The Classics Index Automatic is a dress watch by Frederique Constant, at an entry-level price starting at 950 Swiss francs, €850. “Let more people enjoy luxury,” say the brand, and they also make the daring claim that this watch helps turn a man into a true gentleman. The watch is made in two versions, steel,…
The El Primero movement by Zenith is a watchmaking legend, with its rate of 36,000 vibrations per hour – 5 Hertz – that improves precision and provides an accuracy of a tenth of a second in chronograph readings. It was first introduced in 1969 and so we’re not far off 50 years. The three overlapping…
After similar one-off pieces dedicated to the Wat Arun temple in Bangkok, and the Grand Prix de Monaco (both 2016), Ateliers deMonaco have presented the Tourbillon Casino de Monte-Carlo. A single piece depicting the Montecarlo casino on the dial, powered by the brand’s tourbillon movement XP1. I had imagined that this sort of watch was…
The partnership between Zenith and Land Rover began in 2016 with the El Primero Range Rover Chronograph, and this year it continues with the Chronomaster El Primero Range Rover Velar Special Edition. The new watch is even more subtle than the 2016 version: the name Range Rover that previously appeared below the Zenith logo has…
It’s typical of A. Lange & Söhne that the view through the caseback is far more showy than what you see on the front. The slim case and narrow bezel highlight the wide open space of the mother-of-pearl dial, where everything is reduced to the minimum. Turn it over and you see the engraved balance…
The Lunova Tag Datum by Mühle-Glashütte gives you an extra choice if you’re looking for a watch smart enough for business use but has sports-level toughness, namely a 100-metre water resistance. It is superficially similar to the Lunova Datum, but in addition to the indication of the day of the week, it also differs in…
The Lunova Datum by Mühle-Glashütte is part of the new Lunova family introduced in 2017, hallmarked by cases that have a larger proportion of polished surfaces than is usual for the brand, and a graded dial. The result is a watch that is both sporty and classical, equally at home on a boat or in…
Richard Mille has introduced the RM 67-02 Automatic in two versions. Each is dedicated to an athlete, South African sprint champion Wayde Van Niekerk and Qatari high jump champion Mutaz Essa Barshim. The RM 67-02 is based on the RM 67-01, which has been given a sports look with its ultra-slim case, just 7.8 mm…
On 17 August 2017, the Kering group announced that Patrick Pruniaux, 45, will be the new CEO of Ulysse Nardin as from 28 August 2017. He will report to Albert Bensoussan, CEO of Kering’s Luxury – Watches and Jewellery division. He replaces Patrik P. Hoffmann who “is looking to move in a new direction for…
The Little Lange 1 Moon Phase is a women’s watch with all the prestige of A. Lange & Söhne’s watchmaking sophistication. It mixes feminine grace with the fascination of a hand-wound movement. It follows the 2016 Lange 1 moon phase, which is 1.7 mm larger, and basically a men’s watch. Unlike that watch, the Little…
In 2017 Mühle-Glashütte presented their new Lunova collection. The name is based on the Latin words “lumen” and “nova,” light and new. The watches in this range all have cases made by Mühle-Glashütte, with a total polished finish or a high proportion of surfaces with polished finish. They also have graded dials and a pilot’s…
This complication watch, Tourbograph Perpetual Pour le Mérite, by A. Lange & Söhne has a fusée-and-chain constant force transmission, a tourbillon, a split-second chronograph, and a perpetual calendar. It completes the Pour le Mérite line of development: the Tourbillon Pour le Mérite was launched in 1994, the first wristwatch with both tourbillon and fusée-and-chain transmission, and…
Mühle-Glashütte have extended their range with some sports-inspired watches such as this Teutonia Sport II, directly derived from automotive sports. There is some company history behind this: in the 1920s, Mühle & Sohn were making speedometers, rev counters and dashboard clocks for car brands. The automotive spirit is expressed above all by the colour scheme,…
A. Lange & Söhne make some of the most distinctive, rare and unusual watches in the world. The Zeitwerk Decimal Strike is a good example, a limited edition of 100 watches, with the jumping hours and minutes indications already seen on the Zeitwerk introduced in 2009, and on the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater presented in 2015.…
There doesn’t seem to be much in common between Danish-style cosiness and watches. Men’s watches are usually about technology, sports, precision, toughness and money, and women’s watches are often about style and glitter. But there are a few that have a warmer, softer, cosier feel, mostly based on colour and materials that could have something…
The Elite Lady Moonphase by Zenith has a size perfect for women, 33 mm diameter, with a case thickness of 9.25 mm. With respect to the previous version, its size has been reduced from 36 mm to 33 mm. It is powered by the self-winding Elite Calibre 692, designed and built in-house by Zenith, and…
The Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur is a timepiece in classic marine watch style, with its white dial and slender Roman numerals. It has a power reserve indicator at the top and a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock, incorporating a circular date window. The name “Torpilleur” refers to torpedo boats, which became part of a…
The Longines Legend Diver Watch is a new edition of a diving watch dating back to 1960. The first re-edition was launched in 2007: this version is different in that the watch is now available with a milanaise bracelet. Not your classic diver’s watch It’s an attractive timepiece with some typical 1960s characteristics, such as…
The Oris Royal Flying Doctor Service Limited Edition II is a watch made as part of Oris’ support for Australia’s Royal Flying Doctor Service, which provides medical care in rural parts of Australia by means of a fleet of aircraft. The watch has a bi-directional rotating bezel with a pulsometer scale. Rotating bezel with pulsometer…
Girard-Perregaux’s CEO Antonio Calce says that Laureato will be fundamental to the brand’s future. There’s no doubt that this sports watch is perfectly in tune with contemporary style, and it has distinctive looks, with its shaped integrated bracelet and octagonal bezel. It may have suffered, over the years, its similarity to other watches designed in…