934 articles · 66 videos found · page 3 of 34
Fratello
The history of a watch can be vital for its ongoing success. But while Doxa’s Sub 300 had a storied past, the brand did not survive the Quartz Crisis. Thankfully, in recent years, under the stewardship of the Jenny family, Doxa has been going from strength to strength. It is time that we had a […] Visit Why The Doxa Sub 300 Is A Watch Icon Worth Your Time to read the full article.
Monochrome
About as esoteric as they come, the Benthos 500 was a chunky scuba diving watch released by Aquastar back in the late 1960s, before the brand became one of the many casualties of the quartz crisis. I won’t get into too much history of the brand as it has already been covered at length. When […]
Teddy Baldassarre
The TAG Heuer Carrera is widely regarded as one of the OGs of racing-inspired chronograph wristwatches, and today - decades after both the model and the deadly road race that gave it its name appeared to have been permanently discontinued - it claims a spot atop the leaderboard in the Swiss watchmaker's modern collection. Here's how the Carrera raced to worldwide acclaim, upgraded its engines along the way, and roared back from the Quartz Crisis to engage and energize a new generation of watch enthusiasts. The company we now know as TAG Heuer traces its history to 1860 and its founder Edouard Heuer; “TAG” would be added to the family business’s name in 1985, when the Techniques d’Avant Garde (TAG) Group obtained a majority share. From its beginnings, the company placed an emphasis on sports timing and on optimizing the precision of the hand-held and dashboard-mounted chronograph timepieces that were its specialty. Edouard Heuer’s most significant contribution to timekeeping was the oscillating pinion, patented in 1887. This device, which simplified the construction of chronograph calibers by decoupling the stopwatch mechanism from the timekeeping function, is still used commonly in movements today. In 1911, Heuer developed what is regarded as the first dashboard chronograph for cars and aircraft, the “Time of Trip,” and in 1914 released its first wrist-mounted chronograph (which, like many of its contemporaries, was a repurposed pocket watch with its sin...
SJX Watches
Already collaborators on several projects, Dominique Renaud, one of the founders of Renaud & Papi, and Julien Tixier, a young watchmaker and constructor, have established Renaud Tixier, a brand backed by investors. The inaugural creation of Renaud Tixier is Monday, a time-only watch with an automatic movement sporting a novel micro-rotor. Conceived to realise Mr Renaud’s many concepts and inventions, Renaud Tixier also aims to blend the styles of the two watchmakers. Each of the namesake founders comes from a different generation of watchmaking – pre- and post-Quartz Crisis – but the duo enjoy a shared philosophy that have made their past projects a success, something they are hoping to replicate with Renaud Tixier. Initial thoughts On a macro level, the Renaud Tixier and its first watch are noteworthy for a few reasons. One of its main points of appeal, at least initially, is the name, specifically Dominique Renaud. Even though he departed Renaud & Papi (APRP) over 20 years ago, his name still carries weight, particularly since many alumni of APRP, Anthony de Haas of Lange and Carole Forestier of TAG Heuer for instance, speak well of him. The name will certainly help sell the watch, particularly in countries with a strong reverence for creators and history, like Japan for example. And the fact that it’s a micro-rotor is noteworthy. Though relatively common in high-end watchmaking, micro-rotors are rare amongst independent watchmakers. The most prominent indie mak...
Monochrome
Eska isn’t a brand that many are familiar with, but the Swiss watchmaker started production over a century ago. It shut its doors in the late 1980s, like many following the quartz crisis, but has now reemerged with the Amphibian 250, a faithful recreation of the old brand’s rarest diver, the Amphibian 600. Very few […]
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Worn & Wound
While recovering from COVID, I recently watched a documentary I had heard about while listening to The Grey NATO Podcast. 14 Peaks: Nothing is impossible is the story of Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja, who summited all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in only seven months. The previous record was 7 years! Nims’ goal was to highlight the Nepalese climbing community. To this day, climbing these peaks cannot be done without the incredible endurance, courage, strength, and sheer determination of the Sherpas. It is these Sherpas that inspired Enicar in the 1950s to create dive watches that could not only withstand the depths at sea but get even more water-resistant the deeper you dove. Thus, the super-compressor was born. Sadly, Enicar did not survive the 1970s quartz crisis. Thankfully, all was not lost, as in 2019 Martin Klocke of Germany revived the Sherpa and created a brand around this model. Just like its namesake, these are proper super-compressors. Featuring many of the original features combined with modern technology and know-how across two models, the Ultradive and OPS. Now, a new version of the latter is available thanks to a collaboration with a popular watch podcast. Sherpa has teamed up with The Real Time Show podcast, hosted by industry insiders Alon Ben Joseph and Rob Nubbs, to create a sandblasted stainless-steel version of the OPS model (it was available only in polished steel or a black DLC finish previously). The result is a beautiful satin fin...
Worn & Wound
Early yesterday morning, news broke in the watch world that was both surprising, and felt inevitable. Universal Genève, the highly regarded and historic Swiss brand that has been effectively dormant for years, will be revived and relaunched by the same ownership team currently steering the ship at Breitling. While the news of Universal finally getting a high profile relaunch isn’t exactly shocking (reviving heritage brands shuttered during the Quartz Crisis has been a favorite pastime in the watch industry over the last decade), we weren’t expecting the Breitling connection. The news (and reaction to it) speaks both to the great affection the community feels for the Universal Genève brand, and to the strength and financial turnaround of Breitling under Georges Kern’s tenure. Universal Genève has a long and rich history, and has grown significantly in esteem in recent years. They were part of an explosion of interest in vintage watches that began more than ten years ago, but unlike other brands that benefited from increased attention on historic vintage pieces (Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet among them), Universal Genève doesn’t exist as a modern watchmaker in a meaningful way. For that reason, there’s always been a mystique to the brand that can’t really be replicated. We can, and do, compare vintage versions of Submariners, Daytonas, and Royal Oaks to their modern equivalents, and can thus relate to these watches through a modern context or l...
SJX Watches
Jörg G. Bucherer, the third generation to run the Bucherer retail chain, passed away on Monday evening at age 87. The news was first reported by Swiss newspapers including Le Temps. His death comes less than three months after agreeing to sell his family business to Rolex in a multi-billion franc move that shocked the entire industry, but secured the future of the company. He led an extraordinary life, being one of the last remaining people to have worked directly with Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, and building a reputation as a man about town. Known for his fast cars and beautiful women in his youth, he was always extremely closely guarded when it came to media appearances. Bucherer took over the business in 1977, and had been at the centre of the industry ever since. Having navigated many turbulent periods in matchmaking, he not only kept the Lucerne-based retailer afloat, but steered it to the very top, with the business now counting over 100 points of sale across Europe and America, making it the biggest seller of Rolex watches anywhere. The historic Bucherer store in Lucerne. Image – Bucherer When Bucherer took the reins from his father, the industry was in turmoil in the aftermath of the Quartz Crisis. That didn’t stop him as he expanded the company from its Swiss base into new territories such as Austria and Germany in 1980s. He would go on to acquire other retailers as he pursued expansion, including Kurz Group in 1989 and Swiss Lion in 2001. The real b...
Worn & Wound
At times the vintage watch world can seem like the Wild West: rife with danger and opportunity at the same time. Many who have gone deep down the rabbit hole may have discovered incredibly interesting watches at good value in mid-century watchmaking stalwart Nivada Grenchen. Established in 1926, the Swiss-based brand made a name for itself by building robust timepieces and was one of the first to mass-produce automatically winding watches. Nivada Grenchen, like many others, struggled through the Quartz Crisis but was relaunched in 2018 with the help of entrepreneurs Guillame Laidet and Remi Chabrat. It has emerged from the gates with a core lineup composed of some of its most beloved watches from the 20th century, and from a vintage enthusiast’s vantage point, few brands are doing it like Nivada Grenchen. Every model and configuration oozes old-school cool and has been thoughtfully reinterpreted for today. The Windup Watch Shop is proud to welcome Nivada Grenchen and offer two of its most famous models: The OG Antarctic and the inimitable Chronomaster. At times the vintage watch world can seem like the Wild West: rife with danger and opportunity at the same time. Many who have gone deep down the rabbit hole may have discovered incredibly interesting watches at good value in mid-century watchmaking stalwart Nivada Grenchen. Established in 1926, the Swiss-based brand made a name for itself by building robust timepieces and was one of the first to mass-produce automatically...
Teddy Baldassarre
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 ...
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Time+Tide
Despite what some marketing departments would have you think, there’s almost never such a thing as a centuries-old watch brand with an unbroken history. Whether it’s a change of ownership, bankruptcy during the Quartz Crisis, or a pivot to an entirely different technology, consistent survival as a watch brand requires adaptation. Raketa don’t come up … ContinuedThe post From emperors to astronauts - the colourful history of Raketa appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Teddy Baldassarre
Frederique Constant has been making watches for only 35 years, but the Geneva-based brand’s list of accomplishments, and its impressive and diverse roster of timepieces, might well convince you that it has been at the horology game much longer. In this feature, we trace the history of Frederique Constant, showcase its plentiful milestones over the course of three-plus decades, and introduce you to the standout models in the current Frederique Constant collection. 1988: The Foundations When Dutch entrepreneur Peter Stas and his wife Aletta Stas-Bax set out to establish the Swiss watch manufacturer Frederique Constant in 1988, they were rolling the dice on a business plan that was anything but a sure thing. The Quartz Crisis that had ravaged the traditional Swiss watch industry since the 1970s was still ongoing and the return of the luxury mechanical watch to prominence and collectibility had yet to ramp up in a major way. However, both the timing of the launch and the underserved niche that it targeted - affordable, elegant watches with Swiss mechanical movements for enthusiasts with relatively modest budgets - proved to be wise, as evidenced by the company still going strong in its 35th year, with an impressive string of milestones under its belt, which we’ll touch on below. Frederique Constant is today one of the largest Swiss watchmaking firms; the company doesn't disclose production numbers, but Peter Stas stated in 2019 that the goal was to increase capacity fr...
Worn & Wound
There are plenty of things we can choose to be frustrated by in the watch world. Rising prices, the increased importance of mysterious social media algorithms, outright chicanery, nonsense, and shenanigans in the auction world. Yes, these are forces contributing to making the hobby a little less enjoyable at times. But I like to focus on the bright spots, of which I’d argue there are more than enough to get excited about. One of those bright spots is the reemergence and wide availability of affordably priced, classic designs from thoughtfully resurrected heritage brands. Guillaume Laidet has become something of a specialist in this area, playing an integral role in the return of Vulcain, Excelsior Park, and Nivada Grenchen, the subject of this hands-on. For a time, it seemed like a month couldn’t pass without a “new” brand that went dormant during the quartz crisis coming back with an updated version of their most popular model. So many of these attempts to capitalize on the popularity of vintage, neo-vintage, or whatever we’re calling it wound up failing, but the Nivada Grenchen strategy always felt different, and the brand continues to be successful a few years out from the relaunch because of Laidet’s forward thinking. Beyond the overall quality of the watches, which is consistently high, Nivada has always been presented as a real brand, and not simply a vehicle for launching one, or maybe two, watches. The idea of having a real collection for consumers to...
Time+Tide
Universal Genève’s story is one of the highest of highs and lowest of lows. The brand experienced fruitful periods for much of its lifetime, only to become a victim of several unsuccessful post-quartz crisis revivals. Multiple star athletes, musical icons and toppled dictators all sported Universal Genève watches in some capacity, a few becoming heroes … ContinuedThe post WHAT IF… Universal Genève was revived? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
While some are finally shaking the sentiment off, it is no secret that watch snobs love to dismiss and knock quartz watches. And, I get it. The quartz crisis nearly rendered the mechanical timepieces we all love extinct. So it is easy to understand why horology lovers are so protective of mechanical watchmaking. That being … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The TAG Heuer Solargraph may just be the perfect luxury adventure watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Teddy Baldassarre
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...
SJX Watches
IWC has a suite of instantly recognisable models synonymous with the brand, namely the Pilot’s Watches and of course, the Portugieser. But one collection does get as much recognition as its peers, despite being almost 40 years old. Named after the famous seaside city in Italy, the Portofino was introduced in 1984 (though the inaugural model didn’t yet have the Portofino name at the time) as an oversized pocket watch-style wristwatch, something of a clarion call to persist with mechanical watchmaking after the Quartz Crisis. Now the brand has revived one of the classics from the line with the Portofino Perpetual Calendar. At 40 mm in diameter, it’s the most compact of IWC’s perpetual calendars and is equipped with an in-house movement from the 82000 family. Initial thoughts The perpetual calendar is a sought-after complication for its utility but also its aesthetics, especially when it includes a moon phase, which adds a touch of romanticism to the design. IWC’s latest take on the complication is straightforward, practical, and priced reasonably enough. In fact, it’s essentially a visually-simplified version of the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42, which uses the same movement but inside a larger case. While not revolutionary in technical terms, the Portofino Perpetual Calendar is a solid performer with a concise design. It retains all the features that made the 1990s original appealing but adds a few contemporary touches in both design and the in-house base m...
Time+Tide
A company had to muster real tenacity to make it through the Quartz Crisis, but Delma managed to thrive instead of survive during those tough years, continuing to honour the art of traditional mechanical watchmaking. Despite this, they’re not talked about as much as they perhaps deserve to be, and so we’ve been taking a … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Delma Montego is a bold chronograph with plenty of macho swagger appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
The famous watch and jewelry writer will discuss the history of the Quartz Crisis.
Time+Tide
Watchmaking in America was a thriving industry prior to the quartz crisis. But while some American manufactures either were absorbed by foreign conglomerates, or went out of business altogether, today more and more American watch brands are coming back into the fold. See how many current American watch brands you know below.The post Time+Tide Weekend Watch Crossword: #17 “American Watch Brands” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Deployant
The 1970s were a period of upheaval and turmoil for the mechanical watchmaking industry. This was the time of the “quartz crisis” during which the advent of quartz watches, with its superior accuracy at a much lower cost, had posed an existential threat to the Swiss watch industry. The quartz crisis led to a majorRead More
Time+Tide
Jean-Claude Biver is a legend in the watch world. He’s fended off the quartz crisis, revived Blancpain, rejuvenated Omega and headed Hublot, TAG Heuer and, later, the entire watch and jewellery division of LVMH. As a result, Biver is considered to be one of the most brilliant minds in the watch industry of all time. … ContinuedThe post What does Jean-Claude Biver joining the Norqain board of advisers really mean? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
A pair of watchmakers with English roots, Fears and Garrick have banded together to create a wristwatch that bears the aesthetic of the former while relying on the mechanics of the latter, the Fears Garrick. Founded in 1846 but having gone out of business during the Quartz Crisis, Fears is an English brand that was revived in 2016 by a descendant of its founder. Though it was not in continuous operation, Fears is now one of the oldest, family-owned English watch brands. Its modern-day offerings are all about clean, simple designs inspired by watches from its past catalogue, which are sometimes paired with period-correct, vintage movements. Garrick, on the other hand, was founded in 2014. Sitting in a higher price point than the typical Fears, Garrick’s offerings are constructed with the help of Swiss specialists, including Andreas Strehler, and dressed up with traditional decoration such as engine turning. David Brailsford of Garrick (left), and Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, the great-great-great-grandson of Fears’ founder Initial thoughts The Fears Garrick is essentially a Garrick S1, the brand’s most impressive offering to date, but redesigned to give it a simpler aesthetic. Though intriguing, the open dial of the S1 has been done away with and the result is minimalist but appealing. I actually prefer the look of the Fears Garrick over the S1. But the Fears Garrick does bring to mind the IWC Portugieser, which is a good thing. For anyone who found the movement of ...
SJX Watches
A brand that went defunct during the Quartz Crisis like many of its peers, Nivada Grenchen was resurrected in 2020, again like many of its peers. While the historical brand was perhaps best known as one of the earliest makers of the automatic wristwatch, Nivada Grenchen now offers affordable, vintage-inspired watches that seem straight out of its old catalogue. The brand’s signature product is a 38 mm hand-wind chronograph modelled on a 1960s original, which now gets an Eastern Arabic makeover with the Chronomaster “Perpétuel” Limited Edition Set. Made for the eponymous Dubai watch store, the watch is packaged in a box that includes a leather watch case and Chronomaster Only, a reference book detailing the history of Nivada. Initial thoughts If you like vintage-style chronographs, Chronomaster is an appealing proposition in its original form, thanks to the restrained case size that’s identical to the vintage original. And the Sellita movement inside means the Chonomaster is an affordable entry into the world of retro, hand-wind chronographs, which is admittedly crowded with many, many comparable options. But this version is slightly different. Typical of Perpétuel editions – and reflecting the store’s regional focus – the Chronomaster gets Eastern Arabic numerals for he dial and bezel. Though such numerals have become relatively common and predictable on Middle East editions, this is noteworthy for two reasons. One is the fact that all the numerals on ...
SJX Watches
Having just closed its doors, Watches & Wonders 2022 (W&W;) was a success. All the industry executives I spoke with were satisfied with the event and predict it will happen again, barring any major disagreements between the important brands and groups that took part. That is borne out by the numbers as well. According to its organisers, the event had 22,000 individual visitors. Compare that to 2019 when SIHH had 23,000 visitors with about the same number of exhibitors, while Baselworld logged over 80,000 that year but with 20 times the number of exhibitors. All things considered W&W; 2022 had a good turnout. All the exhibiting brands stuck to the standard booth format of the event, except for the independent-minded quartet of Rolex, Tudor, Chopard, and Patek Philippe, which reused their Baselworld booths While turnout was good, business was great. The luxury watch industry is enjoying a boom without parallel – “sold out” and “waiting list” were certainly the defining phrases of the fair. I asked Gisbert Brunner, the veteran watch journalist who started his career before the Quartz Crisis, if he could recall a comparable period in history and he could not, though he said today does evoke the go-go years of the late 1990s. The slightly more drab section of the fair made up of almost identical booths Demand is so strong that assorted brands are being revived and new brands are entering the market. Even Cartier launched the highly complex and ingenious Masse Mysterieu...
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