Best Super NEWS Watches
Citizen Launches Ten New Automatic Dive Watches For 2022
Citizen's history of dive watches is probably reasonably well-known, in outline at least, to many enthusiasts. To pick just one example, the company's 1985 Aqualand, with its analog-digital display, depth gauge, and dive-specific functions, was the first dive watch of its kind and the first that was an all-in-one, complete diving instrument. Citizen's latest diver's watches, however, aren't quartz, but automatic, and take their design cues from a couple of significant models in the company's past dive watch production. The new watches are in two distinct families, both part of the larger Promaster collection. The first group is s...
Ben Clymer and Jeff Fowler C A Tale Of Two CEOs
Did you know that HODINKEE recently got a new CEO? His name is Jeff Fowler and he's a fascinating and endlessly friendly guy with a seriously impressive background of leadership in a variety of markets, including watches, automotive, and luxury retail. When both he and our fearless leader, Ben Clymer, proved interested in coming on the show to chat all things HODINKEE, I jumped at the opportunity to talk a little shop with the big bosses.? The episode opens with Jeff and Ben humoring me with a handful of rapid-fire questions, and then we get into the nitty-gritty of what it is to oversee a business like HODINKEE, where the brand is hea...
A Hands-On Look At The Tuscan Dials Of Audemars Piguet
I've spent the past few weeks in the deep end of the Royal Oak pool, soaking up as much knowledge and detail as possible before the upcoming auction season. One of the main things I'm walking away from this experience with is a greater appreciation for just how versatile the Royal Oak is as a platform for dial experimentation. And of all dials that have fascinated me over the past few weeks, I am most enamored with those of the Tuscan variety. The so-called "Tuscan" dial features a hand-hammered finish and is outfitted with a rich blue galvanized tone. It's almost as if you took the Royal Oak's traditional tapissiere decoration a...
In?Watch of the Week, we invite HODINKEE staffers and friends to explain why they love a certain watch. This week's columnist is our very own Senior Writer. Let's go back a few years. To 2016. Beyonce's Lemonade is obliterating the charts, Hamilton has claimed a Grammy and most of the market's available Tonys. No one will stop talking about Stranger Things, and people are upset about a Ghostbusters reboot that I still haven't seen. In some ways, simpler times. In the world of watches, the heat is continuing to rise. Phillips sells a steel Patek Philippe 1518 for a little over CHF 11,000,000. Rolex lau...
A Cartier Crash Hammers On Loupe This For $1.5 Million
Headline image from lot listed by Loupe This. Unlike records for technical achievements (world's thinnest tourbillon, for instance,) record results at watch auctions are considerably more elastic, and lots that would have been passed over in previous years as also-rans, can today go for amounts so large as to seemingly preclude any discussion of a rational connection between objective attributes, and price. The Paul Newman Daytona may be the poster child for a trending watch blowing up auction results, but there have been many others since Paul Newman's own PND hammered for $17,752,500 back in 2017. And though stainless steel luxury sports watches have been top-o...
Grand Seiko introduces the SBGW279 Special Edition
Grand Seiko's big news at Watches & Wonders 2022, in Geneva, was the highly complex Kodo constant force tourbillon. The newest addition to the Grand Seiko lineup in the USA is on the opposite end of the price and complexity spectrum, but it's still every inch a Grand Seiko.? The new Grand Seiko SBGW279 follows in the footsteps of the SBGW283 and SBGW285, announced in early April. It's hand-wound, with a 37.3mm x 11.6mm stainless steel case, and a hand-wound movement C caliber 9S64, which offers a 72-hour power reserve and is rated to +5/-3 seconds per day. The brilliant blue dial is inspired by th...
The IWC Pilot's Watch Chronograph 41 Edition "Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team"
After a decade-long partnership with IWC, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team is finally getting a team-issued watch. This weekend, at the first-ever Miami Grand Prix, the team will be wearing a special version of the Pilot's Watch Chronograph 41 in the team's signature Petronas green. There are 19 corners and three DRS zones at the new Miami International Autodrome; it's just just over 3 1/2 miles, and the race will go 57 laps. The course was built in the parking lot of the Hard Rock Stadium, where the Miami Dolphins play. The watch was unveiled at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas hospitality room inside the paddock, with a s...
In 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,' The Watch Is The Key
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU for the nerds) is constant and seemingly never-ending. Now that we live in a post-Wandavision, Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home world, we might as well rename it the MCM: The Marvel Cinematic Multiverse C a string of alternate realities that allow for all of our favorite childhood comic book characters to appear on screen at will. A couple of months ago, I wrote about the original Doctor Strange (2016), following the release of the trailer for its sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In that trailer we're shown a brief glimpse of Strange's JLC Master Perpetual. Two months later, and this writer has seen the new f...
The HODINKEE Guide To Gold Watches
For most of us, the entry point into watches comes via a little material known as stainless steel. It's sporty, resilient, and understated. Since steel's material value is less than that of gold or platinum, steel is C or, rather, was C a more affordable alternative to precious metals. We've come to appreciate these steely pieces because modern taste has been defined by our shared love for the tool watches of yesteryear:?The watches of soldiers, pilots, and mountaineers C of divers, drivers, and astronauts. But back then, steel watches were utilitarian things. They were literal tools to be used and abused. A nice watch? Well, that was a gold watch C and typically, of the yellow variety. ...
Introducing The Kari Voutilainen Vingt-8 'Art Deco' Unique Piece 2022
When last we checked in with Kari Voutilainen, the Finnish-born, Swiss-based watchmaker had just taken over as the CEO of Urban Jrgensen. Well, I'm happy to report that his new gig as UJ head honcho hasn't stopped him from working away on his own watches C the ones with his name on the dial. Especially because this year is a big one for Voutilainen's firm C it's been exactly 20 years since he set up shop in the small town of M?tiers, in the heart of the Swiss Jura. I met up with Voutilainen last month at the AHCI exhibit in Geneva. Despite there being no news on the UJ front just yet?C?next year, he says C Voutilainen was happy to show off his latest wristwatch ...
The Winners Of 2022 HSNY Scholarships
The more watchmakers, the better. Demand around the world is raging for new, vintage, and pre-owned watches C?but we simply don't have enough hands-on watchmakers to ensure these timekeepers stay ticking. That's where our pals at the Horological Society of New York come in. This year, during the HSNY's annual charity gala last month, America's first watchmaking guild handed out a record $100,000 (!) in scholarship money to young watchmakers around the United States. I recently chatted with three of them to find out how they got here and what they plan to do with their awards. Andre Booker Image, Andr...
How Strong Is The Vintage Vacheron 222 Market?
We all know that Vacheron Constantin's original integrated sport watch, the 222, is back and better than ever after its yellow-gold revival at Watches & Wonders last month. The question that's been on my mind ever since, however, is exactly how its resurrection might impact collector attention in the original vintage examples. Well, over the next four days, we'll find out C?Phillips has three 222s, in all three original metals, up for grabs today and tomorrow as part of Geneva Watch Auction XV, while Sotheby's will follow up on Tuesday with vintage 222 options in yellow gold or stainless steel. Lot 61 at Sotheby's Geneva Important Watches May 2022 ...
Hands-On With Grald Genta's Personal Royal Oak
All the way back in 2012, during the 40th anniversary celebration of the Royal Oak in New York, a four-year-old HODINKEE published a story on "Grald Genta's Personal Audemars Piguet Royal Oak". Genta, of course, is the progenitor of the original Royal Oak design, and 10 years later, during the ongoing Royal Oak-centered auctions in Geneva, that same watch is now set to be sold for the very first time. Genta's personal Royal Oak is lot 72 and the proverbial cherry on top of a deep catalog put together by Sotheby's during the auction house's "Important Watches" sale that will take place tomorrow morning at the Mandarin Oriental in Geneva. ...
The Watches Of The Kentucky Derby
History was made this weekend at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky when a certain horse named Rich Strike overcame 80-1 odds to win the Kentucky Derby C the second-biggest upset in the race's 148-year history.? In typical HODINKEE fashion, we were on the ground, camera in-hand, snapping photos of the wrists (and suits C and hats!) of those who were about to witness history.? Rich Strike, ridden by jockey Sonny Leon, wins the 148th Kentucky Derby in front of the Longines sign. (Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Longines) The stark white dial of the TAG Heuer Aquaracer contrasts nicely wi...
HODINKEE's Jack Forster looks at double balance watches
Recently, HODINKEE's Cole Pennington reviewed a couple of new versions of the Ulysse Nardin Freak, one of which is freaky even for a Freak: The Freak S, which has two inclined balances (that is, inclined with respect to the mainplate, to the extent that a Freak can even be said to have a conventional mainplate) connected by a differential. The two balances are mounted on a carrier that functions as the hour hand and which also carries elements of the going train, including two escape wheels. In the comments, a reader asked what the rationale might possibly be for putting two balances in one watch C and thereby hangs a tale. The wristwatch with two balances may be...
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 This week, our vintage collection is all about function. Sure, wearing a watch is much more than the time of day, the date, or a chronograph but at the end of the day, these items serve a purpose in our lives. Can you glean the same information and so much more from the computer in your pocket? ...
The Hamilton Khaki Pioneer Mechanical Chronograph
In recent years, Hamilton has made its name producing affordable watches with a vintage look and a manually-wound mechanical heart. The Khaki Field Mechanical is now basically the de facto entry-level mechanical timepiece in the land. It oozes charm via its military field watch-inspired aesthetic, and is friendly on the old wallet at under $500. I don't think I have enough fingers to count how many times we've covered that watch or recommended it via an Editor's Picks or Three on Three. The brand has since furthered its efforts in vintage-meets-modern watches?C in both manual and automatic configurations C via its Pilot Pioneer collection. ...
Inside Audemars Piguet With Michael Friedman and Ben Clymer
?I know I say this a lot, but this week's episode is a special treat as it features a chat between our own Ben Clymer and the Head of Complications at Audemars Piguet, Michael Friedman. Michael is a delightful guest and a longstanding fixture in the watch collecting scene, having entered the business from a scholarly start before working in the auction space, helping Eric Clapton shape his collection, and then joining AP as the brand's in-house historian. The conversation covers Michael's path to Audemars Piguet, his experience in the auction world, his love of music, and of course, AP old and new. From the early and ultra-rare perpetu...
A Deep Dive On The Modern Breguet Type XX
The luxury chronograph category is jam-packed with Speedmasters, Daytonas, Portugiesers, El Primeros, Big Bangs, and Navitimers. The field is so crowded it can be relatively easy for a big-time brand with a heavy-hitting history in chronograph production to find itself neglected in the enthusiast imagination. That's what happened to the Breguet Type XX (and XXI, and XXII) over the past decade. The Swiss company got an early start in the 21st-century chronograph race, reviving what is arguably the most famous pilot's chronograph of the 20th century in the mid-1990s and sticking with it ever since. But for some reason or another, the Type XX family has struggled to...
A Hands-On Review Of The 2022 Rado Over-Pole
It's been five years since Rado revived its original vintage dive watch, the Captain Cook. What was once a limited-edition release in a 37mm case has since become an expansive line-up of watches, offered in a diversity of case sizes, materials, and dial colors. Earlier this month, Rado announced the most impressive expansion in the Captain Cook family yet C?the Over-Pole Worldtime. Originally, the Over-Pole was an offshoot of the original 1960s Captain Cook, sharing the same case profile and water-resistance rating, and the new-for-2022 Captain Cook Over-Pole is similar in that way. In addition to its classic go...