Alternatives to Off-the-Shelf Swiss ETA and Sellita Movements, with Seagull, Seiko and Miyota - Monochrome Watches
When talking about contemporary watches, companies generally use either in-house or off-the-shelf movements, the latter supplied by various manufacturers. Many high-end brands like Patek Philippe, Piaget, and Breguet can produce in-house movements that are optimized for their portfolios. A watch company is considered complete when it can produce its own movement, but many still rely on outsourced ones from large Swiss manufacturers like ETA and Sellita. Yet, the market has changed. A few established brands have decided to offer entry-range automatic watches and mostly,?microbrands are all over the place, with the need to offer mechanical movements for accessible prices. Alternatives to?the usual Swiss generic?calibres have thus become crucial.The time and expense to design and build an in-house movement isn't a viable option for many smaller brands, and even major companies with their own movement production facilities also rely on off-the-shelf calibres for many models. It's been th

Introducing The Function-Packed Ollech & Wajs OW Astrochron
The Ollech & Wajs 1967 Astrochron was one of the first chronographs suited for professional divers thanks to its 200m water-resistant case. Equipped with a Valjoux 72 movement, a movement it shared with models like the original Daytona, the Astrochron has been selected by Ollech & Wajs for a remake this year. While the Astrochron borrows some design cues from its 1967 ancestor and is powered by a descendant of the historic Valjoux 72, it is equipped with a host of functions to keep you covered in just about any terrain. With double the depth rating of the original and fitted with a regatta countdown timer and a 360-degree rotating compass bezel, the Astrochron chronograph is a mighty robust and function-packed action watch.Brief bioOllech & Wajs was founded in 1956 by Albert Wajs and Joseph Ollech in Zurich and started life retailing watches from Omega and Breitling. The business expanded to specialise in the assembly of movements from ETA, Dubois Depraz and Valjoux insid

Review (Affordable) - Farer Aqua Compressor Endeavour (Specs & Price)
Dive watches are a dime a dozen these days. You can go high-end with a Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 or Omega Seamaster, or find something more affordable like a Seiko Diver's Automatic or Hamilton Khaki King Scuba. Whether spending USD 10,000 or USD 500, it's not hard to find a stylish and capable dive watch from a plethora of established brands. Ever since I got my first serious mechanical watch in the 1990s, an RGM Model 107-P Pilot, I've gravitated toward smaller, lesser-known companies. Dive watches have often been my style of choice, so I'm excited to review a Super Compressor from a newcomer that has already generated some waves: the Farer Aqua Compressor Endeavour.BackgroundFarer Universal, a British-based company manufacturing genuine Swiss watches via Roventa-Henex, has a handful of lines that have generated a lot of interest with their original, slightly quirky retro aesthetics. Bold colors and textures, multi-layered dials and signature bronze crowns have helped them sta

Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight 18k Yellow Gold 79018V - Price, Specs
If Tudor is regarded as the accessible arm of , what has been unveiled today is not that accessible anymore… ?Well, it remains, for what it is at least, relatively fairly priced, but it is clearly out of Tudor’s comfort zone. Based on the brand’s highly acclaimed and appreciated vintage-inspired dive watch, the BB58, the brand has just released a new luxurious edition made of 18k yellow gold and equipped with an oh-so-trendy green dial/bezel combination. Meet the new Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight 79018V.?Case material aside, there are no major differences between this new yellow gold edition of the Black Bay Fifty-Eight and a classic steel version, like this blue edition or the black gilt version. The main difference is, of course, the solid 18k yellow gold case. Most of the time, precious Tudor watches are two-tone watches – with even some of the parts only capped in gold, not even solid gold. Here, it’s solid gold all around, for the case, the crown, the

Officine Panerai Introduces a New Entry Level 8-days Manual Wind Movement - Caliber P.5000 - Monochrome Watches
Roughly six months after the SIHH, the ‘usual’ moment for introducing new watches for brands of the Richemont stable, Panerai introduces an entirely new caliber and two new watches. The new movement, caliber P.5000, is a manually wound movement with 8 days of power reserve. It will be positioned as most affordable in-house movement, with a price level that’s just a tad above the Unitas-based movements. The movement is launched in two watches, which are part of the Historic collection.The two new watches come in the familiar Luminor Marina case, featuring the minimalist design of the case and dial and of course the iconic locking lever to protect the winding crown. The red gold case (PAM00511) is made of 5Npt red gold, a distinctive alloy with a high percentage of copper?that gives it a particularly deep color, and a bit of platinum that helps to prevent?oxidation. The other is a stainless steel version (PAM00510) and both measure 44 mm in diameter. Ad - Scr