Deployant
Live from GWD26: Luca Soprana | Hands-on with Luca Soprana and Derek Pratt
Next, a hike up Grand rue in Geneva to the premises of WatchesTV, and met with Luca Soprana. He showed me his Soprana Time Only and the Derek Pratt.
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Worn & Wound
Gallet Officially Enters Its Renaissance for the Brand’s 200th Anniversary
It was nearly a year and a half ago that Breitling announced its acquisition of the long defunct Swiss watch brand Gallet. Since then, we’ve been waiting for an official comeback, and now it’s finally here in the year of the Maison’s 200th anniversary. Today marks the beginning of a new era of the historic watchmaker. In the 1800s when Gallet was first founded, La Chaus-de-Fonds was a global hub for watchmaking, giving rise to several legendary brands, including Breitling as well as Heuer, Zenith, and Girard-Perregaux. The period coincided with the Industrial Revolution, which trickled into the field of watchmaking, transforming it from a bespoke craft for the elite to an increasingly accessible craft thanks to growing mass production. The democratization of the watch opened doors for timekeepers to serve as more than a status symbol but a tool for adventurers in the realms of aviation, racing, and sailing. Gallet’s watches went on to time the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight, helped pilots track the time in world cities during the earliest intercontinental flights, and commemorated racing champion Rex Mays’ victory at the Springfield Mile. Gallet continues this lineage while bringing it into the modern era thanks to the technical expertise of Breitling. From the movements powering the models down to details like interchangeable quick release straps, Breitling has revived Gallet with contemporary upgrades while maintaining the original essence of the brand...
Monochrome
Introducing - Czapek Inaugurates its Quai des Bergues 27 Boutique with Special Editions of the Quai des Bergues and Place Vendôme Complicité
Coinciding with Geneva Watch Days, Czapek & Cie opens a new flagship boutique at Quai des Bergues 27, a symbolic address for the brand where, in 1839, François Czapek and Polish émigré Antoni Patek laid the foundations of Patek, Czapek & Cie. To mark the occasion, Czapek releases two special editions: a Quai des Bergues […]
SJX Watches
Golden Obsidian for Gérald Genta’s Minute Repeater
One of the most striking watches to debut at Geneva Watch Days is a new variant of Gérald Genta’s Minute Repeater featuring a dial made of Golden Obsidian. In variation from last year’s debut, it’s forgone the glossy black onyx dial in favour of naturally formed volcanic glass. Initial thoughts Beyond the dial the only change is the strap, still with its signature centre-lug though now in a brown calfskin which nicely dresses down the overall package. It’s a perfect example of the brand’s ethos as they expand the collection: methodical, deliberate and measured. Small changes that stack up and give buyers more choice, and the addition of the Golden Obsidian alongside the Onyx shows how one small change can take a watch from classical and serious to relaxed and charming — having both options in the lineup should help satisfy still-healthy demand for stone dials perfectly compliment each other and goes far to round out a healthily expanding lineup for Gérald Genta. Obsidian dial Golden obsidian is a variant of the jet-black volcanic obsidian you’re likely familiar with. It forms naturally when lava cools rapidly and traps microscopic pockets of iron, air and gas bubbles forming organic striations and graining through the glass. These imperfections give golden obsidian its warmth and shimmer, changing dramatically as light hits it from different angles. What it does share with stone is its unique formation, so no two Golden Obsidian dials will be alike. Like wi...
Monochrome
Introducing - Akhor Brings Rare Stones on its AK-10 Stromatolite and AK-10 Maw Sit Sit
Akhor, an independent Swiss watch brand spearheaded by Anissa Bader, made its debut one year ago at Geneva Watch Days. Unlike many newcomers to the scene, Akhor benefits from Bader’s ties to Clamax, a watch component and micromechanics manufacturer based in Geneva. The inaugural watch was the poetic Le Temps en Equilibre, based on a […]
SJX Watches
Beyond the Familiar: A History of A. Lange & Söhne’s 1815 Collection
Ferdinand Adolph Lange was born in Dresden on February 18th, 1815. Thirty years later he’d found his eponymous company, and 145 years after that a new A. Lange & Söhne would rise from the proverbial ashes of East Germany. The A. Lange & Söhne we know today debuted in 1994 when the brand launched four watches: the Arkade, Saxonia, Lange 1, and the flagship Tourbillon Pour le Mérite, which established a set of visual codes that would later define the 1815 collection. Today, the 1815 family is primarily known for its many time-only variants, the 1815 Up/Down, and, of course, the 1815 Chronograph. However, the 1815 collection also includes some of the brand’s most extraordinary, unusual, and rarely seen models. Lange 1815 Emil Lange Moon Phase (1999) The Tourbillon Pour le Mérite of 1994 defined the 1815 collection’s design codes, specifically the printed Arabic dial that is vaguely reminiscent of a pocket watch despite being an almost from-scratch design. However, it was not officially badged as an 1815. That designation arrived the following year with the refs. 206.021 in yellow gold and 206.025 in white gold. These introductions saw the rectangular movement inside the Arkade and Saxonia reformatted to make it presentable through a display case back. The extra space was put to use in the followup 1815 Up/Down, which added the namesake power reserve indicator and recreated the running seconds. In 1999, Lange launched the 1815 Moonphase Emil Lange (1849-1921) to mark...
Monochrome
First Look - The Bulgari Titanio, The Titanium Evolution of the Aluminium Collection
Titanium is the common thread running through Bulgari’s Geneva Watch Days 2026 releases. Alongside the more experimental Octo Finissimo models, the brand also brings the material to one of its most recognisable everyday collections. The new Bulgari Titanio evolves the familiar Aluminium series with cases made from grade 5 titanium, while retaining the collection’s characteristic […]
Teddy Baldassarre Videos
Why I Bought The IWC Ingenieur - Long-Term Ownership Review
It was spring 2023, and I was in Geneva as I usually am this time of year at Watches and Wonders. This was an eventful year of releases, and one of the brands that dominated the discourse was IWC with the relaunch of the Ingenieur, which paid tribute to its 1970s Gerald Genta connections. Up until this point, I liked
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Girard-Perregaux Laureato Fifty Tourbillon Micro-Rotor 39
What We Know Unveiling four new calibers in just 12 months, Girard-Perregaux has been rather busy lately. The La Chaux-de-Fonds-based marque celebrated a half-century of its Laureato model last year, with the introduction of the Laureato Fifty, including two-tone and Three Gold Bridges Tourbillon models. GP followed that up in 2026 with the Laureato Fifty becoming a permanent part of the model line and the introduction of 39 millimeter and 36mm models, showcasing the historic integrated bracelet watch design first introduced in 1975, as well as the signature bridges and grand feu enamel and precious metals dials at the heart of the brand's savoir-faire. Today, GP is introducing yet another Laureato, the Fifty Tourbillon micro-rotor in 39mm, aiming to bring together key design and mechanical elements defining Girard-Perregaux over its 235-year history. The Fifty Tourbillon is housed in a stainless steel case measuring 39mm in diameter and a svelte 10mm thick, with a matching integrated bracelet in the same metal offering 4mm of micro-adjust capability. Available in two Clous de Paris motif dial versions, a blue grand-feu enamel, or 18 karat rose gold, the watch features and celebrates classic Laureato and GP elements. The signature is the 'lyre-shaped' tourbillon at 6 o'clock supported by white gold, arrow-shaped bridges that draw on the brand's historic three-bridge design first produced by Constant Girard back in 1867. The relatively restrained dial features lumed...
Hodinkee
Introducing: Frederique Constant Highlife Moonphase Date And Classics Moneta Handwinding
What We Know At Geneva Watch Days this year, Frederique Constant introduces two new references that continue to build on the momentum the brand generated at Watches and Wonders. The Highlife Moonphase Date adds a moonphase complication to the Highlife collection; the Classics Moneta Handwinding is the first mechanical movement in a collection that launched in 2024 with a quartz movement and added a solar version earlier this year. Together, the two references display the range of what the manufacture builds in-house, from a complicated moonphase module to a hand-wound caliber developed exclusively for the brand. The Highlife Moonphase Date measures 39mm and comes in two dial colors. The rosé champagne dial uses a sunray finish that radiates outward from the moonphase window at 6 o'clock rather than from the center, with gold and copper tones set against a blue moon disc. The night blue dial uses a lighter sunray finish closer in tone to its own moon disc, with a red "31" marking the final day of longer months. The moon disc is rendered with grey shading and surface relief rather than a flat metallic disc. Both versions use applied, mirror-polished, lume-filled indexes and hands. By comparison, the Classics Moneta Handwinding measures 38.5mm and comes in a single dial color: a smoked salmon-tone gradient that darkens to black at the edges, with applied mirror-polished hour markers, two dauphine hands, and a small seconds sub-dial at 6 o'clock. The Highlife Moonphase Date...
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Breitling Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 Miles Davis
What We Know In honor of the centennial of legendary musician Miles Davis' birth, Breitling has just announced a limited edition collection at Geneva Watch Days. I say collection because it's more than just one watch, if you want it to be. At the core, Breitling has launched a 500-piece limited-edition model, the steel Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 Miles Davis, which is inspired by the ref. 806 Mk 5 Navitimer that was worn by the famous jazz musician. If a single steel option isn't enough for you Davis heads out there, Breitling is also producing 50 three-piece sets that offer a trio of executions of the watch, spanning steel, yellow gold, and even platinum with a blue dial. We can start with the core model, reference AB09501A1B1X1 or AB09501A1B1A1, depending on whether you want a leather strap or the bracelet (you want the bracelet). Measuring 41mm wide (the same as the reference worn by Davis), 13mm thick, and 47.1 mm lug-to-lug, the Navitimer Miles Davis uses a Breitling B09 hand-wound movement that is COSC-certified, ticks at 4 Hz, and employs both a column wheel and a vertical clutch. Water resistance is 30 meters, and this special edition sports both cream-colored lume and Breitling's (very cool) Twin Jet logo. And then there is the bracelet, a modern interpretation of the Air Racer bracelet that uses a cuff design with large holes. For this execution, Breitling has added hinged links near the clasp to help with comfort. But that's not all; aside from a gorgeous...
Hodinkee
Introducing: Zenith Chronomaster Solo Sport
What We Know Now in its sixth decade as one of the most famous movements in the industry, the El Primero remains at the heart of Zenith's offerings. To kick off Geneva Watch Days, Zenith is doing something slightly different, launching a Chronomaster Sport without a chronograph—the Chronomaster Solo Sport. The watch arrives in four variations: three with ceramic dials and bezels in black, white, and brown, plus a no-date option also in black. All four come in a 40mm stainless steel case with a ceramic unidirectional rotating bezel. The dial features hours, minutes, and seconds, with date added on three of the four references. Despite losing the chronograph, there's still a lot going on up top. The words "36,000 VpH" and "high frequency" alone take up two lines of the dial, and the subtle "shark tooth" minute track gives a nod to vintage Zenith references. The dial itself is ceramic, built around a repeated 45° Z motif meant to evoke the rhythm and vibration of the movement underneath—rendered as a sunray finish on the white version and a polished surface on the black and brown versions. That same pattern carries over to the counterweight on the seconds hand. The El Primero 3620 powers the watch, derived from the El Primero 3600 chronograph movement and operating at 5 Hz, or 36,000 VpH, while retaining the star-shaped rotor. It's equipped with a silicon escapement and a stop-second mechanism for precise time-setting, and it offers a 60-hour power reserve. Also featur...
Hodinkee
Introducing: Gerald Charles Masterlink Atelier Edition
What We Know Gerald Charles, known for their Maestro cases, continues to evolve that idea at this year's Geneva Watch Days, but this is the first time they've offered something where every piece is genuinely unique. It's based on a Gérald Genta design from 2007 called the Sarawak, a diamond-and-ruby integrated-bracelet watch created for the Royal family of Sarawak—unknown to the public until 2024—and the direct ancestor of the Masterlink. It's impressive to see the brand continue to iterate on Genta's own designs, decades on. The case looks familiar—it's a classic Maestro, coming in as a square at 38mm x 38mm. The svelte dimensions continue inside: a profile just 7.99mm thin, aided by the 2.67mm movement. There are three colorways here—Golden Rose, Rhodium, and Golden Yellow. The dial is clearly the focal point here, bringing a new element to the Masterlink lineup. Each dial is individually hand-hammered by an artisan at Gerald Charles's atelier in Geneva. It's made of maillechort—also known as German silver or nickel silver, a copper-nickel-zinc alloy — and is typically used for movement bridges and plates rather than dials. It wasn't chosen because it's easy to work with—quite the opposite: it requires longer production times, wears tools faster, and results in a higher rejection rate. Since each dial is hammered by hand, no two are identical, and there are no applied indexes here, leaving the hundreds of small facets in full view. Inside is the ultra-th...
Monochrome
First Look - The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Dual Time x Vianney Halter, An Antiqua-Inspired Take on Ultra-Thin (Incl. Video)
For Geneva Watch Days 2026, Italian brand Bulgari and independent watchmaker Vianney Halter joined forces to bring us one of the most distinctive interpretations of the Octo Finissimo to date. Seen at a glance, the influence of Halter is unmistakable. The multiple displays, hands, white opaline surfaces and porthole-like bezels recall the legendary Antiqua, developed […]
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Oris Social Club Edition II
What We Know As part of the brand's varied releases for Geneva Watch Days, Oris has announced the Social Club Edition II, a special creation sold exclusively online in partnership with the Oris Social Club. The group spans some 62 chapters all over the world, and the latest offering to the acolytes is a handsome expression of the Aquis Relief that incorporates a green nylon NATO-style strap. Measuring in at 43.5mm, the Social Club Edition II builds upon the standard Aquis Relief by complementing the steel bezel design with a frosted silver finish for the dial. Look a bit closer, and you'll see that there is an easter egg for the date, too, as the first-of-the-month position will feature an image of Oris' mascot, the Oris Bear. Flip the watch over, and you'll find a custom caseback showing the Oris factory in Holstein and "OSC | INT" to mark the club's international membership. The full specs are provided below, but the Oris Social Club Edition II is 13.1mm thick and 51mm lug to lug with 300 meters of water resistance protecting the Oris 733 movement within. The 733 is based on the Sellita SW 200-1 and is an automatic, Swiss-made movement that ticks at 4 Hz and offers a date, which, for this model, is at 6 o'clock. Perhaps most interesting – or perhaps I just like NATO straps – Oris has elected to fit lug adapters to the Aquis' proprietary lugs to enable the use of a green NATO strap. The Oris Social Club Edition II is not limited and will be available in Septembe...
Fratello
Hittin’ Switches With The Voxel Meridion VX01-E
New brands pop up frequently, but few open with a proprietary mechanical complication that actually changes how you read the time throughout the day. Voxel, founded by French creative director Thibault Luc and Vallée de Joux engineer Bruno Herbet, does exactly that with its debut, the Meridion VX01-E. Unveiled during Geneva Watch Days 2026, the […] Visit Hittin’ Switches With The Voxel Meridion VX01-E to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Introducing: Czapek's New Quai des Bergues And Place Vendôme Complicité
What We Know Only seven years ago, Czapek, a brand over 180 years old, opened its first modern boutique in Geneva, right next to the brand's original workshop from 1839. Soon after, it opened its first boutique on the Place Vendôme in Paris. Its first collection, called "Quai des Bergues," celebrated the first boutique; another collection celebrated that boutique in France. Now, the brand has reopened its Geneva boutique with a new look and is celebrating with a new watch from each collection. The newest Quai des Bergues "Midnight in Geneva" uses the brand's proprietary SXH1 hand-wound movement, cased in a mid-sized 40.5mm by 11.9mm stainless steel case with sandblasted, hollowed-out lugs. The watch is an impressive bit of watchmaking in a really elegant form. The watch has a power reserve indicator, weekday indicator, and subsidiary seconds, but the power reserve is a massive 7 days. The elegance comes in part from a beautiful dark blue aventurine dial with silver powder-coated steel Fleur-de-Lys hands, printed elongated Roman numerals, and a chemin de fer outer track. The watch, with a 50-meter water resistance, is limited to 18 pieces and retails for $28,600. The Place Vendôme Complicité Glacier Blue is a new treatment for the brand's open-worked double-escapement watch created in collaboration with Bernhard Lederer. While the previous watch was technically impressive but visually reserved, the Place Vendôme Complicité puts complexity at the forefront. The watch fe...
SJX Watches
Alto Returns with the Art 02
Design-forward independent watchmaker Alto has kicked off Geneva Watch Days with its second model, the Art 02. While the most obvious difference is the addition of a matching bracelet, the entire watch has been refined and updated with a smaller case and an upgraded movement. Initial thoughts A dominant trend in independent watchmaking for the past several years has been the veneration of finishing. This focus has given rise to a growing number of overtly traditional time-only watches built and finished to a high standard. Alto belongs a class of design-led independents that promotes a different approach, one focused on how shapes and textures contribute to the wearing experience. This philosophy comes into sharper focus with the brand’s sophomore effort, the Art 02. While visually similar to its predecessor — enough that they would be hard to tell apart by an untrained eye — the Art 02 has been significantly refined and upgraded in several respects. First is the case, which is slightly thicker but much smaller in length and width, and a new proprietary calibre designed specifically for the Art 02. Then there’s the matching titanium bracelet, which is brushed and faceted to create a dazzling display of light and shadow. Surprisingly, the Art 02 is significantly less expensive than its predecessor. In fact, the retail price of €13,100 is just over half that of the Art 01 in “Monochrome Grey.” Considering the new calibre, proprietary bracelet, and similar bill ...
Hodinkee
Introducing: Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Skeleton 'Milano Blue' in Rose Gold
What We Know This morning, just ahead of Geneva Watch Days, Parmigiani Fleurier has unveiled a new limited-edition take on its Tonda PF Skeleton. This new watch does something so many Parmigiani watches do so well, blending several existing elements to create something just a little bit new. In this instance, Parmigiani Fleurier has taken its Milano Blue skeletonized Tonda PF dial and movement—which had previously been available only in platinum—and fitted them to a rose gold Tonda PF case (and bracelet). The Tonda PF case is one of the key arguments in favor of modern Parmigiani Fleurier. At 40mm across and just 8.5mm thick, it's well-sized and thin without feeling slight. Still, for as good as the Tonda PF is, the star of the show here is the movement. The PF777 (which you can read a bit more about here) is an automatic winding caliber developed in-house by Parmigiani Fleurier. Unlike many movements that find their way into skeletonized watches, the PF777 was purpose-built and designed from first principles with skeletonization in mind. The result of this — and of Parmigiani's willingness to not take skeletonization to the absolute extreme, but rather to implement the concept with some modicum of consideration — is a movement that balances aesthetic concerns with practical ones and is all the better for it. A blend of polished, satin-finished, and sandblasted surfaces keeps the PF777 feeling contemporary, and the ground-up design means the watch avoids many of th...
WristBuzz
Atelier Wen x Massena Lab Inflection Shuò: Tantalum, Gold Dials, and a Very Smart Collaboration
The Inflection gets a Geneva Watch Days 2026 upgrade, with Massena Lab bringing two gold dial variants to an already serious tantalum sports watch
Worn & Wound
Review: the Autodromo Group C Turbo Sport
It’s hard to believe in our era of always-online smart watches and AI-everything (eye rolls welcome), but there was a time when the digital watch was the new kid on the block, challenging analog conventions. Cries of “kids these days” abounded, and though the then-genuine worry of traditional timekeeping going obsolete seems a bit silly in retrospect, the modern electronic digital watch was a very real and groundbreaking thing when it was first introduced by Hamilton with the Pulsar in 1970. A battery-powered quartz crystal oscillator and LED display made it a marvel at the time, and it still commands respect on the collector market today. Like many kids of the 1990s and 2000s, my first “real” watch was a digital example, mainly because I was enamored with the ever-beeping buttons and light-up face. Still, I eventually wandered over to the analog side of watch fandom, and haven’t wavered since, a trajectory most enthusiasts will probably relate to. But in the wise words of an El Paso ad executive, “por que no los dos?” The Millennial and Zillenial era of nostalgia is here, creating a new clamoring for “retro” digital displays without sacrificing the pedigree (and social clout) that comes with an analog watch. Enter the ana-digi, a combo of both types of timekeeping. It’s not a new concept by any means, with huge brands like Casio and Citizen offering examples for decades, but those tend to be big, bulky tool watches. Not so with the new slate of s...
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Maison Alcée x MB&F; Nostromo
What We Know Maison Alcée jumped headlong into the watch community consciousness in 2023, winning the GPHG 'Audacity Prize' in recognition of the brand's unique do-it-yourself, high horology, clock-building kits. Championed by Ben, who served on the GPHG jury that year, the French husband-and-wife team of Alcée and Benoit Montfort went on to craft a highly successful LE collaboration with Hodinkee (with lume!) that quickly sold out. Now Alcée and Benoit are back with another collaboration that takes their clock-making kit to the next level. Collaborating with MB&F;, who have long supported Maison Alcée by showcasing and selling their work at their Mad Gallery locations, the Maison Alcée x MB&F; Nostromo leans hard into the well-established alien aesthetic the Geneva-based creative force is known for. Adding to the intrigue is that this clock was designed by MB&F;'s Creative Designer, Maximilian Maertens. He's the young German who is slowly and purposefully starting to take the lead on some of MB&F;'s pieces, as Max Büsser begins to step back and give up a bit of creative control over the collective brand project he founded more than two decades ago. So what makes this Maison Alcée kit interesting and different? It's certainly expressive of the MB&F; design language, with the arched base legs or feet giving it an extraterrestrial personality. Maertens says he's a fan of and inspired by the late Swiss artist H.R. Giger (check out the wild Giger Museum in Gruyères if y...
SJX Watches
The Ming 57.05 Comet Springs Forward
Ahead of Geneva Watch Days, Ming has introduced the 57.05 Comet, a DST-compatible worldtimer with a clever two-piece bezel. The Comet also upholds the long tradition of worldtimers with decorative dials, in this case with a dynamic interference pattern that changes throughout the day. Initial thoughts There are few complications that embody jet-set optimism like the Cottier-style worldtimer, with its noble ambition to create a unified view of the time everywhere on Earth. This inspiration is ever-present in the 57.05 Comet, which takes its name from the world’s first passenger jet, the de Havilland Comet. Interestingly, the worldtime format was partially obsolete even before Cottier came up with his ingenious display in 1931, due to adoption of what we now call Daylight Saving Time (DST) in several Western countries around 1918. I’ve always resented the fact that DST significantly reduces the effectiveness of one of the most elegant complications in watchmaking. Some brands have proposed solutions to this issue, but often the result is overly complex or visually cluttered. Ming’s solution is so intuitive it seems obvious in retrospect, with a two-piece bezel that moves DST observers 15 degrees counterclockwise in the summer to align with the correct hour. Summer mode is indicated by a cut-out in the mobile section of the bezel that reveals a (slightly) luminous red indicator. To be clear, it’s not a perfect solution, since different countries begin and end DST obse...
Worn & Wound
Blancpain Introduces the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 70th Anniversary Limited Edition
You know, I actually wasn’t going to write about this watch. An $18,000 vintage inspired dive watch from a brand that doesn’t hold a ton of personal relevance to me was just not super high on my list of priorities as Geneva Watch Days prep is now in full swing (this time next week, I will be surviving on CHF 10 Coke Zeros). But, over the weekend the collective watch internet kind of lost its mind over the new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 70th Anniversary Limited Edition, so I shifted my to-do list around a bit and, well, here we are. Of course, there have been a lot of memes and jokes about this watch sharing a certain similarity to the Seiko 62MAS and the many, many reinterpretations and reissues of that watch over the years. I’m frankly less interested in those aesthetic similarities than I am in the very conceit of this watch, what it illuminates about Blancpain, and the way it fits into the neverending conversation around price sensitivity that we’ve been having for months as we see MSRPs shoot higher and higher. But what I’ll say about the appearance of the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 70th Anniversary Limited Edition is simply that, at this point, 70 years on from the advent of this type of watch, I don’t think any brand really owns the aesthetic identity of something so generic. Lots and lots of watches from all kinds of brands look like this, just like lots and lots of watches look like a Speedmaster, or a Calatrava. The design tropes of these wat...
Hodinkee
Recommended Reading: 'Universal People, Universal Dreams' Is A Timely, Heartfelt Telling Of One Man's Collecting Journey Into The Rarest Of The Rare
Last week I kicked off a mini-series where I'm finally taking some great books off my shelf and sharing them with the world. We covered a brand-backed "Grand Seiko" book by ERG Media, which set a great tone. This week we're looking at another brand-focused tome, the much more recently released "Universal People, Universal Dreams," which documents the hyper-focused collection of one man. But it's more than a book about Universal Genève. I first met the author and publisher, Luca Mignini, a few years ago, though I'm not exactly sure where. Maybe at an auction in Geneva? At some point, he just turned into a fixture in my vintage watch sphere, a person who could turn up anywhere there was a vintage watch. At the famed antique fair in Parma, Italy? Sure. Luca Mignini and Max Bernardini He had a prototype Universal Genève Space Compax/Polerouter Sub dive watch made for the U.S. Navy, which I shared in my photo report from the fair. On that same trip, he just randomly showed up as I was looking at Patek 1518 dials with Max Bernardini (Uncle Max, to his close friends) at his shop right across the street from "The Last Supper" in Milan. That later encounter makes sense, as Bernardini (and his team, including Mauricio Gimenez, who is named as "The Trusted Advisor" in the book) was instrumental in curating the collection. Mignini frequently travels between his home in Rome and Milan, where he serves as a professor at Bocconi University. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mignini and B...
Worn & Wound
Wei Koh and Guillaume Tetu Launch Legare with the Chapter 1 AGP Inverted
Just ahead of Geneva Watch Days, we see the debut of a new haute horlogerie brand, brought to us in part by Wei Koh, founder of Revolution and the Rake, and a longtime fixture in the watch media landscape. The new brand, Legare, was founded by Koh and Guillaume Tetu, a watch industry veteran who counts Hautlence as well as TAG Heuer and Ralph Lauren on his resume. Koh and Tetu are incredibly well connected professionally, and the first watch out of the gate for Legare reflects that particularly well – this is the product of a lot of collaboration between many partners, and has plenty of pure watch nerd DNA in its inspiration as well. The brand’s first watch is the Chapter 1 AGP Inverted, and takes inspiration from a rare pocket watch made by Albert-Gustave Piguet, who would ultimately become well known in the watch industry for his work on the Lemania 2310 caliber. But the watch that Legare credits with shaping the Chapter 1 is a pocket watch he created while a student at the Vallee de Joux School of Watchmaking in 1932, when he was just 17 years old. That watch featured two large split bi-metallic balance wheels, whose rates were averaged by a differential. According to Legare, only six total examples of this pocket watch were completed. Legare’s conceit in making the Chapter 1 is essentially an answer to the hypothetical question of what if Piguet’s idea behind this movement had continued to evolve? This is an entirely original movement architecture (and diff...
Monochrome
First Look - The new Czapek Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue
Independent watchmaking brand Czapek introduced the Promenade collection in 2024 as a more classic and elegant vision of its contemporary watchmaking. Since then, the model has been used for several creative dial executions, such as the Plissé, Diamond Drops, and Goutte de Rosée editions, as well as the Promenade Transparencies Viridian Green, made in collaboration […]
SJX Watches
Into the Blue: Czapek’s Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue
In the lead up to Geneva Watch Days, Czapek has unveiled the Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue — a gradient blue variant of a sapphire-dialled dress watch the brand released in late 2024. The watch breaks little new ground but the blue-on-blue look reveals a keen eye and an awareness of colour theory. Initial thoughts I have mixed feelings about sapphire dials, but I liked Czapek’s approach to opening up the Promenade when the brand launched its “Viridian Green” collaboration with Fratello in 2024. The “Aqua Blue” edition gets many of the same things right, with a dark-enough tint that the exposed movement elements don’t overwhelm the design. In fact, at some angles, the exposed movement looks more like a graphic element, akin to the Octo Finissimo Automatic BVL 138 Sketch. On the wrist, when the movement is not back-lit, the dial appears much darker, and the movement components are even less obvious. This split personality extends to the overall format of the Promenade, which is conveniently sized at 38 mm and is about 11 mm thick. The latter dimension is a bit chunky for an automatic dress watch with a micro-rotor movement, but it gives the watch a robust, almost sporty feel. And the extra thickness likely contributes to the reassuring 50 m test depth. An optional milanese-style steel bracelet completes the transformation from dressy to sporty, should one wish to do it all with one watch. A close look reveals thousands of printed dots that are responsible...
Worn & Wound
Version Watches, and a Uniquely French Take on Midcentury Design
Cybèle Vigneron and Carla Lanfranchini first met at the Strate École de Design outside of Paris, arriving at the institution with enviable backgrounds: Lanfranchini had served as an artistic director and graphic designer at Dom Pérignon and Château de Pommard, while Vigneron honed her career in store design planning and visual merchandising at Cartier, Bulgari, and Berluti. The two became fast friends. After both earning dual degrees in design as well as business management, they established Version Watches in 2024. They were entering a crowded field where microbrands have never been more popular, with even greater opportunities for designers and watchmaking visionaries to express themselves. Over the past two years, as they worked in separate cities and handled branding, design, distribution, and a successful Kickstarter launch, the two-person team were motivated by uniqueness: “we wanted to approach watchmaking from a pure designer’s perspective rather than just assembling off-the-shelf components or relying purely on nostalgia,” said Vigneron. We first saw Vision on display in New York at Tempus Takumi, a showcase of independent watchmaking that pointedly focuses on watches made outside of Switzerland. Alongside the design-driven, accessible collections from Germany’s MeisterSinger and Japan’s Minase, Version fit right in. Both founders were present and clearly happy to show off their creations, making their debut to an American audience. Accessibility i...
SJX Watches
Hands On: Richard Mille RM 64-01 Tourbillon Colnago
Launched just a few weeks ago, the RM 64-01 Tourbillon Colnago is modelled on the Colnago C68, the same road bike used by Tadej Pogacar, the current Tour de France champion who has long worn a Richard Mille while racing. Though new, the RM 64-01 is still quintessential Richard Mille in form, substance, and price. The watch is large, lightweight, and exceptionally, satisfyingly ergonomic. As is tradition, the RM64-01 movement is the work of Audemars Piguet Le Locle, formerly known as Renaud Papi. The case material is made by longtime partner NTPT, a Swiss carbon composites specialist. And in the great tradition of Richard Mille, the RM 64-01 is very expensive. Tadej Pogacar with the RM 64-01. Image – Richard Mille Initial thoughts The RM 64-01 is the typical large format tonneau-shaped case shared with most current Richard Mille models. At about 43 mm wide, almost 50 mm long, and over 14 mm tall, the case is big, but sits perfectly on the wrist thanks to its curvature and lightness. And while thick, integrated rubber straps normally detract from wearability, the strap adds to the ergonomics of the RM 64-01. The watch is almost entirely in bright white, with accents of bright blue and rose gold — it makes a statement, even from a distance, as most Richard Mille watches do. But zoom in past the over-the-top aesthetics and the movement reveals fine detailing. The blue and white bridges are all titanium, but painted by hand to mimic the Colnago C68 bike frame. The tradition...