Two Broke Watch Snobs
Baltic Unveils the Heures du Monde, Its First Worldtimer Watch
Baltic debuts the Heures du Monde, its first worldtimer, with stone dials, a vintage-inspired layout, and a Soprod C125 movement.
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Two Broke Watch Snobs
Baltic debuts the Heures du Monde, its first worldtimer, with stone dials, a vintage-inspired layout, and a Soprod C125 movement.
Monochrome
A fairly new brand from Japan with the goal of delivering “honest watchmaking from Asakusa” and “affordable Japanese watches,” Kiwame Tokyo has made quite some noise with its first two releases, the Kurotsuki and Usuki models as its inaugural pieces, and the IWAO Field series at the end of last year. Mixing vintage Calatrava elements, […]
Monochrome
Coming up for its 50th anniversary, Raymond Weil marks the occasion with The Fifty, a handsome chronograph powered by a restored Valjoux 23-6 column-wheel chronograph from 1976, its year of birth. Donning a neo-vintage sector dial, inspired by the Millesime Small Seconds and the Millesime Chronograph, this accomplished limited edition is poised to captivate a […]
Worn & Wound
When we last checked in on Baltic, they were retiring one of their most popular lines, at least for the time being, with a diamond set version of their MR dress watch. It felt like an appropriate send off for the MR, which I think will be remembered as the release that put the watch world on notice that Baltic was capable of executing in categories other than purely sporty vintage inspired designs. The fact that the last MR prominently features Moissanite stones really reflects the path Baltic finds themselves on now, stretching well beyond what was frankly a somewhat generic playbook in the early days. Their latest collection, the Heures du Monde, is a worldtimer that further reinforces that idea. This is a tribute, of sorts, to the work of Louis Cottier, the Swiss watchmaker who effectively invented the modern worldtimer, creating movements for Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and others. His worldtimers are of course highly sought after by high end vintage collectors not just for their aesthetic beauty, but their historical significance. The principle behind Cottier’s movements, that the wearer should see the time in every timezone at once, at a glance, via rotating time zone and 24 hour scales, has become the predominant method for executing worldtime watches and is considered the standard in the watch industry. For the Heures du Monde, Baltic has modified a Soprod C125 caliber by removing the date and replacing the GMT hand usually found with that movement w...
Fratello
Welcome back to another episode of Fratello On Air! This week, we discuss underrated vintage brands that are worth a long look. We’ve had these types of chats before, but it’s always nice to see what we’ve missed. You’ll hear some familiar names today, as well as about some smaller companies that could be new […] Visit Fratello On Air: Vintage Brands Worth Checking Out to read the full article.
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Monochrome
Born in 2005 as the reference 7027 (a compact 37mm model with power reserve indicator and hand-wound movement), the Breguet Tradition has since become a classic of the brand and one of its most recognisable watches. It’s also one with possibly the strongest connection to the past. It’s not a vintage re-edition done the classic […]
Monochrome
David Candaux, a native of the Vallée de Joux with experience at Jaeger-LeCoultre and collaborations as a concepteur horloger for renowned brands, launched his own brand in 2017 with the DC1. The watch that followed, the DC6, established his signature: a bassinet-shaped case, a 30° inclined flying tourbillon, and the patented “Magic Crown” at 6 […]
Monochrome
Singer Reimagined, founded in 2017, is a Geneva-based watchmaking brand born from the collaboration between Rob Dickinson, founder of Singer Vehicle Design, known for bespoke Porsche 911 restomods, and Italian watch designer Marco Borraccino. The duo bonded over a shared passion for 1960s-70s sport chronographs and engineering excellence, leading to Singer’s motto: “Reimagined, Restored, Reborn”. […]
Worn & Wound
eBay Finds is back! This bi-monthly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at info@wornandwound.com for potential inclusion. Vintage Omega Seamaster Chronograph Ok, got a great one to start this week, a gorgeous vintage Omega Seamaster chronograph. This one dates to 1968 from the serial number on the movement. It has a tonneau style steel case that is 38mm wide, and is unpolished with nice crisp edges and the original brushed finish. Even the caseback Hippocampus medallion looks sharp. The original high dome acrylic crystal is in good shape, can’t see any cracks although it could use a polish. It is signed on the underside with the Omega logo as it should be. The reverse-panda three register dial is black with white subdials, and it looks to be perfect and original. White stick hands with lume and an orange sweep chono hand with black subdial hands complete the look. The large winding crown is also signed. This gem is powered by the famous and robust Omega caliber 861 movement, the same one used in the second generation of Omega Speedmasters. The movement is clean and runs and works well per the seller. The watch comes on the original bracelet, signed and in great shape. This watch is fabulous, and rare to see at auction. View auction here Dot Matrix Seiko Digital Watch This one was too cool to pass up,...
Monochrome
The Club Campus collection is Nomos Glashütte’s accessible, robust mechanical watches, designed with a younger audience in mind and made with the same in-house rigour as the rest of the catalogue. Since its introduction in 2017, the concept has remained, with clean Bauhaus-inspired construction, playful California-style dials, and a rotation of fresh colours. For 2026, […]
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Worn & Wound
When we talk about Longines on the website, we usually do so in the context of their vintage reissues and vintage inspired watches. They’ve carved out a niche for themselves in this particular area that is basically unrivaled among the big Swiss brands. From the Legend Diver onwards, they’ve done a remarkable job of raiding the archives and bringing back both popular and oddball references of historical significance. Similarly, their most important contemporary line, the Spirit Collection, is itself heavily influenced by the aesthetics and design codes of midcentury watches. That isn’t to say that Longines has neglected more contemporary designs. They’ve dipped into ultra-modern territory (with a great deal of success) pretty recently with bold updates to the Ultra-Chron, for example. But I think it’s fair to say that they aren’t necessarily the brand you look to if you’re thinking about picking up a solid, modern dive watch. It’s just not their lane, and some of their competitors have really nailed this genre down pretty hard. So this is the framework for a big relaunch this Spring for the HydroConquest, a line that has already gone through a handful of redesigns and shuffling over the years, most recently becoming a vehicle for a GMT complication in a case size that frankly strains even the most burly of wrists. There’s never really been anything wrong with the HydroConquest, per se, but for a variety of reasons it’s not usually mentioned in the s...
Worn & Wound
Since its launch in 2019, the Doxa SUB 200 has been one of my favorite value oriented dive watches to recommend. When it debuted, it was under $1,000 and really stood out in a crowd of vintage inspired divers. It was a particularly compelling option for enthusiasts who were after something affordable and loaded with a bit of history and was definitely not a Seiko. They were also getting that vintage appropriate sizing right before the pendulum swung all the way back toward watches under 40mm – the SUB 200 measures 42mm but wears significantly smaller thanks to the short lug profile. It was and is a great wearing, classically styled dive watch from a truly important dive watch brand. Doxa has just refreshed the SUB 200 and the watch that was revealed this week reflects a lot of what’s going on the industry at the moment, while also appearing to serve as a worthy heir (and complement) to the existing SUB 200. The new SUB 200 II sees Doxa making some unexpected refinements to the case and also offering the watch in a new suite of colorways and a novel case treatment. Taken together, it’s a significantly more contemporary execution of something we’ve all come to associate with pure vintage nostalgia. We’ll start with the case, which now measures 44mm in diameter. I did a bit of a double take when I saw that particular spec – we’re deep in the era of brands downsizing their iconic sports watches to accommodate the current appetite for sleeker, small-to-medium ...
Monochrome
Krayon, founded by Rémi Maillat, is a highly focused, conceptually consistent independent watchmaking brand. Since its debut in 2017 with the groundbreaking Everywhere, it has explored a singular theme: our relationship with time as shaped by sunlight, geography, and personal experience. From Everywhere to Anywhere and, more recently, Anyday, each creation has translated complex astronomical […]
Fratello
Goodbyes are never easy. Nevertheless, after five years in production, Greubel Forsey is removing the Balancier Convexe S² from the catalog. The brand follows this strategy to maintain extreme exclusivity, preserve high secondary-market value, and ensure a focus on innovation and hand-finished quality over mass production. The two farewell creations - one in black ceramic […] Visit Introducing: The Final Versions Of The Greubel Forsey Balancier Convexe S² to read the full article.
Monochrome
Collaborations in watchmaking often result in timepieces that are pure fun, especially when they take a graphic and conceptual route. This is precisely the case with the new Bamford London B80 created with J. Press. Inspired by Ivy League culture and vintage collegiate aesthetics, this limited edition of 100 pieces rethinks one of the essential […]
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Worn & Wound
Christopher Ward’s releases basically fall into two categories for me. There are the watches that the brand clearly intends to have broad appeal across a wide segment of the watch market. This is really most of their watches. Think of the Sealander and Trident collections, and indeed most of the Twelves, and you have watches that are very well made and attractive but not exactly groundbreaking. Then there’s the Loco, the Bel Canto, and some of their more experimental pieces that play with aventurine and sapphire dial elements. These watches veer into the avant-garde and serve as showcases for what Christopher Ward is capable of at a higher (but still very fair) price point. I’ll admit, I’m partial to the latter, and less interested in the former. The Loco and Bel Canto in particular really demonstrate Christopher Ward’s ambition to be more than just a former maker of homage watches. These watches fully escape the brand’s roots. Their latest release, the C63 True GMT, sits somewhere in the middle. Built on the Sealander platform, the new True GMT is exactly what it says on the tin: a sporty multi-time zone watch with an independently jumping local hour hand. A “true” travel GMT, offering significantly more use while on the move between time zones than a “caller GMT,” still the standard for this type of watch under about $5,000. What makes this watch special is that it represents nearly as much movement innovation and development as the brand’s more...
Worn & Wound
What is it about the moon? Earth’s only satellite has been an inspiration to watchmakers for as long as watchmaking has been a thing. The moonphase of course is the perhaps the most romantic of all complications (at least in a contemporary setting where the actual use case is somewhat unnecessary for almost everyone), and finds its way into a surprising number of watches aimed at the mass market. If you think about it, there are probably thousands upon thousands of ordinary people looking at little renderings of a moon whenever they check the time, perhaps unaware of the long history of the astronomical complication and what it represents. And then of course there’s the moon and space travel, which gets you into an entirely different segment of watches, led of course by the Omega Speedmaster but serving as a home to an enormous variety of watches from brands as diverse as Seiko, Sinn, and G-SHOCK, all of whom claim either officially or unofficially some connection to manned spaceflight. The moon looms large in a number of ways. So it should come as no surprise that it also serves as a purely aesthetic inspiration, which brings us to the Yema Superman Titanium MoonTide, a new limited edition from the French brand clad in our favorite lightweight metal and designed to conjure images of the lunar surface. The Superman, for anyone who might need a refresher, is Yema’s core dive watch, originally launched in the 1960s heyday of recreational diving. It features a uniqu...
Teddy Baldassarre
A forerunner of both the rise of microbrands and the ongoing revival of France’s watchmaking industry here in the 21st Century, Baltic Watches emerged on the scene in 2017, originally as a Kickstarter project. Founder Étienne Malec discovered the inspiration for his watchmaking enterprise in his father’s watch collection and named the company in honor of his father’s Polish roots, after the sea off the country’s northern coast. The goal from the start, according to Malec, was to produce “timeless pieces, of the highest quality, for fair prices,” and most would agree that Baltic has delivered on this mission statement. Baltic watches are all assembled in a workshop in Besançon, France, the nation’s historical cradle of watchmaking, and evoke vintage timepieces like the ones Malec’s father collected and extensively catalogued in his journals. Here we will look at the Baltic Aquascaphe, one of their most recognizable watches. The first Baltic watches were the three-hand HMS 001 model, with a Japanese Miyota caliber, and the hand-wound Bicompax 001 chronograph, with the Chinese Seagull ST19 movement. While both these watches were successful, and put Baltic on its path to fan-favorite microbrand status, the small company has since become best known for its Aquascaphe series of dive watches. The Aquascaphe, which was launched in 2018, takes its design inspiration from early “skin diver” watches of the 1950s and ‘60s, with no small amount of influence from...
Fratello
Over time, the English brand Farer has developed a collection with a very distinct style. The brand is now introducing 35mm watches in the Farer Cushion Case collection. These are a smidgen smaller than the 38.5mm version Farer introduced in 2022, and they feature some interesting dials. Adventurous even, because the pink Furneaux is named […] Visit Introducing: Two New 35mm Watches In The Farer Cushion Case Collection to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
eBay Finds is back! This bi-monthly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at info@wornandwound.com for potential inclusion. Vintage Wyler Dynawind Got some great Finds for you this week, beginning with this super cool and seldom seen vintage Wyler Dynawind. The stainless steel case is made in an octagonal shape, with nice angled lugs that match. The case appears unpolished, with sharp corners and clearly legible caseback engravings. No mention of the case size, but I’d guess it’s in the 35mm range. The black dial has really unique chevron shaped steel inlays on either side, complementing the angles of the case perfectly. Steel dauphine hands and no date window complete the angular, symmetrical design. The crown is signed with the Wyler “W” logo as it should. No movement pictures but it runs per the seller. The watch is on a vintage steel stretch band, but this would look sharp with a nice black croc strap in my opinion. View auction here Vintage Seiko DX Next up is a lovely vintage Seiko DX in superb condition. The 36mm steel case is unpolished, with sharp edges and original brushed and polished finish. The case has integrated lugs that attach to the original steel bracelet with a Seiko signed buckle. The dial is a beautiful, two tone bullseye design, with silver in the middle and a blue outer ...
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Monochrome
Beaubleu is a young, independent French brand founded in 2017 by automotive and luxury product designer Nicolas Ducoudert. Gaining attention for the circular, orbiting hands featured in the brand’s collections, Beaubleu returns with new models born from an unexpected collaboration with the Monnaie de Paris, the official French national mint. Founded in 864, the mint […]
Fratello
The guys at Serica take their vintage-inspired designs very seriously. The brand’s watches are all about the perfect proportions, high legibility, and great wearability. Up until now, a date window wasn’t part of that equation. However, as representatives of many brands tell us, some people won’t buy a watch unless it has a date window. […] Visit Serica Introduces The 5330 Dive Chronometer - The Brand’s First Watch To Feature A Date Window to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
And just like that, it’s Super Watch Season. Every year we see a handful of watches that come to market that exist for the purpose of displaying the absolute pinnacle of what a brand can accomplish. Think of ultra complicated watches from Vacheron Constantin released in recent years, or pieces from Greubel Forsey focused on extravagant hand finishing and machining. The new release from Girard-Perregaux feels like a member of this rare category. The new Minute Repeater Flying Bridges combines a tourbillon and a minute repeater with GP’s famous “Three Bridges” movement architecture. The highlight here, beyond the rarity of a repeater, is that the new Calibre GP9530 is a self-winding movement (via a micro-rotor), which is exceedingly rare among chiming watches and, to a lesser extent, tourbillons. Girard-Perregaux has a long history in chiming watches that dates back to the 1820s, and the Minute Repeater Flying Bridges is fashioned as a tribute to those earliest repeaters, while being unapologetically contemporary in its design. Certainly part of that tribute is in the craftsmanship itself, and in the use of the most modern technology available to create the best chiming mechanism possible. To that end, the movement has been radically skeletonized not only for aesthetic reasons but to prioritize resonance. According to the brand, every technical choice made in the development of the new watch was made in the name of optimizing the sound of the chime. For a repeat...
Monochrome
In a market overcrowded with vintage-inspired dive watches, ranging from truly affordable models to high-end watches produced by esteemed brands, Eska, a name with over 100 years of history (with a stop from 1987 to 2024), has managed to find a place for its cool-looking, well-built and fairly priced Amphibian 250 collection. Modelled after a […]
Teddy Baldassarre
The Vostok Amphibia has long been recognized by in-the-know enthusiasts as one of the most affordable yet reliable dive watches on the market, as well as one that retains a quirky appeal like no other, owing both to its origins in Soviet Russia as well as its more recent turn as a character-defining prop in a cult-classic Wes Anderson movie. Here’s everything you need to know about the Vostok Amphibia and a brief hands-on review of one of the current models. [toc-section heading="Russia’s Watchmaker: Chistopol Watch Factory"] The backstory of the Vostok Amphibia is one that is winding and complex, and it actually can be traced back not only as far as World War II Russia but even farther, to the Hampden Watch Company of Canton, Ohio. In 1930, the bankrupt Hampden sold its machinery, equipment, and technical designs to the First State Watch Factory, soon to become the First Moscow Watch Factory, founded in Russia (then the Soviet Union) on the order of Joseph Stalin. It was the nation’s first state-owned manufacturer of watches and mechanical movements. With Nazi Germany’s army advancing on Moscow in 1941, the factory was evacuated to Chistopol, a town in Tatarstan on the banks of the Kama River. The renamed Chistopol Watch Factory produced not only watches and movements but also equipment for the Soviet military, both during the war and in the decades afterwards. Chistopol Watch Factory became the official watch supplier of the USSR Ministry of Defense in 1965 and...
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