It's February 29th And Here's All About Leap Year... And Perpetual Calendars
Every four years is a leap year and the month of February gets an extra day, a leap day, on February 29th. 2020 is a leap year and everything flows smoothly at regular, four-year intervals until 2100, which we discover is not a leap year. Wait a minute, 2100 is divisible by four, so what is going on? Find out why the leap year can be erratic and other intriguing details of how man has struggled to create a rational system that accurately reflects Earth’s rotations around the Sun and “fixed” astronomical events, such as the equinoxes and solstices.Inventing instruments to observe, measure and predict the motions of our universe has consumed astronomers since antiquity. Even if you don't have a telescope or a spectrograph in the spare room, most of us keep track of time with watches and calendars. These surprisingly complex mechanisms condense centuries of astronomic tinkering to account for the discrepancies between our computations and those of the universe. Since 158

2022 Bulgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater and Tourbillon Chronograph
With eight world records since 2014, the Octo Finissimo legion marches forward to consolidate Bulgari's ultra-thin watch empire. Just a few days after the unveiling of the mind-bogglingly thin Octo Finissimo Ultra, the Roman Maison presents new iterations of some of its Haute Horlogerie complication models, namely the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater and Tourbillon Chronograph Skeleton Automatic, with new colourways and new materials.Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Titanium/BlueStanding out by its refined design and technicality, the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater is the thinnest minute repeater ever with a movement of 3.12mm housed in a 6.61mm case. The model was originally presented in 2016. The new version combines a sandblasted titanium case and a matte blue openworked dial. Just like for previous versions, the hour-markers and small seconds are openworked. These apertures allow Bulgari to further enhance the acoustic properties of the watch.? Ad - Scroll to continue with a

Ferdinand Berthoud Chronometre FB1.6-3 Unique Piece Art in Time
Resuscitated by Chopard's Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the high-end brand Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud pays tribute to Ferdinand Berthoud's horological legacy by offering exceptional timepieces manufactured in exclusive quantities. Powered by an exceptional movement with tourbillon and fusee-and-chain, the brand's first opus, the FB1 chronometer received numerous industry accolades – including the Aiguille d'Or at the GPHG 2016, the Oscars of watchmaking. On the occasion of Geneva Watch Days, Ferdinand Berthoud takes its Chronometre FB1 into new territories, with a bold black-on-black DLC-coated steel unique piece manufactured for ART IN TIME.ART IN TIME is a watchmaking gallery concept located in Monaco at the behest of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-president of Chopard and President of Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud. It offers quintessential watchmaking art from niche brands united by their shared values of independence, originality and craftsmanship.? Ad - Scroll to

Just Because: Patek Philippe Discontinues the Nautilus Moonphase 5712A, and Some Predictions for its Future
Models come and go from brands’ portfolios. There’s nothing extraordinary in this, it’s just standard practice and lifecycle management. , for example, did it last year with the Yacht-Master II Regatta Chronograph (not necessarily a bad idea…) Patek Philippe is no stranger to this concept, as we’ve seen in the past – basically every year, the Geneva-based watchmaker cleans its collections. Yet, from time to time, some of these discontinuations make more noise than others… Remember in 2021 when Patek Philippe announced the end of the classic blue dial Nautilus 5711A…? It came as a shock. Of course, it was followed by a sought-after, short-produced green edition, later to make room for the 5811G in white gold. But still, it somehow hurt fans and collectors. Well, we’re here today with some bad news, as the other all-important steel Nautilus, the Moonphase 5712A, is reportedly discontinued (no more listed at patek.com). The end of an

Introducing the Oris Divers Sixty Five, now in Grey and "Deauville Blue" (specs & price) - Monochrome Watches
Remember Baselworld 2015… One of the most?discussed watches and one of our favorites was, surprisingly, a watch priced below 2,000 Euros – and not one of the ultra-complicated pieces from Patek or one of the latest es. Frankly, the Oris Divers Sixty Five is a tremendously cool timepiece, mixing?perfectly vintage elements with a modern and ultra-stylish look. We showed it to you in advance before Baselworld and we reviewed it later, just to confirm that, yes, we love this affordable, simple but inspired tool watch. Oris now comes with a new iteration, following the trend of blue dials. Here is?Oris Divers Sixty Five, now in Grey and “Deauville Blue”.Introduced first with a black dial, a black bezel and cream “faux-patina” indexes, the Oris Divers Sixty Five was paying tribute to an almost forgotten vintage piece made by the brand during the mid-1960s (most likely, this watch was launched in 1965). Expect for the evolution of the size (that evolved fr