Results for WOSTEP (Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program)

S SJX Watches

SJX Watches

Grand Seiko but also independents like Jan 13, 2026

India Watch Weekend 2026 Happening in Mumbai

India Watch Weekend returns for the second time this year, underlining the growth of the luxury watch market in the country. While Indian clients have long been patrons of luxury watchmakers, many historically shopped outside the country in places like Dubai and London. Now clients are moving towards domestic consumption, explaining rising sales in-country and events like India Watch Weekend. India Watch Weekend is happening in Mumbai, the nation’s commercial capital. Amongst the brands taking part are big brands like A. Lange & Söhne, Grand Seiko, but also independents like Ming and Dunselman Watchmaking. Also present for the first time is the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), a trade body dedicated to horological education. The event will take place over the weekend of January 17 and 18 at the Four Seasons. It’s open to the public but tickets are required. For more, visit Indiawatchweekend.com, while tickets can be purchased online.  

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W Worn & Wound

Worn & Wound

Dec 26, 2025

Ruhla: The East German Watch Brand That Went to Space

For decades now, watch collectors have become enamored with the significance, popularity, and (perhaps most importantly) the absurd affordability of Soviet-era watches. There’s the ingenious Vostok Amphibia dive watch; the various Poljot and Strela chronographs vital to the Russian space program; and the minimalist, glossy-white Raketa Big Zero that signified “the end of history.”  What’s lesser known are the timepieces from another part of the Iron Curtain-East Germany, which once encompassed two of the most significant areas of the historic watch industry. Today we associate German watches with the town of Glashütte, where Walter Lange set up a watchmaking school in 1841 and evolved it into one of the great horological houses.  Meanwhile, about 300 kilometers to the west is the town of Ruhla. Like Glashütte, Ruhla was also known for metal mining and a tradition of blacksmithing and metalworking. After World War II, it also happened to fall into the Soviet occupation zone, even though it was as far west as one could get. Perhaps it was always fated for this.  Image via Ostalgie-Ruhla: Watches of the GDR Both sides faced the evolution of pocket watches to wristwatches, on opposite sides of the World Wars. After 1945, the watch factories in Glashütte and Ruhla were reorganized into publicly-owned enterprises-having endured reparations back to Moscow (to jump-start the USSR’s own watch industry) and the general devastation of the war. Glashütte was a mor...

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F Fratello

Fratello

Louis Vuitton Watch Prize Dec 25, 2025

Announced: The Finalists For The Louis Vuitton Watch Prize For Independent Creatives 2025 - 2026

The final round of the second Louis Vuitton Watch Prize competition will commence in the spring of 2026. The initiative aims to support and celebrate independent watchmakers who challenge convention. It highlights creativity, technical mastery, and a strong personal vision. That’s not just a clever way of connecting the brand name to some serious horological […] Visit Announced: The Finalists For The Louis Vuitton Watch Prize For Independent Creatives 2025–2026 to read the full article.

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S SJX Watches

SJX Watches

Citizen Dec 17, 2025

Space Time: Seiko’s Star-Powered Astron GPS

In the run-up to the holidays, Seiko facelifts its high-spec, multi-function quartz watch with the Astron GPS Solar refs. SSJ039 and SSH187 - limited editions of its satellite-linked models. While not available in stores until January, the new references make their public debut almost exactly 56 years to the day when the original Astron, the world’s first quartz wristwatch, was launched on December 25, 1969. Initial thoughts Despite pioneering efforts to develop quartz watches in Switzerland, and the commercialisation of category-defining products like the Swatch, the alpine nation has tended to lag a step behind its rivals from the land of the rising sun when it comes to quartz technology. As quartz watches matured and the underlying technology became commoditised, much of the Swiss watch industry redoubled its focus on mechanical watches, seemingly content to cede quartz leadership to brands like Seiko and Citizen. For their part, the dominant Japanese brands have continued to develop quartz watches with conscientious enthusiasm, bringing solar charging, radio frequency and satellite-based connectivity, and ultra-precise oscillators to maturity. In that context, the Seiko Astron is the embodiment of more than half a century of quartz leadership, and combines several of the brand’s strengths in two distinct limited edition models. Though the four-figure prices may come as a shock to buyers more familiar with offerings from brands like Apple, Garmin, and Casio, the A...

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M Monochrome

Monochrome

Dec 8, 2025

Introducing - Eska Launches the New Racing Chronograph Automatic, a Sub-500 Euros Take on Motorsport Design

Originally founded in 1918 in Granges, Switzerland, Eska Watches vanished during the quartz crisis and was revived in 2024 by Christophe Chevreton and Sinicha Knezevic. The partners quickly captured the essence of Eska’s heritage and adapted it to modern trends. The rebirth began with the Amphibian 250 dive watch and the Heritage Chronograph, both assembled […]

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S SJX Watches

SJX Watches

Louis Erard continues Dec 5, 2025

Le Régulateur, Reinvented Yet Again

Louis Erard continues its prolific run of collaborations with the Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Worn & Wound, designed with the New York-based publication behind the value-focused Windup Watch Fair. Known for reinterpreting its popular regulator model through limited editions created with independent watchmakers and designers, Louis Erard now turns to a collaborator rooted in accessible watch culture, resulting in a design that blends layered dial architecture with the brand’s familiar 39 mm steel case and reputation for value. Initial thoughts If there’s one brand that has managed to build an identity around collaborations, it’s Louis Erard. Over the past few years the brand has released an astonishing range of limited edition series, usually built around the Le Régulateur platform, designed in collaboration with a diverse mix of watchmakers and designers. Notable releases include collaborations with Konstantin Chaykin and Vianney Halter, but these are just two among many. Louis Erard’s latest is a collaboration with New York-based Worn & Wound, a watch blog with an e-commerce business. Worn & Wound is also the driving force behind Windup Watch Fair, a collector-focused watch fair that takes place in New York, San Fransisco, Dallas, and Chicago each year. Worn & Wound’s primary focus is value-oriented watches, so the collaboration with Louis Erard makes perfect sense. Like most of the brand’s watches, Le Régulateur is a good value, managing to sneak in just u...

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W Worn & Wound

Worn & Wound

Louis Vuitton Dec 4, 2025

Introducing Temporal Works, a New Brand from the Armoury’s Mark Cho

For those familiar with New York-by-way-of-Hong Kong menswear retailer The Armoury, Mark Cho’s move into watches won’t come as any major shock. His brand has long flirted with watchmakers and collaboration over the years, including with H. Moser & Cie., UNIMATIC, and Paulin. Now, Temporal Works, co-founded with The Armoury’s creative director, Elliot Hammer, is the natural progression for the brand. Their inaugural collection, Series A, reflects the same approach that has defined The Armoury since it opened in 2010 (and why the store has recently been named one of New York Times’ top 50 menswear stores in the country). Taking inspiration from a bygone era of tailoring, The Armoury is all wood-paneled, brick-walled masculinity that celebrates an inherent grace when dressing well.  The Series A has this same throughline, using Cho’s singular vision of his retail store – masculine, elegant, and minimalist. In fact, the connection between Temporal Works and his existing brand is a throughline explicitly made by the founder, who noted, “Our goal was straightforward: create watches as thoughtfully designed and effortlessly wearable as a perfectly tailored navy blazer.” This jumping-off point seems to work in both Hammer and Cho’s favor, as the Series A clearly shows an unwavering vision of a brand identity that feels complementary without being derivative (something other lifestyle-to-watch brands like Louis Vuitton and Montblanc sometimes struggle with). This...

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M Monochrome

Monochrome

TAG Heuer  Perrelet, Leroy Dec 4, 2025

First Look - Done Watches Releases the Mechanica Chrono “Nine in Ten”

Done Watches was founded by Thierry Clottu, who was born and raised in Neuchâtel, at the heart of Switzerland’s watchmaking region. Clottu has extensive industry experience, having worked in product management for brands such as TAG Heuer, Perrelet, Leroy, and Candino. After years of contributing to the development of these brands, he launched his own venture, TCL Concept, […]

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M Monochrome

Monochrome

Lang & Heyne Dec 4, 2025

Introducing - Indies Pöhlmann-Bresan Team up with Jochen Benzinger For a Superb Unique Piece

Lukas Pöhlmann and Josef Bresan-Rehor are two German watchmakers who met more than a decade ago while working under Marco Lang at Lang & Heyne in Dresden. They represent a new generation of artisans who combine a deep respect for traditional craft with a modern, understated aesthetic. After mastering restoration work and experimentation, they formally […]

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M Monochrome

Monochrome

Nov 27, 2025

First Look - Titoni Lightly Updates its Robust Dive Watch, The Seascoper 600 COSC

An independent, family-owned Swiss brand, Titoni was founded in 1919 by Fritz Schluep in Grenchen, Switzerland and is now managed by the third generation of its founding family. Known for its robust, fully-equipped yet accessible watches, the brand impressed us about 5 years ago with the launch of the Seascoper 600, a dive watch with […]

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Maurice Lacroix Aikon Review Nov 26, 2025

Maurice LaCroix Aikon Review

The watch industry only gets more and more competitive each year. Some brands have managed to thrive, and independent watchmakers are more game for the challenge than ever. Others, still, get somewhat lost within the mix. Today, I’m taking a deeper look at a brand that I honestly don’t hear much about, and, through the vehicle of its current flagship model, exploring what it has to offer. As you’ve already guessed from the title of this here article, the subject at hand is the Maurice LaCroix Aikon collection. Characterized by classic integrated bracelet style with a few specific quirks to the mix, the Aikon collection hasn’t managed to go mainstream like some similar competition. Down below, I’ll be walking you through a primer about the brand, the key ingredients of the Maurice LaCroix Aikon, and some personal ramblings on what the collection has to offer, and what it’s lacking.  [toc-section heading="Context"] Like many Swiss watch brands, Maurice LaCroix has a history that can be traced back to the end of the 19th century. However, that historical journey is among the more atypical out there. This 19th-century connection is the Maurice LaCroix ties to its parent company, Desco von Schulthess, which was founded in Zurich in 1889, and for many years, had nothing to do with watches. Initially starting in the silk trade, after WWII, Desco von Schulthess expanded into luxury goods and acted as a distributor for Swiss watches to the Asian market. In 1961, the co...

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S SJX Watches

SJX Watches

Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour Nov 25, 2025

SJX Podcast: Live from Dubai Watch Week

Episode 20 of the SJX Podcast comes to you live from Dubai Watch Week 2025, which has just concluded. The event brought together many leading independent watchmakers, industry executives (including a rare appearance Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour), and perhaps most importantly a big audience of collectors from around the world. The new venue in Burj Park brought a more sophisticated feel to the event, which was by far the largest in its history. SJX and Brandon share their quick reactions on the final day of the fair. Note that given the recording environment, this episode has no video. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Oris ProPilot Date Review Nov 19, 2025

Oris ProPilot Date Review: The Big Crown ProPilot Evolved

The Oris Big Crown ProPilot Date has a prestigious history starting with the founding of the independent Swiss brand that makes it. Oris began making watches in 1904, when it was founded in Hölstein, Switzerland, by Paul Cattin and Georges Christian, who named the company after a nearby brook. A maker of pocket watches and, by 1925, the increasingly popular wristwatches, Oris enjoyed a long period of growth and expansion throughout the following decades and even made its own movements. Losing its independence during the consolidation years of the Quartz Crisis, Oris regained it in the 1980s, when a management buyout transformed the company and solidified its mission to make only mechanical watches going forward. Today, Oris has become a staple for value-conscious collectors of Swiss-made watches, particularly sport-oriented models. Among the brand’s modern pillars are the dressy Big Crown Pointer Date and the more aviation-centric Big Crown ProPilot, which trace their existence all the way back to 1938. That year marked the launch of the first Oris watch dubbed “Big Crown,” named after its signature element, an oversized, fluted winding crown meant to be easy to grasp and to operate by a pilot wearing heavy gloves. The modern edition of the Big Crown ProPilot debuted in 2014 (example above), notably adding what is today one of its signature features: a knurled bezel that resembles a jet turbine.  Oris has revamped, tweaked, and added complications to the original, ...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms [toc-section heading="Blancpain Nov 17, 2025

Tornek-Rayville Review: The Collectible Military Dive Watch Reborn

The story of Tornek-Rayville is one that represents a significant chapter in both watchmaking and military history, from the earliest purpose-built watches for divers in the 1950s up to the re-emergence of the cult-classic brand (in a notably new form) in the 21st Century. And it begins with the development of the world’s first modern dive watch: the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. [toc-section heading="Blancpain Fifty Fathoms History"] Founded in 1735 in Villeret, Switzerland, Blancpain is the oldest luxury watchmaker in the world, but its most famous timepiece in this modern era began its life as a tool watch for military divers in the (relatively) recent year of 1953. Jean-Jacques Fiechter, who headed Blancpain at the time, was an avid diving enthusiast who had long wanted to develop a watch that would be ideal for his hobby. Fiechter worked with Captain Robert Maloubier, a French naval officer, to design a reliable, mission-ready timepiece that Maloubier’s elite combat diving team could wear. The watch’s 42mm steel case - exceptionally large for the time - was water-resistant to 91.45 meters, or 50 fathoms, the maximum depth recommended for scuba divers. Its dial was black and its numerals were luminescent for greater legibility underwater.  It was the first divers’ watch with a self-winding movement, the first with an antimagnetic case, and the first to employ the patented, double-sealed crown that Fiechter had developed. Most notably, the Fifty Fathoms was the ...

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M Monochrome

Monochrome

Nov 17, 2025

First Look - The new Kallinich Claeys Einser Zentralsekunde Voyager Edition

Founded by former A. Lange & Söhne watchmakers Johannes Kallinich and Thibault Claeys, indie watchmaking atelier Kallinich Claeys has quickly become one of the most interesting names in contemporary Glashütte watchmaking. Their debut watch, the Einser Zentralsekunde, introduced a clear design approach and a thoughtfully constructed, in-house movement with central seconds and a linear power reserve […]

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S SJX Watches

SJX Watches

Louis Vuitton resurrected Nov 17, 2025

Highlights: Independent Watchmaking at Phillips Hong Kong Fall 2025

A window into the early days of contemporary independent watchmaking, the upcoming Phillips Hong Kong auction offers an unexpectedly diverse line-up, including a single-owner collection of 1990s watches. The indie selection ranges from Daniel Roth in the late 1980s to Philippe Dufour’s influential finissage. And the historically-minded enthusiast will also notice the catalog includes work from an era when star independent watchmakers, such as Louis Cottier, counted brands as their clients. Lot 982 – Daniel Roth Ref. 2187 Tourbillon “Double Face” After helping establish Breguet as a Swiss watchmaker, Daniel Roth established his eponymous brand in 1988 with his inaugural model being the ref. C187/2187, a tourbillon wristwatch with two faces. The front indicates the time and showcases the tourbillon at six o’clock, while the reverse is home to the date and power reserve indicator. Despite the strikingly exotic look for the time – remember this was the late 1980s – the tourbillon actually employs the familiar Lemania tourbillon calibre, unsurprising given that Mr Roth helped with the construction of the calibre while he was at Breguet. While the bones are Lemania, the aesthetic is uniquely Daniel Roth. The grey dial has a pinstripe guilloche while the three-armed seconds hand indicates the time on a three-layer scale. Just last year, Louis Vuitton resurrected the Daniel Roth marque with a new generation of the iconic tourbillon powered by an all-new calibre deve...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Panerai Nov 1, 2025

The Eight Best Italian Watch Brands in 2026

Watchmaking is a trade that draws artisans and enthusiasts from around the globe, though as an industry it has taken root in only a relative handful of nations. Switzerland, of course, is widely recognized as the world leader in the horological arts, but nations including Japan and Germany have also made a name for themselves on the world watchmaking stage. As watch connoisseurship grows in the 21st century, former watchmaking powers like Great Britain, the United States, and France have started increasing their footprint in the industry. Italy, another country historically renowned for its meticulous craftsmanship and bold, stylish design language, has exerted its own small but impactful influence on the world of watches: it’s the birthplace of Panerai, for example, a brand that essentially opened the door for old-school military tool watches to enter the rarefied air of luxury. It’s also the ancestral home of Bulgari, which, despite being more famous for its jewelry, has earned awestruck respect in the watch world for its record-breaking, boundary-pushing ultra-thin complications. Even Italy’s world-famous luxury sports-car marques - Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati - have exerted a muse-like influence on watchmakers worldwide, in both design and technology, often through direct partnerships. Watches actually made in Italy, however, are relatively few - Panerai and Bulgari are far too rooted in Switzerland nowadays to be considered for this list - but each co...

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S SJX Watches

SJX Watches

Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2 Initial Oct 27, 2025

Editorial: Reflections on WatchTime New York 2025

Autumn has always been a special time in New York, and that’s especially true now that the city plays host to the nation’s flagship watch fair. Held each October in the heart of Midtown, WatchTime New York has become one of the most high profile public watch fairs in the United States, bringing together independent watchmakers, major brands, and collectors under the imposing dome of Gotham Hall. Now in its tenth year, the 2025 edition was the largest yet, and served as the backdrop for the public unveiling of a few notable watches (and one strap). The Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2. Initial thoughts This was my third year attending WatchTime, and the experience is remarkably consistent from year-to-year. That said, this year’s event was clearly the biggest yet, with 44 brands and more than 2,700 visitors. Despite this turnout, it’s still a fraction the size of an event like Watches & Wonders, which gives it a more intimate feel that reminds me of SalonQP, which was an annual watch fair in London put on by now-defunct QP magazine. In other words, it’s big enough to attract big names and small enough to allow the general public to meet watchmakers that they might not otherwise have access to; Kari Voutilainen, Stepan Sarpaneva, Martin Frei of Urwerk, Albert Edelmann of Zeitwinkel, and Roland Murphy of RGM were present throughout the fair to engage with collectors. A big turnout Not only did WatchTime attendance set a record, the nearby Windup Watch Fair, a free event f...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Rolex Milgauss 116400GV Z Blue Oct 21, 2025

Rolex Milgauss 116400GV Z Blue Review

All watchmakers with decades or even centuries of history have some designs, lines, or collections that become timeless icons, and others that get lost to history. Here in the 21st century, all of them are subject to various revivals and reissues before being shelved again. Today, we’re going in-depth with a watch that’s recently gotten the axe from Rolex’s contemporary catalog - and one that might be its quirkiest tool watch ever - the Rolex Milgauss. With its easily identifiable lightning-bolt hand and origins as a companion for scientists, the Milgauss has never quite achieved the years-long waitlist fandom that many other staples from the brand have achieved over the years, and back in 2023, the Crown shelved its unconventional tool watch from production. Maybe it’s an example of always wanting what you can’t easily have, but in recent years, the Milgauss has been attracting a renewed interest at odds with its overlooked reputation. Down below, we’re going to walk through the history of how the Milgauss came to be, explore how the collection has changed over time, and use one model as a case study for its sudden spike in popularity. So, if any of that piques your interest, or if you are already in the cult of Milgauss fandom, keep scrolling, and away we go.  Rolex Milgauss History As we all are already well aware, Rolex's 120-year historical archive is full of record-breaking, boundary-clearing leaps in mechanical timekeeping. From releasing the first ...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Audemars Piguet but also from Oct 20, 2025

The 57 Best Swiss Watch Brands: A Complete Guide for 2026

If you were to ask the average person on the street in any part of the world which nation comes to mind when they think about luxury watches, they’d likely not hesitate in naming Switzerland. While the realities of the international watch industry are more complex, and several other nations, such as Japan and Germany, are also prominent makers of excellent luxury watches, Switzerland will always, justifiably, be regarded as the world center of fine watchmaking. The country's longtime reputation for watch excellence springs not only from the sheer number of industry giants that call it home - including household names like Rolex, Omega, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet - but also from its world-renowned reputation for expertise in all the various crafts that go into fine watchmaking. The Swiss watch industry is as vast as it is complex, with different brands offering varying specialties in a wide range of price points for export around the globe.With all of that in mind, trying to boil down the Swiss watch industry to a subjective list of major players is a bit of a daunting task, as there are many dozens of brands worthy of inclusion. Here we attempt to provide a brief overview of some of the most prominent brands in the Swiss watch industry to give you a basic understanding of what makes each one special. For each brand, we'll provide a bit of history, showcase its major milestones and most important watches, and offer a bit of insight on w...

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M Monochrome

Monochrome

Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist Oct 17, 2025

First Look - The New Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665 (Incl. Video)

Irish pop-rock icons U2 once sang “Two Hearts Beating As One”, a phenomenon that’s no stranger to any of us, but in watchmaking, we call this Resonance! And resonance is mastered by only a handful of watchmakers, one of whom is Armin Strom! The concept of resonance is far from new, and was discovered by […]

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W Worn & Wound

Worn & Wound

Hamilton before Sep 16, 2025

Review: the RGM Model 222-RR “Ferguson”

This has been a great year for American watchmaking. It just feels like there’s an interest in watches made in America that I haven’t really observed in years past. There are a few reasons for this, I think, including the continued uncertainty regarding tariffs placed on imported watches from Switzerland and elsewhere, as well as a handful of brands that are doing some very interesting things here in the United States, and rethinking what defines “American watchmaking” to begin with. And while I’m genuinely very excited about new brands like Cornell, 5280, Typsim, and a variety of others that bring new ideas to the American watchmaking landscape and are indeed actively producing components for their timepieces in America, it’s worth reminding ourselves that some brands have been doing interesting things on these shores for years.  Roland Murphy is a legendary figure in contemporary American watchmaking, and for those of us celebrating a renewed interest in domestic watch manufacturing, Roland and his RGM brand need to be part of the conversation. RGM was founded in 1992, and Roland and his team have been consistently pushing the envelope forward in American watch production ever since. Based in Lancaster, PA (the historic home of Hamilton before the Swatch Group acquisition and a move to Switzerland) RGM produces a variety of watches that showcase American watchmaking in different ways. The catalog consists of watches with American made movements, dials decora...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Sep 11, 2025

What is a GMT Watch?

GMT watches, and other types of watches with useful complications for travelers, are enjoying a surge of popularity these days, with watchmakers large and small stepping up to produce travel watches with both user-friendly mechanics and attractive design, at a variety of price points. Yet, if you’re new to the watch game, you still might be a bit curious about what is a GMT watch, how to read and set them, and how one style differs from another. In this feature, we attempt to address all the pertinent questions you may want answered before purchasing a GMT or any style of watch with the ability to show multiple time zones. What is a GMT watch? GMT is the abbreviation for “Greenwich Mean Time,” the system of world timekeeping based on the calculation of mean solar time from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. Established in 1884 at the International Meridian Conference, the Prime Meridian was conceived as a straight line running from the North Pole to the South Pole directly through Greenwich, serving as the point of zero degrees longitude from which 24 separate time zones divide the Earth: the Eastern Time Zone of the United States, for example, is designated as GMT -5 (i.e., five hours west of Greenwich, which is GMT 0). A GMT watch is essentially a timekeeper designed in that same utilitarian spirit, allowing its wearer to read the time in at least two time zones simultaneously. Many such watches actually use the initials “GMT” in their model names, whi...

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M Monochrome

Monochrome

Laurent Ferrier Classic Tourbillon Sep 4, 2025

Hands-on - The New Laurent Ferrier Classic Tourbillon in Teal Green (Incl. Video)

Laurent Ferrier is among the most laureled independent watchmakers in recent years, and for good reason. The brand seems to effortlessly blend shapes, colours and mechanics into fascinating yet elegantly discreet watches, even if we’re dealing with a world timer or a tourbillon watch. A prime example is the Sport Auto, one of Frank Geelen’s (our […]

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M Monochrome

Monochrome

Furlan Marri Disco Volante Diamonds Onyx Sep 3, 2025

First Look - The Furlan Marri Disco Volante Diamonds Onyx, a Brilliant Flashback Watch

When you hear the word ‘Disco’, your mind will probably wander to the era of bell-bottom jeans, platform shoes, funky music and glitter balls. But with the Disco Volante, indie watchmakers Furlan Marri travel back in time even further, rekindling design codes from the 1930s. You see, the ‘Disco’ part refers to a saucer, and […]

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Breguet actually born Sep 1, 2025

13 Best French Watch Brands (2026)

Switzerland is the modern world’s center of watchmaking, with Germany a distant but respectable second in Europe and Japan having long staked out its own spot as the premier watch producer in Asia. Great Britain and the U.S.A., while no longer world leaders, both have a proud history of watchmaking and maintain a small but steadily growing cottage industry in the modern era. But France has its own respectable horological heritage, centered around the commune of Besançon (below), which borders Switzerland’s own heartland of watchmaking, the Vallée de Joux.  France was, in fact, a home for many historically significant watchmakers and clockmakers, including Julien Cordray, Jean-Antoine Lépine, Ferdinand Berthoud, and Abraham-Louis Breguet (actually born in the Prussian principality that would become Neuchâtel, Switzerland, but renowned as a Paris-based watchmaker to French royalty). The latter three all plied their trade in workshops on Place Dauphine at the western tip of Paris' Île de la Cité in the Seine. Watchmaking was a thriving industry in France for a century, up until KIng Louis XIV’s (below) revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which ushered in the religious persecution of Huguenot watchmakers, who fled to Switzerland to essentially establish that nation as a horological power. The French Revolution in the 18th Century, which halted the sales of luxury goods like watches in France, further eroded the country’s watch industry, and it has never ...

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M Monochrome

Monochrome

Bianchet Aug 28, 2025

Introducing - The new Bianchet UltraFino Sapphire

Bianchet is a relatively young high-end brand founded by Rodolfo and Emmanuelle Festa-Bianchet, and based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Since 2021, the brand has been offering modern tonneau-shaped watches powered by architectural openworked tourbillon movements. Early 2025 marked the launch of an important model for the brand, the UltraFino, its first ultra-thin model, its first […]

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S SJX Watches

SJX Watches

Aug 25, 2025

Prix Gaïa 2025 Awarded to Dr Helmut Crott for Scholarship

Awarded annually by the Musée International d’Horlogerie (MIH), one of Switzerland’s leading timekeeping museums, the Prix Gaïa recognises individuals who have contributed to watchmaking in three categories. This year’s winner in the “History [and] Research” category is Dr Helmut Crott. Best known for having founded the eponymous auction house, Dr Crott is also an author, scholar, and former owner of Urban Jürgensen, amongst other roles. In 2021 he authored Le Cadran, an in-depth study of dials and dial making techniques of 20th century wristwatches. Le Cadran by Dr Helmut Crott Past winners of the Prix Gaïa include Reinhard Meis, Jonathan Betts, Pierre-Yves Donzé, Kathleen Pritschard, and Ludwig Oechslin, all scholars and authors who have contributed substantively to the body of knowledge in the field. Alongside Dr Crott, this year’s winners are Jean-Jacques Paolini for “Entrepreneurship”, and Roger W. Smith for “Craftsmanship [and] Creation”. As the successor to Georges Daniels’ brand of English watchmaking, Mr Smith now produces watches under his own name, with his achievements and timepieces well known. Jean-Jacques Paolini Mr Paolini, on the other hand, is less known outside the industry, but he is arguably most responsible for building the enterprise that’s the largest employer in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In 1980, Mr Paolini took over his family’s case and bracelet manufacturing business, developing its operations sufficiently that it was acq...

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W Worn & Wound

Worn & Wound

Louis Erard Introduces Aug 22, 2025

Louis Erard Introduces the Gravée Main, with a Fully Engraved Case

Of all the artisanal specialities in watchmaking, case engraving has to be among the most obscure and unheralded. I think there are a few reasons for this. One, the dial is where the action is on most watches, and applying a time consuming artistic craft on the case might be seen by some watchmakers as a waste of valuable time. Another factor is that to a large extent, we’ve all been trained to appreciate a particular type of case finishing. We see crisp transitions between brushed and polished surfaces, and that registers as being of a certain level of quality that we expect in a luxury watch. If those elements aren’t there, even if they’re substituted by something that might be visually striking, our reptile brains feel like there’s something missing. The latest in Louis Erard’s ongoing Métiers d’Art series, however, is a good opportunity to appreciate complex case engraving in a new way.  The whole idea behind how Louis Erard approaches Métiers d’Art, and to a certain extent the brand’s focus more generally, is to make craft accessible. The new Gravée Main is perhaps their most ambitious attempt in this area to date. Virtually every steel surface (the case, bezel, lugs, crown, and buckle) is hand engraved. According to the brand, each watch takes upwards of 50 hours to engrave by hand, and only 99 will be made.  Engraving is one of those things that really comes alive when you look at it closely and imagine that painstaking work that went into creat...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Tissot Watches Good? Tissot Aug 20, 2025

"Are Tissot Watches Good?"

Tissot is one of the world's largest Swiss watchmakers and can look back on a rich history upon which it is still building today. In the modern era, Tissot is widely known for its large and diverse portfolio of watches, which ranges from dressy to sporty to high-tech, for its high-profile sports timing presence, and for its incredible value for the money. But there is a lot more that you may not know about Tissot and its many contributions to watchmaking history. Here, we delve into the highlights and tackle the easily answerable question of "are Tissot watches good?". (And if you're interested in learning more about particular Tissot Watches that are available now, check out our companion article on the Best Tissot Watches for Men.) Tissot’s Watchmaking Milestones Began in 1853 Tissot is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world, tracing its history back to 1853. Its founders were the father-son watchmaking team of Charles-Félicien and Charles-Émile Tissot, who turned their home in the Swiss Jura town of Le Locle, where the company remains headquartered today, into a small factory. By 1858, the family firm had gained a major foothold in Tsarist Russia, which became the largest market for the savonette pocket watches that were its specialty at the time. (At one point, Charles-Émile’s son, Charles Tissot, the third generation of the Tissot family to join the business, moved to Moscow to open an office there.) Tissot is recognized as the producer of the first...

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