If you know your dive watch history, the name Fifty Fathoms No Rad (for no radiations) should be familiar. In fact, it should even ring the bell twice. One, when Blancpain was a supplier to the navies of numerous armed forces worldwide, with a military Fifty Fathoms delivered to the Bundeswehr, the iconic and rare “BUND […]
Studio Underd0g have a refreshingly playful approach to watchmaking. As the British microbrand explain on their website. “When the biggest news in the watch-world for 2020 is that a certain brand (that shall not be named) had increased their case size by an unfathomable 1mm it got us thinking… Why… so… serious…? Don’t worry, we don’t plan on taking them head on just yet, but we are here to inject a bit of silliness into what can be a very un-silly industry.” This is a very welcome perspective and plays out in Studio Underd0g’s cheerfully irreverent debut collection that consists of three watches: Desert Sky, Watermel0n and Go0fy Panda. Normally, after all, watches with bicompax and “big eye” features come loaded with vintage preconceptions. We might expect a manual movement, intricately detailed feuille hands, monochrome tones and rather high price points for the serious collectors out there. But Studio Underd0g (yes, that is a zero in their name) aim to do things differently. By adding fresh colours and humour suddenly we’re into unknown territory. Richard Benc, the founder of Studio Underd0g, seems to have a particular sense of style and an instinctive feel for both dial size and the delicate…
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We really should have seen the Hamilton Intra-Matic Chronograph H coming. Having played with the idea before, this hand-wound, bi-register chrono – in beautifully proportioned panda and reverse panda dial variants – sees Hamilton effectively resurrect and update its first chronograph. The modern Intra-Matic Chronograph H is compelling in either dial, taking direct inspiration from 1968’s ‘Chronograph A’ and ‘Chronograph B’. Those original pieces have often aged beautifully, so it’s no surprise to see fauxtina deployed here. A box sapphire crystal further adds to that ’60s vibe. In all, though, it appears to be a watch that leans heavily on the vintage cues without ever losing its balance. At 40mm, the case contains the new H-51 movement (utilising a base ETA-7753) with 60 hours power reserve. It also comes with a welcome 100m of water resistance. But while the Chronograph H is a modern take on Hamilton’s original chronograph, it’s also a natural step in the brand’s recent exploration of those ’60s designs – and suggests that while they’ve been looking backwards, they’ve also been responding to the tastes of modern watch-buyers. This is not the first model to find inspiration from the reverse panda looks of the ‘Chronograph B’.…
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“Holy Quadrinity” just doesn’t roll off the tongue in quite the same way…
You don’t always have to look to the usual suspects or pay a hefty price to get a quality watch. There is a wide spectrum of manufacturers in this industry and, with so many releases each year, it can be a bit of a challenge to follow every reference introduced. While the below list of watches are fabricated by well known brands, we wanted to shine a spotlight on some references that may not have received the recognition they deserve. A sleeper hit is effectively something that is not massively hyped, but has a level of quality that demands further exploration. Here are six sleeper hits we included in our Now Buying Guide… Timex x Todd Snyder “Pride” Watch At 34mm, this watch can pretty much be worn by anyone, of any identity. The theme of the watch is literally pride and inclusivity. As I have said before, Todd Snyder and Timex have teamed up to create arguably the best value proposition in rainbow watches. The Pride Watch is a nod to the pride colours derived from artist Gilbert Baker’s Rainbow Flag. The dial aesthetic is is the result of three rotating coloured discs. As the time changes and the discs…
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Unless you’ve completely lost track of what’s happening in the watch industry for the last 2 years, you’re certainly aware of the sports watch with integrated bracelet’s comeback. Following the impressive popularity of watches such as the Royal Oak and the Nautilus, many watch enthusiasts have suddenly felt the itch for adding such a watch […]
The tide seems to be shifting in the auction world towards scarcity and craftsmanship, rather than scratched-up provenance and movie-star affiliations. We could see results of this theory already in our story on the latest Antiquorum auction here. In Monaco, the auction darlings of the last five years, steel sports Rolex, did OK, whereas the rarity value of a few references from F.P Journe smashed through the proverbial glass roof of the reserves. Are Philippe Dufour and F.P Journe the new auction stars and have steel sports watches peaked? In this article on industry insider Watchpro, Simon de Burton argues that is an indication that the previous auction scene duopoly of Patek and Rolex is in fact slowly crumbling. Is that a fact, or is it a mere shift in the market towards rare luxury that sets buyers apart from the usual Rolex collector out there? The bigger question should perhaps be whether the bidders are following their personal taste or market trends. A handcrafted case in point was the 2004 F.P Journe Octa Calendrier – that we covered in this story on Antiquorum’s Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces in Monaco – which more than doubled its already high estimate, going under…
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Rolex is the biggest watch brand in the world (so long as you don’t count Apple). But while that information might not come as a surprise, Rolex has actually grown its market share in 2020 despite selling an estimated 140,000 fewer watches than the year before (due to factory closures as a result of the pandemic). This is according to a report by Morgan Stanley that stated Rolex has consolidated its lead at the top during the pandemic, increasing its market share to 24.9% in 2020, up from 22% in 2019. What is also remarkable is that Rolex SA, who also owns Tudor, has become the largest watch manufacturing group on the planet by claiming 26.8% of the market, beating Swatch Group who captured 25.2%. This growth in market share was in the face of a drop in turnover of 14% from CHF5.05 billion down to CHF4.42 billion, a fall that was softened by a 5% price increase across their range. In contrast, the latest data from the Federation Horlogère Suisse (FHS) industry body painted a grim picture across the rest of the industry, with a drop in export value of Swiss watches by 21.8% and the number of watches…
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I met Paul Newman once. Back in 2001, I spent an hour in his company. Just him and me chatting in a drawing room in Barretstown Castle, Ireland, where he had set up a residential camp for seriously ill children. Sure, he was a little slow on a staircase at that stage but trust me, the man was the most ridiculously cool 76-year-old you could ever hope to meet. We didn’t talk about watches, because I had yet to fall down that rabbit hole. I was wearing a basic Timex Ironman because it told the time and was cheap. Every box ticked. I didn’t even know watches were “a thing”. And I certainly didn’t know Paul Newman’s name was attached to a watch that was a big deal then – and which one day would become the biggest deal of all. Every now and again – especially after auctions such as the recent sale of his ‘Big Red’ ref. 6263 for US$5.5 million – I wonder what he wore on his wrist that day. Was it one of the “ones”? Did I miss a moment with horological history? And I wonder what I would have asked him if I knew…
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Feel free to judge this article by its cover.