To date, I have only seen one meteorite dial in the metal. I instantly fell in love with the uneven and otherworldly texture of this foreign organic material. And although the meteorite traveled the universe for billions of years, it felt familiar. Perhaps its due to the fact that Ive seen dozens of photos of meteorite dials on the internet before. Or perhaps its because we humans come from the same intergalactic depths as the material itself. Nevertheless, when you combine meteorite with fine Swiss watchmaking and encase it in a 200m water-resistant stainless case, you get something special.Two months ago, RJ wrote about the first Zodiac? Watches.com collaboration. He introduced the first ...
Its just an ideal pairing - my 1980s cricket jumper that I bought in Guildford, together with RJs 1977 Datejust Oysterquartz ref. 17013 in steel and gold. My word, what a perfect vintage set. Whoever still thinks that quartz watches have no soul, please look again. I like the watch because of its edgy shape and, yes, also because its the icing on the cake - the cherry on top of my outfit, I mean. And since I put the Oysterquartz on my wrist with style in mind, I might as well stay in the watch/fashion vein. The Zenith Fusalp and Denham Timex collaborations are two new partnerships between watch and fashion brands, a continuing and growing trend. In this edition of Coffee Corner Watch Ta...
I know it seems early, but it will be December before you know it. If you wait too long, you might be too late to get something in time for the holidays. In this installment of Pre-Owned Spotlight, I ve made a selection of pre-owned vintage and modern gold watches with a nod to the holidays. And why is that, you might ask? Well, I believe - but feel free to disagree - that the holidays are an excellent reason (or excuse) to wear a gold watch. It brings some shine to the days when it gets dark early, and gold goes hand in hand with the Christmas festivities.My colleague Ignacio triggered my search for gold watches this weekend. He was wearing a beautiful Tissot in 14K gold, featuring the 1950...
When Citizen introduced its first light-powered analog quartz watch in 1976, its doubtful that anyone foresaw just how vital the Eco-Drive line would still be for the brand today. Last year, Citizen resurrected its 1982 Promaster quartz dive watch and equipped it with a modern Eco-Drive caliber. Now, the brand has updated it with a new livery to highlight the significance of the whale shark and mans impact on its marine habitat.Each year, Citizen uses the Promaster series to highlight and support critical aspects of nature on Earth. This year, the aim is to help preserve the whale shark. My five-year-old son tells me this is the largest of all the fish, but Citizen also explains how the enda...
Andersen Geneve is one of those brands for those in the know. Its wrist-worn wares are classical takes on watchmaking seen through the eyes of Svend Andersen. The Danish emigre turns 80 this year, and it doesnt seem to have put any dampers on his creativity. I have a feeling the Andersen Geneve Asprey Heures du Monde Worldtimer will only cement my impression of quiet, hand-crafted elegance.In between training watchmakers like Franck Muller and Felix Baumgartner, Andersen s output has been studied and limited, eschewing the tides of fashion to my delight. And despite being so entrenched in this love of watchmaking, the brand slips under even my journalist radar. I have a feeling this is abo...
There is no denying that Tudor is one of the brands of the moment. As most of you will know, there is a design split between the classically inspired Black Bay line and the Pelagos models. The combination of snowflake hands and square hour markers, as seen on the modern Pelagos divers, is often considered the true Tudor design. The vintage-inspired Black Bay better captures the charm of the past models from Tudor and . But what if the brand chose a combination of both? It wouldn t take more than a look in Tudor s archives to find the perfect template, the Oyster Prince Submariner Snowflake ref. 7016.The appreciation of vintage Tudor pieces is an interesting phenomenon. It s partly driven by ...
It s time for another one-man show in the Sunday Morning Showdown. This week, it ll be a little different, a little more into the nitty-gritty. It does, of course, feature two different watches, but some people might not even see the difference between these two Explorer models. I do, though, and they drive me nuts. Both the 114270 and the 124270 have their pros and cons, so I thought, Why not ask the Fratelli what their opinion on the matter is? But let me first tell you what you re choosing between, exactly.Of course, even before I really got into watches, I knew about . So, when I got more interested, one of the first watches I bought was actually a 74 Datejust reference 1601. I regret...
Recently, I spent some time with the redesigned Squale 1545 on my wrist. I am a long-time admirer of Squale, and I even own two of the brand s watches. The 1545 collection, however, was never really in my sights. It was a bit too deep in homage territory for my liking. I am happy to report that Squale has changed that. The obvious question is: would I recommend it now?The 1545 is Squales most affordable collection. But does that result in compromises or great value? Lets find out!The Squale 1545 redesignThe new 1545 diver has been thoroughly dipped in Squale sauce. And that is a good thing. It used to be a bit generic and quite reminiscent of dive watches from other brands. Now, it looks lik...
To me, it seems that Breitling has managed a difficult balancing act through the strong leadership of Georges Kern. The winged B still appeals to lovers of big watches, thats for sure. With 43 and 46mm examples of the new Navitimer and SuperOcean together with the light Endurance Pro, big wrist presence is assured. But Breitling is also stepping up its game with an Haute Horlogerie take on the Premier line.Yes, you did spot that unusual shape at 12 oclock didnt you? Flipped from the traditional placement at 6 o clock, there is a tourbillon up top, which changes everything. Ill admit to a guilty-pleasure desire for the too-big Endurance, but the Premier line is my favorite taste of Breitling....
It s the 60th anniversary of the James Bond movies this year. Last September, the Omega Seamaster 300M No Time To Die that Daniel Craig wore in the movie fetched a whopping $226,800 at Christie s.Thankfully, though, you don t need to bring $226,800 to call yourself the owner of a watch identical to the one worn in a Bond movie. For this special installment of Pre-Owned Spotlight, I selected several watches featured in James Bond films. In a previous Pre-Owned Spotlight article, Nacho already included a Seamaster 2531.80, so I will refrain from using that specific watch that Pierce Brosnan wore in some of the 1990s James Bond movies.Live and Let Die - Tissot PR 516In the film Live and Let Die...
As we head toward the end of 2022, it s time for the year-end lists. In the coming weeks, you will hear from several of our editors who will share some of their favorite releases of this year. And we are, of course, curious to find out what some of your favorites are as well. In a follow-up to the list of the best G-Shock models of all time, this week, we are focusing on the best of this year. Was 2022 a good year for G-Shock? This list of five extraordinary models is the perfect proof that G-Shock is unstoppable. The brand is constantly improving and surprises us time and time again with its awesome releases. Here is our recap of the five best of 2022 for you.As we have said many times, we ...
I m usually not a fan of blacked-out watches. And - spoiler alert - my opinion hasn t changed after spending some time with the all-new Brellum Pandial LE.3 DD DLC Chronometer. But I must say that the diamond-like-carbon coating gives the watch a more premium look and feel. Not that the watch wasn t premium enough without the coating, but I often find that blacked-out versions of watches look a lot more like plastic remakes. That is certainly not the case here.In the spring of this year, I also wrote the introduction for the white-and-blue version of the Brellum Pandial. I remember being quite impressed, first of all by its size - it s quite a large watch at 43mm wide and almost 16mm thick -...
Watch lovers always look for unique pieces. You know, the kind with a dial color that is out of the ordinary, a watch made for a specific market, or a vintage model that is rare and hard to find. Or perhaps even a timepiece that possesses a subtle change, a tweak that separates it from other similar pieces. The word by which we refer to such watches is modded, but there is an important distinction to make. While a third party making these tweaks is often frowned upon, if a professional company does an authorized mod for the watch brand, you re good. Luckily, the new Excelsior Park seconde/seconde/ is such a piece.I know modding is not everyone s cup of tea, and I m with you. So I was still d...
It was when I heard the 1936 song Caravan in the car on my way back home from Fratello HQ that I thought of Duke Ellingtons Patek Philippe watch. I saw it in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva a long time ago. And while Duke Ellington and his band played the exotic and mysterious-sounding American jazz standard, other famous jazz musicians who wore Patek Philippe watches also came to mind - other jazz royalty like Count Basie, Maharajah Oscar Peterson, and Lady Ella Fitzgerald, for instance. And then more thoughts and memories started rolling through my brain. I thought it was best to set up an appointment with Dr. Peter Friess, curator of the Patek Philippe Museum, to show me the watch and...
It s no secret that the Fratelli are big NOMOS fans. The brand s signature Bauhaus minimalism makes for a wonderful, clean, classy watch. Yet the Glashtte brand is also not afraid to include small details in its designs. These small details often serve as a nod (or a wink) at either the brand s own history and DNA or its collaborators. An example of this can be found on the Fratello NOMOS Weltzeit with the house icon replaced with a Dutch windmill. Today, NOMOS introduces a watch with one such detail, something only possible due to the brand s DUW 6101 movement. Are you wondering why? Then keep on reading, as I ll touch upon that later in the article.All you need to know is this: the Ludw...
Pilots watch is as much of an evocative term as divers watch. Without hesitation, you can conjure the configuration and layout of a pilots watch by the mere mention. Namely, a pilots watch must be legible and luminescent with oversized indications and tactile extremities. The French Ministry of Defence (MOD) already had these specifications in mind for its pilots timepieces in the 1950s. And with that, the MOD sent a request for proposal (RFP) for military pilot s chronographs to six watch manufacturers, including Breguet and, in turn, todays revival, Mathey-Tissot. Together with Massena LAB, these civilian chronographs recapture the spirit of the original design spec and are a tribute to t...
About two years after Ebauches SA introduced the mightly Valjoux 72C, Landeron spiced up the game with caliber 58. It features one of the most engaging and amusing calendar-setting mechanisms for a chronograph watch. It has been almost four years since I introduced the Landeron 185 caliber in my Kelbert chronograph. What I liked, in particular, was the misleading design. When you look at it from a distance, it doesnt differ much from a typical three-register chronograph with counters for seconds, 30 minutes, and 12 hours. Only if you look closer will you see that the bottom sub-dial is slightly different. It does not display elapsed hours, but rather the date! I really like disruptive ideas,...
A brand new in-house Yema micro-rotor caliber has finally debuted on Kickstarter. I must admit, the brand runs such a packed release schedule that when I received the news a couple of weeks ago, it took me a moment to realize this was as big a deal as it was. Before I knew it, I was on my way to Morteau, invited by Yema for a tour of the brands headquarters and production facilities. And, more importantly, to see the watches and meet the team of watchmakers behind Yema s Caliber Manufacture Morteau 20 (or CMM.20). After getting a first-hand look at what the brand has lined up for the future, I could not help but be very impressed!?The new caliber will become available in the integrated-brace...
When it s cold outside, I ve got the month of May. Well, I guess you say, what can make me feel this way? My watch (my watch, my watch), talkin bout my wa-a-atch - MoonSwatch! Isn t that exactly how that song by The Temptations went? No? Well, thanks to them for the inspiration anyway. Honestly, it couldn t be any more fitting. Since I got my MoonSwatch Mission to the Sun three months ago, it has brought plenty of wrist-worn joy to dark, dismal days. And with autumn in full effect and winter not far behind, some May vibes will come in handy over the next six months, I m sure. But let me tell you, that MoonSwatch Velcro strap had to go! Was it a cool concept? Sure, but the stiff, plasticky ...
Steel bezels are monochrome tough. That much was settled with my well-read article last week. But even if you havent got the big dollars for Swiss perfection, you can still get tool-tastic for less than a grand. You might not get the same cred as with a crisp white Explorer II, but you will be surprised by the toughness ratio of these best-buy tool watches.Sure, some of these examples will take inspiration from the well-known visual clues of some vintage grails. Others, on the other hand, like the Seiko and Zelos, have their own particular style that garners respect. Were not so keen on homages, but a hint of vintage inspiration is hard to avoid, and we want it too.Image courtesy of Wind Up ...
