Results for Ball Watch

REVIEW: Getting Out & About With The Bremont Martin-Baker II

Spring is here and a great time to get out and about, so I took the Bremont Martin-Baker II on a couple of outdoor adventures to see how this robust watch holds up in our latest Hands On Review! What We Love Comfortable on the wristBright, easy to read dialOrange colour pops & is fun What We Don’t Crown is hard to pull out and setWears on the larger sideStrap can be a little finicky to put on Overall Rating: 8.25/10 Value for money: 8/10Wearability: 9/10Design: 8/10Build quality: 8/10 For those that aren’t aware off the Martin-Baker story, here’s a quick re-cap. Martin-Baker is a British aviation company responsible for supplying 70% of the world’s Air Forces with fighter ejection seat technology. They first approached Bremont to create the definitive aviation watch in 2007. More than simply putting a logo on an existing model, the watch had to withstand the same rigorous testing programme as the ejection seats themselves. Two years later, the Bremont Martin-Baker I (MBI) was born and limited solely for pilots who have ejected from an aircraft using a Martin-Baker seat – something that is not all that fun and puts a tremendous amount of stress on the body and the watch! The MBI with red case ring – only for pilots who’ve survived a live ejection The MBII and MBIII were then produced for the general public, designed to the same strict standards of the MBI, but available in a range of colours and variants, with people able to choose their own colour for the mid...

Geneva Watch Days 2023: Armin Strom One Week First Edition with an Integrated Bracelet

Launching 9/5 – A New Brew x Worn & Wound Limited Edition

Normal is boring. Normal is not original. Normal is never pushing boundaries. People are not normal. People are unique. People are all limited editions of one. A new Brew x Worn & Wound Limited Edition is launching Tuesday, September 5th at 12pm ET. Mark your calendars as it’s not going to be a normal day. The post Launching 9/5 – A New Brew x Worn & Wound Limited Edition appeared first on Worn & Wound.

FRIDAY WIND DOWN: The full down-low on the Time+Tide Watch Discovery Studio

What a week it’s been. Mere days after announcing that our Watch Discovery Studio is open to the public, we’ve already seen many of you visit, experiencing the brands we carry and chatting all things watches. So, before anything else, thank you for your ongoing support. For those who haven’t braved the rainy Melbourne weather … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: The full down-low on the Time+Tide Watch Discovery Studio appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Watch Clasps 101: A Guide to the Various Types of Closures

As long as watches have been worn on the wrist (click here if you’re curious about how long that’s actually been), watchmakers have needed to figure out how to keep their straps, and eventually bracelets, securely fastened. Nowadays, with a plethora of strap and bracelet options available to watch wearers, there are also several styles of these closures, many of which have become brand signatures in their own right. From tang buckles to butterflies to trifolds, we cover the gamut here, listing pros and cons for each. Pin/Tang/Ardillon Buckle The simplest type of closure, and one used only on straps, is a pin buckle, aka a tang or ardillon buckle (“ardillon” is a French word that translates to “tongue”). If you’ve ever worn a belt, you’re familiar with the design, though perhaps not the terminology. One end of the strap - which can be either a two-piece, like most leather and rubber straps, or a one-piece, like a cloth or nylon NATO strap - has a series of perforations called adjustment holes along part of its length. The other end terminates in a simple device with a spring bar attached to a U-shaped bracket and a central piece called a mandel (the “pin” or “tongue”). The bracket slides over the other end of the strap while the mandel slips through one of the adjustment holes, and into a notch on the bracket, to fit the strap to the wearer’s wrist and secure it against coming loose. Pros: It’s easy to use and generally comfortable, as there...

A Flipper’s Journey

Since the article on my 50th birthday watch was published, I have been asked multiple times how I got into flipping watches. To best understand this, you must better understand me. I am an only child of a mother who was the youngest of 10 children and a father who was the youngest of 4. Both were born in the depression (1935 and 1929) and lived through WWII with siblings having fought in that war.  My mother’s family was from Quebec City, and they lived in a rural area outside the city, with very little creature comforts. My father was from Montreal and fared a little better, having grown up in a middle-class family setting. However, times were hard, and both learned how to stretch a dollar and loathed excessive spending.  I on the other hand grew up in Montreal in a comfortable middle-class neighborhood. While we never really struggled for anything, I was still brought up as if we could not afford much. So, if I wanted something, I had to get creative. I quickly realized that if I wanted a toy that I did not have, I could trade something I did have to get what I wanted. I did this with Star Wars toys, GI Joe, Transformers and later on with comic books and Atari games.  The author, with an unknown gift and watch on wrist, Christmas 1978 I remember when Walkman portable cassette players were super popular, my mother managed to finagle one using her Club Z points from Zellers. This was the equivalent of K-Mart in Canada and Club Z was the original loyalty plan. It was s...

The Alpina Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic 140 Years brings back classic contours in a modern package

For Geneva Watch Days 2023, Alpina has released two regular -production tribute versions of the tank-style Alpiner The Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic 140 Years offers vintage looks with modern appointments Two dial variants are available: two-tone silver (US and international), and black (international only) For Geneva Watch Days, Alpina is looking back with the release … ContinuedThe post The Alpina Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic 140 Years brings back classic contours in a modern package appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Laurent Ferrier Introduces the Sport Auto 40, a Personal Take on the Integrated Bracelet Sports Watch

There are all kinds of watches that are tied to motorsports. Horology and racing are inextricably linked, and while the Venn Diagram of people who are into watches and into various aspects of car culture and auto racing isn’t exactly a circle, it’s honestly probably not far off. But when it comes to watches that are inspired by motorsport in one way or another, we find varying levels of refinement and authenticity in the products that make it to boutique shelves. It’s easy enough to slap a logo of a car manufacturer on a dial or make a caseback calling attention to a particular race, but it’s more challenging to draw a real connection between these two worlds, even as they’re so closely linked. One of the things that make the watches made by Laurent Ferrier so interesting is that the connection feels real, a natural result of the history of the team that founded the brand. Before he was a world renowned watchmaker, Laurent Ferrier and his partner Francois Servanin were (very accomplished) amateur racers, and the new version of the Sport Auto celebrates that history.  For watch fans who might not be familiar with Laurent Ferrier’s personal history prior to the founding of his eponymous brand, he did indeed make something of a name for himself in the automotive world at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1979. Ferrier and his teammates (including Servanin and Francois Trisconi) placed third in that race out of 60, a surprising result for a group of non-professional...

Unimatic × Revolution U1 Milsub “Blue” | Revo Talks

Not new, but still great: Czapek Antarctique Rattrapante

We take a second look at the rather amazing Czapek Antarctique Rattrapante. We had a close look at the watch again in Geneva this year.

Introducing: Alpina's New Alpiner Heritage Carrée And Startimer Pilot Quartz Worldtimer

Two different sides of Alpina's past and future.

Geneva Watch Days 2023: Czapek Complicité with Double Balance Wheels

2024’s Best Watches Under $500 | Our Hands-Down Favorite Picks

With $500 to spend on a new watch, you have many options. But among those, which are the best watches under $500? Here are our top choices.

Oris Goes Deeper than Ever with the All New AquisPro 4000m

The recent history of dive watches is all about going deeper and deeper beneath the ocean’s surface. Recent releases (and major technological advancements) from Rolex and Omega underscore the continuing interest on the part of brands, collectors, and, we assume, pro divers in maximizing depth ratings, whether for practical purposes or bragging rights. The watches that come out of the research and development around extreme depth resistance have a certain appeal even if you don’t have a particular desire to even get them wet – they are technological marvels, and often compelling design objects with an offbeat aesthetic appeal. Now, Oris is getting in on the act, with a new member of the Aquis family that goes deeper than any before it, the AquisPro 4000m. The headline here is right in the name of the watch: this is an Aquis that is rated to an impressive 4,000 meters of water resistance. While not as robust as Omega’s Ultra Deep which is rated to 6,000 meters, or the truly incomprehensible Deepsea Challenge diver by Rolex that goes to 11,000 meters, this Aquis handily beats other divers in the Aquis family, which are typically rated to 300 meters. It does so with an oversized, multi piece titanium case measuring 49.5mm in diameter and a little over 23mm thick.  I don’t know if there’s an obscure Swiss law that says any dive watch rated over a certain depth rating needs to have some kind of ocean themed dial design, but we get one with the AquisPro 4000m in the ...

The Ulysse Nardin Blast Free Wheel Marquetry is the ultimate tribute to silicon

Ulysse Nardin do not always get the credit they are due as a watch manufacture. I bet most of you watching this video were not aware that Ulysse Nardin is an independently owned, vertically integrated manufacture – among the rare few who are able to build their watches fully in house. While certainly versed in … ContinuedThe post The Ulysse Nardin Blast Free Wheel Marquetry is the ultimate tribute to silicon appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Introducing: The MoonSwatch Mission To MoonShine Gold Is Back… In (Neptune) Blue

Load up that Eiffel 65 song on Spotify as you wait in line for this one.

Armin Strom ‘One Week’: A Bonafide Manufacture Haute Horlogerie Sports Watch

A brand's progress is often seen in how their watches evolve. Armin Strom, which had the delicate task of reinventing the 'One Week,' the watch with their very first full manufacture movement.

IWC Adds a Fully Lumed Dial to their Pilot Collection with the Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces

Sometimes I get tagged with the label of curmudgeon for my somewhat finicky and at times nonsensical taste in watches (and movies, and other things – I like what I like). But at the end of the day, I really just want watches to be fun, and for everyone to chill just a little bit when it comes to the hottest of takes on Instagram, YouTube, and elsewhere. If there’s one feature on a watch that captures a more nonchalant attitude toward watches in general, I think it has to be the fully lumed dial, right? Is there anything else that appeals so strongly to that proverbial inner child, the one who is still fascinated with things that glow in the dark? Lumed dials have been having a bit of a moment as of late, and now IWC is getting in on the action, with their first pilot’s watch with a fully lumed dial treatment, the Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces. The Black Aces is the latest in an ongoing series of watches that IWC has made in partnership with US Navy squadrons as part of their Professional Pilot’s Watches Program. This new watch takes inspiration from a previous watch that IWC created for members of Strike Fighter Squadron 41, also known as the Black Aces. This squadron has roots that date back to 1950, and is based at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California, and their Black Aces patch can be seen on the dial at the 6:00 position of the new pilot’s watch. IWC refers to this as a “Lumicast” dial, and it comes together after a complex process that invol...

New: Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer now in Rose Gold and SS case!

Bernhard Lederer releases the final two series of his amazing Central Impulse Chronometer - the Series 3 in rose gold and Series 4 in stainless steel.

Rexhep Rexhepi Reveals the Chronomètre Antimagnétique for Only Watch 2023

Having dropped tantalising clues about his creation for Only Watch 2023 a few weeks ago, Akrivia founder Rexhep Rexhepi has finally taken the covers off the Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Antimagnétique. A unique creation with a brand-new movement, the Chronomètre Antimagnétique (RRCA) is a time-only wristwatch with a steel case, one that was inspired by the magnetism-resistant chronometers of the mid-20th century. Its design has clear roots in vintage watches, while the movement features an indirect centre seconds with a hacking, zero-reset mechanism. Initial thoughts About the half the offerings in Only Watch 2023 are from independent watchmakers, but the creations vary tremendously in their originality and effort. Amongst the independents that created genuinely new watches for the event is F.P. Journe, whose Chronomètre Furtif Bleu is the first of a new sports model and likely the only watch ever made by an independent that boasts a tantalum bracelet. At the low-effort end of the spectrum is Moritz Grossmann that added “Only Watch” to the seconds register of a regular-production model and called it a day. The RRCA sits alongside the Chronomètre Furtif Bleu as being impressively original. The RRCA has an newly-designed steel case with a removable outer back and within, a calibre that inherits the distinctive Rexhep Rexhepi aesthetic but is newly developed from the ground up. Even though it is a simple watch with just three hands, the movement is executed in the Mr ...

Hamilton Khaki Field Titanium

If you're looking for a lightweight and reliable field watch, you can't go wrong with the Hamilton Khaki Field Titanium.The post Hamilton Khaki Field Titanium appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Audemars Piguet Teams Up with Designer Matthew Williams

Four new Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore models have been announced, along with one unique piece that make up this latest collaboration. With a mixture of yellow gold, white gold and two-tone, all pieces are co-branded with Audemars Piguet and 1017 ALYX 9SM, Matthew Williams’ own brand, on the dial and rotor. Initial thoughts It’s nice to see collaborations like this taking place. When someone with the fashion and design pedigree of Matthew Williams enters the watch space, it is always worth taking note, as they are bound to bring a fresh and unique perspective. However, here it would seem he has just taken the designs he previously made with MAD Paris and asked Audemars Piguet to make them instead. The only visual difference being that the original ones had circular brushed dials, whereas these are vertically brushed. While the variety of case size and metal is appreciated, it is clear that these designs are not original with perhaps the only real difference being that the date window has been removed from the standard Royal Oak. Having the same aesthetic treatment applied across the time-only Royal Oak, chronograph Royal Oak and Offshore is nice to see, making this a cohesive collection. And the unique piece carries pleasing contrasts with the two-tone case and dark, PVD-coated dial giving a look that seems fitting for the streetwear-savvy Williams. There has been no communication on the price of these pieces, nor how many are set to be produced. All we can be sure ...

Just Because: Rolls-Royce's New Custom Droptail Has A Unique Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept As A Dashboard Clock

What's a rumored $30 million car anyway if you can't get a pièce unique watch to go with?

Glasgow’s Paulin Returns with the Modul, Available in Quartz and Mechanical Versions

For watch enthusiasts, some big news out of Scotland this month: Paulin Watches, the Glasgow based brand that this year marks a decade in business, has been acquired by anOrdain, fellow Glaswegians and occasional collaborators. This, quite obviously, begins a new chapter for Paulin, a brand that has long been a favorite of ours here at Worn & Wound for their quirky and contemporary designs. The reboot happens under the watch of Imogen Ayers, a founding member of the anOrdain team, and Paulin’s Creative Director. Right out of the gate, they’ve introduced a new watch that signals a new direction, offering some hints about where the brand is heading.  The new watch, dubbed the Paulin Modul, is so named because it was inspired by the very concept of modular design. The Paulin team, having sourced a variety of unused vintage movements and not being certain of what types of calibers they’d have access to in the future, wanted to create a watch that could accommodate those different movements. This is a fairly radical idea, as anyone who has lamented slightly changed (usually increased) case dimensions following a movement “upgrade” in a product line can attest. For the Modul, the movement, dial, and hands are placed within a watertight, steel inner case, which is then attached to a steel outer case via a pair of screws on both sides. The cushion shaped case measures 35mm in diameter and is just 8.2mm tall.   To drive the modular point home, the Modul is available wi...

Watches and What Else: Bryan Braddy and His Unique Horological Art

Editor’s Note: Watches and What Else is a new column where we look at some of the other things our watch collecting community is interested in. We’ve always found watch collectors to be a curious, well rounded bunch, and in this series we’re going to explore a variety of the watch adjacent (and sometimes, not so adjacent) interests of collectors of all stripes. From illustration to aviation, video games and comics to heavy metal and craft cocktails, there’s a lot to explore, and we think you’ll enjoy diving into the pursuits that your fellow watch enthusiasts are passionate about.  This week, Chris Antzoulis talks to a founder of RedBar’s Raleigh chapter, a longtime illustrator, and the purveyor of one of our favorite “watch art” Instagram accounts.  Bryan Braddy is a watch enthusiast who resides in Raleigh, North Carolina. He’s one of the founders of RedBar Raleigh, and is a pillar in our horological hobby. But in this inaugural edition of Watches and What Else we’ll also get to know the man behind @badartnicewatch, and his passion for illustration. Watches Bryan got into watches much like the rest of us, by attempting to shoplift a Mickey Mouse watch as a three-year-old and forcing his parents to pony up lest they get thrown in mall jail for the transgressions of their offspring. From there, Bryan really did travel down the route the rest of us did, by sporting a snazzy Fossil from middle school through his college years. After graduating from colle...