Category: Sports watch

Value Proposition – Martenero Kerrison – A Stylish and Affordable Automatic All-Rounder

While a growing list of microbrands are producing well designed, high-quality watches that are nipping at the heels of brands like Hamilton, Tissot and Seiko, they don’t have the marketing or mass production prowess of those established brands. Some of the watches themselves, however, are bonafide contenders. Martenero is a young microbrand based in New York that already has a handful of intriguing lines in their portfolio. They recently funded a sequel to one of their bestsellers on Kickstarter, the Edgemere Reserve. It follows the original Edgemere and adds three complications, a 24-hour sub-dial, date and reserve indicator (the original Edgemere was a time-only piece). One of my favorite Martenero lines is the Kerrison, which is clean and conservative, but also full of personality. They remind me of the Three Hand Automatics from another young microbrand, Farer Universal. Both use splashes of color to add a little fun to otherwise subdued (yet stylish) dials. Let’s take a closer look at the Martenero Kerrison in black.

7 years ago

Pre-SIHH 2019 – Girard-Perregaux Laureato Perpetual Calendar

The Laureato, since its introduction at the SIHH 2017, has been a great success for Girard-Perregaux and had allowed them to be back on the ultra-competitive and oh-so-trendy market of the luxury sports watch. Already existing in an array of models (3-hand, chronograph, tourbillon, skeleton, full ceramic), the brand continues the expansion of this collection by now looking at traditional complications. As a preview of what is to come at the SIHH 2019, meet the new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Perpetual Calendar, in sporty steel attire.

7 years ago

Pre-SIHH 2019 – Girard-Perregaux Laureato Perpetual Calendar

The Laureato, since its introduction at the SIHH 2017, has been a great success for Girard-Perregaux and had allowed them to be back on the ultra-competitive and oh-so-trendy market of the luxury sports watch. Already existing in an array of models (3-hand, chronograph, tourbillon, skeleton, full ceramic), the brand continues the expansion of this collection by now looking at traditional complications. As a preview of what is to come at the SIHH 2019, meet the new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Perpetual Calendar, in sporty steel attire.

7 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.

7 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.

7 years ago

Hands-on – Mido Ocean Star Diver 600, A Robust and Accessible Dive Watch

If Mido is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2018, the history of the Mido Ocean Star dates back to the early 1940s. Naturally, at the time, the Ocean Star was not yet the modern mechanical dive watch it is today and had little in common with the latest model in the family, the most technical so far. Let’s take a look at this new Mido Ocean Star Diver 600.

7 years ago

Pre-SIHH 2019 – Montblanc Introduces Two New TimeWalker ‘Reverse Panda’ Chronographs

Two years ago at the SIHH 2017, Montblanc completely redesigned its TimeWalker collection, presenting its version of what a sports watch should look like. This represented the fulfilment of a key objective for Davide Cerrato, Managing Director of the Watch Division. In 2019, the brand looks to build on this success with the introduction of two additional models to the collection. Both feature “Reverse Panda” dials with contrasting black backgrounds and silvery-white counters and flanges. Read on for all the details, including expected pricing.

7 years ago

Value Proposition – Review of Seiko 5 SNK809 – A Lot of a Mechanical Watch for Less than $100

A few years ago, we published a story named “The Cheapest High-End Watch“. We searched for the most affordable high-end watch, comprising a mechanical movement, in-house manufactured of course, from a brand with an undisputed pedigree, preferably family-owned, and the watch should be (relatively) small and elegant. And guess who won the title… not Patek, not Vacheron, not even Rolex or Omega. It was a Seiko 5! While pretty much everyone thinks of Switzerland when we’re talking about high-end watches, we felt that one specific brand was often missing in the discussion… Today that’s changing already and certainly since Grand Seiko has been positioned as a separate brand, this Japanese giant is taken very seriously. Japanese movement are gaining traction in general, and despite being cheap (the word affordable doesn’t even work anymore), Seiko 5 watches are true mechanical, bang-for-the-buck “high-end” pieces. Time to demonstrate this, with the not-even-100-dollar Seiko 5 Military SNK809.

7 years ago

Introducing – Alpina Launches Sporty Yet Elegant Shadow Line

Alpina, best known for its sporty pilot-style watches, is introducing a new range of smoked dials to its Startimer Pilot and Alpiner collections. In total, there are six different models to choose from in the new Shadow line: two Startimer Pilot big date quartz chronographs, three Startimer Pilot Automatic watches and an Automatic Alpiner 4 watch. All six models are already strong sellers for Alpina and the brand is looking to broaden their appeal even further with the introduction of these urban, lifestyle-oriented options.

7 years ago

Hands-on – Meet the Villains, RJ Arraw The Joker and Two-Face

It is not the first time RJ Watches joins forces with entertainment companies to give birth to collaboration watches – think Spiderman or Batman. However, the watches you’re about to see today are the first collaboration-pieces based on the Arraw (editor’s note – Arraw is the brand’s new signature model) and the first ones to celebrate not heroes but two villains instead: the Joker and Harvey Two-face.

7 years ago