Hodinkee
In-Depth: The Man Who Flew From NYC To London Faster Than Any Civilian In History, And The Watch That Marks His Trip
"The Concorde is great. It gives you three extra hours to find your luggage." – Bob Hope
482 articles · 32 videos found · page 16 of 18
Hodinkee
"The Concorde is great. It gives you three extra hours to find your luggage." – Bob Hope
SJX Watches
Having just unveiled the impressive 9SA5 automatic movement in the Hi-Beat 80 Hours SLGH002 as part of its 60th anniversary line-up, Grand Seiko is also rolling out a newly-developed Spring Drive movement – the first with a five-day power reserve and thermocompensation. Unusually, the new calibre is making its debut in a dive watch, the Grand Seiko 600M Professional Diver’s watch (ref. SLGA001). Characterised by large, angular lugs, case design of the new diver is familiar, borrowing from the current Grand Seiko high-frequency dive watches. In short, it’s the typical Grand Seiko diver look, meaning big, bold and chunky, measuring 46.9 mm in diameter and 16 mm high. Both the case and bracelet are made of Seiko’s proprietary “high-intensity” titanium, which 30% lighter than steel and more resistant to scratches, so the size of the SLGA001 does not translate into substantial weight. Likewise, the dark blue dial retains the usual Grand Seiko dive watch styling. Legibility is maximised with large hands and hour markers – both with generous amounts of luminous paint. The date display on the new diver is at four o’clock, instead of the usual three o’clock. But the date is not just a relocation – thanks to the new 9RA5 movement, the date disc jumps at a “greatly increased” speed for a crisper changeover. The 9RA5 While the design of the watch contains no surprises, the Spring Drive movement inside is brand new and incorporates several features originally...
SJX Watches
Two years ago, Urwerk unveiled the UR-111C, inspired by the UR-CC1 King Cobra of 2009, which was itself based on an experimental watch built by watchmaker Louis Cottier and jeweller Gilbert Albert for Patek Philippe in 1959. Displaying the time in a linear fashion, the UR-111C marked a departure from the wandering-hour satellite indication that has become the hallmark of Urwerk’s aggressively futuristic watches. Having already presented four variants of the watch in various finishes, as well as an engraved unique piece, the brand has now unveiled the UR-111C Two-Tone, featuring a case that combines a black coating with brushed and polished steel. The central portion of the case is executed in brushed steel, flanked by black-coated ends that close off the tube-like central portion. The use of different finishes accentuates the architecture of the case, drawing attention to its centre, which contains the key functions, including the time display and roller-style crown. Cosmetics aside, the UR-111C Two-Tone is otherwise identical to the earlier versions. At 42 mm by 46 mm and 15 mm high at its thickest point, it is by no means a small watch but the curvature of the case ensures it sits flat and comfortably on the wrist. Despite its complex design, time is presented in a fairly straightforward manner with three rounded sapphire windows located at the front edge of the case to facilitate better readability while driving. The jumping hours and progressive minutes are displaye...
Quill & Pad
One of Joshua Munchow's favorite watches from 2019, winning the Calendar and Astronomy prize at the 2019 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève, was the Hermès Arceau L'Heure de la Lune. Not only is it a stunning double moon phase watch with wandering dials, but also features an incredible module designed by Jean-François Mojon and his team at Chronode. Take a deep drive into it here with Joshua.
Time+Tide
Released at Baselworld 2019, this SUB 200 130th Anniversary Limited Edition diver’s watch was profoundly popular, and the run of 130 pieces sold out almost before it was released. Time+Tide’s own stock of this model, 30 pieces, was sold in just under two hours. We are offering our own archive piece for sale here, brand … ContinuedThe post “Watch & Act!” Auction Item – Lot 13: DOXA – Celebrating 130 Years of DOXA appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
This Oris jazz watch is an homage to the Australian jazz musician James Morrison. It features a gradient ‘dégradé’ blue dial and a caseback engraved with the Academy of Music logo, with contrasting Arabic numerals marking the hours. The golden seconds hand counterbalance is shaped like a trumpet hook, inspired by James’ favourite instrument. This … ContinuedThe post “Watch & Act!” Auction Item – Lot 9: An Oris from the jazz man James Morrison appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
There was not a moment’s hesitation. Jean-Christophe Babin, the CEO of Bulgari, and I were standing on a pool deck at a villa in Dubai. Within sight, an emerald green ocean. Swaying palm trees. Skies of blue. A world away from the scene I had left, when I’d jumped on an Emirates flight 24 hours … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: “Our planet is the most precious gem we have.” Bulgari CEO adds his voice – and a $50K watch – to our bushfire appeal auction appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
One of Asia’s quickest growing economies, Cambodia remains a relatively small market for mechanical watches, but now boasts its own watchmaking school – led by a pair of former WOSTEP instructors – which will begin operations in mid 2020. Supported by a local real estate conglomerate, the Prince Horology Vocational Training Center will offer a full-time, two-year course in watchmaking. Totalling some 3,400 hours of training, the watchmaking course will be comprehensive and modelled on the education offered by Swiss watchmaking schools. Designed by a team that includes a former director of WOSTEP, Switzerland’s leading watchmaking school, the course includes watchmaking history and culture, toolmaking and maintenance, repair and servicing of both mechanical and quartz watches, as well as some parts production. Filled with brand new equipment, the school is ready for its first students Located in the Chrouy Changvar district of central Phnom Penh, the country’s capital, the Prince Horology Vocational Training Center recently opened its premises, which are fully equipped with brand new benches and tools, giving students the opportunity to learn both watch repair as well as movement part production and finishing. The school’s leadership team includes Jessica Thakur, formerly an instructor at Richemont’s American watchmaking school in Texas and then at WOSTEP, as well as Maarten Pieters, who was the director of WOSTEP from 2002 to 2018. Prior to that, Mr Pieters ...
Time+Tide
While wandering the booths of Dubai Watch Week, any enthusiastic eye can spot Rolex, Patek Philippe and the rest of the usual suspects on the wrists of other attendees, but it was a surprise to see a flash of orange pass by one afternoon. Sure enough, after stopping and speaking with Julian briefly, I confirmed … ContinuedThe post Dubai Watch Week WSTD – Julian’s DOXA SUB 300 Professional appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Only Watch 2019 is now less than 24 hours away from kicking off, and Breguet has really knocked it out of the park with their entry in this year’s charitable auction. The Breguet Type XX Only Watch 2019 is, I think we can all agree, a handsome timepiece, and that’s largely because the pièce unique … ContinuedThe post Breguet has nailed it for Only Watch 2019 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Whether watch enthusiasts want to admit it or not, there is definitely a curiosity when it comes to celebrity watch spotting. It’s a guilty pleasure for most of us, and I have no shame admitting that I will regularly spend hours going down the virtual rabbit hole on Instagram, scoping what iced-out timepiece Mark Wahlberg has … ContinuedThe post Best of British – 4 celebs who rock Bremont watches appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
The Hand Made 1 is a watch “95%” produced “using only hand-operated tools”, requiring some 6,000 hours, according to Greubel Forsey. That’s equivalent to three years of work, largely performed by a special team of watchmakers assembled by Greubel Forsey specifically for this project, along with independent specialists who produce certain components. Functionally, the Hand Made 1 is a straightforward timepiece – it shows the time, hours, minutes and seconds, and is equipped with a one-tourbillon regulator. The movement is made up of 272 parts, which is within the usual range for such a movement. The complexity of the watch comes from how it is made – by hand or by hand-operated tools – which is why only two to three examples will be produced per year. The genesis for the Hand Made 1 is the department within Greubel Forsey that produces prototypes, which are essentially one-off, hand-made watches. The same production techniques are applied to the Hand Made 1, except that they are taken to a far higher level, in order to create components that are produced with the same techniques as prototypes but to the same fit and finish as standard Greubel Forsey movements. So each screw is made on a manual lathe, and can take up to eight hours to complete. The case components are milled on a pantograph lathe, essentially a manually operated CNC machine that requires the operator to guide the cutting tool to by hand. And even the balance spring is rolled by a manua...
Time+Tide
Editor’s note: Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak is unquestionably one of the most important wristwatches of all time and it is steeped in history for so many reasons. For a start, the unique aesthetics of the now iconic watch and integrated bracelet were designed by the doyen of horological design, Gérald Genta, in less than 24 hours. … ContinuedThe post Looking back at the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Self-taught Russian clock- and watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin, who has built notably complex timepieces, is ironically best known for the Joker, a relatively simple watch. The Joker is powered by an ETA 2814 base movement with an in-house module of just 61 parts that drives the novel time display: two sub-dials, positioned like eyes in a face, for hours respectively minutes, and a moon phase at six o’clock resembling a smiling mouth – the funny face of time. When first unveiled the inaugural Joker in steel at Baselworld 2017, the 99-piece limited edition sold out quickly. The watch also enjoyed critical acclaim; the subsequent Joker Clown won the Audacity Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve 2018. Konstantin notes he was particularly surprised how eagerly the love-or-hate design was embraced by collectors of high-end watches. So his extended the Joker concept to the top-end of the price spectrum, with the limited edition Joker automaton developed with fellow independent watchmaker Svend Andersen. And then Konstantin recently revealed he was participating in charity auction Only Watch 2019 – alongside peers like Akrivia, F.P. Journe, Urwerk and De Bethune – which piqued my interest, so I reached out to Konstantin to find out more. The Joker automaton by Andersen and Chaykin Inspiration strikes As Luc Pettavino, the founder of Only Watch, was planning the 2019 event, he approached Konstantin to suggest a straightforward variant of the origin...
Quill & Pad
The GPHG foundation describes the Men’s category for watches entered into the 2019 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève as containing indications for only hours, minutes, seconds, simple date, power reserve, and classic moon phase. Here our panelists select their favorites from the six shortlisted watches, and the reactions are quite mixed.
SJX Watches
One of Switzerland’s most important timepiece museums, the Musée International d’Horlogerie (MIH), is raising funds with a limited edition, rising hours wristwatch that’s both cleanly styled and affordable. Arriving some 14 years after the first, minimalist MIH watch created by independent watchmakers Ludwig Oechslin and Paul Gerber, the MIH Gaïa watch, named after the annual Gaïa Prize given out by the MIH, is the result of a collaboration between watch industry suppliers located in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the hometown of the MIH. The MIH Gaïa watch will be crowdfunded, and a minimum number of orders will be needed for it to enter production. Importantly, the MIH Gaïa watch is priced at about US$2400, half what the original MIH watch with an annual calendar cost about a decade ago, making it a compelling value proposition. A local collaboration Each aspect of the watch, from design to the case, was the work of a local supplier. Some are little known outside the industry, like buckle maker Cornu & Cie, while others are famous – the dial was made by Jean Singer & Cie, best known for the dials it made for Rolex and Patek Philippe in the mid 20th century. Slightly bowl-shaped, the case of the watch is inspired by the MIH building, while the domed dial is inspired by the spherical Gaïa Prize trophy. Time is indicated on two discs: rising hours in a window at 12 o’clock, and the the minutes on a disc just below. It’s a classically sized timepiece...
SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet’s latest watch for ladies is an elegant complication, or more specifically, a simplification with a twist. Inspired by a wristwatch from the 1980s, the Millenary Frosted Gold Philosophique has only a single hand for the hours, and nothing else. But the hour hand doesn’t travel in a circle, instead it traces the oval shape of the case. Single-handed pocket watches already existed in the 18th century, when the precise time was not a concern for most people. But Audemars Piguet revived the concept in 1982 with the original Philosophique, a one-handed wristwatch styled like a pocket watch, with its crown at 12 o’clock. Though it was a men’s watch, the original Philosophique is tiny by modern standards, measuring just 32mm in diameter, making it significantly smaller than today’s Millenary Philosophique for ladies. Available in white or pink gold, the Millenary Frosted Gold Philosophique features a striking, contrast case finish of granular “frosted gold” and mirror-polished surfaces. Inspired by Florentine jewellery, the frosted surface is achieved by hand, with a sharp tool that creates tiny indentations on the gold. The dial is finished with an irregular “hammer-like” surface, echoing the case decoration. But more intriguing than the decoration is the trajectory of the hour hand. Instead of travelling in a circle, the hour hand follows an elliptical path, tracing the outline of the oval Millenary case. This is possible because the hour...
Revolution
TAG Heuer launches number two of five special Monaco watches, very appropriately, at the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, in marking the watch’s 50th anniversary.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
The Codek Spiral is a bold watch. Part of the danger of wandering outside the lanes of standard design styles is that the identity of the watch can get lost. The Spiral is mostly a dress watch, however it is not clearly a dress watch.
Time+Tide
‘Manufacture’ is one of those watchmaking buzzwords you hear fairly frequently. Basically, it’s a fancy word for factory, but in the slow-moving and hallowed halls of horology it’s so much more. Think airy, well-lit rooms with highly skilled watchmakers investing countless hours on minute details most will never see. A far cry from the typical … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: 5 watchmaking manufactures you need to know appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
It’s been an excellent crop of new releases for Grand Seiko, and hiding amidst a healthy assortment of models came this gem - the yellow gold SBGY002. Using a new hand-winding 9R31 Spring Drive movement with a power reserve of 72 hours, the new piece mates a variation of the brand’s iconic Snowflake dial with a … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: Grand Seiko’s SBGY002, a hot new hand-wound take on the Snowflake appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
From MB&F;, a new ladies piece from the independent. We have the LM Flying T. At 38.5mm, it looks and feels much smaller. Equipped with a 60 seconds flying tourbillon, 100 hours PR, automatic rotor in 18k gold stylized in the shape of the sun. Three editions, 168 diamonds set on a black lacquer dial,Read More
Revolution
It’s hours before the auction; here are some highlights that have got us rapt.
Deployant
Chopard continues to focus on the LUC. Lots of novelties. Here is a quick run down of the highlights. LUC Flying T Twin. First flying and the first automatic tourbillon from Chopard. 7.2mm thick. Twin barrel 65 hours. With stop tourbillon. CHF 115,000. LE 50. Rose gold. LUC XP. Savile Row inspired with strap fromRead More
Deployant
Highlights from Ulysse Nardin. The theme this year is X. Different. Daring. Exciting. We start with the Freak X. New movement. No dial. No hands. Hours and mins indicated by the now familiar flying carousel. Four references Ti (blue and black) CHF 21,000. Gold CHF 30,000 and Carbonium CHF 24,000. And a non-tourbillon version atRead More
Deployant
At Bovet, we have four novelties, four new calibers. All in writing desk case. We start with the Retrograde Perpetual Calendar, which Bovet calls Recital 21. CHF72,000. The Next s the Amadéo Fleurier 46 Virtuioso IX. Blue flinque dial (a kind of lacquer which requires hours of polishing) 24 cities display which is totally customizable.Read More
Revolution
Franck Muller unveil the new Vanguard Crazy Hours for men and women at the MPHH 2019.
Time+Tide
In January 2017, Omega announced, with zero fanfare, a limited edition Speedmaster, made in collaboration with Fratello Watches, called Speedy Tuesday, named after the popular hashtag. Four-and-a-half hours later, all 2012 watches were gone. Well, hold onto your hats and get ready to flex those credit cards, because it looks like it’s about to happen … ContinuedThe post BREAKING NEWS: Is the Omega Speedmaster “Speedy Tuesday II” going to drop today? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Hey, everyone! This week Mike and I thought we'd do something a bit different and special for all of you. This week's show is actually two shows in the form of our sister-show the TBWS Patreon Special. That's about 2 hours of podcast content on two very different topics.
Deployant
Breguet released the latest Classique Tourbillon Automatique 5367 at Baselworld 2018. This time with a Grand Feu Enamel dial. The 5367 is iconic for its displaced tourbillon carriage, and off-center hours and minutes display.
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