The indication of the phase of the moon is among the most aesthetic, poetic, and practically useless complications that modern horology has to offer. While its everyday necessity undoubtedly is questionable, its splash of blue, its constellation of stars and the Moons humble but recurrent domination collectively enable this small window to lend a unique charm to any watch dial. Since its restart during the early 1990s, A. Lange Sohne has presented twelve models with this complication, but for t [...]

Independent brand Oris is no stranger to paying tribute to historic figures with its limited editions, with special releases over the past few years honoring everyone from jazz legend John Coltrane to baseball great Roberto Clemente. One of the most heroic of Oris subjects is decorated U.S. Navy Master Diver Carl Brashear, who since 2016 has inspired two dramatic bronze reimaginings of the vintage inflected Divers Sixty-Five dive watch series. For its third Brashear-inspired model, Oris not only [...]

In the context of Richard Mille watches, the RM 011 collection needs little introduction. Originally released several years ago, the Richard Mille RM 011 Felipe Massa collection is arguably the brands original breakout model that helped the ultra-high-end sports watch brand reach its current status in the luxury watch community. For 2015, Richard Mille adds something arguably basic but special for the brand-the first bracelet option for the Richard Mille RM 011 is also the first bracelet for any [...]

At Baselworld 2016, Breguet debuted a new line extension of their Type XXI with the reference 3817ST/X2/3ZU 2016 Breguet Type XXI 3817 that bears a vintage-style dial with light tan coloring accents. This is my favorite line of watches from Breguet at this time, and like sister brand Blancpain at The Swatch Group, I continue to urge that these two brands market their great sport watches separately from their more classic style of timepieces that they are often more known for.Premium-priced but e [...]

Well, would you look at that the folks over at Richard Mille, known purveyors, of all things, to make crazy lightweight watches, have just come up with a new material to incorporate into their timepiece designs. ?Then again, I say (type?) that with tongue firmly in cheek. While this is certainly a new material in the world of luxury watches, its not something they invented on their own. The material in question is a carbon fiber-based material thats made by layers of CF filaments (no more than [...]

Being both a full-on watch and?car nut, you can imagine my surprise when in season 22 of British motoring show Top Gear I saw an entire challenge featuring a Breitling?Emergency II watch. Sure,?it is not unusual for watch enthusiasts to be car nuts as well-I have met countless watch nerds over the last few years who, after a bit of conversation,?showed their car lover side as well. Top Gear is a?motoring show that needs no introduction to any car fan in the world: viewed by around 350 million pe [...]

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 44mm full pave with diamondsAt the watch trade show SIHH 2015, Audemars Piguet has quietly released a few extremely loud watches that are full pave diamond-covered versions of various Royal Oak Offshore collection timepieces. While Audemars Piguet has historically been known for purist watch making and traditional design, the brand today is split between offering luxury lifestyle timepieces as well as those rich with Swiss watch making heritage. Tho [...]

While the made-for-retail novelties tend to occupy most of the spotlight during the tradeshow cycles, my favorite announcements are routinely found among the concept pieces-stuff thats not commercially viable or even remotely attainable for the vast majority of us. What makes these releases particularly fun or compelling isnt the wild design (though this is all but a given, most of the time) or the gleefully stratospheric prices, but the promise of whats to come for the future of the industry-in [...]

While theyve grown in popularity and arent quite as rare as they once were, ceramic watches are still uncommon and pretty costly, all things considered. I first handled this Longines HydroConquest All-Black Ceramic watch back in 2019 at Couture in Las Vegas, and I felt the execution was largely satisfying and worthy of a brand that has access to the Swatch Groups resources. Over a year out since its release, it still gives off that feeling of stealthy luxury as soon as I put it on the wrist. Its [...]

The rear of this Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean GMT Orange Ceramic watch has a curious phrase that Ive never seen on a timepiece before.? According to Omega it is something theyve never placed on a case before either. A promise of World Premiere appears on the case back of this dive watch adjacent to the limited edition number. It suggests to the world that there is something inherently special that one has never seen before in a timepiece. True enough, this is Omegas way of celebrating the first [...]

Vintage-inspired sports watches have grown to encompass a massive segment of the current luxury watch market, with no signs of slowing down in the near future. Although the the concept is ubiquitous today, one of the first brands to explore the possibilities of vintage reissues beyond limited-run specialty models was Longines. In 2007, the Swiss marque first released the Legend Diver line, a faithful reimagining of the sought-after 1959 Longines Super-Compressor dive watch, and the line has been [...]

A?watch designers job is to create a relationship between the wearer and their watch. The new Roger Dubuis Excalibur Knights of the Round Table II watch does this is a clever way. By decorating the dial with a culturally significant diorama, the wearer is not only comfortable with an image they have seen many times before, but they are also susceptible to its potential as an emotional trigger. With a single glance, a whole gamut of feeling can be released: Pride, passion, patriotism, for example [...]

Breitlings most iconic and famous model is the Navitimer. Ive reviewed the Navitimer 01, which included for the first time the in-house manufacture Calibre 01 movement.For 2014, Breitling makes two small, but important, changes to the already legendary model. First, the Navitimer gets an extra large version. The 46 mm cased model results in a larger timepiece that allows it to be more wearable over a pilots jacket and in keeping with some modern wristwatch tastes and trends. Also, the Navitimer [...]

It is part of Cartiers strategy to suspend production of products like watches when they are still popular - only to reintroduce them some years later in a new form. Cartier has done this with a number of its iconic models, and it performs the admirable task of making something old look new again. The latest watch collection to get a fresh treatment by the designs at Cartier is the Pasha. Today, I look at the reference WSPA0009 Pasha de Cartier 41mm Automatic that is a new release for 2020.My un [...]

Sponsored Post written for by advertiser.Our last few Grand Seiko events at Topper featured Grand Seikos legendary Japanese craftsmen performing impressive demonstrations disassembling and reassembling their esteemed calibres. This Thursday, May 11, 2017, will be a different type of event. Our good friend, Seiko USAs Rusty Rowlands, will present prototypes of the new 2017 models released at Baselworld and discuss the new direction and hugely popular rebranding of Grand Seiko. Rusty will also b [...]

The 158-year-old Montblanc Manufacture (that you probably recognize more easily when I call it by its former name,?Minerva) in Villeret, Switzerland, is where the brands halo products come from, and you can always look forward to their cutting-edge work. The Montblanc TimeWalker Pythagore Ultra-Light Concept watch released today is all about being ultra light, as is explicit in its name. How light is it? Montblanc claims it is one of the lightest watches in the world, at just 14.88 grams. This i [...]

In recent years, as fierce competition between high-end brands and luxury groups has further intensified, watch certifications have stepped up as a favored weapon of choice, functioning as yet another quality-differentiating factor, if you like.?The problem, though, is that these certifications-including important factors such as their exact?criteria?and required processes, as well as what they?really?mean to the consumer and for the value of a timepiece-are?much less well known or understood.Ta [...]

How much over retail do you think this Breguet Ref. 5157 watch will go fetch for charity? With a retail price of $16,200 the 18k gold Breguet watch is currently on eBay awaiting January 9th, 2011, when the auction will end. The proceeds are said to go to the New York Philharmonics School Partnership Program. When the money is eventually delivered, the children who attend schools that benefit from charity will no doubt be shocked to have received money from a man that died almost 200 years ago. [...]

Black, as designers say, is timeless. Reinventing an existing sports watch with a black coating has become an easy way for brands to give a design a more modern, aggressive flair in the current watch market, but the black watch trend dates all the way back to 1972. Porsche Design was the first to create a black-coated design with its inaugural Chronograph 1, and to celebrate 50 years of both the foundational black chronograph and of the brand itself, Porsche Design returns to its roots with a pa [...]

One of the surprise hits for me at Baselworld 2016 was the new Mido Ocean Star Captain V in titanium (reference M026.430.44.061.00). Mido is one of the less well-known Swatch Group brands, at least in the United States, but it has some cool watches such as the Commander and Multifort. I understand that Mido watches do particularly well in South America, actually Anyhow, the brands flagship dive watch collection has always been the Ocean Star, and this is the Ocean Star Captain V (which came afte [...]