Remember our trip to Richard Mille in the Swiss Jura? We reported about it here, being amazed by the high-level of craftsmanship and dedication, a trip to remember and definitely increased our appreciation for this high-end watchmaking manufacture. We were told during the SIHH in Geneva that they would bring some novelties during 2015 instead of unleashing them all at once on us (we were already happily surprised by their efforts to put this beautiful ladies watch on the market).One of the novelties is being introduced today, the Richard Mille RM27-02, a manual winding tourbillon caliber dedicated to tennis. No wonder, as Rafael Nadal is their ambassador since quite a while, that he will be ...
Time for the Weekend Watch List! This week our focus is on the Top 10 Daytona references, both for all models made as well as for all (vintage) models before 1990. We did an article on the Daytona models before (click here), from the introduction in 1963 till introduction of the most recent models. From 1963 till 1988, the Daytona was a hand-wound chronograph using Valjoux 72 movements. From 1988 till 2000, used a tweaked El Primero movement for their Daytona models. In 2000, introduced their in-house caliber 4130 chronograph movement for the most popular chronograph in the world.In this Weekend Watch List we show you the Top 10 Daytona references for vintage models up to 1990. This inc...
Omega has a long time partnership with the Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ). In 1995, Omega started with the Sir Peter Blake s American s Cup campaign and again in 2000. You might remember the Omega Seamaster 300M America s Cup edition with white gold bezel from that time (see below). Also after Sir Peter Blake s untimely death in 2001, Omega kept on supporting the ETNZ.Omega Seamaster Diver 300M ETNZThe last Omega Seamaster Diver 300M ETNZ was introduced in 2013 and now Omega shows us the piece for the 35th America s Cup World Series that will take place in 2017. With this new Seamaster Diver 300M ETNZ chronograph watch, Omega celebrates their partnership with the Emirates Team New Zealand....
Over the last couple months, weve spoken a bit about Oris and their new retro-themed Sixty-Five Diver. Its obvious that we are enthusiastic about the watch and cannot wait to have it on our wrists for trial. Today, though, Ill shift gears and talk about a different Oris piece that deserves some attention if you are into vintage watches. Its a watch that Oris also chose, in 2005, for a newly remade edition that was quite well put together in my opinion. After a few weeks of pricey vintage, #TBT is back in the affordable game with the interesting and attractive Oris Star ChronOris.We spoke about the history of Oris a bit during the original preview on the Sixty-Five, so I wont spend much time ...
Audemars Piguet introduces their Royal Oak Concept Laptimer Michael Schumacher. A timepiece that took 5 years to develop after Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher asked AP to come up with a watch able to measure and record an extended series of consecutive lap times. Only 221 pieces of this Royal Oak Concept Laptimer will be produced to commemorate the number of F1 world championship point-winning races the German legend competed during his career.It is a Royal Oak Concept different from the ones we ve seen before (here) or from the one that AP showed us during the SIHH 2015 (a loud minute repeater). In that respect, it is quite unexpected that AP introduces this Royal Oak Concept Laptimer. ...
There is a fair chance you never heard from this small watch brand from Austria, run by Maria and Richard Habring. We don t blame you of course, but if this is the case, it is time you do learn about Habring2. This watch company was founded in 2004 and gained a tremendous amount of respect among watch enthusiasts and collectors world wide.About time we spend some time with one of their watches. Actually, it is the watch that put Habring2 on the horological map of true manufactures. The Habring2 Felix is their first watch with an entirely in-house developed and produced movement, the caliber A11B. I was able to wear one for a couple of weeks and will share my thoughts about the Habring2 Felix...
Last week, on the 12th of May, Omega hosted the Houston Speedmaster Event to celebrate and introduce the new collection of Speedmaster watches together with astronauts Jim Lovell, Tom Stafford and Eugene Cernan. Oh and George Clooney. His relationship with the Speedmaster and the Apollo program? Keep on reading.I heard about my invitation for this Houston Speedmaster Event during BaselWorld, but the official invitation followed in May via regular mail. A beautiful card with Moon relief on one side and the invitation text on the other side. ?It with a short NASA-like coded message about the event, as shown below.Together with about 300 guests, including Omega staff, retailers, boutique manage...
Cars & watches go very well together, we don t have to explain this to you. A number of major car manufacturers seem to have a collaboration going on with watch brands. Formula 1, Le Mans, Daytona etc are?being sponsored by watch brands for a long time as well. So why shouldn t the famous Gumball 3000 rally be teaming up with a watch manufacturer? One of the coolest independent brands that masters the art of skeletonizing movements and dials, Armin Strom, teams up with Gumball 3000 in 2015. We couldn t think of a better match ourselves.The Gumball 3000 was founded by Maximillion Cooper and has lots of fans all around the world. Drivers in the most extreme sports cars will be traveling?fr...
Its weekend! We decided to come up with some easy-to-digest content for the weekend, as youve probably been doing enough reading all week. From now on, we will publish our Weekend Watch Lists feature every weekend, to show you overviews with information about the consumer watch market. Our overviews are based on data from on-line watch consumers. Per list we will indicate the countries from which we used the data, as this will vary to keep it interesting. It will be interesting to see how much taste in watches can differ per country and continent. Data is retrieved from?Chronolytics.ch, watch market research company that operates under the flag of Ebner Verlag (publishing house of magazines ...
I remember Minerva watches being for sale in local watch shop here in The Hague. It must have been around 1999 or so that I was looking at these Minerva Pythagore watches in that shop, brand new. They were available in 34mm and 38mm and the latter one struck me as big at the time. Something you can t imagine nowadays looking at new watches. Available as a dress watch and a pilot looking watch if I remember correctly.I didn t end-up buying one but my stepbrother did eventually, like the one above (photo taken from The Purists superb write-up, here). A 34mm Pythagore with the famous caliber 48 movement. A beautiful designed case, dial, hands and movement that stood out from many other brands a...
I can be a real pest. Just this past March, during Baselworld 2015, Fratello team members Gerard, Blaise and I were sitting around in our rented accommodation, drinking canned German beer, and talking about the new watches wed seen earlier in the day. When you get a few vintage watch geeks together, such as in this instance, the conversation ultimately takes a turn towards pieces from yesteryear. We passed around the older watches that we had packd for the occasion, as none of us really like to wear new watches to the show and risk offending any one brand, and started talking about watches on our respective wish lists. Well, I mentioned a few on my list and threw out the name, Enicar Sherpa ...
After launching the P1lot One (read here and here), a non-profit pilot s watch exclusively for 52 forum members, some of the members of the construction team joined forces and started SUBDELTA, handbuilt Dutch watches. Every year, a maximum of 100 handbuilt watches will be issued.The first crowdfunding watch project for SUBDELTA is the Periscope. Designed and built in the Netherlands,this Periscope model commemorates the Dutch submarine legacy. Design elements that grab back to that submarine legacy can be found in the dial for example. Submarine crew can now see the time (and whether it is day/night) in one glance of the dial, due to the day & night indicator and the single hand. The SU...
MeisterSinger specializes in manufacturing watches that feature one single hand C and only show what is really important. Mostly, a single, needle-thin hour hand rotates around a dial on which you can accurately tell the time to the nearest five minutes.However, the Salthora, which was first presented in 2014, features a minute hand instead C and the hour is shown in a circular window positioned at 12 oclock. As soon as the hand reaches the middle of the window every sixty minutes, the number denoting the next hour appears in the window like a flash.The jumping hour principle was first used in wristwatches during the 1920s. However, its perfection is quite a technical challenge.The Salthora ...
Remember our review about Bulang & Sons straps? As part of our monthly Watch Strap Review series, editor Balazs Ferenczi makes sure to try & review all the straps out there that matter. Well, now you can also visit the Bulang and Sons lounge in Maastricht, The Netherlands to see all straps and other accessories in the flesh before you buy.On the 2nd of May, Berhard Bulang (and sons) opened a beautiful lounge that is not only about watches and watch straps (although there are a lot of them), but also about other essentials for urban survival. A couple of beautiful vintage bicycles, clothing, vintage Louis Vuitton bags, a nice turntable, fountain pens and so on. The place is beautifull...
Its weekend! We decided to come up with some easy-to-digest content for the weekend, as youve probably been doing enough reading all week. From now on, we will publish our Weekend Watch Lists feature every weekend, to show you overviews with information about the consumer watch market. Our overviews are based on data from on-line watch consumers. Per list we will indicate the countries from which we used the data, as this will vary to keep it interesting. It will be interesting to see how much taste in watches can differ per country and continent. Data is retrieved fromChronolytics.ch, watch market research company that operates under the flag of Ebner Verlag (publishing house of magazines l...
Breitling introduces a limited edition Navitimer AOPA. AOPA? Yes, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. This association of aircraft owners and pilot s was founded in 1939 in the United States and is the world s largest. They ve chosen the Breitling Navitimer as their official watch and their logo was featured on the dial of many Navitimers in the 1950s and 1960s.As a tribute to the original 1950s Breitling Navitimer AOPA, the Grenchen manufacture created this limited edition of 500 pieces with the AOPA logo on the dial. It is pretty much similar to those classic Navitimer watches with slide-rule and chronograph dial. You could say that the Navitimer is one of those classic and iconic chro...
Being a WIS (Watch Idiot Savant) means that everywhere you go, the first thing you recognize is the watch someone is wearing. Let that be the doctor, the cashier, teacher, banker, people on TV or even your new colleague. I remember a few years ago when I was deeply into the various watch communities, every once in a while there was a thread from a forum member who spotted a watch in a movie or TV show. There is even a cool website dedicated to watches in movies, titled, well what else; watches in movies.?Our readers might remember that not too long ago, I already did a write-up on the nice Speedy that Colin Firths character wore in the movie Before I Go to Sleep. Well, we did not have to wai...
It seems like it happened longer ago, but in fact it was only a year ago this past February that one of our rivals, albeit a friendly rival, published an article that seemed to send shockwaves throughout the vintage watch collecting hobby. Perhaps, but perhaps not, Im overstating things and it only affected a narrow slice of the market, but it certainly caught my attention. The article Im referring to is the story on the Universal Geneve Compax Nina Rindt published by Hodinkee in February 2014. It was a captivating article because it brought together great research, beautiful photos, a compelling story and, most importantly, a stunning vintage watch.When I say that the article brought upon a...
If you know thing or two about watches you ve probably heard about Tudor by now. You might also be aware of the fact that Tudor and have to do something with each other. founder Hans Wilsdorf founded Tudor as daughter company of the big crown. One of the daughter companies I should say, there were more brands in the stable.Tudor was meant to be able to offer a cheaper watch, but with the same high quality as its big brother. In many cases, only the wording on the dial and the movements that Tudor used were different to those from . Some collections were really similar, such as the Submariner. With this article about the Tudor Submariner I d like to give you an overview of the different mo...
I like a to be clean and simple. That s why I love the Explorer so much for example. Last year, introduced some beautiful Oyster Perpetual models in 36mm with amazing looking dials (White Grape, Red Grape and Steel grey). However, at 36mm they are considered small for today s standards. Some men can get away with it, but I don t belong to that group I am afraid. My 36mm Datejust gets hardly any wear because it looks so small on my wrists. A pity, as it is a beautiful timepiece. Of course, the Datejust II would be a perfect alternative.But not everyone is into a date on the dial of their watch, let alone that they want a cyclops to stick out. Two?alternatives were the Milgauss in 41mm an...
