Latest watch news · Page 574

Taking a break from regularly scheduled programming to highlight some books, accessories, and more that deserve a second look.

Two-tone is back!

Over the last few years, De Rijke & Co. has built out an unlikely niche within the watch world: making highly desirable character watches featuring the beloved “Miffy” character, a staple of children’s books in the Netherlands, the brand’s home country. After the launch of the first successful Miffy moonphase, there have been several additional variants released in short order, offering colorful takes on a whimsical subject. I think most would probably agree that this represented a somewhat unexpected turn in the life of De Rijke. When we first encountered them, it was as a maker of a clever driver’s watch, with a unique case that allows the dial to be rotated within a cage to suit a driver’s needs. What’s more, De Rijke has always offered customers the ability to customize their watches to a high degree, allowing for a truly bespoke experience. The Miffy watches have been fun, but if you knew the brand before, they felt almost like a diversion.  De Rijke never stopped making those custom pieces of course, so it would be unfair to ask “What happened to this brand?” or something similarly dramatic. They haven’t gone anywhere, but clearly took an opportunity to capitalize on a watch concept that became a bit of a sensation with a very specific crowd. But now, for the first time since I’ve been writing about them, De Rijke is back with a new series that is not Miffy based, but still has a sense of that whimsy. The new entries in the Amalfi series are ba...

One of the most revered and respected names in the world of watchmaking, and certainly in the independent watchmaking scene, is Kari Voutilainen. The Finnish watchmaker is an expert in ‘wrapping’ the most brilliantly hand-finished movements in beautiful discrete cases with tear-drop lugs. With 20 years of track record as an Independent watchmaker and more […]

Just last week, Chris Antzoulis brought you a profile of Romaric André, the designer behind seconde/seconde/. At this point, most of you who will find this story will know all about Romaric and seconde/seconde/, so the usual introductory blurb explaining what this is, exactly, can easily be excised. It’s probably enough to say that over the last few years, seconde/seconde/ has become ubiquitous, collaborating with brands of all kinds and at all price points. It’s gotten to the point where much of the conversation around these collaborations is not actually about the collaboration or the design, but about the momentum of André’s brand. His watches, once rare and genuinely special, are now the subject of a seemingly weekly (an exaggeration, but not a huge one) limited edition. It’s impossible not to ask where we’re heading, and how we’ll get there.  Maybe part of the answer lies in the latest collaboration (at least by my count – there could be a new announcement buried in my inbox that I haven’t seen yet). The new watch is André’s second collaboration with Maen, one of our favorite small brands producing watches that truly impress with their design and finishing, always priced well below what you would expect. Their first collaboration, a limited edition version of the Manhattan with a cocktail inspired dial, was issued last year and sold out immediately. It was (and still is) one of my favorite seconde/seconde/ pieces. It’s playful, a natural visual...

Speake Marin’s One & Two Dual Time Openworked model was released in 2019, a sophisticated GMT with retrograde date combined with the brand’s eccentric layouts and distinctive Piccadilly case. For summer 2024, Speake Marin turns up the volume with the vibrant terracotta-orange tones of the Openworked Dual Time Terracotta. Following the first Openworked Dual Time […]

Seiko releases two new creations in the Astron GPS Solar collection with two new watches with dials inspired by the night sky.

This year, Oris is celebrating its 120th anniversary with the release of a special edition timepiece, the Hölstein Edition 2024. Founded in the small village of Hölstein in 1904, Oris has built a legacy of creating high-quality mechanical watches with a devoted fan base that has been steadily growing over the last few years. This new release, a black-on-black Divers Sixty-Five, is an anniversary present Oris is giving itself, showing the subtlety and sophistication  of the Swiss brand. The Hölstein Edition 2024 stands out with its distinctive design, marking the first time Oris has ventured into a full black-on-black aesthetic. The watch features a 40mm stainless steel case, bezel, and crown, all plated in black DLC. The hands, hour markers, dial text, date wheel, and lume are also rendered in black, complementing the overall monochromatic theme. The modern design is completed with a black rubber strap and a black-DLC-plated buckle. In terms of functionality and specifications, the Hölstein Edition 2024 is powered by the Oris Calibre 400. This in-house automatic movement boasts a five-day power reserve and superior anti-magnetic properties, ensuring reliable performance. As with previous Hölstein Edition releases, the caseback features an image of the Oris Bear, this time clad in swim trunks. The watch is water-resistant up to 10 bar (100 meters), making it suitable for various aquatic activities. Limited to just 250 pieces on a first-come-first-serve basis, the Höl...

While mostly known as a stainless steel watch, the Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch has been seen in multiple precious metals over the years, including recent Moonshine, Canopus or Sedna gold alloys. With two-tone watches somehow making a comeback in the past few years, it’s without much surprise that Omega releases today a new duo of […]

Stealthy, retro-futuristic, unashamedly masculine and powered by a tasteful in-house movement, this Chanel hits different.The post The Monsieur de Chanel Superleggera Intense Black Edition is the most masculine watch Chanel has ever produced appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Today, Omega is expanding its Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch collection with two new bicolor/two-tone models. It’s an exciting day for those who may have wanted the latest movement and updates but found the all-steel models too boring and all-gold versions too expensive. In other words, these two new Moonwatch variants could be the perfect middle ground. […] Visit A Hands-On Introduction To Two New Bicolor Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch Models to read the full article.

Most of Delma’s repertoire is sporty, verging on instrument-style watchmaking incarnated by the highly impressive 5,000m-rated Delma Blue Shark IV. The brand has long demonstrated its ability to create robust and capable watches at fair prices. But today, Delma has decided to embrace the other end of the spectrum with its answer to the highly […]

I am happy to bring you another installment of Back to Basics, the series aimed at newcomers to our beautiful watch hobby. This time, we will have a closer look at watches’ spec sheets. A spec sheet serves as the manufacturer’s effort to capture a watch in numbers and facts. But what do these mean, […] Visit Back To Basics: How To Read And Use A Watch’s Spec Sheet to read the full article.

FHH's Watches and Talents focuses on the unsung heroes of watchmaking that make the magic happen behind the scenes.The post Fondation Haute Horlogerie’s Watches and Talents exhibition shows off the human aspect of watchmaking appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Piaget has been busy celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. As a precursor of ultra-thin movements since the 1950s, Piaget has recovered its throne and is basking in the limelight with its world record-breaking 2mm-thin Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon. While it does not hold a world record, Piaget’s flamboyant 1979 Polo watch has also been […]

Maybe it’s because the Seiko Astron is the world’s first GPS solar watch that I have a weak spot for it. From the moment the very first ginormous 47mm version came out, I was sold on the idea of having a watch that connects to the GPS network and gets all its necessary energy from […] Visit Hands-On With Two New Seiko Astron Limited Editions With Starry Light Blue Dials to read the full article.

Armin Strom’s Gravity Equal Force collection continues to grow with the 2024 launch of the Ultimate Sapphire Purple model.

On the 6th of June this year, it will have been exactly 80 years since D-Day took place on the beaches of Normandy. By that day’s end, 156,000 Allied troops successfully stormed the French beaches during Operation Overlord. To commemorate this historic day, Praesidus releases the special C-47 A-11 D-Day. This version of the brand’s […] Visit Hands-On With The Praesidus C-47 A-11 D-Day - A Watch Made Out Of D-Day History to read the full article.

Previewing Sly's "door knockers" and a whole lot more.

MB&F; has announced its second-ever chronograph, the LM Sequential Flyback, a spiritual and technical follow-up to the LM Sequential EVO that evolves its predecessor’s double chronograph with the addition of a flyback function, all in a platinum version of one of MB&F;’s most wearable cases. When MB&F; released the LM Sequential EVO in 2022, the biggest surprise wasn’t how good the watch was or even that MB&F; would think to release a watch with not one, but two chronograph trains. No, the most surprising thing about that watch was that, up until that point, MB&F; had never produced any sort of chronograph. Considering the wide range of extraordinary and experimental watches MB&F; has released over the years, the omission of a chronograph seemed obvious in retrospect, even if we hadn’t noticed the glaring hole in the moment. But that omission was more than accounted for with the release of the LM Sequential EVO, a watch that I readily count among my favorite releases of the last five or so years, and which, thanks to a pair of chronograph trains and a mechanism MB&F; calls the “Twinverter” presented a new and unique take on what a chronograph could be. But apparently, it wasn’t everything MB&F; and Stephen McDonnell (one of the brand’s earliest friends, who built movements for the HM No.1 and developed the movements for the Legacy Machine Perpetual, the LM Sequential EVO, and, now, the LM Sequential Flyback) wanted it to be. Development constraints and the inherent...

Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s dream of mechanical independence materialised in 1996 with the presentation of Chopard‘s first in-house movement known as calibre 1.96. Produced in Chopard’s Fleurier manufacture, the calibre was fitted inside the first L.U.C 1860 watch, writing a new chapter in the brand’s high-end watchmaking journey. Recognised as one of the finest ultra-thin micro-rotor automatic […]

It feels like not too long ago, TAG Heuer had completely revamped their Aquaracer line of dive watches, and for the most part, they were well received by the public at large. However, many collectors felt they had not gone far enough, especially with their 300m Professional series. TAG Heuer has listened and updated for 2024, with tweaked and revamped versions of the Aquaracer Professional 300 Date and GMT.  At first glance, you may quickly mistake these for the previous generation, but rest assured, the refinements are there, and they are considerable. Let us begin with what they have kept. The general shape of the watch is identical to the previous one, however they have slightly downsized the case from 43mm to 42mm. This may not be too noticeable, though proportions feel enhanced. They have also kept the quirky and unique polygonal hour indices, as well as the color matched ceramic bezels with a blue lumed triangle at the 60-minute mark. The latter matches the lume color on the minute hand, while everything else glows green, as it did before. The bracelet also remains the same and it retains the tremendous on-the-fly micro-adjustable clasp, which was introduced with the prior incarnation. The case back still features the neat diver’s helmet engraving and is screwed down by a proprietary key. Lug-to-lug length has been shortened by 2mm and is now 48mm, which should make these watches even easier to wear for more people. These new models will be available in black, blu...

A patrician banker who gained posthumous fame in the 21st century for his watch collection, Henry Graves Jr. (1868–1953) is most famous for having owned the Graves Supercomplication, once the most complicated watch in the world, and also the most expensive watch ever when it sold at auction ten years ago. His reputation means the watches he once owned – there were not all that many of them but all were high quality – carry cachet. One such example is coming up for sale at Phillips New York auction. It’s a Patek Philippe “Extra Special” pocket watch that is top-quality chronometer, classical in style and functional, and bearing the all-important Graves family crest on the hinged back. Now a horological symbol Not rivals but great collectors Graves’ modern-day fame as a watch collector was due in part to the ostensible rivalry between him and James Ward Packard (1863-1928), the engineer who founded the eponymous automobile company and an equally accomplished collector of great watches. Though both were active during the same decades, more or less, the famous competition between the two was a story made up in the 1990s to market the Supercomplication. Graves outlived Packard by 25 years, and the latter was quite ill when Graves was at his collecting peak. Graves bought the “Extra Special” pocket watch here in 1925, the year Ward fell ill with cancer before dying just three years later. An example of Packard’s impeccable taste: he commissioned this Patek Ph...