The Manero Fyback by Carl F. Bucherer was first presented in 2016, with three new colour variants added in 2017 and shown here. The watch could be described as a dressy chronograph, with large skeletonized hands in the same material as the case, but with no SuperLuminova, and hour indices whose shape mirrors the hands.…
The Harmony Pulsometer Chronograph, introduced by Vacheron Constantin in 2015, is what a pulsometer chronograph should look like, as least as regards the scale. The pulsometer scale at the edge of the dial is subdivided into units as far as is practical, up to a pulse rate of 80. And the chronograph seconds scale is…
This Pulsograph chronograph – with a pulsometer scale – is part of the Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Collection, which comprises watches made using traditional watchmaking techniques, and so that incorporate the expertise of the Minerva manufacture in Villeret. Watches in this collection have certain distinguishing features such as applied hour markers, a Roman numeral XII, dauphin…
We are accustomed to Perrelet’s watches being a bit different, such as the models with a dialside turbine, or the double rotor that also enlivens the dial. The Perrelet Weekend on the other hand is a classic watch, an everyday timepiece that could easily be a dress watch in the simplest versions. Circular case, baton…
The Aquis Small Second Date Diver by Oris is a new diving watch, with a small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock and a water resistance of 50 atm, 500 metres. The concept is that the seconds hand isn’t so important in a diver’s watch, because the fundamental hand is the minute hand, used with the…
Bucherer describe their new jewelled Manero Peripheral as a women’s watch, but personally I think that this timepiece is virtually unisex. The diamonds on the bezel are discreet and almost have a functional aspect: there are sixty diamonds, and so they mirror the divisions of the minute scale. The version with a chocolate-brown mother-of-pearl dial…
The Piaget Altiplano 900P pink gold was launched in 2014 to mark the brand’s 140th anniversary, and this year, 2017, the 60th anniversary year of the Piaget Altiplano, a new pink gold edition has been introduced. It’s a limited edition of 200 pieces, available from April 2017, price €27,300. It’s still the slimmest mechanical watch…
This watch celebrates James Bond’s rank as commander in the Royal Navy. The Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Commander’s Watch also appears in the year marking three Bond anniversaries, the 50th of “You Only Live Twice,” 40th of “The Spy Who Loved Me,” and the 20th of “Tomorrow Never Dies.” In each of these films, Bond…
The new Royal Oak Extra-Thin by Audemars Piguet marks an anniversary: 1977, the year when the first 39mm Royal Oak in yellow gold was introduced. It became known as the Jumbo, and at that time it marked a new departure, the use of precious metal for the Royal Oak, which had been introduced in 1972…
Omega has presented a short film called Starmen, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Speedmaster and the 48th anniversary of the first landing on the moon. George Clooney, who has been into space on screen, in Gravity, Solaris and Tomorrowland, converses with his childhood hero Buzz Aldrin in the Electric Cinema Shoreditch, London. They…
Ball Watch Co. has introduced the Engineer III Endurance 1917, launched for pre-order with delivery in November 2017 at a special price. These watches celebrate the 100th anniversary of Ernest Shackleton’s Trans-Antarctic Expedition, which concluded with their return to the UK on 29 May 1917 after three years of endurance in the Antarctic. Endurance was…
This new chronograph by Bell & Ross was introduced together with the Vintage Garde-Côtes Automatic, and it shares the same grey-orange-white colour scheme based on the equipment used by the French coastguard service. The Vintage Garde-Côtes Chronograph could be described as a “sports chronograph” with a water resistance of 100 metres with the crown and…
The Vintage Garde-Côtes Automatic by Bell & Ross was designed as a tribute to French coastguard helicopter rescue services. In addition to this automatic version, a chronograph with pulsometer scale is also available. The orange, grey and white colour scheme was directly inspired by the equipment used by the Garde-Côtes services. The water resistance of…
The Bell & Ross pilot’s watch, with square case and four bezel screws, a layout inspired by cockpit instruments, has become a modern classic, occasionally copied (here is an example). In the BR0192-HERITAGE version, the dial layout is more reminiscent of an altimeter than a traditional pilot’s watch, with four large numerals in a distinctive…
Laurent Ferrier and his company have worked with Urwerk to create a single piece called Arpal One, made for the Only Watch charity auction that takes place later this year. Laurent Ferrier’s sense of grace and proportion is combined with Urwerk’s beautiful wandering hours movement. The result is something both mysterious and beautiful, like a…
This year, Carl F. Bucherer have introduced two new limited-edition versions of the Manero PowerReserve, with blue and green dials. The Manero PowerReserve was first presented in 2013, in the classical colour schemes, silver and black. The two new blue and green pieces are enhanced by the leather straps in colours matching the dials, and…
Oris is famous for its pilot’s watches, and one of its classic models is the Big Crown, first introduced in 1938. This is now made in a number of versions, with several special editions. The new PA Charles de Gaulle Oris Limited Edition is dedicated to the French aircraft carrier named Charles de Gaulle, and…
These two special edition watches by Panerai are specifically for the Middle East region, sold exclusively in Panerai boutiques in the Middle East and Africa area. The Luminor Marina is one of the Panerai classics, a 44 mm watch with small seconds at 9 o’clock and date at 3 o’clock. It is an entry-level piece…
The Récital 20 Astérium by Bovet 1822 is a watch that keeps track of astronomical time. Instead of using the usual perpetual calendar function, in which the watch takes the leap year cycle into account, and so adding an extra day every four years, the Astérium follows the true course of time, determined by the…
This article follows the earlier presentation of the Helm Vanuatu which, at US$ 275 plus shipping, is one of the lowest-cost mechanical watches around. Using the watch confirmed pretty much everything that I wrote in February 2017. A nice touch is the hand-written note that you see when you open the box. Helm also provide…