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Something new: Six watches from relatively uncommon brands to kickstart 2026
In this week's article, we take a look at six watches from uncommon watch brands that you might want to check out in 2026.
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Deployant
In this week's article, we take a look at six watches from uncommon watch brands that you might want to check out in 2026.
Fratello
Makina is a brand that has repeatedly challenged us with its modern creations. They are sometimes brutalistic, sometimes futuristic, but always pushing the boundaries of watch design. With the new Andras_II, the Filipino brand has updated its take on a classic dress watch. Just one glance at the Andras_II Gray immediately told me there was […] Visit Hands-On With The Surprising Makina Andras_II Gray to read the full article.
Fratello
With the blazing Sun reflecting off the snow, the crimson dial of the Oris Artelier Year Of The Horse Limited Edition looked ever so vibrant and fiery. The famous Matterhorn provided no shade; it just stood there magnificently, creating the perfect backdrop. Traditionally, Oris chooses Zermatt to mark the start of a new watch year. […] Visit A Hands-On Introduction To The Oris Artelier Year Of The Horse Limited Edition In Zermatt to read the full article.
WatchAdvice
An elegant watch for both day and night for the ladies, the Seiko Presage Cocktail Time ticks a lot of boxes and punches above its weight. What We Love The elegant and classic look Great size for smaller wrists The textured dial is reminiscent of a Frozen Banana Daiquiri What We Don’t The 34mm isn’t as dainty as some may like The date window isn’t colour-matched to the dial Finding the perfect bracelet fit may prove tricky on smaller wrists Overall Rating: 8.75 / 10 Value for Money: 9/10 Wearability: 8.5/10 Design: 9/10 Build Quality: 8.5/10 The Seiko Presage Cocktail Time collection has earned a dedicated following by delivering dress-watch elegance with a uniquely spirited twist — each model draws inspiration from classic cocktails, pairing refined dial artistry with Seiko’s dependable automatic movements. With so many cocktails in the world, inspiration is endless for this lineup, and last year, Seiko released the Summer Cocktail collection, featuring a range of watches inspired by refreshing summer drinks. At the heart of this lineup lies the Seiko Presage Cocktail Time SRPL64J, a two-tone timepiece inspired by the Frozen Banana Daiquiri. With the playful vibrancy of its muse, it showcases a textured gold-toned dial and subtle diamond accents. With a blend of vintage charm and modern wearability, the Presage Cocktail Time Frozen Banana Daiquiri showcases how Presage transforms everyday timekeeping into something distinctly stylish and expressive, while be...
Hodinkee
Watch industry veterans James Dowling and Gisbert Brunner pen weighty takes on the Crown while Heuer collector and expert, Arno Michael Haslinger, chronicles chronographs.
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Worn & Wound
I think it’s fair to say that for any watch enthusiast out there that Seiko has played some role in discovering this hobby. As a brand that encompasses a variety of styles and price points, anyone can be introduced to the brand at any level of their growing interest. Because of this, the Japanese watchmaker’s 145th anniversary feels particularly special for anyone who, like me, spent hours scouring eBay for a Seiko, and feeling, in a small way, like you’re a legitimate collector now that you’ve graduated away from the generic watch you grabbed at Wal-Mart on a whim. To celebrate this milestone, Seiko has released four limited-edition gold-accented models, across the King Seiko, Prospex, Presage, and Astron collections. While one may think that these four watches feel slightly disjointed when taken together, each showcases what Seiko does best: balancing form and function in equal measure without ever falling into the trap of ostentation. Take, for example, the King Seiko. This anniversary edition, which joins the KS1969 series, is the first of the four and nods directly to Seiko’s founder himself, Kintaro Hattori. The dial pattern is inspired by one that Hattori-san had engraved on his personal watches and is rendered here in a grey gradient that darkens towards the edges. Keeping with Seiko’s innate ability to add decoration without excess, we see the King Seiko has added gold-colored hands, indexes, and text for a bit of personality against the grey. Most not...
Monochrome
The life of an independent watchmaker, or a duo in this case, is hardly ever easy. Roope Kortela and Rene Valta, who you might know from the portrait we produced about a year ago, are pulling the covers off their next watch, but some challenges had to be overcome. When we first spoke with the […]
Hodinkee
How the watch industry navigated its most structurally challenging year in a decade and what to look out for in 2026.
Monochrome
‘Watches by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts’ is not just a marketing phrase when it comes to ZLTD Watches, but a genuine conviction. It’s about bridging passion, culture and creativity to offer something unique. Singaporean watch nut Z.L. Toh, one half of the brand, started out by spending hours upon hours watching YouTube videos on all things […]
For this Enthusiast Spotlight, proudly sponsored by the Windup Watch Shop, we sit down with professional guitarist Kurt Ozan, a musician whose life on the road is defined by precision, rhythm, and feel. Best known for his work alongside Luke Combs, Kurt brings the same intentionality to his watches as he does to his instruments, favoring pieces that earn their place through use, memory, and personal meaning. Kurt is also a watch enthusiast and a bit of an Oris collector. From stadium stages to quieter moments creating new tunes in the studio, Kurt’s relationship with time is shaped by craft, connection, and the stories carried on the wrist. The post Enthusiast Spotlight with Professional Guitarist and Oris Collector Kurt Ozan appeared first on Worn & Wound.
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Monochrome
While Hublot’s Classic Fusion model might look tame in comparison to the brand’s muscular Big Bang quarterbacks, in 1980 it sent shockwaves through the industry. With its unorthodox combination of a gold 37mm porthole-shaped case with exposed screws in the bezel paired with a black rubber strap, Carlo Crocco’s Hublot (French for porthole) watch was […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Looking for a tool watch you can trust and actually rely on? We break down the watches that survived real testing and explain what they do well and where they fall short.
Time+Tide
It is often considered the most prolific complication in the watch world, and it has a long, complex, story to tell.The post On your marks, get set, go: the history of the chronograph appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
Forgive the lyrical tone, but to encounter a Moritz Grossmann watch is to feel time transformed into form and substance. These are timepieces that are great to look at and study in detail with a loupe, but also wonderful to experience through touch, balance, and inner rhythm. Since Christine Hutter revived the storied name in […]
Worn & Wound
One of the most reliable events on the watch release calendar every year is a glut of new watches in January celebrating the lunar new year, which this year begins on February 17. This is a very important holiday in many Asian countries, and brands with an international focus are not shy about dropping limited editions throughout the month to appeal (primarily) to customers in those territories. Of course, very often the watches themselves are quite cool outside the context of the lunar new year celebration itself, and it’s always kind of a fun spectator sport to see what brands come up with. Typically, brands will riff on the animal associated with a given year, and this year it’s the fire horse. First out of the gate: Oris, with the new Year of the Horse Limited Edition. The Year of the Horse Limited Edition can be defined by two prominent features: deep red tones, and the use of the Calibre 113 movement. The movement is somewhat unusual and not used frequently in the Oris catalog, so we’ll start there. This is a manually wound caliber with an impressive ten day power reserve, and also includes a “business calendar” that provides the day, date, and also displays the week of the year via a scale at the dial’s perimeter. The week indicator is an unusual, old-fashioned feature that holds a lot of charm, and provides an easy visual reference for how deep we are into a given year. The watch has a dark red dial with lighter red fumé subdials at 3 and 9 that in...
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Fratello
What happens when sartorialists Mark Cho and Elliot Hammer (respectively, the founder and the creative director of The Armoury) come up with a watch brand of their own? Let’s find out in this hands-on review of the Temporal Works Series A line. The Armoury’s Temporal Works In case you are unfamiliar with The Armoury, it’s […] Visit Hands-On: The Temporal Works Series A to read the full article.
Fratello
In this video, we go hands-on with Omega’s recently released Speedmaster Grey Side of the Moon. We covered it in-depth here, but also decided to shoot a video with this new ceramic Speedmaster. If the video above doesn’t play, please visit our YouTube channel to watch it there. Inspired by Apollo 8 In this video, I went […] Visit Video: Hands-On With The Omega Speedmaster Grey Side Of The Moon to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Seiko founder established a watch store in Tokyo’s Ginza district in 1881, and for the occasion the watchmaker has unveiled a quartet of 145th anniversary watches representing the best of its affordable offerings. While each model is different, all share gilded elements as a unifying motif. The collection is led by a pair of three-hand watches, the King Seiko KS1969 SJE121 and Presage Classic Series “Craftsmanship” Enamel Dial SPB538. While the two three-hand editions are arguably the more interesting of the 145th anniversary line-up, the collection also includes a pair of chronographs, the automatic Prospex Speedtimer SRQ059 and solar-powered Astron GPS SSH186. King Seiko SJE12 (left), and Presage Classic SPB538 Initial thoughts Seiko rolls out numerous anniversary watches on a frequent basis, so the anniversary theme itself isn’t a big deal. The 145th anniversary models, however, are appealing in themselves, especially the pair of three-hand models. The top-of-the-line anniversary edition is the King Seiko KS1969, which is far more striking than the regular production model, and certainly worth the modest premium in price. The Presage, on the other hand, is another iteration of the early-wristwatch-style case that Seiko has done before, but not that often. Gold plating is not appropriate on an expensive watch, but the Presage is affordable so it gets a pass. The enamel dial and cuff-style strap are a nice touch that gives the watch a surprisingly vintage feel. ...
Hodinkee
The same great framework with a new beige twist results in a really attractive watch.
Worn & Wound
I’ve never had many gold-tone watches in my collection, and it’s simply because I don’t have much gold jewelry to match. The benefit to this is that I’ve always been incredibly critical of the gold-tone watches I contemplate adding to my collection, knowing that I only want a few in my watch box overall. I acquired this 5T52-7A19 a couple of months ago after a spur-of-the-moment faceoff between me and the “buy it now” button on eBay. While I had owned a model from Seiko’s Age of Discovery line many years ago, I had never come into contact with one of the higher-end models from the collection. I’ve remained true to my self-implemented rule for gold-tone watches, meaning that this model will have the honor of forcing my hand to sell off another piece from the watch box. If you’ve been thinking about adding another gold-tone watch to your collection, let me introduce you to a staunch contender. Brief Overview of the Age of Discovery Line and -7A19 Model The Seiko Age of Discovery was introduced sometime between 1990 and 1992 to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ 1492 voyage. Based on the historical time period of the same name, the Age of Discovery series is heavily influenced by the nautical theming associated with the many expeditions of European travelers between the 15th and 17th centuries. Many of the line’s watches feature motifs that harken back to crucial aspects of seafaring travel, sporting iconography such as maps, ...
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Teddy Baldassarre
One of the first hurdles to clear for newcomers to watch appreciation is the clarification of two very common horological categories: chronograph vs. chronometer. Quite simply, a chronometer (from the Greek chronos, meaning time, and meter, meaning measure) is any watch or clock that keeps reliably accurate time, usually as determined by an outside independent testing agency, whereas a chronograph (from chronos and graph, i.e., to “write time”) is any watch or clock with the ability to track and record intervals of time, aka a stopwatch. This is, again, the simplest way to look at it. But there’s a bit more to both chronometers and chronographs that a knowledge-hungry watch enthusiast might want to digest - including the fact that the terms are not interchangeable but also not mutually exclusive. [toc-section heading="Chronometers Defined"] Our original, classical definition of a chronometer can be traced back to the golden age of seafaring exploration in the 18th Century, when ships required the use of a highly accurate onboard clock that enabled their navigators to determine longitude in order to avoid the perils of running aground or veering hopelessly off course. The man credited with developing the first of these “marine chronometers” was legendary British watchmaker John Harrison; his invention facilitated the celestial navigation used at the time by navigators at sea to determine their ship’s position in coordination with a sextant. Marine chronome...
Worn & Wound
Kurono Tokyo, Hajime Asaoka’s approachable watch brand, has introduced their first new release of 2026 on the very first workday of the year. Nothing like getting right back into the swing of things. The new piece, part of the brand’s “Special Projects” series, introduces meteorite to the collection for the first time. The Inseki features many of the Kurono hallmarks that have made the brand a favorite among enthusiasts over these last several years, while riding a trend in watchmaking in a rather elegant way that still feels appropriate for the brand. The centerpiece of the watch is the gray meteorite dial, taken from the Muonionalusta meteorite which fell in what is now Sweden about one million years ago. The small slab of meteorite, with the familiar striations that make the material so interesting, is surrounded by a white lacquered outer ring where you’ll find Asaoka’s custom “Calligra” typeface numerals, which have been painted in high relief. It’s a really spare execution, accented by hand bent, high polish steel hands, a design detail that has become a Kurono signature. Kurono notes that, as with all meteorite dials, no two are exactly the same. Asaoka, in the press materials for the Inseki, further explains that sometimes the variance in this material results in a piece of meteorite that is not particularly visually interesting. For this release, Asaoka has personally selected each piece of meteorite for inclusion in the Inseki’s run, and t...
Deployant
TAG Heuer's release for the Chinese New Year of the Horse is now released and available immediately. The watch is based on the Carrera Chronograph.
Time+Tide
The Singaporean microbrand's quirky rotating-case dress watch sees two limited edition seasonal variants join its range.The post Vario flips the script with two festive limited edition Versa models appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
In the second half of 2023, Tudor quietly dropped what would turn out to be one of its most interesting modern dive watches, the Black Bay 54. This 37mm watch instantly became the smallest Black Bay diver in the lineup and slotted in neatly alongside the Black Bay 58 and its standard 41mm counterpart. My […] Visit Battle Of The Black Bays: Tudor Black Bay 54 Vs. Black Bay 58 to read the full article.
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