Introducing – Bell & Ross BR-X2 Skeleton Tourbillon Micro-Rotor – Extreme Transparency

Bell & Ross is making another bold addition to its futuristic “Experimental” collection this year. Just announced, the new BR-X2 Skeleton Tourbillon Micro-Rotor is the evolution of the BR-X2 Tourbillon introduced last year. Stripped back to the absolute essentials, this ultra-modern watch takes the challenge of transparency to the extreme, offering crystal clear insight into the company’s interpretation of contemporary Haute Horlogerie.

7 years ago

Hands-on – TAG Heuer Carbon Aquaracer Calibre 5 Special Series – a New Trilogy of Divers with Carbon Details

Move over ceramic, here comes carbon. Carbon fibre is the flavour of the day in the material world giving watches a high-tech stealth look associated with the world of F1 and competitive sailing. Following in the wake of the highly successful Carbon Monaco customized by Bamford, TAG Heuer presents three Aquaracer models decked out with carbon fibre details and housed in a 41mm black PVD-coated titanium hull. All three Aquaracers, differentiated by their colour schemes, will be put on sale today, along with the much anticipated Monaco Bamford unveiled back in March 2018. Before we look at the three models in detail, two points need clarifying: the Aquaracers have not been customized by Bamford and the cases, unlike the Monaco Bamford, are not made from solid carbon fibre. There are carbon fibre details on the case, however, and the good news for fans of the Aquaracer is that you can get the same cool look of a customized Bamford for roughly half the price.

7 years ago

News – GPHG 2018 Finalists Announced – Plus Our Predictions

As every year, the watchmaking industry is celebrating creativity and ingenuity with the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) or the so-called Oscars of the Watchmaking Industry – see the report for the 2017 edition here. The most advanced, the most innovative or the most creative timepieces will be awarded prizes at the GPHG 2018. Before the […]

7 years ago

Buying Guide – 5 Cool Sports Watches for Women under EUR 5,000

There is good news for women today: wearing an oversized men’s sports watch is a thing of the past, and we are finally getting some of the coolest sports watches on the market in sizes designed to fit our wrists. Watch brands have understood that there are women out there who want the performance and dynamic look of sports watches, but do not want to wear massive men’s models. Here are our top five sports candidates that combine resilience, water-resistance and sexy sporty styling – ideal everyday companions that won’t fall off your wrist – and, of course, all are mechanical.

7 years ago

Hands-on – The Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Skeleton now Available in Sandblasted Rose Gold

At Baselworld 2018, Bvlgari continued the expansion of its award-winning collection Octo Finissimo – and in the nicest possible way, with the world’s thinnest automatic and tourbillon watch, as well as a trilogy of automatic watches in sandblasted titanium, steel or gold. The latter – which we described in details here – clearly gave the collection its own personality. This is why the Octo Finissimo Skeleton, previously available in titanium, full black and two-tone, is now changing style with a Sandblasted Rose Gold case, in order to be coherent with the latest introductions.

7 years ago

Review – Longines Avigation BigEye – Longines Back at its Best for Vintage-Inspired Watches

It’s not hard to find vintage-inspired military watches as the market is now flooded with them. If you want something affordable and authentic, Hamilton has you covered. Want to go high-end, IWC and Panerai have a lot to offer, among many others. Longines even has a wide variety in their Heritage collection. Most are excellent examples of a given time period and fine watches on their own, but few have truly unique personalities. The Longines Avigation BigEye bucks the trend with an atypical chronograph that hits a lot of the right notes, but its provenance is a bit of a mystery. It’s also not the first modern big eye chronograph with pieces like the Breguet Type XX having a similar dial. It’s arguably the best vintage-inspired Longines since the Legend Diver, however, and won the Best Revival award at last year’s Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). That’s an eye-opening achievement, so let’s take a closer look.

7 years ago

Hands-on – Maurice Lacroix Aikon Chronograph Automatic “Chase Your Watch” Limited Edition

Introduced in 2016, the Maurice Lacroix Aikon is inspired by the Calypso, a model created back in the 1990s. With the mechanical versions of the model presented in early 2018, Maurice Lacroix enters the integrated-bracelet luxury sports segment. Or more precisely, “accessible-luxury” as it is available as of CHF 1,590 which represents great value for money – read our introductory article here. A new chronograph version, a bold and dark limited edition, is now enriching the collection.

7 years ago

Buying Guide – 5 Cool “Back to Work” Watches, To Make Office Life Easier

Beautiful beaches, barbecues, mojitos and sunshine… We don’t want to bring you down, but let’s face reality: summer is ending and very soon we’ll all be back at work. This doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the beauty of a watch anymore, however, it’s time to put your colourful dive watch back in the safe and […]

7 years ago

Review – Carl F. Bucherer Patravi TravelTec Black – A First Class GMT Watch for Today’s Globetrotter

The TravelTec is one of the few watches in the business whose name actually matches its functions: a highly technical travel watch. Carl F. Bucherer’s Patravi TravelTec upped the antes in the GMT arena when it was introduced in 2005 with a movement capable of displaying three time zones coupled with a chronograph. Now the globetrotting star of the Patravi collection, the TravelTec has adapted to the changing panorama of materials and also comes in this sleek matte black version with an integrated rubber strap. Although the designers might have had stealth aesthetics in mind with the dark DLC finish, this multi-purpose 46.6mm piece will not fly under the radar. Endowed with brawns and brains, the powerful masculine case of the TravelTec Black houses CFB’s automatic chronograph movement.

7 years ago

Introducing – Rado Tradition Captain Cook MKIII Automatic

Rado, for the large majority of us, is known for the ceramic watches – and obviously, the brand is good at it. However, Rado also trie to remind us that there were some watches before ceramic cases exist and that the company has a (much richer) past. For that, the brand introduced several vintage-inspired dive watches last year, named “Captain Cook”. Today, there’s a new chapter in this story, with the presentation of the Rado Tradition Captain Cook MKIII Automatic – another cool, historical dive watch, this time with a slightly more modern touch.

7 years ago