Two Broke Watch Snobs
Seiko’s New ‘Motoring’ Speedtimer Channels Vintage Rolex Energy for Under $1,000
The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer “Motoring” channels vintage Rolex Daytona vibes with a cream dial, steel bezel, and affordable sub-$1K price.
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Two Broke Watch Snobs
The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer “Motoring” channels vintage Rolex Daytona vibes with a cream dial, steel bezel, and affordable sub-$1K price.
Worn & Wound
American watchmaking was, at one point in time, the largest in the world. In an era before Swiss domination, watches from the United States were prized for their accuracy and sophistication. Names like Waltham, Elgin, and Gruen - once prolific - have all but disappeared through the rapidly changing social and economic structures of the twentieth century. Then there is Hamilton. American watchmaking was, at one point in time, the largest in the world. In an era before Swiss domination, watches from the United States were prized for their accuracy and sophistication. Names like Waltham, Elgin, and Gruen - once prolific - have all but disappeared through the rapidly changing social and economic structures of the twentieth century. Then there is Hamilton. The post A History and Guide to Hamilton appeared first on Worn & Wound.
Teddy Baldassarre
Switzerland is the modern world’s center of watchmaking, with Germany a distant but respectable second in Europe and Japan having long staked out its own spot as the premier watch producer in Asia. Great Britain and the U.S.A., while no longer world leaders, both have a proud history of watchmaking and maintain a small but steadily growing cottage industry in the modern era. But France has its own respectable horological heritage, centered around the commune of Besançon (below), which borders Switzerland’s own heartland of watchmaking, the Vallée de Joux. France was, in fact, a home for many historically significant watchmakers and clockmakers, including Julien Cordray, Jean-Antoine Lépine, Ferdinand Berthoud, and Abraham-Louis Breguet (actually born in the Prussian principality that would become Neuchâtel, Switzerland, but renowned as a Paris-based watchmaker to French royalty). The latter three all plied their trade in workshops on Place Dauphine at the western tip of Paris' Île de la Cité in the Seine. Watchmaking was a thriving industry in France for a century, up until KIng Louis XIV’s (below) revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which ushered in the religious persecution of Huguenot watchmakers, who fled to Switzerland to essentially establish that nation as a horological power. The French Revolution in the 18th Century, which halted the sales of luxury goods like watches in France, further eroded the country’s watch industry, and it has never ...
Teddy Baldassarre
Tissot is one of the world's largest Swiss watchmakers and can look back on a rich history upon which it is still building today. In the modern era, Tissot is widely known for its large and diverse portfolio of watches, which ranges from dressy to sporty to high-tech, for its high-profile sports timing presence, and for its incredible value for the money. But there is a lot more that you may not know about Tissot and its many contributions to watchmaking history. Here, we delve into the highlights and tackle the easily answerable question of "are Tissot watches good?". (And if you're interested in learning more about particular Tissot Watches that are available now, check out our companion article on the Best Tissot Watches for Men.) Tissot’s Watchmaking Milestones Began in 1853 Tissot is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world, tracing its history back to 1853. Its founders were the father-son watchmaking team of Charles-Félicien and Charles-Émile Tissot, who turned their home in the Swiss Jura town of Le Locle, where the company remains headquartered today, into a small factory. By 1858, the family firm had gained a major foothold in Tsarist Russia, which became the largest market for the savonette pocket watches that were its specialty at the time. (At one point, Charles-Émile’s son, Charles Tissot, the third generation of the Tissot family to join the business, moved to Moscow to open an office there.) Tissot is recognized as the producer of the first...
Teddy Baldassarre
Panda-dial watches - a category of chronographs that derive their nickname from their two-tone dial colorways, generally defined by black subdials on a white main dial - have gone from a niche favorite to a widely popular genre for collectors and enthusiasts, who prize their high-contrast sharpness and legibility. Even in an era of watchmaking when bolder and brighter colorways seem more dominant than ever, there is something about the black-and-white simplicity of pandas, and their mirror-image cousins, the so-called “reverse pandas” (white subdials on black dial), that still strike a chord. Here are 18 of our favorites. Dan Henry 1964 Chronograph Price: $300, Case Size: 38mm, Thickness: 12.9mm, Lug-to-Lug: 44.7mm, Lug Width: 19mm, Water Resistance: 50 meters, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Seiko VK63 Mechaquartz A longtime watch collector, and founder of the historical-watch website Timeline Watch, Dan Henry established his eponymous watch brand in 2016, inspired by his extensive collection of vintage pieces to produce contemporary watches with recognizably retro design language. Each Dan Henry watch model is limited and numbered, and named after the year from which it draws its main aesthetic influence. The mechaquartz-powered 1964 Gran Turismo Chronograph brings to mind iconic racing watches born in the ‘60s like the Heuer Carrera and Rolex Daytona, and Dan Henry makes it in both 36mm and 38mm case sizes, with either a two- or three-register dial design, with o...
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Fratello
The watch market may be experiencing a relatively sluggish period, but that hasn’t stopped the revival and relaunch of several high-end brands. While the overall market may be quiet, the upper end is still going strong. Amidst this, Urban Jürgensen, the famed brand from Copenhagen, is now entering its third era. Daniel Roth and Universal […] Visit Urban Jürgensen - A Luxury Brand Revival Done Right to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
The Certina DS Action Diver 38mm is a dive watch that has been largely off the radar of many U.S. watch enthusiasts until somewhat recently but is having a moment in our current era, in which sporty utility, striking colorways, value for money, and understated sizing reign supreme in the watch market. How much do you know about the DS Action Diver, including the meaning of “DS,” or about the not-so-famous but very historic Swiss watch brand that produced it? Read on, and you’ll be up to speed. Origins Of Certina Certina traces its roots to 1888, but it wasn’t called Certina back then. That year, a pair of Swiss brothers, Adolf and Alfred Kurth, set up a watchmaking workshop in an annex to their family home in the town of Grenchen (above), initially, to make movements and parts to sell to other watch companies in the region. By 1906, however, they were making enough of their own complete timepieces that they introduced a brand name: Grana, which was a shortened version of the Latin word “Granatus,” referring to Grenchen. The early Grana watches found success, but for several years the Kurth brothers continued to also make and supply movements to other companies; the name “Certina” - another Latin-derived word, from “certus,” for “sure” or “certain” - began appearing on the company’s timepieces in the 1930s. The name, which was also easier to pronounce than “Grana” in more languages, was registered in 1933 and eventually became the c...
Fratello
The 39.5mm Formex “Baby” Reef represents, to me, the sort of value for money we were once accustomed to with Tudor’s Black Bay series in the COVID era. Although that was just a few short years ago, Tudor is moving upmarket, allowing brands like Formex, Longines, and Sinn to sweep in and fill its former […] Visit Do Tudor’s Price Increases Create More Space For Players Like Formex, Longines, And Sinn? to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
The Longines Legend Diver, introduced in the mid-aughts but tracing its origins all the way back to the embryonic era of modern dive watches in the 1950s and ‘60s, is the epitome of retro-vintage cool for many lovers of sport watches. Here’s how the watch, and its hallmark and still-rare Super Compressor case design, found a successful niche, and an avid audience, in the 21st century. 1959: The Inspiration As with many now-common watchmaking innovations, Longines was one of the pioneers in waterproofing timepieces, making its first water-resistant case as early as 1937, and introducing its first wristwatches purpose-built for recreational diving in the late 1950s. Unlike many of its predecessors and contemporaries in that fertile era of iconic dive watches - like the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, Rolex Submariner (both 1953), and Omega Seamaster Professional (1957) - Longines’s Super Compressor Diver Ref. 7042, launched in 1959 and the most direct ancestor of today’s Legend Diver - did not employ the now-ubiquitous, external, unidirectional rotating bezel for its dive scale. Instead, the watch was designed in the so-called compressor style, also used by brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre, Enicar, and Universal Genève, whose case design included an inner dive-scale ring, positioned on the dial’s flange and mounted under the crystal, which rotated in both directions, operated by an additional crown at 4 o’clock. The “Super” in Longines’ “Super Compressor”...
Teddy Baldassarre
Of all the vintage-style watches that are all the rage today - and there are plenty of them - perhaps none are more charmingly retro in their appeal than watches with a soft-square “TV” case. Not only is the shape itself evocative of a bygone era in watch design, but even its descriptor is hopelessly dated. When was the last time, after all, that you encountered a TV set that actually had that shape? It’s similar to the way we still call our smart devices “phones,” even if we aren’t really making telephone calls on them much anymore. But I digress. The gist here is that Mido was one of the first watchmakers to lean into the “TV” shape for its timepieces, with its first one debuting all the way back in 1973 - that halcyon era when television screens were still square and families gathered around them to watch All in the Family, The Waltons, and Hawaii Five-O. In 2023, 50 years later and well into the modern era of flat-screens and video streaming, Mido brought back the TV case in an extension of its Multifort collection, first in all-steel versions and eventually in the rose-gold-PVD-coated steel model we showcase here. The Multifort TV Big Date represents the latest intriguing evolution of the Multifort series, which is actually one of the brand’s oldest product families, the first model having debuted as early as 1934 - long before most American homes even had television sets, in fact. In addition to its three-part case, which measures an alm...
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Monochrome
Gold has always been a representation of prosperity, grandeur, and divinity. It’s also long been associated with wisdom and is, of course, a symbol of achievement in sports or academics. It can also refer to a peak period in time or once life in cultural references such as the golden age or golden era. In […]
SJX Watches
The spring auction season is getting underway with the first sale being Phillips’ The Geneva Sessions Spring 2025 taking place online until March 12. The online auction is a warm-up for the Geneva live auction taking place in May, but the 70-lot sale nonetheless includes several interesting timepieces, including some unusual examples from the “neo vintage” era. Essentially watches made in the 1990s to the early 2000s, such watches tend to be good value today; 30 years on they still sell for a fraction of the original retail price. One of the best known watches from the era, perhaps even iconic, is the Vacheron Constantin Mercator. A double retrograde with hands taking the form of a compass, the Mercator was introduced in 1994 and produced for a decade. A little over 600 were made with most of them having etched brass dials; less common were the examples with cloisonné enamel dials. The sale includes a Mercator with a map of Portugal dating to 2004, making it one of the final pieces made. Part of a limited edition of just ten watches, this example includes an achieve extract. The Mercator Portugal is lot 19 with an estimate of CHF25,000-50,000. The enamel dial of the Mercator Portugal One of the quirkiest watches in the sale is the Alain Silberstein Kronomedio Saphir. The French designer was the first to employ sapphire crystal for the watch case way back in 1997. An exceptionally expensive watch at the time, the sapphire chronograph illustrated Mr Silberstein’s av...
Time+Tide
These four models evoke the spirit of WWII-era-issued field watches at an affordable price point.The post Canadian microbrand Redwood’s Standard Issue collection are love letters to vintage field watches appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
It's so much more than a carrot at the end of your AD's waitlist. Don't believe me? Ask the drivers who've won a Daytona (and those who haven't).
Teddy Baldassarre
When TAG Heuer released the Carrera “Glassbox” in 2023 it was immediately received as one of the better vintage reinterpretations of the post-pandemic era. Why exactly is it so beloved? Well, first off, it was the first non-limited production or limited edition ‘Glassbox’ Carrera since the line was introduced all the way back in 2015 with the Calibre 18 Telemeter. Then came notable limited editions like the Skipper reissue and 160th anniversary edition. Secondly, the 39mm-wide case with that personality-packed, domed sapphire crystal (aka "Glassbox") struck a good balance between modern manufacturing/finishing and vintage-inspired design. Now as LVMH Watch Week 2025 kicks off, TAG Heuer has released a new Carrera Chronograph "Glassbox" in a striking purple dial that is borrowed from a limited-edition Monaco from 2022. We haven’t seen too many purple-dial watches so far, so it’s savvy for TAG to get in on the ground floor of what could (or just as easily could not) be the next big color at the top of 2025. Personally, I think it looks great and could very well be the most attractive iteration of the Glassbox so far. While I love and admire TAG’s consistent dedication to its vintage-racing-inspired history, it’s so nice to see something that isn’t really steeped in any legacy story but rather just looks cool and stands on its own in the moment. The 39mm wide and 13.86mm-thick case of the Carrera Glassbox (with 100 meters of water resistance) has a 46mm lug-...
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Worn & Wound
I’m a pandemic-era watch enthusiast. Stuck inside along with the rest of the world, I found myself with an unusual amount of time on my hands in the spring of 2020. My interest in watches had been passing at best, reflected in my recent purchase of a quartz Citizen dress watch that, looking back, was likely the most generic version of a bland 3 handed watch available on the entire internet. It was this office-inspired watch (which I was not even allowed to wear to the now-shuttered office) that probably led YouTube’s algorithm to throw a watch review into the mix as it attempted to entertain me for hours on end. Imagine my surprise when my former coworker and Worn and Wound’s own Zach Kazan was on my screen, talking about the water resistance and case diameter of a Seiko. And just like that, I stumbled into an engaged group of local collectors that were more than happy to get a newbie like me up to speed. Sure, it felt like the world was on fire, but at least I had a new hobby and community to distract me as it burned. Stories similar to mine were playing out all over the world as a new wave of enthusiasts used an influx of time (and sometimes money) to give themselves self-curated crash courses in horology. For those of this cohort that still spend their free time reading watch blogs, it’s been a wild ride. We witnessed (and perhaps fueled) the rise of hype culture, the skyrocketing of prices, the divisive power of a plastic Speedmaster and the advent of not one...
Time+Tide
Steve McQueen's Heuer Monaco, a fresh Daytona John Player Special, and a couple of brass Journes.The post Heuer Champions spearhead Sotheby’s Important Watches, with plenty of other heavy hitters and oddities appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
It’s not common for a watch of great rarity related to the Space Race of the Apollo Era to appear in a watch or space auction. Even more uncommon is finding several distinctive examples of rare watches from two premier Swiss brands related to mankind’s voyage to the Moon. Within RR Auction’s current Space Exploration […] Visit Space Watches: Edgar Mitchell’s Rolex GMT-Master 1675 And Dave Scott’s Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 to read the full article.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
If you thought Omega had reached its limit with vintage Speedmaster reissues, think again. Meet the latest revival in the iconic line: the new Omega Speedmaster First Omega in Space Anniversary Series. Powered by the cutting-edge Co-Axial Master Chronometer caliber 3861, this release isn’t just about the movement-it's a nod to a bygone era, with a twist.
SJX Watches
The second wristwatch Francois-Paul Journe ever made and the counterpart to the similar example in the brand’s own museum, the F.P. Journe Tourbillon à Remontoir d’Egalité “15/93” was made by Mr Journe in 1993, by hand naturally. It will be offered by Phillips at its 1990s thematic sale in November (that includes the original Rolex Daytona “Rainbow”), accompanied by associated documents. One of three examples his tourbillon prototype, the watch has all of the telltale signs of a hand-made watch. It also serves as the design template that would later shape the signature F.P. Journe Tourbillon. One of the readily apparent details is the fact that the dial is actually the underside of the base plate. The actual dial, namely the guilloche register at three o’clock, is actually secured by screws on the base plate. With an estimate of over CHF2 million, the 1993 F.P. Journe tourbillon be sold at Reloaded: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking, 1980-1999 that takes place on November 8, 2024 in Geneva at the Hotel President.
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Fratello
This week, Fratello On Air returns with our favorite watches from the ’90s and early ’00s. It’s hard to believe that this period is roughly 30 years old! This was a key era for watches and saw the birth of models that still exist or are highly revered today. Join us as we take a […] Visit Fratello On Air: Our Favorite ’90s And Early ’00s Watches to read the full article.
Time+Tide
A Rolex Daytona and a Sea-Dweller? Most would be lucky to score one at retail. Travis Kelce managed to get both while visiting Taylor Swift.The post Travis Kelce goes on US$63k Rolex shopping spree while visting Taylor Swift in UK appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Teddy Baldassarre
In an era when the line between what is a sports watch and what is a dress watch have been blurred substantially, the presence of Roman numerals on your watch’s dial is one of the last reliable hallmarks that identify it as a timepiece meant for dressing up, not down; a watch designed with classical elegance in mind more so than robustness or even optimum legibility. Of course, Roman numerals in general are rarely encountered in most people’s modern lives, the annual naming and marketing of Super Bowls being the rare exception. Thus, watches with Roman-numeral dials are relatively rare in the horological wild as well, albeit still occupying an appealing niche embraced by many watch manufacturers as well as by an avid core of enthusiasts. Here, we’ve tracked down 18 that are on the market in 2024; as per our usual format, they’re spotlighted in ascending order of price and represent a wide range of price points. Orient Bambino Day-Date Price: $410, Case Size: 40.5mm, Thickness: 12.6mm, Lug to Lug: 46.5mm, Lug Width: 21mm, Crystal: Mineral, Water Resistance: 30 meters, Movement: Automatic F6B22 Often under the radar of American watch consumers and overshadowed by its larger Japanese brethren, Citizen and Seiko (which with it shares a corporate connection through Epson), Orient has been making value-oriented watches in Japan since 1950. The Bambino, Orient’s dressy gents’ model, offers simple three-handed options and a handful of “quiet” complications, like th...
Fratello
At Fratello, we focus on watches, and 99.9% of the time, that means ones for the wrist. However, it’s interesting that the wristwatch is still in its relative infancy. It was the pocket watch that loomed large in prior centuries. Today, we’ll look at two gems from the twilight of the pocket watch era. These […] Visit Vintage Watches: Art Deco Pocket Watches From Longines And Tissot to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
In many ways, we are living in a “less is more” era of watch design, in which watch dials continue to trend toward symmetry and simplicity; an era in which even the humble date window, the simplest and perhaps most utilitarian complication for an everyday-wear watch, has found itself unwelcome to many enthusiasts of this new generation of understated timepieces. And yet, the appeal of the day-date watch - one notch of complication above the simple date-display model, designed to clue in the wearer not just to the date on the calendar but the day of the week - remains strong. From a utility standpoint, it shouldn’t be surprising, especially in our current fast-paced era, in which home-office work and 24/7 connectedness blurs lines between weekdays and weekends more than ever, and forgetting what day it is becomes an issue for more and more people. If you’re in the market for such a watch, or just intrigued by the diverse ways in which a timepiece can display this useful information, check out the list below, in which we spotlight a selection of day-date watches, from entry-level to high luxury, in ascending order of price. Timex Q Timex Inspired SST Price: $179, Case Size: 38 mm, Case Height: 11.5 mm, Lug Width: 18 mm, Crystal: Acrylic, Water Resistance: 50 meters, Movement: Quartz Analog Timex has had success in recent years in reproducing some of its cult-favorite vintage models for today’s increasingly savvy collectors seeking out the sweet spot between his...
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