For a long time, Zenith kept us guessing about what its celebratory 160th-anniversary release would be. But if you know something about Zenith, the social media posts hinted at something special related to the brand s rich history in observatory chronometer competitions. With the release of the Zenith G.F.J., the watchmaker from Le Locle brings its legendary caliber 135 back to life. Zenith created a modern version of the most awarded movement from the golden age of observatory chronometer competitions. It powers the G.F.J. that proudly carries the initials of Zenith s founder, Georges Favre-Jacot, and does so in style.Before we get into the details of the new Zenith G.F.J., it will be good ...

The Heritage Military Marine Nationale is the latest retro release from Longines. We take a closer look.Longines has been on a roll for the last year or so with continuous additions to its Heritage collection. The brand has added pieces with complications as well as simple three-handers. My favorite releases, though, have used the now-familiar 38.5mm diameter stainless steel case. Today s Military Marine Nationale is the newest introduction and it just might be my favorite. Before we break it down, let s quickly review the other available 38.5mm pieces.Longines kicked things off in early 2019 with the Heritage Military. That piece celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the RAF and is notable fo...

Swatch introduces the rebirth of its iconic 1983 models. They are made of bio-sourced materials instead of conventional plastics. Swatch announces that its watches are bioreloaded.This might sound silly to you, but I often wonder what Swatch can do to make a comeback. Why do I care? Nostalgia for sure. I was born in 1977 and in my childhood, Swatch watches ruled the streets. Looking at today s watch landscape among kids, they ve become difficult to find. Watches in general, but also Swatch watches.Advertisement via https://www.stay-tuned-to-sw.de/old_ads.htmlSwatch 1983 Returns - BioreloadedVery recently, I bought the Swatch Bape watch. You should have seen the disappointment on my face wh...

An instant love. Since I?first saw it in an old advert, I?wanted to get my hands on it. It took some time, patience, and fine-tuning, but here it is. Since I?landed and tried Seiko A829-6029 for the first time, I believed it was designed for my wrist. Nothing fancy. Just a true tool watch. But do not underestimate it! And not to forget, we are almost the same production year…Its hard to believe that it will be almost ten years since Robert Jan first shared his finds about one of the other watches that went into space. Seiko A829-6019 with blue/red bezel was worn in space not only by Dutch astronaut Wubbo Ockels, but many others during their missions in the 1980s. What makes this decent...

TAG Heuer rounds off its 160th anniversary with a new lineup of Carrera Chronograph Calibre 02 models. We break down the news and give our thoughts.160 years as a company is certainly something to honor and TAG Heuer has steadily rolled out the goods in proper celebratory fashion. In January this year, we saw the beautiful Carrera 160 Years Silver Limited Edition. This was a faithful retro model that harkens back to the original 1963 model designed by Jack Heuer.Then, just a short couple of months ago, the first mainstream release came to light. We broke down the new 44mm Sport Carrera and came away impressed by the colorful, yet cohesively designed chronographs. Today, though, we finally ge...

This week on Wrist Game or Crying Shame, we bring in the Corum Bubble Shark Diver. This is one weird watch. But first…Last week, I brought in some serious style with the Girard-Perregaux Sea Hawk 7100. Ok, it was a bit blingy with its polished bracelet and bi-color vibes. Perhaps it was due to these traits that the watch finished in a near dead heat at 50/50 (the fine print does show an 8 vote general election Crying Shame loss, but I think the electoral college would show this as a Wrist Game winner). I think that type of result is spot on because it supports what I always say – that 50% of the population has no fashion sense. I ll leave it to you to translate that cryptic remar...

One of the great things about Seiko is the fact that it makes watches at many price levels. That s something you wont find with a lot of brands. Many try to maintain a certain spot in the market while looking at the competition to make their products more (or less) appealing. Yet Seiko has a wide range of watches from the affordable to the high-end (and even higher with sister-brand Grand Seiko). Being a fan of dive watches in general, it was great to find the limited edition Seiko Prospex SNR045 (fitted with a Spring Drive movement) on my desk for a review.Something Ive always noticed is the build quality on Seiko watches. The SNR045 did not disappoint on that front. Of course, you can set ...

The Meister Agenda is a watch I can t forget about. Over the last five years, I ve found myself visiting coming back to the Junghans website again and again. Ever since I stumbled upon the weekly calendar complication out of necessity, I ve not been able to shake my desire for one…One of my companies develops a software platform that we re constantly updating with new features. If you are a bit familiar with software project planning, there is something called agile development. Rather than waiting two years for a programmer to finish, the new product is retooled and refined on the go. We release updates in 2-weeks intervals, called sprints. Such management allows constant testing, re-...

This is the second installment of our Your Speedmaster Story series with three new reader s stories. A few weeks ago, we asked you to share your Speedmaster story?with us, and with the Speedmaster community. Besides admiring other peoples Speedmaster watches, its the stories that make the watches truly special.This week, we have stories from Luca (Italy), David (The Netherlands), and Simon (Hong Kong). They share with you (and us) their Speedmaster stories for this Speedy Tuesday installment. Featuring are a modern Speedmaster Professional, a vintage Speedmaster Professional (145.022-69), and the first Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday. Enjoy!Your Speedmaster StoryWe are interested in reading your ...

What makes a great watch? I ll leave that one up to you. But I think it comes down to balance (in the eye of the beholder). It is a combination of technique, design, and brand. For me, it s always about design first and foremost. Design is what triggers me, it s become the focus of my professional career, and I love nothing more than finding out about new watch designs. Especially when watches mess with the status quo. That s exactly what inspired this Top-5 Minimalist Watches list.The easiest way of compiling this list would be to pick five Bauhaus-inspired timepieces and run with it. As one of the world s leading minimalist design movements, Bauhaus is definitely a huge inspiration for som...

2018 was the last Baselworld that Swatch Group brands attended. I m not sure if it was a conscious move from them or just a coincidence, but most brands brought the heat to close out their long association with the presumably defunct fair. Among them was Certina and its, then-new, DS PH200M, a reedition of their legendary vintage diver. Today we ll have a look at its sibling, the Certina DS PH200M Blue.Technically the DS PH200M Blue is not in the same model line as the DS PH200M. The latter is part of Certina s Heritage Collection. Meanwhile, the Blue is in the Aqua Collection with models such as the DS Action Diver or the DS Action Day-Date. It does not matter, though, the DS PH200M Blue is...

During the Geneva Watch Days, we sat down with Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bvlgari. We spoke to him about the event, but also about the new Bvlgari watches introduced.Bvlgari introduced us to the new Octo Finissimo Tourbillon, Gerald Genta Arena Bi-Retrograde Sport, and the new Bvlgari Bvlgari aluminum collection. Rob Nudds talks to Jean-Christophe Babin about the re-introduction of the Bvlgari Bvlgari (formerly known as Bvlgari Diagono).Interview with Jean-Christophe BabinThis video is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Click here for more of our videos, and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. We also discussed the Bvlgari noveltie...

We are no stranger to Hamburg based brand Sternglas. Within a little over three years of its existence, the brand has built quite a name for itself. I had the chance to go hands-on with the Naos Automatik at the end of last year. In my review, I expressed my liking for the Bauhaus inspired design. Earlier this year, the brand upped its game with the release of the Kanton. It still features that recognizable design but the brand has equipped the Kanton with a Swiss-made movement. Let s find out all there is to know about the Sternglas Kanton.From the moment I got the Kanton I was impressed with a couple of things straight of the bat. First, the watch comes in a nice black wooden box instead o...

The F-43 has returned to base. Why? Because it s come home to welcome the brand s newest recruit to an evergrowing aerial squadron. The Fortis Flieger F-43 Bicompax was well-received, lining the nest for its smaller, but no less impressive brother. For quite some time, Fortis fans have been calling for something a little smaller, a little lighter on the wrist, and a little bit special. With the launch of the time and date Fortis Flieger F-series in 41 and (a satisfying) 39mm, all three prayers have been answered.The Fortis Flieger family first emerged in 1987. Since then, subsequent models have followed the same code: Live simply; live well. The beauty of these Fortis watches is in their par...

Ahhh… Seiko! An indisputably beloved brand in the world of watches, mechanical and otherwise. The brand s incredibly diverse catalog caters to those new to the watch world, as well as to those more experienced looking for a serious watch. And that s without getting into Grand Seiko territory! Today, we ll be taking a look at some of the affordable options in the Seiko catalog. I spent a couple of hours looking through the current lineup and picked out my five favorites under $1000. And there s also a bonus sub-$300 pick at the end.This top-five list is an update to Jorg s list published back in 2020. And though I tried to mix things up and not pick only dive watches, they were ultimate...

Welcome to This Week in Watches for September 12, 2020 the olio edition. Olio is one of those crossword answers that refers to a collection of things. Boy, do we have a mix today!Before we dive into the olio, I thought I d take a brief moment. Yesterday was the 19th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. In some ways, that awful day feels like yesterday. Many of us recall where we were when we first got news of these terrible events. Some of us have a personal connection to those who were lost or to those who aided in the rescues or ensuing repairs. It was a terrible day, but by and large, people came together and emerged once again. Never forget…and I d say it s even more importan...

The new Submariner lineup hobbled the internet the other week. Now that the dust has settled to some degree, I thought I d weigh in with my thoughts.Love it or hate it, you can t deny that news is big news. And there s probably no bigger topic in the watch world than a new Submariner. If we were talking cars, this is akin to a new Porsche 911, a new Corvette, or perhaps a 4-series BMW. By the way, for as awful as 2020 has been, we ve gotten new editions of those icons too! But back to watches because as the owner of what I personally think is the last classic Submariner in the 14060M, I always ask myself one question when a new one comes to light. Would I trade up to buy the new one?Goodbye...

I kid you not, the sharks are already trying to charge you nearly $20,000 for the new Submariner. The new diver didn t solve the ongoing issue of dealers taking abuse. It s not necessarily the fault of grey market dealers, because remember, these watches have to come from somewhere. Luckily, there is a fine alternative hiding in plain sight: the Sea-Dweller.Anyway, without starting a rant about ridiculous market prices for the new Submariner watches, I thought about the models that you can actually buy. For an amount close to the retail price of the new Submariner, you could pick up the very handsome Sea-Dweller. The Sea-Dweller 16600 is the first I bought, back in 2003. In my opinion...

Hamilton further expands its collection with a new jazzy case to showcase the H-10-S movement. The Jazzmaster occupies the dressy-casual void that seems distant from the Khaki Field and Scuba watches. With a variety of dial hues and case shades, the Jazzmaster is sure to complement a plethora of styles.Jazz may not be an obvious inspiration for a wristwatch, yet it is not uncommon. Just this year, I went hands-on with the Oris James Morrison. While the Hamilton may be less overt in displaying the source of inspiration - the Oris has a trumpet symbol on the back - the roots remain. Hamilton has a longstanding association with the arts, mostly in Cinema. But watches like the Ventura are well-r...

Welcome to my top list of chronographs that have become icons. The focus is on modern interpretations of chronographs that have stood the test of time. Whether by sheer brilliance or historical significance.My list is made up of modern timepieces but the core design DNA stretches back decades. There are some examples in this list that are square-millimeter-perfect recreations and some whose design and mechanisms have evolved over time. No matter the evolution, the term iconic applies to all of these chronographs. But I am always keen to know your personal choices. Especially on any watches I may have missed. Importantly for me, an icon needs to be identifiable with only the silhouette.Withou...