Latest watch news · Page 457

Oris makes sure Kermit won't feel lonely anymore.The post A sports watch, for moi? The glamour and gall of the Oris ProPilot X Miss Piggy Edition appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Traveling is always an opportunity to spend quality adventure time with a watch. My last trip happened to be in Tasmania, a special place for me. On the trip, I took my IWC Mark XV, which also has great personal significance. My IWC Mark XV is a watch that fulfills the role of going anywhere […] Visit Adventuring With A Special IWC Mark XV Through Australia’s Island State Of Tasmania to read the full article.

It is not common practice for us to spend time crafting a hands-on review for watches that sit outside of our personal periphery. There needs to be a thread to pull, some emotion to lean on, and an opinion worth sharing. So, in full disclosure, when arranging a loan for the Gerard-Perregeaux Leureato Chronograph 42mm I did so based on the fact that it had been a while since I had spent any considerable time with a GP and didn’t have any solid thoughts on writing about it. The model is a bit overlooked in the market, has a higher and extremely competitive price point, and has been overshadowed a bit by the titanium version released earlier in 2024. But sitting there with the Laureato Chronograph dial dancing in the light shooting bursts of blue at me, I really began studying the piece. To understand the Laureato though, you must understand the history and a bit of the controversy surrounding it.  An oft-forgotten integrated bracelet watch originating from the “golden” Genta age of design, the Girard-Perregaux Laureato can trace its roots back to 1975. While not a Genta design, some believe the Laureato bears a striking resemblance or is a love child of the iconic AP references that gained him eventual fame. For full context, we had the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak in 1972, the Baume et Mercier Riviera in 1973, the original Laureato in 1975, the IWC Ingenieur and Patek Philippe Nautilus in 1976, and then the Vacheron Constantin 222 following in 1977. Of course, there are...

The English phrase “pigs might fly” is used to express the impossibility of something happening. Well, Oris has just given wings to one of the most famous pigs in popular culture with its new ProPilot X Miss Piggy. Combining the sharp looks of the ProPilot X Collection in a reduced 34mm steel case with a […]

It's time to play the music. It's time to light the lights. It's time to see Miss Piggy on a ProPilot X tonight.

From the moment Oris announced their ProPilot X “Kermit” watch fans have been speculating about which muppet would be next to get the Oris treatment. Not that we didn’t love seeing Kermit on the dial (once a month, on the first of the month) but for many elder-millennials and Gen-X watch collectors, the thought of having an entire collection of Muppet watches was, and remains, pretty tantalizing. Now, just about two years after Kermit made his Oris debut, we get the follow up: the ProPilot X Miss Piggy Edition. If you were hoping for Beaker or Animal or another more niche Muppet to appear on an Oris dial, you’ll have to keep waiting. Of course Miss Piggy would have to be the next character – she’s the natural counterpart to Kermit, after all. Has there ever been a more obvious “his and hers” collection than these two ProPilots together? I can’t think of one. The ProPilot X Miss Piggy Edition takes the familiar ProPilot X format and shrinks it (and pinks it, sorry) to 34mm. The case is stainless steel and the watch is powered by a rebadged Sellita automatic caliber.  It’s notable that unlike the Kermit watch, we don’t see Miss Piggy on the dial of her ProPilot, not even for a day (there’s no date window for her to make an appearance). Instead, there’s a small window on the caseback through which you can see her periodically on the winding rotor. For a watch devoted to such an iconic character, this is a pretty retrained approach. Instead of Miss P...

Behind the scenes at one of the world's most unique and comprehensive archives of horology.

Mother-of-pearl has long acted as a sort of bridge between the commercial and artistic worlds of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Venetian artisans were particularly known for incorporating mother-of-pearl into luxurious pieces of jewelry and decorative art, cementing its role as a symbol of opulence and elegance. It comes as no surprise, then, that Venice’s own Out of Order has released their unique spin on the material with the Casanova 38. While one elective course taken in college hardly qualifies me as an art historian, the first thought I had when viewing the Casanova was of artwork displayed on subdued museum walls, drawing the eye to the works themselves rather than their surroundings. In that vein, the Casanova’s three decidedly dazzling color options (pink, turquoise, and green) are paired with comparatively conservative styling. This lets the pearlescent dial rightfully take center stage, while other more functional features of the watch-like the screw-down crown, 100-meter water resistance, and butterfly clasp-act as supportive extras. That doesn’t mean that the Casanova lacks distinct design details, though. The hand-applied indices and aluminum bezel insert match the chosen dial color and feature Superluminova C3 lume, and the top of the seconds hand and crown both feature the cheeky signature triple-O logo, differentiating the Casanova from other similarly-styled watches in the company’s own lineup. Furthermore, Out of Order’s slogan, “Dama...

There has been a wide variety from Longines last year, with a real gem of a release taking us all by surprise at the end of 2024.The post Our favourite Longines watches of 2024 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Patek Philippe unveils a new collection, the Cubitus, for the first time in over 20 years, with the Ref. 5822P-001 as its currents flagship offering.

Ordinarily a faithful vintage remake with an old-school aesthetic, the Conquest Heritage gets a makeover for the Chinese Lunar New Year. The Conquest Heritage Year of the Snake stands out with a striking red gradient dial featuring gold-plated hands and indices. And for the occasion, the back bears an engraved snake motif penned by Chinese contemporary artist Wu Jian’an, who drew inspiration from the ancient Chinese fable, “Legend of the White Snake”. Initial thoughts The Conquest Heritage Year of the Snake offers something more modern and striking, instead of the conservative look of the standard model that has a silver or black dial. I particularly like the fact that the snake motif is limited to an engraving on the case back, as having it on the dial would have been overly ornate. It’s priced at US$3,150, almost exactly the same as the regular production model, which makes it a decent value proposition. It has a workmanlike quality appropriate for the price, while the high-spec ETA movement inside is one of its strengths. And like other zodiac-theme watches, this would have resonance for those born in the Year of the Snake a meaningful way to commemorate the occasion, not unlike wearing a birthstone. Vintage inspired The snake edition is identical to the standard model save for the dial and case back engraving. Water resistant to 50 m, the stainless steel case is 40 mm in diameter, 10.7 mm in thickness, and entirely polished. It’s slightly larger than the ori...

2024 was all about the Portugieser at IWC, the brand’s most classic and elegant collection. Of course, the star of the show was the Portugieser Eternal Calendar, a secular calendar watch that made it to our list of the best watches of the year. There were many more updated versions of this emblematic watch launched […]

We dive into the history of one of the oldest and most influential watchmakers in the world, this 'Holy Trinity' brand.The post The history of Vacheron Constantin, the oldest brand of the Holy Trinity appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

In 2014, Girard-Perregaux induced triple-takes at Baselworld with its Tri-Axial Tourbillon. While the name is clinically literal, the romance is in the dance. And GP’s mega-watch is a thrilling dance partner.

Presented in 2024, the Cimier 711 Heritage Chronograph is a modern reinterpretation of one of the brand’s 1960’s models, the Faux Chronographe, a simplified and affordable take on the chronograph watch. Produced in large quantities, it allowed users to measure short time intervals by initiating and halting the independent central seconds hand. If the modern […]

We’re finally back with another episode of Fratello On Air after a lengthy break from the holidays, illness, and travel! This week, we’re reflecting on 2024 and some key events that shaped the year. Enjoy the episode, and we look forward to 2025! For our listeners, the watch content begins after 27 minutes. This podcast […] Visit Fratello On Air: Reflecting On 2024 to read the full article.

Looking for the bi-metal look, all under the benchmark of US$3,000?The post These 5 affordable two-tone watches have all the swagger, but just a little bit of the cost appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

We kick off the first Tuesday of 2025 with a reader’s story on his Speedmaster. This week’s contribution comes from Ricardo Rio, who resides in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ricardo has been part of the Speedy Tuesday community for a long time. He has a professional background in sports and joined BMX Freestyle cyclist José Torres […] Visit A Speedmaster Collector’s Story - Marking A Special Olympic Moment to read the full article.

Let me set the stage for you: somewhere in Switzerland, a Longines executive is sitting in a leather chair, sipping espresso, and staring out over the Alps. “What if,” they muse, “we take a perfectly good dive watch, strip it of its most basic functionality, make it out of fancy plastic, and charge five grand for it?” Cue applause from the boardroom, a slow clap from a guy in a turtleneck, and voilà-the Longines Ultra-Chron Carbon is born.

I was happy to see Peter Speake return with PS Horology and the Tsuba. Peter was one of the first independent watchmakers I got to know well on a personal basis, and I have followed his career for almost two decades now. I first met Peter sometime in 2005, either at Baselworld (it was my first time there) or in Singapore during his regular round-the-world tours. He was then a fresh face in independent watchmaking, having just founded his brand Speake-Marin in 2002. In the context of the period, when independent watchmaking was a truly niche segment, Peter was a star (although he is modest enough he might disagree). Founded by Peter and Daniela Marin, who were then married, Speake-Marin was a promising brand with many of the ingredients for success, including a strong aesthetic (thick, chunky, and ETA-based but I liked it), good watchmaking and quality thanks to Peter’s own skill, and of course Peter himself – the personality is as important as the product in independent watchmaking. The unique Majestic Monkey of 2008, one of the first custom Speake-Marin watches I saw in person Peter was not the only watchmaker I met around that time, but I got to know him better than most other indie watchmakers, as a result of an annual watch fair that took place in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. Known as A Journey Through Time (AJTT), the watch fair was staged by YTL Corporation, a Malaysian conglomerate with diversified interests ranging from power generation to luxury shoppi...

Spending some time with one of my favorite releases from last year.

Since I picked up the Zeitwinkel 273° Saphir Fumé in the fall of last year, I’ve been meaning to write something about it. It’s an incredible watch, probably the best I’ve owned, and I feel lucky to have it. That’s a strange thing to say, I know. I’m sure Zeitwinkel would happily sell this watch to anyone who was willing to provide the agreed upon amount of money – luck doesn’t really have that much to do with it. But there are things about this watch that are special and set it apart from other watchers I’ve owned that make having it in my watch box and on my wrist a unique pleasure.  This isn’t an owner’s review, because what I really want to talk about with respect to the 273° aren’t the specs, or the finishing, or even the experience of wearing it (all are great, by the way). What I want to talk about is the strange route I took to focusing on Zeitwinkel and picking the 273°. It echoes, I think, the piece I wrote at the end of last year for our “My Year in Watches” series, where I talked about a renewed focus on independent brands. Zeitwinkel is about as independent as it gets, and that’s a big reason why this watch resonates with me – it reflects the very specific interests of the brand founders, and represents a certain no-compromises approach to watchmaking that can’t easily be found with brands owned by big luxury groups, and certainly not at the price point of the 273°.  I’ll be honest here and admit that I was largely unfa...

About a month ago, out of the blue, Omega released a new, rather polarizing and unique-looking version of its emblematic chronograph, the Speedmaster Pilot Flight Qualified. Well, it wasn’t really out of the blue, but we’ll come back on that in a few. Colourful, tool-oriented and with a dial full of references to the world of […]

If 2024 was defined by the rise of shaped cases and stone dials, it appears that 2025 is starting off with more of the same. Last year, Toledano & Chan had an unexpected hit with their debut watch, the B/1, which was a contemporary riff on the classic Rolex King Midas and similar avant garde designs, with a Brutalist inspired case shape and on-trend lapis lazuil dial. Now, for the brand’s second serialized release (they produced a pair of one-offs for auction last year  with cases crafted from carbon and meteorite) they’ve made a handful of subtle refinements to the original idea, added a mother-of-pearl dial, and introduced a dramatic, faceted crystal. It’s a more complex idea but shows in clear terms how the brand might grow with future releases, showing that they have plenty of tricks left up their sleeve and intend to keep their momentum going.  The new watch, dubbed the B/1.2, prominently features an asymmetrical sapphire crystal that echoes the lines of the angular case. Faceted and asymmetrical crystals are rare in watchmaking. Production of crystals in unusual shapes, particularly when made from sapphire, is challenging and expensive. Perhaps even more importantly, a crystal with facets will distort, to some degree, whatever is viewed through it, which is not ideal for time telling. It’s perhaps especially not ideal for time telling on a watch with a dial that does not include markers or numerals of any kind, like the B/1.2. But that underscores the whole...

Drawing on Speake's fascination with Asian history and culture, the Tsuba is the first release from his new venture.

This second release reveals a softer side of the brand's Brutalist inspired design.