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Best Super NEWS Watches
Pre-Owned Picks: Dive, Dress, and Da Vinci
In the flow of watches that come into the Hodinkee Shop, there are a few that will always stand out. They are the unusual, the under-appreciated, and sometimes simply a damn good-looking watch. This week's Pre-Owned Picks are a selection of personal favorites, some well-known and some that deserve a spotlight. Take a moment to appreciate these watches, find the one that you want on your own wrist, or let me know in the comments what watch from Hodinkee Shop Pre-Owned deserves a little more attention from the rest of the watch world. Tudor Heritage Black Bay Green Harrods Special Edition 79230 ...
Grand Seiko SBGH311 and SBGR325 Introduction Review
It's 2023, and Grand Seiko is at it again with another pair of nature-inspired limited edition watches. This time around, it's the anniversary of the original Caliber 9S, which debuted in 1998. Back then, it helped mark the beginning of a new era of Grand Seiko as a brand focused on accurate mechanical watchmaking. Today, Grand Seiko's announced a pair of releases that use the same case design as those original 9S watches: the SBGH311 and SBGR325. Both feature a 37mm stainless case that's 13.3mm thick. The SBGH uses Grand Seiko's Caliber 9S85 Hi-Beat, beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour, while the SBGR325 uses the Caliber 9S65. In typical Grand Seiko fashion, each reference features a beau...
Introducing: The Seiko Prospex SLA065
If you're not in the market for a new Seiko dive watch, go read something else because Seiko is kicking off the new year with something special for the dive watch nerds among us. It's the new SLA065 and it's part of the upper tier of the Prospex lineup, offering an appealing blend of vintage styling, a few special elements, and?an upgraded movement that is saved for Seiko's best mechanical dive watches. Its full name is the Prospex Save the Ocean Limited Edition 1965 Modern Re-Interpretation, so I think you'll cut me some slack if I just called it the SLA065, from here on out. Regardless of the name, the "SLA" part is a clue that this latest Seiko is something special.? ...
Introducing: The Oris Big Crown Calibre 473: A New (In-House) Movement In A Familiar Package
First introduced in 1938, the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date is a straightforward, no-nonsense sort of watch, easy to wear, and easy to read, with white arabic numerals reminiscent of an elementary school chalkboard. Its most notable feature is a visible patented date pointer. (It's red on this model, and it's often red, but sometimes it's orange or black, and in the case of the Roberto Clemente model the pointer is gold, in homage to the Pittsburgh Pirates.) Oris is known for high quality at a reasonable price, and the pointer seems the quintessential Oris move, where substance becomes style. The name Big Crown is the result of the...
A Collectors Guide to the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms
If you're looking to buy a vintage watch, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms isn't the first place you'd go. It's niche, expensive, and, like many vintage watches, trouble is everywhere. But damn it if it's not one of the most fascinating, confounding, and collectible dive watches. Ever. There are a couple dozen variations of the Fifty Fathoms with obscure names like No Radiation, Barakuda, Tornek-Rayville, and Milspec that seem pulled from one of my dad's many World War II books and are casually thrown around by Collectors Who Know Stuff; but you don't need to know all these to get started. For most lovers of the Fifty Fathoms, it beg...
Alpina Startimer Pilot Heritage Manufacture "Bumper" Watch Review
I am (relatively) famously a fan of antiquated and anachronistic watches. I've tried to fight the moniker of "the pocket watch guy" but it's who I am. That's why I'm a fan C both in theory and in practice C?of Alpina's newest limited edition Startimer Pilot Heritage Manufacture, an attractive pilot's watch that brings back an old and now-relatively unnecessary style of movement: the bumper. The Alpina AL-709 bumper movement A lot of watches that I dream of owning come with a bit of anachronistic flair. The Universal Space Compax. The Porsche Design Compass Watch. The Audemars Piguet "Disco Volante." They're all little time cap...
The Definitive Story of the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto
It's mid-November 2022, just two weeks after Christopher Ward's momentous release of the C1 Bel Canto, the most affordable Swiss-Made mechanical chiming watch in the world, and I am chatting with three members of the brand's design and watchmaking team. As they walk me through the new release, all three are buzzing with excitement. The watch has a futuristic and three-dimensional feeling and the words Christopher Ward are nowhere to be seen on the dial, the design itself is doing all the work. Aesthetically it's reminiscent of hyper-modern brands like MB&F, with exposed works showing a chiming mechanism that charges up and strikes once at the top of every hou...
Differences Between A Cartier Santos And Cartier Tank
About a year ago C actually it was at the Miami Beach Antique Show where I'll be this week C I casually picked up a platinum Cartier Tank CPCP (Collection Prive Cartier Paris) from a certain gentleman dealer's booth and slipped the deployant clasp on my wrist. It was also 11:59 a.m., give or take, about time for lunch. "Oh, just wear it out to lunch, no worries," that gentlemanly gentleman dealer said, even though I'd made no overtures at a purchase. (Note: that's how they get you.) For the next hour or so, I strutted around sunny Miami Beach with a tiny Tank on my wrist. It was hot and my black-alligator-clad wrist was hotter, but it didn't matter. I loved that...
Review Of The Miffy Moonphase Watch By Rijke & Co.
As a rule, I don't like cartoon watches. I'm not trying to be contrarian, I just don't ever see myself reaching for a Snoopy Speedy or a Mickey Mouse Arena Bi-Retro to pair with my outfit in the morning. I put on my oversized jeans, reach for a vintage T-shirt, and throw on a pair of boots. I don't then say to myself "I know what would really work here. A Popeye Franck Muller watch." If I want to ruin my day, I'll do it later. Last April I met Laurens de Rijke, a native Hollander and founder of the watch company De Rijke & Co, and he almost, sort of made me a believer. He was kind and soft-spoken and a true relief to meet after al...
TAG Heuer Calibre 5 Date Specs
In 2021, TAG Heuer introduced a new Carrera "Three-Hands" collection of time-only watches based on the classic chronograph model. You might remember C?it was also around the time TAG brought on Ryan Gosling as an ambassador. Sure, we think Gos looks pretty dapper in a 34mm vintage Rolex or Omega too, but he's also been making this very TAG Heuer Calibre 5 look pretty good on screen, wearing it while he starred in The Gray Man on Netflix.? The smallest of the new Carrera three-handers TAG Heuer introduced in 2021 was this Calibre 5 Date. At 39mm by 11.5mm thick (and a manageable 47mm lug-to-lug), it's a handsome watch designed for...
Watchmaking Classes In Washington D.C.
The?Horological Society of New York's?award-winning classes are on the road again! HSNY is traveling to Washington, D.C. on March 4 and 5, 2023, with hosts?Tiny Jewel Box. At HSNY's?Horological Education classes,?students discover what actually makes a watch tick under the guidance of the HSNY's staff of professional watchmakers. Students work on a mechanical watch movement, studying the gear train, winding and setting mechanisms, and escapement. The weekend half-day classes cover everything taught during the individual evening classes held in New York. Enrollment is now open?for the classes, and we look forward to seeing you th...
The Horological Society of New York (HSNY) is welcoming 2023 with three brand new financial aid opportunities for watchmaking students in the United States: The Charles Sauter Scholarship for Innovation in Horology, the Charles London Scholarship for Watchmaking Students, and the Simon Willard Award for School Watches, created to further support HSNY's mission of advancing the art and science of horology. About the Charles Sauter Scholarship for Innovation in Horology Horology may seem like a mature science, but there are still opportunities for improvement in all aspects of the field. There are many examples of innovations in horology th...
Introducing: The Vulcain Skindiver Nautique
Following last year's alarming relaunch of the darling Cricket, Vulcain has just announced a brand-new vintage-inspired dive watch for 2023 C the Skindiver Nautique 38mm. Taking direct inspiration from a model that was produced by Vulcain throughout the 1960s, this modern interpretation looks to re-issue the Nautique into what is left of today's nostalgia-driven market with the support of a price tag that barely breaks into the four-figure range.? The Skindiver Nautique measures 38mm wide, 12.2 mm thick, and 44.5mm lug to lug. It's a bit smaller (in every dimension) than something like a Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight and roughly th...
Who Won The AP Wristcheck Contest?
Last October ?my colleague and personal style icon Malaika Crawford chatted with Wristcheck's Austen Chu and AP CEO Fran?ois-Henry Bennahmias about their recently announced call for "Your Take On The Royal Oak." The contest, tied to the 50th anniversary of the RO, was designed to open the hallowed halls of AP to anyone with a dream, a design, and photoshop.? Over 4,000 people responded in kind and Chu and Bennehamias spent the past few months combing through the submissions to select their winners. The process was intense, I imagine, because they weren't simply selecting the best or best looking sketch, the winning watches will b...
Omega Aqua Terra Video Review: A Week On The Wrist
I'm in love with a good dive watch. Do I dive? Nope. Can I swim? Barely. But that's not the point here! I love dive watches because they look great with all of my casual outfits (aka sweatpants), they can withstand a few bangs on the desk during my hardcore video editing sessions, and they'll survive a few water droplets while I'm washing the dishes. If any of the above activities resonated with you, then maybe a diver is just too much watch for you. I recently realized they're probably too much for me, which is why I spent a week with one of the more popular non-diver stainless steel sport watches on the market, the Omega Aqua Terra 150m. ...
Hands-On: Comparing The New 39mm And Original 42mm Lambda Watches From NOMOS Glashtte
This year NOMOS Glashtte announced that they were releasing a 39 mm version of the Lambda watch, which had originally launched in 2013 to acclaim but also a certain amount of concern from the NOMOS faithful (and if youre a NOMOS owner you know what we mean C there is a level of emotional investment that NOMOS wearers feel with the company thats pretty unusual for any luxury watch brand, and especially unusual at the big-bang-for-the-buck segment that NOMOS generally occupies). The great thing about NOMOS has always been that though they offer one of the best value propositions in the biz, thats not why people buy them as a general rule C you buy them because all the parts (the in-house m...
A Week On The Wrist: The Zenith El Primero Chronograph Classic
The El Primero Chronograph Classic from Zenith, a watch launched rather quietly at Baselworld 2015, caught my eye immediately. It reminded me of those old Zeniths of the 1950s, and in my belief, will do its part in reviving an entirely overlooked category of watches that I know people love, though we don't hear much about it C that of the in-house dress chronograph, under $10,000. Sure, you have your GPs, Pateks, Langes, and Vacherons, which are all truly stunning dress chronographs, but under or at $10K, all in-house chronographs that have any real meaning are big, bulky, sport watches. This Zenith is simple, elegant, and may just be (almost) perfect. Here are my thoughts after spending a w...
Hands-On: With The Montblanc Villeret ExoTourbillon Rattrapante (Live Pics)
This week thanks to Montblanc North America, we had two pretty spectacular timepieces from the very highest end of the Montblanc horological ecosystem in the office. On Monday, we went hands on with the Montblanc Collection Villeret Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphres Vasco da Gama, with its combination of a very artistically done world time/GMT function and a very large, 18,000 vph tourbillon with a cylindrical hairspring, and we talked about the relationship between navigation at sea, the marine chronometer, and the development and purpose of the cyclindrical hairspring. Today, were going to go hands on with another very technically unusual Montblanc watch: the Villeret ExoTourbillon Rattra...
Introducing: The Seamaster Bullhead "Rio 2016"
The Olympics are almost upon us, and as a longstanding Olympic timekeeper, Omega was bound to introduce a plethora of event-oriented timepieces. Among them is the saucy Omega Seamaster Bullhead Rio 2016 Limited Edition. Just watch this teaser trailer below and tell me if the samba doesnt get you into a frolicsome mood. For live photos of the parent model, be sure to check out Blakes review from a couple years ago on the original Bullheads release. Some readers had not heard of the original Bullhead prior to that coverage. Here is one on the bay for your reference. Originally released in 1969, the bullheads maiden name was th...
This year is the tenth anniversary of one of the most interesting ongoing stories in watchmaking: the horological think-tank and design refinery known as MB&F. The company got its start when Max Bsser, formerly the head of the watch division of Harry Winston (where he helmed, among other things, the genesis of the legendary Opus series of watches) decided to leave the relative security of corporate life in the watch world (I use the world relative advisedly) and pursue his own very idiosyncratic vision of horological design. The basic inspiration behind the general design language of MB&F is pretty well known to serious enthusiasts C much of it is derived from Bssers own childho...