Breaking stereotypes, one watch at a time
When the average Joe thinks of Swiss watchmakers he probably thinks of wizened old men with white hair and white coats, perennially hunched over workbenches assembling miniature mechanical masterpieces with impossibly small gears and screws. And you know something, he’d be right. Sort of. Yes, they wear white coats, and yes, they do spend an [...]
Back with a splash
Nowadays, you can hardly throw a dead fish without hitting another new dive watch brand. The availability of Far East shops that will stamp out a few hundred watch cases based on a napkin sketch means that almost anyone with a little ambition and a small loan can start their own watch company. And there [...]
High watchmaking goes deep
Earlier this year, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced its retro-tastic Deep Sea Vintage Chronograph at the annual Salon International de Haute Horlogerie in Geneva. The watch made just about everyone’s “Best Of” list (including ours) with its creamy “aged” luminescent markers, textured dial and old-school pump-style chronograph pushers. The watch was homage to a watch JLC never produced [...]
If you're going to lead, you better know what time it is
Luminox’s new Recon series was developed with the military professional in mind. That goal is clearly articulated by the line’s first offering, the Recon Point Man ($320). Designed in collaboration with former Swiss Army Military Security NCO Andrea Micheli, this rugged analog diver is perfect for not only the battlefield, but also for slightly less [...]
Big Pilot, Big Apple
The International Watch Company definitely didn’t pull any punches with the grand opening of their newest flagship boutique in Manhattan last Wednesday, what with the boxing greats, movie stars and supermodels present to help celebrate its long awaited debut, but the real story here lies with the watches, and the novel way that IWC has [...]
Braveheart’s watch
There are some things for which Scotland is known: single malt whisky, Sean Connery and bagpipes, to name a few. You may soon be able to add wristwatches to that list. Young Scottish product designer, Gordon Fraser, is a watch enthusiast who wanted to create a watch that would be accessible to other guys like [...]
Not just the "poor man's Rolex"
Everybody and his grandmother knows who Rolex is. They’ve done such a wonderful job marketing their brand that even folks who couldn’t care one whit about watches will swear up and down that Rolex is not just the best watch made, it’s the only watch worth considering. Period. Well, as connoisseurs of the craft, we [...]
Changes Come Easy
Let’s face it, times are tough and it’s not just European governments that are implementing austerity measures. A lot of guys can’t squeeze a new watch into their 2012 budgets. But don’t despair, there’s an affordable way to get a fresh look for your existing watch – change the strap. You might be surprised at [...]
The right stuff
Reaching down to deploy the cupholder, you glance through your aviators at the chunky pilot’s watch on your wrist. You’re good for an on-time arrival. Suddenly, you spy a minivan bearing down on you at four o’clock so you quickly disable cruise control and switch into manual mode as you approach your exit. This is [...]
Strapped for Dash
Like a set of wheels to a car or shoes with a suit, nothing sets apart a watch quite like a well-considered strap. Even watches limited to mere dozens have room for individualization and strapping on a new swath of leather, suede or nylon can make all the difference. Our friends at Hodinkee have just [...]
From a tiny acorn
The concrete canyons of Manhattan are pretty far away from the wooded alpine serenity of Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux, but it was on Park Avenue that Swiss watch company, Audemars Piguet, decided to kick off a celebration tour for its mightiest creation: the Royal Oak. Appearing in 1972 with a price ten times that of [...]
Go deep, or go home
Yes, they’re doing it again. Are we surprised? Not at all. In 1960, Rolex created the Deep Sea Special with the express purpose of joining Jacques Piccard and Lt. Don Walsh on their record-breaking descent to the bottom of Challenger Deep in their submersible, the Trieste. Unlike Mr. Piccard and Lt. Walsh, however, the Deep [...]
Tudor goes back to the future
Given the overwhelmingly positive reception that greeted Tudor’s Heritage Monte Carlo Chronograph at Basel 2010, it should come as little surprise that they have mined the past for inspiration once more with their latest debut. For 2012, their dive watches get the treatment in the form of the Heritage Black Bay Diver, which is an [...]
Patek Philippe takes a walk on the wild side
The Gérald Genta-designed Nautilus from Patek Philippe is a bona fide icon in the watch industry, and much like its counterpart from Audemars Piguet, the Royal Oak, which was also penned by Genta, it has seen minimal changes during its nearly 40 years in production. In fact, to the untrained eye, the ref. 3700 would [...]
Boldly goes where no one has gone before
Housed in a retro-styled titanium case that evokes their classic Flightmaster pilot’s watches from the 70′s, the new Omega Spacemaster Z-33 cannot be mistaken for anything else; namely a purpose-built pilot’s watch from a company known for pushing boundaries. Don’t let its face fool you, though; the Z-33 is a 21st century watch through-and-through, and [...]
