In many ways, Baselworld 2019 was an excellent year for the Japanese watch brands. Holes in the European watch industry strategy and innovation engine have emboldened watchmakers in the east to up their game, product-wise, as well as capture market share. A motivated Japanese watch industry has most brands choosing distinct but powerful ways to capture consumer attention and emotion. A product like the limited-production Citizen Caliber 0100 watch is a perfect example.Examine the rear of the cas [...]
Last year we were the first to bring you coverage of the new Big Bang Ferrari watches from Hublot (here). The Ferrari/Hublot relationship was a big deal and over the last year Ive learned just how big of a deal it is for?Hublot. Making up for at least 10% of the brands overall sales, the good news is that in my opinion, the Ferrari watches are the finest to come out of the brand whether or not you are fond of the prancing horse logo on the dial.? Hublot is not the only company allowed to make F [...]
For the first time in history, omega will participate in a watchmaking event held in the middle east. Dubai Watch Week 2019 will take place from November 20-24, and thanks to the burgeoning (and extremely healthy) relationship between omega and retailer Ahmed Seddiqi Sons, the Swiss Power House will be on the bill.The main focus of omegas participation will be a dedicated exhibition exploring the universe of the Oyster Perpetual Submariner. The brand plans on pulling out all the stops and creat [...]
Vintage, throwback, heritage.?These are all words that have bombarded us regularly, and they can mean a variety of things.?Most of it is simply marketing fluff, used to denote a particular look or design that may have no actual ties to history, and is simply made to look old (such as a forced patina on a case or vintage-colored lume).?Then again, you do have brands coming to the table that do have some real history under their belts and can reference something from their own past rather than mak [...]
Richard Mille follows in Jaeger-LeCoultres footsteps (sort of ) by creating a watch specially designed to be worn while playing polo. Jaeger-LeCoultre did this over 80 years ago with the Reverso, and now Richard Mille has the RM 053. While the Reverso was about flipping around the case to protect the crystal from shock, the RM 053 is about minimizing the dial (vulnerable area) while angling it towards the wearer like a drivers watch. Why anyone needs to wear a watch while playing polo is still a [...]
I wouldnt have believed it unless I saw it with my own eyes, but would you guess that Breitling the company with its own jet team (and jet man) is releasing a new pilot watch for 2015? I know, amazing and totally unexpected! All jesting aside, the new Breitling Chronoliner is a really decent-looking and not top-of-the-line-priced aviator watch that harkens back to the beauty and grace of Breitlings 1950s and 1960s design. It even comes complete with a panda dial, so I think the Breitling Chron [...]
With the broad crossover appeal between enthusiast cars and luxury watches, its only natural for fans of both to draw parallels between the two worlds, especially with vintage or racing-inspired chronographs. With shared legacies, design cues, and often similar European refinements, it can be easy to draw a line between many classic chronograph lines and iconic models from Porsche, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and BMW. As both a car and watch enthusiast, I find myself making these sorts of mental compar [...]
The Hermes Arceau 78 is an interesting watch that it isnt easy to position in the universe of luxury watches. The dial says Hermes on it, which on its own would classify it no higher than Fashion Brands Luxury Watch Attempt No. 24392. However, fans of Hermes - and watch industry insider trivia - will know that the company has invested tens of millions of Swiss francs in its movement-, case- and dial-making facilities, and so the Hermes Arceau 78 reference W047360WW00 actually is an entry-level, [...]
At Baselworld last year, Hublot bolstered its popular Big Bang collection with an all-new model called the Big Bang MECA-10. I actually feel like it?didnt receive as much attention as it should have, so Im glad to see a fresh version out this year. Until now, Hublot has offered two variants of the MECA-10: the non-limited titanium version and the limited-edition all-black version that comes with a full ceramic case. Now, theres a third variant that comes in Magic Gold called the Hublot Big Bang [...]
Within the watch industrys current boom in wild colors, Casios monolithic G-Shock line has established itself as one of the most vibrant players in the field. At nearly every level of the brands hierarchy, from $100 entry-level designs all the way up to hand-finished luxury showcases of traditional Japanese craftsmanship, the G-Shock series offers bold and varied color options that stand apart from its more conservative competitors. The high-end MT-G series is traditionally one of the brands mos [...]
Until a few years ago, if you wanted a divers watch from Oris it was going to be called Aquis. has covered plenty of Aquis watches in the past and if you want a serious divers watch with real performance and style then the larger Aquis collection is certainly worth looking at. When Oris dive watch sales really started to take off the company decided it wanted to expand the diver collection while at the same time offering something trendy and more affordable. The result was the now extremely po [...]
Not too long ago, we covered the release of the Cartier Santos 100 Carbon and the Ballon Bleu De Cartier Carbon watches. Our interest was piqued?by the idea that Cartier wanted to release these staples in ADLC, and now we have had a chance to spend some time with the Santos 100 Carbon. The result??Really, what you would expect. A classy, sleek, yet sportier alternative to the average Cartier that usually comes to mind. All in all, I am happy to see Cartier release pieces like this, so lets take [...]
welcomes back longtime November watch giveaway partner Swiss Maurice Lacroix with this months quite desirable giveaway timepiece. Available for one lucky audience member is a limited edition of 100 pieces Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver Blue Devil watch, made exclusively for the North American market. This giveaway post is actually the official debut and launch of the Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver Blue Devil which is available at North American Maurice Lacroix dealers this month, November 2016.B [...]
Franck Muller, the always interesting and sometimes over-the-top Swiss watchmaker has produced a one-of-a-kind timepiece apparently for Korean musical artist PSY. Depicting PSY doing his more than well-known horse riding dance right on the dial, the likely 18k white gold or platinum watch is full pave covered with diamonds. Black diamonds are used to fill in the large Roman numerals and the image of PSY dancing is likely hand painted. The watch image was shared direct from a Franck Muller insid [...]
After Baselworld 2013 day 1 James, Mark, and myself sit around the kitchen table at the Basel apartment to recap on the day and discuss omega, Patek, and more from home base at Watchpocalypse 2013.Listen to the HourTime Show watch podcast episode 136 here. Download the mp3. [...]
Fawning over an A. Lange Sohne watch is not a rare experience for me - even if actually being able to handle some of their most impressive creations is. The storied German watchmaker always puts so much personal pride in its most elaborate products that it can be hard not to agree with their team members in regard to just how lovely the watches are. The Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon - with its new limited-edition ref. 740.056 for 2019 - is always a crowd-pleaser. This highly complicated A. Lan [...]
With so much to choose from as a GMT watch enthusiast in 2018, you have to wonder if todays available models are all just starting to blend into one, forgettable stream of overhyped releases. First off, as a newer watch, youd have to deal with the multiple comparisons to some of the top contenders, and watches like the Tudor Black Bay GMT and omega GMT Master II Pepsi edition in OysterSteel already cover a huge chunk of the mid- to high-end price spectrum. Other options include bottom-of-the-bar [...]
Breguet, the maker of (in my opinion) the worlds most beautiful pilots watches, has just released this new limited-edition set of Type XXI Titanium watches known as the Type XXI 3815. This is a follow-up to the Breguet Type XXI 3810 Titanium ( hands-on here), which came out a full decade ago in 2011. The two Type XXI Titanium watches have just as many similarities as they have differences, and the new Type XXI 3815 Titanium Chronograph models are a lovely, if quirky, addition to Breguets aviatio [...]
In anticipation of Baselworld 2016, Raymond Weil is announcing the release of a Beatles limited edition watch in the larger Maestro collection to commemorate the brands 40th anniversary, as well as pay tribute to one of the worlds greatest rock n roll groups of all time. Those familiar with Raymond Weil will know that the brand has a history of honoring musicians and composers, starting with their Amadeus collection in 1983.?This time, they chose The Beatles, and the way they have managed to bri [...]
When in doubt, add tourbillon. This might have been the mantra for many high-end watch brands since the dawn of the new millennium, and while the tourbillon trend is tired, it is far from being dead a point proven by the latest pre-SIHH release coming in the shape of the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic Tourbillon Universal Time.An original 1958 Geophysic (left) and the first piece marking the collections 2014 renaissance.It was back in 2014 that we went hands-on with the first pieces from the re- [...]