Two Broke Watch Snobs
Affordable Microbrand Watch Showdown: Dryden Heartlander vs Vaer Field Black
Learn which microbrand field watch feels better on the wrist, holds up in daily use, and suits your wear habits.
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Two Broke Watch Snobs
Fratello
Fratello’s Omega Speedmaster Guide
Are you looking to buy an Omega Speedmaster but don’t know where to start? We’re here to help! Over the past 65+ years, Omega has created many variations of one of the world’s most famous chronographs. The classic 42mm Moonwatch has been in the collection since 1965, and to the novice eye, little has changed […] Visit Fratello’s Omega Speedmaster Guide to read the full article.
Deployant
Dear Santa: Robin makes his Christmas Wishlist for 2025
Robin selects three watches for his horologically-related Christmas wishlist this year. Find out what are the timepieces that he have selected.
SJX Watches
Insight: F.P. Journe Répétition Souveraine Smoked Sapphire
The Répétition Souveraine is one of the more unusual minute repeaters on the market, combining classical inspiration with an idiosyncratic technical approach that is unmistakably F.P. Journe. Based on the familiar architecture of the Chronomètre Souverain yet fundamentally reworked to accommodate a striking mechanism, it is neither a conventional integrated repeater nor a simple modular add-on. Launched in 2008 with a conventional dial and briefly the thinnest contemporary minute repeater on the market, the latest iteration of the Répétition Souveraine reveals its workings through a smoked sapphire dial, offering a direct view of its flat gongs and strike train while underscoring François-Paul Journe’s distinctive philosophy of clarity, compactness, and mechanical logic. This is our third encounter with the Répétition Souveraine, having already covered the silver-dial variant and the elusive “Black Label” edition. Almost modular Most independents – and many large brands – rely on a handful of external specialists like Le Cercle des Horlogers or decades-old ebauche stocks for their repeaters. As a result, most repeaters take the same, time-tested, approach with only a few exceptions. Most are integrated designs that put the repeater train, hammers, and gongs on the same level as the rest of the movement. The rejuvenation of mechanical matchmaking during the 1980s and 1990s brought with it demand for systems that brands could add to existing movements. Amo...
Teddy Baldassarre
Best Luxury Watches For Women
There comes a time in every watch-loving girl’s life in which she’s ready to take the plunge into the pool of luxury. To ascend from the endless eBay lowballing and bidding on eBay watches under 100 bucks, and start stashing away cash to save up for the big purchase. For the “future heirloom” watch that haunts her dreams. While that day has yet to come for me, I have amassed an ever-growing wishlist of pieces that might one day be my first, big watch splurge – once I stop dipping into the proverbial piggy bank, that is. Below, I have gathered what I believe to be the best luxury watches for women available today. Before we get into the fun part, I want to state first that I like to think of luxury as a state of mind. There are going to be some pretty “pie in the sky” watches on this roundup, which, no matter how frivolous I dare be, I will probably never be able to go into a store and purchase. But what we can distill from these extravagant, top-tier luxury watches is certain design codes, case shapes, and aesthetic choices that catch our eye, and bring us closer to finding a more reasonably priced option. If you, like me, cannot drop thousands of dollars on a watch without bringing shame and ruin upon yourself and family, think of this as digital window shopping. I have thrown some pieces on the list that are a little more reasonable as well, which to me, capture the essence of luxury and have made me feel luxurious while trying them on, in pursuit of maki...
Worn & Wound
Orion Watches Founder Nick Harris on Growing His Brand Through Adversity
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that most of you reading this right now won’t know the name Nick Harris. Don’t worry, I’m not calling anyone out; if you weren’t a dedicated Seiko modder on the right forums at the right times, it’s not a name you’re likely to have come across. Nick, despite being an accomplished watchmaker and avid enthusiast, just isn’t as well-known as the brand he created, Orion Watches. It’s not a huge surprise. As enthusiasts, we tend to have a better memory for brands and watches than we do for people (how many of us have pulled some variation of the classic, “I can’t remember his name, but he had that great vintage Sub”), and that tendency easily extends to brands, even small ones. It’s easy to forget that many of the brands we talk about on Worn & Wound, and so many of the watchmakers that get us excited, aren’t really “brands” in the typical sense. Many of our favorite brands aren’t machines operating with marketing departments, state-of-the-art production facilities, and overflowing C-Suites. What we broadly call “brands’ are usually the result of the passionate work of one, or maybe two, dedicated creators, their brand names and logos serving more as a personal maker’s mark than as an identifier for a sprawling and impersonal corporate structure. The consequence here is that it can be easy to conflate these small one-man shops with their more established brethren. That can make it particularly diffi...
Deployant
Dear Santa: Chester makes his Christmas Wishlist for 2025
This year’s wishlist celebrates independents who continue to push boundaries. Each of these 2025 releases reflects artistry, technical daring, and individuality - the hallmarks of indie horology.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Citizen NY0040 Review: It’s Not A Seiko SKX Alternative. It’s Something Better.
A hands-on review of the Citizen NY0040 diver, exploring its design, comfort, and why it stands on its own as a serious everyday tool watch.
SJX Watches
Patek Philippe’s Grand Exhibition Returns to Europe in Milan
Patek Philippe has just revealed details about the Watch Art Grand Exhibition Milan 2026, which is set to take place in October 2026. The event marks the seventh edition of the brand’s large-scale public exhibition series, and its return to Europe following the most recent instalments in Tokyo, Singapore, and New York. The biggest yet With a display area covering 2,540 square metres, the exhibition will be the largest Watch Art event organised by Patek Philippe to date. As with previous events in the series, the exhibit will feature immersive replicas of the brand’s Salon on Geneva’s Rue du Rhône, the manufacture at Plan-les-Ouates, and the Patek Philippe Museum, all constructed under the dome of the Palazzo delle Scintille, now known as CityOval. For a taste of what’s in store, the Patek Philipe website still hosts an immersive experience of the 2022 edition in Tokyo. The exhibition will showcase the brand’s entire current collection, alongside a dedicated Rare Handcrafts selection comprising dome clocks, pocket watches, and wristwatches, with around 500 pieces in total on display. Artisans will also be on hand to demonstrate techniques like miniature enamel painting, cloisonné enamel, hand engraving, wood marquetry, guilloché, and gem-setting. As is customary for Watch Art exhibitions, the Milan event will see the launch of several limited-edition watches across different segments of the collection. The 2023 Tokyo exhibition, for instance, included a Rare Ha...
SJX Watches
Albishorn’s Type 10 Officer Takes Flight
The Albishorn Type 10 Officer is the latest expression of the brand’s “imaginary vintage” philosophy, reworking the familiar codes of the mid-century military chronograph through the lens of a hypothetical Type 20 predecessor. Conceived by founder Dr Sébastien Chaulmontet, the cream-dialled Officer pairs its distinctive, parchment-like textured dial with a proprietary monopusher movement derived from a re-engineered Valjoux 7750 architecture, combining COSC-certified performance with thoughtful ergonomic and aesthetic refinements at a price that undercuts many conventional aviation-inspired chronographs. Initial thoughts Military aviation-inspired watches are a cornerstone of the luxury watch market, but most pay homage to specific historical references like the famed Type 20 of the 1950s. In contrast, the Albishorn Type 10 proposes to ‘recreate’ a hypothetical Type 20 predecessor. The cream-dialled Officer takes this idea further, suggesting a “missing link” is the aesthetic development of the military chronograph, with a lighter-coloured dial for open-air usage away from the front lines. When the Type 10 debuted with black and green dials, I was a bit skeptical of the texture, which reminded me of asphalt. The Officer’s dial features a similar texture, but the off-white colour transforms the look. To my eye, the new dial looks like vintage German etching paper, which is an appealing texture that suits the theme of the watch. Inside, the Officer is as com...
Teddy Baldassarre
Seiko’s Legendary Chronograph Under $1,000 Reimagined
The iconic Seiko "Pogue" Speedtimer has a cult following among enthusiasts, and many were excited to see Seiko reach back into their archives with the modern version in the SSC947. See how Seiko used their heritage to inform the contemporary Speedtimer in this review.
Deployant
Dear Santa: Stanley makes his Christmas Wishlist for 2025
Ending 2025 with a BANG! Here's Stanley getting the ball rolling for Deployant's annual Christmas Wishlist with his 3 ideal watch as Christmas Presents!
Fratello
Sunday Morning Showdown: Cartier Tank Américaine Vs. Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classic Monoface Small Seconds
Good morning, Fratelli, and welcome to a new Sunday Morning Showdown. Grab a cup of coffee or tea, something sweet, and sneak up somewhere next to the Christmas tree. This week, we’ll put two watches up against each other that could both perfectly serve as Christmas dinner watches. They’re both rectangular with silver dials and […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Cartier Tank Américaine Vs. Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classic Monoface Small Seconds to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Watches, Stories, & Gear: Spielberg’s Mysterious New Film, PlayStation Watches, and More
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Spielberg’s Mysterious Sci-Fi Film View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amblin Entertainment (@amblin) Steven Spielberg has a new, still untitled, original UFO movie coming out next year, and we aren’t talking about it nearly enough. A new sci-fi film from the director of ET, Close Encounters, AI, Minority Report, etc should be a very big deal, and it still might be once people start wrestling with the idea of Spielberg returning to this genre. Very little is known about the movie – the plot has been kept completely under wraps. But it stars Emily Blunt, filmed in New Jersey and the Hudson Valley, was written by David Koepp (a frequent Spielberg collaborator), and this week, the first bit of marketing started to hit. In a handful of cities, large billboards with the June 12 release date, an evocative image, and the words “all will be disclosed” began to appear. We love a mysterious campaign, and the idea that a new, and apparently quite major, Spielberg movie is 6 months away and we know nothing about it is tantalizing. The Year’s Best in GPS Watches The watch world is full of little niches, and rabbit holes within rabbit holes. Smart watche...
Deployant
New: Citizen Attesa Platinum Shine
Citizen releases their Duratect Platinum recrystallised titanium technology on the popular Attesa collection. Three new limited editions are released.
Teddy Baldassarre
7 Smaller Brands That Impressed Me This Year: Microbrands, Independent
This year we saw a lot of interesting watches, but here we wanted to narrow down and focus on 7 brands that were the most interesting. Take a look as we recap the most impressive watches we saw from smaller brands in 2025.
Worn & Wound
Photo Report: Central Europe’s Watch Fair – Micro Praha 2025
Editor’s Note: In addition to being a writer and member of the international watch media community, Bhanu Chopra is also the co-founder of Micro Praha, a regional watch fair in Prague, which just celebrated its third year. We asked Bhanu to share his thoughts on the evolution of the event, as well as some photos from this year’s festivities. Regional watch fairs have been around for several years, but their focus remained mostly mainstream brands and few independent brands. I remember visiting Vienna Time and Munich Time in the mid-2000s, and seeing Lange & Sohne and Habring booths in the same hall. Three years ago, Ondrej Vislocky and I, two watch enthusiasts and friends, took the initiative to create a micro brand watch fair for the Central European region. Prague happens to be in the very heart of Central Europe with easy access to Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Italy, and even the Nordic countries. It also happens to be the city where we live. We are big fans of micro brands, so we wanted to bring our enthusiasm to Micro Praha. The U.K. has a very active micro indie scene with fairs throughout the year. There are watch fairs in Germany, France, Italy, and Poland, but the participation remains very regional. Micro Praha brings together brands from around the globe. This year 82 brands participated, representing 24 countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Poland, the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Finland, Singapore, Taiwan, Sweden, the U.K., and Czech Republic....
Monochrome
First Look – Armin Strom Gravity Equal Force Ultimate Sapphire Salmon Brings A New Pulse of Colour
Armin Strom’s celebrated Gravity Equal Force series expands with an elegant twist, the Ultimate Sapphire Salmon. Continuing the brand’s exploration of colour and transparency, this latest edition pairs technical mastery with artisanal finesse, featuring a hand-guilloché salmon mainplate and the brand’s innovative constant-force calibre, bringing new vibrancy to one of modern horology’s most inventive movements. […]
Hodinkee
Inside Two Editorial Worlds: Thom Betteridge And Malaika Crawford On Creating Magazines In 2025 At UBS House Of Craft
A behind-the-scenes look at how two print-focused editors think about the importance of magazines and the role that print plays alongside a digital platform.
Fratello
Fratello’s Top 5 Chronograph Watches Of 2025 - Featuring Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Zenith, And More
Another Friday, another list! This week, we continue the series highlighting our favorite watches of 2025. It’s time for our favorite chronographs. Whereas last week’s list of GMT watches wasn’t easy to compile due to a lack of spectacular options, we were not left wanting this week. If anything, 2025 has given us an abundance […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Chronograph Watches Of 2025 - Featuring Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Zenith, And More to read the full article.
Monochrome
Introducing – Inspired by Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Konstantin Chaykin’s Venus Spices Things Up a Bit
It’s often said that art imitates art, and in the case of Konstantin Chaykin’s latest Wristmon, it hits the nail on the head. The Wristmon series started with the now-famous Joker watch and has turned into an original and whimsical series of humanoid or animalistic-looking watches. Chaykin now turns to one of the most famous […]
SJX Watches
Hands On: Biver Automatique with Exotic Stone Dials
Biver expands its Automatique line with a diverse set of new dials that underscore the brand’s fascination with permanence, ranging from billion-year-old mineral stones to finely executed enamel and traditional guilloché. In a year crowded with stone-dial releases, the latest Automatique models stand out for the coherence of the concept and the quality of execution, offering collectors a mix of exotic materials, artisanal craft, and a technically unusual calibre across a wide price spectrum. Initial thoughts Jean-Claude Biver talks a lot about eternity. The slogan for his namesake brand, “eternity has no competition”, is an eloquent expression of what drives the Biver family enterprise, founded with his son Pierre and now led by chief executive James Marks. Beyond the ability to keep time, mechanical watches appeal to enthusiasts precisely because they seem to exist outside of time. Few modern products are crafted from such noble or enduring materials, and for many people a mechanical watch is among the most lasting man-made objects they will ever encounter. Biver’s obsession with eternity is clear in the products themselves. In the case of the Automatique, the brand has chosen to use especially long-lasting materials like gold for the movement plates and bridges, going so far as to used a high-palladium gold alloy that will not tarnish over time. The overly robust cases are another clue as to the motivations of the people behind the Biver brand. Water resistant t...
Teddy Baldassarre
Atelier Wen Review: Artisanal Chinese Watchmaking
Within the burgeoning small independent watch brand scene we find creative inspiration that takes many forms. Oftentimes, this is focused on a specific moment in time or place in history. With Atelier Wen, a young Hong Kong based manufacture, that inspiration is the celebration of culture and craftsmanship of a nation. The name is a combination of the French word for workshop, and the Chinese word for culture, and serves as a fitting description of not only the brand’s founders, but also the driving force behind their creative vision. Since their founding in 2018, Atelier Wen has become a showcase of Chinese culture and craftsmanship within a world of high-end horology generally dominated by European centric attitudes. [toc-section heading="Some Brand History"] Atelier Wen was founded by Robin Tallendier and Wilfried Buiron, two Frenchmen with a shared passion for, and deep connection to Chinese culture and watchmaking. Through their time living and working in China (Robin an advisor and expert in the China Horologe Association; Wilfried a graduate of Peking University and Tsinghua University), the pair developed a deep reverence for the watchmaking scene as represented through the community of collectors and watchmakers. Upon their return to Europe, the two quickly found that their experiences did not align with the general perceptions found in the west. Together, the founders sought to take advantage of the opportunity to put a spotlight on the true nature of Chinese...
Worn & Wound
Albishorn Introduces their Latest “Imaginary Vintage” Type 10
Albishorn is a brand based on one of the most tantalizing concepts that we’ve come across: vintage watches that never existed. I’ve thought about this conceit quite a bit since the brand was launched a few years ago. In some ways, it’s not so different on the surface from any other “vintage inspired” watch. The vast majority of them, after all, never existed. The Black Bay, for instance, takes inspiration from a great many vintage Tudor and Rolex watches, but it’s not a one to one recreation of anything – it never actually existed. But Albishorn is different. They place their watches in an imagined reality. Each one is its own “sliding doors” moment brought to life in watch form – a thought experiment about how things might be if they had turned out just a little differently. The Type 10 is pitched as an imaginary ancestry to the Type 20, a very real watch that just about everyone reading this will be at least somewhat familiar with. Imagining a predecessor to the Type 20 also means imagining the infrastructure to create it, the timeline on which it would have been made, and even design details that might have been improved or altered in the later (and real) watch. Today, Albishorn releases a new variant of the Type 10, which they’re calling the Type 10 Officer. Like previous Type 10s, this is a monopusher chronograph designed in the language of military issued watches. This one has a white dial, which the brand explains makes more sense for an Of...
Deployant
New: Czapek Quai des Bergues “Sursum Corda”
Czapek's final release for this year. The "Quai des Bergues "Sursum Corda" is a limited edition of 10 pieces, and 2 more watches in the standard collection.
SJX Watches
Konstantin Chaykin’s Venus is Arty and Naughty
Konstantin Chaykin’s signature Wristmon has taken an unexpected twist with the Venus. Inspired by The Birth of Venus, Botticelli’s famous Renaissance painting, the wristwatch is modelled on the goddess Venus emerging from the sea, nude with flowing hair. Like the Wristmons, Venus tells the time with rotating discs, except the discs no longer represent the eyes. Appropriately, the Venus prototype will be sold in at auction on December 11, with all proceeds going to LILT Milano Monza Brianza, an Italian charity dedicated to preventing breast cancer. Initial thoughts The Wristmon is now a familiar concept, maybe too familiar. Venus is a clever twist on the idea; it’s essentially identical in terms of function, yet entirely different in look and theme. The Venus is also relatively subtle, despite the highly exposed central theme. At the same time, the Venus fits into a historical category of watches. In some ways it’s a variant of the tradition erotic watch, which existed in pocket watches and also modern wristwatches. The case of the Venus is also a bit more graceful than the average Wristmon. It has flowing lines and more importantly, only one crown, instead of the two for most Wristmon models. In short, I like the Venus. It is a smart new direction for the Russian watchmaker’s signature concept. Goddess on the dial Like the Wristmons, Venus indicates the time regulator-style. Hours and minutes are each indicated on rotating discs, while the “face” forms the ...
Monochrome
Introducing – Seiko 5 Sports Pink Panther Limited Edition SRPM07
With its 5 Sports collection, the brand’s accessible range that comprises almost infinite styles, Seiko isn’t shy of creating bold models and teaming up with unexpected partners. Recently, we’ve seen models inspired by Bruce Lee, Peanuts or Mooneys. There was even a pair of Pepsi-bezel watches made with… Pepsi! Now, the Seiko 5 Sports SKX […]
SJX Watches
Hands On: Chopard L.U.C. Grand Strike
The 30th anniversary of the Chopard L.U.C. manufacture was one anniversary among many this year, but it will likely be remembered thanks to the Grand Strike, the most complicated watch in Chopard’s history and its first grande sonnerie. Building on the successful Full Strike minute repeater architecture and making full use of the brand’s patented sapphire gongs, the Grand Strike is a chronometer-certified two-train clock watch with a push-button minute repeater. In this context, the presence of the tourbillon is almost a footnote. Initial thoughts I can count on one hand the number of brands that have created their own grande sonnerie wristwatch. It’s one of the few things in watchmaking that’s proven challenging enough to still be rare, even in the days of computer-aided design (CAD) and advanced manufacturing technology like wire erosion. For this reason, the grande sonnerie has a towering cultural presence among watchmakers and collectors, looming above all other complications. For Chopard, the Grand Strike represents the culmination of 30 years of the L.U.C. manufacture, the brand’s haute horlogerie division. The first impression of the Grand Strike is one of extraordinary depth. There’s not much of a dial, save for the minutes scale etched on the inside of the sapphire crystal, and the small concentric sub-dials for the dual power reserve displays. This depth shrinks the watch visually, and it feels dense and compact despite its rather large 43 mm size and...
Teddy Baldassarre
What is a Quartz Watch? Everything You Need to Know
The advent of the quartz watch was the most disastrous event ever to befall the traditional luxury watch business, an existential threat that nearly toppled the watch industry as we know it. The invention of the quartz watch was among the most significant advances in the history of timekeeping and brought affordable wristwatches to the masses in a way that had never been seen before. These are the two main schools of thoughts on what the quartz watch has meant to the history of watchmaking, and both are essentially correct. As you contemplate whether to purchase a quartz watch, ponder the main differences between quartz and mechanical movements, and try to wrap your head around the various types of timekeeping technologies, let’s explore how quartz watches originated, how they evolved, and what their place is in today’s ever-changing watch world. [toc-section heading="Quartz Movements Explained"] Unlike a mechanical movement, which stores its energy in a wound mainspring inside a barrel and releases it through a complex series of gears to move the hands, a quartz movement derives its power from a small electrical charge provided by a battery, which then passes through an integrated circuit that applies the charge to a tiny quartz crystal cut into the shape of a tuning fork. Thanks to something known as the reverse-piezoelectric effect, that tiny charge applied to the quartz tuning fork crystal causes it to vibrate at an incredibly high rate that dwarfs the output of ...
Worn & Wound
Laco Celebrates their 100th Anniversary with a Tribute to their Past
As I’m currently in the process of planning a 15-year anniversary, I can tell you one thing, Reader: it’s not easy finding a way to pack so much into only one measly day. I mean, does a single night out sharing a Caesar salad and a couple cocktails convey all the love, memories, and various milestones? Probably not. But it’s the thought that counts, right? But, then again, maybe I’m just doing it all wrong. Take, for example, the German watchmaker, Laco, who is celebrating a much more impressive anniversary this year: their 100th. Instead of doing a two-for-one special at a chain restaurant (which is always my back-up plan), they released a watch to celebrate the occasion: the Edition 100, which is, in a way, a culmination of an ongoing mission from the brand, which has released five limited-edition releases in the past, each celebrating a key chapter in Laco’s history. For the Edition 100 specifically, the brand used the 1950’s as the springboard for the design, taking inspiration from an archival model. While the cleaner lines, slim bezel, and two-tone colorway might all read as Art Deco-adjacent, Laco’s contemporary design language, such as adjusting proportions for a more modern appearance, has filtered through to make a watch worthy of bridging the gap between the watchmaker’s past and present. The 38mm stainless-steel case is coated in a gold-tone IP, which, in turn, softens the black center of the dial and complements the champagne outer ring simul...