Two Broke Watch Snobs
Timex Marlin vs Mido Dateday: Budget Dress Watch vs Swiss Refinement
Entry-level dress watch or Swiss step-up? Our hands-on Timex Marlin Draper vs Mido Commander Datoday comparison shows where your money actually goes.
22,081 articles · 221 videos found · page 46 of 744
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Entry-level dress watch or Swiss step-up? Our hands-on Timex Marlin Draper vs Mido Commander Datoday comparison shows where your money actually goes.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Our hands-on review of the Citizen Promaster Navihawk explores its wearability, Eco-Drive movement, and why it became a serious one-watch contender.
Fratello
In an age when luxury brands seem incapable of subtlety, there is something deeply seductive about a watch dial that says… nothing at all. Just form, texture, proportion, and confidence. Increasingly, some of the coolest watchmakers in the world are discovering that the ultimate flex is silence. It is a fascinating reversal of decades of […] Visit The Ultimate Flex: When Watch Brands Leave Their Names Off The Dial to read the full article.
WatchRider
If you’re a fan of cinema and horology, there’s a new collaboration that needs to be on your radar. Releasing right alongside Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated summer blockbuster, the Hamilton x The Odyssey limited edition watch is a masterclass in storytelling through design. Nolan and Hamilton have a legendary history together think of the famous “Murph” watch from Interstellar or the custom digital piece from Tenet. Designing for a Mythic Era The Khaki Field Auto “The Odyssey” Limited Edition takes Hamilton’s classic 42mm Khaki Field platform and completely reimagines it through the lens of ancient Greek mythology. Here is how Hamilton brought the ancient world to the wrist: The Material: The traditional stainless steel case is swapped out for warm bronze. Not only is this historically fitting for the armor and weaponry of the era, but it means the watch will develop a unique, personalized patina as it ages. The Dial: The vertically brushed black dial features a subtle bronze-toned pattern around the perimeter, directly lifted from the texture of Odysseus’ helmet (played by Matt Damon in the film). The Hands: Instead of standard pointers, Hamilton opted for bronze-colored, sword-shaped hands that reference the hero’s legendary blade. The 12 o’clock index is even modeled after a rivet found on his sword’s scabbard. The Caseback: Flip the watch over, and you’ll find a lightweight titanium caseback engraved with Odysseus’...
Monochrome
India is huge, as is its appetite for watches. The history of watchmaking in the country, whether on the production or distribution side, is relatively recent but rapidly growing. Helios Luxe, part of Titan, distributes 45 brands and targets the accessible luxury segment. We recently sat down with Diny Markose, the CEO of the group’s watch […]
Worn & Wound
This year’s edition of the Windup Watch Fair in Chicago is in the books. As always, the Chicago show played host to a huge variety of brands that covered every imaginable genre of watch, price points up and down the spectrum, and truly offered something for every taste. And as is the case with every Windup these days, it was an opportunity for many brands to debut brand new watches for an audience hungry for something special. There was no shortage of limited edition releases and entirely new watches timed for unveiling at Windup this year, as well as a bunch that launched recently and were getting their first public look. This list is by no means exhaustive, but here are five watches I saw at Windup in Chicago over the weekend that are either brand new or almost new that really stood out to me. Let me know in the comments what I may have missed – even with three days to wander around, I’m sure there are watches I simply didn’t get a chance to see. Vulcain Cricket Titanium There’s just something so charming about the Vulcain Cricket. Alarm watches are an anachronistic niche within an already anachronistic hobby. Setting a mechanical alarm on your watch when simply saying the words “Siri, set an alarm for…” feels like an act of rebellion in the digital age. I’m not sure how many owners of modern (or vintage) Crickets actually use the alarm function for practical purposes (it’s one of the great parlor tricks at a watch meetup, of course) but knowing...
Hodinkee
Watch Spotting sports is hard. Unless you're trawling through Instagram accounts and wire photo feeds looking, you're not going to see a lot of watches at the World Cup. FIFA rules prohibit jewelry on the field during play. But then again, any footballer worth their salt has tens of millions of Instagram followers, so it's easier to see what they're wearing during the tournament. Erling Haaland of Norway, a Breitling ambassador, of course, was wearing his Chronomat B01 Erling Haaland Limited Edition. Getty Images. Like tens of millions of others, I've been drawn in by the World Cup. It's been massively exciting, especially this year. And through it all, yes, I've been glancing at the wrists. My first Watch Spotting during the World Cup came while watching the match between Türkiye and the US at a small-town bar in Wisconsin (where it just so happened that a lot of the bar staff were from Türkiye, so shout out to Bayside in Fish Creek and the team, Omer, Ruki, and the rest). But the first thing I noticed was that the Turkish team's Italian manager, Vincenzo Montella, was wearing a Patek 5905R. After cruising Getty, I also saw that, like any good Italian, he owns a Nautilus and a Daytona. So down the rabbit hole I went. Türkiye's manager, Vincenzo Montella, flashing his Patek Philippe 5905R. Getty Images. Unsurprisingly, the teams that have stuck around the longest give us the most chances to see some different watches. There's Kylian Mbappé, a Hublot ambassador, whose l...
Hodinkee
Shenzhen Watch Week is China's premier annual event dedicated to the watch industry. More than just a trade show, it brings together established brands, independent watchmakers, suppliers, and manufacturers, offering perhaps the clearest snapshot of where Chinese watchmaking stands today. For anyone interested in understanding the industry beyond its reputation as "the world's factory," there are few better places to start. There are surprisingly few opportunities anywhere in the world to experience so many Chinese watch brands under one roof. Switzerland has Watches & Wonders and Geneva Watch Days, while Japan hosts brand presentations, watch fairs, and events such as Tokyo Watch Week. But an exhibition devoted almost entirely to Chinese watchmaking is something quite different. In recent years, brands such as Behrens, CIGA Design, and Fam al Hut have begun attracting international attention, winning prestigious awards, and demonstrating that China is capable of far more than manufacturing for others. Yet outside China, it remains virtually impossible to see these brands together or experience their watches firsthand. That is why, when I received an invitation to attend Shenzhen Watch Week, I wanted to see for myself what is happening in Chinese watchmaking today. Watches made in China are, of course, nothing unusual. Many of the world's leading brands—including Swiss manufacturers—rely on Chinese suppliers for cases, dials, bracelets, hands, movement components, an...
Fratello
The Straum Frozen Metal Titanium adds a new dial treatment to the brand’s Jan Mayen platform. Its white perimeter gradually gives way to bright silver at the center, creating what Straum calls a reverse fumé. The result is a dial that appears to be caught right as it freezes from the outside in. This is […] Visit The Ice-Cold Anti-Summer Watch: Hands-On With The Straum Frozen Metal Titanium to read the full article.
Hodinkee
What We Know Pretty much anything that independent watch brand Krayon produces feels like it rests solidly in the if-you-know-you-know realm of exquisitely engineered high-end complications. The brand's focused catalog contains variations on three main complications—the universal sunrise and sunset calculator that is the Everywhere, the watchmaker-adjustable sunrise and sunset-indicating caliber that is the Anywhere, and the most recently introduced weekday and weekend pointer date display in the Anyday. Sure, Krayon's recent Pac-Man collaboration in a limited run of Anywhere watches might feel like an odd one out, but most of the examples I've seen on the wrists of collectors have all flown well under the radar with tastefully measured executions. But if you've ever wondered what a Krayon would look like with a touch—scratch that, a lot—of bling, well, the new Parhelion might just do the trick. It's hard to mistake this new watch for anything else in the catalog thanks to the sheer number of baguette-cut sapphires set across the entire watch—159 of them, to be exact. To house this number of gemstones, the case is 42mm in diameter, made from an alloy of white gold with a high percentage of palladium for a very white hue to match the brightness of the stones. Thickness, given the complication, is impressive at 9.5mm. When I first saw a prototype of the Parhelion a few months ago, only the bezel was inlaid with sapphires, in a stunning gradient from white to blue. Bu...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
A hands-on review of the vintage Luminox USAF Stealth Series 3400, a military-inspired quartz watch that has spent decades on one owner's wrist.
Fratello
There is a particular type of movement inside almost every mechanical watch you own, and it does something so fundamental to how we experience watchmaking today that it has become entirely invisible. Of course, that is precisely the point: it winds itself. It harvests energy from your wrist as you move through your day, topping […] Visit A Century Of Automatic Watch Movements With Fortis And John Harwood to read the full article.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Discover whether affordable dive watches still make the best first watch, based on our real-world experience with nine tested models.
Fratello
Every collection has one — the watch that sits quietly at the back of the box, rarely seeing wrist time, never quite fitting the rhythm of daily life. Mine is a Universal Genève Ferrovie dello Stato Mark II, and I would not part with it for the world. Go ahead and open your watch box […] Visit What’s The Watch You The Least, And Why Do You Still Have It? to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
A one-of-a-kind watch that tracks 1,000,000 hours, Seiko gifts Shohei Ohtani the Star Time watch after 10 years of partnership.
Monochrome
When Urban Jürgensen returned in 2025 under the co-direction of Kari Voutilainen and Alex Rosenfield, three watches formed the inaugural collection. The UJ-2 introduced a time-only calibre with a double-wheel natural escapement; the UJ-3, an integrated perpetual calendar; while the UJ-1 Tourbillon 250th Anniversary Watch was meant to be the technical masterpiece for the return […]
Fratello
Let’s start with the gist of it: the Panerai Submersible PAM01756 is not a radically new model from the Italian brand. It is a familiar 44mm brushed stainless steel Submersible with a black sunray-brushed dial, a blue ceramic bezel insert, 500m water resistance, and a steel bracelet. The important novelties are in the subtler details […] Visit Subtle Updates To A Not-So-Subtle Watch: The New Panerai Submersible PAM01756 to read the full article.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Frederique Constant brings a GMT to its Riva-inspired Classics Runabout for 2026. Two dials, 888 pieces each, and a dressier take on the water watch.
Hodinkee
In 2020, watches became a real escape for a lot of us. Instagram, Facebook groups, even Clubhouse (who remembers that?) were thriving, and for me, watches had become more than a 9-5 as I fell deeper into those communities. It's where I first came across a guy on Facebook talking about a watch he'd designed that was 'inspired by a watermelon'. Every time it appeared, the comments filled with feedback as he gauged whether people were actually interested. They were. And now, six years later, that man, Richard Benc of Studio Underd0g, has just opened the doors to his very own watch assembly workshop here in the UK called 'The D0ghouse'. Roughly 45 minutes by train from Central London, the building in Maidenhead is a fusion of creative interior design and legitimate horological assembly, and anyone can experience the process first-hand. For £700, Studio Underd0g will sit you at a watchmaker's bench and guide you through the assembly of your own watch. What they're offering isn't a tour or just a showroom (they have that on-site, too), but a set of tweezers, a loupe, and an opportunity to experience the Underd0g, hands-on. That alone makes The D0ghouse worth the journey, but having just completed the experience myself, what I didn't expect was how much it would adjust my understanding of what this six-year-old brand has actually become. The Unassuming Townhouse From the outside, The D0ghouse is simply a Victorian townhouse on Park Street, the same address that Benc's friends an...
Monochrome
Face an inconvenient truth about dive watches. Even with their awesome water-resistance ratings and overengineered cases, most will never explore the bottom of the sea. Their rotating bezels are far more likely to time pasta, something in the oven or even a parking meter. French brand MAT Watches (Mer-Air-Terre) clearly understands this and, with a […]
Fratello
I have a massive soft spot for small, independent brands. That doesn’t just apply to watches. I love it when people dare to stick their necks out and chase (probably naive) dreams in real life outside of the realm of big luxury groups. The results also tend to speak to me. These brands typically follow […] Visit Indies Only! Dreaming Up My Ideal Microbrand-Only Watch Collection to read the full article.
If you wear a mechanical watch every day, you have probably had the thought at least once. It would be nice to track your workouts, sleep, and daily activity without leaving your favourite mechanical watch at home. After all, that trusty field watch has been with you on hikes, road trips, and just about every […]
Fratello
Welcome back to another episode of Fratello On Air! Apologies for the late publishing time, but a baby and World Cup 2026 have us keeping odd hours. This week, we target a humorous but potentially dangerous subject. Misleading words when describing a watch, especially a vintage one, are rife within our hobby, so we attempt […] Visit Fratello On Air: These Are The Most Misleading Words In Watch Ads to read the full article.
WristBuzz
Swatch's plastic Royal Oak needs an actual strap the moment you get it home. Here are the four makers doing colour-matched integrated-lug Royal Pop straps in leather, rubber, canvas and everything else. Prices, colour ranges, quality, and which to buy per watch reference.
Time+Tide
A subtle update to one of the watch world's biggest rebels as the Studio Underd0g field watch gets a few minor tweaks of improvement.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Is the Watchdives WD Premier WD0016B the best integrated sports watch under $250? Our long-term review covers the design, finishing, and value.
Teddy Baldassarre Videos
In today's video, Executive Producer Jonathan McWhorter gives a closer look at his latest watch purchase: a $42 watch made in India. The Terra by Delhi Watch Co. created a lot of unexpected buzz on social media when it was announced earlier this year, Jonathan bought the new Terra in Titanium by Indian microbrand Delhi
Fratello
There’s a specific kind of disappointment that comes from encountering a watch on a brand’s website and feeling precisely nothing. The dial is sharp, the case gleams, and the lug angles are geometrically perfect. And yet, somehow, you close the tab unmoved. You’ve just been the victim of a render. It looked fine, sure, but […] Visit Why Watch Renders So Frequently Leave Us Underwhelmed to read the full article.
Fratello
Seiko has unveiled a unique mechanical watch to mark baseball player Shohei Ohtani’s10th anniversary as the brand’s ambassador in Japan. The company spent around three years developing the Seiko Star Time after drawing inspiration from Ohtani’s question: “How much time do I have left in my baseball career?” Instead of measuring elapsed seconds or featuring […] Visit News: Seiko Creates A One-Off With The Star Time Watch For Shohei Ohtani to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Cartier has always chosen to tell time a little differently. From the first Santos wristwatch in a distinct square case, to its compelling mystery clocks, the unorthodox Tank à Guichet, the counter-intuitive Santos-Dumont Rewind, and the magic of the Masse Mystérieuse, it's a mainstream maison that has rarely approached the art of telling time by running with the pack. Roy Davidoff (left), a vintage watch dealer and expert, and Kari Voutilainen (right), the renowned independent watchmaker, were among the panel of judges tasked with ranking the unique projects submitted for the Cartier Prize for Watchmaking Talents of Tomorrow. That unique sensibility is at the heart of the Cartier Prize For Watchmaking Talents of Tomorrow. It's an accolade that's been awarded 28 times over three decades. But Cartier has rarely spoken about the initiative that began way back in 1995. For its latest edition, we were given a glimpse into the process in which watchmaking students from Switzerland, France, and Belgium were tasked with creating a timepiece based on the motion of a pendulum and the theme of "reading and understanding time differently." The resulting creations from 11 finalist watchmaking students, tasked with building a piece in just 80 hours over three months, displayed both technical prowess and artistic expression, conveying bold and surprising approaches to telling time within the Cartier design language. Prizes were awarded at a ceremony in La Chaux-de-Fonds at C...
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