Two Broke Watch Snobs
Marathon Introduces A New Steel Navigator. But Is It Worth The Price?
A look at the new Marathon Navigator pilot's watch, featuring a fully blasted steel case with a screw-down crown and 100m of water-resistance.
21,256 articles · 5,533 videos found · page 596 of 893
Two Broke Watch Snobs
A look at the new Marathon Navigator pilot's watch, featuring a fully blasted steel case with a screw-down crown and 100m of water-resistance.
Worn & Wound
You can tell a bit about a person just from the watch they’re wearing. A certain brand, particular style of watch, or a deep-cut reference can easily give away the wearer’s horology knowledge, adjacent interests, or occupation. To be fair, any ordinary person wearing a watch out in the wild could just have the watch on to tell the time, but watch enthusiasts in the room know what I’m talking about. This leads me to the smartwatch, and more specifically, the brand, Garmin. Does someone wearing a Garmin watch elicit that same mental process as someone wearing a mechanical watch? It does so for me. Whether it’s a waiter rocking their Garmin during a work shift or catching it on someone’s wrist during a casual grocery store run, in my head, I’m already painting a picture of someone who likes to “get out there.” Garmin remains as one of the most capable outdoor adventure and lifestyle smartwatch brands in the market today. In my opinion, the Garmin Instinct in particular happens to toe the line between analog and smartwatch. Yes, there is not an hour, minute, or seconds hand in sight (actually there is a model called the Garmin Crossover that offers this type of display). But relative to the entire Garmin smartwatch catalog, the Instinct is as analog as it gets. There is no touchscreen at all and navigation through the Instinct’s multi-function features requires an actual push of a button. The monochrome screen display is absent of any colorful distractions an...
Time+Tide
It’s easy to read about a watch brand having an incredible turnaround and soar in popularity, and you may even notice the rise in social media posts or news articles written about a new phenomenon. But, if you really want to capture the excitement behind something amazing, then you need to be able to see … ContinuedThe post Parmigiani Fleurier are maintaining their killer momentum in style appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
Welcome to A Week In Watches, episode 45! This week, we were inundated with collaboration watches, and they are as diverse as they are interesting. From a $110 Timex, to a $26,000 Czapek, there’s a little something for everyone here. The most humble release of the week comes from Timex and our friends at Huckberry, who brought back a classic form the ’90s, the Ironman Flix watch. It’s a jolt of energy next to today’s modern ultra smart devices, and it’s a perfect workout companion even without all the bells & whistles of something like an Apple Watch. Another big theme this week (and recent years, come to think of it) is big colors and dial textures. We’ve got blue wave dials, lava red dials, and rose engine turned dials all making their way into a trio of releases from Czapek, Straum, and Atelier Wen, and their respective collab partners. Finally, we say congratulations to our friends at Norqain for hitting their 5 year anniversary, who celebrated with a selection of 5 new watches. We take a closer look at their version of an openworked dial, and wish them continued success in their journey. Here’s hoping we get more lume dials sometime soon. Next weekend, we’ll be coming at you from the San Francisco Windup Watch Fair, and if you’re in the Bay Area, we hope to see you there. For more details on this year’s event, head over to windupwatchfair.com and get a look at the schedule for each of the days, as well as the extensive list of brands you can look f...
Time+Tide
Smoked salmon is something I always try and have in my fridge. Back in my 1980s childhood in the UK, smoked salmon had quite a luxurious status – it only got airings in our house on special occasions like Christmas or when we had notable visitors (like my gran). These days, however, it’s no longer … ContinuedThe post The Moser Streamliner Centre Seconds Smoked Salmon is even prettier in pink appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Quill & Pad
Rarely has the term sports watch been as appropriate as when applied to the BR 03-94 Multimeter from Bell & Ross. This nifty chronograph displays five different scales on the dial to measure various things. In that sense, it is a modern-day version of the vintage chronographs with “snail scales” that did the same, though not in such an elaborate way.
Worn & Wound
Horage is a bit of an oddity in the watch world. Most brands build for years and years to be able to produce even a simple three-hand movement, should they even choose to go that route, and they tend to demand a high price. Horage has been working on theirs since its inception and has maintained a goal of industrialization over high prices starting with the K1, which had a silicon escapement and a modular complication system back at launch. Though it didn’t get the attention it deserved initially, it did inevitably ascend the horology ranks and prove its viability, as the K1 serves as the basis of Bremont’s ENG300 calibers. Eventually, Horage added the micro-rotor wound K2, featured in the Supersede. Another rarity, in addition to being thin, as micro-rotors tend to be, the K2 also featured modular design allowing for complications without increasing the base movement’s thickness by much, as well as a silicon escapement, 72-hour power reserve, and within chronometer accuracy. Another movement that would be impressive coming from a large luxury group, let alone an independent brand like Horage. While neither are small feats, today we’re looking at a watch with a movement that is perhaps even more impressive. The Lensman 1 features the K-TOU caliber, which is Horage’s in-house, Swiss-made tourbillon. Yes, you read that right. And the watch, despite featuring such a rare and exotic complication, comes in at under $10k. There’s a lot more to the watch as well, whic...
Time+Tide
Seiko’s popular 5 Sports line grows with 4 versions in a new 38mm case size Four dial colours are available from launch, including a still-trendy teal variant The drop from 42.5mm to 38mm makes the SKX-style case friendlier to a wider range of wrists There was an audible gasp from watch nerds everywhere when Seiko … ContinuedThe post Seiko grows the SKX-style 5 Sports lineup by shrinking the case appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
I don’t like selling watches. I don’t think I’m alone here among watch collectors and enthusiasts, but when the time comes to let a watch go, it gets my anxiety up. There’s just nothing about the process I enjoy. Being lowballed or tire-kicked on the forums? No thanks. Worrying if a stranger is going to claim you sent them an empty box? Hard pass. And then there’s the existential dread, wondering if you’re doing the right thing, conflating a watch sale with a Sophie’s Choice type of scenario that has real meaning, when in fact, it’s actually just a watch. Nine times out of ten, selling a watch is a process that I one hundred percent do not recommend. But at the same time, we all have to recognize that it’s an essential part of the hobby for just about everyone. I recently had an experience selling a watch, though, that made me rethink how I approach the “dread” aspect of this whole deal, as described above. I’m still not sure about dealing with strangers on the forums, but my outlook has shifted a little bit. As it so often happens, I found myself looking to replenish the Watch Fund with my eyes on a future purchase. My particular problem here was that I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to sell. I just knew that I needed to raise some cash. I found myself browsing through the r/watchexchange “Want to Buy” listings, just to see if, by sheer dumb luck, someone might be after something I’ve got. I actually don’t own a lot of watc...
Deployant
A chance encounter ended up with the new Speake-Marin Ripples Blue Jeans on my wrist. I was surprised at how much I liked the watch.
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Time+Tide
With Zach’s regularly scheduled programming interrupted by a Japan trip with Grand Seiko, I thought I’d wind you down for this week. With releases still coming in strong even after the biggest watch fair of the year wrapped up, we’ve got two releases from opposing ends of the horological spectrum. The rest is as you’d … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Naoya Hida teases new releases, Vulcain goes salmon fishing appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Ineichen Auctioneers are renowned for promoting some of the most exciting watch auctions in the last few decades, and the upcoming Independents Auction is shaping up to shock and surprise. The focus hasn’t just been put on independent watchmakers, but specifically some of their rarest and even unique pieces that will command a lot of … ContinuedThe post T+T’s favourites from the upcoming Independents Ineichen Auction appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
When you go to Watches & Wonders, you hope to have an experience like the one Zach Weiss and I did with De Bethune. The Geneva based brand was actually not exhibiting at the show, but had space in the Beau Rivage hotel, right on the lake, along with a dozen or so other independent brands, all taking good advantage of the watch world absolutely descending on the city for an entire week. I have long been an admirer of De Bethune, but always from afar. They are not the easiest indie to get your arms around, both literally and figuratively. The watches are very rare and hyper specific in their design language, and for a long time I had the sense that they might appeal to exactly the 200 or so people per year that are able to obtain a new piece, no more no less. But then the last three years happened, and every independent brand took off like a rocket ship, and since De Bethune watches kind of look like rocket ships to begin with, their rise was perhaps even steeper. The DB Eight Monopusher We were there, ostensibly, to see two watches. The brand’s latest novelties both happen to be more classically styled than the avant-garde pieces they’ve become known for. The DB Eight monopusher chronograph is about as classic as it gets. The case design, with those flared lugs, is based on the DB1, the very first De Bethune, also a chronograph. This one, though, has a brand new caliber and is fashioned from grade 5 titanium as opposed to solid gold. While the aesthetic of the watch is ...
Worn & Wound
Hublot and tattoo artist Maxime Plescia-Buchi are back again for another entry in the Sang Bleu collection, a series of watches named for Plescia-Buchi’s tattoo studios located in Los Angeles, Zurich, and London. The Sang Bleu watches always incorporate complex geometry and the watch design equivalent of the intricate line work that is core to Plesia-Buchi’s design language. These design elements translate remarkably well to a watch, if you’re at all inclined toward the abstract, at least. Up until now, the Big Bang has been Plesia-Buchi’s preferred canvas, but that changes here with a selection of watches using the barrel shaped Spirit of Big Bang as a starting point. As with previous Sang Bleu watches, the new editions seen here are marked by a series of facets throughout the case that create a compelling, sculpted look. The overlapping geometric shapes have a grid-like consistency and at some angles appear to take on the appearance of armor. Hublot has given Plescia-Buchi a great deal of freedom to work outside the normal constraints of the Spirit of Big Bang case shape. While that case is the clear inspiration for these watches and certainly falls under its larger umbrella, the lines of the case have been reworked to a certain extent, and the impression it gives from the front is quite a bit different in these Sang Bleu watches. The dial is sapphire and provides a view to the skeletonized chronograph movement underneath it. Time is read by rotating disc “...
Worn & Wound
If you’ve been following the trajectory of H. Moser over the last few years, you know how important the Streamliner platform is to them. It’s one of very few entrants into the competitive integrated bracelet sports watch landscape that feels truly original, taking inspiration not from earlier integrated bracelet sports watches, but from the streamline moderne design philosophy, an offshoot of sorts of the Art Deco movement that gave us iconic building, train, and car designs, and eventually seeped into many other aspects of our everyday lives. The flowing lines of the Streamliner’s case and bracelet are often called “organic” for the way they evoke something that’s about to come to life, especially as it’s draped over your wrist, but one look at the aerodynamic locomotive designs of the 1930s tells you all you need to know about where the design inspiration for the watch really comes from. In any case, the Streamliner has struck a chord with watch lovers, and if we’re to believe forum chatter and anecdotes from collectors, it’s one of the tougher watches to get your hands on in the world of independent sports watches. So the release of any new Streamliner is a bit of an event, and the latest example begins a new chapter, replacing the green fumé Center Seconds model (the purest and least complicated version of the Streamliner) with a dial that the brand calls “smoked salmon,” and features a griffé finish that is typically reserved for Moser limite...
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Hodinkee
If there's such thing as a next-level quartz watch, then it's the GPS-powered, ultra-complicated Astron.
Time+Tide
Since CODE41 released their X41 AeroCarbon back in 2020, I have viewed the independent brand as a champion for watch collectors. Since their foundation in 2016, they have pushed the boundaries of affordability by offering highly technical watches for a fraction of the big-name prices. With an emphasis on clear, honest communication about component cost … ContinuedThe post CODE41 take the next step with the T360 Tourbillon appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
One of the most compelling new releases at Watches & Wonders (W&W;) was the Rolex Perpetual 1908, brand’s most serious take on the dress watch in decades. Elegantly sized and surprisingly thin, the 1908 is equipped with the all-new, automatic cal. 7140. Perhaps the most significant debut from Rolex in recent years, the 1908 replaces the ill-fated Cellini. Named after the year Rolex was founded by Hans Wilsdorf, the 1908 is significant not so much for what it is – a dress watch with exceptional quality of manufacture – but simply because it is the first new collection of watches from Rolex in decades. Importantly, the 1908 is the first model in the new Perpetual collection, which implies that Rolex will be introducing more watches like this in time to come. Initial thoughts In my view, the Cellini collection always felt underdeveloped. The models introduced in 2017 had potential, but they shared too much in common with their sportier siblings, both in terms of movements and dimensions, leaving them feeling too clunky to be an alternative to the entry-level dress watches from traditional haute horlogerie brands. The 1908, on the other hand, feels like a proper effort. Compared to the outgoing Cellini models, almost every detail has been tangibly upgraded to some degree. In the hand, the 1908 feels like a Rolex – the tactile feel of quality is quickly apparent. Despite being fairly svelte at 9.5 mm high, the case of the 1908 has the solidity of an Oyster case – th...
Time+Tide
In a world where heritage is often a deciding factor when it comes to credibility, Tissot’s long-standing existence is certainly a plus. The brand has never strayed from looking back at its catalogue and re-releasing a winner – the PRX is the only proof of that you’ll need – but the way Tissot intertwines their … ContinuedThe post How Tissot weaves history into their collections appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
The Collective has announced their latest Portfolio series watch done in collaboration with Czapek, and it’s just in time to capture some major summer vibes. The watch, which is called the P.04 Lanikai, takes inspiration from Hawaii’s unique beaches with a conceptual dial that captures their vibrant colors and textures. It’s a dial you can almost hear and feel, taking full advantage of the given real estate by forgoing even hour markers to maximize the feeling of connection with the source of inspiration. The concept is built within Czapek’s Antarctique 40.5mm steel case with integrated bracelet, and as fun as the dial is, it’s all business around back. The watch is officially the Antarctique P.04 Lanikai for Collective, and the brand claims that three years of design, development and prototyping went into bringing it to life. Much of that revolves around the novel enamel dial which evokes those soft wave patterns of a sandy beach. The dial work was done by the artisans at Donzé Cadrans, who had to develop a process to create the unique scene in enamel. Their work begins with a concave blank, which creates the sense of depth to the dial even in its finished form. Next, the texture is stamped from a hand-engraved mold before the enamel itself is layered and fired. Enamel is notoriously tricky to get right, and the uneven depth at play here didn’t exactly help the situation, but there’s no arguing with the end result. All of that work is apparent at a glance...
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Worn & Wound
As watch enthusiasts, we understand the desire to change up the look of our timepieces without breaking the bank. Thankfully, the market for third party straps and bracelets has exploded in recent years, and quick release options have made swapping them out a breeze. But sometimes, a new set of shoes just isn’t enough. Still, the options for a more dramatic swap have been somewhat limited until recently. Brands like Formex offer an inventive quick bezel swap system and Hegid offers an interchangeable case system. Still these options leave a gap at a more attainable budget. Enter Liberum, an Italian microbrand with a new modular watch system that’s both fun-focused and budget-friendly, with a project that is ending soon on Kickstarter. The watch features a modular design consisting of five different colored outer cases, one or two inner cases (depending on the package you select), and five integrated polyurethane rubber straps. These pieces seamlessly integrate with each other, allowing you to swap and combine them for 25 different color combinations. While some color combinations may work better than others, the Liberum watch lets you switch and swap until your heart’s content. Its genius lies in its simplicity: the durable TPE outer watch cases integrate seamlessly over a stainless steel inner case encapsulating the dial and movement in a sapphire sandwich, making the swap incredibly easy. To change the case and strap, all you need to do is remove the quick-releas...
The Radiomir Quaranta Steel collection brings a casual touch to one of Officine Panerai’s most classic formats. The collection is a modern interpretation of their first-ever watch, bringing the look of the legendary divers of the 1940s to contemporary, enthusiast-friendly proportions. Pared down yet commanding in presence, the Radiomir Quaranta features Panerai’s iconic details and precision reinvented in a stylish, everyday package. The new Radiomir Quaranta Steel collection is available in multiple versions, with three variants featured here: a white dial with beige Super-LumiNova® and brown strap (PAM01292), a blue dial with white Super LumiNova® and dark blue strap (PAM01293), and a dark anthracite dial with beige Super-LuminNova® and black strap (PAM01294). And starting today, Panerai has added a 4th exclusive model, a green dial and brown strap combination (PAM01386), which is an E-commerce exclusive limited to 500 pieces. Now there’s a look for everyone with colorways that perfectly complement your mood, environment, and attire. Technical details include the P.900 caliber a 4.2mm thick next-generation automatic movement, the first of its size from Panerai to combine the date, three days of power reserve, and water-resistance to 50 meters. It’s clear that this is a package geared for everyday styling and wear. The post Everyday Lookbook: Introducing The Panerai Radiomir Quaranta Steel appeared first on Worn & Wound.
Time+Tide
The Atelier Wen Perception has seen a few permutations by this point, initially launching as an incredibly well-priced entry point into hand-made guilloché, courtesy of the only Chinese artisan able to produce them. Though the price has risen considerably since the early bird specials, each new special edition had something unique to offer, and this … ContinuedThe post Atelier Wen collaborates with Revolution on the Perception Xi “Jubilation” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Having already unveiled a slew of watches ranging from the uber-impressive Universelle grand complication to a compact Royal Oak with a turquoise stone dial, Audemars Piguet (AP) is also marking the 30th anniversary of the Royal Oak Offshore. The commemorative editions started with the brand dropping the all-ceramic version of the original designed by Emmanuel Gueit. And they continue with the Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph “End of Days” 43 mm, a tribute to the watch worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1999 film that was the brand’s first celebrity limited edition. Initial thoughts From the onset, it is clear this is not a remake. Instead, AP has restyled the Offshore 43 mm, combining the black-and-yellow livery of the original “End of Days” with an all-ceramic case. The result is a good looking sports chronograph that brings with it some of the original’s nostalgia – the original “EOD” was one of the hottest limited editions of its era. The new “End of Days” is a massive upgrade from the original in terms of materials and finish. The ceramic case is far more robust than the original’s black-coated steel, while the movement is now a sophisticated in-house calibre. But all that comes with a big price tag. At US$60,300, the new “End of Days” costs almost double its titanium counterparts. The price premium for ceramic is pretty standard across the AP lineup, so while it is expected it is still substantial. At the same time, the new “End of Days...
Worn & Wound
Why start a watch brand from the ground up if you inherently have a keen eye for defunct brands with a legitimate history and product design substance that present-day enthusiasts can easily get behind. It’s a playbook we’ve seen exercised occasionally within the past decade, but in recent years, it seems like a go-to strategy implemented by those with incredible foresight, time and time again. I hope you don’t mistake this as complaining. As much as I love seeing a brand release something completely new and refreshing, I am overjoyed by seeing bygone brands properly getting resurrected. It’s a phenomenon we’ve seen with the likes of Aquastar, Vulcain, and Wolbrook Now what do these brands have in common? Well for starters, they were all revived around the same time frame, beginning in 2019 (Wolbrook). Brand heritage, as well as name recognition seems to be another trait at their core. For Aquastar, you have their charming divers famously worn by Jacques Cousteau and his crew during countless expeditions in the 1960s. With Vulcain, how could we not think of the Cricket and its historical ties to the United States presidency. And as for Wolbrook, well, you have a brand history that has a connection to the dawn of the space race, hypersonic rocket-powered jet testing and the first man to ever step on the moon, Neil Alden Armstrong. Wolbrook’s latest release is the X-15 Skindiver Worldtimer and is a tribute to one of the watches that Armstrong wore during his stor...
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