Industry News: LVMH Acquires High-End Clockmaker L'Epee 1839
Known as the largest luxury group in the world, owned by the Arnault family, LVMH continues its development in all fields related to rare and artistic crafts. Already the owner, through its Watches Division, of TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith (as well as jewellery brands Bulgari and Tiffany, not included in this division), the group expands its portfolio by announcing the addition of a renowned yet niche company, L'Epee 1839, through the acquisition of its owner Swiza.?Founded 185 years ago and based in Delemont, in the Swiss Jura, L'Epee 1839 is one of the few surviving clockmakers on the scene. The brand and its owner, Swiza, have unique expertise in this field. The production of these unique timepieces brings together a wide range of craftsmen and savoir-faire, with more than 80 designers, engineers, watchmakers, mechanics and employees working alongside Arnaud Nicolas, CEO and Creative Director of L'Epee 1839.The T-Rex Table Clock of MB&F made together with L’Epee 1839When i

First Look: The Hublot Big Bang MP-11 Water Blue Sapphire
The Big Bang MP-11’s impressive 14-day power reserve, derived from seven series-coupled and horizontally arranged barrels, has been a staple at Hublot since 2018. Using a sapphire crystal case to house the HUB9011 movement isn’t entirely novel (one of the inaugural models featured this). Still, it’s hard to overlook the allure of the latest iteration of the watch. This time, the Big Bang MP-11 emerges in a “radiant and translucent glacier blue” sapphire case.The new Water Blue sapphire is formulated with a fresh chemical composition and boasts all the essential properties of sapphire. It dazzles with brilliance, emits luminosity, remains perfectly unalterable, and is 100% resistant to knocks and scratches. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, the 45mm diameter and 14.4mm thick sapphire crystal case showcases exemplary hand-polishing. Water-resistance is guaranteed to 30m. Ad - Scroll to continue with article

IWC Re-Engineers Ingenieur for 2013! - Monochrome Watches
Progress can be an unsentimental and unforgiving thing. Sometimes we must move on and forsake the past in anticipation of the future. Fortunately for IWC and their Ingenieur line - the past is not such a bad thing!? Instead of obliterating it IWC have chosen to evolutionize it!To hardcore watch fans, few names elicit a primal response like the IWC Ingenieur. Drawing back to the middle of the last century - the Ingeniuer was IWC's show piece. With it's Albert Pellaton designed bidirectional movement, IWC was able to enter the vanguard of sports watchmakers circa 1955. Over the past 58 years the line of watches and it's movement have been steadily refined and improved. For 2013 IWC have just taken the wraps off of a freshly redesigned Ingeniuer line-up; the new pieces look just that - new, but the family lineage going back the fabled Ref. 1832, penned by one of the most important and influential watch designers of all time - Gerald Genta. Ad - Scroll to continue with article

SIHH 2014: Introducing the Montblanc Meisterstuck Heritage Perpetual Calendar and Moonphase - Monochrome Watches
Montblanc has an entirely new collection, called the Meisterstuck Heritage collection. A collection that can be recognized by its timeless, classic looks, and elegantly shaped lugs. The new Meisterstuck Heritage collection comprises four models: Date Automatic, Moonphase,? Perpertual Calendar and the Pulsograph. And all of the above come at an extremely attractive price!Central in the collection are the classic, timeless design elements that all models share. Case diameters are either 39 mm (Perpetual Calendar and the Moonphase) or 41 mm (Date Automatic and Pulsograph), and feature elegant short lugs, a domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating and a sapphire crystal in the case back. All metal that can be seen from above is polished, while the case band (also called mid case) and sides of the lugs feature a horizontal satin brush finish. The silvery white dial features a sunburst pattern and is slightly cambered, and features faceted applied hour indices and a Roman numeral

Buying Guide - 5 Great Mechanical Watches From Established Brands Below EUR 500
Certainly, EUR 5K or more will buy you superlative finishing, innovation, modern materials, superior precision… And status. Luxury watchmaking doesn’t come cheap – most of the time for obvious reasons – but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the desirable ticking sound of a mechanical watch with a much tighter budget. In fact, there are dozens of options available on the market, many of them provided by young microbrands relying on Kickstarter. Still, if you don’t feel adventurous and want a watch with pedigree and a well-established name, we’ll have you covered. Want to celebrate a special moment? Looking for your first serious watch? Need a classic watch for a new position at the office? Searching for a nice gift to congratulate your freshly graduated son? Well, we’ve listed 5 watches from long-established brands for less than half a grand.Citizen Classic Automatic NH8350-83LCitizen is the other Japanese brand. If Seiko is more est