Results for Free-Sprung Balance

Hands-On: De Bethune DB28 Steel Wheels Blue “The Hour Glass”

De Bethune is the latest amongst a number of watchmakers to take the covers off a commemorative edition to mark the 40th anniversary of Singapore watch retail powerhouse The Hour Glass. For the occasion, De Bethune has put together a variant of its signature DB28 with sprung lugs that’s entirely clad in brilliant, blued titanium. First unveiled in polished titanium in 2018, the Steel Wheels is essentially a DB28 wearing a little less. A partially open-worked dial – which is actually the delta-shaped barrel bridge – reveals its pair of skeletonised barrels and gears. While the original Steel Wheels captures the essence of De Bethune, combining its trademark design with the brand’s fundamental technical innovations, it was lacking a generous dose of blued titanium, a gorgeous, heat-treated alloy that is synonymous with the brand. Colour consistency That has now been rectified with the DB28 Steel Wheels Blue, arguably the purest – and bluest – distillation of the brand’s core values and technical achievements. It features an intense, mirror-polished, blued titanium case and dial that form a striking contrast against the exposed inner mechanics. Though blued titanium is also used by other brands today, De Bethune was amongst the first to mirror-polish its titanium cases and more crucially, started using heat treatment to blue titanium way back in 2006. An example of an early De Bethune using blued titanium, a DB25L from 2010 with a blued dial...

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Réserve de Marche -  form and function perfectly balanced

Editor’s note: Much of the ‘what’ of a watch can be summed up in the technical, the hard numbers and facts of the spec sheet. But there’s an element - an X factor - that transcends this clinical description, and transforms a watch from an object into an artwork. This Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Réserve de Marche … ContinuedThe post The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Réserve de Marche – form and function perfectly balanced appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Chopard L.U.C XPS Twist QF: Off-Center, Balanced

EXCLUSIVE: A. Lange & Söhne fan art goes weapons-grade at the hands of Ben Laukis

Just found some time to do a sketch based on the A. lange & Söhne Zeitwerk incorporating the Dresden Opera house clock from which it was inspired and as well a close up of the iconic hand engraved LANGE balance cock. I also think their “State of the Art Tradition” motto rings very true in this … ContinuedThe post EXCLUSIVE: A. Lange & Söhne fan art goes weapons-grade at the hands of Ben Laukis appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Review: Girard-Perregaux Place Girardet 225th Anniversary

Girard Perregaux celebrates 225 years of history with a series of “unique” watches. The collection is said to be special for its unique dial decorations in relation to historical events. Standing ovations were also given by the brand to itself for its maiden use of the emblematic Pont d’or (that bridge) above a Microvar balance wheel. WhileRead More

Pre-Basel 2015: Nomos Metro 38 Datum

Nomos is changing the rules by offering Glashütte-made watches with manufacture movements, complete with the brand’s in-house “Swing System” balance, balance spring, escape wheel and  lever, at prices that are beyond reasonable. At Baselworld, Nomos will unveil its latest bespoke creation, the Metro 38 Datum. The new model follows last year’s original Metro, which has […]

Baselworld 2014: Antoine Martin Shows New Versions Of The Slowrunner (Live Pics)

The Antoine Martin Slowrunner that was released about a year ago came with a stupendously large balance wheel that beat at an astounding 1Hz. This was a watch that not only offered a very unique complication, but also came with a bunch of other useful everyday features. A date and a power reserve indicator came […]

The A. Lange & Söhne Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon “Handwerkskunst”

This is the second watch by A. Lange & Söhne to receive the “handwerkskunst” designation –the first was the Zeitwerk Handwerkskunst, which featured an eleborate tremblage engraved dial. The Perpetual Tourbillon version uses the tremblage engraving as a background for additional engraving in the foliate motif Lange enthusiasts will recognize as characteristic of Lange balance […]

Coming Up In Revolution’s Winter Issue: A Report On The Lange Akademie

We attended the Lange Akademie –Lange’s world famous training experience for watch enthusiasts –in Napa Valley earlier this year and we had a great time and a humbling one as well.  Here’s a brief excerpt from our full coverage, coming up soon in our Winter edition. “We’ve each been provided with a slightly oversized balance […]

Automatic Attraction: Corum Debuts New Golden Bridge Automatic At BaselWorld 2013

Something old, something new –that’s the theme that runs through much of watchmaking.  Lest we forget, the basic technology of watchmaking consists of a mainspring barrel, gears, a lever escapement, and a temperature compensated balance controlled by a balance spring.  All of those elements –every one –were in place by 1750, boys and girls, when […]

Logical One by Romain Gauthier

Logical One features a triple patent-pending Romain Gauthier flat chain-and-fusee style constant force system with ruby chain links, ergonomic push button winding system, dial-side visible balance, mainspring barrel with sapphire inserts, plus a 60-hour power reserve indicator. For more information, please visit http://www.montres-rg.com/logical-one/

The Evolution of the Minute Repeater

Despite the hyperbole that sometimes accompanies news from the watch world, the truth is this: the hairspring and balance got together in 1660, Mudge made his first lever-escapement watch in 1755, and, with respect to repeaters, Barlow and Quare (both Englishmen) applied for patents for repeating watches in the late 17th century. Breguet developed the […]

Taking Pulse Of Time: Watches And Mechanical Oscillators

Mechanical oscillators like the pendulum and balance wheel are what actually tell time - and today’s latest experiments by some of watchmaking’s most daring researchers are paving the way for the watches of tomorrow   At their most basic, any time-measuring device - whether it’s a longcase pendulum clock, or the most sophisticated cesium fountain […]

Lange’s Engraving Dept

The engraving department within A. Lange & Sohne is perhaps rather famous. Every watch produced carries a hand engraved balance cock. These bear the signatures of the engravers, and can be recognised by them with a quick examination. But equally interesting, and arguably perhaps more so, are the engraving and enameling work done for theRead More

A. Lange & Sohne: Zeitwerk in Platinum

The Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk…I will repost here the launch articles I wrote when I attended the event in Berlin in May 2009, including detailed explainations on how the movement work. But for the time being, let’s just admire the beautiful timepiece: The beautifully finished and executed movement: Detail of the balance wheel: Closeup ofRead More

Hands-On With Two Cônillons: Trying Out The ArtyA Complexity Métiers d’Art

This is not the first time you’ve read about cônillons. Do you still remember what a cônillon is? Let me jog your memory. It is a tilted tourbillon regulator with a tilted balance that follows a conical path rather than a conventional flat plane. It’s not a new concept. The American watchmaker Andrew Holden Potter […] Visit Hands-On With Two Cônillons: Trying Out The ArtyA Complexity Métiers d’Art to read the full article.

New Omega James Bond Watches: Spectre & Bond

Hero and villain. Darkness and light. Good versus evil. Every great story needs this balance, and the history of James Bond is packed with these timeless plotlines. While the world eagerly awaits the announcement of the next James Bond to carry the film franchise forward, Omega is celebrating the iconic rivalry of MI6

First Look - Louis Vuitton Unveils the Monterey in Green or Black Ceramic, Tribute to the LV II of 1988

Contrary to popular belief, Louis Vuitton’s first watch was not the 2002 Tambour but the earlier Montre LV I and LV II, launched in 1988. Designed by Italian architect Gae Aulenti and produced in collaboration with IWC, these quartz-powered pieces reflected the brand’s travel-oriented identity. With their lug-free, pebble-shaped cases and crowns at 12 o’clock, […]

Introducing: Chopard Brings Back The Original Happy Diamonds And Happy Sport

What We Know This year marks 50 years since Chopard first "set diamonds free." Which sounds a little cheesy, admittedly, but there is something genuinely joyful about the conceit: diamonds allowed to skitter and spin around a watch dial, never quite landing in the same place twice. Introduced in 1976, the original Happy Diamonds placed unset diamonds inside individual gold capsules, allowing them to move between two sapphire crystals rather than remaining fixed to the dial. The idea reportedly came from sunlight dancing across a waterfall spray in Germany's Black Forest. It would become one of Chopard's most recognizable signatures. To celebrate the anniversary, Chopard is returning to two pivotal moments in the collection's history: the earliest Happy Diamonds watches from 1976 and the original Happy Sport, designed in 1993 by Caroline Scheufele, Chopard's Co-President and Artistic Director. The Chopard Happy Diamonds Heritage watch in 34mm. The smaller version, measuring 24mm. The new Happy Diamonds Heritage watches are direct re-editions of those first models, with cushion-shaped cases in 18-carat ethical yellow gold and polished black onyx dials. Two sizes are available, just as there were in 1976. The larger measures 34mm by 34mm and contains 21 moving diamonds. Inside is Chopard's hand-wound caliber 10.01-C, a tiny 15.7mm-wide movement introduced in 2024. Visible through the sapphire caseback, it runs at 3Hz and offers 45 hours of power reserve. The smaller 24mm vers...

Chopard Happy Diamonds Heritage: 50 Years of Floating Diamonds, Reimagined

The watch that set diamonds free turns 50, and Chopard is marking the moment with a Heritage edition that looks back without losing its nerve.

We Reviewed 7 Small Watches With Serious Water Resistance That Still Wear Well

From affordable automatics to premium GMTs and divers, these compact picks balance wrist-friendly proportions with real-world durability.

Introducing - Trilobe Releases the Chateau Trente-Deux with a Burgundy dial

Founded by Gautier Massonneau in 2018, Trilobe is a French brand distinguished by its hand-free displays. Instead of traditional hands, Trilobe uses three rotating rings that align with fixed markings to display time in motion.  Last year, Trilobe released the Trente-Deux, a luxury sports watch with the brand’s unconventional display in an elegant steel case […]

Dispatch: Climbing High With The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time Cardinal Points

Somewhere high over the cinematically unforgiving terrain of southern Utah, I cling awkwardly to a metal rung neatly stapled into a slab of near-vertical Navajo sandstone. Using a free hand, I adjust a pair of sliding metal tethers to enable my climb. These are the lifelines that will hopefully keep me alive should my grip or footing fail. Being no fan of heights, I wonder how much longer this will last as I notice the route of rungs extending straight up and out of sight along the cutting topography of the ridgeline. Instinctively, I glance at my wrist to mark the time. I'm met with yet another novel, but very real, concern – I'm wearing someone else's $40,000 watch. I'm in Canyon Point, Utah, not far from the northern border of Arizona, for an event held at Amangiri, one of the finest hotels in the world. The exclusive event celebrates Vacheron Constantin's latest entry into its sportiest category: the Overseas Dual Time Cardinal Points. But I am an interloper among the assembled guests, many of whom are among the brand's most notable North American collectors. While I'm no stranger to the glitz, glamour, and all-you-can-eat shrimp of watch industry press events, this is something altogether different; this is a client event. While your average press trip is often quite nice, our usual hands-on time with a given new model is often limited to an hour or so in a boardroom in some Geneva-based HQ or in a meeting space at a brand's manufacture in Le Locle or elsewhere in S...

Best Field Watches Under $1,000: Top Picks from a Decade of Testing

Discover the 8 best field watches under $1,000 we've actually worn and tested. Find the ones that best balance comfort, legibility, and long-term ownership.

Hands-On: The Longines Hydroconquest 39mm

Although the most current form of the Longines Hydroconquest has only been around since March of this year, it comes up in a lot of conversations. Since its release, it has found considerable relevance with the value-focused audience, managing to strike a balance that is becoming increasingly rare – strong enthusiast value from a major brand at a competitive sub-luxury price point. In a space that used to be dominated by Omega (and more recently, Tudor), Longines has stepped up with an offering that checks a lot of boxes, including the fact that this new and nicely proportioned diver rocks a price tag that feels more 2016 than 2026. Launched in 2007 as a dive-themed spin on the brand's longstanding Conquest line, the Hydroconquest has had a handful of generations that progressively refined what started as a quirky diver with oversized numerals, chiseled crown guards, and a characterful hour hand with a diamond-shaped lume plot. Until recently, with the launch of the latest generation, that was the known format of the Hydroconquest. With modern positioning, it was just unconventional enough to stand out among its peers, and the brand's alignment with Swatch allowed for reliable movements, attractive price points, and the chance of local retail availability. An example of a 2018 Hydroconquest in 41mm offered as a US market LE.  Then, earlier this year, Longines launched this latest iteration in 42mm and, yes, 39mm. The watch you see here is the 39mm example, and its steel...