The German Junghans Meister collection was first introduced in the 1930s and we recently reviewed some compelling models including the Meister Driver Handaufzug and Meister Hand-Winding, concluding that both were excellent value propositions. The Meister Chronoscope line adds a chronograph complication to the distinctive styling of the collection. Limited editions are always eye-catching, but new […]
It has become a recurring thing for magazines Revolution and The Rake to offer limited edition watches to their readers. Some of them, such as the Bell & Ross Bellytanker or the Chopard Salmon Dial, were surprisingly pleasant. Today’s collab watch goes one step further and the result is the epitome of cool. Indeed, Revolution […]
It’s quite common for brands to reissue watches from a bygone era, especially military and dive watches. The 2019 Rado Captain Cook Limited Edition, Seiko’s Prospex Diver 300m Hi-Beat SLA025 and Longines’ own Avigation BigEye are recent examples (and let’s not overlook the brand’s Legend Diver). The company’s Heritage collection pays homage to many more vintage pieces and the Avigation Type A-7 1935 is a quirky one with design elements to help pilots read the time and operate the chronograph quicker.
Having reviewed both the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph and the Patek Philippe Chronograph 5172G manual-winding chronographs in previous days, today it’s time for a face-off between these two premium contenders. Both are undeniably beautiful examples of the ‘pure-chronograph-no-additional-complications genre’ and both are impeccably crafted. But they are as different as chalk and cheese, so please, take a ringside seat and see if you agree with our verdict in the battle of high-end chronographs pitting the Lange versus the Patek.
When it comes to pure, thoroughbred manual-winding chronographs, models that are devoted exclusively to capturing elapsed times and not equipped with any other paraphernalia, A. Lange & Söhne’s 1815 Chronograph is up there in the pantheon of perfection. The model we are reviewing for our three-part Battle of the High-End Chronograph series is the 2018 pink gold with black dial version, similar to the Boutique Edition of 2015 with its pulsometer scale. Like all the current variations on the 1815 chronograph theme (white gold black dial, Boutique Edition), this watch is equipped with what is possibly the most beautiful hand-wound movement on the market today.
In 2019, Doxa celebrates their 130th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of one of their iconic watches, the Sub 200 T.GRAPH. At Baselworld, we had listed the reedition of the model as one of our favorite dive watches of the fair… with one regret. This limited edition was released in a series of 13 watches only in gold. Well, to our satisfaction, Doxa now releases a stainless steel limited edition of the model.
When a model is discontinued and replaced with a new reference at Patek Philippe, two things happen: the old model tends to become even juicier bait for collectors and the newcomer is subjected to intense scrutiny. In March 2019, Patek Philippe introduced the ref.5172G chronograph to replace the longstanding and much-loved ref. 5170. Fitted with the same in-house manual-winding calibre CH 29-535 PS as its predecessor, the latest member of Patek’s chronograph dynasty comes in a white gold case with a de rigueur blue dial and a pronounced vintage temperament. Larger, bolder, less classic and more casual than the 5170, the 5172G is one of the contenders in our next battle of chronographs.
Imagine, building a complicated mechanical wristwatch completely by hand to enter a competition about artisanal crafts. Your competitor? Cheese! That is the story of Sylvain Pinaud in a VERY tiny, exaggerated nutshell, but we’ll elaborate on that. The result of his efforts is impressive though, a very modern-looking, hand-built monopusher chronograph. We had time to meet the maker himself and go hands-on with Sylvain Pinaud’s Chronograph Monopoussoir.
For its second participation to the biennial fundraiser for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Czapek is presenting a handsome version of its Faubourg de Cracovie chronograph fit with an onyx and chalcedony dial. The blue colour of the chalcedony counters is a reference to the colour of this 8thedition of Only Watch. The chronograph second hand is in the same colour. Just like for the 2017 edition for Only Watch, the dial features the caption ‘courage every seconds’ (transferred in between 12 o’clock and 2 o’clock).
When I think of Hamilton, either a Ventura or Khaki Field Mechanical immediately come to mind. The Swiss brand is much more than that, of course, with a wide collection of models that are among the best value propositions in the industry. Hamilton is also no stranger to quirky designs as the Ventura line attests, and fun ones like the Jazzmaster Regulator Cinema and Khaki Field Murph keep things interesting. I’ve never really associated the brand with chronographs, despite its solid history with them, but its recent Intra-Matic 68 Chronograph definitely changed my mind.