Hodinkee
In-Depth: The Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Master Chronometer Chronograph
Buzz Aldrin's footprint is visible on the moonphase display. Seriously.
Hodinkee
Buzz Aldrin's footprint is visible on the moonphase display. Seriously.
Hodinkee
Plus a precious Jacquet Droz and a high-beat two-tone Zenith Chronomaster El Primero.
Monochrome
With watch brands across the board riding the Chinese New Year wave, there are no prizes for guessing which of the twelve animals represented in the Chinese Zodiac will be in the limelight this year. Admittedly one of the more attractive beasts to depict on a watch, the dragon replaces the rabbit of 2023 and […]
Quill & Pad
Are there special vintage watch dial variations named after notable women in a vein similar to that of the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona? Nick Gould was wondering just that and researched. Finding a photo of Vanessa Redgrave wearing a Rolex Submariner Reference 5513 with "Explorer" dial in 1966, he ruefully opines that this rare model would sound so much cooler as the Rolex "Vanessa Redgrave" Submariner rather than what collectors call it now: Rolex Reference 5513 Submariner with Explorer dial.
Revolution
Quill & Pad
Topside, Montblanc’s 43.5mm Vintage Chronograph sets the stage for its marvelous mechanism within. A mother-of-pearl crown insert confirms that this watch is an image-builder for the larger house of Meisterstück.
Worn & Wound
Automotive inspired watches come in many different forms. There are watches that draw attention to aesthetic similarities between well understood components of cars and watches (dials that look like gauges on a dashboard, or even putting an automaker’s badge on the dial). And then there are watches that are, ostensibly, meant to be thought of as tools for motorsport – chronographs with tachymeter scales and the like. But there’s another category – the one I tend to prefer – that takes a more abstract approach. These are watches that are imbued with the feeling of driving in their design. Autodromo, of course, are masters at this. Their watches capture a driving aesthetic that doesn’t simply port over elements of vehicle design into a watch, and they use color and texture to evoke specific aspects of driving culture. The latest from Nodus, their second collaboration with automotive personality Matt Farah, is very much in that vein. The new Nodus Canyon in Sunset Orange follows the successful launch of the Mint colorway of the same watch last year (it sold out immediately to Farah’s Patreon subscribers). The watch, designed by Farah, is conceived as an everyday sports watch, with a 41mm stainless steel case that measures 11.5mm tall and 47mm from lug to lug. To look at the watch, you would not immediately clock it as automotive inspired, but it’s filled with subtle and personal details from Farah’s long history in the automotive world that will make it rewa...
Time+Tide
Where other brands have gone overboard with dragons, IWC's crafted a tasteful piece that'll look good long after LNY.The post IWC celebrates the Year of the Dragon with a subtle yet handsome Portugieser Chronograph appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
Comprehensive review of the Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Chronograph Ref. 5924G. With full analysis and competitive landscape.
SJX Watches
Continuing with its occasional special editions to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, IWC has just released the Portugieser Chronograph “Year of the Dragon” to mark honour the Year of the Wood Dragon commencing in early 2024. This limited edition is essentially the classic Portugieser Chronograph Ref. 3716 but with a striking burgundy dial featuring gilt numerals and hands. Initial thoughts Burgundy dials on the Portugieser stand out as demonstrated by last year’s Portugieser Automatic 40, so it was inevitable to see it on the Portugieser Chronograph. The fact that this is a limited edition isn’t a big deal since IWC does a fair number of limited editions. But this specific watch, however, does look good. Whilst the design remains identical to the original, this has all of the dial elements in either gold-plating or powder-gilt print, which are more visually complementary than the combination of gold and black found on the silver dial of the standard steel model. The new look incurs an extra charge of US$950 in comparison to the standard production model, culminating in a retail price of US$9,350. While not a great deal by any means, it’s a reasonable premium, given the new dial and commemorative rotor. However, it is a limited edition of 1,000 watches, a substantial number given IWC’s scale, so the brand should have either reduced the premium or edition size to boost the appeal. The Portugieser Automatic 40 “Year of the Rabbit” from 2022. Image – IWC ...
Teddy Baldassarre
The Patek Philippe Aquanaut is one of the younger members in Patek Philippe’s historic family of timepieces but it has already gained an avid following and represents to many collectors the most accessible entrée into the Swiss watchmaker’s luxurious universe. Here is everything you need to know about the Aquanaut, from its origins to its current status as a versatile and wide-ranging collection. A History of Watchmaking Milestones Since its founding in 1839 in Geneva, Patek Philippe has been a leader in high watchmaking, pioneering many complications and design elements that are now ubiquitous throughout the watch industry. Polish watchmakers Antoine Norbert de Patek and Francois Czapek partnered to form the original company, Patek, Czapek, & Cie.; French horologist Jean Adrien Philippe, who invented the keyless winding and setting system still standard on watches today, joined in 1845, and the Genevan manufacture has been known as Patek Philippe ever since. Among its many horological milestones are the first annual calendar watch and the first wristwatches with perpetual calendars and split-seconds chronographs. In 1932, brothers Jean and Henri Stern acquired Patek Philippe and the same year launched the watch that would become its signature, the Calatrava (above), inspired by the ancient Calatrava cross that had served as the maison’s logo since 1887. The following year, Patek Philippe made timekeeping history when it commissioned a record-setting complicated ...
There is something truly special about a hand-finished, manually-wound, in-house chronograph. Today we will compare three of the very best available in the world today.
Hodinkee
Plus a titanium Breguet Type XXi, and a Doppel-Felix Date from Habring².
Time+Tide
For those who need a touch more timing utility alongside a dive-time bezel, this is the list for you.The post 5 of the best diving chronographs appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
The latest release from Maurice de Mauriac is a timely release for the holiday season and the upcoming Olympic year. Focusing on an array of gold-accented chronographs, the new L3 Gold Edition seamlessly marries an elegant design with superb quality that has become synonymous with the Zuch-based brand. The L3 Gold Edition comes in five colorways to choose from: Emerald Green, Cherry Blossom, Opalescent White, Spheric Blue, and Spheric Brown, each with a corresponding hand-tooled leather watch strap that perfectly complements the dial color. Each timepiece features a brushed 18kt 5N red gold case (measuring in at 40.5 mm) with a screw-in red gold crown and mushroom-type pushers, complemented by an antireflective domed sapphire crystal and a sapphire caseback. All models in the L3 Gold Edition include subdials for the chronograph minute counter at 3 o’clock, chronograph half-hours at 6 o’clock, and running small seconds at 9 o’clock. For prospective customers, one is able to choose between an automatic or manual movement for their L3. The automatic movement is powered by an automatic Concepto 2100-2120, while the manual-would option contains a Concepto C2000. The L3 Gold Edition watches are available now via Maurice de Mauriac’s website with prices starting at CHF 14,700. Images from this post: The post Maurice de Mauriac Introduces a Collection of Colorful Gold Chronographs appeared first on Worn & Wound.
Teddy Baldassarre
What are the best men's watches you can buy today? As with listing the "best" cars, wines, cookware, or mobile devices, answers will of course vary widely based on personal tastes, practical needs, and budgets. Whether your inclination runs to elegant and dressy timepieces that will impress your coworkers in the boardroom, or if you prefer a tougher, stylish-yet-practical watch that you can wear to the beach or the racetrack, or even if you're someone looking to fly your tech-nerd flag in your wrist, our massive compilation of the 101 best men's watches - incorporating brands and models nominated by various TB team members and covering numerous styles, price points, and categories - has you covered in just about every popular category. To keep it helpful, we arrange every category in ascending order of price. Our current compilation of the 101 Best Watches includes longstanding classics as well as watches released within the last year. Check back in for regular updates and/or additions to the list. CLASSIC CHRONOGRAPHS Bulova Lunar Pilot Price: $825, Case Size: 46mm, Thickness: 13.5mm, Lug-to-Lug: 52mm, Water Resistance: 50m, Movement: Quartz Bulova 262kHz, Crystal: Sapphire The Bulova Lunar Pilot is an homage to the Bulova chronograph worn by U.S. astronaut Dave Scott on the Moon during the Apollo 15 mission. Visually, the new Lunar Pilot is a faithful recreation, retaining the curvy case shape and distinctive elongated pushers of the original. The dial i...
Teddy Baldassarre
Among all the functions offered by today's timepieces (we in the watch trade call them complications, because even the ones that look relatively simple, like a date in a window, involve a lot of complex micro-mechanics), the GMT or second time zone is one of the most practical and useful - especially as many of us are back in the habit, post-COVID, of spending time again in time zones other than our own - for business, pleasure, or some combo of both. Here we've gathered 28 of the best GMT watches on the market now for your perusal and your consideration if you're in the market for a ticking companion for your next trip. To narrow the list and keep it manageable, we are keeping it as much as possible to "pure" GMT watches, i.e., those with a GMT hand pointing at a scale rather than some other unconventional display, which unfortunately excludes models like the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone, Parmigiani Tonda Hemispheres, Arnold & Son Globetrotter, and any number of very creative high-end takes on a dual-timer. We've also left out world-time watches, GMT watches' more complex cousins that display all the world's time zones simultaneously (you can check out our list of world timers here) and multiple-complication watches in which the GMT function is paired with a chronograph, perpetual calendar, or other high complications (small complications like dates are OK). Finally, we included only watches with mechanical movements, which are more likely to appeal to a wo...
Monochrome
A company that offers a wide variety of timepieces that cater to all tastes, Union Glashütte goes from bold to classic. Established initially as Uhrenfabrik Union in Glashütte in 1893 by Johannes Dürrstein, a prominent figure in the German watch industry, the brand swiftly rose to prominence in Glashütte watchmaking – until World War II […]
Teddy Baldassarre
One of the most popular topics of discussion for watch enthusiasts in online forums and social media is how to get the most bang for your buck at a given price point. Today, we’ll be focusing on exactly that, taking a look at some of the most impressive value propositions at or around $2,000. And while price points like $500 and $1,000 each have their standouts in terms of what you’re getting for your money, it is right around two grand that we start to experience some of the more luxurious elements of watchmaking when it comes to case and bracelet finishing, movements, and specifications. We’ll be taking a look at brands like Longines, Oris, Tudor, Sinn, Nomos, and many others that are producing excellent watches packing a lot of enthusiast appeal within the confines of this price range. Before we get into the watches, here are some ground rules: In order to keep the list organized, we’ll arrange it by category, focusing on some of the most popular broad segments of the watch industry including everyday, Flieger, dress, dive, GMT, and chronograph watches. We also won’t be terribly strict about coming in under $2,000, but rather concentrate on watches that are priced around $2,000 as factors like currency exchange rates, local taxes, and whether or not you’re buying pre-owned have a profound effect on final pricing. We’ll make an effort not to include more than four watches from any single brand and will also limit the inclusion of micro-brands, not that ...
Worn & Wound
In the spring of 2022, nearly overshadowed by the launch of a certain celestially inspired plastic quartz chronograph, Seiko introduced the Seiko 5 Sports GMT. A watch that brought mechanical GMT movements to the masses. Previously, the least expensive mechanical GMT watches were well north of four figures. Since then, there has been a flutter of affordable GMTs, but very few can match Seiko’s incredible value proposition. In the months following the initial release, there have been a few added color variants and just in time to end 2023 with a bang, Seiko is introducing two new pieces. The Thong Sia Limited Editions exclusive to Malaysia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore. They will be restricted to 1000 pieces in each colorway. The Ice Blue SSK029 features a light blue/white dial, with blue hour, minute and second hands, and a red GMT hand. The bezel is a combination of black and blue. The Passion Red SSK031 is, as you can imagine, quite the opposite of the latter model. Featuring a deep red dial, with steel hour, minute and second hands, and a gold GMT hand. This one has a red and black bezel. These watches will be available from January 2024 and are limited to the Asian markets referenced above. Like all regional releases, they’ll undoubtedly pop up in the usual second hand and international retail outlets where watches like this can often be found shortly after becoming available, so be on the lookout if you’re interested in collecting some of the more h...
Quill & Pad
To mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Autavia wristwatch, TAG Heuer is rolling out two executions of an automatic flyback chronograph, a textbook example of how to transform historic looks into contemporary classics: the Autavia Chronometer Flyback.
Hodinkee
The watch world freaked out upon its release last month at the 100th running of Le Mans. Now we've seen it in real life, and we have thoughts.
Monochrome
As we’re drawing a close to 2023, we take a look back at some of the Best New Watches revealed this year in various categories. And even though we’ve already covered fan favourites such as Chronographs, GMT watches, Dive watches, as well as several others, we’re now upping the ante with some of the best […]
Monochrome
Watches cost money; it’s as simple as that. And it’s also a given that luxury watches cost luxury money. But the assumption that you need to spend a fortune to wear something cool and stylish is wrong, luckily. While most of us might dream of tourbillons, split-second chronographs, minute repeaters or perpetual calendars, not many […]
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