Best Super NEWS Watches
Introducing Zenith Pilot Type 20 Annual Calendar Chronograph
Last year's monster Pilot's watch (Type 20) from Zenith was a run-away success for the brand. So much so in fact that for BaselWorld 2013, they've release an entire line around it - including this guy. You're looking at an annual calendar chronograph in a 48mm case. No doubt utilizing the same movement found inside the awesome Zenith Captain Winsor, this new watch couples what could be a trademark design for Zenith with one of the best values in movements currently available. The Type 20 Annual Calendar (or Montre dAe?ronef type 20 Annual Calendar) will come in rose gold and titanium, with prices to be confirmed....
Hands-On: With The New Haldimann H11 (Live Pics)
Haldimann is best known for their dramatic and philosophical approach to the tourbillon complication. They've even gone far as removing the timing element all together, giving the stage to the superfluous over the functional. That approach is flipped with their latest offering, the H11. Time is given priority, only hour and minute hands remain, and power is doled out via the centrally mounted balance. No tourbillon in sight. We caught up with Haldimann at Baselworld and went hands-on with the H11.The story of the H11 begins with the movement, which is crafted entirely within the Haldimann workshops in the Swiss town of Thun, concept to completion. The balance's central location in the moveme...
The Patek Philippe 5170J was introduced three years ago as the latest in a legacy of great manually wound, two-register chronographs.? It replaced the epic 5070, which was Lemania powered, and brought the size down to 39mm.? And for the first time used an in-house manually wound chronograph caliber.? The 5170 was introduced originally, and exclusively in yellow gold, giving it the title 5170J.? But just today, Patek was kind enough to show us the 5170G, aka the 5170 in white gold.? Here are you your live pics and pricing info. So, pretty much everything is the same here - same manually wound Patek caliber CH 29-535 PS with 65...
Basel World 2013: Introducing The Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue (Live Pics, Full Specs, Pricing)
DIRECT FROM BASEL WORLD 2013: This is a huge year for Tudor, and for us watch lovers in the US of A.? That's because Tudor will be, for the first time in about a decade, ?sold in our fare nation.? And here is the absolute latest new releases from Tudor that you'll be seeing in stores later this year - introducing the Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue. The Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue is a spin-off of the wildly successful Tudor Heritage Chrono's of 2010, available in both Black and Grey.? While those two watches with "home plate" features and a black bezel were in tribute to the reference 7031, this new watch is inspired by a later mo...
Introducing The Blancpain Villeret Grand Date, A Favorite Upgrades To Two Windows
If one thing is certain about SIHH, its that it foreshadows Basel. And storming out of the gate for Pre-Basel 2015 is Blancpains new Villeret Grand Date. This watch is notable for a few reasons. There is a clever simplicity in applying the Aqualungs (spotted here on Vladimir Putins wrist) signature date window to the Villeret. But, regardless of how clever and simple it may seem, applying such a window has the potential to go horribly wrong. Thankfully, Blancpain seems to have gotten it right.Earlier in the year, we celebrated Blancpains New NYC Boutique. In said article youll find a wristshot of the current Villeret with the date at 3 oclock. While that design works, the Grand Date a...
Introducing The Girard-Perregaux 1966 Integrated Column-Wheel Chronograph, A New In-House Caliber
Girard-Perregaux 1966 Column-Wheel Chronograph Girard-Perregaux has introduced a new in-house, manually wound movement to its line-up, and this one is a beauty. The caliber GP0 3800-0001 is a hand-wound column-wheel chronograph designed and produced by Girard-Perregaux from the ground up. And it makes its debut in the 1966 Column-Wheel Chronograph, and here is your first look at this true purist's chrono. The Girard-Perregaux GP0-3800 After half a decade of research and development, Girard-Perregaux has unveiled the caliber GP0- 3800. The 312-component column-wheel chronograph movement comes in at a ...
In-Depth: The MusicMachine By MB&F And Reuge (Exclusive Video)
The latest creation from MB&F isn't something you wear on your wrist and it won't tell you the time either. Instead, Max Bsser has teamed up with Swiss music box maker Reuge to bring you the MusicMachine. This singing spaceship is a superlative table-top music box designed by MB&F and expertly crafted by Reuge. We have exclusive video of the MusicMachine in action and an in-depth explanation from Mr. Max Bsser himself. Let's start with the basics. The MusicMachine is a music box that plays a total of six melodies, three on each barrel. One plays Star Wars, the Imperial March from Return of the Jedi, and the theme from S...
Basel World 2013: Introducing The Arnold & Son UTTE, The Thinnest Tourbillon Currently Available
The Arnold & Son UTTE Arnold & Son is quickly becoming known for pushing complications to the extreme (like with the?HM moonphase perpetual?we showed you last week). Today we have their latest creation, the Ultra Thin Tourbillon Escapement, or UTTE for short. The UTTE comes in at a slim 8.34mm thick, making it the thinnest tourbillon-equipped watch available today. The UTTE's Namesake Ultra Thin Tourbillon Escapement As with most Arnold & Son watches, the in-house movement is really the star of the show with the UTTE. The brand new caliber A&S8200 is a 2.97mm thick tourbillon movement des...
A Closer Look At The Raymond Weil Maestro Phase de Lune Semainier (Video)
Today we have a new video from Raymond Weil that offers a poetic behind-the-scenes look at what goes into crafting their Maestro Phase de Lune Semainier. The journey from design sketch to your wrist isn't a short one, and the video gives you a closer look at the various stages along the way. Enjoy the video and click through for more on the Maestro Phase de Lune Semainier.? The 41.5mm Maestro Phase de Lune Semanier might be a slightly more modern size, but everything else about this Maestro recalls the classic calendar watches of the early twentieth century. Modified Breguet style hands, the crescent-tipped month hand, and the si...
Introducing The Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Duoface Blue
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Duoface Blue As part of the brand's 180th anniversary celebration, Jaeger-LeCoultre has released a special Reverso, the Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Duoface Blue. Bringing together the orignal Reverso's ties to the sport of polo and Jaeger-LeCoultre's dedication to high horology, the Duoface Blue takes its?aesthetic?cues from the 1931 Reverso but adds a second timezone on the case's back. It's a fitting modern tribute to a true classic. 1933 Blue Dial Reverso The Duoface Blue's beautiful lacquered dial has been carefully matched to the particular blue of a ...
Sothebys Offers A Glimpse Into IWCs Past With Ingenieur Ref. 1832, Original Portuguese, And Mark XI
photo ? Sothebys Geneva, 2013 Lets take a short break from all the hoopla surroundingBaselWorld this week and take a peek at some historical watches from a companythats NOT in Basel.Sothebys is hosting an auction on May 11th in Genevaand the usual suspects are present: Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet, to namea few. But while we never tire of seeing a vintage Polarisor 3-6-9 dial Submariner,its a rare treat to find a healthy quiver of great old IWCs at auction. Andthere are three of them here that offer a glimpse into the companys past and showdirect inspiration for modern pieces from three of their watch families. ...
#Flock: The Twitter-Powered Cuckoo Clock
Here at HODINKEE were no stranger social media. See those little grey icons at the top right C be sure to check us out across Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram. So when we find out that Twitter commissioned the production of a tweet-powered cuckoo clock, we had to take a closer look. Meet #Flock.#Flock is the product of Twitter UK and creative agency Berg. Its a cuckoo clock that, in addition to telling you the time, will alert you (in the traditional cuckoo clock style) to every @reply, retweet, and new follower you get. In addition to the birds popping out of the clock, you can also get a musical birdsong alert. Thankfully the clock is equipped with a convenient volume control, so...
Pre-Basel World 2013: Introducing The Arnold & Son HM Perpetual Moon
Moonphase complications are often delicately tucked away inside a subseconds dial or form only one component in a much more complex calendar system. Not with this watch. Arnold & Son's HM Perpetual Moon displays a large beautiful moon that spans the entire top half of the dial. And beyond just looking good, this moonphase is accurate to one day every 122 years. Arnold & Son is no stranger to romantic complications (as you can see from both the Time Pyramid and the DBS), but this execution is particularly beautiful. Inside the 42mm case is a 29mm moonphase disc, which runs from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock, taking up almost...
A Week On The Wrist: The SevenFriday P1
SevenFriday's watches have made a big splash over the past few months, getting a lot of attention on the internet in particular. Here at HODINKEE we're always excited to see people doing new and different things in the world of horology, so we decided to get our hands on a SevenFriday P1 to check it out for ourselves. After wearing the P1 for a week and doing some thorough research we came up with some pretty interesting results. A Closer Look At The SevenFriday P1 Haute Horology Inspired It's important right off the bat to place the SevenFriday P1 in its proper context. While through most of the histo...
Follow HODINKEE For SIHH 2015 Coverage
It's that time of year again folks C when 16 of the top watchmaking brands convene in Geneva to present their latest releases in the elegant tradeshow known as SIHH (or Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie). The event is just a few days away and Ben, Will, and Kelly couldn't be more excited to bring you all the news you'll want to read (and see), live right from the exhibition center. We'll be updating you from multiple channels, showing you new watches right here on the website, as well as on all our social media platforms. To make sure you don't miss out on anything, click through to see all the ways you can follow our coverage.We'll be upping the ante on our website by increasing th...
Pre-Basel World 2013: Introducing The Linde Werdelin SpidoLite II Tech
Linde Werdelin Spidolite II Tech Since first announcing the Spidolite in 2009, Linde Werdelin has continued to release new versions of the watch to take advantage of the brand's latest technical developments. Today we bring you the Spidolite II Tech, the first watch made from ALW (Alloy Linde Werdelin), a proprietary alloy developed by the independent brand. There are two versions of the Spidolite II Tech and we've got the details on both. Spidolite II Tech Overall, the Spidolite II Tech is a lot like the other members of the Spidolite II family. There is the LW04 movement, which is made just for Lin...
Big-crown Submariners are some of the most sought after Subs around C and while they can be found with some regularity if you really put the time into it, rarely are they found in great, original condition with unmolested dials and thick cases.? If you've been following us on our #roadtobasel trip, you've seen us make a few stops along the way.? One of those stops was at Christie's Geneva to see what is just an obscene number of unbelievable vintage Rolex watches.? You saw the white dial Explorer I yesterday, and today you'll see what is one of the nicest big crown Submariners we've ever laid our eyes on. This is a reference 6538...
John Mayer On Watches: An Open Letter To IWC, From John Mayer
Do you ever find yourself wishing you could tell seemingly massive, distant watch companies exactly what's on your mind? Well, our resident columnist John Mayer feels exactly the same. In the following open letter to IWC, John shares his thoughts C both complimentary and critical C on the brand that really cemented his passion for watches. It is, without a doubt, a must-read. Dear IWC,First of all, big fan. And like any big fan of a team, I get passionate about them winning. And passion can sound critical, but its all out of love and the desire to see them win every year. I first discovered IWC after...
Hands-On: With The Shinola Runwell 40mm, A Watch Born In Detroit (Live Pics)
Shinola Runwell Last week we had the pleasure of visiting Shinola, a new brand?manufacturing?watches in Detroit. Housed in the historic Argonaut building, originally GM's design studio, Shinola builds watches from Swiss components in an attempt to bring high-end manufacturing back to the United States. We'll have more on Shinola for you in the coming weeks, but today we have a hands-on look at their first watch, the Runwell. 40mm Runwell On The Wrist The Runwell is offered in two sizes, 40mm and 47mm. While the larger looks great on guys with big enough wrists (and wears smaller than you would expect...
Twixt Time - Evaluate The Accuracy Of Your Watch Right On Your iPhone
Twixt Time The developer that brought us the Kello iPhone accuracy testing app is back today with Twixt Time, a new take on the same principle. Instead of utilizing a headphone microphone to listen to a watch's escapement, Twixt Time uses the iPhone's camera to keep track of hand positions over time. We took an early look at Twixt (which hits the Apple App Store today) and here are some of our thoughts.The number one complaint people had with Kello was that getting accurate and consistent readings from headphone microphones proved difficult and the results suffered accordingly. So the goal with Twixt Time was to measure accuracy without relying on the microphone at...