IWC Schaffhausen's emblematic Big Pilot's Watch collection is of great historical relevance and has evolved from a purely functional piece to more of a statement watch if there ever as one. The very idea of legibility and oversized cases is still very much alive and serves the BP collection well.?This year alone, several new models have been released already, including a smaller time-only model, t...
On February 18th 2021 history was made, when Nasa's Perseverance Rover landed in the Jezero Crater on the surface of Mars, the Red Planet. With this monumental feat of engineering, mankind is perhaps one step closer to interplanetary travel and colonization of Mars. It will most likely take decades for that to actually happen as interplanetary travel is extremely risky, time-consuming, and above a...
As the official timekeeper and partner of the classic Italian 1000 Miglia car race since 1988, Chopard releases new sports watches every year to celebrate this longstanding partnership. The 2021 edition of the Mille Miglia took place in June, and as is customary, Chopard's co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele was behind the wheel of his Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR with racing legend and close friend Ja...
Accessible dive watches are a dime a dozen. To put it simply, finding one that you’ll like is an endless quest, with so many good options available (and also very bad ones…) But accessibility often means that some concessions on quality, mechanics or specifications will be made. And then comes the style, with many of these watches built around the same overall design. What if you’...
Every week we compile a list under a certain topic of watches that we think is interesting to you, our readers, with our buying guides. And as we are a team with mixed preferences, these topics can be about anything really. We tend to search for interesting variations on a common theme, such as accessible dive watches, or the best sports watches, or even the diversity of a single model by a single...
We return to the shores of Lake Como once again, but not to look at some of the world's best vintage cars, but a futuristic EV hypercar instead. The Automobili Pininfarina Battista has been in the works for a couple of years and has now reached production-ready stages. One of the very first completed client-spec cars took top honours in the Concept Cars & Prototypes class during the Concorso. ...
When you say pilot’s watch and IWC, you might have jet fighters, Top Gun or Spitfire in mind. Meaning, anything related to planes and aviation. But the Schaffhausen-based brand has decided to slightly enlarge the concept and to use the pilot’s collection also for anything related to motorsport, including of course the long-lasting relation with Mercedes-AMG and Lewis Hamilton, but also...
Sometimes our watch-related jobs can lead us to meet fascinating people and to be part of extraordinary experiences. A few weeks ago, I had a phone call from IWC‘s headquarters, which could be summarized this way: “Do you remember that innovative Big Pilot's Watch Shock Absorber XPL?… Of course, I do! Well, we have one out there into the wild that is currently on the wrist of a F...
The annual calendar chronograph is one of the most fascinating yet rarest combinations in the industry, as we’ve experienced in this in-depth article. And one brand in particular does it better than the rest of the bunch, and that is Patek Philippe. For a good reason, since the brand invented the annual calendar function back in 1996. Now, there’s a rather large collection of watches u...
If there’s one combination of complications that Patek has been famed for, it certainly is the chronograph perpetual calendar – something the brand inaugurated with the iconic reference 1518. Following this tradition, the brand has been playing with various watches around the topic, and the king of them all has to be the reference 5204, a watch that packs a traditional hand-wound chron...
The Patek Philippe 5930 World Time Chronograph was first introduced in 2016, being inspired by a one-of-a-kind watch from 1940. It combines the practicality of a chronograph function with that of a world timer. The two iconic complications in Patek‘s repertoire are now presented in an updated, green-coloured platinum version. This is the Patek Philippe World Time Chronograph 5930P.When it wa...
There can be no doubt that Le Brassus-based watchmaker Audemars Piguet was and still is one of the best representatives of the art of Haute Horlogerie. Certainly, the design and style of its watches have evolved over the years to become more contemporary, but one thing that can’t be denied is the brand’s ability to manufacture some of the finest complication movements. Keep in mind tha...
When it comes to watches, there are three, maybe four basic shapes people can expect. The most obvious shape is of course round, simple as that. On the other end of the spectrum, we have watches with a square case. Other than that, we can distinguish cushion-, tonneau-, or helmet-shaped watches but that’s pretty much it. Well, not anymore, as Yvan Monnet is presenting the pentagon-shaped Tzo...
As explained in our first article, Fortis is revamping the Marinemaster collection, a name that has been with the brand since the 1950s. Presented in two sizes, the Fortis Marinemaster M-40 and M-44 are perfectly suited for the adventurous individuals among us. With proper tool watch specifications, and built to withstand a serious beating, the new collection is shaping up to be the next pillar co...
With over 80 years of existence, the IWC Portugieser is amongst the brand’s most emblematic models, if not its most praised watch ever. A watch that has been introduced during the 1930s, it came back on the market during the 1990s and has been the elegant, sporty-chic proposition of the Schaffhausen-based brand ever since. Countless editions have been created, with all possible complications...
Bronze is big at Oris, and the brand has been toying with bronze cases since the release of the Carl Brashear model in 2016. Four years later, it produced the Holstein Edition 2020 Bronze chronograph attached to the first Swiss-made solid bronze bracelet. Signature models like the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date have also been treated to bronze, including attractive two-tone steel and bronze editions ...
Wandering hours are gaining traction in the affordable (midrange) segment with brands like Gorilla and Xeric launching intriguing models. The unusual complication has most often been reserved for luxury pieces like the Urwerk UR-100V T-Rex and Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Capitole, but attainable modules have levelled the playing field a bit. DWISS entered the game last year with the RW1 and its two-...
The luxury sports watch segment, the hottest and most desirable type of watch in the industry for a couple of years now, is bustling with exciting new entries outside of the Holy Trinity. If you're willing to look beyond the usual suspects, you have plenty of options to choose from, ranging from budget-friendly watches from big-volume manufacturers to proper high-end complicated models made by ind...
Every year, the vintage automotive world's creme de la creme gathers on the beautiful grounds of Grand Hotel Villa d'Este for one of the most prestigious car-related events. The Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d’Este is a Concours where 50 of the rarest and unique cars are reunited. Out of these 50 cars, built between 1920 and 2000 (roughly), a “Best of Show” is selected by a specializ...
His name is “Bond, James Bond.” He answers to the MI6 code number 007 and he’s probably the most famous secret service agent in the history of cinema. On his wrist, Commander Bond is, since 1995, wearing OMEGA Seamaster watches. A character of legend, who has fascinated multiple generations all over the world. In 2021 the agent returns to the silver screen, in his latest adventur...
When it comes to high-end complications, the Grande Sonnerie is king, and his successor is the princely Minute Repeater. When it comes to ingenious interpretations of these complications, Fran?ois-Paul Journe is the man of the hour. Six years in the making and protected by ten patents, F.P. Journe's 2005 chiming masterpiece, the Sonnerie Souveraine, doubled the complication factor by combining a G...
The concept of customized watches is far from new and has been around for years – remember Karl Lagerfeld and his blackened RO in the 1970s… But beyond the easy task of applying a PVD coating on a case or adding diamonds on a bezel, some workshops have created more advanced programs to offer an exclusive service of watch modification for private customers. And among them is Artisans de...
It takes a certain amount of bravado for a fledgling independent brand to illustrate a press release with a photograph of the movement side of a new product. But there again, we are talking about the brand formed by Ga?l Petermann and Florian Bedat, the dynamic duo of talented young watchmakers who took home the Horological Revelation Prize at the 2020 edition of the GPHG for their 1967 Deadbeat S...
Not everything in Silicon Valley revolves around high-tech consumer electronics. There are plenty of affluent techies out there who have been seduced by the beauty of good old mechanical watches. To cater to their passion, a club of watch enthusiasts based in Silicon Valley appeared on the scene in 2018. Known as Collective, the club’s first collaboration was a Zenith El Primero Chronomaster...
Baltic, the young and fresh indie watchmaker from France, has managed in a few years to make a name for itself with a collection of superbly designed, neo-retro watches with relatively accessible prices. It all started with a duo of 1940s-inspired watches with a slightly elegant touch. Then, the brand moved into sportier territories with several editions of the Aquascaphe. Today, Etienne Malec (th...
The Carrera, like other collections by Heuer/TAG Heuer, is named after a prolific motorsport event or venue. Legendary names like Monaco, Monza, Silverstone, or Formula 1. All strong names inspired by the world of motorsports. The TAG Heuer Carrera, of course, takes its names from the Carrera Panamericana, a gruelling border-to-border road-racing event held in Mexico from 1950 to 1954. TAG Heuer l...
For those who've wondered if there are tourbillon-regulated dive watches on the market, the simple answer is; yes! But, they are only a few of them and naming some from the top of one's mind can be a challenge. Fear not, however, Angelus have just launched a new watch in its bold U50 collection, so the number of tourbillon dive watches currently available goes up by at least one! Here's the Angelu...
Imagine yourself travelling through Germany, in your beloved sports car, and heading to an event you've been looking forward to for months, years even. The past two years travelling has been very challenging, sometimes downright impossible, and you are glad the world is opening up again. You find yourself in one of the sections of the German Autobahn, a section without a speed limit if the circums...
While you're certainly aware of the fact that the sports watch with integrated bracelet is all the rage these days – with the classic icons of the genre being the most sought-after watches on the market – the genre, which started with almost exclusively high-end watches, is now enlarging with new contenders in the accessible luxury range. And one that made a lot of noise when released ...
There are many watches that we’ve named ‘iconic’ or ’emblematic’ over the years, but few modern timepieces can rival the status of the Lange 1 when it comes to high-end, elegant and finely manufactured watches. A watch that has defined the brand since its resurrection in 1994 – thanks to the joint work of Walter Lange and Gunter Blumlein – and that has bee...