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Results for AHCI (Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants)

3,201 articles · 298 videos found · page 23 of 117

Zach Weiss Launches OraOrea with the Coriolis Pointer Date SJX Watches
Apr 3, 2026

Zach Weiss Launches OraOrea with the Coriolis Pointer Date

With the debut of Zach Starr Weiss’s OraOrea comes the introduction of the Coriolis Pointer Date. Having founded Worn & Wound in 2011 and the Windup Watch Fair in 2015, Mr Weiss brings an enthusiast’s eye and and insider’s perspective to his own brand. Initial thoughts An industrial designer before founding Worn & Wound, Brooklyn-based Zach Starr Weiss has put his experience to work with the launch of his own brand, OraOrea, which translates loosely as ‘golden hour.’ The debut model, the Coriolis Pointer Date, features its namesake complication alongside several clever and expensive details, including solid 18k gold hemispheres on the dial, and curved seconds and minutes hands. I got to see the watch ahead of its debut and the quality of the dial finishing is evident. The design is arguably a bit crowded - a time-only variant would help with that - but the three-dimensionality of the design helps keep things interesting. The case checks all the boxes for a go-anywhere, do-anything-style watch, with a 38.5 mm stainless steel case rated to 100 m, despite a standard push/pull crown. The robustness of the case may seem like overkill, but Mr Weiss rightly understands that there’s a segment of passionate collectors for whom 100 m is the bare minimum for a watch intended for daily wear. Intricate dial The dial is notable for its massive laser-cut and hand-polished index, which encircles the dial. This so-called ‘oscillating index’ features alternately spaced R...

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Introducing: The Streamlined Desder D001 - A Wrist-Worn Sculpture With A Triple-Axis Tourbillon Fratello
Apr 3, 2026

Introducing: The Streamlined Desder D001 - A Wrist-Worn Sculpture With A Triple-Axis Tourbillon

Let me introduce you to Mo Coppoletta and Luca Soprana, founders of the new watch brand Desder. Italian-born Coppoletta, who’s based in London, is best known as a tattoo artist, designer, and art director. He founded the influential London studio The Family Business in 2003, which became a global reference point for high-end tattooing, before […] Visit Introducing: The Streamlined Desder D001 - A Wrist-Worn Sculpture With A Triple-Axis Tourbillon to read the full article.

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W Worn & Wound
Worn & Wound
Apr 2, 2026

Checking in with the Worn & Wound Community: Our Core Values and Commitments

Hi, how’s everyone doing? We hope your 2026 is off to a great start. It’s already been an incredibly busy year for the Worn & Wound team and the watch industry as a whole. Between new releases on the blog, hosting the Dallas Windup Watch Fair, and all the new releases dropping in our shop, we’ve hit the ground running. Like many of you, we are currently gearing up for an exciting Watches & Wonders, and with a packed calendar of events and some big projects in the works, the rest of the year is shaping up to be one of our most active yet. However, alongside the excitement of the watch community, the first part of this year has also been a period of significant turmoil globally. In the professional world, there is often a desire to “avoid politics” and stay focused strictly on business. But when our news feeds are filled with instability, uncertainty, and, sadly, tragedy, the conversation shifts. Over the past several months, our team has found itself caught in these discussions. In times like these, we find ourselves relying more than ever on the strength of our community. We’ve realized that as Worn & Wound grows, we have both a responsibility and a desire to be a genuine source for good. While we began as a place to celebrate the technical and the aesthetic, we have grown into a global community, and we believe that community should stand for more than just the products we collect. So, the Worn & Wound team has gotten together and solidified how we want to act...

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Heinrich Continues to Expand their Radiance Line with the “Wave” Worn & Wound
Apr 1, 2026

Heinrich Continues to Expand their Radiance Line with the “Wave”

Heinrich, the German brand that as of late has specialized in elaborate, machine finished dials in an array of bright colors (all set inside impeccably machined and finished cases) has just released the latest in their ongoing Radiance collection. The Guilloche Wave follows the Guilloche Swirl and the original Radiance, and continues to carve out the brand’s dress watch catalog. This is a somewhat unlikely turn for Heinrich, a brand that prior to the Radiance was primarily known for their modern tool watches. It’s been interesting to see how they’ve adapted easily to current trends for classical finishing with a contemporary twist, and creative use of materials, both design tenets that have always been readily observable under the surface at Heinrich, but seem to have found a moment in these last few years.  If you’re familiar with recent versions of the Radiance, the new Guilloche Wave will not exactly appear groundbreaking, but it does offer a new option for enthusiasts who either missed out on prior editions or simply want a dial with a more traditional guilloche execution. The Guilloche Wave has, you guessed it, a wave-like guilloche pattern emanating from the dial’s center. It’s interrupted by a lightly textured and rather small subsidiary seconds register at 6:00, and ends at a chapter ring surrounding the dial’s perimeter. The hour markers on these watches are not discussed enough – they’re applied and have a distinctive series of vertical lines r...

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Cleguer Debuts with Proprietary ‘Innate’ Escapement SJX Watches
Breguet s natural escapement Apr 1, 2026

Cleguer Debuts with Proprietary ‘Innate’ Escapement

In the run-up to Watches & Wonders, a new crop of emergent independents is making its debut. But even within a crowded field, the Cleguer Inspiration One manages to stand out with an ambitious proprietary escapement and clever construction. It’s a promising start for founder Mathieu Cleguer, an engineer who’s had a hand in developing several calibres for well-known independent brands. Initial thoughts The artisanal, highly finished time-only watch is a well-worn trope among independents, but occasionally one breaks from the pattern. The Inspiration One from Cleguer Horology is one such watch. Mathieu Cleguer is an industry veteran who has worked as a movement construction consultant and now produces watches under his own name. The opening salvo in what is planned to be a larger ‘Inspiration’ series designed to explore alternative escapements, the Inspiration One is built around the so-called innate escapement, a fresh twist on Breguet’s natural escapement. The system is Mathieu Cleguer’s own design, and from initial analysis it exhibits a surprising degree of ingenuity and is original in its execution. Discreet signature on the interior bezel. The open design - an off-centre dial with exposed escapement - is a familiar arrangement among independents, but the delicacy of the components gives it a refined quality. The 38.5 mm case is well-proportioned, though the 12 mm height borders on tall. While there’s room to develop a more cohesive design language goi...

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First Look – Cleguer Horology Launches with the Inspiration One Souscription and a new “Innate” Escapement Geometry Monochrome
Apr 1, 2026

First Look – Cleguer Horology Launches with the Inspiration One Souscription and a new “Innate” Escapement Geometry

Discovering new independent watchmaking talents is a rare pleasure – especially when it’s as compelling as the debut of Mathieu Cleguer’s brand. With his first creation, this watchmaking engineer introduces a singular vision where aesthetic purity meets technicality. At first glance, the Inspiration One captivates with its clean, balanced design elevated by superb finishing and […]

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First Look – The New Chronoswiss Pulse GMT Enamel Sky Gold and Pulse GMT Silver Guilloche Monochrome
Chronoswiss Apr 1, 2026

First Look – The New Chronoswiss Pulse GMT Enamel Sky Gold and Pulse GMT Silver Guilloche

Introduced last year, the Pulse line is a departure from the classical regulator watches for which Chronoswiss became known in the 1980s. The collection keeps the key design elements such as the oversized onion crown, the coin-edge bezel, and the layered dial construction, but offers a contemporary case and an integrated bracelet. Just ahead of Watches […]

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First Look – The New Gerald Charles Masterlink Perpetual Calendar Monochrome
Bulgari  in 2000 Genta himself Mar 31, 2026

First Look – The New Gerald Charles Masterlink Perpetual Calendar

Gerald Charles is a name that traces back to the legendary Gérald Genta, widely regarded as one of the most influential modern watch designers. While his eponymous brand, Gerald Genta, was sold to Bulgari in 2000, Genta himself soon embarked on a new chapter, founding Gérald Charles as a more personal expression of his design philosophy. In 2011, […]

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Baltic Introduces the Heures du Monde Worldtimer, with Three Stone Dial Options Worn & Wound
Vacheron Constantin Mar 31, 2026

Baltic Introduces the Heures du Monde Worldtimer, with Three Stone Dial Options

When we last checked in on Baltic, they were retiring one of their most popular lines, at least for the time being, with a diamond set version of their MR dress watch. It felt like an appropriate send off for the MR, which I think will be remembered as the release that put the watch world on notice that Baltic was capable of executing in categories other than purely sporty vintage inspired designs. The fact that the last MR prominently features Moissanite stones really reflects the path Baltic finds themselves on now, stretching well beyond what was frankly a somewhat generic playbook in the early days.  Their latest collection, the Heures du Monde, is a worldtimer that further reinforces that idea. This is a tribute, of sorts, to the work of Louis Cottier, the Swiss watchmaker who effectively invented the modern worldtimer, creating movements for Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and others. His worldtimers are of course highly sought after by high end vintage collectors not just for their aesthetic beauty, but their historical significance. The principle behind Cottier’s movements, that the wearer should see the time in every timezone at once, at a glance, via rotating time zone and 24 hour scales, has become the predominant method for executing worldtime watches and is considered the standard in the watch industry.  For the Heures du Monde, Baltic has modified a Soprod C125 caliber by removing the date and replacing the GMT hand usually found with that movement w...

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Baltic’s Affordable Heures du Monde Worldtimer SJX Watches
Baltic s Affordable Heures du Mar 31, 2026

Baltic’s Affordable Heures du Monde Worldtimer

The value-forward, design-savvy French micro-brand Baltic debuts its first worldtimer, the Heures du Monde with a trio of stone dials – sodalite, tiger’s eye and labradorite, each limited to 200 pieces as a lead up to a future regular production version. It’s a fully functional and sharp-looking vintage-styled worldtimer, with a modern set of features that includes a brushed ceramic bezel, plenty of lume, and a surprising 100m depth rating, for a reasonable price. Initial thoughts Stone dials and worldtimers are each in vogue, and it is only natural to combine the two – especially as worldtimers as a genre are predisposed to vibrant dials, such as enameling, engine turning, or miniature painting. It doesn’t hurt that the Heueres du Monde is a competent watch and fair value proposition over all. Baltic pitches the model as an homage to the work of Louis Cottier, who invented the format. It specifically takes after his earliest worldtimers, which comprised a simple 24-hour disk geared to the hands, and a rotating bezel with the names of cites arrayed around its perimeter. The sodalite, tiger’s Eye and labradorite dials are tasteful, fit the overall watch, and will no doubt age better than many other stone dial offerings from micro-brands today. That said, it was the probably the right decision on Baltic’s part to make these colourways limited, as it doesn’t fit with what I suspect is a more vintage, rather than neo-vintage, vision for the model. Given the br...

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Introducing the Dennison ALD Dual Time “Shades” Collection Worn & Wound
Mar 30, 2026

Introducing the Dennison ALD Dual Time “Shades” Collection

At the risk of sounding jaded, it’s all too easy to split our attention these days; scrolling on our phone while watching YouTube, texting while walking, and jabbing at huge screens in the car while driving. But sometimes dividing your focus can lead to something new and daring-at least, that’s what British-American watch revivalists Dennison have done with their Dual Time collection.  Built on the concept of splitting the dial in half horizontally, each Dual Time model shows two dials, each with their own set of hands. The result is striking, especially paired with the stone dials in vibrant colors that the ALD collection-of which the Dual Time is a subcollection-is known for. Now, for the first time ever, Dennison has added indices to their Dual Time design, with their new “Shades” models.  Like other Dual Time models, the Shades variants present two faces. Here, they are split into two dial colors each, with a fluid finish that Dennison says is an “exploration of light, perception, and restraint”. Basically, as the watch is moved, light plays off the opposing faces and changes the shades of the dial. It’s an alluring visual and one that is furthered by subtle texturing and the clever “split” of the dials on each model, giving both faces a slightly different reaction to light in contrast to each other. Three colorways are available: green, blue, and brown, with varying highlights and shadows that appear and vanish as the watch is positioned diff...

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Hands On: Omega Constellation Observatory SJX Watches
Omega Constellation Observatory Mar 30, 2026

Hands On: Omega Constellation Observatory

At long last, Omega has unveiled the spiritual successor to the beloved ‘Pie Pan’ Constellation, complete with its signature domed dial, observatory medallion, and ‘dog leg’ lugs, the Constellation Observatory. First teased on the wrist of actor Delroy Lindo at the Academy Awards, the Observatory debuts in an expansive range of case materials and dial treatments. The collection also marks the commercial debut of Swatch Group’s Laboratoire de Précision, which has developed a new chronometer testing process capable of certifying two-handed watches. As a result, the Observatory carries the unexpected distinction of being the first Master Chronometer that displays only the hours and minutes. The Observatory in 18k Sedna gold, the brand’s trade name for its proprietary rose gold alloy. Initial thoughts The Observatory embodies Omega’s strengths, capitalising on the brand’s historical pedigree and proprietary materials and technologies, including its own durable alloys and the co-axial escapement. The Observatory in steel. On the other hand, the Observatory suffers somewhat on account of its thickness, relying on a movement platform developed at a time when the trend toward large watches appeared to have no end in sight. That said, the case design does a decent job of reducing the perceived thickness, and it looks and feels thinner than many other watches that share its dimensions on paper. It also demonstrates the immense capabilities of the broader Swatch Grou...

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Visiting Porsche Design’s New Manufaktur And Discovering What It Means For The Brand’s Future Fratello
Porsche Design s New Manufaktur Mar 28, 2026

Visiting Porsche Design’s New Manufaktur And Discovering What It Means For The Brand’s Future

When Porsche Design invited me to visit the opening of its new Timepieces Manufaktur, I was immediately intrigued. Having visited the relatively small old workshop in Solothurn before, a big new facility inevitably implies lofty ambitions. What is the German carmaker/Swiss watchmaker up to? As your intrepid reporter, I made it my mission to find […] Visit Visiting Porsche Design’s New Manufaktur And Discovering What It Means For The Brand’s Future to read the full article.

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Felipe Pikullik Goes Fully In-House SJX Watches
Mar 27, 2026

Felipe Pikullik Goes Fully In-House

Berlin-based Felipe Pikullik presents his second in-house caliber inside the Sternenhimmel FPA1. The independent’s attempt at a refined workhorse-like movement comes in the form of the newly-developed caliber FPA1, designed to power a range of future creations.  Initial thoughts Mr Pikullik’s emergence into the crowded independent watchmaking scene was based on heavily skeletonised off-the-shelf movements. As he gained a reputation for deft finishing and began to consolidate his workshop, he slowly but surely transitioned toward in-house engineering. Starting with his own complication modules, the German watchmaker’s first truly in-house effort came with last year’s Moonphase II collection, which saw the launch of the calibre FPMP2.  The openworked construction featured a moon phase and 24-hour indicator but, while undoubtedly well-crafted, it arguably lacked a cohesive design language. Its distinctive architecture also made it unsuitable as the foundation for a wider range of pieces. In contrast, the updated Sternenhimmel (German for “starry sky”) features what the independent watchmaker describes as a cornerstone movement for future models. The FPA1 is consequently far more grounded and classical in construction, yet manages to avoid the trap of looking too much like any other artisanal time-only calibre. The ornate backside of the FPA1 caliber. This specific iteration of the Sternenhimmel design is decidedly more modern and technically-oriented, with a flo...

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Omega’s New Constellation Observatory Collection Debuts, with a First for a Certified Chronometer Worn & Wound
Omega s New Constellation Observatory Mar 27, 2026

Omega’s New Constellation Observatory Collection Debuts, with a First for a Certified Chronometer

Omega pleased a lot of dress watch and vintage fans this week when they launched the new Constellation Observatory collection at their Swiss headquarters. Zach Weiss is on the ground in Bielle even as we speak getting hands-on with the new watches, and he’ll have a full hands on report with his own photography coming soon. For now, a quick rundown of the new collection, and why it’s a fairly major play for the brand.  The Constellation is a historic Omega collection that has changed a lot through the years, always remaining flexible with the current styles and trends of the day. This collection, though, is a direct shot at the hearts and minds of Omega purists, as its effectively a recreation of the original 1950s Constellation in its broad strokes. The cases and dials will be familiar to anyone who has collected or admired original Constellations, with highly angular cases and distinctive dogleg lug design.  That said, these are not one to one recreations of watches from the 1950s. The cases, on paper at least, are rather large for what most would agree is a riff on a classic dress watch. The diameter is 39.4mm, and case height is 12.23mm. The lug to lug span comes in at 47.2mm. So, not small by any means, but we’ll look forward to Zach’s impressions of how they actually wear soon enough.  As is typical with Omega these days, we have a wide variety of case material and dial options available. We get all three gold alloys that Omega likes to deploy (Sedna, Canop...

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Reviewing The Ballon Bleu de Cartier: A Unique Take On Your Classic Round Watch WatchAdvice
Cartier Mar 26, 2026

Reviewing The Ballon Bleu de Cartier: A Unique Take On Your Classic Round Watch

In a world of round watches, the Ballon Bleu de Cartier stands out thanks to its unique design, as only Cartier can! What We Love: The unique style that is very Cartier The great-looking dial that stands out on the wrist Ease of wearing at 36mm for a variety of wrist sizes What We Don’t: The double-folding friction clasp could be upgraded to a push button in this model While unisex, some with larger wrists will most probably need to upgrade to the 42mm The crown was slightly harder to access to change the time for me Overall Rating: 8.25 / 10 Value for Money: 8/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 8/10 Build Quality: 8/10 When people think of Cartier watches, the first thing that usually comes to mind is a maker of shapes. The brand has built much of its identity around distinctive case designs rather than traditional round watches, with icons such as the Santos, Tank, Tortue, Crash and Cloche, to name a few, all standing out as examples of Cartier doing things a little differently. That approach to design has long set the Maison apart from many other watchmakers who tend to lean more heavily on classic round cases. So when Cartier introduced the Cartier de Ballon Bleu in 2007, it represented something slightly different for the brand. On paper, it’s a round watch, which might sound straightforward enough, but as with most things Cartier, it’s not quite that simple. Rather than just producing a traditional circular case, Cartier added its own distinctive twist with the n...

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Introducing – The New Nomos Club Campus Full Rose and All Olive Editions Monochrome
Nomos Club Campus Full Rose Mar 26, 2026

Introducing – The New Nomos Club Campus Full Rose and All Olive Editions

The Club Campus collection is Nomos Glashütte’s accessible, robust mechanical watches, designed with a younger audience in mind and made with the same in-house rigour as the rest of the catalogue. Since its introduction in 2017, the concept has remained, with clean Bauhaus-inspired construction, playful California-style dials, and a rotation of fresh colours. For 2026, […]

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Hands-on – The All-New Omega Constellation Observatory Collection (incl. Video) Monochrome
Omega Constellation Observatory Collection incl Mar 26, 2026

Hands-on – The All-New Omega Constellation Observatory Collection (incl. Video)

The launch of a new collection from a brand as important as Omega is always a significant event. In this particular case, however, it is not strictly the introduction of an entirely new design, but rather the unveiling of a new family of Constellation watches inspired by a historical model’s aesthetics. What also makes this […]

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Longines Hydroconquest Gets a High-End Revamp for 2026 Teddy Baldassarre
Longines Mar 26, 2026

Longines Hydroconquest Gets a High-End Revamp for 2026

The Longines Hydroconquest, the Saint-Imier brand’s most prominent and forward-looking diver’s watch, made its debut in 2007 and has changed very little in its key features and elements - despite expanding during the nearly two decades since into a variety of sizes, colorways, and materials. That all changes this year, as Longines has introduced the next generation of the Hydroconquest, defined by a host of contemporary upgrades. Here’s what you need to know.  [toc-section heading="Origin of the Hydroconquest"] Before the Hydroconquest came the Conquest. Longines has been making timepieces since 1832, but it wasn’t until 1954 that the Swiss watchmaker began engaging in the modern marketing practice of introducing product families with distinctive names. “Conquest” was the first such name to be registered, on April 3, 1954, with the Swiss Register of Intellectual Property. The original Longines Conquest (reproduced above) was equipped with a highly accurate automatic movement and a water-resistant case that also protected the movement from magnetism and shocks. Despite these utilitarian elements, however, it was undeniably a dress watch, at a very modest 35mm and with a clean, minimalist dial. Longines introduced the bigger, sportier version of the Conquest, called the Hydroconquest, in 2007, during an era when large, rugged watches, particularly divers’ watches, were reaching new heights of popularity. The Hydroconquest, in contrast to its predecessor, was...

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Squale Watches Review: A Dive Watch Pioneer Teddy Baldassarre
Squale Mar 25, 2026

Squale Watches Review: A Dive Watch Pioneer

[toc-section heading="Squale Overview"]  Squale is a historic manufacture with a particular specialty in the realm of dive watches. The company’s heritage is deeper than you may realize, as it extends beyond its own footprint, touching an extensive list of partners that helped to shape the dive-watch genre as we know it today. The story of Squale is one of intrigue, and while it became a well known case supplier through the ‘60s and ‘70s, the Swiss brand also boasted a collection of its own designs that hold as well today as they did then. Understanding Squale means taking a step back into the era that birthed it, an era defined by the burgeoning sport of recreational diving as well as the advent of military diving operations.  If you’re a fan of dive watches and the history of their use, Squale is a brand that should be on your radar thanks to its plentiful contributions. Beyond that, collectors will find a vast array of designs in the brand’s modern catalog that both break new ground and preserve the best portions of its history. In this overview, we’ll connect all the dots from then to now.  [toc-section heading="History and Heritage"]  Squale was founded by Charles von Büren in 1959 in the beautiful lakeside town of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. While that’s the official date, von Büren had been assembling watches under his own name for the prior decade, meaning he brought some pedigree to the name from the get-go. The modern dive watch genre was in its ...

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Introducing – The New Bell & Ross BR-05 36mm Blue Diamond Eagle Monochrome
Bell & Ross BR-05 36mm Blue Diamond Mar 25, 2026

Introducing – The New Bell & Ross BR-05 36mm Blue Diamond Eagle

The BR-05 was introduced in 2019 in 40mm as Bell & Ross’s answer to the luxury integrated bracelet sports watch trend, translating the BR-01’s cockpit instrument looks into a more contemporary, everyday design. In tune with contemporary trends for more compact, unisex diameters, Bell & Ross presented a 36mm version in 2025. The latest BR-05 […]

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SJX Podcast: Affordable New Releases SJX Watches
Christopher Ward which just launched Mar 24, 2026

SJX Podcast: Affordable New Releases

Seiko is on something of a resurgence, aiming to take back its reputation as a value leader after the emergence, over the past decade, of increasingly competitive micro-brands. On episode 33 of the SJX Podcast, SJX and Brandon discuss the King Seiko Vanac, now available in titanium, and the Marinemaster, which has been transformed through a number of incremental upgrades. The discussion then turns to some other affordable new releases from Orient Star, Raketa, and Christopher Ward, which just launched an in-house ‘flyer’ GMT calibre with a five-day power reserve. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  

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