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Best Super NEWS Watches
What's the deal with the Seamaster from No Time To Die?
This weekend we're celebrating the world and watches of James Bond with some of our favorite HODINKEE stories from the past few years. This is one. I won't give anything away, but like every Bond movie, Bond's watch plays a significant role in No Time To Die. It plays a significant role in the collector world, too, and this new Seamaster from No Time To Die boasts some seriously distinctive design elements that have never been on a Seamaster before. Also, it's rendered in titanium, something we haven't seen for a long time when it comes to the Seamaster Professional 300M, originally an icon of the '90s. ...
The Friday Rewind All About James Bond's Watches
This weekend we're celebrating the world and watches of James Bond with some of our favorite HODINKEE stories from the past few years. This is one. Remember Friday Live? I certainly do and with a particular fondness. Those were the days before I joined HODINKEE and I enjoyed hearing the weekly gossip from Cara and Stephen. In this particular episode, they go somewhere I would have never expected them to. They weigh in on the watches of James Bond. And my two favorite former coworkers have some fascinating insight on the subject. Click here to watch Friday Live,?Episode 6: Cara And Stephen Rank T...
New Quartz Grand Seikos With Blue And White Dials
Grand Seiko is one of the few high-end watchmakers producing high-quality quartz watches in 2021. It's part of a legacy that we can trace back to Grand Seiko's founding as part of Seiko, a company that produced the world's very first quartz watch, in 1969. To this day, having a variety of movement types is a calling card of Grand Seiko. Alongside mechanical movements running at two different frequencies, GS has innovated with the wholly unique Spring Drive movement and continues to make high-end quartz movements for watches of pretty much all sizes and types. This is contrasted with the majority of high-end Swiss firms (with the notable exception of Longines) tha...
Why I Love the James Bond Seamaster from Goldeneye
In Watch of the Week, we invite HODINKEE staffers and friends to explain why they love a certain piece. This week's columnist is our very own Cole Pennington.? Goldeneye, released in 1995, was the first James Bond film where Pierce Brosnan sported an Omega Seamaster 300m Professional. Even at nine or 10 years old, I noticed the watch and thought it was cool. Older viewers would've known it represented a change. In the previous Bond film, 1989's License To Kill, Timothy Dalton wore Rolex. So did Sean Connery, back in his day. So did the literary Bond, in Ian Fleming's novels. I didn't know any of...
Hodinkee Radio Buried With Your Watch
We're back after a short break, with Jack, Nora, and Jon joining a jet-lagged James as they dig into the latest announcements from Seiko's CEO, a morbidly interesting question pulled from a recent Hey HODINKEE episode, a faithful new limited edition from IWC, and the many contentious elements of watch collecting as recently highlighted in a lovely piece by Gary Shteyngart.? Whether you're a grave robber or an impulsive collector just waiting for the next hit when the status says "out for delivery," there's a little something for everyone in what turned out to be a rather silly episode. We hope you love it C thanks for listening!? ...
To view the entire current selection of vintage watches available in the HODINKEE Shop, click here.?Questions? Send us a note, or let us know in the comments. Want to sell your vintage watch through the HODINKEE Shop? Click here. Want to sell your pre-owned watch through Crown & Caliber? Click here. This Week's Vintage Watches As of yesterday, you will find hundreds of pre-owned watches for sale on HODINKEE. That is a lot of watches to go through, we know that. What an excellent problem to have, too many watches to shop for on HODINKEE! With the added competition for your attention, the vintage team knew that we had to bring the h...
To celebrate the bounty of luxury watches now available via HODINKEE Pre-Owned, we grabbed our camera, shot nine of our all-time favorite pieces, and cropped them to fit as smartphone backgrounds. It's the fastest way to collect nine classic watches without spending a dime. In order to use these photos, just save the images to your camera roll and add one as your wallpaper.?Check 'em all out below, and make sure to take a screenshot and tag us (@hodinkee) on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. Cartier Tank Solo XL Tudor Heritage Black Bay Fifty-Eight ...
HODINKEE's Jack Forster Answers Hey, HODINKEE Question: What Makes A Great Movement?
One of the things I like about doing Hey, HODINKEE! is that we're forced to give answers that strip things down to essentials. For a guy like me, whose tendency to get lost in digressions has been noted by more than one editor, it's great practice and good discipline. Sometimes, though, a question comes along that needs a longer answer than we have time for in the show, and rather than just leave them on the cutting room floor, I'd like to take a shot at answering a few in writing. One of the questions that we couldn't really address on-camera recently was this gem: "In watch circles, I often hear someone remark 'Oh, that...
In February of this year, I announced that we'd gone ahead and brought the amazing Crown & Caliber business into our own. Since then, we've been hard at work learning about what makes C&C the absolute best place to buy a pre-owned watch in the world C and man, we've learned a ton. The first time I visited Crown & Caliber's workshops, I remember thinking "If people could only see all that we do here C no one would ever buy a pre-owned watch anywhere else." When Toby, our CEO, visited shortly thereafter, he said the exact same thing. The thoroughness, care, and attention to detail is something to truly...
A cheap dive watch that doesn't quit - The Vostok Amphibia
Until about a month ago, I had never owned a Vostok. As a doe-eyed appreciator of many of the watch worlds more cheap and cheerful niches, Id held off on this particular wallet-friendly brand in favor of brands more familiar. One of a handful of legacy watchmakers born in Russia and cauterized within the Soviet state, Vostok started making watches in 1942 and by the late 60s, the brand was in need of a dive watch. Vostok (the Russian of which is Boctok and translates to East) worked with designers Mikhail Novikov and Vera Belov in 1967 with the goal of making a dive watch that could match the diving abilities of examples m...
Of Breitlings entire catalog, including their amazing vintage chronographs, my favorite model from the brand is the Aerospace. Born in the 80s, the Aerospace was part of Breitlings Navitimer line and it represented both the eras boldness and its defining need for technology. Originally launched in 1985, the Aerospace was a truly post-modern take on the idea of a pilots watch, and one that wholeheartedly embraced the watch worlds new overlord C?quartz. Over the last 35+ years, Breitling has evolved the Aerospace several times, growing its case size and increasing its capability, usefulness, and accuracy. ...
Patek Philippe Launches New For 2021 versions of its most complicated chronographs
The last few years have been kind of funny ones for Patek Philippe. The company's enjoyed unprecedented growth but at the same time, it's achieved some notoriety over its steel sports watches, rather than for complications in precious metals, and simple, precious metal dress watches which were, for many decades, its main stock in trade. Today's release from Patek is a reassertion of Patek's leadership in complicated watchmaking, and also an attempt to position its complicated watches not just as museum pieces (or at least, potential museum pieces) but as exercises in contemporary luxury watch design, as well.? First up, we have a new version of the 5204R, which i...
Talking Watches with MB&F founder Max Bsser
I have been a fan of John Le Carr for many decades (I still have my mother's heavily annotated, in her own hand, in green fountain pen ink, first edition of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy). One of my favorites is The Secret Pilgrim, which is a series of vignettes from the life mostly covert, of one George Smiley, OBE, one-time member and occasional reluctant chief of MI6. The book is the inside story of the sordid world of Cold War, and post-Cold War, intelligence but it's a reveal of a world quite difficult, if not impossible, for outsiders to unravel. In modern fine watchmaking, we have something of a similar problem. The Brands, bless 'em, would sometimes prefe...
New Ice Divers from Seiko: The SPB261, SPB263, and SPB265
Earlier this month when Seiko President Akio Naito somewhat radically stated that the brand needs to get back to its roots, I completely understood where he was coming from, I just didn't think it would happen so soon. Today, Seiko released three new Prospex "Ice Diver" models, their line of durable watches for divers in icy conditions. According to Seiko, the dials are inspired by the "hues and texture when light reflects off the majestic glacial ice formations." Cut through the abstract marketing copy and you have one of Seiko's best releases in recent history. But I have some bad news C it's another US exclusive, just like the turtle-inspired turtles. ...
The Horological Society of NY Offering Weekend Classes in Toronto and LA
The?Horological Society of New York's?award-winning classes are on the road again! HSNY is returning to Toronto over the weekend of November 6 & 7, 2021, with hosts IWC Schaffhausen and Moe Jaber. Next, HSNY will visit Los Angeles on November 19 & 20, with hosts F.P. Journe. 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...
To Be Precise looks at the history of high frequency watchmaking at Longines
Welcome to To Be Precise, a new column in which HODINKEE editors will explore the means by which accuracy and precision are pursued in watchmaking. Today, Jack Forster looks at the history of high frequency movements at Longines. Above, Longines Ultra-Chron, high beat 36,000vph caliber 431, 1972. High precision is something we take somewhat for granted these days. We've more or less gotten used to the idea that a mechanical watch C even a fairly inexpensive one C will deliver the kind of accuracy and precision that not all that long ago would have required considerable time and effort with? individual movements and individual watches. High precision in portable t...
Hommage II from Laurent Farrier and Phillips
Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo has recently announced their latest collaboration with Laurent Ferrier C the Hommage II. The result of more than two years of work, the Hommage II is a follow-up from the Hommage I, a 12-piece limited edition that was previously made for a select group of Phillips employees. Extremely limited and created in two different dial versions, the Hommage II is, well, an homage to the classic step case designs of the 1940s.? Measuring 40mm wide with a steel case set with a flat brushed bezel, the Hommage II does a great job of capturing the essence and elegance of '40s sport watches. In total...
What's The Most Undervalued Omega Chronogrpah?
If we were playing some kind of (nerdy) horological word-association game, and I said Omega chronograph, no doubt you would shout in (nerdy) excitement, "Speedmaster!" And we would absolutely win that round of the fictional (nerdy) game. But, of course that isn't the only chrono from the brand that brought us the Moonwatch. In fact, there's one collection from Omega's past that has appeared on and off since the 1960s. It's called the Dynamic, and today we'll be examining a short-lived chronograph variation from the late 1990s C the reference 5240.50.00. We're toeing the line between neo-vintage and vintage, and looking at perhaps the most underrated and undervalued Omega chronograph C well C...
What Watch Did Daniel Craig Wear In 'No Time To Die'?
When Ian Fleming first wrote Casino Royale at his desk at Goldeneye in sunny Jamaica, there's no way he could have anticipated just what he was creating. I mean, who would ever dream that a spy-thriller novel that took all of one month to hammer out would morph into a culture-changing, universe-altering empire? Today, the name James Bond brings to mind images of tuxedos, martinis, Aston Martins, and handsome men making corny jokes in British accents. The franchise has since illustrated the significance of intellectual property in the movie business C and the lasting power of a cinematic universe. But let's not forget about the watches. Sean Connery, Roger Moore, ...
A Look At The New Limited Edition Bremont Watches
Todays is a tale of two stories. The first came as day broke Eastern time, with news of the British companys ENG300automatic, a milestone manufacturing story for the brand that we explored in detail (long-read klaxon) here.Hot on the heels of that story is news of the first watch to carry ENG300, Bremonts Longitude, a 300-piece limited-edition and the latest in a long line of annual drops by Britains largest watch company of watches that entomb historic artifacts. In years past, objects such as the Enigma wartime coding machine, HMS Victory, and the Wright Flyer have surrendered fragments to Bremont limited-editions; the latest yield is a section of the brass...