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Le Locle

The Swiss Jura town where Daniel Jeanrichard planted watchmaking c.1700. Home to Ulysse Nardin, Tissot, Zenith, TAG Heuer HQ.

Meet The New Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph And Defy Extreme Diver Fratello
Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph Apr 10, 2024

Meet The New Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph And Defy Extreme Diver

Well, well, well… What do we have here? A proper dedicated dive watch in the Zenith lineup, that’s what! The Le Locle-based brand hasn’t made one of these for decades, but it seems the team has pulled out all the stops with the Defy Extreme Diver. Alongside it comes the new (although somewhat predictable) Defy […] Visit Meet The New Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph And Defy Extreme Diver to read the full article.

Watches for Engineers and Scientists: A Brief History in Six Iconic Ti Teddy Baldassarre
Apr 5, 2024

Watches for Engineers and Scientists: A Brief History in Six Iconic Ti

Looking at the watch market as it exists today, one will notice that the most popular styles, even on the luxury end, have their roots in “tool watches” aimed at a particular audience of users: professional and recreational divers, pilots and aviation hobbyists, competitive racing drivers and motorsport enthusiasts, military operators and outdoorsy weekend warriors. Nearly all of these styles trace their origins back to the early to mid-20th Century - an era in which, around the same time, many watchmakers were developing another style of tool watch, one that we really don’t see as much anymore because so many of its elements have been absorbed into the mainstream, incorporated into sport watches and dress watches alike: a watch targeting engineers and scientists who plied their trade around magnetic fields. Here are six of the most important watches from this now-rare genre and a bit of historical information about what each of them contributed.  1930: Tissot Antimagnetique The need for a watch that could withstand the ill effects of magnetic fields was felt as early as the 1920s, when the use of electricity in homes as well as businesses became more widespread. One of the first watchmakers to respond was Tissot, founded in 1850 in the Swiss town of Le Locle. In 1930, Tissot released to the market the aptly named Antimagnetique, the first wristwatch with a magnetism-resistant movement. Tissot accomplished this feat by using the non-magnetic metal palladium for v...

Tissot PR516 Chronograph Review Teddy Baldassarre
Tissot Feb 27, 2024

Tissot PR516 Chronograph Review

Founded in 1853 in the Swiss Jura town of Le Locle, Tissot is today one of the largest Swiss watchmakers in the world, with a vast and diverse collection of timepieces, from dressy to sporty to high-tech, all offering one of the industry’s best value propositions across the board. Throughout its history, and starting as early as 1938, when a Tissot watch was used to time a series of Alpine ski races, Tissot has also been a watchmaker with close ties to sports - from tennis’s Davis Cup in 1957, to its close timing partnerships with bicycling and motorcycling championships from the 1980s to today, to its recent high-profile status as official timing partner of the NBA. And while Tissot is probably not the first brand that leaps to mind when you think of motorsports-inspired timepieces, it was indisputably one of the pioneers of that genre, a style most clearly and boldly expressed in the PR516 collection, a mainstay of the Tissot portfolio that has undergone a significant, vintage-inspired refresh in 2024.  Tissot’s association with motor racing, and the seed from which the original PR 516 (originally spelled with a space between letters and numerals, and later hyphenated) would spring, began with what was essentially a fan letter from a satisfied customer. In 1958, Tissot received a signed photograph from a Swiss racing driver named Harry Zweifel, which was accompanied by a note in German that read, “Meine Tissot ist an jedem Rennen dabei,” or “My Tissot is ...

Zenith Chronomaster Sport Guide Teddy Baldassarre
Zenith Feb 23, 2024

Zenith Chronomaster Sport Guide

When the Zenith Chronomaster Sport won the Chronograph Prize at the 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie Genève, the watch world’s most prestigious awards, it was emphatically something new and different: the first chronograph watch able to measure 1/10-second chronograph readings on its bezel scale. However, despite the fact that the Chronomaster Sport collection can still be considered “new” in a practical sense, its origins, both aesthetic and technical, can be traced back much further, all the way to some of the earliest horological milestones of Zenith, one of the Swiss watch world’s most honored and accomplished watchmakers and the inventor of the groundbreaking movement that animates all the Chronomaster models, including the Sport. I spoke with Zenith’s Head of Heritage, Laurence Bodenmann, to help trace the evolution of the Chronomaster Sport and its strong ties to several noteworthy models of the past.    Zenith traces its impactful watchmaking history all the way back to 1865, and an ambitious 22-year-old watchmaker named George Favre-Jacot. A contemporary of the influential Swiss artist and designer Le Corbusier, a pioneer of avant-garde architecture, Favre-Jacot adopted a similarly modernist approach to watchmaking when he founded his atelier in Le Locle in the Swiss Jura. Taking cues from American watch firms like Waltham and Elgin, which had found success by introducing mass production into the traditionally artisanal trade, Georges Favre-Jacot & Co.,...

First Look – The New Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar Monochrome
Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar Jan 29, 2024

First Look – The New Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar

Zenith once again demonstrates its mastery of blending a contemporary collection with historically inspired timepieces, and the latest addition, the Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar, is poised to receive well-deserved acclaim. In an impressive feat, the Le Locle-based manufacture introduces six new references, showcasing the beloved calendar complication alongside the high-frequency chronograph – a combination not […]

Oris Watches Review: The Independent Brand's History and Modern Milest Teddy Baldassarre
Oris Oct 18, 2023

Oris Watches Review: The Independent Brand's History and Modern Milest

Oris started out as a maker of mechanical watches - first for the waistcoat, then for the wrist - in 1904. After a long period of growth in the first half of the 20th Century, the Swiss company underwent a series of ownership and management changes that threatened to forever change its direction and sacrifice its independence. Successfully steering its way through the storms of those Quartz Crisis years, Oris emerged stronger, now a staple for value-conscious enthusiasts of Swiss-made watches. Its modern pillars, like the Big Crown Pointer Date, which traces its existence all the way back to the 1930s; the Aquis family of sporty diver’s watches; and the vintage-influenced Diver Sixty-Five, have all helped to build the brand’s modern identity. In this comprehensive guide to Oris Watches, I explore the brand’s inspiring history, its significant watchmaking milestones, and the standouts from its modern collection. Foundations to Growth Oris, one of the watch world’s few remaining major independent brands, traces its history back to 1904, when it was founded in Hölstein, in the German-speaking Swiss canton of Basel-Landschaft, by Paul Cattin and Georges Christian. Cattin and Christian, both natives of the Swiss watchmaking town Le Locle, purchased the recently closed Lohner & Co. watch factory as the base of their new company, which the co-founders named “Oris,” after the Orisbach tributary, a brook near the factory. Initially, the company made pocket watches ...

Zenith Watches: A Brief History and Overview of the Modern Collection Teddy Baldassarre
Zenith Oct 13, 2023

Zenith Watches: A Brief History and Overview of the Modern Collection

Zenith SA, a Swiss watchmaker that traces its roots all the way back to 1865, is best known these days for its historic and hugely influential El Primero chronograph caliber, but the company can lay claim to many other horological milestones and accolades as well, some of which might be somewhat less than common knowledge. Did you know, for example, that Zenith has won more chronometry awards than any other watch brand? Or that it was once owned by an electronics company of the same name? Or that it is the only brand that’s allowed to put “Pilot” on a pilot’s watch dial? In this in-depth feature, I explore these and other aspects of Zenith’s fascinating history and also offer a primer on the manufacture’s modern watch collections. Georges-Favre-Jacot and Historic Integration Watchmaker Georges Favre-Jacot (above) was a mere 22 years of age when he founded the atelier that would become Zenith in Le Locle, Switzerland in 1865. Favre-Jacot, a contemporary of Swiss modern architecture pioneer Le Corbusier, embraced a similarly modern approach to making watches, taking his cues from the American firms Waltham and Elgin, which had found success by introducing mass production into the traditionally artisanal business. His company, originally called Georges Favre-Jacot & Co., was the first Swiss watch producer to bring the various disciplines of horology under one roof - as opposed to the more common établissage system that most watchmakers used at the time, which h...

21 Best Tissot Watches for Men, from Under $600 to $2,000 Teddy Baldassarre
Tissot Aug 20, 2023

21 Best Tissot Watches for Men, from Under $600 to $2,000

Founded in 1853 by the father-son team of Charles-Félicien and Charles-Émile Tissot in the Swiss Jura town of Le Locle, Tissot is today one of the largest Swiss watchmakers in the world, with a versatile and varied collection of timepieces for men and women, from dressy to sporty to high-tech, all offering one of the industry’s best value propositions across the board (every watch we showcase here comes in under $2,000). With such a breadth of options, it's difficult to compile a list of the standouts, but for this (admittedly very subjective) compilation of the 21 best Tissot watches we strove to include just about all of Tissot's major collections, with an emphasis on men's watches with mechanical movements, particularly spotlighting the variations on the proprietary Powermatic Caliber 80. (For those who find themselves enthralled by one or more particular models on this list, most are available right here at TeddyBaldassarre.com; just follow the shopping links.) TISSOT SEASTAR Seastar 2000 Professional Powermatic 80 Price: $1,075, Case size: 46mm, Thickness: 16.3mm, Lug Width: 22mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 600 meters, Movement: Automatic Powermatic 80.111 Tissot's ruggedly attractive Seastar family of dive watches, which debuted in the 1960s, welcomed its most robustly engineered member in 2021. The ISO-certified Seastar 2000 entices deep-sea enthusiasts with its integrated helium release valve at 9 o’clock, unidirectional dive-scale bezel with en...

Doxa Sub Review: The Iconic Dive Watch You Should Know More About Teddy Baldassarre
Doxa Aug 4, 2023

Doxa Sub Review: The Iconic Dive Watch You Should Know More About

If you're seriously into dive watches, you probably know that the Doxa SUB is one of the most important and influential members of that popular genre, but if your interest in underwater timepieces and their history is more casual, you may not be aware of Doxa's unique spot in that pantheon of pioneers that includes household names like the Rolex Submariner, Omega Seamaster, and Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Here is a brief history of the Doxa SUB and a rundown of where the watch renowned for bringing orange dials to the watch world stands today.  Bound for Glory Doxa founder Georges Ducommon, a native of the Swiss Jura town of Le Locle and one of his family’s 13 children, came to watchmaking early in life. He began an apprenticeship with an established local watchmaker in 1880, and within less than a decade had developed the skills, creativity, and resolute confidence to start his own business. He founded Doxa in 1889, naming it after a Greek word meaning “glory,” a bold harbinger of the successful future Ducommon envisioned for his brand. That success came in fairly short order, with Doxa pocket watches winning accolades at World’s Fairs in Belgium, in 1905, and in Italy, in 1906. With automobile racing becoming a popular pursuit in the early part of the 20th century, Ducommon filed a patent in 1907 for a caliber with an eight-day power reserve, which became standard equipment in the dashboard clocks of Bugatti race cars. After Georges Ducommon’s death in 1936, Do...

Ulysse Nardin Review: A Complete Guide to the King of Marine Chronomet Teddy Baldassarre
Ulysse Nardin Aug 2, 2023

Ulysse Nardin Review: A Complete Guide to the King of Marine Chronomet

Since its founding in 1846, Ulysse Nardin has long been regarded as the standard bearer of nautical timekeeping, a historic watchmaking maison whose very name conjures up romantic images of seagoing adventure and oceanic exploration. However, here in the 21st century, Ulysse Nardin is also known in watch connoisseur circles as one of the most technically innovative and boldly experimental watchmakers on the scene, beginning with the bombshell introduction of the Freak in 2001. How did this intriguing brand achieve both these distinctions and how does it continue to pile up accolades in the modern era? Read on for a complete guide to the history, evolution, and diverse timepiece portfolio of today’s Ulysse Nardin. Foundations in Chronometry Like many inhabitants of Switzerland’s Jura Mountain region in the 18th and 19th centuries, Léonard-Frédéric Nardin took up the trade of watchmaking largely out of economic necessity, to supplement his family’s farming income during the cold, snowbound winter months. He passed that horological savoir faire on to his son, Ulysse, who proved to be an apt pupil and honed his own horological skills further under the tutelage of two of the region’s most talented and revered watchmakers, Frederic-William Dubois and Louis JeanRichard-dit-Bressel. In 1846, at the young age of 23, Ulysse Nardin (above) established his own watchmaking workshop in his hometown of Le Locle, where the eponymous company is still headquartered today. Ulysse ...

Inside Tudor Manufacture: The Pursuit of Mechanical and Industrial Perfection SJX Watches
Tudor Manufacture May 1, 2023

Inside Tudor Manufacture: The Pursuit of Mechanical and Industrial Perfection

Tudor, in my estimation, makes watches that are the best value in the under-US$5,000 price segment. In fact, the brand arguably offers the best value proposition in most price segments, simply because its watches have specs, features, and quality that are unrivalled, even at several steps up the price ladder. The brand’s value proposition began in 2015 when Tudor launched its first in-house movement inside the unloved North Flag. But the compelling nature of its watches notwithstanding, Tudor has long suffered from being perceived as a “lesser” Rolex. In fairness, that was probably an apt description of the brand up until the mid 2000s when Tudor began its gradual but determined evolution into an independent brand. The most tangible testament to Tudor’s success as its own brand came online last year, when the Tudor manufacture in Le Locle began operations. The manufacture is the first time ever that Tudor has its own factory. Historically the brand relied on Rolex cases and outsourced movements, and operated from several floors inside the Rolex campus in Geneva. Now Tudor boasts an impressive, no-expense-spared facility that spans a generous 10,642 m2 (about 114,000 ft2), with half of that being workspace, a scale that easily allows for an annual production of up to the mid-six figures. With a roof covered in solar panels and a foundation that stretches deep into the bedrock of the Swiss Jura, the manufacture is a monument to high-quality, affordable watchmaking. ...

Tudor Opens the Doors of its New Manufacture and We Got to Step Inside Worn & Wound
Tudor Opens Apr 13, 2023

Tudor Opens the Doors of its New Manufacture and We Got to Step Inside

Tudor’s recent road is a case study on how to properly revive, or reintroduce a brand to the world. Just in the last 10ish years, we’ve watched them go from a vintage fascination but a contemporary obscurity to one of the leading modern Swiss watch brands. A brand that went from unavailable in the US, to globally reinvigorating and dominating the $3-5k price point. And now, in 2023, they’ve marked another milestone, the opening of their new assembling and testing facility in Le Locle. A massive structure, it houses in a split building with entrances on either side, Tudor and the movement manufacturer they created, Kenissi. Standing on 330, 30-meter tall concrete pillars to reach sturdy bedrock below, the building is 150-meters long, 30-meters high, and consists of 8,050 cubic meters of concrete and 960 tons of metal framing. State of the art in many ways, the project took five years from start to finish, including three for construction, with some transitions and new operations finishing in April of 2023. Airey, with large, automatically tinting glass windows and an intentionally industrial interior veneer, the structure spoke to mid-century architecture, if completed and outfitted with the newest technologies one can expect in a watch-making facility. In many ways, the building suits the products that Tudor currently makes, watches with vintage aesthetic cues, but firmly up-to-date construction. Watches that despite certainly qualifying as luxury timepieces, avoid t...

Tissot Chemin des Tourelles Hands on Review WatchAdvice
Tissot Chemin des Tourelles Hands Apr 11, 2023

Tissot Chemin des Tourelles Hands on Review

Early March – Tissot released its new look line up of a revived model line, the Chemin des Tourelles, named after the location of the brands first headquarters in Le Locle. I had the pleasure of going hands on with several of its key pieces, and in particular the 39 mm version, with sunburst blue dial and brown leather strap. What we like Beautifully finished deep blue sunburst dialCase wears comfortably on the wristSmart, classic design What we don’t like Crystal reflects the light a lot, detracting from the dialClasp isn’t as sturdy as you would expectMovement could be finished better with the see-through case back Overall rating: 7.125/10 Value for money: 7/10 Wearability: 7/10 Design: 8/10 Build quality: 6.5/10 Now I should start out by stating that this watch retails for AUD $1,175, which by many people’s standard in the crazy world of watches we live in, could be considered quite cheap. However, this is a great entry level price point for a Swiss watch, and as such, I’m reviewing it with this in mind, and to be honest, I’ve worn plenty of watched that are 3x or more in price that are probably on par if not a little less appealing or well built! So, here we go… Tissot holds a fond place in my heart. It was the first ever Swiss watch I bought. I had my first ever job in Sydney, and even though I wasn’t earning much, being a junior sales co-ordinator at a major radio network, I wanted to reward myself. So one lunch time I went to one of the local watch d...

Visiting Torsti Laine, Independent Finnish Watchmaker In Switzerland, And His Festival Of Color – Reprise Quill & Pad
Breguet style – Feb 21, 2023

Visiting Torsti Laine, Independent Finnish Watchmaker In Switzerland, And His Festival Of Color – Reprise

Finnish independent watchmaker Torsti Laine’s timepieces feature strong individualization, bespoke designs, “dream color” dials, movements, colors, guilloché, lovely hands, and applied numerals – especially Breguet style – in any shape or language. Avid Quill & Pad reader Thomas Brechtel visited Laine in his workshop in Le Locle, Switzerland, and shares what he learned there with us right here.

Zenith Defy Watch Guide Teddy Baldassarre
Zenith Jan 21, 2023

Zenith Defy Watch Guide

Swiss watch manufacture Zenith traces its roots to 1865, when it was founded in the village of Le Locle by precocious 22-year-old watchmaker Georges Favre-Jacot. As one of the first watchmaking maisons to integrate all aspects of the watchmaking process under one roof, from case manufacturing to movement production to final casing and assembly, Zenith has long prided itself on its quest for timekeeping precision. The company has earned a record number of chronometry prizes over the years, and its most influential contribution to watchmaking history is its El Primero chronograph caliber, released in 1969. (Learn more about El Primero here.) In that same pivotal year, Zenith also released an avant-garde wristwatch series called Defy, whose bold, edgy design proved to be ahead of its time, and found its expression in the now-legendary Ref. A3642.  The Original Defy (1969) That watch was nicknamed the “coffre-fort,” a French term translating to “bank vault” or “safe,” a reference to its robustly angular, octagonal case, 14-sided bezel, and high-for-the-time water resistance of 300 meters, secured by its crown, caseback, and mineral crystal, all of which screwed securely into the case. Its “ladder-style” bracelet from legendary chainmaker Gay Frères also made the original reference notable. The Defy was positioned as Zenith’s toughest watch, featured in an advertisement in which six of the watches were strapped to the spokes of a motorcycle in a speed test a...

Zenith El Primero Guide Teddy Baldassarre
Zenith Jan 20, 2023

Zenith El Primero Guide

The Zenith El Primero, found today in watches throughout Zenith’s collection, from the Chronomaster to the Defy to the Pilot, is arguably the watch world’s most famous movement - more widely known, in fact, than some of the watch models to whom it has given life during its half-century-plus of existence. The reasons for its renown are several, from the technical revolution it represented at its origin to the legendary role it played in the post-Quartz Crisis revival of the mechanical watch. Here we examine what made the El Primero so special in the first place and introduce you to some modern watches that demonstrate how it is still evolving and improving in the 21st century. A FOUNDATION OF PRECISION Watchmaker Georges Favre-Jacot was a mere 22 years of age when he founded the atelier that would become Zenith in Le Locle, Switzerland in 1865. Favre-Jacot, a contemporary of Swiss modern architecture pioneer le Corbusier, took his own pioneering approach to making watches, becoming one of the first to bring the various horological disciplines under one roof as opposed to the more common établissage system that most watchmakers used at the time, which had different parts made in different small workshops before being delivered to another workshop for assembly into a finished watch, Georges Favre-Jacot & co. became Zenith in 1911, the company taking its new name from a top-of-the-line movement it created that won a Grand Prix for precision at the 1900 Paris World’s F...

Zodiac Watches: A Comprehensive History and Guide to the Modern Collec Teddy Baldassarre
Zodiac Aug 3, 2022

Zodiac Watches: A Comprehensive History and Guide to the Modern Collec

If you’ve only recently discovered Zodiac watches - a strong likelihood, as its most well-known and popular model, the Super Sea Wolf, has only been back on the market since 2015 - you may be surprised to learn that Zodiac traces its watchmaking history all the way back to 1882, and that it launched the first Sea Wolf dive watch back in 1953, placing it in the same historical company as other pioneering dive watches debuting in that seminal year, like the much more heralded Rolex Submariner and Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Today the most prestigious and historical watch brand within the huge, Texas-based Fossil Group, Zodiac continues its longstanding tradition of offering distinctively styled Swiss Made watches at accessible prices, with some of the most popular models reviving its milestone designs from the mid-20th Century. THE BEGINNINGS Second-generation watchmaker Ariste Calame founded the workshop that would grow into the Zodiac watch company in 1882 in Le Locle, in Switzerand’s Jura Mountains. The first timepieces Calame made there were originally branded under his own name. In 1895, the founder’s son Louis Ariste Calame, who had also trained as a watchmaker, took over the business at the age of 20 and registered the name “Zodiac” in 1908, applying it to the innovative flat pocket watches, called Zodiac Triumph, which the company began producing in 1924, equipped with the in-house Caliber 1617 (below, via Watchuseek). In the wake of World War I, however, ...

Auction Watch: Zenith Chronomaster Revival “Poker Chip” on Loupe This [Updated with Result] SJX Watches
Zenith Chronomaster Revival “Poker Chip” Mar 13, 2022

Auction Watch: Zenith Chronomaster Revival “Poker Chip” on Loupe This [Updated with Result]

A limited edition launched at the end of 2021, the Zenith Chronometer Revival “Poker Chip” was the result of a collaboration between our founder and the watchmakers in Le Locle. One of them just popped up for sale at online auctioneer Loupe This – the first example to go under the hammer. The 200 pieces sold out at launch, making this a perfect opportunity for anyone who missed out last year. If the funky dial appears familiar, that’s because the Poker Chip reimagines the G383, one of the standout designs from the first references of the El Primero. While the G383 had a lavish, gold-on-black palette, the Poker Chip is entirely contemporary. Its dial is generously “lumed” – even the strap glows in the dark – bringing it to life at night, with the aesthetic alluding to the disco era of 1960s and 1970s when the G383 was born. [Update March 17, 2022: The Poker Chip sold for US$16,500 including fees on Loupe This.] The case is a micro-blasted titanium coated in DLC, which complements the military-esque dial. Notably the Poker Chip was the first – and remains the only – classic, 38 mm El Primero with a titanium case. Continuing the blend of new and old, the movement is the original El Primero 400 that’s almost identical to the 1969 original. As it is being phased out, this movement was chosen instead of the latest-generation El Primero 3600 (which has a lightning seconds), making the Poker Chip one of the last watches with the landmark calibre. Accompani...

Yosuke Sekiguchi Debuts with the Primevère Wristwatch SJX Watches
Mar 6, 2022

Yosuke Sekiguchi Debuts with the Primevère Wristwatch

The latest watchmaker to strike out on his own as a one-man operation is Yosuke Sekiguchi, a Japanese watchmaker who has spent his entire career in Switzerland. Based in Le Locle, Mr Sekiguchi spent several years at well-known complications specialists before starting on his namesake brand. His debut watch is the Primevère, a wristwatch that is uncompromising in its adherence to tradition, both in style and substance. Powered by a finely finished movement, the Primevère was inspired by the 19th century “Le Locle” style ebauche that LeCoultre supplied to several brands, most notably Jules Jurgensen. In fact, Mr Sekiguchi modelled the Primevère on an 1871 Jurgensen pocket watch that he restored and then re-cased into a wristwatch. Initial thoughts Mr Sekiguchi is one of several Japanese watchmakers working in Switzerland. Like a few of his compatriots, Mr Sekiguchi’s background is in complications and restoration. His reverence for high-quality Vallee de Joux movements of the 19th century is equally obvious in the eminently traditional layout of the movement. Mr Sekiguchi has done such a good job of recreating the original that the movement is difficult to distinguish from a 19th century calibre in both aesthetics and finishing at a distance. But up close the Mr Sekiguchi’s movement reveals a higher level of finishing and decorative extras than a 19th century original, which were often robust and workmanlike – the very qualities that drew Mr Sekiguchi to the...

5 Mido watches to buy in the T+T Shop right now Time+Tide
Mido Jun 4, 2021

5 Mido watches to buy in the T+T Shop right now

Founded more than a century ago, Mido is a brand that has some serious history behind it. From producing watches for the founder of Bugatti, to making some of the earliest functional dive watches, Mido still remains under the radar of some enthusiasts. In recent years, the Le Locle-founded watchmaker has carved out a niche … ContinuedThe post 5 Mido watches to buy in the T+T Shop right now appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Montblanc Introduces the Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Flying Tourbillon Apr 15, 2021

Montblanc Introduces the Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon

One of the most interesting new releases from Montblanc at Watches & Wonders 2021 is the Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon, a technically impressive movement fused with a sparkly aventurine-glass dial. It’s equipped with a larger-than-usual balance wheel positioned above the dial, seemingly suspended but actually part of the tourbillon regulator. Initial thoughts Introduced at SIHH 2018, the Suspended Exo Tourbillon movement was most recently seen in an open-worked variant unveiled last year. Despite not being new in terms of mechanics, the new Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon is different enough from its predecessors – and still powered by the same fine movement. Very much living up to the Star Legacy model name, the aventurine-glass is restrained and modern, especially when combined with the white gold case, giving it a different look from the earlier models that were in rose gold. Typical of Montblanc’s higher-end watches made at the former Minerva manufacture in Villeret – as opposed to its more affordable timepieces, manufactured at the main facility in Le Locle – the Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon is remarkably well-finished. Worlds apart from Montblanc’s entry-level tourbillon in terms of movement decoration, the movement is also more traditionally finished than comparably priced alternatives such as the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Flying Tourbillon. However, because the movement was derived from the pocket watch calibres developed by M...

Watchmaking: How the Art of Precision Regulation Became a Science SJX Watches
Ulysse Nardin Oct 14, 2020

Watchmaking: How the Art of Precision Regulation Became a Science

They were once the horological elite, credited with magical powers. The precision timers who tuned the watches for the observatory trials in the 1960s and 1970s are now a dwindling band in the twilight of their lives. In those days, when mechanical precision rather than mechanical complication determined the value of a watch, precision timing was a post-graduate discipline that took a lifetime to master. Before he died last October in his 90th year, one old timer, François Mercier of Le Locle, described what he had to do to win prizes for his employers, initially Ulysse Nardin and then the hairspring spring manufacturer Spiraux Réunis. First, he had to identify the most faultless spring, calculate and shape the terminal curve, pin it up to the staff of a previously poised balance wheel. Then he would shift balance screws by hundredths of a millimetre, adjust forces and inertia in micrograms, to move a fraction of a second closer to the unattainable goal of a true and constant time. An overcoil hairspring in a contemporary Voutilainen Vingt-8 Temperature compensation  The biggest challenge was to compensate for the effects of temperature changes on the steel alloy springs of old. As the temperature rose, the spring would lose its elasticity and beat more slowly. Such springs needed a compensation balance made of two metals each having a different coefficient of expansion. Rising temperatures would cause the cut ends of the balance rim to curl inwards, thereby increasing...

The Ulysse Nardin Blast is an explosive ode to the hottest jet ever created Time+Tide
Ulysse Nardin Blast Aug 24, 2020

The Ulysse Nardin Blast is an explosive ode to the hottest jet ever created

Since time immemorial, Ulysse Nardin has been renowned in the maritime world for their marine chronometers and nautically themed, complicated wristwatches. In fact, for the latter part of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the Le Locle watchmaker created bespoke timekeeping devices for the navies of over 50 different countries. … ContinuedThe post The Ulysse Nardin Blast is an explosive ode to the hottest jet ever created appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.