A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Perpetual White Gold Grey Dial - Review (Specs & Price)
In 1999, German watch manufacturer A. Lange & Sohne introduced the genre-defining Datograph, an in-house mechanical chronograph that many still regard as THE best in its class. So, how does one improve on the ultimate purist chronograph? Well, if you're A. Lange & Sohne, you make it even more complicated, which is exactly what it did in 2006 with the introduction of the Datograph Perpetual (this one). To this day, debate still rages among collectors as to which is the more desirable. There seems to be one point however that just about everyone can agree on: the A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Perpetual is one seriously incredible timepiece. To show you exactly why, we're going in-depth with the white gold/grey dial version introduced in 2015.Before we break the Datograph Perpetual down into its various components (case, dial, movement, etc.), it's worthwhile taking a step back and viewing it as the gorgeous whole that it is. Aesthetically, it's hard to point to a more versatile

Hands-On - Claude Meylan Legende 69 (with vintage Valjoux 69 movement) with Vintage Chronograph Movement (Specs & Price)
A visit to Les Ateliers (editor's note, the place where most independent watchmakers exhibit) at Baselworld 2018 can sometimes bring very nice surprises - especially if you have a love for old-school chronograph watches. The Claude Meylan Legende 69 is a clean, simple, elegant stopwatch. As its name suggests, it is powered by a vintage Valjoux 69 chronograph movement, entirely refurbished and redecorated by Claude Meylan, an independent watchmaker based in the Vallee de Joux, specialised in crafting skeletonised watches. The hand-wound column wheel chronograph found in this elegant and clean watch is a refinished old-stock Valjoux 69 calibre, a movement introduced in the late 1930s (more precisely, we talk about new movements created with old-stock parts). The origins of the legendary chronograph maker Valjoux go as far back as the late 19th century when the Reymond brothers set up their movement manufacture in the Vallee de Joux. Reymond Freres SA would b

SIHH 2019 - IWC Pilots Watch Automatic Spitfire IW326801 and IW326802 (Hands-On, Specs & Price)
With its focus on military/pilot watches for the SIHH 2019, IWC has launched two 3-hand pilot's watches under the Spitfire sub-range. These could have been simple evolutions of the standard Pilot's Watch Mark XVIII, but there are multiple updates on the model and all models will coexist alongside the Mark XVIII. In the same vein as the?Bronze Chronograph unveiled a few weeks ago, meet the smaller and vintage-inspired IWC Pilot's Watch Automatic Spitfire Bronze or Steel for SIHH 2019.A vintage (and probably field-tested) IWC Mark XI, the inspiration for most IWC pilot’s watches.Inspired by the original and legendary IWC Mark XI (a blueprint for IWC pilot's watches), which was introduced in 1948 for the British RAF (Royal Air Force) and the FAA (Fleet Air Arm), the new Pilot's Watch Automatic Spitfire models are smaller than the Mark XVIII and simplified three-hand versions of the Pilot's Watch Chronograph Spitfire Bronze.The new IWC Pilot's Watch Automatic Spitfire will be availab

SIHH 2016: Introducing the Panerai Luminor 8-Days Set - Two Pre-Vend?me Inspired Collector's Models (Hands-on Photos and Price) - Monochrome Watches
The history of Panerai is probably well known, with its link to?the Italian navy, and in particular the frogman commandos of the First Submarine Group Command of the Royal Italian Navy. The Florentine watchmakers created timepieces for the Royal Italian Navy; in?1936 they created the very first ‘Radiomir’. In 1940 the Radiomir was slightly changed (now Radiomir 1940) and in 1950 the legendary Luminor 1950, with its iconic crown protection mechanism, was first created. Much can be said about Panerai’s history, however commercial success didn’t start until the, what we now call, the pre-Vend?me period. During this year’s SIHH Panerai introduces a set of two pre-Vend?me inspired watches, the Panerai Luminor 8-Days set.?Limited to only 500 examples, the?new Luminor 8 Days set of two watches inspired by these pre-Vend?me watches; to be precise, the so-called?Slytech models that sold in 1996. The pre-Vend?me era was from?1992-1997 and Panerai offered three colle

Introducing: The Powerful Nivada Depthmaster Pac-Man now in Bronze
Nivada Grenchen was something of a secret among seasoned collectors of instrument dive watches from the 1950s and 1960s, but with ever-increasing exposure on specialised websites, you could say that the cat is out of the bag. Founded in 1926, Nivada Grenchen produced its first waterproof automatic watch in 1950 – the Antarctic – that was put to the test by members of the U.S. Navy during the Deep Freeze 1 expedition to the South Pole in 1955-1956. Taking waterproofness to the next level, Nivada introduced the record-breaking 1,000m water-resistant Depthmaster model in 1965, an impressively robust tool watch that blew contemporary rivals out of the water. Unable to fathom the quartz deluge, Nivada sunk into oblivion in the late 1970s but was refloated and launched re-editions of its famous divers, the Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver and Depthmaster, in 2020. The latest addition is a very handsome bronze version of the Depthmaster with a black ceramic bezel insert and Pac-Man