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[VIDEO] Windup Watch Fair Dallas Recap: Watches, BBQ, and Texas-Sized Enthusiasm Worn & Wound
Christopher Ward Junghans Mar 24, 2026

[VIDEO] Windup Watch Fair Dallas Recap: Watches, BBQ, and Texas-Sized Enthusiasm

Everything’s bigger in Texas-and that fact continues to ring true for the Windup Watch Fair Dallas. Returning for its second year and expanding into a full three-day event, the Fair once again took over the Hickory Street Annex, transforming the historic industrial space into a buzzing hub of watches, conversation, and community. With more than 40 brands in attendance, the show floor was packed with everything from established Lead Sponsors like Christopher Ward, Junghans, and Oris to rising independents, alongside a strong showing Miyota, our Official Movement Sponsor, and from Texas-based brands gathered together in our “Texas Roundup” area, deep in the heart of Windup. As always, the show delivered what Windup does best: a hands-on, approachable environment where enthusiasts and newcomers alike could try on watches, meet the people behind the brand, and share in the collective enthusiasm that defines the weekend. But as much as Windup is about watches, Dallas proved once again that it was just as much about the experience. Across the weekend, attendees found plenty to do beyond the booths-whether that meant taking in live art from Sunflowerman, snagging a swig at the Bruichladdich bar, learning about Miyota mechanical movements, or spending time in the Accutron Lounge diving into Tuning Fork and Electrostatic tech. It all added up to the kind of layered, come-as-you-are atmosphere that has become the hallmark of the Fair, which Texas wears well.   Came for th...

Citizen Celebrates 50 Years of Eco-Drive with a Hand-Dyed Washi Dial Two Broke Watch Snobs
Citizen Celebrates 50 Years Mar 20, 2026

Citizen Celebrates 50 Years of Eco-Drive with a Hand-Dyed Washi Dial

I've come close to pulling the trigger on a few of Citizen's higher-end Eco-Drive watches over the years, and each time I talked myself out of it. Not because the watches weren't impressive, but because the right one never quite lined up with the moment. Now, Citizen is making the decision a little harder. The brand has just announced "The Citizen" Eco-Drive 50th Anniversary Edition (ref. AQ4091-56W), marking five decades since it introduced the first solar-powered analogue watch back in 1976.

Hands On: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Malachite 37 mm SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Malachite 37 Mar 20, 2026

Hands On: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Malachite 37 mm

Audemars Piguet expands its stone‑dial lineup with the new Royal Oak Self-Winding 37 mm and 41 mm in yellow‑gold featuring malachite dials, continuing the brand’s cautious re-exploration of trendy stone dials. Initial thoughts Last month Bad Bunny, the most-streamed musician in the western hemisphere, took the field for the Super Bowl LX halftime show wearing this yellow gold Royal Oak Selfwinding 37mm. A design as recognisable as any in watchmaking, worn on the wrist of the “King of Latin Trap” in front of over a hundred million viewers - a significant marketing coup for Audemars Piguet. It was also an implicit endorsement from Bad Bunny’s stylist Storm Pablo, who procured the watch within days of its announcement. Bad Bunny during the Apple Music Super Bowl LX halftime show. Image – Apple Pricing remains surprisingly reasonable, with the 37 mm pegged to the same price as the turquoise-dialled sibling from a few years ago, while the 41 mm model is priced just 4% higher than a regular production Royal Oak in pink gold. That’s a large step up in absolute terms, but that comes with the (price) territory. It is important to point out that despite the premiums brands often attach to stone dials, most are not particularly expensive to make. When it comes to malachite, the raw material cost is negligible, with African mines in and around the Copperbelt producing gemstone-quality malachite by the literal ton. Audemars Piguet made the right choice by avoiding t...

Seiko Launches a Pair of Updated Marinemasters with their Higher End 8L45 Movement Worn & Wound
Seiko Launches Mar 19, 2026

Seiko Launches a Pair of Updated Marinemasters with their Higher End 8L45 Movement

A common critique leveled at Seiko over these last few years is that they’ve abandoned the affordable enthusiast dive watch market and have been creeping toward a higher priced product. Honestly, it’s fair. Those of us of a certain age can fondly remember the days when an SKX diver could be had for a few hundred bucks, and it basically stood alone in the Venn diagram of pedigree, dive watch bona fides, enthusiast credibility, and affordability. The fact is, there’s a lot of competition for affordable divers these days, much of it driven by the popularity of a handful of key Seiko references.  So it’s no wonder that they’ve sought to expand their footprint elsewhere and make a higher end, more expensive product. What often gets lost in these conversations is that the higher priced Seiko divers are actually very good dive watches that still cover much of that hypothetical Venn diagram, perhaps leaning a little further away from affordability. Seiko recently announced a handful of new references and while many of us hoped a truly affordable SKX alternative might be in the mix, they’ve once again debuted a new diver at a higher rung of their pricing ladder.  The highlight for collectors and serious Seiko fans will likely be the Seiko Prospex Marinemaster 1968 Heritage Diver’s Watch (the official Seiko naming conventions are always a bit cumbersome). Yes, this is yet another mostly historically accurate take on the first ever diver rated to 300 meters of water r...

Christopher Ward Introduces the C63 True GMT Worn & Wound
Christopher Ward Introduces Mar 19, 2026

Christopher Ward Introduces the C63 True GMT

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...

Hands On: Christopher Ward C63 Sealander True GMT SJX Watches
Christopher Ward C63 Sealander True GMT Mar 19, 2026

Hands On: Christopher Ward C63 Sealander True GMT

The Christopher Ward C63 Sealander True GMT fills a conspicuous gap in the brand’s catalogue with a proper ‘flyer’ GMT, complete with an independently adjustable local-time hour hand. A handsome, expensive-looking dial conceals the new CW-002 movement, which is COSC-certified and offers a five-day power reserve - a rare pairing. While collectors have noticed that Christopher Ward’s pricing has risen steadily in recent years, the True GMT makes a compelling case that the technical substance has kept pace. The journeyman brand Christopher Ward (CW) is a brand that is evolving unusually rapidly, and seems to have been in a state of almost constant transformation since it was founded in 2004. The brand has cycled through a number of different logos in a fairly short period of time, which has confused collectors. The product mix has also shifted, reflecting more upmarket ambitions that have priced out fans of the brand’s early budget products. This instability has turned off some collectors, which is understandable - most luxury brands are fairly conservative, in part to emphasise the long-lasting social capital that comes with a purchase. That said, CW seems to have finally found an identity worth sticking to. The new logo, which combines England’s St. George’s Cross and the white cross of the Swiss flag, is simple and appealing, and concisely communicates the English/Swiss origin. And while it’s true that prices have crept up, the brand has increased innov...

Fratello Talks: Does Resale Value Affect How Much You Enjoy A Watch? Fratello
Mar 19, 2026

Fratello Talks: Does Resale Value Affect How Much You Enjoy A Watch?

It’s a question that comes up from time to time in today’s watch world: Does resale value affect how much you enjoy a watch? With secondary market prices discussed almost as frequently as specifications, it’s hard to ignore the financial side of collecting. In this episode of Fratello Talks, RJ, Thomas, and Nacho discuss whether […] Visit Fratello Talks: Does Resale Value Affect How Much You Enjoy A Watch? to read the full article.

Inspired by the Lunar Surface, Yema Introduces the Superman Titanium MoonTide Worn & Wound
Omega Speedmaster but serving as Mar 18, 2026

Inspired by the Lunar Surface, Yema Introduces the Superman Titanium MoonTide

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...

Tissot Visodate Automatic Review Teddy Baldassarre
Tissot Mar 17, 2026

Tissot Visodate Automatic Review

Tissot traces its long history back to 1853, when it was founded in Switzerland’s Jura Mountains by the father-son watchmaking team of Charles-Félicien and Charles-Émile Tissot.  Today part of the Swatch Group, Tissot can lay claim to several watchmaking milestones throughout its history, including the first pocket watch to display two time zones in 1853; the first watch built to resist magnetism, the Antimagnetique, in 1930; and the first tactile-screen multifunction digital watch, the T-Touch, in 1999, years before the smartwatch would come into existence. Today, Tissot markets more than 4 million watches per year to more than 160 countries and is known for producing what its parent group terms “midrange market” watches that are prized for their price-to-value ratio.  Tissot’s 1950s-era Visodate was among the first fleet of watches to introduce an integrated date complication, but the line’s contemporary renditions have continuously flown under the radar within the enthusiast community – until today, that is. New for 2026, the brand has given the collection a complete overhaul, revamping the Visodate to be more everyday-carry friendly than ever without sacrificing its quintessential retro flair.  [toc-section heading="History And Context"]  Vintage 1950s Tissot Visodate Advertisement The original Tissot Visodate hit shelves in 1953, marking 100 years since Tissot’s founding. It was not the first wristwatch with a date display in a window - that woul...

SJX Podcast: State of the Industry 2026 SJX Watches
F.P. Journe among independents Mar 16, 2026

SJX Podcast: State of the Industry 2026

Episode 31 of the SJX Podcast digs into two major industry reports - one from Vontobel on the primary market and one from EveryWatch on the secondary - and what they reveal about where value is concentrating in the watch industry. SJX and Brandon discuss the K-shaped nature of the market, the dominance of F.P. Journe among independents, and Cartier’s remarkable ability to sell across every price tier. The discussion also touches on the role of emotion in driving purchase decisions, the financialisation of the hobby, and why market reports have limited utility for collectors. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  

Serica Introduces the 5330 Dive Chronometer Worn & Wound
Serica Introduces Mar 13, 2026

Serica Introduces the 5330 Dive Chronometer

One of watchmaking’s simplest but most iconic complications, the date window, is the source of much admiration, and yes, a little bit of ire. One of the biggest points of contention on any inclusion of a date window is the balancing of it on the dial; after all, how do you place it to not ruin the symmetry (or asymmetry) of a carefully-crafted design? With their new Ref. 5330 Dive Chronometer, Serica has chosen a sleek solution for their first date window inclusion: nestle it at 3 o’clock, taking the place of the marker, and give it a crisp red accent to stand out. Sure, it’s not necessarily revolutionary, but it adds a sophisticated touch to an already clean dial. The core tenets of the 5330’s design carry over from other models in Serica’s Dive Chronometer lineup, with circular hour markers and a double graduation bezel being the most recognizable, and a 39mm 316L stainless steel case housing an identical SoProd M100 Swiss automatic movement. The matte black dial and anthracite-grey outer bezel ring contrast with the steel of the inner bezel and case, and the cream Super-LumiNova on the hands and hour markers. Similarly, the cream date window and red numeral add both a sense of cohesion and a highly legible flash of color to give the dial an extra layer of aesthetic complication. It’s certainly a welcome addition visually, and keeps the design from feeling too austere.  At 12.2mm in thickness and 46.5mm lug-to-lug, the 5330 is sized well for most wrists, and...

Girard-Perregaux Introduces the New Minute Repeater Flying Bridges Worn & Wound
Vacheron Constantin released Mar 12, 2026

Girard-Perregaux Introduces the New Minute Repeater Flying Bridges

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...

Vostok Amphibia Review: The $70 Russian Dive Watch With Global Appeal Teddy Baldassarre
Vostok Mar 10, 2026

Vostok Amphibia Review: The $70 Russian Dive Watch With Global Appeal

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...

Better Than They Should Be: Five Top-Value Watches That Punch Above Their Weight Fratello
Mar 10, 2026

Better Than They Should Be: Five Top-Value Watches That Punch Above Their Weight

When it comes to luxury products, “value” is a somewhat contradictory term. After all, isn’t the entire point that a luxury product offers something magical that transcends the mere function at the expense of affordability? Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any sweet spots in the market. Some watches simply punch way above […] Visit Better Than They Should Be: Five Top-Value Watches That Punch Above Their Weight to read the full article.

Unimatic, the Armoury, and Nigel Cabourn Introduce a Three-Way Limited Edition Collaboration Worn & Wound
Unimatic Mar 9, 2026

Unimatic, the Armoury, and Nigel Cabourn Introduce a Three-Way Limited Edition Collaboration

Unimatic has introduced the Modello Cinque UT5-TANC, a new collaboration developed with British designer Nigel Cabourn and menswear retailer The Armoury. The watch continues Unimatic’s previous work with Cabourn, which began in 2019, while also marking the brand’s latest project with Hong Kong-based menswear store The Armoury. Anyone familiar with Cabourn’s work will already know his passion for vintage army style, so the UT5-TANC should feel right at home within the British designer’s aesthetics. The UT5-TANC takes the form of a compact expedition-style tool watch built around Unimatic’s 36mm Modello Cinque case. Made from 316L stainless steel and finished with a stonewashed Cerakote coating, the watch comes in two versions: UT5-TANC-A with a green case and UT5-TANC-B in navy blue, with both references sharing the same navy dial. As mentioned, the case follows the familiar Modello Cinque layout, with a fixed monoblock bezel and an 8mm screw-down crown bearing Unimatic’s Alchemical Sun emblem. Flipping the watch around reveals a caseback that’s engraved with a dazzle camouflage pattern. To keep the overall restraint of the expedition watch – or, as the brand has put it “exploration over ornament” – the dial is minimally designed and more about function than form. For example, the numerals are filled with Super-LumiNova GL old radium, along with luminous dial markings and an open seconds track to aid visibility in low light. The Nigel Cabourn logo appe...

Introducing: The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Alta Rosa Fratello
Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Mar 9, 2026

Introducing: The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Alta Rosa

Parmigiani Fleurier keeps unveiling new versions of existing watches that feel fresh and different. It’s a remarkable phenomenon that proves how well the brand chooses its dial colors across the different models. The latest addition to the Tonda PF Automatic lineup is the new Alta Rosa variant. While a pink dial is not new to […] Visit Introducing: The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Alta Rosa to read the full article.

The Seiko SNA414 Gold Flightmaster: A Gilded Take on an Enthusiast Classic Worn & Wound
Seiko SNA414 Gold Flightmaster Mar 6, 2026

The Seiko SNA414 Gold Flightmaster: A Gilded Take on an Enthusiast Classic

The Seiko SNA411 has been an icon of the watch industry for years. Frequently appearing on “Best Affordable Watches” lists, it’s no wonder Seiko’s other two variants would eventually catch the eye of collectors as well. The SN413 is far and away the most sought-after variant of the Flightmaster formula, but what about the often overlooked SNA414? I’ll be the first to admit that gold-tone watches are typically not in habitual rotation within my collection––aside from a few special pieces––but that doesn’t mean there’s not a lot to enjoy about this model. What makes the SNA414 a good candidate for your next acquisition? Let’s find out. The SNA414 History and Design Nailing down a definite release date for the SNA414 is difficult, but according to numerous blogs, press releases, and wristwatch websites, it appears this variant began production sometime between late 2007 and early 2008. I’m unsure whether all three variants of the lineup were released at the same time, but from sources consulted online, it appears they were at least announced and brought to market around the same time. I must note that the name “Flightmaster” may confuse a few collectors out there who may have seen another model of Seiko’s catalog nicknamed with the same moniker. In the 1990s, the first iteration of the Flightmaster was released with the 7T34 movement. The -6A09 variant is technically the first gold Flightmaster the brand produced, making the subject of this art...

State of the Industry: Vontobel on the Redrawn Watch Market SJX Watches
Mar 6, 2026

State of the Industry: Vontobel on the Redrawn Watch Market

Last month Vontobel published its annual report on the Swiss watch industry, revealing a startling shakeup for the pecking order, with a rapidly growing share of the market going to industry giants, anaemic growth, and a few signs of hope. Another of the key points made in the report published by Vontobel, a family-controlled Swiss private bank, is influence of external factors beyond the industry’s control, like the strong Swiss franc and continuously climbing gold prices, but which have nonetheless played a major role in its recent development. Long the go-to publication for industry insiders, the Vontobel watch report has been published annually for well over a decade - and since 2021, the report has been authored by Jean-Philippe Bertschy, the bank’s head of Swiss equity research (pictured above). The strong franc Before getting into the numbers, it’s worth looking at the broader macroeconomic environment affecting the industry. The strong franc and weak dollar are headwinds for the export-oriented Swiss watch industry, and, like erratic US trade policy and soaring gold prices, entirely outside its control. In nominal terms, total Swiss watch exports declined for the second year in a row, down 1.7% to CHF25.5 billion, following a 2.8% decline the year before. However, the Swiss franc’s appreciation casts a more sympathetic light on these numbers. For example, if you sold a watch for US$100 this time last year, that revenue would have converted to about CHF90....

Grand Seiko White Birch Review: A Brand-Defining Future Classic Teddy Baldassarre
Grand Seiko Mar 5, 2026

Grand Seiko White Birch Review: A Brand-Defining Future Classic

Grand Seiko is a brand that’s adept at making the intricate seem effortless. This talent for restraint is best demonstrated dial side, specifically with its play with textures that call for a second (or third, fourth, and so on) look. While the deceptively simple “Snowflake” dial is among the brand’s most renowned examples of its mastery of subtlety, today, I’m pulling focus to another iconic example of Grand Seiko’s dial mastery with the more dramatic White Birch variation. Down below, I’ll be breaking down the importance of the “White Birch” SLGH005 in Grand Seiko’s recent history, some of its guiding design philosophies, as well as all the necessary specs you need to know. [toc-section heading="History And Context"] Debuting in 2021, the SLGH005 with its “White Birch” dial marked a historic turning point for the brand, and in the years since, it has become regarded as an example of the brand’s strengths firing on all cylinders. Before its introduction, Grand Seiko had already become synonymous with intricately textural dials (which, of course, drew inspiration from the natural world), but the White Birch texture is really when the brand turned up the heat an extra notch.  Before, the brand largely relied on radial and horizontal textures, and it isn’t a coincidence that the continuous series honoring the Japanese micro-seasons (most famous being the “Shun-bun”) was already in play before the White Birch hit the scene. Many of these dials...

Reviewing The Zeitwerk Date From A. Lange & Söhne WatchAdvice
Ming one Mar 5, 2026

Reviewing The Zeitwerk Date From A. Lange & Söhne

A. Lange & Söhne’s Zeitwerk Date is not your normal watch, but that is exactly why we love it! We go hands-on to appreciate it in more detail. What We Love The colour combination of the pink gold and grey dial The movement! How could you not love it? The digital display makes the dial highly legible What We Don’t It is a larger version that won’t suit all wrists Being gold, it is not a daily wearer The crystal does have the ability to reflect the light against the darker dial Overall Rating: 9.1 / 10 Value for Money: 9/10 Wearability: 8.5/10 Design: 9.5/10 Build Quality: 9.5/10 When A. Lange  &  Söhne debuted the Zeitwerk in 2009, it didn’t just add another complication — it redefined how time could be displayed mechanically. Inspired by Dresden’s opera-house clock, the Zeitwerk fused architectural design with digital display, becoming one of modern watchmaking’s boldest statements. The movement, dial layout, and case proportions were conceived as a single, uncompromising idea. And for years, that idea remained (thankfully) almost stubbornly pure. Which is precisely why the introduction of the Zeitwerk Date marked a significant moment in the model’s evolution. Adding a date to a watch so resolved in its symmetry and identity is not as simple as just plonking a date window on the dial. It risks upsetting the balance that made the original so compelling in the first place. The solution was a peripheral date disc that rotates around the outside o...

Interview: the Convictions of James Lamb Worn & Wound
Mar 5, 2026

Interview: the Convictions of James Lamb

It’s a fair assumption that if you’re the kind of enthusiast that’s interested in independent watchmaking, the allure of something a little different isn’t lost on you. The independent watch space is a wildly diverse one that’s full of outsider artisans, but even in a field of outsiders, English watchmaker James Lamb is something of an anomaly.  Lamb’s watches genuinely don’t look like anything else on the market. While they’re all time-only affairs, they feature an offset sub-dial layout that frees up the outer portion of the dial to be used as a decorative space. With his Origin Series, Lamb applies strikingly colorful enamel work to the outer dial section. With his latest release, the Linea Edition, Lamb has collaborated with one of the UK’s most respected ornamental engravers, Joanne Ryall, to create a line of watches with beautifully hand-engraved titanium and gold outer dials.  While the dials are showstopping displays of handcraft, Lamb’s watches also feature completely handmade cases (read: no CNC machines used), which he crafts out of Argentium silver. Lamb’s case designs are robust and understated; they do a fabulous job of grounding the watch’s bold dial designs, but the craftsmanship that goes into them is something serious horology enthusiasts fawn over. For Lamb, a self-proclaimed watch industry isolationist, doing things like crafting his cases entirely by hand is kind of the whole point of making watches.  Lamb deliberately avoids...

Marathon Expands the Anthracite SAR Collection Worn & Wound
Marathon Mar 5, 2026

Marathon Expands the Anthracite SAR Collection

Like the now-ubiquitous diver and pilot styles, the mil-spec field watch is experiencing a moment in the sun. The appeal is easy to understand: much like how the original Willy’s Jeep took to post-war civilian life by offering cheap, rugged, and reliable transportation, the military-styled field watch offers significant toughness while keeping functionality simple and usable for everyday telling. Put simply, it’s a romantic promise of adventure and bravado, scaled down to wristsize. Canadian watchmaker Marathon has been making mil-spec timepieces since WWII, and has offered tactical variants like the 41mm Anthracite GSAR for those looking for that covert ops image; the new 46mm Anthracite Jumbo Day/Date, and the 36mm Anthracite MSAR Auto straddle that original model in the Anthracite lineup, and offer further complications for the enthusiast audience. The two new models in the Anthracite Search and Rescue (SAR) Unit borrow heavily from their 41mm predecessor in both styling and construction. Both feature a 316L stainless steel case with titular Anthracite finish, a uni-directional bezel, a screw-down crown, and tritium gas tube and MaraGlo luminous numerals, hands, and markers. Visually, the watches look very similar; Marathon’s legible and surprisingly un-aggressive typefaces keep the white numerals crisp and clear against the black dial. The overall styling is complicated but not visually distracting, an important aesthetic facet for a field watch.  On the 46mm mo...

Does Anybody Want This? Kalshi and Bezel Now Offer Watch Futures Trading Worn & Wound
Audemars Piguet Mar 4, 2026

Does Anybody Want This? Kalshi and Bezel Now Offer Watch Futures Trading

I used to really enjoy watching sports. But over the last few years, it’s become almost impossible to enjoy, as it feels like telecasts exist for the sole purpose of driving viewers toward gambling websites like FanDuel and DraftKings. It’s truly pervasive, and depending on how you view sports betting it’s either a mild annoyance or the sign of something darker and more insidious: the steady financialization of every form of entertainment.  This isn’t an editorial on the ethics of gambling (or capitalism) but I’ve been thinking about both over the last several hours after we learned that Bezel, the online watch retailer that acts as an authenticated marketplace for many sought after watches from Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and others, has teamed up with Kalshi, the prediction markets platform that lets users place bets not just on sports, but on questions like “What will Pete Hegseth say during his press conference?” and “Which bank will take SpaceX public?” Now, Kalshi users and presumably watch collectors and speculators can bet on changing watch valuations, as well as the likelihood of potential new releases. This seems like a uniquely terrible idea, and I hate everything about it.  First, and this goes almost without saying, as watch enthusiasts, we are always trying to divorce ourselves from placing a high degree of importance on the value of any given watch. While nobody wants to lose money on an expensive watch purchase, real joy in this hobby comes ...

Hands-On With The Remarkable Leica ZM 1 And ZM 2 Fratello
Mar 3, 2026

Hands-On With The Remarkable Leica ZM 1 And ZM 2

The name Leica often comes up in the Fratello office. Usually, it’s in reference to its famous cameras, but ever since the German brand introduced its first mechanical watches, we’ve also begun associating it with horology. This shows how closely connected mechanical watchmaking and photography are. In both, high-precision instruments are vital, and Leica certainly […] Visit Hands-On With The Remarkable Leica ZM 1 And ZM 2 to read the full article.

Introducing: The Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Ruby Fratello
Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Ruby Mar 3, 2026

Introducing: The Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Ruby

Time flies when everything resonates nicely, doesn’t it? It sure does for Armin Strom. No fewer than 10 years have passed since the independent Swiss house launched its breakthrough resonance mechanism. Although not actively marketed as an anniversary model, I reckon it is safe to say this rather exuberant version, the Armin Strom Mirrored Force […] Visit Introducing: The Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Ruby to read the full article.

Benrus Debuts a New Version of the Classic Sky Chief Chronograph Worn & Wound
Mar 2, 2026

Benrus Debuts a New Version of the Classic Sky Chief Chronograph

Benrus has unveiled a new version of their Sky Chief, a classic pilot’s chronograph that dates to the brand’s 1940s heyday. There are many, many vintage inspired chronographs and re-editions of classic references on the market, so it takes a certain something to stand out from the crowd in this particular watch collecting niche. It appears that Benrus, for this release, has taken the approach of creating a vintage styled chronograph that is truly in line with the proportions of the original, something a lot of brands simply don’t care about, or don’t quite go far enough in emulating.  The headline here, I think, is that the new Sky Chief measures in at a very vintage-accurate 36mm in diameter. The original Sky Chief was approximately 35mm, so this is about as close to the original as anyone has a right to expect given the need to use a modern movement. The decision to go small here has two key benefits. First, obviously, the case is going to wear great on a huge variety of wrists. The 36mm diameter is a very accommodating size, and the case height of 11.9mm and lug to lug of 42.5mm make for a watch with classic proportions, at least on paper (we haven’t seen the Sky Chief in person yet).  The other important benefit of a smaller case that people do not talk about nearly enough when it comes to watches like this, chronographs in particular, is that you wind up with a far more balanced and cohesive dial. A smaller case of course means less dial space, and for a c...

Ruby Resonance from Armin Strom SJX Watches
F.P. Journe Mar 2, 2026

Ruby Resonance from Armin Strom

Independent watchmaker Armin Strom has upgraded its flagship complication with a precious stone dial. The Mirrored Force Resonance Ruby is a five-piece limited edition with a dial cut from natural ruby. Initial thoughts Armin Strom is arguably the second-most prominent watchmaker (after F.P. Journe) to successfully bring “resonance” watches to market. We extensively covered the subject of coupled oscillator watches recently, which examines Armin Strom’s unique approach to achieving this mysterious effect.  Within this narrow niche, Armin Strom’s Mirrored Force series is certainly the broadest collection of resonance watches on the market, with multiple movements and many variations exploiting the almost magic coupling between two sprung balances. This new limited edition employs the familiar in-house caliber ARF21, which connects the two hairspring by a long, swivelling blade spring - dubbed the Resonance Clutch Spring. While the movement is certainly well known, this particular iteration of the watch is quite surprising: a thin slice of natural ruby serves as the dial, with all the imperfections and liveliness of a natural mineral.  Using a ruby dial is not only aesthetically appealing but poetic for a mechanical watch. The jewels serving as bearings inside every movement are synthetic rubies - a fancy sort of industrial mineral glass. The uneven bright pink and violet shades of the Mirrored Force Resonance Ruby’s dial assure us there is nothing artificial...