UNDONE is a true case study in bespoke. A microbrand to be sure, but one that’s continuing to offer intriguing, customizable mechanical watches at affordable prices. We recently reviewed its Aqua dive watch and customization for that piece was pretty impressive. Multiple case finishes, bezels, over two dozen dial options, with or without date, over […]
In the market for some extra-rare gold? Check out our picks from Christie’s upcoming Geneva auction.
Treat the moms in your life to something from the HODINKEE Shop.
Editor’s note: It’s not new, but it’s oh-so-hot and nigh on impossible to get. Read on for our review of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Ref. 15202ST — and weep … When the watchfam get together, it’s only a matter of time before the hot topic of grail watches rears its curious head. It’s no surprise, either, that for many collectors, their ultimate goal is usually found at the higher end of the watchmaking spectrum. Perhaps a Patek Philippe or something of the Vacheron variety? Or maybe the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Brought to life by Gérald Genta, when he famously sketched the design for the “unprecedented steel watch” on the eve of the 1971 Basel watch fair, it was almost a year to the day later when the luxury sports watch made its debut in 1972. Taking its inspiration from traditional diving helmets, with an octagonal case featuring exposed screw heads and an integrated bracelet, the Royal Oak is widely considered as the very first luxury sports watch and sparked the trend that has since become the much-loved norm. Forty years later, in 2012, Audemars Piguet released this version of the Royal Oak, the ref. 15202ST, their most…
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Parmigiani Fleurier’s Tonda family is the largest of all the brand’s collections with watches for men and women. Meaning ‘round’ in Italian, the Tonda family of automatic watches encapsulates the essence of Parmigiani’s watchmaking ethos with its elegant design, smooth contours and harmonious proportions. A new rose gold version with a white mother-of-pearl dial and […]
Since their inception in 1990, Nomos Glashütte have had a remarkably clear visual and stylistic aesthetic. Clean and refined. Utilitarian, leaning towards the dressy. Unmistakably German. Or, to use the shorthand — Bauhaus. In the earlier years of Nomos, this distinctive styling was paired with some solid watchmaking, and a very strong value proposition. All this combined to earn Nomos a cult following. But Nomos wasn’t content to rest on these laurels, instead embarking on a quiet, and quite deliberate quest to expand their product offering and, in industry parlance, expand their key verticals. So a few years ago we started seeing new lines, like the upper-echelon Lux and Lambda, the sporty Ahoi and the modern Metro. Then came neomatik and swing system, impressive new in-house calibres that represented a significant investment and also independence. But the new offerings didn’t end there; Minimatik and Autobahn added to the family even further. All these new lines are very much Nomos, but they stretch the comfort zone of the brand’s design language. There’s more colour, more playfulness, and greater complexity in construction. Of course, the core is still that round steel watch, like the Tangente and Orion, with a pared-back design. But there’s…
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One of the things I really like about this whole watch thing is that I can still be surprised. And when I spotted this post from the truly excellent Calibre 11, one of the leading resources for all things TAG Heuer and Heuer. Now, I’m not claiming that I’m all over the Monaco — after all, the model turns 50 this year, and there’s been quite a bit of variation. But I did not expect to see a digital Monaco. Except then I did. This watch, with the very Swiss name of the Monaco Sixty Nine (in reference to the 1969 debut of the original Monaco), isn’t just a digital watch – it’s reversible. One side boasts a conventional manual wind, the other a digital module. It’s an ingenious concept, and well executed. Well played TAG Heuer. Read the full, excellent and extensive story on Calibre 11.
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Editor’s note: In the watch world we like to talk about trends. But the trends we’re talking about are pretty macro — after all, we’re talking a five-year production cycle, not five weeks. Fast fashion, watches are not. Having said that, one of the more prevalent trends is colour. Big, bold watches that stand out on the wrist. Hublot’s Big Bang Red Magic is one of the brightest stars (literally and figuratively) of recent times … “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” I’m fairly sure Arthur C. Clarke didn’t have Hublot — or even watches — in mind when he made the now famous futurist statement. But it’s certainly something that rings true for Hublot’s latest ceramic marvel. Because while most watch fans are familiar with the use of ceramic in horology these days, there’s still an aura of power and mystique around this oh-so-red watch. We’ve seen polished ceramic before, and we’ve seen red ceramic before (though none-so-vivid as this), and we’ve certainly seen Big Bangs before. But the combination of all three is a little overwhelming and, for me at least, awe-inspiring. Hublot, for all they seem to delight in their role of watch brand provocateur,…
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In 2014, with the launch of its first Octo Finissimo (hand-wound) models, Bulgari rewrote the rules of skinny. Until then, an ultra-thin watch was defined by discreet styling, a round case, precious metal – in short, the ultimate dress watch. Then along came Octo Finissimo, with its shape-shifting trick of looking both supermodel-skinny and swaggeringly muscular. Shamelessly modern! A sports-deluxe ultra-thin watch! Made of titanium! Jump to the 2017 version – the world’s thinnest automatic watch (until Piaget snatched the record back a year later). This time the entire thing was done in sandblasted titanium – case, dial, bracelet and clasp – the chromatic unity bringing even greater strength to the design. Then, last year, rhodium-plated and sandblasted steel, and sandblasted pink gold – the former with an almost icy-white tone, the latter smashing any prejudice we may have felt towards all-gold watches. Flashy? No sir. And this year, ceramic. Sandblasted. Deep, matt black. The Stealth Bomber Octo Finissimo. Black shrinks any object visually and the deep matt black of the Octo Finissimo’s sandblasted surface shrinks it even more. Except that it doesn’t. That shape-shifting trick again. The strong angles of its stepped bezel and lugs radiate confidence and swagger.…
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Shipments to the UK soared in Q1, but were so-so elsewhere.