During the past decade or so, the IWC Aquatimer has lived a very discreet life since the brand’s promotional activities were mostly dominated by the Pilot’s and Portugieser collections. A dive watch with a classic look, solid construction and original internal bezel construction, the Aquatimer has long been underappreciated. In order to bring the watch back into the game without changi...
Our environment can give birth to fascinating concepts, and designers have been inspired by nature for centuries. This is also the case for the Signature design of Gimbutis (a jewellery/watch brand founded by Romas Gimbutis). It is inspired by the pine cone that, like many plants, illustrates the Fibonacci sequence or golden ratio in its structure. Curvy lines and three-dimensional seed scale patt...
1969 was a monumental year for multiple reasons. It’s the year mankind set foot on the moon for the first time, the Boeing 747 Jumbojet made its maiden voyage, Eddy Merckx wins his first of five Tours de France races, and the Beatles made their last public performance. In watchmaking, it will forever be the year of the automatic chronograph. Next to Hamilton/Heuer/Breitling and Zenith, Seiko...
If you're a watch enthusiast who likes a good story to go along with a good watch, chances are you have heard of the Dirty Dozen military watches. In case you haven't and don't feel like a deep dive on the subject, here is the short version: the Dirty Dozen is the colloquial name given to one watch, supplied by twelve different brands, to British military personnel in the Second World War. The pro...
Fratello Watches, our fellow Dutch (in origin at least) watch platform, has once again presented a tantalising limited edition. Partnering with Louis Moinet, the inventor of the chronograph, Fratello chose to mix up the latest chapter in the brand’s long and record-setting lineage of the chronograph watch. From the very first to the very latest, the Memoris is kept alive, thanks to Jean-Mari...
For many years, the classic Pilot’s Chronograph of IWC has been this very watch, the reference IW377709. This streamlined yet large 43mm watch has long been powered by a modified Valjoux 7750 movement and has been basically the entry-level option for anyone wanting a pilot’s chrono from the brand, with the emblematic design. Last year, IWC Schaffhausen brought something new, slightly m...
It’s not the first time year we’ve grouped together a selection of chronograph watches, and it’s likely not going to be the last time. With Watches & Wonders already well and truly in the past, and Geneva Watch Days not quite here yet, brand’s haven’t slowed down much to present us with new and exciting watches. And with the chronograph being a fan favourite compl...
In all its 174 years of existence, if you take its origins as La Generale Watch Co. into consideration, Omega has left a profound impression on the watchmaking industry. With countless iconic watches and collections in its archives, and of course, always striving for innovative materials, applications and complications, Omega is widely considered to be one of the best in the business. Then, now, a...
Jaeger-LeCoultre's Master Control Calendar broke rank with the past and appeared in an all-steel version two months ago. As the brand's classical, slightly vintage branch, the Master Control family combines technical rigour with aesthetics inspired by the round timepieces made by the brand in the 1950s. Equipped with an interchangeable stainless steel bracelet and a sober silver dial, the Master C...
Colour has become a key protagonist in the watch world these days. We've seen just about every colour under the sun splashed across dials, and many brands tout a simple change of dial colour as a novelty. Colour can be fun, but it can also get tiring. A vibrant purple dial might be tempting, but after a couple of years might start to look dated. After all, Pantone produces an official colour every...
Studio Underd0g brings some much-needed fun and light-heartedness to the watch scene. As a one-man, one-product microbrand, British designer Richard Benc decided to follow his instincts and inject some fun colours into watchmaking combined with excellent design and manual-winding chronograph movements produced by Seagull. Teaming up with watch and tennis journalist Miguel Seabra, the latest Studio...
We are all very well aware of the fact green seems all the rage over the past few years. It is a trend that really gained momentum three, maybe four years back. Sure, prior to that we saw green dials as well, but nowadays they are everywhere. We've also noticed a shift towards other colours, something we've addressed before (here and here) and we welcome very much. One of the colours seemingly pop...
Let’s say that you are looking for a robust dive watch with 200-metre water resistance from a brand with bona fide dive credentials but don’t fancy wearing a hockey puck on your wrist. Oh, and you wouldn’t mind a touch of retro flair, and why not, a trendy gradient dial, a day/date function, a practically indestructible movement, and a price that will still let you rent some scub...
Growing up as a youngster, I vividly remember sitting in front of the TV on a Saturday night with a bowl of snacks and tuning into a James Bond movie. It is one of my fondest TV-related memories from my childhood and it cemented my fandom for the movie franchise in its entirety. And part of me, as perhaps most young boys do, fantasized about how it would be to actually be James Bond. Of course, th...
It's no secret that integrated steel sports watches are trending these days, especially the affordable ones. Models like the Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 are wildly popular, while lesser-known microbrands have admirable offerings like the Dumoreau DM01 Automatic. New York-based Retter Watches is introducing an integrated piece of its own with the Retter 22, which also happens to be the new microbrand'...
We've spent quite a lot of time talking about sports watches in The Collector's Corner. In the last article, we took a look at the Breguet Type XX, but now we head back to the realm of the dress watch. No more dress complications this time - we've had quite a few of those already (both from JLC and from Breguet). No, now we talk about the pinnacle of the dress watch: time-only, and what better way...
It's not a well-known piece of trivia, but the German brand Junghans was one of the official timekeepers for the Summer Olympic Games held in Munich in 1972 (the other was Longines). Although we associate the brand from the Black Forest with minimalist Bauhaus-driven designs, Junghans also played an important role in the Munich Olympics, providing timekeeping instruments for disciplines like the 1...
Tissot might be coming up for its 170th birthday next year, but it has always known how to keep pace with the times. As one of the first brands to court the exciting world of car racing in the late 1950s, Tissot and sporty chronographs have become natural allies. One of the brand's earliest watches inspired by the race track was the PR 516 of 1965; a novel steel sports watch with a perforated stee...
Last year TAG Heuer surprised us with a very handsome and trendy green special edition of one of its most iconic models in the current line-up. The dial of TAG Heuer Carrera Green Special Edition had a unique tone, following the green trend on foot, yet with a bit of a twist. This year we again see a lot of green, however also some new colours being thrown in the mix, which is a very nice developm...
LVMH, the world's largest luxury-goods company, has just released its results for the first semester of 2022. The French luxury powerhouse delivered again record performance with a revenue of EUR 36.7 billion, up 28% compared to the same period in 2021. Organic revenue growth was 21%. All business groups achieved double-digit organic revenue growth over the period. The profit from recurring operat...
Determined to shed its image as a brand limited to formal, classically inspired watches, Frederique Constant plunged into the luxury sports watch pool two years ago with its Highlife collection. Something definitely clicked because the brand’s more contemporary and sporty Highlife collection is driving sales noticeably. Represented by complications large and small, the Highlife finally recei...
Oris announces its collaboration with Wings of Hope, a US-based humanitarian organisation that uses aviation to bring medical support to remote communities. As part of the brand's “Change for the Better” programme, Oris hopes to raise awareness about the work of Wings of Hope by launching two special models based on the Big Crown pilot's watch: a 40mm steel model limited to 1,000 piece...
Seemingly from out of nowhere, or at least with very little communication, IWC has launched a new Mark model. The new IWC Pilot’s Watch Mark XX, skipping the Mark XIX in the process, by the way, is the brand’s latest edition in the iconic range of aviation-themed watches. It’s not the first time such a quiet release is done (remember a certain Omega?) so imagine our surprise this...
When it comes to dive watches, deeper is better, right? Although in reality that might depend on who you ask, in general, a greater depth rating means a more robust construction. But getting to greater depths with a watch isn’t simply a case of building a bigger, beefier, heavier watch. It requires a bit more than that, as you have to take things like legibility, compression and decompressio...
Stylish, casual yet elegant, the Bulgari Aluminium makes a great option for a summer watch The timing is therefore appropriate for a review of the latest iteration that has been released in the collection, a limited-edition GMT paying tribute to an emblematic Italian vessel and the spirit of adventure it represents. Let’s have a closer look at the new Bulgari Aluminium GMT Amerigo Vespucci L...
When the intrepid Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont flew his airship around the Eiffel Tower in 1901, he became the man of the hour. Not only is there an airport named after him in Rio de Janeiro, but the first men’s watch specifically designed to be fastened around the wrist bears his name. The Santos watch?by Cartier, which is generally acknowledged as the first men's wristwatch, was...
Since its introduction in mid-2021, the Tissot PRX has become some sort of a phenomenon for the brand. Surfing on the vibe of the high-end luxury sports watch with integrated bracelet, yet with a far more accessible price despite its great execution, the collection has rapidly expanded to now feature classic steel models, steel-and-gold editions, a trendy green dial and now a bold chronograph vers...
After rebooting Lebois & Co.?Dutch entrepreneur Tom van Wijlick decided to tackle another challenge… Reviving one of the most illustrious names and watches in the history of aviation, Airain and the Type 20 Flyback Chronograph for the French Aeronavale. Knowing the fame surrounding these watches, it was quite a tricky task and no fault was permitted. The result, which took the shape of t...
Trends come and go. What the fashion industry has tough us is that nothing is immutable, everything comes to an end, but trends are cycles that sooner or later can come back. Some trends fade away as fast as they come, and some stick around longer. The watch industry is no stranger to these cycles. Vintage-inspired watches were a thing of the early 2010s yet they are still hugely successful. Overs...
Shark week kicks off today, a week devoted to the mighty apex predator of the seas whose very existence is being threatened by overfishing. The often misunderstood and feared Great White, depicted as a ferocious man-eating creature in Steven Spielberg's film Jaws, is essential to the natural order of marine ecosystems. As a brand closely linked to the sea, Ulysse Nardin takes its support of safegu...