Affordable luxury has become the byword at Frederique Constant proving that you can have your horological cake and eat it too. Dispelling a lot of snobbery regarding the price of a well-made watch with complications, Frederique Constant demonstrates that you don’t have to flog a kidney to enter the complications market. We’ve recently seen the […]
Travel watches, along with blue dials and vintage aesthetics, are all the rage these days. With the advent of globalisation, GMT/UTC watches are no longer the exclusive domain of jet-setters and Pan Am pilots. Today, a wider audience of frequent flyers – and people with business interests or friends dotted around the world – are taking an interest in watches that can give them two distinct time references at a single glance. When it comes to adjusting local and home time on GMT watches, few can beat the practicality and simplicity of the Porsche Design 1919 Globetimer UTC. Unlike so many GMT models that need adjusting at the crown or via correctors, the Globetimer offers travellers a simple, intuitive way to set the local time and dons the sleek, minimalist Porsche Design aesthetic many have come to love. Released during Baselworld 2019 in four different versions, we got to spend some hands-on time with the titanium model and brown dial.
Grand Seiko has been on the rise recently and upped its game by presenting multiple style of watches, from dressy pieces like the Elegance collection or more impactful watches such as the brand new Spring Drive Sport. What is certain is that the brand is adding some boldness and originality to its collection. The brand’s latest model, a new GMT timepiece part of the Sport Collection, is the perfect example of this new strategy. Meet the Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Two-Tone Ref. SBGE248.
Lionel Bruneau (founder) has been passionate about watches for years. A few years ago, he discovered that some Swiss Made watches were using parts of foreign origin was a disappointment… Like many, he had naturally assumed that “Swiss Made” meant that the watch was 100% made in Switzerland. So when in 2018, after years in […]
CuleM Watches is a new microbrand based in Valencia, Spain, founded by Matthew Cule in 2018. “CuleM” is a combination of his last name and first initial. He launched his first watch collection via Kickstarter in May 2019 with a total of ten variants from three core models, all designed for world travelers covering 24 time zones. Let’s have a look at this accessible proposition in the GMT watch market, launched via Kickstarter.
Baume & Mercier’s Classima collection is largely populated with classic three-hand-date dress models and the odd automatic chronograph. Three new models join the Classima line-up; a complete calendar with chronograph, a GMT or dual time, and a small seconds. Stylish and useful at the same time, the new models are conceived for everyday wear and […]
The Villeret is Blancpain’s classic core collection with a pronounced focus on understated elegance. Ranging from grande complications and complex calendars all the way down to ultra-thin two-handers like the latest Extra-Plate 6605, the traditional look of Villeret is unmistakable. For 2019, Blancpain adds a new 40mm GMT with date model to the Villeret line-up with manifest minimalism that fans of the collection will appreciate. We were able to spend some hands-on time with the Villeret GMT Date 6662 models in red gold, although the watch also comes in stainless steel.
The Lange 1 is the foundation watch of the Saxon brand’s renaissance. Presented on 24th October 1994, along with three other inaugural models, the Lange 1 best encapsulates the spirit of the brand. With its multiple references to the original 19th-century Lange watchmaking adventure in Dresden, its asymmetric dial and hallmark outsize date, the Lange […]
A tribute to Galileo Galilei, “Lo Scienziato” (the Scientist in Italian) was introduced for the first time in 2010 in a 48mm Radiomir case. As of 2016, it came in a high-tech 3D-printed Luminor case, shaped layer by layer, consolidating titanium powder via Direct Metal Laser Sintering technology. For 2019, this impressive and complex watch […]
Jaquet Droz revisits its Grande Second Dual Time watch with an azimuthal map of the Earth’s continents viewed from the North Pole. Although the movement and the layout are identical to the previous Grande Seconde Dual Time models, the integration of a map enlivens the scenery and underlines the vocation of this watch as a stylish travelling companion. As always with Jaquet Droz, the aesthetics are elegant and balanced, dominated by the prevailing figure-eight motif of the Grande Seconde collection.