Buying Guide – Shopping for Creatively Complex Watches on a Budget of 5,000 Euros

In our fascinating little bubble of mechanical watchmaking, attention often goes to high-dollar watches, and most of the time, that’s for a perfectly logical reason. The arms race in complexity is partly to blame, as brands try to outdo one another for the sake of winning over the public. But adding a complication on top […]

First Look – The Amida Digitrend Steel, Black and Gold Editions

Brands today are enthusiastically revisiting the watch designs of the 1970s, riding a wave of nostalgia that has struck a chord with consumers. These retro-inspired pieces often feature updated characteristics, adding modern functionality to vintage aesthetics. Among the standout designs of that era is the driver’s watch—a timepiece with a digital side display. While this […]

3 weeks ago

Hands-on – The Otsuka Lotec № 7.5, a Japanese Artisanal Watch in a Class of its Own

Jiro Katayama, a car designer turned self-taught, independent watchmaker from Japan, is quickly gaining popularity with his brand, Otsuka Lotec. Despite the brand’s limited distribution – exclusively within Japan – enthusiasts worldwide are drawn to Katayama’s craftsmanship and industrial-meets-steampunk watch aesthetic. Travelling to Japan to secure one of his coveted timepieces, be it the retrograde […]

1 month ago

Introducing – The Very Monochromatic and Yet Spectacular Hautlence Sphere Series 2

Until the introduction of the Retrovision ’47 with its distinctive green Bakelite, radio-like case, black and blue had been the favourite colours of the re-launched Hautlence, part of the MELB Luxe Group, which also owns H. Moser & Cie yet remains an independent brand. In 2023, Hautlence presented the Sphere Series 1, featuring its emblematic […]

2 months ago

First Look – A New Closed Salmon Dial For The Bovet Dimier Récital 15

In Bovet’s cosmos of extravagant complications, dramatic staging and lavish decorative flourishes, the new Dimier Récital 15 looks positively demure. Unlike earlier editions produced by Bovet since its release in 2014, the mechanisms powering the jumping hours, retrograde minutes and double-second complications are not revealed on the dial, which is now interpreted in a lovely […]

3 months ago

First Look – The new Gerald Charles Maestro 4.0 Ducati 30th Anniversario 916

Gerald Charles, a brand founded by the legendary watch designer Gérald Genta in 2000, has made a convincing comeback under Federico Ziviani’s leadership. The revival began in 2020 with the reintroduction of a distinctive 2006 Genta design, the unique Maestro Anniversary case, paired with a moulded rubber strap. Several iterations of the Maestro have been […]

4 months ago

Introducing – The New Chronoswiss Delphis Dracula, Horizon and Dune

Chronoswiss was founded in 1983 in Munich by the late Gerd R. Lang, a celebrated watchmaker with a penchant for classical regulators. Now in the hands of Oliver Ebstein and based in Lucerne, Switzerland, Chronoswiss maintains its repertoire of dynamic regulator layouts with old-school decorative techniques jazzed up with wild colours. The Chronoswiss Delphis, launched […]

6 months ago

First Look – The Kauri Régulateur Carbone, a Modern Retrograde Minute & Jumping Hours Regulator

Kauri is an independent watchmaking brand recently founded by Samuel Gillioz. This young watchmaker studied at the École d’Horlogerie de Genève before gaining experience at Timelab and Vacheron Constantin in the highly respected Cabinotiers workshop. In 2019, Samuel Gillioz launched Kauri with the vision of creating something unique and original. The main specificity of his […]

7 months ago

First Look – The Return of the Amida Digitrend Driver’s Watch

The 1970s were a period of radical change, marked by significant events but also strong evolutions of the design language. Many different styles emerged from the period, futuristic, outlandish shapes, smooth surfaces, innovative materials, and explosions of bright colours marked the design of this wild decade. Well, if you’re 1970s-ready, a space-age oddity from the […]

8 months ago