Two Broke Watch Snobs
The Best Pilot Watches For The Price
Explore the best pilot watches for the money with each pick tested, worn, and reviewed over years of hands-on experience.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Explore the best pilot watches for the money with each pick tested, worn, and reviewed over years of hands-on experience.
Hodinkee
The latest Legacy Machine Flying T is a partnership with hotshot jewelry designer Emmanuel Tarpin (the man behind Rihanna's earrings). And it provides an important lesson in how to make gem-set watches with rigor and imagination.
Sandwich dials have always commanded a sense of mystery and luxury, with very few brands dipping their toes into the genre despite its popularity. Omega surprised many with its release of a second generation for the Omega Speedmaster ’57 in 2022, now featuring a sandwich dial construction against any semblance of vintage accuracy. Whether or … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: Inside the Omega Speedmaster ’57’s sandwich dial appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
Kick off your 2023 in style with a selection of curated vintage watches from the likes of Rolex, Blancpain, Lange, and more.
Deployant
We take a look at a solid diver's watch, albeit from a less-known watch brand. Cue the robust and reliable German-made Dievas Maya MK III.
Time+Tide
While the new year is often a time that enthusiasts admire how their collection has grown, mine drastically shrunk last year. After I sold my favourite watch in January for a variety of reasons, as discussed in this article, I was left re-evaluating my other watches alongside my priorities. As of now, my collection consists … ContinuedThe post The three watches Buffy wore most in 2022: Seiko, Citizen and Omega appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Twenty twenty-three marks the 70th anniversary of Blancpain’s landmark dive watch, the Fifty Fathoms. Introduced in 1953, the diver was revived in 2003. Kicking off the commemorative editions is the Fifty Fathoms “70th Anniversary Act 1”, the first instalment in a year’s worth of anniversary models. Like the current model, the “Act 1” is inspired by the vintage model, but sports dimensions patterned after the original from seven decades ago, with a reduced case diameter of just over 42 mm. Initial thoughts The familiar form of the modern dive watch is due in part to the Fifty Fathoms – whether that or the Rolex Submariner was launched first is an endless debate – so it is unsurprising that Blancpain’s current catalogue includes a vast array of Fifty Fathoms-inspired timepieces. Thankfully, Blancpain has done something to cater to watch enthusiasts with the anniversary model that has a smaller diameter, perhaps in response to criticism that the closest equivalent in the line-up is 45 mm wide (Blancpain does offer dive watches with smaller cases, but they are either limited editions or the Bathyscaphe). Even though the anniversary watch is broadly similar to the standard Fifty Fathoms in terms of design, it has been refined and arguably improved, especially on the dial. Blancpain skipped the easy route of copying the earlier model and scaling it down. Instead the designers commendably captured the spirit of the original with the vintage typography un...
Quill & Pad
Mars is a planet with a lot of mystery, its red sand surface occupying the dreams of those who ache to set foot on its surface. For watch enthusiasts who want to make waiting until that happens a bit more bearable, Christiaan van der Klaauw introduces the Planetarium Dunes of Mars.
Time+Tide
Swiss luxury powerhouse Hublot has long been known for their outsize watches for outsize personalities. The man responsible for the brand’s rise to fame, Jean-Claude Biver, always had a knack for making a big splash, none bigger than Hublot’s Big Bang line. Since its introduction in 2005, the Big Bang has been produced in a … ContinuedThe post The Hublot Big Bang Sapphire sits at the bleeding edge of technology and opulence appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Independent watchmaking has been gaining rapid momentum in the last three years. Young and talented watchmakers have emerged to seek recognition (and sometimes riches) in the mould of Philippe Dufour, Kari Voutilainen, and François-Paul Journe. Now the field is about to get the nod of approval from the luxury-goods establishment, with Louis Vuitton having announced the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives. Conceived to promote “horological creativity”, the award begins in 2023 with a broad remit. It is open to anyone in watchmaking and watch design, and even from fields related to horology. Initial thoughts As the world’s largest luxury brand, Louis Vuitton has unsurprisingly been making high-end watches for some time – last year was the 20th anniversary of its first mechanical wristwatch. Following its acquisition of Geneva movement maker La Fabrique du Temps in 2012, the brand’s ambitions have grown, resulting in impressively complicated watches like the Tambour Carpe Diem, a minute repeater with automaton. From that perspective, the Louis Vuitton prize is a natural extension of the brand’s progress as a watchmaker, a way for Louis Vuitton to make known its commitment to high-end watchmaking. The fact that Louis Vuitton is using its considerable resources – the brand’s 2021 revenue was in the region of €15 billion – to support independent watchmakers is a welcome development. The prize money is substantial, reputedly in the low six ...
Revolution
Wei speaks one-on-one with Felix Baumgartner, a panelist from our Legends of Independent Watchmaking Horological Symposium at Geneva Watch Days 2022, to look back at the highs and the lows of the last 25 years of URWERK. Felix, a master watchmaker, co-founded URWERK with designer Martin Frei in 1997 and the duo have been upending […]
Revolution
Time+Tide
A couple of years ago, the watch world became flooded with a sea of green. Dials were awash with the colour in multiple shades – from the Patek Phillippe Nautilus in a metallic shade of olive to the mossy hue of the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight 18k. Green was the undisputed colour of the year. The … ContinuedThe post What will be the watch colour of the year in 2023? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
CP Time cofounder Albert Coombs walks us through his Pateks, Rolex, and a precious family watch.
Deployant
The Armin Strom Tribute 1 Rose Gold is the first Tribute 1 watch to be crafted in precious metal, adding more elegance to the brand's "dressiest" watch yet.
Time+Tide
Editor’s note: During one of our final editorial meetings of the year, the question was posed: which watch brand won 2022? This then raises the question of what it means to win. Is it total revenue? Likes on social media? Page views on our site? The number of watch spots in the wild? There is no one … ContinuedThe post Which watch brand won 2022? Zach picks Cartier – here’s why… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
In an unexpected, end-of-year announcement, Audemars Piguet unveiled the Code 11.59 Starwheel, reviving the wandering hours complication that had been absent from its catalogue since 2003. Inspired by a 17th century clock, the wandering hours made its way into wristwatches thanks to Audemars Piguet (AP), which debuted the first wristwatch with the display in 1991. Retaining the familiar three-disc hour display, the new Starwheel is nonetheless an entirely different watch from the compact original. Powered by an in-house movement contained in the Code 11.59 case, the Starwheel has physical presence by virtue of its size, but also a surprising degree of refinement thanks to the excellent finishing of the dial and case. Initial thoughts With a modern look defined by dark colours and instrument-like numerals, the Code 11.59 Starwheel looks pretty much the same as it does in photos – but it is far more appealing than expected. In the metal the watch has an impressive degree of visual detail, particularly the polished bevels on the dial components, and a reassuringly solid feel, all of which give it a great deal of tactile appeal. The refinement in terms of visual detail also translates into the movement, which is in-house both in terms of the base and module. Although it functions identically to the original Star Wheel, the Code 11.59 model has an improved display mechanism. Instead of the periodic rotation found in the original model, the discs rotate continually throughout ...
Time+Tide
Two dive watches have long battled for the title of the original diver’s watch: the Rolex Submariner and the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Technicalities can drag this debate into murky deep waters, but irrefutably the pair are the founding blueprints of what we all expect from a dive watch. Born in 1953, the Fifty Fathoms has … ContinuedThe post What is so special about the new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 1? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
First, let's all agree on what that term even means. Second, let's welcome them into our lives.
Time+Tide
We’ve already counted down our top 5 from our Micro-Mondays series in 2022, but the independent goodness just keeps on coming. Each passing year sees these nimble microbrands continuing to innovate where larger companies can’t, driving trends and keeping prices attainable. If someone is looking to get into the watch hobby without spending a heap of … ContinuedThe post Our favourite Micro Mondays from 2022: Part 2 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
One Sunday morning, I was sitting on the couch having a New York Times mini-crossword race with my brother. It was a pretty close battle, luck of the prompts really, where he got caught up on one of the clues allowing me to come from behind and complete it before him. But in the silent … ContinuedThe post Time+Tide Weekend Watch Crossword 2022 recap part two (#15-28) appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
It's called the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Rose Gold Ruby. And it taught me a thing or two about New Year's resolutions.
Time+Tide
Ah, the French. So stylish, yet so understated. I’m generalising, of course, but if you were ever searching for a watch with a vintage elegance that whispers, but never shouts, France’s Baltic has found their voice. Their Aquascaphe diver is pure mid-century perfection, familiar without ever seeming blatantly derivative. Oh, you’ll catch little glimpses of Blancpain’s … ContinuedThe post The Baltic Aquascaphe continues to sell out on a regular basis. Here’s why… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
We usher in the new year with Grail Watch 4, a dream collaboration between Bell & Ross, the brand that became a modern icon of the military-inspired genre and Alain Silberstein, an iconoclast of design that introduced the abstract to the world of watches. Both of our collaborators were pioneers in breaking the mold within […]
Revolution
Drop it like it’s hot – the first Grail Watch of 2023 will be unveiled shortly. Official announcement coming real soon, don’t miss it! Follow GrailWatchOfficial and check out GrailWatch.com for the latest on Grail Watch 4.
Quill & Pad
From the torrent of really well done watch photos appearing on Instagram and other media these days, it appears as though lots of watch enthusiasts have been spending at least some of their time in COVID-19-induced shutdowns polishing their macro photography and wrist shooting. And GaryG is among them. Here he shares a few of the thousands of photos he has taken recently using a new-to-him flash style.
Deployant
We take a break today to celebrate the new year. Happy New Year for a great 2023 from all of us at Deployant. We will be back tomorrow.
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