A mechanical watch is a throwback to a different age, the age before electronics, when watchmakers were engaged in the struggle to turn a heap of metal into a machine that would vibrate at a constant frequency whatever the position, temperature and circumstances. Today a mechanical watch is itself a distinctive product. Even more so…
Mansfield Time, a young kickstarter company, makes a very eye-catching, large men’s watch named Automatica One, 43 mm in diameter with stainless steel case, which combines several themes. It has diving-watch water resistance, 200 metres, but its looks are those of a pilot’s watch. There is a lot of IWC, with the stubby sword-type hands,…
Berthet, French watchmaking company founded in 1888, celebrates its 130th anniversary this year. In addition to making its own watches, it supplies components to many other watch brands. The characteristics of its timepieces – hand-wound movements, original complications, in-house skeletonization, affordable prices – make Berthet a distinctive brand with a powerful identity. We had the…
Bubble is an important part of Corum‘s heritage and every year many new versions of this watch are issued. With their big domed sapphire watchglass, they are always large and bold. With a 52 mm case, over 20 mm thick, it’s not the discreet dress watch that slides under your shirt. More than most, it’s…
One of the absolute highlights of SIHH – and the entire world of watchmaking – in 2018, Révélation d’une Panthère by Cartier is not so much a watch as a performance. Above the hands and the dial, instead of the usual sapphire watchglass, there is a flat sapphire capsule containing 900 tiny gold beads, in…
Santos was the first pilot’s watch, possibly the first watch with a square case, the first watch with exposed screws on the bezel, and the first watch to have a leather strap.
The new Heritage Classic Chronograph watches by Louis Erard are exactly what their name says: classic chronographs. This family of watches has a sober, discreet design, with two subdials for the chronograph minutes and hours, and the choice of no running seconds, or a cross-form subdial for running seconds at 9 o’clock. The dial is…
The Bulova Aerojet 98A187 was recently advertised with a full-page ad in an Italian newspaper, with the price displayed as €279. It shows that price is no longer a massive problem for people looking for an automatic watch: it’s affordable for most, and from a big brand. The new Aerojet 98A187 is based on a…
Company profile: Berthet was founded by Joseph Berthet, son of a teacher, born in Savoie. He learnt watchmaking in Switzerland over the course of about 12 years before returning to Charmauvillers, close to the Swiss border, in 1877, setting up his own watchmaking workshop in 1888. He was joined by his brother and his three…