Watch Dandy

You may have seen a few pictures of new Oris wristwatches floating around on Instagram – that’s because the watchmaker is currently introducing a few Baselworld 2017 novelties, from its new base in Zermatt, Switzerland. The reason it decided to climb 7,000 feet above sea level to present their watches? To demonstrate a new limited edition which performs particularly well (or, at least, much more noticeably) at high altitudes.

We here at HODINKEE are never ones to take a pass on a good idea when we see one. Which is why we’re unabashedly stealing a year-end tradition from our friends over at Bloomberg Businessweek – the Jealousy List. The idea is pretty simple: Compile a list of the stories from other publications that you really wish you’d gotten to first and that you think everyone should read. Businessweek’s 2016 list is full of the diverse, incredible reporting you’d expect, on subjects like politics, business, and fancy butter (not kidding). We’ve decided to keep ours focused on the best horological stories we could find outside the usual orbit of industry media. Without further ado, here’s the first annual HODINKEE Jealousy List.

Say hello to the winner of the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2016, in the Sports Watch category. That’s right: this is the jury’s pick of the litter, and it’s not like competition wasn’t strong; other contenders included the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Dark, the Ressence 5B and the Heuer Monza. We thought, therefore, that we’d judge the merits of this diver first hand, and see what could explain such a significant recognition for a brand primarily known historically for its vintage chronographs and split-seconds chronographs. Without spoiling too much, let’s say that it was a very convincing test-drive – with the exception of the most frustrating clasp ever encountered.

Well ahead of Baselworld 2017, Breguet has announced the very first ladies’ watch in the Tradition collection, the Tradition Dame Ref. 7038. The Tradition collection’s movement architecture is based on the Souscription watches originally created by Abraham-Louis Breguet as a way of making it easier for buyers to own one of his watches. Souscription watches had a single hand, and you could buy one with a downpayment and pay the rest on delivery. Breguet being Breguet, however, they were still beautifully made and very elegantly laid out, with a symmetrically arranged train that lends itself very well to placement on the dial side of a modern wristwatch.