Category: Reviews

IN-DEPTH: The Hublot Classic Fusion Ferrari GT races ahead

The story in a second: One of the best, most interesting watches of 2019. The case Wow. What a difference a case makes. Hublot, along with their friends at Ferrari’s Centro Stile, has taken the traditional Hublot design codes, deconstructed them, put them through the ringer a few times, and re-assembled them into something that’s very Hublot, but also completely fresh. The lines are dramatically softened, and the overall look is reminiscent of that bubbly, biomorphic school of watch design that had an extended moment in the ’90s. Having said that, it’s clearly a Hublot — the bezel, complete with exposed screws, the big 45mm case, that oversized machine-like crown. All present and correct. But there’s a lack of blockiness that is so refreshing, and entirely well suited to the Classic Fusion family. The soft, satiny finish of this titanium version is also super compelling and (it must be said) supremely photogenic. This watch rates in Jason — our main photo man’s — top watches of 2019. And I agree.  The dial  Again, all the Hublot goodness is there, but in a reframed way. It’s an open-worked chronograph (obvs), with radial Arabic numerals alternating with baton markers. The numerals liven…

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6 years ago

Review – Longines Avigation Type A-7 1935 – An Eccentric Pilot’s Chronograph from the Past

It’s quite common for brands to reissue watches from a bygone era, especially military and dive watches. The 2019 Rado Captain Cook Limited Edition, Seiko’s Prospex Diver 300m Hi-Beat SLA025 and Longines’ own Avigation BigEye are recent examples (and let’s not overlook the brand’s Legend Diver). The company’s Heritage collection pays homage to many more vintage pieces and the Avigation Type A-7 1935 is a quirky one with design elements to help pilots read the time and operate the chronograph quicker.

6 years ago

Solid value, awesome lume – the Ball Engineer Master II Skindiver II

Editor’s note: These days, Ball is a bit of a niche brand, but even though they’re not front of mind, they’re in no danger of fading away, thanks to their exceptional lume. Cam has a look at one of their modern divers, the Ball Engineer Master II Skindiver II. Read on …  The watch industry is a well-oiled novelty-making machine. Every year it produces a sea of new releases that quickly turns the tide of attention from the old towards the latest and greatest in the world of watchmaking. Occasionally, though, it’s nice to stop and look back on the watches that we might have missed. Watches like this one: the Ball Engineer Master II Skindiver II. With a brand history that dates back to the American railroad in 1891, and more than a couple of technically nifty details, I quickly jumped at the chance to try one out in the metal. Vital statistics Released in 2015, the design of the Skindiver II is inspired by a 1962 version of the Ball Skindiver, retaining the classic look of the Skindiver case, and upsizing it to 43mm wide and 14mm thick. With the larger case comes an improved water resistance of 500…

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6 years ago

Face-to-Face – The Battle of High-End Chronographs Part 3 – Patek vs. Lange… The Verdict

Having reviewed both the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph and the Patek Philippe Chronograph 5172G manual-winding chronographs in previous days, today it’s time for a face-off between these two premium contenders. Both are undeniably beautiful examples of the ‘pure-chronograph-no-additional-complications genre’ and both are impeccably crafted. But they are as different as chalk and cheese, so please, take a ringside seat and see if you agree with our verdict in the battle of high-end chronographs pitting the Lange versus the Patek.

6 years ago

The Battle of High-End Chronographs Part 2 – A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph

When it comes to pure, thoroughbred manual-winding chronographs, models that are devoted exclusively to capturing elapsed times and not equipped with any other paraphernalia, A. Lange & Söhne’s 1815 Chronograph is up there in the pantheon of perfection. The model we are reviewing for our three-part Battle of the High-End Chronograph series is the 2018 pink gold with black dial version, similar to the Boutique Edition of 2015 with its pulsometer scale. Like all the current variations on the 1815 chronograph theme (white gold black dial, Boutique Edition), this watch is equipped with what is possibly the most beautiful hand-wound movement on the market today. 

6 years ago

Review – The Battle of High-End Chronographs Part 1 – Patek Philippe 5172G

When a model is discontinued and replaced with a new reference at Patek Philippe, two things happen: the old model tends to become even juicier bait for collectors and the newcomer is subjected to intense scrutiny. In March 2019, Patek Philippe introduced the ref.5172G chronograph to replace the longstanding and much-loved ref. 5170. Fitted with the same in-house manual-winding calibre CH 29-535 PS as its predecessor, the latest member of Patek’s chronograph dynasty comes in a white gold case with a de rigueur blue dial and a pronounced vintage temperament. Larger, bolder, less classic and more casual than the 5170, the 5172G is one of the contenders in our next battle of chronographs.

6 years ago

Review – Kudoke HANDwerk 1, a typical handmade German watch

German styled watches are typically free from any unnecessary details. No frails, no fuss, just clean and elegant watches. Whether you look at brands like A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte Original, Moritz Grossmann or at smaller independent brands, most of them offer very elegantly, stylish watches. One of these independents is Stefan Kudoke, founder and watchmaker of Kudoke Watches. Besides his intricately detailed skeletonized and engraved pieces, his HANDwerk collection follows the typical German trait. We go hands-on with the Kudoke HANDwerk 1.

6 years ago

Introducing – Sylvain Pinaud Chronograph Monopoussoir

Imagine, building a complicated mechanical wristwatch completely by hand to enter a competition about artisanal crafts. Your competitor? Cheese! That is the story of Sylvain Pinaud in a VERY tiny, exaggerated nutshell, but we’ll elaborate on that. The result of his efforts is impressive though, a very modern-looking, hand-built monopusher chronograph. We had time to meet the maker himself and go hands-on with Sylvain Pinaud’s Chronograph Monopoussoir.

6 years ago

Review – Hamilton Intra-Matic Automatic Chronograph – Tapping into the Retro Vibe

When I think of Hamilton, either a Ventura or Khaki Field Mechanical immediately come to mind. The Swiss brand is much more than that, of course, with a wide collection of models that are among the best value propositions in the industry. Hamilton is also no stranger to quirky designs as the Ventura line attests, and fun ones like the Jazzmaster Regulator Cinema and Khaki Field Murph keep things interesting. I’ve never really associated the brand with chronographs, despite its solid history with them, but its recent Intra-Matic 68 Chronograph definitely changed my mind.

6 years ago