Hodinkee · Page 3

The Rolex Four Seasons Daytona Collection Sells For A Combined $49.4M

Tonight in London, four one-of-a-kind Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytonas were auctioned off for a combined total of $49.4M (£37.3M GBP). Rumored at Watches and Wonders this year and confirmed earlier this month, the sale was held in partnership with Phillips, with Aurel Bacs conducting, and was billed by Phillips as Rolex's first charity auction. Proceeds benefit two organizations tied to Rolex Testimonees: the Federer Foundation, founded by Roger Federer, and Re:wild, co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio, in support of Rolex's Perpetual Planet Initiative. Left: "Spring" Daytona, in white gold with a chrysoprase dial and lepidolite countersRight: "Summer" Daytona, in Everose gold with a turquoise dial and ruby counters All four are cased in precious metal, with natural stone dials and gem-setting. The winter Daytona, in platinum with a blue opal dial and lapis lazuli counters, went for $13.2M (£10M GBP). The autumn Daytona, in yellow gold with a mookaite dial and chrysoprase counters, went for $13.5M (£10.2M GBP). The spring Daytona, in white gold with a chrysoprase dial and lepidolite counters, went for $9M (£6.8M GBP), and the summer Daytona, in Everose gold with a turquoise dial and ruby counters, went for $13.65M (£10.3M GBP). Paul Newman's Paul Newman Daytona changed the entire market for Daytonas, and watches as a whole., way back in 2017. They say things come in threes, and tonight's sale could be considered the third in a trio of seminal auction sales in th...

Introducing: Ianos Amfivios (Live Pics)

What We Know Today, Ianos, the Greek microbrand best known for its Greek history and culture-inspired dive watches like the Avyssos and the Dytis, is back with a new dive watch that was never meant to be. When Ianos introduced the Dytis last year, it was noted as the last in a trilogy of dive watches from Ianos, after which they would move on to the next thing. Well, Ianos is still mostly sticking to that story, but in the meantime, we have the Ianos Amfivios, a civilian edition of a special-edition watch Ianos produced last summer for Greece's Underwater Demolition Command. The new watch, built on the same dive-watch platform as last summer's Dytis (which TanTan went hands-on with here), is a solid next step for a brand that has iterated gently, even as it's taken big aesthetic swings in developing its collection. And truly, few, if any, other watches on the market scratch the same itch as Ianos's watches do. That said, the Amfivios is about as mass-appeal a watch as Ianos has produced, thanks to the military-demanded touches that set it apart from the Dytis. The Amfivios is, for example, the first dive watch since the original Avyssos to include any kind of scale on the rotating bezel. And where previous Ianos watches have used the small seconds subdial as a visual gag, here it is a functional subdial, with hands, markers, and everything. That's not to say Ianos has purged all that makes these watches, frankly, a little funky, though. The unique date at 12 remains, with ...

Coming Soon: Porsche Design × Hodinkee

Introducing: The Louis Vuitton Monterey In Ceramic

What We Know The 2025 revival of the Louis Vuitton Monterey was a curious moment for the brand. Certainly influenced by a recent surge in popularity for the original LV I and LV II watches among celebrities and vintage collectors, it was a small(ish) 188-piece run (priced at $60,000) meant to show the brand was paying attention to what was happening around it. While the original LV I was a quartz watch with several complications, the brand simplified the aesthetics with the revival—gone were the complications and the distinctive, busy dial with all of its markings, as the new Monterey was time-only with a mechanical movement. But that Monterey also demonstrated the craft of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, introducing a simpler dial in grand feu enamel. While it may have seemed like a small blip in the brand's overall plans, Louis Vuitton has more to say about the pebble-like designs from 1988 by Italian architect Gae Aulenti—the Monterey Ceramic, a duo of watches that focuses on the smaller LV II. Now, the Louis Vuitton Monterey Ceramics are not part of a limited edition and officially enter the brand's permanent collection. The cases are faithful to the original, preserving the model's smaller 37mm case size and both original ceramic colors: green and black. The polished, pebble-shaped case is slightly thicker at 11mm, however, because it houses the automatic LFTMA01.02 caliber rather than the original quartz movement. Like last year's Monterey, the Monterey Ceram...

Hands-On: The Patek Philippe Celestial Ref. 6105G (Plus Technical In-Depth)

We're on the eve of one of Patek Philippe's biggest events every few years: the October 2nd to the 18th presentation of the brand's Watch Art Grand Exhibition in Milan. On Monday, I'll be flying there for a preview of the exhibition, so stay tuned for stories from that trip coming in the near future. Another story, which has been waiting in the wings and in progress for some time now, was a hands-on look at two of the most surprising (and potentially divisive) releases from Patek this year: the Cubitus perpetual calendar and the Celestial ref. 6105G. While all eyes were on the Nautilus's 50th anniversary, I thought Patek Philippe had a very interesting Watches & Wonders, at least from the perspective of bold releases and brand strategy. Truthfully, they could have done just about anything with the Nautilus, and those lucky enough to get a watch would have been happy. The Celestial alone was a wristwatch with a complication only four other brands have created. But just take a look at the two watches above and the two below. While I didn't get to see the ref. 7047G in person, it raised eyebrows for the very unusual blue tire tread-style dial (à la ref. 6007G) and remarkably strong orange accents and luminous hands and dial placed on a minute repeater that retails north of $570,000. It was perhaps so aesthetically surprising that it distracted people from the fact that Patek was honoring its past with a Calatrava-cased minute repeater reminiscent of the unique ref. 3652 and ...

Bring a Loupe: An Omega Ranchero, A Cartier Santos Ghost, An Audemars Piguet Perpetual Calendar, And A ZRC Grands Fronds

Next week is October. October. Even for someone who literally has an ongoing documentation of each week through this column, that is mind-blowing. I hope whatever baseball team you're stoked about is doing well—my Twins fell off so long ago that I haven't even been paying attention—and I also hope autumn's making a decent entrance for you wherever you are. Scorekeeping last week's picks, the Omega Suverän sold for 9,600 DKK, the Universal Genève Cabriolet for 2,400 CHF, the Vacheron Constantin Overseas remains available, and the Zenith chrono for €3,000. Strays Photo courtesy of Huntington Company. Hermès watches hardly go unnoticed, but I love that some of their models still fly a good bit under the radar. The Cape Cod, for instance, is fantastic—interesting and elegant without being too weird. This one, the Grandes Heures, features an hour wheel that allows the hour hand to travel differently based on its dial position, meaning it covers more distance from 9-10 than from 10-11, and while that's not any foundation-shaking complication or horological advancement, it is, inarguably, very cool.  While the breadth of variations makes it hard to argue for any Datejust being superior, I'd argue the Rolex Boiler Gauge models deserve consideration in the top tier, and this one looks fantastic. I somehow went from never having seen the Omega Seamaster ref 196.0054 to spending an embarrassing amount of time looking into it, which is my very public plea for help and for ...

Introducing: Vacheron Constantin's 30th Anniversary Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Limited Edition

What We Know The hottest Vacheron Constantin collection is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year, and the brand is paying tribute with a new version of one of my personal favorite watches from the brand. Sure, earlier this year we got the return of the 2500V, which is celebration enough, but the new limited-edition azure blue Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin is a limited edition that honors the first generation of the collection. Below is a picture of the current third generation and the 1996 first generation, itself a successor of sorts to the 222 in 1977 and the 1975 Chronomètre Royal before it. Yes, Vacheron has done a blue version of this watch before—and has released a few other colors recently, including a bold red—but now the same 41.5mm by 8.1mm white gold case gets a more muted, less saturated azure blue soleil and lacquer treatment, with white and light blue printed text and applied indices with Super-LumiNova. The movement is the same Caliber 1120 QP/1 automatic movement that is only 4.05 mm thick. Yes, other brands are slowly introducing perpetual calendars with a crown-adjustment system, but while this still uses caseband pushers, the benefit is a watch that measures 1.5mm thinner than the similarly wide Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. The watch runs at a slightly slower 2.75 Hz and has only 40 hours of power reserve, but again, at the thin profile you get, the wearability should more than make up for any small downsides. Another huge benefit i...

Introducing: The Longines Spirit Pilot And Spirit Pilot Flyback In Blue (Live Pics)

What We Know Not all of the releases we cover are horological heavy hitters or groundbreaking mechanical inventions. Yes, plenty are, but sometimes a simple new dial color is worth talking about. And in the context of Longines' mighty newsworthy year, with several extremely well-received launches like the Hydroconquest and the Master Collection Monopushers already in the recent catalog, a new colorway for the Spirit Pilot and Pilot Flyback still feels worth discussing. The new time-only Spirit Pilot in blue.Image, courtesy Longines. The second iteration of these two watches, since its update last year, introduces a matte blue dial (and a glossy blue ceramic bezel insert on the chronograph). At a high level, that's kind of it. But with the change from a gilt-style look, swapping the golden accents of the applied numerals, chapter ring chamfer, and printing, this is the first time the latest generation of Spirit Pilot feels like a decidedly modern product. Yes, you lose a little bit of the vintage charm, but the new versions are not replacing those "gilt" editions, so now you have the same models in two very different aesthetic contexts. I won't spend too much time on specs because they remain unchanged—the time-only Spirit Pilot is 39mm by 11.5mm, with a lug-to-lug of 47.2mm, and the Flyback chronograph is 39.5mm by 13.4mm with a lug-to-lug of 47.4mm. The time-only model features the automatic L888.4 caliber, which is COSC-certified and offers a 72-hour power reserve with...

Introducing: The Newly Revamped Breguet Marine 5517 Time-and-Date And 5527 Chronograph

What We Know A refresh of Breguet's Marine line, inspired by Abraham-Louis Breguet's history of marine chronometers and scientific instruments, has been coming for some time now. If you've been following the sometimes sweeping, sometimes subtle, almost always welcome changes to Breguet's catalog over the last few years (and especially last year during the brand's year-long 250th fête), you knew the Marine was one of the few stones left unturned.  While the Experimentale 1 (a groundbreaking achievement) launched a new design language for the Marine last year, today's refresh is more subtle. The first thing that you probably will notice is that the eponymous "Breguet" numerals now replace the Roman ones on the previous models. But wait. There's more. Previous versions of both models had either soleil finishing centered around the boxed brand name (and number) or a larger, irregular wave guilloché, depending on the execution. In both new models, the watches now feature the new, finer "Quai de l'Horloge" guilloché pattern launched to honor the brand's 250th Anniversary last year, with a circular brushed hour track. Rather than just doing the same dial treatment for each case material, regardless of the complication, the brand has a mix of dials ranging from blue (in different shades) to grey and black. In general, the case material matches the tone of the hands, but there is an exception. The cases and movements have remained largely the same, 42.3mm by 13.9mm with a 50.7m...

The Business of Watches Podcast: Czapek & Cie. CEO And Co-Founder Xavier de Roquemaurel

This week on The Business of Watches, we sit down with the business leader who has headed the reborn Czapek & Cie. brand for more than a decade now. Xavier de Roquemaurel didn't come from the watch industry when he co-founded Czapek with fellow entrepreneur Harry Guhl, with help from watchmaker Sébastien Follonier, in 2015.  He's had to learn the industry on the job, and while Czapek burst on the scene by winning the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) Public Prize in its debut year in 2016, the company and de Roquemaurel have faced plenty of challenges along the way. From the novel financing and shareholder model they created to fund the startup, to reckoning with a massive surge of back orders for their popular Antarctique integrated bracelet sports watch model during the boom times of the post-pandemic era, as well as serious health and medical ordeals. Reconsidering all the tests he and the company have faced, de Roquemaurel says he now believes that "adversity gets the best out of you." Today, Czapek has just opened a new boutique on the historic Quai des Bergues in Geneva on the same banks of the Rhône River where François Czapek himself had his first atelier in the 1800s. In a wide-ranging interview, the Czapek CEO traces both the path of the reborn brand and how it has found inspiration in the legacy of the watchmaker who opened what is believed to be the first watch boutique on Place de Vendôme in Paris while producing timepieces for Napoleon III and t...

Introducing: Grönefeld Brings Back Its Four Greatest Hits With The New 1941 Quadrivium

What We Know It's always a great day when we get news from Bart and Tim Grönefeld. But this time, the news came with a lot of anticipation, as I've been getting a lot of texts and messages from people around the world asking what, exactly, the brothers were teasing on Instagram. First, I couldn't tell anyone, even if I did know—that's how embargoes work—but second, I only found out this morning. However, the brothers' new Quadrivium, with a 7.5-second remontoire with exposed governor, a one-minute flying tourbillon, central jumping seconds, and a power-reserve indicator, certainly was worth the anticipation. The watch combines highlights from the brand's history, especially the discontinued pieces customers kept asking for. The deadbeat seconds from the original One Hertz in 2010 are here. So is the GPHG-winning Parallax Tourbillon (which had a power reserve indicator) from 2014. Finally, the Remontoire was launched in 2016 and eventually became one of the earliest Hodinkee limited editions. All of this comes together in a compact 40mm by 11.3mm case, made in either tantalum or platinum, with the brand's "1941" collection design language: a polished, domed bezel; incut flanks and lugs; and a stepped shape to the downturned lugs as well. The dial is also quintessential Grönefeld, with a frosted main surface, hand-beveled stainless steel elements, and polished, multi-faceted white gold hour markers, topped with blued hands. The movement side is also exactly what you'd ...

Staff Picks: The Watches We Wore This Summer

Summer is over. Okay, maybe not quite — there's still some hot weather to be wrung out over the next few weeks (although I have noticed more than a few sweaters being broken out around the Hodinkee office this week). Labor Day has come and gone, school has started, our white pants are put away for the season, and the carefree, relaxed days of summer are now largely behind us. With that in mind, I asked (read: pestered) a handful of my colleagues to find out what watches they had on their wrists this summer, and the answers didn't disappoint. DWC Terra Titanium [Mark Kauzlarich] If there's something you should know about a lot of us on the Hodinkee edit team, it's that we love a good bit. So, after I came out of anesthesia from my spinal fusion earlier this summer, I decided to buy a watch to suit the moment. Look, I'm not saying that James Stacey gatekept this from me, but when I saw the Delhi Watch Company Terra on his Instagram, I felt left out. Turns out, I'm not as chronically on "watch internet" as I should be, apparently, because everyone over in The Grey NATO-land was talking about this super cool, $47 titanium quartz-powered watch out of India, and I missed out. I missed out on all THIRTY THOUSAND of them, I might add (shows how little I'm in the loop), and people were charging an arm and a leg to get one. Image, James Stacey (Yes, he has one too) Until the bit came around, that is. I got curious after my surgery and dug through my surgical notes for the info abo...

Introducing: Chopard Brings Back The Original Happy Diamonds And Happy Sport

What We Know This year marks 50 years since Chopard first "set diamonds free." Which sounds a little cheesy, admittedly, but there is something genuinely joyful about the conceit: diamonds allowed to skitter and spin around a watch dial, never quite landing in the same place twice. Introduced in 1976, the original Happy Diamonds placed unset diamonds inside individual gold capsules, allowing them to move between two sapphire crystals rather than remaining fixed to the dial. The idea reportedly came from sunlight dancing across a waterfall spray in Germany's Black Forest. It would become one of Chopard's most recognizable signatures. To celebrate the anniversary, Chopard is returning to two pivotal moments in the collection's history: the earliest Happy Diamonds watches from 1976 and the original Happy Sport, designed in 1993 by Caroline Scheufele, Chopard's Co-President and Artistic Director. The Chopard Happy Diamonds Heritage watch in 34mm. The smaller version, measuring 24mm. The new Happy Diamonds Heritage watches are direct re-editions of those first models, with cushion-shaped cases in 18-carat ethical yellow gold and polished black onyx dials. Two sizes are available, just as there were in 1976. The larger measures 34mm by 34mm and contains 21 moving diamonds. Inside is Chopard's hand-wound caliber 10.01-C, a tiny 15.7mm-wide movement introduced in 2024. Visible through the sapphire caseback, it runs at 3Hz and offers 45 hours of power reserve. The smaller 24mm vers...

Introducing: Marathon x Watches of Espionage Titanium SAR

What We Know Marathon Watches, the Canadian watch brand best known for its line of military-issued and -inspired watches, and Watches of Espionage, the online journal that has made a name for itself exploring the very tangible connection between watches and militaries around the world, have teamed up to launch a new watch that's sure to grab attention: The Marathon x W.O.E. Titanium SAR. The new watch, which officially launches this Thursday, includes a host of firsts for both Marathon and Watches of Espionage. For Watches of Espionage, which launched five years ago and is run by a secretive (some might say "sketchy") former CIA Case officer, the Marathon x W.O.E. Titanium SAR is a first venture into the world of collaborative watches. For Marathon, the fourth-generation family-run company with a slightly longer history than Watches of Espionage, the Marathon x W.O.E. Titanium SAR is the brand's first foray into titanium watches. On the surface, the new watch won't seem like much of a departure for Marathon, especially to those familiar with the brand's past offerings. The new watch draws heavily on the original Marathon SAR, first released in 2001, but modernizes the package and brings Grade 5 titanium to the table for the first time. Like other SAR watches from Marathon (such as the GSAR, TSAR, or OSAR-D), the new watch measures 41mm across, 48mm lug-to-lug, and 14mm thick, with much of that thickness coming from the toothy bezel. Just because this watch feels familiar d...

Introducing: Panerai Honors The Pre-Vendome Luminor With A Smaller 42mm Offering

What We Know Don't call it a comeback—they've been here for years, but if today's release is any indication, Panerai seems on the verge of "having a moment," or whatever you'd call it in a hyper-masculine, intensely Italian way. The feedback for a while, even from people who love the brand, is that the brand (which was on the forefront or even progenitor of the large watch trend that dominated the early 2000s) hadn't adapted as well or as quickly as big watch brands. Size was one sticking point; price another. Privately, I have heard multiple people say that if Panerai could fight it out closer to Tudor pricing, they'd be printing money at a new clip. Today, the brand is showing that it's listening, with three new (and newly smaller) 42mm Luminors at an attractive price. Let's go back to 1993, to the pre-Vendome days of Panerai. Brand representatives stood aboard the Italian destroyer Durand de la Penne (D560) to revive the Luminor's design language—the big case, bold numerals, and unusual crown lock—and bring it to a civilian audience. The original references, Luminor Ref. 5218-201/A and Luminor Marina Militare ref. 5218-202/A, became collectible icons, and the latter was revived last year with the PAM05218, in a 44mm case with a new automatic movement. If you looked closely at that caliber—the P.980 with hours, minutes, and hacking seconds—you'd see it was small enough to fit in an even smaller case. Yes, it's similar in architecture to a few in-group IWC and B...

Introducing: The H. Moser & Cie. Off-Grid (Live Pics)

What We Know Last year, I wrote about Moser's interesting play in its ongoing partnership with Formula 1 team Alpine Motorsports, when it introduced a pair of Streamliners, including its first ana-digi effort in the Streamliner Mechanics Edition. Developed with Sequent, a Swiss watch brand focused on producing its own self-charging smartwatches, Moser revealed this (not self-charging) new Streamliner as a connected watch for the Alpine mechanics team. For the general public, Moser released a 500-piece run of the Mechanics Edition watch. That edition was evidently successful enough for Moser to follow up with two new references of this ana-digi Streamliner, in a collection called the Off-Grid. And yes, the irony is not lost on me that any of Moser's mechanical creations are, in principle, way more "off-grid" than a watch you need to recharge. Moser leans into that kind of stuff, and it wouldn't be surprising to me if this was at least partially tongue-in-cheek. But I digress. The Streamliner silhouette on these new Off-Grid watches, with a diameter of 42.6mm and height of 14.4mm, certainly should feel familiar at this point. The diameter seems intimidating, but there is a very compact lug-to-lug fit here, given that there are no lugs to really speak of; rather, the strap attaches directly to the case (see how it looks on my 6.5" wrist). There are two versions here, both in steel—one with a blue PVD coating and one with black. The blue PVD version, which feels much more in...

Introducing: Grand Seiko Elegance SBGW325 'Arabic Blue' Limited Edition

What We Know It's likely that very few people, save the Grand Seiko diehards, remember the first manually winding 9S caliber in the GS collection. A distinction within a distinction, it did set the stage for a number of deeply loved models and the eventual development of one of my favorite movements, the relatively recent 9SA4. But back in 2001, Grand Seiko launched the SBGW003, a relatively simple-looking watch with an opaline white dial and distinctive applied gold numerals. It might seem a bit anachronistic, but that's why Grand Seiko is honoring the 25th anniversary with a very modernized homage, the Elegance SBGW325 'Arabic Blue.' To be fair, the new SBGW325 looks so much newer because the original was also a tribute to the past, furthering the aesthetic divide. Now, the watch features a deep navy blue dial inspired by Japan's indigo craft heritage, with silver-toned hands and indices, including the distinctive applied numerals to honor the original. There's also a touch of gold, a reference to the original indices, I'd imagine, with the central seconds hand and GS logo. The serif on the numerals seems to have been softened a bit as well. The Zaratsu-polished stainless steel case measures 37.3mm by 11.7mm with a 44.3mm lug-to-lug, capped by a box-style crystal. The watch is limited to a 30m water resistance but comes with a display caseback through which you can see the 9S64 caliber movement. That gives a 72-hour power reserve running at 4Hz. But overall, the watch ma...

Hands-On: The Straum Expedition

If wearing the Straum Expedition on and off for the last few weeks has reminded me of anything, it's this: It's been a little too long since I last had a good outdoor adventure. For me, 2025 was a year all about getting outside. So far, 2026 hasn't been. That's not necessarily a bad thing — I've sated my need for adventure in other ways this year, and I have found a few days here and there to climb a small mountain or two — but it is a thing, and the new Expedition from Straum has been a definite reminder of that, because this is a watch that's all about getting outside. To me, a watch's success comes down largely to intent. Put another way, does the execution of a watch line up with the story it's trying to tell? It's a harder needle to thread than you might expect, but when a brand gets the balance right, it's magic. Still, I do recognize that wearing a watch, especially a mechanical watch, in 2026 is largely an emotional affect, and most people don't actually need their watches to live up to the promise on the tin. That might help explain why there are so many "dive watches" on the market with minimal water resistance, or why I see so many people on the subway wearing fashion watches with fake pushers and subdials that seem to do nothing. And that's what makes a watch like the Straum Expedition so special—it is exactly what the brand claims it is. A (Very) Brief Primer On Straum If you already know Straum, it's probably thanks to the Jan Mayen. While the Jan Mayen...

Bring a Loupe: An Omega Suverän, A Universal Genève Cabriolet, A Vacheron Constantin Overseas, And A Vintage Zenith Chronograph

Congrats on making it through another week, Baller, and your reward, sadly, is not more information about an extraordinary new Rolex, nor is it a pretty fantastic video with a legendary rapper, but instead just a quick roundup of some excellent watches out waiting for new owners. Scorekeeping last week's picks, the Smiths DeLuxe sold for 6,000 GBP, the Smiths W10 for €1,400, the Gübelin 18k triple-date moonphase remains available, the Universal Genève FS went for 600 GBP, and the Autavias sells today. Strays Photo courtesy of Drouot. If you've been holding onto an old steel chronograph pusher cap and don't know the case it works with, maybe have a look at this Heuer chronograph (presumably ref. 2444) and consider the JLC Memovox in the same lot an added bonus. Speaking of Memovox (I'm not guessing the plural of that noun), this sure checks a few boxes should you find yourself in the market for a lovely vintage example. I covered a Hamilton Cross Country a few weeks back, and here's a similar example if that one managed to get its hooks in you. For the Beatles mega-fan in your life, this Old England Apple watch is unlikely to be something they've seen (it's also unlikely to sell for less than 3x the €200 high estimate). This Vacheron Constantin 2045 is just lovely; this Corum bears a shocking resemblance to David Bowie's 1979 SNL performance look, and if there's a cooler tropicalized Carrera up for auction this week than this one, I didn't see it. Omega Suverän You'r...

Auctions: Rare And Unique White Gold Cartier Wristwatch Fetches Record $3.4 Million At Hong Kong Auction

A Cartier Cheich, a rare wristwatch awarded as a prize to consecutive Paris-Dakar Rally winners, sold for a record $3.4 million in Hong Kong, becoming the most expensive Cartier wristwatch sold at auction. The record price underscores the surging interest among collectors and speculators for rare models and designs by the Paris-based watch and jewelry maison. One of only five known examples of the Cheich, the watch was produced by Cartier as a one-off, unique piece in 2010, cased in white gold and powered by a quartz movement.  Sold by Sotheby's on the first day of its 'Important Watches' auction in Hong Kong on Friday, the watch spurred a nine-minute bidding war with online, telephone and in-person bidders pushing the price to HK$26,520,000 including fees or about $3,413,124, Sotheby's said in a statement. The result eclipses the $2 million paid for a London Cartier Crash from 1991 at Christie's Geneva auction in May. That watch bested another Crash sold by Sotheby's just weeks before for about $1.99 million.  Cartier Cheich in white gold sold for about $3.4 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong auction.Image: Sotheby's Founded in 1978 by motorcycle racer Thierry Sabine, the Paris-Dakar Rally was a legendary motor sports race of endurance, navigation and mechanical engineering, spanning some 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) from the French capital across the Sahara desert to Dakar, Senegal. An early sponsor of the race, Cartier and the brand's then-president, Alain-Dominique P...

Hands-On: The Apple Watch Series 12 And Ultra 4

Another year, another generation of the Apple Watch. Like last year's Series 11 and Ultra 3, things have largely stayed the same. That said, there are still a few major under-the-hood updates and some new aesthetic changes, but we're still carrying over the Apple Watch's subtle tenth-anniversary redesign from a few years ago, so the familiar dimensions remain. That also holds true for the Ultra 4. Across the board, the main improvements come in a new, more powerful chip and a vastly improved health sensor equipped on the back of each watch. With iterative improvements like this in the yearly refresh cycle, this new generation offers a solid upgrade for those coming from several versions back, and less of a temptation for those fresh off last year's models. But there will always be those who avidly find every chance to upgrade to the next year's latest and greatest—Apple's got you covered with some fun additions, too. A Return To Ceramic 46mm Night Blue (left) and 42mm Pearl White (right) ceramics. To me, the most exciting news from this year's Apple Watch announcements was the return of ceramic as a case material. Titanium is cool and all, especially since all the latest titanium cases since last year have been 3D-printed, but there's something a little nerdier about an Apple Watch in ceramic. Apple introduced ceramic on the Apple Watch as early as the Series 3 in 2017. I was a happy owner of a 2019 Series 5 Apple Watch Edition in white ceramic, so my interest has natura...

Introducing: The Studio Underd0g x Ahmed Seddiqi "Chan3ad" (Kingfish) Limited Edition

What We Know Two years after Studio Underd0g released its Series03 chronograph—an upgraded monopusher with a Sellita movement—they've teamed up with the Dubai-based powerhouse Ahmed Seddiqi for a new version with a twist. The new Chan3ad (Arabic for "Kingfish") comes on the heels of Studio Underd0g's first appearance at Dubai Watch Week last year. The dial features two contrasting layers, inspired by the UAE's most prized gamefish, the kingfish. The fish has a blue-grey color with distinctive scales, represented by the top dial, which is also very textured. The lower layer is a sunburst brushed pink, representing the meat underneath, while the tip of the chronograph hand and 30-minute counter hand are yellow, like the lemon you'd squeeze over the top after you cook it. A fish-themed watch is in keeping with the existing Series03 "Salmon" but the tones are slightly different. All the numerals are in Eastern Arabic script. Cased in stainless steel, the watch measures 38.5mm by 13.6mm (almost 2mm of which is the domed sapphire crystal), with a 20mm lug width and 44.5mm lug-to-lug. As noted on the dial (a curious quirk of Studio Underd0g), the watch uses the manually wound Sellita SW510 M movement, a "Custom Special" version running at 4Hz and regulated to +/- 5 seconds per day. The movement has a 63-hour power reserve and a hacking system. The Studio Underd0g x Ahmed Seddiqi Chan3ad is delivered with two straps: one is a 20-to-16mm tapered stainless steel Milanese mesh, a...

Introducing: Blancpain Celebrates The 70th Anniversary Of The Ladybird Collection With The Mini "Lady B" Revival

What We Know In 1932, a 36-year-old woman took a massive gamble early in her career at Blancpain. Betty Fiechter, who had worked for the brand since she was 16, faced a dilemma after the sudden death of the brand's owner, Frederic-Emile Blancpain. Together with commercial director Andre Leal, she helped secure loans to buy the company, even navigating the need to rename the manufacture because the Swiss government prevented anyone but someone with that name from using Blancpain. Fiechter would eventually mentor her nephew, Jean-Jacques Fiechter, and together they would inaugurate two of the brand's most successful icons: the Fifty Fathoms and the Ladybird. The original Ladybird Bullet The launch of the Ladybird in 1956 was a big deal, not just because a woman led a manufacturer in an era when women couldn't even vote in Switzerland. Inside the original Ladybird "Bullet" was the R55, the smallest round mechanical movement, and one with extra durability, with a fifth wheel to limit the force on the escapement and a shock protector on the balance wheel. It remains the smallest round mechanical movement to this day. To honor that watch, Fiechter, and the 70th anniversary of the Ladybird, Blancpain is releasing a new Lady B (for bullet, I'm sure, but also Betty and, according to the brand, bijou or "jewel") with very tiny dimensions. The watch measures a tiny 19mm by 13.2mm in either stainless steel or 18k red gold, with a total volume of only 2.9 cm³. Despite its size, it has...

Business News: Watches And Wonders 2027 To Feature More New Brands Including Berneron And Porsche Design

Watches and Wonders, the year's largest and most significant horology event, held each spring in Geneva, will welcome ten more brands for the 2027 edition, including Berneron, Porsche Design, and Singer Reimagined, bringing the total to 75. This new group will join Breitling's House of Brands, which announced earlier this year that it will participate.   Watches and Wonders organizers said the diversity of the 13 brands attending the show for the first time in 2027 underscores the varied slate of watch industry participants now part of the event, ranging from Rolex, Cartier and Patek Philippe, to now Stollenwurm, an upstart Swiss high-horology marque named for a mythical creature and founded by a former Boston-based biotech executive.   Berneron will also join the roster for Watches and Wonders 2027. Launched in 2022 and led by designer (and ex-Breitling executive) Sylvain Berneron, the brand has earned accolades from the industry and collectors; its limited production, shaped case, and full-gold movement pieces have soared in value on the secondary market. A rare example of the Mirage in 34mm, the white gold Viridian with a chrysoprase dial, sold by the brand to a client for about CHF 51,000, recently fetched $521,400 on the auction site Loupe This.  The Berneron Quantième is the brand's second model line.Photo credit: Mark Kauzlarich  Berneron recently told Hodinkee in an interview that the prices paid for his watches on the secondary market are "unsustainable," and...

Business News: FHH Teams With GIA's School Of Gemology And Jewelry Arts

The Fondation Haute Horlogerie (FHH) struck a strategic academic collaboration agreement with the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) and its School of Gemology and Jewelry Arts, aiming to bring more watch industry knowledge, training, and certification to a wider audience. The agreement will have the two non-profit organizations collaborate on educational initiatives, certification, and instruction, using the GIA's international physical and online infrastructure. Founded in 1931 with campus, laboratory, and research center locations ranging from the U.S. and the U.K. to Africa and Asia, from Bangkok to India, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, the GIA has trained more than 200,000 professionals in jewelry and gems.   Johanna Levy, (left) Vice President, Communications & Corporate Affairs, Gemological Institute of America, Aurélie Streit, Vice President of the FHH.Image Courtesy FHH The collaboration could significantly expand the FHH mandate to provide watchmaking, culture, and industry knowledge to more industry professionals, collectors, and consumers, while broadening the GIA's educational scope for professionals in this closely linked sector. "For GIA students and alumni, it's such a great opportunity to be able to access a completely new set of knowledge with watchmaking," Johanna Levy, vice-president of the ESG Programs at the GIA, said in an interview. "There is a desire to learn more, to learn more craft, to learn more in person. So it's really not only to equip our st...

Photo Report: Geneva Watch Days 2026

I'll admit it, Geneva Watch Days is one of my favourite times in the city. It's when our industry reunites after a long, heatwave-themed summer to meet friends from all corners of the watch world and get hands-on with the latest pieces from some of the hottest and most interesting brands. And that's the thing about this summer show: while Watches & Wonders draws our attention to the larger players, Geneva Watch Days lets us take a breather, slow this rapidly moving industry right down, and spend time with watches and brands of all sizes. Don't get me wrong, Bvlgari, Zenith, Daniel Roth, Girard Perregaux, MB&F;, and Breitling attend, but its city-centered format and later date on the calendar mean there's much more time to see smaller names and discover new ones. The 2026 edition set a new record with 71 participating brands, unveiling nearly 400 new releases. More than 2,500 private clients, collectors, and watch enthusiasts attended, alongside more than 500 international media and content creators. However, this year's edition drew 15,000 people in total, down from last year's peak of 17,000. News from the brands exhibiting was certainly plentiful and felt increasingly significant compared to previous iterations of the show (Breitling's House of Brands used the show to unveil Gallet to the world, and MAD Editions by MB&F; announced the MAD 3 - more on those in a moment). Yet on more than one occasion, conversations centered around how the show felt a little quieter than pre...

In Partnership - Mid-Century, Made New: Baume & Mercier's New Clifton Collection

Baume & Mercier delights with modern engineering in the refined 1950s-inspired Clifton collection

The Business of Watches Podcast: Hublot Chief Executive Officer Julien Tornare On Partnering With Jeff Koons And Re-Connecting With The Brand's Founder

This week on The Business of Watches, a veteran watch industry CEO who is taking on one of the biggest and most demanding challenges of his storied career. Julien Tornare is the head of Hublot, the irreverent and ground-breaking brand controlled by LVMH that's trying to reclaim some of its former glory and role as a trend-setter in industry innovation.  An affable and talented business leader, Tornare has spent almost three decades in the watch world with Vacheron Constantin and Richemont, then as chief executive of Zenith, where he oversaw a dramatic revival and upswing for the El Primero maker. He then had a brief tenure as the CEO of TAG Heuer before joining Hublot as the big boss in 2024.  Julien Tornare.Image: Courtesy Hublot Tornare talks about Hublot's turbulent journey over the past four decades and the spirit reflected in the brand's unconventional, outspoken ambassadors. He also addresses the marque's critics, arguing that the YouTuber shots are largely unjustified.  He also discusses the influence of Hublot's Italian founder Carlo Crocco as the company reconsiders its legacy ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2030. There's also news of a major new partnership with legendary American artist Jeff Koons, who is bringing his artistic vision to the watch brand for the first time through a series of bold collaborations. We also discuss the role that Jean Arnault, long considered the true watch enthusiast in the Arnault clan, now has with the brand.  There's plenty o...

Hands-On: The Hublot Classic Fusion Balloon Dog By Jeff Koons

Hublot is no stranger to opening its doors to outside creativity, with some of its most memorable (and often infamous) releases of the past few years in collaborations with artists and designers—Takashi Murakami, Daniel Arsham, and Samuel Ross, to name a few. Late last week, the brand dropped the news that the next big name in line for a collaboration would be the contemporary American artist Jeff Koons, most widely known for his series of bright, shiny balloon dog sculptures in a whole range of colors. Image courtesy of Hublot Balloon Dog (Orange) - Image courtesy of Christie's Rabbit - Image courtesy of Christie's Koons' name has reached a certain level of infamy and popularity alike in the art world, as the world's most expensive living artist today. His Balloon Dog (Orange) piece hammered at Christie's in 2013 for a whopping $58.4 million dollars, breaking auction records for an artwork by a living artist. Then, in 2019, his 1986 Rabbit piece shattered that result, selling for more than $91 million and taking the title. To this day, both pieces remain among the top ten most expensive artworks by living artists. Naturally, Koons faces criticism from critics and the wider public, from the overt commercialism and kitchiness of the art to the factory-style production methods he employs. Regardless, it's impossible to deny how iconic and recognizable the Balloon Dog series is worldwide. With that iconic look and a touch of infamy, the Balloon Dog feels like the perfect su...

Introducing: The Rolex Perpetual Padellone [Hands-On, Live Pics, Technical Brief, Competition, & Personal Thoughts]

It's a watch that has been long-awaited: Rolex has just announced the new Perpetual Padellone—a very classic and technically impressive instantaneous annual calendar with moonphase. The new release comes three years after the launch of the 1908, which replaced the discontinued Cellini collection and introduced the Perpetual line. Now, that new collection goes in a more complicated direction. James Stacey is in Milan for the launch—and even got to see the watch in advance—so read on for a section later in this article featuring his hands-on impressions. The new 2026 Rolex Perpetual Padellone.  Let's start with a piece of fun trivia. This is the first Rolex model—to my knowledge—to take its *actual* name from a nickname given by collectors to its historical predecessor. The ref. 8171—which Rolex explicitly cites as the inspiration for the new watch—was nicknamed the Padellone, Italian for "large frying pan," for its wide 38mm flat case and slightly domed dial. So it's appropriate that Rolex would return to Milan—arguably the birthplace of vintage watch collecting—to launch a watch that will likely make a lot of vintage lovers happy. A vintage Rolex ref. 8171 "Padellone." Even if you don't know the history of vintage Rolex or the 8171—which we'll cover in a minute—a new watch from Rolex (especially one launched off-cycle, so to speak, outside Watches & Wonders) is always a big deal. The only recent similar release was the surprise launch of the white go...