Review: Swatch Sistem51 Irony
Since the early 1980’s, Swatch revolutionized the watch market by producing affordable Swiss watches that appeals to a wide range of audience, this time it stepped it up with the Swatch Sistem51 Irony.…
Category: Reviews
Testing (really testing) the Arnold & Son Constant Force Tourbillon (and see if such mechanisms have a chronometric interest)
The watch we’ll test today is worth of a chronometric contest. It has been created with a unique goal in mind: being as accurate as possible, in all positions and during the whole range of its power reserve. Usually, we would have written a review exposing the case, the dial, the finishing or the wearability of the piece. However, with the Arnold & Son Constant Force Tourbillon, this would have been short. We had to test it, and when I mean “test”, I mean looking at it on a watchmaker’s bench, with professional measuring tools. So here we are, with the test (and not the review) of this demonstration piece, and answers about the utility of such complex devices in a watch.
Hands-On with the Swatch Sistem51 Irony – Still Mechanical & Machine-Made But Now Stainless Steel
Introduced three years ago to much fanfare, the Swatch Sistem51 was a landmark in Swiss mechanical watchmaking, a mechanical wristwatch made entirely by machine, allowing it to be priced at just SFr150 (or about US$150). Funky and colourful, the original Sistem51 was mostly plastic and felt that way. The new Sistem51 Irony gives the watch a metal makeover, replacing […]
Hands-On with the HYT H1 Colorblock, the Most Affordable Hydro-Mechanical Watch to Date
Available in three bright colours, the H1 Colorblock is a limited edition to mark HYT’s third anniversary. It’s a variant of the brand’s first wristwatch and now the entry-level piece in the HYT line-up, priced at SFr39,000, a third less than the next most expensive model. Both the chapter rings for the minutes and hours on the […]
IN-DEPTH: The Omega Globemaster Annual Calendar, a wonderful watch ruined with wordplay?
Story in a second Omega adds an extra hand, two millimetres and a whole lot of text to their Constellation-inspired Globemaster. The Globemaster was one of the breakthrough watches of 2015, and it would have been naive to think that Omega wouldn’t extend the collection. And, while predicting a calendar version would have been a pretty safe bet, no one expected it to look quite like this. Given that the collection will be hitting Australian shores soon, we thought it was time to take a closer look at the Omega Globemaster Annual Calendar The dial When I saw the press images of this watch I was worried that Omega had taken one of the most handsome, heritage-inspired designs of 2015 and ruined it with wordplay. After all, there’s a whopping 21 words, albeit abbreviated words, on that dial. But in the real world, on the wrist, my worries about the dial faded away in about 90 seconds flat. That cursive, italic calendar text isn’t overly in-your-face. It’s a bit more distinctive on the white dialled model, but the contrast works. You know what really jars with me though? The radial flip. I’m sure there’s sound design theory behind changing the direction of…
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Throwback Sundays: Six German Watches to Add Into a Watch Collection, from Our Archives
Over the last few decades, German watches have experienced a renaissance. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was the catalyst. Prior to the period, German watches were relatively low profile. Many of the manufacturers were behind the Iron Curtain, making utilitarian watches for the Communist public. While those in West Germany, like Junghans…
Review: The IWC Ingenieur Constant Force Tourbillion
The Ingenieur collection has traditionally been IWC’s answer to the tool watch. It shot to fame and became an icon during the Gerald Genta era. Together with the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Vacheron Constantin Overseas and Patek Philippe’s Nautilus, the IWC Ingenieur was as its name suggests, a robust, non-cosmetic tool watch. It was well…
HANDS-ON: The Bell & Ross BR 01 Instrument de Marine – an eighteenth century take on their classic square pilot
If Bell & Ross’s Skull Bronze implicitly referenced the golden age of exploration with its nautical case material, the BR 01 Instrument de Marine is far more explicit in its influence. This distinctive watch is inspired by marine chronometres, naval timekeeping devices that were crucial for navigation in a pre-electronic age – the eighteenth century equivalent of a pilot’s dash display.…
HANDS-ON: The moonlit symphony that is the A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Moonphase
Let’s begin by stating the patently obvious: A. Lange & Söhne has had a very good year. At the top end, collectors have raved about the Grand Lange One Moonphase Lumen, as well as the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds. And for those whose pocketbooks have earthly limitations – the new Saxonia Thin presents a very tempting offering.…
Review: Speake-Marin’s London Chronograph
The London Chronograph was released to recognize Peter Speake-Marin’s early watchmaking background. After qualifying as a horologist at London’s Hackney college, Peter headed to Switzerland to deepen his knowledge of watch making at the Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Education Program (WOSTEP) in Neuchâtel. Thereafter, Peter…