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Best Super NEWS Watches
The Withings Activit integrates an accelerometer and digital tracker into a Swiss-made quartz movement. The Withings Activit is by and large a fashion-focused watch. This is not a fact that the maker, Withings, tries to hide. (Withings product line is design-focused, including a futuristic Smart Kid Scale that links to a smart phone to track a childs growth). Amidst the number of smart watch prototypes and accessories coming onto the market, the Activit caught our attention because it actually looks good. ReallyCthe clean Junghans-esque design is something to be appreciated. Moreover, the Activit reflects an interesting approach to the smart watch concept: by...
The Value Proposition: The Tissot Visodate Milanais, A Self-Winding Watch With Retro Looks
The Tissot Visodate Milanais Last week, the menswear tradeshow Pitti Uomo descended upon Florence for the 86th time. Amid a sea of tailored suits and a few avant grade outfits, there were no doubt one or two exceptional timepieces. But if I were a young watch enthusiast who stretched his budget for a loosely tailored Liverano & Liverano bespoke suit for the event (a difficult, but necessary choice), I'd want to make sure that I was still able to put something on my wrist that embodied a certain easy cool without appearing too contrived. The Tissot Visodate Milanais certainly fits the bill with an unexpected retro look, slim profile to fit under my shirt cuff, a...
Hands-On: With The Girard-Perregaux Traveller Big Date & Moonphase (Live Pics & Pricing)
It's been over a year since Girard-Perregaux first introduced its Traveller collection, the line of globe-trotting inspired casual complications with which GP has long enjoyed success. Today, we are here to show one of the Travellers C the Big Date Moonphase, now available with a grey dial. This 44mm stainless steel watch has three small complications set into the dial. The first, and most prominent is its moonphase. The moonphase on this watch is actually rather beautiful, and strikingly realistic. The image of the lunar surface is makde of mineral glass, then metalized and placed within a subtle grey to black milky way. The...
Roger Dubuis' personal Sympathie Bi-Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Moonphase Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting the Roger Dubuis manufacture outside of Geneva and had the double pleasure of meeting Mr. Dubuis himself. After touring the manufacture and learning of the rigorous processes behind the Poin?on de Genve standard, we were led into a large conference room with a sweeping view of Mont Blanc and the not-yet-completed Richemont Campus Genevois de Haute Horology. When Dubuis entered the room C situated quite literally at the crux of the old guard and future of the industry C one of the key things on my mind was what was on his wrist that day. ...
Recommended Reading: The Complete Guide To The Patek Philippe Reference 3417 Amagnetic
One of the most interesting watches made by Patek Philippe during the middle of last century are those that we can call "Amagnetic." These rare references feature additional inner case backs, and in some cases, anti-magnetic escapement components such as solid gold or beryllium to ensure the timekeeping was not affected by any magnetism in close proximity to the watch. Now you might be thinking "hey, that's just like the Rolex Milgauss!" and you're right. It's also a lot like IWC's Ingenieur, and JLC's Geophysic. You see, the Amagnetic Pateks were really the great manufactures first and only foray into what we often call "tool" watches. ...
A Look At John Shaeffer's Personal Audemars Piguet John Shaeffer Minute Repeater
Remember the John Shaeffer line of watches from Audemars Piguet? You know, they were that cushion-shaped collection dating to the 1990s featuring interesting complications like jump-hours with minute repeaters, and star-wheel displays? The Shaeffer line was really an interesting step forward for AP, and all of watchmaking some twenty years ago, and though AP has since replaced it with the Tradition collection, it remains something of an icon for purists who have been following haute horology for years. While at the Audemars Piguet manufacture last week, we got a chance to see some historically important watches, and included ...
For this week's What's Selling Where round-up, we are bringing you four great vintage military watches, including diverse examples from both well-known manufactures like Jaeger-LeCoultre and Longines, as well as some from less talked about brands like Eterna and Benrus. These were made for the armed forces of Australia,?Czechoslovakia (x2), the United States. They all come from Zaf Basha of ClassicWatch.com, which is one of the great online outlets for vintage military watch shopping, and they're all worth a closer look. Jaeger-LeCoultre Mark XI for the Royal Australian Air Force When I think of great...
Dropping by the Audemars Piguet lounge at Art Basel this week, we just had to see what the man in charge, CEO Francois Bennahmias, had on his wrist. While he could be sporting something much more complicated or over-the-top, we caught glimpses of something much more understated from under Bennahmias' cuff. It turns out he was wearing the Royal Oak Extra-Thin Tourbillon, a piece that combines the history of the Royal Oak and the robustness of a true sport watch with the complexity of an ultra-thin tourbillon, perfectly encapsulating what makes Audemars Piguet so interesting today. Audemars Piguet is in its second year of spons...
Vacheron Constantin Celebrates New Miami Boutique With Limited Edition Overseas Chronograph
Miami continues to attract the whos who of Swiss watchmaking with its revamped Design District and?this month?Vacheron Constantin joins the fold with a 1,400 square foot boutique. The boutique will be the brands fifth to open in the U.S., and first in Florida. To celebrate the occasion, Vacheron is releasing a limited-edition Overseas Chronograph that will be available exclusively at the brands Miami location. Vacheron Constantin joins a growing list of premier watch manufactures to open stand-alone boutiques in Miamis Design District. The setting takes advantage of Miamis historic arts community, amidst a variety of gal...
Weekend Report: In The Galpagos Islands With IWC And The Charles Darwin Foundation
IWC has had a long-standing partnership with the Charles Darwin Foundation, a scientific research organization in the Galpagos Islands. We had the amazing opportunity to visit the Galpagos with Swen Lorenz, the executive director of the CDF, as our guide, taking us from island to island to explore the amazing biodiversity. Of course on our wrists were IWC's latest Galpagos-centric Aquatimers, the only dive watches appropriate for such an occasion. Here we give you the story behind this real partnership as well as a hands-on look at the three 2014 Galpagos Aquatimers.? When speaking with Lorenz, the first thing that became abu...
Introducing the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon, The Thinnest Tourbillon Ever Created
The new Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon is thin, really thin. In fact, this watch houses the thinnest movement with a flying tourbillon ever created C coming in at just 1.95mm. That's around the thickness of a nickel (think about that for a moment). The movement, with 249 components, was designed first around the tourbillon cage, which determined the final thickness (or thinness). It's a remarkable feat of engineering and design that no watch enthusiast can ignore.Every millimeter counts when designing a watch of this profound thinness. To save more space, the regulator assembly was removed, with timing adjustments now made directly on the balance wheel. The barrel is stabilized and guided...
Hands-On: With The Hamilton Pan-Europ, A 70s Racing Classic Revisted
There is no doubt that one of the trends to emerge from Baselworld 2014 was brands reviving classic models with small modern updates. Usually this means a slightly larger case and maybe some new functionality, all while retaining the design traits that made the original a classic in the first place. Hamilton unveiled the Pan-Europ, a sport watch that definitely carries all the 70s style of the original chronograph Pan-Europ. Here we take a closer look at this affordable re-issue. The first Pan-Europ debuted in 1971 and was one of the very first automatic chronographs. It housed the legendary Calibre 11 movement (called the Ch...
Vintage Watch Shopping: The Incredible Vintage Rolex Selection Of Watches In Rome
While on that two week, 4,000 kilometer, six nation voyage that culminated in the Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este, Will and I had the chance to meet up with Marlon and Julian de Simon, the second generation owners of high-end vintage Rolex specialists Watches in Rome. We had something of a Rolex picnic in the grass along a picturesque lake in Northern Italy, and here we'll show you just a few of the watches we saw in the afternoon spent with the de Simone brothers because, well, honestly, they were really impressive. These are not your run of the mill vintage Rolexes. Have a look and you Rolex 6036 Pink Gold Signed By Serpico Y Laino ...
A Look Inside Tourneau's Watchmaking Program, An Investment Into The Future
Students in the Watchmaking Program repaired a 100-year old table clock. On the 5th Floor of the Falchi Building in Long Island City, a group of high school students meet for 5 hours twice a week for 8 weeks to study watchmaking. Yes, watchmaking. The Tourneau Watchmaking Program was established in 2013 with the intention to train a new generation of watchmakers, service technicians, and quality control specialists for both Tourneau and the industry at large. The program is admirable for its compact structure, enthusiastic instructors, and dense course material. I left impressed and slightly jealous at the fact that I didnt have the chance to do something like thi...
Inside The Manufacture: The Making Of F.P. Journe's Most Complicated Watch
Before we get started, we need to talk about just what a grande sonnerie is, and what it's not. A grande sonnerie is not a cartoonish complication. A grand sonnerie hasn't been taken from the highest echelons of true artisanal watchmaking to become a status symbol for anyone who can string together a few bucks. There are no movement shops selling off-the-shelf grande sonneries to fashion brands. There is no such thing as a grande sonnerie module from Dubois Depraz, and we've yet to see a Chinese grande sonnerie.You see, in the world of high complications, the grande and petite sonnerie holds a very special place, well above even split-seconds chronographs, perpetual calendars, and certainly ...
Weekend Report: Photo Report: The 2014 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este With A. Lange & Sohne
While watches are our main bag here, there isn't a single HODINKEE writer (or, I daresay HODINKEE reader) that doesn't have a little bit of a soft spot for some beautiful cars. We've taken you vintage car spotting at the Goodwood Revival, we've taken you to Pebble Beach, and inside mega collector Bruce Meyer's private garage. Today, we take you to another legendary playground of the world's elite automobiles, the Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este, on the shores of Lake Como, compliments of event sponsor A. Lange & Sohne. Considered arguably the most prestigious vintage car show in the world, just 50-some vehicles are se...
A Quick Look At The Patek Philippe 5950A: A Modern Mega Chronograph, In An Elegant Form
What is easy to forget about Patek Philippe is that today, they offer the widest and most impressive range of high-end calibers in the world. The depth of their research and manufacturing capabilities is downright extraordinary. This allows them to produce not only self-winding chronographs like what you'll find in the 5960 and 5980/5990, in addition to the in-house manually wound chrono found in the 5170, but also a few extremely impressive, ultra high-end chronograph calibers that you seldom see in the real world. One such example is mono-pusher split-seconds you see here in the incredible 5950A. The 5950A was launched at B...
Event Recap: Welcoming Nomos To The United States In NYC
Last night, we at HODINKEE, along with our friends at Wempe Jewelers on Fifth Avenue, welcomed the entire NOMOS Glashutte management team, as well as over 200 watch lovers to a downtown NYC gallery space to celebrate the *official* launch of NOMOS in the United States.Now many of you may be thinking "hey, but NOMOS has been available here and there for over a year!" and that's true. NOMOS has been sold at Wempe, and more recently at Tourneau for a little while now, but last night marked the Glashutte manufacture's official jump to the US. The party kicked off their plans to open dozens of new doors all over the United States. ...
Nomos Is Coming To NYC, TONIGHT
Guess what, people C NOMOS is coming to New York City, tonight. The official launch party of this HODINKEE favorite marks the entrance of NOMOS in the US market, and you can be sure we'll give you all the details very soon. For now, be sure to follow the night's activities at #NOMOSstory on Twitter and Instagram.Read all our articles about this Glashutte-based manufacture for the rest of us right here....
The Economist Takes A Look At "High-Tech" Mechanical Watches
It's always fascinating to see how traditional news outlets cover our weird little world of high-end watches. One of the most well regarded journalistic publications on the planet, The Economist, recently took a broad look at some of the most interesting high-tech mechanical watches, and how they are thriving when most people think of high-tech wrist wear as smart watches. Some of the pieces mentioned are no strangers to us at HODINKEE: the Swatch Sistem51, Breguet's history of tourbillons, and the GPHG winning Girard-Perregaux Constant Force.You can read the whole story right here....