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Best Super NEWS Watches
Harry Winston's Project Z timepieces have been part of the company's watch offerings since 2004. At that time, Ron Winston was still very much a part of the company, and the first Project Z watch reflected his interest in the aerospace industry, and metallurgy. Zalium, a zirconium-aluminum alloy, is very hard, strong, and highly resistant to corrosion, although it's difficult to machine, and in general, Harry Winston has held it in reserve over the last 15 years for special projects. Since 2004, there have been nine Project Z timepieces C limited series, with complications C with the last, Project Z8, in 2014. That was a self-winding, dual-time wristwatch with a retrograde second time-zone h...
Hands-On: The Van Cleef & Arpels Ronde Des Papillons, With On-Demand Dial Animation
Van Cleef & Arpels, usually associated with those little clover earrings and necklaces, has expanded its Poetic Complications collection this year with the Lady Arpels Ronde des Papillons watch (you may have read Jack's review of the Midnight Nuit Lumineuse, which was another addition to the collection this year). The Ronde des Papillons is a highly complicated and feminine watch that indicates the time with three butterflies (yes, you read that correctly). Now, before you click away because butterflies arent your thing, this watch was one of the more technically advanced watches seen this year at SIHH and deserves a closer look. ...
This Bring A Loupe will be dedicated entirelely to everyone's favorite complication, the chronograph. You will find an extremely rare (and very exotic looking) Zenith El Primero, the reference G383, produced in only 200 examples in 1970. We also scoured eBay in order to find some relatively affordable chronographs, most of them under $1,000. As you might expect, no Heuer or Universal Geneve made it this week given our budget constraint, but you will discover some other really exciting watches from Wittnauer, Minerva, and Mathey-Tissot. This is your Bring A Loupe for February 19, 2016. A Minerva Chronograph Reference VD712 With A Better Dial Than It Seems ...
Most moon-phase displays typically require the use of loupe to be fully appreciated, but no such instrument is needed when it comes to Arnold & Sons latest watch. Instead, it provides us with a permanent telescopic view of the moon on a spectacular guilloch dial. Part of the Royal Collection, the new timepiece is an evolution of the HM Perpetual Moon, a 2013 release that introduced one of the largest moon phases on the market at 11.20 mm (and which we covered at Basel when it launched). As it name suggests, the HM Double Hemisphere Perpetual Moon doubles the fun with a second moon phase sitting directly opposite the ori...
If you follow news about watches, and smartwatches, there's an excellent chance you've seen a widely breaking story today about how, for the first time in history, the sales of smartwatches have surpassed sales of Swiss-made watches. It's easy to read all sorts of doom and gloom into this, but let's take a look at what the story really does, and doesn't, mean.The story, as reported here, here, and here, is based on a newly released report from the firm Strategy Analytics, with Barron's reporting: "Strategy Analytics estimates all smartwatch sales globally totaled 8.1 million units in the three months ended in December, versus 7.9 million units for the Swiss watch business." ...
The first 10 lots of the Spectre auction were offered yesterday, and altogether, they brought almost $4 million C which is great news since all the proceeds went to charity. Our eyes were obviously set on the Prototype Seamaster worn by Daniel Craig, and it blew well past the initial estimate of 15,000 - 20,000 ($21,375C$28,500) reaching over $130,000. And I am sure that you are also wondering who took home his Aston DB10. Well, I fear I can't answer that, but the battle for this incredible car was fierce, and stopped near the $3.5 million mark, again a solid multiple over the estimates. And the Spectre auction is not finished yet, as some 14 additional lots from the movie are still availa...
We've just found out that a quartz Seiko watch from the 1980s, that was owned and worn by Steve Jobs, just sold at auction for $42,500 C and we'd bet cash money that's the highest price anyone has ever paid for a simple quartz Seiko reference 6431-6030. The sale was part of an auction that included several other pieces of Steve Jobs memorabilia, authenticated by his long-time house manager, Mr. Mark Sheff (a letter of authenticity is also included). The watch itself is pretty much as unremarkable as a watch can get: an inexpensive quartz Seiko that Jobs, if the condition of the strap is any indication, bought and then w...
In-Depth: Every Watch, Clock, And Timer That Went To The Moon
It is not difficult to understand just how critical it is to have accurate timing devices for space exploration. It's essential for navigation, just as it is on Earth, but there are also a myriad of other applications for watches, timers and clocks, for which high precision is indispensable. For the Apollo program, the most famous timekeepers are certainly the watches supplied by Omega; the Speedmaster became the official watch for manned space flight in 1965 and it has basically been in use, in one form or another, ever since. However, there were a number of other watches as well as other timing devices that were flown, many of which were essential to the success of the Apollo program, and ...
Happenings: Pisa Orologeria To Host Exhibition Of A. Lange & Sohne Watches
In the early days of the A. Lange & Sohne revival, the retailer Pisa Orologeria, of Milan, Italy, played a major role in helping to establish the German watchmaker as a premier haute horlogerie marque. Pisa then went on to sell some of the most collectible Lange watches of all time, including the rare Lange 1 in stainless steel, that most "un-Lange" of materials. The Richard Lange Jumping Seconds In White Gold With Black Dial Yesterday, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first Lange collection of the modern era, Pisa and Lange kicked off an exhibition of all of A. Lange & Sohne's 2019 SIHH releases as well as all...
Auctions: Sotheby's Omega Speedmaster: To The Moon And Back
The 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing is taking place this Saturday, July 20th, and Sotheby's is holding an auction entitled "Omega Speedmaster: To the Moon and Back" to honor the occasion. The auction takes place tomorrow, Friday the 19th, and Sotheby's has put together a selection of Speedmasters that highlights some of the more unusual and interesting iterations of the watch, since its inception in 1957. Comprised of 50 lots, the selection includes some of the references that have propelled the Speedmaster beyond simply a watch that was worn on the Moon, to becoming a large part of horological lore. The Speedmaster's initial design blueprints have spa...
Introducing: The Grand Seiko SBGE249 Limited Edition Spring Drive GMT (Live Pics & Pricing)
Today we have a limited edition Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT to announce. The watch in question is the SBGE249, and it comes with a fabulously textured dial and not one, but three blued steel hands. All 250 individually numbered pieces will be available at Timeless Luxury, the Texas-based authorized seller of Grand Seiko timepieces. Unsurprisingly, this new limited edition combines one of the finest-looking dials in contemporary watchmaking with hands that have been immaculately polished and a movement that remains at the forefront of modern high-end watchmaking technology. In a word, it's quintessential Grand Seiko.?The caliber in question is the 9R66, a Spring ...
This week were coming at you with an eclectic mix, after hunting the world over for the most exciting and unusual watches available. For the sports focused collector, we've got you covered with an untouched Universal Geneve Compax, a top-tier Tudor Submariner with military provenance, and an uncommon Sea-Sky from Favre Leuba. Should a smarter setting be more your scene, fear not, as we've got you covered, too, with a conservatively sized Jaeger-LeCoultre, and an ineffably tasteful Omega chronometer. Nerdiness ensues.? Universal Geneve Compax Ref. 22499 Typing the terms "vintage universal Genve watch" in...
Sunday Rewind: Wait, A Vacheron Constantin Moon Watch?
NASA and Omega have been strongly linked since the brand's Speedmaster was selected as the watch of choice for NASA astronauts and the Apollo missions that sought to put a man on the Moon. Well, in a look back at a mysterious story from 2011, we learn that Omega wasn't the only player in the Apollo timepiece game.? While much of the mystery surrounding this watch was dispelled five years later in this very interesting follow up, it is safe to say that this very limited watch never made it even to low Earth orbit or indeed into any sort of retail environment. From NASA to Plan-les-Ouates to the Moon, the Apollo program was a uniqu...
HODINKEE Radio: Episode 51: One Year Anniversary
Subscribe to the show: (Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn). Already heard it once or twice? Please leave a short review here, and tell us which guests we should have on! It's hard to believe, but tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of HODINKEE Radio. On July 23, 2018, we launched this humble little podcast with three episodes, featuring guests Ben Clymer, Gary Shteyngart, and Rian Johnson. The positive response was overwhelming and since then we've recorded 50 full-length shows, nine bonus episodes (including daily dispatches from both SIHH and Baselworld), and a trailer. To say it's been an exciting year making this show w...
Happenings: We're Hosting A Watch Photography Workshop With Leica Store San Francisco On August 21
We are very excited to announce our first ever watch photography workshop in partnership with Leica Store San Francisco. Managing editor Stephen Pulvirent and senior writer James Stacey will present a full day of programming that combines presentations and hands-on, practical photography sessions. This will include a discussion on the history of watch photography and how techniques for photographing watches have evolved over the last few decades, our workflow for retouching and sharing images that best show off particular watches, and opportunities to try out different photography set-ups optimized for product shots and lifestyle images. ...
Editors' Picks: HODINKEE Editors Pick Their Very Favorite Speedmaster (Or Try To)
It is a bit of a standing joke around the office, that one of the immutable rules of horology in particular and taste in general, is that "Everyone loves the Speedmaster." Like its culinary equivalent, "Everyone likes Italian," it is of course not entirely true, but it is true enough that among all the variations on the Speedmaster there is almost certainly, if not something for everyone, something for nearly everyone. While it may be a snappy truism that everyone loves the Speedmaster, it is also true that not everyone loves the same Speedmaster. With that in mind, we asked our editorial team which Speedmaster was their favorite. That the watch should be a Speed...
Introducing: The Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch Caliber 321 Platinum
Earlier this year, Omega made an announcement that many of us had hoped for (in some cases, for decades) which was that, after a five decade hiatus one of the great classic movements of mid-century watchmaking was going back into production. That movement was, and now is (it is a great feeling to be able to use the present tense about this caliber) the Omega caliber 321, derived from the caliber 27 CHRO C12, which was a chronograph, with 12 hour recorder, developed in 1942. The movement, in various forms, would go on to have a most illustrious career, but one of its most famous iterations was the caliber 321 chronograph movement. (Caliber 321 ceased production in 1968.)? ...
Hands-On: The Serica W.W.W. William Brown Edition
Old habits die hard. While the saying is often thought of as a pejorative (like if I were to apply it to the "old habit" of new vintage watch design), the colloquialism could also turn to highlight the appeal and lasting effect of any lovely old thing. Using the W.W.W. as an example, newcomer brand Serica has sought to create a loving and thoughtful nod to the casual, stylish, and versatile charm of mid-century military field watches.? General thoughts on new-vintage aside, there is still plenty of good work being produced within that genera...
Introducing: The A. Lange & Sohne Lange 1 Moonphase 25th Anniversary
If you haven't noticed already, 2019 is a milestone year in the history of A. Lange & Sohne. Specifically, it marks 25 years since the inaugural, post-relaunch Lange collection was presented to the public by Walter Lange and Gnter Blmlein C the former, a member of the Lange family (who passed away in 2017, at the age of 92) and the latter an architect of the modern luxury watchmaking industry as we know it, who was responsible for the late-20th-century success of not only Lange, but also Jaeger-LeCoultre and IWC.? Among the new watches presented at a press conference in 1994, the Lange 1 emerged as, arguably, Lange's icon. It's the watch that first comes to...
Recommended Reading: Storing Watches In A Not-So-Safe Deposit Box
Since it was published last Friday, I've had nearly a dozen watch collector friends email or text me this article from The New York Times. To be clear, that's not normal (not even close) but there's something about this story that really seems to strike a chord with anyone emotionally and financially invested in watches. The headline in many ways says it all C?"Safe Deposit Boxes Arent Safe." Despite what you might think, stashing your watches in your local bank vault isn't failsafe and if something does happen you could find yourself up a creek without a paddle. When I first started reading this story, I found myself repeatedly...