What Frederique Constant has succeeded in achieving over a relatively short period of time is astounding. Sufficient vertical integration to equip some of their watches with in-house movements, and pricing that they justifiably refer to as accessible luxury. At Baselworld 2017, Frederique Constant presented their “Flyback Chronograph Manufacture.” They say that the process of design…
Breitling’s Navitimer Rattrapante is an exceptional watch. It has a new in-house split-seconds chronograph movement that incorporates two patents, it is COSC chronometer-certified, and it operates using the most prestigious chronograph layout, column wheel and vertical clutch. It comes in two versions, steel and gold, and the gold version has a display caseback. The dial…
The Perrelet Turbine Chrono Sport is one of the few new chronographs to have a layout differing to the usual two or three subdials. The brand’s hallmark is the turbine on the dial, in this piece with a honeycomb texture (based on the segments of a soccer ball), which rotates with every movement of the…
Tutima, founded in Glashütte, Germany, in 1927, celebrates its 90th anniversary with a new version of the Tutima Fliegerchronograph made in the 1940s. At the time, the Fliegerchronograph was a landmark piece, perhaps the first German-made flyback chronograph. The flyback function was given the name Tempostopp at the time, and this has been used for…
Every year, Baselworld presents the latest watch innovations, with different cases, tastes, functions and finishes. Here are the top five made in one of Switzerland’s most classical materials, chocolate. Longines Octo-choc Longines has no fear of competition from Bulgari and it has launched this new piece with octagonal case, bold and thick, containing a creamy…
Breitling company profile Breitling is one of the few remaining independent Swiss watch brands. After years of specializing in technical watches, and in particular aviation (Navitimer) and diving (SuperOcean) timepieces, the brand has begun to expand its range to air, sea and land, with sizes appealing to the Chinese market and female customers (from 2018).…
After the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon and the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater, Bulgari claims another record with the Octo Finissimo Automatic, thinnest automatic watch in the world. Multifaceted cool The Octo Finissimo Automatic by Bulgari is extraordinary to see, touch and wear. It’s not small, at 40 mm, but its thickness of 5.15 mm really makes…
The Patek Philippe Aquanaut Travel Time Ref. 5650G Advanced Research shows three significant departures, and introduces some important questions. Excellent water resistance The watch is a new version of the Aquanaut Travel Time, with white gold case having a 12 atm, 120-metre water resistance rating, width including crown 45.24 mm, thickness 11 mm, a sapphire…
German company Torsten Nagengast Timeline have introduced the i16 Aviator Basic pilot’s watch, a lower-priced version of their i16 Aviator pilot’s watches, with a distinctive case, a classic no-logo pilot’s watch dial, and an Asian-made hand-wound movement. The price of €349 without VAT, €415 inclusive of VAT, is comparable to watches by Steinhart. Click here to…
With Club Campus, NOMOS Glashütte have identified a section of the market – watches for celebrations – and have created a package specially for it, at an attractive price. Baume & Mercier do the same sort of thing, targeting their entry-level Classima and My Classima watches at customers who want to celebrate something, a degree,…
NOMOS Glashütte don’t release figures about how many watches they sell, but it’s clear that they are doing well. It’s the German brand with best sales in terms of number of watches sold, and in 2016, which was a problem year for many watchmaking companies, they had a 10% increase in turnover. Their secret? Simple,…
The Chanel Mademoiselle J12 was – in my opinion – one of the highlights of Baselworld 2017. In a high-tech ceramic case, the dial has a jaunty illustration of Mademoiselle Coco Chanel, on a sapphire glass disc, with her arms acting as hour and minute hands. The graphic design and the seamless execution give this…
Archimede have introduced a new, slim pilot’s watch. The Pilot HW 42 has a hand-wound movement (Sellita SW 215), whose thickness of 3.35 mm enables a case size of just 8.6 mm. This compares to the 9.9 mm of the brand’s automatic Pilot’s 42. Display caseback The watch has a sapphire crystal caseback that reveals…
The chronograph is the most common watch complication, but the basic design has remained substantially the same for almost a century. Every year, watch brands produce new chronograph models, all with two pushers for start/stop and reset. The field is wide open for innovation, but not many companies are investing into research. No pushers, just…
The Milano San Babila by Italian brand TerraCieloMare (TCM) is a watch that illustrates two important trends: extending the range to women, and the colour green. The watch has a 38mm case making it a unisex piece, and the green colour of the dial is a nice match to the bezel in marine bronze, which…
This interview by Henry Neuteboom was originally published on the luxos.com website in 2017. Carole Forestier-Kasapi has worked on some of the brand’s revolutionary new watches such as the Panthère Joueuse, Astrotourbillon, and the Astrocalendaire. “I like challenges and we can always improve something,” says Carole, “I strongly believe that we can always push boundaries…
The earliest pilot’s watches were often pocket watches adapted for a strap by welding wire loop lugs to the case. Oris recently discovered a watch of this type dating back to the 1910s, and for 2017 it is presenting a new edition of this piece from a century ago. Early design style, modern materials While…
Raymond Weil creates some watches dedicated to musicians, and the Maestro Buddy Holly has one of the coolest small seconds hands that I’ve seen in a while. The counterweight in the form of Buddy Holly’s glasses is a lovely touch. The watch is nice for its understated approach. Apart from the Buddy Holly signature below…
A dominant trend at Baselworld 2017 is the effort by brands large and small to provide a lower entry-level price. Low-cost movements by companies such as Ronda with the Mecano make automatic watches even more attractive at the lower end of the market. This year, Tudor have created a new mechanical watch for women starting…
The new Teutonia Sport I by Mühle-Glashütte is the sports version of the Teutonia family, and so it joins the vast sector of automotive-inspired watchs. The touches of red on dial and strap provide an immediate identification with motor sports, reinforced by the technical-looking strap texture and the nice red piston-ring groove on the pushers.…