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Best Super NEWS Watches
Introducing: The Rado True Blaze
Creating design-minded watches with a little shine to them is stock and trade for Rado. The brand's latest watch though, the True Blaze, adds something new to the mix. Created in partnership with designer Sam Amoia, the True Blaze has a new metallic dial that simulates the appearance of fine diamonds, bringing some serious sparkle. It's definitely not for everyone, but it is worth a closer look. The True Blaze starts out simply enough. It's based on the True Automatic, one of Rado's more popular models that sits at the core of its current collection. The case is 40mm across and 10.5mm thick, and is made of plasma high-tech ceramic, which gives it that unique colo...
Breaking News: Announcing The 2017 Grand Prix D'Horlogerie De Genve Jury
There are very few events in watchmaking that bring the many corners of the industry together like the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genve (GPHG). The annual award ceremony is hosted by a non-profit organization seeking to give notice to the best and brightest of modern watchmaking, and while not every brand or group participates (looking at you, Rolex and Patek), these are easily the most comprehensive and important awards given in watches. And this week the organizers have announced who will be sitting on the 2017 jury. Independent watchmaker Philippe Dufour. Our own editor-in-chief, Jack ...
Hands-On: The Casio G-Shock MRG-G1000B-1A4 Akazonae
The Casio G-Shock is the most heavily armored watch in the world, and for most of its career, irrespective of its incarnations, the armor it has worn has looked distinctively modern, whether in the original palette of blacks and dark greys, or in the neon-bright colors of more fashion-forward G-Shocks. No matter the color scheme, however, the G-Shock has remained the G-Shock C capable of surviving impacts that would destroy virtually any other watch you can think of, and often with additional protection added depending on the model (the Mudmaster series, for instance, has gasketing specially designed to resist the intrusion of, well, mud). ? TheCasio G-...
Recommended Reading: The Detailed Story Of The Breitling SuperOcean
When thinking about Breitling, aviation immediately comes to mind C and not only because of the wings in its logo. Even before releasing the Navitimer in the early 1950s, the company had offered essential navigation tools to pilots, and was used in places such as the cockpits of the British RAF. On another hand though, Breitling's contribution to diving watches is often forgotten, and unfairly so. But by looking deeply at the detailed history of the SuperOcean, a pioneering line of watches which introduced no less than the first known reverse panda dial chronograph and a fascinating "slow counter" mechanism, someone is looking to right this wrong. The o...
Hands-On: The Rado HyperChrome Automatic Chronograph Match Point
For a website that talks about sports watches on a weekly basis, were pretty quiet about what its like to actually play sports with a watch on. Its something our readers have noticed and discussed from time to time, and it hasn't slipped my mind. Luckily, Rado recently gave me the opportunity to do two things I havent done in a long time: play tennis and do so while wearing a sports watch. The Rado HyperChrome Automatic Chronograph Match Point Limited Edition. I used to play tennis regularly when I was a teenager. I would train three times a week for two hours, and play competitively on the weekends. One of my favorite asp...
Hands-On: The HYT H0 Silver Edition
Not for the first time, an independent watch company has decided to reinvigorate its most successful line by creating a simpler, more affordable version of the watch that launched it. Just as MB&F did with the LM101?and Greubel Forsey did with the Signature 1, HYT has created the H0. Look Ma, no lugs! Several years after the introduction of the H1, and following several other hydro-mechanical wristwatches, each one more experimental than the next, HYT has decided to revisit the companys initial concept and tone things down a bit. The H0 ("H-zero") is a much more conservative product than some of the brands most recent p...
Introducing: The Tudor Black Bay Bronze Blue Special Edition For Bucherer
Lucerne-based Bucherer is one of the oldest names in watch retail. The shop's 130th birthday is fast approaching (2018), and to celebrate they've created a capsule collection of watches all focused around the color blue. The latest of the so-called Blue Editions is this partnership with Tudor, the Heritage Black Bay Bronze Blue. And it's exactly what it sounds like. This special edition celebrates the upcoming 130th anniversary of Bucherer. Technically speaking, everything about this watch is identical to the original Heritage Black Bay Bronze that launched back in 2016. It's still a 43mm dive watch with a special bronze case ...
In the third installment of Friday Live, we look back at what made news in the watch world this week, including the announcement of the 2017 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genve jury. We'll take a look at an interesting timepiece that's been in the office for a few days, as well as what's on our wrists. This week we'll also be joined by HODINKEE design director Adam Kopec, who will walk us through the latest round of changes to the website. And to close it out, we'll be taking questions from the audience. ADVERTISEMENT...
Introducing: The Kerbedanz Maximus, With The World's Largest Wristwatch Tourbillon
Just when I thought I had seen and heard it all, this came across my desk. Kerbedanz has just released the Maximus, a limited edition of 99 pieces that features the largest tourbillon ever put into a wristwatch. This definitely required a closer look. The Maximus is made of titanium and measures 49mm in diameter (and you thought Breitling made big watches) and features rose gold and platinum accents. The tourbillon is placed in the center of the dial and is visible through the large sapphire crystal, with the effect amplified by the bezel-less construction. The indexes are rose gold and claw-like, seeming to grip the edges of the dial. Likewise, there aren't trad...
This week gets technical with an early Vacheron Constantin automatic, and a "Pre-Daytona" Rolex chronograph that comes with a stunning tri-color dial. You will also see one of the last classically-shaped Memovox from before the funky cases of the 1970s arrived. Finally, we end with an edifying Breitling franken-watch, a wannabe Sprint 2010 that shows one of the worst dials we have ever had the pleasure of finding. Vacheron Constantin Automatic Ref. 4906 With Original Papers The Vacheron Constantin reference 4906 was all about functionality in the 1950s, offering an automatic caliber and a screw-down water...
Introducing: The Nixie Machine II At The M.A.D. Gallery
The M.A.D. Gallery C a multi-location gallery created by MB&F founder Max Bsser C is known for supporting highly unusual projects, which is precisely what you might call the Nixie Machine. The not-so-little desk clock looks like it belongs in a science-fiction movie set far in the future, but actually it revisits technology invented in the 1950s. Its a little bonkers, really, and thats exactly why I love it. Nixie clock and tube collector Alberto Schileo originally came up with the idea for this creation when he discovered hundreds of untouched Z568M Nixie tubes in an old Soviet warehouse. These had been manufactured in East Germany during the 1960s but a...
On May 15, 2017, Christie's will sell a Patek Philippe Calatrava in Geneva that could be one of the most important watches to sell in the modern collectible watch era C and it's not for the reasons you might think. The watch is a rare one, no doubt, and indeed an expensive one. The reference 530 Calatrava is one of the least common references made by Patek Philippe, and when they come up for sale it's generally big news. But that isn't why you're reading this story. No, this Calatrava coming to Christie's is such a fascinating lot because its result may finally open up a debate long held in the back offices of Milanese pushers, of Swiss auction houses, and penthouse apartments of Asian mega-...
In-Depth: The Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication 3600
The Vacheron Constantin Celestia is a watch we covered when it was announced by Vacheron at the 2017 SIHH, but it is, to put it mildly, a watch that rewards repeated exposure, which is what I got a couple of weeks ago when I had an opportunity to photograph it at Vacheron's headquarters in Switzerland. The Celestia is an extremely complex watch, but it's also somewhat unique amongst highly complicated watches C it's the most complicated wristwatch Vacheron Constantin has ever made. ?The basic idea behind the Celestia was to create a watch that would be a kind of horological exploration of astronomical complications C and which would also embody not just complications as such, but also expres...
Patek Philippe's "Art Of Watches Grand Exhibition" will be coming to New York in mid-July, as we announced way back in October. This exhibition will include an absolutely huge range of major watches and clocks, covering not only Patek Philippe's history, but the history of watch and clockmaking in general, going back over four centuries. Patek has just announced that, especially for the U.S. opening of the exhibition, a room dedicated to important watches commissioned by, or owned by, major figures in American history, will be included in the exhibition. The exhibition will be in New York from July 13 through 23 at Cipriani 42nd Street, and will be open to the general public, free of charge....
Business News: A. Lange & Sohne Puts Young Watchmakers To The Test
The best watchmaking schools have sent their best students to Dresden to compete in A. Lange & Sohnes annual young talent competition. Eight watchmakers have been selected by Lange from over 30 watchmaking schools across the world for the final part of a multi-phase competition. The finalists will now have six months to design and build a regulator, using an ETA base movement. The assignment was chosen by Anthony de Hass, Langes Director of Product Development, who is encouraging out-of-the box thinking. The participants are not bound to the historic predecessors but explicitly invited to freely interpret the assignment.– Anthony de Haas, A. Lange &a...
Just Because: 'Blanc de Limoges' Enamel Dials At Vacheron Constantin Geneva
Visiting Vacheron Constantin in Geneva is interesting on a lot of levels, but perhaps the more so when you have unexpected surprises. In the enameling atelier, where hand-decorated enamel dials are made, you can see a wide range of techniques, including champlev (enamel placed in shallow carvings in a metal surface) cloisonn (the placement of enamel in outlines formed of gold wire) and the very difficult plique--jour, in which there is no backing surface, to create an effect like stained glass. The surprise was being able to see prototype dials, using the rare?blanc de Limoges?technique.?These prototype dials were made in order to refine the specific procedures necessary to decorate and f...
Introducing: The Bulgari Diagono Scuba
It's still a little chilly here in New York, but I can only dream of long summer days and swimming C and clearly I'm not the only one. Bulgari has just released a series of dive watches, the Diagono Scuba, in three fun colors that will get you ready for those steamy days ahead. While these aren't the most technically exciting watches, I think they are a fun addition to the Bulgari collection and they might add a little color to your life.? The new Diagono Scuba features a 41mm stainless steel case with a pretty standard tonneau shape. On top of that is a unidirectional rotating bezel with a sort of scalloped pattern at the edges and dive markings at the poles. Th...
Introducing: The Unimatic 2017 Collection (Exclusive)
Last December, I wrote about my impressions of the Modello Uno, a minimalist dive watch from the Italian micro-brand Unimatic. The watch was something of a cult hero to dive watch fans due to its sleek styling, excellent build, affordable price and its small production run. In fact, not long after my article published, the Uno was sold out, something that didnt go unnoticed in the comments section of that article. Well, this time around, were giving you a little more notice with an exclusive first look at the 2017 Unimatics line-up, ?the new Modello Uno and the Modello Due. For this years limited production run, Unimatic chose to make more variations of its ...
Christie's has just announced that, as part of its June 21 Rare Watches and American Icons auction in New York City, it will be selling a Cartier Tank watch owned and worn by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The pairing of an iconic watch C that is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, no less C with one of the most captivating personalities of the 20th century, is impossible to resist.? The watch was a gift given to Jackie by her brother-in-law, Prince Stanislaw Radziwill (who went by "Stas") in 1963. It was given to commemorate a 50-mile hike undertaken by Stas and some of their other friends and relatives in Palm Beach in February of that year. Jackie partic...
In-Depth: The Greubel Forsey Signature 1
It was the talk of SIHH 2016. Greubel Forsey, the watchmakers known for the art of invention C of making the super complex look beautiful and approachable C were making a time-only simple watch, and doing so at a price point that was looked terrestrial, instead of at the usual stratospheric level (admittedly in a relative sense). Although there were claims that this was a reaction by Greubel Forsey to a slowing in the market, such nay-sayers were missing a number of factors that on closer inspection show that this is a watch that has been in development for some time. In fact, the watch had been in development for approximately six years by the time it was shown at the Salon.??In keeping...