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Best Super NEWS Watches
This week will mostly be about complications, starting with the perpetual calendar, which is represented here by a yellow gold Patek Philippe reference 3448. You will also find some chronographs with very unusual features, including a LeCoultre with a rotating slide rule bezel and an Orvis Solunagraph with a tide indicator. And we found one badly redialed Rolex on Ebay that showcases what to look for when looking at doubtful dials. LeCoultre Reference E2647, With Calculator Rotating Scales This LeCoultre is not the first chronograph to offer a calculating function C the Breitling Chronomat, the Juvenia Ar...
Auctions: A Military Seamaster 300 That Served Its Country (And Survived)
Its February 26, 1970, and the H.M.S Hubberston is anchored somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, a few miles away the Japanese island of Okinawa. On board, J.B. Fisher is getting ready for a dive during which he hopes to locate an aircraft wreck some 60 feet beneath the waters surface. A typical mission for a Royal Navy diver. The last thing Fisher does before jumping into the water? He adjusts the bezel of his trusty watch, setting the countdown for his dive. The Omega Seamaster 300 The original Seamaster 300, introduced in 1957. Omega introduced the Seamaster 300 in 1957, four years after the introduct...
Found: Salvador Dal's 'The Eye Of Time,' Easily One Of The Strangest Watches We've Ever Seen
Fun fact: Today is Salvador Dal's birthday, and he would have been 113, were he still with us. Another fun fact: Dal made a series of strange watches during his career and one of them is up for auction in Sotheby's May 17 Impressionist and Modern sale in New York. This little brooch/watch, aptly called The Eye of Time, is unlike anything you've ever seen before. At least I hope so. Salvador Dal and The Eye of Time. The Eye of Time is part of a suite of jewelry designed by Dal between 1941 and 1970. The collection was made up of 39 pieces that included the eye-form brooch featuring a small watch that we have here. Since I a...
A Week On The Wrist: The Urban Jrgensen Reference Big 8 In Stainless Steel
I can't remember when it was that I first saw Urban Jrgensen's watches, but I suspect it was sometime in the very early 2000s. It might very well have been on that irreplaceable treasure trove of early classic online watch photography, Steve G's Watch Launchpad, some time around 2002 or 2003; the watch in question being a lovely Ref. 8, with a black dial. It might also have been on ThePuristS.com (now PuristsPro) in Dr. Thomas Mao's write-up of his Ref. 3 Perpetual Calendar, from 2001.?(It says something about how old the latter story is, at least in Internet years, that Dr. Mao calls the 37mm case of the Ref. 3 "surprisingly large." I have, with some feeling, watched some of my favorite in...
Auctions: A Selection Of Interesting Chronographs Up For Grabs At Kaplans In Stockholm
There is some serious auction action going down over the weekend, and we can certainly expect some record-breaking results coming out of Geneva. Yet, that won't be the only place where bidding will be going on, with Kaplans offering just over 150 watches at the same time from its base in Stockholm, Sweden.?Interestingly, this auction house allows online pre-bidding, so I've done some digging and found three chronographs which have already blown past their estimates, even before the live auction officially starts. Alongside usual suspects from Omega and Heuer comes a rare Universal Genve, with a whooping 46mm case. Let's dig in. Universal Genve Compax Reference ...
Auctions: Emperor Haile Selassies Patek Philippe Ref. 2497 Sells For $2.9 Million
One watch that everyone has been closely following these past few hours is this Patek Philippe reference 2497 with black gilt dial. The reason? The last time Christies tried to sell the watch ended with its dramatic removal minutes before the sale, due to an ownership title dispute. So you can imagine the tension this morning at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, in Geneva, as the same team prepared for the second round, two years after the first. Thomas Perazzi was visibly relieved the moment he announced the first official bid, and soon the entire room forgot about the controversial matter, focusing instead on how well this u...
They say you should keep the best for last, and thats precisely what Phillips did today. While yesterdays top lot was the ref. 6062 "Bao Dai" C again the most expensive Rolex in the world C the highest price paid for a Rolex in todays sale was for lot 237/237. This gold Daytona, known simply as "The Legend" fetched a whopping $3,717,906, making it the most expensive Daytona ever sold publicly. This was by far the most significant Paul Newman on sale this weekend. It is indeed one of only three known yellow gold Oyster Paul Newman Daytonas, and it's a ref. 6263 with a lemon gren dial. It's easy to understand why this ext...
Hands-On: The Moritz Grossman Atum Date
When conversations turn to German watchmaking, it's usually?haute horlogerie powerhouse A. Lange & Sohne and the fan-favorite Nomos that come up first. However, there's a lot more going on in the tiny town of Glashtte that's worth paying attention to. One brand that's started to gain a following is Moritz Grossmann, and the watch we have here is an update to its core model that adds a concentric date readout to the time-only Atum. The Atum Date in white gold. We've covered the Atum before in a few incarnations, but what makes the watch distinctive is its sharp dial, with those long lance-like hands, and the unusual moveme...
Introducing: The Panerai Mare Nostrum Acciaio 42mm
If you are a Panerai lover, you probably recognize this watch. That's because it is the third iteration of the Mare Nostrum, dating back to the early days of Panerai. The Mare Nostrum was the first chronograph ever produced by Panerai, first created in 1943 for the Italian Navy. The design was later revived in 1993 as the first re-edition, the reference 5218-301/A, which was in production until 1997. The watch you see here is almost exactly like that 1993 re-edition, though with a few small updates.? The new re-edition of the Panerai Mare Nostrum chronograph in a limited series of 1,000 pieces. This watch starts with a 4...
Hands-On: The Baume & Mercier Clifton Club
The United States is currently the largest watch market in the world, and the king of that market is the three-hand sports watch with a date window. Whether that's your favorite kind of watch or not (and, yes, I know how many of you feel about the date window), talk to any retailer or brand rep and you're going to get the same answer: to compete for customers and sales, you've got to have a strong sports watch. The Clifton Club is a new sport watch collection from Baume & Mercier. While Baume & Mercier has had offerings that fit these criteria in the past, this year at SIHH we got a whole new line of dive watches in th...
Introducing: The Breitling Chronoliner B04 Boutique Edition
There's a new Breitling, and I bet I already know what your first question is: what is the diameter of this new Chronoliner? At 46mm, some might find this watch rather imposing, and it undoubtedly is, but we need to remember where the Chronoliner comes from to make sense of this. It is the successor to the vintage references 765 AVI, 765 Co-Pilot, and 7650 Co-Pilot, which measured well above 40mm some 50+ years ago, as they were first and foremost intended as tool watches for pilots. And in a cockpit, a larger diameter often allows for an increased legibility. Breitling was always careful to offer short lugs in order to avoid the watches feeling like a pizza on the wrist (although some 47mm ...
This week, we start big with a Patek Philippe reference 1463 in stainless steel. Granted, its dial has been replaced, but the rarity of this watch in this metal easily trumps that fact. We keep the chrono love going with an oversized Omega, relying on the caliber 33.3. Then what could represent time-only pieces better than a Chronomtre Royal from Vacheron Constantin, the reference 6519. And we conclude with a Rolex Veriflat reference 6512 that could have been great, but really isn't C I'll explain exactly why below. Omega Chronograph With Caliber 33.3 Originally introduced in 1933, the caliber 33.3 is on...
Introducing: The Laurent Ferrier Galet Regulateur
Few brands strike the balance between traditionalism and modernity with as much poise as Laurent Ferrier. On the wrist the watches look contemporary, while still appealing to those with a respect for time-tested things. This new watch takes a niche idea from the 19th century and brings it into the 21st century in a way that feels extremely relatable and fresh. The Galet Regulateur is the first regulator wristwatch from Laurent Ferrier. As you may or may not know, regulators use separate axes for the hour and minute hands, in this case with the minutes centralized and the hours in a sub-dial at 12 o'clock. There is also a running seconds sub-dial at six o'clock, t...
Singer Vehicle Design is known for creating some of the most incredible custom Porsche 911s you can possibly imagine. Based in California, the firm basically starts with a chassis and an engine, and builds everything up from there to the owner's exact specifications. The results are awesome C and now the firm is jumping into the watch world. The Singer Track1 is a new auto-inspired chronograph that uses an innovative movement to create something that's definitely out of the ordinary. The Track1 is Singer's first move into the watch world. The Track1 is the result of a three-way partnership between Singer founder Rob Dickinson,...
Watch Spotting: Possibly The Realest Real Pilot's Watch We've Ever Seen
I'm at Couture Time Las Vegas, where exhibiting watch brands are showing products from both the SIHH and Baselworld, as well as new models being unveiled for the first time, to U.S. press and retailers. At the Baume & Mercier booth, I had a chance to look at a gorgeous modern version of the Shelby Daytona Coupe C and to hear from its owner, Mr. Dick Carr, about one of the most authentic pilot's watches I've ever seen. (Baume & Mercier is a partner with Shelby America, by the way, with which it's created its popular line of Cobra-inspired chronographs.) A quick refresher on the car: the original Shelby Daytona coupe was de...
Happenings: Join HODINKEE For A Summer Kick-Off Party At Todd Snyder In New York
It's summer, and you know what that means C long, hot days, filled with cold drinks and vintage watches. Ok, maybe not everyone's summers are filled with vintage watches, but this is HODINKEE we're talking about here.? With that in mind, we are kicking off the summer with a party with our friend and partner Todd Snyder at his (relatively) new boutique on Madison Square Park in New York City. There will be beer and whiskey for you to drink, and plenty of clothes and vintage watches for you to browse.?The event will be taking place this Wednesday (June 7) from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. If you are interested in attending please RSVP to?[email protected]. Space is lim...
Breaking News: Apple Announces watchOS 4 And New Siri Watch Face
Today, Apple kicked off its annual World Wide Developer Conference in San Jose, California. One of the first big announcements: major updates to the Apple Watch. Later this year we'll be getting watchOS 4, a new version of the native operating system, which has a number of new features and major changes to key apps. Let's take a look. Before getting into the details of watchOS 4, Apple CEO Tim Cook reminded the audience that Apple Watch is the number one selling smartwatch globally, as well as the top-ranked smartwatch when it comes to consumer satisfaction. Not really any big surprises there. The Siri watch face is watchOS ...
Interview: Heuer Expert Jeff Stein's Take On The 2017 TAG Heuer Autavia
One of the biggest new watch releases of the year for vintage fans is the TAG Heuer Autavia. The result of the Autavia Cup competition, which asked fans to vote on their favorite vintage model for TAG Heuer to recreate, the watch takes the brash '60s racing style of the original and makes it the basis of a thoroughly modern watch. We showed you the prototype last year and gave you the full specs of the final model when it debuted officially at Baselworld. But that's just the beginning of the story. The new Autavia started as an idea back in 2015.(Photo: Jeff Stein) Jeff Stein C founder of OnTheDash, and Talking Watches veteran...
Introducing: The Citizen Tourbillon Y01
If you keep up on watch news, you've probably heard about this one: a tourbillon, made in Japan by Citizen, in a 42mm white gold case. This latest from Citizen is certainly not a sign of any dramatic shift in the company's overall direction (at least, I don't think it is), but it's an intriguing development nonetheless. According to Citizen, the movement was originally introduced in Tokyo in 2014, although the first wider news that Citizen was getting into the tourbillon game was broken by SJX. While the movement and watch were "designed and manufactured in Tokyo," the movement decoration is similar to that of high end Swiss watches. ...
TAG Heuer has just announced, at the Monaco Grand Prix, that they'll be launching three new watches inspired by the world of F1 racing in general, and by Ayrton Senna in particular. Senna is widely revered in the motorsports world as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. His death in 1994 at the age of 34, which had been immediately preceded by the death of rookie driver?Roland Ratzenberger, and the serious injury of Rubens Barrichello, prompted widespread criticism of safety standards at F1, as well as numerous reforms to F1 car and track safety standards. Those reforms have made fatalities in F1 an extreme rarity C Senna's death was the last in Formula 1 until that of?Jules Bianchi, ...