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Two Broke Watch Snobs
This new iteration of the LIMES Endurance GMT features the same updates that the flagship Endurance II dive model received. You can think of it as the Endurance II with a GMT hand. Differences that I've noted...
Quill & Pad
The Odysseus is the culmination of both a transformative journey for Lange and a watch that collectors and connoisseurs of the brand have been wanting, waiting for, dreaming about, and clamoring for since the brand was re-founded in 1994: a daily wearer by A. Lange & Söhne in hardy stainless steel. And here it is.
Deployant
BREAKING: Lange announces entry into the luxury sports watch genre: the A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus. Here is the definitive review of the new release.
Revolution
Fans of one of the world’s pioneering diving watches will have reason to join the queue straight away – the latest Blancpain Fifty is drop-dead gorgeous.
Quill & Pad
If you are into watches and in the New York area, you'll want to check out WatchTime New York held in Manhattan’s stylish Gotham Hall on Saturday and Sunday, 25-26 October, 2019. Here Sabine Zwettler highlights a few of her favorite pieces on show there.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
All but one variant of the 1970 is currently sold out with one, the 40mm orange, often asking significant markups above retail in the secondary market. This review will focus on that particular model.
Revolution
We speak to Rolex Testimonee and marine biologist Sylvia Earle in this episode of the Revolution Watch Podcast. We also ask: what’s happening to SIHH?
Revolution
It’s a wide spread that includes pickings from near every genre of watch collecting. We pick a tiny sample of lots to be auctioned this coming weekend.
SJX Watches
The only independent watchmaker in Hungary, Aaron Becsei, or more properly Becsei Áron, has created a distinctive style for his eponymous brand, Bexei – ornate, Gothic engraving; a double-ellipse case; and top-class movement finishing. His latest creation, a custom and unique grande and petite sonnerie wristwatch named Vox Vinum, is all of the above, except in a more conventional round case. Created at the behest of an important, Asian collector of independent watchmaking, the grande sonnerie took more than a year to complete. It is the first, and so far only, striking watch ever produced by Bexei. The Vox Vinum The grand sonnerie A grande et petite sonnerie – French for “large and small strike” – is widely regarded as the pinnacle of mechanical watchmaking. Also known as a clockwatch, it strikes the hours and quarters en passant, as they pass. And it is also a minute repeater, being able to chime the time on demand. Modern day grande sonnerie wristwatches are exceedingly rare – the number of watchmakers having produced one can be counted on both hands. The most notable makers of grande sonnerie wristwatches are Patek Philippe with its Grandmaster Chime, F.P. Journe with the recently discontinued Sonnerie Souverain, and Greubel Forsey as well as Vacheron Constantin, both of which use the same base movement in their respective grande sonnerie wristwatches. But the pioneers in the field were Philippe Dufour in 1992, and followed shortly after by Gerald Gen...
Quill & Pad
Some addresses are legendary, and one of them is 9 Curzon Street in Mayfair, London. Established in 1875, it is the home of Geo. F. Trumper, which has grown in a little over a century into a British icon (helped in no small part by Bond, James Bond). Here, Martin Green takes a deep breath and dives into the fragrant world of Geo. F. Trumper.
Deployant
We reviewed the new Bell & Ross BR 05 earlier. And now give you wallpapers of the BR 05 Skeleton version, and our further thoughts..
Revolution
For those driven to near madness or abject depression by the inadequacies of traditional watch rolls, take heart, the dog days are o-over…
SJX Watches
The third important vintage Rolex – in my opinion – at Phillips’ upcoming Geneva auction, after the ref. 4113 split-seconds chronograph and mint ref. 8171 “Padellone”, is the ref. 6062 “Stelline” triple calendar that once belonged to Gordon Bethune, the executive best known for turning around Continental Airlines during his decade-long tenure starting in 1994. The watch a sterling example of the ref. 6062 – and will sell for well over a million dollars – but it is also notable for what it says about the development of the vintage watch market. Now 78 and retired, though he pops up regularly on CNBC to comment on the airline industry, Mr Bethune accumulated his watch collection over two decades. He sold the bulk of it in 2012, but remains probably the only famous business executive known to have collected watches in a serious fashion (another is perhaps former Hollywood talent agent Michael Ovitz, though he more widely regarded as an important collector of contemporary art). Mr Bethune’s collection was inclined towards great, even some of the best, examples of important, uncommon and desirable watches, rather than extraordinarily or unique models. So he owned one of the best-preserved, all-original examples of the ref. 6062s “Stelline”, rather than say a well-worn ref. 6062 with a black, diamond-marker dial. It was a cold day in December… The Gordon Bethune Collection of Fifty Exceptional Vintage Wristwatches took place in December 2012 at Christi...
Hodinkee
Grand Seiko and more, including the man behind the newest version of the 44GS case.
Hodinkee
Phillips smashes it out of the park with a killer collection of ready-to-buy vintage Swatch watches.
SJX Watches
First introduced five years ago with dials in solid, metallic colours, Glashütte Original has jazzed up the Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date with fumé dials featuring a graduated finish. Available either in green or grey fumé, the new edition is limited to 100 pieces each. Like the Sixties range of more classically shaped watches, the Seventies is a heavily retro line inspired by the experimental decade that’s best remembered for the birth of the luxury-sports-watch (and not much else, at least for now). The Seventies watches are typical of that decade’s style, characterised by square, stainless-steel cases and integrated bracelets. The chronograph has a television-shaped case that measures a chunky 40mm wide and 14.1mm in height. Like all of Glashütte Original’s recent, interesting dials, the fumé dials are produced by the former Th. Muller dial factory in Pforzheim that’s owned by its parent, the Swatch Group. Creating the smoked finish starts with the decorative sunray brushing applied to a German silver dial base with a rotating brass brush. The base then undergoes galvanisation before several coats of green or grey lacquer are applied. And finally, to achieve the graduated finish that darkens towards the edges, black lacquer is carefully applied to the edges with a spray gun, creating a slightly irregular dark border, then it is dried in a kiln. Mechanically, the watches are identical to the stock models; they are powered by the automatic chronograph...
WatchAdvice
Zenith’s reputation for developing groundbreaking technology and movements in their watches have once again been redeemed with the release of the Zenith Defy Inventor. Back in 1969, Zenith first released the El Primero self-winding chronograph movement. To this day after slight tweaks, it is still being used in their El Primero line of watches. The El Primero movement is regarded as one of the finest movements in the watchmaking industry, succeeding in having a high frequency while putting out a power reserve of approximately 50 hours. In 2017, Zenith once again manufactured a timepiece that would be revolutionary for not only the brand but the watch industry as a whole. The Defy Lab contains what Zenith claims as the world’s most accurate mechanical movement. Operating at 15Hz, the movement in the Defy Lab is much faster than most mechanical watches in the industry, including the brands very own El Primero movement, which operates at roughly 5Hz. What made the Defy Lab so special was the proprietary “Zenith Oscillator” developed Guy Semon from LMVH. The Zenith Oscillator in a nutshell, takes into consideration real-world scenarios, which includes environmental and temperature changes, vibration and also shocks. The Zenith Defy Lab, however, was limited to a run of 10 “piece unique” watches, which meant that the general public would find it hard to acquire these impressive timepieces. Fast forward to Baselworld 2019, where Zenith released the Defy Invento...
SJX Watches
Following the bestselling G-Shock 5000-series “Full Metal”, Casio recently unveiled another variant of the iconic DW-5600, but now capped with a steel bezel cover, the GM-5600. It’s essentially a budget version of the “Full Metal”, offering a similar look for less than half the price. Introduced in 1987, four years after the launch of the first ever G-Shock, the DW-5000, the DW-5600 retained the look and construction of the original, but with an improved electronic module and a dial that did away with the brick pattern found on the original. Since then, the DW-5600 has has been issued in an bewildering array of colours and styles, but the latest iteration marks the first time the model gets a steel cladding on the front. It is available in three iterations: stainless steel (GM-5600-1), black ion-plated steel with a black dial (GM-5600B-1), and black ion-plated steel with an military green, camo-pattern dial (GM-5600B-3). As with the standard DW-5600 (and all other G-Shocks), the new watch has a double case construction made up of an inner resin case covered in a steel outer case, preserving the signature shock resistance and 200m depth rating of the G-Shock, while keeping it lighter than the “Full Metal” model. The outer steel case features a bezel with a vertically brushed finish, nearly identical visually to the found on the steel “Full Metal”. Size-wise, the GM-5600 is a tad bigger than the standard resin DW-5600 at 49.6mm by 43.2mm on the front, ...
Hodinkee
As the El Primero turns 50, take a look back at the story of its birth and the man that protected its very existence.
Deployant
Following last week's topic on Tastebreakers, we take a look yet again at six watch recommendations consisting of watches that are often overlooked by many.
Deployant
First introduced in 1961, the Seiko Alpinist was a significant milestone in the brand’s history. It was the first ‘Sports Watch’ for the brand, with the intention of it becoming a reliable timepiece for Japanese mountain climbers. These men required a tough and rugged that could be used in the rough terrain.
Quill & Pad
“I have no secrets as past watchmakers had. There are graveyards full of secrets and that’s enough.” – Philippe Dufour, 2014
SJX Watches
A long snaking building that stretches some 240m, the new Swatch headquarters in Biel, or Bienne in French, is the culmination of five years of work. Selling about 9.5m watches a year for about 450m Swiss francs of revenue, according to Swiss bank Vontobel, Swatch was the foundational company of its parent, the aptly named Swatch Group, which also owns Omega and Longines. Like many of its parent company’s recent projects, the Swatch building was designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, the 2014 Pritzker Prize winner who is best known for his works of wood or paper, as well as his temporary structures for humanitarian aid. Its new home is covered in a honeycomb timber grid that incorporates windows, nine balconies and solar panels. Visible from the inside is the Swatch logo, derived from the Swiss cross, incorporated into some of the grid’s cells. And hidden within the structure is a network of wires and cables for telecommunications, electricity and the like. The Swatch headquarters, with the Omega building at the far left The Swatch building ends in La Cite du Temps, which sits in front of the Omega factory and headquarters Shigeru Ban, Nayla Hayek, and Nick Hayek Jr at the opening ceremony on October 3, 2019 The glass-walled Swatch store in front of the new headquarters With the new headquarters in the background Light, flexible and sustainable, the timber beams used for the outer structure number some 4,600, all precisely cut to fit with join with each other per...
SJX Watches
Founded in 2004 and selling its watches solely online, Christopher Ward has done some interesting watches at affordable prices, most notably the hand-wound, mono-pusher chronograph of 2017. But its latest is more straightforward: a range of watches inspired by vintage British military-issue timepieces. Unusally, the new models are licensed by the British Ministry of Defence to bear “the insignia of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force” for public sale. While not actual military-issue watches, the line draws on well-known watches once supplied to the arms of the British armed forces, with the army and air force models managing to best capture the look of the originals. Christopher Ward, admirably, cites the exact vintage inspiration for each of the new watches, so the new dive watch, for instance, is loosely based on the Omega Seamaster 300 supplied to the Royal Navy. All three new watches have a “glass box” sapphire crystal, and are powered by a COSC-certified Sellita SW200, a robust and cost-efficient automatic movement. Each model is named after the respective training academy for the service arm, starting with the C65 Dartmouth. It’s named after Britannia Royal Naval College, which sits beside the port of Dartmouth in southern England. The case is steel, 41mm, and rated to 150m. According to the brand, it is modelled on the Omega Seamaster 300 “Big Triangle”, a specific type of the dive watch that Omega supplied to the Royal Navy...
Hodinkee
We're back with a round up of tempting vintage watches from around the web to carry you into the weekend.
Revolution
There are only a handful of brands who specialise in such items, one of which is Rapport, founded in 1898 by an ambitious 20-year-old watchmaker by the name of Maurice A. Rapport.
SJX Watches
Organised in conjunction with retailer Sincere Fine Watches, Inside IWC History is a walkthrough the milestones of IWC, explained with a series of important watches from the brand’s museum. Happening at the Ngee Ann City mall from now till October 27, the exhibition is the largest to date held by the brand in Southeast Asia, with some 18 watches on show. The watches detail the three key families of IWC – Portuguese, Pilot’s Watches and Portofino – tracing the lineage with landmark watches. From the legendary Mark 11 to the Portugieser ref. 325, the exhibition showcases some of the most iconic vintage IWC watches, but also includes more recent watches, most notably from the Portofino line-up, which is one of the newest creations. The timepieces on show are an instructive guide through which the brand’s current watches can be better understood. The Portofino line-up, including the significant ref. 5251 (centre) The first “special watch for pilots” Wristwatches designed specifically for aviation have defined most of IWC’s 151-year history, and it all began in 1936 with the “special watch for pilots”. Ernst Jakob Homberger, then the managing director of IWC, had two sons who were aviation enthusiasts and licensed pilots, so he decided to produce a watch purpose-built for aviation. Even though it was intended for civil aviation, the watch was notably robust and advanced. Sometimes known as the “Mark IX” by enthusiasts, it had a 37.5mm steel case fitt...
SJX Watches
Founded in Scotland five years ago by industrial designer Lewis Heath, Anordain is one of the most unusual “microbrands” as it managed to master – straight out of the gate – one of watchmaking’s most prized crafts: vitreous enamel, often known as grand feu enamel in Swiss watchmaking. As a result, the brand manages to offer some of the most affordable watches with fired enamel dials, mostly priced under US$1500. Following the success of the inaugural Model 1 last year, the brand has just unveiled the Model 2, a compact, hand-wound, two-hander with a modern, minimalist design. Most notably, two versions of the watch feature a fired, translucent enamel done over a hammered surface. Like all Anordain’s standard enamel dials, the new hammered, enamel dial is done in-house. Located in Glasgow’s East End, Anordain’s workshop includes its own three-person team of enamellers that can produce eight to nine dials a week, usually in bright, unusual colours such as pink or a translucent bottle green. Design nuances Inspired by classic field watches – the no-nonsense wristwatches made for armies in the first half of the 20th century – the Model 2 was designed entirely in-house, from the case to the typography and hands. And just like vintage field watches that are small by modern standards, the Model 2 measures a discreet 36mm in diameter and 11mm in height. Its balanced proportions are indeed reminiscent of field watches, albeit in a more refined and formal ma...
SJX Watches
Invented by pioneering independent watchmaker Vincent Calabrese in 1980 – whose specialty remains intriguing shaped movements – the Golden Bridge has become a Corum signature – a tiny, baguette-shaped movement suspended in watch cases of varying shapes and sizes. Despite being almost 40 years old, the Golden Bridge remains an impressive feat of movement construction, and one that is not as highly regarded as it should be. The latest iteration of the watch is the Golden Bridge Round 43 Art Deco, which installs the Golden Bridge movement in a conventional, round case, but frames it on both sides with sets of brass wires, evoking the cables of suspension bridges. Two versions are available: one with gilded wires and a yellow gold movement, the other with rhodium-plated wires and a matching movement. Mechanically the CO 113 movement is identical to that found in earlier versions. Taking its name literally, the movement has its bridges and main plate in solid 18k gold. It was born out of Mr Calabrese’s original design – which was delicate and finicky – having been reengineered about a decade ago by Laurent Besse, an independent watchmaker who formerly worked for Corum after his own workshop went bust. The case is a large 43mm and made of titanium coated in diamond-like carbon (DLC), giving it a glossy black finish. Its size means it loses the delicate elegance of the originals, which were all contained in narrow, rectangular cases, but conversely the round cas...
Hodinkee
It might be time for some new records. Or maybe not. Who really knows?
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