Best Super NEWS Watches
Introducing: The Bamford Mayfair Watch
The Kardashians, wedding dance floors, and the Bamford Watch Department all share one thing in common C you either love them or hate them. And while not all BWD creations over the years have spoken to me from an aesthetic perspective, I deeply admire founder George Bamford and his team for having the conviction to be bold and disruptive, something many fear. As Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers said, "those who stand for nothing, fall for anything." This week, London-based BWD has released its very own watch collection: the Bamford Mayfair Collection. In recent times, we have seen official collaborations with Zenith and TAG Heuer, but this is someth...
Technical Perspective: How To Hamfistedly Rebuild An Omega 8900 Co-Axial Master Chronometer Movement
Walking into the Omega boutique in Vancouver, Im feeling intimidated before I even get to the watchmakers desk. Ive been invited to take part in Omegas demonstrative Co-Axial Watchmaking session in which Ill attempt to dismantle and then rebuild a modern Co-Axial Master Chronometer movement. These sessions, which are occasionally offered by Omega boutiques, let you play watchmaker for a couple hours, experiencing firsthand both the design and build of a movement and the delicate minuscule world of watchmaking. With a bright white coat and a watchmakers loupe on my forehead, what could possibly go wrong? The caliber 8900 (minus rotor assembly). ...
Introducing: The Baume & Mercier Clifton Club Burt Munro Tribute Limited Edition
Earlier in the year we brought you the news that Baume & Mercier would be teaming up with Indian Motorcycles. Now we can share a first look at a limited edition chronograph created in honor of that very partnership.? This watch, a limited run of 1,967 automatic chronographs in the Clifton Club range, specifically recognizes Burt Munro, who set an AMA (American Motorcycle Association) national land-speed record at Bonneville in 1967 aboard his own heavily modified 1920s-era Indian Motorcycles Scout.? The Clifton Club Burt Munro Tribute Limited Edition. The story of Burt Munro is pretty interesti...
Just Because: How The Dufour Duality Actually Works, As Explained By Philippe Dufour
One of the nice things about hanging around the watch beat long enough is that sooner or later the sheer force of the time you've spent in the field makes people feel all right about inviting you to participate in things. In my case, this year I was invited to be a juror at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genve, which is a series of awards given to participating watches once per year, in Geneva (in other words, just what it says on the tin).? The jury deliberations were interesting for a number of reasons C for one thing, it was a full day of sometimes very spirited and even occasionally heated discussion of the merits of a huge range of watches, with some of the...
Yesterday my colleague Walker approached me to ask about the Patek Philippe reference 5790. He'd never seen one before, but he kept hearing about it in the song "Ric Flair Drip" on the current number one albumWithout Warning, by 21 Savage, Offset, and Metro Boomin.?My answer to his question was pretty simple: There is no such watch. It just doesn't exist. But after listening to the song once or twice, I began to doubt myself. Without Warning, by 21 Savage, Offset, and Metro Boomin, is currently the number one rap album and features several watch references. Obviously this situation caught me off guard. Surely the story had to ...
Live Stream: Watch The 2017 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genve Live On HODINKEE
It's Grand Prix time, and it's become something of a tradition for us to stream the vaunted awards ceremony live right here on HODINKEE. So that's exactly what we're doing. The Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genve (GPHG) is the most important awards ceremony in watchmaking, with most of the bigger brands and smaller makers participating (with a few notable absences). Our very own Jack Forster is even on the jury this year, though he disappointingly hasn't given us any insider tips as to who might be taking home the biggest prizes. We'll have to sit here and watch along with you. *HODINKEE App users: click here to view the live stream. ...
Introducing: The Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Day & Night
The so-called "Mystery Clocks" are some of the most iconic timekeepers Cartier has ever made. For 2018, it looks like the maison will be drawing on them for inspiration, creating at least a few wristwatches inspired by the 1912 original. The first, the Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Day & Night, combines this with another complication that Cartier first used that year, the day/night indicator from the Comet Clock. The watch we have here starts with a 40mm gold case (we only have images of the pink gold here, but it will be available in white as well) and the typical Cartier sapphire cabochon crown. The dial has a radiating guilloch section in the center and s...
Introducing: The Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Skeleton Mysterious Double Tourbillon
When Cartier goes big, Cartier goes big. It's no secret that in recent years the famed design house has developed some pretty incredible high-watchmaking chops with Carole Forestier-Kasapi at the helm. The watch we have here is a perfect example of what happens when you combine Cartier's heritage with intense watchmaking know-how. The Rotonde de Cartier Skeleton Mysterious Double Tourbillon really pulls out all the stops, and I have to say it makes quite the first impression. This is a great example of Cartier's distinct style of fine watchmaking. There's nothing particularly subtle about this watch. It's 45mm in diameter and ...
Just Because: A Few Past Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genve Prizewinnners
The Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genve (GPHG) was officially established in 2001, and since then it has been the highest awards in watchmaking. This year, I'm on the jury for the first time, and it's given me occasion to reflect on where the GPHG began, how far it has come, and how the industry at large has changed over the last decade and a half. In its first year, the GPHG honored five watches: Complicated Watch Prize: Audemars Piguet, Rptition Minute par Carillon Edward Piguet? Jewellery and Artistic Crafts Watch Prize: Vacheron Constantin, Lady Kalla? Men's Watch Prize: Leroy, Osmior Chronographe Automatique? Ladies' Watch P...
Found: One Of The First Tourbillon Wristwatches Ever Made (And It's An Omega)
The Phillips Geneva Watch Auction: Six is just around the corner, slated to commence on November 11th and it will surprise no one that there are any number of stellar lots to choose from. One in particular really stands out for me, however, and though it's a bit inside-baseball, it's also one of the most historically and technically interesting watches Phillips has ever offered (which is saying something).? Tourbillon wristwatches have become, if not ubiquitous, at least unremarkable nowadays (although there is and always should be room for admiration for tourbillons that are really well done, which is true of mechanical horology in general C both in terms of ubi...
Introducing: The Urban Jrgensen Alfred With In-House Caliber P4
The last time we saw Urban Jrgensen here on HODINKEE, it was to spend A Week On The Wrist with the self-winding Big 8. The Big 8 has a decorated F. Piguet movement, it's got the lovely signature UJ "observatoire" hands, the dial is decorated with honest-to-Betsy guilloch, and the price in steel is $15,300. Relative to what else is out there, this is something of a steal (to make a feeble pun) and since sending the watch back to Urban Jrgensen, I've been thinking about it a lot C mostly because most of the other haut de gamme watch brands simply don't have anything in steel even remotely approaching the Big 8 in terms of bang for the buck. Now UJ has just announced a similarly priced offer...
In-Depth: A Comprehensive Guide To The Phillips Heuer Parade Auction
Jeff Stein is the founder and proprietor of OnTheDash, the leading online authority on all things Heuer. Jeff is also a collector of note C check him out on Talking Watches C and one of the most knowledgeable guys in watches. Ahead of Phillips's thematic Heuer auction this weekend, we wanted to bring you a full analysis from the master himself. Tomorrow night in Geneva, Phillips will offer up 42 vintage Heuer chronographs (and one modern watch), in a sale officially titled The Crosthwaite & Gavin Collection C Exceptional Heuer Chronographs from the Jack Heuer Era.??The sale's nickname however is much simpler C?"Heuer Parade." Th...
Business News: The Chopard, L.U.C. Full Strike Wins The Aiguille d'Or At The 2017 GPHG Awards
The winner of the coveted Aiguille d'Or has been announced at this year's Grand Prix d'Horlogerie awards, and the lucky recipient is none other than the Chopard L.UC. Full Strike. The Full Strike was released earlier this year at Baselworld and made waves as the company's first minute repeater. We did an in-depth review of the watch here and as you may remember, it did not disappoint. However, we should note that the competition this year was pretty stiff, including the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication 3600 or the A. Lange & Sohne Tourbograph Perpetual "Pour le Mrite." Regardless, it's always fun to watch these awards and follow along. Here is...
Photo Report: Celebrating Timex With Todd Snyder & Matt Hranek
Last night, there was a pretty special horological celebration on the north edge of Manhattan's Madison Square Park. We joined Todd Snyder and author Matthew Hranek (of Friday Live fame) to toast the launch of Timex's first mechanical watch in decades. The Marlin is a little hand-wound number that is a re-issue of a classic 1960s model from the American maker (more on the watch very, very soon). Over?100 people turned out to see the Marlin in person. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres were furnished by the El Rey Annex and entertainment was provided by Grammy Awarding-winning jazz musician Kenyon Harold. Matt Hranek was signing copies of his book A Man and His Watch and w...
Announcements: Say Hello To The New HODINKEE Shop (And What That Means)
Today marks a brand new chapter for HODINKEE, and I hope for the way watches are sold around the world. The thing about us C and I stress us, because HODINKEE is now 25 people strong C is that all we've ever wanted is to make more people fall in love with watches. Good watches. The watches that we've spent the last nine years writing about. And, to date, I think we've done a pretty damn good job. We've published over 5,000 stories about them on hodinkee.com alone and dozens of other stories for other websites, magazines, and newspapers. Since we launched our e-commerce platform C?the HODINKEE Shop C?over five years ago, we've sold thousands of straps, accessories, and books in hopes of givin...
Introducing: The G-Shock Gold Tornado Collection
Earlier this month, G-Shock celebrated its 35th anniversary with a blow-out event at Madison Square Garden. During the run-up to the event, I got to visit the massive exhibition of vintage and modern G-Shock watches on display, and frankly it was overwhelming. Amongst all of the creations are a number of new collections, including the Gold Tornado, which is a trio of limited edition G-Shocks that are plays on classic silhouettes. Here are all the details. First up is the Gravitymaster GPW2000TFB-1A ($750), which is a 51.7mm watch with combination analog and digital displays, Tough Solar capabilities, and Connect Engine 3-Way, whi...
Announcements: Follow Our Editors On HODINKEE Live For A Week On The Road
It's a busy time of year over here at HODINKEE HQ, but the next week is a special one. We will have six HODINKEE editors (and our COO Eneuri) out in various corners of the globe tracking down stories, checking out interesting watches, and meeting fascinating people. Rather than keep all the good stuff to ourselves, we're going to share it with you live as it unfolds via HODINKEE Live. Yep, we're bringing it back for a travel-packed week of adventures. Starting today, Grey and Jon will be in Switzerland for the weekend auctions before heading over to France for a pretty special day next week. Stephen and Will will be heading to Switzerland next week too, but they'...
Photo Report: Celebrating The Panerai Luminor Due Collection In New York
Earlier this week, we celebrated the Luminor Due collection in downtown New York City with Panerai. The event was hosted in an intimate upstairs library with Manhattans being the fitting drink of choice. The evening was hosted by our very own senior editor, Jon Bues, and the President of Panerai North America, Giovanni Carestia. Guest mingled and tried on various Panerai models, including the PAM 677?and PAM 741, both of which include the new caliber 1000/10 movement. Thank you to everyone who came out to show your support, and to Panerai for co-hosting with us. We hope to see everyone at another HODINKEE event soon. ...
Business News: Richemont Sales Are Up 10% As Jr?me Lambert Is Named COO
The Richemont Group today announced a 10% increase in total sales to 5.60 billion ($6.48 billion) for the six months ended on Sept. 30. The news is the latest sign of a recovery underway in the luxury watch market after two years of declines. Richemont reported double-digit growth in jewelry and watch sales globally. Sales were up in all regions, but the biggest jump by far was in Asia; sales there soared by 25% compared to the same period in 2016. In a major development, Richemont also announced that Jr?me Lambert, currently head of operations for the group, has been promoted to the newly created position of chief operating officer. The announcement comes in t...
Photo Report: Tudor Celebrates New Brand Ambassador David Beckham In New York City
On Thursday night, Tudor hosted an event at the Clocktower in the Edition Hotel overlooking Madison Square Park. The event was in honor of the brand's new ambassador David Beckham, who joined Tudor earlier this year along with the New Zealand All-Blacks and Lady Gaga. The evening started off with cocktails and passed hors d'oeuvres (including some of the best chicken fingers we've ever had), with North American President Russell Kelly and Beckham taking the floor to talk about his role as ambassador and his appreciation of the brand. On his wrist was the Tudor Black Bay Chronograph that was released earlier this year at Baselworld. There were other watches from the Black Bay collection on di...