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Best Super NEWS Watches
Hands-On: With TAG Heuer's Unique Monaco Mikrograph (Live Pics + Video)
What do you get when you take TAG's Heuer most impressive movement, the Mikrograph, and plop it into the brand's iconic case, the Monaco?? You get the Monaco Mikrograph, the piece unique for Only Watch 2011.? We showed you details of this watch before, but now we have live pictures and even a short video of the Mikrograph spinning away.?Click through for all that. Related Content: To see what a Mikrograph movement looks like in slow motion, click here....
Introducing The Bell & Ross WW1-92 Heritage
Adding to Basel's WW1 collection, we caught wind of a new heritage inspired piece from Bell & Ross.? Dubbed the WW1-92 Heritage, the piece is 45mm in diameter, uses a grey pvd coated steel case, and that now trademark heritage inspired strap.?(via Acquire) Related Content: Click here for live pictures of the other pieces in the Bell & Ross Heritage line...
You guys probably know of the Patek Philippe 3970 and 5970 - they are the precursors to this year's 5270 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph.? But do you know about the 5004?? The 5004 was introduced in 1996 and is essentially a 3970 with a split-seconds chronograph.? Simple enough, right? Well, this split-seconds perpetual calendar was so difficult to produce and so costly, Patek only made about 12 per year, and even stopped production at one point while working on a separate split-seconds caliber.?After just 15 short years, the Ref 5004 is being retired by Patek. To celebrate, they have created the last fifty of these uber-chronos to be made in stainless steel (all previous models were in preci...
The Piaget Altiplano In Black Gold With A Black Movement For Only Watch 2011 (Live Pics)
Piaget's entry into Only Watch might just be the sleeper of the sale.? This skeletonized Altiplano with PVD treatment on both the (gold!!) case and the manufacture caliber is a pretty slick look, one that we really like. And, like our friends at Monochrome pointed out, you rarely see an ultra-thin watch receive the DLC treatment on the movement itself.?We took photos of this piece earlier this week and due to poor lighting and the watching being covered in plastic, they didn't turn out that great, but to see this very cool ultra thing Piaget Altiplano in the flesh, click through.? More details on the watch itself can bee found here.? This watch from the rear is really something special, and ...
HODINKEE Public Service Announcement: IWC Is Giving Stuff Away!
One of those guys in yellow could be you!When they havent been busy building fancy sidereal astronomical tourbillions IWC has been boning up on its nautical cred, sponsoring yacht races and trips around the world on boats made of plastic water bottles.? We suspect this might have something to do with them wanting to sell lots and lots of their new and shiny Yacht Club Chronograph.While were on the topic of the yacht club chrono C we thought it was our civic duty to let you all know that IWC is giving a few of them away. Theyre also giving away a bunch of other nautical themed experiences C you know, tickets to yacht races in glamorous locations, trips on yachts C that kind of thing.Its...
Hands-On: Rafa Nadal's Personal Richard Mille RM 027 Tourbillon
The most common reaction when someone picks up the Richard Mille RM 027 Tourbillon for Rafa Nadal for the first time? Laughter. You just can not, despite everyone around you telling how light this piece is, fathom just how light this piece is in your hand until you experience it yourself. And when you do, you can't help but laugh in amazement. We've hung out with a lot of really light, really high-end sports watches recently.?The FP Journe Centigraphe in all aluminum was pretty damn light, as was Bubba Watson's Richard Mille.?But, the grand-daddy of ultra light sport watches is the Richard Mille RM 02...
Novak Djokovic Wins US Open Championship, Shows The World His Royal Oak Offshore Diver
Talk about great timing. Audemars Piguet announced just two weeks ago that Novak Djokovic would be joining its stable of ambassadors.? Then yesterday, Novak beat Rafa Nadal in the US Open finals ending one of the most impressive years in tennis by any player, ever.? And when we won? We strapped on that AP just like he should.As you can see above, Novak's watch of choice is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver, a watch Jason reviewed in detail here.?This win plus Rory's title at the other US Open marks a big year for AP ambassadors.? So, the question remains, will we see a prototype Royal Oak tennis watch next?...
A Vintage Grand Seiko Chronometer Wristwatch With A Bargain Basement Estimate
Grand Seiko is something of a cult brand. Lauded by some as a worthy alternative to the very finest of Swiss Made watches, the brand has just relaunched in the United States for some years, and at some very fine Swiss Made prices. So, the watch we have here today is a great value if you're looking for a piece of Japanese fine watchmkaing but don't necessarily to spend the dough to buy new. Dating to 1970, this Seiko GS features the manually wound, rhodium-plated Cal. 5722A and looks very much the same as the 130th Anniversary Grand Seiko we saw at Basel World this year, though with a slightly different case. The best part about this vintage Grand Seiko is the estimate: only $1000 to $1500....
Live Photos: The MB&F HM4 X Huang Hankang For Only Watch 2011, Complete With Tiny Panda Bear
One of the most creative pieces of Only Watch 2011 is the special Horological Machine No. 4 from MB&F made in conjunction with Chinese artist Huang Hankang.? Sitting atop the titanium thunderbolt is hand-sculpted panda bear made of white gold.? When MB&F and Hankang were in the development stages of this piece they thought "what is the dream of all children, especially those with Muscular Dystrophy?"? The answer was "to fly" and that is exactly what we see here with this piece unique for Only Watch, a vehicle piloted by a whimsical panda bear.This piece is one of the best interpretations in the Only Watch 2011 collection - and you can tell that instead of MB&F using this auction ...
Remember when we showed you that Patek Philippe minute repeating tourbillon in stainless steel to be auctioned off for Only Watch 2011? Well this morning we got our hands on this final execution of the Patek reference 3939 at the Antiquorum offices in New York, and although it was sealed in plastic, this 33.3mm piece unique is one impressive piece of hardware.?Click through for more live pictures of this amazing complicated Patek in stainless steel, the only one of its kind in the world....
Zenith For Only Watch 2011: Two Unique El Primero Chronographs Designed For The Lefties Of The World
Something to consider: between five and thirty-five percent of humanity is left-handed, according to the Scientific American. We have really grown to love Zenith - beginning with 2010's Striking 10th Chronograph (which Ben reviewed in detail here) to 2011's 38mm El Primero - the brand is really doing some great stuff at great prices.For Only Watch, Zenith has gone ahead and made two unique El Primero chronographs for the south paws among us.? The first of the two watches is a traditional Captain Chronograph in gold while the second is the just announced Pilot's chronograph in steel.? Both watches are true destros, with the crowns and pushers on the left side of the c...
Court Says Swatch Can Cut Supply To Competing Watchmakers: What Does It Mean?
Swatch is having a good week.? First, the Swiss National Bank decided to purchase back an unlimited amount of Francs, causing a big jump in its share price.?Now, courts have ruled in favor of Swatch in a suit filed by 11 watchmakers that would've forced the company to continue to supply both movements and parts to competitors moving forward.? Now, they don't have to.So what does this mean? Well, it's hard to say for sure but you can bet this will hurt a host of brands - big and small - that rely on ETA hearts for their pieces.? But, at the same time, this ruling will hopefully lead to actual innovation in the watch industry by forcing more brands to build their own calibers.? And to any of y...
An In-Depth Look At The New Reverso + Did Federer Show Us A Prototype Rolex Daytona?
We published two pretty awesome articles over Labor Day weekend and we just wanted to make sure you saw them. The first is a detailed look at one of the hottest watches of 2011, Jaeger-LeCoultre's Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin Tribute To 1931 US Limited Edition. Ben gave us his thoughts and we put the thing through the photographic ringer. For what this watch means to JLC and some awesome shots of the watch, click here.The second article we put over Labor day is about a watch we spotted on the wrist of Roger Federer at the US Open. The watch at first glance looks a lot like a vintage Rolex Daytona reference 6263. The thing is, the sub-dials look a little too big, and the case itself seems o...
Recommended Reading: Hands On With The Urwerk Zeit Device, By Peter Chong
The prolific Peter Chong of Watchscapes (and Bespoke,?Ho Chiak) is showing and telling about his hands-on experience with the UR-1001, or Urwerk Zeit Device. Peter gives detailed descriptions of each of the many complications, surfaces and shapes that the device has to offer. The accompanying photographs will put you right there with the 1001.? Everywhere one looks, the attention to detail is amazing. From the tatical feel of the case and chain, to the smooth gliding movement of the satellite. Read the full story and see all the pictures over at Peter's blog, Watchscapes....
Give Away: Two Straps, Two Leather Pouches, And Four "Field Notes X HODINKEE" Notebooks
When you guys respond to something, we pay attention.?About a month ago, we put up a quick post featuring three big-time vintage Rolexes.? The watches got a lot of comments, but the straps seemed to be the subject of much desire.? The straps came from Eric Ku, whom we interviewed this morning, and he has graciously decided to give away two of these custom high-grade leather straps to the HODINKEE readership. He's also offered up two leather watch travel pouches.And, we thought we should add something in too so we're giving away four custom Field Notes For HODINKEE notepads.To Enter:A Week from today we'll pick eight names at random to receive a prize.? Make sure to leave a working email addr...
We've talked about the strength of the Swiss Franc and its impact on the watch industry probably more than most of you cared to read. But, today, the Swiss National Bank took a dramatic step towards weakening the CHF when it announced unlimited currency purchases.?The biggest beneficiary of all this? You guessed it, the largest exporter of watches in Switzerland, the Swatch Group.? News of the decision sparked the company's shares to jump immediately, and although the price setlled off a little bit, this is great news for the watch industry (and us trying to purchase things from it).For more details on this, check out Bloomberg's detailed article.PS - Hey watch companies who have raised thei...
A Fistful of Fliegers Up For Auction: Stowa, Laco, Lange and IWC
Theres no denying the popularity of the pilots watch. The simple design and adventurous vibe carry similar appeal to that other ubiquitous tool watch, the diver. Everyone from Huguenin to IWC makes a pilots watch, all with similar design cues C big Arabic numerals, sword hands, oversized cases, large winding crowns. Of course the archetype for these modern pilots watches was the Flieger (Pilot) worn by German Luftwaffe pilots in World War II.? We spotted five of them coming up for sale next week. The Fliegers of the 1930s and 40s were remarkable due in large part to their similarities. A handful of watch companies bu...
A Week On The Wrist: The Nomos Zrich Weltzeit
I've been waiting to test this watch for a while. The first time I saw the NOMOS Zrich Weltzeit, it was on the wrist of a colleague over a year ago, and I was enthralled. The second time I saw it, I was in London for Salon QP, where I subsequently filmed this video and declared it "already in the running for the best of 2011." Then, I saw it again at Basel this year, and for the first time, the watch was "official." Still, official doesn't mean available, and now, after spending one week with this Glashtte-bred dual-timezone model of modernity on my wrist, I can say that it is everything I though it would be. I'm talking about a great looking watch from a real watch company with a fantasti...
YOU'RE INVITED: Panerai Opens Its Doors In NYC To View The Entire SIHH 2011 Collection
We received a note from the folks at Panerai extending a personal invitation to all HODINKEE readers to come check out the new 2011 SIHH collection at the Panerai Boutique on Madison Avenue this week.? All you have to do is show up!What: An exclusive preview of the Panerai 2011 SIHH collectionWhen: Tuesday, Sept 6 - Thursday, Sept 8 from 10am to 6pm dailyWhere: The Panerai Boutique, 545 Madison Avenue at 55th StreetWho: You! and anybody you'd like to bring with you...
It's no secret that I think JLC's Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin Tribute To 1931 is one of the strongest introductions we saw this year. ? It is, in my opinion, the piece that JLC has needed to connect its present with its past.? Sure, the Reverso has been in production for decades at this point, but few have represented the simple elegance and sporty nature of the original from 80 years ago in a way for which collectors have been yearning .? I think it's important for brands that have enjoyed the success of creating an icon to have a modern, though authentic, interpretation available for purchase at all times, not in an exclusive limited edition - it's simply what real watch guys want.The two be...