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Best Super NEWS Watches
This week, we've rounded up some fairly unusual watches with a strong influence from the 1970s. So you can expect some orange touches from a Rolex Explorer II reference 1655 and an Eberhard Contagraf with an in-house chronograph movement. You will also find a pricey Wittnauer Professional Chronograph 242T, and a clear buyer beware in the form of a Zenith El Primero A386 fitted with a lot of service parts. This is your Bring A Loupe for October 28, 2016. Wittnauer Professional Chronograph 242T, With Solo Dial This is the fourth time this year that the Wittnauer reference 242T has made it into Bring A L...
We are excited to announce that we will be hosting the first ever HODINKEE ladies-focused pop-up shop at Material Good, a gorgeous luxury boutique in SoHo, on ?November 19-20. The capsule collection features beautiful vintage mechanical timepieces such as an enamel Bulgari Serpenti from the late 1960s with?a Jaeger-LeCoultre movement, amongst other cool design pieces from the likes of Herms, Cartier, and Jaeger-LeCoultre.?In addition to the watches made for women, we have some awesome pieces that were originally made for men but in sizes and styles that are perfect for women (including a great cloisonn IWC and a square Audemars Piguet calendar). Don't worry though boys, we will have some m...
A Week On The Wrist: The Blancpain Villeret Ultra-Slim Complete Calendar In White Gold
At the time when Blancpain was busy developing the first true dive watch C the Fifty Fathoms came before the Submariner, and dont let anyone tell you otherwise C calendars with moonphases were all the rage. In the 1950s, it seemed liked every company had one in their portfolio, including Rolex. Today, you could say the opposite is true. Dive watches are everywhere, while Blancpain is one of a smaller group of manufactures with a complete calendar and moonphase still in its lineup. It's been a topsy-turvy 60 years and a lot has happened. Mostly though, the Quartz Crisis struck hard, killing the development and manufacturing of mechanical movements, including all ...
Business News: Swatch Group Issues Statement Warning Of 'Massive Price Hikes' For Supplied Movements
In what is downright remarkable news first broken by National Jeweler, the Swatch Group issued a statement yesterday that essentially said all parties purchasing movements from them could expect "massive price hikes." And that is not me paraphrasing C Swatch used that exact terminology in its statement.? The gist of the situation is that several years back, a Swiss regulatory committee called Comco (Competition Commission) insisted that Swatch continue to sell its ETA movements to what are essentially its competitors C Tudor, TAG Heuer, Breitling, and dozens of others. Comco ruled that by ...
Introducing: The TAG Heuer Connected Watch Now In Solid Rose Gold (For $9,900)
In November 2015, TAG Heuer announced a dedicated smart watch dubbed "The Connected Watch."?The watch itself was nothing really ground-breaking, using existing Google and Intel technology, but in the case of what appeared to be a large TAG Heuer mechanical watch. I was on stage for the launch, and the difference between this TAG Heuer and say, oh, I dunno, the Apple Watch, is that the TAG Heuer featured the form factor of a traditional wristwatch. I think many were skeptical about the legs of such a product that was 46mm in diameter with a price of $1,500 using technology available elsewhere for far less C but it has seemingly worked. And what's more, as of today, this watch is now available...
Philosophers have speculated on the nature of time for millennia. Einstein brought the question to a new level, but today many scientists and philosophers think they have an even deeper understanding. Unfortunately, they don't always agree with each other. At the November meeting of the Horological Society of New York?(HSNY), Dr. Demetrios Matsakis will give an equation-free review of some of these theories, and let you decide what to believe for yourself. About Dr. Demetrios Matsakis Dr. Demetrios Matsakis is a physicist who went to MIT and U.C. Berkeley, where he studied under the Nobel PrizeCwinning p...
Show Us Your Best Halloween Lume Shots!
Well, it's the 31st of October, and that means Halloween here in the United States. While some people are debating the finer points of their elaborate costumes, we've got something else on our minds here at the office as sunset approaches: lume shots. There's no better day for breaking out a glowing watch and there are bonus points to be had if you can get a shining "31" in there somewhere. We'd love to see your best Halloween wrist shots so we can share them with the rest of the HODINKEE community.? So here's the plan: Break out your most Halloween-appropriate wristwear, snap a photo, and tag @hodinkee on Instagram. We'll be keeping tabs throughout the eve...
Introducing: The Stamford Original, With Robert Loomes's First Modern Made-In-Britain Movement
Its a big week for Robert Loomes (who you may remember from the second episode of The Road Through Britain). The British watchmaker has just announced his companys very first movement, and he will unveil working prototypes to the public later this week when the doors open on Salon QP. We'll have true hands-on impressions coming soon, but until then here's your first look.Only a handful of calibers this side of the Channel can claim to be made entirely on home soil, and all of those are crafted on the Isle of Man by none other than?Roger W. Smith. But that changes now. Loomes becomes only the second living watchmaker capable of saying he can offer true British-made calibers (although there ...
Hands-On: The MB&F Horological Machine No. 8 'Can-Am'
HM8 debuted a little over a month ago, and, as Stephen wrote then, we had to recalibrate our expectations a bit, because the basic concept as well as a lot of the design cues seemed a little been-there-done-that, thanks to HMX and HM5 (both of which share the disks-and-prism system used by HM8 for a digital/mechanical display of the hours and minutes). ?However, as usual, the impression the watch makes in the metal is rather different from the one you get from the press kit, so we had to recalibrate our expectations yet again C though the basic principle might be the same as in earlier Horological Machines, HM8 really does feel like an entirely different watch. ...
Most crafts have a basic technical vocabulary, with much of the existing variety coming from variation and permutation. For example, in classic French cooking you have the so-called "mother" sauces (bchamel, velout, espagnole, tomate, and hollandaise) on which the formal vocabulary of haute cuisine is built. In watchmaking, you have the time-only watch, the chronograph, the calendar (normal, annual, perpetual), the repeater, and so on. There is a lot of real interest to be found in coming up with an infinite number of variations on a theme, and you could eat just French cuisine for the rest of your life with no pain, but if that was all you ever had, and suddenly someone offered you a sh...
In-Depth: The Patek Philippe 1518 In Steel (Video, Live Photos, History, & Thoughts)
Ever since I found out that a steel 1518 was to be sold publicly this year, I wondered how best to cover it. Weve called so many watches "grails," and several even "the holiest of grails," that you guys probably dont even take us seriously any more. But the steel 1518 is special C I know it, and I wanted to come up with something that transmitted that message to you.?I remember one of the first times I met Aurel Bacs, then head of Christies watch department, was when he was preparing to sell the platinum Patek Philippe 2499 C of which there are only two, one in the public sphere and the other proudly sitting in the Patek Philippe Museum. It was being consigned by Eric Clapton directly, no...
Auctions: All Three Philippe Dufour Simplicitys At Auction Beat High Estimates
While Phillips and Christie's offered some superb vintage and modern watches this week in Hong Kong, I would say that many collectors were most rapt with attention over the first three Philippe Dufour Simplicitys that were on offer. I think many had expectations of what they would bring C with estimates ranging from roughly $100,000 to $180,000 for the three watches. The results? Quite a bit stronger. The two examples at Phillips sold for over $257,000 and $225,000, respectively. The first Simplicity to sell was the white gold 37mm guilloche example at Christie's, and that sold for an impressive HKD1.98m, or $256,395. Th...
Business News: Breitling Possibly Next In Line To Lose Independent Status, According To Bloomberg
Some major news out of Switzerland today. According to a Bloomberg report sent out this morning, Breitling is said to be considering a sale, and the most likely suitors would be luxury-goods companies, according to unnamed sources. Breitling is one of the very few large luxury watch manufacturers that continues to operate independently of the Swatch Group AG, Richemont, LVMH, and Kering SA. The company was founded by Lon Breitling in 1884, a date that is proudly displayed on the companys watches, and is best known for its range of pilot watches that it developed in the 1940s. The company was bought by Ernest Schneider in 1979, and it is now run by Ernest'...
Introducing: The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda Mtrographe (Updated For 2016)
Parmigiani Fleurier's Mtrographe Chronograph was first introduced at the 2014 Salon International Haute Horlogerie, and it was at that point, envisioned by the company as a versatile and relatively affordable chronograph, with Parmigiani's signature flowing case lines, that might serve as a point of entry into the company's offerings and which might broaden its appeal to a younger crowd. The movement at launch was caliber PF315, which is an in-house base movement (caliber PF331) with Dubois Depraz chronograph module, and the 40mm case was designed to suit classic-leaning contemporary tastes. For this year, the Mtrographe has gotten a face-lift, although the basic value proposition is the s...
Hands-On: Two Titanium Romain Gauthier Logical One (With Two Different Enamel Dials)
If you love watches and are not yet familiar with Romain Gauthier, we need to fix that right now. And we will. The eponymous brand launched in 2005 with its founder, a Valle de Joux native who worked in high-precision machining, set on creating movement-first watches that truly innovated on old watchmaking techniques. To date, the Logical One is his most superlative creation and one that never fails to catch my eye. When Mr. Gauthier himself showed up at our offices in New York with a pair of titanium Logical One in tow, I simply couldn't resist. Romain Gauthier creates just 60 to 70 watches total per year, and that includes all the variations on the Logic...
Recommended Reading: Watches And Cakes In T Magazine
If you like watches and you like cake, then you will certainly like this little piece featured in T Magazine for their holiday issue. In lieu of your standard watch photography, the publication went ahead and transferred the images of a two-tone Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 41mm, the new (and controversial) Patek Philippe Anniversary Nautilus Reference 5711P, a Vacheron Constantin Overseas Ultra-Thin in white gold, and an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak in yellow gold.? Talk about having your cake and eating it too. Surprisingly layered reading experience (sorry I had to). See the full story here....
Introducing: The Zenith El Primero Skeleton, An All-Ceramic Chronograph Powered By A Classic Caliber
A few weeks ago, I took a slight dig at Zenith when it unveiled its latest co-branded effort:?a sleek black chronograph created in partnership with Range Rover. This was not because I didnt like the look of the watch; an all-black El Primero chronograph is exactly what I feel Zenith should be doing more of. But the Range Rover imprint on the dial sort of ruined it for me. Personally, of course.? The Zenith El Primero Skeleton has a lot of presence on the wrist, and measures 45mm. Well, Zenith is back with another all-black El Primero, and this time, there is nothing on the dial other than name of the company that makes it and...
One thing were constantly keeping tabs on is the next generation of independent watchmakers, and more than a year ago, we received a hot tip from a man you just dont ignore. As we reported last year, according to Kari Voutilainen, the most promising youngster he'd seen in a while was a young watchmaker named Rexhep Rexhepi. Independent watchmaker Rexhep Rexhepi in his new atelier; his work has been praised by none other than Kari Voutilainen. We interviewed Rexhepi almost right away to find out what hed done to impress the great Finn, and this month, we finally had the chance to catch up with him in his new atelier to see h...
Talking Watches: With Spike Feresten
If you know comedy or if you know cars, you know Spike Feresten. Spike has been a mainstay of the American comedy scene for upwards of two decades C getting his start as the receptionist at Saturday Night Live (where he earned the nickname "Spike") before becoming a regular writer for SNL, focusing heavily on the then Dennis Miller-hosted Weekend Update. He would go on to write for Late Night With David Letterman and eventually end up as the author of several of the most iconic episodes of the most iconic sitcom in history. I'm talking about Seinfeld, and Spike's episodes include "The Soup Nazi," "The Wig Master," ?and "The Muffin Tops," just to name a few. Like I said, iconic. ...
Hands-On: The Parmigiani Fleurier Centum Perpetual Calendar Openworked Graphite
The Parmigiani Fleurier Centum Perpetual Calendar Openworked Graphite is an open-dial version of Parmigiani's existing Centum Perpetual Calendar. This isn't an openworked watch in the traditional sense of that term C openworking, or skeletonizing, is the removal of material from the movement of a watch in order to create a sense of transparency. Like this. The Centum Perpetual Openworked, on the other hand, has a transparent, tinted dial that lets you see some of the mechanisms driving the perpetual calendar as well as the moonphase disk. Parmigiani Fleurier Centum Perpetual Calendar Openworked Graphite: a cooler take on the original Centum Perpetual. ...