Best Super NEWS Watches
Introducing: The Breitling Navitimer 8 Day & Date
Yesterday we introduced a new Breitling chronograph from the company's just-launched Navitimer 8 line. We told you that there would be some additional models coming to the Navitimer 8, and today we can confirm that there are a handful of new pieces that have been formally announced, including a basic automatic, a worldtimer, and the watch we have here. This is an attractive, 41mm watch for aviators that features displays for the day and the date, making it a practical everyday choice. Why This Watch Matters When Georges Kern left his perch at Richmont last summer to take over Breitling, most industry observers viewed the move as a chance ...
A Week On The Wrist: The Girard-Perregaux 1966 WW.TC
While the idea of world time zones dates back to the 1870s and the work of Canadian Sandford Fleming, that innovation brought with it a new set of problems. Mainly, how to categorize and understand the staging of the zones, and then, how best to determine any one zones offset from your local time. Solutions therein are now myriad, from arrays of clocks set to various time zones in hotel lobbies, to GMT complications that range from simple 12-hour bezels all the way up to impressively complicated worldtimers.? Time Across The Globe Worldtimers come in many shapes and sizes and while some manage to account for the 30 and 15-minute offset z...
Interview: Sbastien Perret And Guillaume Tripet Of Watch Design Agency Etude De Style
Red and white-striped warning tape cautions me that I am entering a confidential zone. Of course its a bit of a joke, but a quick look around the office of Etude de Style makes me realize there is some serious secrecy going on: screens, sketches and 3D-models display half-finished designs for more brands than you can poke a stick at, including several that would swear C scouts honor C that they have never, ever used external designers. The watch industry does have a love affair with nondisclosure agreements.Etude de Style, based in the thousand-year-old city of Neuchatel, is one of the best-known secrets in the watch world. It officially designs for HYT, H. Moser, Maurice Lacroix, Ebel...
Introducing: The Oris Aquis Date In 39.5mm
The Oris Aquis Date, which is water resistant to 300 meters, is now available in a very wearable 39.5mm size. This is a hair smaller than the very popular Oris Divers Sixty-Five, which draws on a vintage design from the mid-60s (as you'd guess from the name). But this watch, which is powered by the same Sellita movement, comes with?three times the water resistance and a more modern, tech-forward style. Why This Watch Matters We hear all the time from readers that a sub-40mm case size has become an important criterion when considering a new watch purchase. Despite this, if you look at the majority of what's currently available watch-wise, ...
Business News: Swatch Group Sales Jumped 5.8% In 2017
At Baselworld last year, I asked Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek his forecast for 2017. A good year, he said. He predicted that Swatch Group sales would jump between seven and nine percent. I dont see a reason why not, he said. That assessment seemed wildly optimistic. At the time, the Swiss watch industrys two-year slump was barreling through the first quarter of 2017. The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry was predicting a flat year for the industry as a whole. Worrywarts like me were sounding the alarm about an almost unheard of (twice in 131 years) back-to-back-to-back downturn in Swiss watch exports. ...
Breaking News: Swiss Watch Retail Giant Bucherer Acquires U.S.-Based Tourneau
Earlier today, news officially broke that European luxury watch retailer Bucherer has bought Tourneau, the single largest watch retailer in the United States. With 28 retail locations across 10 states, including a few large flagship stores in major cities like New York and San Francisco, Tourneau carries a wide selection of brands and also deals in pre-owned watches.? Bucherer, established in 1888, bought Tourneau from the investor group Green Equity Investors IV, L.P. (an affiliate of Leonard Green & Partners L.P.) in a move to expand its boutique footprint in the U.S. According to Business Wire's report, Guido Zumbhl, CEO of the Bucherer Groups, said, "Wit...
SIHH 2018: The State Of The Watchmaking Industry (VIDEO)
The Swiss watch industry is back on track after two difficult years in 2015 and 2016. A recovery in global sales that started in the second half of last year will continue in 2018. Thats the consensus of more than two dozen Swiss watch industry executives and retailers who spoke with HODINKEE at the SIHH salon that ran from January 15th to 19th in Geneva. ?SIHH offers the first opportunity to take the pulse of the all-important luxury segment of the Swiss watch industry. There, 35 luxury watch producers presented their latest creations to retailers, collectors, and press. The vast majority of the exhibitors sell watches priced at $5,000 and up.?The mood at the five-day show was decidedly up...
Hands-On: The Richard Mille RM 53-01 Tourbillon Pablo Mac Donough
Every year at SIHH, there are a handful of watches that you overhear people talking about any time you pass them in the halls or sidle up to a bar for a drink. This year, one of those watches was undoubtedly the Richard Mille RM 53-01 Tourbillon Pablo Mac Donough.?Part of this was due to the watch's technical merits, part of this was due to the watch's bright blue accents and Carbon case, and part of this was due, as you might expect, to the watch's price. Whatever the reason though, The RM 53-01 is definitely a watch worth another look. The RM 053 was released in 2012 and was the brand's first partnership with Pablo Mac Donough. ...
Watch Spotting: David Beckham Wears A Tudor Pelagos LHD At Announcement Of New Miami Soccer Team
Tudor brand ambassador and soccer great David Beckham was spotted wearing his 500-meter-water-resistant Pelagos LHD to a Major League Soccer announcement earlier this week. Beckham enjoyed a long professional career, playing for a range of European and American teams including Manchester United, Real Madrid, and MLS's Los Angeles Galaxy. In the next phase of his career, he'll be a partial owner of the sport's latest team, an as-yet-unnamed franchise to be based in Miami. The Tudor Pelagos LHD, a 500-meter-rated dive watch with its crown located on the left-hand side of the case. Beckham's choice of wrist wear is the most water...
Introducing: The Doplr Pulse-Watch
Doplr (pronounced DOPP-ler) is a new small brand started by a team of French doctors with the intention of making a watch that can aid in reading both a patients pulse and his or her respiration rate. The limited edition Pulse-Watch is a legible, durable, self-winding watch built to stand up to the rigors of field medicine, and proceeds from each sale will be donated to Mdicins Sans Frontires (Doctors Without Borders). Why This Watch Matters Pulsometer, and even respirations, scales are nothing new on watches. Theres even a niche category known as doctors watches dating back to the days of the pocketwatch. Most of these watches h...
Happenings: The Horological Society Of New York To Hold Weekend Classes In Chicago
The?Horological Society of New York's award-winning classes?are on the road again! Classes will be held in Chicago, Illinois, over the weekend of March 3-4, hosted by Oak & Oscar. At HSNY's Horological Education classes, students discover what actually makes a watch tick. The hands-on classes are taught by 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 York.Enrollment is now open for the Chicago (and San Diego) classes, and we look forward to see...
Hands-On: The Panerai L'Astronomo Luminor 1950 Tourbillon Moon Phases Equation Of Time GMT
Commercially speaking, the biggest new releases from Panerai happened to come in the paradoxical form of the brand's smallest watch ever, a simple automatic Luminor that measures 38mm across, and an update at its entry level Luminor Base Logo, now offered with a three-day, in-house movement and a down-to-earth price of $4,750.? But, if you know Panerai, you know the brand always makes a point of presenting a talking piece or two at SIHH. The watch we're going hands on with today, which is among the most complicated and customizable Panerais ever, is certainly that. What we have here is a 50mm tourbillon with displays for the equation of time, a second time zone, ...
If you've ever lived in Philadelphia, you know that when it comes to sports, it's a football town. Sure, the Phillies, the Flyers, and the Sixers have all had their championship moments C and some of them fairly recently C but until last night, the Eagles did not have a single Super Bowl championship to their name. If you were one of the millions of people tuning in for the game last night, then you might have noticed the team's owner, Jeffrey Lurie, wearing an A. Lange & Sohne 1815 on his wrist as he and his team took to the field after the game in Minneapolis to celebrate their very first championship victory. It's hard to ...
Business News: The Swiss Watch Industry Shows Positive Signs In 2017 Year-End Data
Its official: the slump is over. The Swiss watch industry staged a modest recovery in 2017, ending a painful, two-year decline in watch sales on global markets. Swiss watch exports rose 2.7% in value last year versus 2016, according to data released last week by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (best known by its French initials, FH). Exports totaled 19.92 billion Swiss francs, equivalent to $20.28 billion. ?Export data is based on the value of watches sold by Swiss watch producers to their wholesale and retail distributors. It does not reflect sales to consumers. (There is no data for retail watch sales on global markets.)The recovery began in the second half of last year, the FH...
Introducing: The Bamford Watch Department x Fragment Zenith El Primero
There are people who love modified watches and people who hate modified watches. Whichever camp you're in, the Bamford Watch Department has been in the game longer than anyone and has done some pretty cool things over the last number of years. Last June, Bamford became an official partner of Zenith (with TAG Heuer and Bulgari following shortly thereafter), being authorized to customize the brand's watches without voiding warranties and causing any animosity. Here, a third partner is introduced to the mix, Fragment Design, which is the firm helmed by Japanese design and streetwear legend Hiroshi Fujiwara. Why This Watch Matters For a long ...
Historical Perspectives: Inside Geneva's 800-Year-Old Tour De l'Ile With Vacheron Constantin
Geneva is a city that's slow to give up its secrets, although that's at least in part due to how easy it is to go there year after year and not actually see much of the city beyond hotels, meeting rooms in hotels, and the convention center where the SIHH is held every year. Throw in a few restaurants that are reliable and therefore favored by both Geneva based watch brands and visitors alike and you have a formula for generating an undeserved reputation for monotony.?Sometimes, though, you crack through the veneer and see the city's human side. A few months ago, I was in Geneva for the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genve C 2017 was my first year as a juror for the ...
It has been really inspiring to see friends and colleagues across the watch world find interesting and creative ways to support their communities and the global fight against COVID-19 over the last few weeks. Today, we've got another awesome effort, coming from the good folks at Ressence and Sotheby's. The avant-garde watchmaker and storied auction house are teaming up for "Time To Draw," a competition that asks watch lovers to design their ideal Ressence watch, with the winner being made as a piece unique that Sotheby's will auction this summer to?raise money for COVID-19 research. Unique, community-designed watch being sold for a good cause? You know I'm into it. ...
This week on Best of Watchville, we have a fun piece from our friends over at Worn & Wound listing 10 contemporary dive watches for those with vintage fatigue. Now, I'll be the first C and surely not the last C person to admit my love for vintage dive watches. They wear their history on their sleeve, so to speak. Every scratch is a badge, and the patina an extra bit of warmth. We all love the battle scars, nicks, bumps, scuffs, and spidering. But lest we forget, watches are still produced at a rather high clip every year. There are a plethora of contemporary dive watches out there that deserve our fair attention.? The value t...
Hands-On: The Zenith Chronomaster Revival 'Shadow'
Upon hearing about the Chronomaster Revival Shadow, the latest Zenith watch to use the legendary El Primero movement, my interest was piqued. Thats because the watch is a revival of a 1970s chronograph that never really was: an all-black manual-wind number that the company proposed during the early days of the first automatic chronograph movements.? There were some prototypes made, and as James wrote about a week ago, one even sold in the HODINKEE Shop. This early example of a Zenith watch in PVD-coated steel doesn't have a name per se, nor even a reference number, as it was not serially produced. In a way, it was a contradict...
The Grey NATO: Episode 110: The Isolation Tapes // TGN Film Club Vol. 4
Subscribe to the show: (Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Play). Already heard it once or twice? Please leave a short review here, and tell us what topics you'd like us to chat about (or email [email protected]). thegreynato The Grey NATO - Ep 110 - The Isolation Tapes // Film Club Vol 4 After a six month wait, the TGN boys thought it was time for another installment of The TGN Film Club. So heres Volume Four, and its quite a collection of thrillers, westerns, comedies, and even some horror (unexpected!).? View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jason Heaton (@jasonheaton...