Results for De Bethune

Pre-Baselworld 2013: Corum Ti-Bridge Automatic Dual Winder

In 2011, Corum debuted a stunning world-first with the Golden Bridge Automatic movement, the self-winding cal. C0 313. For the first time in the history of wristwatches, a movement incorporated a linear oscillating weight, shuttling parallel to the baguette movement on guide rails to wind the mainspring. Although the La Chaux-de-Fonds watch company has kept its […]

Rare Watches: F.P. Journe Tourbillon Remontoir d’Egalité with a gorgeous mother of pearl dial

Francois Paul Journe. A talented watchmaker. I had the pleasure of meeting with FP way back when he was yet a nobody…and had just made his first tourbillon remontoir d’egalité. The original looked like it was made in his garage, and indeed it was. But recently, I had the pleasure of spending a week withRead More

Vacheron Constantin Metiers d’Art – Chagall & L’Opera de Paris

Incredible! That’s what I can describe it. Incroyable! The Vacheron Constantin Metiers d’Art – Chagall & L’Opera de Paris piece is an exceptional work of art. I am quite speechless when I examined the work, done in enamel by Anita Porcet, an independent enamelist. I normally am not too excited about enamel paintings on aRead More

First Look – The New Raymond Weil A.R.T., the Brand’s First Integrated-Bracelet Sporty-Chic Collection

For a company that has spent nearly five decades building its reputation on accessible Swiss watchmaking, with quite a few recent successes with vintage-inspired releases, Raymond Weil has largely stayed away from one of the industry’s most competitive categories: the integrated-bracelet sports watch. Well, there’s a first time for everything, and Raymond Weil launches the […]

The Hamilton Fontainebleau “Day ‘N Date” 6004: The Potential Catalyst for an Innovative Case Design Renaissance

I feel that the contemporary watch market has a noticeable lack of fun, exciting, and unique watch case designs. Brands have put a major emphasis on dials made from rare materials or composed of intricate designs recently, but very few companies have put time into producing cases that offer a special experience for the wearer. Round and tank-styled timepieces are, and will forever be, the norm within the watch industry. However, this gap in the modern market gives collectors a chance to look back into vintage catalogs to familiarize themselves with fads and stylistic ventures of previous horological eras. With this in mind, I’d like to take a trip back to 1968 and examine the creation of the Hamilton Fontainebleau series, specifically the 6004 “Day ‘N Date” reference, to exhibit just how innovative case design can truly be. It’s typically an overlooked piece of the design formula, but when a watch features a case profile unlike any other, it certainly stands out among the pack. A Brief History of Fontainebleau and the 6004 In 1966, the patents for Hamilton designer Ulrich Nydegger’s new case were published. A couple of years later, the first few Fontainebleau models hit the market and garnered a decent amount of popularity. It wasn’t until 1969’s Fontainebleau Chrono-Matic chronograph, however, that the line would see a substantial amount of press and recognition for its innovative design. The collectibility of the Chrono-Matic model continues to increase o...

Audemars Piguet’s R&D; Revealed - Lucas Raggi Breaks Down Its Wildest Innovations

Inside Jaeger-LeCoultre’s First Atelier d’Antoine in Southeast Asia | Reverso, Craft & Novelties

First Look – The New Doxa SUB 750T Clive Cussler Edition

Since 1889, Doxa has been synonymous with adventure beneath the waves. Born in Le Locle, Doxa revolutionised the dive watch world in the mid-1960s with the original SUB, a dive watch with a unidirectional bezel for tracking no-decompression dive times, paired with its now-iconic bright orange dial for unmatched underwater legibility. Since then, Doxa timepieces […]

Introducing – The New Hublot Square Bang Tourbillon 4-Day Power Reserve in 3D Carbon

Following the detonation of Hublot’s extroverted Big Bang chronograph in 2005, the collection gradually expanded with several sub-families unified by their bold designs and distinctive fusion of materials. A couple of these sub-collections, like the Spirit of Big Bang with its tonneau-shaped case and the more recent Square Bang, departed from the round shape of […]

How the Panerai Luminor Due Redefined the Brand: From Luminor Marina to Angelo Bonati’s Vision

Introducing – The new Urwerk UR-101 T-Rex Edition

As indicated by its name, the UR-101 was – together with its sister piece, the UR-102 – the watch that started it all at Urwerk. The foundation, the watch that defined a style, a display, and that made an impact on almost 30 years of unleashed creativity after. The inaugural UR-101 and 102 featured distinctive […]

Introducing – The Fully-Lumed Porsche Design Chronograph 1 F.A.T. 2025 Edition

The connection between design studio and watchmaker Porsche Design and the automotive world is… obvious! Not only the company was founded by the man who, in 1964, designed the emblematic Porsche 911 – Mister Ferdinand Alexander “Butzi” Porsche – but most of its watches are inspired by either cars or elements of the 911. In […]

Affordable Seiko Sports Duo Exclusively for SE Asia

Seiko has just announced a pair of regional exclusives for its longtime distributor in Southeast Asia, the Seiko 5 Sports SSK043K1 and Prospex Speedtimer SSC951P1 Thong Sia Group Editions. Available only in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, and Brunei, the Thong Sia Group (TSG) limited editions are inspired by basketball, hence the salmon dials with black accents that echo the colour of the balls. The solar-powered Speedtimer chronograph Initial thoughts Seiko produces some of the best offerings in the affordable price segment, and the TSG duo demonstrate that amply with strong price-performance ratios. The Seiko 5 Sports, for instance, is an automatic with second time zone for 654 Singapore dollars, or about US$500. While the basketball link is a bit of a stretch, the metallic-finish copper (or “salmon”) dials are appealing. Though the shade is popular, the colour is less common in affordable sports watches in this price range, making this pair a little more interesting. The Seiko 5 Sports with a GMT function A handy travel watch The TSG edition is based on the Seiko 5 Sports GMT, which is basically a diver-style watch with a second time zone function. It has a stainless steel case that is 42.5 mm in diameter and 13.6 mm high. Water resistant to 100 m, the case is satin-brushed on top with mirror-polished bevels on the side of the lugs. In traditional Seiko 5 style, it has the crown positioned at four o’clock, which was originally conceived to indicate the w...

Five Louis Erard’s You Shouldn’t Miss

Best known for its regulator-style watches, the Louis Erard brand has been in continuous production since 1931, despite a change in ownership and relocation in 1992. Still proudly made in Switzerland, it creates original and authentic watches with strong horological content while embodying today’s essential call for affordability. Best known for its regulator-style watches, the Louis Erard brand has been in continuous production since 1931, despite a change in ownership and relocation in 1992. Still proudly made in Switzerland, it creates original and authentic watches with strong horological content while embodying today’s essential call for affordability. The post Five Louis Erard’s You Shouldn’t Miss appeared first on Worn & Wound.

First Look – The new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Chronograph Ti49 in Titanium (incl. Video)

While we all very well know who created the luxury sports watch segment, and what was the first sporty-chic watch with integrated bracelet, it must be said that other iconic models came on the market soon after. Following the 1972 Royal Oak, 1976 saw the introduction of the Nautilus and 1977 the launch of the […]

Urwerk Vs. MB&F;: How Do They Square Up? – Reprise

Urwerk and MB&F; are two stalwarts of contemporary watchmaking with, superficially at least, much in common. Here Ian Skellern shares what he thinks are the significant similarities and differences between these two leaders in modern independent watchmaking.

Man Regrets Trading Left Testicle for Breitling Watch: “It didn’t Even Have an In-House Movement”

“I guess I have a backup if need be,” Conners conceded. “And I always did love Travolta in those talking baby movies…”

Auction Watch: Breguet Skeleton 30-Day, Constant Force Clock by Philippe René Jaccard

One of the most intriguing timepieces being offered in the final run of watch auctions for 2019 is not a wristwatch, but an incredibly rare table clock made by Breguet in 1934 that’s going under the hammer at Christie’s. It hardly looks like a typical Breguet – having no engine-turning or gilding or blued steel hands – but is remarkably striking, with a skeletonised, architectural movement that is modern-looking despite being 85 years old. Abraham-Louis Breguet is rightly regarded as one of the most important watchmakers in history, whose inventions range from the natural escapement to the tourbillon, while being commercially savvy enough to become a leading watchmaker to the Ottoman Empire. But his descendants ventured into other businesses by the mid 19th century, most notably aviation, so the watchmaking operation was sold by Louis-Clément Breguet, grandson of Abraham-Louis, in 1870 to English watchmaker Edward Brown. The Browns kept the workshop in Paris, though it moved several times over the decades. During the century that the Brown family ran Breguet – Brown’s grandson George sold the company to French jeweller Chaumet in 1969 – the firm mostly retained the signature Breguet style and produced a large variety of timepieces, but in tiny quantities, often relying on external specialists for movements and components. Timepiece no. 3142 This clock is one such timepiece from the period. A unique piece according to the accompanying Breguet museum archive...

Live from Time to Move: Blancpain T0 and T1 production

We started at the manufacture which formerly housed the F. Piguet movement manufacture. The Swatch Group does not allow photography inside the manufacture, so no live photographs of the machines. We started at the beginning with the raw materials storage. Brass, maillechort are stored as rolls. Blancpain makes 100% of all components and tools in-house.Read More

Defending the Nomos Club Campus: How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?

On paper, the Nomos Club Campus is a lovable watch. Why then was it greeted with a relative shrug of indifference by the watch press, and much grumbling in the all-important comments section?

Revolution Awards 2017: Founder’s Choice Award - URWERK UR-T8 and UR-105 CT Streamliner

Once again, the global editors of Revolution weigh in on the best timepieces of the year, as well as the personalities that shaped the watch industry.

Baselworld 2015: Rolex Day-Date 40 – Perfection to the Nth Degree With New Calibre 3255 (Live Pics)

Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle 14-Day Tourbillon: Watches and Wonders 2014

The front of the watch showcases a Slate-Coloured Opaline dial with power reserve at 12 o'clock and a tourbillon cage at 6.

Rolex Unicorns Part III – Ref. 6062 Triple Calendar “Stelline Gordon Bethune”

The third important vintage Rolex – in my opinion – at Phillips’ upcoming Geneva auction, after the ref. 4113 split-seconds chronograph and mint ref. 8171 “Padellone”, is the ref. 6062 “Stelline” triple calendar that once belonged to Gordon Bethune, the executive best known for turning around Continental Airlines during his decade-long tenure starting in 1994. The watch a sterling example of the ref. 6062 – and will sell for well over a million dollars – but it is also notable for what it says about the development of the vintage watch market. Now 78 and retired, though he pops up regularly on CNBC to comment on the airline industry, Mr Bethune accumulated his watch collection over two decades. He sold the bulk of it in 2012, but remains probably the only famous business executive known to have collected watches in a serious fashion (another is perhaps former Hollywood talent agent Michael Ovitz, though he more widely regarded as an important collector of contemporary art). Mr Bethune’s collection was inclined towards great, even some of the best, examples of important, uncommon and desirable watches, rather than extraordinarily or unique models. So he owned one of the best-preserved, all-original examples of the ref. 6062s “Stelline”, rather than say a well-worn ref. 6062 with a black, diamond-marker dial. It was a cold day in December… The Gordon Bethune Collection of Fifty Exceptional Vintage Wristwatches took place in December 2012 at Christi...

Hands-On With Cartier’s Most Versatile Santos de Cartier Yet?

I take Cartier’s titanium version of the Santos de Cartier hands-on to see if it really is the more versatile option in the brand’s signature collection. What We Love: A fresh take on a Cartier icon Much more suited as a daily wearer Light, robust and still has a sense of elegance What We Don’t: No open caseback for the 1847 MC movement Price point may feel high compared to other sports watches that also showcase movement Would love to see more dial colours for variation Overall Rating: 8.5/10 Value for Money: 8/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 8.5/10 Build Quality: 9/10 It’s not every day that we see Cartier venture outside the norm with the Santos de Cartier collection. For years, this collection has been one of the more appealing sporty-dressy everyday watches on the market, bringing together sporty proportions, a clean dial aesthetic, and a bracelet design that wraps beautifully around the wrist. But what has made it such a standout and appealing choice is that unmistakable Cartier charm: refined, instantly recognisable, and versatile enough to sit somewhere between a sports watch with dressy appeal and a daily wearer. The Santos’s history goes all the way back to 1904. As the story goes, Louis Cartier created a wristwatch for his friend, Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, who needed a practical way to tell the time while flying. Rather than having to reach for a pocket watch mid-flight, which was the norm at the time, Santos-Dumont wanted something tha...