Industry 2021 Marks Record Levels for Swiss Watch Exports
2020 was a very difficult year for the Swiss watch industry with a historic fall of 21.8%, the steepest decline since 2009. Following this sharp contraction of the global watch market, 2021 has seen a recovery from the pandemic and a return to growth, to the point of recording its best year ever! The FHS, the Federation Horlogere Suisse (or the Swiss Watch Federation), has just released export statistics for 2021. At CHF 22,297 million, exports were 31.2% higher than 2020, 2.7% higher than 2009 and 0.2% higher than the highest ever recorded by the industry, in 2014.Following the big hit taken during the pandemic, the watch industry bounced back to growth. Of course, the past two years have been a period of profound changes and the situation differs from one brand to the other. But top players like , Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet seem to be immune to crisis and are stronger than ever; the surge of independent watchmaking has been remarkable over the past few months; Conglomerates R

Five watches presented this year that shows it's hip to be square
Heuy Lewis & The News sang “It’s Hip To Be Square” in their hit song from 1986 and in watches, you could kind of say the same. Amongst watches, square ones always tend to stand out a bit more, and few have even stood the test of time and earned the status of horological icon. Watches like the TAG Heuer Monaco or Cartier Santos need little introduction, really. But more recent offerings tend to tap into the same group of possible clientele that’s into square-shaped watches. And to be honest, I have two on my personal wishlist as well. there’s just something unique about having a square watch on the wrist. So with that in mind, we’re taking a closer look at 5 new watches with a square(-ish) case!TAG Heuer Monaco Purple EditionArguably one of the most famous square watches available, the TAG Heuer Monaco has become an icon thanks to a brilliant marketing ploy by Jack Heuer, using the Monaco Grand Prix and Steve McQueen to make it beyond cool. Many i

Up Close With The High-Beat Low-Weight Longines Ultra-Chron Carbon
Longines is known to tread carefully in developing new watches, often delving into its hugely impressive archives to find inspiration for tons of fine heritage-related watches. It’s also a brand that doesn’t jump in unexpected directions, resulting in strange and inexplicable choices and subsequent releases.?So it’s fair to say this?Ultra-Chron Carbon took us by surprise, as it’s the very first time – that I know of – that Longines has ventured out of the field of metal cases and into a composite material. There simply has never been a watch from the Winged Hourglass like this before. More than enough reason to dive deeper into this lightweight, high-beat Ultra-Chron Carbon!The Ultra-Chron holds a special place in Longines’ extensive history. The name goes back to 1968 and thus predates Zenith’s famous high-beat El Primero automatic chronograph by a year. The reference 7970 (below, left), with which the Ultra-Chron was introduced, was a 2

Hands-on with the Richard Mille RM11-01 Roberto Mancini (Photos, Specs and Price) - Monochrome Watches
Recently we visited the Richard Mille in Switzerland. However it’s difficult to say that we visited THE manufacture, because there are several locations where the various parts are manufactured, finished, and assembled. Part “in-house” and partially not; so in the typical Swiss horological tradition. This gave us the chance to learn more about the brand, the manufacturing, the finishing and of course we got hands-on with some of the Richard Mille timepiece, like this extremely cool RM 11-01 Roberto Mancini. If budget permits (price is just above € 100k Euro), this is the perfect watch to accompany you to the Fifa Worldcup in Brazil.The former footballer Roberto Mancini has an impressive list of titles to his credit, and in 2009 he started as manager of Manchester City. According to Richard Mille he’s a true ‘gentleman of football’ and he is the very image of the brand: refined, technically brilliant and creative. The RM 11-01 was designed especially

Introducing The Oris Great Barrier Reef Limited Edition IV
Oris remains committed to its Change for the Better mission, whether by introducing a smaller, lighter, fully recyclable Sustainable Watch Box, celebrating Local Heroes who embody the watchmaker’s honourable values, or partnering with the social enterprise Bracenet. This July, in support of the Australian non-profit Reef Restoration Foundation, Oris presents the Great Barrier Reef Limited Edition IV. This release features several unique design elements that make it particularly special.The Oris Great Barrier Reef Limited Edition IV is based on the latest-generation Aquis Date 43.50mm, unveiled earlier this year. The stainless steel case boasts 300m water resistance. It features a screw-in crown and a unidirectional rotating bezel with a grey tungsten insert displaying a 60-minute scale and a triangle at the top. The screwed case back is engraved with an image of coral and a starfish, along with the Great Barrier Reef Limited Edition inscription and individual limited-edition numb