5,141 articles · 690 videos found · page 23 of 195
Quill & Pad
Master Watchmaker John McGonigle of Oileán Watches, in the first of two presentations, gives a brief history of the development of watches and how they were initially made, their progression to precision instruments, the industrialisation of watchmaking, how modern techniques and materials have been adapted and how current hand-crafted watches fit into all of this.
SJX Watches
Twenty twenty-three is the 110th anniversary of the first-ever Seiko wristwatch, an occasion that has resulted in series of limited editions, starting Presage SBP359 and continuing with Prospex SPB333 “White Birch”. Now the anniversary edition goes upscale with Grand Seiko. The brand has debuted a remake of the first Grand Seiko, the ref. 3180 nicknamed “First”, but with a twist. The Grand Seiko Watchmaking 110th Anniversary Limited Edition SBGW295 takes after the vintage original in terms of design, but does so with a titanium case and striking dial finished in black urushi with gold-powder markings. Initial thoughts Grand Seiko has done several reissues of the “First”, most of which look virtually the same. So yet another limited-edition remake of the 3180 would certainly be much less compelling. The SBGW295, however, is notably different, in a good way. At first glance, it’s apparent that the dial of the SBGW295 is special. Urushi has a deep, glossy finish that will contrast perfectly with the markings in sprinkled gold powder, also known as maki-e. Add to that the titanium case and the result is a handsome watch with a high-contrast aesthetic that is atypical of Grand Seiko. But the SBGW295 does cost US$13,800, which is expensive for a time-only watch of this quality and specification, as well as being pricey relative to Grand Seiko’s own offerings. It costs 50% more than the equivalent titanium model of the most recent “First” remake, albeit ...
Revolution
Wei speaks one-on-one with Felix Baumgartner, a panelist from our Legends of Independent Watchmaking Horological Symposium at Geneva Watch Days 2022, to look back at the highs and the lows of the last 25 years of URWERK. Felix, a master watchmaker, co-founded URWERK with designer Martin Frei in 1997 and the duo have been upending […]
SJX Watches
Twenty twenty-two will undoubtedly be the best year on record for the luxury-watch industry. Swiss watch exports recorded their highest ever monthly value in November 2022 and the total for the year will top CHF24 billion, another all-time record. Despite the stellar year – or perhaps because of it – the “novelties” for 2022 are fairly muted. Lots of nice watches made their debut during the year, but the truly outstanding and significant launches were sparse. That could be for a few reasons, including supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic or that brands simply didn’t need to try too hard since sales were easy. During Watches & Wonders, a chief executive of a high-end independent brand conceded that it was better to conserve ammunition for the inevitable slowdown. Watches & Wonders 2022, where sales were easy to come by. Image – Watches & Wonders Even if the genuinely notable were few, the volume of new releases was consistently high throughout the year. And it wasn’t just new models from existing brands, but also new faces, especially in the independent watchmaking space. There was plenty to keep watch aficionados occupied throughout the year. Still, the year’s top watches are pretty obvious. The very best will be remembered a decade from now as a significant or important watch. Other picks simply have soul and authenticity. With that in mind, our team compiled the year’s best in each of the major categories, ranging from establishment favourit...
Revolution
At Geneva Watch Days 2022, Wei speaks one-on-one with Kari Voutilainen, a panelist from our Legends of Independent Watchmaking Horological Symposium, and one of the most well-respected pioneers of independent watchmaking. 2022 marks the 20th anniversary since Kari founded his eponymous brand; a journey marked by both tragedy and triumph. Inspired by mentors during his […]
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Time+Tide
Erotic watches have long been a controversial topic. Some praise the individuality, artistry and taboo nature of these pieces, impressed by the intricately painted scenes or complex automata depicting them. Others, however, denounce them completely for their tackiness despite the connection to the historical tradition of erotic art – something Luke Benedictus shared his thoughts … ContinuedThe post NSFW! Holiday Hentai from a historic Swiss brand? Merry Christmas, I guess appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
For almost as long as I’ve been interested in watches, I’ve tried to find an objective way to visualise the stratification of the various luxury watch brands. I’m as fascinated by the process of watchmaking as much as the products themselves, and I wanted to find a way to differentiate brands based on the production techniques they employ, yet do so objectively. I believe you can tell a lot about a brand’s values and capabilities by looking at their methods, but it can be difficult to penetrate the smoke and mirrors of luxury watch marketing to see what’s really going on behind the curtain. An objective measure: watchmaker-hours per watch In my review of the Saxonia Thin last year, I used the metric “watches per watchmaker” to illustrate the economics of A. Lange & Söhne. While this is not a perfect metric, it is simple and quantitative, and crucially, it can often be derived from publicly available information. Taking this analysis one step further, I added Swiss, German, and Japanese national statistics for working hours to calculate the maximum possible number of watchmaker-hours per watch for more than 50 luxury watch brands. The start of the map, the Saxonia Thin How to interpret this metric The watchmaker-hours metric is not the number of hours that a watchmaker spends on every watch. Rather, it’s the theoretical maximum number of hours that a brand’s watchmakers could possibly spend with each watch. This workrate can be viewed as a simple proxy fo...
SJX Watches
Having looked at some of the most fascinating pocket watches and clocks on offer at Christie’s Important Watches auction that happens soon in Hong Kong, we now turn to attention to the genre that many collectors are now pursuing, independent watchmaking. As expected, amongst the offerings going on the block are works from the big names like F.P. Journe, Richard Mille, and H. Moser & Cie. But beyond the usual suspects, the sale also encompasses hidden gems, like the highly complicated tourbillon perpetual calendar by Gerald Genta presented as a Cartier Pasha. The Important Watches auction (lots 2306-2523), including watches from The Triazza Collection, begins at 1 pm on November 27 – the catalogue is available here. It’s followed by the second session (lots 2201-2282) offering watches from The Champion Collection at 7 pm – see the full catalogue here. The fully-engraved Gerald Genta movement inside the Cartier Pasha Lot 2382: Cartier Pasha Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar Considered one of the most successful watch designers of the 20th century – though his most influential designs were for Audemars Piguet and the Patek Philippe rather than his own – Gerald Genta was also responsible for some of the most complicated watches of the 1980s and 1990s when his namesake brand was at its peak. In fact, the Genta brand was so proficient at making highly complex watches that Cartier tapped Gerald Genta as a movement supplier for its top-of-the-line complications in the 19...
SJX Watches
Presented to the world leaders who were recently in Phnom Penh for the ASEAN Summit, the ASEAN Lotus Tourbillon was created by the Prince Horology Vocational Training Center, the impressively-equipped watchmaking school set up by local conglomerate Prince Holding Group. (I visited the school in 2020 just before it opened its doors – see our report here.) Produced in an initial run of 25 pieces for the summit, it contains a hand-wind movement that is as notable for both its hand finishing and the one-minute tourbillon regulator. Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen was personally involved in the design of the watch – he received the very first example – and posted photos of the watch on his Facebook page a few days before the summit with the comment “Khmer can do it”. Initial thoughts Having been aware of the project and its ambitions since I visited the school two years ago, I was expecting much of the Lotus Tourbillon and I wasn’t disappointed. The quality of the execution is immediately apparent in the hand finishing of the components, particularly for the key components of the tourbillon, namely the cage and bridge. Equally impressive is the fact that it was developed and completed in under two years. Admittedly, the Lotus Tourbillon is plain in terms of the dial and case aesthetics, but the mechanical excellence is obvious. Importantly, the movement is likely to make it into a series of watches that will be sold publicly to raise funds for watchmaking school,...
SJX Watches
With the curtain having just come down on the Geneva sale season, auction houses are migrating to Hong Kong for the second half of the autumn auctions. Going on the block at Phillips’ The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XV are 270 lots that encompass heavy-hitters and “hype” watches, but as usual we’ll take a look instead at a few interesting watches, starting with a selection of independent watchmaking. We round up nine notable creations from the independents, mainly time-only watches with high-quality construction and unique design, such as a Voutilainen Vingt-8 with a skeletonised dial and the Ludovic Ballouard Upside Down. The auction takes place on November 28 (lots 801-938) and November 29 (lots 939-1070). The full catalogue and sale registration can be accessed on Phillips.com. Lot 829: Roger Dubuis Hommage H37 A modern-day chronometer heavily inspired by traditional watchmaker – the aesthetics are a practically a revival of styling from the good old days – the Hommage H37 is an easy watch to like. Living up to its name, the Hommage pays tribute to classical gentlemen’s watches. It’s a three-hander in a classically-sized 37 mm case that contains a Lemania-based self-winding movement certified as a chronometer by the Besançon Observatory. The Hommage case was modelled on the Patek Philippe ref. 1463 “Tasti Tondi” chrongraph, though the resemblance is less obvious on the time-only model. But the simple lines are undeniably appealing despite their sim...
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Time+Tide
Special edition watches can celebrate anniversaries, achievements or celebrity tie-ins, but sometimes a special edition can just exist because the watch is special. Mido’s latest reference of the Ocean Star GMT applies the classic Pepsi colour scheme to their flagship travelling diver, injecting it with even more of a sporting attitude than it already had. … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Mido Ocean Star GMT Special Edition is a sporty refresh of the best value Swiss GMT around appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Fans of Japanese whisky will be all too aware that the better offerings are extremely hard to find. Once a curiosity, then mainstream, and more recently highly awarded and much sought after (okay, now subject to a feeding frenzy), the stuff is as rare as an honest politician. So grab whatever you can whenever you can!
Time+Tide
Swiss brand Horage has released Lensman 1, a beautiful photography-inspired tourbillon watch for under CHF 10K.The post No negatives: The Horage Lensman 1 is a Swiss-made tourbillon for under 10K inspired by photography appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
Wei speaks one-on-one with Rexhep Rexhepi, a panelist from our Legends of Independent Watchmaking Horological Symposium at Geneva Watch Days 2022, to learn about his journey of becoming one of the most celebrated watchmakers in the modern era. It has been 10 years since Rexhep founded AkriviA and in that time he has had to […]
Time+Tide
Any Marvel fan, like me, had a fantastic week upon hearing the news that not only is Deadpool 3 on the way, but that Hugh Jackman is coming out of role-retirement to play Wolverine in the film once more. We all believed that Logan was Jackman’s last outing as the most recognisable member of the … ContinuedThe post Ryan Reynolds vs Hugh Jackman: Which superhero does watches better? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Deployant
We review a timepiece that was produced to specially commemorate the 175 years of watchmaking in Glashütte. Cue the NOMOS Tetra neomatik red.
Time+Tide
I’m fairly certain that the E, T, A, 2, 8 and 4 keys on my keyboard have faded more than others. Despite their claims of no longer supplying off-the-shelf movements, ETA still has a significant stronghold on Swiss movement manufacture, partly due to supplying the Swatch Group. This makes it incredibly difficult for any newcomers … ContinuedThe post Movement manufacturer La Joux-Perret take on Swiss giants appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
The Seiko Presage line has long been a great value proposition. From the evergreen Cocktail Time range, the patterned Sharp Edge to this, the Craftsmanship collection and their porcelain dials, there’s plenty to choose from. The latest in the collection, comes with an entire storyline as well, taking you back to the heart of Japanese … ContinuedThe post The Seiko Presage SPB293 is the essence of Japanese porcelain mastery appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Easily the most underappreciated of the four classic Nomos designs, the Tetra is a rarity among modern watches. While there are plenty of rectangles and stylised, rounded-off squares, the Bauhaus approach that Nomos is so known for has influenced the Tetra in a big way, albeit with a few subtle design touches – more on those … ContinuedThe post A quartet of Nomos Tetra neomatik celebrates 175 years of Glashütte watchmaking appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Welcome to The Icons, a series where we take a horological deep dive into the most legendary watches of all time. We’ll delve into the story behind the watch, its evolution over the years, famous (and infamous) wearers, the classic references, and the contemporary versions you should be checking out. This week, it’s the Zenith … ContinuedThe post Why the Zenith El Primero is the numero uno among Swiss chronographs appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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SJX Watches
Phillips’ upcoming auction in Geneva is a 201-lot sale that comprises a myriad of rare and unusual timepieces. The selection of independent watchmaking at The Geneva Watch Auction: XV is particularly interesting, including several early and historically significant timepieces from high-profile brands. We round up five of the most notable watches, ranging from an F.P. Journe Resonance from the year of its launch, as well as early, unique pieces from Daniel Roth and Kari Voutilainen, a skeleton, double-face tourbillon and Decimal Repeater respectively. The Daniel Roth double-face tourbillon that is possibly unique thanks to the sapphire dials on both the front and back Granted, several of the watches we’re covering below will finish well into six figures. But even if you are not planning to bid, they are worth learning about. We provide a close look at rare watches that are rarely encountered. That said, there’s an eminently affordable example of excellent, honest independent watchmaking in the sale: the Habring² Erwin “Star”, the first-ever SJX Edition that was launched last year to 10th anniversary of this site. Though a handful have sold on the secondary market since – including one that sold on Loupe This for US$15,400 – this is the first example to go under the hammer at a major, international auction house. The Geneva Watch Auction: XV takes place at Hôtel La Réserve in Geneva, with the first session happening on May 7 and the second session on the day...
Time+Tide
You’re already familiar with the formula. Exotic material for the tonneau case, openworked dial with a complication or two, a rubber strap and a price that makes your eyes water. Well, the Artel Rotec V2 is all of those things, save the extortionate cost. Partnering with watch designer Rodolphe Cattin, who has designed watches for … ContinuedThe post MICRO MONDAYS: The Artel Rotec V2 offers futuristic watchmaking at an accessible price appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Named after Czapek’s third boutique – as it was the third collection released by the brand – the Czapek and Cie Faubourg de Cracovie is the company’s take on an integrated chronograph. It follows the brand ethos of intricately finished dials in vivid colours, and the Purple Panda and California Blue models we look at … ContinuedThe post A funky take on serious watchmaking with new Czapek Faubourg de Cracovie models appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
Chances are you've never seen these traditional kimono colors used in watchmaking before.
SJX Watches
Sotheby’s forthcoming Important Watches I in Hong Kong is the first live auction of the year by a major auction house, or so accurately it’s the second day of the auction, with the sale of a mega, single-owner Patek Philippe collection happening in the evening the day before. With the strong demand for independent watchmaking, the 214-lots sale encompasses timepieces from a range of niche and not-so-niche indies. The lineup is naturally led by F.P. Journe, perhaps the marquee name in independent watchmaking today, but the most valuable lot is the very rare and very expensive Montre École, one of 11 watches born of the Naissance d’une Montre project backed by Greubel Forsey and Philippe Dufour. We round up six highlights from amongst the independent watchmakers at the sale, which starts at 2:00 pm (GMT +8) on April 26, 2022. Registration for bidding and the full catalogue can be accessed here. Montre École no. 09/11 Lot 2127: H. Moser & Cie. x MB&F; Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon Having been business partners for a decade or so – Moser’s sister company supplies hairsprings to MB&F; – the two brands revealed their first collaboration in 2020 when both coincidentally celebrated their 15th anniversary. The more complicated of the two anniversary editions, the Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon was more Moser than MB&F; with its dial colour and movement, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The Cylindrical Tourbillon combines the best of both brands. The aesthe...
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