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Best Super NEWS Watches
Hands-On: The Biver Carillon Tourbillon
"Go ahead, take some shots at us. We can take it." It was just a week and a half after the announcement of the first release of Biver Watches and I was talking to Pierre Biver, one of the co-founders of the brand, face-to-face for the third time over that same period. The brand, which was announced a little over a year ago, chose to release a tremendously complex and striking ?C albeit aesthetically unusual and modern C ?Carillon Tourbillon in polished titanium as its introductory piece. At a fte celebrating the release at their farmhouse headquarters in Givrins, Switzerland right before Watches & Wonders, the party was a wh...
A Collectors Guide To 1990s Blancpain And The Six Masterpieces
Today, we're telling the story of Blancpain's rebirth in the 1980s thanks to a special set of Blancpain's Six Masterpieces being offered by the dealer Watch Brothers London. "Since 1735 there has never been a quartz Blancpain watch. And there never will be." When Jean-Claude Biver and his partner, Jacques Piguet, acquired Blancpain for CHF 21,500 in 1981, this was the now-famous slogan they introduced. They were positioning Blancpain, a watchmaker mostly dormant since the quartz crisis, as a traditional anecdote to those fancy new quartz watches. Just 11 years later, Biver sold Blancpain to the Swatch Group for CHF 60 million. ...
Fratello And Straum Volcanic Limited Edition Watch
Last week, Fratello announced their latest collaborative limited edition from the Norwegian microbrand Straum. This new model, which is part of the brand's Jan Mayen collection, has a special lava red dial that has been inspired by the Beerenberg volcano, which is located on the isolated volcanic island of Jan Mayen.?And yes, it's limited, but not in the way you're thinking... Following the success of the brand's previous collection, the Jan Mayen captures a similar charm and design but does so in a somewhat smaller package. Measuring 39mm wide, 45.8mm lug to lug, and 11.3mm thick, the Jan Mayen has a steel case, sapphire crystal...
Hands-On Review Of The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Chronograph 2023
A lot of popular chronographs look more or less alike, which is what makes the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph such a standout. At Watches & Wonders, it was the year of the Reverso for JLC C there was a slim new Reverso and a crazy Duoface Tourbillon, but it's the new Reverso Tribute Chronograph, offered in steel and rose gold, that perfectly splits the difference between the simple heritage of the Reverso and JLC's cutting-edge watchmaking chops. JLC's made Reverso chronographs before. For the Reverso's 60th anniversary in 1991, JLC started adding complications to the Reverso for the first time. It started with a date and power reserve...
Audemars Piguet Offshore Video
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore was first introduced at BaselWorld back in 1993. A souped up version of its Royal Oak predecessor, the hefty 42mm stainless steel chronograph with exposed rubber gasket and rubber on the crown and pushers was nothing short of controversial. Grald Genta's vocal disapproval was echoed by classicists C and remains so today. But the watch also received support from those who saw the merits of a bold, extreme and borderline obnoxious (for its time) new design. There's a reason why this watch was nicknamed the Beast. And there's a reason why it remains beloved by wilfully contrarian collectors and enthusiasts who are here for the...
Hodinkee Interviews Cartier CEO Cyrille Vigneron 2023
The Watches & Wonders trade show starts on a Monday morning. And this year, by Wednesday afternoon, Cyrille Vigneron has already talked so much that he's on a tea regimen to maintain his throat. The loquacious 62-year-old Cartier CEO is never without an opinion to share or a philosophy to unpack C "he has a lot of words," one brand insider told me before we met C and this year, especially, he has plenty to talk about. His company is surging, having just released more than 60 novelties as part of the show. (By comparison, fellow Richemont brand A. Lange & Sohne released exactly one.) Vintage Cartier prices remain bananas....
Gerald Genta Brand To Relaunch Under La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton
The Grald Genta brand is coming back. You'd be forgiven for thinking it ever went anywhere. La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the high-end movement manufacturer of Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, will revive the Grald Genta brand with a focus on producing high complications in small quantities. The relaunch comes with the blessing of Genta's widow, Evelyne, who has allowed full access to her husband's archives, including hundreds of his designs that were never realized.? Fittingly, Navas and Barbasini worked with Genta in the '80s and '90s to develop some of his most complicated watches. The Grald Genta brand has been owned by Bulgari since 2000, which wa...
Introducing: The Louis Vuitton Voyager Skeleton Limited Edition
Recently announced by Louis Vuitton and featuring a brand new movement developed by La Fabrique du Temps, this is the limited edition Voyager Skeleton. Cased in platinum and starkly modern in design, this brand-new expression of the Voyager houses Louis Vuitton's first-ever automatic skeleton time-only movement, and production is limited to just 150 examples.? Created as a continuation of the same thinking that brought us the Voyager Flying Tourbillon Poinc?on de Gene?ve, the new Voyager Skeleton presents a fully open-worked movement that has reduced its base architecture, allowing a largely unobstructed view of the movement's co...
The Baltic Aquascaphe Bronze Marron
One of the first Baltic watch releases I ever covered was that of the Aquascaphe Bronze Blue with its case and bezel comprised of the made-to-age material. That was way back in 2020. Almost three years later, Baltic returns to the bronze well for the newest model, named the Marron (which is chestnut, a shade of brown, in French). Obviously, this watch shares the same case material as its bronze predecessors but slightly updates the general look of the watch. The first place that can be seen is on the dial. It's brown, but it isn't a flat brown. Instead, Baltic has opted for a smoked or fum effect which moves from chestnut at the center and black at the edges. ...
URWERK UR-112 Aggregat Back To Black Watch Video Review: A Week On The Wrist
I'm a watch guy. I typically like watches that, well, look like watches. Vintage divers, watches with intricately textured dials, even convenient GMTs, you name it - I love it. That's why when I first laid eyes on Michael Jordan wearing an Urwerk I just did not get it. That thing was not a watch! It looked more like a spaceship strapped to his wrist. I'll admit, I was a little stuck in my ways back then, but fast forward a few years and I'm no longer quite as narrow-minded. So with the encouragement of a colleague, I decided to give Urwerk another look and see what it's like to wear, and decided to spend a week with the Urwerk UR-112 Aggregat Back To Black. ...
When I develop an obsession with a watch that I don't (yet) own, I exhibit a few very distinct behaviors C involuntary, maybe a little embarrassing, almost as if I've got an unrequited crush. All the usual early infatuation stages are the same: I talk about it non-stop, I snap selfies with it, I stare longingly at it as if this new object has the power to fundamentally change how I feel about the world and improve who I am as a person (well, in this case how I look more than who I am C but you catch my drift). There's no better feeling (and there's equally no worse feeling) than borrowing a watch and immediately feeling like it's yours. I'm not talking about wear...
Introducing: The New Piaget Polo Date 36mm
Piaget first ?launched its modern polo line back in 2016. It was the brand's sporty yet refined solution to the dominating stainless steel integrated bracelet market trend. With the first Polo launching in 1979, we've seen a few variations on a theme over the past few decades. The original watch has very little to do, stylistically, with what the watch has become today but it's worth noting that Piaget's integrated bracelet roots do extend back to the original integrated bracelet heyday. Returning to 2023 and the new Polo Date in 36mm. It is basically a small cosmetic change to a watch that happens to already exist in the curren...
In The Shop: You Know How To Organize Your Watches C Have You Thought About Your Box & Papers?
I just finished a huge cleaning project all for the safety of my watches and the art I've collected. In our apartment, we have a large closet under our staircase; I'm sure it's approximately the same square footage that a certain wizard lived in. However, it has become a huge catch-all space for us over the last five years to the point where the door sometimes won't latch properly. We had to get serious about this closet, but the task was too large to think about. One night, while the closet was at max capacity, I was scrolling social media. Some of you get targeted social media ads for new clothing ...
The NBA playoffs began yesterday and to celebrate we're taking a trip through the entrance tunnel, down memory lane, and bringing back some of our most beloved b-ball content. Though I haven't played since middle school (where I won defensive player of the year twice *Dikembe Mutombo finger wag*) I do consider myself something of an expert as I recently sat next to Tobias Harris. We talked a little about basketball and a lot about watches and if that is a balance that appeals to you read on for more.? Talking Watches With Andre Iguodala Golden State forward Andre Iguodala is heating things up wi...
Introducing: The H. Moser Streamliner In Smoked Salmon
H. Moser is revamping its take on a stainless-steel integrated bracelet watch by announcing a one-year limited edition Streamliner Center Seconds with a new "Smoked Salmon" fum dial. With a vertically-striped griff finish only found on other limited edition dials, the brand promises a dial that plays with light and shifts from light brown to black with a mirror effect. The Streamliner case remains the same, inspired by 1920s and 1930s high-speed trains, with no lugs on the case and an integrated steel bracelet. The case middle has hollowed sides with satin-finishing and alternating brushed and polished surfaces. That contrastin...
Inside The Manufacture: A Tour Of Tudor's New Manufacture In Le Locle
A few weeks ago, just before the buzz and bustle of Watches & Wonders, I found myself climbing the confined staircase of a double-decker tour bus. I had come to Geneva a couple of days early thanks to an invite from Tudor offering a tour of the brand's newly-opened facility in Le Locle, Switzerland. ?Not one to turn down such an invite C not to mention a recent delivery of a Pelagos 39 that had been assembled in the new facility C the day promised a rare glimpse inside the often secretive but evolving world of Tudor. Checking the time on that very same watch, I watch from the upper deck as other members of the watch press filed out of the hotel and found a seat on the bus.? ...
Louis Vuitton Announces Voting Committee For New Watch Prize
Toward the end of last year, Jean Arnault (who very recently appeared on our latest episode of Talking Watches) announced one of his signature endeavors since taking over Louis Vuitton watches in 2021 C The Louis Vuitton Watch Prize. The competition is for anyone aspiring to greater things C specifically creativity and entrepreneurship C in the independent watch space. As we covered previously, applicants can be watchmakers, designers, entrepreneurs, recent graduates, and creatives from all around the world. We also mentioned back in November (when the prize was announced), that there'd be a special committee to select the winne...
Introducing The New Breguet Classique Perpetual Calendar 7327
Breguet is updating its perpetual calendar with the new Classique Quantime Perptuel 7327. It'll succeed the long-standing ref. 5327 that's been in Breguet's collection since 2004. The new reference simplifies Breguet's perpetual calendar, but it still looks classically Breguet.? Like the previous 5327, the new Quantime Perptuel measures 39mm and 9mm thick, available in an 18-karat white or pink gold case. The main design update is the addition of a retrograde month display at 11 o'clock, which takes the place of a power reserve indicator in the 5327. This means the new perpetual calendar has five sub-displays, not six. The date indicator at six o'clock has al...
Gatherings: A Special Evening With IWC Schaffhausen
The local D.C. watch collector community came out in record numbers to officially welcome IWC Schaffhausen to the neighborhood. Our resident Managing Editor and Washington D.C. area native Danny Milton welcomed D.C.'s finest for a special evening celebrating the opening of the Swiss watchmaker's first boutique in the area, one of several scheduled this year across the US. A city known for its uniquely diverse mix of cultures, backgrounds and professions from government officials to military members, it should come as no surprise that the American founded brand set its eyes on the D.C. watch collector hub for its latest retail space. Hodinkee Managing Ed...
Found: The Very First Heuer Carrera With Car And Driver Double-Signed Dial
A couple of months back, Ben Clymer published a Reference Points article and video focused on the Heuer Carrera, a vintage model that is very much core to Hodinkee. With the help of TAG Heuer's Heritage Director Nicholas Biebuyck, the project detailed 56 unique Carrera variants. Today we add a new variant to that list and to all of Heuer collecting. Confirmed by Biebuyck, this is the very first Heuer Carrera with a Car and Driver double-signed dial known to the vintage watch world. This 1967 Heuer Carrera reference 3647S comes directly to Hodinkee from the original owner, former Car and Driver Associate Editor and former US Army Green Beret, Bill Fishburne....