WristBuzz
Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate 38mm: Smaller Case, Softer Dials, Better Proportions
Blancpain shrinks its ultra-thin dress watch to 38mm and debuts a first-ever sunburst salmon dial for the Villeret line
22,579 articles · 213 videos found · page 44 of 760
WristBuzz
Blancpain shrinks its ultra-thin dress watch to 38mm and debuts a first-ever sunburst salmon dial for the Villeret line
Fratello
The Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop watch resulted in long queues at Swatch boutiques worldwide. We witnessed the chaos and mayhem at several of them on May 16th. Police had to enforce order, stores had to close, mall owners were angry, and managers of nearby shops were pissed because they couldn’t open or had […] Visit The Swatch Collaboration Effect — Here’s What Happened (This Time) to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
The hype started immediately. Just a little over a week ago, Audemars Piguet and Swatch began teasing the unthinkable: a collaboration. Well, not just a collab, it quickly became clear that this would be another bioceramic recreation, of sorts, of an iconic watch. Named “Royal Pop,” thus evoking the most Veblen of watches, the Royal Oak. Without even showing what the final product would be, collectors, enthusiasts, speculators, hype chasers, pop culture analysts, your awkward relative that texts you everything watch-related they stumble upon, knew this would be big. Not just big in terms of the watch industry, but big in terms of product launches on a global level. Think iPhone, but dumber. When Swatch launched the MoonSwatch back in 2022, there were similar initial reactions. Contempt, excitement, speculation. On the day of launch, I met up with Worn & Wound co-founder Blake Malin to head to a store to maybe pick one up. While on the train, we heard about the lines and decided to bail. Thanks to sites like StockX and eBay, the value of these watches skyrocketed before launch, drawing in a crowd of opportunistic resellers. No shade towards them, a living is a living, but the tone of the launch shifted. It wasn’t for us anymore. Eventually, social media outlets reported that some of the lines were getting rowdy. Not a good look. Despite the inane “boutique” launch model, eventually we got the watches, and, for a time, they were fun. Back to 2026 – despite knowin...
Hodinkee
Sales of the Royal Pop, the bioceramic pocket watch collaboration from Audemars Piguet and Swatch, resumed in some locations on Monday after the Saturday launch was marred by overwhelming crowds that forced store closures across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Customers were seen buying the $400 watch in Geneva on Monday as the Swatch boutique resumed sales of the timepiece. Swatch boutique in Geneva on Saturday saw a heavy police presence to control crowds. Swatch closed at least 20 of its stores on Saturday as launch-day crowds and demand for the Royal Pop pocket watch overwhelmed security and staff. Stores in the U.A.E, India, the U.K., Europe, and at locations in the U.S. and Canada were closed on May 16, according to social media posts, after crowds seeking to buy the pocket watch collaboration surged, queues collapsed, and sporadic scenes of violence broke out. Police were on hand at dozens of locations to control crowds. The line at the Swatch boutique in Wales (photo: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images). The sign on the window of the Wales Swatch boutique following the temporary store closure (photo: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images). The Biel/Bienne-based company, in a statement, said Monday that "the response to the Royal Pop Collection has been phenomenal worldwide," and demand is extremely high. Swatch said that in "around 20 Swatch stores" out of a total of 220 stores globally where the Royal Pop was launched, "challenges arose on launch day because ...
Time+Tide
The cat is out of the bag, and the Royal Pop is here, a new bioceramic pocket watch based on the iconic Pop watch, and the AP Royal Oak
Fratello
Swatch has been teasing us for the last week about a secret release scheduled to debut on May 16th. The teasers refer to the Swatch POP (a watch introduced in 1986), a lanyard, a “clac” sound, Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak, and a Sistem51 mechanical movement. View this post on Instagram A post shared […] Visit Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal POp: Here’s What We Know! to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Small Luxuries: Watches, by David Von Bader Veteran watch writer and Worn & Wound contributor, David Von Bader, has just released his new title Small Luxuries: Watches. Within its 128 pages, Von Bader takes the approach of accessibility and education versus any sort of pretense in watch collecting, giving readers insight into top watch brands, the historical context for various types of watches, and a starting point just starting out in their horological journey. Of course, for any enthusiast, it’s equally valuable to reignite and reaffirm the passion behind this shared little hobby of ours, too. Todd Snyder x Timex Collaborate Once More The beauty of Todd Snyder is that it toes the line between being a fashion fashion brand and being an everyman fashion brand. Sure, they have runway shows and sponsored events at Pitti Uomo and play the high fashion game well; but they’re equally happy selling a sub-$200 Timex collab and making it their own. Released last week, the Todd Snyder x Timex 1976 Lexington has already sold out, due in part to the brand’s keen ability to tap into various zeitgeisty pockets of social media. This is, of course, very much to the disappo...
Fratello
The Scuba Fifty Fathoms Ocean of Storms is a wonderful holiday watch. Providing a mechanical caliber and the wearing experience of a Blancpain, this Swatch is a whole lot of fun. It’s good that this plasticky watch has a decent level of waterproofness too. Sydney’s spring has been a tempestuous affair to say the least. […] Visit Into The Pacific With The Blancpain × Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Ocean Of Storms to read the full article.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Doxa introduces the Sub 200 II with fumé dials, a slimmer 12.8mm case, and new strap options starting at $1,690. Here's what stands out.
Revolution
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Kodak Announces New Film Stock View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kodak (@kodak) In a recent Instagram post, Kodak announced two new film stocks that they’ll begin selling directly to distributors in an attempt to increase the supply of film. Aptly named Kodacolor, these two new color-negative film stocks will be available in 135 format (35mm) and will come in 100 and 200 speed. While the slower 100 speed film will be better suited for brightly lit, outdoor use, the medium speed 200 film will add a level of versatility that allows for both indoor and outdoor use, when the conditions are right. Currently, it’s unclear if this new film stock is simply a rebrand of an existing line or an entirely new formulation, but the release of two new films has certainly caught the attention of film lovers. Limited details on each film stock is available from Kodak, but pricing and additional information can be found from your preferred retailer. NYC Pop-up: Giant Mouse Sets Up Shop at Filson Over the years, Giant Mouse has made a name for itself by combining Danish design principles and American spirit. While the brand will be returning to the NYC Windup ...
Teddy Baldassarre
Within the last few years, one watch has received more hype - or overhype - than any other: the multi-brand collaboration that set the watch world on fire three years ago, the Omega x Swatch Moonswatch. People waited hours in line for it. Flippers grabbed as many as they could and listed them well above their retail cost all over the internet. People were charmed. People were horrified. Either way, people were talking. Wherever you stand on the old Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch debate, no one can argue that its very existence didn’t change the landscape of watches irrevocably. We have firmly entered the post-MoonSwatch era. But now, three years later, what change did this unlikely Bioceramic collaboration incite? What’s up with this collaboration now? And will this duo of watch giants ever be stopped? Below, I will tackle the controversial topic we’re gathered here today to mull over: the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch. Further, I will do my best to break down the context of it all in an easily digestible manner, mix in my own philosophical musings on ways to look at this Frankenstein hybrid of luxury-meets-mass-production, and dive into one specific piece from the 11 original models, in form and function. So without further ado, let’s get into the good stuff. Some Context When the first round of the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch blasted onto the scene, it was something of an example of right product, right time. The hallowed (or blasphemous) year was 2022, which, as ...
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Lancaster Watch Weekend Lancaster Watch Weekend is almost here, and it’s an event that you should absolutely have marked on your calendar if you’re a fan of American watchmaking, and watchmaking history more broadly. Lancaster, PA is home, of course, to the original Hamilton factory and company headquarters, and the small Pennsylvania city remains a haven for watch lovers even decades after the brand moved to Switzerland. That’s largely thanks to the work of the NAWCC, whose museum resides in nearby Columbia, and will be hosting guests and special presentations throughout the weekend. You can also check out an open house at RGM Watch Co.’s headquarters in Mt. Joy (about a half hour from Lancaster) and hit up events at Lancaster’s Hamilton boutique over the course of the weekend. Lancaster Watch Weekend will run from September 26-28, in and around Lancaster. A full schedule of events can be found here. The MDR Dasher: An Innie’s Keyboard, for Your Outie In the midst of searching for retrofuturistic technology that would eventually be featured in Apple TV’s “Severance”, the product team rediscovered a 1970’s keyboard from Data General called ...
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. An Ulysse Nardin You Won’t Wear, But Might Eat View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amaury Guichon (@amauryguichon) Amaury Guichon, AKA “The Chocolate Guy” has gone viral once again. Known for creating hyper-realistic sculptures from chocolate and other materials, Amaury faithfully recreated an Ulysse Nardin Freak One from scratch. The larger than life sculpture appears to be roughly 3 feet tall, with a diameter that would be better measured in feet rather than millimeters. While you’d need an absolutely massive wrist to wear this one, it looks absolutely delicious. New Shades of Peak Design For years, Peak Design’s pursuit of timeless products has yielded a classic color palette for our bags and photo gear. Shades of black, tan, and grey have dominated the catalog with occasional limited releases in various colors. While these colors served as a foundation for the brand, Peak Design has made a statement: “ …timeless doesn’t have to mean dark and muted. Timeless can still be bold. And frankly, it’s about time we did that.” In a recent but unexpected color expansion, the team added four new colorways across 75 different product ...
SJX Watches
As the summer holidays begin for many collectors around the world, we take a look at some of the standout summer-ready watches released in the first half of 2025. While there’s no formal definition for what constitutes a ‘summer watch’, we focused on models that are robustly built and expressive in their designs, colours, and materials. With options ranging from just US$1,850 to over US$400,000, our list will have something for almost everyone. Under US$5,000 First up on the budget end of the spectrum is the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph, which comes in a variety of colours and materials. Affordably priced thanks to its set-and-forget solar-powered quartz movement, the Solargraph is the spiritual successor to the brand’s iconic Formula One collection, which debuted in 1986. The launch of the Formula One collection was a turning point for the brand, which had recently rebranded as TAG Heuer following TAG Group’s acquisition of then-struggling Heuer. The Solargraph is available in several colourways, and sits easily on the wrist thanks to its 38 mm size and 9.9 mm thickness. For the case material, buyers can choose between stainless steel, with brushed or DLC-coated black finishes, or colourful plastic known as Polylight. All models are rated to 100 m of water resistance, as even the plastic-cased models feature an internal stainless steel case and screw-down steel case back. I’m partial to the red version (ref. WBY1161.FT8086) as it doesn’t take itself too se...
Fratello
The Swatch press release for this watch says it’s “inspired by the unexplored.” The deep green new Blancpain × Swatch Fifty Fathoms Green Abyss with touches of black (bezel) and beige (markers, hands, bezel numerals, etc.) takes inspiration from the ocean’s depths. Blancpain × Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Green Abyss This is the ninth Blancpain […] Visit The Best Thus Far? Meet The Blancpain × Swatch Fifty Fathoms Green Abyss to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
The origin of Blancpain x Swatch is the story of two vastly different watchmakers. One is the oldest watch brand in the world, in existence since 1735, and renowned for making some of the most high-end luxury timepieces in the industry, regularly carrying prices of thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. The other traces its origins only to the 1980s and made its name by producing plastic-cased, mass-market fashion watches for youthful consumers at average prices around $300. Through a convoluted series of events arising from watch-industry upheavals in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the newbie department-store brand bought the historical prestige brand, making it part of a modern-day Murderers Row of legacy watchmakers within what is now known as the Swatch Group. Both brands continued to do what they did best, and never did their efforts really intersect. Blancpain has adhered to its philosophy of never, in its almost-300-year history, making a watch with a quartz movement. Swatch, by contrast, was the brand that brought quartz into the mainstream of Swiss watchmaking in the first place, and still uses quartz movements in most (but not all) of its voluminous output of watches. But the watchword (no pun intended) of the 21st Century timepiece industry seems increasingly to be, Never Say Never. The Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch (Obviously) Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch "Mission On Earth" In 2022 came a scenario that was somehow both unthinkable and inevitable at the same ...
Fratello
Welcome back to another episode of Fratello On Air! This week, we discuss a recent news story about another questionable vintage watch. We aren’t taking sides, but it allows us to mention, yet again, the pain it causes the hobby. Still, plenty of great pieces are out there if you do your homework. This podcast […] Visit Fratello On Air: How Vintage Watch Shenanigans Hurt The Hobby to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Notorious EDC Launches New Beads View this post on Instagram A post shared by NotoriousEDC (@notoriousedc) If you’ve been in the EDC world for long, you’ve likely seen a multitude of pictures online of peoples #EDCDump and might have wondered why everything in the photo had bits of rope/ leather and little beads attached? Well, not only does it help you get a grip while pulling gear from your pocket, it also looks cool and offers enthusiasts another item to collect from their favorite makers. While you might know Notorious EDC for his All Good Pouch (AGP), Beer Bomb pocket art, or even his own knife designs, the “Kingpin” and the Crown”, Tom has designed an entirely new collection of beads to deck out all of your gear. Launching on April 25th, the new collection features four unique shapes and 11 different materials to choose from. A Distant Planet With a Possible Signature of Life When the James Web Space Telescope launched in 2021, many scientists and astronomers around the world knew that it had the potential to lead to new discoveries and advance research that had been in progress for decades. Now, four years later, the JWST has been used to identi...
Monochrome
There is good news for sceptics who feared Bremont had forsaken its roots. Although the company is no longer in the hands of its founders, Giles and Nick English, their passion for British aviation history and pilot’s watches endures in the new Altitude collection. Marking a new era, the brand releases three redesigned pilot watches […]
Time+Tide
AP released a bunch of watches to celebrate its 150th anniversary, Leica expanded its watch range and we got yet another MoonSwatch!The post New releases from Audemars Piguet, Nivada Grenchen, Swatch x Omega and more appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing info@wornandwound.com. Fred Savage Enters the Vintage Watch Verification Game While actor Fred Savage is still mostly associated with his iconic run as Kevin Arnold in The Wonder Years, his stock has risen in recent years within the watch community, coming out as a serious collector, particularly of vintage watches. Now he’s turning that enthusiasm into a new business venture, Timepiece Grading Specialists. The mission of TGS is to provide authentication and valuation services to vintage watch collectors (they’ll also provide services like, well, servicing, and storage, for additional fees), and as this article in the New York Times notes, watches that have passed through TGS have already been sold at auction via Sotheby’s, complete with their TGS assessment. We’ve seen many celebrities embrace the watch community, but few have taken the step of entrepreneurship in the way Savage has, so it will be interesting to see how he fares in the notoriously fraught world of vintage watch authentication. Gary Gets a Suit Several years back, Gary Shteyngart achieved a level of viral fame in the watch co...
Time+Tide
LVMH Watch Week dominated watch releases this week, but there was also some great new pieces from non-LVMH brands.The post New releases from Gerald Charles, Greubel Forsey, Swatch x Blancpain + LVMH Watch Week 2025! appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing info@wornandwound.com. Zuck’s New Watch If you’re a watch enthusiast and have spent literally any time at all on the internet this week, you’ve no doubt already heard about Mark Zuckerberg’s latest high end watch, a nearly million dollar Greubel Forsey Handmade 1. Zuckerberg seems to have taken a relatively sudden interest in high end watches, being photographed in watches made by Patek, F.P. Journe, and others. But the Handmade 1 is something in a different league – Gruebel Forsey says each watch takes over 6,000 man hours to produce, and virtually every component is handmade in the traditional, painstaking way. While it might seem ostentatious to wear a watch like this, one has to ask: isn’t someone like Zuckerberg exactly who this watch is made for? Who exactly is supposed to wear million dollar watches if not the world’s billionaires? Frankly, it doesn’t matter much, because if you see news of this watch on a Meta platform, it can’t be factchecked anyway. Is a Wool Sock the Best Option? Here in the northeast it is cold and it has us thinking about the best ways to stay comfortable...
Fratello
Welcome all to a new year and a new season of Fratello Talks, your favorite watch podcast in the whole wide world. What should we expect from the world of watches in 2025? Nacho, RJ, and Lex share their predictions on today’s show. Some of these are wishful thinking, but others are educated guesses based […] Visit Fratello Talks: Watch-World Predictions For 2025 to read the full article.
Hodinkee
We've only just scratched the surface.
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing info@wornandwound.com. A New Pack from YETI We’re big fans of both YETI and Mystery Ranch around here, so when it was announced in early 2024 that the former had acquired the latter, it had many of us curious about what the future would hold for the storied backpack brand. Rumors have circulated for months that YETI would be phasing out the Mystery Ranch name, and it looks like a new pack introduced recently could provide a preview of how these brands might live together in the future. The Yeti Bozeman 27L Backpack has a design that will be familiar to many Mystery Ranch acolytes because, as you’d expect, it was designed in partnership with the Mystery Ranch team. While the small aesthetic details are all YETI, the functionality, including the “RipZip” opening and adjustable harness system, are clearly attributed to Mystery Ranch. You can find more information on the Bozeman 27L Backpack right here. Is Enron Back? Earlier this week, a chill went down the spine of many who are old enough to remember the Enron scandal, and the dramatic fall of the Texas based energy company. It all fell apart in th...
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing info@wornandwound.com. A Big Sale for the Members of Pink Floyd It’s become quite common in recent years for major recording acts to sell the rights to their music and songwriting to giant corporations, generating enormous paydays for the creatives involved, even if it means losing some or all of the control of the content itself. British rock band Pink Floyd is the latest in a growing line of Boomer bands to take an enormous check for their catalog. As the Guardian and others have reported, the deal is worth an estimated $400 million, and gives new owner Sony the rights to the band’s vast catalog, as well as their names and likenesses. The deal comes after years of infighting between members that reportedly slowed down negotiations, and controversial comments from Roger Waters about, well, a whole bunch of things that you can choose to Google if you’d like. What comes next for Pink Floyd and what does the deal mean? Hard to say. They retain the rights to their songwriting, but the deal should allow Sony and others to use their music for any number of commercial purposes. And Sony owns a movie studio...
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing info@wornandwound.com. The Struggling Swiss Watch Industry Reports continue to surface that point to prolonged troubles and a general downturn in the Swiss watch industry. Forbes reports that according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, exports were down in August by 125,000 units year over year, even while the total value of all exports increased by nearly 8%. A chief cause of the downturn, in addition to a slowing global economy, is likely overproduction of watches and other luxury goods. Johann Rupert, chairman of Richemont, called on watch manufacturers to reduce production across the board. It’s worth pointing out that these export numbers never tell the whole story – these are units sold to retailers, not end users, for the most part. But signs seem to be everywhere that the boom seen during the pandemic across the industry has waned significantly, and the industry as a whole may have returned to what once would have been described as normal. A Black Hole with a Cosmic Wingspan The sheer size of space is something that is hard for human beings to comprehend, and a story we saw t...
Fratello
This feature was researched with the help of Nic Barnes, who is a pilot, watch enthusiast, and occasional contributor for Watches of Espionage. Our thanks to the Schaffhausen City Archive and Schaffhauser Magazine for providing materials that greatly contributed to our research for this story. It is one about a remarkable man with connections to […] Visit The Olympian IWC Watch Designer Who Fought Nazis In The Skies Of Switzerland to read the full article.
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