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Results for The Royal Oak Launch Story

43,315 articles · 262 videos found · page 152 of 1453

Does The New Off-Catalog Rolesium Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Really Have A Grand Feu Enamel Dial? Fratello
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Really Have Apr 23, 2026

Does The New Off-Catalog Rolesium Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Really Have A Grand Feu Enamel Dial?

There’s nothing like a bit of confusion when it comes to terminology used in the description of watches. There’s something better, however - confusion caused by Rolex watches. At this year’s Watches and Wonders, the dial of an exclusive offering caused a bit of a storm in the watch community because of the use of […] Visit Does The New Off-Catalog Rolesium Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Really Have A Grand Feu Enamel Dial? to read the full article.

First Look - The New TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 500 Date; Going Deeper, Staying Cool Monochrome
TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 500 Date Apr 23, 2026

First Look - The New TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 500 Date; Going Deeper, Staying Cool

With all the attention focused on the new and important TAG Heuer Monaco references (Steve McQueen and Evergraph), the introduction of the Aquaracer Professional 500 Date at Watches and Wonders 2026 was a quieter one. Still, with this new release, the brand fills a gap in its dive watch range. Positioned between the refined, everyday-capable […]

The Louis Erard Le Régulateur Esprit Flinqué in Grey - a Worn & Wound Collaboration, Revisited Worn & Wound
Louis Erard Le Régulateur Esprit Flinqué Apr 22, 2026

The Louis Erard Le Régulateur Esprit Flinqué in Grey - a Worn & Wound Collaboration, Revisited

Late last year, we launched one of the most ambitious limited edition collaborations we’ve ever undertaken: the Louis Erard x Worn & Wound Le Régulateur. Developed over the course of three years, the project began with a concept from our side that pushed beyond anything we had done before. Realizing that vision required extensive R&D; to bring it to life at the highest possible standard, but the result was something truly distinct. Our goal with collaborations is always to create something unique, something special, and in this case, the outcome was a watch that stood apart from anything else. Layered, elaborate, provocative, and even a touch challenging, it’s a design that holds its own in even the most esoteric collections. the Worn & Wound x Louis Erard collaboration from 2025 Because the design itself was so original, and the execution so involved, it felt unfortunate for its life to be limited to just the 99 blue models of the initial release. During development, Louis Erard explored several alternate dial colors, some of them quite unconventional. While the design translated surprisingly well across these variations, there was something compelling about the restraint of the grey version that ultimately set it apart. Yes, grey and black are often the safe choices, but here, the result feels anything but typical. Zach Weiss’ Design from the 2022 pitch deck Now known as the “Le Régulateur Esprit Flinqué,” the design set out to rethink the regulator display w...

Watches & Wonders: Bremont Goes Upmarket With the Supernova Tourbillon and a Vintage-Styled Chronograph With a Historic Movement Worn & Wound
Bremont Goes Upmarket Apr 22, 2026

Watches & Wonders: Bremont Goes Upmarket With the Supernova Tourbillon and a Vintage-Styled Chronograph With a Historic Movement

For Watches and Wonders 2026, Bremont is aiming for the stars: not only with the Supernova Chronograph, a new space-oriented lineup that will actually go to the moon, but also showcasing what the British brand can do with a pair of upmarket, collectible chronographs. One of them features an in-house tourbillon movement, while the other resurrects an vaunted historic movement in an elegant, limited-edition, and vintage-inspired design.  The Supernova Chronograph, also making its debut in Geneva at Watches & Wonders, is the first of a new line for Bremont, a steel sports watch with an integrated bracelet and a generously-sized 41mm case. But Bremont is also using its architecture to debut the brand’s second tourbillon movement, following 2024’s Terra Nova Dual Time Tourbillon. This time around, the Supernova Tourbillon exhibits a skeleton design with all of its movement bridges and tourbillon cage displayed around a black ceramic bezel and a sapphire crystal, with red jewels as the Supernova’s only exhibition of color.  Dramatically, the markers, bridges, Dauphine hands, and the tourbillon’s three markers glow with a bright blue Super-LumiNova, a nod to the space theme that the Supernova is aiming for.  If the Supernova Tourbillon is aimed at the future, Bremont’s other release has a distinctly vintage feel-starting from its movement. Bremont is resurrecting the Valjoux 23 two-register chronograph movement into its new Altitude Chronograph Pulsometer: a restor...

In-Depth - Impressions About the Rolex Daytona Rolesium 126502, a.k.a The Ultimate Cosmograph Monochrome
Rolex Daytona Rolesium 126502 a.k.a Apr 22, 2026

In-Depth - Impressions About the Rolex Daytona Rolesium 126502, a.k.a The Ultimate Cosmograph

Without a doubt, one of the most discussed releases of Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026 and the biggest surprise of Rolex for its 2026 collection… There’s now a new steel Rolex Daytona, but actually not quite. See, for decades, the steel Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona has been available in basically two versions only – white […]

Business News: Breitling’s House Of Brands Unveils New Executive Leadership With Georges Kern As Group CEO Hodinkee
Roger Dubuis Apr 22, 2026

Business News: Breitling’s House Of Brands Unveils New Executive Leadership With Georges Kern As Group CEO

'House of Brands,' the group of watchmakers including Breitling, Universal Genéve, and the soon-to-be-revived Gallet, announced executive changes that will see the flagship brand led by new leadership, with Georges Kern becoming the group's Chief Executive Officer. Jean-Marc Pontroué, a long-time Richemont executive and the former CEO of Panerai and Roger Dubuis, is the new Chief Executive Officer of Breitling, the group says in a statement. The changes take effect in May.  Georges Kern Georges Kern, who has led Breitling under new ownership since 2017, overseeing a more than doubling of annual sales to above CHF 800 million, according to analyst estimates, and one of the most dramatic turnarounds in modern watchmaking, becomes the new CEO of the House of Brands, overseeing the three marques and their leadership in a newly created role.At Universal Genève, which relaunched this month in the high-end segment in what's likely the most ambitious watch brand return and repositioning in decades, Grégory Bruttin remains Managing Director. Meanwhile, at Gallet, the approachable-priced brand known for its Flying Officer and Multichron models, to be revived in August this year, Erwan Rossignol, who is already leading the team preparing the relaunch, becomes Managing Director. The changes confirm the multi-brand ambitions of the private-equity-backed Grenchen, Switzerland-based company, and provide a structure similar to that of other groups with portfolios of several watch bra...

Happenings: Claude Greisler To Lecture At The Horological Society Of New York Hodinkee
Armin Strom Co-Founder Apr 22, 2026

Happenings: Claude Greisler To Lecture At The Horological Society Of New York

Resonance is one of the most fascinating physical phenomena explored in watchmaking, where two oscillators influence each other and eventually synchronize. Since Christiaan Huygens' 17th‑century observations with pendulum clocks, watchmakers have sought to harness it in wristwatches. At the May 2026 lecture of the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), Armin Strom Co-Founder and Master Watchmaker Claude Greisler will share how the brand successfully achieved resonance in 2016 with the caliber ARF15. Central to this innovation is the patented resonance clutch, which links the two hairsprings, allowing them to synchronize quickly and continuously average out rate deviations. Join Greisler as he explores the journey from theory to mechanism and the creation of a modern resonance system. About Claude Greisler "A passion for 'transparent mechanics', both from an aesthetic perspective and to showcase how our watches actually work, has always guided my design sensibility. From a watchmaking perspective, I honor the many generations of Swiss-German watchmakers in my family with an uncompromising commitment to perfection in both movement quality and finishing." - Claude Greisler Born into a watchmaker family, Claude Greisler began his formal watchmaking education at a watchmaker school in Solothurn, Switzerland, followed by advanced programs at the Centre Interrégional de Formation des Montagnes (CIFOM) in Le Locle. He graduated in watch restoration and watch development, com...

Watches And Wonders 2026 Roundup - Gerald Charles Fratello
Gerald Charles Apr 22, 2026

Watches And Wonders 2026 Roundup - Gerald Charles

Watches and Wonders 2026 may officially be closed, but we’re highlighting some of the key brands we visited. Gerald Charles is known for its distinctively styled baroque wristwatches, with a case shape originally designed by Gérald Genta. This year, the brand added to its lineup with a trio of attractive releases. I had the opportunity […] Visit Watches And Wonders 2026 Roundup - Gerald Charles to read the full article.

Business News: Timothée Chalamet Joins Urban Jürgensen As Minority Partner And Creative Advisor Hodinkee
Franck Muller Apr 22, 2026

Business News: Timothée Chalamet Joins Urban Jürgensen As Minority Partner And Creative Advisor

Timothée Chalamet has gotten really deep into independent watchmaking lately. He's shown up at press events, basketball games, and on the red carpet, wearing everything from a Simon Brette to a Franck Muller and even an Akrivia AK-06. He's also been wearing a neo-vintage Urban Jürgensen from time to time. But it seems like he's always rotated back to his trusty Urban Jürgensen UJ-2, the time-only watch that launched with the brand's revival last summer. He wore the watch promoting the movie Marty Supreme, and again later, when he won the Golden Globe for Best Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for that same film. And now, in a move that makes his passion for the brand official, he's gotten on board as a minority partner and creative advisor. Timothée Chalamet wears an Urban Jürgensen UJ-2 as he attends the 83rd annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images) In a press release provided by the brand, Alex Rosenfield, CEO of Urban Jürgensen, says that Chalamet's passion for independent watchmaking isn't just him hopping on a trend, but rather a part of his passion for craft and quality of work. "We want to work together to advance our mission of bringing a contemporary perspective to the world of independent watchmaking while remaining grounded in what has always defined it," says Rosenfield. The Urban Jürgensen UJ-2, UJ-1, and UJ-3, from our story on the brand rev...

Fresh From The Fair: Nacho’s Favorite Watches And Wonders 2026 Releases Fratello
Apr 22, 2026

Fresh From The Fair: Nacho’s Favorite Watches And Wonders 2026 Releases

The sun has officially set on Watches and Wonders 2026. The Fratello team is back home, and after a couple of days of R&R;, we’re back to it. Heated discussions have been taking place at HQ, with the team debating the show’s most significant releases, unexpected charmers, notable omissions, and personal favorites. As we begin […] Visit Fresh From The Fair: Nacho’s Favorite Watches And Wonders 2026 Releases to read the full article.

First Look - The New Reservoir Mark II Series, a Stronger Identity with Integrated Design Monochrome
Reservoir Mark II Series Apr 22, 2026

First Look - The New Reservoir Mark II Series, a Stronger Identity with Integrated Design

Reservoir was launched in 2017 and quickly became known as a watchmaking brand inspired by automotive gauges, aeronautical counters and industrial manometers. Reservoir built its identity around a simple yet visually interesting concept: displaying time through jumping hours and retrograde minutes, often with a power reserve indication. Until now, that instrument’s aesthetic influence has been […]

Photo Report: A Week In Japan With Citizen Celebrating 50 Years Of Eco-Drive Hodinkee
Citizen Celebrating 50 Years Apr 21, 2026

Photo Report: A Week In Japan With Citizen Celebrating 50 Years Of Eco-Drive

We're not paying enough attention to Citizen. Or, at least, I haven't been. Sure, the occasional Aqualand or Promaster might sneak through my net, but if I'm being totally honest, going into my week spent exploring Japan with Citizen in celebration of 50 years of Eco-Drive, Citizen is not a brand I'd ever felt much urgency to think about. It seemed too ubiquitous, too familiar, to register as something enthusiasts were meant to seriously consider. That perception is probably common for a reason. For plenty of people, Eco-Drive was the watch you first saw in a mall case, on a relative's wrist, or that was explained to you by someone excited about it being powered by the sun. Citizen has sold Eco-Drive watches on an enormous scale, and that kind of visibility can sometimes obscure what's actually interesting about them.  Eco-Drive's popularity is substantial. Since its introduction in 1976, Citizen estimates that the technology has prevented the use of roughly 100 million watch batteries. Stacked end to end, that's the equivalent of about 3,600 Mount Everests. But it turns out that achievement only scratches the surface. What I hadn't appreciated is that ubiquity and serious watchmaking aren't mutually exclusive. Beneath the scale and familiarity is a product backed by a half-century of innovation and, what surprised me most, a watch that still involves a meaningful amount of hand assembly. The original Eco-Drive watch, the Citizen Crystron Solar Cell, from 1976. A "reflect...

Watches & Wonders: A Few Thoughts on Nostalgia, the 1990s, and Moser’s Streamliner Pump Worn & Wound
H. Moser Apr 21, 2026

Watches & Wonders: A Few Thoughts on Nostalgia, the 1990s, and Moser’s Streamliner Pump

Playing on nostalgia is nothing new for watch brands, but I’ve mostly been immune to it. Usually it’s for a period of time I wasn’t alive for, or a war I didn’t fight in, or an old car I simply don’t care about. But I’ve come to accept that I’m at an age where nostalgia for me is actually real history for many. My lived experience of hanging up phones, buying CDs that came in cardboard long boxes, and killing time in malls doing nothing at all might seem as foreign to someone 20 years younger than me as getting all misty about the Pan-Am logo does for my friends and colleagues at the heart of Gen-X.  It was inevitable that a luxury watch brand would reach back into my childhood and pull something out like the Reebok Pump. The fact that it’s H. Moser is not particularly surprising given the brand’s recent history of challenging somewhat stodgy conventions of what it means to be a “luxury” brand in the first place. But it does make me feel a little old to know that something I have such a clear memory of from my youth is fodder for the watch nostalgia marketing machine.  For those who have forgotten or are simply too young to remember, the Pump was a line of basketball shoes introduced by Reebok in the early 90s with a particularly enticing gimmick, at least to impressionable children who waited all week to watch NBA Inside Stuff every Saturday morning: the shoe’s tongue was topped with a rubber basketball “pump.” Pushing it inflated an air pock...

Introducing: De Bethune DB25Vxs Silver Moon And DB28xs Dark Sand Hodinkee
De Bethune DB25Vxs Silver Moon Apr 21, 2026

Introducing: De Bethune DB25Vxs Silver Moon And DB28xs Dark Sand

What We Know While not at Watches and Wonders this year, De Bethune was one of a number of brands jumping on the release bandwagon this week with a few new versions. Today, we're taking a look at two new pieces from the brand. De Bethune's DB25Vxs Silver Moon keeps some of the brand's futuristic design with the skeletonized lugs, while DB28xs Dark Sand picks up where the brand's DB28xs "Steel Wheels" left off. Let's start with the slightly more traditional watch first. The DB25Vxs Silver Moon trims the DB25L case size down to 40mm and changes the dial around a bit. It's been 17 years since the DB25L came out, so it was time for an update. The watch features a mirrored blued-titanium surround with gold stars, drawing the eye to the mirror-polished steel and blued-titanium spherical moonphase at 12 o'clock, which is accurate to 1 day every 122 years. The domed outer track features printed, slightly dressy Breguet numerals and a minute track for the gold hour and minute hands (in Breguet style as well) while the central dial features a barleycorn guilloché. Inside the 40.6mm by 11.2mm mirror-polished grade 5 titanium case is a caliber running at 4Hz with a 6-day power reserve. While a lot of my friends gravitate more toward that traditional aesthetic from De Bethune, my eyes immediately go for the more extreme De Bethunes, like the DB28xs Dark Sand, with the hinged lugs and (yes, somewhat divisive) arch design on the front. The DB28xs Dark Sand also has a 6-day power reserve...

A Hands-On Introduction To The Schaefer & Companions Solune Antarctica Micro-Painting Fratello
Apr 21, 2026

A Hands-On Introduction To The Schaefer & Companions Solune Antarctica Micro-Painting

Sometimes we come across projects or brands initiated by unique characters. Christophe Schaefer is one of those people. He is the founder of Schaefer & Companions, which releases special watches in very limited quantities. These timepieces result from Schaefer using his brand as a platform to celebrate human creativity. He does so by collaborating with […] Visit A Hands-On Introduction To The Schaefer & Companions Solune Antarctica Micro-Painting to read the full article.

Watches & Wonders: Jaeger-LeCoultre Reintroduces the Master Control Collection and their “HPG” Designation Worn & Wound
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reintroduces Apr 20, 2026

Watches & Wonders: Jaeger-LeCoultre Reintroduces the Master Control Collection and their “HPG” Designation

In addition to a barrage of ultra high end novelties, Jaeger-LeCoultre this week has introduced the new Master Control Chronometre collection, with a focus on chronometric elegance with watches featuring a sleek new integrated bracelet sports watch design. Jaeger-LeCoultre has a long history, of course, of not just pure movement making and horology, but in providing certainty behind their movements through the Master Control collection, which was a testing certification conducted in-house over 1,000 hours. The Master Control Chronometre collection continues that tradition while also filling a gap in the brand’s catalog: a (relatively) accessible everyday watch that is not a Reverso.  Before getting into the watches themselves, we’ll start with an overview of what “Master Control” really means in 2026. This collection reintroduces the brand’s “High Precision Guarantee” designation, which is an update of an old standard first used on JLC’s Calibre 916, their renowned 4 Hz caliber introduced in 1970. The new HPG designation evaluates performance across four metrics: altitude (certifying that the watch can withstand pressure up to 1004 meters above sea level, the altitude of the JLC manufacture), multi-directional shocks, testing in multiple positions, and variances across temperature. Jaeger-LeCoultre has developed new machinery to test for these conditions, which the brand says can simulate real world use over a long duration in just three days of actual tes...

Hands-on - The New Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronometre Collection Monochrome
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronometre Collection Apr 20, 2026

Hands-on - The New Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronometre Collection

Back for a second tenure at Jaeger-LeCoultre, Jérôme Lambert’s 2025 return as CEO has brought fresh momentum to the brand. While spectacularly complex models like the Master Hybris Inventiva Gyrotourbillon a Stratosphere might eclipse the limelight at Watches & Wonders this year, there is a second release that deserves attention: the new Master Control Chronometre collection. […]

Auctions: Previewing The Monaco Legend Spring 2026 Auction Hodinkee
F.P. Journe Répétition Souveraine – €400,000 Apr 20, 2026

Auctions: Previewing The Monaco Legend Spring 2026 Auction

The spring auction season is sneaking up on us quickly. Things start early with Sotheby's Hong Kong auction (with its boatload of Cartier), which slightly edges Monaco Legend Group out of the gate, as their auction starts one day earlier. But on April 25 and 26, MLG will open its spring auction, which promises to be one of the more interesting and eclectic vintage-focused auctions of the season. That's not to say it's all vintage, of course. The auction starts out with a Bamford-modified blackout GMT (that the Parmegiani family behind the auction house seems to have an affinity for), an RM35-02 Nadal, a Journe Répétition Souveraine, and more Patek 5004s than you can shake a stick at, keeping things spicy. Lot 109 – F.P. Journe Répétition Souveraine – €400,000 to €800,000. There are 288 lots, and while the top lots sometimes feel a bit obvious to call out (mostly because everyone likely peers longingly at these watches and wishes they could bid), it's incredibly important to examine what is driving the top end of the market. And if you weren't paying close enough attention, you'd potentially miss the top lot. While it might look like a Rolex Daytona, like the ref. 116509 with a Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial and different indices, this is a whole different ballgame. Lot 78 of the auction is one of the "FAB 4" Daytonas, four unique platinum Zenith Daytonas, each executed with a hardstone dial (one with turquoise, one with lapis lazuli, two mother-of-pearl) made at...

Venezianico Introduces the Arsenale Calendario Worn & Wound
Venezianico Introduces Apr 20, 2026

Venezianico Introduces the Arsenale Calendario

Fresh off the nonstop excitement of Watches & Wonders, it’s easy to ignore any releases that occur outside of the Geneva city limits. The spring is still young, though, and there are still plenty of exciting launches to go in 2026. In that vein, Italian brand Venezianico is doubling down on their mission of Italian-made mechanical timepieces with the new Arsenale Calendario duo, inspired by the Arsenale di Venezia, the world’s oldest shipyard. The Arsenale collection isn’t brand new: the Meteorite model touched on space as a theme, and the Bizantino and Sumi-e watches took more decorative, artistic approaches. The Calendario, though, draws from what Venezianico calls “the architecture of time”. Basically, it adds new complications-a complete calendar, a power-reserve indicator, and a day-night indicator-to emphasize the passing of time in a material way.  In terms of basic dimensions, the Calendario sits within a 316L stainless steel case with a satin finish, and measures in at 40mm in diameter and 44mm lug-to-lug. It’s not exactly thin at 9.6mm of thickness, and the double-domed sapphire adds another 1.4mm on the top, giving it a solid presence despite the dress watch-adjacent design. A knurled stainless steel bezel and screw-down crown at 3 o’clock add texture to the case, and further emphasize the depth of the sunburst dial, which is available in two colorways: burgundy red and blue. These are not subtle shades, and the concentric texture of the dial ...