Best Super NEWS Watches
In-Depth: Luminous Dials, What Makes Them Glow, And How To Spot Their Differences
Luminous dials are a compromise. On the one hand, we would like to be able to tell the time in the dark without dropping a hundred large on a minute repeater. On the other hand we would also like our dials to age well, and inherent in the nature of many luminous materials, is that they will sooner or later dim to the point of uselessness. At that point, dials and hands are usually replaced if nocturnal legibility is desired C of course, do that to a vintage watch whose high value rests on originality of all parts, and you may have a watch you can read at night, but you will have destroyed its investment value. The subject is one of the greatest interest to collec...
Introducing: The Eccentricity By Independent French Watchmaker Cyril Brivet-Naudot
When a new watch is introduced, we often examine its different qualities, for better or worse. Maybe the watch is made by an independent watchmaker rather than a large brand? Perhaps the watch features a technical innovation or outstanding finishing? What if the watch was made by hand without the use of any CNC tools? Usually just one of these qualities is enough to merit attention, but when a new watch shows all of them at the same time, it really is something special. Cyril Brivet-Naudot is a French independent watchmaker who has just introduced his first watch, the Eccentricity. As you can likely guess, the Eccentricity features all of the aforementioned qualities. Let's take a closer loo...
Business News: Richemont Retools For A Changing 21st Century Marketplace
Have you noticed what Richemont has been up to lately? In the past few months, Switzerland's second largest watch group, with total revenues of 10.98 billion ($12.9 billion) in the last fiscal year, has been one busy beaver.?On May 16, it announced that it had launched a new watch brand called Baume (not to be confused with Baume & Mercier) targeted at Millennials.On May 18, it announced that earlier this year it had launched another round of buybacks of excess watch inventory, $238 million worth at wholesale prices, primarily in Europe. That followed an even larger one in the previous fiscal year, mostly in Hong Kong. On June 1, it announced that it had acq...
Review: The Herms Slim d'Herms GMT
The GMT is one of watchmaking's cornerstone complications C it's practical, it's rooted in the romance of aviation, and it's been around for more than half a century. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, the GMT, the simple date, and the chronograph make up a sort of holy trinity of complications. While it might not seem immediately obvious, it really was only a matter of time until Herms released a GMT function as a part of its Slim d'Herms collection. In typical Herms fashion though, this isn't any old GMT. No, no, this GMT boasts a whimsical time zone display that's unlike any I've seen before C this watch might not be for everyone, but if it's up your alley you're going to love it. ...
Introducing: The Timex Marlin Blackout, A Todd Snyder Exclusive
If you recall, last year mega watchmaker Timex released the vintage-inspired Marlin, a simple time-only, manually-wound, understated watch. The price tag? $199. It was a runaway hit and sold out almost immediately. Well, lucky for you, the Marlin is back with a Todd Snyder exclusive version with black dial, the aptly-named Marlin Blackout. The watch is almost identical to the original C same movement, same case, same sub-$200 price C just with a dressier black dial. What's not to like?? Initial Thoughts I have always appreciated the Timex Marlin. Finally, a good-looking, modern watch that winds, all for under $200. As someone who steadily...
Photo Report: The HODINKEE Meet-Ups In San Francisco And Los Angeles
Last week, HODINKEE ventured back out to the West Coast to work on a few stories (stay tuned C this stuff is good), and figured while we were making the journey it would be fun to host a pair of meet-ups in San Francisco and Los Angeles on back-to-back nights. To say this was a good plan would be something of an understatement. We hung out with more than 350 of you between the two nights, meeting a ton of new people and seeing some familiar faces as well. There was a great mix of daily readers, die-hard collectors, vintage watch dealers, watchmakers, and general enthusiasts in attendance at each event, and to gather together vibrant and excited communities of watch lovers is what this is all...
Limited editions exist for all sorts of different reasons C to celebrate an important company anniversary, an historical event, the debut of a particular iconic watch model, or, most often, simply to create an aura of desirability around a new model. However, sometimes, albeit rarely, a limited edition exists because of inherent rarity of materials or inherent difficulty of craft, and in this case Omega has created a limited edition whose small-batch status stems from both. The Omega First Omega Wrist-Chronograph Limited Edition uses 18? chronograph movements from 1913 C these, just to be clear, are not reproductions of vintage movements; they're actual chronograph calibers that have been in...
Editors' Picks: The One Watch I'd Wear Forever
For some watch enthusiasts it's a fantasy, while for others it's a nightmare. We're talking about the notion of being a one watch guy (or gal), of course. The thought of giving up that worn-in leather roll of different timepieces or that cabinet of winders all spinning in sync for just a single, lone, day-in, day-out wristwatch is a polarizing thing, but something that watch folks tend to talk about quite a bit.?We've had the conversation more than once (like, way more than once) here at HODINKEE HQ and finally decided to put fingers to keys and share our one watch picks as they stand right now. If our editors had to give it all up and settle for just one watch each, these would be their cho...
Recommended Reading: Roger W. Smith Reunites With His Great Britain Watch
Back in 2015, master watchmaker Roger W. Smith created a unique watch called the Great Britain to celebrate his homeland. On the occasion of the watch's exhibition at Phillips in London (as part of the larger "Watchmakers: The Master of Art Horology" show), Phillips sat down with Roger and this watch to discuss making watches with the "Daniels Method," why the Great Britain was a unique challenge, the development of his career more generally, and, of course, his recent OBE.?Roger W. Smith is one of the greatest living watchmakers anywhere on planet Earth, making watches entirely by hand on the Isle of Man with a small team of compatriots. Fewer than two dozen watches are produced under his n...
Recommended Reading: Dr. Ludwig Oechslin Explains The Logic Behind His Unusual Date Display
If you've ever seen an Ochs und Junior watch, you've likely encountered the brand's unusual methods of displaying calendar functions via a series of dots arranged in circles around the dial. The brand was co-founded by master watch and clock maker Dr. Ludwig Oechslin, who is about a big a rock star as you can find in horological circles. The man has repaired astronomical clocks for the Vatican C seriously. But for his own brand, everything is about rigorous simplicity (as we pointed out when visiting the Ochs und Junior atelier in The Road To Basel), including the way he expresses complications.Four of the five models in the Ochs und Junior collection involve date displays C the date, moon p...
Business News: MB&F Launches Certified Pre-Owned Program
When F.P. Journe launched its certified pre-owned program in October 2016, it was the first luxury watchmaker to do something like that, offering pre-worn pieces at lower prices and with new warranties and official certification. Since then, a handful of others have followed suit and today MB&F officially joins their ranks. With its new certified pre-owned program, MB&F is offering customers the ability to purchase limited edition watches that are long sold out directly from the brand instead of forcing them to go elsewhere. MB&F smartly knows that if they're going to compete with the grey market and with the existing crop of used watch dealers out th...
Introducing: The ICON Duesey, The First Watch From Jonathan Ward
To people in the 4x4 and offroading communities, Jonathan Ward is a household name. His California-based company ICON is known for making modern interpretations of all-time-great SUV designs, drawing inspiration from models made by Ford, Toyota, and a handful of other marques in the 1960s and '70s. ?Ward's company focusses on improving and upgrading great vintage designs by implementing modern technologies and utilizing enhanced materials.?Ward also likes watches. Like, a lot. He was even a Talking Watches guest back in 2015. In his appearance, he shared with Ben specific examples of how watch designs have informed his approach to automotive design. Also in that episode, Ward alluded to a de...
Sunday Rewind: Talking Watches With Jean-Claude Biver
When we look back over 10 years of HODINKEE stories, there are a few that stand out against the thousands of others as defining who we are and what we do. This story is one of those. Back in the summer of 2014, Ben visited Jean-Claude Biver at his home outside Montreaux, Switzerland, and sat down with the industry titan to talk about his own personal collection of watches. You see, in addition to running Hublot, TAG Heuer, and Zenith (and having played major roles at Omega, Blancpain, and countless other watchmakers over the years), Biver is a die-hard collector of both modern and vintage watches. Biver walks Ben through a dizzyi...
Hands-On: The Chronoswiss Regulator Manufacture
In the early 2000s, one of the most interesting watch companies to?keep your eye on is one that's fallen somewhat out of sight in recent years. Chronoswiss was an early leader in the post-quartz mechanical renaissance C the company was founded in 1983 by Gerd-Rdiger Lang, who began as a watchmaker at Heuer, and who left before the company was purchased by Techniques d'Avant-Garde and became TAG Heuer. Chronoswiss, which was originally headquartered in Munich, had as its stock in trade the use of new-old-stock movements from Marvin, and also Enicar, both once very well-known makers of midrange watches. Enicar produced the famous "Sherpa" series of timepieces as well, but both companies are l...
Recommended Reading: The European Union Might Abolish Daylight Saving Time
Daylight Saving Time is one of those things that many of us take for granted. It's just a fact of life. However, it's important to remember that it's a totally artificial system that most countries have chosen to adopt, and in the relatively recent past too (German was the first onboard, in 1916). Now, the European Union is considering rolling things back with a new poll put out to EU citizens to determine whether the 28 European countries that observe DST will continue to do so. The poll runs through August 16, at which point the European Parliament will make a decision.So, why after just over a century of Daylight Saving Time in some capacity or another is this being debated now? Well, it ...
Hands-On: The Carl F. Bucherer Manero Flyback Chronograph
It's often forgotten, when watch enthusiasts tally up the relatively few remaining independent, family-owned Swiss watch brands, that Carl F. Bucherer is one of them. The watch brand is a subsidiary of the Bucherer Group, which traces its origins to 1888, when founder Carl Friedrich Bucherer opened a jewelry and watch boutique in Lucerne, Switzerland. Today the Bucherer Group is still family, with Jorg G. Bucherer C 82, and the grandson of the founder, Carl Friedrich Bucherer C still active as chairman of the company's board of directors. One of the most notable recent events in the Group's history is its 2017 acquisition of Tourneau, which should give you some idea of the considerable clout...
A Week On The Wrist: The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon
A Week On The Wrist gives us a chance to find out what it's like to actually live with a watch, albeit for a limited time. Sometimes it's a watch that's the equivalent of a daily driver, and working with it gives us a chance to see how it holds up under real world conditions in terms of legibility, general aesthetic appeal, accuracy, and the like.? Sometimes, however, we get a watch in to test drive which puts us in the position of a car journalist being thrown the keys for a Bugatti Chiron for the weekend, like this one: the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon, a $160,000 superwatch that not only turns quite a few conv...
Happenings: 'Chronographs As Tools' Exhibition At The National Watch & Clock Museum
Later this month the National Watch & Clock Collectors (NAWCC) will be hosting its 75th annual national convention at the National Watch & Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania.?This coincides with the 40th anniversary of the museum and part of the celebration will be a special exhibition called "Chronographs As Tools" that will include more than 50 watches spanning the history of the complication, including important models from the mid-20th century, lots of different variations (tachymeters, pulsometers, etc.), and combinations of chronographs and other complications. The exhibition will be open at the National Watch &...
Introducing: The Autodromo Ford GT Owners Edition Chronograph
This watch is a pretty unique horological proposition. If you purchase a Ford GT super car you can now purchase a custom watch to go with it. The Ford GT Owners Edition Chronograph is made by Autodromo and was designed in close collaboration with Ford's own team to make sure it appropriately captured the spirit of the car itself.The watch has a 43mm case made of a combination of ceramic and steel and is powered by a La Joux-Perret flyback chronograph movement. It's got a sort of futuristic feel, with a dial designed to recall the digital displays inside the GT. To achieve this, Autodromo uses a honeycomb dial with a sapphire overlay and sapphire hands, which creates a transparency effect. Ot...
Happenings: A HODINKEE Meet-Up In New York City
It's officially summer time here in New York City, and we're thrilled. The sun is out, the air is hot, and the dive watches are a plenty. So we thought it was a perfect time to host a casual little meet-up like back in the good old days. If you are in New York City or the surrounding area, join us tomorrow night (Tuesday, July 10) from 6:00-9:00 PM for some beers and watch talk in lower Manhattan. The whole HODINKEE gang will be there and we're looking forward to hanging out.Please RSVP here and we will send you the all details. Space is limited, so make sure to let us know if you want to come. See you soon!...