Last summer, in 2016, we saw the release of the Piaget Polo S and Polo S Chronograph watches. Designed and marketed as an everyday steel watch intended to attract the growing market segment of younger watch aficionados who appreciate in-house movements, unique and versatile design, and look for serious horological cred (#womw is likely a regular part of their social media vocabulary, as well). While there is not too much in the broad $5,000-$10,000 range that checks all these boxes, Piaget may h [...]
In 1969 Omega introduced the Speedmaster Mark (Mk) II as an updated version of the outgoing Speedmaster. It happened to be in the same year that Omega also had a few of its older generation Speedmasters make their way to the moon in the NASA Apollo 11 mission, but that of course is another story. With a newly formed case that would become an iconic symbol of the brand as well as the era, the Omega Speedmaster Mark II will be re-introduced by Omega this year in 2014 with a modern movement but a d [...]
For 2022, Breitling has redesigned its iconic Navitimer Chronograph watch, which for decades has been a staple of high-end tool timepieces originally designed for commercial airline pilots in the early 1950s. The Navitimer has seen countless iterations over the years and is one of the worlds most recognized luxury sports watches. It has not, however, experienced a recent makeover under Breitlings current stewardship by Georges Kern. The updated Breitling Navitimer for 2022 is known officially as [...]
Prior to the Geneva watch trade show SIHH 2015, watch and luxury goods maker Montblanc has announced it is stepping into the smartwatch market-well, at least the smart wearables market. The upcoming Montblanc Timewalker Urban Speed collection of timepieces will have an optional strap called the e-Strap (product reference 113827)-perhaps the first smart connected wearable from an established luxury company. The e-Strap features a high-end leather strap that has a carbon fiber texture to it that M [...]
Geneva-based Patek Philippe - one of the worlds most respected and demanded luxury watchmakers - has just announced plans to cease retail watch sales, at least temporarily. The company will not stop producing watches, but it will no longer sell them in a retail store environment. Patek Philippe appears to be responding to current volatile luxury market conditions by removing itself entirely, at least for the time being. Patek Philippe brand stores will remain in operation, but to serve a differe [...]
Bell Ross had a strong collection of new watches for 2013 at Baselworld this year. My personal favorite model is the BR 126 Blackbird (UPDATE: Bell Ross has officially changed the name of the watch to the Bell Ross BR 126 Flyback), a limited edition model with a personality that is meant to honor the origin of Bell Ross as a brand. At first glance, this watch might look like just another color variation in the BR 126 collection, but it is not that at all. Lets first consider the beginnings o [...]
When it comes to iconic designs, I would posit that the Bell Ross BR03 series is certainly up there. ?I mean, if you see a square-cased aviator, who do you think produced it? ?Bell Ross, thats who. ?So, when it came time to release some new stuff for Baselworld 2016, the brand came up with a new iteration (three of them, actually) the Bell Ross BR-03 Desert Type, which the brand claims is based on the sand colored outfits of Air Force pilots on desert missions.Now, for those well-versed in t [...]
On December 7th, 2016, invited guests in Miami, Florida, for a holiday party with Swiss watchmaker Parmigiani Fleurier. Other than it being an excuse for watch lovers to gather and converse, it was a chance for Parmigiani to show off their exhibition of 20 movements to celebrate 20 years of the brand. We also headed to the Miami Super Car Rooms to check out some automobiles and have dinner.In 1996, Mr. Michel Parmigiani had the incredibly fortunate opportunity to start a new company, under his [...]
Welcome to My First Grail Watch, a new interview series on that explores the first major timepiece lusted after by important people in the watch industry. (ABTW): Who are you and what is your relationship to the watch industry? Jean-Claude Biver (JCB): My passion is watches. And I am the lucky man who can work every day in his passion. Which means I dont want to disconnect and dont need weekends and holidays. I believe that working everyday in ones passion is one of the greatest luxuries in li [...]
As a special bonus giveaway this month, we are pleased to offer one lucky winner a Hamilton Khaki X-Wind Auto Chrono watch, the same model as the timepiece worn by actor Liam Hemsworth (who plays the character Jake Morrison) in the new movie Independence Day: Resurgence. Hamilton has a few watches in the new Twentieth Century Fox film that is the sequel to the original Independence Day movie which came out a full 20 years ago in 1996. As a youth, I have very specific memories of the movie coming [...]
The world of Cartier has a range of timepiece levels. This includes the brands Classics, which represent their more mainstream watches with relatively simple movements, the Fine Watchmaking arena of much higher-end complications and haute horology, and finally, the middle area of Small Complications. This is small, as opposed to grand, in the arena of timepieces, where the latter refers to what is much more complex and, of course, expensive. What we can find in the Cartier Rotonde Small Complica [...]
BullToro! The name of a terrible looking watch brand and our new favorite word to say. BullToro! We also discuss the new version of the Cartier Crash watches, wearing the MBF HM5, and more on watch winders (exciting!).Listen to the HourTime show watch podcast episode 126 here. Download the MP3. [...]
This Spring?- precisely when depended on the market - Hublot debuted not only a new watch, but a new kind of watch, the Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti, in two versions: the All Black and the Scritto. The fashion world received it with great fanfare. To those in the world of fine timepieces, it was seemingly a softer launch, but the watch crowd should have taken more notice - because this, my friends, is the ghost of Christmas future.As I wrote in the foreword of Ariel Adams weighty tome The World [...]
Until recently, it was widely believed that 2020 would come and go without the release of new omega wristwatches. The watch-loving community certainly has respect for the incredible challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but like clockwork (pun sort of intended), new omega watches have been debuted annually in or around March at the (now retired) Baselworld watch trade show. When it turned out that Baselworld wasnt happening in 2020, and given the news that omega (among others) was leav [...]
Today, I got hands-on with a member of the freshly reintroduced Citizen Series 8 watch collection, the platform where Citizen has launched a series of existing new automatic mechanical movements. Citizen originally debuted the latest generation Series 8 watches back in March 2021 on to much fanfare because it has been about a decade since Citizen introduced any new mechanical movements for its timepieces. The Japanese company did, indeed, release new mechanical movements through its in-house Mi [...]
One of Omegas many sponsorships and partnerships is as Official Timekeeper of the Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) sailing team. For the 35th Americas Cup yacht race taking place this month, June 2017, the Swiss watch maker has announced a couple of limited edition watches including this Omega Speedmaster X-33 Regatta ETNZ that the team members wear while actually racing. Compared to other collections from Omega, its been a while since weve talked about this interesting but rare family of digita [...]
One of the last things I was expecting from Cartier for 2014 was a dive watch, and now that we have one I can barely imagine not wanting it. That is how the peculiar desire engine of the watch industry works. As mixed up and backwards as the industry may be, it still has the power to create items that I suddenly desire which I would have never thought appealing until they were brought to my attention. I am not even sure that a dive watch from the? famously elegant and classy Parisian brand makes [...]
In 1972, luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet released a new watch collection called the Royal Oak. The watch was designed for Audemars Piguet by a young jewelry and watch designer named Gerald Genta, who had been making rounds designing watches for a few other similarly positioned timepiece brands - and who would later go on to design the Patek Philippe Nautilus and several more watches, along with eventually creating his own eponymous brand.The Royal Oak was a marine-themed luxury lifestyle [...]
Unless you know Italian, the word Tonda might not mean anything to you. Tonda is actually Italian for round, and the Tonda 1950 specifically is home to Parmigianis collection of ultra-thin round watches. As one of the participants of the first-ever Watches Wonder in Miami, Parmigiani is announcing its new Tonda 1950 Annual Calendar watch. Available in rose and white gold, the Tonda 1950 Annual Calendar is an interesting option for watch lovers who are seeking out an ultra-thin annual calendar w [...]
I have a soft spot for meticulously hand-engraved watch dials. For me, it is the epitome of being able to wear traditional hand-made art on your wrist. Of course, it is true that watch movements when produced properly are highly artistic, but I am talking about more traditional representative art which is meant to depict the real (and fantasy) world around us. So with that said, youll understand why I am so keen on these new Blancpain Villeret Shakudo watches that incorporate the Japanese metal [...]