Collector's Series - @chronoapothecarist's Gronefeld One Hertz Techniek
The man who operates under the alias @chronoapothecarist must have the weirdest combination of interests ever. This 40-year-old pharmacist from San Diego, California, who strives for innovations and developments in the pharmaceutical field, is equally interested in the intricate workings of a fine watch movement. Hence his love for the Gr?nefeld One Hertz Techniek Titanium, made by the horological brothers from Oldenzaal in The Netherlands.Frank Geelen, MONOCHROME – Gronefeld is not one of the big brand names. How did you come to know them?@chronoapothecarist – My first memory of the Gr?nefeld brand was around the time when they released their One Hertz and reading about the brothers on various prominent watch forums/blogs, such as Monochrome. At this time, I had always been intrigued by independent watchmakers for their design and craftsmanship and dreamed about owning an independently made watch in the future. It is amazing, though, how over time, on one's collecting jour

Breaking Watches & Wonders 2020 Geneva Cancelled Due to COVID-19 Coronavirus
Watches & Wonders 2020, the new version of the Geneva-based watch fair held by the FHH, previously named SIHH, is the latest in the growing list of events cancelled, postponed or relocated across the globe amid fears of a possible COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.The Geneva watch fair is one of the largest watch events around the world, together with Baselworld. The tradeshow is organized by FHH (Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie). For its 30th edition, the SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) had changed its name and programming, rebranded as Watches & Wonders for 2020 and beyond. 31 exhibiting brands were announced for this year's edition. These include 10 Richemont brands such as Cartier, Jaeger-Lecoultre or IWC, but also Kering's brands Ulysse Nardin and Girard-Perregaux, Hermes and independent watchmakers such as Parmigiani Fleurier, MB&F and H. Moser & Cie. In 2019, the event attracted over 23,000 visitors including 1,400 journalists and 3,000 public visi

News: IWC Ceralume, The First Fully Luminous Ceramic Watch
The use of luminescent materials on watches is far from new… Soon after the discovery of radium and its properties (and dangers…) by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898, watch dials – markers, numerals and hands – have been coated with radium and then different substances (tritium, Super-LumiNova) to produce light in the dark. Fully luminous watch dials are a far more recent trend, and fully luminous watch cases are still a rarity that we only covered twice in this magazine – with Bell & Ross and Tockr. IWC, which has already shown its appeal for lume, now unveils Ceralume, a proprietary luminous ceramic technology and the first fully luminous ceramic watch… But don’t get crazy too soon, it is still a concept and isn’t commercialized.While the idea of a fully luminous watch case isn’t new, the difference with IWC is that the brand’s engineering division XPL has developed an unprecedented luminous ceramic compound – Bell &

Tissot Heritage Visodate Automatic - Value Proposition Review (Specs & Price)
They say some things were just better back in the day. Classic cars, classic movies, pinball vs. PlayStation Perhaps the same sentiment can apply to watches. It's no secret that vintage-inspired lines are exploding among brands, from Longines' Avigation BigEye to Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms, and the right mix of retro styling with contemporary engineering can become an enthusiast's dream. Tissot has its own Heritage collection that draws on over 165 years of watchmaking. We recently reviewed the Heritage Petite Seconde, a piece inspired by a 1943 Tissot classic, and now shift our attention to the Heritage Visodate Automatic, which harkens back to the 1950s when the brand celebrated its 100th anniversary (and something that was quite innovative back in the days).BACKGROUNDFounded in 1853 in Le Locle, Switzerland, Tissot is a real veteran in the industry. With the first mass-produced pocket watch in the 1850s and first anti-magnetic watch in 1929 (among many firsts), the company is a true

Porsche Design 1919 Globetimer UTC - Baselworld 2019 (Specs & Price)
If you analyze the function of an object, its form often becomes obvious, was the credo of Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (founder of Porsche Design). “Form follows function” is something we often hear in the watch world but with Porsche Design, it is a matter of fact. Apparently simple yet perfectly functional, this has become even truer with the brand’s latest addition to the iconic 1919 range. Meet the Porsche Design 1919 Globetimer UTC, a functional, super-practical,?well-designed traveller’s watch.The basic GMT/dual-time watch usually requires the crown to be pulled (or unscrewed) to set local time when you land in a new time zone. Some do it quite well, like the /Tudor GMT watches, as the local time is fast-adjusted by one-hour increments. On a standard ETA/Sellita movement, it’s the home time that is changed, meaning that several steps are required (pulling the crown, adjusting the local time, then putting the crown back and adjusting the ho