Hodinkee
HODINKEE Radio: The Patek Philippe Calatrava Episode With Ben And Rich
Getting nerdy about the Patek Calatrava – its history, our favorites, and some overlooked references.
Dress Watches · Page 35
Hodinkee
Fratello
Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119G Vs. 5212A - Two Entryways Into The World Of Contemporary Patek Philippe
There is so much to say about Patek Philippe, arguably the most significant and venerable watchmaker in high-end Swiss watchmaking. The brand certainly displays a mastery of complications. Perhaps even more relevant to today’s watch industry, Patek Philippe also expertly balances tradition with modernity. While the brand is famous for creating traditional, subdued, understated luxury, […] Visit Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119G Vs. 5212A - Two Entryways Into The World Of Contemporary Patek Philippe to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Grand Seiko Unveils the Spring Drive GMT SBGE307 “Tokyo Lion”
Following last year’s SBGA481, Grand Seiko continues to expand the Sport Collection “Tokyo Lion” series inspired by the big cat in the Grand Seiko emblem. Like its predecessor, the Sport Spring Drive GMT SBGE307 “Tokyo Lion” sports a stylised, angular titanium case inspired by a lion’s paw and a textured dial modelled on a mane, now joined by a red GMT hand. Initial thoughts The “Tokyo Lion” is one of the most distinctive case designs in Grand Seiko’s large catalogue, and also the flagship given its complex finishing (and accompanying price). While most Grand Seiko watches opt for patterned dials and conservative, even bland, case styles, the “Tokyo Lion” makes a statement with its is generous dimensions and angular styling. The design is also particularly suited to Grand Seiko’s signature flat-polishing technique. With their wide, flat surfaces, the claw-inspired lugs are an excellent medium to showcase zaratsu polishing. It is, however, a large case at almost 45 mm wide and 15 mm high, so it’s catered to someone seeking a bold sports watch, and not an old-school Grand Seiko dress watch. The texture of the dial is striking, even though Grand Seiko has no shortage of dial patterns in its offerings. The dial artfully mimics a lion’s mane, giving it more visual depth than the typical Grand Seiko dial. Though few, the red accents on the dial add just enough colour and complement the ivory dial well. The dial might have been slightly dull without th...
Hodinkee
This Week In The Shop: Styling Summer Straps With Pre-Owned Watch Favorites
From the Rolex Air-King himself to a modern icon from Breitling and the ultimate dress watch from Patek Philippe.
Fratello
Alternative Rectangular Cool - Five Great Options From Hermès, Oris, Timex, And More
Cartier’s resurgence is massive, with the brand riding a Kanagawa-sized wave of sales and praise. And yes, along with the Tank, we also love the JLC Reverso and its flippable charms. But what if your budget is a lot less or you simply don’t love those watches’ looks? Trust us, for your wrist, there’s a […] Visit Alternative Rectangular Cool - Five Great Options From Hermès, Oris, Timex, And More to read the full article.
Monochrome
First Look – The new Baltic MR Roulette Collection, Bringing Vintage Calatrava Vibes
Founded in 2017 by Etienne Malec and friends, Baltic continues its rapid expansion to the point of not being able to use the term micro-brand anymore… Now an established watch brand with a comprehensive collection, ranging from racing chronographs to dive watches and adventure-themed models, Baltic also ventured into the world of dress watches with […]
Worn & Wound
Baltic Adds New Watches to their Micro-Rotor Collection
Three years after the debut of the MR01, Baltic has updated their popular micro-rotor movement powered dress watch line in a big way. The new MR Roulette collection, which debuts today, offers a new take on the platform with a slightly more casual, sector dial inspired layout. Coming on the heels of the Prismic collection, a series of watches that drew intense reactions in all directions, the MR Roulette feels like a return to the aesthetic that made Baltic the brand they are today, with modest vintage cues, a mixing of textures, and an enticing price point. The MR Roulette is built on the same foundation of previous micro-rotor powered watches in Baltic’s catalog. It has a 36mm steel case with a flat, vertically brushed bezel and lugs that are brushed in a complementary circular pattern. The case is accented with tasteful polishing on the bezel wall, and measures an easy to wear 44mm from lug to lug. If you’ve ever tried on the original MR01, you know that this case truly wears like a vintage watch, not only its proportions, but it has a light and airy quality to it as well. It measures just 9.9mm tall, but feels thinner because nearly 2mm of that height is taken up by the domed hesalite crystal. The new dials are available in salmon, silver, blue, and black variants. All but the black feature a grained background paired with two brushed sectors: an interior track for the hours, and an exterior track for the minutes. The running seconds subdial is off-center, cove...
![[VIDEO] Hands-On: the Anoma A1](https://wornandwound.com/library/uploads/2024/06/ANOMA_A1_9.jpg)
Worn & Wound
[VIDEO] Hands-On: the Anoma A1
The age of the circular watch has ended. The mid-century divers, chronographs, and Calatravas are out. Ok, not really, but it looks like shaped, asymmetric, and sculptural watches are the next coming trend. Kicking this new era off have been a few releases ranging from the high-end and exclusive by Berneron to the mid-tier and provocative by Toledano + Chan to the relatively accessible yet exotic Anoma, whose first watch I’ve had the chance to spend some time with. On June 6th, 2024, Anoma Watches launched the A1, an asymmetrical, triangular-shaped watch with an appealing, soft look. Like a weathered pebble of polished steel, the A1 mixes a sense of mid-century watch and industrial design with a modern sensibility, preventing it from feeling like a pastiche recreation. Well-sized at around 38mm and with a vibrant blue dial with a green tint, it’s a memorable launch from a new brand. In the video below, I discuss the brand, the context of the A1’s launch, the design, and what it’s like to wear it. As this is the only shaped watch I’ve ever worn for any period, it was an interesting experience. At first, it was a bit jarring, perhaps, but its quirky charm won me over. With collectors, new and old, having more choices and easier access to watches than ever, brands need to offer something that will stand out yet not be just a novelty. With the A1, Anoma has achieved this, at least in my opinion. Priced at £1,300, or about $1,650 USD, the Anoma A1 is available for pr...
![A Closer Look At The New Louis Vuitton Escale Automatic [Video]](https://www.fratellowatches.com/cdn-cgi/image/anim=false/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Louis-Vuitton-Escale-6.jpg)
Fratello
A Closer Look At The New Louis Vuitton Escale Automatic [Video]
We recently introduced the new Louis Vuitton Escale Automatic collection here. It’s a collection of time-only Escale watches that use Louis Vuitton’s LFT023 movement. In this video, RJ discusses the Louis Vuitton Escale rose gold models in detail. Louis Vuitton Escale Automatic This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Escale collection. Louis Vuitton showed […] Visit A Closer Look At The New Louis Vuitton Escale Automatic [Video] to read the full article.
Deployant
Six of the most impressive dress watches for 2024
This week, we take a look at the dress watches. And our focus is on those released to date in 2024. Here are our picks for the six most impressive.
Quill & Pad
Why I Bought It: Jaeger-LeCoultre Tribute To Reverso 1931
Over the 20-odd years that GaryG has been buying “serious” watches, he has purchased more pieces bearing the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand name than any other, by far. Within the Jaeger-LeCoultre pantheon, one watch sub-group stands out for him: the Reverso. Between his wife and he, they've bought a total of seven Reverso models. Given that, why add another? In this instance, the Reverso Tribute to 1931?
Worn & Wound
Great Summer Deals – Including 25%Off Starts Now!
School is out, and the sun is shining. So get your summer right with our Summer Sale event. For a limited time only, we’re offering up to 25% off some of our most popular watches, clocks, accessories, straps, and EDC items. You’ll even find a few items we very rarely discount on the site. School is out, and the sun is shining. So get your summer right with our Summer Sale event. For a limited time only, we’re offering up to 25% off some of our most popular watches, clocks, accessories, straps, and EDC items. You’ll even find a few items we very rarely discount on the site. The post Great Summer Deals – Including 25%Off Starts Now! appeared first on Worn & Wound.
Monochrome
Introducing – The New and Superb Voutilainen KV20i Reversed
Five years ago, Kari Vouitilainen‘s atelier unveiled an exciting evolution of the brand’s signature time-only Vingt-8 series, the Voutilainen 28TI model with an inverted calibre. The 28TI (Titanium Inverse) watch, with its sumptuous detailing and delicate decoration, brought to the fore movement components that were previously visible through the sapphire caseback, allowing an impressive display […]
Hodinkee
Hands-On: The Ming 37.08 'Starlight' With Aventurine Dial
The brand's time-only line gets a new, relatively affordable take on a captivating dial.
Monochrome
Introducing – The Full-Lumed Ressence TYPE 5 L Dive Watch
You thought all dive watches were the same round watch topped by a unidirectional bezel with a classic time-only display over a black dial, right? Well, Benoi?t Mintiens from Ressence is here to prove you wrong. Not all dive watches need to look like a Submariner or a Seamaster. Not all dive watches need to […]
Fratello
Hands-On With The New Circula ProFlight Blue
Diver’s, field, and pilot’s watches are among the most popular variations in the time-only-watch universe. While Circula already covered the first two, now with the ProFlight, it also ticks the last box. Although unmistakably derived from Circula’s ProTrail, this ProFlight model immediately impresses with its modern pilot’s watch face. It’s probably thanks to a quirky, […] Visit Hands-On With The New Circula ProFlight Blue to read the full article.
Quill & Pad
Pastorale II by Chinese Independent Watchmaker Qin Gan: the Epitome of a Modern Dress Watch
Independent Chinese watchmaker Qin Gan has over thirty years of experience in antique watch restorations and has crafted numerous prototype watches with complex features such as flyback, tourbillon, automaton, and repeater mechanisms. He now launches his second model under his own brand, the sublime Pastorale II.
Hodinkee
Pre-Owned Picks: A Pro-Spec Rolex Diver, A Tudor Black Bay 54, And A White Gold Lange 1
Plus, a cutting-edge and impressively thin offering from Bulgari along with a lovely and classic Carrera from Tag Heuer.
SJX Watches
A Traditional Porcelain Dial for the Seiko Presage SPB445
Seiko’s Presage Craftsmanship Series is all about dials finished with traditional artisanal techniques from urushi lacquer to enamel matched with affordable price tags. That continues with the Presage Craftsmanship Arita Porcelain Dial SPB445, a time-only watch with a 24-hour indicator. Initial thoughts The Presage Craftsmanship models in general are easy to like because they have classic styling, affordable prices, and unusually fancy dials for the price point. The SPB445 is exactly that, but visibly improved over earlier generations of the model. The dial is a little bit more elaborate with a recessed sector that delineates the chapter ring for the hours, while the case has been reworked to be more refined in terms of style. It’s still a fairly thick watch relative to the design at 12.5 mm high, but the new case helps with that. The only thing I would change is the 24-hour indicator, which isn’t really useful and interrupts the clean layout of the dial. At US$1,900, the new Presage is priced almost identically to the equivalent model from four years ago – despite the upgrades – and remains a good value proposition. An affordable artisanal watch The dial in the SPB445 is a bright, nearly-pure white porcelain with a clear glaze layer on top that is known as hakuji. Seiko once again turned to Shingama Kiln, a porcelain maker established in 1830 that’s still run by the founding family. Located in Arita, a town on Kyushu historically known for its fine porcelain,...
SJX Watches
Hands On: Louis Vuitton Escale Métiers d’Art “Cabinet Of Wonders”
The recent debut of the Escale Time-Only was actually the second instalment of the design’s revival. Earlier this year, Louis Vuitton presented the Escale Métiers d’Art “Cabinet Of Wonders”, also time-only but with exceptionally elaborate dials decorated in a variety of artisanal crafts – all executed in-house at La Fabrique du Temps (LFT), the brand’s Geneva manufacture. The “cabinet” is a trio of watches with dials featuring Asian motifs inspired by a collection of tsuba, or Japanese sword guards, owned by Gaston-Louis Vuitton, the grandson of Louis Vuitton. Ranging from enamelling to marquetry to hammering, the dial decoration is intricate and three-dimensional. From left: Koi’s Garden, Dragon’s Cloud, and Snake’s Jungle Initial thoughts Like the Voyager Flying Tourbillon Plique-à-Jour, the Cabinet of Wonders is a tangible realisation of LFT’s swift buildup of an in-house métiers d’art workshop that encompasses enamelling, engraving, and guilloche. The métiers d’art workshop is just one facet of Louis Vuitton’s ambitious, wide-ranging development of its watchmaking division, a project that is still a work in progress but advancing at a pace rapid enough that it will go far quickly. The dials are lavish, complex, and finely executed. Although they are each decorated with a variety of techniques, the different textures, colours, and styles complement each other perfectly. The quality of the work is comparable to that of Van Cleef & Arpe...
Monochrome
First Look – The Retter Mistral, An Accessible Thin Dress Watch with Style
Retter isn’t a brand that many are familiar with as its first watch launched only a couple of years ago, the 22 Automatic. It was a solid first effort with the always popular integrated sports watch aesthetic, but the follow-up Mistral is a more mature and elegant dress watch, with a truly ultra-thin case (a […]
Worn & Wound
De Bethune Launches Two New DB Eight References
A little over a year on from the release of the DB Eight, De Bethune is following up the mono-usher chronograph with two new variants, each in gold, and each of which offers a welcome look back at the early days of the brand. De Bethune is a brand well-versed in the avant-garde. The name alone tends to conjure images of remarkably blue tourbillons with spring-loaded lugs, and other sci-fi-esque watches. In the last few years, De Bethune has become well known for pushing the boundaries of watchmaking in both a technical and aesthetic sense - they even sent a watch to (near) space on the wrist of Michael Strahan. If you’re only familiar with De Bethune thanks to watches like the DB28 Kind of Blue Tourbillon or the DB28GS Yellow Submarine, looking back at the early days of De Bethune might come with a bit of a surprise. Early De Bethunes stood out not because of any outrageous architecture or wild case finishing, but rather thanks to a refined - and very traditional - look, backed up by the technical prowess of Denis Flageollet, the brand’s founder. The DB8 was one of these early, very traditional watches. Though still identifiable as a De Bethune thanks to its bullet lugs and three-part case, the DB8 was (in most senses) a very traditional take on the concept of a mono-pusher chronograph dress watch. The new DB Eight is a fitting follow up to that watch, holding on to much of the original’s concept and charm, but with each and every detail refined and update...
Hodinkee
Pre-Owned Picks: A Yacht-Ready Rolex, A Ceramic Black Bay, And An Uncommon Take On A White Dial Royal Oak
Plus a classic dress watch from Patek and a gorgeous time-only option from Grand Seiko.
SJX Watches
Louis Vuitton Returns to the Escale Wristwatch
Louis Vuitton is steadily rebuilding its watch collecting, reorienting the offerings towards more designs with thoughtful details and decoration. Having already redesigned the Tambour, the brand now debuts the Escale Time-Only Automatic. Returning to a case design that’s been in the Louis Vuitton catalogue for well over the decade, the new Escale is a no-frills three-hander with discreet references to the brand’s trunks incorporated into the aesthetic. Initial thoughts I’ve long been a fan of the Escale case – we covered the Escale Worldtime over a decade ago – because it is simple, distinctive, and wears well. The signature Escale models in the past, however, were world time models with extravagantly multicoloured dials. The aesthetic was typical, over-the-top Louis Vuitton. I liked them, a lot in fact, but they were not for everyone, and certainly not easily legible. The new Escale, on the other hand, is a practical watch that is legible but thoughtfully designed with discreet details that evoke Louis Vuitton’s trunks. It retains the same case but with a discreet, three-hand dial. Extravagant it is not, but it has wider appeal. Inside is the same LFT023 found in the Tambour, so movement-wise it has the same strengths and weaknesses. The movement is thin and attractively styled, but could do with more refined details, like the regulator index for instance. Though not perfect (or entirely in-house), the LFT023 compares well against the ETA 2892 found in the ori...