23,162 articles · 2,550 videos found · page 567 of 858
Monochrome
A few days ago, the MONOCHROME team delivered our yearly forecast of potential launches for the 2024 Rolex Collection. As always, we try our best to guess what the Crown will be presenting at the watch industry’s largest fair, Watches and Wonders. While trying to imagine and design these potential Rolex models, we also started […]
Fratello
Omega has increased the price of its Speedmaster models quite significantly in the past few years. While one could buy the classic Moonwatch for less than €5,000 not even that long ago, the models with a sapphire front and back crystal are rapidly approaching the €10,000 mark. Granted, it’s not the same watch that it […] Visit Pre-Owned Spotlight: Two Omega Speedmasters And A Spacemaster to read the full article.
Fratello
You may recall that Fortis sent 13 Stratoliner S-41 watches into space on a rocket last year. Yes, actual outer space, past the Kármán line and over 100 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. These 13 special watches were recovered, and Fortis made them available for collectors to buy via application only. One application slot was […] Visit Meet The Lucky Fratello Reader Who Now Owns A Space-Flown Fortis Stratoliner S-41 Supernova to read the full article.
Monochrome
Part of the nouvelle vague of watch brands born in France, March LAB was created in 2008 with a focus on design and vintage inspiration. A distinguishing element that has to do with the founders’ origins is France’s Atlantic coast; to be precise, France’s top surf spot on the Basque Country’s coastline. Moving from a […]
Fratello
This week, Fratello On Air returns with an episode featuring a hypothetical question. This is a recurring series, and this time, we ask what would make us buy a new Seiko. We’ll cover more than just sports watches and settle on a few key asks to one of our favorite brands. Enjoy the show! What […] Visit Fratello On Air: What Would Make You Buy A New Seiko? to read the full article.
Fratello
Today, we won’t talk about the latest release from Atelier Wen. We will briefly discuss a new venture from the Chinese marque called Inside the Atelier. This is a behind-the-scenes look at the various suppliers supporting the brand’s watches. It focuses on the people, their inspiration, and where they work. The first episode is out, […] Visit Atelier Wen Kicks Off Its “Inside The Atelier” Video Series to read the full article.
Quill & Pad
Rolex is one of the largest, most prominent brands in the world. Unlike many other brands of this size, Rolex is a private company and so it is somewhat opaque when it comes to hard facts about what goes on behind closed doors. But some numbers can be found online, and are used to determine roughly how many watches Rolex makes a year and how much revenue is made per model.
SJX Watches
In an unsurprising move given recent fads, Piaget just announced the Polo 79, a yellow gold wristwatch that is essentially a remake of the original, with a slightly larger case that captures the proportions of the original and an impressively slim movement. Initial thoughts The Polo 79 is a predictable launch, coming shortly after the Vacheron Constantin 222 and IWC Ingenieur, which are of course products of Piaget’s sister companies. The new Polo sticks to the same formula, gently updating the aesthetics and installing a new movement, but largely preserving the same design. So the Polo 79 can’t be commended for creativity, but it is executed well. That said, creating a new design in the spirit of the original – namely geometric forms, slim, and sporty – would have certainly made it a more interesting watch. The Polo 79 is slightly larger than the original, but substantially thicker thanks to a self-winding movement. The original, on the other hand, was equipped with the quartz cal. 7P, an incredibly thin movement that fit the trends of the time. The increase in size means the new Polo feels like a bulked up version of the original, which was small and flat in keeping with 1980s style. To accommodate modern tastes, the Polo 79 sacrifices the thinness of the original. That is regrettable but forgivable, since it would not be possible to achieve sufficient water resistance (the Polo 79 is rated to 50 m) as well as automatic winding in the dimensions of the original c...
Worn & Wound
Spring is coming early, or at least that’s what Punxsutawney Phil would have us believe. February 2 was Groundhog Day in North America. In case you don’t know (or haven’t seen the Bill Murray movie), this is the day that groundhogs around the country are coaxed from their burrows in an attempt to predict the arrival of spring weather. If the groundhog emerges to see its shadow, it will nestle back into its cozy home and winter will continue for six more weeks. Thankfully, at least for everyone pining for warmer weather, the definitive Groundhog - the aforementioned Punxsutawney Phil - predicted an early Spring. Mere days later, he has been proven right with the release of two new Spring-inspired releases by Grand Seiko. Like many Grand Seiko releases, the obvious stand-out feature of these watches are the dials. Still, before we dive into that it’s worth taking a look at the broader strokes of the SBGH341 “Sakura-Kakushi” and SBGH343 “Sakura-Wakaba.” These new releases come in a familiar 62GS case produced in Grand Seiko’s high-intensity titanium on a matching bracelet. Except, it’s not quite the case we’re used to seeing. When the 62GS case was relaunched by Grand Seiko back in 2019, it was upsized to 40mm. This new interpretation of the 62GS brings that back down to a wonderful 38mm. With their scaled-down dimensions and at just 12.9mm thick, these fall squarely into the goldilocks dimensions so many collectors seek out these days. Throw in the...
Monochrome
Furniture that looks old but is made today is usually classified as reproduction furniture, models that take design cues from the past but are crafted with contemporary materials. This very same phenomenon also applies to the watch world, especially for brands that don’t have reams of historical catalogues to dip into and select the next […]
The Citizen Promaster Aqualand JP2007-09W is now available in the Worn & Wound Shop Twenty meters down, I slowed my descent by squirting a puff of air into my buoyancy wing. I hovered just under the overhanging edge of the massive wreck. In contrast to the bright tropical sun streaming down from far above, the maw inside this upturned ship was in deep shadow. To venture inside was to go from day to night, and despite years of exploring shipwrecks, it always gave me pause to penetrate the bowels of one. There’s nothing particularly dangerous about the Hilma Hooker, and indeed it sees hundreds of divers a year, due to its proximity to shore, warm water, and relatively accessible depth. The wreck rests at the bottom of a lush coral reef, hard on the sand at just over 30 meters. Most divers are content to kick along its hull, snap some hero shots near the propeller, and marvel at the huge tarpon and barracuda that spend the daylight hours hovering in the shadows. But somehow, the yawning darkness inside beckons-hollowed-out cargo holds and engine room, long empty compartments that once purportedly held contraband drugs before the ship was seized, abandoned, and then mysteriously sunk. I hesitated, then switched on my powerful dive torch and swam into the darkness. Truth be told, I wasn’t really penetrating the Hilma Hooker to search for sunken treasure. I’d been inside this wreck many times before, in over a dozen trips to Bonaire. I had a different, more quixotic goal...
Fratello
Back in 2022, I reviewed a couple of Yema’s Superman models, and I really liked the vintage vibes of the pointy lugs and the clean diver’s dial. The 39mm size is perfect for a wide variety of wrists, and I even thought the old-school bezel lock was charming. Unfortunately, I found the overall finishing and […] Visit Yema Steps Up Its Game With The New Superman Slim - Powered By The In-House CMM.20 Micro-Rotor Movement to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
This month I had the pleasure of speaking with Nathan Bobinchak, Head of Watchmaking for the independent brand Oak & Oscar. Nathan is a former journalist and TV news writer turned watchmaker, with an obsession for finding the best way to experience sound through home audio setups. Watches “I had my midlife crisis at 26.” Nathan delivers a dry joke as he recounts his career shift from local TV news, to his decision to go to watchmaking school. Specifically, Nathan attended The Litiz Watch Technicum, a watchmaking school outside Lancaster, PA that was founded in 2001 by Rolex. After graduating from Litiz, Nathan worked for a shop in Connecticut, eventually moving to Chicago at the beginning of 2020 and landing the job at Oak & Oscar. “I first got into Oak & Oscar with the Jackson. The Jackson is a very cool chronograph with the Eterna 3916 movement in it. It’s a very neat, super complicated, pretty movement. It has a column wheel and flyback chrono…just very cool.” Nathan explained to me that in modern watchmaking you do a lot of the same things, but said he was fortunately certified to work on watches like the Rolex Daytona, as he has a lot of fun servicing chronographs. “I can go on all day about the art of lubricating a chronograph. That is some nerdy stuff. It’s like paint drying.” I was interested, so I asked him to expound. “The only thing that makes watches hard to work on is the user. We knock them, move them around, a movement will run grea...
Monochrome
Born in 1963, the Superman quickly became Yema’s most emblematic watch and, incidentally, one of France’s most famous watches too. A so-called skin diver, meaning a dive watch intended for recreational dives and more restrained proportions, it remained nevertheless a competent aquatic tool. Revived in 2018 with a faithful re-edition, Yema has, for the past […]
SJX Watches
To inaugurate its first-ever in-house automatic movement, Konstantin Chaykin created the Wristmon Zebra Piece Unique, a one-off based on the brand’s signature best-seller. Though it retains the familiar “rolling eye” time display, the Zebra is equipped with the K.33-3, a newly-developed automatic movement with a micro-rotor. Initial thoughts Ever since the launch of the Joker, Konstantin Chaykin has continued to iterate on the Wristmon with its amusing “rolling eye” display. While the Zebra might look like more of the same, it is notable for having an all-new, in-house movement, which replaces the ETA and Vaucher movements that powered past Wristmon models. Mr Chaykin has long hinted that a workhorse in-house movement was in the works, an endeavour that was probably accelerated by the difficulty of sourcing components from outside Russia due to the ongoing war and resulting sanctions. With the launch of the K.33-3, Konstantin Chaykin becomes one of the few independent watchmakers with its own self-winding movement, let alone an automatic calibre with a micro-rotor. The K.33-3 is basic in terms of aesthetics and certain specifications, but it is a feat to be applauded, particularly for Mr Chaykin given the relatively scarcity of specialist suppliers close to him. The Zebra is a one-off conceived to debut the new calibre, but we can expect more watches with the K.33-3 in the future. And if Mr Chaykin retains the same pricing for the new models with an in-house mov...
Fratello
The original Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer II 1655 that debuted in 1971 is probably my favorite Rolex watch of all time. I wish I’d felt the same in the mid-1980s when you could pick up an unloved “Freccione” at a huge discount. Unfortunately, I only started warming up to the Explorer II with its steel […] Visit This Monday Morning, I Realized I Should Have Bought The Black-Dial Rolex Explorer II 16570 Instead Of The White One to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Zenith has just taken the covers off the Chronomaster Sport Titanium, essentially a lightweight variant of the bestselling sports chronograph. Entirely in brushed and polished titanium, the new Chronometer is powered by the El Primero 3600 and like most sports chronographs today, available with either a matching titanium bracelet or an integrated rubber strap. Initial thoughts The Chronomaster Sport Titanium doesn’t do anything new in terms of styling – the design still remains derivative of the Rolex Daytona – but it feels good in the lightweight alloy. The watch has the large size required of a sport chronograph, but is easily wearable thanks to the lightness. As an accessible alternative to the Daytona, the Chronomaster Sport is not particularly interesting in steel, but more appealing in titanium. Granted, it retains the same design, but the titanium case and bracelet give it a tangibly different feel. Of all the Chronomaster Sport iterations, this is the most appealing, particularly since it’s the only variant dressed in low-key, monochromatic colours. The grey hue of titanium complements the palette, with the tri-colour sub-dials in shades of grey being a clever touch. The Chronomaster Sport Titanium is priced at US$11,800 on a bracelet and a bit less on a strap. It’s priced comparable to other Zenith models with the same movement, and broadly speaking a good value proposition as far as sports chronographs go, with the Daytona being about 40% more expensive...
Monochrome
Any serious watch buff is familiar with the story of Zenith’s El Primero high-frequency automatic chronograph calibre of 1969. Fast-forward to the 21st century, and Zenith’s iconic movement ticks on thanks to upgrades and ever-higher frequencies to track elapsed times. A variant of the brand’s famous Zenith Chronomaster – itself a descendant of the iconic […]
SJX Watches
This year is the 40th anniversary of Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, a 1984 Japanese anime film portraying the titular heroine’s valiant adventures in a post-apocalyptic world. To mark the occasion, anime studio Studio Ghibli and Seiko created the Presage Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind SPB437, a limited edition with an unusual combination of finishes, namely a blue enamel dial and a brushed steel case. Initial thoughts Seiko has long incorporated Japanese pop culture into its timepieces, drawing inspiration from iconic franchises such as Gundam and the Street Fighter video game. While the new Presage isn’t the first collaboration between the watch brand and Studio Ghibli, the Nausicaä edition is arguably amongst the best due to its classical, almost minimalist design. Even though it is a cartoon-inspired watch, the Nausicaä edition has a restrained aesthetic with stylish details. Particularly notable is the blue enamel dial featuring the emblem of the Princess Nausicaä and elongated indices. The simplicity of the dial design, combined with a steel case featuring an unusual aged finish completes the aesthetic that sets it apart from the typical Presage model. Its clean styling stands out even compared to the earlier Presage Castle in the Sky from 2021. The Nausicaä edition is priced at US$1,600, a modest increase over the previous Studio Ghibli model but still affordable. As is often the case with affordable Seiko limited editions, the m...
Quill & Pad
The Louis Moinet Memoris chronograph was the first watch to put the chronograph mechanism fully visible dial side. Now, Louis Moinet has added a flying tourbillon to their monopusher column wheel chronograph and called it Impulsion.
Time+Tide
This less-than-subtle Cyberpunk-esque watch uses two Soviet-made cold cathode tubes to tell the time.The post The Gelfman Nixie IN-16 is unlike anything you’ve seen before 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 by emailing us at info@wornandwound.com Heavy Metal Costs Elon Musk Billions In what has to be one of the early candidates for headline of the year, Futurism’s The Byte imprint has a fairly wild story about how a heavy metal drummer and Tesla stockholder successfully sued the billionaire, putting a limit on what is essentially limitless wealth. The drummer, Richard Tornetta, formerly of the thrash metal band Dawn of Correction, was part of a lawsuit alleging that Musk misled investors regarding his own compensation. The suit has been tied up in courts for years, but was recently decided in Tornetta’s favor, proving once again that metal is an inherent good in a world of unencumbered wealth. Could Adam Neumann Really Buy Back WeWork? Slate’s Alex Kirshner reports this week on a strange story involving another billionaire. Adam Neumann, the founder and former CEO of WeWork, whose story was memorably dramatized in the WeCrashed limited series starring Jared Leto as the founder, is apparently interested in buying back his old company out of bankruptcy. A bankruptcy many would argue he was responsible for – the company w...
Time+Tide
This handsome Lunar New Year commemorative watch is versatile enough to be worn all year round and for many more Chinese zodiac cycles.The post The Longines Flagship Heritage Year of the Dragon proves you can wear a milestone watch all year round appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
The crown is one of the most important yet under appreciated parts of a watch. The humble crown has played an extensive role in helping Rolex – and the rest of the watch industry – get to where it is today. Here's why.
Fratello
Rolex is a hallowed name in horology. Yes, like me, you may be one of those who share in a widespread exasperation at waitlist games, the difficulty in attaining a new timepiece for non-VIPs who want one, and what the brand can represent to some in this age littered with vacuous social media influencers. Rolex […] Visit The Early Rolex And Tudor Oyster Watches That Saw Action In WWII During The Battle Of The Atlantic to read the full article.
Fratello
I wrote an article on the best Seiko watches under €500 a few weeks ago. The Japanese brand used to rule the “affordable watch” category, especially with diving watches. But with Seiko slowly moving upmarket, that territory is now open for other brands to conquer. An obvious pick is Citizen. The fellow Japanese brand offers […] Visit Hands-On: The Brilliant And Affordable Citizen Promaster Mechanical Diver NY0120-01EE And NY0129-58LE to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Editor’s Note: In this 3 Watch Collection for $5,000, reader Varun Jindal, @vkj622 on Instagram picks three watches that cover just about every base imaginable. He has a varied collection, but left to three watches at this price point he went with two that lean heavily to the sporty end of the spectrum, and a third for those times when he needs to dress a bit more formally. You can make your submission to the Three Watch Collection – Reader Edition by filling out the form right here. If you were ever compelled to track my journey as a watch enthusiast and collector looking for a pattern, you’d pull your hair out. I’ll save everyone some time. There isn’t one! My humble roster comprises multiple Xetum watches, a Bulova diver I address below, and a Seiko “Pepsi” SKX from the Middle East. Spoiler Alert: It’s not the 009! As a modern-day ad man my personal style leans toward smart casual and formalwear only makes an appearance at weddings. To that note, if I ever catch anybody wearing an Apple Watch with a suit, I’ll immediately refer to them as Spy Kid (loudly and publicly). The Apple Watch is not a watch and that’s a hill I’m willing to die on! You know better. You read Worn and Wound. The timing of this feature couldn’t be better as I step into a second decade in marketing and firmly plant both feet in my mid-thirties. So without further ado, please find my handpicked triple threat around 5k below. Bremont Airco Mach 3: $2,000 Bremont first came on m...
Monochrome
In only two months, the watch community will focus all its attention on Geneva. In early April, the largest watch fair of the year, Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024, will open its doors. As a yearly tradition for the past decade, it’s time for the MONOCHROME team to get creative and predict what Rolex might […]
Hodinkee
This Valentine's Day, the gang reunites to get the final jab in at your ex in the form of a limited edition take on the Q Timex.
Worn & Wound
This Chinese zodiac assigns an animal to represent each lunar new year, cycling through the 12 animals who according to myth came down from heaven to help the Chinese people celebrate the spring. This year is the year of the dragon, which promises to bring good fortune and strength-and, of course, year of the dragon special edition watches. Worn & Wound has already covered some of the best ones out there, but one article (and even two) isn’t enough to cover them all. The IWC Portugieser Chronograph might be the most beautiful year of the dragon watch to come out thus far. The wine colored dial with gold numerals and hands that just ooze luxury, and pays tribute to the Chinese new year on its movement, which features an intricately carved gold dragon rotor. The watch comes with a black calfskin strap, but the rubber strap in a wine that matches the dial provides a stunning complement. IWC has done a few Chinese new year models in the past-this one is far and away the best. The brand’s year of the rabbit had a similar wine and gold coloring, but lacked a two-subdial chronograph complication like the year of the dragon. 2022’s year of the tiger was a chronograph but as a three-subdial chronograph with day and date windows, the dial just feels crowded and lacks the more elegant simplicity of this year’s model. And the metal work on the dragon rotor blows away the last two years’ animal rotors. Tag Heuer uses the inverse color scheme of the special edition Portugi...
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