted dial can be the perfect companion during bleak midwinters, perfectly accenting the changed environment. A well-chosen dial can also inject color into both your collection and wardrobe, providing the right accent piece and adding the missing link in an otherwise perfect outfit. In this week’s Chronicle, we’re looking at some of our favorite colorful dials for those occasions when nothing else will do. As always, the Windup Watch Team is available via consultation to answer any questions you have. I...

Here's everything you need to know about Switzerland's most prolific movement supplier.The post Everything you need to know about Sellita appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Following successful boutique openings in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong – and with upcoming locations planned for Delhi and Seoul in 2025 – H. Moser & Cie. continues its global expansion with a new home in the United States. The brand has officially arrived in Silicon Valley, opening a boutique in Menlo Park. And for […]

Perhaps the crown jewel of Grand Seiko’s automatic watches, the 62GS was the brand’s first to feature an automatic movement. Vintage 62GS pieces championed subtlety with small crowns, “bezel-less” crystals, and smooth, polished edges. The 62GS has lived on through many contemporary iterations, and most hold on to that understated elegance as a key design feature. The current lineup of Heritage Collection pieces reflects almost all the hallmarks of the 62GS that it’s based on, albeit with dials themed for the 24 solar terms of the Japanese sekki.  Grand Seiko’s newest 62GS piece continues the seasonal motif of the Heritage Collection lineup but adds even more color by enveloping it in 18-karat rose gold. This rose gold reference, SBGH368 in the Grand Seiko catalog, is meant to symbolize cherry blossoms covered in snow, featuring a textured copper pink dial encased in a dual curve sapphire crystal. The indices, dauphine hands, date window frame, and screw-down crown match the case material, as does Grand Seiko’s logo positioned just above the brand’s name, below the double-thick 12 marker. An exhibition case back showcases the Hi-Beat 9S85 automatic movement, which features 37 jewels and a 55-hour power reserve, as well as 100-meter water resistance.  In terms of sizing, the SBGH368’s case measures 38mm in diameter and 12.9mm in thickness, maintaining the standard specs of the 62GS line. The 20mm lug width promises easy strap-swapping, though the included...

Last year, the British watchmaker from Henley-on-Thames unveiled a Terra Nova collection of rugged field watches, drawing inspiration from early 20th-century military pocket watches. The timepieces, designed for functionality and practicality, featured stainless steel cushion-shaped cases with a low profile and short, tapered lugs. Their defining characteristics included a large push-in crown for easy operation […]

Czapek repeases the Promindate plissé. Plisse being French for pleats. The dial is very interesting on this one, and it is available in 3 different colours.

If you have kids, you’re probably familiar with the Moomins – the lovely, hippo-shaped fairy tale characters created by Finnish author Tove Jansson. First introduced in 1945, these charming creatures have inspired everything from books and comic strips to TV series, films, and theme parks. Their whimsical world also caught the eye of Finnish watchmaker […]

Sarpaneva returns to the Swedish comic, but this with a twist: the Moomin 80 features a skeletonised steel dial with a “shooting star” aperture that reveals the hours on a rotating disc. Making its debut in two versions, the latest Moomin edition retains the signature elements of its predecessors, including the familiar Sarpaneva case with flared flanks and a hand-finished dial filled with multi-coloured Super-Luminova. As with the Sarpaneva x Moomin release four years ago, the dial draws inspiration from a comic book scene. Initial thoughts This is the third Moomin edition, with the last one, a diver’s watch, launched a year ago. It would have been repetitive if this was instead a rehash with a different scene on the dial, but the latest edition stands out for the unique hour display. Although the hours are mechanically straightforward, it is different enough to make this distinct from the preceding Moomin models. Priced at €13,500, the Moomin 80 costs a little more than the earlier version that was €12,000. The price remains competitive considering the overall craftsmanship, most of which lies in the hand-finished dial that is also painted by hand. Both the rotor and case are also high quality and made in-house by Sarpaneva, adding to the value proposition. The two versions of the Moomin 80 Intricate dial works The Moomin 80 employs the trademark Sarpaneva case made of Finnish stainless steel. It’s chunky but appropriately sized and creates a coherent aesthet...

I don’t have a lot of vintage watches on my wishlist anymore. Some, I was lucky enough to find over the years. Others, I moved on from or saw in the metal, which changed my perspective about them. Very few examples, though, still make my heart beat faster. I must admit that most of these […] Visit Behold The Magnificent Angelus Chrono-Datoluxe to read the full article.

Thoughtful minimalism in innovative materials at approachable prices is what defines this Italian microbrand.The post What makes D1 Milano different from most microbrands? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Two years ago, when Rolex acquired Bucherer, a multi-brand retail store with over 100 locations, it also included the jeweler’s watch brand Carl F. Bucherer. So, as of 2023, the Rolex crown was protected by the Tudor shield and a second brand with a history that dates back to 1888. You would think that a […] Visit Rolex Shuts Down Watch Brand Carl F. Bucherer, And That’s Hardly A Surprise to read the full article.

January 2025 saw straight declines across the board for the WatchCharts Overall Market Index which fell by -0.9%, as well as for the Rolex (-0.8%), Patek Philippe (-0.9%), and Audemars Piguet (-0.5%) indexes. These declines are comparable to what we observed a year ago in February 2024 and two years ago in February 2023.

Abraham-Louis Breguet was the leading watchmaker of his day and enjoyed the patronage of France’s royalty and aristocracy. Among the names on his VIP list was Caroline Murat, aka the Reine de Naples, Napoleon Bonaparte’s youngest sister, who was a keen collector of Breguet’s horological marvels. The Reine de Naples collection is a free interpretation […]

In the great Grand Seiko tradition, the horological year starts early. We already covered the brand’s first releases of 2025 on January 31st, and Mike wrote about another on February 3rd. Now, less than two weeks into the month, Grand Seiko treats us to one more delight. Today, the brand announces the wonderful SBGH368 “Sakura […] Visit Introducing: The Absolutely Wonderful Grand Seiko SBGH368 “Sakura Kakushi” to read the full article.

Grand Seiko’s latest offering is unusual – it’s a 30 mm self-winding model specifically conceived for ladies, in contrast to the vast majority of the Grand Seiko catalogue that’s made up of men’s or mid-sized watches. The Heritage Collection 62GS Mechanical 30 mm measures just 10.5 mm thick, making it the brand’s slimmest mechanical model to date. Notably, the new 62GS pair, STGK031 and STGK033, are the first to adopt a case design found on men’s watches, refining it for a smaller format as a ladies model. Initial thoughts In my view, the 62GS case stands out as the most appealing configuration in Grand Seiko’s extensive lineup. While it retains a distinctly Japanese design heritage, it remains one of the few Grand Seiko models that blends vintage and modern styles. As an owner of the 40 mm 62GS, I can personally attest to its versatility on the wrist, largely due to its slim case profile. The new 62GS 30 mm is essentially a scaled down version of the 40 mm model. It stands out for being the first ladies’ models that adapt a design of a men’s watch. In contrast, earlier Grand Seiko ladies watches had a cushion-shaped case that is arguably less appealing since it doesn’t have a distinctive Grand Seiko style. While Grand Seiko’s continued emphasis on nature-inspired dials may feel somewhat overused, the 62GS 30 mm is priced similar to its men’s counterpart and still represents good value. 62GS The Grand Seiko catalogue does include mid-sized watches...

Grand Seiko's latest cherry blossom-inspired design is a precious metal heaterThe post Precious cherry blossom – the Grand Seiko SBGH368 debuts a 38mm 62GS case in pink gold appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Today marks the final day of celebrations of the Chinese New Year. The Lantern Festival closes out the festivities that started on the 29th of January with the Lunar New Year. IFL Watches created a special 25-piece limited edition of the Oris Divers 65 to mark the beginning of the Year of the Snake. The […] Visit IFL Watches Releases The Oris Divers 65 Year Of Snake to read the full article.

Until recently, I had only heard of Makina watches and hadn’t had the chance to try one out. But that all changed when the Filipino brand offered us the chance to try out its latest creation, the Mephisto_III GMT. The Mephisto is not necessarily a new watch as the regular version was the brand’s debut […] Visit Hands-On With The New Makina Mephisto_III GMT to read the full article.

A concept that we’re always coming back to at Worn & Wound is the thrill of discovering something new. This is fundamentally what the Windup Watch Fairs are all about, this idea that anyone can walk into a show and happen across something that is completely new and exciting, whether you’re a seasoned veteran of the hobby or brand new to it. While I certainly admit to a bit of a bias toward the unusual having worked in the space long enough to become a bit tired of the generic, for me this has always been key to my enthusiasm, and I’m just a lot more likely to stop and read a press release or pick up and try on a watch if it looks, sounds, or feels unfamiliar to me. That’s the feeling I had when I came across the press release for the new release Apiar, a British brand who will sell five examples of the new Gen1.B at the upcoming British Watchmaker’s Day event in March. Apiar is a brand I had only a passing familiarity with – they are a relatively new brand on the affordable indie scene – and I found the images of the Gen1.B to be quite striking and the concept behind the brand interesting in its own right.  Apiar was founded by Matt Oosthuizen and Sam White, a designer and engineer, respectively. They bring a contemporary, tech forward approach to watchmaking, and are building the brand on a trio of core principles: Build Impossible, Build Sustainable, and Build British. The idea is to create watches that take on shapes and forms that in their design that ha...

Glashütte Original’s history has many interesting twists and turns, as it was built upon the remains of the VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe conglomerate, or GUB, following the reunification of Germany. As such the company became the legal successor to the once thriving majority of watchmaking enterprises that once called Saxony their home. As you can imagine, […]

Known for his tattoo work, artist Mo Coppoletta has a new design role at an upstart brand.

Author A.A. Milne wrote in Winnie the Pooh, “When you see someone putting on his big boots, you can be pretty sure that an adventure is going to happen.” I’m of the opinion that one should always be prepared for a little adventure, and thereby a believer in a good pair of boots, just in case.  I can definitively say that shoes are not one of my many vices. If I’m leaving the house, there are two options I will wear 90% of the time: white Nike Air Force Ones, or a pair of leather Chelsea boots. I opt for the latter during the seven-month-long snow season we get in Colorado. Chelsea boots have been my staple since I can remember, as they’re versatile and easy to slip on as I’m running out the door. When I find something I like, I stick with it, only replacing something when necessary and never straying too far from what I know. It was a big deal then, when I swapped my Embury Leather Casual Dr. Martens Chelsea boots for a pair of Blundstone Classic 587s last March.  Dr. Martens were my brand of choice for six years. The same pair of Chelsea boots guided me through the streets of Paris in 2018 and a solo trip to Ireland four years later. My Blundstones are coming up on their first birthday this March, and have traipsed through dirt and debris along Route 66 as well as seven states and a handful of National Parks. Both brands have a lot to offer in terms of heritage, specs, and fit, and both deserve consideration in one’s quest for the perfect Chelsea boot. Bra...

The 1950s could be considered an era of horological renaissance, and these are the watches that defined it.The post 8 of the best watches from the golden era of the 1950s appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.