Buying Guide: The Very Best Artistic Dials We've Seen This Year
They say the face of a watch can be regarded as a canvas. A canvas to display time first and foremost, but in some watches, it is also a backdrop for a discerning and mesmerising complication like a tourbillon or a perpetual calendar indication. But what if you would take the dial as a canvas more literally? What if you actually use it as a blank canvas to produce a work of art? Well, magic can happen if you do, showcased by these spectacularly creative watches. And where some go for miniature painting, others take a less conventional approach!Bulgari octo Finissimo Automatic Laurent GrassoPartnering with French artist Laurent Grasso, Bulgari has given a creative spin to its mighty Octo Finissimo. The blue PVD-coated titanium case is fitted with a blue PVD-coated dial finished with an evanescent blue, white and pink cloud created by Grasso. The dreamy, iridescent image captures Grasso’s fascination with electromagnetic energy and paranormal phenomena and is said to question the f

Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon, Blue dial and Steel bracelet (Price)
Unexpected yet at the same time quite relevant given the background of Mr Ferrier, the Grand Sport Tourbillon was introduced a year ago as Laurent Ferrier’s vision of an (ultra-high-end) luxury sports watch. Mixing a more common case material with a delicate, hand-finished tourbillon movement, it was the Haute Horlogerie version of what is today the most coveted of all watch categories. First presented in brown with a rubber strap, the Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon comes back this year on a congruent steel bracelet with a gradient blue dial.While widely known for its classic, elegant and restrained watches, all with smooth curves and delicate dials, Laurent Ferrier himself has an interesting background that helps to understand why this Grand Sport watch was created. First of all, the man has spent over 35 years at Patek Philippe, and in 1974, just before the launch of the Nautilus, he was in charge of the bureau technique d'habillage, a department in charge of the extern

Oris Altimeter Rega Limited Edition Live Photos, Availability, Price
Basically, what you see here is one of the most innovative – and coolest – pilot watches on the market. No, it is not fitted with a super-high-end movement nor does it feature?the most spectacular design ever, but that’s not the point. You’ve already heard about the?Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter, a watch we‘ve reviewed previously. It’s?the world’s first automatic mechanical timepiece?with a built-in mechanical altimeter. Now?for a pilot watch, that’s quite an interesting feature. A few days ago, the brand introduced a new version, the?Oris Altimeter Rega Limited Edition (resulting from a partnership with?Rega, Switzerland’s air rescue service) and what’s better than a proper field-test, in the Swiss Alps, to experience the altimeter function.Quick facts about the?Oris Altimeter Rega Limited EditionA few days ago, Oris launched a new version of its?Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter, more simply named the?Oris Altimeter Rega Limi

Weekly Watch Photo - vintage LIP Venus Chronograph - Monochrome Watches
With our Weekly Watch Photo of this week we go back to our roots. Showing photos that made an impact on us and we’re not going to write an extensive story about it. Why, you might wonder? Because there simply isn’t much information to be found about the LIP watch in question. The photographer is Frenchmen Etienne Malec, who’s photos can be admired here at his website.This first photo caught my attention. Not because this particular watch brand has a huge legacy in watchmaking. It was simply because of the aesthetics of a typical 1960’s chronograph with a manually wound Venus movement and a “panda dial”. That dial what I also like so much about vintage Heuer Carrera watches, coming from that same era. Ad - Scroll to continue with article The brand, LIP, is mainly know for the iconic Mach 2000 watches, designed by?Roger Tallon,

The new Tudor Black Bay Pro is ready to travel the world.
The Black Bay has been an immense success for Tudor, with countless iterations since it was first launched in 2012. What started as a handsome retro-diver morphed into much, much more. We now have multiple complications, Master Chronometer certification and a range of different materials to choose from. Tudor now moves the Black Bay more in the direction of a professional tool watch with its new Black Bay Pro. It retains its vintage appeal but combines it with a new manufacture movement, a fixed 24-hour bezel and a practical GMT indication.The Black Bay Pro has a 39mm wide stainless steel case with brushed and polished finishings. So far, nothing spectacular or groundbreaking, but then you get to the bezel. While there is already a GMT version of the Black Bay in the collection, this Black Bay Pro changes things up a bit. On top of the case is a fixed steel bezel with a black-filled 24-hour scale. This closely resembles the design of the first-ever Explorer II, ref. 1655 from the ear