Two Broke Watch Snobs
Orient’s Affordable Automatic Watch Lineup Just Got a Lot More Interesting
The new Orient Stretto collection adds four vibrant dial colors to one of the most compelling affordable automatic watches under $400.
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Two Broke Watch Snobs
The new Orient Stretto collection adds four vibrant dial colors to one of the most compelling affordable automatic watches under $400.
Worn & Wound
Despite frequently being (in my opinion, falsely) labeled as a boring, neutral color, beige has been making a splash across the watch world recently. When paired with the right auxiliary colors, beige can appear adventurous, rugged, and even classy, in the right circumstances. Perhaps I’m biased, as my 1983 Volvo 240 DL sports a handsome Rose Beige exterior, but it really is one of the most versatile colors, especially when paired with the right contrasting shades. One of beige’s best applications is in vintage-inspired timepieces, and Hanhart has jumped on the retro field watch trend with their latest, the 417 TI Desert Pilot Limited Edition, available in 39 and 42mm case sizes. Hanhart has long been known for their military-style sport watches, and across the German brand’s 144-year history, they’ve had no shortage of classically-styled pilot watch variants. The 417 TI Desert Pilot combines sharp legibility thanks to black details on the beige dial, with robust functionality and case construction. Both sizes sport a Grade 5 titanium case with a matte finish, giving the watch a rugged, utilitarian look; this is furthered by the crown at 3 o’clock, flanked by two pushers that control the dual chronographs on the dial, positioned at 3 and 9 respectively. The hand-wound, Sellita-based AMT 5100 caliber movement is responsible for the flyback column-wheel chronograph functionality, and is visible through an exhibition caseback, which feels unusual but not unwelcome...
Monochrome
It seems that promoting traditional watchmaking, its crafts and techniques, to protect watchmaking know-how and the women and men behind it, as well as supporting the emergence of new talents, has become quite a recurring theme these days. Don’t get us wrong, we most certainly encourage initiatives such as the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for […]
Monochrome
Founded in 1882 in Switzerland before relocating to Germany in 1902, Hanhart gained fame as a producer of stopwatches in the early 1920s, followed by Flieger chronographs for pilots in the late 1930s. The Hanhart 417 was introduced in the 1950s as a pilot’s chronograph for the German armed forces and re-edited in 2020. While the […]
Deployant
Hanhart releases a new version of their 417 in titanium cases with two sizes, viz 42mm and 39mm. This novelty is called the 417 Ti Desert Pilot.
Fratello
“Sorry, sir, we don’t serve Pepsi here anymore.” I have heard this before. Last time, I was presented with a disgusting hipster alternative, locally sourced and seemingly made of organic wastewater from small-batch sewage systems housing free-range rats. That’s what it tasted like to me, anyway. “Come on, no Pepsi or Coke?” We need at […] Visit Rolex: “Sorry, Sir, We Don’t Serve Pepsi Here Anymore” to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
You’ve heard of Seiko. By now, you’ve heard of Grand Seiko. But Credor, for many enthusiasts outside of Japan, remains mostly a mystery, despite its connection to both. But for those who are aware of Credor, it represents a Holy Grail of high-horological craftsmanship worthy of its venerated designation as “Japan’s Patek Philippe,” and perhaps no single timepiece represents its signature balance of technical complexity and sublime simplicity of design than the Credor Eichi II. [toc-section heading="Credor History"] The legend of Credor began in 1974, when it was launched as a luxury offshoot of parent brand Seiko, initially to produce exclusively precious-metal watches. The name, which became official in the 1980s, is a Japanified version of the French phrase "Crêt D'or," which translates as “pinnacle of gold.” This lofty claim is visualized in the now-iconic triple-peaked logo capped by three stars. Throughout the ‘90s, Credor watches (like Grand Seiko watches, before that sub-brand’s emergence as a separate, independent brand in 2017), were co-branded, with both the Credor and Seiko logos on their dials. Also like Grand Seiko (the first of which was made way back in 1960), Credor products were sold only exclusively in Japan. In the early 2000s, well ahead of Grand Seiko’s more famous coming-out party, Credor became a standalone brand, hosting all of the Japanese watchmaking giant’s forays into haute horlogerie as well as some very impressive hi...
Hodinkee
The oversized wrist presence and impressive specs of the SUB 750T belie a wearability that makes it one of the more interesting vintage-inspired divers on the market.
Worn & Wound
It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last you the rest of your life. Okay, perhaps the quote from Groundhog Day has a bit too ominous of a tone when discussing a watch. Pretend maybe this was said in a nice way, give me a bit of a break (there’s been snow on the ground for 6 weeks) and we can move on with this hands-on of Traska’s newest entrance into the horological space – The Chronograph. This 39mm automatic chronograph is packed with features and comes in at a fairly reasonable $1650. The matte grey dial, unique approach to chronograph sub-dials, and attention to detail on finish and features makes this one stand out from the pack. Let’s take a closer look at this brand new piece from Traska that seems to check a lot of boxes that we as enthusiasts look for in our next watch. $1650 Review: the Traska Chronograph Case Hardened Stainless Steel Movement Seiko NE86 automatic chronograph Dial Tungsten grey with applied indices Lume BGW9 SuperLuminova Lens Sapphire Strap Hardened stainless steel bracelet Water Resistance 75 meters Dimensions 39 x 46.5mm Thickness 13.75mm Lug Width 21mm Crown Screw down Warranty Yes Price $1650 Case Clocking in at a very reasonable 39mm wide, the Traska’s hardened steel case wears great on my 6.75” wrist. The case features a mix of brushed surfaces with polished bevels. It’s a nice mix of finishing that blends the more matte elements with the high shine polishing, resulting in a case that is interestin...
Time+Tide
Leveraging the "Beztimate" system of trusted watch buying/selling platform Bezel, watch geeks can now bet on the future prices of watches.The post You might not be able to buy a Rolex, but you can now bet on the future price of one appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
The audacity of Horologer Ming as a watch designer and an independent watchmaker isn’t to be demonstrated anymore… Over its short life, the brand has managed to create a strong identity, yet it never ceases to evolve. Since its debut in 2017, the collective led by designer and photographer Ming Thein has built an impressive […]
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Christopher Ward releases the C1 Jump Hour Mk V "Dusk," a limited edition with a red dial and the brand's in-house JJ01 caliber.
Time+Tide
Dennison takes a flamboyant turn, unveiling a pair of animal-print-dialled ALD models with diamond-encrusted cases..The post A savanna showstopper: Dennison’s Safari Capsule Collection roars appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
Spring is in the air, and French brand March LA.B celebrates its favourite month with a limited edition of its flagship AM2 watch collection. Founded in 2009 by three friends, united by a passion for surfing and retro design, the LA.B part of the brand’s name does not refer to a laboratory but to the […]
Fratello
March LA.B initially caught my eye with the release of its AM2 GMT Grall Edition in 2024. But the French brand has been around for much longer than just a few years. It is the brainchild of three friends - Alain Marhic, Jérôme Mage, and Joseph Châtel. They share a passion for surfing and 1970s […] Visit Hands-On With The Exciting New March LA.B AM2 “Nyctalope” Carbon to read the full article.
SJX Watches
The dinner in Basel had reached the stage where the porcelain was being cleared, but the tension at the table remained heavier than the silverware. Dr Eugen Gschwind, a man who wore his erudition as comfortably as his tailored suits, watched his guest with the predator’s patience that had defined his four decades of collecting. Across from him sat George Daniels, the English horologist and watchmaker who had single-handedly dragged the concept of the handmade watch out of the grave of history. Daniels was brilliant, notoriously opinionated, and, according to some, firmly convinced that he was the spiritual reincarnation of Abraham-Louis Breguet. François-Paul Journe´s 3/84 pocketwatch, Dr Gscwind´s first commission. Image SJX composite – F.P. Journe Gschwind liked Daniels. He championed the Englishman’s genius, yet remained too dogmatic to ever buy his work. He had famously toasted Daniels at a society dinner as the ‘greatest living watchmaker,’ only to follow it with the dry, smiling addendum: ‘But only the second-best watchmaker who ever lived.’ Tonight, however, was not about jests. It was the culmination of a long-simmering technical argument. For years, Gschwind had chided Daniels about his reliance on the 15-second remontoir d’égalité. To Daniels, this mechanism, which rewound a secondary spring every quarter-minute to smooth out the torque of the mainspring, was the ultimate solution to the problem of isochronism. Gschwind viewed it was a compro...
Hodinkee
A distinctive travel watch featuring a clever new system that accommodates both thirty-minute and forty-five-minute offset time zones.
Worn & Wound
Benrus has unveiled a new version of their Sky Chief, a classic pilot’s chronograph that dates to the brand’s 1940s heyday. There are many, many vintage inspired chronographs and re-editions of classic references on the market, so it takes a certain something to stand out from the crowd in this particular watch collecting niche. It appears that Benrus, for this release, has taken the approach of creating a vintage styled chronograph that is truly in line with the proportions of the original, something a lot of brands simply don’t care about, or don’t quite go far enough in emulating. The headline here, I think, is that the new Sky Chief measures in at a very vintage-accurate 36mm in diameter. The original Sky Chief was approximately 35mm, so this is about as close to the original as anyone has a right to expect given the need to use a modern movement. The decision to go small here has two key benefits. First, obviously, the case is going to wear great on a huge variety of wrists. The 36mm diameter is a very accommodating size, and the case height of 11.9mm and lug to lug of 42.5mm make for a watch with classic proportions, at least on paper (we haven’t seen the Sky Chief in person yet). The other important benefit of a smaller case that people do not talk about nearly enough when it comes to watches like this, chronographs in particular, is that you wind up with a far more balanced and cohesive dial. A smaller case of course means less dial space, and for a c...
Hodinkee
Vintage sizing, a slim profile, and all the good looks that made the vintage Sky Chief a vintage Hodinkee favorite, now back in action.
SJX Watches
Independent watchmaker Armin Strom has upgraded its flagship complication with a precious stone dial. The Mirrored Force Resonance Ruby is a five-piece limited edition with a dial cut from natural ruby. Initial thoughts Armin Strom is arguably the second-most prominent watchmaker (after F.P. Journe) to successfully bring “resonance” watches to market. We extensively covered the subject of coupled oscillator watches recently, which examines Armin Strom’s unique approach to achieving this mysterious effect. Within this narrow niche, Armin Strom’s Mirrored Force series is certainly the broadest collection of resonance watches on the market, with multiple movements and many variations exploiting the almost magic coupling between two sprung balances. This new limited edition employs the familiar in-house caliber ARF21, which connects the two hairspring by a long, swivelling blade spring - dubbed the Resonance Clutch Spring. While the movement is certainly well known, this particular iteration of the watch is quite surprising: a thin slice of natural ruby serves as the dial, with all the imperfections and liveliness of a natural mineral. Using a ruby dial is not only aesthetically appealing but poetic for a mechanical watch. The jewels serving as bearings inside every movement are synthetic rubies - a fancy sort of industrial mineral glass. The uneven bright pink and violet shades of the Mirrored Force Resonance Ruby’s dial assure us there is nothing artificial...
Worn & Wound
One of the more unexpected developments in the enthusiast watch space over the laste year or has been the emergence of the jump hour as a staple among design driven and creative microbrands and affordable independents. It seems like they are popping up just about everywhere at price points that encourage collectors to take a chance on a very niche complication. For those of us who have been around this stuff for a while, it’s genuinely been kind of surprising, as we can clearly remember a time when very few people gave these watches a second thought, and smaller brands were absolutely not interested in putting watches like these into the market. The jump hour is pretty far removed from the vintage inspired sports watches that have had a stranglehold on affordable watch enthusiasm in recent memory. But as the pendulum swings in another direction, the more brands are finding an opportunity to experiment with this very old fashioned complication. Christopher Ward is actually no stranger to jump hour watches, having released their first back in 2011. Their latest is still powered by the venerable JJ01 movement, a caliber that predicted much of the brand’s future success and interest in higher end watchmaking. The C1 Jump Hour Mk V in “Dusk” red is the brand’s latest, and limited edition variant of the Jump Hour Mk V that Griffin reviewed here. The broad strokes are of course the same: a 39mm steel case measuring 47.5mm from lug to lug and 14mm thick, with a multi...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Hands-on Vaer C4 Tactical Field Solar review. A 200m dive watch under $500 with strong lume, tool-watch design, and real-world wearability.
Monochrome
With the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season (Australia Grand Prix, March 6-8), H. Moser & Cie. adds a vivid new chapter to its collaboration with BWT Alpine Formula One Team and presents the Streamliner Alpine Drivers Pink Edition. This limited series updates last year’s concept through colour and contrast. The familiar Streamliner case […]
Fratello
Meet the Micromilspec Milgraph T5, a new addition to the lineup, featuring red details on its new silver-white or black dial and available on a titanium bracelet or a red, white, or black rubber strap. You might have to look twice to see what’s new about the T5. Did you spot it? Instead of orange […] Visit Attention! Introducing The Micromilspec Milgraph T5 - The Red Does It to read the full article.
Fratello
Ressence is back with a limited-edition Type 9 in the brand’s Art Watch Series. Last year, Benoît Mintiens introduced a colorful pair of Type 8 models in collaboration with German painter and sculptor Daniel Engelberg. This time, the Belgian brand asked Japanese artist Terumasa Ikeda to decorate the Type 9’s dial. He’s famous for applying […] Visit Introducing: The Mesmerizing Black DLC Ressence Type 9 Ikeda to read the full article.
SJX Watches
The niche market for modern automatons just a little less tiny with Hugo Rittener’s Le Majordome, a mechanical butler that pop ups and greet the onlooker on demand. In the tradition of historical automatons, Le Majordome is entirely mechanical and driven by complex clockwork, and made entirely by hand. Initial thoughts Hugo Rittener is a young automaton maker from the Vaud region of Switzerland. Having cut his teeth working with François Junod, one of the most celebrated talents in the field, Mr Rittener has now gone into business for himself. Against this backdrop, Le Majordome (“the butler” in English) represents a foundational release. Compared to the timepieces we sometimes call mechanical art, this tabletop automaton serves no actual utility; there’s no time-telling and no complication other than the bronze figure itself. In terms of pure mechanical art, this is as artful as it gets. Having taken over 1,000 hours of work, from design to finishing, the (Le) Majordome is a mechanical animation of a bronze-sculpted and gold-plated butler figure, which raises his top hat towards those who actuate the mechanism. Mr Rittener poetically describes the Majordome as an automate d’accueil - meaning “welcoming automaton”. The mechanical butler does in fact greet its audience, so it could be used as an extravagant welcoming party trick. Hugo Rittener will make 10 pieces of the Majordome in total, over the course of some years. Given the highly artisanal process...
Breitling has made some big moves recently, first with the introduction of an exclusive new three-hand caliber, and secondly, by reinventing some of their best-loved legacy models. The new Caliber B31 made its debut in 2025, powering the 38mm Top Time B31. The 3-handed daily driver was a perfect platform to roll out th
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Explore which brand delivers better value, durability, design, and performance before you buy your next watch.
Fratello
It’s Sunday, which means it’s time for another Sunday Morning Showdown. This week, it’s an epic battle between two retro dive watches. Each is inspired by its respective brand’s 1960s classics. Jorg’s pick is the Favre Leuba Deep Raider Revival, a modern version of the brand’s Deep Blue. Mike’s pick is the Aquastar Deepstar II, […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Favre Leuba Deep Raider Revival Vs. Aquastar Deepstar II to read the full article.
Monochrome
If you’ve ever travelled to Shanghai or Thailand, you might be familiar with the ease of acquiring a convincing fake Rolex for pennies on the dollar. Asian counterfeiters (particularly in Guangdong Province, China) often have access to the original machines used for cases, bracelets, and so on (not for Rolex specifically), as some Swiss brands […]
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