Introducing new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph - SIHH 2017
I think we can all agree that the fastest?way to ruin an iconic watch is by completely?redesigning it. It seems that Audemars Piguet subscribes to this idea too and in fact has gone as far as to print it?out in massive letters and put it?everywhere in the design department. Don’t change the Royal Oak, it will only?end in tears and with a final result that is nowhere near as good at what you started with. Still, the market is a sucker for novelties and some fresh air is needed, from time to time. With this in mind,?Audemars Piguet introduces the Refreshed?Royal Oak Chronograph at the SIHH 2017. No?major changes of course, just some tiny little updates?to make it even more?appealing, including a?two-tone dial design.Overall, we’re talking 7 new versions of the?Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph; four versions in pink gold which are available on a matching, pink gold bracelet or an alligator strap and three versions in steel?fitted with stainless steel bracelets. The choice

Introducing: Hublot Big Bang Unico All Black Schloss Schauenstein
Like watchmaking, gastronomy demands extreme precision and excellence. Both Haute Horlogerie and Haute Cuisine aim to evoke emotions through their craft. Unsurprisingly, many of the world’s best chefs have become ambassadors for some of the most prestigious watch brands. Hublot counts Yannick Alleno, Anne-Sophie Pic, Clare Smyth, and Andreas Caminada among its ambassadors. Caminada, awarded 19 Gault & Millau points in 2009 and 3 Michelin stars in 2011, practices his culinary art at Schauenstein Castle in the village of Furstenau, Switzerland. The Swiss chef has partnered with Hublot since 2017. Today, this partnership reaches a new level with a special collaboration celebrating his 20 years at the castle – the Big Bang Unico All Black Schloss Schauenstein.As its name suggests, the celebratory Big Bang comes in an all-black design featuring a 42mm micro-blasted ceramic case. The bezel is crafted from ceramic too. Together with the satin-finished and micro-blasted black-p

Hands-On - IWC Big Pilots Watch Perpetual Calendar Steel IW503605
Long the flagship model of IWC's collection of Flieger watches, the Big Pilot's Watch was first paired with the perpetual calendar complication in 2006 as small limited edition runs for two retail partners. Since then, more than 37 versions of this model have been released. Fifteen years after its introduction, the Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar in steel again enters IWC's permanent collection, with the new reference IW503605 and its deep blue dial.The Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar is a striking piece, measuring 46.2 mm in diameter and 15.4mm in thickness. Big is indeed the style here, but far from being an affectation, it is in keeping with the 1940 original, which was oversized due to the pocket watch calibre inside. Legibility was of the utmost import in the original and, even though it is slightly compromised by the perpetual calendar indications, the large dial of the Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar lends itself especially well to the complication. Ad

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Mariner Memovox & Polaris Mariner Date - News
The Polaris collection, Jaeger-LeCoultre's take on the sporty-elegant watch, welcomes two new references, the Polaris Mariner Memovox and Polaris Mariner Date. Based on the 2018 watches and designed to sit alongside but not replace these earlier models, the latest Polaris references come with a host of upgrades that consolidate their mission as genuine dive watches compliant with ISO 6425 specifications. With invigorating blue dials and sportier design codes, increased water-resistance, new stainless steel bracelets and other stylistic touches, the question is: are these high-performance divers the forerunners of a new generation of Polaris Mariners?OriginsBefore we trace the lineage of the Polaris, it's worth pointing out that there are two different collections at JLC with a Memovox alarm function: the dressier Master Control Memovox and the sportier Polaris Memovox.A 1960s Jaeger LeCoultre Memovox, with calibre 855. Photo by hqmilton.comWith a long tradition of chiming calibres unde

Vacheron Constantin vintage chronograph ref. 4072 hands-on - Monochrome-Watches
It won’t be the first time we say it: buying vintage watches can be risky. If the trustworthiness of the seller has already?been established, one’s attention has to be turned toward the authenticity of the watch itself. By that, we mean verifying it has the right pieces, the right hands or dial and not replacement ones – or even worse, pieces from another reference. In order to define what a genuine (and amazing) vintage watch is, we went to the Vacheron Constantin boutique in Paris and got our hands on a 1940s chronograph that made us fall in love.?Usually, the three ways to buy a vintage watch are through auctions, specialized shops and forums (we won’t mention here a certain auction website that everyone knows to be dangerous). These were really your only options until a few months ago, when Vacheron Constantin created a true collectors’ club (TheHourClub) and decided to sell some of their historical pieces inside their own boutiques (Paris, Geneva and