Independent Watchmaking – The Entirely Hand-Engraved Kees Engelbarts Organic Skeleton Ref. 1867 (Hands-On)

Kees Engelbarts’ latest creation is a compendium of his skills fusing his love affair with a millenary Japanese metalworking technique, his mastery of engraving, and his radically artistic approach to skeletonisation. Engelbarts’ Organic Skeleton Ref. 1867 is a unique handmade work of art enlivened with textures, engraved surfaces, partial views of the movement and psychedelic […]

6 years ago

Introducing – Zenith Defy Classic Black Ceramic Skeleton Swizz Beatz Edition

More and more Swiss watch brands are embracing e-commerce and shaping their online retailing strategy. One of the most recent examples of this digital shift comes from Zenith, which has just unveiled its first online exclusive watch. For the occasion, the brand teamed up with Grammy Award-winning music producer and hip-hop celebrity, Swizz Beatz to […]

6 years ago

Hands-on – Zenith Defy Classic Black Ceramic

Zenith’s Defy collection, relaunched during Baselworld 2017 with the high-beat chronograph Defy El Primero 21 and the equally mind-blowing Defy Lab 3 and Defy Zero-G, is gaining traction by the day. The Defy Classic collection puts aside some of the technical fireworks to position itself as the brand’s entry-level luxury sports watch.  We’ve already seen the Defy Classic in various outfits, including the recently launched Defy Classic Skeleton Range Rover Edition. The latest proposal from Zenith is this dark, dark model with a black ceramic case.

6 years ago

Hands-on – Zenith Defy Classic Black Ceramic

Zenith’s Defy collection, relaunched during Baselworld 2017 with the high-beat chronograph Defy El Primero 21 and the equally mind-blowing Defy Lab 3 and Defy Zero-G, is gaining traction by the day. The Defy Classic collection puts aside some of the technical fireworks to position itself as the brand’s entry-level luxury sports watch.  We’ve already seen the Defy Classic in various outfits, including the recently launched Defy Classic Skeleton Range Rover Edition. The latest proposal from Zenith is this dark, dark model with a black ceramic case.

6 years ago

Hands-on – Zenith Defy Classic Skeleton Range Rover Edition

Today, Zenith, in creative partnership with Land Rover, introduces the Defy Classic Skeleton Range Rover Edition. Created specifically to celebrate the new Range Rover Evoque, it offers the distinctive, bold style of the Defy collection with some subtle design cues inspired directly by the car. Produced as a limited edition of just 200 pieces, we […]

6 years ago

Introducing – Heritage Corum Lab 01

With its new Lab collection, Corum aims at taking risks and experimenting. The timepieces of this collection eschew traditional codes and instead provide an off-beat take on watchmaking where mechanics take precedence. Meet the Heritage Corum Lab 01, a shaped watch with a bold design and an openworked, micro-rotor movement. The first two ‘Labs’ are […]

6 years ago

Hands-on – Bell & Ross BR-X1 Military

When you think Bell & Ross, you should apparently have “military-inspiration”, “pilot’s watch” and “round-within-a-square-case” in mind. So, with its squared case and round bezel, its chronograph, its military-coloured lightweight and robust material inspired by stealth fighter planes and an overall functional design, it seems that the new Bell & Ross BR-X1 Military ticks all the boxes, right? (spoiler alert: it does, and it even adds the cool technical look of the Experimental collection).

6 years ago

Hands-on – Speake-Marin One & Two Openworked – A View of the Movement and Eccentric Seconds

As they say “if you’ve got it, flaunt it”. With a new in-house automatic COSC-certified movement, the dial of the One & Two is openworked to reveal the calibre in almost all of its mechanical glory. Presented in titanium and 18k red gold cases, the One & Two Openworked models prove that a partially skeletonised dial can be extremely elegant.  With an exposed barrel and rotor and the small seconds counter perched at 1:30, the action on the dial is guaranteed. Both the dapper One & Two Academic models, reviewed here, and these Openworked models are distinguished by the unusual position of the small seconds counter adding that touch of British eccentricity that the brand cultivates.

6 years ago

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.

6 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.

6 years ago