Best Super NEWS Watches
Talking Watches With Maroon 5's Adam Levine
We've been doing these Talking Watches videos for a long time now C about a decade, in fact. And the minute we launched our very first one in the fall of 2013, we started to receive suggestions about who to feature next. And I'm proud to say that we've checked off a very sizable chunk of them. One name that appeared most often due to his simply incredible collection of watches seen rather publicly on stage was Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine. He's been wearing insanely cool watches for an insanely long time (relative to the greater celeb watch-wearing world), and I am pleased to say, Mr. Levine does not disappoint. You could call Adam Levine a "Rolex man"...
How Jay-Z Got A Unique Vintage Patek Philippe 2499
Jay-Z lives atop the modern pop culture pantheon. He's achieved so much in his career as an artist,?producer, and entrepreneur that he no longer needs to make music or produce Super Bowl halftime shows, though he does these things anyway. The point is: Every move he makes has the potential to create waves. That includes the way he collects watches. He has always understood the power of the silent flex. From wearing platinum watches in the late-1990s to diving into the deepest of deep watch-lover nerd watches today, his tastes have been less a reflection of current pop culture and more a symbol of his own high-end predilections. For fans, watch-spotting Jay-Z has ...
The Complete History Of John Lennon's Patek Philippe Watch
If you've been around watches, no doubt you've seen this photo. It's collector catnip: John Lennon, one of the most famous people of all time, wearing a Patek Philippe ref. 2499 perpetual calendar chronograph, one of the most important watches ever. Just months after this photo, the former Beatle was murdered, and the watch hasn't been seen since.?Thanks to an ongoing lawsuit in Geneva, new information about the mythical Patek's history and current whereabouts has surfaced. But the lawsuit is only the beginning of a story of extortion, theft, and a stolen Patek that traveled from New York to Turkey to Germany to Geneva and, perhaps, back home, as well as the legacy Lennon left behind.? ...
The Five Time Zone Watch By Jacob The Jeweler: A Hip-Hop Classic
In November 2003, Jay-Z performed a sold-out "retirement" concert at Madison Square Garden. Every major artist in hip-hop and R&B was in attendance. Beyonce, Ghostface Killah, Pharrell, Missy Elliott, Foxy Brown, and Mary J. Blige all performed alongside him. At 10 years into his career, he was already one of the greatest rappers of all time and was on the cusp of becoming one of the most important cultural figures of a generation. On that night, to mark the momentous occasion, Jay-Z was wearing a Five Time Zone watch. Jay-Z performing at Madison Square Garden in 2003. Image: Courtesy of Getty. The Five Time Zone had been ...
Diving With The New Tudor Pelagos FXD
Surrounded by a tight green fog, I can't see the surface or the bottom. My right hand slowly slides along a guideline that connects me to the wreck some sixty feet below me, deeper into the green. The line fades into the water beyond my grip, and my only point of reference is the methodical kick of my dive buddy's fins a short distance ahead. Listening only to the bubbles from our regulators, we transition to the anchor line and begin our descent. Slowly dropping on the line, I see my buddy C some fella named Jason Heaton C turn on the wildly bright light for his camera. I'm pleased to notice that visibility is improving as the e...
How Pocket Watches Can Complement Your Collection C Yes, Seriously
Leave it to someone like me, with an unexplainable passion for pocket watches, to spend my time searching the internet for the coolest pocket watches I can find. Patek, Cartier, Eberhard C there are a lot of great brands with really striking pocket watch designs at relatively affordable prices. A beautiful platinum Cartier pocket watch I saw earlier this year. I can see most of your eyes glaze over already. During the fall auction season in New York, someone at one of the auction houses asked me, "How can we get buyers to care about pocket watches?" Unfortunately, my answer was that, frankly, you can't C not unless they're alr...
The Longines Master Collection GMT
Last year was a quietly strong year for Longines. If all the brand did was re-release the Legend Diver it would have been a success for a lot of watch lovers. The Spirit Zulu Time in 39mm was another great release from 2023 (not counting the fact that Hodinkee did its own limited edition version). Well, Longines is starting 2024 off by picking up where it left off with GMTs, with two new limited edition GMT releases in yellow and rose gold. The two new Longines Master Collecting GMTs are decidedly more dressy but feature the same movement, the Longines-exclusive Caliber L844.5 (made by ETA), which featured in everything from the ...
Talking Watches With Gary Striewski
After spending my formative years in front of a television every morning before school catching up on highlights on SportsCenter (cue the music), I was quite shocked to learn we'd be heading to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, to talk to one of the most diehard watch enthusiasts I've yet had the pleasure to encounter. Oh, and he just happens to be a host of SportsCenter. There are a few pinch-me moments in this job, and folks, this was one of them. Gary Striewski is one of ESPN's rising stars, having started for the network as a host for social media content before quickly rising up the ranks to host, at the desk, for i...
Watch (And Car) Spotting Rennsport Reunion 7 - The World's Largest Porsche Gathering
"It's a great 'Porsche people' event." Porsches in the parking lot of the hotel, including (from left) a Kaege backdated Targa and a Singer Reimagined. I was just a few feet away from Jerry Seinfeld C yes, that Jerry Seinfeld C as he stopped mid-sentence, watched, and pointed at his personal 550a as it drove past on a rebuilt VW bus transporter (built to look like the one that driver Art Bunker used to drive that very car to Sebring). It's the wild kind of moment that can only happen at Rennsport Reunion 7, the biggest gathering of Porsche collectors in the world. ...
Travis Scott collaborates with Audemars Piguet
Last Thursday, a group of watch media, influencers, and celebrities spent the day with Audemars Piguet and Travis Scott. My fellow press cohort and I attended the store takeover, the product unveiling, and the secret show. But, I found myself caught in the midst of a personal ethical crisis. Was I going to make this collaboration watch review about the actual product and politely decline to comment on the context? Or, would it be necessary for Hodinkee to lean into the difficult questions that were bound to come up with a launch like this one? Why Travis Scott? Why the alignment with hip-hop? Who exactly is going to care? I shoul...
Swatch And Blancpain Just Released A $400 Fifty Fathoms
It's here. Say hello to the Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms. It's not quite as elegant a name as its hype-creating predecessor, MoonSwatch, but this new in-group collaboration C quietly called the "Scuba Fifty" at Swatch HQ C is kind of amazing and left me with one singular reaction upon seeing it: They did it. We knew that anything was possible when it came to a second collab from Swatch in Bioceramic. Most of us thought, given the anniversary year, that it would be the Omega Seamaster. But Blancpain is also celebrating this year. It's the 70th birthday of the massively important Fifty Fathoms dive watch. While we never really thought a Blancpain Swatch would come to pass they did i...
Hodinkee's Watches in the Wild: The Road Through America, Episode 1
The day has come. Watches in the Wild: The Road Through America is finally here. After a theatrical world premiere, we are so proud to bring this next chapter to you here on Hodinkee. Where past seasons have seen us travel to far-flung locales, this season reminded us that there are stories to be told right under our noses. The Waltham factory. So we set out on a cross-country adventure to track the rise and fall of the American watchmaking industry. Along the way, we discovered (and re-discovered) a resurgence in the fabric of the American horological consciousness. On The Road Through America, yo...
Ed Sheeran Talks With John Mayer About His Watch Collection
*Please note that this episode includes a few instances of colorful language. Though he's only recently been lionized as a major collector and watch enthusiast on social media, Ed Sheeran has been a passionate collector for over a decade. I've had the pleasure of getting to know him over the years, both through our shared love of writing music and for collecting, and I'm so glad he agreed to sit down with me for an episode of Talking Watches. There is a vulnerability in sharing one's watch collection with the world. Yes, they're material items, but they're called "personal effects" for a reason; they ...
Mark Kauzlarich's Thoughts On The New Universal Genve Announcement
I thought the moment had passed for a revival of Universal Genve. Prices for vintage Universal on the secondary market (like most watches, to be fair) are down from their peak, and it seemed as though, except for the most passionate collectors, many people had moved on from the brand. It's no secret that there have been a lot of Universal fans at Hodinkee, and as much as I've wanted to see Universal come back, I've learned to try to be pragmatic about the difficulties of succeeding in the watch industry. The best time to "restart" UG was probably a few years ago. But as they say, the second best time to start something is now. ...
Review Of The Raymond Weil Millsime Automatic Small Seconds
One of the biggest surprises of 2023's GPHG awards was the winner of the Challenge category for the best watch under CHF 2,000: Raymond Weil. Yes, the Raymond Weil that we've covered a grand total of about 10 times over Hodinkee's 15-plus years. But the Raymond Weil Millesime Automatic Small Seconds beat out nominees from Seiko, Nomos, Studio Underd0g, and Kurono to take home a GPHG, and it got me curious. Was Raymond Weil really making a watch that might actually be interesting to enthusiasts? Raymond Weil's namesake founded the company in 1976, producing both quartz and mechanical watches. Beginning...
Fashion Watches: The Case For Herms
An outlier among the conflagration of fashion houses and luxury conglomerates, Herms is truly in a league of its own. Founded in Paris in 1837 as an equestrian harness-maker for the French noblesse C and now the global apogee of 21st-century luxury and affluence C the Herms brand, along with its unique approach to supply chains, communication and retail, is seemingly indestructible. Above all, Herms is synonymous with the ever-elusive ideal of polished French luxury C clothes, accessories and objets that arm you with sophistication. For the fashion and media-obsessed there are two obvious ways to come into the Herms fold (I mean there are definitely more, but...
Everything You Need To Know About The Miami Beach Antique Show (OMBAS) 2024
One of my favorite places to spot and shop for vintage watches every year is the Original Miami Beach Antique Show, and it's returning to the Miami Beach Convention Center from January 11 to 15.?Like last year, when I attended and put together a Photo Report, I'll be back again, trawling the aisles of the Convention Center searching for vintage watches and awkwardly asking random folks, "Do you mind if I take a photo of your watch?"For those who might not be familiar, here's how I described the Miami Beach Antique Show last year: take 47th Street, your favorite vintage dealers from Instagram, a few Italians, a couple charming antiquarians and estate dealers, and shove them all in a fluoresce...
Hands-On Review Of The Midsize Vacheron Constantin Overseas 34.5mm 2024
Gradually and then suddenly, it feels like watch brands have started releasing smaller and midsize watches. I could list and link out a dozen or so releases as proof positive of this, but surely you feel it too, right?I'm talking about watches that are about 33-37mm in diameter and that do away with the outdated but supposedly modern assumptions of what the hypothetical buyer of a smaller watch might want. This means everything from full-spec divers (see Tudor Black Bay 54) to sports watches (see black ceramic Royal Oak 34mm), just smaller. Even if the average diameter across the catalog of these big brands hasn't changed much, they seem to be making more of an effort to meet the supposed de...
It has been an absolute whirlwind of a year with Swatch's follow-up to the MoonSwatch phenomenon that took over the industry in 2022. And it truly was C nay, is C a phenomenon. I mean, think about it: ?Swatch and Omega, two brands under the Swatch Group umbrella, collaborated to release an (extremely) affordable take on the classic Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch design via a bioceramic quartz chronograph on a velcro strap. It was an instant smash hit that quickly broadened the scope of watch enthusiasm. I'm hard-pressed to go anywhere these days without seeing a MoonSwatch on a person's wrist. I personally have one and wear it often. ...
Hodinkee Staff Share The Watch They Wore Most In 2023
Pop quiz. Quick, match the Hodinkee team member with the watch they wore most this year: 1) Lead Editor James Stacey; 2) Lead Studio Photographer Isa Sanchez; 3) Style Editor Malaika Crawford; 4) CEO Jeff Fowler; 5) Client Advisor Rich Fordon A) TAG Heuer Aquaracer; B) Rolex 1016; C) Tudor Pelagos; D) Bulgari Serpenti; E) Mido Ocean Star GMT Yes, as 2023 draws to a close, it's time once again for one of the most time-honored traditions around here. Each year since 2013, we've asked Hodinkee team members to tell us about the single watch that saw the most wrist-time over th...