1,736 articles · 17 videos found · page 16 of 59
Quill & Pad
If H. Moser & Cie is edging away from the satirical approach that brought us the original Swiss Alp Watch, it is doing so with a bang with the Vantablack-dialed Final Upgrade version. The Vantablack dial coating, as advertised, absolutely absorbs any light that comes its way. But that is not all that GaryG finds spectacular about this timepiece.
SJX Watches
Long anticipated and widely discussed ahead of its release, the new-generation Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch has finally arrived. Officially the Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional Co-Axial Master Chronometer Chronograph 42 mm, the upgraded version of the famous chronograph is an attractive blend of vintage design elements and modern movement technology. Launched in eight variants, the new Moonwatch line begins with the entry-level model in steel with a Hesalite crystal and solid back, with the top of the line model being the version in 18k Canopus gold, a white-gold alloy proprietary to Omega. The new Moonwatch in Sedna gold (left) and Canopus gold All the versions, however, share the same design features, as well as the cal. 3861, which is also found in the recently-launched Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award. A new-and-improved version of the cal. 1861 that powered the Moonwatch for decades, the cal. 3861 boasts all of the technological bells and whistles that define Omega’s contemporary movements. The new calibre is also is partly responsible for a price rise, with the new Moonwatch being about 25% more expensive than its equivalent with the cal. 1861. The cal. 3861 under the display back; only the Hesalite-crystal model has a solid back Initial thoughts The new Moonwatch is appealing but predictable in packaging details taken from vintage Speedmasters along with the new cal. 3861. Mostly derived from the Speedmaster ref. ST 105.012, the vintage elements incl...
Hodinkee
Five video stories from HODINKEE readers.
Quill & Pad
Ever wondered what the inside of a Rolex Submariner looks like, then (sensibly) thought better of trying to find out? Well, wonder no more. The Watches TV has teamed up with The Naked Watchmaker, Peter Speake, to take a modern Rolex Submariner completely apart – diving right into the heart of this famous diver’s watch.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
The concept of the watch is no longer a tool, but a medium-and in a category of its own alongside sculpture or painting (consider Moser’s high-art Swiss Cheese Venturer or Swiss Alp Repeater). If this is something you’re willing to entertain, then it’s worth acknowledging the contributions of several dismissed brands and the artists behind them.
Quill & Pad
'The Millennium Watch Book' is a coffee-table publication looking back over the watch industry’s triumphs between 2000 and 2020. It’s likely to be interesting for both watch enthusiasts and newbies; everyone is certain to enjoy looking back on these ticking memories of the last 20 years of watchmaking.
SJX Watches
Auction catalogues often offer early 20th century pocket watches of impressive, refined quality that bear the names of unfamiliar Geneva firms. Amongst the most prominent are Agassiz, Ed. Koehn, Haas Neveux, and Touchon. Despite their obscurity now, these brands were once amongst the best in the world – arguably the equals of Patek Philippe or Vacheron Constantin, producing or retailing highly complicated and extra-thin timepieces. All of them, save for one, are now defunct and long forgotten. In fact, most went under long before the Quartz Crisis. A single name has survived and prospered while remaining a family business, by evolving its business over the centuries – Golay Fils & Stahl. A familiar name As an avid reader of auction catalogues, I had come across Golay Fils & Stahl on several occasions, and the name stayed with me because of the high quality of firm’s pocket watches (Haas Neveux being another). Then in November 2019, Phillips sold the Patek Philippe ref. 3652 minute-repeating wristwatch. Not only was the watch relatively recent, having been made in 1985, it was a unique reference powered by a reworked vintage movement – and signed “Golay Fils & Stahl” on the dial. Few retailers get their name on modern Patek Philippe watches, let alone a one-off, custom timepiece. It piqued my curiosity. The ref. 3652 – essentially a Calatrava ref. 96 minute repeater By sheer chance that curiosity was satisfied when Melissa Wolfgang Amenc got in touch after see...
Deployant
We begin our holidays special with 3 watch selections from each of our writers. This time the watches are categorised by price, with three tiers of prices under 1) SGD10,000, 2) SGD25,000; and 3) Limitless.
SJX Watches
The final watch auctions of the year take place in New York, and as usual Phillips is staging a thematic sale. Titled Game Changers, the auction is made up of watches owned by game-changing celebrities like Marlon Brando and Jack Nicklaus, or timepieces that were game changers in the horological landscape, like the F.P. Journe Octa Reserve de Marche prototype. Also in the sale is a would-be game changer: the Vacheron Constantin Overseas prototype in titanium, not yet a game changer since it has not been put into production, but being the coolest Overseas to date, it probably will. And also worth a look is the vintage Heuer Monaco with a hand-finished movement that’s being sold for charity. But this article is about a handful of Patek Philippe watches, including the sale’s top lot, a ref. 1518 “pink on pink”, as well as a less expensive but more intriguing skeleton pocket watch with paillonnee enamel decoration. The ref. 899 pocket watch decorated with blue enamel and paillons Lot 38 – Patek Philippe ref. 530 chronograph The ref. 530 is a desirable model because it’s oversized for a vintage watch – the case is 36.5mm in diameter – giving it proportions that are quite modern. And the ref. 530 is rare, although a several examples have come up at recent auctions. They sold for moderate prices, for varying reasons and perhaps a general market softness, so this one might be a chance to land a ref. 530 for a reasonable price. This example is attractive. The dial ...
Quill & Pad
Please enjoy a candid discussion between four of our team members who have had the pleasure of already seeing the A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus in the metal and fully understand its background. Do we love it or loathe it? And more importantly, would we buy one?
Hodinkee
Rado's Thinline watches in a color palette by one of architecture's modern masters.
SJX Watches
Watches once owned by prominent personalities are captivating. Paul Newman’s “Paul Newman” Daytona, the Rolex “Bao Dai”, Buzz Aldrin’s Speedmaster Moonwatch, the Henry Graves Supercomplication, and even J. Pierpont Morgan’s lost pocket watch, are amongst most sought after timepieces in the world. In fact, a good number of the most expensive watches ever sold at auction have notable provenance, which turns a mere watch into a historical artefact. Probably the most important timekeepers in cycling, these are a pair of Longines split-seconds stop watches – refs. 7411 and 8350 respectively – that were used by Jean Pitallier, the former president of the French Cycling Federation, to time the Tour de France in the fading glory days of mechanical sports timing, just before quartz stopwatches took over. In fact, the pair of stopwatches are not merely chronographs, but also observatory certified chronometers. Watchmaking once represented the cutting edge research of mechanical engineering. Observatory time trials at Neuchatel, Geneva or Kew were rigorous scientific affairs, with movements Peseux 260 and Zenith 135 competing to be the most accurate movement in the world. But such movements were three-hand, time-only. Aside from tourbillon movements, very few complicated calibres were submitted to timing contests. Mr Pitallier’s pair of Longines were both certified by the Neuchatel observatory. The swan song of competitive timekeeping In modern day watch collectin...
Revolution
The second edition of the Rado Star Prize UK has been awarded to a design student who made a coffee table inspired by the Giant’s Causeway.
Deployant
Before he cut a trailblazing path as an independent watchmaker, Peter Speake-Marin was a man other independents depended on to get their watches launched.
Deployant
The costs of watch ownership begins with the purchase. But if you were thinking that it ends with it, think again. Similar to cars, watches too need regular oil changes, servicing and maintenance. And the more expensive the watch, the more costly the service. That is pretty intuitive, considering that the more expensive watches areRead More
Deployant
We review the new MB&F; Black Badger HMX from Baselworld 2016, a timepiece that packs a glowing power under its bonnet! With live photos and comments.
Revolution
Case in point then, “La Maison TAG Heuer” the traveling version of the famous TAG Heuer 360 Museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. With this exhibition travelling to locations around the world in the coming months, people will be able to partake in and understand the heritage of TAG Heuer, just as they would be able to at the special access only home museum in Switzerland.
Deployant
The HYT watch broke new ground when it was introduced in Basel in 2012. Interesting because the concept of showing time in a continuous fashion using water has existed since the begining of civilizations…both the Chinese and the ancient Egyptians. And yet, with the HYT, a most advanced methodology is used to allow liquids toRead More
Revolution
Ross Povey catches up with Chronobay founder Timen van der Horn to talk about watches, lockdown and pesky clasp scratches…
SJX Watches
Independent watchmaking continues to draw enthusiasm from collectors, particularly as a new generation of creators begins to establish its voice. New brands are springing up to cater to that demand, and one of the most interesting recent debuts is The Owl by L’Atelier Bernard, a sold-out six-piece limited edition that blends unconventional aesthetics with equally unconventional mechanics. Handcrafted in Fleurier by the young duo Bernard Van Ormelingen and Bernard Braboretz, the watch showcases now familiar elements of artisanal finishing and inverted-movement architecture, along with something rarely seen, a duplex escapement, which makes The Owl a more distinctive entry in the crowded field of emerging independents. Initial thoughts The Owl is handcrafted by a pair of young and talented watchmakers, the Bernards who gave their name to the brand. Clearly a show of their shared aesthetic sensibilities and technical chops, the Owl is meant to kickstart the independent creators’ artisanal venture in Fleurier. One of the Bernards is not new to independent watchmaking; those who closely follow independent watchmaking might remember Mr Van Ormelingen’s name from Van Bricht, a now-defunct brand for which he produced guilloche dials. The Owl is unexpected and intriguing on several fronts. Its aesthetics, mechanics, decoration, and layout seem almost at odds with one another, yet the result is a distinctly artisanal object. There is no conventional dial; instead, the watch pr...
Fratello
The folks at IFL Watches have made watch dials the small but very adaptable canvas for their art. We have seen a wide variety of different hand-painted dials from the brand over time. For its latest creative challenge, IFLW drew inspiration from the work of the renowned Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. To be more […] Visit IFL Watches Introduces The Bulova Super Seville Starry Night to read the full article.
Monochrome
Dutch watch enthusiast, collector and entrepreneur Diederik van Golen is back at it again, reviving a fun historical piece of watchmaking with his newly founded brand, Volan Watches. Inspired by his love for cars, yachting and watches, the goal is to bring back the Keyring Watch, an item that was very popular in the 1950s […]
SJX Watches
While the invention of the spiral hairspring by Christiaan Huygens in 1675 kickstarted a revolution in terms of portable precision timekeeping, the concept was far from fully developed. It was arguably only with the later invention of the overcoil hairspring that the ideal oscillator in portable watches emerged. For many years horologists - theoreticians and artisans alike - worked to perfect the balance-hairspring assembly to optimise its performance, notably in terms of isochronism. True isochronism became a sort of holy grail for watchmakers all around the world, who all sought to ameliorate the inherent quirks of the sprung oscillator. The recent Breguet Soucription features an overcoil hairspring of non-magnetic Nivachron alloy The need for end curves The quest for isochronism was a true challenge for horologists. Isochronism is the ability of the balance-hairspring assembly the have the same period of oscillation for small and large amplitudes alike. In other words, the balance oscillation takes the same period of time regardless of the degree travelled. This is very important, since a balance usually swings with high amplitude with a fully wound mainspring and then runs at progressively smaller amplitude as the barrel unwinds. As a timepiece is required to keep good time regardless of its winding state, an oscillator whose period is independent from its amplitude is needed. (Another solution to this is to optimise the energy delivery from the mainspring with a...
Fratello
I dare say there wasn’t a single French Air Force pilot in the 1950s who could’ve foreseen a blue sky with pixelated white clouds in the sub-dials of his Type 20. Airain’s Tom van Wijlick, however, dared to do something different with one of the most iconic pilot’s watches of all time by contacting Romaric […] Visit Introducing: The Airain × Seconde/Seconde/ Type 20 “Up In The Air” Limited Edition to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Founded last year by Thomas van Straaten, VPC is a Dutch micro brand making its debut with the Type 37HW. Mr van Straaten, who formerly works for an Amsterdam-based watch dealer and now writes for media platform Fratello, started VPC with the goal of creating the “ultimate” everyday watch in his words. VPC is short for Venustas Per Constantiam, Latin that translates as either “beauty through constancy” or “charm through restraint.” Featuring numerous clever details, the Type 37HW is the result of Mr van Straaten’s own experience owning, and later growing bored with, numerous watches that, in his view, featured compromised designs. He appears to have approached this problem forensically, considering everything from the bracelet end-links to the typography on the dial. Initial Thoughts The Type 37HW is an impressive debut that manages to stand out in a crowded segment of the watch market thanks to several interesting details. The central premise of the Type 37HW is that it is a “go anywhere, do anything”, or GADA, watch. Almost every aspect of the watch appears to have been designed with this use case in mind. The Type 37HW offers goldilocks proportions, and is unusually slim at just 9.8 mm thick (including 2 mm for the domed sapphire crystal). The svelte profile is likely possible thanks to the use of a manually wound Sellita SW216-1. Unfortunately, the combination of a screw-down crown and a manually wound movement – one with a relatively short 45...
Revolution
At Watches and Wonders 2023, Jeremiah Chan, Deputy Digital Editor of Revolution, got his hands on an Alpina Extreme Regulator Automatic, which now comes with an integrated bracelet and blue dial. He discussed this cool novelty with the Brand Director of Alpina, Oliver van Lanschot. Alpina has also released an 888-piece limited edition black dial […]
SJX Watches
Taking place right next door to Watches & Wonders, Time to Watches is an annual fair dedicated to independent watchmaking. Among the exhibitors this year was Stéphane von Gunten, the watchmaker behind the Haute-Rive brand. Arguably the most technically impressive watch on display was the Honoris Meccanica, the most mechanical looking of Haute-Rive’s Honoris line. The timepiece houses a three meter-long mainspring which allows it to achieve a power reserve of 41 days — more specifically 1,000 hours. Unlike some other watches with ultra-long power reserves, the Honoris Meccanica remains a properly sized and wearable timepiece that doesn’t feel like a wrist-worn experiment. Initial thoughts Stéphane von Gunten is part of a new generation of independent watchmakers with a strong engineering background, rather than a career spent doing restoration work. Before launching Haute-Rive, Mr von Gunten worked as a Research and Innovation Director at the Sowind group, which owns Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin. His most notable work happened while at Ulysse Nardin, where Mr von Gunten filed a number of important patents, ranging from the oval-shaped hairspring still used by Ulysse Nardin today to constant force escapements and compliant flexure oscillators. As fate would have it, one of Mr von Gunten’s ancestors is Irénée Aubry, the watchmaker behind the “Hebdomas” eight-day pocket watch of 1888. Commercialised under many names, the movement only required winding...
Hodinkee
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...
Worn & Wound
I vividly remember when Hermes first launched the H08 five years ago. It marked yet another moment of the brand solidifying its place beyond its roots in fashion and firmly into the horological landscape. Prior to the H08, we had seen more classic, refined, and dare I say quintessentially Hermes collections from the Maison like the Kelly, inspired by the padlock from the famous handbag; the Arceau, drawing from the iconic horse motif; and the Cape Cod, a traditional rectangular design. In 2012, Hermes had a defining moment for its watches with the debut of its first in-house caliber. Still, the H08 marked a new moment of the brand doing something markedly different – decidedly modern and yet distinctly Hermes. In the years since its initial introduction, the H08 has continued to be a success and as such, the Maison has doubled down on the collection, following up with a slew of iterations on the original H08 lineup, which was pretty impressive in its own right, consisting of five variations. We have seen the addition of complications like a chronograph, new sizes ranging from the original 39mm up to 45mm, as well as new styles and colors. Today, at this year’s Watches and Wonders, Hermes offers up the next evolution with the H08 Squelette, the Maison’s interpretation of a skeletonized model. We have seen this openworked style in the brand’s other staple collections, like the Arceau and the Slim d’Hermes, so this seems like a natural next step for the H08 line....
Fratello
Geniuses are often misunderstood. Vincent van Gogh is a good example. During his lifetime, the now-much-revered painter sold, most likely, just one painting. Will designer Magnus Swann follow in Van Gogh’s footsteps? He’s the guy responsible for creating Studio Underd0g’s unique strap solutions. After a lengthy period of conceptualizing, he came up with The Triple […] Visit Hit Or Miss? What To Think About Studio Underd0g’s Revolutionary Strap Solutions? to read the full article.
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