Best Super NEWS Watches
Bring a Loupe: Two Mega Pateks, Some Great Vintage Rolex, And A Blingy But Dressy Audemars Piguet
This week's Bring A Loupe will be full of thrilling discoveries, ranging from a rare Patek Calatrava in steel to a very early Rolex Explorer with an intense tropical dial. As usual, expect a lot of eBay finds too, including an amazing Vacheron 222, an intriguing Longines Nonius, and a badly cooked-up Universal Geneve Aero-Compax. And of course, all those will go together with a round of special picks from the upcoming Artcurial auction. This is your Bring a Loupe for July 17, 2015. An Uber Cool Vacheron 222 WITH Box And Papers Despite persistent rumors, Gerald Genta did not design the Vacheron 222. No...
The Full Roster Of Watch Candidates For The Grand Prix d'Horlogerie De Genve
The Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genve was created in 2001 to recognize achievement in watchmaking in a wide range of categories and the founding members include the Canton of Geneva, the City of Geneva, the Muse International de l'Horlogerie in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Timelab, and the Edipress Group. Watches are pre-selected for consideration in the Grand Prix and winners are chosen from a wide range of categories. Below are just a few of the candidate timepieces C this is just a small sample and includes distinguished timepieces from Audemars Piguet, Seiko, MB&F, and Kari Voutilainen, but it'll give you a rough idea of the scope and variety of the watches included in the Grand Prix. ...
F.P. Journe Acquires the 1,000 Book Library Of Famed Horological Historian Jean-Claude Sabrier
Above, Jean-Claude SabrierF.P. Journe recently acquired the extensive horological library of Jean-Claude Sabrier at auction for the sum of 760,000 CHF. The library of nearly 1,000 books will be exhibited at the manufacture in the near future. Above, Fran?ois-Paul JourneAt the young age of 17, F.P. Journe met Jean-Claude Sabrier in Paris. Sabrier was one of the world's foremost horological experts and historians. No doubt, this meeting influenced Journe's horological endeavors for years to come.Sabrier was one of the world's premier horological experts. According to F. P. Journe:"From 1960 to 1980 Jean-Claude Sabrier was a con...
He Said, She Said: A Double Take On The Audemars Piguet Millenary
This review is in two parts; the ladies' Millenary 77247 is reviewed by Cara Barrett, HODINKEE Associate Editor, followed by the Millenary 4101, by Jack Forster, Managing Editor.The whole idea of women's watches and men's watches is in flux nowadays. Many men prefer watches in what would have been considered feminine sizes not too long ago, as traditional men's classic watch designs and sizes continue to soar in popularity; many knowledgeable female enthusiasts wear, say, great collectible sports watches for the same reason their male counterparts do: they want to wear a cool watch. Does the idea of a watch designed for a specific gender still make sense? ?For this segment Jack and I will be...
Letters To The Editor: A Reader Wants Help Picking A Breitling
Hi Ben and Team,A reader submitted Q&A section similar to the Watch Snob, but without the condescension, would be a welcome addition to the site.It’s wonderful that readers are commenting and even having discussions on your current content, but a weekly Q&A column would allow you to engage your readers on a higher level.If you choose to implement this, I happily volunteer for the first question.I was gifted my first nice watch – the Breitling Colt Chrono ref. A73350 –upongraduating high school, and have had a soft spot for the brand ever since.I’m currently looking for an everyday casual, and theirTransoceanreally caught my eye.I can’t decide between the...
Introducing: Only Watch: GP Announces Special Vintage 1945
Girard-Perregaux has just announced its contribution to the Only Watch auction C held once every two years to benefit research into better treatments for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy C and it's a doozy: a Vintage 1945 XXL Large Date and Moon Phases wristwatch with a blue "polycrystalline" transparent dial. The case is titanium (a first for this model).It's an impressive visual effect C it gives the moon a feeling of floating in the evening sky, and it's also a shout-out to the blue Only Watch logo, and the transparency takes a watch that's already pretty high up in the eye-candy rankings and makes it really zoom. You can read all about Only Watch right here....
Found: Cyberpunk Author William Gibson On Watches
If you know the term cyberpunk, or watched the Matrix, you are familiar with William Gibson's work. The prolific science fiction author is famous for his accurate depictions of the near-future. I am a huge fan of his writing; in high school I was somewhat obsessed with his Sprawl Trilogy. Unsurprisingly, Gibson is a fan of mechanical watches, although his take on collecting may surprise you. Collections of things, and their collectors, have generally tended to give me the willies. I sometimes, usually only temporarily, accumulate things in some one category, but the real pursuit is in the learning curve.– C William Gibson For the fu...
Interview: Visit To The New Panerai Boutique In Miami & Interview With Angelo Bonati, CEO Of Panerai
This month Panerai opened its first ever flagship store in the United States and I was lucky enough to go down to see the boutique for myself. The 2,200 square foot boutique is located in the heart of the Miami Design District C the innovative neighborhood being developed by Dacra, founded by entrepreneur Craig Robbins, and L Real Estate, a global real estate and development fund. The Miami Design District development is special in that it partners with prominent architects and artists to design the buildings and retail spaces. Each space is unique and creates an overall experience for the shopper. The Panerai boutique is lo...
Letters To The Editor: Watch Collection As College Fund, And A Crazy Place To Put A Power Reserve
Hi Ben & Team,Thanks for your wonderful magazine and excellent work educating us as watch lovers. I have long been an admirer primarily of the design of fine watches (I am not a cognoscenti and know little about references, bridges, etc.) but never able to afford the pricier ones until recently. In 2004, I made my first purchase –a new Cartier stainless steel automatic Roadster and on a vacation to Jamaica in 2005, a watch dealer insisted that I buy a Panerai Luminor Sub 1000 PAM 00087, at a then princely sum of US $4,000. Having fallen in love with the PAM, I recently acquired a Panerai PAM 538, as a dress watch, and a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5980/1ar-001, for those fun occasions ...
Linde Werdelin Teams Up With Danish Military To Develop Oktopus Frogman
Linda Werdelin is adding a new member to their Oktopus family of dive watches, and unless youre a member of an elite wing of the Danish Military, the Frogman Corps, you wont be getting the opportunity to own one. Dubbed the Oktopus Frogman, the latest watch out of the UK-based brand was built at the behest of the Conventus Ranae, the Frogmans formal association for members both current and retired. The Oktopus Frogman was designed with the unique requirements of a professional dive unit in mind, and the result is a more focused, simplified dial, and a hardened, single-piece-case construction. The only catch? Each piece will be personalized with the operatives service number, and if you d...
Forty six years ago today, man walked on the moon for the very first time. It is no secret that along with the good men of Apollo XI went an Omega Speedmaster or two. As such, on this anniversary of one of mankind's most momentous achievements, we look back at some of our favorite Speedmaster-related stories. The Story of Two Astronauts And Their Omega Speedmasters, As Seen In Sochi One of my most memorable experiences from the last seven years of HODINKEE was traveling to Sochi, Russia to meet Astronaut Tom Stafford and Cosmonaut Alexey Leonov, joint commanders of the Apollo-Souyuz mission. Their wat...
Patek Philippe's showing at Baselworld 2015 was, in my belief, its strongest in years. We saw them show absolutely stunning updates to the 5170G (black dial, oversized breguet, leaf hands make a world of difference) and 5270 (now available in rose, and no more chin on existing g models). We also saw perhaps the best watch Patek has made since the 5970P in the 5370P C a platinum split seconds chronograph with a black enamel dial. OK, they also brought out the least Patek watch they've ever made in the 5524G but we've already covered that craziness here. One piece from Basel that we haven't talked about yet and is just now hitting authorized dealers is the new Nautilus 5711 in rose gold. ...
Hands-On: A Totally Unique And Transparent Vintage Pocket Watch From Hamilton
Hamilton's film What Makes a Fine Watch Fine opens with a shot of a transparent watch, its gear train seemingly floating in air. Today we are used to seeing brands advertise their new watches with computer rendered animations that show the mechanics of a watch movement in amazing clarity. The absolutely crazy thing about that film, and the watch that it shows, is that it was shot in 1947. The watch is a unique version of Hamilton's model 992, with plates and bridges made from lucite. It comes from the collection of Ren Rondeau, a watchmaker, dealer and historian specializing in Hamilton watches. Seeing this watch in person is in...
At The Bench: The Restoration Of A Tudor Advisor (Reference 7926)
There are several reasons that most people should never consider bidding on a watch that has the words as is or for repair in its description on eBay. In addition to making me have to overpay for adventurous restorations, pieces like this trade at such a small discount that it is rarely, if ever, a cost effective way to get your hands on a great vintage piece. There are exceptions, but for the most part, for collectors this is a losing gamble. This recent adventure very well illustrates this point and shows off awesome vintage Tudor in the process.? Recently I have developed an unreasonable interest in wrist alarms. I had been restoring some JLC Memovoxes and...
Jaeger LeCoultre Launches The Record Challenging Master Ultra-Thin Squelette Collection
Jaeger LeCoultre has just announced one of the thinnest, if not the thinnest, mechanical wristwatches ever made: the Master Ultra Thin Squelette. The watches in this family of timepieces are built around the well known ultra thin Jaeger LeCoultre caliber 849, known in this iteration as the 849SQ (squelette, or skeleton) and the movement itself remains 1.85 mm thick. The big news is however that the watch itself, overall, is only 3.6 mm thick, in the thinnest version. Several sharp eyed readers picked up on this when the press release went out, although Jaeger LeCoultre is sedulously avoiding making any world-record claims C ...
Talking Watches: With Andre Iguodala
This is the summer of Andre Iguodala. The 31-year-old small forward for the Golden State Warriors is fresh off winning the MVP of this year's NBA finals. He's flying all over the world talking to artists and designers, presenting at the ESPY Awards, and becoming the king of New York Men's Fashion Week. In between it all, he sat down with us to talk about something that he holds very close to his heart C watches. This is your official HODINKEE Talking Watches with 2015 NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Reference 15300 A stainless-steel Royal Oak (reference 15300) was Andre's dream wa...
The Value Proposition: The Unbreakable Allure Of The Rado DiaStar Original
One of the interesting things about watch collecting is that it has all sorts of little archipelagos of design and mechanical innovation to be discovered, once you branch off from better-traveled territory. One of the most interesting watches of the late 20th century is, to me, also one of the less appreciated, for various reasons (more on that in a minute) and its a watch that says a great deal not only about shifting tastes, but also about the march of technology and how its affected what we expect from watches right down to the present day.That watch is the Rado DiaStar. The DiaStar is probably the single most memorable vintage Rado watch C the company brought out the first one in 1962,...
This week's Bring A Loupe will be all about amazing vintage watches, featuring many of my absolute favorites, soon to become yours too. You will discover a Royal Oak in platinum, some of the greatest pre-Daytona chronographs from Rolex, and plenty of mythical Movado, LeCoultre, and Universal Geneve watches as well. In my auction picks I also identified two questionable lots, but rest assured that the other pieces will more than make for the early disappointment. This is your Bring a Loupe for July 24, 2015. A Very, Very Rare Royal Oak Jumbo In PLATINUM This might be the ultimate Royal Oak, we did warn...
Introducing: The New Panerai E-Boutique
Panerai has re-launched its website and it now includes an impressive e-boutique exclusively for the U.S. The e-boutique includes a range of watches from the Panerai collections, as well as straps and buckles. The new Panerai website is compatible with all mobile devices and tablets. The experience is simple and elegant and is easy to manage. Like most e-boutiques, each user is able to save their information under My Account and save their favorite watches and accessories under their Wish List. There is also a "Concierge" service that puts you in touch with a Panerai representative by email. ...
Weekend Report: Pen For Watch Fans: The Herms Nautilus Pen By Marc Newson
Design superstar Marc Newson's name is well known in horological circles C most significantly, for his co-founding of Ikepod (we love his Ikepod hourglass). He's also done design work for Jaeger LeCoultre (he created an Atmos clock in partnership with Apple's Jony Ive) and just last September, Newson joined Apple as part of Ive's design team. His interests have led him into many other fields than watches, of course C he's well known for his flatware designs for Alessi; and the iconic Lockheed Lounge is perhaps his most famous design (one sold last April at Phillips for 2,434,500). However, he has also always had an interest in objects more relevant to use in daily life (the Streika cutlery ...