Hands-On - Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 34mm Black Ceramic 77350CE
The sleek, elegant and versatile vibe of the 34mm black ceramic Royal Oak Selfwinding could be seen as the equivalent of a little black dress or, for that matter, a smart black shirt for gentlemen who prefer smaller watches. The Royal Oak Selfwinding 34mm made its debut in 2021 and marked the first time a straightforward time-and-date RO got the full-ceramic look, a treat formerly reserved for complicated Audemars Piguet models. In light of the 50th-anniversary Royal Oak celebrations, the latest 34m Royal Oak Selfwinding 77350CE?reveals some of the subtle design updates that have been applied and will be applied to the permanent collection throughout 2022.Smaller dimensions and ceramic CaseThe first 34mm Royal Oak Selfwinding appeared in 2020 and was a breath of fresh air for women or men with small wrists who didn't want to settle for the 33m quartz-powered Royal Oak. Fitted with an automatic calibre made by Vaucher, the news that the 34mm time-and-date was going to be the first uncom

A Technical Perspective - The Mighty Return of Ultra-Thin Watches
Miniaturisation has always been one of the watchmaking industry’s main objectives. With the advent of complicated watches and the development of the wristwatch, this issue became critical. Fitting multiple functions into a single movement, which has to remain wearable, requires re-imagining space. This also led to the development of ultra-thin watches, guided initially by a desire for elegance, but also in the framework of constant improvement. Popular since the 1960s but slightly forgotten during the 2000s (with the trend for large timepieces), ultra-thin watches recently made a strong comeback – a trend that has sparked open warfare between Piaget and Bvlgari – amongst others.Modern history of the ultra-thin wristwatchThe concept of the ultra-thin wristwatch is nothing new but it's Piaget and the iconic Altiplano model that bring it into the spotlight. In 1957, Piaget introduced Calibre 9P; the thinnest mechanical movement ever created, it was fitted inside a watch

The Petrolhead Corner: H. Moser & Cie and BWT Alpine F1
For the second week running, I’m going to cover the fast-paced world of Formula 1, as I was lucky enough to be invited by H. Moser & Cie and the BWT Alpine F1 team for a factory tour and a one-day visit to the 2024 Silverstone Grand Prix. For those who have been following our Petrolhead Corner, which includes personal experiences from time to time, it’s no secret I love F1 racing and have been following it for about 30 years now. Weirdly, I have yet to visit an actual F1 race weekend but I’m not going to bore you with details on why that hasn’t happened yet. Instead, I will share my experience setting foot in the Enstone compounds of Alpine, talking to Pierre Gasly for a bit, and paying a visit to the Silverstone track on Friday.Front row, third through fifth from the left; our editor Xavier Markl, Alpine racing driver Pierre Gasly, and myself.The BWT Alpine F1 Team might not be the oldest on paper, as the name has been around since 2021, yet the history beh

Orange is the New Black: the new Seamaster Planet Ocean Orange Ceramic - Monochrome Watches
Omega introduces the new Seamaster Planet Ocean Orange Ceramic. If Piper Kerman's book, Orange is the New Black, or Netflix's popular series adapted from the book, hadn't seared orange into the cultural consciousness, then Omega brings this orange world premiere of only eight pieces. After a slew of 2013 black watches from various companies, Omega's Dark Side of the Moon Speedmaster being one of them, we find an extravagant redirection.Orange has been a popular accent to the Plant Ocean model, appearing previously on the bezel, but now comes on a ceramic bezel. Ceramic is a light weight, space age material, which is highly scratch resistant and difficult to produce in color. Omega showcases its mastery of the material with an exuberant, patent pending orange ceramic bezel. Now we have a ceramic bi-directional 24-hour GMT orange bezel, orange leather strap with highlight stitching and platinum clasp, an included orange rubber strap with changing tool, orange aluminum 6 - 9 - 12 numerals

Oris Divers Sixty Five Chronograph Steel-and-Bronze (Specs & Price)
After Oris introduced the Bronze Carl Brashear Chronograph earlier in 2018, and after the brand announced teaming up with Swiss retailer Bucherer to created a new episode of the “Blue Editions”, we knew that the standard version of the Divers Sixty Five Chronograph was about to come. So end of the teasing: here is the regular production model of the Oris Divers Sixty Five Chronograph – and indeed, it still looks good in steel-and-bronze.When Oris and Bucherer introduced their shared vision of the “65 Chrono”, we wrote: “The Divers Sixty-Five is Oris' most successful collection of the last five years. An affordable, well-executed, good-looking diver with a fair amount of vintage elements, it has been praised by many - including us. What started as a stand-alone piece quickly became a full collection, with 36mm, 40mm, and 42mm models and with steel, BiCo' steel-and-bronze or full bronze versions. Last year saw the first introduction of a complication i