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Best Super NEWS Watches
The Grey NATO: Episode 109: The Isolation Tapes // April Q And A
Subscribe to the show: (Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Play). Already heard it once or twice? Please leave a short review here, and tell us what topics you'd like us to chat about (or email [email protected]). thegreynato The Grey NATO C Episode 109 C The Isolation Tapes // April Q and A Q and A is back for April with a big stack of questions from all over the world. Want to hear Jason and James chat about watch collecting, writing routines, watches we regret selling, demagnetizing watches, and what is always in their fridge? Look no further. The TGN boys have been thrilled by the response to the new Q and A format, so please...
Introducing: The Zenith Chronomaster Revival 'Shadow'
Proving that there is an endless number of ways to approach the nebulous concept of vintage-inspired watch design, this latest new chronograph from Zenith, the Chronomaster Revival "Shadow," blends the best of two models from the past, and the result feels quite modern. With the possible exception of its sizing, which is a classic and welcome 37mm, the Revival Shadow C I'm dropping the quotes C presents a monochromatic take on the highly collectible (and recently re-issued) Zenith A384 by introducing some dark inspiration from a little-known chronograph of Zenith's past.? Initial Thoughts Said inspiration...
Introducing: The Glashtte Original 2020 Sixties Edition In Glacier Blue
One doesn't generally associate the town of Glashtte in particular, and German watchmaking in general, with bright bursts of almost tropical-bird eye-catching color. You think (I do anyway) of a staid, grey landscape in which restrained watchmaking is carried on with an eye to precision born of centuries of practice. However, making delightfully colorful watches in an almost Pop-era idiom is exactly what Glashtte Original has been doing for several years in, not coincidentally, the company's Sixties collection. The Sixties collection takes as its starting point some of the more colorful and stylish watches produced in Glashtte in the 1960s. If you ever get a chance to visit the town (and ...
This edition of our Retailer Spotlight series focuses on Hamilton Jewelers in Princeton, NJ, and Ace Jewelers in The Netherlands. We learn about what these operations are doing in the current global climate and a bit about their guiding principles and origin stories.? When speaking with Donna Bouchard of Hamilton Jewelers, I heard about an auction that they're a part of, The Princeton Community Auction. Having grown up in New Jersey, I found the commitment and dedication to the local community reminiscent of what makes us #JerseyStrong. And the business is over a century old.? This is the second time we've shined the spotlight on an o...
Hands-On: The IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42
There are some watchmakers that I associate with specific mechanisms. It can be because their founder is inextricably tied to an invention C for example, Breguet and the tourbillon. Or it can be because a certain complication is omnipresent in the watchmakers annual collections, popping up in various lines and leaving what feels like an indelible image in my mind. For as long as Ive been interested in watches, Ive associated IWC with the perpetual calendar, and more specifically, a very important late-20th-century take on it. A big part of IWC's own fairly recent history is steeped in the perpetual calendar. In the '80s, the c...
This week, we focus on retailers at the power center of two nations: Liljenquist & Beckstead Jewelers in McLean, VA, part of the greater Washington D.C. area, and Projekt8 in Manama, Bahrain, a small island state in the Persian Gulf. The former was established in 1978, when Jimmy Carter was occupying the White House down the road. The latter is much younger and comes from founder Ali Mudara's commitment to following a vision after leaving a "safe" career at a French Bank to step into the world of horology.? I spoke with Paul Witchie, the Vice President of Liljenquist & Beckstead Jewelers and Mudara, a founding partner of Projekt8, to get an idea of the tw...
In-Depth: Why The Grand Seiko 60th Anniversary SLGH002 Is Some Of The Biggest Watch News Of 2020
Last March, Grand Seiko launched a new watch, which also marked a major milestone in both its own history and in the history of horology. The Hi-Beat SLGH002 was part of Grand Seiko's celebration of its 60th anniversary (the first Grand Seiko having been released in 1960), and it was, taken just on the usual criteria by which Grand Seiko is judged, a quite beautiful and very desirable watch. Everything which you might expect from Grand Seiko was there: the immaculately finished dial furniture, sturdy yet elegant case design, relentless attention to detail in the finish of every component. All that certainly is not, in general, news, but in a world where slackenin...
Bring a Loupe: A Malachite-Dial Datejust, A Mint Longines, And A Grail Heuer Skipper
It's Friday, and we're back to our regularly scheduled programming in our regular time slot. This week, we start things off with an eclectic mix of uniquely configured icons like a Malachite dial-fitted Datejust and the grail-status-worthy Heuer Skipper. Affording more chronograph action is an absolutely mint Longines powered by the venerable Cal. 30CH, followed by a Vacheron Constantin that might just be one of the best buys in watches. Not looking to break the bank? Check out the Cyma, serving up oodles of taste in incomparable style. In other words, this is a top-quality roundup you won't want to miss.? 1973 Rolex Datejust Ref. 1601 ...
Best of Watchville: A Collected Man Explores Double Signed Watches
This week on Best of Watchville, we have a wonderfully crafted piece from A Collected Man detailing the ever-desirable double signed wristwatch. What began as a matter of sheer business practicality and a means for watch brands to reach a wider consumer audience has given birth to a highly collectible segment of the watch universe. For the most part, the act of double stamping watches with retailers is all but a rarity now, but there was a time when it was very much the norm. This article gives an in-depth look not only that the watches themselves, but a history of the deep-rooted and sometimes tenuous relationships that came from these partnerships. ...
HODINKEE Radio: Episode 89: Collector Edmond Saran And Some Killer New Sport Watches
Subscribe to the show: (Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn). Already heard it once or twice? Please leave a short review, and tell us which guests we should have on! It's still New Watch Season (TM) here at HODINKEE, and I'll admit it's extra exciting to see the new releases as that Netflix-on-the-couch lifestyle starts to get a little boring. While the focus last week was all on Watches & Wonders 2020, this week, I called Cole and James to talk about some of the releases from independent brands, specifically those making the kinds of cult-classic tool watches that set the forums ablaze. Think Doxa, Sinn, G-Shock, and the li...
Introducing: The Ming 27.01, Version 2.0
We saw the first watches from Ming Thein back in 2017, and, along with many of our readers and subsequently quite a few happy customers, were immediately impressed on several counts. Not only was the watch a terrific value, it had an instantly recognizable, idiosyncratic design, as well as a number of technical enhancements virtually never seen at this price point. The success of the watches culminated in the award for Horological Revelation being given to the Ming 17.06 Copper at the 2019 GPHG, and today, Ming has announced the introduction of a totally new watch with a new movement. The new timepiece is the Ming 27.01, the first Ming extra-flat watch.? ...
If you have been tuning into Friday Live: Remix Edition on Instagram Live, you may have noticed our absence last week due to the Watches & Wonders 2020 announcements. But fear not, we are back this week with a brand new show hosted by Cara Barrett with special guest, Danny Milton. Each week, we like to run through things that made us smile and catch up on what's new in the watch world (i.e. canceled shows, new watches, and what watch we are wearing at home). The past few episodes have been really fun, and we love seeing you all there. Be sure to tune in today at 1:00 PM ET on Instagram Live and bring all your questions. Can't wait! ...
Sunday Rewind: Hamiltons Worth Two In Hand
After a week of high profile releases haute horlogerie from Watches And Wonders, we thought it might be worth revisiting a piece that offers a look at a more common species from within our ecosystem. Focusing on a flock of low-key Hamiltons, take flight with a collection both specific and C among its own ranks C varied. From L.L. Bean to army surplus, the story of these humble Hamiltons offers a charm all its own.? Written by Jason Heaton and published in March of 2018, this is a slice-of-life collector profile that highlights raw collectability nostalgia over complications, precious metals, and limited editions. While at first g...
One of the things I'm most proud of about Talking Watches is how it's helped to "normalize" watch collecting, and even, to some degree, helped to make it cool. That's only solidified when it's recognized by "the Oscars of the Internet."I'm honored to be able to write that our Talking Watches series has been nominated for a 2020 Webby Award in the Travel & Lifestyle Video category. On top of that, HODINKEE.com has also been named an honoree in the Lifestyle Website category.Established in 1996, the Webby Awards honor internet excellence in a variety of categories, from design and user experience to video, podcasts, and advertising to social media campaigns. In each category, five nominees...
Hands-On: The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Black Sandblast-Polished Ceramic
I would say that like many classic and instantly recognizable modern watch designs, it has been a long and sometimes difficult journey for the Octo Finissimo line to find an audience C except it hasn't. One of the wonders of the collection in all its iterations C which includes a slew of world's records as well as complications such as a minute repeater (world's thinnest), tourbillon (world's thinnest), and chronograph (world's thinnest) C is that it feels as if it has been around for much longer than it has been. The Octo collection is only eight years old. It first debuted in 2012, and the first ultra-thin Octo Finissimo in 2014. But in that horologically short period of time, it has manag...
Auctions: 101 Cartier Clocks Coming Up For Auction This Summer At Christie's Geneva
Cartier's reputation as a watchmaker has been secure in the minds of watch enthusiasts for probably close to a hundred years, but its clockmaking has always been a bit more in the background. While for most of its history Cartier watches were quite exclusive as well (it is surprising when you first start looking into the Tank that, for much of its history, Cartier made less than a hundred a year, and sometimes far fewer than that), its clocks have always been something for connoisseurs and rather more out of the public eye than in it. The reason?for this is straightforward. Cartier has generally treated clockmaking as an area in which to exercise its capabilities...
Hands-On: The Bremont MBII (Refreshed for 2020)
While it takes a lot to put something new into the watch world, when Bremont launched their MBII back in 2009 (along with the much more rare MBI), it set the tone for the brand's elevated and technical take on the idea of a sporty and downright capable pilot's watch. Rakish and distinctive, the original MBII took a partnership with the famed ejection seat manufacturer Martin-Baker and communicated that ethos into a tough and rigorously engineered watch.? With a bevy of specialized design elements, the MBII was a straightforward every-day pilot's watch that could take the incredible stress of an actual ejection and reply with litt...
Best of Watchville: TheWatches.tv On How To Pronounce Watch Brand Names
This week on Best of Watchville, we have a fun video from the team over at TheWatches.tv. They took to the streets of Geneva to give passersby a chance to try pronouncing famous watch brand names. Many of us feel a great deal of discomfort and embarrassment when faced with the task of correctly pronouncing the names of many of the most famous brands on the planet, so this exercise and tutorial from TheWatches.tv is a great way to hit the books, so to speak.? The video gives you everything from A. Lange & Sohne to Urwerk (and Rolex, just for kicks). This is a phonetic journey with a bit of history sprinkled in for good measure...
Introducing: The Breguet Reine De Naples 8918 In Grand Feu Enamel
The Breguet "Queen of Naples" collection of watches was born from a connection between a client and a watchmaker. The watchmaker was Abraham Louis Breguet, and the client was Caroline Murat, ne Bonaparte, who was Queen Consort Of Naples from 1808 to 1815. Caroline Murat was an enthusiastic collector of Breguet timepieces and during her lifetime would own more than thirty of them, including a unique, oval-shaped wristwatch which included a repeating mechanism as well as a thermometer. That watch was the basis for the introduction of the Breguet Reine de Naples collection in 2002, and since then, various models have been created i...
Audemars Piguet has recently adopted a somewhat unusual communication strategy C rather than officially announcing at least some of its new models, the company instead simply posts them to its website, which means that if you're a client or want to be one, you have to be a bit on your toes, especially when it comes to smaller series and limited edition models. Today, Audemars Piguet has launched a most interesting new version of the Royal Oak "Jumbo" ultra-thin, that most classic of all Royal Oak models. The new models have a platinum case and bracelet, and in addition, there is a rose-gold model as well. And something else not seen often on a Jumbo in recent years: diamond indexes. ...