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Best Super NEWS Watches
The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers' horological collection has found a new and permanent home at the Science Museum, London. The collection previously lived at London's Guildhall, where it has been since 1814. The partnership between the Science Museum, London and the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers means that millions of people each year will be able to enjoy one of the best and oldest horological collections in the world. The Clockmakers' Collection at the Science Museum, London The Science Museum, London is one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. Founded in 1857, the museum holds a collection of over 300,00...
Only Watch happens once every two years (usually in Monaco, but this year, in Geneva for the first time) as you probably know if you're a HODINKEE reader. ?You probably also know that the purpose of the auction is to benefit research into better treatments C and perhaps, someday, even a cure C for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, an inherited, progressive, and usually ultmately terminal illness in which a defect in a key muscle structural protein (dystrophin) ?causes slow but irreversible loss of muscle tissue. ?The benefit auction is organized by the Association Mongasque contre les Myopathies ("myopathy" is a general term for muscle tissue disorders) the Monaco Yacht Show, and an auction hous...
This week's Bring A Loupe brings us back to the 1950-'60s era with some rare watches from Longines, Minerva, and Rolex. Time-only, chronograph, and dive watches are all represented here, underlining the timeless beauty of vintage timepieces. We have also selected the best lots from an upcoming Omega auction in Sweden, including a very nice Omega Speedmaster with an interesting orange hand. This is your Bring A Loupe for October 23, 2015. A Very Rare Longines, The Reference 2160 With Mushroom Pushers Usually, I don't feature non-functioning watches but I had to make an exception for this Longines from ...
A Dangerous Game: Americas Cup Sailing In Bermuda With Bremont
Somehow Ive got to talk Giles and Nick into letting me do an ejection so I can get the watch. Jimmy Spithill, the superstar Aussie skipper of Oracle Team USA, is sitting across from me all tanned and muscled, clutching an omnipresent can of Red Bull. After winning the Cup, I want to do an ejection, Spithill says with as much conviction and seriousness as he does when discussing how to win his second Americas Cup for Larry Ellisons no-holds barred team. Of course, the watch hes talking about is Bremonts MBI, the pilots watch available for purchase only by ejectees, those who have escaped a doomed aircraft using a Martin-Baker ejection seat. O...
There is, as we've mentioned elsewhere, and as many collectors know, a very long and rich common history between Patek Philippe and Tiffany, which goes all the way back to 1851, as we've explored elsewhere. It's a remarkable history with a remarkable legacy, with Tiffany-signed Patek Philippes forming a significant group of watches and often commanding a premium at auction over non-Tiffany signed models, thanks to their relative rarity. Patek Philippe and Tiffany have just opened a remarkable exhibit: a selection of unusual and in some cases unique Patek Philippe watches and pocket watches, from the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. They will be on show at the Tiffany flagship in New York for...
Breaking News: Astronaut Dave Scott's Bulova, Worn On The Moon, Sells For $1.3 Million
We knew Astronaut Dave Scott's Bulova chronograph, the only privately held lunar-worn wristwatch, would garner a lot of interest from collectors. I don't think anyone expected this. This Bulova just sold for $1,300,000 at RR Auctions. Many of you may be wondering, "how come this Bulova is so special when it's the Omega Speedmaster that is the real moon watch?" Well the answer is simple. Those Omegas were issued by NASA and are and always will be property of the U.S. government. And they take that seriously. We've seen lots pulled from public auctions because of this. The Bulova seen here was the astronaut's own watch, not one...
Weekend Report: Why Your Lume Looks Brighter When You Don't Look Straight At It
Want your watch to shine a little brighter in the dark? Easy C just look slightly away. Last week, we shared with you a fun bit of information on a common optical C or maybe we should say, neurological C illusion: chronostasis, a phenomenon in which the brain can sometimes over-estimate the duration of a particular event. This is the neurology behind the so-called "stopped clock" illusion, in which it can seem as if the hands of a watch or clock have stopped momentarily when you glance at them. A reader asked us in the comments section if we knew why the lume on a watch can look brighter when you're not looking directly at it C there's a pretty simple answer to this ...
In-Depth: The A. Lange & Sohne 1815 Chronograph, Revisited
One of the more interesting comparisons weve done in recent months was in the latest edition of Three On Three, in which we compared three really strong watches C all hand-wound, all chronographs, and all with in-house movements. As we noted then, in-house hand-wound chronograph movements in wristwatches have actually been something of a rarity in European watchmaking; chronographs are surprisingly challenging to engineer (I remember Cartiers Carole Forestier once telling me that a tourbillon was actually much easier to do than a good chronograph movement) and in general, if you wanted to do a chronograph wristwatch youd get a movement from a specialist supplier like Nouvelle Lemania. One...
Photo Report: Recapping The HODINKEE And Seiko Event In New York
Last week HODINKEE hosted an event with Seiko in New York City. Fans of the brand and watch enthusiasts alike were treated to a night of Japanese horology, mingling amongst a large selection of the brand's most popular models and enjoying demonstrations by a Seiko watchmaker. Here are a few highlights from the evening: ...
Introducing: The Harry Winston Opus 14
Today in Germany, Harry Winston unveiled the latest addition to the iconic Opus line C Opus 14 C that takes inspiration from the American jukebox. Harry Winston commissioned watchmakers Frank Orny and Johnny Girardin, who were responsible for the Montblanc Metamorphosis back in 2010 to build this new hyper-mechanical timepiece. Orny and Girardin once again applied their creative design aesthetic to the Opus 14 by creating a vibrant and fantastical wristwatch complete with two time zones and automaton. This one is crazy, people. The watch, Americana-themed, is made in white gold and is 54....
Hands-On: A Spectacular, Vintage-Inspired Unique Piece From The Extremely Piaget Collection
Today, when you hear the name Piaget, you probably think of the caliber 12P, the Altiplano, or insane diamond bracelet watches like the Limelight Aura. However, you may not be familiar with the incredible vintage designs for womens watches that the brand was well known for in the 1960s and '70s. These pieces were not only gorgeous, but were also very innovative for the time. After seeing several cool vintage Piaget pieces come across my desk while at Sothebys, I always hoped that Piaget would revive these designs, as I felt they would undoubtedly be a success. So when I heard that Piage...
The arrival of a new perpetual calendar Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet is something watch collectors don't take lightly. It was AP, after all, who was the very first manufacture to produce a perpetual wristwatch with leap year indicator all the way back in the 1950s. It was also Audemars Piguet, alongside only Patek Philippe, who would be producing perpetual calendar wristwatches of any kind for the better part of a half-century. The QP has always played an important role in AP's history, and while we showed you the new, updated 41 mm perpetuals a few weeks back, we are now here to show you the fifth model in the lineup C cased in yellow gold. All five ...
Watch The 2015 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve Live On HODINKEE Tomorrow
At exactly 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time tomorrow (Thursday, October 29th), the world of fine watchmaking will gather at the grand theater in Geneva for the most prestigious celebration of horology in the world at the 2015 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve, or GPHG. Over a dozen category winners will be announced, ranging from chronographs to calendars, sports watches, tourbillons, ladies watches, and more. From there, the winner of the night's biggest prize, the AIGUILLE DOR," or "Golden Hand" will be presented. Last year Breguet's Classique Chronometer took home the main prize and this year's group of entries may bring us a few surprises. HODINKEE will be broadcasting the entire GPHG 2015 cerem...
Bring a Loupe: A Rare Military Breitling, A Funky Zenith El Primero, And Many Vintage Rolex
This week's Bring A Loupe will be chronograph heavy. You will discover a very rare Breitling, manufactured for the Italian army, as well as two chronographs from Zenith, one featuring the iconic El Primero movement. Expect to also learn more about some incredible vintage watches from Rolex, starting with the unavoidable Daytona with Paul Newman dial, and concluding with a rare, early prototype of the Rolex Day-Date. This is your Bring A Loupe for October 30, 2015. A Very Rare Breitling For The Italian Army, The Reference 817 CP-1 E.I You may have never heard about the Breitling reference 817 CP-1 E.I,...
Watch The 2015 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve Live Right Here
The Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG) is considered the most important awards in all of fine watchmaking. A jury consisting of the world's most respected journalists (including our own Ben Clymer), collectors, scholars, and retailers deliberate behind closed doors to decide who has, over the past 12 months, produced the the finest timepieces in all the land. And right now, you can watch those awards be announced live from Geneva.If you're on your mobile device, you can watch the live stream here. Otherwise, tune in below!...
In case you missed our live video feed of the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genve Awards (arguably the most important awards in the watch industry), here is a recap of all the winning pieces. To see all the nominees you can also review this post to see what incredible time pieces were pre-selected. The Special Jury Prize C Vacheron Constantin, Reference 57260 The Special Jury Prize went to three deserving watchmakers Jean-Luc Perrin, Micke and Yannick Pintus, who spent an incredible eight years working on the amazing Vacheron Constantin Reference 57260, aka The Most Complicated Watch in the World. You can read our exclusive review on the w...
Remember General Patton's five-minute-repeating, split-second chronograph pocket watch that we covered here back in September? Well, it went up for auction today at Heritage Auctions and sold for a whopping $137,000.The watch was originally purchased for $350 (negotiated down from $600) by General Patton's father, George Patton II as a gift for his son back in 1927. The watch was originally estimated for $25,000 to 35,000 and hammered at $137,000, which is no surprise due to the provenance and level of complication. For full details on the lot, you can visit the Heritage website here....
Hands-On: The Harry Winston Opus 14, A Jukebox For The Wrist
Harry Winston just launched one of their most hotly anticipated watches in years: the next iteration of the famous Opus series of watches. The Opus timepieces were originally conceived in the pre-Swatch Group era of the company C that is to say, most of its history C and was the brainchild of then-Harry Winston watch CEO Max Bsser (who later went on to start a little horological enterprise of his own). The idea was a simple one: find a rock star independent watchmaker, give them essentially a blank sheet of paper and a blank check, and see what happens. Do this once a year; lather, rinse, repeat. The project would go on to r...
Photo Report: Inside The New A. Lange & Sohne Boutique In Costa Mesa, California
Imagine an entire store dedicated to just A. Lange & Sohne timepieces, in a mall near you. The folks in Costa Mesa, California, can now claim to have just that, as Lange has opened up its fourth boutique in the United States inside the well-known South Coast Plaza. The 925 square foot shrine to Saxon watchmaking joins boutiques in Palm Beach, New York, and Miami, representing the West Coast in what is one of the highest income areas, in a mall that is, frankly, unlike many other malls around the world. The Lange boutique in Costa Mesa is currently open, and we were there for the grand opening event in late October. All de...
The Complete Guide To The Omega Speedmaster
Welcome to the third installment of Reference Points, our series that takes an exhaustive look at some of the most important families of timepieces in history (Episode 1 featured the entire collection of perpetual calendar chronographs from Patek Philippe, and Episode 2 featured the Rolex Paul Newman Daytona). In this episode, we examine the legendary Omega Speedmaster, a watch that has become a brand unto itself over the last 50 years. We'll examine the origins of the Speedmaster, its progression into the "space watch" that we know today, and how it has evolved over the years. I will begin by pointing out what this is not. This ...