Resurrecting the Ferdinand Berthoud name, an eminent 18th-century horologist, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele (co-president of Chopard) and his team have shown quite a talent to surprise and amaze us. The niche, high-end brand has presented several creations that are not just nostalgic products but modern wristwatches. These are nonetheless loyal to the legacy of the name Berthoud. In particular, the bra...
While Spring has come to Switzerland, the sky over the town of Basel remains cloudy and grey as the (sad) story continues. Already under pressure after the departure of Swatch Group, followed by the exodus of multiple other exhibitors and coupled with the current sanitary crisis, MCH, the owner of Baselworld, was forced to cancel its 2020 edition. This was followed by a series of announcements whe...
The watch that launched the luxury sports watch category and kept Audemars Piguet afloat through thick and thin since 1972 was fittingly named after a 1916 Royal Navy battleship, the HMS Royal Oak. Without delving into its genesis and well-documented history, suffice it to say that the Audemars Piguet’s flagship Royal Oak has been interpreted in countless guises over the years. The Ref. 1550...
Introduced already five years ago just ahead of Baselworld, the Divers Sixty-Five has quickly become one of the most emblematic watches of Oris, existing in countless permanent, special or limited editions, in multiple materials and in several sizes. Surprisingly, Oris managed to make it consistent and most of the editions proved successful – remember the Bi-Co or the silver dial? The latest...
I have always been fascinated by people capable of reinventing themselves. Talent can morph into the most unexpected directions. If you are into music, you are probably familiar with Anthrax, one of the most successful groups of the heavy metal scene. The man who has been their lead guitarist for years, Dan Spitz, has decided to undergo a reconversion and He's now a watchmaker! Making the transiti...
The annual calendar is a relatively young complication' and was first used in a wristwatch by Patek Philippe in 1996. It's the less complicated sibling of the perpetual calendar and only requires one calendar adjustment every year. Today we're looking at the less complicated' combination of a calendar mechanism and a chronograph. So not the esteemed combination of a perpetual calendar and a chrono...
Since the inception of the brand in 2017, with the inaugural 17.01 model, renowned photographer Ming Thein has turned out to be also quite an impressive designer and watch entrepreneur, creating a brand with a consistent style and development. 2020 marks a new step for Ming Watches, which is introducing its second-generation design language and, coincidentally, a new watch. Leaner, dressier and be...
Revisiting the oldest men's wristwatch in 2020 has its difficulties. How far can you stray from the original without corrupting its essence? But, how far should you honour its essence without creating a fuddy-duddy watch? Well, Cartier's latest Santos-Dumont XL manages to reconcile both these extremes in what is perhaps the most historically faithful yet appealingly proportioned and elegant iterat...
Swiss brand Fortis is mostly known for its space-related chronographs, with the Official Cosmonauts range, instrumental, ultra-robust and purpose-built watches supplied to the Russian cosmonaut agency Roscosmos. In addition to watches certified for space travel, Fortis has supplied military squadrons around the world and is still specialized today in pilot’s watches. As a testimony of this, ...
In tune with the times – and also with the current situation, with most brick-and-mortar shops closed – Omega goes digital and now offers the possibility for European collectors to purchase most of its watches online, via a newly opened boutique on its official website. This means that you can now order your Speedy or your Bond watch from home, and directly from the brand.The concept o...
April 27th in the Netherlands is Koningsdag or King’s Day. It is a national holiday and celebrates the birth of King Willem-Alexander who was born on 27 April 1967 to Princess Beatrix and diplomat Claus van Amsberg. He became Prince of Orange when his mother became Queen of the Netherlands on 30 April 1980. Willem-Alexander became King in 2013 after Queen Beatrix abdicated. The King is marri...
Chopard has been a loyal partner to the historic Mille Miglia endurance rally since 1988. Every year, Chopard’s Mille Miglia collection returns in limited editions and has given birth to countless sports watches inspired by classic cars. Although the 2020 edition of the rally is postponed to late October in light of the current situation, Chopard now unveils this year's editions: two models ...
In 1996, under the guidance of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Chopard proudly inaugurated its Fleurier Manufacture and introduced a superb micro-rotor movement, the Calibre 1.96. This brand milestone gave birth to a collection of high-end watches named L.U.C embodying Chopard's finest watchmaking expertise. It laid the foundations for numerous developments including the L.U.C Perpetual Twin, an elegant...
Even if most of the buzz has been generated around the successful Octo collection – and its multiple thinness world records – there is more than just one modern icon produced by the Italian watchmaker/jeweller. Based on a model introduced in the mid-1970s, the Bvlgari Bvlgari collection perpetuates this love affair between Bvlgari and its country of origin, with a deceptively simple de...
The IWC Portugieser was born in 1939 following a request from two Portuguese navigators and businessmen – Rodrigues and Teixeira – who wanted the precision of a marine chronometer in a wristwatch format. No need to say that this iconic IWC collection has strong ties to the nautical world. And to celebrate these roots, IWC is unveiling a new model today with an unprecedented complicatio...
During this unprecedented virtual' edition of Watches & Wonders, Vacheron Constantin unveils a new sepia-brown dial colour for its Fiftysix automatic and complete calendar references. Underscoring the relaxed vintage mood of the collection, the warm brown dials are housed in 40mm pink gold cases and come with a matching brown calfskin strap with beige stitching. Concerning the movement, case a...
Following the Arktos (2002-2004), North Pole Winter (2006), Pangea (2008-2012) and Pole2Pole expeditions (2016-2019), Panerai teams up again with Mike Horn this year. In the frame of the brand's experiences' program, the brand unveils a special edition watch, a Submersible Tourbillon GMT available in only 5 pieces, that will allow buyers to live an experience in the Arctic with the South African/S...
Panerai's ‘Laboratorio de Idee’ has been a platform to explore and innovate regarding materials, today a field of expertise for the brand. The latest addition to the portfolio of high-tech materials is Fibratech, made from mineral fibres produced by the fusion of basalt rock. Meet the Panerai Luminor Marina Fibratech?PAM01163.Fibratech?is a composite material based on basalt rock fibre...
For this 2020 edition of Watches & Wonders, Vacheron Constantin presents its Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Skeleton, a stunning display of watchmaking prowess housed in a luxurious pink gold case with an ultra-slim height of just 8.1mm. Nothing has changed regarding the case, its proportions, the layout or the beating heart of the movement powered by Vacheron's prestigious Calibre 112...
One of the most advanced watches of our day, A.Lange & Sohne’s Zeitwerk Minute Repeater is the only watch in the world to combine a jumping numeral display with a decimal minute repeater. Five years after its debut, the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater is revisited in 2020 in a 30-piece limited white gold edition with a blue dial.BackgroundThe first Zeitwerk model, introduced in 2009, featured t...
At the SIHH 2018, Piaget stole the show by smashing the world record for the thinnest mechanical watch after unveiling the Altiplano Ultimate Concept. Naturally, it was no surprise to see such an achievement from Piaget. Over the years, the brand has set numerous world records of thinness with automatic or manual movements. And records are meant to be broken. What surprised everybody was the amazi...
This year at IWC Schaffhausen the iconic Portugieser family is in the spotlight. One of the novelties is the IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42. Smaller in size with a simpler layout of the calendar information, the new Perpetual Calendar 42 is a toned-down, more moderate and less expensive younger brother of the existing 44mm Perpetual Calendar. Still fitted with Kurt Klaus's ingenious perpetu...
A decade after its maiden voyage, the third-generation Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph (Ref. 3907) sails into port. The novelties are a larger case size, the relocation of the date window, some fine-tuning on the dial and a new metal bracelet. Still ticking to the tune of in-house automatic calibre 89361 with a flyback function and a unique chronograph display using one dial to indicate elapsed...
Unexpected yet at the same time quite relevant given the background of Mr Ferrier, the Grand Sport Tourbillon was introduced a year ago as Laurent Ferrier’s vision of an (ultra-high-end) luxury sports watch. Mixing a more common case material with a delicate, hand-finished tourbillon movement, it was the Haute Horlogerie version of what is today the most coveted of all watch categories. Firs...
For several years, Panerai has relied on its R&D ‘Laboratorio di Idee’ to advance its commitment to innovation. In this respect, the brand’s research in the field of high-tech material is next to none. Among the latest additions to the Luminor family is a cool, stealth monochrome edition combining innovative materials and manufacturing technologies. Meet the Panerai Luminor M...
In 2015, in the frame of its 260th anniversary, Vacheron Constantin launched a beautiful mono-pusher chronograph tourbillon housed in a cushion-shaped case, the Harmony. The watch was powered by the Calibre 3200. This superb movement now returns in a classic case, a new but no less beautiful attire Meet the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Chronograph Tourbillon.The Traditionnelle Chronograph To...
Six months ago, in October 2019, A. Lange & Sohne unveiled the Odysseus, its first luxury steel sports watch. Unlike the icons that have dominated this segment for decades, the Odysseus struck out with its very own personality inciting mixed reactions. The Achilles’ heel of this watch, at least gauging by the comments of our readers, was the steel bracelet. Beautifully finished according...
It's the year of the Portugieser at IWC and the Portugieser Chronograph welcomes two new dial colours to the family. Previously known as the ref. IW3714, the big news in February 2020 was that the chronograph had been upgraded with an in-house calibre. The other good news for fans of the iconic Ref. IW3714 was that the design of the watch remained intact. ?Already available in six iterations in a ...
The Portugieser (no longer referred to as Portuguese or Portugaise) is probably IWC’s most emblematic collection. With a history dating back to the late 1930s with the reference 325, this nautical-inspired and elegant watch has been equipped with all possible complications. However, over the last couple of years, there have been no time-only models in the collection – somewhat surprisi...
Cartier expands its Santos timepiece collection with five very special limited-edition watches all bearing the names of the Brazilian aviator's legendary flying machines.? With such a colourful character like early aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont in your archives, it makes sense to capitalise on this particular chapter in Cartier's history. The son of a wealthy Brazilian coffee planter, Alb...