Watches NEWS
Buying Guide: Watches & Wonders Reafirmed The Popularity Of Luxury Sports Watches
Although we saw plenty of very cool and innovative watches, it’s hard to ignore the continuing popularity of the luxury sports watch. With iconic entries like the Royal Oak and Nautilus still being very hard to obtain – both for their premium prices and limited supply – we’re always happy to spot alternatives. From indie brands to mainstream names and haute-horlogerie manufacturers, these six novelties presented during Watches & Wonders reaffirm the ongoing appeal of a good luxury sports watch.Czapek Antarctique RevelationOne of our favourite independent watchmakers, Czapek, has been playing around with its super sleek Antarctique recently, with the Revelation being the latest creation. This model completely opens up the automatic micro-rotor movement for the world to see. The modern construction of the skeletonised movement fits the shaped case perfectly, with the indices placed on the tinted sapphire crystal minute track. It comes on a brushed and polished
Omega and the PloProf Research Programme - Innovation in Professional Dive watches (incl. Pioneering use of 904L Steel for Watches) - Monochrome Watches
By the early 1940s, Emile Gagnan and Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s Aqualung - the first commercially successful self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (a.k.a Scuba)-? had become a worldwide phenomenon. Along with the growing popularity of recreational diving, the needs of military and professional divers underscored the paramount importance of reliable sub-aquatic instruments. The first modern dive watches appeared in the early 1950s with the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, the Zodiac Sea Wolf or the Submariner. Developed in 1953, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms is often regarded as the archetype of the dive watch: a robust, highly legible watch, water-resistant to great depths (91 meters, in this instance) and equipped with a unidirectional rotating bezel to time dives.The development of deep-sea saturation divingHowever, the development of deep-sea saturation diving soon made even higher performing tools necessary – quite simply because professional dive watches had to adapt to t
COLUMN - An Apple by any other name is a Moser? A look at the H. Moser & Cie Swiss Alp Watch - Monochrome Watches
The definition of Irish Alzheimer's is when all you can remember are your grudges. Some people just won't let things go; they develop a grudge and carry it around morning, noon and night. It seems that in their own tongue-in-cheek way, H. Moser & Cie (the present-day David of the watch industry) is about to cast a few stones jewels at Goliath! And here,?the stones?jewels that David hide in his pockets are named the?H. Moser & Cie Swiss Alp Watch.An Idyllic LandscapeEverything in the watch industry was going so well. There was a chronometer on every wrist and a tourbillon on every wish list. Then along comes Apple. First they introduced an iPod so small that it was virtually useless as a device to play music on and only found its true calling in life when someone put it on a NATO strap and displayed the time on it. Several years (and billions of dollars in R&D) later we have the Apple Watch. You can't actually do' anything with it - but it will tell the time and let you know
Hands-on - Patek Philippe 5230 World Time, the evolution of an icon (live pics, specs & price) - Monochrome Watches
World Timers are among Patek Philippe's most popular complications, with a history spanning over almost 80 years (thanks to the collaboration with Cottier). A cult status confirmed at Phillips May 2016 auction, when a rare Patek 2523/1 from 1954 achieved US$ 2.5 million. At Baselworld 2016, Patek Philippe introduced two new models featuring this practical function, the 5930 World Time Chronograph and the 5230, replacing the now iconic reference 5130. Monochrome takes a closer look at this new take on an icon.The story of Patek Philippe World Timers is indissolubly linked to Louis Cottier. The son of a watchmaker, Cottier earned horological fame for developing mechanisms indicating the time for our 24 time zones on a single dial. From the 1930s onward, Cottier manufactured such watches for prestigious clients among which Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, or Agassiz. In 1950, he created the first World Timer with 2 crowns, allowing to change the reference city when travelling. This
Ochs & Junior Calendario CentAnni Perpetual Calendar
Where other brands choose the path of complexity and try to outdo one another in parts count, Ochs & Junior goes the opposite direction. In a literal pursuit of simplicity, the independent watchmaking brand is famous for doing extremely creative things with as little as possible. This includes an Annual Calendar with only three moving parts and an extremely accurate moon phase indication using only five components. Slightly breaking with tradition, as the latest series of watches will not be customisable, Ochs & Junior continues its dedication to simplification with the new Ochs & Junior Calendario Cent'Anni CCA Perpetual Calendar.Collectors and enthusiasts familiar with the brand will know the history and philosophy, yet it remains a fascinating story to tell. Ochs & Junior is the brainchild of Dr Ludwig Oechslin, a legendary name in the watchmaking world. The Ulysse Nardin Freak is widely regarded as his biggest achievement since it was the first production watch ever
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