980 articles · 107 videos found · page 35 of 37
Two Broke Watch Snobs
By any measure, the Kickstarter campaign of the Hamtun H2 titanium dive watch was a wild success. Fully funded in less than 30 seconds, the pledges ultimately exceeded $550,000 with 1,300 enthusiastic backers in the queue...
SJX Watches
An American watchmaker who unveiled his first watch in 2013, Keaton Myrick has spent the subsequent years refining the 1 of 30, a wristwatch crafted with traditional, artisanal methods. Since then the 38-year old has delivered several examples of the 30-piece edition, each customised to the client’s request in terms of design; the watch pictured is numbered “30/30” and is largely stock, with the only custom option being the engine-turned seconds sub-dial. Based in Sisters, a town in the Pacific Northwest state of Oregon, Keaton studied watchmaking at the Lititz Watch Technicum (LWT), a school in Pennsylvania established by Rolex, which he joined after graduation. After several years there, he returned to his hometown to set up a workshop specialising in repair and restoration. 1 in 30, numbered “30/30” Keaton’s time at LWT was the genesis of the 1 in 30. According to Keaton, each student at the LWT had to build a school watch based on the ETA Unitas 6497 (or the related 6498), a project that evolved into the 1 in 30. With inspiration from independent watchmakers like Philippe Dufour as well as complicated vintage pocket watches – the historical inspiration is particularly evident in the winding click – Keaton modified and refined the common and robust Unitas movement to create the impressive and original cal. 29.30 inside the 1 in 30. Cal. 29.30 Being easily available and reliable, the Unitas 6497 and 6498 are popular base movements for independent watch...
SJX Watches
Having unveiled the vintage-inspired Presage Automatic Chronograph ref. SRQ031 in October 2019, Seiko has returned to the same historical wristwatch with the Presage Prestige 2020. Comprising of three variants – SPB127J1, SPB131J1, and SPB129J1 – the new Presage is once again modelled on the “Crown” chronograph ref. 5719A-45899 that was unveiled in 1964 to mark that year’s Tokyo Olympics. The vintage original was a mono-pusher chronograph with basic functionality, featuring a central, elapsed seconds hand and black plastic bidirectional bezel for recording times of over a minute. Last year’s Presage chronograph was a step up from the original with three counters, but this year’s Presage Prestige does away with the chronograph altogether. But since the original had a plain dial without registers, the new Presage Prestige manages to look pretty much the same. The original “Crown” chronograph from 1964 All three versions of the Presage Prestige differ only in dial colour, and are otherwise identical in terms of dimensions, design and movement. Because of the styling of the “Crown” Chronograph, the Presage Prestige manages to be fairly faithful to the original. Nearly all of the elements of the dial, from the chapter ring with the applied hour markers and oblong “lume” plots to the dauphine hands, are a close-enough replica of the original. Granted it has been modernised with the usual tweaks found in remakes, including a slightly larger case and ...
SJX Watches
Released in 2014 to critical and commercial success, Interstellar tells the story of a Joseph Cooper, an astronaut recruited to save humanity by travelling through wormholes to seek new, habitable worlds. He’s played by Matthew McConaughey, while Jessica Chastain takes the role of Murphy, his daughter. A key scene in the film has Cooper communicating across space and time with Murphy via the seconds hand of her wristwatch, which jumps in Morse code. The wristwatch prop was a custom Hamilton, but it took the brand five years to take advantage of the big screen opportunity – though Hamilton did recruit the movie’s production designer to create a sci-fi wristwatch – with the Khaki Field Murph finally launching last year. Though based on the standard Khaki Field Auto 42 mm, the Murph edition is notably different. To start with, it has a retro look with faux-vintage luminous markings and cathedral hands. And perhaps more importantly for the aficionado, the Murph has no date function; in fact, it is the only automatic model in the Khaki Field line without a date (the other models sans date are all hand-wind). In short, the Murph is a good-looking, military-style watch for relatively little money. The dial of the Murph is surprisingly well conceived for an inexpensive watch. The layout is balanced and well proportioned, with both hands being just the right length. Because the Super-Luminova used is a dark parchment, the dial has strong vintage aspirations that don’t q...
Deployant
Faubourg de Cracovie Chronograph is now available in a 'Panda' variation. The dial is enamel with a pair of cut out black enamel subdials. A red tipped seconds hand and red XII marker provides a sporty touch to the otherwise classic design of the dial.
Revolution
The new Navitimer shows the technical prowess of the Grenchen brand, by means of a split-seconds chronograph that is rich both in functionality and looks.
Time+Tide
Most brands enjoy celebrating anniversaries based around the centenary, but not Grand Seiko, and it actually makes sense. In watchmaking, the number 60 is significantly more important than 50, as it takes 60 seconds to make a minute, and 60 minutes to make an hour, as well as that in Japan the number 60 signifies … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The bold and blue Grand Seiko 60th Anniversary appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
This Oris jazz watch is an homage to the Australian jazz musician James Morrison. It features a gradient ‘dégradé’ blue dial and a caseback engraved with the Academy of Music logo, with contrasting Arabic numerals marking the hours. The golden seconds hand counterbalance is shaped like a trumpet hook, inspired by James’ favourite instrument. This … ContinuedThe post “Watch & Act!” Auction Item – Lot 9: An Oris from the jazz man James Morrison appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
As I’m sure most of you are aware, “The Notorious” Conor McGregor made a triumphant return to the UFC octagon last weekend, knocking out his opponent, seasoned veteran Donald Cerrone, within 40 seconds of the very first round. It was a resounding statement from the Irishman (those shoulder charges!) and it will no doubt again … ContinuedThe post Fight Club: We pit Conor McGregor’s watch collection against one another appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Never has a watch encapsulated the phrase “one watch to do it all” more than the Seiko Astron series. Here is a timepiece with an accuracy rating of ±15 seconds per month and a power reserve of no less than 6 months, that can also do the following: Automatically adjust the handset position alignment Host … ContinuedThe post Solar flair: Which Seiko Astron is right for you? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Before the monumental Grand Complication was launched in 2013 – essentially a wristwatch remake of a pocket watch sized like a pocket watch – the most complicated A. Lange & Söhne was the Tourbograph. Launched in 2005, it combined a split-seconds chronograph with a tourbillon regulator as well as a chain and fusee. A limited edition of 51 watches conceived as a tribute to the Günter Blümlein (1943-2001), revered for having reestablished A. Lange & Söhne after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Tourbograph was powered by the L903.0 movement, made up of 465 parts, excluding the tiny chain. Cased in platinum, it was the original Lange uber-complication; a later edition of 50 pieces had a honey gold case, followed by an even more complex version with a perpetual calendar. Same but different Level up But Lange went one better and made a singular example of the ultimate Tourbograph, which was the most expensive Lange at the time. This Tourbograph was a unique piece set with 202 diamonds on the case – including one brilliant-cut diamond on the crown – and 175 on the bracelet, for a total of 377 diamonds weighing 40.6 carats. Diamonds aside, it is also unique as the only Tourbograph known that’s fitted to a matching platinum bracelet. Unveiled in 2009, it was made for Dubail, destined for its flagship store – which opened just the year before – on the Place Vendome, the posh square in Paris that is home to the Hotel Ritz and grand French jewellers like Cartier and...
Time+Tide
Earlier this year, we were invited by CNN to help out with a miniseries concept called ‘Timeless’ that would explore the most iconic watches of all time. Oh, and each episode had to wrap in under 60 seconds. The challenge was set, Jack Forster and I – in our respective HQs – raced against the … ContinuedThe post Time+Tide and Hodinkee host a (very mini) miniseries on CNN starring the most iconic watches ever appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
The third important vintage Rolex – in my opinion – at Phillips’ upcoming Geneva auction, after the ref. 4113 split-seconds chronograph and mint ref. 8171 “Padellone”, is the ref. 6062 “Stelline” triple calendar that once belonged to Gordon Bethune, the executive best known for turning around Continental Airlines during his decade-long tenure starting in 1994. The watch a sterling example of the ref. 6062 – and will sell for well over a million dollars – but it is also notable for what it says about the development of the vintage watch market. Now 78 and retired, though he pops up regularly on CNBC to comment on the airline industry, Mr Bethune accumulated his watch collection over two decades. He sold the bulk of it in 2012, but remains probably the only famous business executive known to have collected watches in a serious fashion (another is perhaps former Hollywood talent agent Michael Ovitz, though he more widely regarded as an important collector of contemporary art). Mr Bethune’s collection was inclined towards great, even some of the best, examples of important, uncommon and desirable watches, rather than extraordinarily or unique models. So he owned one of the best-preserved, all-original examples of the ref. 6062s “Stelline”, rather than say a well-worn ref. 6062 with a black, diamond-marker dial. It was a cold day in December… The Gordon Bethune Collection of Fifty Exceptional Vintage Wristwatches took place in December 2012 at Christi...
SJX Watches
The Hand Made 1 is a watch “95%” produced “using only hand-operated tools”, requiring some 6,000 hours, according to Greubel Forsey. That’s equivalent to three years of work, largely performed by a special team of watchmakers assembled by Greubel Forsey specifically for this project, along with independent specialists who produce certain components. Functionally, the Hand Made 1 is a straightforward timepiece – it shows the time, hours, minutes and seconds, and is equipped with a one-tourbillon regulator. The movement is made up of 272 parts, which is within the usual range for such a movement. The complexity of the watch comes from how it is made – by hand or by hand-operated tools – which is why only two to three examples will be produced per year. The genesis for the Hand Made 1 is the department within Greubel Forsey that produces prototypes, which are essentially one-off, hand-made watches. The same production techniques are applied to the Hand Made 1, except that they are taken to a far higher level, in order to create components that are produced with the same techniques as prototypes but to the same fit and finish as standard Greubel Forsey movements. So each screw is made on a manual lathe, and can take up to eight hours to complete. The case components are milled on a pantograph lathe, essentially a manually operated CNC machine that requires the operator to guide the cutting tool to by hand. And even the balance spring is rolled by a manua...
SJX Watches
If I had a million dollars, or maybe two, to buy a Rolex, I could perhaps buy a ref. 4113 split-seconds, which is very large, very flat – a bit too large and flat for me – and exceptionally rare. Or I could buy a ref. 8171 triple calendar in steel, one in almost “new old stock” condition, as Phillips has in its upcoming Geneva auction. The ref. 8171 in question reminds me of the 369-year old Jehan Cremsdorff pocket watch Sotheby’s sold in the summer – it’s hard to believe something that old, admittedly not quite four centuries, can be so well preserved. The “Padellone” is incredibly – incredibly – clean and crisp. Up close, the ref. 8171 speaks for itself. The dial looks like the watch left the factory recently. It is clean, neat and the date track is in pure, vivid blue. Similarly, the hands are free of marks, meaning they were seldom, or never, removed from the dial. The condition of the dial is all the more unusual due to the fact that the ref. 8171 is not an Oyster. Instead, it has a snap-on back, instead of the water-resistant, screw-on back found on the Oyster watch case. Over time, snap backs tend to lose their water-resistance as a consequence of corrosion or deformation from repeated opening, which is why most ref. 8171s have dials that show obvious ageing. An example of a ref. 8171 with a dial showing ageing, this one offered at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2017 The steel case is similarly well preserved. Fortunately, steel is nota...
Time+Tide
Some of the coolest and cultiest of vintage Seiko watches are their calibre 5719 monopusher chronographs, released to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics of 1964 (an event for which Seiko were the official timekeepers btw). These watches didn’t look much like a chronograph, with only a single seconds hand and a bidirectional bezel to track … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Seiko Chronograph 55th Anniversary - SRQ031J appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
As complications go, the RM 50 is the ultimate Richard Mille, combining a tourbillon and split-seconds chronograph. Descended from the RM008 of 2003, one of the brand’s foundational models, the top of the line complication now has now been dressed up in new livery for Finnish Formula 1 driver Kimi Räikkönen, who drives for the Alfa Romeo Racing Team. Launched at the start of the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix, the RM 50-04 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Kimi Räikkönen is large, lightweight, and complex, and dressed in a red, white and black colour combination that’s the same as the livery on the Alfa Romeo C38 Formula 1 car. Kimi Räikkönen Though it’s a mass of details and colours, the dial is actually easily to decipher. The two chronograph sub-dials are the six and nine o’clock. The fan-shaped indicator at 11 o’clock is the power reserve, and its mirror image to the right is the torque indicator. This indicates the level of wind in the mainspring, with the ideal being between 53Nmm and 65Nmm; “Nmm” is short for Newton millimetre. And at three o’clock is the power reserve display. Made of various lightweight carbon composites, the watch case is generously sized, like other top of the line Richard Mille complications – 44.5mm in diameter and 16.1mm high. The front and back plates are white Quartz TPT, while the middle is Carbon TPT. Both composites are made by North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT), a Swiss lightweight composite specialist that’s...
Quill & Pad
The GPHG foundation describes the Men’s category for watches entered into the 2019 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève as containing indications for only hours, minutes, seconds, simple date, power reserve, and classic moon phase. Here our panelists select their favorites from the six shortlisted watches, and the reactions are quite mixed.
SJX Watches
A Swiss brand now owned by Citizen Watch of Japan, Frederique Constant excels at complications in an affordable and reasonable manner, and now it has added the Regatta Countdown Chronograph to its repertoire. Unlike many yachting watches that are often over-designed with nautical details – think pennants and lots of colours – Frederique Constant has kept its regatta chronograph clean. Priced a bit over US$3000, the Yacht Timer Regatta Countdown has two key elements: central chronograph seconds hand and five circular apertures lined up under 12 o’clock. The apertures function as a 5- or 10-minute regatta countdown timer; this records the time just before the start of a race when yachts position themselves for the best spot at the starting line. When the chronograph is inactive, the apertures show white discs. Once started with the pusher at two o’clock, the apertures turn blue one by one, with each aperture representing one elapsed minute. After five minutes, and five blue apertures, the five-minute countdown to the race begins. The apertures progressively change from showing blue to orange, again at the rate of one a minute. The dials – blue or silver – are straightforward, apart from the countdown windows, and decorated with a hobnail guilloche. Luminous hands match the luminous baton hour markers. Rated to 100m, the case is steel (or gold-plated steel), and 42mm in diameter. Notably, it’s fitted with an upscale, “box-type” sapphire crystal that has ...
Time+Tide
In yet another flash of creativity and marketing cunning, H. Moser & Cie have lit up watch lovers all over the world by sending out one of their watches - the Pioneer Centre Seconds Funky Blue Black Edition - on a tour with no road map. And absolutely no guarantee of whose couch it will be crashing … ContinuedThe post Will this stunning Moser land in your hands on its #pioneertour? If you know watch people, there’s a chance … appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Austrian watchmaker Habring² is well-regarded for its affordable, cleverly engineered watches, particularly the Doppel rattrapante. Now Habring² takes the Doppel a step further: the Perpetual Doppel combines the mono-pusher, split seconds chronograph with a perpetual calendar, while still keeping it affordable as such things go. Constructed atop its proprietary A11 movement (itself derived from the robust Valjoux 7750), the Perpetual Doppel is unusual in using a complications module not made by Habring², which typically designs its own complications. Instead, the watch uses the tried and tested perpetual calendar module produced by Dubois-Depraz, a complications specialist that also supplies the module to other makers of affordable perpetual calendars. This makes the Perpetual Doppel the most complicated serially produced Habring² watch, though the brand has produced one-off repeaters and tourbillons in the past. The Perpetual Doppel is generously sized at 43mm in diameter to spread out the calendar displays as much as possible to maximise legibility. But despite the added height of the perpetual calendar, the case manages to stay just 12mm high. Readability is also helped by the red gold-gilded hour numerals and red gold-plated hands that contrast with the brushed, silvered dial. And the chronograph has two central seconds hands for the split-seconds function, along with a 30-minute counter at 12 o’clock for elapsed minutes. The Habring² c...
Deployant
We begin with the high complications Histories de Tourbillon 10. This is the Final Edition with a unique four tourbillons each making one revolution every 36 seconds. Three versions. A piece unique in plat and 10 each in WG and RG. Three differentials are used in the movement. Size 54mmx40mm. And a new Project Z,Read More
Deployant
New design from Angelus: over the U50, now called the Black Edition. Same U50 one minute tourbillon. Hour min and small seconds in DLC costed. Case in Ti with sandblasting then DLC black coated. WR 300m. 55 PR. Black and grey for inner bezel and hands with SuperLuminova. LE 25 pieces. CHF 30,750. Before taxes.Read More
Deployant
From MB&F;, a new ladies piece from the independent. We have the LM Flying T. At 38.5mm, it looks and feels much smaller. Equipped with a 60 seconds flying tourbillon, 100 hours PR, automatic rotor in 18k gold stylized in the shape of the sun. Three editions, 168 diamonds set on a black lacquer dial,Read More
Revolution
Last November, one of the most highly anticipated watches at the Only Watch auction was the F.P. Journe Monopusher Split-Seconds Chronograph.
Revolution
The new UR-111, which walks back a few of the linear displays in order to emphasise linear minutes on a rotating cylinder and interlocking seconds.
Revolution
A Lange & Sohne introduces the 1815 Tourbillon featuring hacking seconds and zero-reset.
Revolution
The Marine Chronographe 5527 is not a split-seconds chronograph but a no-less-desirable three sub-dial model housed in the new, dressy Marine case.
Deployant
New Release: Louis Moinet updates the Tempograph 20-Seconds with the Tempograph Chrome - the next generation is now also in a SS case.
Time+Tide
Where there’s smoke there’s fire. There’s a lot of truth to that saying, especially if we’re talking about H. Moser & Cie’s famous smoky fumé dials - the latest batch of watches they’re attached to are straight up fire. Take, for example, the Venturer Small Seconds XL Purity. The dial-heavy 43mm watch definitely lives up … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: H. Moser & Cie’s 2018 collection brings the heat and of course those smoky dials appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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