Category: Dress Watches

Value Proposition – Delma Heritage: an Understated, Elegant Dress Watch with a Fair Price

Looking for a dress watch that is just as functional as stylish (and fairly priced too)? The Delma Heritage might the right pick for you. Delma is a family-owned company based in Lengnau, near Biel in Switzerland. If the brand is mostly known today for its sport and dive watches, it has produced a number of dress watches in its (almost) 100 years of existence. Case in point: presented during the Basel Watch Week earlier in 2018, the Delma Heritage is inspired from historical models of the brands.

6 years ago

Hands-on – Schwarz-Etienne Roma Petite Seconde

Schwarz-Etienne is an independent watch manufacture whose origins go back to the early 20thcentury. If the brand has been flying a bit under the radar, it has a lot to offer. Today we take a look at the Roma Petite Seconde, a watch that feels rather simple at first but, like the rest of the brand, is full of details and packed with watchmaking expertise.

6 years ago

Value Proposition – The Lorentz by Leyden Watches, An Affordable, Understated Dress Watch now on Kickstarter

Leyden Watches, a one-man operation out of Leiden, The Netherlands, is following up on a successful Kickstarter campaign from 2016 that launched the inaugural Velox Chronograph. That initial piece was a second attempt by the company as their first Kickstarter watch, the Power Reserve, was never funded. The Lorentz dress watch is now the third crowdfunding campaign from Leyden and is named after Hendrik Antoon Lorentz, one of the most renowned physicists from Holland (who later moved to Leiden to teach at Leiden University). It’s a classic, understated dress watch that can fit with a suit or more casual attire. Powered by a hand-wound Swiss movement and with three colour options, this new offering from Leyden is another solid, affordable entry in the microbrand space.

6 years ago

Hands-on – Blancpain Villeret Métiers d’Art Binchōtan (and the Manufacturing Process Explained)

With its Métiers d’art collection, Blancpain has been exploring new artistic and expressive horizons, nurturing traditional skills with different expressions. Case in point: recently, the craftsmen of the Metiers d’art workshop in Le Brassus presented Shakudo dials. Of Japanese origin, Shakudo is an alloy principally composed of copper and gold, which acquires a dark patina between blue and black, according to variations in its composition and texture. This year, Japan has once again become an inspiration to Blancpain. One of the manufacture’s latest artistic creations features a Binchōtan dial.

6 years ago

Women’s Watch Wednesday – Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda Métropolitaine Sélène Galaxy

If you are a lover of fine detail and exquisite watchmaking, then you already know all about Parmigiani Fleurier. Master watchmaker and clock restorer Michel Parmigiani, whose dream it was to bring classic watchmaking to the forefront with visionary calibres and craftsmanship, conceived this young Swiss watch brand, born just over 20 years ago.  Today, […]

6 years ago

Introducing – The new Vacheron Constantin FIFTYSIX Tourbillon Automatic

At the SIHH 2018, Vacheron Constantin came with one brand new and important collection for the brand, the FIFTYSIX. With a clear intention to renew the clientele and to bring younger and less hardcore-oriented potential customers, this watch mixed vintage elements with a modern, masculine and slightly casual design. Presented in 3 different version (automatic, day-date, complete calendar), each of them available in steel or gold, it’s time now for the FIFTYSIX to up the game and to receive true Vacheron Constantin savoir-faire. This has just been done with the addition of a high-end, automatic peripheral tourbillon movement.

6 years ago

Review – Breguet Classique Complications 3797 – Pure, Unadulterated Breguet

A compendium of Abraham-Louis Breguet’s ingenious inventions and style, the Classique Complications 3797 is a magnificent perpetual calendar tourbillon laden with nostalgia for the undisputed horological star of the 18th century. Released in 2014, the 3797 is Breguet in his purest, unadulterated form with all the ‘unmistakable signs’ of the creator and a couple of 21st-century tweaks that the maestro would surely relish. Although almost all the heavyweights of the watch scene have produced a perpetual calendar tourbillon combination – ALS Lange 1, IWC Portugieser, Patek, Chopard et al. – none of them can match the historical clout and legitimacy of Breguet in this department. The 41mm case of the 3797, in rose gold or platinum, is a time capsule transporting the wearer (or in this case, the admirer) on a historical journey back in time.

6 years ago

Introducing – Hamilton Intra-Matic with Smoked Dials

Although Hamilton is associated with rugged pilot’s watches, there is life beyond the cockpit. First introduced in 2012, Hamilton’s Intra-Matic rides on the current mania for all things vintage, and proposes a classic two-hand and date dress watch that would not look amiss on Don Draper’s wrist in Mad Men. Inspired by the pared-down elegance and functionality of watches produced in the 1960’s, the original monochromatic offer is now enhanced with trendy ‘smoked’ dials in a wider and warmer choice of colours at competitive prices.

6 years ago

Hands-on – Bovet Amadeo Fleurier Virtuoso V Jumping Hours

Bovet watches break away from the norm. These stand out for their exquisite craftsmanship and ornate design revealing the complexity of their mechanism. However, the most striking thing about the Bovet Amadeo Fleurier Virtuoso V is, without doubt, its versatile character. The Virtuoso V is a timepiece with different faces, and it can be transformed from a wristwatch to a pocket watch or even a table clock.

6 years ago

Value Proposition – Gaia & Co. Launches its Neo-Vintage Primavera Collection on Kickstarter

Gaia & Co., a new microbrand building watches in Besançon, France, is launching its Primavera collection on Kickstarter. This first annual series, which will be produced in three colours, is limited to 900 pieces and will be replaced next year with a new collection. The annual cycle is designed to maintain an exclusivity with the brand, although it likely helps control costs and inventory as well. The watches will have Japanese automatics and are what the company calls neo-vintage, providing the “missing link between classic and modern watches.” The vintage-inspired trend has been around for quite a while, so Gaia & Co. has a crowded field to contend with.

6 years ago