Dress Watches · Page 34

The Andersen Genève Jumping Hours in Minimalist Black Jade

The Jumping Hours Black Jade Stone is Andersen Genève’s new take on its minimalist, digital hour timepiece. Retaining the same specifications, it once against uses the wide expanse of the dial for visual effect. The dial is a large, seamless piece of black jade just 0.4 mm thick that’s been lapped to a perfectly flat, mirrored finish. The glossy black dial is unadorned save for the hour display 12 o’clock, along with a pink gold minute hand matched with pink gold-powder printing. Initial thoughts Bringing to mind vintage jump hour pocket watches with its clean dial, the Andersen Jumping Hours is a perfect canvas for dial decoration given the available space. Even though it looks plain at a distance, the black jade dial is striking in its colour and simplicity, while also revealing the natural grain up close. The time display, however, is unconventional. While the hours are easy to read, the minute register at six is easily and often mistaken for the seconds. Though I can understand the design-driven purpose of the minute sub-dial, I would have done it another way to make reading of the time more intuitive. The quality of work is typical Andersen, which is artisanal and visibly so. It doesn’t have the perfect execution found in a Voutilainen or Akrivia but is done well. The price is commensurate with the quality – at about US$59,000 is more or less mid-range amongst high-end independent watchmakers. Time only in black jade One of the pioneering independent watchm...

REVIEW: Hands-On With The Limited Edition King Seiko KS1969

The King Seiko KS1969 Limited Edition is a timeless tribute to Seiko’s heritage, reimagined for the modern era. What We Love: Like current Seiko models, this latest King Seiko gets a modern slimmed-down reinterpretation. The multiple polished finishes from the case, bezel, and dial elements to the bracelet! The greenish-blue colour combined with the dragon-scale pattern makes the dial pop! What We Don’t: Not everyone may agree with the choice of dial colours for this collection from Seiko The movement needs to match the build quality and high level of finishing on the timepiece. It would’ve been great to get the date wheel to colour-match the new dial colours! Overall Rating: 8.9/10 Value for Money: 8.5/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 9/10 Build Quality: 9/10 In July this year, Seiko unveiled a new series of King Seiko dress watches to revive a classic heritage design. Before we get into this latest creation, we first need to look at King Seiko and some of the signature designs that came with it. The name of King Seiko is just as important to Japanese watchmakers as the name and brand of Grand Seiko. The story goes that King Seiko was first launched in 1961 alongside Grand Seiko, who were direct competitors of each other. Seiko did this because of the brand’s relentless pursuit of perfection and quality, as the rivalry between King Seiko and Grand Seiko would produce some exceptional timepieces. The 1960s were seen as the golden era for Seiko, as the brand quickly...

Up Close: IWC Portugieser “7-Days” Automatic 42 Ref. 5017

IWC recently facelifted the entire Portugieser line, and along with it the flagship Portugieser Automatic 42 “7 Days”, now in its fourth generation. Though the tweaks are cosmetic but significant, with an attention to detail that results in clear aesthetic enhancements. Compared to the earlier generation ref. 5007, the new Portugieser has a sharper, more refined appearance, while also feeling slightly more compact. Initial thoughts Though the overall design is mostly unchanged over the earlier generation, Portugieser 7-Days immediately looks and feels different in the hand. It looks a little bit shinier, slightly more polished, as if more effort was put into making it look like an expensive watch. The appearance is subtly different yet instantly obvious, and is the cumulative result of small improvements to the case, dial, and crystal. The improvements are particularly evident compared to the first generation Portugieser ref. 5000 launched in 2000, which feels almost like a vintage watch from another era. The improvements are incremental and hardly imaginative, but they are well done. Granted not everyone might like the polished new look. The lacquered dial, for instance, has an obvious glossy finish. But most of the improvements are more subtle, particularly on the case that now has a slimmer profile and improved finishing. Importantly, the revamped Portugieser is priced almost exactly the same as its predecessor ref. 5007 (the increase is a few hundred dollars). It i...

Review: The New Louis Vuitton Escale

Following the overhaul of the Tambour collection, Louis Vuitton's Escale is now revamped to serve as the brand's casual elegant dress watch.

Patek Philippe Calatrava Weekly Calendar Ref. 5212A: Patek’s First Production Steel Dress Watch in Decades

Patek Philippe surprised Joshua Munchow with the 2019 launch of the Weekly Calendar, a new dress watch in stainless steel and the brand's first steel-encased production model since the 1970s. The 5212A Calatrava Weekly Calendar is a mix of modern technology, classic style, and a couple of unique touches that help it stand out from Patek Philippe’s typical offerings, making it one of his favorite watches from the Genevan giant in quite a while.

Hands-On With The New Vulcain Skindiver Nautique GMT

Since Vulcain decided to focus more on models outside of its bread-and-butter alarm watches, we have seen an array of new models coming to the market. Primarily based on vintage timepieces, the new Vulcain models include chronographs, time-only watches, and divers. The last of those is an exciting line consisting of the Nautical Heritage alarm […] Visit Hands-On With The New Vulcain Skindiver Nautique GMT to read the full article.

Have modern Omega dress watches been slept on for far too long?

The Rolex 1908 launched with much fanfare, so why has the Omega De Ville Tresor been overlooked for years?The post Have modern Omega dress watches been slept on for far too long? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Hands-on – The Vuollé Kurimus, the First Watch of an Indie Watchmaking Duo

In May of this year, we introduced a young indie watchmaking duo from Finland – Jere-Juuso Vuorela and Nuutti Helala – and their inaugural timepiece, the Kurimus. Described by the creators as “a blend of different watch styles, a little bit of a dress watch, a touch of a field watch and even elements of […]

Walter Lange 100 Years: How the Lange 1 Became The Most Original and Modern Watch Ever Created

Buying Guide – 5 Accessible, Colourful and Robust Watches Ready for your Summer Trips

End of July, the sun is out, temperatures are rising and the sea is blue… This is the time of the year when a high-end dress watch doesn’t make much sense. Unless you’ll spend your holidays reading books in an air-conditioned library (no judgment, if that’s your thing), most of us will spend time next […]

Retrospective – What are The World’s Thinnest Watches Per Category?

Ultra-thin watchmaking is a fascinating topic, one of our favourite areas of expertise here, at MONOCHROME. Ultra-thin watchmaking is horology at its purest, a no-compromise search for the slenderest movement that has to be considered a true complication. While high-watchmaking often seeks to bring as many complications as possible in a single movement, ultra-thinness is […]

Fratello’s Top 5 Dress Watches Of The First Half Of 2024 - From Furlan Marri, Chopard, Parmigiani, And More

Another Friday, another list! This week, we continue our quest for the best watches released in the first half of 2024. It’s all about dress watches for this new list. Have the first six months of the year been great for people looking to add a new dress piece to their collections? We take a […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Dress Watches Of The First Half Of 2024 - From Furlan Marri, Chopard, Parmigiani, And More to read the full article.

Hands-On With The Excelsior Park EP 884-SI

Handling a time-only watch that bears the name Excelsior Park is odd. We are used to seeing that elongated bottom “E” stroke on chronographs almost exclusively. Yes, Excelsior Park had some time-only pieces in the past, but the bread and butter for the brand has always been chronos. Since its resurrection a few years ago, […] Visit Hands-On With The Excelsior Park EP 884-SI to read the full article.

First Look – Montblanc’s Deep Diver, The Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810

A deep dive watch from a brand with a name referring to Europe’s highest mountain, specialized in making high-end fountain pens…? Surprising, to say the least. Surely, there’s more to Montblanc than what I just described. Indeed, the brand has long been active in watchmaking, producing appealing dress watches and superb chronographs equipped with Minerva […]

Audemars Piguet Scales Down the Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked

Audemars Piguet (AP) first unveiled the Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked in 2016, in full-sized 41 mm format. It’s a technically interesting take on the brand’s signature luxury-sports watch. While it is a time-only watch, the skeletonised movement sports a pair of mirrored, superimposed balance wheels and hairsprings. Though already available in 37 mm with a sparkly “frosted” case or entirely gem-set, the 37 mm model wasn’t offered in the classic Royal Oak finish. Now the movement makes its debut in a compact 37 mm case in the traditional brushed-and-polished finish. It’s available in either pink or white gold with the open-worked movement colour-matched to the case metal. Initial thoughts  The Double Balance Wheel model is something of a halo model for the Royal Oak range. Though it is not complicated in the functional sense, it is equipped with an interesting feature that theoretically contributes to chronometry. Add to that the distinctive aesthetics of the skeletonised movement, and the result is a watch that is classical Royal Oak in design yet more sophisticated in technical terms. The original 41 mm model, however, was fairly large, and the angular form of the Royal Oak accentuated the size. The original 37 mm models were extravagant and perhaps too over-the-top for everyday wear. The new pair is easily more wearable and should appeal to a wider audience. The new models are each priced at US$98,100, which is comparable to the earlier versions...

Hands On: De Bethune DB28xs Purple Rain

Almost a dress watch done in sci-fi style, the most compact version of De Bethune’s trademark model gained a striking new look this year with the DB28xs Purple Rain. Clad entirely in purple – or more accurately, titanium heat treated to purple – the DB28xs Purple Rain is distinctive and striking because of its sheer colour. Though the colour is novel for De Bethune, the watch incorporates many of the brand’s signature design elements, including a “starry sky” dial and the DB2005 movement with a proprietary titanium and white gold balance wheel. Initial thoughts De Bethune didn’t invented flame-blued titanium, but the material has become something of the brand’s signature. It has been used extensively across its product line, arguably so much that it’s not as novel as it was. De Bethune later tried titanium heated to a bronze-gold finish, but that doesn’t have the vivid hue of blue. Titanium that’s been flamed to purple, however, is as vivid as blue. And the finish is still fairly unique, since it has only been applied to the DB28xs Purple Rain as well as a handful of one-off creations. As a result, while the Purple Rain is only a colour variation of an existing model, it is usually compelling because it is both different and striking. Because it’s essentially the same material as blued titanium, purple titanium will likely have the same durability. Like the blued finish, the purple is actually a thin oxide layer on the titanium that’s created by t...

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Guide

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is one of those historical, influential timepieces that has been occasionally imitated but never really equaled in its appeal. Tracing its origins back nearly a hundred years, It is the most prominent and enduring example of Art Deco design in the 21st Century watch world and one of the first and most successful examples of a tool watch that transcended its utilitarian origins to become a stylish and indisputably unisex fashion accessory. Read on to discover everything you need to know about the Reverso and how it has maintained its iconic status in a century of shifting trends and industry headwinds. Foundations: Jaeger Meets LeCoultre Antoine LeCoultre Today a watchmaking house renowned for both its high-luxury pedigree and a high-horology acumen nearly unmatched in the industry, Jaeger-LeCoultre had the humblest of beginnings. In 1833 Antoine LeCoultre (1803 - 1881), descendant of farmers and blacksmiths, started making timepieces in his family’s small barn in Le Sentier in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux. Learning metallurgy from his father at the family forge, LeCoultre developed an early interest in watchmaking and proved to be an influential innovator of his era. His so-called “millionomètre,” completed in 1844, had a profound impact on the precise manufacture of watch parts as it was the first instrument able to measure 1/1000ths of a millimeter, aka microns. At the 1851 Great Exhibition in London’s Hyde Park, LeCoultre was awa...

5 Watches To Start A Collection

Having a collection of watches isn’t generally something you plan on. It’s something that emerges over time, and it’s rarely a linear path. While it may seem natural to focus on finding the perfect watch or watches to fill out your watch box, the reality is that all watches have their faults, and the real key is learning which of those you can live with, and which you can’t. In time, some of those, let’s call them quirks, can even become endearing. With that in mind, instead of looking at watches that will begin a collection, let us take a look at watches that will end up lasting in your collection. Sure, they could start your collection, but they could just as easily end it, whether that collection consists of two watches, or 50.  With that, here are 5 watches that would kick off any collection with a bang, and that I feel would have a high likelihood of sticking around for the long term.  Disclaimer: these selections will lean a bit toward the tool watch end of the spectrum, as those are the watches that I find the most well-rounded and practical for my purposes. If you’re looking for some classier recommendations in the same vein, keep an eye out for a future installment.  Brew Metric The Brew Metric is a remarkably fun, simple watch that represents the sheer creativity happening in the small independent brand space. This is a great watch to start with for a few reasons. First, it can be had in a wide variety of colorways, which range from classic and de...

Pre-Owned Picks: A Classic Rolex Submariner, A Royal Oak Offshore, And A Seriously Lovely Dress Watch From Jaeger-LeCoultre

Plus, a titanium diver from Blancpain and a yacht-ready chronograph from IWC.

O.G. Deep Space: Classic Methods, Modern Aesthetic

At its core, the O.G. Deep Space is a very simple watch without any gimmicks masquerading as features, allowing it to be observed and appreciated for what it is, a solid time-only watch. It displays the hours and minutes on a supremely clean dial that lacks pomp or flourish, with just enough going on to create a strong first impression.

Hands-On With The New Furlan Marri Disco Volante - An Intricate Dress Watch With A Different Take On Vintage

After a successful three-watch collaborative effort last year, the guys from Furlan Marri are back, remaining true to their creative nature. Instead of riffing off their existing catalog, the new Furlan Marri Disco Volante genuinely surprised me. Small brands tend to find a stable recipe for success and stick to it. And this is true […] Visit Hands-On With The New Furlan Marri Disco Volante - An Intricate Dress Watch With A Different Take On Vintage to read the full article.

Just A Minute With The Paulin Modul

Let’s take just a minute with the Modul, Paulin’s bold and colorful time-only watch. The Modul is a collection of 35mm, modular constructed tonneau-shaped watches. The cases are rated to 50 meters of water resistance and use a boxed Hesalite crystal, giving them a vintage charm. Let’s take just a minute with the Modul, Paulin’s bold and colorful time-only watch. The Modul is a collection of 35mm, modular constructed tonneau-shaped watches. The cases are rated to 50 meters of water resistance and use a boxed Hesalite crystal, giving them a vintage charm. The post Just A Minute With The Paulin Modul appeared first on Worn & Wound.

Parmigiani Introduces the Tonda PF Automatic 36 mm for Ladies

Having just launched the Sunlit Ivory edition for its Singapore retailer, Parmigiani now unveils the Tonda PF Automatic 36 mm for ladies. Though it retains the same dimensions and details, including the hand-guilloché dial, the new Tonda PF is available with a variety of diamond settings. Three versions are being launched, including a top-of-the-line model with lines of diamonds along the entire circumference of the watch and bracelet. The entry-level model, on the other hand, is two-tone rose gold and steel with diamond indices. The two-tone Tonda PF Automatic 36mm on the wrist Initial thoughts Although the Tonda PF 36 mm is one of many integrated-bracelet sports watch, it has a bit more of dress watch element to its design, especially in this 36 mm size. It’s more compact without sacrificing the sporty aspect of the model, making it quite versatile – the fact that it’s a convincing ladies’ sports watch in this new livery confirms that. Priced from CHF31,900 to CHF78,900 depending on the version, the new Tonda PF 36 mm is similarly to the competition. With integrated-bracelet sports watches being premium priced in general – reflecting an earlier fad – Tonda PF is a value proposition compared to alternatives when considering fit, finish, and materials. That said, I wish it was priced more competitively considering that Parmigiani is a newish brand without a historical lineage of sports watches that the “Holy Trinity” brands possess. A familiar design The t...

Zenith Introduces the Defy Skyline Skeleton White Ceramic

A new livery for one of Zenith’s most popular models, the Defy Skyline Skeleton White Ceramic shares the styling of its siblings like the Defy Skyline 36 mm but with a few notable tweaks including a white ceramic case and blue-treated skeletonised movement. And though it appears to be a simple time-only watch, the Defy Skyline features a discreet complication in the form of a “lightning” small seconds hand that completes one rotation every ten seconds. Initial thoughts Zenith has recently been playing it safe with new launches by building on current bestsellers, like the Defy Skyline. The new skeleton in white ceramic is a good looking watch, and an excellent execution of one of Zenith’s modern-day classics. The combination is also novel. Although each key element of the watch is common in itself – a skeleton movement plus the white ceramic case and bracelet – they are relatively uncommon together. The Defy Skyline Skeleton on the wrist However, the Defy Skyline arguably tries too hard to capitalise on the recent (and waning) popularity of integrated-bracelet sports watches. It is not difficult to see a resemblance to the Royal Oak, in particular the one-off Royal Oak made for Only Watch 2023, making it a bit cliché. Priced at US$17,500, the Defy Skyline Skeleton in white ceramic is a decent value proposition compared to similar watches, most of which are from pricier brands like Hublot or Audemars Piguet. Besides the ceramic case and bracelet, it stands out ...