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Best Super NEWS Watches
Weekend Reading: How NASA Settled On The Omega Speedmaster For Sending Man To The Moon
Everybody knows that the Omega Speedmaster Professional is the "moonwatch," having occupied the valuable wrist real estate of the Apollo 11 astronauts as they made their way to the Moon for the first time in human history. But few know how that vaunted Swiss chronograph landed there and why the experts at NASA chose the Speedy instead of, say, the Rolex Daytona or a similarly capable Longines chronograph. Daniel Hug of the Zrich newspaper Neue Zrcher Zeitung's Bellevue magazine has found some official NASA documents though that cast some light of exactly how the now-famous Omega was cleared for flight. You can read the full story on NZZ Bellevue here.NOTE...
A local lad, born just about five miles away from Zeniths manufacture in Le Locle, Charles Vermot spent the majority of his career working for Zenith's main chronograph supplier, Martel Watch Company, before finally joining Zenith in 1959 when it acquired his then-employer. Though no one could have known it then, Vermot would go on to play a seriously important part in Zenith's ongoing history, saving the vaunted El Primero movement from extinction. A young Charles Vermot. The Zenith manufacture in Le Locle, Switzerland. A senior engineer in the bauches department, Vermot was invo...
Despite the fact that the watch industry loves to beat the drum of tradition, the fact is that it can have a shockingly short collective memory when it comes to anything that doesn't grab the attention of customers and help sell watches. Unfortunately this means that an awful lot of important companies, watches, and people get swept under the rug. It also means that customers often form views about watches and brands that lack grounding in actual C as opposed to brand-curated C history. ?Today we've found a must-read story about one such person, who all real watch lovers should know and remember. Gnter Blmlein passed away fifteen years ago today, and our friend...
Introducing: The Zenith Cronometro Tipo CP 2 (Or, How A True Re-Edition Comes To Life)
For vintage lovers, the launch of any re-edition is both a blessing and a curse. It does recognize the beauty of a piece from the past, but at the same time the new interpretation often invokes disappointment over any change from what was seen by many as already perfect. To be fair, any watchmaker finds itself in a tricky position when assessing how much modern spin is required in these circumstances. There is no real way to appease everybody, and any design decision will be judiciously considered from many angles. Yet, the strong emotional response triggered is also the best asset for any re-edition, rarely do they meet polite indifference (the worst possible reaction for any new product). ...
In-Depth: The Grand Seiko SBGA029, Not Your Typical Desk Diver
Reviewing the Grand Seiko SBGA029 was mostly a selfish endeavor, as I longed to spend some quality time test driving this diver. Its considerable dimensions are indeed way outside my comfort zone, yet I have somehow still been deeply attracted to this specific model ever since Jack first wrote about it a year ago. I was already familiar with the dressier Grand Seiko models and had high expectations based on Seikos track record with diving watches. After all, it must be fairly hard to compete with its cousin the Seiko SKX007, most likely the best price-for-quality diver you could ever dream of. For that reason, the SBGA029 goes a totally different direction, offering an interesting interpret...
Hands-On: The Arnold & Son UTTE Skeleton Tourbillon
Arnold & Son introduced the UTTE Tourbillon just three years ago, at which time it was one of the thinnest hand-wound tourbillons in the world. Although there are other extra-flat/ultra-thin tourbillons out there that are slimmer, Arnold & Son says this is the thinnest skeletonized tourbillon currently in production C and as far as I can tell, that's absolutely right. ? The Arnold & Son UTTE Skeleton Tourbillon is currently the thinnest openworked tourbillon in the world. The standard version of the UTTE Tourbillon is an interesting design in its own right, and it came along at an interesting time in Arnold & Son'...
Audemars Piguet has just announced that it's broken ground on the new extension to its existing museum, which will house themed exhibitions, as well as space for watchmaking workshops and other presentation facilities. ?The extension, dubbed the Maison des Fondateurs ("Home of the Founders"), was designed by Danish architectural firm BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group. It is a pretty radical departure from the existing museum building, which dates to 1868, but at the same time it's been designed to integrate directly into the Le Brassus landscape. The new extension is designed to blend in harmoniously with the surrounding landscape. As ...
Revisiting The Vacheron Constantin Harmony Chronograph (2016 Edition)
The Vacheron Constantin Harmony collection was very, very big news two years ago, when it debuted at the 2015 SIHH. Intended to kick off the company's 260th anniversary celebrations (along with the super-complication pocket watch, reference 57260), the collection included several show-stoppers. From a collector and connoisseur's standpoint, one of the most interesting of the new pieces was the Harmony Chronograph C a monopusher chronograph, featuring an entirely new movement, in a large-ish gold cushion case. Our first real hands-on look with the Harmony Chronograph was in the context of a Three On Three comparison between it, the A. Lange & Sohne Datograph, and Patek's 5170G chronogr...
Stay Tuned For A Big Announcement Coming Tonight at 7:00 PM EDT!
Alright, there's some big HODINKEE news coming tonight at 7:00 PM EDT. At a small get-together in New York City, we'll be unveiling our latest product collaboration C and it's something you can wear on your wrist. We've partnered with a well-known manufacture to create a watch that we couldn't be prouder to share with the HODINKEE community. So whether it means staying up a little late in London or Zurich, or being ready with your morning coffee in Hong Kong or Tokyo, we think you're going to want to catch this one in real time. We'd love a few readers to join us for the launch event too. If you're in New York City and free this evening, email us at [email p...
At Baselworld 2015, Tudor presented an all new watch with a curious name C the North Flag. Its appearance bore some resemblance to the Ranger II of the early 1970s, but its name conjured up images of exploration and polar conquests of an earlier era. In the associated advertising campaign for the North Flag, Tudor produced a video that depicted an expedition of explorers traveling in a forbidding, icy landscape, bedecked in modern mountaineering gear (crampons, ice axes, glacier glasses, and the like) and rappelling into a crevasse. At the end of the video, they emerge on a snowfield where they discover a crashed four-engine airplane, presumably abandoned there many years earlier. Aside from...
In-Depth: The Apple Watch Series 2, And What Is And Isn't A Watch
It's 5:00 AM, and I'm standing outside my apartment building in the pre-dawn darkness. ?On my left wrist is an Apple Watch Series 2. ?Turning it to face me, I see Mickey Mouse pointing to the time, and tapping his foot to an unheard rhythm (exactly once per second). ?I swipe across the face of the watch with one finger, and Mickey slides away. ?Swiping past several watch faces I don't need, I get to the Activity Digital face, which shows the time, as well as Move (red) Exercise (green) and Stand (blue) goals for the day. ?I tap the small icon at the top right of the screen showing a running figure, and the Workout app launches; I select Quick Start for an outdoor run and set off. ...
The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms is the original dive watch. Period. And with this latest Fifty Fathoms chronograph, Blancpain is hoping to raise over $275,000 to contribute to supporting marine conservation efforts. It's the second time the manufacture has done a limited edition like this, but the Bathyscaphe Flyback Chronograph Blancpain Ocean Commitment II takes things a step further than its predecessor with an all blue ceramic case. The new Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Flyback Chronograph Blancpain Ocean Commitment II (BOC II). That earlier watch, the Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Chronograph, gave?Blancpain a reason to experiment...
Introducing: The Manufacture Royale 1770 Micromegas Revolution
Manufacture Royale has released a new double flying tourbillon, but with a catch. Each of the tourbillons in the?1770 Micromegas Revolution rotates at its own speed (instead of both operating in sync). This watch is an addition to the existing 1770 Micromegas Collection, which is named after a short story written by Voltaire in 1752 (the name means "small big" approximately; here it refers to the two tourbillons in the watch, which rotate at different speeds). Let's take a closer look. The Manufacture Royale 1770 Micromegas Revolution in titanium. The very first version of the Micromegas was introduced, with caliber MR04, at B...
If you haven't noticed, the latest Phillips Geneva catalog is out, and it is, not unsurprisingly, kind of absurd (peep the whole thing here). We've already told you they'll be auctioning off arguably the GOAT in a steel 1518, but there are several other pieces that may get your motor running in a more meaningful way, simply by virtue of you maybe, just maybe, being able to afford them (the 1518 steel should bring in north of $3 million, but I feel it'll break $5 million, personally). One watch that is indeed still a very expensive watch, but struck my fancy, is another Patek Philippe, and indeed another chronograph C and it has something very special about it too. This is a reference 1463, k...
We feel it's our duty to inform the watch loving public of moments that could, in fact, go unnoticed to most, and would later cause great regret to said community. This is one of those #watchnerd public service announcements. There is a Patek Philippe steel 1518 in New York. I've seen it. And you should too, because who knows when you'll get a chance to see this holiest of holies of rare Pateks again. It's at the Phillips Geneva Watch Auction: Four highlights tour, which is here in New York City through October 17. Three ref. 1518s are up for sale at once, one each in rose gold, steel, and yellow gold. In case, you missed it, ...
Introducing: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos 568 By Marc Newson, A New Variation On A Personal Favorite
It is a happy day in my world when a new Marc Newson Atmos clock arrives, and today is shaping up to be a very nice one indeed. The world-renowned designer has been working with Jaeger-LeCoultre since 2008 and has released a number of collaboration Atmos clocks over the years. They're always a little bit technical, a little bit ethereal, and there's no way you could ever mistake one for anything else. The latest, the Atmos 568, is very much in the same mold but with enough newness to keep me interested.We'll start with the basics. The Atmos 568 is a table clock that tells the time, keeps track of the month, and displays the current phase of the moon. It's housed in a monumental Baccarat crys...
The release of 10, count 'em, 1o new references in the Vacheron Constantin Harmony collection gave us a chance to take a second look at the Harmony Chronograph C a flagship monopusher chronograph with an in-house movement, and some unusual and, we think, unique technical features. Most of the watches recently announced, however, have been essentially incrementally changed versions of existing watches. But there is one watch that is entirely new to the Harmony collection, and that's the Harmony Complete Calendar. The Vacheron Constantin Harmony Complete Calendar marks the return of this complication to Vacheron's collection. T...
Patek Philippe has just announced that it will be hosting a massive public exhibition next year in the heart of New York City. "The Art of Watches" will be held from July 13 to July 23, 2017, at Cipriani 42nd Street, just across the street from Grand Central Terminal. The exhibition will feature a curated selection of historic pieces from the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, watchmaking demonstrations, and lots of other attractions for watch lovers and newcomers alike.? The Patek Philippe Caliber 89. The experience will transport visitors from room to room with different history-centric themes in each salon. Patek is even buil...
This week's edition offers a strong focus on diving watches and military-issued watches. It starts with a Tudor Submariner used by the Marine Nationale, which comes with the correct papers, and also we've found an early LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm reference E857. Chronographs are also well represented, with an Ebel from the Norwegian Air Force; also there is a Patek Philippe Reference 530 that I would absolutely not advise buying. This is your Bring A Loupe for October 14, 2016. LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm, Reference E857 You probably remember the LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm found for $5.99 at a Goodwill store...
Photo Report: The Zenith El Primero For HODINKEE Launch Party
This past Tuesday night was a big one. HODINKEE gathered with a dedicated group of collectors and the team from Zenith Watches at Cooper Classic Cars in New York City to launch the Zenith El Primero Original for HODINKEE limited edition watch. A covered vitrine sat in the middle of the room, drawing lots of speculation from the guests, but after a few words from HODINKEE founder Ben Clymer and Zenith CEO Aldo Magada, the sheet was lifted and the real fun began. In case you missed it, the Zenith El Primero Original for HODINKEE is a two-register chronograph with a classic dial layout, no date display, the same 38mm steel case ...