Hands-On - Maurice Lacroix Aikon Venturer Bronze 43mm Anthracite
The latest Maurice Lacroix Aikon Venturer Bronze 43mm is a culmination of several things: the brand's recent use of bronze cases, the continued evolution of the Aikon line, and a focus on the diver aesthetic that began with the 1990s Calypso collection. This isn't simply a dive watch; it's very much an accessibly priced luxury sports watch as well. A hybrid, if you will. The first Aikon was introduced in 2017 with a quartz movement, but automatics debuted a year later and provided affordable alternatives to the Royal Oaks and Octo Finissimos of the world that many of us can only aspire to.?Maurice Lacroix generally defines affordable luxury, reminding me of brands like Frederique Constant, yet with a sportier vibe. The original Aikon automatics were luxury sports watches in three-hand and chronograph versions for enthusiasts without five-figure budgets. The Aikon Venturer series adds a more rugged, outdoorsy element with serious dive watch credentials. The Aikon Bronze first appeared i

Introducing: The White Edition of the accessible Tissot Heritage 1938 COSC
Released last year, the Tissot Heritage 1938 COSC is a watch that’s hard to not objectively find brilliant. Combining a nice retro design with modern specs and a truly fair price, it even comes equipped with a chronometer-certified movement – making it one of the most accessible Swiss chronometers on the market. This handsome, affordable vintage-styled watch was already available in two appealing editions – salmon and black-gilt – but Tissot now adds a third version to the collection, with a fresh, classic silvery-white dial and blue accents.?Before we take a closer look at this new edition of the Heritage 1938 COSC, let’s quickly come back to the topic of the chronometer. A chronometer, not to be confused with a chronograph, is a watch that has been officially tested for its precision by an independent and vetted institute. Multiple organisations have the authority to certify movements and watches, the most famous of them all being the COSC or Contr?le Of

Introducing The Tudor Black Bay GMT Polar White Dial
The Tudor Black Bay GMT model has been with us since 2018. Inspired by vintage Tudor watches from the 1950s and 60s, it has a classic and elegant look with a bold red and blue Pepsi bezel, reminiscent of the iconic GMT-Master. Five years after its introduction, the model gets a facelift and remains an exciting and attractive timepiece for its functionality and design. And mostly, it gets the polar white dial that some?were?expecting from the Crown. And still, it looks very good.The New Tudor Black Bay GMT gets an all-new silvery-opaline dial – yes, the so-called polar white – and the matte version of the deep-blue and burgundy rotating bezel, the rest, including performance and valuable features, remains pretty much as in the earlier edition. The case is 41mm stainless steel; the watch is 200m water-resistant; the GMT complication allows it to keep track of multiple time zones. The robust in-house automatic COSC-certified Calibre MT5652 with a silicon balance spring does

Louis Erard Excellence email Grand Feu II 39mm (Price)
Given the amount of time and skill required to handcraft a Grand Feu enamel dial, it’s not surprising that they are usually reserved for high-end watches. Louis Erard, the watch brand based in Le Noirmont, is determined to democratise traditional metiers d’art and offer them to a wider public. Last year, the independent Swiss brand produced its first Grand Feu enamel dial for a watch with a price tag of under CHF 4,000. This year, the brand repeats the formula and entrusts its second Excellence model with a Grand Feu enamel dial to the reputed firm Donze Cadrans which specialises in enamel dials. The second Excellence model now comes in a more versatile 39mm case size with a lovely white enamel dial enlivened with touches of blue and red.Accessible luxuryFor the past couple of years, Louis Erard has devised a strategy to gain visibility by inviting watch designers like Alain Silberstein, Eric Giroud and even watchmaker Vianney Halter to reinterpret the versatile Regulateur

Baselworld 2019 - Zenith Defy Inventor (Live Pics, Video, Specs & Price)
More than three centuries after the invention of the sprung balance (by Hooke/Huygens), the oscillator is back in the limelight. Exploring new frontier and technological breakthroughs in mechanical watchmaking, the oscillator is considered the crowning glory for the most inventive and skillful watchmakers. Just a few days after the presentation of the Ulysse Nardin Freak NeXt (still a concept watch) and its innovative 3D suspended oscillator, Zenith returns with the commercial version of the revolutionary Defy Lab Meet the Zenith Defy Inventor.The way watches and clocks are regulated has not changed for centuries. The sprung balance has been the exclusive time basis for the mechanical watch. Paced by a thin coiled spring, the oscillations of the balance wheel control the speed at which the gears of the watch rotate and thus its rate. The sprung balance has been optimized to the greatest possible extent but its principle remained unchanged – until very recently. Ad - Sc