No products in the cart.
Best Super NEWS Watches
Breaking News: First Generation Heuer Autavia Sells For $125,000 At Christie's New York
We are seeing something big happening in the world of vintage Heuer Autavias. Just five months after a first generation Autavia brought $57,000 at auction in the UK, just moments ago we saw a similar watch hammer at $100,000, or a final selling price of $125,000. For the longest time, many viewed the early Autavias as an equally interesting and less expensive alternative to the always pricey Daytona, but now that this first generation is a six-figure watch, the charm of these watches changes dramatically. A later Autavia from 1965 also proved strong, selling at over $43,000. What's more, it...
A. Lange & Sohne first added a moonphase complication to the Lange 1 family almost a decade and a half ago, back in 2002. Now, two years after giving the basic Lange 1 a new movement and a major overhaul, the Lange 1 Moon Phase is getting the same treatment. In addition to all the other technical and aesthetic changes, this watch introduces a new hybrid moonphase and day/night indicator that sets it apart from the models that have come before. At first glance, the new Lange 1 Moon Phase looks pretty similar to the previous version, but it's a substantially different watch. Sitting underneath the dial is the new caliber L 121.3, a new moonphase caliber b...
Happenings: Join Us Tonight For A Cocktail Reception At The Piaget Boutique In Manhattan
To our New York based readers: we're hosting an event tonight with Piaget, at their flagship boutique on Fifth Avenue and there are still a few slots open! Come join us for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and see Piaget's incredible collection of timepieces including the new Polo S watches. Mr. Thomas Bouillonnec, President of Piaget North America, as well as HODINKEE Editor-in-Chief Jack Forster, will be there, and we'd love to see you there.Event details:Time: 6:30-8:30 PMLocation: Piaget Boutique, 730 5th Avenue (between 56th and 57th Street)RSVP to: [email protected] ADVERTISEMENT...
IWC's practice in recent years is to make a refresh of one of its core collections, the centerpiece of its design efforts for each SIHH. Last year was, of course, devoted to the Pilot's Watches and this year, we're seeing a very extensive refresh of the Da Vinci Collection. Of course the full reveal will be at the SIHH, 2017 edition, which is still a few weeks off, but IWC is giving us a taste of things to come with three new watches that give us a pretty good sense of just how different the new models will be from the existing models. Before looking at the new pieces, though, let's take a quick look at the original series of Da Vinci watches, which go all the way back to 1985. ...
Inside The Manufacture: With Breguet In Switzerland, Pt. 3: Two Centuries Of Tourbillon Creation
Tourbillons. Its impossible not to have a conversation about Breguet without mentioning them, much less walk through that manufacture without seeing them. The tourbillon is Breguet. Breguet first wrote about the tourbillon in 1795 and his patent was granted six years later. The tourbillon is a mechanism that constantly rotates the balance wheel, balance spring and escapement to counter the negative effect of Earth's gravity. More exactly, it produces a single, average rate for all the vertical positions of a watch, rather than a different rate for each position (traditionally a watch is timed in four vertical positions: cro...
As anyone who's been interested in watches on just about any level in recent years knows, Montblanc's been steadily bumping up its game in the range, complexity, and technical sophistication of its watchmaking offerings from its tentative beginnings in 1997. One of its greatest assets in connecting to very traditional Swiss watchmaking, is the Minerva Manufacture, the acquisition of which by the Richemont Group, and Montblanc, in 2006 both revitalized Minerva, and gave Montblanc access to a stable of classic movements unlike anything else being offered by its competition. (2006, by the way, was also Montblanc's 100th anniversary).? In particular, Minerva ha...
Earlier today, A. Lange & Sohne announced a big update to the Lange 1 Moon Phase that sees it get a new base movement as well as a completely different take on the moonphase complication that includes a day/night indicator as well. After introducing you to the watch, I was able to go hands-on with all three models at Lange's factory in Glashtte. Here's a real life look at the newest addition to Lange's catalog. When I first heard that this year's December 7 Lange release would be an update to the Lange 1 Moon Phase, I have to say I was a little surprised. It's not the sexiest piece in the collection nor one that tends to make a huge splash. A moonphase...
After a two-week hiatus Bring A Loupe is back, with a killer selection of vintage watches. The Rolex GMT-Master reference 6542 is logically the star of the week, as it comes in great condition and retains its original bakelite bezel. On the dressy side, the Patek Philippe "Disco Volante" reference 2552 scores high as well, hiding a sumptuous automatic movement. You can also discover the Mimo Loga, a forgotten slide-rule watch that competed with the Breitling Chronomat and the Juvenia Arithmo in the 1940s. Lastly, two great chronographs from less obvious brands step in C a mint Minerva (with a gorgeous in-house Minerva chronograph caliber) and a beauty of a Nivada Chronoking Aviator Diver, at...
Photo Report: The HODINKEE x Piaget Get-Together In New York City
Earlier this week we hosted a get together with Piaget at the brand's boutique on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Despite the barricades (the boutique is across the street from Trump Tower) and a steady downpour, people showed up ready to sip champagne and try on the selection of watches on hand at the beautiful and cozy boutique. The highlight of the night was naturally the new Piaget Polo S, the latest sports watch added to the luxury manufacture's collection, which includes diamond-set watches and ultra-thins galore. Enjoy the photographs from the evening below, and we hope to see you at our next get-together. ...
Following quickly on the acquisition of its software by Fitbit (as reported by Bloomberg), Pebble has now announced it has ceased operations. The acquisition was of Pebble's software only; the company's remaining assets will be sold to cover its debt. Heres what it means for current users (and yes, its bad). Pebble says on its blog that:?"Backers (on Pebble's Kickstarter) will get refunds for any unfulfilled rewards. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, we were excited to bring Pebble 2, Time 2, and Core to the world. Weve since shipped every Pebble 2 possible, but cant say the same for the remaining rewards. Pebble Time 2, Pebble Core, and Pebble Time Round Kickstarter Editions wil...
Introducing: The Seiko Presage Automatic 60th Anniversary Limited Edition, SARW027
The Seiko Presage line represents the next step up in Seiko's mechanical watch portfolio from its entry level mechanical watches, with slightly more elaborate designs, as well as the presentation of somewhat more complex movements; it's here you'll find automatic chronographs like the urushi-lacquer-dialed SRQ021J1 (with the column wheel, vertical clutch caliber 8R48) as well as self-winding watches with power reserve indications, based on the well-regarded 6Rxx movements. Seiko has just announced that in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the introduction of its first automatic movement, in 1956, in the Seiko Marvel line, it will be launching a 60th An...
Today in New York, amidst an unexpected but fitting flurry of snow, Glashtte Original debuted a brand new limited edition series of chronographs, the Iconic Sixties Square. The watch comes in five flavors, each with a squared-off cushion case and a bright dial. These are very much in line with what the Sixties collection has been doing for years, but all while offering something a little bit different and new. Here's a first look at the new limited editions, complete with hands-on photos and pricing. The Sixties collection is exactly what it sounds like C a line of watches inspired by what Glashtte Original was doing during that pivotal decade under Sovie...
Found: My Grandfathers Gold Wristwatch, A Vestige Of 20th Century Swiss Watchmaking
About a year ago, my father surprised me with a wristwatch that I never knew existed, even though it had been in our family for generations. Now you may be thinking it's a little odd that it took this long for me to find out about this watch, given my very pronounced interest in wristwatches (not to mention my career choice). And it was. But I'm guessing my father, who inherited it when he was a young boy, wanted to find the right time to share it, and I'm very glad he did. Suffice it to say, even if this isn't a watch that would seem precious to most, it's exactly that to me. It was the news of my engagement to my now wife that led to my discovery of a red...
One of the things that makes vintage watches potentially so much more interesting than comparable new watches, is that they so often come with a story. In this case, the watch in question is a Tudor Submariner reference 7928 that was issued to a U.S. Navy SEAL team member as a duty watch during his training in the notoriously brutal BUD/S training course (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALS). The original owner says, in part: "During the training in BUD/S we were issued our Tudor watches, black face for enlisted and blue faced for officers and these went with us to our next duty station...I did two tours in 'Nam.'"More on this slice-of-all-too-real-life Tudor...
Business News: Louis Ferla Is Vacheron Constantin's New CEO
Vacheron Constantin has appointed Louis Ferla as its new CEO, just three days after news broke of major executive shake-ups at four Richemont brands. Ferla will be taking over from outgoing CEO Juan-Carlos Torres effective April 1, when Torres assumes the position of the companys new non-executive president. The new man in charge (seen above right, with Torres left) is Richemont through-and-through. The Frenchman joined Richemont in 2001, as area sales manager for Alfred Dunhill in Hong Kong, and has devoted his career to the group, taking on international roles for Cartier in Taiwan, the Middle East, and China, before joining Vacheron Constantin in 2015. ...
Hands-On: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Night & Day Large
Jaeger-LeCoultre was one of the most talked about brands at SIHH this year, with the release of the stunning (and surprising!) sector dial additions to the Master Control collection. However, there was another collection updated this year that you may have missed, the Rendez-Vous collection. Now, I am kind of a Reverso gal through and through, but I was rather impressed with the new Rendez-Vous Night & Day Large, especially in stainless steel. The Rendez-Vous collection was initially released in 2012 as a round watch for women looking for an alternative to the rectangular Reverso. The Rendez-Vous is characterized by its round case shape and was actually...
The changes in leadership at the Richemont Group continue. Richemont has announced that the new global CEO for Piaget will be its international managing director of sales and marketing, Chabi Nouri, who joined the group in 1998 as product manager for Cartier. This is of course an important step for Piaget, but it's also an historic occasion for Richemont as a whole: Nouri is the first woman to step into the global CEO position for one of the group's watch and jewelry brands. Women in high-level management positions in the luxury watch industry remain a relative rarity, and it's nice to see some progress (finally) being made. Nouri is a Swiss native, and has...
Introducing: The Monsieur de Chanel Limited Edition In Platinum With Black Enamel Dial
The pre-Baselworld releases are starting to roll in and we just received an exciting one from our friends at Chanel. Last year Chanel caused quite a stir when the brand dropped the Monsieur de Chanel, which was its first men's watch with an in-house produced movement (the Caliber 1), with a little help from Romain Gauthier, who produced some of the parts like the wheels. Not only was the watch impressive mechanically, but also aesthetically. The watch made several HODINKEE team members' lists for their favorite watches at the fair and it was well-received by fashion and watch lovers everywhere.?This year Chanel is giving us another Monsieur de Chanel, this time a limited edition with a plati...
Editors' Picks: The Best Grail Watches Of SIHH 2017
The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) is a hotbed for seriously high-end watches and cutting-edge creative watchmaking. We already showed you the best everyday watches we found at this year's SIHH, along with the best ladies' watches. Now it's time for the crazy stuff. These are the timepieces of which horological dreams are made, some a little more attainable than others. Get ready to have your mind blown C these are team HODINKEE's grail watches of SIHH 2017. Cara Barrett C A. Lange Sohne 1815 Annual Calendar You may think this watch is a little understated for a grail watch, b...
This week is dedicated to oddities, to the watches you rarely hear about. The ones we've found for this week range from a rare Rolex with a quartz caliber Beta 21, to a Movado chronograph, with an unusual method of operation. You will also find a great Breitling Co-Pilot with a colorful yachting bezel, as well as a stunning Longines Conquest with an unusual power reserve complication. This is your Bring A Loupe for February 3, 2017. Movado Chronograph M95, With In-House Caliber Movado was at one time renowned for its in-house calibers, chronograph movements included. In that regard, its calibers M90 (...