Best Super NEWS Watches
A New Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked For The Royal Oak's 50th Anniversary.
As part of the inaugural onslaught of Royal Oak novelties to start the model's 50th anniversary year, we're seeing the very first instance of the Royal Oak Flying Tourbillon in an openworked configuration. The first Royal Oak with a flying tourbillon, for those keeping track at home, was released in 2020 (it was also updated today C?read Jon's coverage here). What we have here, then, is the maiden Royal Oak iteration that combines the complicated design with a fully skeletonized dial display, ditching the Tapisserie dial decoration we all know and love. AP doesn't say ta-ta to Tapisserie for just anyt...
8 Little Known True Stories About The Origin Of The Royal Oak
It was 50 years ago C or it will be, come April 15th C that the Royal Oak debuted at Baselworld. Since then, the watch has accrued myths, legends, and tales around its origin worthy of any Golden Age comic book hero. And like a long-running comic book character, it has become increasingly difficult to separate what's canon (as the fans say) from what's not. In celebration of the Royal Oak's 50th anniversary, the heritage team at Audemars Piguet did something unprecedented. They took the deepest of possible dives into the documented history of the origin of the Royal Oak, relying not just on word-of-mouth legends and apocryphal stories, but rather on records, inte...
The New For 2022 Royal Oak Openworked Jumbo
Saying that Audemars Piguet is known for openworking is kind of like saying that Eric Ripert is known for cooking C it's true but does nothing to capture the excitement and artistry of the respective crafts. It's baked into the company's history and identity way back before the Royal Oak was ever introduced C to the point that when the Royal Oak did launch, 1n 1972, the basis for a lot of the early skepticism was that AP was known for ultra-thin, complicated, and openworked watches C what on earth was it doing turning out a chunky monkey in steel like the Royal Oak? Openworked Jumbo Royal Oak, 2014 As it turns out, AP can hand...
Kurono, OMEGA, Blancpain, Habring2, And More
Our pre-owned procurement specialists put together a unique batch of watches this week in HODINKEE Pre-Owned. We have a trio of highly limited pieces from OMEGA, Habring2, and Kurono that are well worth the hype, as well as three under-the-radar picks from Jaeger-LeCoultre, Blancpain, and A. Lange & Sohne that are a superlative representation of the timeless appeal of classical watchmaking. Whichever side of the equation you fall under C hype vs. classical, limited vs. serial production C?there will always be something for everyone over in HODINKEE Pre-Owned; pick from?hundreds of watches online right now, with more arriving every day.? Habring2 Erwin 'Sc...
Hublot's Yellow Gold 42mm Classic Fusion Is A Hit
If there's one thing I've learned in my short time covering the (truly) strange world of watches, it's to allow myself to be surprised C to not assume my tastes are so ingrained that there's no way to let another kind of watch in. I'm a very "steel sport watch on steel bracelet" guy, I always have been C and I likely always will be. But that doesn't mean that the occasional not-to-my-taste watch doesn't catch my eye. I'll be the first to admit that it usually comes in the form of something gold C and for me, the hue of choice is yellow. I stepped into my product preview meetings for LVMH Watch Week with Hublot, where brand representatives were waiting, with a smo...
Robin Swithinbank Interviews TAG Heuer CEO Frdric Arnault
Frdric Arnault, the son of on-and-off worlds richest man Bernard Arnault, was just 25 when he took over as chief executive of TAG Heuer. Two years into the job, the golfer, Nintendo enthusiast, and scion of the French luxury fashion dynasty LVMH is tasked with filling the shoes once worn by captains of industry Jean-Claude Biver and Jean-Christophe Babin. This week, his brand is contributing to LVMH Watch Week, an event that was pushed online by the Omicron outbreak. Arnault took some time out for a video call to talk to HODINKEE, covering this weeks new Autavia and Aquaracer Professional 200 models, and much more. HODINKEE: Frd...
All The Watch-Industry Anniversaries To Know In 2022
I imagine the scene looks something like this: Every January 1, at 12:01 AM, historians at watch companies around the world receive a call from their CMO asking a single question. "So what are we celebrating this year?"It's always an anniversary. Anniversaries remain evergreen marketing hooks C on a five-year rotation C in the watch world. And it makes sense. If you're a watch brand and your entire industry is based on the collective nostalgia of anachronistic technology, you'd be leaving money on the table if you didn't find a way to engage with and communicate about your history. ...
A Zenith Collector Discusses The Zenith Defy Skyline And More
The first time I met Greg Selch he presented me with three open shoe boxes. One was filled with 15 or so vintage Zenith El Primero chronographs, and another featured a similar amount of Movado watches from the heyday of the Movado-Zenith-Mondia federation in the '70s. The final box contained what I was specifically there to see C?his collection of vintage Zenith Defy watches. Cole and Greg chatting it up during Talking Watches. Selch estimates he owns around 40 different Defy examples from the late 1960s through the 1970s. They're part of the sprawling collection that Cole profiled on Talking Watches last May. While only one D...
The Federation Of The Swiss Watch Industry Reports 2021 Best Year Ever
Every January, the Federation Of The Swiss Watch Industry FH publishes its figures for the previous year, broken down by markets, price, export value, and pretty much everything else you could imagine. You might think that things are a little tough for business right now and if we were talking about 2020, you'd be right, but hold onto your knickers, Gertrude C according to the Federation, 2021 was the best year ever for the Swiss watch industry. The total export value of Swiss watches for 2021 was CHF 22.3 billion, beating the previous all-time record of CHF 22.25 billion, which was set in 2014. The United States was the leading market C somehow, we managed to ab...
Who bought the Tiffany-Blue Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711
Early this evening, California watch collector Zach Lu posted an unboxing video on his Instagram (@zachattack__25) about a piece he had just acquired. That in itself wouldn't be surprising to the nearly 35,000 people that follow him C?he frequently updates the world on his latest acquisitions. But the video that followed had a pair of unexpected guests: Paul Boutros, the Head of Americas and Senior Vice President for Phillips Watches (as well as an ex-HODINKEE contributor) and the world's most infamous watch right now C?the Tiffany-Blue Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 that sold, with all proceeds going toward charity, at the Phillips 2021 New York Watch Auction in D...
So Many New Watches - AP, Zenith, Tag Heuer, And More
Last week was a busy one when it came to watch announcements as LVMH Watch Week kicked off with brand-new releases from TAG Heuer, Zenith, Hublot, and Bulgari. Oh, and have you heard? It's the Royal Oak's 50th birthday and Audemars Piguet is very keen to celebrate that milestone with a brand new Royal Oak Jumbo reference and an entire anniversary-themed collection. Given such a wide range of new models, I grabbed Jack, Logan, and Danny to get into the details of our favorite releases of 2022 (so far!).? From 40mm easy-wearing dive watches from TAG Heuer to big-dollar Bulgari, new Defy models from Zenith, and a deeply futile considerati...
A Lesson In Proportion And Fit With The Doxa Sub 600T
Within the scope of my personal perspective on watches, there are few brands I admire and enjoy quite as much as Doxa. They have a legacy born in the golden era of scuba diving, a Cousteau-adjacent history that cannot be bought, and a design language that C to this day C remains truly unique and endlessly fun. In the sub-$5,000 space, nothing hits like a Doxa and that's thanks to their continued use of quirky designs, bright colors, and esoteric (arguably downright anachronistic) dive-specific functionality. While much of the brand's recent success has hinged upon new-vintage treatments of their original Sub 300 design from 1967,...
There's An AP Royal Oak In Marvel's Eternals?
Look up! Is it the X-Men? The Avengers? C'mon, even The Guardians of the Galaxy? No, it's the Eternals. If you've never heard of them, welcome to the club. Following 2019's mega-blockbuster, Avengers: Endgame, Marvel bet big on its cinematic universe, unleashing a torrent of streaming shows with side characters, and then pushing all its chips in with a new superhero team entirely. Eternals is a comic book series from Marvel which follows a team of celestial beings tasked with protecting, fostering, and aiding in the development of humankind on earth. They've been around for thousands of years, they have super powers, but they're kind of a B-side comic-book property. ...
What Watch Does Dylan Alcott Wear?
One of the greatest seasons in tennis history happened last year. It didn't involve the Williams sisters, or Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic; rather, it came from the racquet of Dylan Alcott, a 31-year-old Australian man who won the Men's Quad Singles titles in wheelchair tennis at the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open, in addition to securing the gold medal for Australia at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. While all the attention was on whether or not Djokovic might achieve the sweep (he settled for three out of the five), Alcott went out and did it. Dylan Alcott speaks to his home crowd after coming in second at...
Zenith Spilt A Watch Dial In Two
I recently found the need to consult the internet's largest, open compendium of information (aka Wikipedia) after seeing one of the newest releases from Zenith, the third and final watch in its recent Lupin the Third collection.?The watch C called the Final Edition C is easy enough to like. It comes in the classic El Primero A384 Revival-style case, with a vintage, ladder-style bracelet, and a striking diagonally split, bi-color dial (well there's more than two colors on the dial, but you get the idea). So what was it I needed to research? Well, I'm sorry to admit that I was unfamiliar with Lupin the Third (or Lupin III as Wiki c...
The Ral Pags Rgulateur dtente RP1 Is The First Indie Hit Of The Year
Spanish watchmaker Ral Pags cut his teeth working in the restoration workshops for Parmigiani Fleurier and Patek Philippe before setting out to create his own brand in the early 2010s. And last week, we received word of the independent watchmaker's latest release.The new Rgulateur dtente RP1 features the first application of Pags' new manual-wind movement featuring a pivoted detent escapement. And before you ask, yes, Pags both designed this escapement system and crafts each example by hand. Ral Pags To borrow from our very own Watch 101 section, the traditional detent escapement "uses a very thin blade spring with a...
Rafael Nadals Australian Open Watch
Rafael Nadal is now, quantifiably, the greatest Mens Tennis player in the history of the sport. This morning, he cemented his place after taking down Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open Mens Final, giving him a men's record 21st Grand Slam title (thats also one more than his legendary contemporaries Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic). Image courtesy of Getty Whats more, he achieved the feat after being down two sets to none. Aside from his wildly competitive spirit, what was the difference maker? Obviously, well say it was his watch. He played the entire match as he always does with an RM on wrist. Thats 5 1/2 hour...
New Vintage Watches In The HODINKEE Shop
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? Email us at [email protected]?with some photos. Want to sell your pre-owned watch? Click?here. This Week's Vintage Watches Pinkies up, folks, this week folks it's tea time. Picking out a theme is easy when the week's collection includes the most luxurious yet understated Omega Constellation to cross our desks, a JLC "Vogue" with an Onyx dial as well as a diamond marker, and a 1969 Grand Seiko. The theme is opulence, ...
Entry Level - The Vacheron Constantin Fiftysix Self-Winding
In Entry Level, we consider the least expensive watches from luxury watchmakers. They're still not cheap, but hey every brand has to start somewhere. Believe it or not, even elite brands like Vacheron Constantin have "entry level" watches. Though there's absolutely nothing cheap or basic about what Vacheron does, the world's oldest continuing watchmaker launched the Fiftysix line as its entry point back in January of 2018. Meant to invoke a mid-century charm and everyday flexibility, the Fiftysix line features a range of dressy sport/casual watches, mostly in 40mm sizing, that feature a traditional cascade of complications, including the Self-Winding featured h...
The Why Behind The $27,500 Cloisonn-dialed Oris Aquis
During a recent Oris preview event in Vail, Colorado, one particular release shocked and perplexed a room full of watch writers. Nobody expected this brand, which is known for Swiss-made quality watches at prices that don't break the bank, to unveil the Sun Wukong Artist Edition, a $27,500 version of the standard-production Aquis diver that features a cloisonn dial depicting a scene from a 1961 animated version of The Monkey King, a tale from the famous 16th-century Chinese epic, Journey to the West. The Sun Wukong edition is a lot like a standard Aquis, with a 41.5mm stainless steel case waterproof to 300m surrounding an Oris C...