Best Super NEWS Watches
Krayon, founded by watchmaker Rmi Maillat, is launching a new model (tomorrow, technically) in the only way they know how, with a brand new movement, a new complication, and a new way to consider how we C and our watches C interact with time. The new timepiece, the "Anyday," is what Krayon calls a mechanical planner, giving you a sense of your day, week, and month at a glance. It's wonderfully romantic in concept, incredibly complicated in mechanical terms, and extremely intuitive in practice C and we got an exclusive chance to go hands-on with the watch and share it with you ahead of the official embargo. If you asked me to nam...
This may be the only time in my career I get to lead a story with a photo of a movement and a bracelet, and it might be the biggest news of the biggest trade show of the year. Today at Watches and Wonders, Grand Seiko just announced a major horological achievement in a movement with accuracy measured not in plus/minus seconds per day, week, or month but per year. The new Ultra-Fine Accuracy movement Caliber 9RB2 has a tested accuracy of 20 seconds per year in a small 30mm by 5.02mm package while maintaining 72 hours of power reserve. The movement has launched in two models: the SLGB001, an 80-piece limited edition in platinum, b...
Introducing: The Unimatic x Massena Lab U1-SPG "NASA Artemis" Limited Edition
Massena Lab and Unimatic continue their partnership with a collaboration that leans into spaceflight homage with the U1-SPG "NASA Artemis" limited edition. And it's very orange. Looking at the box, the color of the Unimatic and Massena Lab logos printed on the plaque hints at what's inside. Opening it, you see a Unimatic with a very saturated burnt orange case. Compared to the typical subtle steel or DLC-coated black cases from the brand, it is undoubtedly an eyeful in the best way possible. As for the connection to NASA, the watch is meant to be a tribute to the NASA Artemis campaign, which celebrated its first flight back in November of 2022.? ...
Introducing: The M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.2 Has Arrived And It's Playing Two Groovy Tunes (Live Pics)
I would almost guarantee you know the M.A.D.1, the affordable watch/fidget spinner on your wrist that gave fans and friends of MB&F a chance to get a bit of Max Bsser's design genius for an affordable price. But it's the "M.A.DONE," implying it was just the first in a series. Well, the second is here. This is your first look at the M.A.D.2, this time brought to you by designer Eric Giroud, who has spent 20 years designing MB&F timepieces. From a simple horological view, the watch shows hours and minutes, powered by a La Joux-Perret caliber G101 automatic movement with a bi-directional jumping hour and trailing minutes m...
Hands On With Grand Seiko's Most Accurate Mechanical Watches, SLGB001 and SLGB003
A watch, like many things, is a sum of its parts. But it's rare when two parts are such big news that they threaten to be bigger than the watch itself. Grand Seiko's SLGB001 and SLGB003 are solid releases C nice finishing, attention to detail, pretty dials C and, on paper, have everything we expect from the brand's releases. But when Grand Seiko C a brand not frequent to boast C says that they have both likely broken a world record for mechanical accuracy and given the community the micro-adjust it's asked for, well, it's easy to understand why it's easy to miss the forest for the trees. First, this is (as far as I can tell and G...
Review of The Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Worldtimer
Did you know that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean? Omega uses this collection to market tough, often overbuilt, and sometimes incredibly large watches that push the brand's ocean-going capabilities from 600m to down past 6000m, but until this week, we had never seen the Planet Ocean used for a world time complication. The new Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Worldtimer 'Deep Black' uses a brushed black ceramic [ZrO2] case to house the brand's METAS Chronometer Calibre 8938 world time movement, which was introduced in 2017. The two watches feature a black ceramic bezel with a laser-ablated divi...
TAG Heuer Reveals Retro-Inspired Track Clocks For New F1 Sponsorship
LVMH's TAG Heuer is giving a nod to its Formula 1 model from the 1980s with new pit lane clocks featured on F1 racetracks this season and kicking off in Melbourne this weekend as part of the French luxury group's multi-brand sponsorship deal. A cluster of LVMH brands, including TAG, won the role of Group Partner with Formula 1 in a decade-long agreement, believed to be worth more than $1 billion in total, and announced late last year. The new deal will see TAG Heuer takeover as official timekeeper of Formula 1, knocking Rolex out of a position held since 2013. The gold-colored-fluted-bezel and white dialed Rolex clocks will be re...
Introducing: The Haim Watch Company Viajero 'Global Citizen' (Live Pics & Pricing)
Chicago-based microbrand Haim Watch Company has been quietly churning out watches since 2020, and last year saw the introduction of their first world-timer, the Viajero. Launched in three colors with an elemental naming scheme C Air, Land, and Water, the watch started making its rounds on social media as a compelling value proposition for the complication, keeping its price under $1,000 while still delivering a watch with a few surprisingly unique elements. While I had admittedly not heard of the brand until last year, I was intrigued by the warm reception of the watch online. When Haim Watch Company founder M. Zakir Miah (the last name backwards, is, well you can figure it out) reached out ...
Hands-On: The Citizen Promaster Land U822
Last summer, Citizen announced the next generation of the Eco-Drive Promaster Land series via a couple of new models rocking a brand new ana-digi movement. Employed in the sort of modern, complicated, and function-forward watch that Citizen often excels in creating, this new model expands on the brand's longstanding resume in the nerdy world of quartz watches, specifically those beset with tiny digital screens. It's a world I truly love, and if you're looking for a watch that does a lot C without ever feeling like a smartwatch C you might love it, too. Then, just last week, Mark published a Hands-On with one of my favorite watche...
Just Because: Highlights From The H. Moser & Cie. x LABEG Cardboard Exhibit
Last week, I stopped by Moserland, H. Moser & Cie.'s combination boutique and office in New York, to check out the largest collection of Moser watches I've ever seen in one room C from the infamous Swiss cheese watch to last year's passionfruit-centered collaboration with Studio Underd0g. But there was one catch C all of the watches are made of cardboard. Collaborations also made the cut... including last year's Massena LAB chronograph. What? Cardboard?! Yeah. Moser is no stranger to being different than its Swiss haute horology cousins, and this pop-up is no exception. To showcase many of the brand's greatest hits and new...
Happy Friday, and welcome back to Bring A Loupe! The more vintage watch shopping you do on the internet, the more "bad" watches you see. While I've heard the phrase "there's a wrist for every watch" in the past, I really don't think it's true. Beyond being empirically impossible, some watches are just too far gone. Today's column features a "bidder beware" Patek that is both imperfect and wearable. There is a wrist for this watch, but you should know some details first. If you like what you read here, leave a comment. I've been contemplating a full week of "bad" picks, from watches like this with flaws to the completely awful, too far gone, and flat-out fake. But...
Hands-On: Zenith's Resurrected Caliber 135-Powered 'G.F.J.'
The revival of a storied caliber is a vintage lover's dream come true, and if there's been a movement I've been dreaming about for a while, it's the caliber 135. The reissue of the Zenith Caliber 135 Observatoire C with original observatory movements C put a once-legendary movement on the map for many modern consumers. Unfortunately, that release was so expensive and so limited that there was no way it would scratch the itch of most enthusiasts. So Zenith went and did something that brands have rarely been willing to do C rebuilt an old movement from the ground up (while also making it better).? The 1950s and 1960s were the era o...
Breitling To Relaunch Gallet Confirming Ambitions To Become Multi-Brand Watchmaker
Breitling's corporate strategy to grow sales and volumes by acquiring newly revived marques at varied price levels will start next year as the company adds Gallet to its growing stable of brands.?New Gallet watches will be sold in Breitling boutiques alongside the parent brand whose production facilities will also be used to assemble and produce them, says Chief Executive Officer Georges Kern. They are expected to launch mid-year in 2026 and will be priced starting at just below 3,000 Swiss francs up to about 5,000 francs. Vintage advertising featuring a Gallet MultiChron Clamshell from 1939 They'll give Breitling, whose avera...
Business News: Sotheby's Partners With New Servicing Platform 'WatchCheck'
Sotheby's has just announced a partnership with WatchCheck, a relatively new but intriguing company that launched last year. The partnership aims to provide an easier, seamless servicing process for over 38,000 models. WatchCheck gives customers access to servicing partners in the United States that were previously largely accessible only to commercial clients. I had a chance to check out the process for WatchCheck last year, and it's quite intuitive and reduces many of the issues that often cause repairs to be a headache (especially if you don't live in a big city). The project was founded by Linden Lazarus (founder of vintage r...
In 2023, IWC went back to their history books to revive a more authentic version of the design language of the Ingenieur SL ref. 1832, designed by Grald Genta in the 1970s. Now, they're taking the gloves off a bit to expand the Ingenieur line with new materials, complications, and even aesthetic twists with a number of new Ingenieur releases. Here's a look at three of them. First is the Ingenieur Automatic 40 in 18 karat 5N rose gold with a black grid dial. From the front, this looks like a self-explanatory material revamp for the 2023 releases. The case measures 40mm by 10.4mm, with a mix of polished chamfers and a brushed case...
The Frederique Constant Perpetual Calendar has been one of if not the premiere affordable mechanical perpetual calendar on the market. Whether it's a Highlife or Classic collection model, it's the measuring stick any other maker on a budget has had to contend with. Now it's back with a brand new movement and downsized to a 40mm diameter with the new Frederique Constant Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture. The revamped model measures 40mm by 12.1mm in a stainless steel case housing the automatic FC-776 in-house perpetual calendar caliber. The movement has a strong 72 hour power reserve and features basic perlage and circular C?...
Photo Essay: George Daniels' Personal 1929 Bentley Blower In NYC
The late, great George Daniels knew his watches, certainly, but he also had a serious love of fine automobiles. As we previously reported, Bonhams have secured the Daniels automobile collection for an upcoming auction, and just yesterday in New York we stopped by to photograph what is one of the highlights of the Daniels Car collection. You are looking at a historic 1929 Bentley Blower 4.5 litre supercharged, single-seater racing car that set the Brooklands Outer Circuit lap record of 137mph....in 1931. 137mph in 1931? Whoa.This absolutely beautiful car will be sold in June at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Click through for a live look at one of the most important cars in the world, own...
What were you doing at the age of 13? If you're anything like me, not much at all, unless you count hanging out with the local Webelos as something.? But, if your name is Stefanie Graf, at the age of 13 you'd be playing professional tennis.? And, at the age of 18, you'd be winning your first grand slam title on the clay of Roland Garros.? If you were Stefanie Graf, a year later, you'd complete the very first and, to this day, only single year golden slam - that's winning all four grand slam tournaments plus the Olympic gold medal...in one year.Stefanie Graf won over 900 matches in her career, twenty two of them for grand slam titles.? She is undoubtedly one of the greatest athletes to ever p...
Wednesday Afternoon Find: A Vintage IWC Mark XI For Sale
The response to this morning's post on a vintage IWC Ingenieur was really strong. In fact, traffic for it has been downright impressive.? So, on that note, and with a little dose of luck, we thought we'd show you another vintage IWC for sale, and another classic at that.What you see here is an IWC Mark XI pilot's watch, originally issued to the British MOD.? It dates to 1951 and features the correct military engravings on the caseback, as seen below.? You will notice the dial of the Mark XI features the military broad arrow and circled T, indicating the use of Tritium, which was also seen on the Rolex military pieces.? Price on this legendary watch in seemingly great condition is $5800. ...
Wednesday Morning Find: A Vintage IWC Ingenieur With Original Bracelet, Papers, And Caseback Tool
The IWC Ingenieur is something of a cult-classic. It is one of the few really collectible vintage IWC wristwatches, along with the original Aquatimer and Mark XI. The original Ingenieur launched in 1955 with an automatic caliber housed in a soft-iron cage to protect against magnetic fields (think competitor to Rolex's Milgauss and Omega's Railmaster). The technical development of the Ingenieur movements would fall under Albert Pellaton, and the Pellaton IWC movements are regarded as some of the most robust of the 20th century.In 1967, the second generation of the IWC Ingenieur was introduced, and that is exactly what we've found for you today. But this vintage Ingenieur has some really a...