16,784 articles · 2,111 videos found · page 414 of 630
Monochrome
Benrus, founded in 1921 by the Lazrus brothers in New York, has always been at its best when it taps into the things it once did for real: dependable field watches for the U.S. military, purpose-built dive pieces from the boom years of recreational diving, and compact daily beaters that wore smaller than their spec […]
Worn & Wound
A rabbit hole that I’ve always loved delving down within the watch hobby is one of firsts––the trailblazers of horology that pioneered the use or creation of new functions, features, materials, etc. (especially when they’re pieces I can afford). I had always kept my eye on the market for when one of these A031 models popped up because, as I’m sure you’ve seen from the title already, this movement was Seiko’s first digital watch with an alarm function. I’m not one for actually utilizing the functions included in or on the watches I own, but that doesn’t mean I can’t or don’t appreciate their ingenuity; the same rings true (pun intended) for this watch. Besides being the first digital alarm Seiko, is 1977’s A031-5019 worth picking up for your collection? Let’s take a deep dive together. The A031’s History, Aesthetics, and Functionality As is custom for a lot of the watch models I have a fascination with, very little information is available regarding the A031’s creation and initial popularity on the market. Thankfully, however, my favorite database for digital timepieces, Rare Digital Watches, has a copy of the A031 Parts List and Technical Guide available for free on their website. I cannot recommend taking a look at these materials enough. I always hunt down physical or digital documents like this for Seiko pieces I pick up. Typically, another passionate hobbyist has taken the time to photocopy them and make them available for the public to ad...
Fratello
IFL Watches and Maen are back at it again! After the success of last year’s Graffiti collaboration, it seems that fans were clamoring for a follow-up. While the first watch focused on the bright, vibrant colors of street art during the day, the new Manhattan After Dark envisions the city when the shadows come out […] Visit Introducing: The Maen × IFL Watches Manhattan After Dark Limited Edition to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Rolex has expanded the 1908 collection with the Perpetual 1908 Settimo, a yellow-gold dress watch with an all-new seven-link bracelet. Settimo, Italian for ‘seven’, refers to the number of links across the bracelet; five slender links in the centre framed by two broader links on each side. The result is a supple, tightly constructed bracelet that complements the refined proportions of the 1908. Powered by the advanced cal. 7140, the watch remains impressively slim at just 9.5 mm, combining Rolex’s famous industrial precision with genuine elegance, filling a long-standing gap in the brand’s line-up. Initial thoughts When I think of Rolex, the image in my mind is one of long-term thinking, industrial expertise, over-built movements, and iconic (but fairly chunky) designs. The 1908, especially the Settimo version, shows the brand also understands elegance. The Settimo bracelet recalls vintage ‘beads-of-rice’ bracelets and works well with the vintage-feeling aesthetic of the 1908. The slightly glistening lacquered dial and crisply faceted hour markers provide a bright, vivid appearance; perhaps its the sub-seconds at six and the lack of a date window, but it feels more refined than the dial of a typical Datejust or Day-Date. The case is very sleek on the wrist thanks to the cal. 7140, which, at just 4.05 mm in height, is 34% thinner than the brand’s own cal. 3235. No watch is perfect, and there are a few details that I find mildly annoying, like the plug atop the...
Fratello
When a certain car model has been on the market for a few years, but it’s not yet time for the introduction of a completely new version, it receives a facelift. That seems to be exactly what Blancpain has given its Villeret Golden Hour collection. The watches are still very recognizable, but small tweaks in […] Visit Hands-On With The Refined Blancpain Villeret Golden Hour Collection to read the full article.
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Monochrome
Every week, on Sunday morning, we entertain you (hopefully) with a series of watches sharing a common theme. While this can be anything, really, we revisit topics from time to time to see what’s new and fresh. One of the most popular topics of debate is colour, and as such, we revisit one of the […]
Fratello
I park my 1983 BMW R65 beside a quiet bend of the Hawkesbury River, not far from Wiseman’s Ferry. Sunlight reflects off the large 22-liter blue petrol tank. A little mid-morning mist still lingers along the valley, and the air feels soft with dawn‑cool dampness. Ahead lies the old convict road that once linked colonial […] Visit Coming To Terms With A Motorbike Crash With My Tudor Heritage Ranger to read the full article.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Yema brings mother-of-pearl to new territory with the Yema Navygraf Pearl, a watch featuring a bezel and dial crafted from the iridescent material.
Teddy Baldassarre
The world of high-end watches is a bit mysterious, and that is largely by design. Flagship pieces are produced in limited quantities, and pricing generally falls into the "contact us for details" realm for many of the most expensive watch brands. New mechanical innovations make headlines and push the industry and its trends forward, but this comes at a cost, with the best in the game building a certain reputation by doing this consistently over the course of generations. The ultimate value that buyers and enthusiasts will perceive in these watches is created in time, and it goes without saying that this value is quite subjective in nature. There are a multitude of details that become more apparent, and are even demanded, at the higher end of watchmaking, however. There are vast differences in materials, finishing techniques, and even mechanical aspects such as an uncommon escapement design or power reserve delivery that separate the very top brands from what you might find at your local jeweler. Understanding the world’s most expensive brands will mean having a grasp on these differences. This is the kind of knowledge that will also go a long way in appreciating watchmaking as the art form that it is. As great art is more than some canvas over a wood frame, a mechanical watch is far more than some screws, springs, and gears. Within a watch, each of these components offer the watchmaker an opportunity for creative expression in the kinds of materials they chose to use...
Worn & Wound
I feel like I say it all the time around here, but one of my favorite things about working in the watch space, particularly in the micro/indie territory that we find ourselves in, is being surprised by a brand or a watch that comes at you completely unexpectedly. I had that experience recently with a new watch from Metrical, an entirely new brand that I can honestly say I had never heard of until a PR colleague dropped me an email about them. The renders in the press release had me immediately intrigued. This watch, which they call the Epiphany Origin, uses a non-traditional time telling display inspired, according to the brand, by the way humans first told the time: through changes in the sky. The party trick of the Epiphany Origin is relatively simple. The minute hand is self explanatory and just like a traditional minute hand on any other watch you’ve worn or seen. The hours, though, are read through an aperture in the upper half of the dial, with a numerical display that spans from 6:00 to 6:00. During the daylight hours you’ll find a graphic representation of the sun in that aperture, and in the evening you’ll see the moon, trailing right behind. It’s one of those things you sometimes experience with a watch that is initially a little bewildering, but then completely intuitive. It is, after all, just a different way to clock a twelve hour timespan on a dial, and is essentially an AM/PM indicator that’s blown up to full dial size. That “blowing up” as...
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Fratello
Welcome to the second match in the Fratello Dress Watch Season contest, our effort to identify the best new dress watch of 2025. The series continues with a duo of proper heavy hitters. Match two in round one sees Jorg defending the Chopard L.U.C Qualité Fleurier 20th Anniversary Edition. Daan will make his case for […] Visit Fratello Dress Watch Season: Round 1, Match 2 - Chopard L.U.C Qualité Fleurier 20th Anniversary Edition Vs. Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds to read the full article.
SJX Watches
On Episode 17 of the SJX Podcast, Brandon has just returned from WatchTime New York, an event that has emerged as the flagship watch fair in the United States since its debut in 2015. SJX shares his hands-on impressions of Breguet’s new ref. 7225, which features the return of the brand’s magnetic pivots and is the highlight of the 250th anniversary releases so far. We also examine the hamburger-sized 77 mm J. Player & Son ‘hypercomplication’ at Phillips – one of the most complicated and impressive British watches ever made, before wrapping up with a discussion about some of the pieces from JP Morgan’s own collection coming up in the same auction. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Youtube.
SJX Watches
While Aubert and Ramel is a new brand, and the Ouréa is a new watch, Thomas Aubert and Alexis Ramel-Sartori aren’t new to independent watchmaking, both having worked for a prominent name in the space. That experience is evident in a strong – and decidedly on-trend – debut that stands out even in a crowded market. Initial Thoughts It seems there are many finely decorated time-only watches on the market today; the two contributed to some of the better ones in their earlier careers. Now the pair strike out under their own name, and unsurprisingly, their first watch is quite good. Though the duo seem to know that already, as they have priced it close to, just a little below, leading independents. The Ouréa’s “scraped” dial brings to mind the wildly successful Chronomètre Artisans from Simon Brette. That probably isn’t coincidental, as the two both worked for Simon Brette. However, I perceive an even stronger, and more general, influence of Greubel Forsey in the Ouréa. It also calls back to Thomas Aubert’s Séléné, winner of last year’s F.P. Journe young talent competition. The scintillating teal accents, applied by atomic layer deposition, are a nice touch to set the watch apart, and the hands are incredibly well made. Interestingly, the filling in the hands is white lacquer rather than luminous material. That seems like a missed opportunity as the appearance would be nearly identical if it were lumed. It is also a shame that Mr Aubert’s recoiling sho...
SJX Watches
Rolex has just unveiled a fully branded line of accessories for office dwellers, featuring both cufflinks and a genuine Submariner desk clock. The move not only extends the brand’s product range, but reinforces its lifestyle dominance beyond its traditional domain. With its decades-long reputation for precision, quality and retail discipline, Rolex has planted a new flag: high-end accessories built with the same seriousness and iconic design language as its wristwatches. Initial thoughts Rolex has earned its dominant position in the Swiss watch industry in large part by taking everything it does very seriously. So it’s not surprising to see that the formal launch of a full line-up of accessories is treated with due seriousness. This is not the first time that Rolex has offered cufflinks; some references were exhibited at Watches & Wonders this year and have been quietly available for purchase at brand boutiques for some time. But the formal roll-out on the website is a decisive step, and reveals that Rolex wants to give its legions of fans another touchpoint with their favourite brand. On the other hand, the official desk clock is new and quite surprising in its execution, though perhaps it shouldn’t be. Rendered in a heavy 80 mm stainless steel body with a real Cerachrom ceramic bezel and sapphire crystal, it feels like a true Submariner (albeit one that is not water resistant). In terms of value, the accessories are expensive in an absolute sense but are priced rea...
Fratello
Watch fans worldwide were excited when Favre Leuba’s return was announced in August last year. The world’s second-oldest watch brand is a favorite among vintage collectors and has created some absolute classics. Upon the unveiling of the new collection, we quickly learned that Favre Leuba would honor the past with modern versions of these watches. […] Visit Taking A Look At The Current Favre Leuba Catalog to read the full article.
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SJX Watches
Farer has managed to carve out its own niche in the new wave of British-founded, Swiss-made brands, with playful (and skillful) use of colour and accessible pricing. Two new additions to the Moonphase collection continue that pattern: the Stratton and Burbidge feature Farer’s signature cushion-shaped case and crisp detailing that gives them an unmistakably contemporary feel despite their traditional inspiration. The Stratton is the second Farer model to feature a natural stone dial, this time in Eisenkiesel quartz, while the Burbidge, limited to just 100 pieces, flaunts trendy Eastern Arabic numerals and a playful blue-and-pink palette. Initial thoughts Farer’s brand identity is rooted in British design and Swiss production; in this respect it’s similar to Christopher Ward and Fears. The brand offers a playful, and often colourful, twist on traditional tool watch motifs. The Moonphase collection is among the brand’s dressier offerings, and the Stratton and Burbidge are each interesting in their own right. The most eye-catching of the pair is the limited edition Burbidge with Eastern Arabic numerals for the dial and date wheel. The blue and pink colourway is charming and the exotic numerals will likely prove to be something of a ‘secret handshake’ among those who are up-to-date with collector culture. The Stratton, named for British astronomer Frederick Stratton OBE, sticks to regular numerals but features a natural stone dial made of Eisenkiesel. The thickness...
Teddy Baldassarre
Japan’s Grand Seiko has become, in a relatively short span of time, one of the world’s most prestigious and collectible high-luxury watchmakers, competing for connoisseur attention and dollars with well-established maisons from Switzerland and Germany. And while its success is a 21st century phenomenon, Grand Seiko is not really a “new brand” in the strictest sense. The first Grand Seiko watch (below) debuted all the way back in 1960, part of the much larger product portfolio of Japanese watchmaking giant Seiko, which was founded in 1881 and achieved its worldwide fame by embracing the mass market with timepieces at accessible prices with wide distribution. The Grand Seiko, by contrast, was positioned as the megabrand’s exclusive “King of Watches,” with standards of accuracy, beauty, durability, and legibility that could meet or surpass its Swiss competitors. Today we'll take a look at the Grand Seiko SBGN003, a recently discontinued Quartz GMT that thankfully seems to have a solid heir apparent. Until 2010, it was also Japan’s best-kept horological secret, not exported to markets outside the country. Seven years after its international expansion, having cultivated a loyal and avid audience worldwide, an entirely new and distinct customer base apart from mainline Seiko’s, Grand Seiko firmly established itself as an independent brand - albeit one still intrinsically tied to its parent company through shared history and technology. In fact, just about a d...
Worn & Wound
Watches & Wonders can be a blur of new releases in and of itself. So, when a brand asks if you want to preview some upcoming introductions for the year ahead, it can start to make your head spin. However, at my Raymond Weil appointment this past spring, I relinquished. The brand had a small display of archival pieces in a vitrine at their booth, and its Chief Marketing Officer Jeremie Bernheim assured me the reveal would be worth viewing alongside the mini museum of vintage designs. What he shared with me was a new capsule within Raymond Weil’s Toccata collection drawing from the retro models and aptly named Toccata Heritage. Today, this collection comes to you in nine styles, each more beautiful than the next, and with the option of either quartz or mechanical, manually wound movements for the first time. If you have followed Raymond Weil through any point of its nearly 50-year history, you know the brand loves to play with shape and case architecture. The existing Toccata collection explores this with a combination of rectangular and round models. For the new Toccata Heritage capsule, the maison has refined this design language even further. Here, you have a shape the brand simply calls oval, but in my humble opinion, this description does not do the case justice. The case design of the new Toccata Heritage models is decidedly not the harsh, egg-shaped oval profile you might associate with other watch brands. Instead, it takes the structure of the current rectangular m...
Fratello
You’re excused if you’ve never heard of Möels & Co, a young British brand focusing on carefully designed modern watches. I hadn’t heard of the company either until attending last month’s World Time UK show at London’s Heathrow Airport. Yet, among all the watches from the many small brands exhibiting, the new 528 S2 was […] Visit Hands-On With The Möels & Co 528 S2 Vistamare to read the full article.
Time+Tide
With its classical proportions and dressy shape, this new release from Raymond Weil seems perfectly timed for party season. The post The Raymond Weil Toccata brings classical music to classical watch design appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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SJX Watches
The new Citizen Attesa Platinum Shine collection leans into the brand’s two greatest strengths: cutting-edge quartz technology and mastery of titanium. With three limited edition references in a new platinum-coloured hue, Citizen demonstrates why it’s still the leader in titanium watches, 55 years after making the first one. Thanks to a decadent recrystallised titanium bracelet and nearly scratch-proof Duratect coating, the new Attesa proves that quartz can still feel luxurious. Ref. CB0284-66A. Initial thoughts Almost as soon as quartz timekeeping technology began to mature and prices began to fall in the 1980s, makers of quartz watches began to cede the luxury end of market to brands that focused on mechanical watches. But that never stopped a few brands, Citizen and Seiko chief among them, from pursuing the development of ever-better quartz technology and bringing it to market in a premium format. The ultimate expression of this focus is probably the Citizen cal. 0100, the most accurate wristwatch in the world. The Citizen 0100 – the world’s most accurate wristwatch. But quartz is just one part of the equation for Citizen, which has also achieved a leading market position in two specific fields. The first is solar power. Light-powered watches is nothing new, dating back to 1972, but it was Citizen’s advances in the late 1970s that propelled this technology forward. In 1995, the brand debuted Eco-Drive, which remains the leading light in solar-powered timekeep...
Fratello
Welcome to the first round of the Fratello Dress Watch Season contest, our effort to identify the best new dress watch of 2025. If you thought we’d kick the series off quietly, you are mistaken. The first match in round 1 immediately sees a major clash of entirely different watchmaking philosophies. Lex defends the Grand […] Visit Fratello Dress Watch Season: Round 1, Match 1 - A. Lange & Söhne 1815 34mm Vs. Grand Seiko SBGH368 to read the full article.
Fratello
I have always believed that the Rolex Oyster Perpetual is best enjoyed when you stop treating it like a precious object and start treating it like a companion. With ongoing wait lists and the like, getting one new from the Rolex AD has proven tricky. Luckily, Rolex recently loaned me the new Oyster Perpetual 36mm […] Visit Two Weeks With The Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 “Pistachio” to read the full article.
Fratello
It’s Sunday morning, so it’s time for another epic watch battle. In this week’s showdown, we selected two stainless steel and gold watches with integrated bracelets to go up against each other. The first is the new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Fifty in steel and yellow gold. Released just a few weeks ago, it’s a proper statement […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Girard-Perregaux Laureato Fifty Vs. Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm to read the full article.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Christopher Ward’s new C63 Sealander Extreme GMT brings lume, a rugged case, and travel functionality-challenging GMTs like the Explorer II.
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