Latest watch news · Page 74

In the horological sphere, we associate the 1970s with the quartz crisis, but there was a more significant threat facing the world at large: an energy crisis. Oil consumption was reaching an all-time high with widespread international travel and car ownership becoming more prevalent and mainstream. Simultaneously, domestic oil production was dwindling in many countries, increasing pressure on imports. The situation reached a crisis when OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) imposed an oil embargo in 1973. So, getting back to watches – you’re probably wondering, what’s the connection? Like the United States, Japan was one of the countries impacted by this energy crisis. In response, Citizen Watch Company established an internal initiative to work toward developing a more sustainable and eco-friendly power source for its timepieces. In short order, the brand looked toward solar cell technology and had developed its own light-powered prototype by 1974. Two years later in 1976, we saw the world’s first light-powered analog watch, the Crystron Solar Cell. This technology would later come to be called Eco-Drive and celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026. You’ve probably already read about the flagship anniversary Eco-Drive model covered by our own Zach Kazan at its launch earlier this year, but this spring, in peak cherry blossom season, Citizen opened the doors of its manufacture for the first time in years to pull back the curtain on just how the ...

What We Know The last time I covered something from Formex was over a year ago, when the brand released a highly finished, full-ceramic sports watch, complete with a ceramic bracelet and even a ceramic micro-adjust clasp, at an unrivaled price point. Today, the brand continues its upmarket trend with a brand-new watch design called the Aria. The Aria takes the form of a broad, integrated-bracelet design in full grade 5 titanium. The 40mm case feels broader than normal, thanks to an impressively thin case height of 6.9mm, even though the lug-to-lug is still quite reasonable at 45.45mm. While the silhouette gives a smooth look, there's quite a bit of contrasting finishing going on here, with brushing of the titanium case and bracelet links done entirely by hand. Though the styling certainly leans towards its identity as a bold sports watch, there's a lot of subtlety in the design, for example, with the individual bracelet links being slightly curved or the extra dimensionality of the layer of titanium peeking out from each link's milled-out spaces. The clasp includes Formex's proprietary micro-adjust system, which provides extra space on both sides of the bracelet by pulling or pushing each side. There are three dials for the Aria: "Selva Green," "Ardesia Grey," and "Denso Blue." All three have a certain muted look to the hue, matching the slightly darker nature of titanium. Dimensionality is achieved through contrasting indices in rose-gold coloring, set on applied raised p...

When it comes to dive watches, some brands might be sort of a niche for a wide audience, but still carry a great legacy for the diving community. So is Squale, a brand that celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2024 and was created by Charles Von Büren, a renowned case maker. Since then, several models […]

Squale's 2001 Marina Militare hangs up its military uniform and goes civilian, delivering weapons-grade functionality to the general public

What We Know Every year on June 1, Oris celebrates the founding of its brand by releasing watches named after its hometown. This time, they're doing so with 250 numbered pieces based on the brand's new Artelier watch. The new version features small seconds, a 120-hour power reserve, the Caliber 401 movement, and an interesting retro-futuristic style. The new Oris Hölstein Edition 2026 has a stainless steel case measuring 39.5mm by 11.1mm, a 45.5mm lug-to-lug, and 30m water resistance. The dial is light grey with a subtle fumé effect from its shape, with a brighter subsidiary seconds dial in a mirror finish and a small red seconds hand. That silver, domed dial and claw-style hour markers make the watch feel a bit like a throwback to the late 1960s, but with modern specifications. The hour and minute hands have Super-LumiNova. As a bonus, the movement (while not COSC-certified) has an accuracy of 3/+5 seconds per day and is highly anti-magnetic. It's also automatic winding. The caseback uses a special laser treatment that engraves the Oris Bear, features the words "Hölstein Edition 2026," and produces a mirror-like, iridescent rainbow finish. To steal the description from one of the greatest haircuts known to man, it's business in the front and party in the back. The watch retails for CHF 3,800. What We Think Oris has been doing these limited editions, as far as I can tell, since 2020, and each one has been anything but traditional. Obviously, the Oris bear often plays a ...

What We Know Big, bold, and unapologetically brash, the Royal Oak Offshore has never been the watch for everyone. But with three fresh colorways for 42mm chronographs in steel and titanium, and a triumvirate of brand-new 37mm models in titanium and pink gold, the vaunted watchmaker from Le Brassus is giving us a few more reasons to consider its dedicated diver.  There are three new 42mm models in three new color combinations, all featuring luminescent white 'bathtub' style hands, Arabic numeral hour markers in 18 carat gold, a flyback chronograph with hour, minute, and second counters, and a tachymeter scale rehaut inner bezel and date window at 3 o'clock. First up, the only new titanium model at this size, it features a dark grey méga tapisserie dial with dark grey and silver-toned counters with yellow and turquoise accents. The Arabic numeral hour markers are turquoise while the yellow chronograph hand matches the counter hands at 9 and 12 o'clock with a white seconds hand at 6 o'clock. Sections of the tachymeter scale are printed in yellow and white, while the AP logo in white sits just left of the date window. The silver hour and minute chronograph counters are accented in turquoise and grey. The case is 15.3mm thick and features a sapphire open caseback, a black-rubber and titanium screw-down crown with contrasting yellow and black rubber push pieces, and boasts water resistance of 100 meters.  The new titanium Offshore chronograph comes on an interchangeable dark ...

Bell & Ross expands their cigar-inspired limited editions, their fourth with S.T. Dupont, the famed French maison for lighters and smoking accessories.

In the span of just a few short years, Kollokium has gone from a nearly secret insider side project with a hard to discern future to a fully fledged brand. When the Projekt 01 first came on the scene, it was a bit of a mystery to most what the founders (Manuel Emch, Barth Nussbaumer, and Amr Sindi) had planned, or even if they had planned anything at all. There was a one-off quality to that initial drop that seemed to communicate it could all be abandoned at any moment.  Honestly, the watch industry probably needs a little more of that energy – watches that exist outside of a business plan and represent an artistic vision more than a marketing ploy. But credit to Kollokium for being smart about the way they’ve managed expectations and continue to move the ball forward across several subsequent releases since the Projekt 01. In addition to new colorways for that original design, they’ve introduced an entirely watch (not so creatively called the Projekt 02) that builds on the design language introduced in the first piece and deepens the complexity pretty significantly. They’ve just announced the latest Projekt 02, Variant C, and it’s the latest chance for collectors to get in on one of the most interesting new designs in indie watchmaking.  As a refresher, the Projekt 02 is defined by a dial built on a series of stacked plates (over 60 of them) in different shapes and sizes that when fully assembled resemble a three dimensional topographical map. The terrain of t...

The Hölstein Editions are Oris’ annual limited-edition watches, released each June 1st to celebrate the brand’s birthday and honour its roots in Hölstein, Switzerland. Introduced in the early 2000s, the more elegant Artelier family was fully redesigned this year to become a more contemporary and versatile lineup. Marking its 122nd birthday, Oris releases the Hölstein Edition 2026, […]

On June 1st of every year since 2020, Oris has introduced a homage to Hölstein, the Swiss village that the brand calls home. According to Oris CEO Rolf Studer, it’s also a “thank you” from Oris to the Oris community. For this year’s edition, Oris used its new Artelier model, introduced at Watches and Wonders […] Visit The Oris Hölstein Edition 2026 — A New Artelier Paying Tribute To Oris’s Home to read the full article.

More than three decades after its debut in 1993, the Offshore remains arguably the version of the iconic Royal Oak best suited to an active summer lifestyle. Nicknamed “The Beast” when it was launched, the Royal Oak Offshore challenged the conventions of luxury watchmaking with its oversized proportions, visible rubber elements and bold, muscular design… […]

Every year, Praesidus commemorates D-Day with a string of special releases. This year, on June 6th, it will be 82 years since D-Day took place on the beaches of Normandy. On that day in 1944, a total of 156,000 Allied troops successfully stormed the French beaches during Operation Overlord. For this year’s releases, Preasidus releases […] Visit Praesidus Commemorates The 82nd Anniversary Of D-Day With The A-11 LMUV — Featuring Dials Made From Willys MB Jeeps to read the full article.

Cars have inspired watches for decades, and pilot watches are literally a category of their own – even video games and roulette tables have found their way into watch design. Cigars, however, remain a far less common source of inspiration, although Bell & Ross is no stranger to this theme. Over the past two decades, […]

Celebrating 10 years of hugging wrists, the Bulova Curv finally bends to the demands of its collector base.

While a recurring thing for the watch industry in recent years, collaborations are relatively rare at Piaget, especially for limited-edition pieces tied to external partners. Yet strengthening one’s position in the markets doesn’t hurt, and the brand now joins forces with Wristcheck, a Hong Kong-based platform founded by Austen Chu in 2020, for a new […]

For episode 42 of the SJX Podcast, we visited Roventa-Henex chief executive Jérôme Biard at the company’s secretive manufacture in the sleepy Swiss village of Tavannes. The discussion covers the emergence of the ‘micro-brand’ (including whether that term is still relevant), the factors facing the Swiss watch industry today, the role suppliers play in shaping trends, and what it takes to start a watch company. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  

We have come to know IFL Watches for its modern hand-painted dials, often inspired by colorful street art. But what if you let the artists at IFLW have a crack at something a bit more classical? We know that Venezianico is a proud Italian brand that celebrates its Venetian roots with every release. If you […] Visit Bringing Classic Art To The Wrist With The IFLW × Venezianico Redentore L’Odalisca to read the full article.

H. Moser & Cie. expands its selection of chronographs with the Endeavour Flyback Chronograph Dual Time Date, adding convenient complications to the impressive chronograph calibre found in the Streamliner collection. Despite the presence of a chronograph and a second time zone display, the Endeavour Flyback could easily pass for a time-only watch at a glance thanks to its central minutes counter and discreet dual-time disc. Initial thoughts The central-minutes chronograph is an inherently appealing format. Not only does it reduce dial clutter by eliminating a sub-dial, but it improves legibility by allowing the elapsed minutes to be read on the same 60-minute scale the eye is accustomed to from reading the time. I’m also a fan of the AgenGraphe platform that underpins the HMC 730 movement. The movement architecture — which has now been around for almost a decade — reveals fresh thinking about how a horizontal clutch can work, and the visual layout is appropriately dynamic for a high-end watch with plenty of visible springs and levers, many of which are pleasingly thin in form. All that is to say the Endeavour Flyback has a lot going for it even before considering Moser’s minimalist aesthetic choices. As we’ve come to expect from the brand, the dial is sterile — lacking a brand logo or wordmark — and there’s a gradient fumé finish on the central disc that indicates the second time zone. These details are enough to mark the watch as a Moser product, which sp...

Spend enough time around watch enthusiasts, and you’ll notice an interesting pattern. While discussions often revolve around the usual heavy hitters, at some point, seasoned collectors begin searching for something different. People can become tired of wearing the same pieces as everyone else. Yet, they crave an elegant everyday watch and perhaps something that prioritizes […] Visit What Makes A Truly Elegant Everyday Watch? to read the full article.

A classically designed watch that brings practical complications and elegance into one affordable package.

Released in Watches & Wonders 2026, here is our hands-on review of the new Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time Cardinal Points .

2026 is proving to be a big year in one rather specific field of watchmaking. Of course, there are countless new releases throughout each year, but it’s always fun to see trends, innovations and new developments arise. And as if the stars aligned for chronograph watchmaking, we have had some stellar new ones this year […]

Jaeger-LeCoultre builds on last year’s smash-hit Reverso Tribute Monoface “Or Deco” in 18K pink gold with five new models. The simple yet clever addition of an 18K pink gold Milanese mesh bracelet renewed interest in this classic design. By pairing the case and dial with a matching metal bracelet, the Reverso regained its original essence. […] Visit Introducing: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface “Or Deco” Series to read the full article.

Highlighting its signature colour, "Seiko Blue", both divers feature blue bezels and seconds hands against a silver-white dial.

Welcome to another Sunday Morning Showdown! This week, we pit two Bioceramic hype monsters against each other. Daan defends the original Omega × Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch. Thomas counters with the recent Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop. Which collaborative Swatch model did it better? Let’s see! The Royal Pop retails for €385 or €400, depending […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop Vs. Omega × Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch to read the full article.