Watches NEWS
Editorial: An Analysis of a Struggling Watch Industry, New and Secondary, for the First Half of 2024
Following three consecutive record years for the watch industry in 2021, 2022 and 2023, recovering from a complex situation in 2020 due to the pandemic, the watch industry in 2024 is not sending the same positive signs. Pessimistic notes in brands and groups’ financial reports, contraction of prices on the secondary market, ambient morosity, increasing inventories, decreasing waitlists and reduced speculation (in all fairness, the last two might be a positive outcome)… This is what our ears are catching in the corridors of the watch industry. What is the situation for the first semester of 2024? Let’s have an overview using the latest reports and analytics we have in hand.?Preliminary note: the analysis of the new watch market is based on either the exports of the industry as reported by the Swiss Federation of the Watch Industry (FHS) or on a brand/group’s perspective, with numbers that take into account the so-called sell-in – sales from a brand to a dis
Interview - Independent Watchmaker Aaron Becsei Of Bexei Watches
There’s watchmaking…. and there’s Watchmaking. To me it becomes Watchmaking with a capital when we’re talking about watchmakers who have the knowledge, the ability and the patience, to create a timepiece entirely by hand. I’m not talking about redesigning a few plates or bridges of an existing movement. Although we all love Dufour’s Simplicity (based on a JLC calibre) or Voutlainen’s Observatoire (based on a Peseux calibre), to me these watches are drop-dead gorgeous, uber-desirable, but maybe not so much watchmaking with a capital W. When talking about Watchmaking with a capital W, think along the lines of George Daniels or Roger Smith. Hand-made is key, and a movement entirely developed by the watchmaker, without ‘borrowing’ the escapement, the keyless works. Today, we’re talking with non-other than a proper independent Watchmaker. We’re talking with Aaron Becsei, the namesake of Bexei Watches. Oh… And a small PS
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox Timer Gold Limited Hands-On
The name Memovox has been associated with Jaeger-LeCoultre for more than 70 years, being one of the most famous (and also one of the last) alarm watches on the market. The brand has established a tradition by releasing watches equipped with this function ranging from classic timepieces to sports watches. One of the most appealing recent models to surface with the buzzing alarm was the limited edition Master Control Memovox Timer with its blue dial, engraved areas and timer function. The watch now returns in a new version, mixing warm tones of gold with an elegant black dial.?The 2020 Master Control Memovox Timer?in steel with a blue dial.Whenever you hear (pun intended) the name Memovox at Jaeger-LeCoultre, you know that it has to do with an alarm function. Somewhat overlooked these days, this striking complication might be the simplest when it comes to sound functions, but it remains fascinating due to its entirely mechanical nature. Our editor Rebecca wrote a relatively comprehensive
Ma?tres du Temps Chapter One Round Transparence - Monochrome Watches
Dreams do come true. In the US, anyone who has played fantasy football or attended an all-star baseball game knows the synergistic thrill of combining top talent from various sources. These sports venues reveal a dream team in action, and Ma?tres du Temps embodies this concept for the watch world; the Chapter One Round Transparence is their latest dream realized. The Transparence is an evolution of the Chapter One Round (first introduced in 2007), and provides a voyeuristic view of its inner workings. When you pay close to half-a-million dollars, own one watch of only eleven made, and have the creative duo of Peter Speake-Marin and Christophe Claret design the watch, viewing the movement provides a greater appreciation of the watch's alchemy. Those of us who fail to make the Forbes 500 list of the world's richest people can dream, knowing that somewhere, there is such a watch. Ad - Scroll to continue with article
Video Review: The TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Chronograph 39mm Black Dial
This year, TAG Heuer celebrates the 60th anniversary of its most emblematic watch, a racing chronograph known as the Carrera, and as expected, we’ve seen already special editions or commemorative models. But that’s not all the brand had to offer. What’s probably the most important launch in recent years for this icon of motorsport is the watch we’re about to review, a new automatic chronograph with a compact 39mm case and a design so original that it gave its name to the watch:?Glassbox. And while the recently-launched Carrera Skipper might feel even cooler, we believe that this classic reversed panda edition of the TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox is the one to get, as we’ll see in our video review.BackgroundThe Carrera Chronograph was first introduced in 1963, although its roots go back even further than that. A decade earlier, Heuer introduced the 404 series, a chronograph that already showed the telltale signs of what would become the Carrera. With this watc
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