Watch news, without the noise

Material innovation is increasingly becoming a core pillar within the watch industry. Whether borrowing and reconfiguring materials from different industries or composing your own from the ground up, it is clear materials matter when it comes to both technical feats and aesthetics achieved in watchmaking today. Sometimes, I like to think of these cutting-edge materials as mile markers on the highway of horology. I am always considering the world 50 or 100 years from now, when the watches of the present will become the watches of yesteryear, when what we consider modern will become vintage. I believe that the application of new materials will be a mark of this era of watchmaking that will serve as a milestone moment in the ever-unfolding history of horology. For Rado, the story starts with a sapphire crystal. While the brand was not the first to use this in place of acrylic or other weaker options, it was among the early adopters. However, Rado took it a step further by patenting a sliding water-sealed mechanism with a tension-fit construction. Here, the thick, faceted sapphire crystal was secured under high pressure into the oval-shaped hard metal case with a specialized gasket, designed to be exceptionally tight. Its effectiveness sparked further curiosity – what if this same scratch resistance and robustness could be applied to other parts of the watch or the watch in its entirety? With that guiding principle, the quest that would lead to the creation of high-tech cera...

Quincy Jones was an absolute king. He was a towering figure in the music industry, leaving an indelible stamp on popular culture through his producing, arranging, and film score work. From early collaborations with Count Basie, Ray Charles, and Frank Sinatra to producing one of the top-selling albums of all time (Thriller by Michael Jackson), not to mention We Are The World, he made the soundtrack for many of our lives. During a well-lived lifetime spanning 91 years, he was rewarded with accolades, including the entertainment industry grand slam 'EGOT' (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards).  There were also plenty of watches and jewelry gifted and collected during his epic life and career. Now some of Quincy Jones' unique pieces are heading to auction at Christie's in Geneva this month. We got a sneak preview of some of the catalog, including these three pieces, that the family has consigned. A couple of them were gifts from notable celebrities to Jones. They all give a sense of some of the objects worn and cherished by one of the most important figures in entertainment history.  Girard-Perregaux World Time Control Shadow 'Quincy Jones' Sized at 43mm in diameter with both a flyback chronograph and a worldtime complication, this Girard-Perregaux, dated from 2011, has a lot going on. The beefy case features a smooth black ceramic exterior, a titanium caseback, and an interior housing, in a size and style that's very representative of the era for the Swiss brand. The watch...

The new G-SHOCK Black and Electro Green Collection lands five affordable models in a matte black, military-inspired finish.

Aren Bazerkanian, founder and creative director of Havid Nagan, is one of the few new independent watchmakers who have generated much interest in recent years. Coming from an unconventional background and formed by early exposure to high-end horology, Bazerkanian introduced the HN00 as an inaugural statement in 2022, with bold architectural cases, followed by the […]

This week on The Business of Watches, we're in Hölstein, Switzerland, near Basel, at the peach-rose colored headquarters of Oris to talk to Rolf Studer, the brand's Chief Executive Officer. One of the 50 largest Swiss brands by sales, Oris is a true independent, making mechanical watches at fair prices, conveying the brand's unique spirit.  Its history dates back to 1904, with boom times in the 1960s that were kick-started by the tireless legal and lobbying work of Dr. Rolf Portmann, an Oris executive (and honorary chairman today), whose efforts led to overturning the Swiss Watch Statute in 1966 that had prevented Oris and many other brands from using Swiss lever escapements in their watch movements. Oris CEO Rolf Studer. Photo courtesy Oris.  Some 60 years later, Oris is marking that milestone with its Star Edition, an updated version of the Star, the first Oris watch to use a Swiss lever escapement after the law was changed. Portmann and Ulrich Herzog (now the Chairman) went on to lead a management buyout of Oris in 1982, which solidified the company's position as an independent brand. Studer, who has been co-CEO since 2016 and was appointed CEO last month, discusses Oris' positioning and strategy in the current market, where the strong Swiss franc is challenging it and fellow watchmakers. Oris has responded with models that not only offer value to customers but also draw on its storied history and the unique community culture it has fostered. Studer makes the case f...

Peter Speake emerges once again with a new collaboration with Schwarz Etienne to release the new 1902 Synergy. This was revealed in WWG26.

Founded in 1959 by Charles Von Büren, Squale is a famed name amongst the fans of professional dive instruments; the company produced its own models and made cases for numerous brands during the golden age of underwater exploration. To mark the return to these origins, last year the brand introduced the Squale 2001, a late […]

Explore the best Omega Speedmaster alternatives we’ve reviewed, from affordable meca-quartz chronographs to refined mechanical picks with their own personality.

When the article about the new Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Erotic came out on the 1st of April, many did not take it seriously. Though the images were way better than a silly AI-generated render, readers thought they were part of a very elaborate prank by Guillaume Laidet and his team. Well, I’m here to tell […] Visit Hands-On With The Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Erotic to read the full article.

Seasoned divers, like our own Derek, will all tell you that, in our day and age, a mechanical dive watch isn’t truly relevant anymore, having been replaced by diving computers. And yet, either for safety or emotional reasons, many still use an old-school timepiece during their seasons. In the world of classic car rallies, the […]

We have covered quite a few historical stories about Rolex here on the Fratello site. Today, we have another, this time about a special gold Oyster Perpetual that belonged to Holocaust survivor Kurt Kahn. Let’s dive in. Some watches merely tell time, while others tell stories. Very rarely, one encounters a piece that does both […] Visit Holocaust Survivor’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual To Go Up For Auction to read the full article.

Belfast-based Nomadic has become the Official Timing Partner of the NW200, and to celebrate, they've launched the Apex NW200 chronograph

Part of the Tata Group, an Indian conglomerate with revenues of over USD 150 billion, Titan Watches has been around for a long time and covers a wide range of watches, from everyday quartz pieces to youth-focused lines like Fastrack. More recently, the Indian brand has also been getting more serious about mechanical watchmaking, something […]

The spring auction season gets underway in Geneva in just a few days. On episode 39 of the SJX Podcast, we look at some of the top lots that caught our attention at Phillips, Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Antiquorum, including a cloisonné enamel Patek Philippe worldtime ref. 2523, an Akrivia AK-06, and several notable pocket watches from names like Frodsham, Kullberg, Ditisheim, Patek Philippe, and A. Lange & Söhne. Auction dates (in order): Phillips: May 9 & 10 Antiquorum: May 9 & 10 Sotheby’s: May 10 Christie’s: May 11 & 12 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  

One of the quieter hits from Watches & Wonders was Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo Automatic 37 mm, a watch that would probably have grabbed more headlines were it not for its visual similarity to the well-known 40 mm model. In pictures, it’s difficult to tell the sizes apart, but on the wrist the difference could not be more stark. Available in three versions in two different case materials — all regular production models — the 37 mm Octo Finissimo is powered by a new micro-rotor calibre that, while smaller than its sibling, manages to stretch the power reserve to 72 hours. Initial thoughts I’ve always appreciated the unique aesthetic of the Octo Finissimo, especially the matte titanium look that debuted in 2017. In some ways, it feels like the Royal Oak or Nautilus of my generation — an elegant sports watch with a distinctive voice. It’s a contemporary design that feels like it has staying power. This aspect of the Octo Finissimo should not be understated. The deluge of generic-looking integrated bracelet sports watches we’ve witnessed over the past five years proves that it’s very difficult to create a differentiated design within this format. For Bulgari, the development of the Octo Finissimo — with its wide bracelet and short-pitched links — was like capturing magic in a bottle. Unfortunately, the square shoulders of the 40 mm case ride up over my ulnar styloid (wrist bone) causing the case to sit at an odd angle — never flat and straight as intended ...