Hodinkee
This Week In The Shop: Six Shop Picks We Love That Aren’t Watches
Taking a break from regularly scheduled programming to highlight some books, accessories, and more that deserve a second look.
1,355 articles · 49 videos found · page 27 of 47
Hodinkee
Taking a break from regularly scheduled programming to highlight some books, accessories, and more that deserve a second look.
Worn & Wound
Over the last few years, De Rijke & Co. has built out an unlikely niche within the watch world: making highly desirable character watches featuring the beloved “Miffy” character, a staple of children’s books in the Netherlands, the brand’s home country. After the launch of the first successful Miffy moonphase, there have been several additional variants released in short order, offering colorful takes on a whimsical subject. I think most would probably agree that this represented a somewhat unexpected turn in the life of De Rijke. When we first encountered them, it was as a maker of a clever driver’s watch, with a unique case that allows the dial to be rotated within a cage to suit a driver’s needs. What’s more, De Rijke has always offered customers the ability to customize their watches to a high degree, allowing for a truly bespoke experience. The Miffy watches have been fun, but if you knew the brand before, they felt almost like a diversion. De Rijke never stopped making those custom pieces of course, so it would be unfair to ask “What happened to this brand?” or something similarly dramatic. They haven’t gone anywhere, but clearly took an opportunity to capitalize on a watch concept that became a bit of a sensation with a very specific crowd. But now, for the first time since I’ve been writing about them, De Rijke is back with a new series that is not Miffy based, but still has a sense of that whimsy. The new entries in the Amalfi series are ba...
Fratello
Maybe it’s because the Seiko Astron is the world’s first GPS solar watch that I have a weak spot for it. From the moment the very first ginormous 47mm version came out, I was sold on the idea of having a watch that connects to the GPS network and gets all its necessary energy from […] Visit Hands-On With Two New Seiko Astron Limited Editions With Starry Light Blue Dials to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Without a doubt, my favorite pen is the LAMY AL-Star. I could (and very well might) write paragraphs about this incredible fountain pen - something which would be an absolute joy, thanks in large part to the lovely experience the LAMY offers - but that’s not the pen I’m here to talk about today. That’s because, despite my fondness for the iconic AL-Star, it is not the pen I use most. It’s not even the fountain pen I use the most. No, that honor goes to the humble Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pen. I would categorize the LAMY AL-Star (and its remarkably similar sibling, the Safari) as the Seiko of fountain pens. Like a Seiko, it is often cited as a great first fountain pen for people looking to try something outside the typical rollerballs and ballpoints we see everyday. Also like a Seiko, the LAMY is a gateway pen, one which often leads to other more expensive options. The LAMY could easily be the one pen with which you live your entire life. For a totally reasonable amount of money, anyone could be happy with a LAMY, just as anyone could be happy with a Seiko SPB Diver. The AL-Star’s got everything you need, and nothing you don’t. It’s well-made, well-designed, and comes in so many variations that it would be hard not to find one that suits your taste. Pen collectors I know who have pens many multiples (sometimes many, many) the value of the LAMY still frequently cite it as one of their favorites. But if the LAMY is the Seiko of fountain pens, then t...
Fratello
It’s time to chime in on the best watches under €2,500. It’s a tough subject for a couple of reasons. First, many of my colleagues have already opined and used up some great picks. Second, this price level now feels like a no man’s land because most brands prefer to play above or below it. […] Visit Fratello Favorites: The Best Watches Under €2,500 - Mike’s Picks From Seiko, Ming, Oak & Oscar, And Longines to read the full article.
Fratello
At the end of last year, Breitling announced that it had acquired Universal Genève. That move caused excitement within the watch community, mainly because UG’s vintage watches are highly esteemed. The fact that a respected brand like Breitling is now involved in resurrecting UG seems promising. But we’ll probably have to wait a few more […] Visit Pre-Owned Spotlight: Universal Genève Classics To Buy Before The Brand Returns to read the full article.
Fratello
Today, we’ll take a look at a vintage Movado Disco Volante. This is a lovely watch with an incredible case. It also marks the first article I’ve written about Movado. Hopefully, that’s a good thing because there are more on the way about this oft-forgotten brand. Since moving to London, my interest in watches from […] Visit Vintage Watches: The Movado Disco Volante to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
For those who look forward to Summer Blockbusters as much as I do, The Fall Guy was the perfect way to kick off the season. And not only because it’s a fun romp with a charming cast, or that it features one of TAG Heuer’s coolest new-ish releases, but more so because it draws attention to movie making with an emphasis on the stunt teams who are responsible for a lot of the love that we have for movies. For years folks have been pushing for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to add Oscar categories to honor stunt teams and performers. David Leitch, director of The Fall Guy and former stuntman, is adding his voice to the cause with this new movie that acts as a love letter to stunt performers. Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) and Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt) are our main characters, representing the sometimes underappreciated members within a film crew – Colt, the stunt double of the famed Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and Jody, the camerawoman looking to one day make it as a director. The two also begin the movie amid a passionate and new romantic relationship, until a life-threatening back injury, the result of a stunt gone wrong, takes Colt out of commission. During his time away from a movie set, Colt pushes Jody away and loses a lot of his self-confidence. Until, that is, he’s approached by Tom Ryder’s agent, Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), who calls Colt back to do Tom’s stunts on a new movie that Jody is directing. But things go awry when Tom ge...
Monochrome
Are you done with in-your-face splashes of colour? Are you fed up with blue, yellow, red, green or perhaps even pink and purple? Well, you’re in luck because we’ve been eyeballing a couple of very impressive watches with simple yet ever-fashionable pristine white dials. This almost blank canvas can serve any purpose, from simple single-handed unisex […]
Hodinkee
Incomplete and totally subjective, but the first big auction season is in the books, so it's time to talk about some of the results, good and bad.
Quill & Pad
The Geneva Watch Auction: XIX held over the weekend by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, totaled 39,667,167, just a tad over its high estimate, and set five world records.
Fratello
Today’s Venezianico Bucintoro 1969 is an example of a watch that has already come and gone. However, as space fans, we wanted to share it with you because it may have rocketed past your orbit. This was a surprising one when it hit my mailbox for many reasons that we will soon see. Let’s take […] Visit Entering The Space Race: The Venezianico Bucintoro 1969 Limited Edition to read the full article.
Fratello
Full disclosure: I dreaded the moment I had to choose the best watches under €2,500. Why? Because what I think is under €2,500 isn’t anymore. Yeah, go ahead. Call me out of touch and old-fashioned; it’s okay. But you know what? My list of three watches came to me in a wave of clarity. And […] Visit Fratello Favorites: The Best Watches Under €2,500 - Lex’s Picks From Certina, King Seiko, And Oris to read the full article.
Fratello
Picking the best watches under €2,500 is tough. There are so many different options. Next to the world of microbrands, the world of bigger brands also opens up nicely with €2,500 to spend. This made the search for possible options quite extensive. You could even call it a mission because the goal of this list […] Visit Fratello Favorites: The Best Watches Under €2,500 - Jorg’s Picks From Formex, Christopher Ward, Unimatic, And More to read the full article.
Fratello
This week, Fratello On Air returns on its non-normal day because your co-hosts have been under the weather. We’re both on the mend, though, and happy to be on the airwaves. In this episode, we cover several topics, but our main discussion centers on the recent TAG Heuer Formula 1 × Kith releases. We try […] Visit Fratello On Air: Overreacting To The TAG Heuer Formula 1 × Kith And Other Watches to read the full article.
Fratello
After Omega introduced several Speedmasters not aimed at Moonwatch enthusiasts (e.g. the Speedmaster Super Racing with Spirate technology and the updated Speedmaster Apollo 8), the white-dial Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch finally came out on March 5th, 2024. I use the word “finally” because Omega had already shown it in October 2023 on the wrist of former […] Visit The White Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch - Better Than The Silver Snoopy Award? to read the full article.
Fratello
If only watches could tell stories! This watch, which belonged to Titanic passenger John Jacob Astor, would certainly have a story to tell. On April 14th, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg. It was just after 11:40 that night. The ship, which had been touted as unsinkable because of the leading technology used in […] Visit A Pocket Watch Owned By A Titanic Passenger Sells At Auction to read the full article.
Quill & Pad
Łukasz Doskocz bought a Tudor Pelagos because it is a superior tool watch; it is “form follows function” at its best, with every single bit of the watch designed for a practical and useful reason. But he loves and bought it for more than just that.
Fratello
The months leading up to Watches and Wonders are exciting ones in the Fratello office. Every week, we receive new teasers and press releases. This year, there were also a lot of brand-organized previews. That’s great because the more we know upfront, the better we can inform you, our readers, about these new watches. However, […] Visit Hands-On: The Cartier Tank Américaine In Platinum With A Salmon Art Deco Dial to read the full article.
Fratello
It has been a busy few months for Omega, introducing the Apollo 8, Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch with a white dial, and the new Speedmaster 38 models. I expect to see some more Speedmaster releases in 2024, not least of all because it is a significant Apollo 11 anniversary. But we should also not forget about […] Visit The April 2024 Fratello × REM Strap - Apollo XIII to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
With Watches & Wonders in the books and a few weeks of space from the deluge of new releases, it’s time to look back on the show and figure out what really spoke to us. It was, by most accounts, a somewhat slow year for new releases, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of great watches to choose from for a retrospective article like this. And for this exercise, we’re not limiting ourselves to watches exhibited at Watches & Wonders proper, either. There were literally hundreds of brands with new watches to show throughout the city of Geneva during Watches & Wonders week. We didn’t see them all, but we caught as many as we could, and these are the watches that stand out as favorites. Stay tuned tomorrow for favorites from our roster of contributors! Zach Weiss I usually have difficulty picking favorites after events like Watches & Wonders. One sees so much, so quickly, that making judgments is difficult, and what’s left in one’s mind after is sort of an image cloud of memories. No single thing overtakes any other. But this year was different. Since the show, I’ve found myself thinking about two watches, or rather, one watch and one case/movement combo. The watch is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre Chronograph Moon in platinum. Yes, I’ve gone full fancy pants and chosen a nearly six-figure watch, but hear me out… it was gorgeous. Admittedly, the Duometre line is one that I’ve had a bit of a fascination with over the last year or so, as the original...
Worn & Wound
Getting outside Palexpo is essential during Watches & Wonders week. Not only because being inside the massive complex for days on end will quickly wreak havoc on your mental and physical health (it’s dry in there, and not seeing any natural light can’t be great for you), but because there’s so much watch related stuff happening in Geneva parallel to what’s going on at Watches & Wonders. Many smaller indies post up at hotels along Lake Geneva and take meetings with media and their dealer networks, and over the last three years these meetings have been some of our favorites to attend. One of them, with Louis Erard, produced an almost obscene level of interest. I think each of mentally bought a watch in the hour we spent chatting with CEO Manuel Emch. The watch you see here, a new collaboration between Louis Erard and atelier Oï, is the only watch we can show you from that meeting. Everything else is under embargo, but will be revealed throughout the rest of the year. But man, I was glad to see this new limited edition on the table almost immediately after sitting down. It’s the same design as a watch in my own collection, featuring a dial made up of deeply cut striated ridges that fan out like a, well, like a fan, I guess. No markers or branding, but each ridge is effectively a minute marker, so telling the time is fairly straightforward after a brief adjustment period. This LE has a gold tone dial, which leaves a very different impression than my silvery gray v...
Worn & Wound
If you had told me a few weeks ago that one of the brands I’d feel best about coming out of Watches & Wonders 2024 would be Raymond Weil, I’d probably have been pretty confused, because at that point I don’t think I even had a meeting set up with the brand, and their attendance at the show was not even on my radar. But Watches & Wonders, as ever, has surprises in store for everyone. And sometimes you wind up taking an unexpected appointment with a brand you frankly don’t really know much about or have paid much attention to over the years, and it completely wins you over. Raymond Weil, dollar for dollar and watch for watch, had one of the most impressive showings at this year’s Watches & Wonders, and they took me completely off guard. Worn & Wound has covered Raymond Weil sporadically over the course of our website’s existence. CEO Elie Bernheim came on the podcast in 2017, and there have been a handful of new releases written about and reviews filed, but for the most part Raymond Weil has simply not appeared in these pages. Why is that? Well, for much of the brand’s history, they just haven’t caught the eye of the enthusiast. Raymond Weil has always positioned itself as a mass market brand making affordable watches for everyday people, not collectors or connoisseurs, necessarily. There’s nothing at all wrong with that, of course, it was just never really our wheelhouse. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zach Kazan (@zkazan) But the b...
Fratello
Drivers, start your engines because the race is about to start! And this is not just any race - it’s the Tour Auto 2024, a classic road rally, also known as the Tour de France Automobile. The race uses France’s open roads and iconic race tracks, such as Le Mans, as its scenery. This year […] Visit Introducing: The Baltic × Tour Auto 2024 Tricompax - This Chronograph Is Ready For The Classic Road Rally to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Something we find ourselves saying a lot: these pictures don’t do justice to this watch. These pictures, by Kat Shoulders, are excellent, of course, but because they only capture a single moment in time, they miss an important element of drama in the dial of Grand Seiko’s new SBGC275. The new Spring Drive chronograph GMT has, at a glance, a pretty brilliant red dial. But thanks to a new process, the color changes, and I mean really changes, when it’s seen at an angle. It’s actually uncanny, and not merely the common experience we’ve all had of seeing the range in tone on a colorful dial as it’s seen in different lighting conditions. It makes a watch that would otherwise feel like “just another variant” something a little more substantial in the Grand Seiko catalog. Grand Seiko achieves the effect of a color-changing dial with something they call “Optical Multilayer Coating,” which is described by the brand as a physical vapor deposition process. This process results in Multiple layers of a nanoscale film adhering to the dial which allow for the shifts in how we perceive the color. From head on, it looks dark red. But if you start to tilt the dial a bit the tone becomes lighter, and will appear as orange as a Doxa Professional if you turn it just right. The moment where it noticeably changes is an incredibly cool thing and even harder to describe than it is to show in still images. It’s not really a gradual shift, like you’d expect. One second the ...
Fratello
Maybe it’s because I experienced Watches and Wonders from a distance this year, but I have the feeling there weren’t really any big showstoppers among all the novelties. However, that certainly doesn’t mean there weren’t any good releases. And who buys those showstoppers anyway? That’s why, for my list of favorites, I’ve chosen a trio […] Visit Fratello Favorites: Daan’s Favorite Watches And Wonders 2024 Releases By Cartier, Hermès, And Hublot to read the full article.
Fratello
It’s Sunday morning! To be more exact, it’s the Sunday of Watches and Wonders. It’s the last day of this year’s fair before it’s in the history books. With the Fratello team back home and the Genevan dust clouds starting to settle, it’s time for our first Sunday Morning Showdown featuring one of the novelties […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Tudor Black Bay Master Chronometer Vs. Rolex Submariner 124060 to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Why? Because we can.
Monochrome
Denis Flageollet, the founder of De Bethune, is renowned as a master watchmaker who has steered his reverence for ancestral horological craftsmanship into radically contemporary settings. Perhaps his credentials should also include ‘master alchemist’ because when Flageollet starts playing with fire in his workshop (which includes a blacksmith), the results are out-of-this-world spectacular. The latest […]
Quill & Pad
It is often said that it is easier to send a person to the Moon than to the ocean floor because of the extreme conditions found at great depths, such as no visibility and overwhelming pressure. However, in 1960 a wristwatch (Rolex “Deep Sea Special”) accompanied mankind to the deepest ocean floor even before it accompanied mankind to the Moon in 1969 (Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch).
Question, suggestion, or just want to say hi? Drop a note.