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Time+Tide
Steel may be the go-to material for a luxe sports watch, but titanium just makes sense, doesn't it?The post The IWC Ingenieur Titanium is Genta in the 21st century appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Based in the southernmost corner of Russia, Rashid Tsoroev is a watchmaker who got his start in 2019 with fairly simple time-only watches powered by the oversized ETA Unitas calibre. Now Mr Tsoroev has upgraded his work, both stylistically and mechanically, with the debut of the Evo Arrow that is priced affordably at US$5,000. Still a three-hand watch but now equipped with a La Joux-Perret (LJP) automatic, the Evo Arrow sports a hand-hammered brass dial – a technique is sometimes described as tremblage – that he makes himself. Mr Tsoroev relies on suppliers for other components like the case, but he finishes all the components in his own workshop. Initial thoughts Like many independent makers in this price segment, Mr Tsoroev outsources several aspects the watch, but he applies his skill to key aspects, including producing and finishing the dial and hands; this contrasts with brands that merely design and assemble watches. Mr Tsoroev’s attention to detail is admirable, considering the price of the watch. Elements like the font he designed for the watch and the rounded arms of the hands reflect the thought put into the design and execution. Granted, there are constraints imposed by the retail price and presumably Mr Tsoroev’s location (where there are probably no suppliers in a radius of hundreds of kilometres), but the Evo Arrow feels like an honest creation by a craftsman. The only thing I would change is the movement. I would swap the LJP calibre for a Russian ...
Worn & Wound
Pretty much since the first day of taking up the financially ruinous hobby of watches in early 2022, I’ve had a bit of a thing for tool and sports watches. Granted, I haven’t been scuba diving and I’ll certainly not be scaling Mount Everest any time soon, but there is – to me at least – something romantic about wearing a watch that offers a sense of genuine utility, especially in the age of the smartwatch. What’s more, I believe that a watch should tell something about its wearer; a glimpse into their personality rather than just be a status symbol and a source of bragging rights. When the opportunity for my first ‘proper’ watch arose in January 2023, I chose a Tudor Black Bay GMT. It was a belated 30th birthday gift and whenever I look at it, it reminds me that firstly, my knees hurt more often than they don’t, and secondly, reconciliation exists and hope springs eternal no matter how rough things may seem at certain times. There are also another two reasons unrelated to age as to why this watch is special to me. Several millennia ago as a student, I was fortunate to spend an academic year in St. Petersburg. That’s the Russian one, FYI, and that period from September 2010 to July 2011 kicked off a fascination with the awesome-yet-frightening city on Neva. In 2015, having also developed a love affair with the history of the Baltic States, I moved to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, to try my luck at Eastern Europe without the paternal hand of the un...
Time+Tide
Christopher Ward, the British brand known for its budget-friendly, well-made, and relatively safely designed sports watches, went on to release something new that would change their brand forever: a chiming watch.The post How the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto strikes a chord with enthusiasts appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the year was how predictable much of it was. We saw more sports watches with integrated bracelets and more time-only watches with ostensibly artisanal decoration. Paradoxically, most of the notable surprises came from establishment marques that would ordinarily be predictable. Amongst them are the Rolex Perpetual 1908 and Patek Philippe Calatrava 24-Hour Travel Time ref. 5224R, both thoughtful creations that are typical for their respective brands. Here are our picks for the year’s best surprises in watchmaking. Brandon Moore Technical Contributor An unexpected, but user-friendly complicated watch that debuted this year is the Patek Philippe Calatrava 24-Hour Display Travel Time Ref. 5224R, a simple dual time watch with a twist: both time zones are indicated on a 24-hour dial, eliminating the need for an auxiliary day-night indicator. Not only is the functionality appealing, but the aesthetic and ergonomic execution is done well. While 42 mm may seem large for a Calatrava, the watch is visually smaller thanks to its abundant use of applied markers on the dial and stepped case and lugs. Moreover, and importantly, it is different for Patek Philippe, which is notable since the brand usually errs on the side of the tried and tested. Who would have thought Patek Philippe would remake the Chronometro Gondolo into a wristwatch? Richard Lee Technical Editor I was surprised when I first saw the Aquanaut Luce “Rainbow” Minute Repeater ref....
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Hodinkee
We've long known about the connection between watches and sports, but this takes that idea to the next level.
Time+Tide
This verdant new take on Speake-Marin’s integrated sports watch underlines the versatile ingenuity of the Ripples’ design.The post The Speake-Marin Ripples Metallic Green is an oasis on the wrist for the well-heeled urbanite appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
Back in the 1950s when you were setting off for a distant land, a key piece of gear would be your trusty tool watch. Today, you’d reach for something like a Rolex Explorer II with its chunky steel case and bezel, bold handset and healthy application of lume. A Seiko SPB143 would make an excellent option on a tighter budget where other spendy gear takes priority. The point I’m trying to make is that the tool watch as we know it is today typically something big, chunky, robust, and borderline aggressive looking. The landscape for tool watches was completely different back in the 50s. If you were one of the American Navy’s Deep Freeze 1 task force and on your way to the South Pole back in 1955, the watch you would have been wearing is significantly different from the modern tool watch. That watch would have been the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic - a slim, art deco-inspired watch that was built tough, but not in the way you may think of it today. The Deep Freeze 1 task force’s mission was to establish a permanent base at the South Pole - one of the Earth’s most severe and ice-laden landscapes - and they needed to choose a timepiece that could withstand the conditions. Today we’re looking at the faithful modern recreation of the Antarctic. The 35mm case stays true to the original’s dimensions while retaining the robust construction, including anti-shock and anti-magnetic properties. Let’s take a closer look and see if the new Antarctic lives up to its vintag...
Monochrome
It’s pretty surprising when you think that the Highlife collection, Frederique Constant’s take on the luxury sports watch, has been around for fewer than three years. Thanks to its well-designed and finished case, its integrated and interchangeable bracelet, its clean dial, its well-represented range of complications, its affordable price tag, and the fact that it […]
Monochrome
Over the past couple of years, the luxury sports watch segment has exploded in popularity. Fueled by a demand for seemingly impossible-to-get watches like the Royal Oak and the Nautilus, people started to look elsewhere. Many brands and even some independent watchmakers presented their own spin on the concept, resulting in a wide range of […]
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Hodinkee
Plus the "Lake Suwa" from Grand Seiko, and a Saxonia from A. Lange & Söhne that you don't want to miss.
Worn & Wound
Over the weekend, Rado dipped into their archives to bring back a lost classic from the 1980s. If you can recall the early 80s (or just have a penchant for watches of this era) you might remember the Anatom. This square cased watch with a dramatically curved case and sapphire crystal has been ripe for repurposing for the last few years – it certainly has some integrated bracelet sports watch notes to it. What Rado has done with this release is take the premise of the watch from the 80s and modernize it using Rado’s contemporary design language. The result is an Anatom that doesn’t look much like the original, but clearly shares some DNA and is unmistakably a Rado. The most significant difference between the original Anatom and the new version is the more prominent use of ceramic in the present day model. Rado has always been keen to experiment with materials, especially ceramic, but they’ve really leaned into this as part of their brand identity quite heavily in the last few years. Most of the key models in their lineup are either full ceramic, or ceramic in all the important places. That’s where the Anatom fits in. The new version has a PVD coated steel midcase, but the ceramic bezel leaves a large visual impression, and we also get a ceramic crown and a ceramic overlay on the integrated rubber strap’s clasp. The case measures 32.5mm x 46.3mm and is 11.3mm tall. As with the vintage versions of this watch, the case is curved, which in turn means the dial and ...
Monochrome
With the festive season just around the corner, Vacheron Constantin lights up its Overseas Tourbillon with a blaze of baguette-set diamonds. First introduced to the brand’s successful luxury sports Overseas collection in 2019, the Tourbillon model boasts a slim profile thanks to the incorporation of Vacheron Constantin’s ultra-thin tourbillon calibre 2160. The latest Overseas Tourbillon […]
Monochrome
The Alpiner Extreme collection is Alpina’s take on the hyper-popular category of sports watches with integrated bracelets. Relaunched in 2022 with a robust cushion-shaped case and a textured dial, the first model took many by surprise with its regulator dial, a throwback to a popular and massive 48mm Alpina model known as the Avalanche Regulator […]
Monochrome
Greubel Forsey consistently defies convention, ensuring that each of the brand’s timepieces is nothing short of intriguing. In 2019, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey ventured into the sports watch category with the GMT Sport – a distinctive creation that integrated a world-time indication with an inclined tourbillon, but mostly an entirely new convex case design. […]
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Monochrome
Collaboration watches are a dime a dozen these days as watch brands turn to high-profile players and marques on the sports and cultural scene to add some pizzazz to their collections. Even some of the oldest Swiss watch brands are not immune to the appeal of collaborations, especially if the partner is as reputable as […]
SJX Watches
Mostly made up of no-frills, vintage-inspired chronographs, Breitling’s Top Time collection now gets one of the brand’s most complicated offerings. The Breitling Top Time B21 Classic Cars Chronograph Tourbillon is inspired by the livery of 1960s American sports cars like the Ford Mustang, while its mechanics are courtesy of movement specialist La Joux-Perret, which constructed the B21 movement that combines a tourbillon and chronograph with column wheel. Initial thoughts Breitling’s newest launch goes far beyond the brand’s typical price range, but it is a chronograph with tourbillon, making it relative affordable given the complications. In fact, the combination of a chronograph with tourbillon is an uncommon pairing regardless of price. The Top Time B21 Chevrolet Corvette The watch retains the usual retro-inspired Top Time styling, which is attractive. The symmetry of the dial adds to its appeal, as do details like the mirrored register and tourbillon aperture, both shaped like a squircle. While the green and blue dials have a conventional metal finish, the dial on the Chevrolet Corvette edition is burl wood veneer, a reference to the wood steering wheel and dash of the 1960s Corvette. The wood dial and black ceramic case are an unusual combination, but make the Corvette version the most interesting of the trio. The downside of the watch is its size. The case is either 43 mm or 44 mm (depending on the material), which is acceptable, but 15.4 mm thick – that’...
Time+Tide
Sized at 39mm for the first time, the most versatile Riviera sports smoked sapphire dials and titanium and steel construction.The post The Riviera 39 is Baume & Mercier’s mid-size champion appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
In the year since Atelier Wen and Wristcheck collaborated on their first limited edition Perception, Atelier Wen’s stature in the burgeoning affordable independent scene has only grown. This has largely been on the strength of a series of smartly timed and well executed limited editions, all of which provide a gorgeous showcase for some excellent guilloche work, and serve as a reminder that well made, integrated bracelet sports watches need not drift into five figure retail prices, and that they can come from places other than Switzerland. Now, in a turn of events that is anything but surprising given the attention this team received a year ago, Wristcheck and Atelier Wen have partnered once again, but this time they’ve added a third collaborator: Paris-based artist Seconde/Seconde, who I feel like has been part of virtually every LE launch over the last several months (only a slight exaggeration). The new piece, officially dubbed the Wristcheck x Seconde/Seconde/ x Atelier Wen Perception “锔瓷” Special Edition, calls attention to the high level of craft in this watch in a unique way: by highlighting the inevitable mistakes that are made in its production. The concept here originates with the production of the first Atelier Wen x Wristcheck collaboration last year. During the making of that LE, 36 dials in total were rejected for various imperfections in the guilloche. Not wanting to put them to waste, those dials have now been “healed” (with Seconde/Second...
SJX Watches
Recognised by its distinctive dual crowns and an internal rotating bezel, the Longines Legend Diver pays homage to history while embracing modern enhancements. Already a mainstay of Longines’ reissue sports watches, the Legend Diver has undergone a transformation and now features a redesigned and smaller 39 mm case that faithfully echoes the original (while it predecessor was 41 mm). Initial thoughts The new Legend Diver carefully retains the vintage styling of its predecessor. Traditionalists will appreciate the absence of the date that was found on the prior version. The absent dial preserves the dial’s clean and uncluttered aesthetic. But the new Legend Diver is not just a remake. Inside is the cal. 888.6, an upgraded ETA calibre that stands out with a 72-hour power reserve and magnetic resistance that exceeds the ISO 764 standard by ten times thanks to a silicon hairspring. And the dial similarly retains the design of the vintage original, but is executed in a modern manner with two colours of Super-Luminova, green and blue. This not only adds a touch of excellence to the design but also enhances readability in low-light conditions. On its face, the downsizing to 39 mm may not align with the conventions of a tool watch, especially one conceived for diving. However, this shift in size caters better to daily wear and better reproduces the original’s dimensions. Unfortunately, the reduction in diameter doesn’t go hand in hand with a decrease in thickness, so the ...
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Worn & Wound
We’re a little more than a year into the life of the Wild ONE, Norqain’s ambitious sports watch featuring their proprietary Norteq material. In a catalog of watches that are mostly inspired by classic, vintage watch design cues, the Wild ONE stands out as being unapologetically modern, both in terms of its aesthetics and the raw materials. This watch is part of an ongoing turn within the industry to alternative materials based in carbon fibers, plastics, and uncommon metals and alloys. According to Norqain, the combination of Norteq and rubber used in the case allows for a watch that can be rated to an unreal 5,000g shock test, which would likely create an impact that the wearer would have a hard time walking away from. Norqain has been framing the Wild ONE all along as a pure sports watch, but with these latest variants, I continue to wonder if it’s really more of an incredibly impact resistant design object. To be clear, I like this watch as a design object. I’m not taking it mountain biking, rock climbing, skiing, or anything else that the Norqain team thinks I might want to do with it. But I do like the way it looks and the way it’s made, and I think the latest releases seen here expand on the design language in a fun way. First up is the first Wild ONE to make use of solid gold, the aptly named Wild ONE Gold. The top section of the case is crafted from polished 18-carat red gold, with the base section made of black Norteq. The middle features the Wild ONE...
SJX Watches
Having introduced the ZM 1 and ZM 2 wristwatches in 2018, Leica now launches its first sports watch with ZM 11. Deviating entirely from the camera-inspired aesthetics of the earlier models, the ZM 11 is a straightforward three-hander in a minimalist style with an integrated bracelet (or strap). But like its predecessors, the ZM 11 is equipped with a movement made by a specialist, in this case Chronode. Initial thoughts On its face, the ZM 11 comes across as uninspiring at first, appearing similar to many current luxury sports watches with integrated bracelets. But on closer inspection it reveals interesting details, including a nicely finished case and bracelet with facetted, brushed surfaces. Also notable is the quick-release mechanism for the bracelet that’s activated by a red button, a reference to Leica cameras. The red button aside, however, the design doesn’t capture the essence of a Leica camera as the earlier ZM 1 and ZM 2 did. The earlier pair incorporated camera-inspired details into functional elements, like a patented “push-piece” crown that mimics the push of a shutter-release button. While the ZM 1 and ZM 2 are arguably Leica watches, the ZM 11 feels more like a Leica-branded watch. Priced around US$7,000 for the base model, the ZM 11 is competitively priced as far as integrated-bracelet sports watches go. The IWC Ingenieur, for instance, is about 40% pricier. However, such sports watches are generally priced at a premium relatively to everything else...
Quill & Pad
Here Alexey Kutkovoy looks at the look at the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 'Pride of the Nation' series, which means we’re talking about the embodiment of symbols of national pride in luxury sports watches.
Worn & Wound
Editor’s note: In this 3 Watch Collection for $5,000, reader JT takes us through watches from his own personal collection, purchased largely on the pre-owned market for under $5,000. This real-life 3 for 5k is also thematically coherent, to say the least, with a trio of white dialed sports watches that cover a lot of ground, and somehow work well together as a thoughtful, wearable collection that features an indie favorite, a hot collaboration, and an uncommon example of a classic chronograph. You can make your submission to the Three Watch Collection – Reader Edition by filling out the form right here. Omega Speedmaster Reduced “Marui” (3510.20) – $3,000 This was the watch that started it all. I have a small wrist (6.25″), and I love white objects (Kenya Hara’s book, “White,” resides next to my white camera collection). I fell in love with the Omega Speedmaster Alaska Project, and after lots of research and patience, I decided I wanted a Speedmaster Reduced, and subsequently secured this Speedmaster for a very reasonable price. Image courtesy Bob’s Watches It didn’t come with a bracelet, but it actually worked in my favor because I wanted to pair it with a flat link (AKA Ed White) bracelet anyway, so it helped me bring the cost of the watch lower (an OEM 1469/811 is worth at least $500). Seiko x Rowing Blazers 5 Sports – $500 After spending way too much time doing my research, “buying the seller,” and reading forums to check my work, the inte...
Time+Tide
If you're looking for a stealthy, IYKYK sports watch, there are few better options we can think of.The post The Zenith Defy Skyline Black Ceramic is a brawnier sequel to a modern classic appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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