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Best Super NEWS Watches
Quartz. ?We pretend it's not there, but it defines the modern world of watchmaking. ?And yet, once upon a time, it was the new kid on the block --an unknown quantity whose influence had yet to be felt. ?We're very pleased to present to you one of the most important and influential watches you've probably never heard of: the Girard-Perregaux Caliber 350. ?Our watchmaker-in-residence, Aaron Berlow, takes us inside this groundbreaking movement, which influences quartz timekeeping design to this day, and shows us what makes it tick. --Ed. Asking many watchmakers what they think about quartz is like asking a die-hard American conservative what they think about government regulation. There is a vi...
The Wall Street Journal Profiles The Legendary HMT Watch Factory In India
From time to time, the big boys can turn us on to something great C today the WSJ did just that. Journalist Jesse Pesta has put together a great story (and video!) about the HMT Watch Factory, located in between Nepal and Tibet, where mechanical watches have been produced for more than five decades.Have a read and watch right here....
One of the most unusual watches weve seen in a while is this bronze prototype C rated to 1000 meters water resistance C made by Officine Panerai in the mid-1980s, as part of a project to develop dive watches for the Diver Corps of the Italian Navy; the watch is going up for auction this week from Christies. Its a pretty rare bird, but for our money what really takes it to the next level is that its a fantastic example of how utilitarian design can, when pushed far enough, transcend itself and produce something really exciting aesthetically, which is fundamentally what the appeal of Panerai is all about. Before getting in...
On The Block: My Top Picks From The Upcoming Christie's Auction
Last week I did a round up of my top picks from the Sotheby's auction in New York. The final results were an impressive $12.5 million. This week's picks are from the Christie's auction in New York on the 17th of June. This sale has some very interesting pieces up for auction, so be sure to check out the entire catalogue online here. Lot 44 C Patek Philippe Reference 2508 In Stainless Steel I get very excited any time I see a vintage stainless steel Patek come up for auction. There is just something so cool about the combination of an industrial metal used by a refined maker such as Patek Philippe. In...
We took our first look at this watch just last May, when Audemars Piguet announced it C and we said it then and well say it now, we think Audemars Piguet deserves a great deal of credit for sticking with their association with Michael Schumacher, who despite his ongoing struggle with the catastrophic injury he suffered in 2013, remains, and will always remain, one of the greatest (if not the greatest) figures in the history of motorsports.As we also said then, the Laptimer Michael Schumacher is a phenomenal technical achievement, and to help us all understand it a little bit better, we were lucky enough to be able to get a full description of the watch from none other than Giulio Papi, of A...
This, my friends, is hawt! As you may have heard, the bi-annual, all for charity Only Watch auction has moved away from Antiquorum and away from Monaco this fall. Instead, it will be held in Geneva and it will be hosted by Phillips with Bacs and Russo, who are riding high after their successful inaugural sales. Now as you may remember, each watch in the Only Watch auction is indeed a unique piece, and while we're dying to see what the likes of Patek Philippe might do this year, we have the very first announcement C and it is awesome. Laurent Ferrier is one of our collective favorite modern brands. Click here, here, here, and ...
To mark the opening of their new boutique on Old Bond Street in London, Jaeger-LeCoultre has released the special edition Grande Reverso Ultra Thin 1931. With a limited run of 26 pieces, the new special edition watch is the most exclusive in the Grande Reverso Ultra Thin 1931 collection. Following in the steps of the Rouge and Chocolat models from the Tribute Collection, this particular watch features a deep green dial, "reminiscent of the rolling British countryside with a nod to the legendary sporting colour." Additionally, the solid case back features ...
Hands-On: The IWC Portugieser Chronograph Reference 3714
If youve been following IWC for the last few years, you know that theyve taken a somewhat different tack in introducing new watches at the annual SIHH exhibition in Geneva C rather than exert themselves to create new watches across several collections, as is the norm, the firms been concentrating on a single collection per year. This year was the Year of the Portugieser, and there were quite a few new watches introduced as this was also the year that IWC chose to begin launching a series of new in-house movements. However, there was one reference that remained unchanged: the Portugieser Chronograph Reference 3714. The watch first saw the light of day in the 19...
And Bring A Loupe returns! Sorry for the week or two off, we were, you know, making moves. This week we have a great range of vintage watches found everywhere from private dealers that seldom list online, to forums, and even Instagram. Oh, and we have one major buyer beware that will surprise a few of you. This is your Bring A Loupe for June 19, 2015. Tudor 7928 Gilt Underline Full Box And Papers Vintage Tudor is going through a bit of a surge right now C check out our video when we went inside the Tudor vault C and original pieces are next to impossible to find. Andrea Foffi of Ore del Mondo sent me ...
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A Week On The Wrist: The H. Moser Endeavour Perpetual Calendar
H. Moser is one of those independent brands that isn't in our collective vernacular as much as others. Think about how often you hear the name F.P. Journe, or MB&F, or even Philippe Dufour and Laurent Ferrier. These are names that, to most watch folks, are relatively familiar. Moser, however, is not, and that's a shame because they have always been doing interesting things. Today, I will be reviewing the H. Moser Endeavour Perpetual Calendar, formerly known as the Perpetual 1. This incredibly thoughtful perpetual is absolutely the manufacture's most popular timepiece, offering something that frankly does not exist anywhere else. Let's get into it. Who Is H. M...
VIDEO: Behind The Scenes With The New Tiffany & Co. CT60 Collection
Since Tiffany was founded in 1837, they've sold an almost unbelievable variety of unbelievably beautiful things, and it's become one of those retailers that also has about it the air of exclusivity we associate with a firm that not only provides a serenely beautiful shopping environment, but also creates designs worthy of that environment.Over the many, many decades since Tiffany went into business in New York, they've worked with some of the most respected names in watchmaking, including Rolex, and Patek Philippe. For instance, you can read about the annual calendar Patek Reference 5396G released with Tiffany in 2012 right here; and as an example of a collaboration from years gone by, there...
Auction Recap: The Christie's Watches Sale In New York
Earlier in the week, I selected my top five picks from the Christie's auction that took place yesterday in New York. Overall, the sale did well, making $8,366,263 in total (including buyer's premium) C however, there were some runaway hits as well as some unexpected lows. Right off the bat, Lot 37, a Rolex Steel Submariner reference 6538 with gilt four-line dial, hammered for a whopping $220,000. The original estimate was $60,00 to $100,000. This particular watch features the gilt-four-line dial and the reference 6538, which was the same reference (not to be confused with this exact watch) infamously worn by James Bond in Dr....
A Week On The Wrist: The Tudor Heritage Black Bay Reference 7922R
Wearing the Tudor Black Bay for a week has been an extremely interesting experience C this is actually the first watch Ive ever had in for review where the crown tube was the key to understanding the appeal of the watch as a whole. Strange but true, I found the crown tube enchanting, compelling, and even romantic C and thereby hangs a tale. Its one that, as we related when we first viewed the watch in 2012 and reported back to you on it, began many years ago when the first Tudor Submariner divers watches were released all the way back in 1954 (hot on the heels of the better remembered Rolex Sub and Blancpain 50 Fathoms; it...
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Jeff Stein and his OnTheDash.com is something really special in the vintage Heuer community. It is, without a doubt, the thought-leader in the space, full of honest (rare in the watch world) assessments and analysis of the ever growing culture of vintage Heuer chronographs. Today, Mr. Stein has published a fascinating look at the Autavia, in all its incarnations, with glances at differentiating specific models, which are most collectible and why, famous wearers of the Autavia, and pricing trends. Even if you have just a passing interest in the original Heuer racer's watch, this is worth a read.Check out Jeff Stein's collector's guide to the Heuer Au...
Hands-On: The Omega Globemaster Master Chronometer
The Omega Globemaster was one of the most talked-about watches at Baselworld, for a somewhat peculiar reason: its fluted bezel, which prompted not a few enthusiasts to grumble that Omega was copying Rolex. The objection holds up poorly under even cursory scrutiny; Omega has used fluted bezels extensively in the past, including on a number of Constellation models from the 1960s, so to lambaste the company for a design element its used on and off for at least fifty years seems a little unfair. Nonetheless, the fact that a few feathers were ruffled Cas well as the watchs technical chops; it has one of the most advanced mechanical movements in production anywhere --gave us some considerable ...
The Value Proposition: Sexy Robot: The Grand Seiko Quartz SBGX061 With Caliber 9F
To a serious mechanical watch fan, the idea that any quartz watch might be something youd call a value proposition C much less a quartz watch costing thousands of dollars C might seem ridiculous, but if youre of a certain turn of mind theres a kind of integrity and purity to be found in Seikos Grand Seiko quartz watches you wont get anywhere else. Grand Seiko mechanical watches, of course, are generally considered by serious watch lovers to be one of the best things to happen to watchmaking since Huygens stuck a spiral spring on a balance, and Seiko Spring Drive is a reminder of Arthur C. Clarkes adage that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic C but quar...
Collecting The First Swiss Quartz Movement: 5 Beta-21 Watches To Look For
If you havent noticed, its quartz week here at HODINKEE. Earlier this week our resident watchmaker, Aaron, wrote about the Girard Perregaux caliber 350, and Jack wrote about the Grand Seiko Quartz SGBX061. But what about other collectible quartz watches, like the Beta 21 movement, on the market today? The history of quartz is a complex and lengthy one, so I will try keep it short and sweet. Quartz was invented in 1928 by Bell Labs, and due to the sheer size of early quartz clocks, were mostly restricted to use in labs as reference timekeepers. Quartz experimentation continued through the decades and by the early 1960s quartz movements had been miniaturized ...
In this week's Bring A Loupe we will be taking a look at a wide range of pieces that share very little, except that they represent what each manufacture does best. This includes some very rare military watches (with papers!), a kick-ass Universal Geneve, one of the rarest quartz watches on the planet (yes, it's still quartz week people, deal with it), and some of the nicest Daytonas we've come across in quite some time. We touch on Antiquorum's upcoming Hong Kong sale and a few other auctions you may have missed, all thanks to our new watch-hunter Louis Westphalen. Louis was born and raised in Paris, and often attended auctions with his grandfather as a child, where he became captivated by w...
Roger Dubuis has just shared with us the beginning of a most interesting project and one that will undoubtedly attract a good deal of attention, as well as, perhaps, a bit of controversy. This is the Hommage Millsime project. The name means, approximately, Vintage Homage, and the idea is to take very high grade and complicated movement bauches C generally from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when classical watch construction and finishing techniques really reached their pinnacle before beginning to be supplanted by machine and automated manufacturing and finishing tools C and to use them as the basis for making watches that reflect both the heritage of Roger Dubuis and the personal...