Everything you need to know about French brand Yema watches, and their four key models
If you didn’t spend much time diving in the Azure Seas in coastal France in the late ’60s, chances are you may not be entirely familiar with the French brand Yema. With its most popular models having a subdued appearance, and not featuring ‘Swiss Made’ plastered all over the dial, it can be easy for the eye to wander past their offerings and settle on something with a much older name. Those who love to feel their heart lurch when seeing the price tag of a flashy piece won’t find that same pleasure with the competitive costs on display here, either. While some may confuse Yema with the Philippine custard lollies of the same name, what they truly represent is some of the best value-for-money watches outside of the Swiss and Japanese bubbles. With real vintage heritage, you can’t argue against their flair, highlighted by some of their unique and standout watches below. Yema Superman Heritage Blue Of course, you can’t consider Yema without eyeing up the Superman. The watch, which led Yema to be the largest French exporter of timepieces in the latter half of the 20th century, was occasionally rebadged under brand names such as Atrexa and LeJour,…
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What a difference two years makes. In 2018, I introduced this until now unpublished video by saying that — shock, horror — we were reviewing a collection of watches with quartz movements: the new Longines V.H.P. Collection. I’d go as far as to say it makes me grimace a little to watch in 2020. Because since then, the advancement of quartz back into luxury watchmaking has been steady and it has occurred with less and less resistance. Grand Seiko has been driving the change, as some YouTube commenters have already picked up on. Personally, I now own two modern-era quartz watches. A Longines Conquest V.H.P. and a Grand Seiko GMT SBGN005G, which remains a spectacular experience, every time it gets on the wrist. So, moving on, we’re not quite sure how this “lost video” happened. Because looking at it now, it’s a long and detailed review about the highly feted Longines V.H.P. Collection that absolutely should have seen the light of YouTube. At the time, despite the preamble, we were quickly won over by the V.H.P. for its technical smarts. But a big part of the charm, for me, was the peculiar and bold colourway of the Commonwealth Games Edition.…
A short while ago, Nick Foulkes, writing for How To Spend It, espoused that the last 24 months have seen a significant rise in the popularity and production of solid platinum watches. Foulkes postulates that this may be, to a degree, down to the relatively recent vogue of steel watches, as platinum — at least from a passing glance — does have a similar appearance to its far more humble, utilitarian metal brethren. It also has the distinct advantage of flying under the radar in a way that yellow or pink gold simply cannot. However, platinum’s resurgence in timepieces might also be the result of a more discerning watch collecting community; after all, platinum has long been revered as the pinnacle of precious metals used for wristwatches. Foulkes quotes Marc Hayek, the CEO of Blancpain, Breguet and Jaquet Droz, who said of the precious metal: “Platinum is among the noblest and most precious of metals. It has extraordinary properties that make it extremely resistant but also difficult to process and finish. Creating platinum watch cases requires special savoir-faire. It results in beautiful white/grey-coloured models that do not tarnish. Hence, platinum is the perfect match for exclusive and complicated high-end timepieces.” Hayek isn’t…
The Explorer II often does the rounds at the top of ‘the most underrated Rolex model’ list, and it’s not difficult to see why. In addition to many of the attractive hallmarks of steel sports Rolex models, it also has just a dash more personality – is it the pop of orange that catches your eye? The bezel? Or in this case the almost luminous white dial? Peter counts the ways he loves this model, and explains what sealed the deal for him. When did you first see/hear about it? I’ve always been a fan of the Rolex Explorer II, and for the longest time I was ready to pull the trigger on this watch’s predecessor, the Ref.16570 … that is, until I tried it on. Once I did, I quickly realised that for my larger wrists, the 40mm case was perhaps a tad on the small side. So, I decided against the Explorer and instead went about shoring up my collection with other timepieces that didn’t bear the “Big Crown”. Fast forward to 2011, and the current Ref.216570 was unveiled at Baselworld, and as soon as I read that the dimensions had swelled to 42mm, I knew I had to…
If you haven’t yet read Part I, find the full article right here. This year, to mark its 60th anniversary, Grand Seiko has introduced two new movements, representing each of the brand’s two pillars: Calibre 9RA5 is a Spring Drive movement while Calibre 9SA5 is a traditional mechanical movement. These are entirely new movements, with every element developed and produced in-house and designed to last for decades as the foundation for a whole new generation of watches. To understand their place in the Grand Seiko story, let’s look at the genesis of each in turn. In Part I we traced the genesis of Calibre 9SA5, and here we look at the evolution of Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive movements, culminating in this year’s new calibre. To understand the sequence of movement launches better, it’s worth noting that Calibre numbers don’t follow chronological order: for example, the first 2004 Spring Drive movement, Calibre 9R65, preceded Calibre 9R01 by 12 years. What is Spring Drive? Unique in watchmaking, the Spring Drive system merges the polarised worlds of electronic movements (powered by a quartz battery) and their mechanical counterparts (where the mainspring provides an autonomous power source). In the late 1970s, a Seiko engineer, Yoshikazu…
Kayaking isn’t the sport that immediately comes to mind when you think of DOXA, given that your DOXA is most comfortable hundreds of metres under the water, not necessarily on a narrow boat above the water. But that is exactly where fellow watch writer Sophie Furley from Watchonista took two different DOXA models on quite a cold looking adventure recently, paddling out over Lake Brienz in Switzerland. On the wrists were the DOXA SUB 200 with the turquoise dial, as well as the classic DOXA orange dial SUB 200 T.GRAPH, which represent the diversity of options within the current DOXA lineup. While it wasn’t the sort of activity that Sophie had experience in, the kayaking proved to be enjoyable, with the turquoise dial of the DOXA SUB 200 perfectly complementing the milky blue glacier-fed lake water they sat atop. Likewise, the SUB 200 T.GRAPH fitted into the activity seamlessly, offering an option to track the time since they left the lake’s shore, and delivering a pop of orange that matched one of their kayaks. For a full account of the DOXA-timed journey across the lake, find the Watchonista article right here.
The Friday Wind Down was always intended to be some light relief to deliver to the inbox in that window between finishing up for the week and starting the weekend. That precious interstitial place that is usually accompanied by a cold beer or a room-temperature red and some wacky workplace banter. That’s certainly what’s happening in here when we get to writing it. In the background there’s the tic-tac sound of a table tennis ball bouncing off wooden bats. There’s the shouts of defeat, the agonising roars of a loss. There’s laughter, and someone is hogging the Spotify account at a too-loud volume on the office Bose tower. But not today. It’s a wasteland inside the office and out. Every few minutes, not seconds, someone walks past. There is no table tennis noise, the team are social distancing and going slowly mad — according to the increasingly weird emails. But we are all still working on what you need right now — distractions in the form of watches, watch stories and Dustin Martin. Watches Under $500 We don’t know about you, but our watch-buying budgets have been curtailed for the foreseeable future. That’s not to say we won’t all resume…
Casio’s G-Shock watches are already widely regarded as some of the toughest SOBs in the business, capable of taking more punishment than Tyson Fury and still coming back for more. But the Japanese watchmaker has seen fit to, aesthetically at least, step it up a notch, by taking some of their most iconic timepieces and giving them a proper mil-spec treatment, and in doing so creating the G-Shock Utility Series. Comprising a number of different models in G-Shock’s current lineup, we thought we’d take a look at our favourite four iterations from this exciting new collection. Casio G-Shock DW-5610SUS-5 G-Shock’s DW-5600 series of watches is perhaps its most recognisable, and the “Utility” treatment that they have given to this model in particular is easily my personal favourite. The matte sandy-beige case has been contrasted with a matte black bezel and the watch’s dial features a Saharan camouflage motif, which looks downright cool. Paired with an equally great-looking black fabric strap, this watch screams robustness and exploration, and if I were going on a Safari, this is the watch I’d want strapped to my wrist. Casio G-Shock DW-5610SU-3 Perhaps the most mil-spec looking watch of the lot, the G-Shock…
Hublot has decided to celebrate their love of Britain’s capital city in quite a literal way – by producing this, the Hublot Classic Fusion Special Edition London. Based on the standard Classic Fusion, the 45mm case of the new London edition features bespoke elements such as a polished black ceramic case, black satin-finished bezel and a rubber band that’s capped with a velvet-effect “City Of London” tartan theme. The real pièce de résistance of the new limited edition watch, however, is its brushed black ceramic dial, which features a micro-blasted Union Jack motif, which is etched into the dial and spills out onto the bezel. Hublot has seen fit to proclaim their adoration for the UK’s most populous city by printing “Hublot Loves London” on the sapphire crystal display caseback. The Hublot Classic Fusion Special Edition London is limited to just 50 pieces in total, and you’ll only be able to purchase the matte black marvel at Hublot’s New Bond Street boutique or from the UK’s premier retailer, Harrods. As the title of this story alluded to, this isn’t the first time that the Swiss watchmaker has commemorated one of the world’s greatest cities. In fact, Hublot’s London special edition…
Daniel Braillard, the COO of Baume & Mercier, is itching to show me something. The pleasantries ahead of the interview are going on, but he holds in his hand a Baume & Mercier Classima and in the other his iPhone, in its case. I take the bait. What’s up? Is there to be a demonstration? He nods, and places the watch on a device that connects to an app on his phone which measures the accuracy. It is measured at +6 seconds per day. Not bad. The Classima has a viewing window on the escapement. Next he places it over the iPhone case. Specifically, he places it on the part of the case where a magnet is concealed, which allows the flip front of the case to securely close. The escapement, as if stunned by a blow, wobbles and then stops moving. He places the watch back on the device … the accuracy is now +1.9 minutes a day. We go through the process again with the Baume & Mercier Baumatic, an absolute breakthrough watch for the brand, which offers a 120-hour power reserve and an antimagnetic movement, either COSC certified or not, depending on the model. Without spoiling…