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Dispatch: A Visit to Philippe Dufour's Workshop, Twelve Years Since Our Last Hodinkee
Jun 3, 2026

Dispatch: A Visit to Philippe Dufour's Workshop, Twelve Years Since Our Last

It's been some time since we visited Philippe Dufour's workshop—at least officially. I'm not sure if my colleagues have stopped in before, which wouldn't surprise me. Once you know Dufour, stopping by his workshop in Le Solliat becomes much more informal. But until two weeks ago, I actually hadn't stepped foot inside the old building that was once his kids' schoolhouse and that has become his workshop.  Back in 2013, Ben stopped by during the "Road to Basel" series, but a lot has changed since then. Or has it? Despite being a watchmaker for over 59 years now, all Philippe Dufour seems to want to do is make watches. And where better to do it than the famed "Valley of Complications"?  When we last left him, Ben noted that he had just delivered the last of his Simplicities, after about 200 watches. "He will never make another," said Ben, and that Dufour was working on a more complicated follow-up. Well, since then, he certainly has delivered more Simplicities, including one with an aventurine dial that was auctioned for charity, and there are still more watches on the bench. And it's not just him at the workshop; his daughter Danièla is also working away as well. Tools on the display cases inside Philippe Dufour's workshop and a selection of pocket watches  In 2022, I traveled to Switzerland and the Vallée de Joux for the first time to research and photograph a story on the watchmaker Charles-Henri Meylan. I immediately fell in love with the place. The three-dimensiona...

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Tudor Scales Down Black Bay Chrono with the “Bumblebee” SJX Watches
Tudor Scales Down Black Bay Jun 3, 2026

Tudor Scales Down Black Bay Chrono with the “Bumblebee”

Tudor’s sports chronograph offers one of the strongest values in its category, but it was never compact. In a surprising move, Tudor has managed to rework the model into the Black Bay Chrono 39 “Bumblebee”, which is just 39 mm in diameter and a bit over 13 mm high. The new dimensions make this substantially trimmer than its predecessor, yet the “Bumblebee” still employs the high-spec MT5813 movement. Initial thoughts The “Bumblebee” resolves one of the key criticisms of the Black Bay Chrono. Earlier iterations of the model were appealing in many ways, ranging from value to movement, but a little chunky. The latest model is almost ideal in terms of dimensions, an accomplishment made all the more impressive as the case still contains the MT5813 movement, which has excellent technical credentials but not slimness. With a price tag of CHF5,500, the “Bumblebee” continues to be an obvious value proposition. That said, the bright yellow dial might not be for everyone (personally I prefer the pink or blue prior models), but the new case size is spot on. Given past practice, however, additional dial colours are probably in the works, so this case size will likely be available in more colours eventually. Bright but not bigger The “Bumblebee” gets its name from the high contrast dial that’s a bright yellow matched with black registers. The dial markings, hands, and indices are also black, as is the aluminium bezel insert. While yellow is an unusual colour for...

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The Business of Watches Podcast: Studio Underd0g Founder Richard Benc Hodinkee
Ming next - there will Jun 3, 2026

The Business of Watches Podcast: Studio Underd0g Founder Richard Benc

This week on The Business of Watches, we're talking to the man behind one of the more successful new watch brands in recent years, Studio Underd0g. Richard Benc is just 33, and since 2020, he's built his irreverent, approachable-priced, design-driven brand to a significant size, producing about 14,000 watches last year.   Richard Benc (Photo Courtesy Studio Underd0g). And he's done it all, not from Switzerland or Hong Kong, but from the U.K. Benc has grown his business with intent, making strategic investments in his supply chain, including buying full control of the assembly and after-sales service company that builds Studio Underd0g's distinct timepieces.  Studio Underd0g is now the biggest assembler of mechanical watches in the U.K. and isn't only selling watches with drops and collabs, but is building up stock to make more watches available on its website.  Next up for Benc and his brand is a new physical, public, and retail location. The 'D0ghouse' will open in Maidenhead this month and serve as a public showcase for the upstart brand and its operations. It's another big step for the company that comes with its own set of fresh opportunities and challenges. And Benc gives us a tease on what may be coming next - there will be a new 04Series of watches that will take the brand to a place it hasn't been (mechanically) before.  But first, some watch industry business news headlines, including secondary market price rises, executive moves at the big auction houses, an...

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Tudor Introduces the “Bumblebee” Black Bay Chrono 39 in a New Smaller Case Worn & Wound
Tudor Introduces Jun 3, 2026

Tudor Introduces the “Bumblebee” Black Bay Chrono 39 in a New Smaller Case

Coming out of Watches & Wonders, there was plenty of commentary that Tudor had an iterative, kind of “off” year with a confusing pseudo-heritage piece in the Monarch being an unexpected standard bearer. We, frankly, really enjoyed all the new stuff, and thought some of the reactions were a bit out of left field, but regardless, I think their announcement today should get many of the skeptics claiming Tudor has lost a step to rethink their takes. The new Tudor “Bumblebee” Black Bay Chrono 39 is not merely a fun new summer color for their flagship chronograph, but an entirely new case size for that watch that speaks directly to enthusiasts who have been asking for a scaled down version.  Tudor is positioning the “Bumblebee” as a follow up to the Pink and Flamingo Blue chronographs that have appeared over the last few years. These brightly colored watches have been incredibly popular with collectors as alternatives to the standard black and white variants. Here we have a bright yellow dial with contrasting black subdials at 9 and 3 with a black tachymeter bezel in aluminum. The snowflake hands and hour markers are also outlined in black, and there’s a black minute track at the dial’s perimeter, all of which play up the “Bumblebee” theme.  But the real news here is that new case. It measures 39mm in diameter in stainless steel, and 13.1mm in height. That’s down from 14.1mm tall on the larger 41mm chronograph, which is a meaningful difference. The lug to...

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Introducing: The Tudor Black Bay Chrono 39 "Bumblebee" Hodinkee
Tudor Black Bay Chrono 39 Jun 3, 2026

Introducing: The Tudor Black Bay Chrono 39 "Bumblebee"

What We Know There's a new Tudor chronograph in town, and guess what, it's smaller. After kicking off the format in 41mm back in 2017, Tudor has now downsized the brand's dive/drive chronograph design to a new 39mm case width. The new Tudor Black Bay Chrono 39 "Bumblebee" sports a bright and vivid yellow dial with black counters, giving the new reference (79310N) a link to the preceding Pink and Flamingo Blue versions of the Black Bay Chronograph.  We can get to the dial in a moment, but for a smaller take on any Tudor, let's start with millimeters. The new Black Bay Chronograph 39 measures 39mm wide, 13.1mm thick, and 47mm lug-to-lug. Compare that to 41 x 14.4 x 49.9 of the current 41mm model, be it white, black, blue, black & gold, pink, or flamingo. Water resistance remains at 200m with screw-down crowns for the chronograph controls, and that bright yellow dial is framed by a fixed tachymeter scale rendered in black aluminum.  On to the dial, which is colored a bright and punchy yellow as a nod to the brand's "Tiger" chronographs of the 1990s. The markers and hands have black surrounds, and the water resistance is shown in red (as it is on the Black Bay Chrono 39's larger counterparts). Tudor also notes that the snowflake hands have been redesigned to aid in chronograph legibility. While I have yet to measure more accurately, if you compare the reach of the hour hand toward the 60 marker on the running seconds subdial, it appears shorter than in the 41mm models.  Tic...

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Going Hands-On With The New Arken Alterum Sage Grey GMT Fratello
Jun 3, 2026

Going Hands-On With The New Arken Alterum Sage Grey GMT

The fun thing about my hands-on experience with the new Arken Alterum Sage Grey is that I went into it rather blindly. While that is nothing special in and of itself, when two Fratello team members actually own an Arken Alterum, it is slightly more remarkable. Obviously, I knew about the brand and the watch […] Visit Going Hands-On With The New Arken Alterum Sage Grey GMT to read the full article.

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Is It Worth It: Pre-Owned Ebel Sport Classic Chronograph Fratello
Casio Jun 3, 2026

Is It Worth It: Pre-Owned Ebel Sport Classic Chronograph

Around 1990, one of my friends was lucky enough to receive an Ebel Sport Classic watch for his birthday. At the time, I was more focused on Swatch and Casio, and I knew nothing about Ebel other than that its watches looked cool. It wasn’t until a few years later, when my interest in mechanical […] Visit Is It Worth It: Pre-Owned Ebel Sport Classic Chronograph to read the full article.

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First Look – Rado Drops a Trio of Summer-Toned DiaStar Original Skeleton Monochrome
Rado Drops Jun 3, 2026

First Look – Rado Drops a Trio of Summer-Toned DiaStar Original Skeleton

Rado continues to ride the renewed popularity of its DiaStar Original collection and its skeleton version, and launches three colourful limited editions that add a fresh seasonal character to one of the brand’s most recognisable designs. Following the skeletonised DiaStar models introduced in recent years, including the original steel version and the striking gold-coloured edition […]

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A Petite, Powerful Movement Inside Blancpain’s Marilyn Monroe Watch SJX Watches
Blancpain s Marilyn Monroe Watch Jun 3, 2026

A Petite, Powerful Movement Inside Blancpain’s Marilyn Monroe Watch

A hundred years after Marilyn Monroe’s birth, Blancpain is marking the occasion with the Ladybird Tribute Marilyn, seven watches modelled on a vintage Blancpain wristwatch once owned by Monroe herself. Rectangular in form and set with diamonds, the Ladybird Tribute is typical of 1940s style, but the movement inside is surprising. The cal. 510 inside is a tiny movement by modern standards, but is nonetheless high-spec. The calibre manages a respectable 50-hour power reserve and sophisticated, skeletonised construction, underlining the high quality mechanics typical of Blancpain. Initial thoughts We don’t normally feature such watches but the cal. 510 is worth a pointing out, even if it’s not a brand-new movement. Blancpain’s technical know-how was on full display with last year’s outsized Grande Double Sonnerie, but the cal. 510 proves the brand can still do a lot in a very small space. Most tiny ladies’ watches contain pedestrian movements, so the cal. 510 stands out. To start with, it’s a form movement conceived to fit the case. And while small, the movement incorporates a variety of notable features, including a free-sprung balance, longish power reserve, and appealing finishing. Notably, it is much more sophisticated than newer form movements from competing brands (with more expensive watches). The watch itself is retro, which is unsurprising given it’s a remake of Monroe’s original. While it might seem a little old fashioned, this will do well as a co...

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Oris Honors Lou Gehrig With A Limited-Edition Big Crown Pointer Date Fratello
Oris Honors Lou Gehrig Jun 2, 2026

Oris Honors Lou Gehrig With A Limited-Edition Big Crown Pointer Date

Even if you’re Dutch and not a baseball fan, the name Lou Gehrig rings a bell. In my case, I knew he was a player for the New York Yankees, but that was it. If you’re American, you probably know him as “The Iron Horse.” Few athletes have left a mark on American sport quite […] Visit Oris Honors Lou Gehrig With A Limited-Edition Big Crown Pointer Date to read the full article.

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Oris Introduces the Lou Gehrig Limited Edition, a Tribute to the Yankee Legend Worn & Wound
Oris Introduces Jun 2, 2026

Oris Introduces the Lou Gehrig Limited Edition, a Tribute to the Yankee Legend

Following a tradition that began with a limited edition Big Crown Pointer Date made in tribute to Roberto Clemente, and later continued with a similar watch honoring Hank Aaron, Oris has just unveiled a new baseball themed watch in honor of New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig.  Lou Gehrig’s legacy is bigger than baseball. His address to a Yankee Stadium crowd upon his retirement from the game is one of the most famous moments in the history of the sport, and often referred to as “baseball’s Gettysburg address.” When Gehrig retired from baseball in 1939, he ended what at the time (and for decades) was thought to be an unbreakable record of consecutive games: 2,130 in a row over a 15 season span. Nicknamed the Iron Horse for his durability throughout his playing career, his retirement due to complications from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is all the more poignant. Gehrig passed away at the age of 37, just two years after retirement, and in the years since the Yankees and Major League Baseball have raised millions of dollars for ALS research.  Like the Clemente and Aaron watches before it, the Lou Gehrig Limited Edition is a tasteful tribute that can be appreciated well outside the sphere of baseball fandom. The watch has a number of details that fans will recognize as tributes to Gehrig’s life and career, but they are pretty subtle in their execution. The “4” in the date ring on the dial’s perimeter is highlighted in blue, which honors Gehrig’s jers...

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Introducing: The Oris Lou Gehrig Limited Edition Hodinkee
Oris Lou Gehrig Limited Edition Jun 2, 2026

Introducing: The Oris Lou Gehrig Limited Edition

What We Know We're in the thick of baseball season, and Oris has pulled a doubleheader, of sorts. Yesterday brought us the new Hölstein edition, and today we're getting a new baseball-themed watch. Oris is the official watch sponsor of the New York Yankees, and this year, they're releasing a special watch to support one of the team's all-time legends, Lou Gehrig. The newest Big Crown Pointer Date is a special watch supporting the Lou and Eleanor Gehrig Family Foundation. The watch, in 40mm-by-12.2 mm stainless steel (with a 48.2mm lug-to-lug), is certainly inspired by the colors of the Yankees. The silver dial is surrounded by a black date ring with the "4" in blue (for Lou Gehrig's number), a blue minute track that matches the blue surrounding the hour markers. They've used a combination of Arabic numerals and stick hour markers for a sporty look. The movement is the Oris Caliber 754, with a 41-hour power reserve and automatic winding. It's delivered with a NATO strap in Yankee colors and a brown double-stitched strap that looks like a baseball glove. The caseback is engraved with a portrait of Lou Gehrig and the watch's number within the production total. There are 2130 pieces available, one for each of the consecutive games he played across 15 seasons, before his death in 1941 at the age of only 37. The retail price is CHF 2,400. Oris says that they will contribute to the work of The Lou and Eleanor Gehrig Family Foundation. What We Think The Pointer Date is probably O...

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Oris Gives Its Artelier Dress Watch a First In-House Movement for 2026 Two Broke Watch Snobs
Oris Gives Jun 2, 2026

Oris Gives Its Artelier Dress Watch a First In-House Movement for 2026

Oris has a habit of saving its strangest ideas for one watch a year. The Hölstein Edition started in 2020 as an annual limited release tied to the brand's June 1 birthday, and it has always leaned into playful reinterpretation. This year the company turned to the Artelier, the dress collection it relaunched a few months ago with mid-century-inspired dials. The result is the Hölstein Edition 2026, a 250-piece run with a few changes that go deeper than the finish.

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Introducing the Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed with Naoya Hida & Co. Worn & Wound
Zenith G.F.J Calibre 135 Double Jun 2, 2026

Introducing the Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed with Naoya Hida & Co.

The emergence of Naoya Hida as a major player in the independent space has been one of the more exciting developments in watches over the last few years. Whether Hida’s watches are to your taste or not (or your budget) there’s no denying that the brand presents a crystal clear point of view and takes no shortcuts to execute on it. In an environment with, frankly, a lot of half baked ideas, there’s something satisfying about a brand that knows exactly what it is. So it’s incredibly interesting that right on the heels of their recent 2026 launches, the brand has announced a new collaboration with Zenith on their G.F.J. platform.  This is honestly one of those world-colliding moments for me and I’m pretty excited about not only the watch but what this might signal for both Zenith and Naoya Hida moving forward. The G.F.J. feels like the right line for a brand like Naoya Hida to work within – it’s already cited as a watch that trades a little on the current trend toward artisanal dials (in exotic stones, specifically) that have become favorites among many high end indies. And there’s an undeniable synergy between the classic mid century design codes of the G.F.J. case and Naoya Hida’s aesthetic sensibility.  The G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed with Naoya Hida & Co. is the first in what Zenith is referring to as their new “Double Signed” program, which will, according to the brand, invite selected partners to reinterpret iconic references. The naming con...

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Hands-on – The Orient Star M34 F8 Date Meteorite, a Celestial Dial for the 75th Anniversary Monochrome
Orient Jun 2, 2026

Hands-on – The Orient Star M34 F8 Date Meteorite, a Celestial Dial for the 75th Anniversary

Orient Star is not usually the first name that comes to mind when looking for meteorite-dial watches. The Japanese brand has instead built a reputation around solid mechanics, attractive finishing, and sensible pricing for its watches. That is precisely why the new M34 F8 Date Meteorite caught our attention when it was announced earlier this […]

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Introducing: The Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed With Naoya Hida & Co. Fratello
Zenith G.F.J Calibre 135 Double Jun 2, 2026

Introducing: The Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed With Naoya Hida & Co.

Zenith’s caliber 135 continues its revival within the brand’s modern lineup with a new version. After the restored vintage-powered editions from 2022 and the following G.F.J. releases in 2025 and 2026, the brand now adds a special, limited collaboration with Naoya Hida to the collection. This time, the focus shifts toward Japanese independent watchmaking. The […] Visit Introducing: The Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed With Naoya Hida & Co. to read the full article.

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Parmigiani’s Carillon Tourbillon Caps Three Decades SJX Watches
Parmigiani Fleurier introduces Jun 2, 2026

Parmigiani’s Carillon Tourbillon Caps Three Decades

Parmigiani Fleurier introduces the Carillon Tourbillon to mark three decades of the brand, and to celebrate how it all began — by restoring antiques. Inspired by an early 19th-century watch founder Michel Parmigiani brought back to life decades ago, the watch repeats the minutes on four serpentine gongs with exposed repeater work, and a tourbillon, and somehow manages to fit 12 days of power reserve into a case that’s just 41.6 mm in diameter and 12.6 mm thick. Initial thoughts My first thought on seeing the movement was that it looked like something from the early 19th century, with exposed repeater work and serpentine gongs. That was, of course, the intent. In 1980, Michel Parmigiani became a steward of Maurice Yves Sandoz’s collection of antique watches and automata. There he worked on a wandering hours quarter repeater signed Perrin Frères, which inspired the present watch. The Perrin Frères repeater that inspired the Carillon Tourbillon. Image – Parmigiani Fleurier Modern collectors have relatively little interest in this genre, and a nearly identical watch — this time signed Vaucher Frères, the firm after which the modern Vaucher company is named — sold for only CHF21,000 at Christie’s two years ago. But the watch’s esoteric design and unique story made it ripe for revival. But of course it’s not an exact replica. This modern homage is a keyless winding lever watch, while the inspiration was key wind with a cylinder escapement. As a pleasant surp...

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First Look – The Double-Signed Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 with Naoya Hida & Co. Monochrome
Zenith G.F.J Calibre 135 Jun 2, 2026

First Look – The Double-Signed Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 with Naoya Hida & Co.

When Zenith, celebrating its 160th Anniversary, revived the Calibre 135 in 2025 with the launch of the G.F.J. collection, the manufacture brought back one of the most important precision movements, a calibre that dominated observatory chronometry competitions throughout the 1950s and remains the most awarded movement of its kind. Taking the story in an unexpected […]

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Introducing: The Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed with Naoya Hida & Co Hodinkee
Voutilainen Jun 2, 2026

Introducing: The Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed with Naoya Hida & Co

What We Know Today, Zenith introduces a new "Double Signed" program for its Calibre 135-powered G.F.J. collection, and its first entry in this series is a collaboration with a Japanese independent that might not require all that much introduction around these parts—Naoya Hida. The evolution of the G.F.J. line has not taken all that long, with its origins starting in 2022 with the Zenith Caliber 135 Observatoire Limited Edition, where ten Calibre 135 movements from the 50s were restored by Kari Voutilainen and introduced in watches done as a triple collaboration between Zenith, Voutilainen, and auction house Phillips. Just three years later, the Calibre 135 was revived as a modern caliber for a line called the G.F.J. (after Zenith's founder Georges Favre Jacot). In just a little over a year, we've seen three small runs of this watch introduced in different stone-dial and metal combinations—platinum with a lapis lazuli dial, tantalum with an onyx dial, and an upcoming yellow-gold GFJ with a bloodstone dial. In the meantime, this new Double Signed concept with Naoya Hida takes the G.F.J. in a very different visual direction. The hefty 39.15mm platinum case, with a thickness of 10.5mm and a compact lug-to-lug of 45.75mm, remains the same as other G.F.J. models. But that dial is unabashedly Naoya Hida, constructed out of solid silver with the distinctive hand engraving coming from the hand of master engraver Keisuke Kano, the man responsible for the hand engraving across al...

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Insight: the Compliant Mechanism Inside the Patek Philippe Celestial 6105G SJX Watches
Patek Philippe Celestial 6105G Jun 2, 2026

Insight: the Compliant Mechanism Inside the Patek Philippe Celestial 6105G

The standout piece from Patek Philippe at Watches & Wonders 2026 was certainly the Celestial Sunrise and Sunset Ref. 6105G-001. The astronomy-oriented watch was a decade in the making and compared to its more conservative predecessor, the ref. 6102, the new model benefits from a complete makeover, both aesthetically and mechanically.  Hidden within the 47 mm white gold case is an unusual component that didn’t get the attention it deserved at launch: a butterfly-shaped compliant cam-and-rack mechanism. The system is used for the sunrise/sunset indicators and proves Patek Philippe’s almost savant-like mastery of compliant micro-mechanics.  The Celestial ref. 6105 is pictured showing a sunrise of around 8 AM, and a sunset time of about 7 PM. Note the date ring pulls double duty as the sunrise/sunset scale. Fixing something that may be broken Although still quite rare compared to other complications, there are more sunrise/sunset watches on the market than seemingly ever before. They mostly follow the same basic construction: a cam that works with a follower. As the year progresses, the cam slowly turns, displacing the follower. In pairs, such systems are used to show both the sunrise and sunset times, which synchronously vary throughout the year.  So why fix something that doesn’t appear to be broken? Or more specifically, why use an elaborate compliant system when a basic cam and follower is a fixture in classical watchmaking? European patent EP3740821B1 granted to ...

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