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Best Super NEWS Watches
Auctions: Patek Philippe Caliber 89 Fails To Sell (Again)
For more than 25 years, the Patek Philippe Caliber 89 was known as the most complicated watch in the world (that title now belongs to the Vacheron Constantin ref. 57260), and it is still the most complicated Patek Philippe ever made. It measures 88.2mm in diameter, weights around 2.4 lbs, and features 33 complications. Only four were made, one each in yellow gold, pink gold, white gold, and in platinum, and at the moment, the yellow gold version is having a very hard time finding a new home. We went hands-on with this momentous watch when the owner decided to consign the watch through Christies last year. The watch failed to me...
Hands-On: The Richard Mille RM 032 Diver Flyback Chronograph
Time is the greatest luxury, as the saying goes, and perhaps nowhere is that more true than underwater. The moment you descend from the surface, the clock starts ticking. Stay too long at depth and you risk a crippling case of the bends. Misjudge your air consumption rate and you risk running out of air. Every minute is precious when youre on borrowed time. So it seemed only fitting to try out one of the most luxurious of diving timepiecesthe Richard Mille RM 032 underwater. And there is possibly no better place to dive with it than St. Barthlemy. St. Barthlemy is a pretty perfect place to dive. Dive watches are blunt i...
Well, this is a strange one, folks. Earlier today, as part of Christie's "A Rolex Afternoon" sale in Geneva, this extremely rare white gold Submariner sold for $628,572 (631,500 CHF), making it the most expensive Submariner ever sold publicly. Sure, it's rare, but it barely even looks like a Submariner, provoking some very worthwhile questions about the state of Rolex collecting today. The watch we have here generated tons of interest ahead of today's sale. It is a prototype white gold Submariner from the early 1970s and only three examples are known to exist (two with blue dials, one with a black dial). This watch doesn't even have a serial number, though it's k...
A Week On The Wrist: The Breitling Superocean Hritage II
The 1950s were a watershed decade for dive watches, if you'll forgive the pun. Within a few years of each other, three different companies released three of the most enduring classics of the modern dive watch idiom: the Rolex Submariner, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, and the Omega Seamaster 300. All had certain essential features in common C excellent visibility, rotating timing bezels, good water resistance C and each has gone on to become an icon for the company that made it. In 1957, another classic of the era debuted: the Breitling Superocean, which was released in both chronograph and non-chronograph versions. The Breitling Superocean Hritage II ha...
This week, we offer you a selection comprised almost exclusively of chronographs. The models featured today are not the usual suspects from renowned brands such as Heuer or Breitling, although the Heuer Carrera 7753 and the Breitling 765 CP we've found share a lot with their most coveted siblings. We also included an interesting Nivada Grenchen Datomaster that is currently listed on Ebay and a smart triple-calendar Movado in stunning condition. Breitling 765 CP, As Worn By Jean-Claude Killy For vintage enthusiasts, the name of Jean-Claude Killy is mostly associated with the Rolex Datocompax that he famous...
Ochs und Junior is unlike any other watch brand. The pared-down aesthetic and mechanical discipline almost border on austerity, but combined with a sense of levity and creativity they make the brand one of my personal favorites. Today, Ochs und Junior is launching a major update to its much-loved customizer tool (which we first covered here) that brings a new watch and a number of new features to the party. The customizer offers tons of options for nearly every component on the watch. The most notable update is that the Perpetual Calendar, first released last summer, is now available on the customizer. Prior to today, if you w...
Auctions: Three Audemars Piguet Watches That Stole The Show In Geneva
This week's auctions brought plenty of big results, many of them pretty predictable. The Rolex ref. 6062 "Bao Dai" sold for over $5 million, Haile Selassie's Patek Philippe ref. 2497 sold for $2.9 million, and even this weird Submariner set a world record. But there were some surprises too, especially on Audemars Piguet's side. Royal Oaks continued to do well (again, not that shocking), but pre-1972 AP did so much better than the usual suspects. Here are three lots that blew us, and the bidders, away. Phillips Lot 198 C Ref. 5504 Triple Calendar One of nine Audemars Piguet ref. 5504. One watch we alway...
Hands-On: The Jacob & Co. Astronomia Sky
The Astronomia family of tourbillons are Jacob & Co's own unique take on creating an astronomical complication. Typically, they're not intended to be highly accurate representations of actual astronomical cycles (the most sophisticated example of a watch that does that is, right now, probably Vacheron Constantin's Celestia). Rather, they're a kind of kinetic sculpture for the wrist, being based around a four-armed carrier system that supports a variety of additional displays or representations of heavenly objects. The Astronomia watches also feature very thick cases with high-domed crystals, which emphasizes the three-dimensi...
Dispatches: A Very Special Autavia Goes Back To Where It Was Born 55 Years Ago
You most probably remember the first execution Autavia ref. 2446 that sold for over $200,000 in late January 2017. It not only set a public record for such a watch, but also (and more importantly) is the best example of this reference ever seen, according to many of the biggest Heuer collectors on the planet. Just a quick glance at the dial makes this obvious, with the lume being perfectly patinated and the white sub-registers free of any imperfections.? Is there such thing as a perfect vintage condition? Maybe. While we covered its initial high-profile sale, we also made sure to follow the watch, eventually connecting with it...
In-Depth: Seven Takeaways From Geneva Auction Week
Records. A lot of them were broken last week. New records were established for beloved brands and well-known models, and every time the words most expensive were pronounced, they were met by loud cheers from hundreds of enthusiasts who had made the trip to Geneva to be able to say I was there when the gavel was swung. Yes, records were also broken in terms of attendance (or so it felt) as spectators arrived in great numbers just to see key lots go under the hammer.While the modern watch industry nurses a bloody nose, the auction world appears to be in great shape (there are signs of weakness in places though). This past week has been particularly interesting and exciting to follow, and n...
Watch Spotting: Founder Michel Parmigiani Wearing The First Parmigiani Fleurier Watch
In 1996, the watch world was a very, very different place than it is now. Though there were already signs that things were going to start evolving very quickly, many of the major players then had been unchallenged for many years. However, there were signs of a disruption to come C just two years before, in October of 1994, a little start-up called A. Lange & Sohne had shown its first collection, and by 1992, a once-nearly-dead firm called Ulysse Nardin had delivered the third watch in its groundbreaking collection of astronomical complications known as the Trilogy of Time. Vintage watch collecting was still very much a quirky, niche hobby, and, in America, the watch internet barely exist...
Dispatches: Run Silent, Run Deep C Diving With The Sinn U1 Professional
For a century, there have been tales, both authentic and apocryphal, of German submarines in Americas Great Lakes. After World War I, the surrendered 185-foot long UC-97 was brought to Lake Michigan, and sunk as target practice by the USS Wilmette in 1921. The U-boat now rests in very deep water, 13 miles offshore from Chicago. A more questionable tale revolves around the experimental UX-791 which supposedly sank in Lake Ontario during World War IIs Battle of the St. Lawrence. But definitive proof has yet to be put forth and it remains a myth. Regardless, I still found it somehow fitting to dive a shipwreck with some World War II history in Lake Michigan this month wearing a watch made fro...
Welcome to episode five of Friday Live. This week, HODINKEE founder Ben Clymer joins editor-in-chief Jack Forster to look back at last weekend's auction results. They'll also be joined on the phone by someone who may just have the inside scoop on exactly how things went down in Geneva. As always, we'll look at what's on the wrists of our hosts C and also take live questions from the audience (so please leave your questions in the comments section below). Enjoy!...
One of the most commonly used words on social media, forums, and in comments sections about stories of big watches selling for big prices is "bubble." It's easy to believe that say, a Rolex selling for $5 million is a sign of a bubble because it is new territory for the category. It very well might be a bubble C who knows C but then again, more people are interested in collectible watches than ever before, so maybe it's just the beginning? The top lot in the Christie's Rare Watches sale brought 2.9 million CHF. Let's compare two auctions, both held by leading international house Christie's within 36 hours of each other. Its Ra...
Introducing: The H. Moser Swiss Alp Watch Zzzz
I'll just go ahead and say it: This is my favorite iteration of the Swiss Alp Watch yet. I'm a big fan of H. Moser and really enjoy the brand's mix of minimalist styling and serious watchmaking, but I've never really loved this play on a certain Cupertino-born creation. But this one I'm into. The new Swiss Alp Watch Zzzz (forgive the name) has an all-black dial that actually makes it look shockingly similar to its smartwatch inspiration. The Zzzz has a white gold case in that familiar soft-rectangle shape and with those familiar wire lugs that give the Swiss Alp Watch its character. But, below the curved crystal sits a deep gloss...
Weekend Report: The Desiring-Machines Of Server Demirtas, At The MB&F MAD Gallery Geneva
In robotics, "uncanny valley" refers to a situation in which a robot intended to mimic a human is just obviously artificial enough to be clearly a robot, eliciting feelings of both fascination and revulsion. Basically it's another way of saying, humanoid robots can seem mighty weird. (It's not just an aspect of robotics; people who design CGI movie and game characters struggle with the problem as well.) At the MB&F MAD Gallery in Geneva C a place where Max Bsser, the founder of MB&F, curates a collection of out-there design objects and sculptures that fit his notions of what's both unusual and fascinating C there is a collection of automatons that in several cases, really take uncan...
Dispatches: The 2017 Copperstate 1000 Vintage Car Rally (VIDEO)
Each of the last 27 years, vintage car enthusiasts have convened in the American Southwest for a truly remarkable event C the Copperstate 1000 rally. This year, over the course of four days in early April, 82 drivers, co-drivers, and their prized automobiles took to the roads of Arizona, from Tempe north to Flagstaff, then north to Page, back south to Sedona, north again to the Grand Canyon, west to the small town of Bagdad, and finally back south to Scottsdale. Through desert and pine forest, and along snowy mountain ranges and canyons, the 2017 course offered up drastic changes in climate and plenty of breathtaking scenery. Imagine a 1957 Corvette Roadster chasing a 1967 Ferrari 300 GTS al...
Later this week, HODINKEE's Ben Clymer and Frank Roda will be taking to the Windy City to celebrate Tudors 2017 Baselworld novelties with Swiss Fine Timing. The HODINKEE team doesn't get to Chicago often, so wed love to have you join us for an evening of watch talk.In case you missed our earlier coverage, Tudor's 2017 releases include the Black Bay Steel; the Black Bay Chronograph Ref. 79350; the Black Bay 41; and the Black Bay Steel and Gold.The event will take place this Wednesday, May 24th, from 6-9 PM in downtown Chicago. There are a few spots remaining for the event, so if you are in town and would like to join, shoot us a note at [email protected] and we will send over the detai...
Breaking News: Former James Bond Sir Roger Moore Has Died At Age 89
Earlier today, beloved British actor Sir Roger Moore died at the age of 89. Moore was best-known for his role as James Bond and made his debut as the suave secret agent in Live and Let Die in 1973. And, obviously, he has a special little place in horological history as well. Born in London in 1927, Moore served in the British military during World War II, later spending time in West Germany as a second lieutenant and later a captain. After his service, he went on to become a model in the early 1950s and eventually made his way into acting through television, where he made a name for himself in the 1958 series Ivanhoe. Worldwide fame came later, with?The Saint (19...
The Value Proposition: The Junghans Form A
For a lot of watch guys, their first "nice watch" is a Junghans Max Bill, a no-frills timepiece from the famous Bauhaus designer. Just ask?the New Yorker's Gary Shteyngart. From there, many move on, sometimes forgetting why they loved that Junghans in the first place. I'm here to tell you that whether you're a die-hard collector who's currently deep into minute repeaters, a novice who barely knows what an automatic watch even is, or anyone in between, German watchmaker Junghans is creating pared-down watches worthy of your attention. The Form A is a totally new watch built on the same ideas as the Max Bill watches. When I stop...