Best Super NEWS Watches
Happenings: The HODINKEE Shop At The Greenwich Concours D'Elegance
If you love watches, there is a chance you might love cars too C?and we love both. This year the HODINKEE Shop is an official sponsor of the 23rd annual Greenwich Concours, kicking off June 2 at the Roger Sherman Baldwin Park in Greenwich, Connecticut. The show is considered one of the premier concours in the country and actually features two concours back to back (one day for American cars, and the next for imports). This year the Greenwich Concours is honoring Briggs Cunningham (also an avid watch collector) with a special display of his gorgeous car collection. Additionally, there will be a display by Bonhams, cars from John Fitch, pre-war MGs, and competition motorcycles. The HODINKEE Sh...
Rewind: Five Must-Read Stories About Military Watches
Since the United States is spending today celebrating Memorial Day, and many of you are probably spending time with your families (and hopefully enjoying some hotdogs in the sunshine), we thought we would round up five of the all time best HODINKEE stories about military watches. There's no doubt that horology has always been linked to military use, with the widespread adoption of wristwatches in no small part related to World War I, and there is no shortage of great tales to tell.?Enjoy, and we'll be back to your regularly schedule programming bright and early tomorrow. Found: Five Star General Omar Bradley's Special Bulova Accu...
Sunday Rewind: Why You Should Seriously Consider Getting An Atmos Clock
There really is nothing else quite like an Atmos clock. The first time you see one, there's something almost magical about how this mechanical object can keep time with no winding and no electricity. It's literally powered by the air around it, seemingly running forever on nothing (though we would recommend a good service every few years). The biggest surprise of all, though, might be that they can be had for relatively affordable sums of money C so long as you're not holding out for one designed by Marc Newson or one with a marquetry case, that is.Back in 2015, we gave you a look at why these seldom-talked-about clocks are a true value proposition, including an overview of how they work, di...
Editorial: The Five Coolest Things I Learned About Watches From The HODINKEE Magazine
It's no secret that here at HODINKEE we focus mostly on mechanical and collectible watches. We write for collectors and enthusiasts with the goal of telling the very best stories we can about this funny little world we've all found ourselves in, for one reason or another. While online we're sometimes tied to the watch industry news cycles, with product releases, auction results, and reviews of new watches often taking center stage, the HODINKEE Magazine gives us a chance, twice per year, to sit back, reflect, and focus on long form storytelling that is, if you'll pardon the pun, timeless.In our recently-released second volume, there are tons of killer watch stories, ranging from a sweeping h...
The Value Proposition: The Habring2 Doppel-Felix Split-Seconds Chronograph
The split-seconds, or rattrapante chronograph, was traditionally considered one of the most challenging complications to create, thanks not only to its complexity, but also to the degree of skill necessary to assemble and adjust the classic split-seconds mechanism. The term "grand complication" traditionally referred to a watch than combined the rattrapante with two other extremely challenging complications: the perpetual calendar and the minute repeater. In 1993, ?however, IWC presented its Doppelchronograph, with a modern version of the split-seconds complication, designed?by Richard Habring, which replaced the delicate, traditional column-wheel-controlled mechanism with a far more robust ...
Hands-On: The Arnold & Son Globetrotter
Arnold & Son has made something of a name for itself by taking classic complications and pushing them, both technically and aesthetically, into new territory. Specifically, the brand's two moonphase watches C the HM Perpetual Moon and HM Double Hemisphere Perpetual Moon C come to mind immediately when evaluating Arnold & Son's latest creation, the Globetrotter. In the same way as its two predecessors, the Globetrotter maintains all the functionality of the base complication while offering a bold, eye-catching look that draws you in with a little romance. Let's note right off the bat that the Globetrotter is a true worldti...
A Week On The Wrist: The Breguet Marine Reference 5517
What you see here is a watch that I did not expect to encounter at Baselworld heading into 2018, but perhaps I should have. It's the completely redesigned Breguet Marine, a line that I think fits more comfortably within the Breguet fold with its new look than previous iterations did. It picks up and runs with a handful of design codes seen last year in Baselworld with the Breguet Marine Equation Marchant 5887. That was an incredibly complex talking piece of a watch that came with a visible cam for the equation of time superimposed over a tourbillon, in addition to a perpetual calendar display. Here we have a simple automatic with date. If last year's release was the Marine talking piece, thi...
Photo Report: The Fashion And Watches Of Concorso D'Eleganza 2018
We're fresh back from a very memorable weekend on Lake Como in Italy for the annual Concorso D'Eleganza car show. Hosted by A. Lange and Sohne, this incredible event is devoted to some of the finest and rarest vintage cars in the world. Although it's a pinnacle event in the collector car scene (it's the oldest extant event of its kind, and has been going on since 1929) we couldn't help but occasionally pull the camera away from the brightly shining Ferraris, Astons, and F1 cars to take a look at the elegant, varied, and sometimes bold style seen around the villas.? Though it was an incredibly warm and sun-baked weekend for the shows at Villa d'Este and Ville Erba...
Watch Spotting: A Most Unexpected Swiss Watch Brand Cameo In 'Deadpool 2' (Mild Spoilers)
Well, here in the USA we're back from our long Memorial Day weekend, during which by tradition, hamburgers, booze of all descriptions, and loud, violent blockbuster movies are all three avidly consumed. I happened to catch Deadpool 2 with the fam (we laughed, we cried, it was better than Cats) and despite the much-discussed risk of "superhero burnout" you might have heard from some killjoys out there, it was in its irreverent levity a fine antidote to the operatic sturm und drang of Infinity War (during which we laughed, we cried, etc. and so forth). The plot involves, in addition to a body count which accumulates in all sorts of gleefully inventive ways, time tr...
While Royal Oaks have existed in a bewildering variety of forms since they first appeared at Baselworld in 1972, they are also, thanks to their collectibility and popularity, extremely well documented. Of course, the vast number of different references also makes it possible that unicorns can occasionally be spotted but this seems to be a rather rare event. Recently at Material Good, in Manhattan, we came across a Royal Oak which, although not strictly a unicorn, is nonetheless extremely unusual at the very least. According to AP, this is the reference 14884BA. It's a yellow gold Royal Oak, with a quite spectacular dial, cut away...
Introducing: The Blancpain Ocean Commitment III (Live Pics & Pricing)
Watching a school of yellowfin tuna hunt is an awesome sight. Big muscular fish, some as long and heavy as me, they swim with purpose, darting through the water so fast they leave a wake, even underwater. They appear like flashes of lightning as the filtered rays of sun 50 feet deep glint off their shiny skin, offset by their namesake streaming yellow fins. Sadly, most people will only ever see these magnificent predators in a can or on the grill and, sadder still, their population in the worlds oceans is threatened by intensive fishing. But theres one place where they still roam free, hunting with impunity, in schools hundreds strong: the waters around the Revillagigedo islands in the Eas...
Business News: Oklahoma State University School Of Watchmaking To Close
The School of Watchmaking at the Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology (OSUIT) will close at the end of 2018, after graduation of the current class. A notice was posted to the schools website: "OSUIT is phasing out the Watchmaking & Microtechnology program within the School of Engineering Technologies. OSUIT will no longer be accepting applications for or enrolling new students in the Watchmaking & Microtechnology program, and only courses required for current students will be offered." The OSUIT School of Watchmaking was founded in 1946 and initially focused on education for veterans. As of 2018 the OSUIT School of Watchmaking was one of onl...
Happenings: Vacheron Constantin Les Collectionneurs At Material Good, NY
The Vacheron Constantin Les Collectionneurs program is something very unusual for an haute horlogerie brand C it's an initiative to obtain vintage watches made by Vacheron, restore them to full functionality, and offer them to collectors and Vacheron enthusiasts in ready-to-enjoy condition, with a full warranty. While many brands buy their own vintage models at auction in order to place them in museums, and also offer to repair any watch they've ever made (Cartier and Patek Philippe are two examples) the Les Collectionneurs program is, as far as I'm aware, currently unique in fine watchmaking. Material Good, located on Wooster Street here in lower Manhattan, will host an exhibition of 13 Les...
Photo Report: A Night With Montblanc In Miami
Last week, Miami-area HODINKEE readers and fans of Montblanc got together at the city's Casa Tua restaurant for an evening of watches and cocktails. Our own Jon Bues hosted the evening along with Montblanc North America Vice President Florent-Aymeric Dubiez, who welcomed the crowd and talked about recent developments in Montblanc watchmaking. Guests were able to view a number of the latest watches from Montblanc's 1858 line, launched earlier this year at SIHH, as well as some other pieces from the collection. And representatives from area Montblanc boutiques were on hand to offer assistance in explaining specific models to the attendees. Quite naturally, lots of the guests were sharing and t...
Introducing: The IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar In Platinum
Today IWC is introducing a new platinum version of its perpetual calendar in the Portugieser line. From the look of the photos supplied by IWC, this is a good looking high complication whose white-metal case is a perfect match for its silver-plated dial. This is the first Portugieser in the current collection to pair Kurt Klaus's perpetual calendar mechanism C which can be set via the crown C and a platinum case. Klaus's perpetual calendar, originally built on the humble Valjoux 7750, is engineered to track the days, date, and month without being reset until the year 2100, and is widely regarded as one of the milestones of IWC watchmaking. Powering this mechanism today is the in-house IWC 52...
Introducing: The IWC Portugieser Automatic In Stainless Steel
Another new IWC introduction being announced today, also in the Portugieser line, is this new stainless steel automatic offering. It comes with a silver-plated dial and rhodium-plated hands that pair well with the chosen case material. This is a nice update on a familiar design within the dressy Portugieser line. The small seconds at 9 o'clock are balanced by the power-reserve indicator at 3 o'clock. ?The power reserve that's being indicated is a more than ample seven days, considering that this is a self-winding watch equipped with an in-house movement from IWC. Further, the movement has been engineered with the company's Pellaton winding system, devised to maximize the amount of energy tra...
Technical Perspective: Clockmaker Rick Hale Debuts His Unique KL1 Wall Clock
After a year of work, Michigan based clockmaker Rick Hale has finished his KL1 wall clock. This incredible clock was a privately commissioned unique piece, measuring 5 ft. tall by 3 ft.wide. The frame is hand carved from jointed hard maple and finished with a copper leaf patine, to stunning effect. Beyond the aesthetic side of this clock, it features a bevy of technical aspects that deserve a deeper look. The KL1's grasshopper escapement. The KL1 prominently features a grasshopper escapement, invented by British Clockmaker John Harrison (of marine chronometer fame) in the 18th century. A...
Hands-On: The Farer 37mm Hand-Wound Stanhope
Following their dive-ready Aqua Compressor line, Farer has launched a new model with an entirely different perspective for their design. Their new 37mm Hand-Wound line is comprised of three dial variations of a smaller sized watch that effectively threads the needle between a smaller mens watch and a sporty ladies piece. Carrying a similar design language to that which weve seen from previous Farer models, this 37mm collection utilizes the brands aesthetic in a distinctive new format.? Small, but not too small on my 7 in. wrist. Cushion cased and 8.3mm thick. ...
Introducing: The Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.S.-Only Limited Editions
As Seiko-watchers will be aware, Grand Seiko has increasingly become a distinct, and distinctive, entity; one of the most important developments at Grand Seiko was the decision, in 2017, to make Grand Seiko its own brand, rather than a sub-brand under the larger Seiko banner. The removal of the Seiko logo from the dials of Grand Seiko watches did away with what had always been a bit of redundancy (the dials no longer say "Seiko Grand Seiko" which fans of cleaner dials will applaud) and although the gesture was largely symbolic, it does say something about how Grand Seiko sees itself evolving in the years to come. Grand Seiko has not, historically, been a brand wh...
The Horological Society Of New York To Hold Weekend Classes In Philadelphia
The Horological Society of New York's award-winning classes are on the road again! Classes will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, over the weekend of June 23, and they will be hosted by Govberg Jewelers and Watchbox. At HSNY's Horological Education classes, students discover what actually makes a watch tick. The hands-on classes are taught by HSNY's staff of professional watchmakers. Students work on a mechanical watch movement, studying the gear train, winding and setting mechanisms, and escapement. The weekend half-day classes cover everything taught during the individual evening classes held in New York. Enrollment is now open...