Teddy Baldassarre · Page 48

T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Zenith Jan 21, 2023

Zenith Defy Watch Guide

Swiss watch manufacture Zenith traces its roots to 1865, when it was founded in the village of Le Locle by precocious 22-year-old watchmaker Georges Favre-Jacot. As one of the first watchmaking maisons to integrate all aspects of the watchmaking process under one roof, from case manufacturing to movement production to final casing and assembly, Zenith has long prided itself on its quest for timekeeping precision. The company has earned a record number of chronometry prizes over the years, and its most influential contribution to watchmaking history is its El Primero chronograph caliber, released in 1969. (Learn more about El Primero here.) In that same pivotal year, Zenith also released an avant-garde wristwatch series called Defy, whose bold, edgy design proved to be ahead of its time, and found its expression in the now-legendary Ref. A3642.  The Original Defy (1969) That watch was nicknamed the “coffre-fort,” a French term translating to “bank vault” or “safe,” a reference to its robustly angular, octagonal case, 14-sided bezel, and high-for-the-time water resistance of 300 meters, secured by its crown, caseback, and mineral crystal, all of which screwed securely into the case. Its “ladder-style” bracelet from legendary chainmaker Gay Frères also made the original reference notable. The Defy was positioned as Zenith’s toughest watch, featured in an advertisement in which six of the watches were strapped to the spokes of a motorcycle in a speed test a...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Zenith Jan 20, 2023

Zenith El Primero Guide

The Zenith El Primero, found today in watches throughout Zenith’s collection, from the Chronomaster to the Defy to the Pilot, is arguably the watch world’s most famous movement - more widely known, in fact, than some of the watch models to whom it has given life during its half-century-plus of existence. The reasons for its renown are several, from the technical revolution it represented at its origin to the legendary role it played in the post-Quartz Crisis revival of the mechanical watch. Here we examine what made the El Primero so special in the first place and introduce you to some modern watches that demonstrate how it is still evolving and improving in the 21st century. A FOUNDATION OF PRECISION Watchmaker Georges Favre-Jacot was a mere 22 years of age when he founded the atelier that would become Zenith in Le Locle, Switzerland in 1865. Favre-Jacot, a contemporary of Swiss modern architecture pioneer le Corbusier, took his own pioneering approach to making watches, becoming one of the first to bring the various horological disciplines under one roof as opposed to the more common établissage system that most watchmakers used at the time, which had different parts made in different small workshops before being delivered to another workshop for assembly into a finished watch, Georges Favre-Jacot & co. became Zenith in 1911, the company taking its new name from a top-of-the-line movement it created that won a Grand Prix for precision at the 1900 Paris World’s F...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Hamilton Jan 16, 2023

Hamilton Khaki Field Collection: A Comprehensive Buying Guide for 2024

When it comes to being a vital thread in the American historical tapestry, few watch companies can compare with Hamilton. Founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1892, during an era in which the United States was a world leader in timepiece production, the Hamilton Watch Company has played a role in building and growing the young nation since its earliest days. And though the company has for several decades been making its watches in Switzerland rather than the United States, its American heritage, and its particular association with the American military, is evident in several of its modern-day collections, perhaps most plainly in the Hamilton Khaki Field collection, which channels the martial aesthetics of the 1940s in a stye that few other modern timepiece families can match.  From Railroads to Battlefields In 1912, as railroads began spanning and connecting the sprawling reaches of the country, it was Hamilton that produced the uncommonly sturdy and precise pocket watches that railroad conductors used to keep the trains on time and on schedule; in those days before an established international system of time zones, a poorly running watch could initiate a disaster on the rails. Just two years later, as the United States entered the First World War that was besieging Europe, Hamilton shifted its focus from being the acknowledged “Railroad Timekeeper of America” to building compact timekeepers that American G.I.s could wear and depend upon in the trenches and battlefie...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Seiko Jan 14, 2023

Seiko SKX: A Review of the Legendary Japanese Diver

The Seiko SKX is a watch that transcends its niche. If you type in “best entry-level watch” into any search engine, you will inevitably be unable to avoid seeing the SKX. The SKX009J1 we are looking at today – might just be the best value dive watch on the market. And that says along, given it was introduced in 1996.

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Teddy Baldassarre

Grand Seiko Jan 13, 2023

Grand Seiko Spring Drive Guide

Japan’s Grand Seiko has become, in a relatively short span of time, one of the world’s most prestigious and collectible high-luxury watchmakers, competing for connoisseur attention and dollars with well-established maisons from Switzerland and Germany. And while its success is definitely a 21st century phenomenon, Grand Seiko is not really a “new brand” in the strictest sense. The first Grand Seiko watch (below) debuted all the way back in 1960, part of the much larger product portfolio of Japanese watchmaking giant Seiko, which was founded in 1881 and achieved its worldwide fame by embracing the mass market with timepieces at accessible prices with wide distribution. The Grand Seiko, by contrast, was positioned as the megabrand’s exclusive “King of Watches,” with standards of accuracy, beauty, durability, and legibility that could meet or surpass its Swiss competitors. Until 2010, it was also Japan’s best-kept horological secret, not exported to markets outside the country. Seven years after its international expansion, having cultivated a loyal and avid audience worldwide, an entirely new and distinct customer base apart from mainline Seiko’s, Grand Seiko firmly established itself as an independent brand - albeit one still intrinsically tied to its parent company through shared history and technology. Among those technologies is an innovative type of watch movement that was perfected right before the turn of the 21st Century and remains the exclusiv...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Junghans Jan 8, 2023

Junghans Max Bill Guide

Watches with a sparse, minimalist aesthetic have a faithful following in the modern era, and a number of watchmakers, both Swiss and German, offer timepieces born of those design principles, which are most directly descended from Germany’s hugely influential Bauhaus school of design in the early 20th Century. The Junghans Max Bill series, however, is one of the undisputed trailblazers of the Bauhaus style of watch design, tracing its origins all the way back to 1861 and boasting a time-tested design from one of the movement’s leading legends, Max Bill himself. Here we offer a brief history of the Junghans Max Bill watch collection, some insight into its namesake, and an overview of the modern collection, one of the few to contain mechanical, automatic, quartz, and radio-controlled solar movements as well as an array of sizes and materials. HOROLOGY IN THE BLACK FOREST Junghans Uhren GmbH was founded in 1861 in Schramberg, in Germany’s eastern Black Forest, by Erhard Junghans and his brother-in-law Jakob Zeller-Tobler. Initially a producer of clock parts, the company began making its own complete clocks and pocket watches in 1866 and by 1903 had become the largest watch and clock manufacturer in the world, employing 3,000 people. In 1927, Junghans began making wristwatches as well as clocks and supplied both over the subsequent decades to clients in the German military as well as the commercial market. A watershed moment for the company arrived in the 1950s with the...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Jan 6, 2023

30 Best Mechanical Watches Under $500

As new enthusiasts dip their toes in the waters of the watch world, it’s easy for them to become mired in watch-specific terminology that, while second nature to seasoned nerds, can prove challenging for anyone less experienced. Understanding the specific nature of the type of movement powering a watch is an excellent example of an area in which a little bit of research goes a long way in elevating your knowledge base and helping you to make an informed purchasing decision. Terms like quartz, mechanical, automatic, manual, and hand-winding are essential basic knowledge for anyone looking to bring their understanding of watches to the next level or purchase a new piece. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the most prominent types of mechanical movement types on the market. First, we’ll create a high-level primer on how the most popular types of watch movements operate before digging into a list of some of the best options on the more attainable end of the spectrum for each respective movement type. To begin, let’s tackle the term “mechanical” as it relates to watches. In the modern watch world, the vast majority of watches fall into two major subsets. The first is quartz, which utilizes power from an installed battery to power a small circuit that measures timekeeping by way of an oscillating quartz crystal, shaped like a tiny tuning fork, which vibrates at exactly 32,768 per second, allowing for an impressively high level of accuracy. Quartz calibe...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Jan 3, 2023

The 15 Best Watches Under $200 for New Collectors

Seeking out the best watches under $200 is not, it’s fair to say, a pastime for many serious, seasoned watch collectors, most of whom have access to a fairly large checkbook and are armed with a wealth of knowledge about all the most coveted brands and models out there. But every watch collection starts somewhere and every watch collector starts out as someone who’s new to the timepiece game, often also young and yet to embark on the accumulation of resources that would enable them to play at the higher echelons of timepiece collecting. With that in mind, we gave ourselves a challenging price limit of $200 and sought out 15 watches worth a look - whether you’re a newbie or one of those deep-pocketed watch veterans who can’t resist a bargain. Orient Bambino V4 Blue Dial Price: $200, Reference: FAC08004D0, Case Size: 42 mm, Case Height: 11.8 mm, Lug To Lug: 48.2 mm, Lug Width: 22 mm, Crystal: Domed Mineral, Water Resistance: 30 meters, Movement: Automatic Often under the radar of American watch consumers and overshadowed by its much larger Japanese brethren, Citizen and Seiko (which with it shares a corporate connection through Epson), Orient has been making value-oriented watches in Japan since 1950. The Bambino is Orient’s dressy gents’ model, fairly large in diameter at 42 mm with a domed crystal. The dial’s gradation sweeps from a bright blue center to black at the edges. Inside is an in-house movement, the automatic Orient F6724, with a hacking seconds f...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Dec 28, 2022

Which Hand Do I Wear My Watch On? Actually, There's No Wrong Answer

As you start to read this article, let’s first see how much time it takes. Start by checking the time on your watch. Now stop and note which of your wrists you just raised to read the watch’s dial. For the vast majority of us, it’s the left wrist, right (er… correct)? Did you ever wonder how wearing a watch on one’s left arm became the norm? Let us briefly trace the evolution of portable timekeeping to arrive at the explanation. Wristwatches, of course, were not the first means by which individuals carried the time around with them. As I explore more extensively in this article, the first watches were essentially miniature clocks worn on a chain around the neck. These somewhat unwieldy timekeepers gave way to pocket watches, which were smaller, more streamlined, and could be worn stylishly inside the pocket of a waistcoat. When one wanted to check the time (as below), one simply reached for his watch inside one of these pockets to consult it, and then stash it again until it was needed. Utilitarianism and practicality, however, have always been at the core of watchmaking, and the pocket watch ultimately proved to be too impractical for the needs of an evolving 20th-century society. Women started wearing timepieces as bangles on their bracelets as early as the 1800s, but it wasn’t until the 1900s that the utility of a wrist-worn watch became apparent to the male population at large, which had long considered such a device feminine. It started with Louis Cartier...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Bulova Dec 23, 2022

Are Bulova Watches Good Buys? Here are 10 Watches that will Convince Y

Founded by Bohemian immigrant Joseph Bulova in 1875, originally with both its corporate headquarters and its manufacturing based in New York City, Bulova Watch Company is one of the most important historical watch brands in the United States. Many an American watch enthusiast has a story about the Bulova watch they inherited from a parent or grandparent, or about how their first watch was a Bulova before building up the financial wherewithal to delve into pricier Swiss luxury brands. Many of these enthusiasts may well be unaware of the many milestones that Bulova has contributed throughout its history - not just to American watchmaking to watchmaking in general - and how those milestones live on today in some of the brand’s most notable timepieces. Here we spotlight 10 important Bulova watches available now and the stories behind them; most are available in our online shop, many below MSRP. A Watch That Helped Win Wars: Bulova Hack Watch During World War II, Bulova took its patriotic duties as one of the few American-based watch companies quite seriously: many of its male employees joined the armed forces while female employees took over much of the watchmaking work at the factory. Bulova also devoted 25 percent of its advertising to the promotion of war bonds and stamps, a service for which it was awarded a distinguished service certificate by the U.S. government. Most notably, in the early 1940s, the company contracted with the United States government to produce i...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Dec 15, 2022

Watches with Tachymeters: How They Work and Our 15 Top Tachymeter Watc

It's a common refrain in the watch collector community that chronographs are one of the most popular complications while at the same time being one of the least practical in day-to-day life. Many of the most famous chronograph watches are also equipped with tachymeter scales, and while fans of these watches mostly agree that they look very cool, few of them have ever used the scale with the stopwatch function, and many wouldn't really know how. Nevertheless, the tachymeter on a watch was invented for a utilitarian, practical purpose once upon a time and it's worth briefly exploring those origins and exploring those capabilities. Essentially, a tachymeter (also called a tachometer) is a numerical scale on a watch’s dial or bezel that is used in conjunction with a chronograph seconds hand to measure an object’s speed over a predetermined distance. It is often used to determine miles or kilometers per hour and is thus a common feature of chronograph watches whose design is inspired by automobile racing; we'll showcase several icons of that category in our list below. Unlike divers’ watch bezels, which should rotate in one direction to set dive times, or other types of bezel scales used for calculations and conversions, like the circular slide rule on Breitling’s Navitimer, most of which are bidirectional, a tachymeter scale bezel should be fixed. The numerical scale typically starts around the 6- or 7-second marker on the minute track, and is usually indicated in ...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Dec 12, 2022

Why do Watches Use Sapphire Crystals? A Brief History and a Few Altern

Watches differ greatly in their sizes, designs, capabilities, straps and bracelets, and even in the materials used to make their cases. The one element that nearly always seems to be present when we peruse watches’ specifications is the use of sapphire for the crystal (for the newest of newbies, that’s the round, glass window over the dial). Over a certain “luxury” price point, a sapphire crystal is not even seen as a benefit but the baseline standard, like tempered laminated glass in a car windshield. How did sapphire come to play this key supporting role in watch manufacturing, and what did watchmakers use before it came along? For that matter, what differentiates different types of sapphire crystals from each other? Which materials other than sapphire are still being used in the watch industry, and why? And is sapphire being used for anything else in horological circles besides crystals? What are the properties of sapphire? Believe it or not, that little lens over the dial of your watch is made from one of the hardest substances on Earth. It is one of two precious gemstones from the mineral variety corundum, the other being ruby. Corundum, a crystallized aluminum oxide, is clear in its purest state; sapphires and rubies receive their blue and red colors, respectively from impurities: traces of titanium, and iron in the former, and of chromium in the latter. Sapphire (above) has a ratio of 9 on the Mohs Hardness scale. Among minerals, only moissanite, a naturally...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Nov 22, 2022

12 "Cheap" Watches That Look More Expensive Than They Are

There are a lot of cheap watches out there, and to be honest, many of them look the part. Making a watch that is inexpensive enough to appeal to a broad audience yet also capable of impressing a discerning watch enthusiast with its build quality, finishing, movement, and design is a challenging task for even the most experienced and resourceful of watch manufacturers. The brands and models we spotlight below, in our humble opinion, successfully tread the line between entry-level value (prices range from under $100 to just shy of $600) and noteworthy quality and aesthetics.  Casio Vintage Gold A168GW-9VT Price: $65, Reference: A168GW-9VT, Case Size: 38.6mm x 36.3mm, Case Height: 9.6mm, Crystal: Resin Glass, Water Resistance: Water-Resistant, Movement: Quartz Digital While its most iconic contribution to the watch world is undoubtedly the mega-popular G-Shock, Japan’s Casio offers different styles of digital timekeeping in its retro-influenced Vintage series, the most “expensive-looking” of which is this gold-toned model with a rectangular resin case, a stainless steel bracelet, and an electro-luminescent backlit display screen. The watch features an array of useful functions including a 1/100-second stopwatch with elapsed times and split times, daily alarms, hourly time signals, an auto-calendar, and timekeeping options in both 12-hour and 24-hour format. Best of all, this combination of high functionality and gilded flair can be had for under $70. Scurfa Diver O...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Nov 15, 2022

7 Watch Strap Types and the Pros and Cons of Each

Among the many decisions facing a prospective watch buyer before pulling the trigger on a new timepiece is choosing which type of strap or bracelet it should have. Watch straps vary widely in their materials, construction, finishing, and even in their original intended usage, with some straps projecting a sense of genteel refinement and others possessing military ruggedness or everyday sportiness. Here is a look at five watch strap types, their origins, and their attributes. Dress Leather Strap The practice of attaching watches to leather straps goes all the way back to the Boer Wars of the late 19th Century, which were fought in South Africa. British soldiers began wearing their pocket watches on crude leather attachments rather than in their jacket pockets because they often needed to doff their jackets and waistcoats in the extreme African heat. By the early 1900s, pioneers like London saddlemaker Alfred Pearson and Swiss watch importers the Dimier brothers were converting pocket watches into wristwatches by soldering wire lugs onto the cases and slipping such leather wristlets through them to secure them to wrists. The style became widespread after World War I, during which military men wore these wristwatches on the battlefield, and entered the realm of high fashion in subsequent years. Leather straps are usually made from calfskin, alligator, or crocodile leather (the latter two generally being associated with a higher level of luxury), but other, more exotic types...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Nov 11, 2022

Best Forums for Watch Enthusiasts

For watch enthusiasts and collectors, nothing beats discussing the world of timepieces with like-minded folks who share their horological passion. Opportunities to engage in such sessions in person, however, can often be difficult to arrange in our modern, increasingly overscheduled lives. This is where online watch forums come in handy, offering platforms for watch nerds all over the world to connect - whether they want to share opinions on the latest models or industry news, delve deep into a specific brand, ask a question about a vintage model, find expert advice on a repair or refurbishing, or buy, sell, and trade watches. Here we’ve compiled a list of the best online watch forums in several categories.  Brand Specific rolexforums.com "The Internet's Finest Rolex Community," where members worldwide can post photos, communicate privately, and gain access to classified ads. omegaforums.net Omega fans discuss vintage and modern models, buy and sell watches, and seek advice on all manner of enthusiast topics. seikoforum.com A community for fans of Japan's most storied watchmaker, with threads on watches, clocks, and all of Seiko's subsidiary brands including Credor. enicarforums.com Proving a historic but under-the-radar brand can still inspire passion, this forum welcomes Enicar owners to buy, sell, post and discuss. tapatalk.com/groups/vintagerolexforum This site is dedicated to vintage Rolex watches and those who refurbish them, with tons of member-generated con...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Nov 9, 2022

100 Best Instagram Accounts for Watch Enthusiasts

There is tons of content on Instagram for watch enthusiasts - almost too much of it, some might argue. But how do you know you’re getting what you’re looking for as you scroll down your feed? For that matter, which of the many dozens of accounts devoted to engaging the #watchcommunity should you be following based on your own interests and favorites? After asking our audience for their favorite watch-related accounts, we’ve compiled the 100 best Instagram pages for watch lovers, divided into categories. There’s something here for everyone, whether you’re seeking out celebrity wrist shots, rare vintage pieces, specific brands in the spotlight, cheeky watch-world memes, or just really eye-catching watch-lifestyle photography. Affordables @affordablewristtime A showcase of watches under $1,000, linked to a review website. @practicalwatch  Spotlighting watches with a price ceiling of $1,500. Brand Specific @billiosophy A Hong Kong watch collector shows off his collection, mostly German pieces, heavy on A. Lange & Söhne. @rolexaholics Just what you'd expect: a plethora of Rolexes from a variety of collections. @gshock626.socal  Despite the handle, this page is all about showing Seiko. @creatingcartier A member of the Cartier family shares stories of watches and jewelry. @lapinist_watchrestoration  Watch restorer of Grand Seiko cases and movements shows his work   @rolex_lover Rolex photos and wrist rolls, updated daily. Celebrity Watches @insaneluxurylife Cel...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Oct 27, 2022

What are the Different Types of Watches? A Comprehensive Guide

To a newcomer, deciphering the world of timepieces can be an intimidating endeavor, and identifying the different types of watches presents a particular challenge. What distinguishes, say, a dive watch from a pilot watch, a quartz watch from a mechanical watch, a dual-time watch from a world timer? What are all those subdials and scales on the dial for? Do I need to change the date on my watch, and if so, how often? In this rundown of the various types of watches, we strive to answer the big questions (and/or link to another article that does).  Quartz vs. Mechanical vs. Automatic While watches vary widely in their styles, genres, and capabilities, they all fall into one of two major categories based on the type of movement inside them. Generally, with a few notable exceptions that we’ll touch upon, a watch is either “mechanical” or “quartz.” Mechanical watches further subdivide into two basic types: manually wound (or “hand-winding”), in which the user needs to periodically wind the watch via the crown to keep it working; and automatic (or “self-winding”), in which the movement’s mainspring is perpetually wound by an oscillating weight that swings with the natural motions of the wearer’s wrist. On the other hand, a quartz movement (as explained much more thoroughly in this article), replaces the mechanical movement’s traditional mainspring barrel with a small battery whose electrical charge passes via an integrated circuit into an oscillating tuni...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Tissot Oct 14, 2022

Tissot Telemeter 1938 Review

The Tissot Telemeter 1938, which joined the Swiss brand's vintage-influenced Heritage collection in summer 2022, has garnered enthusiasts' attention with its charmingly retro design, optimized chronograph movement, and enticing price-to-value ratio. We had a chance to go hands-on with both versions of the Tissot Telemeter 1938; read on for the results from our in-depth review. Overview and History By just about any historical standard, 1938 was generally a pretty dark year, marked by the lingering economic woes of the Great Depression, the violence of Kristallnacht, and the slow march to war in Europe, with Germany annexing Austria and partitioning Czechoslovakia in the ill-fated Munich pact. One of the few areas in which forward-thinking creativity and energetic optimism still prevailed in that pre-war era was the world of art and design, which was still showing the influence of the Art Deco movement that had taken root in the 1920s. Wristwatches, which had largely supplanted pocket watches as the go-to portable timekeepers for both civilian and military use, displayed this enduring design ethos while also often incorporating a useful array of functions geared toward the timing of the era’s popular sporting events, many of which involved racing - on horseback, in automobiles, and on skis. Tissot, founded in 1853 in the Swiss Jura, was one of the watchmakers that specialized in making these sport-timing instruments. One of the company’s earliest forays as an offic...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Oct 7, 2022

The Dirty Dozen: History’s Most Legendary Field Watches

When it comes to collectible vintage military watches, there are the famed “Dirty Dozen” and then there is everything else. Twelve field watches from twelve different Swiss watchmakers, all made within the last two years of World War II and issued to British servicemen, the Dirty Dozen watches represent a rare confluence between horological and military history, while also claiming a coveted spot in the annals of war memorabilia. What brands and watches make up the Dirty Dozen, what is their story, and why are they so legendary today? Read on. Wristwatches came into general usage for men during World War I. While pocket watches were still in vogue for social situations, they proved impractical for troops on the battlefield, who needed the use of both hands in combat situations, such as for loading one’s rifle while simultaneously checking his watch to determine the distance of incoming artillery fire. Watchmakers at the time responded to the demands of warfare in a rather makeshift way at first, re-engineering pocket watch cases with soldered strips of wire to connect them to straps of leather or canvas for wrist wear. While these “trench watches” were effective at the time, advances in military equipment, technology, and strategies in subsequent years necessitated a more purposeful approach to watchmaking as a Second World War erupted in Europe, barely two decades after the end of the so-called War to End all Wars. According to some historical accounts, it was ...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Breitling Sep 30, 2022

Breitling Navitimer: The Ultimate Guide to the Icon of Pilot's Watches

Introduced in 1952, the Breitling Navitimer is the quintessential pilot's chronograph watch as well as one of the most instantly recognizable Swiss watches in the world. Aimed exclusively at professional pilots in its earliest versions, the Navitimer was instrumental in popularizing the pilot's watch genre for the general public, and it remains, in all of its various sizes, colorways, and aesthetic executions, the flagship of Breitling's modern-day collection. Here is the story behind the Breitling Navitimer and how it evolved into an icon of its field, along with an overview of Navitimers on the market today. The First Family of Chronographs (1884) German immigrant Léon Breitling (below, left) founded his eponymous watchmaking firm in Saint-Imier, Switzerland in 1884, devoted to producing precise stopwatches and other timing devices for use in military and industrial fields as well as competitive sports. The rise of both the automobile and the airplane in the early 20th century provided the inspiration for Breitling and his son Gaston, who took over the firm in 1914, to produce a number of historic innovations, several of them patented, that would influence the world of horology going forward. Léon launched one of the first timepieces with an eight-day power reserve in 1893, and a chronograph with an unprecedented ⅖-second accuracy in 1896. Gaston (below, center) is renowned today as the inventor of the first wrist chronograph with an independent pusher, separ...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Sep 23, 2022

15 Rugged Watches, From Under $300 to $10,000+

Some occasions call for a suit, some for jeans, khakis, and t-shirts. Some events demand a dressy watch, others a tough, rugged watch that can take a beating. If the latter style of timepiece is what you're in the market for lately, check out our list of 15 tough, rugged watches (in ascending order of price) that not only boast impressive levels of functionality, reliability, and resistance to extreme depths, temperatures, and shocks, but also look very stylish on the wrist.  Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Diver 200m Price: $280, Case Size: 44mm, Thickness: 11.6mm, Lug Width: 20mm, Crystal: Mineral, Water Resistance: 200m, Movement: Citizen Eco-Drive E168  Citizen unveiled its Promaster line of professional-grade sports watches in 1989 and its Promaster Diver models - equipped with the Japanese brand’s proprietary Eco-Drive technology, which uses light to perpetually charge the movement - have proven to be among the most popular of Citizen’s vast portfolio of timepieces. The 44mm steel case features a 60-click rotating bezel made of aluminum (here in maritime blue) and a screw-down crown positioned at 4 o’clock. The blue dial sports wide hands and large applied hour markers, all generously lumed for underwater visibility, and a date window at 4 o’clock. The prominent minute hand with its orange detailing adds another layer of contrast, and hence legibility, to the dial. The Eco-Drive movement offers six months of power on a full charge and boasts an accuracy of ...

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Teddy Baldassarre

Longines Sep 16, 2022

Longines HydroConquest Buyer's Guide

The Longines HydroConquest features a boldly contemporary design and a sturdy, water-resistant construction that have made it one of the most popular dive watches in its sport-luxury price segment. Since its debut in 2007, the Longines HydroConquest has expanded into a versatile collection with an array of sizes, colorways, and materials to appeal to a wide audience of dive watch enthusiasts. Here are seven things to know if you're looking at adding a Longines HydroConquest watch to your collection. The Longines HydroConquest has its roots in Longines’ very first named collection from 1954. Longines, which derives its name from “les longines,” aka “the long meadows” that surround the Swiss village of Saint-Imier where it was founded, has been making timepieces since 1832. It wasn’t until 1954, however, that Longines began engaging in the modern marketing practice of introducing product families with distinctive names. “Conquest” was the first such name to be registered, on April 3, 1954, with the Swiss Register of Intellectual Property. The original Longines Conquest (reproduced above) was designed as one of the first generation of “modern” wristwatches, i.e., equipped with a highly accurate automatic movement and a water-resistant case that also protected the movement from magnetism and shocks.  Despite its utilitarian elements, the original Conquest was undeniably a dress watch, with a very modest 35mm case; a clean, minimalist dial; applied diamond...

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Teddy Baldassarre

A. Lange & Sohne Sep 9, 2022

A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Guide

The Lange 1 from German luxury watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne is an internationally recognized icon of modern watchmaking and the undisputed flagship of the Glashütte-based manufacture’s collection. And even though the Lange 1 has only been on the scene since 1994, the watch, and the company that makes it, trace their roots much further into history. From the pioneering watchmaker who jump-started a national industry in the 19th century, to his descendant that forged a new beginning for his family business in the 20th, to the evolution of a legendary watch into new and complex forms in the 21st, this the story of A. Lange & Söhne and the Lange 1. Ferdinand Adolph Lange & the Rebirth of Glashütte Few in the long history of watchmaking have had a more profound and lasting impact on a nation’s horological destiny than Ferdinand Adolph Lange had on that of Germany, whose industry is famously rooted in the town of Glashütte in Saxony. It was Lange (1815 - 1875), a native of nearby Dresden and a classically trained master watchmaker, who laid the foundations on which the struggling former mining town would build itself into Germany’s watchmaking center with the establishment of the original A. Lange & Cie. manufactory in 1845. Lange’s vision was not just for his own company but for the entire state of Saxony. When the apprentices that trained at his company had mastered their craft, he encouraged them to start their own factories and hire and train their own employees...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Baume & Mercier Aug 31, 2022

Baume & Mercier Watches: A Complete History and Guide to the Collectio

Baume & Mercier is a watch brand that prides itself in its pursuit of classical watchmaking mixed with timelessly elegant style and in offering its timepieces at a price point that defines "affordable luxury." If you're new to Baume & Mercier watches, there's likely a lot about this nearly two-century-old watchmaker that you don't know. Here we explore the history and watchmaking milestones of Baume & Mercier, from its origins in 1830 to today.  1830: The Brothers Baume Baume & Mercier is the sixth-oldest watchmaker* currently in operation, having begun its existence in 1830, founded by Louis-Victor Baume and his brother Pierre-Joseph Celestine Baume. In the beginning, the company, at the time known as “Frères Baume" (“Baume Brothers”), sold its pocket watches out of a shop in the Swiss Jura village of Les Bois. By the 1850s, Frères Baume had built its business, and its reputation for quality watchmaking, enough to set up a branch in London, a major market and an important center for international expansion - first throughout the United Kingdom, then into India, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and other nations that at the time were part of the British Empire.  The watches the Baume brothers produced toward the end of the 19th Century included high complications like chronographs, calendars, tourbillons, and minute repeaters. They were also renowned for their precision and accuracy, winning 10 Grand Prix awards and seven gold medals for time measurement ...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Seiko Aug 26, 2022

The Best Seiko 5 Sports Watches

The Seiko 5 watch series traces its roots all the way back to 1963, when the Japanese mega-brand introduced the original Seiko Sportsmatic 5, a groundbreaking timepiece that ushered in the emblematic “five attributes” that define the vast collection today. These include automatic movements, day/date displays in a single window, water resistance, a recessed crown at 4 o’clock, and a case and bracelet made of durable materials. Stylistically, the watches run the gamut from dress pieces to field watches to divers, with all kinds of variations in between (the current shorthand descriptions are Sense, Specialist, Sports, Suits, and Street). Seiko 5 watches still adhere to those five principles initially laid out more than half a century ago while still retaining the famously inexpensive price points that have made them so desirable - from under $100 to the neighborhood of $500 for the more exclusive editions. Seiko 5 watches - rebranded in the collection’s relaunch in 2019 as Seiko 5 Sports, despite offering this diversity of styles - have a worldwide fan following, with many JDM (Japan Direct Market) models highly sought after by American collectors due to their scarcity. And for many a budding watch collector of modest means, a Seiko 5 watch is the gateway drug to a full-blown timepiece obsession. Here we spotlight some of our favorites.  SRPC65 “Bottlecap” Reference: SRPC65, Price: $150-$250, Case Size: 45mm, Thickness: 13mm, Lug Width: 20mm, Lug-to-L...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Rolex Aug 23, 2022

Rolex Explorer Guide

The Rolex Explorer is in many ways the quintessential dressy tool watch from Rolex’s Oyster Perpetual collection - less flashy than the GMT-Master, less bulky than the Submariner, while still rooted, like those two models, in a history of adventure and discovery. While it has changed very little since the 1950s, today’s Rolex Explorer is the culmination of many decades of aesthetic and technical evolution, guided by a watchmaker for whom the subtlest details make all the difference in the world to its avid legions of fans. Underpinning the Explorer: Oyster Case and Perpetual Caliber The Rolex Explorer, like all Oyster Perpetual timepieces in Rolex’s Professional collection, is an expression of two technical milestones that Rolex and its visionary founder Hans Wisdorf contributed to watchmaking history. The first is the so-called Oyster case, developed in 1926, which revolutionized the construction of watch cases with its dustproof, waterproof, hermetically sealed structure, secured by a threaded caseback and a crown that screwed tightly into the case. In 1931, Rolex made history again with the creation of its first “Perpetual” movement (below), whose self-winding mechanism was driven by an oscillating rotor. The marriage of these two inventions gave rise to the “Oyster Perpetual” line of timepieces that remain at the heart of Rolex’s collection today, beginning with the Datejust in 1945 and coming to full fruition with the tool-oriented, yet still luxuri...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Aug 19, 2022

53 Best Watch Blogs for Watch Enthusiasts & Collectors

Watch collectors, from newbies to veterans, often turn to watch blogs for the latest watch-world news and for trusted reviews of watches they're interested in owning. You will find a lot of useful information and buying advice on our own blog here, but what are some of the other online platforms worth checking out if you're an avid watch enthusiast? You'll find many options in our list of the (other) 50 Best Watch Blogs that are currently active online. Wrist Enthusiast Litigation attorney and social media consultant Craig Karger started Wrist Enthusiast as an Instagram account in 2015, and launched it as a full-fledged blog in 2021, adding a small team of editors and writers. The blog covers a wide scope of content for aficionados, from curated lists to hands-on reviews to celebrity watch-spotting. WatchTime WatchTime is the U.S.A.'s leading print publication devoted to the world of watches and its online home features some of the magazine's most popular features, including in-depth tests of timepieces, curated lists, and exclusive interviews with industry power players, in addition to all the watch world's most important breaking news.  Monochrome Watches Describing itself as "an online magazine dedicated to fine watches," Monochrome was founded in 2006 as the personal blog of Dutch watch enthusiast Frank Geelen and has grown to become one the most-read watch sites in the world. Monochrome covers an array of new product releases as well as serving up reviews, technic...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Panerai Aug 17, 2022

Panerai Watches Guide

Tracing its roots to the 19th Century but bursting on the cultural scene on the cusp of the 21st, Panerai is an overnight success more than 100 years in the making. From humble and very utilitarian beginnings as a maker of tools and instruments for military divers in the 1930s, the Florentine watchmaker has become a powerhouse in the luxury sector, its unapologetically militaristic and indisputably masculine designs blurring the lines between tool watch and luxury item like few brands before or since. Here is the story of Officine Panerai and an overview of the modern Panerai watch collections. Guido Panerai and the First Radiomir Giovanni Panerai opened his watchmaking shop on Ponte Alle Grazie in Florence in 1860, and with the help of his son Leon Franceso built it into the ancestral Italian city’s first retailer of Swiss watches as well as its first watchmaking school. When Giovanni’s grandson Guido took over the business, near the turn of the century - and acquired his wife’s family business, which made tools and hardware for military use, including combat sights, compasses and depth gauges - it had become essentially two companies: Orologerie Svizzera, the shop that sold prestigious Swiss watch brands like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and Rolex; and Guido Panerai & Figlio, primarily a supplier of precision instruments and diving equipment to the Royal Italian Navy, or Regia Marina.  As a military provider, Panerai recognized the need early on f...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Aug 10, 2022

31 Gold Watches for Men at Every Price Range

Stainless steel sport-luxury watches are definitely having a moment in the watch collectors' spotlight lately, but the enduring appeal of gold watches remains undeniable. Timepieces in precious metals not only project a confident aura of elegance; they also represent a tangible value that can be passed on to future generations. Of course, gold watches tend to be a much more significant investment in terms of price than watches in steel, but watch connoisseurs of more modest means have a fair amount of options as well when it comes to achieving that classic gold look, from plated and PVD-treated models to bi-material (aka two-tone) timepieces that blend some gold elements with steel. In this compilation, we'll list some of our favorites in those more budget-conscious categories as well as some recent standouts in the most popular styles: yellow-gold, rose-gold, and white-gold. GOLD TONE: Those seeking their first gold watch may want to consider some of these gold-plated and PVD options from respected brands that are known for solid quality and attractive designs at attainable prices. Casio Vintage Gold A168GW-9VT Price: $65, Reference: A168GW-9VT, Case Size: 38.6mm x 36.3mm, Case Height: 9.6mm, Crystal: Resin Glass, Water Resistance: Water-Resistant, Movement: Quartz Digital While its most iconic contribution to the watch world is undoubtedly the mega-popular G-Shock, Japan’s Casio offers different styles of digital timekeeping in its retro-influenced Vintage series, t...

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T Teddy Baldassarre

Teddy Baldassarre

Zodiac Aug 3, 2022

Zodiac Watches: A Comprehensive History and Guide to the Modern Collec

If you’ve only recently discovered Zodiac watches - a strong likelihood, as its most well-known and popular model, the Super Sea Wolf, has only been back on the market since 2015 - you may be surprised to learn that Zodiac traces its watchmaking history all the way back to 1882, and that it launched the first Sea Wolf dive watch back in 1953, placing it in the same historical company as other pioneering dive watches debuting in that seminal year, like the much more heralded Rolex Submariner and Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Today the most prestigious and historical watch brand within the huge, Texas-based Fossil Group, Zodiac continues its longstanding tradition of offering distinctively styled Swiss Made watches at accessible prices, with some of the most popular models reviving its milestone designs from the mid-20th Century. THE BEGINNINGS Second-generation watchmaker Ariste Calame founded the workshop that would grow into the Zodiac watch company in 1882 in Le Locle, in Switzerand’s Jura Mountains. The first timepieces Calame made there were originally branded under his own name. In 1895, the founder’s son Louis Ariste Calame, who had also trained as a watchmaker, took over the business at the age of 20 and registered the name “Zodiac” in 1908, applying it to the innovative flat pocket watches, called Zodiac Triumph, which the company began producing in 1924, equipped with the in-house Caliber 1617 (below, via Watchuseek). In the wake of World War I, however, ...

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