Hodinkee
The Spec Sheet: The IWC Mark XVIII: The Wearable Pilot's Watch With Serious Heritage
One unit of quintessential tool watch.
34,433 articles · 159 videos found · page 439 of 1154
Hodinkee
One unit of quintessential tool watch.
Quill & Pad
Patrick Mouratoglou morphed from a frustrated player in his teens into today’s perennial supercoach; he is able to deal with the highly complicated psyche and game of an elite competitor just the way a horologist is qualified to finetune a supercomplication. And he is a Zenith ambassador. Learn all about him here thanks to tennis and timepiece writer Miguel Seabra!
Time+Tide
Andrew here! We’re comin’ in hot to this week’s Wind Down because we have a small allocation of Bamford G-Shock DW-6900BWD watches AVAILABLE HERE in the shop right now! We don’t need to tell you how hot this watch is, or the Bamford G-Shock legacy it carries on, but we DO need to tell you … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: If you want to buy the new Bamford G-Shock right now, you’d better read this quick… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Teddy Baldassarre
The Rolex Explorer is in many ways the quintessential dressy tool watch from Rolex’s Oyster Perpetual collection - less flashy than the GMT-Master, less bulky than the Submariner, while still rooted, like those two models, in a history of adventure and discovery. While it has changed very little since the 1950s, today’s Rolex Explorer is the culmination of many decades of aesthetic and technical evolution, guided by a watchmaker for whom the subtlest details make all the difference in the world to its avid legions of fans. Underpinning the Explorer: Oyster Case and Perpetual Caliber The Rolex Explorer, like all Oyster Perpetual timepieces in Rolex’s Professional collection, is an expression of two technical milestones that Rolex and its visionary founder Hans Wisdorf contributed to watchmaking history. The first is the so-called Oyster case, developed in 1926, which revolutionized the construction of watch cases with its dustproof, waterproof, hermetically sealed structure, secured by a threaded caseback and a crown that screwed tightly into the case. In 1931, Rolex made history again with the creation of its first “Perpetual” movement (below), whose self-winding mechanism was driven by an oscillating rotor. The marriage of these two inventions gave rise to the “Oyster Perpetual” line of timepieces that remain at the heart of Rolex’s collection today, beginning with the Datejust in 1945 and coming to full fruition with the tool-oriented, yet still luxuri...
SJX Watches
Short for “Franc Vila Founder”, FVF is a tale of redemption. Founded by the namesake designer, FVF is the second act of the Spanish watch designer, one he embarked on after his first went off the rails as many independent watch brands tend to do. FVF’s inaugural watch is the FVF1 C2 Tourbillon Superligero. It’s an original look and at a glance there’s nothing linking it to the creations of the original Franc Vila brand – a good thing in my estimation. But look closely and hints of the earlier designs emerge. Most importantly the FVF1 reveals itself as an impressively executed watch – the movement has an interesting construction, excellent finishing, and an original aesthetic. Mr Vila has made his comeback in style. NB: The watch pictured is a prototype that’s been worn so it shows wear. The FVF1 has a flying tourbillon, roller day indicator, day and night display, and a 100-hour power reserve Rising from the ashes Born in Valencia but now a longtime resident of Switzerland, Mr Vila founded his namesake brand in 2005 and rode the wave that buoyed modern, flamboyant independent watchmaking for the next decade or so. Propelled by Mr Vila’s convivial personality, Franc Vila became one of the hot brands of the era. During those heady days, it could sell several dozen tourbillons and minute repeaters a year, making it one of the top clients of now-defunct complications specialist BNB Concept. A classic from the original Franc Vila brand, the Tourbillon Planèta...
Teddy Baldassarre
Tracing its roots to the 19th Century but bursting on the cultural scene on the cusp of the 21st, Panerai is an overnight success more than 100 years in the making. From humble and very utilitarian beginnings as a maker of tools and instruments for military divers in the 1930s, the Florentine watchmaker has become a powerhouse in the luxury sector, its unapologetically militaristic and indisputably masculine designs blurring the lines between tool watch and luxury item like few brands before or since. Here is the story of Officine Panerai and an overview of the modern Panerai watch collections. Guido Panerai and the First Radiomir Giovanni Panerai opened his watchmaking shop on Ponte Alle Grazie in Florence in 1860, and with the help of his son Leon Franceso built it into the ancestral Italian city’s first retailer of Swiss watches as well as its first watchmaking school. When Giovanni’s grandson Guido took over the business, near the turn of the century - and acquired his wife’s family business, which made tools and hardware for military use, including combat sights, compasses and depth gauges - it had become essentially two companies: Orologerie Svizzera, the shop that sold prestigious Swiss watch brands like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and Rolex; and Guido Panerai & Figlio, primarily a supplier of precision instruments and diving equipment to the Royal Italian Navy, or Regia Marina. As a military provider, Panerai recognized the need early on f...
Time+Tide
It’s the tail-end of the 1980s, and you and your stockbroker buddies are ripping down the Autobahn in the two fastest cars in the world – the Ferrari F40 and Porsche 959. Suddenly, you notice a flash of yellow in your rear-view mirror, which disappears in front of you as quickly as it appeared behind. … ContinuedThe post Bamford, TAG Heuer and Highsnobiety combine to pay tribute to an automotive icon appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
A great deal of meaning is placed on anniversaries in watchmaking and Cortina Watch is celebrating its Golden Jubilee in 2022 with a slew of limited edition watches and a very special clock. The latest timepiece for the Singapore retailer’s milestone anniversary is the H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton “Cortina Watch 50th Anniversary”. A variant of the Endeavour tourbillon, this 10-piece limited edition watch features the brand’s signature fumé dial in blue, along with a one-minute flying tourbillon equipped with an uncommon cylindrical hairspring. Initial thoughts The watch combines the elegant and minimal design typical of Moser with the more contemporary that results from the cleanly open-worked movement. And despite being based on an existing model that was just introduced in March of this year, the Cortina edition is still impressive, largely thanks to the skeletonised movement. The cylindrical hairspring maybe be an anachronistic novelty rather than a practical innovation, but one that is rare in modern watchmaking, visually interesting, and historically significant, being rooted in 19th century marine chronometers. Moser aesthetics At 42 mm in diameter, the Cortina edition has the same dimensions as the standard model in white gold. In contrast, the Cortina version is in 18k red gold. Time is indicated on a domed sub-dial at 12 o’clock with the graduated “Funky Blue” finish that is synonymous with Moser. But unlike most othe...
Time+Tide
Provenance is a huge buzzword in the watch world and refers to an object’s origin and record of ownership. The romantic side to timepieces, and a crucial element of what draws collectors to vintage timepieces, are the stories they tell and the lives they have lived. We have seen watches owned by Paul Newman, Marlon … ContinuedThe post A rare pocket watch gifted by Abraham Lincoln after a shipwreck rescue is up for auction appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
In this brand new format, two participants choose two watches from their own collection to be placed in two categories. With two minutes on the clock, they get to tell the story of why their watch deserves to win. The winners will be decided in the YouTube comments, so head on over to cast your … ContinuedThe post 2 UP: Andrew and Borna battle it out in field and vintage categories appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
The result of a collaboration between a Danish clockmaker and design studio , the Moonwork is a tall, sculptural clock that stands almost two meters high. It’s an old-school pendulum clock in function but entirely contemporary in expression, from the thin, minimalist frame to the clever time display without hands. Danish clockmaker Rune Bakkendorff worked together with fellow Danes of design studio Ahm&Lund; to create the clock, which made its debut late last year at the Cabinetmakers Autumn Exhibit 2021, a Scandinavian furniture fair that took place in Copenhagen. The Moonwork at the furniture exhibition. Photo – Scandinaviandesign.com Initial thoughts A thoughtfully designed object, the Moonwork is attractive on several levels. At first glance, it is slender, simplistic, and hardly resembling a clock save for the pendulum. But paradoxically it is a clock, making the featureless time display is immediately intriguing. It is a clock, but not quite. The Moonwork does away with the conventional telling of the time and instead displays the lunar cycle – the moon phase is projected onto the white porcelain dome that forms the dial. An impractical but beautiful solution, this makes the Moonwork more of a sculpture that indicates the passing of the time. Remove the white porcelain dome and the entirely mechanical workings of the clock are revealed, although moon phase projection relies hundreds of LED bulbs that are hidden behind a silver sphere that rotates slowly to ca...
Hodinkee
Double the fun with colorful dials.
Some watch enthusiasts obsess over the concept of a one-watch collection, gathering huge lists of specifications that would make their dream daily wearer capable of everything and anything. The truth is that all a watch really needs to do is tell the time and last the miles, which is exactly what Asmini’s Longines DolceVita L5.158.4.16.6 … ContinuedThe post Every Watch Tells A Story: Asmini’s Longines DolceVita appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Breitling’s recent releases have stuck to a familiar and effective formula – watches rooted in the brand’s heritage but updated to distinguish them as modern and original, exemplified by the redesigned Chronomat and Navitimer. Now the brand has taken the covers off the Superocean Automatic, a dive watch inspired by the SuperOcean Slow Motion chronograph of the 1960s. While it borrows the original’s two-tone dial and massive, oblong markers, the new Superocean is a clean, time-only watch with no complications and of course a modern construction that includes a ceramic bezel insert as well as quick-adjustment clasp. The SuperOcean Slow Motion ref. 2005 Initial thoughts I’ve always liked past versions of Superocean with bright-coloured dials because they were quite different from other dive watches without being overly fancy. By the same token, I like the latest version as the redesigned dial makes it stand out even more, once again without trying to do too much. No date is great In fact, the Superocean is arguably all about design. Being ETA powered, it is less competitive against offerings from similarly-priced offerings from likes of Tudor (which relies on more sophisticated Kenissi movements), so the Superocean has to excel in terms of look and feel. And it manages to do so with the combination of an extra-wide chapter ring around a “mini” dial, a bold and handsome design that is unlike most of its peers. Aside from the overall design, the dial also appe...
Time+Tide
Often when I dig into the requests folder of my DMs, various people shoot me a message asking what would be a good entry-level watch they could wear daily. Entry level, within the realm of luxury watches, is considered to be right at the $3,000 mark. This, however, for most is not entry – many … ContinuedThe post The new Yema Superman 500 offers heritage and in-house design at an incredible price appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Luke here – just popping into Zach’s Wind Down to tell you about a gravity-defying weekend in Paris with Mido. Twenty-seven metres doesn’t sound that high. But as I edged out onto the diving platform towering over the Seine, I felt a lurching sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. The platform was about … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Cliff diving with Mido in Paris, AP artwork and Greubel gorgeousness appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
It is quite fitting Furlan Marri decided to name their collections “stories”. Andrea Furlan and Hamad Al Marri knew from the outset they had many stories they wanted to tell. And by stories, I mean an effort to carefully roll out different horological visions, or chapters, with the goal of shaking up the notion of … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: Furlan Marri take vintage contemporary value to a whole new level with the Black Sector Mechanical 2116-A appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
What is the main purpose of a watch? Many would say it’s to simply tell us the time. But I think there are too many collectors out there that would beg to differ. In many ways, to them, the true purpose of a watch tends to be quite a personal thing. With that in mind, … ContinuedThe post MICRO MONDAYS: The Genesis collection from Adam Benedict can actively help you to feel less stressed appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Eschewing the influence of diving or sports, the pure military inspiration behind the new York & Front Burrard is pretty close to being the perfect functional tool watch. It’s a daily wearer with a distinctive style that comes in any colour you want, as long as it’s black or white. Sized at 38mm for textbook … ContinuedThe post MICRO MONDAYS: The York & Front Burrard combines military vintage with contemporary style appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
There are definitely more than 10 of them, but for this week’s crossword let’s see how well you know German watch manufactures that deal in varying levels of price points. Good luck!The post Time+Tide Weekend Watch Crossword: #9 “German Watch Manufactures” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
Because sometimes more is more.
Hodinkee
Joe Thompson’s gripping tale of the time he asked Nicolas Hayek Sr about Breguet’s lost Marie-Antoinette Watch, and what happened next.
SJX Watches
Having already been revealed as a one-off for Only Watch 2021 – that sold for a record CHF800,000 – the Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain II (RRCCII) has now made it into regular production, albeit as a limited edition. The standard RRCC II is identical to the example made for Only Watch, save for the dial. Inside is the RRCC02, an all-new calibre with twin going trains as well as an independently-driven deadbeat seconds with hacking and zero-reset functions. And the dial is a two-piece affair in fired enamel – black for the platinum model and translucent white for the gold. Initial thoughts With the first edition having become the signature watch of Akrivia, it’s no surprise that the RRCCII continues down the same road in terms of design. But the RRCCII is not just a facelift; it is an entirely new watch. The movement is a new construction in both layout and complications, while none of the case components are interchangeable between the two generations. At the same time, the movement decoration – the most easily observed quality of Akrivia watches – has been refined. It is impressively executed and even exaggerated in some respects. The bevelling on the bridges, for example, is remarkably broad for a relatively thin watch. The degree of technical advancement from the first to second editions is impressive and demonstrates Mr Rexhepi’s pursuit of progress despite his brand’s tremendous success. The RRCC02 is instantly recognisable as a new calibre...
Time+Tide
How about that? Normally seen as a procession around the streets of Monaco, this year’s edition was anything but dull due to heavy rain right before the start of the famous race. All of Christian Horner’s rain dances seemed to have paid off with his Red Bull Racing duo of Sergio “Checo” Perez and Max … ContinuedThe post This is the watch Checo Perez wore on the podium in Monaco appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
The unlikely pinkish color bewitches collectors and watchmakers alike. Our design columnist thinks she knows why.
Quill & Pad
Some people understand the benefits, limitations, and mechanics of duty-free shopping for a luxury watch at an airport: they know a deal when they see one. For these savvy individuals, shopping at the airport can and does make economic sense – sometimes. In this article Chris Malburg explains watch shopping at airports for the rest of us.
SJX Watches
For me, watches are and always have been about people – those that make them, those that design them, and those that buy them. And while many of you reading this will do your utmost (likely on a daily basis) to keep your interest in watches in check with your bank balance, every so often you meet a collector, an enthusiast, who takes things to a whole other level. Somebody who has gone all in, a collector who takes it to a level that even insiders like Thierry Stern of Patek Philippe rank them amongst the greatest collectors of all time. Patrick Getreide is that individual. Having spent the past four decades quietly building one of the world’s greatest privately-owned collections of wrist and pocket watches, he has now put all of his timepieces on show for the world to enjoy and admire. The show I feel hugely privileged and excited having visited the exhibition on its opening day in London. Privileged because there were only a few press invited; excited because I believe it will open up our passion to more and more, aligning watchmaking with art, where it belongs. The exhibition comprises 168 best-of-the-best vintage and contemporary museum-quality watches, among which are unrepeatable special orders, ultra-rare, limited editions, the most valuable examples of their type, and the largest number of Patek Philippe pieces once owned by the celebrated American collector Henry Graves Jr. now in private hands. It is also the first curated exhibition of a private collection ...
Time+Tide
Having a legitimate link to space travel is a big deal for watch brands, and Fortis are one of a handful of brands who can back up their claims. Watches like the Cosmonaut Chronograph have earned Fortis respect from all kinds of space fans as well as anyone who appreciates a good tool watch with … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The new Fortis Stratoliner collection ramps up their extraterrestrial adventures appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
EDITOR’S NOTE: Eric Wind is one of the world’s foremost vintage watch experts and the owner of Wind Vintage. In this interview, he tells the amazing tale of how he acquired and restored the Rolex Explorer of rodeo cowboy and bull-riding champion, Gary Leffew – a watch that had an unfortunate run-in with a 2000lb … ContinuedThe post What happened when a rodeo cowboy’s Rolex Explorer met a 2000lb bull… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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The Submersible has always been Panerai’s hardcore tool watch since it launched as its own standalone collection in 2019. With some of Panerai’s other collections moving into a dressier and probably drier setting, the Submersible line has remained 100% tool watch. The 2022 novelties sees a new middle ground for the Panerai Submersible range, introducing … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: Diving into Panerai’s retooled Submersible Range at Watches & Wonders 2022 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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