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Akhor is an independent watchmaking brand that made its debut less than a year ago at Geneva Watch Days 2025. The brand introduced itself with a particularly intriguing collection and concept built around the idea of “time in balance”, rooted in a highly original vision of time itself. At its core lies a proprietary movement. […]
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Jaeger-LeCoultre’s fascinating multi-axis Gyrotourbillon made its debut in 2004 inside a large round Master case. Four years later, the complication was adapted to fit inside the iconic swivelling case of the Reverso, followed in 2016 by an 85th anniversary edition powered by the thinner calibre 179. Fittingly for a watch with equestrian origins, the pink […]
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Whether you’re new to the watchmaking game or have been collecting watches for years, finding a great deal is always a joy. But buying an affordable watch doesn’t mean you have to make concessions to style or practicality. On the contrary, even, as for years the affordable watch scene has been booming with exciting and […]
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In the early days of primitive watch movements, going back to the 16th century and German Nuremberg Eggs, decorations were important to enhance visual appeal for these mechanical contraptions reserved solely for the wealthy and royalty. Early decorations included intricate engravings and polished components, and gilding was also common. Ornamentation on the movement, case and […]
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For once, we are not going to talk about the launch of a new watch. Instead, we are going to talk about the premiere of a film – and a rather unique one at that. Czapek, An Unexpected Renaissance is something rarely seen in the watch industry: a 50-minute documentary filmed from the inside, retracing […]
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The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa Deste is an annual highlight on the vintage car scene calendar. Every year, the very finest cars ever made get invited to the shores of Lake Como in Italy and proudly displayed for the public to see. But that’s not all, as a specialist jury picks the Best of Show out […]
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Marco Lang, known to many as co-founder of Lang & Heyne, has always practised watchmaking with a deeply personal perspective. Since leaving the Dresden-based manufacture and launching his own independent path, his work has become even more intimate and experimental, and the Seven Spheres is the best expression of his creative freedom so far. The […]
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Kross Studio has never been about conventional watchmaking, whether through its openworked designs or collaborations tied to everything from Star Wars to Batman. Last year, the Geneva-based brand introduced the MT1 Tourbillon, a manually wound tourbillon with a smooth lug-less case, crown-free construction, and fully openworked movement design. It was also a watch that carried […]
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Teaming up with independent watchmaker wizard Stephen McDonnell in 2015 catapulted MB&F; into the rarefied domain of haute horlogerie. McDonnell’s extraordinary, award-winning LM Perpetual marked a before-and-after in the genre. A fully integrated 581-component calibre, the complication is shown dial-side beneath the suspended balance wheel of the Legacy Machine family. A mesmerising display of mechanical […]
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In the past few years, Union Glashütte, the sister brand of the more high-end Glashütte Original manufacture, has strongly focused on connecting its watches with car-related events and car-inspired designs. Take, for example, the Limited Edition Sachsen Classic 2025, the Noramis Date Deutschland Classic 2025 with an MB wheel-inspired design, or the BBS-styled Noramis Date […]
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Geneva-based luxury goods group Richemont reported a 11% increase in sales at constant exchange rates (+5% at actual rates) for its 2025/26 year, closing at the end of March, at EUR 22,4 billion. At EUR 3.5 billion, the profit for the year’s continuing operation is up 27%. The trend for the fourth quarter remained positive with sales […]
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Pilot watches have always occupied a special place in watchmaking and in our hearts. Large crowns, legible dials, chronographs, GMT indications, and slide-rule bezels all emerged from real-life needs. Yet despite many decades of looking up to aviation for clues, very few modern pilot watches can actually assist pilots in flight procedures. Most are stylistic […]
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There’s a tendency, somewhat natural and hard to counteract, to think that a watch needs to be large and heavy to be robust. This, however, is a rather contemporary perception, as vintage watches, even the most rugged of them all, were often sized under 36mm – think, for instance, about the members of the Dirty […]
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The connection between Omega and movie franchise James Bond 007 is one of the strongest imaginable, dating back to Goldeneye in 1995. Since then, at least one Omega watch has been worn on screen by the world’s most famous secret agent, in every movie released since. And while we don’t yet know who will incarnate […]
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March LA.B is an indie French watch brand that blends retro-inspired design with a California-French surfer lifestyle vibe. Founded in 2009 and based in Los Angeles and Biarritz – hence the LA.B in the name – the brand has a penchant for shaped cases. The flagship AM2 family, an evolution of the foundational AM1 inspired […]
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What is Ressence if not one of the most recognisable identities in independent watchmaking? From the crownless Type 3 (check out the recent Type 3 Marc Newson) to the oil-filled Type 5, Ressence founder Benoît Mintiens has consistently challenged the conventional relationship between display, ergonomics and mechanical watchmaking, leading to the introduction of the Type […]
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To our regular readers, Armin Strom needs no introduction. To those new to watchmaking, let’s say that over the past decade, the independent brand has established itself as one of the (very) few manufacturers to truly master resonance in a wristwatch. The Dual Time GMT Resonance has become one of Armin Strom’s signature platforms, evolving […]
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After moving on from its space-themed watches, Awake – the French indie brand founded by Lilian Thibault in 2019 – celebrated its fifth anniversary with the Son Mai, a permanent collection built around craftsmanship. The collection, which features richly decorated dials created using the ancient Vietnamese lacquering technique of Son Mai, now grows with the […]
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If you have been following French watchmaking lately, chances are you have come across Charlie Paris already. They have a promising catalogue of everyday mechanical watches that do not get too expensive. The brand’s line-up today covers everything from the sporty and travel-ready Concordia GMT Automatic to more classic designs such as the Initial Collection. […]
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When you are a historic watchmaker like Favre Leuba, you can go back to the archives and return with a slice of the past and new ideas. That is exactly what happened with the Deep Blue, the brand’s six-decade-old dive watch known for its crosshair dial and 200m water-resistance. Stylish and genuinely capable at the […]
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While we often publish articles in our Industry News section, those are mostly focused on the financial results of Swiss and/or European brands and groups, by looking at major actors such as the Swatch Group, Richemont or LVMH, the exports of Swiss Watches, or estimated rankings by Vontobel and Morgan Stanley/LuxeConsult. What we have never […]
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Created by Japanese independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka, a man capable of creating superb watches and movements, Kurono Tokyo aims to apply his design language to a more accessible price range. While the entire production of the brand is limited and relatively difficult to obtain, the “special projects” collection adds a sense of exclusivity through the […]
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The Terra Nova and Supermarine collections are an important part of Bremont‘s catalogue, and the brand even looks up to the stars with the recently released Supernova Chronograph. Still, aviation remains central to the British watchmaker’s identity, and the new Air Force Blue capsule collection reinforces this focus with a unified lineup, introducing a distinctive […]
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Moritz Grossmann celebrates the 200th anniversary of its founder, a pivotal figure in Glashütte’s proud watchmaking tradition. Revived in 2008 by watchmaker Christine Hutter, the brand has been steered down the path of high-end, technically serious Saxon watchmaking with in-house calibres and a dedication to Schönstes deutsches Handwerk – the “most beautiful German craftsmanship”. Feted with […]
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King Seiko, the other higher-end arm of the Group, has had an interesting comeback run since Seiko revived the collection in 2020, bringing back one of its classic higher-end names from the 1960s. This family also introduced the Vanac sub-collection during the 1970s. These were some cool watches that were more colourful, faceted, and much-liked […]
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In less than 10 years, Atelier Wen has built a rather impressive collection, merging refined watchmaking with Chinese culture. The Sino-French company founded by Robin Tallendier and Wilfried Buiron quickly moved from accessible watches with a strong Chinese identity to something less caricatural, much deeper in substance, to the point of creating a full tantalum […]
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Over the past few years, Stockholm-based brand Maen has delivered thoughtfully designed watches with strong selling points. Models such as the integrated-bracelet Manhattan Ultra-Thin and the recent Grand Tonneau Ultra-Thin have shown the brand’s growing confidence beyond its early vintage-inspired sports watches. Still, collections like the Hudson remain central to Maen’s identity, offering compact proportions, […]
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Ochs und Junior, the brand founded by mastermind watchmaker Dr Ludwig Oechslin, is celebrating its twentieth anniversary with the release of a remarkable, highly efficient calendar watch. Dr Oechslin’s talent for tackling complications with ingenious solutions using as few components as possible, and his minimalist, Bauhaus industrial design style are clearly at work in the […]
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The Longines Legend Diver (LLD) is one of the important watches in the brand’s catalogue. First introduced in 1959, the original ref. 7042 defined the brand’s approach to underwater instruments: a bold 42mm EPSA compressor case, dual crowns, and an internal rotating bezel. It was a purposeful tool, but also one with a certain elegance, […]
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Bell & Ross and the Patrouille de France partnership has already given us a few watches over the years, with the French aerobatic team bringing its blue colours and insignia to models like the BR-03 and BR-05 Chrono. This partnership reaches the brand’s latest collection, so now we have the new BR-X3 Patrouille de France. […]
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