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Best Super NEWS Watches
Introducing: The IWC Big Pilot's Heritage 55 And 48 Limited Editions
It has been widely rumored that 2016 will be the year of the pilot's watch at IWC, and it turns out the rumors were true. The full lineup's not going live just yet (though once the SIHH starts, of course, everything's going to be revealed). However, IWC has shared a couple of new limited editions of their Big Pilot's Watch. They're behemoths, in the Big Pilot's Watch tradition, but they're also faithful in many respects to the history of the navigator's watches from the 1940s on which they're based. Let's take a look. The IWC Big Pilot's Heritage Watch 55 reference IW510401. Let's start with the big boy. This is the Heritage W...
You know, 2015 was absolutely the year of the smartwatch. And by smartwatch, what we really mean to say is 2015 was the year of the Apple Watch. Following up the September 2014 announcement (covered here by yours truly) and the April 2015 launch, the Swiss watch industry waited with bated breath?to see just how disruptive the Apple Watch would be to its ever-so-lovely status quo. Turns out, it may have actually been pretty damn disruptive C reports indicate that the Swiss watch industrys exports were down around 4% year over year, with quartz watches in particular taking a beating. Now there could be many reasons for this C geopolitical turmoil, a luxury tax in China, etc.?C but Apple, righ...
Introducing: The Montblanc TimeWalker ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph
In addition to the Montblanc Heritage Chronomtrie Collection Twincounter Date and the Chronomtrie Collection Annual Calendar Chronograph we talked about earlier this week, Montblanc has pre-released another exceptional watch for SIHH 2016 C the TimeWalker ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph Limited Edition 100. You may be familiar with the ExoTourbillon from the Villeret or Heritage collections that have been released in previous years. The ExoTourbillon, by definition, is a tourbillon without the cage that is fitted into the escapement and is instead placed on a rotating platform under the balance (see more here for Jack's ex...
Introducing: The Montblanc Heritage Chronomtrie Collection Twincounter Date
Yesterday we talked about the new Montblanc?Heritage Chronomtrie?Annual Calendar Chronograph,?and today we are taking a look at the new?Montblanc?Chronomtrie?Collection?Twincounter Date wristwatch C an equally elegant, well-made, and affordable watch to be officially?released at?SIHH?in a few weeks.? Montblanc, as you may know, has had quite a major resurgence in recent years in their design and quality. They have released some pretty cool watches of late, including the?1858 Chronograph?Tachymeter,?the Villeret?Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphres Vasco?da Gama, and?the Heritage?Chronomtrie?Quantime?Annual Calendar. As Ben m...
Introducing: The MB&F LM101 In Platinum For SIHH 2016
Pre-SIHH releases are in full swing over here at HODINKEE HQ and we've just received word that MB&F will be releasing the popular LM101 in platinum.The LM101, originally released in 2014 in white and rose gold, was a big deal when it hit the market, as it was (as we reported), both the most wearable and the most affordable Horological Machine yet from MB&F. It was quite traditional, carrying on from the design language established by the Legacy Machine 1, which itself was a major departure from the sci-fi and aerodynamic idioms that had been established for earlier Horological Machines. The LM1 continues to influence more recent Machines, such as the HM6 (or the automotive references...
Noted expert on independent watchmaking, author, and HODINKEE contributor Kiran Shekar will lecture at the Horological Society of New York (HSNY) next Monday, January 11, 2016. Shekar literally wrote the book on F.P. Journe; F.P. Journe, The First 30 Years is a fascinating history of both the man and manufacture (and is available to purchase at F.P. Journe boutiques in the U.S.). A former physicist and Wall Street trader, Shekar now pursues his passion for fine watches and watchmaking full-time. For HSNY's first meeting of 2016, the lecture topic will shift away from the more technical horological subjects and instead focus on collecting watches. As always, HSNY's monthly lecture series is f...
One of the single most important features of watches intended to keep very accurate time is the presence of a stop seconds function. The single most important purpose of the tourbillon C as Breguet originally conceived it, certainly C is to make a watch more accurate. You would think therefore, in a rational universe, that you would see the tourbillon and a stop seconds function paired frequently, if not invariably . . . but you'd be wrong.First of all, let's talk tourbillon. The basic idea behind the tourbillon is pretty simple: it's a solution to a really old problem in watchmaking, which is that a watch will run very slightly faster, or slower, depending on what position it's in. This is ...
This week, Bring A Loupe focuses on a perennial favorite: vintage Omegas, from an intriguing Railmaster to an exotic Speedmaster. We will also examine one of the very first Rolex Submariners with crown guards, a reference 5513 with a flawless gilt dial. And to round things out, we have a couple of chronographs from Breitling and Universal Geneve, each with their own interesting quirks. This is your Bring A Loupe for January 8, 2016. An Early Rolex Submariner Reference 5513, A Stunning Vintage Sub With Glossy Gilt Dial This dial instantly tells you one thing: you are not looking at your average Submari...
A Week On The Wrist: The Breguet Classique Chronomtrie 7727
Here's the thing. When most watch folks think of the best and brightest in high-end watchmaking today, we most often mention names like Patek Philippe, A. Lange & Sohne, F.P. Journe, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron Constantin. For some strange reason, the name Breguet doesn't usually make an appearance. Why? It's hard to say, because Breguet, at least the historical brand, is absolutely the most important in all of watchmaking. But is Breguet of today the rightful heir to the brand that Abraham-Louis built, or is it simply another name chosen by a group of savvy investors from the headstone of a Swiss (well, French in this case; Breguet's buried in Pre Lachaise, in Paris) graveyard? This ...
Introducing: The IWC Pilot's Watch Automatic 36 (The 36mm IWC Pilot's Watch Returns!)
We're getting closer and closer to the main event for the Richemont maisons: SIHH is only 10 days away. IWC has already announced that this is going to be the Year of the Pilot's Watch, and we had a look just recently at the new Big Pilot's Heritage 55 and 48 timepieces, which borrow their aesthetic from the b-uhr (navigation watches) made by IWC in the 1940s. Now, IWC introduces the Pilot's Watch Automatic 36 C a first look at the changes in the pipeline overall for the iconic and beloved Mark series. Let's talk a little bit about the history of pilot's watches at IWC as well. IWC Pilot's Watch Automatic in 36mm The history o...
Introducing: The World's First Fully Functional 3D Printed Watch: The Christoph Laimer Tourbillon
It was an unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn, and I was walking my dog when my phone buzzed with a text message from a friend, containing only a link to something on Thingiverse (a 3D printing file-sharing site). I opened the link and my jaw dropped; I was looking at a 3D printed tourbillon watch running by itself, built by Christoph Laimer, a Swiss engineer. This is an actual watch, with a tourbillon, that is almost entirely 3D printed. Think about it: the tourbillon C a 200+ year old invention designed by one of the greatest watchmakers to ever live, which for most of its history ...
Introducing: The Oris Carl Brashear Limited Edition, A Bronze Version Of The Divers Sixty-Five
You may be familiar with the Oris Divers Sixty-Five, the retro-designed diving watch for under $2,000 that we have talked about here before. Today we bring to you a limited-edition version in bronze. The watch commemorates the U.S. Navys first African-American master diver, Carl Brashear. The Divers Sixty-Five is a classic diving watch with a unidirectional bezel. This limited-edition version is identical to the original Divers Sixty-Five in function, but with applied dot indexes, a bronze bezel and case (with stainless-steel back), and blue dial. However, the most remarkable thing about this watch is not the appearance, but...
Introducing: The Panerai Radiomir 1940 3 Days Automatic Acciaio 42mm
Panerai has released a new Radiomir 1940 3 Days Automatic Acciaio 42mm, with a white dial, at SIHH. The Radiomir 1940 ?is a combination of design elements from both the Luminor and Radiomir watches; its based on a historical model that was a kind of transitional design between the Luminor and Radiomir. With the cushion-form case, smaller lugs, and non-locking crown, the Radiomir 1940 has become a favorite for Panerai enthusiasts (see our reviews on the Oro Rosso version and the stainless steel versions released last year here). The 1940, initially made with a manual-winding movement, received an upgrade in 2014 with an autom...
At Baselworld 2013, everyone's favorite quietly badass independent, Laurent Ferrier, introduced the Galet Traveller, a two-timezone take on his expertly finished, double-impulse, natural-escapement-powered Galet Micro-Rotor. Since then, the Galet and Galet Traveller (and Galet Square) have become something of the thinking man's high-end time-only watch, seen them on the wrists of a handful of very interesting folks. Today, however, we've found something even more special C the very first Galet Traveller ever made, in stainless steel, with a prototype movement, belonging to the former CEO of Laurent Ferrier. And it's for sale. ...
Announcing Four New Books And Eight New Straps In The HODINKEE Shop
Were happy to announce that the HODINKEE Shop is now carrying several new watch books and straps, including the out-of-print The Art of Breguet by master watchmaker George Daniels, George Daniels: A Master Watchmaker And His Art by Michael Clerizo, eight all new Italian leather watch straps in four sizes, and more. Among the new product additions to the H Shop is The Art of Breguet C an insightful look into the life and work of Breguet, as well as a truly valuable reference book. This text is made even more special by the fact that it was written by fellow master watchmaker George Daniels. Oh, and the book is out of print, m...
Found: An Omega Speedmaster Gifted By Paul Newman
Paul Newman, as HODINKEE readers probably know, was both a renowned actor and a professional racing driver, who famously prompted his wife to gift him a Rolex Daytona to time his laps. He actually owned several versions of the Daytona chronograph, including one with an exotic dial that was later nicknamed after him (and which would go on to become one of the most collectible, as well as enthusiastically faked, watches to ever exist).So what is the connection between Paul Newman and a blue-dial Omega Speedmaster that just came up for sale? This very Speedmaster was actually a Christmas gift from Paul Newman to a member of his racing team almost 20 years ago. It is still in an untouched condit...
At The Bench: The Restoration Of A Stunning Zodiac Sea Wolf Caliber 72B
The Zodiac Sea Wolf is one of my favorite relatively under-the-radar, affordable vintage divers. Like all vintage pieces however, it has its quirks. This most recent restoration very well illustrates many of the internal issues one can face when diving into the the lair of the Sea Wolf. It is also a great example of a rapidly growing parts problem in the vintage watch world. This watch came to me with the case back off, a melted gasket, and a very, very common problem with these calibers: a loose offset cannon pinion. A melted gasket is not the hardest or the worst thing to deal with. It's just a ...
HODINKEE Powerball Special: What Watches We'll Buy When We Win Tonight's $1.5 Billion Jackpot
Here at HODINKEE HQ, we have been talking about the Powerball A LOT lately. We all (shamelessly) have bought tickets and are waiting with bated breath until the numbers are drawn tonight. Naturally, we all have talked about what we would do if we won and the obvious question has been, "What watch would you buy?" So here you have it, our tops picks of what watch (or watches) we would buy with the $1.5 billion winnings. Nicholas Manousos C George Daniels' Space Traveller If I win Powerball tonight and could splurge on any watch imaginable, I would attempt to purchase George Daniels' Space Traveller ...
This week, Bring A Loupe covers some of the most emblematic wristwatches ever made C watches that have become symbols of the companies that made them. We're starting with a couple of vintage Speedmasters, and you will also see a Futurematic from Jaeger-LeCoultre as well as a Cricket from Vulcain, both technically advanced watches for their time. Finally, Bidder Beware returns with two watches that you should absolutely not buy on eBay today (or ever). This is your Bring A Loupe for January 15, 2016. An Omega Speedmaster Reference 2915-3, AKA The Transitional The Reference 2915 was the first Speedmast...
Audemars Piguet is famous C rightly famous C for many things; among them the Royal Oak's instantly recognizable eight-sided bezel and distinctive overall case architecture. What's less well known in the general watch enthusiast community, however, is that there is quite a lot more to the history of Audemars Piguet than the Royal Oak itself. In fact, for much of its history, one of the most distinctive elements of Audemars Piguet's identity was its expertise as a complications maker. It's a revelatory experience, if you can get there, to visit the Audemars Piguet museum, as HODINKEE did not long ago, and actually see and hear some of its historical production of minute repeaters. With the Roy...