Monochrome
In 2020, Jacob & Co. and Bugatti forged a partnership resulting in the creation of one of the most spectacular automotive-inspired watches ever, the Chiron Tourbillon. This not only carried over plenty of design cues from the record-breaking hypercar but also a detailed and working miniature interpretation of its W16 engine, crafted in sapphire crystal. […]
Revolution
Monochrome
One of my most memorable experiences when tumbling down the mechanical watchmaking rabbit hole is handling my very first tourbillon watch. I had already been writing for MONOCHROME for a while when it happened, and I knew about the complication and its function, but I had never handled one in person. It was at the […]
Worn & Wound
“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing info@wornandwound.com The Story Behind John Lennon’s Patek We saw one of the most fascinating watch stories of the year come to light this week via The New Yorker, with a long piece diving into the strange history of John Lennon’s Patek Philippe 2499. For decades, the whereabouts of this watch had been unknown to the general public – it was considered one of the great “lost” watches. The story, written by Jay Fielden, covers the known history of Lennon’s 2499, including it being given as a gift to Lennon by Yoko Ono for his 40th birthday, the theft of the watch in 2005, and legal wrangling in Swiss courts to determine the rightful owner. It also, for the first time, gives us a glimpse of the caseback engraving, a message to Lennon from his wife, photographed for an Auctionata auction that was set to take place in 2013, but never went to market. Pentax Introduces their First Film Camera in 20 Years Film photography has had a bit of a resurgence in recent years, and Pentax has just gotten into the game with a compelling new film camera, their first in two decades. The Pentax 17, which reta...
SJX Watches
The Molsheim-based marque just unveiled the successor to its Chiron supercar – and one with a surprising horological connection – the Bugatti Tourbillon. With Croatian auto entrepreneur at Mate Rimac at the helm, Bugatti created a completely new hypercar that features an all-new platform with a naturally-aspirated V16 engine paired with a plug-in hybrid powertrain that together produce a staggering 1,800 hp – matched by a €3.8 million price tag. The Tourbillon surprised car enthusiasts as it is very much an old-school internal-combustion-engine hypercar, and not merely a rebadged, high-performance electric vehicle of that sort that made Mr Rimac famous. Watch enthusiasts, on the other hand, might be surprised at the horological aspect of the car, which goes beyond the “tourbillon” moniker and harks back to vintage automobiles that sported dashboard instruments by the likes of Jaeger and Kienzle. The Tourbillon that will be limited to 250 units. Image – Bugatti Despite the technology contained within the car, Bugatti opted for something almost anachronistic in the cockpit. The brand pays tribute to traditional horological engineering with an analogue, mechanical instrument cluster sitting front and centre on the steering column. The instrument panel is mounted on a fixed-hub steering wheel so it remains in place even as the rim of the steering wheel rotates around it. The Tourbillon will be delivered starting 2026. Image – Bugatti Having partnered with Parmi...
Time+Tide
It features a unique, completely analogue instrument cluster that's actually crafted by Swiss watchmakers and looks like three watches.The post Bugatti’s latest hypercar, the Tourbillon, might be the most watch-inspired vehicle ever made appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
From its infancy in a Breguet letter to the latest triple-axis wonder, we explore the history of the tourbillon.The post History of the tourbillon, and the relevance of the complication today appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
A new addition to the highly technical Arnold & Son Double Tourbillon collection. This time a piece unique in white gold with a unique amber dial.
Quill & Pad
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.
Time+Tide
The Australian market rarely gets limited editions, so this Sydney Harbour blue Carrera Tourbillon is something special.The post Australia’s love of TAG Heuer gets recognised with a limited edition Carrera Tourbillon (live pics) appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
Gérald Charles Genta, one of our time’s most respected and well-known watch designers, sold his eponymous brand Gerald Genta to Bulgari in 2000. However, instead of resting on his laurels and enjoying a stress-free retirement, he created a new brand, naming it – again – after himself; Gerald Charles. In 2003, Genta sold the company […]
SJX Watches
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...
Worn & Wound
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...
Deployant
Jaeger-LeCoultre introduces the new Duometre Heliotourbillon Perpetual, the brand's first wristwatch with a triple-axis tourbillon.
Time+Tide
Pleasing unisex proportions, an in-house flying tourbillon and an opulent dancing diamond make this Chanel watch an intriguing proposition.The post The Chanel J12 Diamond Tourbillon Calibre 5 is stealthy, glam and technical all at once appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
As an Australian, Ian Skellern is partial to the magical changing colors of opals. While there have been quite a few watches with fantastic opal dials, none are a match for showing the incredible range of hues as the Louis Moinet Geopolis Opal.
Worn & Wound
Walking into Grand Seiko’s Madison Avenue boutique last week, I was ready for a fun evening with great company. After all, that’s what you expect anytime you go to an event hosted by Complecto. What I wasn’t expecting was the opportunity to check out the latest and greatest from Credor, the recently relaunched Locomotive, just a day after its public launch. Timed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Credor, the revival of the Locomotive resurrects a long-dormant design from probably the most influential and well-known watch designer of the 20th century, Gerald Genta, and it more than lives up to both his name, and that of Credor. And speaking of names; when is a Seiko, not a Seiko? I admit, it’s a slightly odd question, but it bears asking. Seiko sells watches at just about every conceivable price point for every conceivable customer. But whether you’re picking up a Seiko for $79.94 on Amazon or a Kodo Constant Force Tourbillon for $350,000, every watch in the Seiko lineup will always have something in common - the word “Seiko” on the dial. It’s hard to think of another watch brand that not only sells watches at such dramatically different prices, but that doesn’t shy away from putting the same name on their entire collection. Sure, there are slight differences we learn to decode. Grand Seiko and Prospex elicit different reactions from collectors than Seiko 5 or Astron but, fundamentally, Seiko proudly declares just about every watch they make a Seiko. ...
Monochrome
Mr Gérald Genta needs no introduction anymore. One of the most famous watch designers of our time, responsible for the creation of icons such as the Royal Oak or the Nautilus, he also created watches under his own name. From 1969 on, Genta produced exceptionally complex watches (incl. an automatic tourbillon grande sonnerie, often considered […]
Monochrome
One of the most revered and respected names in the world of watchmaking, and certainly in the independent watchmaking scene, is Kari Voutilainen. The Finnish watchmaker is an expert in ‘wrapping’ the most brilliantly hand-finished movements in beautiful discrete cases with tear-drop lugs. With 20 years of track record as an Independent watchmaker and more […]
Monochrome
Piaget has been busy celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. As a precursor of ultra-thin movements since the 1950s, Piaget has recovered its throne and is basking in the limelight with its world record-breaking 2mm-thin Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon. While it does not hold a world record, Piaget’s flamboyant 1979 Polo watch has also been […]
Monochrome
Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s dream of mechanical independence materialised in 1996 with the presentation of Chopard‘s first in-house movement known as calibre 1.96. Produced in Chopard’s Fleurier manufacture, the calibre was fitted inside the first L.U.C 1860 watch, writing a new chapter in the brand’s high-end watchmaking journey. Recognised as one of the finest ultra-thin micro-rotor automatic […]
Monochrome
Earlier this year, alongside multiple new watches such as the RO Perpetual with John Mayer and the Sand Gold alloy applied to an RO Openworked Tourbillon, Audemars Piguet also presented an unexpected and entirely novel multi-coloured ceramic called chroma ceramic featuring a polarising but cool camouflage pattern. In the same vein, Audemars Piguet now applies […]
Revolution
Hodinkee
The final entry into the lightweight Rafa series weighs a mere 11.5 grams.
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