Romain Jerome isn’t a brand that makes tool watches, but they created a watch called the Octopus, launched in 2012, that had an 888-feet water resistance (270 metres) and an internal rotating bezel that could be used to measure elapsed time. In 2017 Romain Jerome has returned to the theme, updating this watch and giving…
This is an edition limited to one single watch. It combines a tourbillon movement probably made by Concepto for Romain Jerome, and a hand-painted dial featuring the Pokémon characters. Romain Jerome has an ongoing cooperation with The Pokémon Company International, giving this watch an exclusive rarity value. They say that it will be assigned on…
Romain Jerome is a brand not based on watchmaking, but on story telling. Each of their pieces has a very powerful identity generated by design, colour, and the materials and texture used for case and bezel. This style was developed initially by Yvan Arpa, from 2006 to 2009, and then by Manuel Emch, CEO of…
Romain Jerome have perfected a very efficient formula that enables them to sell watches in non-precious cases (though complex with a lot of attention to finish), with movements purchased from third-party suppliers, at premium prices. They achieve this by means of agreements with companies licensing instantly recognisable subjects, and small editions that satisfy customers’ desire…
The RJ X Donkey Kong is a tribute to the like-named arcade game, and it is a limited edition of 81 watches in reference to the year in which the game was first released, 1981. Gaming arcades weren’t my scene and so I have to rely on what Romain Jerome tells us: before starring in…
A graffiti artist goes to the metro station, chooses an expanse of wall in a stairwell, and creates an enormous colourful composition. Then a few days or weeks later, along come the municipal painters who repaint the wall. All that is left of the graffiti artist’s work is the stair handrail, still decorated with gaudy…
At first sight, it’s a tourbillon watch with a big date, but there is more to the Bovet 1822 Virtuoso VIII than meets the eye. One thing is difficult to see in the official photos: the case is slightly angled, wedge-form, only 4.5° but nonetheless it creates a sort of theatrical stage effect. In the…
Omega haven’t exactly gone over the top with effort on this one. This is a watch celebrating their partnership with Emirates Team New Zealand in the 35th America’s Cup, one of the two watches it has presented for the occasion. While several other brands have designed watches capable of timing the countdown to the start…
Sports watches are a growing trend. They generally have some of the characteristics of diver’s watches, or pilot’s or automotive watches, but with a water resistance of 100 metres which makes them everyday watches that can easily stand up to splashes or light surface swimming. Baume & Mercier have identified a sociological category, “gentlesportsmen,” people…
You could call this a “diving watch light.” It’s an example of the “sports watch” category that is receiving a lot of attention from many brands (click here for the Top Ten Sports Watches). The Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba looks like a diving watch, with unidirectional rotating bezel and screw-down crown, but its water resistance…
The IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Sport Edition “50th Anniversary of Mercedes-AMG” (reference IW380902) is a 250-piece limited edition marking the 50th anniversary of the Mercedes-Benz sports car brand. IWC has partnered AMG-Mercedes since 2004. The watch is in a familiar IWC pattern, with a few distinctive details such as the continuous seconds hand shaped like a…
The 2017 version of the Mido Baroncelli Heritage is even closer to the idea of an entry-level dress watch than last year’s piece. The 39 mm polished 316L steel case is very slim at just under 7 mm, and the white grained dial has minimalist baton hour markers and a discreet date window at 3…