Best Super NEWS Watches
Business News: Baselworld Postponed Until January 2021
Baselworld, Switzerlands oldest and largest watch show, which has been held every year since 1917, will not be held this year. The show has been postponed until January 2021 because of coronavirus epidemic, show organizers announced today.? The show was scheduled to be held from April 30 through May 5. It will now be held from January 28 to February 2, 2021. The decision comes in the wake of an announcement today by Swiss federal and cantonal authorities banning all large-scale public and private events in the country due to the coronavirus crisis. The ban is in effect until March 15, but subject to renewal. ...
Sunday Rewind: A Unique Leap Year Patek Philippe
In honor of March arriving a day late this year, we thought it would be a good time to take a look back at an old post that offers a glimpse at a special leap year-focused Patek Philippe (along with a steel Lange One and a platinum Nautilus, naturally). While many perpetual calendars offer a four-year indication to track the leap year cycle, this Patek does it in a somewhat more distinct fashion.? Originally posted by Ben in April of 2013, this is the only known example of a white gold Patek Philippe 3448 Perpetual Calendar with a leap year indication on the dial. The 3448 was Patek's first self-winding perpetual calendar, and th...
Photo Report: Celebrating The Perpetual Calendar On Leap Day In NYC!
A leap day, an occasion that only happens once every four years, is indeed worthy of celebration. But it's even more important to the horologically-minded because of a nifty innovation that Thomas Mudge brought forth, in 1762: the perpetual calendar. Mudge's invention marked the first known appearance of the complication in a pocket watch, but it was Patek Philippe who produced the first wristwatch featuring the mother of all complications. It might just be the most relevant complication, as it will remain accurate for the next 1.6 billion years.? On Saturday we paid our respect to the perpetual calendar by imbibing and checking out the wares on each other's wris...
Business News: Watch Brands Join Forces For Geneva Watch Days
Following last week's cancellation of Watches & Wonders Geneva and the postponement of Baselworld until 2021 because of the coronavirus outbreak, a number of high-end Swiss watch brands announced today that they will show their watches in Geneva from April 26 to 29. The participating brands include a range of marques that have traditionally presented at SIHH and at Baselworld. They will be joined by Breitling, which had planned to go its own way with its Breitling Summit and subsequent local roadshows in 2020, as well as by Grald Genta, a name that was fully absorbed into Bulgari watchmaking in 2010. Bulgari had formally withdrawn from Baselworld on February 11, ahead of the show's post...
Hands-On: The Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique 5367
It's an interesting time to be a tourbillon. Abraham-Louis Breguet's invention has, since the mechanical watch renaissance really started to take off in the late 1990s, become a reflection of the state of fine watchmaking as a whole. It's been a vehicle for some of the most maximalist, as well as some of the most minimalist, watchmaking. We have had everything from an arms race to produce the world's flattest (a record currently held by Bulgari, which is certainly as unlikely a contender for the title as it is a deserving one) to such eye-popping works of horological extremism as the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gyrotourbillon (seen recently strolling the boulevards with Westminster chimes on one arm an...
As Grand Seiko continues to expand into the higher price ranges of high-end watchmaking, it also continues to set itself new challenges, including exploring ways to distinguish itself from the very stiff competition from more established (if not necessarily qualitatively superior) luxury watch brands. Certainly no one can fault Grand Seiko on general quality of craftsmanship in its movements and dials. The latest Spring Drive watches in the Grand Seiko Elegance Collection, for instance, are essentially Credor Eichi-quality movements in Grand Seiko designs, and I intend that as high praise; and, of course, in Spring Drive, Grand Seiko and Credor as well, both have unique timekeeping technolog...
Spring Drive technology from Seiko has had a long and sometimes arduous history. The technical story begins in the late 1970s, when Yoshikazu Akahane came up with the original idea, and by the time the first Spring Drive was released in 1999, the development effort had produced over 200 patents and many hundreds of prototypes. The first automatic Spring Drive movements came out in 2005 and since then, Spring Drive has appeared in everything from chronographs, to dive watches, to extremely elevated chiming complications. It has also appeared very much dressed for the ball, in Credor and more recently, Grand Seiko watches. For sheer diversity of expression, it is equaled by few other movements...
Happenings: The Horological Society Of New York To Hold Weekend Classes In Toronto
The Horological Society of New York's award-winning classes are on the road again! HSNY is traveling to Toronto, Canada, over the weekend of April 4. The classes will be held at the Jackman Humanities Institute at the University of Toronto with hosts Moe Jaber and Ashton Tracy.? At HSNY's Horological Education classes, students discover what actually makes a watch tick under the guidance of the 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. ...
Business News: So ... Now What?
Last week's cancellation of Switzerland's two major watch shows trained a spotlight on the impact of the growing coronavirus epidemic on Switzerland's watch industry.? That impact is profound. Friday's cancellation of the Baselworld watch and jewelry exhibition for the first time in the show's 103-year history made it clear that the industry is in an unprecedented place. ? Events are moving fast and are very fluid. As of early March, there are more questions than answers as to how the watch industry will respond to the pending pandemic and what its ultimate impact on the industry will be.? What's clear is ...
Grand Seiko watches were first introduced in 1960, and in the 60 years since then, Grand Seiko watches have been flagship timepieces in more ways than one. They are, famously, extremely beautifully made, and represent not just an expression of Grand Seiko's core philosophy of excellence, but also of a broader, very Japanese approach to watchmaking, in which devotion to perfection in basic details is taken to anything but a basic level. Grand Seiko today means a very wide expression of different forms of watchmaking, including everything from unabashedly high-end expressions of the highest level of craft in movement finishing, diver's watches, a variety of Spring ...
Introducing: A Trilogy Of Seiko 55th Anniversary Dive Watches
Seiko's association with the underwater world goes way back to 1965, when Seiko introduced the first dive watch to Japan. Today, Seiko has released three models that trace the trajectory and evolution of Seiko's dive watch line. Each model tips the proverbial hat to a model that changed the game when it was released over the course of the last 55 years. The reputation of Seiko today is much the same as it's always been: The brand is known for value-oriented watches that simply get the job done. No frills. No egregious marketing campaigns. Nothing too fancy C just dive watches that do what they need to do, every single time. But these watches do include a visual f...
The Vivid and Easy-Wearing New 34 and 38mm Omega Aqua Terras
In continuing to take a closer look at what Omega launched last week in Miami, I'm happy to say that it's not just impressively overengineered dive watches and gold Speedmasters (not that I'm complaining). Omega also launched two new ranges into the Aqua Terra family that offer a somewhat simplified take on the brand's generalist sports watch while leveraging a wide range of newly colorful dials for a distinctive appeal. As Logan did a lovely job introducing these new models last week, I can only hope to add some, well, color. In total, we're looking at 10 new SKUs, with five colorways for both the 34 and 38mm sizing. To make things a bit easier, here are the col...
The Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400 Reaches New Heights
Meet the new Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400. It's made of titanium and comes with a grey, blue, or salmon dial. Inside is the Oris Calibre 400. When the in-house Oris caliber 400 was introduced in June of 2021, it set a new standard for Oris, and on a larger scale, the industry. It was made clear that it was meant to be both accessible and reliable. With a 120-hour power reserve, anti-magnetic properties, and 10-year service intervals, it quickly raised the bar for affordable in-house calibers. It debuted in the Aquis, a perfect match for the no-frills, old faithful ideology of the new movement. ...
The New Cartier Tank Might Be The Coolest Yet
Your eyes may deceive you. This one merits a second look. Maybe even a third.? Cartier is following up on last year's festival of the Tanks watches (both Must and Solar) and upping the ante with a brand new collection of Tank Louis Cartier pieces in red and anthracite grey dial variations. While these pieces maintain the general classic silhouette of the Tank LC's of old, they represent the brand veering into more technologically savvy methods of dial design. Unlike the monochromatic look of the Must de Cartier collection, and the faithful styling of the Tank SolarBeat, these new watches feature nearly hidden dial flourishes by way of...
Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Collection
To date, the highest profile watches to feature Grand Seiko's Series 9 design have been the popular White Birch models, known for their deeply textured dials. The first of these, a high-beat version, came out in 2021, and the second is a Spring Drive variation that launched earlier this year. Together, along with a handful of other releases, these watches form what Grand Seiko calls the Evolution 9 Collection. Key attributes of Evolution 9 include markers and hands with additional facets, to better reflect light; and wider lugs and more robust bracelets at least half as wide as the case they're married to. A lower center of gravity provides a more stable wrist presence. ...
The New H. Moser Endeavour Centre Seconds Has An Awesome Green Dial
St. Patrick's Day was last week, but H. Moser & Cie. is teeing up the green quite nicely for next week's Watches & Wonders fair. The Schaffhausen-based company will exhibit as part of the fair's Carr des Horlogers hall, which provides a home in Geneva for all sorts of smaller-scale high-end, independent makers. Its presence there does come with a few privileges, including,?it appears,?the capacity to front-run the big dogs of the show (aka, Rolex, Patek Philippe, TAG Heuer, Chopard, etc.) and release brand-new product days before the entire watch world descends on Geneva's Palexpo convention center. That's how this lovel...
TAG Heuer And Porsche team up for the Carrera x Porsche Limited Edition
I wouldn't blame anyone if they thought Porsche and TAG Heuer had been partners since the early days of motorsport, when Heuer dash timers were found in Porsche models like the 356 and early 911 models. Browse through photographs of historic racing and you'll see Heuer and TAG Heuer logos on cars, tracks, uniforms and most importantly, you'll find the watches on the wrists of drivers. When it comes to automotive watch tie-ups TAG Heuer has been present since the beginning, and Porsche has been dominating every form of motorsport they've ever competed in. Both brands are omnipresent in the world of auto racing, so it only made sense that they come together. ...
The Breitling Navitmer Family Just Got 13 New Members
Among the enthusiast community, the exact date is up for debate C but according to Breitling, 2022 marks the 70th anniversary of the Navitimer. And the brand is celebrating with not a single re-edition, but an entire range of Navitimers coming in 46mm, 43mm, 41mm, in stainless steel, and red gold. And if the range of sizes doesn't offer enough variety, then consider that there are 13 different dials to choose from. The Navitimer is one of Breitling's most celebrated designs. Willy Breitling dreamed up the watch in the early '50s to directly aid pilots in the cockpit. He called it the Navigation Timer, or "Navtimer." The watch fea...
Bulgari launches the Octo Finissimo Ultra, the world's thinnest mechanical watch
It's hard to believe that the Bulgari Octo Finissimo collection has only been around since 2014 C that's just eight years and yet the collection has become, in less than a decade, the cornerstone of fine watchmaking at Bulgari and as strongly identified with the brand as the Royal Oak is with Audemars Piguet, or the Nautilus with Patek Philippe (or the Speedmaster with Omega, or the Submariner with Rolex, as far as that goes). In those eight years, the company has focused the Finissimo collection on breaking and setting records in ultra-thin watchmaking. Seven records for ultra-thin watches were set over an eight-year period, starting in 2014, during which Bulgar...
A Hands-On Review Of The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Titanium
I'll admit my bias up front: I have a serious soft spot for Blancpain. I don't think enough people give the company the credit it deserves for the role it played in the late 1980s revival of the mechanical watch industry. I recently backed up that belief by purchasing an early-2000s Leman Ultra-Slim, from HODINKEE Pre-Owned. Four months later, I'm still absolutely smitten with my new-to-me watch, but I'll admit that I never expected a Leman to be the first Blancpain to make its way into my collection. I assumed it would be a Fifty Fathoms dive watch, because C like many collectors today C that's the product I most associate with Blancpain. ...