2,526 articles · 139 videos found · page 57 of 89
Fratello
Another Friday, another list! Last week, we concluded our series of articles covering the best watches of the first half of 2024. Now it’s time to move on to something different. This week, we’ll look at our five favorite currently available Citizen watches. Over the past couple of years, this longstanding Japanese maker has shown […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Current Citizen Watches to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Proving recent rumours to be true, MB&F; has just announced that Chanel now owns 25% of the company. The terms of the deal were not disclosed but it is likely that the valuation of the independent watchmaker not far from the CHF120 million mark. Though meaningful in the context of independent watchmaker, it is a small investment for Chanel, which had 2023 revenues of almost US$20 billion. MB&F; will continue to be controlled by founder Maximilian Büsser (above left), who pares his stake down to 60% stake, while his longtime deputy, Serge Kriknoff, continues with a 15% share in the brand best known for its sculptural, sci-fi creations. The pair were the only shareholders in the brand prior to the Chanel investment. The MB&F; HM11 A major player behind the scenes With its MB&F; investment, Chanel continues to grow its presence in watchmaking, particularly independent watchmaking. The stake in MB&F; follows on Chanel’s investment in F.P. Journe (believed to be about a quarter), and about a half share in Romain Gauthier. Chanel has also long owned a substantial stake in Bell & Ross, as well as a quarter of movement maker Kenissi. Add to those Chanel’s holdings in the watchmaking supply chain, and the result is a luxury group that has a substantial and growing player in watchmaking. Chanel’s watch and jewellery chief, Frédéric Grangié, said the investment in MB&F; “is part of our long-term strategy to continue to preserve, develop and invest in specialist know-how and...
Fratello
It’s no secret that the number of authorized multi-brand dealers for big watch companies has decreased significantly in the last decade. Only the large(r) chains, such as Wempe, Bucherer, Watches of Switzerland, and some local ones, seem to keep their portfolios secure with the big groups and brands. The traditional “mom-and-pop” jewelers are vanishing from […] Visit Is There A Future For The Brick-And-Mortar Multi-Brand Watch Dealer? to read the full article.
Fratello
Today, we’ll go hands-on with two lovely Glashütte Original references from the Senator Excellence series. The first is a stainless steel Perpetual Calendar, and the second is a red gold model with moonphase and date complications. Both share elegant designs and legible dials. Only two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to review the Glashütte […] Visit Hands-On: The Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar And Panorama Date Moon Phase to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Ming is a brand that tends to elicit strong reactions from enthusiasts. They are certainly not to everyone’s taste, but those who love the brand really love the brand and are among the most enthusiastic collectors I’ve encountered in the watch world. I’ll be honest, Ming’s house aesthetic is typically not for me, personally, but I’ve gained a tremendous amount of respect for the brand as I’ve had a chance to talk to more owners about they find these watches so interesting. A big part of it, as it always seems to be, is the community built around that ownership experience. That community reveals itself in a public way via Ming’s Special Project’s Cave, a kind of skunk-works segment of the brand that is free to experiment as the brand develops new technologies. As Ming always points out when they release a watch from the Cave, the process always involves input from their customers, so you could think of the watches in this series as a real reflection of the brand’s owners. If that’s the case, their latest creation, the 20.01 Series 3, kind of proves my point about the vibrancy of the Ming community. At a high level, the 20.01 Series 3 is a precious metal chronograph utilizing the excellent AgenGraphe movement by Agenhor. But when you get closer (and closer) you realize that the 20.03 is perhaps the brand’s most avant-garde creation yet, which is saying something considering some of the projects that have come out of the Special Projects Cave to this p...
Fratello
We love to provide proper, useful consumer advice here on Fratello. Unfortunately, I won’t be doing that today. Instead, I’ll be writing about my experience trying on one of my favorite releases of this year, the Cartier Tortue Hours/Minutes. This is a watch that, even if you could afford it, isn’t available anymore. I thought […] Visit A Useless Bit Of Consumer Advice: A Review Of The Cartier Tortue Hours/Minutes to read the full article.
SJX Watches
The Annual Calendar Travel Time Ref. 5326G is one of Patek Philippe’s most practical watches in the “Compilations” family because it combines two useful functions: a calendar that needs setting only once every four years along with a dual time zone display with double day-night indicators. Smartly constructed such that the calendar indicators move in sync with the local time hand, the ref. 5326G has a vintage-toned aesthetic on a smartly detailed dial, presented in an elaborately decorated case. All of that, however, is packaged with a hefty price tag. Initial thoughts Like its sibling the Calatrava ref. 5226G, the ref. 5326G captures Patek Philippe’s latest generation aesthetic, which is not just about design, but fancy execution of the dial and case. Compared to equivalent models from before, the ref. 5326G takes a more elaborate approach to the habillage, with the hobnailed case flanks being an example. It does, however, still feel like a Patek Philippe. Though it’s relatively large at 41 mm, the case is thin at just over 11 mm, giving the watch an elegant, if wide, profile. The ref. 5326G also stands out for having a movement from the 31-260 family of large calibres that represent the latest and greatest in self-winding Patek Philippe movements. In fact, it’s one of only five references with a 31-260 movement. The cal. 31-260 is unquestionably the most sophisticated of Patek Philippe’s automatic movements, and also the most appealing in terms of design wi...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
The Nomos Worldtimer is an interesting watch in the German Watchmaker’s catalog. It’s Nomos’ most complicated watch and their second most expensive, underneath the precious metal Lambda collection. The Zurich is called a worldtimer in name, but in reality it serves more as a GMT watch than a true worldtimer. Worldtimer’s tell time across time zones at a glance whereas the Zurich has the ability to advance the local time in 1hr increments while the sub-dial maintains 24-hr time in a set time zone. Nomos has made this watch for a long time. I found articles and blog posts referencing it going back to 2011. This is remarkable, on one hand, because it mean that Nomos’ has resisted the urge to build increasingly complicated watches and focused on truly honing their craft on the existing catalog.
Monochrome
If I were to ask you what the greatest American-made supercar is, what would your answer be? The Corvette? The Viper? The Saleen S7 perhaps? Very likely, but I bet a few of you will immediately think of Gerald Wiegert and his Vector cars. Although it wasn’t meant to be for various reasons, you can’t […]
Time+Tide
"A single-use, long-scale launch clock", pull its pin and it'll count up for the next 1 million days.The post The CW&T; Time Since Launch is a thoughtful piece of horological art celebrating life’s important moments appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
The Glashütte Original PanoMaticCalendar is a beautifully designed annual calendar. Today, we’ll look closer at this 18-carat red gold beauty that blends functionality with an elegant layout. It features a stunning movement that’s put on display on the flip side. Glashütte Original is a brand that brings back fond memories. I was in Chicago with […] Visit Hands On: The Glashütte Original PanoMaticCalendar to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Editor’s Note: For this edition of The Three Watch Collection for $5,000, we turn to one of our newest contributors, Tommy DeMauro. Tommy has a deep appreciation and knowledge for a particular flavor of affordable vintage. Think ana-digi watches, under the radar and nearly forgotten references from big brands, and pure novelty. Tommy has a great eye and loves digging into the lost classics, and we’ll be bringing you his practical guides to these unusual watches in the coming months. But until then, here’s his 3 for 5k contribution, which ought to give you a sense of what Tommy is all about. As someone who has firmly cemented themself in the affordable vintage market, the three-watch collection for under $5,000 challenge unlocked newfound territory for me. Only owning watches with an initial cost of roughly $400 or less (before service or repairs if needed), I have no experience with luxury brands or any pieces whose market value exceeds my rather low price point. While the appeal of owning a Rolex, IWC, or Cartier was certainly not lost on me when deciding which watches to choose, I wanted to stick close to my roots and pay my respect to iconic brands often found within the affordable end of the market. Now, before I even begin to unpack my three choices, let me first explain my thought process here. I typically gravitate towards the obscure and unique because of my love for design and expression––why have what everyone else is having? That being said, yes, I...
Fratello
The Alpina 10 Seastrong was on my shopping list for a long time. These watches are not easy to come by. They are not exactly rare, but they do not pop up for sale too often. What we can call rare is the specific model we’ll be checking out today, which features a set of […] Visit #TBT The Mystery Of The Alpina 10 Seastrong With Red Hands to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Some people, if you were to ask them, would say that the most exhilarating moment in sports is the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the winning run at the plate. Others would say it’s penalty kicks at the World Cup, the final two minutes of a basketball game, or a last-minute Hail Mary. Ask me the same question, and you’ll get a different answer. For my money, the most exciting moment in sports comes at the end of a tennis match. Unlike soccer, football, or basketball, tennis isn’t a sport where you can run out the clock. To win, you have to earn the last point and, until that happens, a comeback is never out of the question. Despite matches sometimes lasting for hours, time isn’t explicitly a factor in tennis, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter, and there is no stronger evidence for that than the strong connection between some of the world’s leading watch brands and the sport of tennis. This past weekend, I got to experience that connection firsthand with a visit to the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where Rado was serving as the tournament’s official timekeeper. With Rado’s clocks tracking the passing time both on and off the court, there was no better host to welcome us to Rock Creek Park, or with whom to celebrate one of my favorite sports in one of my favorite cities. Though Rado’s relationship with tennis extends back much further (well over thirty years), this is only their second year partnering with the Mubadala Citi DC Open. But just because...
Monochrome
Back in April, the Rolex Deepsea 136668LB was one of the most talked about watches of Watches & Wonders. The Deepsea has always been Rolex’s biggest and boldest dive watch (until the 50mm wide Deepsea Challenge 126067 came along that is, but we’ll ignore that for now). It takes the iconic design codes of the […]
Monochrome
There’s already plenty said about the Black Bay collection and its effect on Tudor as a brand. Yes, it’s a gargantuan success and yes it’s home to countless iterations by now, and more will likely come further down the line. From its humble beginnings in 2012 with the release of the Black Bay Burgundy 79220R […]
Fratello
It’s no surprise that I am a fan of the Doxa Sub line of watches. My first new Swiss-made watch was a Doxa, though it was not one of the iconic cushion-cased designs. Today, I’ll go through four of Doxa’s key dive-watch offerings and hopefully help you determine which one is right for you. When […] Visit Which Doxa Sub Is Right For You? to read the full article.
Monochrome
When it comes to Panerai, we’ve seen the brand getting slightly out of track from time to time, with complex movements, smaller watches with low water-resistance and innovative materials that didn’t feel too convincing. So, when the brand introduces a nice-looking, straightforward model that does everything you want from a Panerai, we somehow have to […]
Worn & Wound
Citizen watches have played an enormous role in shaping the taste and opinions of many of us at Worn & Wound, and the same can likely be said for a large percentage of our readers. They are a brand that is truly ubiquitous in that their philosophy has always been to create watches for everyone, for every citizen, and that comes through loud and clear when you take even a cursory look at their product offerings at any given time. Over the past several years, Citizen has expanded their reach into the enthusiast watch world through a variety of releases that offer an exceptional amount of bang for buck when it comes to materials, technology, and aesthetics, while always maintaining their mass market appeal. Anyone who follows the watch industry closely knows that there are only a handful of brands that can truly claim to be embraced by both the mass market and the cult of watch aficionados, and Citizen is most definitely part of that exclusive group. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the very first Citizen watch, and they’re marking the occasion with a traveling exhibition that should appeal to hardcore collectors and hobbyists as well as more casual watch lovers and Citizen owners. The Essence of Time exhibit, which we had a chance to tour recently at its New York City debut, is an impressive testament to Citizen’s impact on the watch landscape over the past century, and offers the public an opportunity to view important Citizen watches from throughout the brand...
Hodinkee
Intersect L.A. brought together 20-plus brands and hundreds of enthusiasts for a day of watches.
Time+Tide
It's been named the "French Watch of the Year" by the Union de la Bijouterie Horlogerie, but is it worthy of that title?The post Is the Yema Navygraf Marine Nationale CMM.10 the “French Watch of the Year”? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
End of July, the sun is out, temperatures are rising and the sea is blue… This is the time of the year when a high-end dress watch doesn’t make much sense. Unless you’ll spend your holidays reading books in an air-conditioned library (no judgment, if that’s your thing), most of us will spend time next […]
Fratello
It’s finally getting warmer here in the Netherlands, and many people are already enjoying their summer vacations. That means it’s time to dig up those funky, colorful dive watches and wear the hell out of them while diving, swimming, hiking, or relaxing next to your tent. We’ll do the same today during another Sunday Morning […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Mido Ocean Star Decompression Timer 1961 Vs. Christopher Ward C65 Super Compressor Elite to read the full article.
Monochrome
Once one of the largest watch companies in the world, German brand Junghans was founded in 1861 by Erhard Junghans and his brother-in-law Jakob Zeller-Tobler and started as a clockmaker. Mostly famous for its collaboration with Swiss Bauhaus designer Max Bill, the company kept on bringing nicely designed and accessible watches over the years. Aside […]
Deployant
Itinerant coffee vendor, Calibrate Coffee. And one with a La Marzocco Mini on his motorcycle side car. Pulling espresso, and other drinks
Time+Tide
While you might've heard of the Bambino or Mako, Buffy brings you the full-low-down on Orient.The post The ultimate Orient watch guide that demystifies the popular entry-level brand appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Having launched the Première Édition Originale two years ago, a bestseller modelled on the No. 5 perfume bottle, Chanel has now extended the concept, literally, with the Première Sound Watch. It’s a necklace watch, or a montre sautoir, with a pair of wired earphones, or more specifically in-ear monitors (IEMs), that loop through the links of the chain. Initial thoughts Chanel is now a proper watchmaker with an expansive manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds (where the Monsieur is produced) and a stake in movement maker Kenissi, but it’s primarily a luxury fashion house that derives majority of its revenue from cosmetics and fashion. The Première Sound is very much a fashion watch – and an expensive one at that – but a logical creation that is both useful and instantly recognisable as Chanel. As an aside, the fact that the Première necklace watch is delivered with a pair of wired earphones, instead of wireless earbuds, is low tech but practical since it does away with flaky rechargeable batteries, which will inevitably extend its useful life. Importantly, the earphone cable loops into the necklace and is removable, meaning the Première Sound can revert to just being a necklace watch. Jennie of Korean girl group Blackpink with the Premiere Sound A bottle stopper watch Introduced in 1987, the Première is Chanel’s longest-lived bestseller. Its case is modelled on the cap of the No. 5 perfume bottle, itself inspired by the shape of the Place Vendôme, the square in ...
Fratello
When I feel my appetite for retro filling up, something catches my eye in a typical fashion. A good dégradé dial does that to me, and green is supposedly the color of 2024, right? Combining this with a busier-than-usual Super Compressor-style dial sounds like too much, but the Beaufort Seatrekker might prove me wrong. I’ll […] Visit Hands-On With The Beaufort Seatrekker - A Big-Hearted Dual-Crown Diver From New Zealand to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
I’ll be honest, I started off my experience with the new Viajero coming from a pretty far off and distant place. No, not some cool and remote corner of the world, but as a person who was largely unfamiliar with both Haim as a brand and also the concept of a worldtimer. While I have a GMT in my personal collection, the idea of tracking several time zones via a worldtimer never seemed like something on my radar. Am I classy enough for this? Is a worldtimer even worth the typically large price tag that they command? I remember seeing an Omega worldtimer that was pretty cool…oh right, that’s pushing $10k and not exactly at the top of my spend-ten-thousand-dollars-on-a-watch list. When the Haim Viajero came across my desk, the first thing I thought was how interesting it is to get a worldtimer complication for a fair amount under a thousand bucks, and that’s exactly what the watch accomplishes. Pack your carryon and prepare for a few layovers, we’re going worldtiming. Case A 38.5mm diameter is a pretty nice spot to be if you’re a watch case. It often hits that goldilocks “just right” feeling, especially on my 6.75” wrist. At 45.5mm lug-to-lug and12mm tall, the watch is firmly in mid-sized territory. The Viajero is largely circular from the top down, featuring lugs that borrow heavily from the celebrated Vacheron Constantine “Cornes de Vache”. The result is nice and clean, and it looks as though the sharp, yet curved lugs are holding up the case in an ele...
SJX Watches
Now having been director of Chanel’s watch creation studio for almost a dozen years, Arnaud Chastaingt has shaped the brand’s line-up of timepieces and time-telling objects, imbuing them with a distinctive yet versatile style that is still recognisably Chanel. After a decade at Cartier, Mr Chastaingt took the helm of the design studio as Chanel was expanding and refining its watch division. Besides the scaling up of its longtime manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds, where top-of-the-line movements like Calibre 1 are produced, Chanel also invested in Kenissi, the movement maker majority owned by Tudor. The brand’s investments in watchmaking have paid off, with its 2024 collection including the J12 Couture Workshop wristwatch powered by the in-house Calibre 6 that incorporates an automaton of Coco Chanel wielding a pair of scissors. While the engineering and mechanics are all located in Switzerland, Mr Chastaingt mandates the aesthetics from the brand’s headquarters in Paris, even designing the bridges of the in-house movements. He spoke to us about design, details, and why a brand like Chanel makes complicated watches for men. The interview was edited for clarity and length. A tiny ring watch modelled on a pin cushion set with pearls and diamonds. Image – Chanel SJX: I’ve seen the new collection and I’m impressed by the variety and design. The first question is, I see a comic-inspired theme with the character watches and the automaton, but these are serious mechan...
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