This is a new pilot’s watch by Laco presented at Baselworld 2016. The piece is 42 mm in diameter, and its principal characteristic is that dial and stainless steel case have been specially treated to give them an aged look. They are very convincing, with marks of oxidation on the solid caseback, and a dial…
Modern pilot’s watches don’t really have a practical function today. In the years from the 1920s up until the 1950s, they were essential parts of equipment, and so gained their characteristics of large size, and long leather straps so that they could be worn over a flying suit. Today even sports pilots have all sorts…
Laco was one of the few companies that made so-called Beobachtungsuhren (B-Uhr, observation watches) for the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, to specifications that included a size of 55 mm, an indirectly-driven centre seconds hand with stop-seconds function, black dial, radium-coated numerals and hands, precision in timekeeping at temperatures down to 20°C below zero,…
Part of the extensive Laco collection of pilot’s watches, the Ju 52 is a very wearable model with a 42 mm stainless steel case, 12.8 mm thick, with black PVD coating that gives it a sleek, modern look. The watch is part of the Type C collection, linked to pre-WW2 watches with cathedral hands and…
After his watches Variocurve and Quickindicator, Daniel Nebel, founder, owner, watch designer and builder at Nord Zeitmaschine, has launched a new timepiece: Freesdial. The name is a brilliant play on words, and the timepiece is unlike anything seen before. As the large minute hand moves around the dial over the course of an hour, parts…
One of the trends at Baselworld 2016 is for so-called Heritage watches, based on pocket watch designs from the early 20th century. These often have bold Arabic numerals in gold and a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock; several brands have introduced pilot’s watches in the same pattern. There are some traditional brands that have…
If you like Panerai watches but don’t like their prices, Rado‘s new HyperChrome 1616 offers the same sort of style at a fraction of the cost. Its cushion shape and prominent crown protector contribute to its distinctive looks. This piece is a new version of the brand’s Cape Horn collection, and it has a large,…
Breguet began making pilot’s chronographs in 1955, with the Type XX commissioned by the French air force and naval air arm. This was followed by the Types XXI and XXII, and they have been in production ever since. This year, Breguet presents the new Type XXI 3817 chronograph, an evocative piece with a vintage-look dial…
The Tutima Glashütte M2 Seven Seas, presented at Baselworld 2016, is a very attractive diving watch, sleek and compact enough to be perfect as an everyday sports watch, but with a performance that makes it robust and reliable underwater. The case is in pure titanium, 44 mm in diameter, 13 mm thick, with 3mm-thick watchglass and…
This pilot’s watch by Ingersoll 1892 is a new product that will be launched in June 2016. In a 43 mm case, it has some appealing visual features, such as the cathedral hands and the knurled bezel that reinforce the vintage effect. Unfortunately the designers have added a date window which mars the dial’s overall…
Tangente by NOMOS Glashütte has been a favourite since 1992, loved for the purity of its Deutscher Werkbund-inspired dials and its in-house movements. Up until now, Tangente has had a hand-wound movement. Now it is available with a new automatic calibre, DUW 3001, slim and with a chronometer-level of precision. The dial is pure perfection,…
The Senator Excellence is one of Glashütte Original‘s new product launches for Baselworld 2016, but it is much more than just three new references including a classic pilot’s watch design. Its new Calibre 36 movement incorporates a lot of research and development, and it will become the foundation of a whole new series of watches.…
Bryan Ferry worked with Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie, on this watch, and it bears its signature at the base of the dial, in the place of the usual “SWISS MADE”. The collaboration produced a beautiful watch that looks fabulous on the wrist. The design is very classical, based on H. Moser…
Would you want to meet this thing on a dark night, or in a tropical jungle? It’s name is menacing enough, T-Rex, and that spiky carapace looks threatening to say the least. The top of the case is in hand-finished bronze, and the crown at the top is also magnificently aggressive. Even when new, the…
Company profile: Urwerk make unusual watches: as they say, “nouvelle horlogerie.” Since the brand’s foundation in 1997, they have made only one watch with a conventional hour and minute display – in the most recent watch EMC Time Hunter. The company was founded by Felix Baumgartner, watchmaker, his brother Thomas (who left the company in…
Giuliano Mazzuoli has spent his entire life in the countryside near Florence, and he has always retained a sort of fierce independence that is possibly a characteristic of the Tuscan people. His first watch Manometro was inspired by a pressure gauge, and this was followed by other pieces prompted by car dashboard instruments, and a…
Company profile: One thing that sets German watchmaking company Tourby apart from many other brands is that the people there are obsessed not so much with the final watch, but above all with the movement. Sometimes you see a watch that looks good, you turn it over and see a caseback with a small porthole…
Company profile: NOMOS Glashütte was founded in 1990 by Roland Schwertner, who is still one of the owners together with four other partners. It is exceptional amongst independent watch brands in that it makes everything in-house, above all its movements. At present there are ten calibres. It also makes its own proprietary escapement, named NOMOS…
It’s not hard to see that there is increasing interest in pilot’s watches from major brands, with Patek Philippe introducing a classic pilot’s watch out of the blue last year (2015), a traditional pilot’s watch from Montblanc also launched in 2015, and the Senator Observer from Glashütte Original. At SIHH in January, IWC renewed its…
Company profile: Archimede was founded recently, though its roots date back to 1924, when Karl Ickler founded a company named simply Ickler in Pforzheim, Germany. Pforzheim’s importance as a centre for watches and jewellery runs back to much earlier, to 1767 when the Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Baden promoted the foundation of a watch…