Hands-on – Chronoswiss Flying Grand Regulator Skeleton Limited Edition

There are certain watch brands that are unmistakable at first sight. Panerai and Richard Mille come to mind. Chronoswiss is another such brand with its signature regulator displays, side knurled cases and large onion crowns. Since 1987, Chronoswiss has celebrated this regulator design and built a brand identity around it. Following up on recent regulator models, such as the Flying Regulator Open Gear and Flying Regulator Night and Day, the relatively young brand of 35 years has introduced a limited edition Flying Grand Regulator Skeleton in steel. The dial has been scaled back to the bare essentials and provides an almost unfettered view of the skeletonized movement. It’s a bold and modern addition to the series.

8 years ago

Hands-on – The MeisterSinger Black Line – A Darker and Sportier Take on the Single-Hand Concept

Many brands struggle to stand out from the crowd and to define what makes them unique. Not with MeisterSinger. This brand makes mechanical watches with one single hand for people who just want to keep track of time, with a certain poetry in the display. This has always been the defining point of the brand. While usually rather classical (even though sometimes colourful), the brand recently started to offer bolder pieces, and that includes a brand new collection of black, instrumental watches introduced at Baselworld 2018. Meet the four watches of the MeisterSinger Black Line – including the Circularis Power Reserve, the Salthora Meta, the Perigraph and the No.03.

8 years ago

In-Depth – Urwerk UR-105 CT Streamliner: the Origins and What NYC has to do with it?

Launched to coincide with Urwerk’s twentieth anniversary in 2017, the UR-105 CT Streamliner is a celebration of the city that put the wind in Urwerk’s sails: New York. Three versions of the UR-105 CT are in circulation today, each one designed to capture a New York minute. According to co-founder and designer Martin Frei, the titanium and polished steel model is “like New York City in broad daylight, bright and shiny” while the Kryptonite model evokes a Gotham City atmosphere emitting its green lume in the dark. The most stealth interpretation of the three Streamliners is this titanium and black PVD-coated steel version, something the Dark Knight might have worn on his vigilante crusade to eradicate evil from Gotham City, New York’s fictional alter-ego in Batman movies and comics.

8 years ago

Hands-on – Christiaan van der Klaaw Planetarium – With the World’s Smallest Mechanical Planetarium

Christiaan van der Klaauw will go down in history as having the created the smallest mechanical planetarium in the world, condensed into the miniature arena of a wristwatch – or in fact, a portion of a wristwatch. His opus, the 40mm CVDK Planetarium, depicts the real-time orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn as they rotate around the Sun. A mechanical miracle that unites horology and astronomy, the CVDK Planetarium – first launched in 1999 – is also a beautiful work of portable art. Just imagine if Copernicus could have got his hands on one of these and prove to his contemporaries that heliocentrism was really the way forward! In addition to the highly accurate representation of planetary motions, the Planetarium has an annual calendar complication.

8 years ago

Hands-on – Singer Track 1 Hong-Kong Edition in Black Ceramic-Aluminum

Following the introduction of the Launch Edition in June 2017, a technical titanium version, and the Geneva Edition in January 2018, a vintage-oriented version with a stunning pale yellow gold case, Singer Reimagined now unveils the third version of its impressive chronograph. Named the Track 1 Hong Kong Edition, this third iteration is a sportier take on the concept, with its black Ceramic-Aluminum case and bold orange accents.

8 years ago

Hands-on – Singer Track 1 Hong Kong Edition in Black Ceramic-Aluminum

Following the introduction of the Launch Edition in June 2017, a technical titanium version, and the Geneva Edition in January 2018, a vintage-oriented version with a stunning pale yellow gold case, Singer Reimagined now unveils the third version of its impressive chronograph. Named the Track 1 Hong Kong Edition, this third iteration is a sportier take on the concept, with its black Ceramic-Aluminum case and bold orange accents.

8 years ago

Hands-on – Chronoswiss Flying Regulator Night and Day

Chronoswiss has built its reputation around an easily recognizable design first and, most importantly, on their extensive (for over 30 years now) use of a specific display: the regulator. Quite old-school for some years, the brand has been revived recently and has started to offer stronger and more modern designs, for instance with the Flying Regulator Open Gear or a Bit-Coin inspired watch. Today, the brand presents a new model with added complications: the Chronoswiss Flying Regulator Night and Day.

8 years ago

Hands-on – HYT H2O: Going with the Flow

Two limited editions of the HYT H2O – one in a black DLC-coated case with bright green fluid, the other in a silver case with blue fluid – were unveiled during the 2018 SIHH watch salon. Exposed under a large sapphire crystal dome, the H2O models – an evolution of the HYT H2 – reveal the flow of time from every possible angle. With its original fluidic indication for the hours – which undergoes a fascinating retrograde phase – and a jumping minute hand, the novelty here is the refreshing design of the H2O. The dial, which has undergone a significant decluttering session, and the integrated strap conspire to make the watch more attractive, more streamlined and eminently wearable.

8 years ago

Introducing – URWERK UR-105 CT Kryptonite

At URWERK, there are recurring themes. The first and main one is that unique display, based on the satellite wandering-hours indication, which has defined most of the brand’s watches for now over 20 years. Another one is the combination of black case and bright coloured indexes. With the brand’s latest creation, the URWERK UR-105 CT Kryptonite (a variation around an already existing watch, the Streamliner), Luminosity is at centre stage.

8 years ago

In-Depth – Singer Reimagined Track 1 Geneva Edition

When you think about it, there aren’t many differences between one racing chronograph and the next. Of course, designs can be different but the basics are there: 2 pushers, 3 registers, a fixed bezel with tachymeter scale, black or silver dials with coloured accents! All of these features feel so familiar that it quickly became the norm… but not for everyone! Some thought that a racing chronograph could be reinvented, reimagined and reshaped to offer something new, different and, in the end, highly desirable. This has a name: the Singer Reimagined Track 1, and today we take a closer look at the Geneva Edition and its superb pale yellow gold case.

8 years ago