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Best Super NEWS Watches
Pre-SIHH 2016: Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin has just announced that for the 2016 SIHH, theyll be introducing four new models into the Mtiers d'Art Fabuleux Ornements collection. The collection was first introduced two years ago as part of the larger Mtiers d'Art collection of timepieces, and basically, theyre intended as a celebration of the decorative arts of different cultures, with Ottoman architecture, Chinese embroidery, Indian manuscript, and French lace. These arts are interpreted through engraving and openworking, as well as through enameling techniques, including cloisonn and champlev, and guilloch engraving techniques.The new references use the same basic design motifs as the models introduced in 2...
There arent too many more inherently refined animals in the horological bestiary than monopusher, two-register, column-wheel chronographs. They have a certain archaic fascination C I suppose you could say that about just about any mechanical watch, as far as that goes, but the single-button chronograph is the earliest type of chronograph watch mechanism, and the column wheel the earliest known type of control system for switching on and off, and for reset. Vintage monopusher chronographs from major names like Patek Philippe can go for C well, see for yourself; and while there has been a bit of an increase in the number of mo...
The Legacy Machine Perpetual Calendar was the very first true high complication from MB&F, which seems very difficult to believe at first, because the impression one has of the company, and its watches, is exactly the one of exclusivity and ingenuity that you ordinarily associate with the traditional high complications. The perpetual calendar in the Legacy Machine Perpetual is like every other perpetual calendar ever made in that it allows the watch to correctly show the date, whether or not the month in question has 31, 30, 29, or 28 days in it. How it does what it does isnt arbitrary, either C its an essential part of the fantastic aesthetics of the watch. To understand how the Legac...
Horological Society Of New York: Thinking Through Leap Seconds With Sara Morawetz
The December 7th meeting of the Horological Society of New York (HSNY) will feature a lecture by artist Sara Morawetz. All HSNY meetings are free and open to the public. For more information, visit HSNY's website. A leap second is a unit of measure irregularly added to our global system of time-keeping to account for perturbations in the rotation rate of our planet. (The speed of the Earth's rotation varies very slightly due to various factors, including the effects of the Moon's gravity. These changes are irregular; but in general the Earth's rotation is gradually slowing and since the leap seconds system was instituted in 1972, 26 leap seconds have been added.)...
Your Ultimate Vintage Watch Buying Tip: Condition Matters, A Lot (Sometimes To The Tune Of $480,000)
We are often asked to help people find vintage watches to buy. In most cases, we're happy to do it. But one major misunderstanding among new collectors is that when you pay less for a particular reference, you're getting a better deal. For example, on any given day, we could probably find a 1970s Rolex Ref 5513 for around $4000. We could also find a 1970s Rolex Ref 5513 for sale at around $6500. Same reference, same year, same everything - so why the difference, and why would the average person think the watch at $4000 is the better buy and why would we tell you to go for the watch at $6500? Condition matters most, and in the long term, you'll see that. ...
First Look: Ten Top Vintage Lots From The Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction One
November saw some pretty exciting auctions and the good news is, the season is far from over. Come December, Phillips' first auction in Hong Kong will offer plenty of incredible vintage grails. Think for instance of the rarest perpetual calendar from Patek Philippe, or a Rolex Daytona Solo, or an incredibly elegant Crash from Cartier London. We should also not forget a dreamy Datejust in pink gold, as well as a seriously enticing chronograph from Vacheron Constantin. Let's focus now on our 10 favorite vintage watches coming up next week. Patek Philippe Reference 3450 Perpetual Calendar In White Gold C One Of Two Known! ...
Earlier this year, HODINKEE published an article concerning the questionable advertising tactics of a portion of the American watchmaking industry. Entitled "Smoke And Mirrors In The American Watchmaking Industry," the article looked into what exactly "Made in USA" means, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This week the FTC got involved, and suffice it to say, at least some of the smoke has cleared. The FTC published a closing letter on their web site, detailing their findings with respect to one American watch company's marketing, and even what is printed on their dials and bezels. The FTC said: "As discussed, ...
Found: Four Watches Used In The Filming Of Mad Men, For Sale At Christie's New York
Remember when Mad Men was the thing? I sure do. I can't tell you how many "Mad Men Style" watch shoots I was involved with back then C whether it was talking about how the show revived the traditional dress watch, how certain brands were seeking to capitalize on it, or doing a little bit of watch spotting on the show's characters. In season five, the folks at Mad Men reached out to our friend Derek Dier C a vintage watch purveyor up north C for some help in sourcing a few period pieces for Don Draper, Roger Sterling, Pete Campbell, and Don's new wife, Megan. We were there to document it, and described those four watches in detail C a Tudor Tuxedo, a Cross Hair Omega Seamaster, a Hamilton Spu...
Technical Perspective: Kari Voutilainen Reviews Four High-End Chronographs, Sort Of
Suffice it to say master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen knows a thing or two about a good watch. That's why when we saw our friends at QP Magazine ask the highly regarded technician about some of today's most revered, but serially produced chronographs, we took notice. Kari doesn't really "review" the watches in any great detail C for that you'll have to rely on our Three on Three of the best manually wound chronographs in the world C but he does offer some interesting insight into what makes each movement special.Have a read right here....
Found: A Patek Philippe 3448 Perpetual Calendar Owned By Ringo Starr (Seriously)
Any auction dedicated to a member of the Beatles and his wife C a former James Bond girl C would be interesting to follow; when we discovered that the lots included a Patek reference 3448 C a rare perpetual calendar C we had to share it with our readers. Next week, on December 3rd, the auction house Julian's will offer a special collection of items from the personal collections of Ringo Starr, the drummer from the Beatles, and his wife Barbara Bach, the James Bond girl from The Spy Who Loved Me. Several lots are absolutely outstanding, including, as you can imagine, many musical instruments. The star lot is obviously a guitar that used to belong to John Lennon, w...
By Nicholas Manousos When we talk about fine watchmaking, the words in-house and manufacture invariably come up. We use them to describe how vertically integrated a company is C in other words how much of a watch is actually made by the company whose name is on the dial, rather than purchased from outside suppliers. Many a watch guy will say that, everything else being equal, the more in-house the better. When thinking about high degrees of vertical integration in the watch industry, the two brands at the very top of the ladder are Rolex and Seiko. However, arguably just one rung down on that ladder is Parmigiani Fleurier. HODINKEE took a trip to the beautiful to...
Photo Report: Recapping The HODINKEE And Tiffany & Co. Event In New York
On the 18th of last month, HODINKEE hosted an event with Tiffany & Co. at their flagship boutique on 5th Avenue. The event was a continued celebration of the CT60 Collection, named for Tiffany founder Charles Lewis Tiffany. For more information on the CT60 Collection see our video here. We were very pleased to have so many HODINKEE readers and Tiffany fans join us! Tiffany CT60 Collection Tiffany CT60 Collection Automatic Chronograph With Date ...
What We're Giving Thanks For At HODINKEE This Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers celebrating the holiday! ?We're based in New York, as you all probably know, so we're out of the office ourselves getting ready to enjoy the holiday, but we thought we'd share with you what we're giving thanks for today (horologically, anyway). First of all, we're thankful for the high end, and we don't just mean high end in terms of cost. Watchmaking practiced as a combination of high craft, and precision mechanics, has absolutely never been inexpensive; but at the same time, if you are really interested in horology you don't necessarily have to own something to derive enjoyment from it, any more than you have to own Picasso...
Bring a Loupe: A Selection Of Watches Under $3,000, With Two Incredible Exceptions
This week's Bring A Loupe focuses on finding great vintage watches on a budget under $3,000. An impossible goal? Not at all C we found a very funky Hamilton, and a triple calendar from Gallet, and even a great looking vintage Rolex. However, that budget constraint will be put aside for two insanely rare Universal Geneve watches that definitely deserve a place in our Friday lineup. This is your Bring A Loupe for November 27, 2015 C and I wish you a nice Thanksgiving weekend. A Wittnauer Vintage Diver With Super Compressor Case The Super Compressor case revolutionized dive watches in the mid-1950s, whe...
The HODINKEE Shop Now Stocks 15 Essential Watch Books, Plus Our Top Picks For Holiday Shopping
In honor of Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year, the HODINKEE Shop is now stocking 15 books that are required reading for any watch lover C and weve put together recommendations based on some of our favorite straps, rolls, and tools. Read on for full details on these new titles, and our top picks. Photo Courtesy of Pucci Papaleo The new books stocked on shop.hodinkee.com were selected because these are the texts that our editors consult daily, and that we would recommend to any collector. The HODINKEE team has put together detailed reviews of each of the books to highlight the significance of each text ...
Watches tell the time, but they sometimes also tell us history. Filmmaker Benedict Campbell's short film "The Watch & The War" tells the story of Benedict Brucia, an American naval intelligence officer during World War II, and the origin of his very special watch C a 1938 Panerai Radiomir with a Rolex movement. As a young boy, Jim Brucia admired his uncle Ben's curious wristwatch. He ended up inheriting the watch in 1972, but never learned what his uncle did during the War. In 2007, Jim Brucia uncovered the history behind the Panerai watch, and in turn discovered what his late uncle did during WWII. ...
Type Casting: Comparing The Breguet Type XX And Type XXI Chronographs
The Type XX and Type XXI chronographs dont seem to get quite as much attention as you would think theyd get, at least in the USA, where the world of pilots chronographs skews much more heavily towards companies like IWC, Omega, and Breitling. Maybe part of the reason for that is that when you think of tool watches, you might think of an awful lot of companies but Breguet just isnt one of them C tourbillons, certainly, and a history of making aesthetically irreproachable, often complicated, and very elegant watches from the end of the 18th century right down until the present day, but not tool watches as such. And yet, aviation is perhaps just as important a part of the Breguet familys h...
Hands-On: The Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Deadbeat
In England "dead beat" means worn out, used up. ... But here, "dead beat" is used, as a substantive, to mean a scoundrel, a shiftless, swindling vagabond. CThe Galaxy, 1878 The complication known as the deadbeat seconds has a problem: who wants to call a watch a deadbeat anything? Because the name (English slang for someone who doesnt pay their bills on time; the quote above is from a magazine that began publishing in the 1860s and was eventually absorbed into The Atlantic) has problematic connotations, a number of different euphemistic terms have been used in recent years, but deadbeat seconds or dead seconds remains the term honored by centuries of usage. ? ...
Breaking News: Shinola To Keep 'Built in Detroit' Marketing Despite FTC Guidance
Last week, HODINKEE broke the news of the Federal Trade Commission's guidance on the Made in USA label as applied to American watchmaking companies.Today, the Detroit Free Press spoke with Shinola and Niall to get their take on the FTC's recent guidance letter. Detroit's Shinola said, "We believe that 'Built in Detroit' accurately reflects what we are doing here," while Kansas City's Niall said, "There's nobody in America that currently meets the FTC standards of American made." Check out the Detroit Free Press' article C it's an interesting and thought-provoking read....
This week's Bring A Loupe is mostly about chronographs, one of the most useful (if not the most useful) complications out there. I could not resist featuring a couple of Heuer and Universal Geneve; they simply look too good! You will also find a rare Eberhard Contograf with an interesting date display, and a smaller Submariner from Tudor. This is your Bring A Loupe for December 4, 2015. A Heuer Camaro 73443, With Exotic Dial A Heuer Camaro had already made its way into our favorite watches under $5,000. While this example might set you above this budget, it really demonstrates the appeal of the Camar...