Best Super NEWS Watches
A Yellow Gold Lover's Foray Into Tool Watches
I worship at the altar of yellow gold. Maybe that sounds a touch dramatic but yellow gold is my thing and I need everybody to know it. There is no other material that draws me in quite like this one. Yellow gold symbolizes real opulence to me; a time when people smoked in clubs and wore full suites of diamond jewelry to the function. Yellow gold appeals to my hedonistic side; I could lie around all day drinking Grey Goose martinis, pretending to be Sharon Stone in Casino, with her piles of Bulgari jewels and fur. I often daydream about bohemian bourgeois (what the French call Bobo) living during the '70s; my brain has been stuck on an image of Elsa Peretti wearin...
Review Of The Timex T80 X Judith Leiber Watch
Known for its crystal-studded, animal-shaped, ladies-who-lunch-style handbags, the Judith Leiber brand is no stranger to collaborations. Nor is Timex, for that matter. But they still make interesting bedfellows. Timex has always had a whiff of practicality, purpose, and accessibility, while Leiber has a distinct Dallas vibe to it C both the city and the TV show. Its products arrive noisily, like a champagne flute thrown across the room. The Timex x Leiber collaboration has resulted in two watches, the 38mm stainless steel Q Timex and the 35mm rose gold-tone stainless-steel T80, which is the one I put ...
HODINKEE Interviews Thierry Stern
High above the trade-show floor, Thierry Stern bursts into a conference room wearing a navy suit with a Calatrava cross pinned to the lapel, just above his heart. It's the third day of Watches and Wonders, in his hometown of Geneva, and the president of Patek Philippe has already released his new pieces: Namely, a three-handed Calatrava, an Annual Calendar Travel Time, an enamel worldtimer, and a perpetual calendar with a salmon dial. Just as significant as what he unveiled is what he didn't: A sequel to the Nautilus 5711, the stainless-steel sport watch which has spent the past few years so coveted that it threatened to eclipse everything else Patek makes. In 20...
Hodinkee Staffers Share The Watch They Wore Most
As 2022 comes to a much-anticipated end, we at HODINKEE took a moment to look back at some of the most iconic and memorable moments in the watch world. The MoonSwatch took the world by storm. We highlighted some innovative independent brands, as well as some creative and awe-inspiring new releases from the OGs. We also voted on our favorite watches of the year, like the most dressy watch, best tool watch, most underrated watch, and more. And we spent a lot of time Talking Watches, spent A Week On The Wrist with some of our favorites, and even traveled across the world to spot some rare and incredible Watches In The Wild. But bef...
New Vintage Watches In The Hodinkee Shop
To view the entire current selection of vintage watches available in the Hodinkee Shop, click here. This Week's Vintage Watches This is it, the last vintage watches drop of 2022. Thank you to every viewer, commenter, purchaser, browser, and Hodinkee community member for your continual support of our Wednesday product launches. Everyone on the vintage team hopes that something caught your eye this year and that you were able to learn something new about the wonderful world of watches from Saori, Sean, or Rich right here in the "Vintage Watches" article. If you thought 2022 was good, wait till you see what we have planned for the new ye...
What To Know Before You Buy A Fashion Watch
In the collecting community, we throw around the term "fashion watch" like a four-letter word. It's not quite the same as a "mall watch," which is generally taken to mean mass-market mediocrity whether it's sold at a mall or not. "Fashion watches" are worse C mall watches with the added offense of being dreamed up by luxury fashion or jewelry brands C as if they have any sense of style or watchmaking. It's time to let this bias go. A generation ago, fashion watches were the ones that spread then-new quartz technology around the world; nowadays, this design-first thinking can lead to some of the best mechanical watches around. An...
Lead image: A selection of pocket watches by master watchmaker C.H. Meylan and a prototype wristwatch by the revived company. On a mild New York City day in October 2008, bidders settled into Sotheby's for what would become a historic auction. The sale would be strange by today's standards. First up: An astrolabe. A gold perpetual calendar Royal Oak sold for chicken feed: $21,250. Gilt Submariners went for $14,000. Daytonas failed to sell at all. And despite the declining market for American pocket watches, the auction's star was the sole known example of a Waltham grand complication C a perpetual calendar five-minute repeating split-...
A Video Uncovering The Watches In Interstellar, Goodfellas, Speed, And More
In March 2021, I penned my first entry in the Watching Movies series on the (still!) underrated Three Days of the Condor, starring horological hunk, Robert Redford. Every Friday since then I've added a new film for your reading pleasure. My goal with this series was always lofty: to slowly (but surely) create a robust encyclopedia identifying watches in films. Each week is another step towards that goal. And I wanted to make it fun, interactive, and a service to the readers.? That's why I always time-stamp the appearance of the watch in a given film in the "When We're Watching" section of every story. Today, you won't find that n...
Vintage Porsche 550 and 718 RSK On The Grossglockner
Leering over the edge of the thin aluminum door tucked tightly under my right arm, I see the thin ribbon of mountain tarmac curve out of sight as the nearly 70-year-old race car negotiates yet another climbing off-camber corner, darting away from the dizzying vertical drop awaiting anyone who overcommits with the limits of grip and this old Porsche's manual drum brakes. The engine strains for revolutions as the next corner, another in a complex series of mountain switchbacks, sweeps by high above the idyllic Austrian hamlet of Zell am See.? Following closely behind a low-slung 718 RSK, our convoy of vintage German metal is laid u...
Visiting Jean-Pierre Hagmann And Rexhep Rexhepi
It's a little after 9:00 AM in Old Town Geneva. I've just stepped inside the Akrivia workshop on Grand-Rue with my photographer and friend James K./@waitlisted. But we're not here to see Rexhep Rexhepi, Akrivia's 35-year-old founder and one of the most talented young watchmakers in the world. No, today is dedicated to observing the work of Jean-Pierre Hagmann, the octogenarian casemaker who has helped Rexhepi transform his operation since coming out of his second retirement in late 2019. Located directly across the street from Akrivia's main watchmaking atelier, Hagmann, 81, leads a three-person team of craftsmen who build each of the company's cases by hand, usi...
Did You Know Aly & AJ Are Watch Collectors?
Webster Hall, New York City. That's where we caught up with the musical duo (and sisters) Aly & AJ just before they were set to take the stage in front of a sold-out audience. The venue was shaking from the soundcheck as we eagerly awaited our sit down with the pair.? Both Aly and AJ Michalka are well known in the entertainment world. Both have spent a considerable amount of their lives acting C both in television and film C while simultaneously building a devoted fan base for their music. Go to any one of their shows and you'll see every last fan dancing jubilantly and mouthing every last lyric to every song. We saw them during their tour in promotion of the...
Myles Kusaba On His Ralph Lauren Western Cushion Watch
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 Buyer C Luxury Watches, Myles Kusaba, writing about his Ralph Lauren Western Collection Rose Gold Cushion. ? My hometown of Folsom, California is famous for three things: a prison (thanks, Johnny Cash), a lake, and an annual rodeo. Although it is now a thriving city with a population nearing 100,000 people, the town's history is firmly rooted in California's Gold Rush. Echoes of the "Old West" were always present when I was growing up. Is it any surprise I love all things cowboy? For most of my ...
Yes, There Are Watches At NYC Basketball Courts.
New York City is home to the Mecca of Basketball: Madison Square Garden. It's where the ever-disappointing Knickerbockers take on the NBA's best 41 times per year. It's also played host to some of most legendary matchups in college basketball history going back to "old days" of the Big East. But step outside MSG, and walk the streets of NYC, and you'll find countless outdoor basketball courts featuring some of the most entertaining street ball you're likely to ever see. Come at the right time, and you might even catch some pro players brushing up on their skills. There's a strong cohort of basketball junkies here at HODINKEE. And...
The Complete Story Of The MoonSwatch
The week of March 20, we took notice of some cryptic social media chatter out of Swatch and Omega on Instagram: "On March 25, it's time to change your Swatch," and " it's time to change your Omega." This had the watch community more than a little confused. Then came the full-page ads in The New York Times teasing a weekend release and reveal. Rumors abounded. Enthusiasts began crafting their own mockups. Would it be a Speedmaster? What would it be called? A SwatchMaster? Without warning, two days before the stated launch date, news broke on the internet and we finally saw...
Classic Sports Watches Of The 1990s
Welcome to '90s Week, where we're revisiting the raddest (and most underrated) watches of the decade, plus the trends and innovations that defined the end of the 20th century. Plug in your dial-up modem and grab a Crystal Pepsi.?We'll be here all week. Depending on how old you are, you may think of the 1990s as yesterday, or a while ago, or even, before my time. With the rad decade of plaid flannel and Rollerblades now 30 years in the past, the watches are now firmly in the vintage range C and many are ripe for collecting, with the most notable examples not only displaying a defined sense of the era, but also a lasting quality that has helped fuel continued evolu...
Marc Newson Interview On History of Ikepod Watches
The only way to really understand Ikepod is to understand Marc Newson, the designer behind the brand. The Australian megatalent is perhaps the world's most prolific modern designer. You've no doubt encountered his work just going about your daily life C he's worked with companies from Apple to Ferrari to Nike to Heineken. In 2015, someone paid $3.7 million for one of his Lockheed Lounge chairs, making it the most expensive object ever sold from a living designer. He is also the founder of the watch brand Ikepod, a company that C since its founding in 1994 C has been profoundly influential on the rest of the industry for its bold approach to design. ...
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...
When Funky Toolish Design Hits Deep With A Vintage Aquadive Time-Depth Electronic
In Watch of the Week, we invite HODINKEE staffers and friends to explain why they love a certain watch. This week's author is Asha Wagner, a professional Fire Captain, ardent adventurer, and deep tool-watch enthusiast based in Northern California.?Read more about her in the new issue of HODINKEE Magazine.? I really wasn't sure which to pick for this story. The truth is, I'm a nut for gear and, as I've gotten further into my career path, I've become a huge fan of tool watches. As a Fire Captain, a Hazardous Materials training officer, and a hazmat specialist with a FEMA task force, I have a history of being tough on gear C including my watches. ...
HODINKEE Three on Three Returns
After a two-year hiatus, Three on Three is back. And for our big reboot episode, we're getting philosophical. In the old days, we'd pick a strict, quantifiable criteria (por ejemplo: Best mechanical watches under $1k) and have three people compare three different watches that hit the mark. Nothing wrong with that approach. But over the years, we've learned that a lot of folks collect for more abstract reasons. For instance, they want a special watch to celebrate a personal milestone C that's it, that's the criteria. In that spirit, we gathered three women to discuss watches that say "success." Any watch, new or vintage, was eligi...
Sarah Miller Reviews The Hublot Big Bang Tutti Frutti
Several months ago, I had the chance to wear my first ever fancy watch. My choices came down to a Cartier Tank and a Hublot Big Bang Tutti Frutti. I was tempted by the Tutti Frutti, but also repelled by it. I probably dont need to explain, but I will. The bezel is made up of pink baguette-cut sapphires, separated at intervals of six by Hublots signature titanium screws. It's like 48 hopeful fairy princesses playing ring-around-the-rosy with six princes who are all in bad moods. The strap is pink lizard, bolstered by pink rubber, Hublots signature, their pride and joy. Hublot is a watch company half of whose reason for being is rubb...