Deployant
New: Bvlgari Aluminium 2020 – the icon that never dies
Bulgari revives their iconic Aluminium watch for 2020. Case reshaped, resized, and now with mechanical movements.
Results for Mechanical Watch Accuracy
20,941 articles · 5,868 videos found · page 317 of 894
Deployant
Deployant
Review: Panerai Luminor Marina Carbotech 44MM
Panerai’s iconic watch, the Luminor Marina, is now presented in a Carbotech case with the P.9010 Manufacture automatic mechanical movement.
SJX Watches
Linde Werdelin Introduces the Oktopus MoonLite
One of the most established newer brands in the sports watch space, Linde Werdelin was founded 14 years ago and made its name with mechanical watches featuring a removable digital module with dedicated functions for activities like diving and climbing. Now entirely focused on purely mechanical watches, the brand’s latest is a dive watch with an unusual complication – the limited-edition Oktopus MoonLite. Based on the existing Oktopus Moon, the MoonLite is distinguished by the case material, which is made of Alloy Linde Werdelin. Initial thoughts The Oktopus MoonLite is very much in the usual Linde Werdelin style, which is a futuristic, aggressive look that brings to mind watches like the Grand Seiko SBGA405 Godzilla 65th Anniversary and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept. Though large at 44 mm wide, the watch will no doubt be light thanks to the case material. And the color of the case goes exceptionally well with that of the dial, which results in an avant-garde watch that is also the most legible of the Oktopus Moon models to date. Priced at a little over US$14,000 – quite a lot of money for what it is – the Oktopus MoonLite perhaps justifiably priced considering the limited production and proprietary case material. Nonetheless, the bold styling and “indie” status of Linde Werdelin make the MoonLite an unusual proposition – an oversized, contemporary sports watch from an independent brand, which will appeal to collectors who enjoy luxury-sports watch...
Time+Tide
10 of the best digital watches you can buy in 2020, Part 2, including a cold Casio classic for 20 bucks
Digital watches remain an overlooked part of the watch world, forgotten by many who consider themselves to have ‘graduated’ to mechanical watches. But as we saw in Part 1 of this series where we looked at some of the best new releases in the last 12 months or so, there are a number of seriously cool … ContinuedThe post 10 of the best digital watches you can buy in 2020, Part 2, including a cold Casio classic for 20 bucks appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Business News: Swatch Group Sales Plunge on Pandemic Closures
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...
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The Biggest MISTAKES Every Watch Collector Makes.
Quill & Pad
The (Not So) Complete Story Of Rock And Roll And Watches: Ramp The Volume Up To 11! – Reprise
The mechanical watch works just like a metronome, with its isochronic balance maintaining a steady rhythm and the delicate tick-tock of its pallet jewels providing a rhythmic beat to our oft-frantic lives. If we ramp up the power and swap the metronome for a drum kit and a few electric guitars we have rock and roll! But which watches do rock-and-roll icons wear?
WatchAdvice
Oris Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115 Review
The Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115 is simply a watch that explains Oris’s true personality. The Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115 goes back to the roots of what mechanical watches are all about. In today’s world, so many of us know what the things around us can do, but rarely actually know how they work. The same logic applies to mechanical watches too. We see brilliant timepieces made and know what they can do, yet rarely see or understand the inner workings behind them. This is the idea behind the Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115, to show as much as possible how the true inner workings of a mechanical watch operate. Oris Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115 There is almost a natural connection between a mechanical watch and its owner. If we don’t wind it, or even yet move, we won’t drive enough power to turn the mainspring which ultimately powers the movement. This is what Oris is trying to show with the Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115. Oris Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115 Oris’s Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115 was inspired by nature, in particular, a Valley named Waldenburg, which surrounds the village of Hölstein. This particular village is significant to Oris, as it is there where the brand originally began. Oris was founded in 1904, and since then the brand has been based in Hölstein. It’s no wonder then that they would go back there to find sources of inspiration for arguably the “most Oris watch” they have ever made. Oris Big Crown ProPi...
SJX Watches
Up Close: Ulysse Nardin Freak X Silicium Marquetry
Revolutionary for its construction and use of silicon, the Ulysse Nardin Freak is still a unique watch almost two decades after its introduction. And the full-featured Freak is still a relatively costly watch, until the Freak X came along last year. The most affordable version of a watch that helped kickstart the age of high-tech mechanical watchmaking, the Freak X retains the essence of its bigger brother while simplifying the rest of the movement. Several iterations of the Freak X have been rolled out since then, including one that ironically takes silicon out of the movement – the Freak X Silicium Marquetry. The watch has a dial decorated with inlaid tiles of iridescent silicon, using the material for its aesthetic potential, rather than the usual functional purposes in the escapement. The Freak X Silicium Marquetry Initial thoughts The Freak X Silicium Marquetry is an aesthetic variant of the standard model, so it’s identical in all respects except the dial finish. A combination of metallic and glassy, the silicon dial is different from any other dial material and suits the look of the watch well. That means the case is compact, so it wears quite well. And more importantly, the watch has a cutting-edge balance wheel amounted on the minute hand, making one revolution an hour. It’s a surprisingly advanced regulator in a watch at this price point, and probably the most advanced of all watches in the price segment. But the Freak X Silicium Marquetry is substantiall...
SJX Watches
In-Depth: Krayon Anywhere
Krayon made its debut in 2017 with the Everywhere, an incredibly complex wristwatch that was, in essence, a mechanical calculator for sunrise and sunset. Founded by movement constructor Rémi Maillat in 2013, Krayon has debuted the follow up to the Everywhere, the simpler, sleeker – and a lot more affordable – Anywhere. Like its bigger brother, the Anywhere displays the time of sunrise and sunset. But while the Everywhere allowed the wearer to input his location and time zone for the watch to show local sunrise and sunset times everywhere, the Anywhere displays sunrise and sunset times for a single, fixed location, albeit one that can be quite easily changed by a watchmaker. Despite while the complication has been streamlined, the movement has been upgraded in terms of finishing, which is now exceptional. The Anywhere in white gold Initial thoughts The Anywhere is surprising in person. Given the complexity of the movement, you’d expect a large watch with a fussy display. But the Anywhere is modestly sized – the thinness of the case stands out – giving it an elegant profile on the wrist. At the same time, the dial layout is simple and intuitive, making it easy to understand. And it is also easy to operate, with the calendar and time both set via the crown. And the calendar, in turn, controls the sunrise and sunset function, so the interface is straightforward. Turn it over and the movement is also surprising. While the movement in the Everywhere was a mechanica...
SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet Introduces the Royal Oak Selfwinding 34 mm
The new quartet of Royal Oak models marks a first for Audemars Piguet – the Royal Oak Selfwinding 34 mm combines a 34 mm case with an automatic calibre supplied by movement specialist Vaucher. An addition to the line that is not meant to replace any existing model, the new 34 mm watch is now the smallest mechanical Royal Oak for ladies, with the smallest, 33 mm model being quartz, and the next-largest automatic having a 37 mm case. Initial thoughts The new watch fills a gap in the diverse Royal Oak line-up – a watch compact enough for ladies but with a mechanical movement. While the new 34 mm model is not explicitly described as a women’s watch, it is in all but name, as Audemars Piguet already has a 37 mm model as the medium-sized men’s Royal Oak. That said, the proportions of the 34 mm case remind me of the Royal Oak ref. 4100 of the 1970s and 1980s, which was then a large-sized men’s watch and 36 mm in diameter, not too much larger than the new model. By that benchmark, the new 34 mm model should not be a ladies’ watch per se, and could appeal to men who prefer a smaller case size. But for the broader market, it is a ladies’ watch, and I can see its appeal. Importantly, it has a mechanical movement – long absent for the ladies’ Royal Oak – and the versions with the diamond-set bezels offer a bit of bling to go along with the iconic design. So it should attract a new female customer who has always wanted a Royal Oak, but was savvy enough to wait fo...
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Baltic x Time+Tide Hermétique Night Mode - a field watch for your field of dreams
SJX Watches
Up Close: IWC Da Vinci Tourbillon Four Seasons
The two decades or so after the end of the Quartz Crisis was a fruitful one for the mechanical watch industry as it revived itself. IWC was one of the stars of that revival, a highly technical yet niche brand that appealed to true watch nerds. Everything it did then became the foundations for its modern day success – literally, with the brand still relying on the complications invented then. One of the most interesting, yet little-known IWC watches from that era is the Da Vinci Tourbillon Four Seasons. A limited edition of 20 watches that debuted in 1999, the Four Seasons (or Quattro Stagioni as it was known at the launch) has a hand-engraved, solid-gold dial – the Da Vinci Tourbillon represents the only instance IWC has bestowed such elaborate dials on its watches. A year after the launch of the Four Seasons, IWC was acquired by Swiss luxury group Richemont, making it perhaps the major complication the brand unveiled before the change of ownership. Intriguingly, the combination of an engraved dial and complicated movement, as well as the style of engraving, brings to mind some of the Handwerkskunst watches by A. Lange & Söhne, then as now, a sister company of IWC. But perhaps more important is the movement, which is the only hand-wound calibre in this generation of Da Vinci. Not only is the manual-wind calibre better looking – by a massive margin – but the movement is descended from the Il Destriero Scafusia, the grand complication made for the brand’s 125th ...
SJX Watches
Girard-Perregaux Introduces the Laureato Absolute Light
Girard-Perregaux’s luxury-sports watch is available in the usual range of materials, as well as some unusual carbon-glass composites, and now sapphire with the Laureato Absolute Light. At first glance it appears to adhere to a common formula – executing a well-known case design in sapphire – but Girard-Perregaux has tweaked a few elements to make it a little more interesting, while maintaining transparent-mechanical look prized in such watches. Initial thoughts Ultra-luxe sports watches with sapphire cases are surprisingly common, despite the accompanying price tag. Typically the design can be varied little, since what most brands do is produce their signature style in sapphire. So the way to stand out is to make the details a little bit more interesting, and the price tag a little less high. Girard-Perregaux has succeeded in the former – amongst the interesting details here are the movement and hours chapter ring – while doing so-so on the latter. At 85,000 Swiss francs, the Laureato Absolute Light is a lot of money, but amongst sapphire-case sports watches, the price is middle of the road. Framed by lugs The 44 mm case is typical Laureato, which is a circle within an octagon within a tonneau-shaped case. Admittedly the standard Laureato does bear a strong resemblance to a handful of famous Gerald Genta case designs, but when rendered in sapphire the Laureato does look quite original. The case construction is unusual in that the titanium lugs bookend each side ...
Time+Tide
OPINION: 3 reasons why collecting watches is meaningful, even in a crisis
Is collecting mechanical watches meaningful? I’ve thought about this existential question quite a bit. Recently I was fortunate to spend some time chatting with Leonid Khankin, President and Creative Director for the brand Ernst Benz. Leonid has a deep understanding of the watch industry. Our discussion is worthy of a separate article. But at one … ContinuedThe post OPINION: 3 reasons why collecting watches is meaningful, even in a crisis appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Swatch Sistem51 Petite Seconde
After its release in 2013, the Swatch Sistem51 collection has proven itself as a fun, geeky, and affordable option for the mechanically-obsessed collector looking for more out of the Swatch brand.
Quill & Pad
Ikepod Megapod: Rebuilding A Niche Collection One Model At A Time
Ikepod has recently launched its second Kickstarter campaign with a new collection, the Megapod. Focusing on a three-hand dial with modern minimalistic details, the Megapod feels very much the descendent of the original Megapode collection and definitely fulfills the requirements for a solid, high-quality mechanical watch featuring incredible design at an affordable price.
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This CRAZY CHEAP Watch Gamed The Entire Swiss System | Lyrique Etude No1 Review
Time+Tide
Counterpoint: Double Wristing with a Smartwatch
Recently, Time+Tide put out an Instagram survey asking you, the reader, to express your opinion about wearing a smartwatch on one wrist and a mechanical watch on the other. I was really surprised to see the survey turn out heavily against this practice and here’s why … I like tech just as much as the … ContinuedThe post Counterpoint: Double Wristing with a Smartwatch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
RECOMMENDED WATCHING: Giving birth to the Nicholas Hacko NH2 Timascus
It’s very easy to get caught up in the aesthetics of a watch and subsequently make a judgement call based purely on how it looks … we’ve all done it before. And that’s not to say that looks aren’t important - they are crucial. But equally, if not more important than the way a mechanical watch … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED WATCHING: Giving birth to the Nicholas Hacko NH2 Timascus appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Business News: Swatch Group Annual Profit Falls with Hong Kong Slowdown
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
Swatch Introduces the Big Bold Jelly
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...
Deployant
Review: When Hands Just Don’t Cut It – The Genus GNS 1
We bring you the details and our thoughts on the new Genus GNS 1, winner of the GPHG Mechanical Exception Watch Prize 2019.
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Breguet Marine Chronographe 5527 is a very Breguet sports watch
SJX Watches
Breaking News: ETA Movement Sales Halted by Swiss Authorities
News last weekend that Switzerland’s competition regulator, COMCO, also widely known by its German acronym Weko, was weighing a ban on ETA movement sales to third-party brands caused a major stir in the watch industry – and a terse, lengthy response from Swatch Group, ETA’s parent and Switzerland’s biggest watchmaking conglomerate. The move was ostensibly to allow alternatives to ETA – once Switzerland’s dominant supplier of mechanical movements – to develop. According to the Swatch Group, the ban was entirely without merit, especially given the fact that ETA was no longer the biggest supplier of movements to the industry. That title now belongs to Sellita, which supplied a million movements in 2019, compared to half the number for ETA. Now COMCO has formalised the year-long ban in an announcement that puts in place a “temporary suspension of the supply of [ETA] mechanical movements to customers”. The ban will be in force until COMCO makes its final decision by the summer of 2020. The ban, however, allows ETA to sell its movements to existing clients that are small- and medium-sized watch brands, defined as having less than 250 employees, which will probably be of little consolation to ETA. According to a Swatch Group spokesman quoted by Reuters, the majority of ETA’s movement sales are to companies with more than 250 employees, and as a result, ETA foresees it won’t be able to sell any movements next year. According to the statement, the ban is foun...
Quill & Pad
Jaquet Droz’s Charming Bird Deconstruction By The Naked Watchmaker (Plus Video)
Ian Skellern still remembers the sense of awe he felt when he had the opportunity to watch and listen to a recently restored centuries-old Jaquet Droz singing bird. The animation was compelling, and the quality of the birdsong sound was incredible. But as impressive a feat he thought that full-sized eighteenth-century Jaquet Droz singing bird clock was, shrinking that mechanical technology to wristwatch size is just mind-blowing. As The Naked Watchmaker, Peter Speake-Marin, highlights here.
Quill & Pad
Richard Mille RM 62-01 Tourbillon Vibrating Alarm ACJ: You Can Feel It!
With his long-running issue with alarm clocks, Joshua Munchow is the perfect potential customer (his wallet not withstanding) for the RM 62-01 Tourbillon Vibrating Alarm ACJ, the most complicated Richard Mille watch to date and one that features the first purposefully silent mechanical alarm in a wristwatch.
SJX Watches
Swatch Inaugurates New Headquarters in Biel
A long snaking building that stretches some 240m, the new Swatch headquarters in Biel, or Bienne in French, is the culmination of five years of work. Selling about 9.5m watches a year for about 450m Swiss francs of revenue, according to Swiss bank Vontobel, Swatch was the foundational company of its parent, the aptly named Swatch Group, which also owns Omega and Longines. Like many of its parent company’s recent projects, the Swatch building was designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, the 2014 Pritzker Prize winner who is best known for his works of wood or paper, as well as his temporary structures for humanitarian aid. Its new home is covered in a honeycomb timber grid that incorporates windows, nine balconies and solar panels. Visible from the inside is the Swatch logo, derived from the Swiss cross, incorporated into some of the grid’s cells. And hidden within the structure is a network of wires and cables for telecommunications, electricity and the like. The Swatch headquarters, with the Omega building at the far left The Swatch building ends in La Cite du Temps, which sits in front of the Omega factory and headquarters Shigeru Ban, Nayla Hayek, and Nick Hayek Jr at the opening ceremony on October 3, 2019 The glass-walled Swatch store in front of the new headquarters With the new headquarters in the background Light, flexible and sustainable, the timber beams used for the outer structure number some 4,600, all precisely cut to fit with join with each other per...
Quill & Pad
Quartz: Past, Present, But No Future? – Reprise
Nothing can stir up the watch world these days quite as much the launch of a new Apple watch. For some it's a must-have gadget, for others it just isn't a real watch. But perhaps quartz watches face more competition from smartwatches than mechanical watches. Does quartz even have a real future?
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