Hodinkee
The Dutch-born CEO of Swiss brand Frederique Constant talks value, pricing, volumes, success with women's watches, and the challenging U.S. market.
Monochrome
Gerald Charles is a name that traces back to the legendary Gérald Genta, widely regarded as one of the most influential modern watch designers. While his eponymous brand, Gerald Genta, was sold to Bulgari in 2000, Genta himself soon embarked on a new chapter, founding Gérald Charles as a more personal expression of his design philosophy. In 2011, […]
Hodinkee
A first for the brand (and the industry) in a lightweight and eye-catching model from Gerald Charles.
Revolution
Time+Tide
The Gerald Charles Masterlink Perpetual Calendar jumps straight to the top of its offering, combining a high complication with Darkblast®.The post Gerald Charles proudly shows off the shaped calibre of the new Masterlink Perpetual Calendar appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
Hands on review of the new Gerald Charles Masterlink Perpetual Calendar with video introduction by Frederico Ziviani, CEO of GC.
Fratello
Breitling launches three limited-edition Navitimer watches, and one, in particular, catches my interest. I like airplanes and flying, and I get excited whenever I first fly on a new airplane, like an Airbus A350. I can’t say flying aboard Concorde would be my biggest dream come true because I once flew - yes, actually flew […] Visit Breitling Launches The Navitimer Tribute To Concorde In Steel, A Perpetual Calendar In Steel And Platinum, And A Full-Platinum LE to read the full article.
Revolution
Fratello
The 150 Heritage pocket watch, the Neo Frame Jumping Hour, and the skeletonized Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar might have stolen most of the limelight when Audemars Piguet presented many novelties in January. Nevertheless, the pieces I was probably most curious to see and try on were a series of three tool watches. Well, these are […] Visit Hands-On With The Three New Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Diver Watches In Steel to read the full article.
Fratello
With Watches and Wonders inching closer, prediction season is in full swing. Watch enthusiasts everywhere are debating what the big brands might release this year. As always, most eyes are focused on Rolex, so some of the Fratello team opened Nano Banana and generated the Rolex releases we expect to see. These are Fratello’s Rolex […] Visit Fratello’s Rolex Predictions For 2026: Coke GMT Revival, Milgauss Comeback, And A Possible Perpetual Calendar? to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
As Watches & Wonders approaches, I find myself thinking back to last year’s fair and the various high and lowlights from that crop of releases. I’ve commented before about a pretty big highlight of last year’s show being Parmigiani Fleurier’s output, particularly their very strong Toric perpetual calendar. This is one of those watches that I rarely go a week without thinking about, like the woman in the white dress that Bernstein remembers from the ferry in Citizen Kane. Anyway, Parmigiani is always a fun meeting at Watches & Wonders and my expectations are high after last year. In what I imagine will be their last release before the show next month, the brand has just introduced a new pink colorway to the Tonda PF line in 36mm. I’m not sure if we can consider this a preview of things to come (honestly, we probably can’t) but it’s a strong release nonetheless further bolsters the Tonda PF platform as an important player in the integrated bracelet sports watch landscape. The new Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Alta Rosa brings a lighter dial color to the steel version of the 36mm Tonda PF for the first time – previously this watch had been available in blue and two shades of gray. Pink dials of course are often associated with watches targeted toward a female clientele, but hopefully the greater watch collecting community has moved beyond these types of prohibitive norms around gender and watch preferences. This is a really attractive color that can be worn by a...
SJX Watches
Each year I find it surprisingly difficult to crystalise what I want to see from Watches & Wonders – perhaps I find it hard to hope for things I know will never come. Sometimes dreams aren’t logistically possible. For example, a compact Spring Drive chronograph probably isn’t reasonable given Grand Seiko already has its hands full scaling production of another new Spring Drive movement. At other times, imagination is bound by brand strategy: Cartier could easily steal the show with a quartz Crash Must priced along the same lines as a Tank Must – but never will. But I believe that the following watches, which I’d like to see from Patek Philippe, Grand Seiko and Credor, and Tudor are plausible enough to hope for. The following images were created without the use of generative AI. Patek Philippe In 2023, Patek Philippe launched the ref. 5316/50P, a minute repeating tourbillon with retrograde perpetual calendar and smoked sapphire dial. It remains among the brand’s best complicated offerings, other than the ref. 6301p, at least in my view. Last year Patek Philippe followed up with the ref. 6159G, which featured a smoked sapphire dial and the same perpetual calendar on a more pedestrian base movement. But if there is one reference more deserving of the smoked sapphire treatment than any other, it is the ref. 5236p in-line perpetual calendar, as imagined below in platinum. In 2021, Patek Philippe revived the historic in-line perpetual calendar, which is strongly asso...
Monochrome
In just six years, H. Moser & Cie.’s fluid Streamliner luxury sports watch collection with integrated bracelets has grown exponentially. An indication of the roadmap Moser envisioned for the Streamliner, the first model of 2020 featured a sophisticated flyback chronograph. Now home to models ranging from central seconds to perpetual calendars and from small seconds […]
SJX Watches
Recorded shortly after Brandon’s return from Audemars Piguet’s launch event in Switzerland, Episode 28 of the SJX Podcast provides analysis of all the brand’s new releases, including the Neo Frame Jumping Hour, the 150 Heritage pocket watch, the upgraded Royal Oak Chronograph 38 mm and its new in-house movement, and the latest open-worked perpetual calendar, which works equally well in Code 11.59 and Royal Oak guise. The conversation also touches on the internal reorganisation at AP that saw the creation of a multi-disciplinary fabrication laboratory dubbed the ‘Fab Lab.’ Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
SJX Watches
One of the longest tenured models in the Audemars Piguet (AP) catalogue, the Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph 38 mm has been upgraded with a new manufacture calibre and sapphire case back for the first time, while only slightly tweaking the iconic design and price tag. Inside the new ref. 26450 is the cal. 6401 that incorporates with welcome quality-of-life improvements such as a longer power reserve, higher beat rate, and instantaneous date. The new movement accomplishes all of this without significant tradeoffs in size, but it arguably falls somewhat short in aesthetics. Minor shortcomings aside, the modestly sized Royal Oak Chronograph is a strong offering that enters the field at the top of its class. Initial thoughts In the same fashion as last year’s updated Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, the new 38 mm Royal Oak Chronograph takes an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, step forward, being essentially the same watch, only better. AP clearly knows better than to mess with a winning formula, but the brand also faced challenges, both in manufacturing and customer experience, that came with a nearly four-decade-old movement platform, sourced from Swatch Group no less. The changes are slight, even insignificant at first glance, but are the sort things that come to be appreciated with long-term ownership, especially within a smaller collection where increases in power reserve and performance are most noticeable. It even looks slightly better – the dial is less cram...
SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet (AP) has updated the coveted Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked, which makes its debut on the next-generation perpetual calendar platform that debuted last year. The new calibre allows for individual adjustment of each calendar indication using just the crown – no stylus (or toothpick) necessary. The first outing for the skeletonised version of this class-leading perpetual calendar is in titanium, with mirror polished accents in scratch-resistant Palladium BMG and pops of rose gold on the dial and case back, though more colourways are sure to come in due time. Initial thoughts The latest generation of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar is arguably AP’s strongest product. It is heir to the archetypal integrated bracelet perpetual calendar sports watch, which, until recently, was held back to some extent by what had become a dated movement. In fairness, the same can be said of its obvious competitors from Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. That changed in 2025 when the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar was upgraded with the AP’s latest perpetual calendar movement, a significant release befitting the brand’s 150th anniversary year. The calibre 7138 introduced individual correction of the date, day, month, and moon phase using only the crown, allowing for quick adjustment without tools and with greater flexibility, and support for more indications, than existing solutions. And while we already understood the movement’s clever functionality, it rema...
Monochrome
Perpetual calendars are, without a doubt, an integral part of Audemars Piguet’s history, and the Royal Oak has carried its strand very convincingly since 1984. With the introduction of the Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Openworked powered by the new Calibre 7139, AP signals a clear generational shift. Released alongside a Code 11.59 counterpart, which […]
SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet (AP) debuts a trio of new perpetuals calendars, led by the first open-worked version of brand’s cutting edge perpetual calendar launched last year with the skeleton cal. 7139 inside the Code 11.59 and Royal Oak. And rounding out the trio is the first all-ceramic Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar powered by the cal. 7138. Initial Thoughts The open-worked version of AP’s latest-generation perpetual calendar movement arguably does most justice to a clever movement that is one of the most notable such movements on the market. While there was little visual difference between solid-dial versions of AP’s new perpetual calendars and the preceding versions, the open-worked examples are less similar, at least up close, as the perpetual calendar works are so clearly different. The new open-work dial givers owners a look at what is going on under the hood as they adjust the calendar, which I see as a significant value add given the unusual and innovative mechanics. While AP could have been more daring, the last year’s crop of Royal Oak Perpetuals were good looking watches. The new pair, in both Code 11.59 and Royal Oak formats, look nearly identical from an arms length to their predecessors. The open-worked models are mostly monochrome, the Code 11:59 is rhodium-plated white gold with a black ceramic mid-case while the Royal Oak is titanium with polished Palladium 500 bulk-metallic glass (BMG) accents and rose gold dial furniture. Neither break new ground for the b...
Hodinkee
The new openworked Caliber 7139 debuts in a Code 11.59 and Royal Oak, while the non-openworked Royal Oak gets an attractive new edition in blue ceramic.
Monochrome
A perpetual calendar is a complication very much dear to Audemars Piguet. Since the mid-20th century, the manufacture in Le Brassus has offered many variations on how this “celestial” mechanism could be presented, displayed and used. From the world’s first leap-year perpetual calendar wristwatch in 1955, to the ultra-thin automatic QPs of the late 1970s, […]
Monochrome
Audemars Piguet continues to refine one of its most emblematic complications with the launch of a new Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar in 41mm, entirely crafted in “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” ceramic. More than a new colourway, this release brings together two of the Manufacture’s most significant recent developments: the darker, historically rooted blue ceramic […]
Fratello
Last year, Audemars Piguet introduced the revolutionary in-house caliber 7138. The movement introduced a completely new, user-friendly way to operate the perpetual calendar functions. It also lets users adjust the calendar forward and backward, which is a huge plus if they mistakenly set it too far ahead. After the release of last year’s Royal Oak […] Visit Introducing: The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Openworked to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Vacheron Constantin’s latest Overseas Tourbillon pairs a titanium case with a deep red dial, recalling last year’s perpetual calendar, showcasing the cal. 2160 with peripheral rotor, refined finishing, and a slow beating one minute tourbillon. It represents the finest of industrial fine watchmaking with high-end construction inside and out. Initial Thoughts Last August Vacheron Constantin launched a pair of new Overseas Perpetual Calendars, one in burgundy and the other pink-on-pink. I felt the “deep red” dial – as Vacheron Constantin calls it – works particularly well against the white gold case, and the light blue accents were a nice touch. Nothing has changed on that front, the colour pallette looks just as good now as it did then, but is now lighter, thanks to the titanium case, and equipped more impressive movement. While the Overseas Perpetual’s movement somewhat lags behind its competition, the Overseas Tourbillon has a more competitive calibre, which holds its own against the Royal Oak Tourbillons, and wins by default against the non-existent Nautilus Tourbillon. That said, it is hardly a value within its segment, with estimated pricing comparable to Audemars Piguet’s blue-chip Royal Oak Tourbillons, though that is more than fair when you put aside brand caché and focus purely on the product. Case and Bracelet The Overseas case is well made and well finished by any standard, though not quite as complex as its counterparts from Audemars Piguet and P...
Fratello
At the beginning of every year, Audemars Piguet graces us with a series of novelties. Last year was a big one for Audemars Piguet, with the unveiling of some brilliant new releases to mark its 150th anniversary. Among them were the new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar and the Royal Oak Chronograph. These two watches introduced […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Favorite Recent Audemars Piguet Releases to read the full article.
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