Category: Dress Watches

Hands-on – Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date And Moon Phase

These days everybody’s scratching their heads trying to figure out how to create products that appeal to the “next” generation, aka millennials. Watch brands are certainly not immune to this and many are making a concerted effort to bring a touch of youth to their more traditional offerings. Among them is Glashütte Original. Over the past few years, the German watch manufacturer has been steadily introducing more contemporary versions of its classic models. Granted, not all have been hits but there are definitely a few stand-outs, including the new Senator Excellence Panorama Date and Moon watch that we are looking at today.

8 years ago

Review – Glashütte Original Sixties Annual Edition 39mm – The Temptation of the Green Dial

Just like any other luxury industry, the watchmaking world is driven by trends. After a massive invasion of blue dials – a predominant trend over the last five years – brands are now trying to find new directions. One of them, slowly inching its way into the limelight, is the colour green. And if blue was already a difficult colour, which could easily result in a plain, boring watch, green is even more complex to master. Few have succeeded but one truly great example has been presented by Glashütte Original, with the Sixties 2018 Annual Editions. Comprising two models, including one with a larger case and a Panorama Date, it is the simplest of the two that caught my eye. Let’s look at it in detail.

8 years ago

Review – Ophion OPH 786 – Affordable but Truly Refined

For its first endeavour, the fledgeling brand Ophion surprised us with a nicely designed watch equipped with an interesting hand-wound movement. This first model, the OPH 960, was probably lacking a bit of personality and personalisation – standard movement, plain dial… With its new watch, the OPH 786, Ophion sets the bar much, much higher.  With a convincing design, a great looking movement and multiple details that you usually find in a different price range, Ophion has resorted to several well-thought-out tricks to keep the watch at an affordable price. Let’s look at this 18th-century inspired watch in detail.

8 years ago

In-Depth – Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Qualité Fleurier (and what this quality label stands for)

Designed back in 1996 by Michel Parmigiani, the Toric made a comeback a few months ago with the Toric Chronometer. Displaying time and date only, it is much more than a traditional three-hander. And this year, it has been fitted with a tasteful guilloche dial and it has been submitted with success to the demanding Qualité Fleurier criteria. A good reason to go hands-on with this superbly crafted dress watch.

8 years ago

Hands-on – Patek Philippe Ref. 5205G-013 – The Young Man’s Patek Annual Calendar

Blue dial watches have been popular for some time now. So much so, that they have almost become the rule instead of the exception. To stand out from the crowd with a blue dial nowadays, therefore, you have to do something a little special. That’s exactly what Patek Philippe has done with the latest iteration of its reference 5205G. Although not a new watch per se, the addition of a mouth-wateringly delicious blue gradient dial has reinvented this model in my eyes, driving its desirability factor through the roof. We spent some time hands-on with this watch recently, and let me tell you, the only thing harder than capturing the gorgeous blue tones was giving it back.

8 years ago

Hands-on – The Breguet Classique Extra-Plate 5157 Pink Gold – Quintessentially Breguet

Creating a two-hand ultra-thin watch is, believe it or not, one of the most complex exercises for a watch-designer. Because of the extreme simplicity of such pieces, it is utterly easy to end up with the most boring watch possible – and how to differentiate yourself when you simply have nothing to express yourself…? This is where the Breguet Classique Extra-Plate 5157 (and its 2018 pink gold version) is brilliant. It manages to be extremely pure, clean and simple and at the same time, it is quintessentially Breguet.

8 years ago

Introducing – A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Tourbillon Limited Edition with Enamel Dial

The 1815 Tourbillon by A. Lange & Söhne is one of those watches that, at first, keeps its cards well hidden. Except for the tourbillon visible at 6 o’clock, it remains extremely discreet. However, when it was introduced four years ago, it appeared to be a watch packed with clever mechanisms. More than meets the eye, they say. This precision timekeeping instrument, which features several patented devices, is now offered in a new limited edition with a new dial that once again discreetly sets the tone. Meet the new A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Tourbillon with Enamel Dial.

8 years ago

Hands-on – Speake-Marin One & Two Academic – Elegantly Eccentric

Many Speake-Marin aficionados were wondering – and were rather legitimate in being worried – about the future of this independent watch brand since the departure of its founder. Well, the good news is that the models unveiled at SIHH 2018 are well thought-out and more than convincing. Among these, the One & Two Academic is quintessentially Speake-Marin but with some discreet and worthy updates. Overview of these discreetly eccentric watches.

8 years ago