675 articles · 1 video found · page 6 of 23
Hodinkee
Raymond Weil turns 50 this year, and the head of the Geneva-based, independent family-owned brand tells us how it started and how it's going. But first, Ben drops in to talk chronographs and the new Rexhep Rexhepi RRCHF.
Fratello
Happy birthday, Raymond Weil. This year, the independent, family-owned Geneva-based brand celebrates its 50th anniversary in great horological style. The brand managed to get its hands on 50 historic Valjoux 23-6 chronograph movements, restored and hand-decorated them, and put them inside a Millesime watch. The 37mm The Fifty might very well be the best-looking RW […] Visit Introducing: The Raymond Weil Millesime The Fifty - Featuring A Historic Valjoux 23-6 Chronograph Movement to read the full article.
Fratello
Let me introduce you to Mo Coppoletta and Luca Soprana, founders of the new watch brand Desder. Italian-born Coppoletta, who’s based in London, is best known as a tattoo artist, designer, and art director. He founded the influential London studio The Family Business in 2003, which became a global reference point for high-end tattooing, before […] Visit Introducing: The Streamlined Desder D001 - A Wrist-Worn Sculpture With A Triple-Axis Tourbillon to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Mitchell Wein discusses the family business that sells 80% of its watches to governments and militaries.
Fratello
A round case is hardly a radical idea in watchmaking. For Bianchet, though, it absolutely is. At Watches and Wonders 2026, the brand will present the UltraFino Rotondo, and while it clearly belongs to the same family as the watch we’ve previously known as the UltraFino, this isn’t just a simple reshaping exercise. It marks […] Visit Introducing: The Bianchet UltraFino Rotondo - The Brand’s First-Ever Round Watch to read the full article.
Monochrome
The launch of a new collection from a brand as important as Omega is always a significant event. In this particular case, however, it is not strictly the introduction of an entirely new design, but rather the unveiling of a new family of Constellation watches inspired by a historical model’s aesthetics. What also makes this […]
SJX Watches
Having teased its newest collection with a family and friends edition last year, Kollokium has finally taken the wraps off the Projekt 02 Variant B, which offers a low-profile die-cast stainless steel case and a terraced topographical dial. A massive box-form crystal contains the scene, offering a panoramic view of the 67 pieces that comprise the nine layers of the dial. A limited edition of 399 pieces, the Variant B is a well-priced entry point to the world of independent watchmaking, and could easily be worn daily. Initial thoughts Kollokium is a relatively new name in independent watchmaking, but the company’s three founders, collector Amr Sindi, designer Barth Nussbaumer, and Louis Erard managing director Manuel Emch, bring a trained eye and a fresh perspective to the brand. With a strong emphasis on design, underpinned by a simple but competent calibre, Kollokium seems to have mastered the game of trade-offs required to market a distinctive watch at an affordable price. Left to Right: Amr Sindi, Barth Nussbaumer, Manuel Emch. The Variant B is fundamentally a simple time-only watch, powered by an off-the-shelf La Joux-Perret cal. G101, an increasingly common base movement prized for its economy and autonomy, with a healthy 68-hour power reserve. But Kollokium’s watches are anything but ordinary, owing to the brand’s unusual dial treatments and case processing. The Variant B is technically the first publicly available version of the Projekt 02, which debuted last ...
SJX Watches
Last month Vontobel published its annual report on the Swiss watch industry, revealing a startling shakeup for the pecking order, with a rapidly growing share of the market going to industry giants, anaemic growth, and a few signs of hope. Another of the key points made in the report published by Vontobel, a family-controlled Swiss private bank, is influence of external factors beyond the industry’s control, like the strong Swiss franc and continuously climbing gold prices, but which have nonetheless played a major role in its recent development. Long the go-to publication for industry insiders, the Vontobel watch report has been published annually for well over a decade - and since 2021, the report has been authored by Jean-Philippe Bertschy, the bank’s head of Swiss equity research (pictured above). The strong franc Before getting into the numbers, it’s worth looking at the broader macroeconomic environment affecting the industry. The strong franc and weak dollar are headwinds for the export-oriented Swiss watch industry, and, like erratic US trade policy and soaring gold prices, entirely outside its control. In nominal terms, total Swiss watch exports declined for the second year in a row, down 1.7% to CHF25.5 billion, following a 2.8% decline the year before. However, the Swiss franc’s appreciation casts a more sympathetic light on these numbers. For example, if you sold a watch for US$100 this time last year, that revenue would have converted to about CHF90....
Deployant
Today, we welcome the Year of the Fire Horse, and take the day off our usual publishing schedule to wish all our readers, friends and family a very Happy and Prosperous New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!
SJX Watches
Abdulmagied Ahmed Seddiqi, co-owner of Seddiqi Holding, has passed away according to a statement issued by the family. His legacy of leadership is carried on by his brother, Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, Chairman of Seddiqi Holding, and by his son, Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi, who is Chief Executive Officer of Ahmed Seddiqi, the leading luxury watch retailer in the United Arab Emirates. Abdulmagied Seddiqi (right) with his brother Hamied Seddiqi. Image – Ahmed Seddiqi Empire builders Now the most important retailer of luxury watches in the Middle East, the Seddiqi family business was founded in 1950 as Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons. The original location was in Dubai’s historic Bur Dubai souk, a market that opened in the late nineteenth century. Ahmed Seddiqi operates the world’s largest Rolex boutique at the Dubai Mall. Image – Ahmed Seddiqi In 1960, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons became the first retailer of Patek Philippe in the UAE, expanding its portfolio beyond Rolex, which it had carried since 1952. The move to establish a luxury watch retail empire in Dubai the 1950s was prescient. This early foothold positioned Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons for the region’s extraordinary growth, but it was the leadership of Abdulmagied Seddiqi and his brother, Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, that led to the commanding position the firm now occupies. Abdulmagied Seddiqi prepared to inherit the mantle of the family business by attending university in Switzerland and mastering French, cultivating experience and connec...
SJX Watches
Grand Seiko has installed its high-end quartz calibre 9F in a 33 mm stainless steel case with fan-favourite textured dials, making one of the most advanced analogue quartz movements available in the smallest and slimmest format to date. The compact proportions of the Grand Seiko Heritage Collection Quartz 33mm “Snowflake” SBGX359 and “Skyflake” SBGX361 are possible thanks to a new member of the 9F family: the cal. 9F51. Though smaller, the new calibre retains all the technical bells and whistles of this class-leading quartz platform. Ref. SBGX359 (Snowflake). Initial thoughts While Grand Seiko’s quartz models are generally known as good value propositions, with the cal. 9F in particular representing a lot of movement for the money, that has generally been less true of the brand’s smaller models. These maintain the brand’s standout case and dial work but with relatively pedestrian cal. 4J movements. Though above average in terms of quality and technology, the cal. 4J lacks the torque necessary to accommodate the exceptionally large and refined hands found on most Grand Seikos. Ref. SBGX361 (Skyflake). Given the brand’s recent emphasis on Spring Drive technology, seemingly at the expense of battery-powered quartz movements, that seemed unlikely to change. In this context, this duo is a pleasant surprise, with more likely to follow, and offers a no-compromise Grand Seiko experience in a smaller size without the high price tags of the ladies automatic line. A ...
Monochrome
Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas luxury sports watch family is now in its third generation, but its roots trace back to the 222 model of 1977. A well-represented collection with complications and straightforward time-and-date models, the Overseas is widely acclaimed for its attractive design, high-end finishings, in-house movements and versatility. In 2019, a tourbillon was added to […]
Monochrome
Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Offshore, also known as The Beast, muscled its way onto the scene in 1993 as a beefier and bolder version of its famous sibling, the Royal Oak. Drawing its inspiration and name (offshore) from the world of powerboat racing popular in the 1980s, the ROO family expanded, and in 2010 surfaced […]
Monochrome
Since Chopard‘s and Zagato‘s first collaboration in 2013 with the Mille Miglia Zagato Chronograph, followed by the 2019 Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Zagato 100th Anniversary Edition, the two family-run brands have used watchmaking to express automotive culture. With the Zagato Lab One Concept, Chopard takes that collaboration further, delivering a true concept watch focused on structure, […]
Fratello
Yesterday, the watch industry news headline read: “Richemont sells Baume & Mercier to Damiani Group.” The brand that turned 195 last year will soon be in the hands of its Italian distributor. In addition to being the distributor of Baume & Mercier, the family-run group also owns jewelry brands Damiani, Salvini, Bliss, and Calderoni, as […] Visit Richemont Sells Baume & Mercier To The Italian Damiani Group to read the full article.
Monochrome
Swiss-based conglomerate Richemont, owner of multiple jewellery and watch brands such as Cartier, IWC, Piaget, A. Lange & Söhne or Vacheron Constantin, to name a few, has agreed to sell Swiss watch brand Baume & Mercier, which it acquired in 1988, to the Italian, family-run Damiani Group, concluding a strategic review of the long-time Richemont […]
Monochrome
Since its rebirth in 2015, Czapek & Cie has produced a focused but diverse family of collections: the elegant Quai des Bergues, the sporty-chic Antarctique, the recent Promenade, the exceptional Place Vendôme, and the refined Faubourg de Cracovie chronograph series. Introduced in 2018, the Faubourg de Cracovie was Czapek’s first chronograph, powered by the calibre […]
Monochrome
Hublot‘s partnership with Novak Djokovic has always felt more than a simple ambassador deal; it is a meeting of champions. The Greatest of All Times, the 24-time Grand Slam winner and 2024 Olympic gold medallist, joined the brand’s family in 2021, and in 2024, the Big Bang Unico Novak Djokovic, made from recycled tennis racquets […]
SJX Watches
Louis Vuitton revives its emblematic Escale Worldtime complication with significant technical upgrades and metiers d’art craftsmanship. Powered by a new family of mid-sized movement from La Fabrique du Temps, the collection comprises two models distinguished by their decorative treatments: the standard Worldtime features a hand-painted flag disc reproducing the brand’s iconic trunk motifs, while the Worldtime Flying Tourbillon elevates the execution with an arduously made champlevé grand feu enamel city ring requiring 40 firings to achieve its kaleidoscopic palette. This reimagining of the worldtime complication draws directly from Louis Vuitton’s heritage of hand-painted personalised monograms on historical trunks - a visual language no other watchmaker can authentically claim - translating the brand’s trunk-making legacy into haute horlogerie. Initial thoughts Last year, Louis Vuitton launched a new line of high-end movements built and decorated to the standards of industrial-haute horlogerie automatics from the likes of Vacheron Constantin or Patek Philippe. These movements debuted in the Tambour Taiko Spin Time, a complication requiring a small-diameter movement - 23 mm in that case. Though finely made, these movements were arguably too small for a ~40 mm watch, as seen with the otherwise excellent Monterey re-issue. Demonstrating the impressive capacity of La Fabrique du Temps (LFT), Louis Vuitton has filled that void in its movement portfolio with a li...
Worn & Wound
The Speedmaster family grows again today as Omega announces a pair of new Moonwatches to the stable. The new additions, which the brand refers to as the Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch Black and White, seem kind of obvious at first glance, but if you dig a little deeper (just a little) these watches actually say something interesting about what a Speedmaster Professional is, and it’s somewhat different than what that was only a few years ago. Broadly speaking, what we have here are a pair of manually wound Speedmasters with a classic reverse panda dial layout, one in steel and one in 18k Moonshine Gold. A reverse panda layout, with a black base dial and white subdials, is not in and of itself all that unusual, but in the world of Speedmaster Professionals it’s quite out of the ordinary. Apart from limited editions, which are really a separate category altogether, the Speedy Pro has always just been black, until it wasn’t. The introduction of the white dial Speedmaster a few years ago reoriented us to think differently about these watches, and this pair, in a small way, does it again. The execution of these Black and White editions appears to be top notch. The black dials are varnished and lacquered, which ought to give them a more luxurious orientation than the standard matte black Speedy. The subdial frames are rhodium plated, and the white subdials have been given a lacquer treatment as well. Specs match other Speedmaster Professionals exactly, as you’d ex...
Monochrome
Mido’s flagship Ocean Star collection is a contemporary evolution of its 1940s Ocean Star dive watch family. Often described as an all-round ‘surf and turf’ model, the Ocean Star 200C, introduced in 2021, comes with upgraded features like ceramic inserts and textured, colourful dials and Swatch Group’s latest-generation calibre 80. The new Ocean Star 200C […]
Monochrome
Vyntage Horology is the brand created by the Seddiqi family, long regarded as the most influential retailers in the Gulf; Ahmed Seddiqi has just celebrated 75 years in business. They are also organisers of Dubai Watch Week, which has become the beating heart of independent watchmaking in the region. After decades of promoting Swiss watchmaking […]
If you’re tired of gifting the same old “this-made-me-think-of-you” mug with a quote, Hamilton is once again stepping in to save your season. Our annual Holiday Gift Guide with this classic brand is back and it’s giving a whole lot of enthusiast charm, character, and just the right amount of cinematic sparkle. This year’s lineup celebrates five standout timepieces, each matched to a distinct persona in your family or immediate circle of friends. Think of this as your shortcut to giving a gift that actually feels thoughtfully chosen vs. that last-minute pick up. The post The 2025 Hamilton Gift Guide: Four Iconic Watches, One Holiday Pop-Up appeared first on Worn & Wound.
Monochrome
After years of restoring antique timepieces, the Sandoz Family Foundation encouraged Michel Parmigiani to create his own brand. With a Proustian reverence for the past, Michel Parmigiani’s restoration experience instilled in him a profound admiration for the art of traditional watchmaking and has been the cornerstone of his watchmaking adventure. In 1996, the doors of […]
Monochrome
The Luminor Marina family by Panerai has long stood for the essence of the brand’s modern identity, a bridge between its storied naval roots and modern tool-watch engineering. Earlier this year at Watches and Wonders 2025, the Florentine brand revitalised the Luminor Marina line with a new generation of steel and titanium models featuring upgraded […]
Monochrome
Raymond Weil is on a roll. As a brand we rarely covered, third-generation CEO Elie Bernheim is upping the tempo for the family-run Geneva-based brand. What started with the well-designed, retro-inspired MiIllesime of 2024, designed from scratch with contemporary specs, is now a fully fledged and very successful collection. Recently treated to a makeover, the […]
Fratello
In 2020, Wempe presented the Iron Walker family of watches. The retailer’s in-house brand, Wempe Glashütte, manufactures these watches to expand Wempe’s offerings in the popular class of steel watches featuring a sporty design with an integrated bracelet. The Iron Walker family comprises slightly sporty (Automatic and GMT), sportier (Chronograph), and fully sporty (Diver) watches. […] Visit Hands-On With Wempe’s Iron Walker Diver Bronze to read the full article.
Monochrome
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 […]
Fratello
Watch collectors often discuss design, materials, and mechanical nuances, but the conversation frequently shifts toward something less tangible - the stories tied to these objects. Whether passed down through family, acquired during memorable moments, or simply worn through everyday life, watches tend to gather meaning in ways their manufacturers cannot always predict. On this week’s […] Visit Fratello Talks: Watches And The Stories They Tell to read the full article.
Monochrome
In just a few short years, Norqain has positioned itself as an independent watchmaker crafting versatile and adventure-ready watches. It was founded by Ben Küffer in 2018, and the pace at which Norqain has matured as a brand and developed a wide range of collections is rather impressive. It announced a partnership with Kenissi in […]
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