The Internet is a wonderful thing it enables all sorts of business and activities, and allows us to more easily gain knowledge on whatever our chosen hobby happens to be. With the watch world, weve got no end of sites, personal blogs, and forums to rely on. But sometimes you just want to have a face-to-face chat about watches and thats where the Commonwealth Crew comes in.At least, that is, if you are in the Chicago area. The Commonwealth Crew is one of the newest offshoots of the rather popul [...]

You dont have to be a longtime reader to know that we sorta love the Bulgari Octo. Weve loved it in plain-jane steel, weve loved it when things get complicated, when it literally sings, but we really loved it when it broke some records and sent Piaget scrambling. And hell, we might even love it now in pink. As the latest recipient of the Midas touch, the Octo Finissimo Automatic Gold might not be as fresh as some of the earlier iterations that once got our blood racing nearly two years ago, but [...]

Why on Earth Omega would call a ceramic bezel Liquidmetal is a mystery to me (see update below). It not only is ceramic not liquid, but it isnt a metal. Well, it is liquid-like when being formed, but you get the idea. Ceramic as used on watches is actually made from glass as I understand it. It used to be that most bezels on dive watches were made from aluminum. Not sure why that is, but it is still very common. One approach to luxurize the bezel was the Blancpain approach of doing a bezel with [...]

When talking about the use of ceramic in watchmaking, Omega has to be mentioned. In 2013, it launched the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon which, in my mind, should be considered one of the most important watches in recent history. By then, ceramic had already been widely used and adopted by the watchmaking industry, but the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon took ceramic and used it almost everywhere save for the movement. The entire case, crown, pushers, buckle and even the dial are made out [...]

IWC?has no shortage of aviation-related partnerships and associations, and the blue Le Petit Prince models are some of their more recognizable special editions. However, also in collaboration with the?Antoine de Saint-Exupery Youth Foundation, IWC released the tobacco brown-dialed?IWC Pilots Watch Double Chronograph Edition Antoine De Saint Exupery watch to honor the author of The Little Prince. Instantly recognizable as an IWC Pilots watch but with a subdued twist, its also the only rattrapante [...]

From a customers perspective, there are currently two distinctly different ways of looking at Grand Seiko. For one, Grand Seiko, as the consensus seems to suggest, has become truly very expensive, and I seem to agree with that sentiment. By its own standards, it has indeed become?a lot more expensive. The other way of looking at it is comparing todays Grand Seiko to its competition - and then GS is almost as mighty as its ever been. A case in point is the Grand Seiko Sport Spring Drive Chronogra [...]

When most enthusiasts think of chronographs from Omega, the first watch to come to mind is the classic, functional handwound Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch. However, before the Moonwatch or even the introduction of the Speedmaster series in 1957, Omega had a decades-long legacy of chronograph production with a far more ornate and detailed stylistic bent. The Chronoscope nameplate dates back to the very first chronograph offering from Louis Brandt (the brand that would become Omega) in 1885, [...]

Let me share with you a few of the words that Graham uses to describe its newer Chronofighter Oversize GMT Black Steel watch collection. The name itself is long enough as it is. Lets see here, according to our friends at the British Masters this watch is chic, gutsy, dogged, classy, undaunted, a milestone, magnetic, skilled, extra sensitive, faithful, and a backslider. Wow, that sounds like rock band made up of a KGB spy, an ex dictator turned psychologist, Alexander the Great, and a criminal wh [...]

In just six years, Bulgari has taken the Octo Finissimo collection from an alluring new series to an absolute phenom that has made breaking records look like a fun hobby. At last count, the Octo Finissimo broke records for thinnest automatic watch, thinnest tourbillon (automatic or manual), thinnest minute repeater, and, at last years Baselworld (pour one out), the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT officially became the worlds thinnest mechanical chronograph at just 6.9mm-thin. Now, debuting at Gen [...]

At the risk of borrowing a somewhat cliche, famous turn of phrase, it was Henry Ford who reportedly once said a customer could have a Model T painted in any color he wants, so long as it is black. Granted, the black watch might not be destined for the everyman as the Model T once was, but Id also argue that when done right, the black watch occupies a much more permanent and important property in watchmaking than a passing fad, as many might have purported during the height of the DLC/PVD craze o [...]

The history surrounding the first perpetual calendar wristwatch is a little hazy, but the Patek Philippe?Ref. 97975 is widely regarded to be one of, if not the first wristwatch to feature a perpetual calendar. As a result, theres something special when Patek Philippe releases a new perpetual calendar watch. And this was exactly what happened earlier this year at Baselworld 2017 when they announced the new Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5320G, which is a little special because it adapts a [...]

It would be safe to surmise that Omega was the star of the Swatch Group last year in 2013. 2014 and beyond are looking pretty bright as well, but what we can safely say is that Omega has done a good job of recognizing and celebrating its past, while also firmly looking into the future. A watch like the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 15,000 Gauss is really about both of those perspectives. In reviewing it, we find a solid classic Omega timepiece with a heart that literally dictates a guaranteed futu [...]

IWC Connect is an electronic module that will be included on some IWC watch straps, adding fitness tracking functionality to IWC watches, as well as the ability to connect to the Internet of Things (IoT). The first IWC watches to get IWC Connect will be those in their Big Pilots watch collection. In concept, IWC Connect is very similar to the Montblanc E-Strap (hands-on here), which was a smart notification and fitness tracking module that debuted in late 2014 (which garnered a remarkable amoun [...]

In commemoration of the 2015 Triple Crown Series Thoroughbred horse racing event, Longines has announced a special limited-edition piece. The Longines Conquest Classic Triple Crown Limited Edition pays tribute to the 2015 winner of the Triple Crown Series,?American Pharoah, the first to win such an honor since?Affirmed in 1978. This classic is imbued with prestige and tradition while paying tribute to an American archetype rich with history.Those familiar with the Kentucky Derby will no doubt re [...]

Given their proclivity for aviation and military-inspired models, it can be easy to forget that Hamilton has a proven wild side. Its true, the same company that makes the Khaki Field, the Intra-matic 38, and the Jazzmaster, also makes the eccentric Face 2 Face. Born as an out-of-this-world tribute to Hamiltons involvement in films like Interstellar and 2001: A Space Odyssey, the new Hamilton ODC X-03, like the X-02 before it, features three movements to display three distinct time zones. With Ju [...]

Out of the blue, Jaeger-LeCoultre launched the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Tourbillon Duoface, a watch that, as expected from any recently introduced JLC, forcibly features the word Tribute in its name Even if it is, in fact, totally new, with a new movement ticking away inside. Yep, thats me still not getting over why such a great brand with powerful innovation, unique design and over 1,200 calibers embedded in its past, has to be so unfathomably hooked on dwelling on its past and creating [...]

Auctions are best suited to the sale of unique items that arent otherwise available on the market. For that reason, I always look forward to the interesting watches that are donated to the Only Watch auction series which is currently being run by the auction house Christies. Only Watch is an event that weve covered a lot over the years on , and the next installment of this biennial auction sale will happen in Geneva on November 11th, 2017.The Only Watch auction series isnt as strong an event as [...]

At SIHH 2016, German A. Lange Sohne introduced a slew of impressive flagship watches such as the incredible Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon (hands-on here). We often think of A. Lange Sohne as a company that produces grail watches, meant for only the most elite buyers. But, of course, the brand has a few models that are a bit more down to earth such as the easy-to-love Saxonia Moon Phase (introduced here with more information). Down to earth, relatively speaking, that is, and for Lange I think [...]

Omega has released several new Seamaster Planet Ocean watches for Baselworld 2016, but this isnt to say that the dressier Aqua Terra line is being left out. In fact, two new Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra watches are released this year.?What is of note, however, is that a METAS Certified Master Chronometer-rated movement?is not yet available in the Aqua Terra watches. Even so, the new Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra GoodPlanet will come in a 38.5mm version as well as a larger 43mm GMT model, and they loo [...]

Swiss Rado describes the purpose of the largest and most modern-looking of the Captain Cook watches it produces today as reimagined retro timepieces for a contemporary folk hero look. This is a complicated timepiece to review because it signals something different from a brand collectors tend to know for other trademark aesthetics, and because the context around the reason for the product existing (taking into consideration its companion products) is difficult to summarize. Suffice it to say tha [...]