Two Broke Watch Snobs
Best Field Watches for First-Time Mechanical Collectors: Hands-on Reviewed
After years of hands-on watch reviews, these are the field watches we think make the most sense for first-time mechanical buyers.
Results for WWI Trench Watch
20,750 articles · 213 videos found · page 266 of 699
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Monochrome
Buying Guide – Seven Beach-Ready Wristwatches For Life During Summer
As we have sort of halfway circumnavigated our annual lap around the sun, we come back to that age-old question on every watch enthusiast’s mind: what to wear during our summer holiday travels?! And I’m sure you all recognise the thought of what you’re actually planning on doing during your mid-year adventures. Are you staying […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Are 5 Affordable Dive Watches Better Than 1 Luxury Diver? Our Hands-On Verdict
Should you buy one luxury dive watch or build a five-watch affordable collection? We break down the real ownership tradeoffs using watches we’ve reviewed hands-on.
Worn & Wound
Watches, Stories, & Gear: the Criterion Cinema Pop Up, a Record Setting Flop, and the World’s Highest Rolex Boutique
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. The Biggest Box Office Flop Of All Time Look, I’m not one to take pleasure in another person’s failure. Lord knows I’ve had my fair share of them (for example: I once sold timeshares after dropping out of law school – go ahead and laugh, my schadenfreude-inclined readers). But even still, when it comes to a flop this massive…well, brother, even I’m going to take notice. According to SlashFilm, the biggest flop in Hollywood title now belongs to Desert Warrior, Rupert Wyatt’s historical action epic starring Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley, and Sharlto Copley. The film reportedly cost $150 million to make and earned just $742,066 worldwide, bringing back roughly 0.5% of its production budget in theaters. With very little post-theatrical marketing, I doubt this will get any big wins anytime soon. The best Wyatt et al. can hope for is a few royalty checks coming from those big $5 DVD bins at Wal-Mart, if you ask me. The Transformers: The Movie Getting Theatrical Re-Release I wasn’t big into cars growing up (surprise, surprise), but I was big into animals. Because of this, the only Transformers I liked was the short-lived Beast Wars from 1996, when ...
Deployant
New: Panerai Submersible Navy SEALs PAM01738
Panerai introduces the Submersible Navy SEALs PAM01738: a 44mm steel tool watch fitted with the in-house P.980 calibre, a two-colour lume system with expanded Super-LumiNova coverage, and water resistance to 500 metres. The following post is based on press release information. Editorial commentary appears in italics. New: Panerai Submersible Navy SEALs PAM01738 The Panerai SubmersibleRead More
Fratello
It’s Getting Hot In Here, So Take Off… No… Strap On Your Hanhart Thermosphere!
Hanhart introduces a new fire-service-inspired limited edition, and the Thermosphere is not shy about its source of inspiration. The 42mm watch is based on the Aquasphere series, but the bezel swaps diving orientation for breathing-apparatus monitoring, with markers designed around the time checks used during firefighting operations. That makes this more than a fancy colorway […] Visit It’s Getting Hot In Here, So Take Off… No… Strap On Your Hanhart Thermosphere! to read the full article.
Time+Tide
Mauron Musy brings engineering to the wrist with the new MU09 NODEº
A very modern take on the integrated bracelet watch that brings top-end engineering to the wrist with a strong statement.
Teddy Baldassarre
Zenith Chronomaster Revival A384: History, Variants, and Why It's a Modern Classic
The Zenith Chronomaster A384 Revival is a faithful, 1:1 resurrection of the very first steel watch to house the legendary El Primero movement back in 1969.
Worn & Wound
Ulysse Nardin Debuts a New Generation of Freak X
One of the more interesting phenomenons in higher end watches is taking a bold, brash, complex design and deciding to make it simpler and more streamlined. You could argue that this goes against the whole point of such a design, but of course it’s a way for a brand to draw additional, perhaps less adventurous, customers. It also makes for a watch that is more approachable from a financial perspective as well, which is an additional added benefit if you’re trying to grow your customer base of exotic watch buyers used to six figure Super Watches. The Freak X is maybe my favorite example of this. It begs the impossible question: what is a more sedate Freak, exactly, and why would we want one? I’m a huge Freak fan. It’s importance in the avant-garde and independent watchmaking world simply cannot be underestimated. But, I think we all have to admit, it’s a tough watch to get your arms around in its traditional Freak form. It’s crownless, dial-less, hand-less, and is that rare watch that truly does need a bit of an explainer to the uninitiated. It’s not immediately intuitive. The Freak X attempts to solve this by cloaking the Freak in the guise of a normal watch, at least to the extent that’s even possible. Ulysse Nardin has just introduced a new generation of the Freak X, coinciding with the Freak’s 25th anniversary. It’s a complement of sorts to the Super Freak, the freakiest Freak ever, unveiled earlier this year at Watches & Wonders. The new Freak X ...
Monochrome
Hands-on – Blending Crafts With The Awake Son Mai Guilloché Main (incl. Video)
Awake Watches made its debut in 2019 by lifelong watch enthusiast and collector Lilian Thibault. The brand quickly found an audience through original, graphic and fun elements such as meteorite dials, collaborations with artists, and contemporary styling and materials, at a very fair price. In 2024, in celebration of the brand’s 5th anniversary, Awake made […]
Fratello
Fratello’s Top 5 Summer Watches Of 2026
Another Friday, another list. Summer is just around the corner, so it’s time to start thinking about your watch for the season. While we understand that a simple strap change can do the trick, it is always nice to look at recent releases that could make great companions for the long summer days. That’s why […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Summer Watches Of 2026 to read the full article.
Time+Tide
Studio Underdog’s new beginnings, Patek Philippe’s lasting legacies, and more record-breaking auction results
As I spend most of my week writing about the latest watch releases, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing the hobby is all about what’s coming next. But every now and then, a week comes along that reminds you just how many different moving parts make up this interesting little world of … Continued
Fratello
Discovering The Different Species Of The New Linde Werdelin Oktopus III
It was an Oktopus that made me a Linde Werdelin fan many moons ago. At a luxury fair in Amsterdam, I represented a watch magazine and got to wear the edgy, sculpted, and outspoken Linde Werdelin Oktopus for a couple of days. I did the brand’s agent a favor by showcasing the watch, but I […] Visit Discovering The Different Species Of The New Linde Werdelin Oktopus III to read the full article.
Fratello
Introducing: The Fears Brunswick 40 Helmsman Endurance Specification
Fears brings more sportiness to its catalog with the sophomore release in the Endurance Specification (ES) series. The new Brunswick 40 Helmsman uses a 316L stainless steel cushion case with heavily brushed surfaces. This approach builds on last year’s Redcliff 39.5mm ES model. That watch featured a hardened, frosted case with black DLC-coated components. This […] Visit Introducing: The Fears Brunswick 40 Helmsman Endurance Specification to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Vulcain Cricket Titanium
What We Know Since Vulcain's revival in 2022 under the helm of Guillaume Laidet, a name familiar to most here thanks to his hand in brands like Nivada Grenchen and SpaceOne, it's steadily cranked out watches under a few collections, from skin divers to chronographs, and most importantly, its iconic design that is the Cricket alarm watch. While these modern Crickets have largely remained faithful in spirit to their predecessors, today marks a new limited edition from Vulcain with a contemporary twist: the Vulcain Cricket Titanium. The name kind of gives everything away here, with titanium being the main focus of this new run of 100 pieces. The 39mm case, in its slightly upsized modern form, is made this time in grade 5 titanium, polished throughout. The dial is also in titanium, with a stamped guilloché effect paired with white printing for a minutes track and applied indices. The handset comes in a variety of colors, with the skeletonized dauphine minute and hour hands paired with a black seconds hand, and a metallic nickel-plated alarm hand with a blackened arrow tip that points to the printed track to better set your alarm time. But that's not where the titaniumification (I'm going to pretend that's a real word) ends. Here, the Le Locle-assembled and manually-wound Vulcain Cricket Calibre V14 is also produced from titanium movement blanks, meaning that the titanium theme translates all the way to the inside of the watch and can be seen through the exhibition caseback. S...
Monochrome
Introducing – The Boutique-Exclusive Maen Manhattan 37 Ultra Thin Blue Fumé Edition
The Manhattan series is an important collection for Maen, being an integrated-bracelet sports-watch design series with an increasingly refined execution at an accessible price. Last year, the Swedish brand with Dutch roots introduced the Manhattan 37 Ultra Thin, a slimmer and more elegant interpretation of its popular collection, powered by a hand-wound movement. Now, Maen […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
30 Best Affordable Watches for College Students & Recent Grads: Hand-tested Picks
Looking for a practical campus watch or graduation gift? We tested 30 affordable watches for students, recent grads, internships, and first jobs.
SJX Watches
The Patek Philippe Museum Celebrates 50 Years of the Nautilus
The Patek Philippe Museum turns 25 this year, but the Geneva institution has bigger things on its mind. Open now through early next year, 1976 – 2026 Nautilus 50th Anniversary is a thematic exhibition that explores the history of the brand’s emblematic sports watch. The exhibit will showcase key references that have defined the trajectory of the Nautilus, which was designed by Gérald Genta and launched in 1976, at a time when the idea of a steel watch was generally thought to be beneath a brand like Patek Philippe. The success of the Nautilus would ultimately validate the brand’s belief that design and craftsmanship could transcend mere material, and helped accelerate Genta’s storied career as a designer. Naturally, the exhibition will feature each of the four 50th anniversary references released this year including the ref. 5610P. Past visitors will observe the exhibit is located on the museum’s top floor, which has been transformed with a temporary 1970s-inspired makeover to give the Nautilus its proper setting. Exhibition details The exhibition is included with general admission to the Patek Philippe Museum, which is open Tuesday through Friday, 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, Saturday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, and Sunday from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The anniversary exhibit is scheduled to run until early 2027. Timed tickets can be purchased online, and advance reservation is recommended.
Worn & Wound
H. Moser Introduces the New Pioneer Centre Seconds “Sun Berry”
I was trying to think back to when I first really became aware of H. Moser, and I have to think it was probably right around the time the Swiss Alp series was gaining traction (and some notoriety) in the watch community. Obviously that wasn’t the genesis of the brand, but it marked a turning point in the larger awareness of Moser in the cultural imagination of watch enthusiasts. I hate using the word “disruptive” but it really felt that way in the moment, playing as it did with the well understood shape of the world’s most popular smart watch, and making an attempt to send a statement about the importance of traditional Swiss watchmaking through aesthetic codes. It was also around that time that Moser really began leaning into color as a defining trait of their design language, particularly through “Concept” dials which completely abandon markings and branding of any kind. They never really completely turned away from this, but as they’ve expanded into new complications, experimented with Vantablack, and have generally leaned into watches that sit at ever higher price points, some of the purely playful colorful stuff that reminds me of that initial period of Moser discovery has felt like it’s been moved to the background. The latest Pioneer Centre Seconds in a colorway the brand is calling “Sun Berry” is the first reference from Moser in a long time that really brings me back to those earlier, pre-pandemic days. Collectors and enthusiasts will argue...
Fratello
Daring To Dive Deeper: The Certina DS Super PH2000M STC
I can’t believe how quickly time passes. It feels like just yesterday that I had a chance to check out the impressive Certina DS Super PH1000M STC. A quick peek tells me it was almost two years to the day that Certina unveiled the watch, celebrating the brand’s ongoing collaborative efforts with the non-profit Sea […] Visit Daring To Dive Deeper: The Certina DS Super PH2000M STC to read the full article.
Hodinkee
The Business of Watches Podcast: Q & A Episode - Your Business Questions Answered By The Hodinkee Team
This week on The Business of Watches, we take your questions on the business of timekeeping. We're joined by a swath of the Hodinkee team, including Editor-in-Chief James Stacey, Senior Editor Mark Kauzlarich, and Hodinkee Editor TanTan Wang. We're answering your questions and marking 30 episodes of BoW. You submitted some excellent questions, including how changes in 3D printing technology will impact watch movement manufacturing, whether watch brands consider enthusiasts' preferences in their design and release schedules, and what the future of multi-brand watch boutiques looks like. There's plenty of watch business and strategy to discuss, and we hope you enjoy the conversations. Be sure to leave any thoughts or questions in the comments section, and we'll do our best to respond. Want to subscribe so you never miss an episode? This new show is being published to the original Hodinkee Podcasts feed, so you can subscribe wherever you find your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or TuneIn. Show Notes1:18 F.P. Journe Souscription Chronomètre à Résonance Achieves $13.9 Million – Becomes Fifth Most Expensive Wristwatch Ever Sold (Hodinkee)2:35 Kari Voutilainen 2:47 Marteau: The Heat Wave4:08 The Barrelhand Monolith Has Landed (Hodinkee) 11:45 Ming Polymesh (Hodinkee) 12:40 Seiko Watch Corporation President Akio Naito (The Business of Watches) 13:10 Peanuts Watches by Citizen (collectpeanuts.com) 15:03 Timex 15:50 We Criticize The Wrong Thing When We Attack ...
Monochrome
Introducing – The Sizzling Hot Colours of the H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer Centre Seconds Sun Berry
Nothing captures the relaxed vibe of summer quite like vibrant colours. Launched in 2015, H. Moser & Cie.’s Pioneer Centre Seconds was conceived as the brand’s everyday, all-purpose watch with a robust, versatile personality. Translating Moser’s minimalist, high-end watchmaking into a more wearable, active format, the Pioneer flaunts a more muscular, water-resistant case construction without […]
![The Evolution Of A Freak: Introducing The “Crowned” Ulysse Nardin Freak [X]](https://www.fratellowatches.com/cdn-cgi/image/anim=false/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/FREAK-X_ULYSSE-NARDIN_2323-500-Lifestyle-COVER.jpg)
Fratello
The Evolution Of A Freak: Introducing The “Crowned” Ulysse Nardin Freak [X]
The Freak is no ordinary watch. It was nothing short of a watchmaking revolution when it came out, and to this day, it remains an oddity that speaks to ingenuity and originality. The crownless watch was a trendsetter. It opened the door for Nouvelle Horlogerie watchmakers to come onto the world stage and, in the […] Visit The Evolution Of A Freak: Introducing The “Crowned” Ulysse Nardin Freak [X] to read the full article.
Fratello
The Updated Traska Venturer GMT Doesn’t Wander Far — Just Far Enough
Traska is known for incrementally updating its existing collection. This has been a key factor in the young Floridian brand’s success. But on top of that, we have seen the new Traska Chronograph take a surprising design direction. Additionally, founder Jon Mack unveiled plans to release a new Jump Hour watch. So what happens when […] Visit The Updated Traska Venturer GMT Doesn’t Wander Far — Just Far Enough to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre Videos
The New Seiko Polar GMT SSK059
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.
SJX Watches
California Chronograph: J.N. Shapiro Unveils Infinity Series Radiant
California-based independent watchmaker J.N. Shapiro has unveiled the Infinity Series Radiant chronograph, the brand’s first complicated model available to the general public. Like the special order series released last year, the Radiant is built around a well-known La Joux-Perret monopusher calibre, but this time the watch features a tantalum case and choice of two dial configurations. Initial thoughts The Infinity Series is how it all started for J.N. Shapiro, and while the southern California-based watchmaker subsequently introduced the Resurgence — taking ‘made in America’ to the extreme — the Infinity Series makes use of third-party movements to make the brand’s inventive hand-turned guilloche dials more accessible. The Radiant chronograph takes after the 14-piece limited edition unveiled last year for the Boston-based ‘Escapement’ collector group. The Radiant is functionally identical, using the same La Joux-Perret cal. 5000 monopusher chronograph movement. But while the Escapement chronograph featured a movement that had been customised for fellow Alternative Horological Alliance (AHA) member Ming, the Radiant gets its own anthracite-coated livery complete with the brand’s ‘infinity weave’ logo. The movement itself has its own interesting backstory, but the handmade dials and weighty tantalum case do more to help justify the pricing of US$35,900. By the standards of mass market watchmaking this is a steep ask for a straightforward complication,...
Worn & Wound
J.N. Shapiro Introduces the Radiant, a Monopusher Chronograph and an Expansion of their Infinity Series
It’s easy to think of J.N. Shapiro as a brand largely focused on a style of watchmaking from an earlier generation. But that’s a trap. While the design language is rooted in classicism and J.N. Shapiro prides itself on the highest level execution of traditional guilloche, the brand has also been open to experimenting with materials in a way that many other contemporary indies have embraced to great success in recent years. Their new watch, the Radiant, enters the Infinity Series with a host of exotic materials at its core, and the watch serves as a reminder that while J.N. Shapiro is capable of doing things in an old school way, and might lean into that at times, the brand is not opposed to taking a modern perspective on some of these old fashioned ideas. J.N. Shapiro’s Southern California manufacture sits at the heart of the American aerospace industry, and that connection serves as a loose inspiration for the Radiant, a new monopusher chronograph that is a bit of a sequel to their first chrono, released just last year in a very small run for Escapement, a Boston area collector’s group. Watches that are linked to aerospace are nothing new, but usually watches in this genre are conceived as fit for an astronaut, or something along those lines (there’s been a glut of space-travel oriented watches just this year, from IWC, Bremont, and others). J.N. Shapiro takes a different approach, focusing on materials that are closely tied to the industry and have unique app...
Hodinkee
Introducing: J.N. Shapiro Infinity Series 'Radiant' Chronograph, In Two Varieties (Live Pics)
What We Know Time flies, and it’s been almost 10 months since J.N. Shapiro launched the brand’s first complication, a limited-run monopusher chronograph for a private group of collectors in the Boston area. It featured a salmon-and-black dial and a stainless-steel case, limited to 14 pieces. Now the concept is back, with the same movement, but with some arguable upgrades in how the entire watch is treated. The brand has tapped tantalum and zirconium as major parts of the watch's construction, materials used extensively in aerospace engineering for their special properties. "Our workshop is located in one of the largest aerospace manufacturing hubs in the world," says Shapiro in their press release. "Companies like SpaceX, Boeing, Northrop, and JPL are all nearby. This watch is a nod to that environment, using space-age metals and meteorite to reflect where we come from and what inspires us." The watch comes in two dial variants, both cased in 38mm-by-9.6mm (8.2mm without crystal) tantalum cases. The dark grey material, famously hard to machine, is incredibly heavy, giving the watch a lot of gravitas on the wrist. Photo courtesy J.N. Shapiro. The first dial, which is the most direct homage to the Californian tie with aerospace, features a Meteorite with a blued zirconium chapter ring and blued hands. The chapter ring is engraved with hour markers and Arabic numerals at 3, 6, and 9, plus a minute track, but no specific chronograph scale. The subsidiary dial counter has a...
Deployant
Review: the new Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Petite Seconde Morning Blue
In the ideal world of watch collecting, every collector should have a platinum piece. One of such piece is ideally a Parmigiani Fleurier Toric.
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Vacheron Constantin Traditionelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar Is Back
What We Know Vacheron just brought back its incredibly unique Traditionelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar, and it's a welcome sight for dedicated collectors of the brand, along with general enthusiasts of unexpected yet innovative takes on complicated watchmaking. If you're not familiar with the original Traditionelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar, launched back in 2019, the watch offered an incredibly novel solution to a problem often found within perpetual calendar watches. Let's be honest, though the entire appeal and genius of the perpetual calendar is for someone wearing one watch all day, every day, for the whole year, watches like these are most often owned by those with a large collection to begin with. A weekend for a perpetual calendar in a watch box or drawer would mean that the complication would need to be set again after winding, and so Vacheron introduced this perpetual calendar with a whopping 65-day power reserve. To achieve this, rather than putting in an unfeasibly large mainspring in the barrel, the Traditionelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar lives up to its name by offering a new system that allows for switching between two beat rates for the watch—a contemporary high-beat 5Hz frequency with a 4-day power reserve for normal timekeeping during wear, but a much slower 1.2Hz mode with that prolonged power reserve for the "Standby" phase. The Caliber 3610QP comprises two separate gear trains for the two regulating systems, with a series of differentials tha...