Hodinkee
In-Depth: A Brief History Of Modern Rolex Balance Springs
Let's also talk about magnets, shall we?
824 articles · 26 videos found · page 12 of 29
Hodinkee
Let's also talk about magnets, shall we?
WatchRider
Officially known as the Citizen Imperial Battle AW1857-57W, the latest Star Wars collaboration goes straight for the franchise’s most recognizable hardware. The red-and-black metal dial uses original embossed artwork to turn the Death Star into a richly textured backdrop, while a swarm of TIE Fighters appears to fly above it. An applied Galactic Empire crest occupies 12 o’clock, and the date window sits at 3 o’clock without trying to compete with the miniature space battle. Citizen Imperial Battle AW1857-57W. Death Star detail, wearable hardware Citizen did not stop at decorating the dial. The angular, hexagonal 42 mm stainless-steel case is finished in dark gray ion plating and shaped to recall the six-sided solar panels of a TIE Fighter. A matching ion-plated steel bracelet mixes brushed surfaces with glossy central details and closes with a fold-over clasp and twin push buttons. A ring of oversized five-minute numerals around the crystal reinforces the industrial styling, with selected markings picked out in red. The watch looks almost architectural from the front, but a relatively conventional crown and three-link bracelet keep the construction familiar. The rear view continues the theme with an engraved Imperial crest, Star Wars branding and Lucasfilm licensing. It also confirms 10-bar water resistance, equivalent to 100 metres. A scratch-resistant sapphire crystal protects the elaborate dial, giving the watch specifications suited to regular wear rather than di...
Worn & Wound
Citizen is one of those brands that conjures a certain image in the mind of a watch collector as soon as you utter the brand name. The watches, for the most part, are pretty ubiquitous, and the brand name is easily recognized by most people who have ever shopped for a watch at a department store, or noticed an advertisement in a magazine. Which is to say, they are huge, and make watches that are largely appealing to a broad swath of the public, which in turn means that many of them are affordable or at least accessible. But it would be a mistake to diminish Citizen as simply a brand that produces affordable mall watches. Their size means that not only do they play a significant role in the mass market and enthusiast watch spaces, but that they have the resources to operate at the higher end as well. My favorite example of this, by far, is Citizen’s “The Citizen” line of watches. We’ve covered these many times before (I reviewed one here), and while they are somewhat awkwardly named, they do a great job of distilling with I think Citizen really is at their best, marrying competent manufacturing, their own Eco-Drive technology, and some cultural references to Japan that actually make sense in the context of the watch and how it works. As part of the brand’s ongoing celebration of the 50th anniversary of Eco-Drive, Citizen has just announced a new limited edition version of The Citizen, reference AQ4094-58L. It follows the format of many of the previous iteratio...
Revolution
Hodinkee
The watch world hasn't seen an auction season like this in quite some time. Well, ever, frankly. Phillips set multiple records (43 by their count, though many are quite obscure), including a new record for the highest single sale of $96,328,083, besting their result from just last fall. If you add in their online auction, they passed $100 million for the first time ever. Sotheby's smashed the record for the most expensive A. Lange & Söhne ever (for a pocket watch, we might add)—a record that only stood for a few weeks, set during the house's Hong Kong sale. But it wasn't so much the overall numbers that were shocking as the fact of which watches were selling for what prices. So, what the heck is going on? Well, we were watching; some of us from afar, others (Andy Hoffman) in the auction rooms. Instead of focusing solely on broad strokes, let's look at five specific results and why they matter for the market. A Bog-Standard Stainless Steel Akrivia AK-06 is Now a $3.8 Million Watch, 30 Times Its Original Retail Rexhep Rexhepi is the hottest watchmaker of the new, young generation, and it's not particularly close. That's not a dig on his contemporaries, but rather a reflection of the realities of the market, where people are clamoring (to an unbelievable degree) to buy a watch from a man who has made very few watches in the first place, and the few that have come to market reach astronomical prices. There aren't many data points to go off of. Only twelve Akrivia or Rexhep ...
Monochrome
It goes without saying that IWC’s pilot watch-making legacy is second to none. The company has been making dedicated flight instruments for almost a century, and as such, it remains at the core of the brand. The Big Pilot is the proverbial poster boy, but the entire Pilot’s Watch collection is full of incredibly cool […]
Hodinkee
The Ceratanium bezel-operated tool watch has been qualified by Vast for a 2027 mission aboard Haven-1, the first commercial space station.
Hodinkee
Two countries, one community came together to honor five decades of light-powered technology.
Worn & Wound
I wonder how many times the words “It’s an anniversary year for…” have been written on this website? It probably wouldn’t be that hard to figure out, but frankly I have too many articles about anniversaries to write to devote even a small amount of time to this particular task. Case in point, the latest from Citizen, which celebrates not the anniversary of the brand itself, but rather a piece of technology that they have pioneered and has in many ways come to define them for both casual watch consumers and hardcore enthusiasts alike. That’s right folks, Eco-Drive turns 50 this year, and I think you’ll agree that at the half century mark it’s looking as youthful and promising as ever, countering the conventional wisdom and advice from dermatologists everywhere to stay out of the sun. The new watch is called the Photon, and when it hits retailers in the fall it will come in two versions: the BJ6560-53W in silver titanium and the BJ6569-59X in black coated titanium with a gold toned accent on the outside of the case. Both feature the same latticed dial made up of two metal dial plates that allow light to pass through and hit the Eco-Drive sensor. According to Citizen, the design is inspired by the famous “double slit experiment” that proves light can exhibit both wave and particle-like behaviors. I can already imagine 7th grade science teachers removing their watches in class to perform live demonstrations while simultaneously indoctrinating a new genera...
Hodinkee
With a Super Titanium case and bracelet and an eye-catching dial, Citizen brings a new design and 12-month power reserve to the lineup.
Hodinkee
Join Hodinkee and Citizen for an enlightening conversation and exclusive look-ahead.
Hodinkee
The sailing-inspired collection blends a first-for-the-brand dive bezel and sporty chronograph vibes for an affordable offering.
Teddy Baldassarre
Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.
Hodinkee
Don't call them trends; here are a half dozen things I learned by paying close attention to the public watch market as of late.
SJX Watches
Despite everything, including tariffs and a strong Swiss franc, the Geneva auction season turned out to be a strong one, with some of the strongest results being in the most surprising segments. The bigger winner this season was Phillips, which sold a bit under 200 lots for CHF43.4 million including fees, while also claiming the most valuable lots for the season, reflecting Phillips’ strong leadership and team. Despite being the market leader by some margin, the Phillips catalogue was arguably the riskiest as it included several high-value pocket watches and clocks – timepieces that not part of mainstream collecting today. Yet the gamble paid off with the most valuable timepiece this season being its Breguet Sympathique no. 1 that sold for CHF5.51 million. Christie’s achieved CHF21.2 million with a similar number of lots that were arguably more conventional in taste and format than at Phillips. One of its most valuable lots was a Cartier Crash “NSO” with a special order dial that sold for CHF736,000 – one of the biggest surprises of the season but proof that being eye-catching enough for social media is a big factor in desirability and value today. Interestingly, the Crash sold for exactly the same as the Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari. The Crash went for about 15 times the original retail, while the RM UP-01 was about half of retail. The Crash NSO “nickele” grey. Image – Christie’s Over at Antiquorum, the tally was CHF10 million – from almost 800 lot...
Hodinkee
All that and more in this week's edition of Hodinkee's What's Selling Where column.
Hodinkee
From MK Ultra to the Chilean Marines, if you like watches with fascinating, one-of-a-kind provenance, this season's catalog is not to be missed.
Hodinkee
Morgan Stanley and WatchCharts data shows Rolex, Patek, AP, Omega and Cartier outperforming on secondary market
Hodinkee
The Japanese watchmaker celebrates the Kiri flower with a stunning purple Mt. Iwate dial in this elegant 36.5mm watch.
Monochrome
It was twice around the clock again in Daytona, Florida, as the 2025 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona kicked into high gear this past Saturday at 01:40 pm local time. The stage for the 63rd running of the legendary endurance race is of course the Daytona International Speedway. The world’s top drivers lined […]
Revolution
Hodinkee
Incomplete and totally subjective, but the first big auction season is in the books, so it's time to talk about some of the results, good and bad.
SJX Watches
A longer-than-usual Geneva auction weekend just concluded, having started with Only Watch 2024 and concluded with Christie’s watch sale – both of which were postponed for different reasons. Only Watch set the tone for the rest of the sales. The appetite for buying was muted. Most watches performed as expected: desirable brands and watches did well, though not as well as they would have in 2022 or early 2023. A handful of watches were outliers and performed spectacularly. That said, there were more watches that sold poorly compared to either of the last two instalments. In sum, it was a reflection of the overall market for collectible watches. A night-time cyberattack On a sunny Friday morning in Geneva, just before Only Watch was scheduled to take place in the afternoon, it emerged that Christie’s had suffered a company-wide cyberattack that brought down its website, app, and everything else digital. According to a Christie’s representative, the cyberattack began in the early hours of Friday last week, which was fortunately daytime in Asia, so its Hong Kong office was able to respond. Even though the hack took place just before the watch and jewellery auctions in Geneva, the cyberattack was probably timed to take place before the following week of art sales in New York, where Christie’s will sell over US$800 million of art. Tess Pettavino making the opening speech. Image – Only Watch A colourful event Because of the cyberattack, Christie’s postponed its watch...
Hodinkee
Covering the wild, the weird, and the scholarship-changing in our preview of the upcoming Geneva auctions.
Hodinkee
Come for the dogs, stay for the watches.
Worn & Wound
Swiss watchmaker Norqain has just released the colorful Freedom 60 Chrono 40mm collection. Showcasing three colorways, this collection is inspired by the idyllic charm of Tuscany, capturing the essence of la dolce vita, mixed with the precision and design elements for which Norqain is known. Each watch in the collection features a 316L stainless steel case in the now familiar Freedom 60 silhouette that evokes classic sports watches from the past. With a diameter of 40mm and a thickness of 14.90mm, these timepieces strike the perfect balance of having presence on the wrist without too much additional bulk. The Freedom 60 Chrono 40 mm collection is available in three new pastel color options: Sky Blue, Pistachio, and Peach, each dial reminiscent of one’s favorite gelateria. Each dial has a darker complementary sub-dial, outer ring, and tachymeter scale to tie the everything together. An anthracite Norqain logo and black counters at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock add depth to the dial, while diamond-cut flat indexes ensure readability in a variety of lighting conditions. The color matched date window, positioned between 4 and 5 o’clock, adds a practical complication, while diamond-cut faceted hour and minute hands, filled with Superluminova, enhance visibility in low-light environments. The Freedom 60 Chrono 40mm collection is powered by the mechanical Norqain caliber N19 (a modified Sellita SW510), offering 62 hours of power reserve. Watches are offered in three strap varie...
Worn & Wound
Celebrating 30 years since the release of Citizen’s first atomic timekeeping watch, the new Tsuki-yoma A-T shows the evolution of the brand’s technical prowess and Citizen’s penchant for looking skyward for inspiration. Named after the ancient Japanese moon god, the Tsuki-yomi collection lives up to its namesake. Informed by a mathematical formula developed by Citizen, this watch calculates the phase of the moon each day from signals received from multi-band radio transmitters. These signals then are interpreted at the 6 o’clock mark of the dial, adjusting as the natural phases of the move wax and wane throughout the month. Technically speaking, that’s not even the most impressive feature of this watch’s use of the Luna Program technology. The watch will also switch the moon phase display to match the view either from the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, leaving wearers to easily navigate from Australia to New Mexico without having to manually change the moon phases yourself. The dial is finished with a world time subdial in 24 time zones, a perpetual calendar, and day-date functionality at 4 o’clock. The watch comes in three colorways, blue, silver, and red. Each is housed in a 43mm scratch-resistant Super Titanium case with a sapphire crystal, each durably made to be taken on your next adventure. All three references are powered by the atomic timekeeping movement, Eco-Drive 2 Cal. H874, which can run for upwards of 2.5 years on a full charge. The Tsuki-...
Quill & Pad
If John Keil was to recommend a brand-new functional diver’s watch to a friend who was looking to spend within a certain price range, these would be his suggestions. Or, more specifically, here is what he would purchase himself in a variety of price categories.
Hodinkee
With over $100 million in sales over the weekend, there were great watches on the wrists in the crowd, and even better people wearing them.
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