Results for Le Brassus

Review: the Matador 35L Global Travel Pack

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to meet some of the team from Matador and was let in on a massive secret: Matador had plans to replace almost its entire line of soft goods. Unlike other manufacturers, this wouldn’t be a slow rollout or gradual discontinuation of lines; it was a hard stop, set for early August, almost an “end of an era,” if you will. Among the list of packs that were nearing their end was the GlobeRider line, which has become a regular in my rotation of bags. Thankfully, the Matador team had production samples on hand and was able to walk me through the changes and dispel my worries, and I’ve been putting one of these new models through its paces for about two months now. Back in June of 2025, I took Matador’s GlobeRider 35-liter on an almost two-week-long trip to Atlanta and Alaska and was genuinely impressed by the bag’s performance. In my initial review, I mentioned that while being larger than I needed, the Globerider never felt out of place, whether I was using it for EDC, bringing home groceries, or hauling around a hefty bit of camera kit.  Since then, I’ve taken the GR35 on a weekend trip to Paris, used it countless times to haul gear and groceries throughout the city, and it’s earned itself a constant place in my small but packed gear closet. Having spent nearly two months with the new GTP, it has become clear to me that while this bag is something new, a significant amount of previous design DNA has remained. Most notably...

Conversations: American Watchmakers Jason Lu and Zach Smith of 1776 Atelier

The 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States did not escape notice from the nation’s fledgling watch industry. To mark the occasion, 1776 Atelier released the Liberty 250, a watch credibly claimed to be more than 90% US-made. The brand’s most American-made and technically ambitious watch to date, the Liberty 250 also illustrates the difficulty of building a complicated mechanical product without an established domestic supply chain. Its HP 917 movement is the product of extensive iterative development, incorporating newly manufactured components, a free-sprung balance and a markedly more elaborate finishing programme. We sat down with the brand’s co-founders, Jason Lu and Zach Smith, to unpack the 90% figure, discuss the challenges of manufacturing watches in the United States and understand what the Liberty 250 means for the future of the brand and American watchmaking more broadly. The Liberty 250 is the most American-made product yet from Atelier 1776. The interview was edited for length and clarity. Brandon Moore (BM): Why start a watch company in the United States, particularly given the limited domestic supplier network and the additional cost involved? Jason Lu (JL): Because this is where we live, and this is where we wanted to build it. The United States was founded on ingenuity, and American watchmaking has a remarkable history. The fact that much of the former infrastructure no longer exists does not mean it cannot be rebuilt in a new form. Th...

Introducing - Akhor Releases the New Day/Night Nour La Lumière

Akhor is a new Geneva indie brand carving a niche for high-end watchmaking, poetic design and top-end finishing. A collective project founded by Anissa Bader in 2025, Akhor is built around its floating dial architecture with a patented two-disc construction by sister company Clamax, a Geneva-based component and micromechanics manufacturer. Writing the next chapter, the […]

“La Pilota” - A New Tudor Film Tells the Story Of A Record-Setting Aviator and Her Watches

In Greek mythology, there is the well-known story of Icarus, a heady youth whose lofty aspirations send him flying on homemade wings of feathers and wax. In its cautionary denouement, Icarus flies too high and gets too close to the sun, melting the wax, sending him crashing back to Earth. If Carina Massone Negrone knew the story of Icarus, she would also likely have known that the greater the altitude, the danger is not the sun's heat but extreme cold and a lack of oxygen. And yet, in 1935, the Italian aviator set an altitude record in an open-cockpit piston-powered airplane that remains unbroken to this day. Tudor has just debuted a short documentary film about Negrone, called "La Pilota: The Daring Story of Marchesa Carina Massone Negrone", which covers the flying pioneer's remarkable life and the watches—Tudors, of course—that she wore. Carina Massone Negrone was a "marchesa," a noblewoman by her marriage to a marquise, and could have enjoyed a life of ease in her palazzo in Genova. But her adventurous spirit compelled her to pursue activities that might have seemed "unladylike" in 1930s Italy. She was an avid swimmer and skier and fished the Mediterranean for sharks. And in 1933, at the age of 22, she took flying lessons from an Italian fighter pilot and became the first woman to get her pilot's license from the Reale Unione Nazionale Aeronautica. Only a year later, she set an altitude record for a seaplane by flying to 5,544 meters. But she wasn't done yet—far f...

Hands-On: Five Things You'll Want To Know Before You Buy The Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop - And How To Get It

Earlier in the week, I got a chance to see the new Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop collaboration in person, the hottest (and most hotly debated) thing since, well, Swatch did their first collaboration with Omega. There were some restrictions, like the fact that I couldn't handle some of them without gloves, but I did get enough of an impression to have a lot of thoughts. Yes, I think they're a lot of fun, and actually pretty impressive in some ways. I get that a lot of people will disagree, and that's fine. But to answer the last part of our headline first: you can get the Swatch x AP Royal Pop watches only at select retail stores starting May 16. You can find those stores on the Swatch website by going to the homepage, looking for the collab, and clicking the "See Stores" link. One version (with a crown at the right) is $420, while the other (with a crown at the top) is $400. Also, this is not an AP-led product, so don't call your local AP AD hoping to get one. Swatch is in charge here. Love it or hate it, the Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop is big news. How big? A few hundred comments on our site is a good measure. But how about the fact that, in 24 hours, our "Introducing" story on the collab got about 20x an average story would do in a month and 1.75x more page views than the Rolex "Pepsi" GMT cancellation (which was the highest-traffic story of Watches & Wonders to date). We love watches over here, but it can be a bubble. There are a few rare moments when the wa...

L. Leroy brings us its second offering in its comeback with the Elyor flying tourbillon

A classical take on the flying tourbillon with modern twists that will please modern collectors and traditionalists alike.

Watches and Wonders 2026 Editor’s Pick: Sheng Lee, Digital Writer

The Coin That Tells Time: Beaubleu La Pièce Redefines the Watch Dial

Chopard at Watches & Wonders 2026: L.U.C 1860 Chronometer with Karl-Fritz Scheufele

Introducing: Stéphane Pierre Launches His Namesake Brand With The Impressive 'l’Impétrant'

A double retrograde display with dynamic design and thoughtful case design, plus collaboration with other notable names, makes for a watch worth looking at.

One Of The Coolest Japanese Watches You’ll Probably Never See In Person

Credor's new Kuon GCLX995 pairs a blue ceramic dial with hand-wound Spring Drive in a 39mm steel case. Here's what stands out.

Seiko Launches a Pair of Updated Marinemasters with their Higher End 8L45 Movement

A common critique leveled at Seiko over these last few years is that they’ve abandoned the affordable enthusiast dive watch market and have been creeping toward a higher priced product. Honestly, it’s fair. Those of us of a certain age can fondly remember the days when an SKX diver could be had for a few hundred bucks, and it basically stood alone in the Venn diagram of pedigree, dive watch bona fides, enthusiast credibility, and affordability. The fact is, there’s a lot of competition for affordable divers these days, much of it driven by the popularity of a handful of key Seiko references.  So it’s no wonder that they’ve sought to expand their footprint elsewhere and make a higher end, more expensive product. What often gets lost in these conversations is that the higher priced Seiko divers are actually very good dive watches that still cover much of that hypothetical Venn diagram, perhaps leaning a little further away from affordability. Seiko recently announced a handful of new references and while many of us hoped a truly affordable SKX alternative might be in the mix, they’ve once again debuted a new diver at a higher rung of their pricing ladder.  The highlight for collectors and serious Seiko fans will likely be the Seiko Prospex Marinemaster 1968 Heritage Diver’s Watch (the official Seiko naming conventions are always a bit cumbersome). Yes, this is yet another mostly historically accurate take on the first ever diver rated to 300 meters of water r...

The Unique Creations of L.Leroy

Introducing - Beaubleu and the Monnaie de Paris Join Forces to Strike the Dials of La Pièce 1 & 2

Beaubleu is a young, independent French brand founded in 2017 by automotive and luxury product designer Nicolas Ducoudert. Gaining attention for the circular, orbiting hands featured in the brand’s collections, Beaubleu returns with new models born from an unexpected collaboration with the Monnaie de Paris, the official French national mint. Founded in 864, the mint […]

Introducing - Girard-Perregaux Pays Tribute to the Year of the Horse with a Special La Esmeralda Tourbillon

Since yesterday, China has started the New Year festivities, celebrating the Year of the Horse. Like every year, we’re seeing watch brands launching dedicated limited editions, as listed here. A bit late to the show, Girard-Perregaux is presenting its own take on the concept. But what the brand has done is, undoubtedly, the most exclusive horse-themed […]

I’ll Never Own It, but AP’s 38mm Royal Oak Chronograph Finally Feels Right

A broke watch snob’s take on why the Audemars Piguet 38mm Royal Oak Chronograph finally makes sense, even if ownership is never on the table.

Portrait - Speaking to Bernard Van Ormelingen and Bernard Braboretz, the Watchmaking Duo Behind L’Atelier Bernard

Although some might argue it has never lost its touch, it must be said that the independent watchmaking scene feels rejuvenated and stronger than ever. Just a couple of years ago, creative souls looking to make a name for themselves struggled to find traction and lure collectors to make their dream come true. Established names […]

Revolution Awards 2025: Best Astronomical Watch - Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grande Complication La Première

Inside Chopard’s Most Complex Watch Ever: The L.U.C Grand Strike 2025 with Sapphire Crystal Gongs

Holiday Horology: Something old, Something new, Something special - Sheng Lee, Digital Writer

Parmigiani Marks Founder’s Birthday with La Ravenale Minute Repeater

In-Depth - The Back-To-Basics-Watch of Roger Dubuis, the Hommage La Placide

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 […]

Introducing La Vallée COSMO

L.Leroy Osmior Bal du Temps: A return to the ballroom of complications

Introducing: Roger Dubuis Marks 30 Years With The Hommage La Placide

Thirty years in, the Maison celebrates its origins with a tribute to its founder.

Business News: LVMH Buys Minority Stake In Swiss Movement Maker La Joux-Perret From Japan's Citizen Group

Deal for minority stake gives luxury giant access to Swiss-made watch movements at a significant scale and comes as the industry consolidates.

Industry News - LVMH Watches Division Acquires a Strategic Stake in Swiss Movement Maker La Joux-Perret

In a press release issued just a few hours ago, the LVMH Watches Division announced having acquired a minority stake in yet another key player in the Swiss watch industry. As a reminder, the LVMH Watches Division comprises brands Hublot, TAG Heuer and Zenith and is under the direction of Jean-Christophe Babin, also CEO of […]

Introducing - Roger Dubuis is Back to Classic Designs, with the new Hommage La Placide Perpetual Calendar

For many years, you’ve probably known Roger Dubuis for its bold, angular watches with openworked movements and tourbillon(s), most of them under the Excalibur collection. And while most are technically very impressive, this isn’t exactly the style that Mister Dubuis defined when he created the brand in the mid-1990s. The earliest watches, known as the […]

Casio Just Dropped the Coolest $70 Watch You’ll See This Year

The Casio Vintage AQ-240E is a new analog-digital watch with retro styling, compact dimensions, and a stainless steel build-all for under $70.

Showcasing Incredible Watches You May Have Never Seen With Kevin O'Lea

Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.