The Collector's Series - Diving deep with Mark's Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Chronographe Flyback Quantieme Complet - Monochrome Watches
When you think iconic dive watches', what comes to mind?… Submariner? Sea-Dweller? Omega Seamaster? Panerai Radiomir?… Well, the good news is you would be absolutely correct. However, you would have overlooked one heavy hitter of the watch world: the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, a watch seen by many hard-core divers as an essential tool in their armoury and by many collectors as their pride and joy. It is not just a functional watch, but a historically important one. And today we're happy to show you a very nice example,?together?with Mark and his Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Chronographe Flyback Quantieme Complet.It was back in 1953 the first commercial Fifty Fathoms was released. The watch was developed by Jacques Fiechter, Blancpain CEO at the time and an early scuba diving fan. It was later refined for French combat divers with the addition of magnetic shielding. The story begins when Captain Robert Bob Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud, both commanders at the French C

HYT Starts Delivery to Retailers and Tour the World - Monochrome Watches
Developing something new isn’t always easy, or should we say, is never easy. The guys from HYT Watches know all about that, but they did pull off something extremely special with their hydro-mechanical watches. Their first model, the H1, already won the Innovation Watch Prize at the prestigious Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve in 2012 (check last year’s winners here). Now the first H1 models are arriving at retailers around the world and that is also a good reason for the people from HYT to visit all their retailers and show the H2 that was introduced earlier this year.When the H1 was introduced, everyone, friend or foe, was impressed by the ‘unimaginable’ that HYT had done. After some first working prototypes one major flaw came to light: due to differences in temperature the fluid in the tube expands or reduces. Since the fluids in the tube are there to indicate time, it’s logical that this influences the time indication properties. Nothing wrong

Hands-On: The Rectangular Moritz Grossmann Corner Stone
In 2019, Moritz Grossmann ventured into the scarcely populated territory of rectangular watches, unveiling three dial variants in five different versions as part of the Art Deco-inspired and appropriately named Corner Stone series. The Corner Stone featured a specially designed shaped calibre with a central hour and minutes display and a small seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock; the collection included a limited edition pair with white Grand Feu enamel dials, which has long found a place in connoisseurs’ collections. References in white and rose gold with solid silver opaline or black lacquered dials were reserved for the regular catalogue. Recently, we had the opportunity for a hands-on experience with the Corner Stone in a striking rose gold version – an exceptional timepiece with a distinct identity and a unique elegance.The contextTo fully appreciate the Moritz Grossmann Corner Stone, one must acknowledge that combining a rectangular case and rectangular movement is no

Introducing The Summery Hublot Big Bang Unico Sky Blue
Hublot has forged its identity on a fusion of state-of-the-art materials and extroverted watches, personified by the Big Bang collection. Similar to the differences between the original Royal Oak and the beefier, more aggressive temperament of the Royal Oak Offshore, Hublot's original Classic Fusion of 1980 was fed a steady diet of testosterone to grow in stature and become the bigger and bolder Big Bang in 2005. Hosting a wide array of complications, the Big Bang Unico sub-collection is equipped with Hublot's fully integrated in-house chronograph complication. In light of the upcoming summer months, the Big Bang Unico appears in a Sky Blue ceramic case and matching rubber strap.Colourful ceramicAs a precursor in the use of colourful high-tech ceramic cases since 2019 (with unusual colours like yellow and red), Hublot delivers its summery 100m water-resistant Big Bang Unico in a 42mm light blue ceramic case decorated with satin-finished and polished surfaces. With a thickness of 14.5mm

The Speedmaster Chronicles #2 - Robert-Jan Broer, Mister Speedy Tuesday
Today is Tuesday. What else then, except?having the one-and-only?Mister Speedy Tuesday featured for our second instalment of “The Speedmaster Chronicles“. Yesterday, we started this series of videos with the man that certified the Omega Speedmaster to go to the Moon. Today, we give the floor to fellow watch-journalist?Robert-Jan Broer, founder of Fratellowatches. Most importantly, RJ (as we all name him) is one of the top-tier sources for the Speedmaster, the founder of the “Speedy Tuesday” movement and the man responsible for the creation of the highly coveted Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday?Limited Edition. Needless to say, he knows quite a bit about the “Moonwatch“.Robert-Jan is mainly known for being a watch expert and specifically a Speedmaster expert, a knowledge that he shares in his own watch-magazine, Fratellowatches, which he founded in 2004. Also based in The Netherlands, just like our founder Frank Geelen, he has been a good friend?of ours her