The MING 37.05 Moonphase may not be shipping yet to those who were lucky enough to score one, but we re here with a hands-on review of this unique watch. Unique? Well, it s the first MING to feature a date function, and that s a real difference-maker. Does the 37.05 extend MING s clean aesthetics streak? Let s find out!Time certainly flies! I checked our archives and realized that the MING 37.05 Moonphase debuted all the way back in November 2021. The 500 pieces were offered on two separate occasions late in the month and promptly sold out. Buyers of this CHF 4,950 watch were taking a chance, though. In addition to a new case shape that defines the next generation of MING watches, the 37.05 ...
If you re anything like me, your first knowledge of Zenith watches came through a discovery of the legendary El Primero. No doubt, the world s first high-beat automatic chronograph has been the brand s cornerstone since 1969. But what was the manufacture from Le Locle doing in the decades before the El Primero changed the chronograph game forever? Oh, ya know, just making some of the most precise chronometer wristwatch movements that the world had ever seen! Today, Zenith celebrates its most awarded chronometer with the release of the Calibre 135 Observatoire Limited Edition. This 10-piece collaboration with Phillips and Kari Voutilainen harks back to Zenith s fascinating history beyond its ...
Before I begin telling you all about my personal everyday carry essentials, I first want to give you a little bit of context. My relationship with the idea of EDC has always been a somewhat tumultuous one with two sides to it. One side consists of the objects that I carry on my person, and the other is what I carry with me. To me, carrying around a lot of gear is certainly not synonymous with happiness. Nothing beats the feeling of a summer day when you leave your phone at home, carrying nothing with you but your wallet and house keys. That said, I seem to have picked the wrong job for someone who enjoys minimalist, unburdened freedom. As a watch journalist, you have to be well equipped. And...
All right, I ll be honest with you from the get-go: I got this watch and all these straps during one of Autodromo s Black Friday sales. It was just a very good way to deal with those import taxes. I had been looking at Autodromo as a brand for years though, even before really getting into watches. The brand s Group B and Stradale watches had really caught my attention, but I never pulled the trigger until I saw this beautiful Nassau blue Intereuropa. Little did I know that one of the straps I ordered with would actually make the watch look even more beautiful!Autodromo s tagline - Instruments For Motoring - is actually a very good description of what the brand represents. Even though the New...
Chasing a vintage watch is one of the most rewarding pursuits within this shared passion of ours. It can also be one of the most daunting. That s why, in this article, I will try to provide some guidance for when you find yourself longing for a vintage Datejust. And lets face it, we all find ourselves in that position at some point in our watch-collecting journeys.I have spent roughly 14 months studying examples of vintage Datejusts from the 1945C1990 era. This was part of an effort to document the rich history of this influential watch. The project resulted in a book, The vintage Datejust buyers & collectors guide, released in the spring of 2022. Here, I will distill the contents of ...
Seiko brought back the King Seiko collection in 2020, reviving a name that Seiko aficionados around the world held dear. The limited-edition KSK SJE083 was succeeded by a collection of regular-production models at the beginning of this year. These were surprisingly faithful reproductions of the original King Seiko KSK from the 60s.I liked them a lot. So much, in fact, that I put my own money towards buying one, which I wear with joy. Now, Seiko releases two new expansions to the King Seiko collection.King Seiko Limited Edition SJE087The first addition to the collection is a spiritual successor to the SJE083 from 2020. This is a special edition, limited to 1,700 pieces. That makes it a bit r...
We all know that list prices are often not set in stone. Except for when you re buying a limited-edition or waitlisted piece, getting a discount on a brand-new watch is almost a given. The only question is how big of a discount you can get. But this situation could be changing as we speak. Luxury watches are in demand more than ever before, and brands are trying to sell more and more watches directly to consumers. ?This means that it may become more difficult to get a (big) discount on a brand-new watch.I m not actually that much of a bargainer myself. I bought my first three brand-new watches without a discount. The first one was the limited-edition Oris Art Blakey. At that time, I didn t h...
Not so long ago, I found myself sitting around a long table at Blancpain HQ, eating lunch and chatting with the top brass about the unfathomable success of the Fifty Fathoms family. The centerpiece to this enjoyable lunch was an imposing black Peli case that glared at me so hard from a few feet away, it damn near put me off my chicken. The conversation eventually fell away from my ears. The room that had, seconds earlier, been brimful with chatter became silent. Without warning, it was just me and the Peli case, eyeballing each other as if my life and its purpose depended on it. I was the first to crack. I turned and addressed Marc Hayek directly, cutting him off mid-sentence: Yo, Marc. What...
Two years ago, Oris introduced the H?lstein Edition 2020 to celebrate the brand s 116th birthday. I had the chance to try out the full-bronze edition of the Divers Sixty-Five, and it was one of the most fun watches I d worn in a long time. Last year, Oris introduced the H?lstein Edition 2021, a celebratory version of the Big Crown pilots watch with a movement from the brand s 400-series. This year, the brand decided to bring back the Oris Full Steel Worldtimer that debuted in 1998. Time to bring back the style of the 1990s with this special timepiece.What do you think of the design language of the 90s? Within the world of watches specifically, it sparked a certain style that I m not always ...
Whether a movement is in-house, proprietary, or supplied by a third party often results in heated discussions amongst watch enthusiasts. Is an in-house movement better than a third-party movement, and can a brand really call a movement in-house if it doesn t produce it on-site? In this article, I will touch upon all these topics and try to shed a bit of light on this often-murky subject. And of course, it will also be a tad opinionated.When I first got into watches in the mid-1990s, I loved looking at the mechanism that made the watch tick (or sweep). Whether that was a Swatch Automatic or an A. Lange & S?hne Lange 1 didnt matter. Of course, the difference between those was immediately o...
Many of the watches that we now call iconic date back half a century or further - the Submariner, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Omega Speedmaster, and in todays case, the TAG Heuer Monaco. A trait that all of these models have in common is that they have - with a few exceptions - been in continuous production since they were first released. Each release of these iconic watches reveals improvements in the way the watch is made, finished, or upgraded in terms of dimensions or colors. And sometimes, one of these iconic watches gets like a dark or super-powered twin.TAG Heuer is a brand that you are already familiar with, as you likely are with its legendary square chronograph, the Monaco....
Growing up, I was always aware of Rado as a watch brand. Before my obsession with watches began, I knew of the brand thanks to my mother s love for tennis and Rado s connection to the tennis world. My mother is a keen tennis player and expressed a fondness for the Rado tennis watch on more than one occasion. Since those times, I have come to foster my own fondness for the brand, but that s down to its Captain Cook line. And this fondness is only enhanced further by the addition of three new watches. I am, of course, talking about the new Rado Captain Cook Chronograph.Since Rado reintroduced the Captain Cook to its collection, we ve seen the watch feature multiple guises. There have been diff...
First off, when did Oris become such a fun brand? Hailed as a Mechanical Joy Machine, the ProPilot X Calibre 400 is designed to bring life and colors to the wrist. When I first caught sight of the three color variations - gray, blue, and salmon - my immediate reaction was, I want them all.Let me clarify. I love a man who has the confidence to wear pink or any unconventional color. However, I am quite the contrary and habitually averse to choosing pastels for myself. The thought that I could see myself wearing any of these variants horrified me. Have I changed? Well, I still love the gray. Or do I have another personality, or two, that I never knew existed?While I reluctantly looked for a psy...
While round (or round-ish) watches may be the bread and butter of the industry, there are always some anomalies. If you know of these anomalies, its probably because theyve stuck around and stood the test of time. The Hamilton Ventura is possibly the most perfect example of an anomaly! Hamilton wears its heart on its sleeve and bears it all with its new skeletonized XXL Ventura.The Ventura case is an asymmetrical arrow-shaped watch that was made famous by The King. Of course, Im talking about rock ‘n roll royalty here, the legend that is Elvis Presley. Debuting in 1957, the Hamilton Ventura was the worlds first electric watch powered by a battery. But, it was its appearance on the wri...
To some of you, it may not be surprising that I now own a Speedmaster Moonwatch. After all, I do work at Fratello. Its basically in our DNA. Nevertheless, it was an inadvertent twist of fate that led me toward purchasing this watch that now rarely leaves my wrist. Allow me to explain why it wasnt my first choice, and why its all I wear now.?And if youre wondering, yes, I did purchase the watch on a #SpeedyTuesday. Not only that, but it was the same day as our Speedy Tuesday event in Biel, which was, incidentally, my first Speedy Tuesday event ever. I felt like the luckiest girl alive, to be able to wear such an incredible watch on my wrist in the vicinity of long-time Speedy enthusiasts and ...
Simply reading the fact that MB&F has created 20 calibers in its 17 years of existence is nothing short of impressive. On top of that, every release has pushed the boundaries of creativity, making you realize just how special MB&F is. It s not that we didn t know that already, but just reading the facts creates a pretty good idea of the brand s impressive achievements. But it doesn t stop just yet. For the 20th caliber, the brand decided to do something truly special. With the MB&F Legacy Machine Sequential EVO, the brand introduces its first chronograph. And as you would expect, it s not just any old chronograph. Time to check out this phenomenal watch.MB&F introducing a chr...
In 1982, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) introduced ISO 6425, which outlined the international standards and features for divers watches. Currently, ISO 6425 is in its fourth edition, formerly known as ISO 6425:2018. If you re a fan of the dive-watch genre, you ve likely heard of this standard. But how important is it for today s divers watches?Historical background of divers watchesSelf-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus diving - or simply scuba diving for short - is a young sports activity. As we practice it today, recreational scuba diving has not existed for more than 50 years. I don t want to go back too far into history, but before then, underwater bre...
We ve all been waiting for a pandemic-free summer, and this year, the airports are going to be packed. If you plan on working through the warm period, or if it s still gray and rainy like here in my northern climes, you re going to have to bring your own sun. Personally, I don t know of any better way to cheer up a rainy day than a popping watch, and with a #LEMONFRESH color, it ll work a treat, I can guarantee it.Whether it s the brightest digital pop of yellow from a Casio G-Shock or an underrated Speedmaster with an uncharacteristic dial, these are my fun suggestions. You might be too wrist-shy for a full-on yellow dial, I get it. But just try popping on a cool rubber strap, and you might...
Dont you just love it when a brand has a clear vision of what it wants to be and acts accordingly? CDMLEC, the company behind vintage revival brands Airain and Lebois & Co is one of those. The company aims to build a family of the most personal heritage watch brands, so it has brought back these two dormant brands and built them up through collaborative design with their fans. Airain s current project is the revival of the Sous-Marine skin diver. You can still get your votes in to influence what it will look like in the end.Airain is best known for its Type 20 flyback chronographs, made to French Ministery of Defense specifications in the 1950s. The re-edition - announced in 2020 - broug...
Some say that the ultimate statement of luxury is a gold watch, and I must admit, gold watches seem to be a thing currently. As a fan of gold watches, I d love to believe that the popularity of these watches is on the rise.? The question is, what are some of the watches that people should spend their hard-earned cash on? The fact is that most watch brands will always produce gold watches as they have been for decades or even centuries. For this article, we have focused on finding the best recent gold releases out there. Are there any new gold watches that we really should get excited about? Let s find out.If you ask me, a gold watch is something that should be on every watch enthusiast s lis...
