Teddy Baldassarre
Which Brands Make The Best High-Accuracy Quartz Watches?
These five watchmakers occupy the upper echelon of high-tech timekeeping efficiency.More
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Teddy Baldassarre
These five watchmakers occupy the upper echelon of high-tech timekeeping efficiency.More
Two Broke Watch Snobs
I've come close to pulling the trigger on a few of Citizen's higher-end Eco-Drive watches over the years, and each time I talked myself out of it. Not because the watches weren't impressive, but because the right one never quite lined up with the moment. Now, Citizen is making the decision a little harder. The brand has just announced "The Citizen" Eco-Drive 50th Anniversary Edition (ref. AQ4091-56W), marking five decades since it introduced the first solar-powered analogue watch back in 1976.
SJX Watches
Watches & Wonders is less than a month away, so for episode 32 of the SJX Podcast we’re talking about what we’d want to see from some of the major brands like Patek Philippe, Grand Seiko, and Tudor. It’s always difficult to make predictions, and the best releases from every year are usually a surprise, but Andrew put together a few picks that we believe would be crowd-pleasers, were they to be released. SJX and Brandon also discuss the latest minute repeater from Girard-Perregaux, and SJX’s own sold-out collaboration with Habring²: the Chrono-Felix Medicus chronograph. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Revolution
Deployant
We visited the manufacture F.P.Journe and bring you some insights on the maison and how their watches are made.
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Hodinkee
Imagining watches as our father figures, and our father figures as watches.
Quill & Pad
Ask any watchmaker about the Rolex 31 family of calibers and the story will be the same: it has stood the test of time. Ashton Tracy hasn’t met a single watchmaker who doesn’t love working on these workhorse Rolex movements. They are easy to service, keep great time, and stand up to abuse. Put simply: they work. So how does it stand up to big brother, Find out right here!
Hodinkee
From the ref. 1675 GMT "Batman" to a 36mm Sky-Dweller, hop in the Hodinkee time machine (aka Photoshop) because this is a fun one.
Quill & Pad
Ask any watchmaker about the Rolex 31 family of calibers and the story will be the same: it has stood the test of time. Ashton Tracy hasn’t met a single watchmaker who doesn’t love working on these workhorse Rolex movements. They are easy to service, keep great time, and stand up to abuse. Put simply: they work. So how does it stand up to big brother, Caliber 3235? Find out right here!
Hodinkee
There's more to life than steel sport watches.
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Two Broke Watch Snobs
For under $300 is Scurfa Watches the full package? Get all the facts, details, and unique photos you need to make the best choice right here!
Deployant
Six Independent Watchmakers who you may not know: Ch. Frodsham, McGonigle, Petermann-Bédat, Sylvian Pinaud, Tulloch and James C. Pellaton.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Kaz and Mike celebrate 2 years of TBWS and share a handful of watches they hope to see discounted during the wave of Black Friday sales. What do you have your eye on this year? Be sure to share the watches you're hoping to hunt down this holiday season.
Deployant
The Chief Editor makes his picks from the crop of Baselworld 2018 watches. All likely to cause heart palpitations from your bank manager. Selection from Rolex, Grand Seiko, Andreas Strehler, H. Moser and Patek Philippe.
Revolution
Suzanne’s note to Santa isn’t just a list of watches, but a list of watches in very specific case/strap/dial combinations. Rudolph had better be good at helping take quick notes; just ONE day to Christmas now!
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Worn & Wound
Well, here we go again. Just a few weeks after the launch of the Swatch x Omega Mission to Moonphase, which saw Snoopy appearing on a pure white MoonSwatch, we’ve got an entirely new creation featuring our beagle friend. By entirely new of course what I really mean is: another color. The Mission to Moonphase New Moon is an all black rendering of the Mission to Moonphase concept. Swatch has been teasing this release over the past several days on social media, so it’s not exactly a surprise, unless you think about the very existence of these watches in the first place, and the conversation that develops around them whenever a new one drops, which is, on its face, surprising. The new Mission to Moonphase New Moon arrives just before April’s new moon, which is also the date of the total solar eclipse that will be visible to millions of Americans in the eastern part of the country (and many more will see a partial eclipse, which is still quite a thing). One wonders why Omega and Swatch didn’t come up with an eclipse themed watch for the occasion. There are all kinds of ways to play with the idea of blotting out the sun. A Bioceramic rendition of the sun’s corona could have been a pretty cool thing. I shouldn’t say “could have been,” of course. It could well be in the works. Quantum physics has proven that if enough time passes, every possible rendition of the MoonSwatch will eventually come to fruition. Back to the Mission to Moonphase at hand. The New Moon re...
SJX Watches
Swatch and Omega are once again dropping another collaboration that is bound to be a hit, the MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase. Inspired by the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch “Snoopy”, the new MoonSwatch features a moon phase along with an all-white Bioceramic case and matching white strap. Snoopy resides on the moon phase display at two o’clock, which features a hidden quote printed in Super-Luminova, “I can’t sleep without a night light!”, that is invisible except in the dark or when exposed to UV light. The Mission to the Moonphase is not a limited edition and instead part of the permanent collection. Initial thoughts Although the MoonSwatch has been a massive hit in terms of units sold – the total sold to date is in the low millions – recent iterations of the model haven’t been particularly exciting, with most of them simply having the addition of a gold-plated seconds hand. With the MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase, however, Swatch is bringing something more interesting to the table. While it certainly isn’t imaginative, the appeal of the watch is obvious. For one, it builds on the capitalises on the desirability of the actual Speedmaster “Snoopy”. At the same time, the all-white livery sets it apart from the other MoonSwatch iterations. Like the other versions of the MoonSwatch, the new Snoopy edition offers decent value at US$310. It is inexpensive, though it does feel inexpensive since the case is essentially plastic mixed with ceramic. B...
Monochrome
A few months ago, Swatch and Blancpain introduced the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms. Yup, quite a mouthful. It’s effectively the follow-up of the Moonswatch, which can be seen as Swatch’s take on the Omega Speedmaster. We didn’t cover it on MONOCHROME for obvious reasons (it’s a quartz watch…) despite being a huge […]
Worn & Wound
I am an unabashed fan of Swatch. I’ve always loved Swatch watches, and as I’ve gotten deeper and deeper into the hobby over the years, my appreciation for them has only grown. They occupy a position that only a few other brands can claim, which is that they’re both an entry point into the hobby, and an arena for very serious collecting. Seriously, Swatch collecting is almost a separate category from watch collecting entirely, and requires a completely different base of knowledge, and, often, an appreciation for things that more mainstream collectors don’t often think about (like packaging, to name just one example). Swatch has been on something of a roll lately in my opinion, releasing a slew of watches that are genuinely interesting and visually striking, and sometimes paying homage to the brand’s early days in unexpected ways. One of my favorite pastimes around here is calling out the great things Swatch does besides the neverending collaborations with their luxury group siblings (it’s no secret that I’m not the biggest fan of the MoonSwatch and new Blancpain collabs), and a recent release, a collaboration of a different sort, caught my eye. Yes, Swatch has a new watch featuring classic iconography from The Simpsons, one of the most omnipresent pieces of pop culture in our lives over the last three decades. It’s a perfectly cromulent watch if there ever was one. The Seconds of Sweetness watch uses Homer’s famous pink donut as a motif, with ever pres...
Time+Tide
A couple of weeks ago, T+T reported how Swatch were suing the Malaysian government after it seized 172 of their watches from stores. The reason for the seizure? The watches, which come in either rainbow colours or a single colour with a rainbow trim, were released in support of Pride, the movement that promotes the … ContinuedThe post Wear this Pride-themed Swatch in Malaysia and you face a three-year jail term appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Time+Tide
Editor’s Note: Watches & Wonders means a bombardment of fresh releases, so we’re offering a quick overview of each brand’s new novelties – touching on each new reference or collection and their headlining points. Stay tuned throughout the week for deeper coverage, some of which will include live pics and our hands-on perspective. But for … ContinuedThe post WATCHES & WONDERS: Hublot hit a purple patch and release a brand new case shape appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
William Wood is known for their well built and accessibly priced timepieces, all of which are inspired by fire rescue and the brave people who put their lives on the line every day. We’ve covered the full backstory of the brand and its name before, but just to recap: William Wood was the name of … ContinuedThe post MICRO MONDAYS: The William Wood Triumph collection is a set of chronographs ready to catch fire appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Swiss watchmaking conglomerate Swatch Group just announced its half-year 2020 results and unsurprisingly, it took a huge hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the group, which owns brands like Omega and Longines, had a good start in January with an operating margin of 17.3% – with the watch and jewellery brands performing a bit better than movement- and component-production division – the lockdown progressively imposed across the world since February severely impacted sales, leading to a steep declines in revenue and half-year operating loss, a first for the group. Group sales for the first half plunged 43.4% at constant exchange rates from a year earlier, resulting in an operating loss of CHF327m, compared to a profit of CHF547m for the same period in 2019. Most of the drop in sales was attributed to the lockdowns in most countries, resulting in widespread store closures. The Swatch Group saw up to 80% of both its own boutiques and third-party retailers close, meaning it had to rely on partially “partially feasible” e-commerce. And even after lockdowns were lifted, the group permanently vacated some of its retail space, as evidenced by disputes with its former landlord in Hong Kong, which has sued the Swatch Group for several million in allegedly unpaid rent. Due to its swiftly-streamlining retail network, the group’s employee count was trimmed by 6.5% since December 2019 to approximately 33,700 employees. This was also confirmed by anecdotal evidence fro...
SJX Watches
Hong Kong’s political unrest has resulted in the first fall in annual profits at the Swatch Group since 2018. The world’s biggest watchmaking group, which owns brands like Omega and Longines, just announced its 2019 results, showing declines in both sales and profits. Net profit fell 13.7%, while sales declined 1.8% at constant exchange rates, or 2.7% at current rates, to 8.24 billion francs. The drops in profit and sales were primarily due to a drastic contraction of its business in Hong Kong – a city with a population of just 7.4 million – where Swatch Group owns over 90 retail stores, largely catering to shoppers from the China. Sales in Hong Kong for the second half of 2019 fell by 200 million francs. While Hong Kong was the key driver of the decline, it was not the only one. The luxury watch business in general is suffering from anaemic growth, which is also evidenced by the watch division results at diversified luxury groups like LVMH and Kering. On a more positive note, Swatch Group has managed to fulfil its stated aims of reducing operating expenditure and thinning inventory. Operating expenses dipped about 6%, while operating cash flow rose 30% in 2019. And after several consecutive years of growth, the group’s inventories declined by 1% in 2019, to a still-substantial 6.85 billion francs at cost. It’ll be a slow 2020… With Swatch Group predicting the situation in Hong Kong will continue to be “challenging” in 2020, it is in a weaker positio...
SJX Watches
One of the iconic Swatch watches from its 1980s heyday was the Jelly Fish (ref. GZ010), which was unveiled in 1983, the same year Swatch itself was launched. A quartz movement entirely exposed in a clear plastic case – accented with brightly coloured hands – the Jelly Fish was a bestseller that encapsulated what Swatch was all about: no-frills but fun watchmaking. The Jelly Fish remained in production, in one form or another – there was even a COSC-certified chronometer limited edition (GK124) in 1990 – for over two decades. Now the spirit of the Jelly Fish returns as the Big Bold Jelly, essentially the same idea but in a larger watch case. The Big Bold Jelly features a quartz movement inside a Big Bold case, just like the recent limited editions created in collaboration with fashion label A Bathing Ape (BAPE). The case is a large 47mm in diameter, with the crown unusually positioned at two o’clock. But just as with the original Jelly Fish, the case is clear plastic, while the band is translucent silicone. And the hands are rendered in bright colours – red, yellow and blue – with a bit more colour provided by the gilded wheels within the movement. Key facts and price Big Bold Jelly Ref. SO27E100 Diameter: 47mm Height: 11.75mm Material: Clear plastic Water resistance: 30m Movement: Quartz Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds Strap: Silicone with aluminium pin buckle Availability: At Swatch stores Price: US$110 For more information, visit Swatch.co...
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