Hodinkee
Auctions: This Weekend In Bienne: 'The Charity Watch Sale' Raises Funds For Children In Need
What started as a small community project is now a growing fundraiser for Switzerland's leading children's NGO.
21,373 articles · 225 videos found · page 199 of 720
Hodinkee
What started as a small community project is now a growing fundraiser for Switzerland's leading children's NGO.
Hodinkee
The legendary CBS News magazine show heads to Switzerland and the Vallée de Joux to profile some of the top Swiss watchmakers in a behind-the-scenes look at the unique industry.
Teddy Baldassarre
While it’s more widely known for its jewelry these days, Piaget, founded in the small Swiss village of La Cote-aux-Fées by Georges Piaget in 1874, has been a watchmaker from the beginning. Its original trade, in fact, was making movements, and the company began making complete watches in In the 20th century. Before getting into the Piaget Polo, it's worth it to get into the brand's history in thin watchmaking. Since 1957, when Piaget created the historic 2mm-thick Caliber 9P, the company has been world renowned for the elegant thinness of its watches and movements. The world’s thinnest self-winding mechanical movement, Caliber 12P, followed Caliber 9P just three years later, in 1960, and Piaget has building upon these foundations ever since. Its most recent triumph in this area was the Altiplano Ultimate Concept, which debuted in 2018 as a prototype and hit the market in 2020; the entire watch, case and movement, is just 2mm thick, matching the wafer thinness of the original Caliber 9P. Along with Bulgari, another watchmaker known more for its jewelry, Piaget continues to embody the ne plus ultra of what ultra-thin watchmaking can accomplish. [toc-section heading="The Integrated Bracelet Era Begins"] However, while “thin and elegant” remains the calling card of the Piaget watch brand overall, the market was looking for something a little different - a little bolder, perhaps - in the 1970s. Audemars Piguet had introduced its groundbreaking Royal Oak “Jumbo...
Monochrome
Raymond Weil is on a roll. As a brand we rarely covered, third-generation CEO Elie Bernheim is upping the tempo for the family-run Geneva-based brand. What started with the well-designed, retro-inspired MiIllesime of 2024, designed from scratch with contemporary specs, is now a fully fledged and very successful collection. Recently treated to a makeover, the […]
Hodinkee
The two impressive releases deserve attention despite being in the shadow of the major release that caps Breguet's 250th Anniversary year.
Monochrome
Roger Dubuis is a name that can be seen from different angles. It is one of these names that feels twofold in the collecting community. One side of the name refers to the man himself, a talented watchmaker who, back in the 1990s, created his eponymous independent brand, with early-production watches becoming highly collectable youngtimer […]
Monochrome
March LA.B is a multi-product French company founded in 2009 by three friends passionate about surfing and 1970s retro design. Named after the month March, followed by an acronym for Los Angeles and Biarritz, where the founding partners reside, March LA.B retails a portfolio of surfer-friendly products with eyewear, wetsuits, small leather goods, shorts and […]
Hodinkee
A close look at cutting-edge casemaking at a massive scale.
Hodinkee
The ultimate evolution of Chopard's chiming complications incorporates a minute repeater, grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie, and more in a brand-new caliber with dual certifications.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
The Certina Action Diver 38mm gets subtle upgrades for 2025, including fresh materials and refined styling.
Hodinkee
For centuries, small seconds were the only game in town. Today, they're an endangered species … kind of.
Revolution
Teddy Baldassarre
Watchmaking is a centuries-old craft, and as such, there are brands operating today with no shortage of heritage, not only stewarding the industry as a whole, but also fostering its continued cultural relevancy. Modern relevancy is vital to a crop of young brands looking to make their own mark on history. The complexity of the industry, and the purpose that watchmakers serve in a modern society, may have shifted, but their importance, and indeed their existence, says something deep about the value that humanity places on these things. Today, we find a vast landscape of watch brands and watchmakers operating, providing the most diverse range of watch offerings available to the public than any other time in history. This also begs the question: which are the best? Settling on the best watch brands operating today is no small task, and of course involves a heavy measure of subjectivity. That said, we can bring some structure to the table in an attempt to qualify the very best by an assortment of metrics, from industry leaders, to gateway brands, and even some wild cards that have the potential to shake things up. But what makes a watch brand great? Is it a consistent history of growth and innovation? Annual sales volume? Number of horological contributions made over time? Wholly verticalized manufacturing? Or is it something a little more amorphous, like public sentiment and goodwill, or risks being taken that net a positive influence on the industry as a whole? As with most ...
Monochrome
Artya, the brand created by Yvan Arpa, is never shy to break the rules and to create watches with impressive character. Even though recent models have toned things down a bit, specifically the sleek and organic Purity Wavy or Luminity Wavy, the family-run business is always answering the call for innovation and creativity. As part […]
Worn & Wound
One of the very common knock-on effects of diving deep into any hobby or enthusiast pursuit is that eventually you’ll find yourself kind of obsessed with something that most would likely perceive as a waste of energy, or not actually all that interesting. I liken it to a cinephile finding a deep appreciation for the films of Michael Bay, constantly reminding everyone that Armageddon is in fact in the Criterion Collection (and has one of the best commentary tracks ever recorded – but that’s beside the point). Sometimes I feel like all of my watch interests are deeply niche. As my taste has evolved and, dare I say, matured, it’s also gotten a little bit weirder. But one niche of a niche that I know is underappreciated by many of my peers and perhaps even derided by some are the watches of the Ralph Lauren “Fine Watchmaking” division, specifically those in the American Western Watch Collection (but I have soft spot for the ones with the bears, too). A new release from Ralph Lauren in this very collection bolsters my position, I think, that these watches are actually quite special. It’s important to start, though, with an understanding that while you’re likely to see “Polo” branded fashion watches anywhere Ralph Lauren apparel is sold, and certainly in the vitrines of big retailers at malls, and so forth, these are absolutely not what we could typically call fashion watches. The Western Watch Collection features movements made by Piaget, lots of handcraft, ...
Revolution
Monochrome
Benrus, founded in 1921 by the Lazrus brothers in New York, has always been at its best when it taps into the things it once did for real: dependable field watches for the U.S. military, purpose-built dive pieces from the boom years of recreational diving, and compact daily beaters that wore smaller than their spec […]
Revolution
Monochrome
With well over a century of watchmaking from the day the brand was founded until today, the world of Rolex can be a daunting one. As the most prolific and widely known brand, and with countless references, generations and innovations coming from the Swiss manufacture, it’s understandable some might get absolutely lost in the details. […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
After nearly a decade reviewing affordable watches, we ask: has the community been overlooking Bulova in favor of Seiko?
Monochrome
Following the success of the Millesime collection, a series of vintage-inspired, 1930s-based watches that have been praised by enthusiasts and industry insiders (including us), Raymond Weil is back with yet another “Heritage” collection, despite being a relatively young brand founded in 1976. Surfing on the renewed interest for shaped, classic and dressier timepieces, the brand introduces the […]
Teddy Baldassarre
The Tudor Black Bay 58 Burgundy was released at this year's Watches & Wonders to nothing short of acclaim by enthusiasts. Not just a fresh color, this is a redesigned Tudor Black Bay 58, essentially from top to bottom. What you’re looking at is the next generation of everybody’s favorite Black Bay size, and it debuts in a color you simply cannot ignore, and one tied to Tudor history. The Burgundy Black Bay 58 took the burgundy color usage of Black Bays from the past while leaning into the bright color scheme much more boldly than before. Rather than just adding another bezel color, Tudor decided to make the whole dial and front of the case a study in this shade of red. Where the past few years have seen Tudor experiment with satin-finished dials in its hardcore sports watches, from the Pelagos to the Black Bay 54, the 58 range has been steadfast in its use of matte or textured dial surfaces. That all changed with this iteration, as we get a punchy, sunburst burgundy dial color. You might think this is an infusion of modernity in a model known to harken back to the past, but it isn’t. It’s just harkening to a different moment in time – to a watch that Tudor never technically released. Indeed, that would be a certain 1990s Tudor Submariner Ref. 79190 prototype that had a similar red bezel/red dial combination. And while that watch never made it to the production stage, it heavily influenced the brand’s decision when it released the very first Black Bay with a bu...
Monochrome
This announcement shouldn’t come as a surprise and was largely anticipated by the industry. Yet, now that the 39% import taxes imposed by the U.S. administration on Swiss goods entering American soil, also known as the tariffs, are effective (since the beginning of August), we clearly see the effects. And yes, there is no other […]
Monochrome
Editor’s note – As our long-time readers might know, MONOCRHOME is usually quite (to say the least) technical. We like to go in-depth, to look at the ins and outs of watchmaking, sometimes tackling highly complex topics. This was the main objective behind our “Technical Perspective” series, where we’ve covered some of the most complex […]
Hodinkee
In Monaco, all watches are welcome, but some really stood out. Here's what we saw.
Teddy Baldassarre
Among all of Rolex’s bracelet options, the Oysterflex is perhaps the most unconventional and arguably the most misunderstood. Now marking 10 years on the market, and encompassing attributes of both a sturdy steel bracelet and a supple rubber strap, the Oysterflex has gone from being a curious, one-off outlier on a niche Yacht-Master model to an integral element of some of the Crown’s most buzz-worthy timepieces of recent years. Here’s what you should know about it. History of Rubber Watch Straps The road to the Rolex Oysterflex bracelet really started with the invention of vulcanized rubber in 1839, attributed to chemist Charles Goodyear (below, whose name is now immortalized in the automotive world as a leading manufacturer of tires). Vulcanized rubber - a compound of natural rubber with other compounds, which offered enhanced resilience and pliability - was originally used in mostly industrial areas, as in the manufacture of o-rings, gaskets, and (of course) tires. The discovery of fluoroelastomers as an alternative to the difficult-to-source natural rubber led to the rise of synthetic rubbers that had even more advantages, such as resistance to water, oils, and temperature extremes. These rubbers found their way into more everyday products such as shoes, belts, and flooring, while also expanding further into applications in the automotive industry, for door seals, hoses, and other parts. Synthetic rubber first emerged as an alternative for wristwatch straps in...
Monochrome
As you might already know as of now, Breguet is celebrating this year its 250th anniversary. And the brand is doing so by releasing watches that are either evolutions of emblematic models – such as the two stunning hand-wound Type XX – or paying tribute to the countless innovations of A.L. Breguet, for instance the […]
Revolution
Revolution
Quill & Pad
The WatchCharts Overall Market Index gained +0.6% in September 2025, continuing its gradual recovery trend. Patek Philippe led the way with a +2.3% increase, while Rolex edged up +0.2%. Over the past six months, Patek Philippe and Rolex have risen +5.7% and +2.0%, respectively.
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