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Best Super NEWS Watches
Introducing: The Herms Arceau LHeure De La Lune With Five New Dials (Including One From Mars)
The Arceau LHeure De La Lune debuted a little over a year ago at SIHH 2019 and was one of the stars of the show. It combines technical mastery with artistic flourish in a way that's quintessentially Herms, and this was one of those watches that people stopped to look at in the windows every time they passed the brand's booth. I count myself among them. The watch uses an Herms in-house movement as a base for an exclusive complication that has a pair of discs showing the hours/minutes and date that spin over a dial with two mother-of-pearl moons. The result is a dual moon phase indicator that shows both the northern and southern hemispheres at once. It playfully reverses the usual hierarchy...
Introducing: The Cartier Pasha De Cartier Skeleton
As usual, Cartier has tons of news for us this year, but the big focus for 2020 is the Pasha. The reinvented collection takes their 1985 icon and updates it in new sizes, with new details, and a whole suite of configurations to appeal to different types of buyers and collectors. If you want to get the full scoop on the basic time-only and time-and-date models, check out Jack's story here. I'll spare you the minutiae, but the biggest thing to know is that this new Pasha is very much a contemporary Cartier with tons of little touches that set it apart from the vintage models. The movement is resistant to magnetism, the signature chained crown protector conceals a small plate on the caseband th...
Vacheron's Les Cabinotiers department is to Vacheron what the Skunk Works is to Lockheed C a place where ideas requiring the utmost expertise and long development times are worked on for years at a stretch, until they are ready for their introduction to an unsuspecting world. It's not a perfect analogy, of course, because unlike the aircraft maker, Les Cabinotiers also focuses on making aesthetically exceptional pieces as well as on technical superiority. That said, their watches C usually unique pieces C tend to primarily showcase one or the other, and in the Grand Complications Split-Second Chronograph "Tempo," we have an incredibly complex technical masterpiece. ...
Introducing: The Panerai Submersible Ecopangaea Tourbillon GMT 50mm Mike Horn Edition
Panerai is fitting its popular Submersible with a Tourbillon C well, five of them at least. This new five-piece limited Panerai Submersible Ecopangaea Tourbillon GMT 50mm Mike Horn Edition offers buyers the chance not only to own one absolutely superbly outfitted dive watch, but also partake in a truly unique experience, embarking on an expedition to the Arctic with famed explorer Mike Horn himself. This 50mm iteration of the Submersible model offers a skeletonized titanium in-house movement showcasing the tourbillon, the GMT function, and the mechanisms powering the AM/PM indicator, power reserve and running small seconds subdial. All in all, this is a watch int...
Introducing: The Roger Dubuis Excalibur Diabolus In Machina
A large, skeletonzied flying tourbillon in a proprietary metal. If I stopped my description there, you'd probably say something like "Yeah, sure, that's what Roger Dubuis does. Those are the types of watches that have characterized the brand over the last few years." And you'd be right. But I'm not stopping there. The Excalibur Diabolus In Machina takes that brand-defining formula and adds a minute repeater to the mix. I have your attention now, don't I? The Diabolus In Machina starts with a 45mm x 16.8mm case made from a patented material called CarTech Micro-Melt BioDur CCMTM. It's a metal that starts as a powder and is then sintered into solid form. Its bigges...
Introducing: The Cartier Santos De Cartier In All Black
When Cartier relaunched the Santos collection in 2018, the immediate response was fantastic. Since then, Cartier has slowly rolled out updates in the form of new case and dial combinations and even the addition of a chronograph to the range. This year's big focus for Cartier is on the new Pasha collection, but they're not leaving the Santos-lovers among us hanging. Here we've got the most modern-looking Santos yet, a version of the time-and-date Santos in a sleek all-black colorway. The Santos we have here is the larger size, which means that, in addition to the case measuring in at 47.5mm (lug to lug) by 39.8mm (flank to crown), it also includes a date complicat...
The Grey NATO: Episode 108: The Isolation Tapes // Ft. Josh Perez
Subscribe to the show: (Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Play). Already heard it once or twice? Please leave a short review here, and tell us what topics you'd like us to chat about (or email [email protected]). Episode 108 is another installment of The Isolation Tapes and a continuation of "isolation socialization" with a special guest from the world of photography. The TGN boys are excited to feature Josh Perez, who talks to James from Denver, Colorado, in a topic-hopping chat keyed for the creatives (and hopeful creatives) in the audience. You may know Josh for his excellent Instagram, his work in the HODINKEE Magazine, or hi...
Happenings: Cartier Is Launching A Digital Platform For Its 2020 Watch Releases
With this year's major trade shows canceled and the schedule for releases in constant flux, some brands are taking extra initiative to let their customers and collectors know what's happening. A little extra effort and transparency go a long way, especially in this current situation. To those ends, Cartier will be launching a dedicated consumer-oriented platform called Cartier Watchmaking Encounters on Saturday, April 25. Here the brand will share its latest releases, provide context around their creation, and position the products within the broader cultural landscape. Cartier Watchmaking Encounters will contain a few separate sections, each dedicated to a parti...
Introducing: The Cartier Santos-Dumont XL
Last year, one of the biggest hits of what was the final edition of the SIHH was Cartier's Santos-Dumont, which grabbed lots of attention thanks to its refined casework and proportions, but also its value proposition. Available in a few different metal executions and two different sizes, Large and Small, it started at $3,650 for the Small steel version and opened up the possibility of owning a classic Cartier wristwatch to a whole new segment of watch buyers.?But tucked within the nearly universally lauded package was what some hardcore watch enthusiasts couldn't help but see as a compromise: a quartz movement. Last year's Santos-Dumonts were arguably not purely aimed at the fairly narrow fi...
Introducing: The Montblanc 1858 Monopusher Chronograph In Steel And A Bronze Limited Edition
Continuing to iterate within the Minerva-inspired 1858 line up, Montblanc has recently unveiled a new monopusher automatic chronograph that is available in both steel and a bronze limited edition. With warm new-vintage styling and an entirely enthusiast-spec complication, the 1858 Monopusher Chronograph is a nicely sized and sporty design that offers a cool complication at a less-than-common price point.? Initial Thoughts In either steel or bronze, the 1858 Monopusher Chronograph is 42mm wide and 14.7mm thick with a solid caseback, 100 meters water resistance, and an anti-reflective domed sapphire crystal...
Sometimes I write something pithy here C something that, in my mind, works as a joke, or a piece of commentary, or something to get you interested. Not today. Today, I don't need to come up with anything, because Seiko has just announced an update to their 62MAS-inspired Prospex SPB line of 200m dive watches. All four of the new models have 40.5mm-wide steel cases and a price point that is a fraction of that established by the truly lovely SLA017.? The original Seiko diver, the 6217-8001 aka. the 62MAS (left) and the new Prospex SPB143 (right). Initial Thoughts Allow me to offer some context in an atte...
Introducing: The Seiko Presage SPB161 And SPB163
Seiko is known for offering stellar craftsmanship at an exceedingly approachable price point. With the release of the Presage SPB161 and SPB163, touted the "Riki" Enamel collection, that tradition continues. Sporting enamel dials in both a stark white and rich blue, these two watches stand as a considerable value proposition and fantastic addition to the Presage line. Heavily inspired by renowned Japanese craftsmanship both in the enamel work and the minimalist design of the dial, it is hard to argue with what Seiko is bringing to the table with these new pieces. Initial Thoughts This certainly is not the...
Retailer Spotlight: TIVOL In Kansas City, MO, And Oster Jewelers In Denver, CO
A pattern has become very clear since this column was introduced some weeks ago: Retailers around the nation quietly do far more than simply move watches from manufacturer to consumer. Perhaps it's always been obvious that they're more than a conduit to get the watches in the hands of consumers, but it's these little stories of true passion that keep popping up in this column that amaze me.? At Tivol, the watchmaker on staff has fulfilled a lifelong dream of starting a high horology label, and Tivol supported the effort by offering him an avenue for sales. At Oster, a great podcast is coming to life, spotlighting fantastic characters in the industry. There's so m...
Introducing: The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding 34mm
Some watchmakers create huge fanfare when they release new watches, no matter how important or incremental. Audemars Piguet has become somewhat notorious over the last few years for quietly dropping releases, big and small, onto its website with no warning and no hoopla. Waking up today, I found that a totally new Royal Oak model had appeared in the collection: The first 34mm mechanical Royal Oak. Previously, the small size Royal Oak came in at 33mm and featured a quartz movement. That model, in a handful of variations, continues to be a part of the AP collection, but it's being joined by a slightly larger version packing a self-winding movement. There are four v...
Introducing: The Seiko 'Tuna' Models S23631 And S23629
Every other watch in Seiko's lineup has been treated to an aesthetic update for 2020, except one: the Tuna. It's remained visually very much like the Tuna of 2019, and that's OK, because the Tuna isn't about its looks anyway. The Tuna's core strength is its incredible technical prowess and genuine legacy as a trusty tool for saturation divers. You know, the kind of divers that go down and live in a compression chamber until their blood and tissue are saturated with inert gasses that allow them to work at depth and decompress only once. This isn't a watch for the we-took-a-vacay-to-the-Caribbean-so-we-went-diving crowd. Instead, it's engineered for the narrow slice of divers who do it for a l...
Introducing: The Vacheron Constantin La Musique du Temps Les Cabinotiers 'The Singing Birds'
For Watches & Wonders 2020, Vacheron Constantin's Les Cabinotiers workshop has introduced several new unique high complications. However, the workshop devotes its energy equally to the decorative crafts which historically have been so much a part of watchmaking in Geneva. The Les Cabinotiers "The Singing Birds" watches are a group of four watches with an avian theme C each depicts a different songbird. Depicted are a blue jay, blue tit, robin, and hummingbird. The images of the birds are decorated in champlev enamel, which is a type of grand feu or vitreous enamel technique, in which cells are carved or engraved into a metal surface. These cells are then filled with enamel. ...
Introducing: The Cartier Priv Collection Tank 'Asymtrique'
The new Cartier Tank Asymtrique is the fourth watch in the Cartier Priv collection. The Priv Collection, which originally ran from 1998 to 2008, was and is a showcase for classic historical Cartier designs. Since its 2015 relaunch, Cartier has presented new versions of the Crash, Tonneau, and Cintre watches, with each coming in both a standard and an openworked version. This year's Asymmtrique marks the return of a classic and, for collectors, much-loved and hard to find model. It was first launched by Cartier in 1936 and represented a quite radical departure from normal round case shapes, and for that matter, for rectangular watches as well. ...
Introducing: The Cartier Priv Collection Tank 'Asymtrique Skeleton'
The Cartier Priv Collection, which originally ran between 1998 and 2008, was a showcase for some of the most iconic models from Cartier's long history as a watchmaker and, just as importantly, one of the world's preeminent watch design houses as well. The Priv Collection this year has debuted a very exciting new version of that beloved cult-classic timepiece, the 1936 Tank Asymtrique. Along with the regular production limited editions, the company has also launched three skeletonized versions, using the in-house caliber 9623 MC. Each of the three models features the same version of the caliber, in which the vertical axis of th...
Friday and Saturday were chock full of news,?so we decided to move Bring A Loupe to Sunday this week. Make sure to check out all of the new watches introduced as part of Watches & Wonders 2020 by clicking here. Your favorite column is back and better than ever after a bit of a brief sabbatical. In the time off spent hunting and playing Animal Crossing, the market continued to change, but good stuff is still out there for the taking. Good stuff like an untouched Calatrava from Patek Philippe, another in similarly untouched condition from Longines, and a triple date moon phase by Gubelin in yellow gold. For the ladies, weve got a double-signed Tudor and, just ...
Introducing: The Cartier Pasha De Cartier In 41mm And 35mm
There is a persistent but unsubstantiated rumor that the Cartier Pasha was originally designed by Cartier for the Pasha of Marrakesh in 1933. The likelier story, which is a matter of public record and a well-documented part of Cartier's history, is that it first debuted in 1985 and was intended to fill a perceived gap in Cartier's watch lineup, which lacked a more overtly impactful sports-luxury watch C something that could compete for the same audience as the Royal Oak and the Nautilus.? The original Cartier Pasha, 1985. Since its launch, the Pasha has had a quite wide variety of incarnations (well-known Cartier expert George...