No products in the cart.
Best Super NEWS Watches
Former Romanian King Michael I, Owner Of One Of The World's Most Legendary Watches, Dies At 96
Earlier today, news broke that King Michael I, the former ruler of Romania, died at age 96 in Geneva. While there are plenty of historical reasons why the ex-monarch is interesting C he actually ruled Romania twice, played a part in World War II, etc. C?he is known for something else entirely in horologically-inclined circles: his legendary Patek Philippe ref. 1518. On its own, a 1518 is a special watch. It's the first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph, and started a family of watches that would go on to be one of the standard bearers for Patek Philippe over what is now nearly a century. The reference was introduced in 1941 and was produced for jus...
Gift Guide: Editor-In-Chief Jack Forster's Holiday 2017 Picks
The winter holidays are fast approaching, and that means it's gift buying time. We thought it would be fun this year to have our editors put together their picks for the best gifts of the season. Each has selected a handful of products spanning categories and price points, as well as something from the HODINKEE Shop. We'll be bringing you a new guide each day this week, so keep checking in for more ideas. One of my earliest Christmas memories is one that I suspect a lot of people share, in one form or another: Pop complaining. Of course there was the de rigueur grousing about the neighbors' outdoor ornaments (we used to pile into the car and drive around the neig...
Inside Grand Seiko: The Evolution Of The Spring Drive Movement
Spring Drive is one of the most widely known of all the innovations created by Seiko in its entire history C but perhaps also the most misunderstood. This is partly because nothing like Spring Drive exists anywhere else in modern watchmaking: a watch regulated by a quartz oscillator, but one which is driven by a mainspring, has a completely conventional gear train, and has no battery.? It's easy to confuse Spring Drive with another technology: autoquartz movements, which are also made by Seiko in their Kinetic line of wristwatches. A Kinetic watch is a standard quartz watch, with a twist: it has a mechanical rotor that powers a tiny electrical generator, which, i...
Introducing: The A. Lange & Sohne 1815 'Homage To Walter Lange'
Here's your first taste of 2018 A. Lange & Sohne goodness. And it's a pretty great way to start. The watch we have here is called the 1815 "Homage to Walter Lange," and it's an unusual jumping seconds watch that is inspired by a century-and-a-half-old complication created by none other than Ferdinand Adolph Lange himself. In many ways, this is the 1815 as you know it and hopefully love it. The watch has a 40.5mm case rendered in yellow, rose, or white gold (as well as in steel C but more on that in a second), a solid silver dial with the sharp black printed numerals and chapter ring that the 1815 collection is known for, and a small seconds register at six o'...
Friday Live: Episode 24: A Year In Review With HODINKEE's Editors
As crazy as it sounds, the end of 2017 is quickly approaching, and this is going to be the last episode of Friday Live until 2018. We've had a lot of great shows since we kicked things off in April. Some had special guests, others focused on breaking news, and some were just nice pre-weekend chats. To finish out the year, we're pulling out all the stops and lining up five HODINKEE editors to talk about what exactly 2017 looked like for the horologically inclined. Tune in at the usual 1:00 PM ET time on Friday to catch Ben, Cara, Jack, Jon, and Stephen talking about the year's highlights, their favorite new watches, the craziest new drops, and more. It's going to ...
The Porsche Club of America got started in a very modest way C it was the brainchild of a gentleman named Bill Sholar, who bought a 356 in 1953 and held the first Owner's Club meeting in his home, in 1955. (At the Club's first business meeting, 13 people showed up, one of whom was a Volkswagen owner; the Club asked him "politely" to leave.) The Club grew quickly C by 1957 there were 550 members, and today the Club has over 100,000 members, with a whole host of activities on its annual calendar, and it's the largest single-marque car club in the world. (Of course, 1957 was also the year the Omega Speedmaster debuted). The Porsche ...
In-Depth: Underwater With The Citizen Promaster 1000M Professional Diver
As shipwreck dives go, the Hilma Hooker is an easy one. Lying on her starboard side in the sand at the bottom of a coral reef, the sunken drug running freighter is an easy 200-yard swim offshore and the dive bottoms out at 100 feet to the sea floor. This accessibility, the clear, warm water, and the nearly perfect proportions of the wreck itself make it one of the most popular dive sites on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire. To avoid the crowds of divers, who stir up silt and scare away the marine life, you have to get up at sunrise and high tail it down the coast road to the rocky beach, suit up and get in the water before other trucks and the dreaded cattle boats arrive around 8:00. ...
Watch Spotting: Ed Sheeran Wearing A Patek Philippe Reference 5130R While Receiving An MBE
Ed Sheeran is no stranger to our Watch Spotting column. We have seen the British singer wear a Patek Philippe 5524G Calatrava Pilot on the cover of British GQ, a Patek Philippe Nautlius Annual Calendar 5726A, a Rolex Paul Newman Daytona 6239, and a Richard Mille RM030. So it was no surprise to see Mr. Sheeran wearing a Patek Philippe worldtime reference 5130R while receiving the royal honor of MBE for his musical contributions at Buckingham Palace (while also breaking royal protocol with the Prince of Wales).? The Patek Philippe 5130R. (Image: Courtesy of the PuristS) In case you don't know, the MBE is an award given by the Qu...
The Cartier Tank has just celebrated its 100th birthday. Over the last century, the Tank has become one of the most recognized watches in the world, with its rectangular silhouette and Roman numeral dial now synonymous with elegance and sophistication. One of the most exciting things about the Tank is how countless individuals have incorporated it into their personal styles, adding their own touch to the Tank's history. In today's episode, we meet Mark Cho, owner and proprietor of The Armoury, a renowned menswear purveyor with locations in Hong Kong and New York City. Mark shares his treasured Tank Basculante Millenium Edition an...
Introducing: Kelys & Chirp C An Automaton By MB&F, Reuge, And Nicolas Court
I feel like every story I write about MB&F starts the same way, with something like "my favorite thing about MB&F is that its products never fail to put a smile on my face." Never has that been more true than with the brand's latest creation. I can't even look at the thing without grinning from ear to ear. Yes, this is a very expensive novelty object, and no, it doesn't tell time. But I seriously dare you not to like it. Let's meet Kelys & Chirp. What you're looking at here is a musical automaton that combines a walking tortoise (Kelys) and a singing bird (Chirp). Kelys is about 9.5 inches long (24cm), 6.3 inches wide...
The Laureato has had a long and interesting history at Girard-Perregaux C if there's a single model that's really iconic for the company, this is it and yet unlike many iconic watch models, it actually began life as a quartz watch. As we noted back in 2016, when GP relaunched the Laureato as a sports watch collection (as part of the firm's 225th anniversary celebrations) the design first saw the light of day in 1975, making it a watch of the same era as the first generation of integrated bracelet, stainless steel luxury watches such as the Royal Oak and the Nautilus. It was certainly a bold move on Girard-Perregaux's part to introduce their take on the genre in quartz, although it was consis...
Just Because: All Five A. Lange & Sohne 'Pour le Mrite' Watches In The Same Place, At The Same Time
When it comes to modern mega watches, it's hard to think of a series that surpasses A. Lange & Sohne's "Pour le Mrite" watches in interest, aesthetics, and mechanical complexity. The line started back in 1994 when Lange was reborn after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it's continued through to today. There are five Pour le Mrite watches in total (called PLM for short), with varying levels of complications, but they're all united by one thing: a fuse-and-chain. This extremely intricate mechanism provides more constant force to the escapement through the duration of a watch's power cycle by balancing out the torque with a counter force provided by a tiny chair wrapped around a conical ...
Introducing: The Cartier Libre Collection
It's no secret that Cartier is the queen of jewelry watches, and this year, in anticipation of SIHH, they have released five entirely new watches collectively called the Libre Collection. But these aren't your average jewelry watches C they are all numbered limited editions, making them a little more special than your usual Tank Fran?aise with diamonds. Each of the models has something different to offer, but they all focus on the disruption of a classic Cartier shape C the oval. Read on to see what's new. ? Baignoire Dbordante First up we have the?Baignoire Dbordante, a spin on the old classic oval Bai...
Four Revolutions: Part 3: A Concise History Of The Mechanical Watch Revolution (1990-2000)
Editors note: This is the latest in a series of articles on four revolutions over the past 40 years that have created the modern watch world. Previous articles include Joe Thompsons Introduction to the series, A Concise History Of The Quartz Watch Revolution, and A Concise History Of The Fashion Watch Revolution. This is the second part of this installment. You can find the first right here. Part one of this two-part story ended in April 1989 with Saturday Night Lives Dennis Miller making wisecracks in his Weekend Update segment about a new Swiss mechanical watch that had just sold for more than $3 million. Patek Philippes Calibre...
Happenings: Come Celebrate The Swatch Sistem51 HODINKEE Vintage 84 Tonight In New York City
A couple of weeks ago we launched the Swatch Sistem51 HODINKEE Vintage 84 C and we were truly blown away by the response. The initial stock sold out in less than three days,?and the waiting list has only been building since then. To celebrate our very first collaboration with Swatch, we are hosting a get-together in New York City tonight at the Swatch Times Square boutique and we would love to see you there. Most of the HODINKEE team will be there along with Swatch Creative Director Carlo Giordanetti and all the Swatch watches you can imagine. This of course includes the Sistem51 HODINKEE Vintage 84, which will be available for purchase in-store. Supply is limite...
Found: The World's Oldest Clock With A Fuse, At The British Museum (And Other Cool Stuff)
If you are in London with a day or a few to kill and are horologically inclined (and you probably are, because if you are not my condolences on having ended up here) you should be aware that there are a tremendous number of interesting exhibitions at London's numerous museums, which are at least as worth a visit as the city's numerous new watch boutiques and vintage watch dealers. ?The British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Science Museum all have a great deal to offer, with the Science Museum housing the collection of watches and clocks donated and curated by the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers.? The British Museum. ...
Photo Report: Roger W. Smith At The Horological Society Of New York
On December 4, 2017, Roger W. Smith lectured at the Horological Society of New York (HSNY) on the development of practical watch escapements. The large crowd was enthusiastic to hear Smith speak and to meet him in person, with many attendees lining up after the lecture to ask for autographs and photos. This guy is a (humble) horological rockstar if there ever was one.? A group of watchmaking students attended the lecture from both Rolex's Lititz Watch Technicum in Pennsylvania and the Patek Philippe Watchmaking School here in New York City, and a handful of people flew in to NYC to attend the much-anticipated lecture. The Sunday before Smith's lecture at HSNY, he...
Introducing: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Duoface
Today we have the latest timepiece in whats become a popular partnership between Jaeger-LeCoultre and Argentinian bootmaker Casa Fagliano. Theirs has been a long-lived association by the standards of the watch world, going back to a 100-piece run of vintage-style Reversos for the American market in 2011. Those watches, which were meant to honor the Reverso design on the occasion of its 80th anniversary, bore period-accurate dials and hands in addition to the superlative straps. Like the first watch to result from this partnership, this too is a 100-piece limited edition. Though this time around the watch in question, a Duoface with a two-tone handmade cordovan s...
Just Because: Five Totally Crazy Watches You Probably Forgot About
Over the years, we have seen some pretty crazy stuff in the watch industry. We've seen ups and downs, crazy sales and crazy prices, flips and flops, and that's exactly what this story is all about. Here is a look back at some of the wildest watches to hit the market in the past decade or so that you may have forgotten about (or never heard of in the first place).? The Patek Philippe Titanium Collection What watch-dreams are made of C the reference 3928T-001 with diamond-set caseback. (Image: Courtesy of Sotheby's) In my former life, I was an associate specialist at Sotheby's, and in that former life I ...
Photo Report: The Swatch Sistem51 HODINKEE Vintage 84 Launch Event In New York City
On Tuesday night, we celebrated the launch of the Swatch Sistem51 HODINKEE Vintage 84 with a blow-out party at Swatch's New York City flagship boutique in Times Square. Over 200 guests joined us to see the watch in person, enjoy food and drinks, and dance to a live DJ. Swatch creative director Carlo Giordanetti and U.S. brand manager Ruud Krabbe were?in attendance to talk Swatch history and show off our collaboration (and take some selfies, obviously), along with over a dozen members of the HODINKEE team. Although the Sistem51 HODINKEE Vintage 84 sold out online through the HODINKEE Shop in less than 72 hours, there was a limited supply of watches available at th...