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Best Super NEWS Watches
Okay, in terms of surprises, maybe seeing an ultra-technical inclined tourbillon show up at The Oscars pales in comparison to witnessing that incorrect Best Picture announcement, but it was still a pretty unexpected appearance. It goes without saying that there were a lot of people wearing a lot of interesting, different, conspicuous, and breathtaking timepieces at the 89th Academy Awards. However, one that really caught our attention, for several reasons, was the one worn by Straight Out Of Compton?and Underground?star Aldis Hodge, who was there thanks to the nomination of Hidden Figures for Best Picture. The watch he chose for the evening was the Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon 30 Techni...
Humpty Dumpty famously says, in Alice In Wonderland, that words are nothing more than pieces in a game, where you can change the rules any time you want. "When I use a word," he says, "it means just what I choose it to mean C neither more nor less." To which Alice replies, tactfully if skeptically, "The question is...whether you can make words mean so many different things." In all of watchmaking there's probably no word that this applies more to than "chronometer," which first burst on the scene in 1714 C or so many people think C and has been shape-shifting ever since.? Now, you don't have to spend much time around watches before you figure out pretty qui...
Happenings: HODINKEE Is Hosting A Meet-Up In Los Angeles Wednesday Night
This week, managing editor Stephen Pulvirent will be out on the west coast working on some awesome stories for HODINKEE. That seems as good an excuse as any to get a bunch of watch nerds together in a bar to talk about their latest finds, white whales, and current obsessions. You know what that means C it's HODINKEE Meet-Up time. The meet-up will take place this Wednesday, March 8, from 7:00-9:00 PM in downtown Los Angeles. It's going to be pretty casual C you can come and go as you'd like C but space is limited, so please be sure to email us for the details and to RSVP at [email protected].?We look forward to seeing you soon!...
Auctions: Five Funky Chronographs From The 1970s At Watches Of Knightsbridge
Auction season is starting soon, and the next sale at Watches Of Knightsbridge is fast approaching. While it is shorter than the previous sale ("only" 335 lots), it does not lack in interesting pieces, keeping in line with the house's focus of offering more accessible pieces at auction. From the March 18 catalog I've selected five chronographs with a high estimate below $5,000 that all have seductive 1970s looks. Besides the French Lip and Yema, you'll also find an overlooked Zenith El Primero reference A787, a Fortis Marinemaster reference 8001, and a square Favre-Leuba reference 31013. Get ready to discover some funky designs and unexpected colors. 1970s...
Hands-On: The IWC Da Vinci Automatic 40mm (Live Pics, Details, Availability)
Coming out of SIHH, it was the complicated watches from IWC's Da Vinci collection that were getting most of the attention. This includes both the very complicated models like the Perpetual Calendar Chronograph and the smaller complications such as the ladies' moonphase. But for me it's the time-and-date model that stands out as my favorite piece in the collection. It piqued my interest a few weeks ago, but after spending a few days with it I found myself enjoying it even more than I'd expected. There's no two ways about it C the Da Vinci collection is polarizing. People generally love it or hate it. I'd say that while I have no vitriol directed towards thes...
There are cool, rare watches to be had at all price points, and this watch is a perfect remind of that. Autodromo only made 14 pieces of this blacked-out Group B "Night Stage" and they were all offered privately to collectors, never making it to public sale. Until now. Making things even better, this Night Stage is being sold for charity, meaning you get a great watch and get to support a great cause all at the same time. If you haven't heard of the Amelia Island Auction, it's a pretty special event. Each March, Bonhams puts together a mix of cars and car-related ephemera and hosts the auction at the Fernandina Beach Gold Club on Amelia Island at the very n...
Hands-On: The Piaget Polo S Chronograph
My first vintage watch was an ultra-thin Piaget, which probably explains the infatuation I have for the brand. Understandably, the announcement of an upcoming "game changer" last year raised my expectations C and my doubts. July's release of the Polo S was dominated by polemics over its potential resemblance to some other iconic watches, overshadowing a bit the conversation about whether it might or might not be the crucial game-changing piece that Piaget had promised. More than nine months later, it felt that it was time to look back at the Polo S and truly assess what it was all about, on its own merits.? There's no question the Polo S looks like the ...
Fossil is serious about the smartwatch market. From the company's acquisition of wearables maker Misfit back in 2015 to its recent announcement that it would double smartwatch production in 2017, it's been scaling up for some time now. Today the company makes its next big move, committing to take all of its touchscreen smartwatches, past and present, to the new Android Wear 2.0 operating system.? On March 15, Fossil will start rolling out the new OS to all three of its current touchscreen smartwatch collections, the Q Wander, Q Marshal, and Q Founder. It's worth clarifying here that this announcement covers Fossil Brand, not Fossil Group. The former is the ...
Faberg isn't a company you'd ordinarily connect with watchmaking C the name is most strongly associated with the work of Carl Faberg in pre-revolutionary Russia, and, of course, with the spectacular Imperial Easter Eggs, made for the Romanov family. But in recent years, the revived company has partnered with boutique movement manufacture Agenhor, and Agenhor's founder, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht (known for, among other things, producing the Poetic Complications for Van Cleef & Arpels) and has produced both animated ladies' timepieces, as well as watches like the Visionnaire DTZ. The latter is a dual time-zone watch that won in the dual time-zone category at the 2016 GPHG.? ...
Introducing: The Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Range Rover Velar
Last September, we saw the launch of the Zenith El Primero Range Rover Special Edition. The watch received mixed reviews from both our editors and our readers (always check the comments). Well now we've got the Chronomaster El Primero Range Rover Velar, named for Range Rover's sleek new Velar, which just debuted this week at the Geneva Auto Show. So what is different about this watch? Read on to find out.? The new Range Rover El Primero Velar is essentially the same watch as before but with a new color-scheme on the dial and the words "Range" and "Rover" missing from the dial signature. As you may know, the 42mm case is made of black ceramised aluminum. Thi...
Women In Watches: A Tribute To International Women's Day
As you may know, today is International Women's Day. A day designated to celebrate women and all they do, whether at home, in the office, or in their communities. I won't get too political here as most of you likely come here to escape politics, but as this is an important day not only to me but to all women and for women's rights (and for men who care about both) I thought it would be relevant to do a round up of my favorite HODINKEE articles about women in watches.? Clare Vincent, The Woman Who Kept The MET's Clocks Running Clare Vincent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Clare Vincent is well kn...
Bring a Loupe: A LeJour Yachtingraf, A Tudor 'Elegante,' Some Fake Longines 13ZNs, And More
This week, almost all our picks are coming directly from Ebay, for better and for worse (you will get two Bidder Bewares at once). You will find a well-named Tudor "Elegante," a beautiful yellow gold Zenith chronograph, and some more shady Longines 13ZNs C one recently sold for more than $15,000 despite its fake dial and case. We will double down on the Bidder Beware with a strange-looking military Zenith. We will also include a correct LeJour Yachtingraf, in which you will recognize the design of the Yema Yachtingraf (which is logical since it stems actually from the one and same brand). This is your Bring A Loupe for March 10, 2017. A Zenith Chronograph 146-HP ...
Introducing: The Arnold & Son Tourbillon Chronometer No. 36
With Baselworld just a few days away, pre-Baselworld press releases are coming in daily and one of the latest is from Arnold & Son, who are presenting a new tourbillon wristwatch they say is based on the movement layout of a chronometer made by British watchmaker John Arnold, in 1778, and which is now part of the collection of the National Maritime Museum in the UK. That particular watch is a bit of a linguistic milestone as well, as it was the first watch to be called a chronometer C though of course, back then "chronometer" didn't mean COSC certification; it just meant a very accurate timekeeper. The Arnold & Son Tourbillon Chronometer, on the other hand, is indeed a COSC-certified...
You most probably remember the Swiss Mad watch from H. Moser?C you know,?the one with a case made out of actual Swiss cheese (pasteurized Vacherin Mont dOr, if you were wondering). Well, now you can bid on this unique piece at Christies upcoming Geneva auction in May 2017. H. Moser and Christie's have announced a partnership and will host an annual sale to benefit the Foundation for Swiss Watchmaking Culture, and it will kick off with a pair of watches, including this cheesy number. Initially, the price tag of this watch was set at 1,081,291 CHF in honor of Switzerland's founding date (August 1, 1291), but we can safely assume that it did not find any takers wi...
Recommended Reading: 'Fricking Weird' Time Crystals, Long Thought Impossible, Aren't
A meditation teacher of mine once said, "You know, the mind can be very weird," and as it turns out, so can matter. Big in science news last week was the story, as reported for Nature and Scientific American by Elizabeth Gibney, that a new form of matter has been created. So-called "time crystals" aren't a video game power up or a sci-fi plot device C they're a bizarre state of matter which shows a crystal structure not in space, but over time. The newly created time crystals are a development of an idea from 2012, and are slightly less improbable than the original concept. However, as researcher Norman Yao, who is an author on both of the papers reported on, said, "It's less weird than the ...
Introducing: The Longines VHP 'Very High Precision' Watches, A High-End Take On Quartz Timekeeping
The advent of quartz watches C more accurate, more durable, and eventually much cheaper than mechanical watches C dramatically and permanently altered the way most people tell time. Interestingly enough, the ubiquity of accurate time from cell phones, fitness trackers, and everything else, from your TV to your microwave, has had a similar effect on quartz watches, which though still sold in the millions, are no longer really necessary. The result has been a kind of dumbing down of the quartz watch over the years C development of better accuracy in quartz timekeeping has become something of a niche pursuit, with just a handful of makers pursuing it. It's a f...
Introducing: The Hamilton Intra-Matic 68, A Charming Vintage-Inspired Chronograph
In anticipation of Baselworld this year, Hamilton has released a new automatic chronograph, the Intra-Matic 68. It's a throwback to the vintage chronographs produced by the maker in the 1960s, specifically the Chrono-Matic, that are so popular with collectors today. With a few modern updates, the Intra-Matic 68 is a fresh new take on an old standby. First things first, where did this watch design come from? Well, back in 1968, Hamilton released the Chronograph A and the Chronograph B. The former featured a panda dial, with white background and black subsidiary dials, while the latter had the reverse configuration. These two watches were both powered by the ...
Introducing: The De Bethune DB28 Kind Of Blue Tourbillon Meteorite
Sci-fi tourbillons have kind of become De Bethune's thing. Yeah, I wrote "sci-fi tourbillons" with zero irony and I'm sticking to it. The latest of these creations is the?DB28 Kind Of Blue Tourbillon Meteorite, which uses a piece of an actual meteorite to complement the monochromatic creation. This isn't one for the faint of heart. When you first look at this watch, you'll notice something unusual. The case is blue. Like, bright blue, and it's not due to some strange PVD coating. De Bethune actually flame-blues titanium for its watches in a process similar to how most watchmakers blue screws. Here though it's been executed on basically every visible piece o...
Auctions: Sotheby's To Offer A Patek Philippe Caliber 89 In May Important Watches Sale
Sotheby's has just announced that it will offer a Patek Philippe Caliber 89 in its Important Watches sale in Geneva, on May 14th 2017. The Caliber 89 was originally created by Patek Philippe to celebrate the company's 150th anniversary and was when it was revealed, in 1989, it was the most complicated watch in the world. There were only four made, and it wasn't until nine years later that the other three were completed. Those three had rose gold, white gold, and platinum cases; the Caliber 89 offered by Sotheby's is the first one completed, in a yellow gold case. The Caliber 89's complexity significantly exceeds that of the G...
We've shown you the "Speedy Tuesday" Omega Speedmaster C the limited edition of 2,012 pieces set to commemorate social media's impact on the collecting and appreciation of Speedmaster C twice now; first when it launched, and then with live photos when I happened across the prototype while in Geneva. But because this watch is so great, and because we had the rare occurrence of its co-creator, Robert-Jan Broer of Fratello Watches, being in New York City, I thought it'd be fun to get him on camera to talk about how this watch came to be.? Watch above for Robert-Jan Broer explaining all that there is to know about the Omega Speedmaster "Speedy Tuesday."...