25,177 articles · 178 videos found · page 392 of 846
Teddy Baldassarre Videos
Among the pantheon of dive watch heritage is the Japanese brand Seiko. Sure they were a little later to the game than some of their Swiss peers; however, with a legendary lineup that includes the 62MAS, Willard, Turtle, and the SKX, they are as deserving as any name in the industry to get a seat at the table of diving
WatchAdvice
A pink gold Datograph Up/Down with serious chronograph engineering, rich contrast, and the kind of finishing only Lange can deliver. What We Love: Beautifully executed 18-carat pink gold case is as elegant as it comes! One of modern watchmaking’s great chronograph movements, showcased through a rich black and pink gold dial execution. Wears far better than the dimensions suggest. What We Don’t: Case thickness may be too large for some by modern standards. Dial layout may feel slightly imbalanced with integration of power-reserve indicator Traditional 2.5Hz beat rate may not appeal to those who prefer higher-frequency chronograph movements. Overall Rating: 9/10 Value for Money: 9/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 9/10 Build Quality: 9.5/10 There are very few brands in the world of watchmaking that can do what A. Lange & Söhne is capable of. The brand’s chronographs are also some of the most respected timepieces in the industry, carrying heritage, incredible craftsmanship, and painstaking assembly methods that place their movements among the best in the world. Fortunately for me, I had the chance to get up close and go hands-on with one of the brand’s signature chronographs: the Datograph Up/Down. One of the original 1999 A. Lange & Söhne Datograph models (Ref. 403.035) The Datograph was first introduced in 1999, and it quickly became one of the benchmark chronographs of modern watchmaking. Why did it rise to such a status so quickly? It was because of the model’s...
Worn & Wound
Moser’s new Endeavour Flyback Chronograph Dual Time Date occupies a strange niche which the brand has now explored twice in the span of just a few months: a watch with a movement that has been converted from an automatic version to manually wound for additional functionality and convenience. I’d be surprised if this was an operating principle for Moser for either this release or the Streamliner Pump which debuted at Watches & Wonders, and runs on the HMC 103, which is a manually wound version of their workhorse HMC 500. But it does speak to the brand’s ingenuity when it comes to movement making, and is a reminder that while Moser’s aesthetics and distinct design language often get the most ink, there’s real watchmaking happening as well. Moser’s Endeavour platform gets the debut of an entirely new movement from Moser, the HMC 730. Based on the architecture of the HMC 902, their automatic chronograph movement made with AGENHOR, the new caliber dispenses with an automatic winding system in favor of dual time and date complications. It does all of this without traditional subdials, a real benefit of the proprietary AGENHOR architecture, which promises a more intuitive readout of elapsed time on a chronograph. On this watch, a red central hand tracks chronograph seconds, a rhodium plated hand tracks elapsed minutes, and the second time zone is found within an interior gray fume dial. The movement has a number of function first technical advances. The date, for ...
Monochrome
Chinese watchmaking is often frowned upon at best, but things have changed in the past few years. More often than not, we categorise Chinese watches as entry-level (to remain polite) or counterfeits. No need to say, this is very simplistic. But we have decided to forget our prejudices and to make up our minds by taking […]
Hodinkee
Congrats on conquering another week, even if this one felt particularly expensive with the loss of Sonny Rollins. I know jazz is probably supremely uncool, but man oh man, if you've not had any experience listening to old Sonny stuff, pull up his classic The Bridge and dive on in (and, yes, his time out, alone, practicing sax on the Williamsburg Bridge, lent the album its title). But you're not here for that sort of cultural enrichment. Let's get to the real stuff. Scorekeeping earlier picks, the Hamilton RAF from two weeks back sold for €1,600, which is a cheering result. Last week's Omega Marine Chronometer went for CHF 2,000, the Marvin "Ocean Chief" sold for $1,000, and Rare Bird's Jaeger-LeCoultre Étrier sold as well. Strays Photo courtesy GALERIE DES VENTES D'ORLEANS. Photo courtesy Craft + Tailored. Photo courtesy Bonhams. Here's a beautiful Zenith Respirator on its original Zenith-signed NSA bracelet for all you square-cased Ballers to start things off. The Dennison ALD Dual Time seemed to scratch an unsuspected itch for a lot of folks, and certainly there are excellent vintage examples of double-dialed watches, but if you happen to find yourself hooked on the idea that more=better regarding dials, boy oh boy is this 18k gold Chopard with its four separate dials for you (with, yes, four separate manual-wind movements, for the fidgeters among us). Girard Perregaux alarms look fantastic for eschewing the typical fourth hand for setting the alarm, and this example ...
SJX Watches
Phillips’ spring auction season heads east for The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XXII on May 30 – 31. In addition to a strong roster of complications from big brands, and interesting indies as usual, there is a strong showing from the more artistic side of watchmaking spanning gemsetting, enamelling, hand engraving, and wood marquetry. Lot 1010 – Jaquet Droz Magic Lotus Automaton Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721 – 1790) was an extraordinarily skilled automata maker from La Chaux-de-Fonds, his most famous work being The Writer, which can write up to 40 pre-programmed characters, dipping his quill into an ink pot at intervals. Today, Swatch Group uses his name for métiers d’art watches and automata; this watch is both. The onyx dial adds lapidary into the mix. It is a two-train watch — turning the crown one direction winds the movement, while the other winds the animation, which is tripped by a button in the crown and runs for an unusually long four minutes on a full wind. The koi swims around the dial, moving its tail back and forth and dives slightly to pass underneath the floating foliage (which is made of gold). A floating lotus flower opposite the koi acts as a visual counterweight. The petals clutch a yellow sapphire — or is it a red ruby, or a blue sapphire? It changes as the flower passes under the leaves or dial. Finally, while the koi is cavorting around the dial, the dragonfly is hard at work keeping track of the movement’s 68-hour power reserve. That movement...
Monochrome
Kollokium is a project-based watchmaking platform founded in 2020 by Manuel Emch, Barth Nussbaumer and Amr Sindis. Created as an alternative to conventional brand-led horology, Kollokium does not want to be labelled as a “brand” and embraces freedom to build timepieces with “no defined artistic direction, no rehashed history, no constraints”. The third evolution of […]
SJX Watches
Kollokium returns with the Projekt 02 Variant C, hot on the heels of the A and B variants. For this third edition, Kollokium is bringing some colour to the (beach) party, rendering its topographic dial in a striking shade of Mediterranean blue. Initial thoughts Kollokium — an independent micro-brand from Manuel Emch, Barth Nussbaumer and Amr Sindi — continues to find ways to rethink dial and case construction at an affordable price. As its name suggests, the Variant C is the third edition of its second model — Projekt 02 — which introduced the topographical motif last year. True to form, Kollokium is once again letting the dial do all the talking and has left the Variant C unsigned, save for the model abbreviation cast into the case band. Like another independent brand with Manuel Emch at the helm, Kollokium keeps a tight leash on pricing. As a result, the Variant C is priced the same as prior editions, at CHF3,666.66. It’s a limited edition of 299 pieces, which means it will be less common than similarly priced watches like the Tudor Black Bay 54 in ‘Lagoon Blue.’ Of course, cross-shopping a Kollokium against something like the technically advanced Tudor feels a little like missing the forest for the trees. The appeal of the Projekt 02 Variant C lies in its three-dimensional design and unusual textures — on these grounds, there are few alternatives. The Variant C can be pre-ordered starting today for Kollokium subscribers, and will be available to the ...
Monochrome
In recent years, Parmigiani Fleurier has increasingly focused on restrained, architecturally refined watchmaking, whether through the minimalist elegance of the Tonda PF collection or highly artisanal creations such as the Armoriale and the Maison’s objets d’art. Still, Parmigiani Fleurier’s modern identity is nothing without remembering its foundation, rooted in Michel Parmigiani’s lifelong work as a […]
Monochrome
Ever since Favre Leuba has been relaunched at Geneva Watch Days 2024, the brand has been going back to its archives and giving old favourites a fresh spin. Unveiled at this event was the Deep Blue collection that hosted two watches: the Deep Blue Revival (39mm) and Deep Blue Renaissance (40mm). This comeback collection was […]
Time+Tide
Things have simmered down a little bit, at least compared to the recent Royal Pop pandemonium. However, there were some deeper-cut headlines over the last week or so, with some strong weekend viewing to dive into. Russell Crowe is smitten with his Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF @igp366 #paris #rolandgarros #parmigianifleurier #farrenprice ♬ Éblouie par … Continued
Monochrome
For years, Formex has been associated with robust, technically minded watches focused on ergonomics, innovative materials and practical engineering. The Essence, Reef, and Stratos collections built the Biel-based independent brand’s reputation as a maker of high-value sports watches with distinctive technical solutions, including the patented Case Suspension System and advanced clasp mechanisms. With the new […]
SJX Watches
Jérôme Biard is good at keeping secrets. As chief executive of Roventa-Henex (Roventa), he needs to be. The historic manufacture in the sleepy Swiss village of Tavannes builds watches for dozens of watch brands — some are internet-native ‘micro-brands’ while others are historic names with 19th-century roots. Naturally, few of the firm’s customers choose to reveal this arrangement, preferring the unstated implication of in-house expertise. We went inside this secretive manufacture to see a different side of the Swiss watch industry. Roventa-Henex CEO Jérôme Biard in his office in Tavannes. A short history of Roventa-Henex To better understand Roventa, it’s worth examining the history of watchmaking in Tavannes, a small village in the canton of Bern just 16 km from Biel/Bienne. Watchmaking came to Tavannes relatively late — in the 1860s — nearly two centuries after the first Swiss watches were made. Despite its late start, Tavannes quickly became a major centre of industrial watchmaking in the 1890s when Henri Sandoz — with the backing of two prominent families from La Chaux-de-Fonds — opened an industrialised factory based on the American model of production, complete with the latest American machine tools. By 1905, Tavannes Watch Co.’s factory employed more than 600 workers, making it Switzerland’s third-largest watch factory after Longines and Omega. By 1914 its staff had doubled, and the factory was producing more than 3,000 watches per day. Tav...
Hodinkee
What We Know We've featured a lot of Albishorn on Hodinkee recently, and for good reason. It's a fan-favorite brand, and, as our former head of limited editions said, it's hard to find someone who knows how to handle the technical side of watches, the design side, and pricing, all so well. The new Type X-Graph is no exception. If you want more info on the design inspiration behind the brand, you can read one of my previous stories here. But while other launches trend more vintage, this one feels a bit more modern. The Rolex "Zerograph" inspiration is obvious, with the slightly smaller dial and oversized bezel (that overhangs the case). This time, the dial pushes the look into modernity, with a semi-translucent fumé grey dial that lets you catch small glimpses of the skeletonized ALB04 M movement. But at the same time, Alibshorn was able to maintain the pebbled texture of some of their other dials. It's not a fully smoked sapphire like a Patek 5316 or a Lange Lumen, but at the price, it strikes a balance between creativity and affordability. Add the green-emission Super-LumiNova on the PVD-coated bi-directionally rotating steel bezel, and it's a cool monochrome finish. You'll notice that the watch is a chronograph with a 30-minute counter at the lower left and running seconds at the right, but right above the logo is the chronograph running indicator. It switches from red while running to white when stopped. The design of this is patented as part of the brand's modificatio...
Monochrome
Following the Maxigraph, the Marinagraph, the Thundergraph, the original Type 10 Chronograph and the later cream-dial Type 10 Officer, the young Albishorn brand returns to its fictional military aviation universe with the new Type X-Graph. Once again, founder Sébastien Chaulmontet and designer Fabien Collioud explore the idea of a watch that never existed but could […]
SJX Watches
Specialising in affordable, “imaginary vintage” chronographs, Albishorn has added a twist to its military-inspired Type 10. At a distance, the Type X-Graph resembles yet another pilot’s chronograph with a black, textured dial, but up close it reveals a translucent polycarbonate dial that provides a peek at the skeletonised base plate of the movement. Inspired by 1930s acrylic-covered timepieces, the polycarbonate dial is in a gradient-grey tint, giving it a darker finish towards the edges. While the movement is mechanically identical to its predecessor, the calibre has been skeletonised to maximise the “X-ray” effect. Initial thoughts At first glance, the X-Graph appears little different from its predecessors, but up close it is noticeably more interesting. It’s essentially a twist on a skeleton watch – it’s clearly a no-frills, military-style watch, but with a see-through dial that reveals the open-worked movement. The X-Ray is still “imaginary vintage”, but with more imagination, underlining Albishorn founder Sebastien Chaulmontet’s unique take on watches that combines a historical perspective and unusual twists. This is born from his keen interest in vintage chronographs – he wrote a book on the subject – while also being head of research and development at Sellita (Albishorn is a side project, akin to a hobby). The brand’s catalogue now encompasses many variations of the single-button chronograph, but the X-Graph stands out as one of the m...
Monochrome
In 2019, Zenith celebrated the 50th anniversary of the El Primero, the world’s first automatic chronograph movement. Zenith’s high-frequency, integrated automatic chronograph movement was fitted inside three inaugural watches, including the A384, a bold tonneau-shaped case with a two-tone dial that reflected the design language of the period. As the United States gets ready to celebrate […]
Hodinkee
What We Know Today, Zenith introduces two new takes on its distinctive tonneau-shaped A384 chronograph, a modern revival of the model from the late sixties. The new Chronomaster Revival Liberty II is a sequel to the Chronomaster Revival Liberty from 2020, which paired a distinctive red and white striped chronograph seconds hand with a blue dial and white subdials. For the Revival Liberty II, two models are introduced: a stainless steel variant in a run of 250 pieces, and a forged carbon edition in 25 pieces. The theming, as you might guess from the name, focuses on the 250th anniversary of the United States in these US-exclusive editions. Both editions feature that red and white striped chronograph seconds hand (13 stripes for the original 13 colonies). These follow-ups to the original take the blue and white scheme and invert it, with this new dial featuring a white lacquered base with contrasting blue subdials and tachymeter. "250" on the tachymeter scale is highlighted in red in light of the anniversary. The forged carbon edition offers a much more contemporary look, with swirls of silver and black in the ultralight case, pushers, and crown, and paired with a blue textile-embossed rubber strap. The steel version comes with two strap options—a ladder bracelet in stainless steel, as well as a rubber strap for a bit of extra versatility. The case dimensions remain identical to all other A384 revival editions, with a 37mm diameter and 12.6mm thickness. The movement inside...
SJX Watches
First teased more than two years ago, the Barrelhand Monolith makes its official debut. An impressive sophomore effort from San Francisco-based mechanical engineer Karel Bachand, the Monolith was designed — and rigorously tested — to accompany the next generation of manned spaceflight missions. Initial thoughts I tend to look at astronaut-oriented watches with a degree of scepticism. For one thing, many modern mechanical watches are inherently capable of performing well enough in space, especially within the pressurised, temperature-controlled conditions of a spacecraft or space station. Today’s astronauts often travel with numerous personal watches, either for sentimental reasons or to boost future resale value. For another, the demands placed on astronauts make electronic multi-function watches superior to their mechanical counterparts. Almost as soon as such watches were developed, astronauts adopted them enthusiastically, which is why the Timex Datalink was flight qualified by NASA in the 1990s. The European Space Agency (ESA) even patented a set of purpose-built functions devised by astronaut Jean-François Clervoy. These functions were brought to life by the Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33. But mechanical watches still have a place in the unforgiving vacuum of space, where massive temperature fluctuations and unpredictable levels of radiation wreak havoc on batteries and LCD displays. These are the conditions for which the Monolith was developed, and the maker...
Hodinkee
After six years in development, Barrelhand is formally launching the Monolith, a watch that represents a new generation of the tool watch genre built explicitly for the space age. Watches have played an important role in the history of human space travel, but few have actually been designed and engineered to meet ISO aerospace standards, NASA material guidance, and EVA/IVA testing protocols consistent with the needs of a crewed deep-space mission. The Monolith represents exactly that, with Barrelhand going to great lengths to meet a standard that tool watches are rarely held to these days. At the dawn of the Apollo program, with five years of learning from the Gemini program under their belt, NASA issued a memorandum outlining the need for a standard flight-crew wrist watch. The story that follows is a widely known part of watch lore, with Omega's Speedmaster ultimately earning the coveted "Flight Qualified" status, and thus a spot on every crewed flight of the Apollo program from 1968 to 1972. The testing protocols developed by NASA put a handful of commercially available watches through a battery of tests that included exposure to extreme temperature, pressure, and shock, and while none would ace the testing, the Speedmaster came out the other end in arguably the best shape. It's important to note that none of the watches selected by NASA's Procurement and Contracts Division were built with these tests in mind. The Speedmaster and the Daytona were both built with automot...
Worn & Wound
Four years ago I spent a fortnight with the Archival 1930, and ultimately proclaimed it the closest Fears has come to parting me from my hard-earned money. Since then, two things have happened. Firstly, Fears did earn my business by way of the Alliance 01 collaboration with Christopher Ward. Secondly, the modest lineup of rectangular watches from the brand has grown ever so slightly but remains overshadowed by the flagship Brunswick and sporty Redcliff families, and are perhaps therefore a little underappreciated. With so many iterations based on the Brunswick template, including the hugely popular cocktail trilogy produced in collaboration with Studio Underd0g, I find myself rooting for the Arnos – Fears’ first watch to build on the template of the Archival 1930 which captured my heart. When analyzing the Arnos ($4,500), it feels appropriate to start with the dial. I haven’t sought out common opinion in preparation for going hands on with the watch, but I fully expect the dial to be a polarizing factor. As is the case with any rectangular watch, there’s going to be a lot of space to fill. Space where the hands just can’t reach. That’s true of square dial watches too, but exacerbated further in a rectangle. Some watches fill this space with stretched indices, or an inner minute track matching the same outer rectangular shape. Even the aforementioned Archival 1930 (in two-hander form) lined the indices up vertically to cleverly use the corner spaces. Here, howev...
Hodinkee
We're a few months removed from Watches & Wonders, which gives us some clarity about what was buzz, what was hype, what fell off the wish lists, and what will be a long-term winner. It's looking like Jaeger-LeCoultre had one of the best releases of the fair with the Master Control Chronomètre series. The Master Control line has largely been a dressy take on traditional design cues for a brand people usually think of first for its Reverso. But now, JLC has shown that Master Control can do more. More than just a new case and bracelet, all watches are in-house chronometer-certified 4Hz, 70-hour power reserve movements (COSC does the certification) with a new High Precision Guarantee (HPG) seal, which supplants the former 1000 Hours Control. That new HPG seal means that the brand trials cased watches on four daily-wear specific issues—shocks, positions, altitude, and temperature—over three days, while guaranteeing eight traditional techniques of quality aesthetic finishing. The watches I photographed were brand new and wrapped in plastic, so you have to look past a bit of that to see the quality, but it certainly is there in person. Now with three models in steel and rose gold, with five SKUs (one watch only comes in steel and not gold), measuring 38mm by 8.4mm or 39mm or 9.2mm with 50m of water resistance, the new line brings a lot to the table. Inspired by the brand's Master Mariner Chronomètre line, launched in 1973 as their offering for an integrated bracelet (or adj...
Monochrome
The Lange 1 is, without a doubt, one of the most emblematic watches ever to be produced in Germany, and in particular in the little town of Glashütte. But when mentioning the name Lange 1, we too often refer to a single model, the classic 38.5mm version that was presented in 1994 (when the brand […]
Worn & Wound
While some brands regularly take the collaborative approach, this hasn’t been the case for Dennison. Its first co-designed model came to us just about a year ago when the Maison first teamed up with Collectability, the brainchild of Patek Philippe expert and horological icon John Reardon. The pair’s initial offering achieved an impressive balance of design language. It combined some clear inspiration from Patek’s Ellipse as well as some of the brand’s lesser-known models with elements of the collection that revived Dennison in the modern era – the A.L.D. – developed by acclaimed watch designer Emmanuel Gueit, whose resume includes the Rolex 1908, Harry Winston Z1, and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore. The duo has just spun up its second collaboration, available for pre-order for one week only, beginning today through June 3. If you didn’t immediately click over to place an order, and you’re still with me, let’s unpack these latest additions. The new Oblique collection certainly has echoes of the original co-design but with a little bit more edge. The pair’s inaugural offering was relatively classic and timeless whereas the latest interpretations are a bit more modern and sculptural. This time, Dennison and Collectability give us two variations: the bold Enigma dial and the more sober Vector dial. In both iterations, the brands lean further into the funky design language that began emerging in the 1960s with asymmetry being a focus. Here, the familiar ...
SJX Watches
Rolex surprised in a big way with the Cosmograph Daytona Rolesium Enamel Dial ref. 126502. Despite being an “off-catalogue” model, the new Daytona was launched publicly, perhaps to emphasise its unusual nature. To start with, it features a grand feu enamel dial – yes, fired vitreous enamel – inside a bi-metal case of mostly steel, with a touch of platinum, plus a new ceramic (or cermet) bezel. It also has a display back and a steep price tag rivalling that of an all-gold Daytona. While last year’s Land-Dweller and its cal. 7135 was chock-full of patents that Rolex explicitly explained, the Daytona ref. 126502 is more typical Rolex in possessing incremental technical innovation that is left unspecified; it probably incorporates multiple patents that Rolex will not elaborate on. The traditional nature of the dial, the materials and production techniques, and even the display back, hint at future developments at the leading champion of industrial quality perfection. The dial is a four-part affair in white grand feu enamel, while the bezel insert in cermet Initial thoughts Let’s start with the obvious: do I like the new Daytona? Yes. Do I think the dial is actually and technically enamel? Yes. Do I think it’s too expensive? No. While it seems pricey on its face, Rolex pricing is practically always reasonable. I believe the seemingly high price here is justified by something in the watch that Rolex hasn’t explicitly divulged. Price aside, it takes a bit of exami...
Hodinkee
What We Know The day after Memorial Day brings the promise of warmer days, long summer nights, and backyard cookouts. Timex and J.Crew have decided to mark the occasion in a way that feels entirely right for the season—and perfect for us here at Hodinkee—with the release of the Timex MK1 for J.Crew. The MK1 is one of Timex's most storied models, originally rooted in military-inspired design. This version trades military-spec field watch utility for a leisurely day on the water. Housed in a 36mm gold-plated stainless steel case with a clean white dial, crisp Arabic numerals, and a printed rail track, the star of the show is unmistakably the small figure swimming across the dial. That figure, true anglers will recognize it immediately, is a brook trout—rendered from an original watercolor by J.Crew's in-house artist. It's a matter-of-fact detail that is unexpected, and works. With the trout and enlarged numbers taking up precious dial real estate, branding is limited. The Timex logo is on the front, the J.Crew logo on the caseback. Built for long days on the water, the MK1 for J.Crew offers 50m of water resistance and sits behind an acrylic crystal. It runs on a quartz movement, with an 18mm lug width and a neatly braided dark brown leather strap that has the signs of it only getting better with time. The Timex MK1 for J.Crew launches May 28th at $198 and is available at Timex.com, JCrew.com, and select J.Crew retail locations. What We Think What more could you ask for...
Hodinkee
What We Know For the last ten years, Louis Vuitton has worked with UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, to support humanitarian and developmental aid for children worldwide. To mark the tenth anniversary of the partnership, the house is releasing a one-of-a-kind time object—a soccer ball reimagined as a clock—to be auctioned exclusively at Sotheby's from June 9 to 18, with the hammer price going directly to UNICEF. The piece brings together La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the Swiss movement maker L'Épée 1839, and the house's trunkmaking heritage, all in the shape of a soccer ball, timed perfectly ahead of this year's World Cup. With Louis Vuitton's F1 partnership now in its second year, the brand has been planting its flag deeper in the world of sport. Having a soccer ball serve as the vessel for this milestone feels like a natural extension of that direction, and there's something fitting about the spherical choice of form to commemorate this occasion. At the center of the piece, time is told through a sculpted golden steel dome that forms the upper half of the clock. Two rotating cylinders handle the work: one tracks the hours, the other the minutes. The minute track is engraved with Louis Vuitton's Monogram motif and flowers, and the top of the cylinder carries the "Louis Vuitton Paris" signature. Moving outward, the hour and minute apertures are rimmed with diamonds—144 white for the hours, 120 black for the minutes, totaling 1.03 carats. Inside, L'...
Hodinkee
Just last week, I visited the workshop of Petermann-Bédat in Renes. I had a morning to kill on the way to Lausanne for a project, and instead of sleeping off some jetlag, I decided to do something productive. And, actually, something that makes me happy. Spending time with Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat is always a pleasure. I put a lot of stock in the personalities of independent watchmakers, and I think it's fair to consider them artists you want to support, not just for the art but also for how you connect with them. Far from a buyer, I still seem to operate on a similar wavelength to the two. But the added bonus is that I finally got to see their new reference 1826, which was launched for The Hour Glass in Japan, and boy, was it a stunner. No, the name isn't a typo. While the larger (and relatively recently released) ref. 1825 from 2025 featured a 38mm case; the watchmakers have been able to downsize the two new versions to 36mm, made in white and rose gold. Actually, they made the original caliber with a 36mm case in mind, but, to paraphrase, they didn't feel the market was ready. Turns out that it was maybe not the best for the global stage, but perfect for one market in particular. The difference is pretty dramatic in person. But so is this recent generation of watches in general. Petermann-Bédat's business arch has been a yo-yo from a simple-looking but technically complex deadbeat watch (shown above) that launched the brand, then an incredibly complex spli...
Hodinkee
What We Know The Annual Editions from German brand Glashütte Original are quite self-explanatory from their name. Each year, Glashütte Original adorns one of its vintage-inspired designs from the Sixties collection with a new colorway. There's no hard-and-fast rule about what colors make an appearance—past dials have ranged from subtle to loud, muted to saturated, and smooth to textured. This year's Sixties Chronograph Annual Edition goes for maximum visual impact with a very unconventional purple dial, produced in-house at their dialmaking facility in Glashütte. This 2026 edition opts for the distinctive textured dial that has accompanied a few of the past Sixties models, produced through a stamping process for the bronze dial base. After a galvanic coating process that adds a layer of gold to the base dial, purple lacquer is hand-applied and then fired at high temperatures to set the color. A unique design detail of the dial is the lack of applied hour indices. Rather, the now purple lacquer dial is hand-engraved to reveal strips of the bronze base, acting as those markers and a warm contrast to the rest of the dial. Once this step is completed, the entire dial gets a protective clear lacquer coating, and the dial text is printed on. Gold-plated hands are paired to complement the tone of the bronze hour indices. And of course, any Sixties Edition from Glashütte Original means some heavily stylized numerals, seen here at twelve and six o'clock. As this year's Annu...
Worn & Wound
The evolution of Awake has been fascinating to observe over the last few years. From high concept blockchain and space inspired sports watches, the brand took a left turn into traditional craft techniques, and is now working to refine those ideas further in their latest collection. The new Son Mài Guilloché Main Collection combines the Son Mai lacquer techniques the brand has employed in previous collections with evocative, hand-applied guilloche work. These new watches also have updates to the case and dial that we imagine will carry through to further Awake releases in the pipeline. I had a chance to see these watches in person at Chronopolis in Geneva earlier this year, and then again at the Windup Watch Fair in San Francisco, and each time I came away very impressed with the dial work, which is clearly the chief selling point here. To summarize, these dials use the same “Son Mai” lacquer technique, perfected by artisans in Vietnam, that we saw the brand debut in 2024. The resulting bold, vibrant colors really carry these watches and give a very old practice a lot of modern charm. For the new collection, Awake has added guilloche to the mix. Before the lacquer finish is applied, each dial has a meticulously applied guilloche pattern engraved into the dial by traditional rose and straight line engines by craftspeople in Italy. When the lacquer finish is added later, it accentuates the guilloche in a dramatic way, highlighting the depth of the engraving and the ri...
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