Results for The 2017-2022 Vintage Market Boom

There Can Only Be One: Timekeeping Accuracy After A Week On The Wrist

Nomos and the Essence of Watchmaking

Glashütte, Germany; Home town of watchmaking heavy weights like Lange & Sohne, Glashütte Original and Wempe, who is actually making its watches in Glashütte old observatory. However, there is another brand that belongs amongst these names, a heavy weight in its own right; Nomos. Nomos was founded as recent as 1991 by Roland Schwertner. Responsible […]

The Great Escape(ment): Girard Perregaux Makes History With Its Constant Force Escapement

The Evolution of the Red Rolex Submariner with Date, ref. 1680

The Legendary Rolex Red Oman Cosmograph Daytona 6263

Rolex, IWC, Omega, And The Evolution Of The Omega Anti-Magnetic Aqua Terra 15,000 Gauss

Classic and Iconic: Why the Rolex Submariner will never go out of style

Vacheron Constantin Announces The 1972 Prestige

Time is asymmetrical (at least, to us poor mortals who must perforce follow its apparently irreversible arrow) so why shouldn’t a watch be asymmetrical too?  In 1972, Vacheron Constantin introduced a watch with a lozenge shaped, asymmetrical case that combined old-school codes of slimness and simplicity with a jazzy, modern silhouette that became a major […]

The End of Luxury Advertising in Beijing

Titans of Watchmaking: Leaders of the New Horological Golden Age

Keep Your Watches Safe: The Buben & Zorweg Titan

I own a handful of real watches. When I say real, what I mean is luxury timepieces; and while a massive watch safe isn’t something that might fit my budget or collection (I don’t own that many watches worth that kind of protection), I believe that there are watch aficionados (like my boss, Wei) with […]

Mr Rolex Orange Hand, Reinhold Messner & Sir Edmund Hillary’s original vintage Explorer II ref 1655…

The Watch for Action Heroes: Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 Amagnetic

We don’t think about magnetic fields often and though they are thoroughly pervasive in our high technology environments, we tend to think of magnets as these little buttons of fun used to “hover and drag” metal cars across table tops. It’s time we grow out of childish notions and understand that magnetic fields are generated […]

Introducing the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down

Ring In The New: The Evolution Of The Minute Repeater

Build The Future On The Foundation Of The Past

Bring a Loupe: A White-Gold Vacheron Constantin, An IWC Mark XII, And A Cartier Bamboo Coussin

It was bound to happen. I've written nine Bring a Loupes, covering 38 watches (excluding Strays or Buyer Beware watches). Two weeks back, I picked a clunker of a Doxa Sub 300T, which, among other issues, had the wrong hands (I'd actually been more concerned with the dial), and in my enthusiasm for vintage Doxa divers, I screwed up and included it. My apologies, though, as Coleman Hawkins consoles, "If you aren't making mistakes, you aren't really trying." Scorekeeping the picks from two weeks ago, the Esso Breguet sold for €15,2000, the Juvenia Arithmo's still available, the Blancpain Bund sold for €15,500, the Doxa Sub 300T passed, the Chaumet sells Friday afternoon and has been bid to $12,000 at the time of writing, and the black dialed Seamaster sold for CHF 1,000. Strays A Universal Genève Railrouter. For sale on OmegaForums. A Gübelin Cioccolatone at Monaco Legend this weekend. For absolutely no reason whatsoever, here's a lovely Doxa Sub 300. As Stefon (from SNL) would say, this watch has it all: original (correct!) black hands, no-T dial, signed expandro bracelet and screw-down crown, and, of course, the OG thin case. These early thin-cased Doxa Sub 300s were made for only a year, and aside from minor paint loss on the bezel, this looks like an excellent example. If the Doxa's not your flavor and/or diving's not your bag, maybe this UG Railrouter'll do it for you. I have an overdeveloped fondness for railroad watches, which fondness is equaled by my appreciati...

Watches & Wonders Announces 2027 Dates and New Exhibitors

Watches & Wonders, the world’s most important luxury watch fair, will return in 2027 from April 5-11 in its traditional venue of Palexpo, the cavernous exhibition complex beside Geneva’s airport. The event takes place over a week, with Monday to Thursday being invite-only days open to members of the trade, while Friday and the weekend are ticketed public days. All of the major luxury brands will return for the fair, including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Tudor, and Chanel, alongside a range of independent marques. But 2027 will also see new exhibitors, including Breitling, Gallet and Universal Genève, the trio that make up the House of Brands, the entity set up to contain the three brands led by Georges Kern. Notably, niche Italian jeweller Damiani will also exhibit at W&W; 2027, joining giants like Cartier, Bulgari, and Van Cleef & Arpels.  

Breitling, Universal Genève, and Gallet Join Watches & Wonders 2027

As the summer begins, next year’s Watches & Wonders (and the larger trade show agenda) is beginning to take shape. News broke this morning that Watches & Wonders will be adding several new brands to their show, which is slated for April 5-11 in Geneva, and will once again be held at Palexpo. The big story is that House of Brands, the new group fronted by Georges Kern including Breitling, Universal Geneve, and Gallet, will have space at Watches & Wonders 2027. Breitling has never participated in Watches & Wonders, but for as long as the show has existed, the brand has held parallel events in Geneva or events timed just before the show itself. Now they will be in the thick of it, along with their two sibling brands in a newly formed luxury group, each sitting at different ends of the market. We covered Universal Geneve’s return here. Gallet, to this point, has not made any announcements as far as products or availability, but they are expected to sit at a price point a tier below Breitling.  The Breitling news comes a week after the surprise announcement of an entirely new show to be held in Basel next year. The new fair, Basilia, is set to debut in April and is a product of MCH Group and Informa Markets. According to a press release, Basilia expects to attract more than 400 exhibitors, including “manufacturers, designers, brands, retailers, wholesalers, distributors and sourcing specialists from around the world.” No word yet on any specific brands that have signed...

Business News: Breitling's House Of Brands Joins Watches And Wonders For 2027 As Dates Unveiled

One of the largest watch group holdouts is heading to Watches and Wonders in 2027 as Breitling's House of Brands will join the world's premier luxury watch fair for the first time. Scheduled to take place April 5 to 11 in Geneva at Palexpo, with supplementary programs and exhibitions including the In The City events that debuted at the most recent edition, brands including Breitling, Gallet, Universal Genève and Italy's Damiani will exhibit alongside founding partners Rolex, Patek Philippe and Richemont brands, among others, according to a statement from the non-profit Watches and Wonders Foundation. The inclusion of the House of Brands group marks a significant addition for Watches and Wonders, underscoring its position as the most important annual gathering of Swiss and international luxury watchmakers, retailers, media, and the public each spring. The announcement follows news that Basel will return to the watch fair schedule with a new watch and jewelry show called Basilia that will follow during the same month, and leaves Swatch Group as the only major Swiss watchmaking conglomerate not participating in Watches and Wonders.  "The arrival of these new names represents an important milestone in the evolution of Watches and Wonders Geneva, and reflects the desire of major watchmaking Maisons to unite around a shared vision," Watches and Wonders organizers said in a prepared statement.  A record 65 brands participated in the event in 2026, including, for the first time...

Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2012: A Complete Champagne with Great Balance and Length – Reprise

For Ken Gargett, the Veuve Clicquot 2012 La Grande Dame is a special champagne. It walks the tightrope between dense and coiled power with delicacy, finesse, and elegance. Great intensity, finally balanced acidity, early complexity, and it is still wonderfully youthful with a long future ahead of it. But what interesting story lies behind this fantastic champagne?

Champagne Taittinger Comtes Blanc de Blancs 2012: Not Just a Great Champagne, it’s a Great Wine!

Ken Gargett thinks that the Champagne Taittinger Comtes Blanc de Blancs 2012 is not just a great blanc de blancs, nor a great champagne: it is a great wine. He rates it an impressive 98/100.

Louis Roederer Cristal 2013 And Cristal Rosé 2012: As Good As Champagne Gets

Ken Gargett just had the chance to try Louis Roederer's Cristal Rosé 2012 and Cristal 2013 champagnes. For many, a good sparkling rosé is a thing of beauty and this one tops most. While Ken's usual response to a young Cristal is that it is fabulous, he feels it something of a shame that the 2013 Cristal was not given a bit longer before release. However, both of these vintages are glorious now and there is no doubt they will age and improve for many years.

Ep. #201: 2020’s Best Watches For Under $200

Join Kaz and Mike as they take things back to their roots. This week, the guys thought it would be fun to highlight some ideal watch purchase options for $200 or below… well below. Tune in, and find some of the best dress, sport, and wildcard watches in that “sweet spot” TBWS price bracket.

2012 Novelty: Ludovic Ballouard’s Half Time

Ludovic Ballouard: innovative genius? Ludovic Ballouard is a funny, quirky fellow. His humour extends to the location of his show during the SIHH – the Hotel du Midi – with its quirky furniture in the lobby and large, loud sculptures, to the watches he makes. Formerly working at Francois Paul Journe, Ludovic was formerly inRead More

SIHH 2012: Greubel Forsey GMT

  Greubel Forsey’s continued exploration of the tourbillon is a fascinating one. Incline double tourbillons, quadruple tourbillons, inventions with tourbillons, secrets with tourbillon, and now a GMT with a 3 dimensional rotating globe with an incline double tourbillon. So they take their wonderful 24 incline tourbillon, moved things around a bit, so as to createRead More

SIHH 2012: Jaeger LeCoultre’s offerings

  2012 might be the year of the re-issue. For JLC, the strategy is not different. They reissued and revised the Master Control series with aplomb. And reissued some Reversos…but do note that JLC might perhaps be seen as leading this trend, having started the 1931 Reverso re-edition in SIHH 2011. However, in addition toRead More

SIHH 2012: Vacheron Constantin Novelties

SIHH 2012: Vacheron Constantin. The rise of the new Malte and the continuing saga of the Metiers d’Art. 2012 seems to be the year of the reissue. Many brands reworked their classic offerings and modernized their collection. This was seen in JLC with their 1930s Reverso (yes that started in SIHH 2011), AP with theRead More

Mr Jones Beam Me Up! Review: A Different Kind of Mechanical Watch

A hands-on review of the Mr Jones Beam Me Up! mechanical, exploring its playful dial, unconventional time display, and more.

Industry News – Richemont Sells Baume & Mercier to Italian Jeweler Damiani

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 […]