So, the Opus series has survived Harry Winston’s change of ownership – now part of Swatch Group – and it will apparently continue, though new Opus watches will be launched less frequently than in the past. Judging from Opus 14, the concept has also changed. The Opus series of watches by outstanding watchmakers were hallmarked…
RIchard Mille‘s Heure Universelle was first presented in 2013 as RM 58-01. That was a tourbillon watch. This year’s RM 63-02 doesn’t have a tourbillon, but it shows the same attention for user-friendliness and easy adjustment. Its principal feature is the titanium rotating bezel, which can be used to rotate the cities ring. You simply…
This is an attractive watch by Jeanrichard, with the 44-mm cushion-shaped case and bezel in contrasting bright and brushed steel, and the extra GMT hand for a second time zone outlined in blue and indicating the time on an inner 24-hour scale. The watch is available in three colour versions, with grey dial (as shown),…
Histoire de Tourbillon is one of the most technical watch series by Harry Winston, and it may continue even beyond this piece, number 6 in the series. The other Harry Winston series that intrigues watch-lovers all over the world, Opus, will possibly see the latest Opus 14 launched before the end of the year (as…
This piece by Harry Winston is a dual time zone watch with a very unusual design. Large and rectangular, it has a dial divided into two halves, the main time zone on the right, with analogue hour and minute hands, a day/night indicator, and a date window. On the left, there is the second…
The Ocean One Vintage Dual Time by German brand Steinhart was inspired by the Rolex GMT Master II, and in particular its distinctive two-colour bezel (the red-blue version known as the Pepsi bezel), with the white dial that originated with the PanAm Rolex GMT made as a limited edition for the airline’s pilots in 1954.…
Christophe Claret is a tireless inventor. His watches always have something a little different, or a lot different. They could be considered as couture watches, made in small series, at high prices. Allegro is interesting because it looks like a chronograph, with pushers at 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock, and two subdials, but in fact…
Eberhard & Co. continue their tradition of watches inspired by Italian racing driver Tazio Nuvolari with the 336, a piece that recalls Nuvolari’s attempt on the world speed record for a car on a road. The location that he chose was the Florence-Lucca motorway, and, driving an Alfa Romeo 16C Twin-Engine , on 15 June…
This watch by Sinn looks bright and colourful, particularly with the red silicone strap that is one of the options. But the colours on the dial have a serious purpose: the watch was designed in cooperation with German fire brigade personnel, and it is colour coded to time the period at which a fire-fighter can…
The term “subscription watch,” or “souscription” in French, is usually associated with Abraham-Louis Breguet who, during the most violent years of the French Revolution between 1793 and 1795, moved from Paris to Switzerland and had the idea of this new way of selling his watches. Instead of making a watch and then trying to sell…
This watch, the new version presented at Baselworld 2015 of an existing and very popular model by Sinn, is an attractive three-hander with a black sunburst-textured dial, discreet in size at 38.5 mm diameter and 12 mm thick. It combines simplicity with an interesting method of displaying a second time zone: the crown at 10…
I photographed this watch at a Longines presentation, but, just as for the same brand’s Heritage Military COSD pilot’s watch, for the 2015 version of the Conquest Classic there are as yet no images from Longines and no information. This is a restyling of the Conquest Classic, a watch that has the possibility of showing…
This watch by Longines is an existing model that has been slightly redesigned for the 2015 collection, the latest addition to a series that has existed from 1954. It is a watch that has a lot going on, with chronograph, annual calendar and moonphase, with each of the three subdials providing more than one function.…
Longines has a massive catalogue of watches, but there is one series in particular that I find very original. The Longines Master Collection Retrograde was presented in 2011, and its combination of classical finish and the relatively rare retrograde display give these watches a Breguet-like prestige far beyond their price tag. The numerous blued hands…
This is a lovely watch presented at Baselworld 2015, I think the Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Good Planet by Omega. I only have my own photo to go on: it was very striking with its white dial and blue hands. I would guess that it has a stainless steel 41.5 mm case with 15 bar/150…
At Baselworld 2015 I was expecting from Hermès another deliciously ironic piece such as last year’s L’Heure Masquée, but the brand seems to have decided that they have reached the end of the line of those quirky masterpieces and have moved in another direction. I was pleasantly surprised. Simplicity and a new typeface The major launch…
This is a watch that demonstrates the depth of Jaeger-LeCoultre, whose range includes superb classical models, dress watches, jewellery watches, sports watches, and super-technical pieces such as this. The Master Compressor Extreme LAB 2 was originally launched in 2010, and this year a new version has been presented, with blue highlights instead of red, a…
This is a quartz watch, which was demonstrated enthusiastically by Hamilton CEO Sylvain Dolla at one of the brand’s customary pre-Baselworld presentations. It has some interesting features that only quartz can provide. It was designed in cooperation with aerobatic pilot Nicolas Ivanoff and has something of the classic pilot’s watch looks, black dial, large numerals, plus a…
The “Astral” theme was particularly strong at Jaeger-LeCoultre at SIHH in January, and the Duomètre Unique Travel Time was one of several watches in the show (others were by Montblanc and Greubel Forsey) featurinig a view of the earth from space. As if to underline that the stars and the planets harbour the origins of…
Montblanc are treading an interesting path, with a complete new range of entry-level watches in the Heritage Spirit collection alongside the existing Star collection that also caters for people looking for their first luxury watch. At the other end of the scale there are the super-high-end pieces such as the Villeret Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphères Vasco…