1,599 articles · 116 videos found · page 15 of 58
Quill & Pad
The Louis Moinet Only India is an intricate and colorful display of craftsmanship with a celestial hook that Joshua Munchow can’t ignore: a small fragment of the original Shergotty meteorite used as a centerpiece for the dial honoring aspects of Indian culture.
Deployant
Louis Moinet introduces the Super Moon, a novelty with métiers d'art and object d'are aspirations packaged in a whimsical but beautifully thought out watch.
Time+Tide
Maybe it’s just me, but recently there seems to be a common thread amongst high-end watchmakers. Multiple releases have come out making use of that much loved melodious complication, the minute repeater (I must admit, there is something very enjoyable about listening to time.) While some brands are just getting into this arena, others have … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: It’s chime time with the Moser Endeavour Concept Minute Repeater Tourbillon appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Bovet has always been a brand with a particular fondness for watches that show multiple time zones. And Martin Green has always appreciated these Bovet models with multiple time zones because they integrate the complications so effortlessly. And the new Orbis Mundi, created to celebrate the brand's 200th anniversary, is no exception.
Quill & Pad
The Louis Moinet Memoris Spirit chronograph is an aesthetic and mechanical update to the classic Memoris chronograph that may end up being the most sought-after model yet. Joshua Munchow takes a closer look at how it arrived here.
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Time+Tide
Hublot is all about material innovation and each year they continue to step it up. This Watches & Wonders, for example, they expanded their sapphire portfolio by adding the colour purple. But while it seems Hublot can bring something new each release cycle with ease, each effort is, of course, the fruit of extensive labour … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: Hublot debuts the first-ever 100% ceramic-cased minute repeater appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
The latest dual time Hora Mundi is a technical achievement and a feast for the eyes.
Revolution
Louis Moinet presents a new tale of imaginative watchmaking in its latest launch, the Astronef that is powered by the caliber LM105 that drove its iconic Space Revolution watch.
Deployant
A. Lange & Söhne introduces the Richard Lange Minute Repeater, putting the focus back on the chiming mechanism as a singular complication.
SJX Watches
A. Lange & Söhne first unveiled their first minute repeater in 2013, in the form of the Grand Complication. It took two more years for the unveiling of a simpler – yet still complex – model in the form of the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater. Finally, seven years later, Lange unveils the Richard Lange Minute Repeater – a no-frills, classical three-hander with the coveted chiming feature. Initial Impressions Surprisingly slim and impressive in terms of acoustics, the Richard Lange Minute Repeater feels like a conservative release from the brand, but one that is much needed in the brand’s lineup – especially for those looking for a classically-styled minute repeater compared to the Zeitwerk. At first glance, it feels like an odd watch relative to the rest of Lange’s catalogue – we’ve taken for granted that Lange usually designs movement that are distinctively unique, especially for complications. In fact, the minute repeater mechanism and overall layout feel like a traditional Swiss calibre, albeit one with a German aesthetic. This can be forgiven as there’s only so many ways to design a minute repeater in a classic three-hander. And the brand still innovates – the repeater has practical high-end features compared to most of its peers, such as safety mechanisms and eliminating the pauses between the hour and minute strike. But arguably the best quality of the watch is its tactile feel. It feels and sounds good on the wrist – the case is unusually thin for a La...
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Time+Tide
A long time ago in a land far away (2012 / Canada), I embarked on the journey of watch collecting. I had saved enough to confidently go into the local Rolex authorised dealer and strike up a deal. Ten years ago, you could actually negotiate a discount on some of these watches, which was the … ContinuedThe post How I changed my mind about the Rolex Explorer II (and why it now rarely leaves my wrist…) appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Founded by a Slovakian duo who are both trained jewellers, Molnar Fabry specialises in elaborately decorated watches built on existing movements. Last year the pair reworked a Vaucher automatic calibre, but the brand’s latest project started life over a century ago. Echoing one of Molnar Fabry’s creations from 2018, the Grand Master Minute Repeater is essentially a pocket watch converted into a wristwatch. Starting out as a C.H. Meylan minute repeating pocket watch from 1901, the Grand Master features a hand-made case containing the pocket watch movement, which has been entirely refinished and extensively engraved. A close-up of the heavily decorated movement Initial thoughts Molnar Fabry does high quality work especially in terms of decoration, both for movement components and engraving. Their style is usual ornate, which might not be to everyone’s taste, but the brand has shown versatility in its past work, which has included more streamlined designs. The Grand Master is definitely ornate with its fully engraved case and movement. The quality and thoroughness of the work is impressive. And relatively to its ballpark price, the Grand Master is priced reasonably compared to what better-known makers in Switzerland would charge. But as with many pocket watch conversions, the Grand Master is a huge watch. The case is 47 mm by 14 mm. For anyone who likes their watches on this scale – and appreciates the skill that went into the decoration – the Grand Master is off t...
SJX Watches
Most famous for its jewelled timepieces and the Astronomia, Jacob & Co. specialises in over the top watches. One of its latest is the Opera Godfather Minute Repeater. Inspired by the film of the same name, it’s a massive watch in the brand’s typical style of a sapphire cake dome containing a 758-component movement. While The Godfather branding on the dial is gaudy, the mechanics of the watch are surprisingly unusual and impressively complex. The Godfather repeater can chime the time with the minute repeating function and also play The Godfather theme on the miniature two-cylinder musical box within the case (see the video just below). That makes it a two-train grand complication at heart: one barrel and going train drives the triple-axis tourbillon and time display – which is linked to the repeating mechanism – while the second barrel and train power the music box. Initial thoughts Jacob & Co. specialises in loud watches, so everything has to be judged by that benchmark. The Twin Turbo Furious, for example, is one of the tamer complications the brand offers. The Godfather repeater fits right into that repertoire. It’s enormous – almost 50 mm wide and over 20 mm high – so it scores low on wearability. But it scores high on making a state on the wrist, in both aesthetics and function, which is unquestionably the point of the whole exercise. The button that activates the music box, with the slide for the repeater just below it That said, the large size is not...
Quill & Pad
With twin orbiting tourbillons and a highly mechanical display, the Louis Moinet Astronef builds on stylistic spacecraft origins and creates something entirely fascinating. Joshua Munchow heads into space to take a closer look.
SJX Watches
Just days after the inaugural Nautilus ref. 5711/1A Tiffany & Co. 170th Anniversary sold for just over US$6.5 million, Patek Philippe has announced a wristwatch at the other end of the watchmaking spectrum. The latest in a series of watches focused on experimental new technologies, the “Advanced Research” Minute Repeater ref. 5750P-001 is the ultimate Patek Philippe minute repeater in terms of acoustics. Equipped with a patented amplification device named ‘fortissimo “ff”‘, the ref. 5750P strikes chimes that are so loud they are audible 60 m away according to Patek Philippe. Initial thoughts The ref. 5750P is interesting both mechanically and aesthetically. The R 27 PS movement certainly lives up to the “Advanced Research” label with its amplification mechanism, while the design is practically radical, at least in terms of Patek Philippe grand complications. While the “fortissimo” device relies on a few familiar principles, including a crystal soundboard and perforated case back, it is still novel enough to make it interesting. While other watchmakers have built repeating movements based on the same concepts, including Audemars Piguet with its Supersonnerie, Patek Philippe has done it in a classical fashion with an impressively thin movement that is very much typical of the brand. Visually, the ref. 5750P is radically different from any Patek Philippe repeater. Even the most contemporary of the brand’s striking watches are conventionally classical in...
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Quill & Pad
While every one of this boutique brand's watches is a testimony to Louis Moinet's horological storytelling, the 8 Marvels of the World do this perhaps even more intensely. These eight watches each pay tribute to a unique historical structure highlighting the heights of human civilization. Louis Moinet worked with a large team of artists to capture these feats of human engineering in the most artistic and engaging ways.
Quill & Pad
The Louis Moinet Space Revolution for 2021 displays two tourbillons orbiting the dial in opposite directions. But that’s not all: each of these tourbillons carries a little titanium spaceship on its “tail” to create an epic science fiction space battle on the wrist!
Deployant
We take a comprehensive first look at the new Louis Moiner Space Revolution. A watch which is currently a candidate at the category of “Tourbillon” at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) 2021. Based on one to one discussions with Jean-Marie Schaller, owner and creative director of Louis Moinet, using press release photographs. FirstRead More
SJX Watches
Debuted exactly 90 years ago a sports watch, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is famous for its swivelling case that was meant to protect the crystal. But in the modern day, the Reverso has paradoxically evolved into brand’s signature dress watch, as well as a canvas for assorted complications and artisanal decoration. The latest 90th anniversary model falls into the former category – the Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater is highly complicated, with its mechanics visible on two open-worked faces: the chiming mechanism revealed on the front and the base movement on the reverse. The front (left) with the repeater revealed, and the back showing the hand-wind calibre Initial thoughts The Reverso Tribute Repeater is an example of smart engineering and design, executed in a way that is possible only with the Reverso’s two faces. Notably, doing away with a solid dial is actually a technical necessity (more on that later), rather than mere vanity, but it leaves the watch looking as impressively complicated as it is. Though a modular repeater, its repeating mechanism is no ordinary example, but instead incorporates two proprietary innovations that compound to produce louder chimes, namely the extra-large hammers and the gongs that are located as close to the wearer as possible – they are attached onto the front crystal, hence the absence of the dial. Upon activation, the slider on the left winds up the mainspring at six o’clock, which unwinds to power the repeater That said, t...
Time+Tide
After only one day at Geneva Watch Days, my synapses are already on the verge of becoming fried, from the incessant barrage of impressions and frankly mind-blowing pieces on my wrist. To even try to surmise this into a short story of the top three is a challenge, but that’s why I love writing about … ContinuedThe post Geneva Watch Days: My three favourites so far. Mood? Mind-blown! appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Quill & Pad
John Howe has created many an iconic dragon for J.R.R. Tolkien works over the years, so it was appropriate for him to craft something radiating the same energy and history for Jaquet Droz. The result is the new limited-edition Petite Heure Minute Dragon, a watch perfectly combining two of Joshua Munchow's passions in one incredible object.
SJX Watches
Patek Philippe keeps up the pace with the fourth instalment of new releases for the year, which were just announced at its annual Rare Handcrafts Exhibition in Geneva. While most of the watches at the exhibition are one-offs bestowed with colourful, artisanal decoration, the line up includes an ensemble of repeating watches, led by the flamboyant Sky Moon Tourbillon in pink gold and brown. Simpler, at least relatively speaking, is the Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5374G that packs a pair of high-end complications fronted by a blue, grand feu enamel dial. Initial thoughts Today’s launches stand in stark contrast to the brand’s hottest watches of the moment – the sports watches that are arguably its most recognisable products now – that were its opening act for the year. Patek Philippe launched a slew of exquisite, highly decorated timepieces today, affirming its twin strengths – haute horlogerie and metiers d’art. The generous array of Rare Handcrafts, along with the fact that several are chiming watches, is a reminder that Patek Philippe is more than a faddish, integrated-bracelet sports watch. That said, the ref. 5374 is not entirely new (neither is the flagship Sky Moon Tourbillon ref. 6002R). In fact, the only truly new reference amongst the Rare Handcrafts complications is the Ladies Minute Repeater ref. 7040/250G. The ref. 5374 was first introduced in 2016 with a platinum case and black enamel dial – a formal, classical package. Now it ge...
SJX Watches
While the Sky Moon Tourbillon introduced at the same time is bold and over the top, the Rare Handcrafts Ladies’ Minute Repeater ref. 7040/250G is graceful and delicately detailed. Now the only minute repeater for ladies in the catalogue, the ref. 7040/250G features a dial with spiral guilloche covered in translucent enamel, match with unusual, spear-shaped hands and markers. Initial thoughts The ref. 7040/250G is surprisingly reminiscent of Patek Philippe’s men’s watch of the 1990s with its “officer’s” case. In fact, that case is quite close to that of the ref. 5029, the limited-edition minute repeater made in 1997 to commemorate the opening of its factory in Plans-les-Ouates. That resemblance is a good thing, because the ref. 5029 was an elegant, classical watch. The new repeater shares similar lines, but has been tastefully dressed up as a ladies watch with a diamond bezel and guilloche dial. The dial is a first for Patek Philippe, and certainly good looking. There’s a hint of Laurent Ferrier design in the dial, but again, the resemblance isn’t a bad thing. All in all, the ref. 7040/250G is an all-rounder – a pretty watch with a finely detailed dial and a complex movement. Svelte dimensions Slightly larger than the preceding minute repeater for ladies (the ref. 7000 that was 33.7 mm), the ref. 7040/250G has a case of 18k white gold that measures just 36 mm by 10.14 mm high – more or less the dimensions the men’s minute repeater of the 1990s. The rou...
Time+Tide
Each year the Horological Society of New York and Phillips team up to raise money to advance the art and science of horology – offering financial aid to watchmaking institutions and full-time watchmaking students in the United States. All proceeds, including the 26% buyers premium, go towards the cause, a much needed effort to help … ContinuedThe post Highlights of the HSNY x Phillips 2021 Charity Auction include a co-branded Rolex and a watch with a NY state of mind appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
The new Carl F. Bucherer Manero Minute Repeater Symphony features a very cool peripheral winding rotor, but it also has a few more tricks up its sleeve including a tourbillon and a minute repeater. There's also much more here than meets the eye as Joshua Munchow explains.
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