4,967 articles · 39 videos found · page 38 of 167
Monochrome
A not-so-young-brand that only appeared recently on the international scene and an independent watchmaker that we’ve named Japan’s new sensation, Otsuka Lotec is the brainchild of watchmaker Jiro Katayama. Even though these watches are extremely hard to get outside of Japan (yes, that means pure JDM coolness), the brand has started to gain recognition and […]
Monochrome
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is on everyone’s lips. It’s a topic that divides and generates strong opinions (pros or cons), and it will, in the future, become increasingly important, whether you like it or not. These tools, at least the tools that we, the public, can use (image or text generators such as ChatGPT), are […]
Monochrome
A week ago, we covered some of the best watches coming from the Netherlands for the simple reason that both our founder Frank and myself are Dutch. However, part of the team comes from France, and as such, I thought it would be fun to have a look at French watches this time around! And when […]
Worn & Wound
When I first met Rafael Guimarães a few months ago, Statera hadn’t crossed my radar in a big way. The small brand, which has a fair claim to being the first watch brand born and built in Brazil, had already sold through a few production runs of nice-looking watches, but the brand had yet to make a real splash or to break out from the typical microbrand mold. Their first few releases certainly showed evidence of an eye for quality and detail, but for Rafael and his longtime friend and co-founder Antonio Almir dos Santos Neto (the two have known each other since they were five), it wasn’t enough. “For the first watch, the ST01, we made the design, and then the watch was fabricated in France… it was more like a [proof of concept] to see if we are able to sell watches,” Rafael explained. The obvious next step was to turn inward, to move away from external manufacturing and create what would be (and now is) the first independent watch not only conceived in Brazil, but made there as well. The result is the ST02 Esmalte Grand Feu, a handsome take on the everyday watch born out of a unique perspective paired with a generation’s worth of accumulated knowledge. How We Learn The path to the ST02 was neither short nor simple. Reaching the next level when you live and work in a part of the world with no history of watchmaking isn’t easy, and it’s not made any easier by Brazil’s restrictive tax structure. “We are fascinated by métier d’art. and we are fascinated ...
Revolution
Teddy Baldassarre
The word I keep reading to describe the watch industry in 2024 is “conservative.” There is certainly a case to be made for that view (and my colleague Bilal Khan does so quite eloquently in yesterday’s article), but there is also, I feel, ample evidence of the industry’s ongoing (and, to my mind, essential) devotion to doing new things on the technical side. In this day and age, with the watch business so diversified, so international, and so independent of one another in their schedule of releasing new products (the Spring windfall that is Watches & Wonders Geneva notwithstanding), it can be easy to overlook these innovations when you’re trying to tie up the watchmaking year in a neat bow. Of course, every watch brand has its own approach. Sometimes it’s about setting records (Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget); sometimes it's about elevating a brand’s repertoire to the next tier of complexity (Breitling, TAG Heuer); often, it’s just about taking a fresh approach, or adding a clever twist, to existing complications (Nomos, Swatch). For those who may have missed them or even forgotten about them, here are the technical innovations in the horological world — major and minor — that I found worthy of attention in 2024. Ball Model M Roadmaster A With the Roadmaster M Model A, Ball Watch introduces a mechanical alarm function to its predominantly rugged, tool-oriented lineup for the first time. But it’s not just any mechanical alarm function but an “Alarm-Matic...
Revolution
Hodinkee
A bombshell decision on the hotly contested ownership of a seriously special Patek Philippe.
Revolution
Revolution
Revolution
Revolution
Quill & Pad
The crown is one of the most important yet underappreciated parts of a watch. The humble crown has played an extensive role in helping Rolex – and the rest of the watch industry – get to where it is today. Here's why.
Revolution
Worn & Wound
Last month, Patek Philippe launched their first new watch collection in decades: the Cubitus. It was met with, as you’ve surely seen by now, a chorus of widespread skepticism and bewilderment. Ostensibly a replacement for the now discontinued stainless steel Nautilus, the Cubitus borrows the bracelet and dial treatment from that watch, and makes the case square. The consensus seems to be that they turned one of the most elegant luxury sports watches ever made into something ungainly, and they didn’t even take the time to do it in a thoughtful way. Words like “lazy” and “ugly” fill out the diatribes from commenters who disapprove. For me and the rest of the team at Worn & Wound, new releases from Patek Philippe are something of a spectator sport. I can’t speak for all of my colleagues, but feelings about the brand range from lukewarm appreciation for watches that are objectively well made and designed, to a more straight up boredom (that’s me), to some version of the “I don’t think of you at all” Mad Men meme (also me). It’s fair to say, though, that none of us are die hard Patek fans in the same way, for instance, that we follow new releases from brands like, I dunno, Grand Seiko, Christopher Ward, Armin Strom, Garrick, Tudor, and the like. The watches we get excited about span a huge range of accessibility both in terms of price and actual availability. But a good watch is a good watch. This is all to say, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise t...
Monochrome
Elka Watches is a relatively young brand built on a historical, defunct Dutch name, which was relaunched a couple of years ago by Hakim El Kadiri. Despite having no connection with the defunct Amsterdam brand, he wanted to pay tribute to the old Dutch brand and bring back the flair of the 1960s with modernised […]
Revolution
Monochrome
Jiro Katayama, a car designer turned self-taught, independent watchmaker from Japan, is quickly gaining popularity with his brand, Otsuka Lotec. Despite the brand’s limited distribution – exclusively within Japan – enthusiasts worldwide are drawn to Katayama’s craftsmanship and industrial-meets-steampunk watch aesthetic. Travelling to Japan to secure one of his coveted timepieces, be it the retrograde […]
Revolution
Revolution
Hodinkee
The event brought indies and watch lovers together in a new way. As for the wrists shots, even if you think you’ve seen it all, IAMWATCH will surprise you.
Revolution
Quill & Pad
Day One for the Zenith Chronomaster Sport was January 21, 2021. And it seemed like everyone had the same reaction: “That is one aggressive Rolex tribute.” Tim Mosso thinks that the Chronomaster Sport is a distinctive product with its own identity and takes a look here at how it stacks up against the ever-popular Rolex Cosmograph Daytona.
Monochrome
The current watch market is polarized and most often highlighted by the major and mainstream brands on one hand, and let’s say, all the rest on the other hand. Among the latter, on the fringes of the groups and a few independent and historical brands, a swarm of new brands has emerged in recent years […]
Monochrome
Nestled on the river banks of the Dutch IJssel River, close to the town of Ouderkerk aan den IJssel, watches are being made. Mechanical watches that is, by the hands of Fred Dingemans. With a background in fine mechanical engineering, he was already very familiar with lathes, tools and machines before starting to make watches. […]
Hodinkee
Plus, a Collecting Advice for a world-traveling free diver.
Monochrome
Why so serious…? This was somehow the idea Richard Benc had in mind when he decided, in 2020, to create his watch brand, Studio Underd0g. From there, the brand managed to gather the attention of watch enthusiasts with its fun, colourful watches at accessible prices – think about an April Fool’s joke becoming a reality, […]
![[Video] Tudor Black Bay Chrono Blue Boutique Edition vs. Pink: Which is Better?](https://wornandwound.com/library/uploads/2024/09/C05A4290.jpg)
Worn & Wound
Tudor has been on a roll this year with new additions to the Black Bay Chronograph collection. Just a few weeks ago, they dropped a new addition to its Black Bay Chronograph lineup: the Blue Boutique Edition. Since I recently picked up the pink dial variant, naturally I wanted to get my hands on the blue and see how it stacks up against my current favorite. Both models bring something unique to the table, but should you go out of your way to pick up either? Let me see if I can encourage some of ya’ll to come to the dark side with me! Starting with the classic (and widely available) Black Bay Chronograph, I had a chance to wear the white panda version a few months ago, and while I appreciated its solid build and good looks, something about it wasn’t quite right. I’ll be the first to admit that I am attracted to the Black Bay Chrono because of its similarities to its “big sister” chronograph, the Rolex Daytona. Since I’m not willing to pay gray market prices and getting one at retail is a grail move in itself, I’ve always considered the BB Chrono a solid alternative. I was super excited Tudor lent me the white panda as I had never gone hands on with one for more than 5 minutes. Upon putting it on my wrist I was totally down with the look of the thicker chronograph but something just wasn’t sitting right (literally). The oyster bracelet just felt too heavy for my taste and bulky in nature. I also found the lack of on-the-fly adjustability frustrating in the ...
Hodinkee
New releases from small brands including Berneron, Daniel Roth, and Rexhepi highlight the industry's back-to-school show.
Monochrome
Throughout the past years, we’ve had the privilege of disclosing a few breakout independent watchmakers, often through their first watch. Sometimes, though, we even get to see graduation watches, or ‘montre ecoles‘ up close and can showcase young talents even better. This time around, we are looking at someone in an even earlier stage of […]
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