Gerald Charles Maestro 8.0 Squelette - Hands-On, Price
The mission of Gerald Charles, an independent family-owned watch company based in Lugano, is to perpetuate the legend of the late Gerald (Charles) Genta, the foremost watch designer of the 20th century. With a portfolio of watches built around an extravagant Genta case design known as Maestro, the brand launches the Gerald Charles Maestro 8.0 Squelette, a skeletonised version of the watch designed by Octavio Garcia – ex-artistic director of Audemars Piguet and founder of Gorilla Watches. The choice of Garcia was surely intentional, given that Gerald Genta's meteoric career took off with a watch design he made for Audemars Piguet in 1972 that is now more popular than ever.Frederico Ziviani, CEO of Gerald Charles, and Octavio Garcia, designerThe MaestroGerald Charles Genta (1931-2011) was the brainchild behind the luxury sports watch. Following a renewed and highly successful design for Omega's Constellation watch in 1959, Gerald Genta's design career took off. Icons like the AP Ro

The spooky Petite Seconde Louis Horror x Seconde/Seconde
Louis Erard has become a byword for collaborations, and the list of watchmakers and design studios involved with the brand is growing by the day. Fast becoming a tradition, the models singled out for the collaborative transformations are the Regulateur and the Petite Seconde from Louis Erard’s Excellence collection. Tapping into a festive Halloween mood, the latest Petite Seconde has been designed by seconde/seconde, the alias of Romaric Andre, who has gained fame for customising vintage watches with lighthearted, whimsical touches.Seconde/secondeA serial hand-swapper, Parisian designer Romaric Andre makes no qualms about his intentions: “I vandalize other people’s products only because I failed at building mine.” Taking the seriousness out of vintage watches, Andre’s tongue-in-cheek customisations include a Air King with a cloud substituting the central seconds hand or a Patek Philippe model branded Tiffany & Co. with a croissant-shaped minute hand

Baltic X A Collected Man MR01 Blue Roulette (Specs & Price)
Talking about a success story, the Baltic MR01 has recently been one of the most discussed and sought-after models on the micro-brand scene. And rightfully so, as with its Calatrava-styled case, its thin micro-rotor movement, its charm-packed vintage design and its accessible price, there was a lot to love… so much that the watch is still in shortage a year after its release. But today is your chance to get one. And not a standard one, but a super-cool limited edition with a vintage roulette-styled, Patek-inspired dial, paying tribute to the early Calatrava 96 story. Be aware (and fast), I’m pretty sure there won’t be enough of these MR01 Blue Roulette for A Collected Man.?Everything in the Baltic X A Collected Man MR01 Blue Roulette screams 1930s/1940s Calatrava, but with the right dosage of modernity to make it cool on the wrist in 2022. Already with the classic editions of the Baltic?MR01, the inspiration was clear; the Patek Philippe Calatrava reference 96. And th

Hands-On - Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Titanium 6000m
The Seamaster, a collection born in 1948, is the most enduring range produced by Omega. Born as a child of peace, yet with military-tested technology, the diving-oriented lineup has since been the perfect vehicle for experimentation and innovation, constantly pushing the limits of water-resistance, but also of materials, metallurgy and technology. A couple of years ago, Omega presented the Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional, a innovation-packed prototype that happened to be a record-breaking watch, with 15,000m water-resistant, and field-tested a whopping depth of 10,928m, when it reached the deepest point in the ocean during the Five Deeps Expedition to the Mariana Trench. Today, the brand presents the commercial version of this watch, a barely-downgraded model with a complete steel collection and this, the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Titanium, with an impressive 6,000m water-resistance.?The Seamaster, from Lake Biel to the Mariana TrenchThe story of the Omega Seamaster,

Hands-On - Patek Philippe Chronograph Annual Calendar 5960/01g (Specs & Price)
For a few years now, Patek Philippe has been applying a rather surprising strategy, by offering a new, younger approach. Sometimes vintage, sometimes modern, and sometimes quite difficult to understand, even sometimes controversial… This all started back in 2014 with the modern-looking stainless steel 5960/1A, followed later in 2015 with the launch of the Calatrava Travel Time Pilot 5524G, a vintage-inspired watch, dramatically different from the traditional conservative Patek collections. And if you mix these two watches, you’ll end up with the 2017?Patek Philippe Chronograph Annual Calendar 5960/01g.The Patek Philippe Ref. 5960This reference is certainly amongst the most important modern Pateks… If it has always been well received and had always somehow flown under the radar, it has to be reminded that, when it came on the market, the 5960 was a big first for the brand.?Before this ref. 5960, at Patek, the calendar linked to a chronograph was always a perpetual one