Watch Dandy

Frederique Constant introduces 2 new HeartBeat Manufacture Watches for 2016

What can be seen now as a natural collection for Frederique Constant was not that of a gimmick and neither just another collection, back in 1994. When it has been introduced, the Frederique Constant HeartBeat was a sort of first of its kind. Showing the beating heart of a watch on the dial was not that usual, apart from the high-end tourbillon. This HeartBeat collection has expanded since then, and continues to do so this year, with two new references. Here are the 2016 Frederique Constant HeartBeat Manufacture Watches, with new dials and one edition with Date by Hand.

Value Proposition – Alpina adds a GMT Business Timer and an Automatic to its Alpiner 4 Collection

While Frederique Constant has a clear classical, elegant and refined vocation, the other branch of the group, Alpina, is much more oriented on heritage and sports watches. Once again, the motto is the same: accessibility, value for money, very decent quality and functionality – but in another style category. The main collection of Alpina, the Alpiner, was mainly focussing on Chronographs and vintage-oriented pieces until now. This year, the brands adds two references in the catalogue, two robust sports watches, the Alpina Alpiner 4 Automatic and the Alpina Alpiner 4 Automatic GMT Business Timer.

Hublot Big Bang Unico Sapphire All Black Watch Hands-On

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the all-black watch, Hublot presented the competitively priced Hublot Big Bang Unico Sapphire All Black, a darkly transparent watch equipped with the latest technological breakthroughs of the brand.

Blancpain Video: How a Tourbillon Works

Blancpain Blancpain is the oldest watch brand of the world and famous for its tourbillon. There is a core idea behind Blancpain’s tourbillon that lay behind the invention that was patented by Ambraham-Louis Breguet in 1801. This video is going to explain how a tourbillon works. How a tourbillon works Want to know more about the […]

IN-DEPTH: Does the Piaget Polo S really change the game?

The story in a second

Piaget’s move into the high-end steel sports market surprised many – but how does the Polo S hold up under close inspection?

The Polo S caused quite a fuss when it was released. Not only was this steel sports watch far from what most people expect from the reserved Genevan brand, they also released it at a star-studded launch party in Brooklyn – the sort of event you’d expect from the likes of IWC and JLC.…

In-Depth: The Chanel Monsieur de Chanel, And The Evolution Of The Gendered Watch

The world of luxury offers endless examples of the problems companies can run into when they do something unexpected. Whether something is disruptive and captivatingly revolutionary or just off-putting and off-brand is something very hard to predict (and anyone who could do it reliably would make a killing). Of course, what exactly it is that constitutes a company’s identity is something about which you will get many different answers, depending on who you ask, but, in broad strokes, often a famous company’s basic language can seem a bit set in stone. When we first heard Chanel was doing a watch specifically intended for men, we didn’t quite know what to expect, but we were very impressed by the Monsieur de Chanel after a first look at Baselworld, and a chance to see the watch again, and to spend more time with it, was a chance to get a closer look, not just at the watch, but also at the ingrained prejudices and expectations that come with it.

Alpina Alpiner 4 GMT Business Timer Watch

The Alpina Alpiner 4 GMT Business Timer watch, keeping track of melting icebergs… and business hours.

Business News: Richemont Hosts Its Annual General Meeting And Reports Five Month Earnings (Spoiler Alert: Things Aren’t Great)

It’s not exactly breaking news that 2016 is a tough year so far for the Swiss watch industry. Consumer brands are hurting for sure but luxury brands are having an even harder go of things. Today, Compagnie Financière Richemont SA (better known simply as Richemont), hosted its annual general meeting and announced sales numbers for the first five months of its fiscal year (May-August). Overall, results are what you’d expect, with sales down due to a number of factors. But looking closely at the reports, there are a few details worthy of comment.

Introducing the Longines Heritage Military, a Modern Take on the Trench Watch

Rather than being a remake, the Heritage Military (ref. L2.811.4.53.0) is loosely based on a 1918 original inside the Longines Museum. The 1918 specimen is typical of First World Watch wristwatches, known as trench watches. Being transitional watches between pocket and wristwatches, trench watches were essentially downsized pocket watches with thin lugs soldered onto the case. Like most […]

Christopher Ward C8 Power Reserve Chronometer Watch

The folks over at Christopher Ward sure have been keeping busy. Among a number of recent releases such as the C8 UTC Worldtimer is this Christopher Ward C8 Power Reserve Chronometer with a 120-hour (or 5-day) power reserve built on the company’s in-house, COSC Chronometer-certified caliber SH21 movement.