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Best Super NEWS Watches
Introducing: The New Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Master Chronometer Chronograph For Baselworld 2016
The pre-Baselworld releases have started to roll in and today we bring you the upcoming new addition to the Omega Speedmaster Collection C the Speedmaster Chronograph Moonphase Master Chronometer. The watch was first announced in January and we're taking a look at it for the first time here at HODINKEE. The new 44 mm stainless-steel Speedmaster Moonphase features a blue dial with a moon-phase aperture at 6 oclock, and is further set with 12-hour register and date sub-dials at 3 and 9 o'clock, respectively. This new Speedy also has a brand new in-house movement, the caliber 9904, which is made of 368 components and builds on ...
Hands-On: The Cartier Tourbillon Mystrieux Azur Pendant Watch (Live Pics, Full Specs, And Pricing)
"When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and held it against the light. Its a bonny thing,' said he. 'Just see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devils pet baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China and is remarkable in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is blue in shade instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has already a sinister history.'" ?C Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure Of The Blue Carbuncle ...
There are always a few major surprises at any major watch show, and the Salon this year had a big one. That was the presentation by Piaget of the Emperador Coussin XL 700P, a hybrid quartz-mechanical watch, which we first presented to you as part of our pre-SIHH coverage last December, and which was created, says Piaget, in celebration of its first in-house quartz movement from 1976. Having seen it, at last, in the metal at the Salon, we think we can address the questions many of you have, including how it works, and for those of you who are interested in quartz/mechanical hybrids, the question, is it a Spring Drive? The answer is both yes C and no. ...
The HODINKEE Editors' Top Picks From SIHH 2016
We saw a lot of watches last week C A LOT of watches. So after a much needed weekend off from writing and taking pictures, we have pulled together a list of our favorite watches from six different categories: Best Value, Most Unexpected Watch, Best Everyday Watch, Dream Watch, Guilty Pleasure Watch, and Most WTF Watch. Some are more surprising that others but all in all this is a comprehensive list of our favorites from SIHH 2016. Best Value Benjamin Clymer C The IWC Mark XVIII Its as if someone was listening to us (and every other real IWC fan) when we asked for something s...
Opened in 1977, the National Watch and Clock Museum is one of the largest horological museums in the world. It is located just three hours outside of New York City, in the watchmaking hub of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania C the historical home of Hamilton Watches, and modern day home of Rolex's Lititz Watch Technicum and RGM Watches. Museum Director Noel Poirier will visit the Horological Society of New York on February 1, 2016, to lecture on "Our Shared Horological Heritage: The National Watch & Clock Museum." The National Watch and Clock Museum. Mr. Poirier described his upcoming lecture: "Discover the stories and method...
Van Cleef & Arpels has made something of a (well deserved) name for itself in unusual complications over the last few years, especially its so-called "poetic complications," which typically take the form of pretty mechanically complex animated figures that act out a short tableau on the dial side of the watch. They've also created one of the most engaging astronomical watches: the Midnight Plantarium, for which they partnered with Christiaan van der Klaauw. But this year we saw something very unusual from them: an astronomy-themed watch that's lit from within by a power generating system we don't think has ever been used in watchmaking before. ...
Photo Report: Watch Spotting At Pitti Uomo
In the middle of SIHH, there was a different platform for watches (and men's fashion) C the Pitti Uomo. The Pitti Uomo takes place bi-annually in Florence and is one of the largest men's fashion events in the world. It also happens to be a fantastic place for street style, people and watch spotting. Here are some of the highlights from the Pitti Uomo that took place January 13th through the 16th. Rolex Submariner Reference 16610 in Stainless Steel Vintage Omega DeVille Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Reference 14790 Stainless Steel Audemars Piguet Ro...
It was one of the most talked-about watches of SIHH 2016 and with good reason: the IWC Mark XVIII is both a great looking instrument watch and a return to long-wished-for clarity and simplicity in the Mark series of wristwatches from IWC. We went hands-on with them in Geneva; read on to find out what impression they made "in the metal."The IWC Mark XVIII is the latest version in a series of watches that go all the way back to 1944, when the first of the Mark series of watches C the Mark X C was delivered to the UK. The Mark X wasnt a pilots watch, but rather, a general service wristwatch intended for use in all service branches. The next in the series, however, was the Mark XI, which was...
Announcement: Arthur Touchot Joins HODINKEE As European Editor
Ladies and gentlemen, as you all know, the world of watches and watch collecting just keeps growing, and HODINKEE keeps growing too. We're beyond delighted to announce that we've added a new member to our team to help keep up with the ever-expanding demand for the best in watch editorial: Mr. Arthur Touchot, who has just joined HODINKEE as our European Editor. ?Arthur brings amazing expertise in watches and journalism to the HODINKEE team. A graduate of Northwestern University's School of Journalism, he's contributed to a number of prestigious publications, including the New York Times, International Herald Tribune, The Daily Telegraph, and the Financial Times. Most recently, Arthur was Edit...
One of the rarest and most interesting IWC watches of the last few decades is one that a lot of newer IWC clients and fans might not even have heard of: the long out-of-production reference 3705, ceramic cased Fliegerchronograph or Pilots Chronograph. The Fliegerchronograph was first introduced by IWC in 1994 (a follow-on from an almost completely forgotten hybrid quartz-mechanical watch, the 36 mm Pilots Watch Chronograph, which debuted at the Dbendorf Airfield, near Zurich, all the way back in 1988). The ceramic cased "Fliegerchronograph Keramik" 3705 was introduced in the same year as the standard stainless steel version, reference 3706. We covered 3705 in a comparison with a moder...
That Time Grard Depardieu Thanked His Watch For Making Him On Time To Kill A Deer (VIDEO)
Well, this is a new one. In an very poorly produced and equally distasteful advertisement for Richard Mille CVSTOS GENEVE, French actor Grard Depardieu thanks his timepiece for getting making him on time... to "smoke" a deer. The entire thing is, well, almost unbelievable, in particular the part where Depardieu kisses his bullet with the dead animal's head in clear focus. The final statement of the advertisement is that he is "Proud To Be Russian."The advertisement has caused quite a stir in his native France, where it is being ridiculed in the press. You can watch the clip above and read more about it here.(HT to Business Montres)...
Hands-On: The Piaget Limelight Stella
Last week Jack wrote about the new Piaget Emperador Coussin XL 700P, Piagets major new release at SIHH 2016. In addition to this crazy skeletonized hybrid electromechanical watch, Piaget released some major womens watches as well. The brand is actually better-known for its womens watches and made a name for its high jewelry watches starting in the 1960s (see my article on Piaget cuff watches). For SIHH this year, Piaget released the Limelight Stella with moon phase, which is the most complicated in-house-designed womens watch ever made in the brands history. The Limelight Stella features a new caliber 584P that Piaget te...
My Favorite Women's Watches From SIHH 2016
Last week we brought you our top picks overall from SIHH, but this week I wanted to share with you my top favorite picks from the women's side. There were plenty of ladies' watches to choose from but not all of them made the cut. Keep reading to see what my favorites were (hint: not all of them are "ladies"). 1. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Dual-Time 39 MM I love a good AP Royal Oak. The design is iconic and timeless and they can be worn by both men and women. That is why I have chosen this Royal Oak Dual-Time released at SIHH specifically FOR women. It isnt necessarily a new watch (actually it was orig...
A Week On The Wrist: The Slim D'Herms
Think about Herms and suddenly your mind envisions magnificent French leather goods. Yet, this manufacture also has had a very important place in horology, collaborating with Jaeger-LeCoultre, and for decades retailing Universal Genve wristwatches in Paris. Herms also started producing its own lines of watches in the late 1970s. The Arceau, Heure H, and Cape Cod that I saw during my childhood in France exhibited the elegance, and playful design, characteristic of the brand. To be frank, at that time they lacked serious cred for watch enthusiasts, as they relied on fairly standard quartz or automatic movements. Things started to change with the collaboration with the Manufacture Vaucher Fl...
The Gronefeld Brothers hail from the town of Oldenzaal, in the Netherlands, close to the border with Germany; they're third-generation watchmakers who, after training and considerable professional experience in Switzerland, began making their own watches, under their own name, in 2008. Their first watch was a complicated minute repeater with tourbillon, but they're probably best known for their One Hertz wristwatch with deadbeat seconds, which was a big hit for the brothers in 2011. (HODINKEE covered the One Hertz when it was announced at Baselworld.) As alumni of Audemars Piguet Renaud et Papi, Tim and Bart have had exposure to some of the most complicated watches, and technically demanding...
In-Depth: The IWC Mark XVIII And Mark XVIII Edition Le Petit Prince
Im sure its out there somewhere, but its hard to think of a single wristwatch model from any company that excites as much of a sense of ownership, from owners and non-owners alike, as the Mark series from IWC. There are, arguably, better known watches C the Submariner springs to mind, for instance C but the Mark series is one in which IWC fans in particular, and watch enthusiasts in general, really feel a personal stake.?Why is this the case? First of all, the Mark watches have a design with very broad appeal: theyre tool watches, and generally have been extremely basic in design, while at the same time being instantly recognizable and very attractive. That combination of completely util...
In-Depth: The Incredible Watches (And Cars) Of Briggs Cunningham
One of the countless reasons why any given person may have an interest in timepieces is that these little machines, bound to the wrists of their owners, may in fact be witness to greatness. In the ever-growing list of heroes and their watches, today's subject is not near the top for his contributions to exploration C like, say, a Neil Armstrong might be with his Omega Speedmaster C nor for his importance in the macro-level collecting world, like Paul Newman might be with his Daytona. No, Briggs Cunningham is an American hero of a different sort. His name means little to those outside the highest echelons of motorsport and aquatic racing, or classic timepiece and vehicle collecting. But, to t...
File this story under just plain awesome. Thomas Mercer, a UK-based builder of marine chronometers (yes, there is still such a company) has built a one-off timekeeper that accompanied a British Royal Navy and Marines expedition commemorating and retracing Sir Ernest Shackletons now-famous 1916 crossing of the Southern Ocean in an open boat. The chronometer was built to withstand the rigors of open ocean travel, while staying accurate enough for use navigating a boat. Far from a random brand simply co-opting an expedition as a stunt, Thomas Mercer happens to be the same company that built the chronometer that was with Shackleton himself on that fateful voyage 100 years ago. ...
Five Reasons The Cartier Tank Basculante Isnt 'The Other' Reverso
They came out 12 months apart, both with rectangular reversible cases, and both constructed by Spcialits Horlogres SA. But different fates awaited the Reverso and the Tank Basculante. One spawned hundreds of models and celebrated its 85th anniversary earlier this year. The other would be one of hundreds that make up a larger collection, and would seldom be seen again. But it would be wrong to compare these two models on their success. We got our hands on a 1990s model to explain why. 1. The Tank Basculante Was Never Meant To Be A Collection Purchasing a patent is one thing. Owning it is quite anoth...
Win An All Expense Paid Trip For Two To Baselworld 2016, With Carl F. Bucherer
It's getting close to that time of year again: Baselworld 2016 is just around the corner, and if you've never been, now's your chance. Take our brief survey, and if you're lucky, Carl F. Bucherer will fly you and a friend/loved one/lucky random stranger over to Switzerland for a stay in Basel as their, and our, guest, with an opportunity to see firsthand the biggest, baddest watch event in the world. The Carl F. Bucherer Patravi TravelTec Black If you haven't heard of Carl F. Bucherer or don't know much about them, now's your chance to get to know them on their home turf. They make some of the cleanest, most classically design...