Results for Only Watch

Breaking News: Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime For Only Watch 2019 Sells For CHF 31 Million, Becoming The Most Expensive Watch In The World

The king is dead – long live the king.

Editors' Picks: My Six Favorite Watches At Only Watch 2019

Unique pieces from the who's who of the watch industry, all for charity.

Hands-On: The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A For Only Watch 2019

Can this steel watch dethrone the Paul Newman?

Chillout TGIF: Video feature: Inside Singapore’s Only Watch Factory

A short introduction to the Seiko Instruments factory in Singapore, which manufactures mechanical and quartz watch movements.

Hands-On: The Breguet Type 20 For Only Watch, With A Vintage Valjoux Movement

A handwound vintage movement and on-point military looks make this one a winner.

HODINKEE Radio: Episode 62: Talking Auctions With Eric Ku And A First Look At Only Watch 2019

From the most sought-after vintage Rolex to unique pieces being auctioned for charity, we've got it all this week.

Editors' Picks: Five Sleeper Hits From Only Watch 2019

It's not just the top lots you want to be looking at this year.

Introducing: The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Barakuda Unique Piece For Only Watch 2019

A cool blue hue replaces red accents on this one-off Barakuda for a good cause.

Introducing: The Unique Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A For Only Watch 2019

A bonafide mega watch gets the salmon-and-steel treatment.

Introducing: The Tudor Black Bay Ceramic One For Only Watch 2019

Another unique take on the Black Bay, now all the more black.

The Most Expensive Independent Wristwatch and Other Tales from Only Watch 2017

The F.P. Journe Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante for Only Watch 2017

Only Watch 2015: Piaget Altiplano 900P Piece Unique

Piaget Altiplano 900P

Only Watch 2015: Leroy Chronomètre Observatoire piece unique

The Leroy Chronomètre Observatoire piece unique for the 2015 0nly Watch Charity Auction. Made from a material that not many would associate with the brand.

Only Watch 2015: Vacheron Constantin

Vacheron Constantin renews its support with a unique Métiers d’Art Mécaniques Ajourées, skeleton watch, with a red grand feu enamel ring.

First Look - Omega Refreshes the Speedmaster 38mm Collection, Including a Moonwatch-Like Black No-Date (with Video)

When talking about the Speedmaster, most watch enthusiasts will immediately think about “The One”, the legendary Moonwatch Professional model. An evolution of the concept launched in 1957, the first watch worn on the Moon, and the only watch ever approved for NASA’s missions to the Moon, this iconic watch is only one element of a vast collection […]

Selten and Watch Ho & Co. Introduce the Yum Cha, a New Limited Edition with an Engraved Grand Feu Enamel Dial

Last year, Selten and Watch Ho & Co released the Jui, a limited run watch celebrating the community Watch Ho & Co has fostered in Hong Kong, and it kind of went viral. For a few days, it was basically the only watch you were likely to see on Instagram, thanks largely to the dynamic Tahitian mother of pearl dial. Reader, they got me too. I ordered one and unlike some limited releases ordered on impulse because of a short order window and a need to make a decision quickly, I actually find myself wearing it pretty regularly. The dial is wonderful, of course, but the secret weapon is the case, which like all Selten watches is incredibly well finished for the price point and just an ideal size.  Anyway, Selten and Watch Ho & Co are back with a new limited edition celebrating the third anniversary of the group. It’s very much in the same vein as the Jui in that it is inspired by and tied to the idea of community, but in terms of its ambition and degree of difficulty it’s a pretty notable step up from last year’s effort. The Yum Cha, unveiled today, takes a familiar activity in a dim sum meal and grafts some pretty impressive craft onto it.  The dial motif is unmistakably influenced by bamboo steaming baskets that will be immediately familiar to anyone who has enjoyed dim sum at some point in their lives. Jacki Ho, the founder of Watch Ho & Co, wanted to make a dial inspired by this idea as it is linked to fond childhood memories of visiting Hong Kong teahouses with his g...

Timex 1976 Lexington Reissue Inspired Is a Sharp $149 Steel Cartier Tank Alternative

Timex has taken the 1976 Lexington Reissue Inspired in the direction I wanted most: away from gold tone and into polished steel. The new TW2Y88200 keeps the compact rectangular shape, vertically brushed silver dial and Roman numerals of the earlier model, then adds metallic blue hands for a little contrast. It is currently listed as a $149 pre-order in the United States, which puts it firmly in the part of the market where a good design matters more than a prestigious logo. A rectangular watch with the right instincts I am a fan of rectangular watches because they make even a simple time-only watch feel considered. A round case can hide lazy proportions. A rectangle cannot. Every line is visible: the width, the length, the dial margins, the shape of the numerals and the relationship between case and strap. That is why the Cartier Tank remains such a powerful reference point, and why an affordable watch needs more than Roman numerals to feel convincing. Timex’s silver dial, blue hands and Roman numerals look clean. This Timex is not trying to be a counterfeit Tank. It earns its place as a nice alternative because it uses the same broad language of a slim rectangular case, an orderly dial and a leather strap, then keeps a personality of its own. If you enjoy this corner of watch design, I have also ranked the Cartier Tank alternatives that have stayed in my collection. The Lexington belongs in that conversation because it offers a clean steel option at a price that makes o...

Hands On: Rolex Day-Date 40 Jubilee Gold

Twenty twenty-six has been a milestone year for Rolex, which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its signature Oyster case with several commemorative models. While not as innovative as the enamel-dialled Daytona or as surprising as the revised Yacht-Master II, the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 dresses the brand’s flagship time-only watch in a new proprietary gold alloy dubbed “Jubilee” gold and an aventurine stone dial. Initial thoughts Stone dials are everywhere, but as usual Rolex has found a way to stand out by using an unusual mineral. Most brands today source the same few varieties of stone — especially malachite and tiger’s eye — from the same few suppliers, resulting in stone-dialled watches that tend to resemble one another. But with its unusual aventurine dial and muted Jubilee gold case and bracelet, there’s no mistaking the Day-Date 40 for anything else. And this is also actually aventurine stone, rather than the more commonly used and less expensive aventurine glass. The exotic dial and proprietary alloy give the new Day-Date 40 a look that is both distinctive yet coherent with the rest of the collection. Many key Rolex models are perpetually out of stock, underscoring the brand’s commitment to value. While it might seem disingenuous to describe a US$65,700 time-only watch as a good value, the Day-Date 40 in Jubilee gold makes a case for itself. In a perfect world with on-demand availability, this would be a strong value proposition. The A. L...

Hands On: Greubel Forsey Balancier QM

Partly a new watch, partly a manifesto, the Greubel Forsey (GF) Balancier QM inaugurates the brand’s Qualité Musée (QM) designation, which codifies its approach to world-class construction and finishing. Building on the Balancier Contemporain platform, GF has succeeded in refining its ‘entry level’ time-only watch, which comes in a 39.6 mm white gold case and is limited to 33 pieces. Initial thoughts The Balancier QM feels immediately familiair. It should, since it borrows much of its architecture from the recently-discontinued Balancier Contemporain. But what it lacks in novelty, it makes up in execution. In fact, the brand could hardly have picked a better way to inaugurate its official quality standard, dubbed Qualité Musée (QM). Without complications or chronometric fanfare, the Balancier QM’s design puts finishing at the forefront. The self-proclaimed ‘museum quality’ standard would sound brash coming from most brands, but it feels reasonable coming from GF. This ambition is evident throughout the Balancier QM. Even if the branding were blinded, the quality of make will be obvious to future generations of restorers, who will be able to tell immediately that the Balancier QM was never a commodity item. Even if they miss the escape wheel, which is polished on both sides, the artfully rounded pallet stones should catch their attention. On a technical level, the Balancier QM is an evolution of the Contemporain and doesn’t break much new ground. It’s st...

Moser’s Endeavour is a Complicated Chronograph

H. Moser & Cie. expands its selection of chronographs with the Endeavour Flyback Chronograph Dual Time Date, adding convenient complications to the impressive chronograph calibre found in the Streamliner collection. Despite the presence of a chronograph and a second time zone display, the Endeavour Flyback could easily pass for a time-only watch at a glance thanks to its central minutes counter and discreet dual-time disc. Initial thoughts The central-minutes chronograph is an inherently appealing format. Not only does it reduce dial clutter by eliminating a sub-dial, but it improves legibility by allowing the elapsed minutes to be read on the same 60-minute scale the eye is accustomed to from reading the time. I’m also a fan of the AgenGraphe platform that underpins the HMC 730 movement. The movement architecture — which has now been around for almost a decade — reveals fresh thinking about how a horizontal clutch can work, and the visual layout is appropriately dynamic for a high-end watch with plenty of visible springs and levers, many of which are pleasingly thin in form. All that is to say the Endeavour Flyback has a lot going for it even before considering Moser’s minimalist aesthetic choices. As we’ve come to expect from the brand, the dial is sterile — lacking a brand logo or wordmark — and there’s a gradient fumé finish on the central disc that indicates the second time zone. These details are enough to mark the watch as a Moser product, which sp...

Hands-on - The New Tudor Black Bay Ceramic on Full Ceramic Bracelet

Tudor continues with its modern “dark” aesthetic by launching a new version of the Black Bay Ceramic, now presented for the first time on an integrated ceramic bracelet. Originally introduced in 2021 as the brand’s first METAS-certified watch, itself following the unique Black Bay Ceramic One created for the Only Watch 2019, the model has […]

Bring a Loupe: A Patek Beta 21, A Movado Cronoplan, A Hamilton 6B 'Mark XI,' and a Zenith Time Command

Scorekeeping last week: the only watch of the four highlighted to have sold is that bonkers purple-dialed Sub from Tropical Watch; the Patek 3970, the Omega 145.022BA, and the Movado Polyplan all remain available. Deep breaths, everyone: another week's on the books. Auction season's in full swing, and there are wild results all over the place, but let's take a little breather here, together, and look at less dizzyingly priced goodies. Strays Perhaps you've found yourself of late—coincidentally!—more curious than usual about pocket watches. While Mark's the Official Pocket Watch Tsar, I've always liked them, and fight the urge most weeks to include any here. No more! This week, there's this extraordinary, anonymous jump-hour pocket watch that is almost unfairly beautiful for being 200 years old. If that doesn't float your boat, you have the relatively uncommon opportunity to nab a Thomas Engel Tourbillon (if the name Thomas Engel doesn't register, gird your ego before digging in—compared with Professor Engel, we're all pathetic underachievers).  It doesn't seem reasonable that any of us should be able to purchase a gold Breguet pocket watch with hour and quarter repeater from 1795—insert Harrison Ford growling "It belongs in a museum!"—and yet you can do just that right here. If, however, you wish to remain yoked to the tyranny of telling time on your wrist, here's a Speedmaster Racing Dial which, yes, isn't exactly in showroom condition, but they're uncommon eno...

Hands On: Ulysse Nardin Super Freak

Ulysse Nardin (UN) celebrates 25 years of the landmark Freak with the aptly named Super Freak — a timepiece that pays homage to its predecessors while asserting its own distinct identity. Showcased at UN’s eccentric booth at Watches & Wonders 2026, the Super Freak was advertised as the most complicated time-only watch ever made — an ambitious claim that appears to be true.  Blending cutting-edge mechanics with an artisanal touch, the exuberant Super Freak comfortably reaches into the “hyper-watch” echelon, echoing the first groundbreaking Freak launched back in 2001. Ulysse Nardin also celebrates its 180th anniversary this year, so something extraordinary was to be expected.  Initial thoughts Even before going hands on with the Super Freak, just visiting UN’s booth at Watches & Wonders 2026 was an experience. Passers-by were greeted by two humanoid robots and a large sculpture of Dr Ludwig Oechslin’s head, with his eyes peering down over the proceedings.  The extravagant entrance hinted at the research-focused Super Freak, which looks and feels more like the product of some advanced laboratory rather than a 180-year-old manufacture. A very dynamic watch, the Super Freak’s face now more than ever resembles a space craft.  The Super Freak pays tribute to 25 years of the Freak while also adding something truly new to the mix. The result is the UN 252, the first Freak movement featuring running seconds and two flying tourbillons (2010’s Freak Diavolo was ...

Baltic and SpaceOne Launch the Seconde Majeure

Baltic and SpaceOne have unveiled their first collaboration: the Seconde Majeure, an architectural time-only watch that employs a newly-developed jumping hours module developed by French independent watchmaker — and F.P. Journe Young Talent Winner — Théo Auffret. This collaboration was born from a meeting of the minds at Baltic’s offices more than four years ago when Mr Auffret first met Guillame Laidet. That encounter ultimately led to the creation of SpaceOne, an inventive entry level brand with space-age designs. From that chance meeting at Baltic, the two brands have teamed up on their first collaborative project. Initial thoughts On paper, these two brands are near-diametrically opposed. Baltic makes vintage-inspired watches in a traditional form, while SpaceOne takes a deconstructed and highly creative approach to watches that look like they’ve just fallen from orbit. What ties the two brands together for this collaboration is a friendship, and shared vision for how to bring thoughtful design to a lower price point. As the year unfolds, 2026 continues to feel like the year of the jumping hours watch. The Seconde Majeure is another watch reinforcing that trend, but it also taps into the growing desire for architectural watchmaking and hand finishing across wider price points in the market. In that sense, it reminds me of the Christopher Ward C12 Loco. Baltic and SpaceOne have taken an interesting path in bringing the Seconde Majeure to market, making it avail...