Two Broke Watch Snobs
The FOIS is attainable, wearable, and relatively affordable when compared to the limited editions of the Speedmaster Professional and other Swiss mechanical chronographs like the Rolex Daytona, Zenith El Primero, and Breitling Navitimer.
Revolution
We’ve partnered up with UNDONE to create the 300-piece limited edition Tropical Dial Type XX, with USD50 from the sale of each watch committed towards the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride 2020 charity fund.
Revolution
Revolution and custom watch brand UNDONE collaborate to release this cool limited-edition watch, and, even better, a part of the sales proceeds will go towards causes supported by the DGR.
WatchAdvice
INTRODUCTION: Born from a friendship between Louis Cartier and his pilot pal – Brazlian Aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont – the Cartier Santos was created as a tool to help Alberto tell the time when flying. In the century or so since, Cartier’s Santos has been at the forefront of the brands watch collection, widely loved for its timeless design and icon status. In more recent years, Cartier’s watch department has been hard at work updating and refining their watch offering, collecting heaps of praise along the way. Earlier this year, the brand released a trio (the Santos-Dumont “Le Brésil,” “La Baladeuse,” and “No. 14 Bis” Limited Editions) of Large size limited editions during Watches & Wonders 2020. Each of these three watches feature Cartier’s in-house and hand-wound movement, a 430 MC. They’re also made from a combination of different metals with a dial to match, and were made in different quantities. Each of the trio is named after one of Alberto Santos-Dumont’s famous aircraft, which is featured on the caseback, alongside a corresponding motif engraving. Today, we’re taking a closer look at the No. 14 Bis Limited Edition, named after a biplane designed and built by Alberto Santos-Dumont, which made the first ‘publicly witnessed’ manned powered flight way back in 1906. The 14-Bis was also known as ‘Oiseau de proie’, French for ‘bird of prey’. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I was blown away by my instantaneous affection for the Santo...
SJX Watches
While best known for its mechanical aviator’s chronographs, Breitling has a diverse history of quartz watches for professionals, most notably the multi-function Aerospace and the Emergency with a built-in distress beacon. The latest in Breitling’s range of quartz instrument watches is the sporty and casual Endurance Pro. The quintet of watches share the same black dial and carbon composite case, but with the dial flange and strap in five bold colours. While the colours are fun, the utility of the watch is taken care of with a chronograph and bidirectional rotating bezel that can be used as a solar compass. Initial thoughts As a sports watch, the Endurance Pro gets many elements right. For one, it is notably lightweight despite its large size. The case is made of Breitlight, an proprietary carbon composite – carbon fibres within a polymer – that is three times lighter than titanium, making it unobtrusive on the wrist. Second, while mechanical movements have more appeal for enthusiasts, a quartz calibre more practical for a sports watch. Compared with a balance wheel, a quartz oscillator is less susceptible to external influences such as shock, magnetism, and orientation. And a quartz sports watch is convenient, it can be picked up and worn right away, with no winding or adjustment necessary. Even though the Endurance Pro is the most affordable quartz watch made by Breitling (and also its lowest-priced men’s watch), the price tag is still US$3,000, which is exp...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Well eat your heart out, you picky sons of bitches. Sinn was listening. Let's check out the Sinn EZM 3F.
Hodinkee
A German classic gets an update from Fortis.
WatchAdvice
Since its introduction to market in 1952, the Breitling Navitimer has been a hallmark of not only Breitling as a brand, but the luxury watch industry at large. When one thinks of pilots watches, the Breitling Navitimer is principal amongst those thoughts. Traditionally the Navitimer is a large, bold timepiece, designed for not only legibility but practicality. It is the principal purpose of the Navitimer that it be practical in almost any aviation endeavour. To achieve its purpose, Breitling equipped the Navitimer with its signature slide rule bezel. The slide rule bezel is the watches bi-directional rotating bezel, traditionally adorned with a number of mathematical conversion scales which, when used in conjunction with the watches other signature function, a chronograph, is able to decipher a variety of equations useful to Pilots prior to electronic monitoring devices becoming commonplace in cockpits. So when Breitling launched the paired down Navitimer 35 as part of their ground-breaking digital launch earlier in 2020, it would be fair to say that the new chronograph-less timepiece left me with some reservations. Firstly, the elephant in the room, this is the first ever 35mm mechanical Navitimer that the brand has launched. It shows the brands commitment to trimming the diameter of its timepieces, and its push into smaller wristed markets. This may seem like a good thing in a vacuum, however, instead of leaning into the size down, Breitling market the Navitimer 35 a...
Hodinkee
Five video stories from HODINKEE readers.
Hodinkee
Five video stories from HODINKEE readers.
SJX Watches
One of the details in the recent IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Edition Black Carbon that appealed to IWC collectors was the revival of the “fish” crown – an emblem used by the brand from the 1950s to the mid-2000s to indicate a water-resistant watch. In fact, the fish logo is significant enough that it is found not only on the crown of the new Big Pilot, but also in relief on the case back (pictured above). Fondly remembered by enthusiasts, the discreet “fish” was eventually replaced by the more brand-centric “Probus Scafusia” emblem, one of the official IWC logos. Behind the comeback of the “fish” is a little-known and rather amusing trademark battle that took place in Swiss courts and was reported on last year by FPC Review, a blog specialising in Swiss patent issues. The IWC fish logo was first registered by Richemont on July 22, 2016, but the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE, or sometimes by its French acronym IPI) rejected the registration due to the logo’s resemblance to the ichthys, a fish-like symbol with used in Christianity. The court reasoned that “the commercial use of the sign is likely to violate the religious sentiment of an average Christian”. Ichthys – derived from ιχθυς, which is Greek for “fish” – is an acrostic that spells out “Iesous Christos, Theou Yios, Soter”, or “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour”. Early Christians in the second and third century AD used the ichthys, essentially a two-...
SJX Watches
One of Longines’ longest-lived vintage remakes, the Type A-7 was inspired by a 1930s aviator’s chronograph made for the US Army Air Corps. Having been offered with a white dial, and also a bronze-case limited edition, the Avigation Watch Type A-7 1935 now makes its debut in a guise closest to the vintage original. Initial thoughts The earlier version of the Type A-7 was already a likeable watch. Affordably priced and well designed, the Type A-7 managed to much convey the look of the original without being a one-for-one remake. And in contrast to the first-generation remake that was 49 mm in diameter – essentially the same size as the vintage original – the Type A-7 was a wearable 41 mm. But the faux-vintage “lume” was a bit much, and the white lacquer finish of the dial took away some of the military-instrument aesthetic. The Type A-7 with a white dial that was introduced in 2016 The new Type A-7 remedies all of that with a black dial and less-pronounced colour for the Super-Luminova. Though it still has a date window that gets in the way of the design, the new Type A-7 still works well and remains a strong value buy. As an aside, Longines did make a similar-looking, limited edition Type A-7 for the American market two years ago that did away with the date display. Off the vertical The vintage original had a dial rotated 40 degrees from the vertical, in order to allow pilots to read the time or operate the chronograph without taking their hands off the control ...
Quill & Pad
The majority of today's numerous flieger-style watches are inspired by the now-iconic German pilot’s and navigator's watches of World War II, becoming a genre unto themselves. Bhanu Chopra flies high to take a deep dive into the long history of this popular style.
Revolution
Ross Povey tracks the lineage of Rolex’s most regal Oyster, the Air King, and discovers its reign has been nothing short of remarkable.
Revolution
Bell & Ross CEO, Carlo Rosillo tells us all about the new BR 03-92 Diver Full Lume.
Deployant
In addition to the Superman Heritage 63, Yema also announced a new Flygraph Pilot watches with two dial options - in matte black and matte grey.
Hodinkee
G-IRTY says goodbye with a spiffy Spitfire tribute watch.
Revolution
Revolution takes a brief look at the Type 20 chronograph’s rich history and brings you a great offering for a modern Type 20 at an unbeatable price point.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
This week we're returning to our most beloved segment here at TBWS. That's right - it's the one that started it all: Affordable Vintage Watches. This episode we're breaking down our picks for Affordable Vintage Pilot Watches.
Time+Tide
The IWC Big Pilot collection is a pillar of the brand for a reason. The design is iconic and has remained unchanged for the best part of a century, the wrist presence is almost unparalleled, and the double-barrelled power reserve means you can take it off for a week without needing to reset the time. … ContinuedThe post BATTLE ROYALE: The T+T Team list their favourite ever IWC Big Pilot references appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Unveiled just last year, the Bell & Ross BR 05 was yet another luxury-sports watch with an integrated bracelets, but priced more affordably than the average. The flagship model of the line up was the BR 05 Skeleton, an urban and contemporary open-worked watch that’s just been given a new look. The BR 05 Skeleton Blue is essentially the same as last year’s model, but facelifted with a blue-tinted sapphire dial that gives it a punchier look. Initial thoughts The BR 05 is one of my favourites from Bell & Ross. The design blends the key elements of the brand’s flagship military-aviation watches like the BR 01 and BR 03, and incorporates them into a case that is modern and sharp, giving it arguably greater mainstream appeal than the military-inspired pilot’s watches. While the BR 01 and BR 03 are undoubtedly icons, their tool-like appearance and large case – 46 mm and 42 mm respectively – definitely dissuade some. On the other hand, the BR 05 is much more manageable on the wrist at 40 mm wide and 10.4 mm in height. Though it’s smaller than the BR 01 and BR 03, the case is architectural in form, and features myriad textures – polished and satin-brushed surfaces, often separated by polished bevels. The result is a smallish but appealing case that manages to look three-dimensional. I feel that the BR 05 Skeleton works better as a whole, compared to its solid-dial counterparts. The open-worked movement enhances the visual depth of the watch. While the blue-tinte...
Deployant
Bell & Ross extends the BR 03 square instrument line of watches with the new BR 03-92 HUD, with a dial style modeled after the Heads Up Display in aircraft.
Revolution
Bell & Ross adds a futuristic model to its classic square case collection.
SJX Watches
In a smart bit of irony, the latest aviation-instrument edition from Bell & Ross – the BR 03-92 HUD – is a mechanical replica of the electronic heads-up display (HUD) in fighter jets, reproducing the green and black screen from the cockpit with sapphire crystal and Super-Luminova. The BR 03-92 HUD follows on other instrument panel-inspired BR 03 watches, including the BR 01-92 Red Radar of 2011, which was probably the cleverest of the editions, until new HUD. Initial thoughts In its initial years, Bell & Ross (B&R) took the military-instrument aspect of the BR series pretty seriously, and the watches were largely no-nonsense pilot’s watches. But starting a couple of years ago the designs have gotten more lighthearted – from full “lume” to skulls – which conversely makes sense. The HUD continues with the theme, while managing some self-reflective humour in being a mechanical watch, but manages to capture the cockpit display. And as is typical for the BR series, the watch is powered by an ordinary movement, but presented in a high-quality case made by B&R’s sister company, G&F Chatelain (and both, in turn, are owned by Chanel), and accompanied by an accessible retail price. In short, it’s a fun, affordable watch that’s well executed. Tinted crystal The HUD-style watch face is achieved with simple but effective construction that creates several layers of glow-in-the-dark green: the sapphire crystal is tinted green with a coating on its underside, with the ...
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