The split seconds chronograph is one of the master crafts within the repertoire of a watchmaker. It is more complex than a standard chronograph, and many testify that it is more virtuoso to make and adjust than a tourbillon. Also known as the rattrapante (French: to catch up), or Doppel Chronograph (German: double chronograph), the split seconds…
If you remember, back in December 2015, when Benoît Mintiens (the founder of Ressence) showed me the Ressence Type 5 for the first time, I actually ended my article with a wish to have this watch as my summer watch. The team of Ressence heard my wish and granted it so here we are, with my review of this great, sort of unique watch, which I’ve been wearing for an entire summer. Usually I tend to be rather technical and factual in my reviews, but here I’m going to be slightly more focused on the wearability and on the feelings, trying to position myself as the owner of this watch. Here are my thoughts after my summer with the Ressence Type 5 on the wrist.
Recently, we had to review a watch that actually quite impressed us, a watch with a nice display, based on a date and a moonphase, with a classical case, voluntarily vintage-inspired and, overall, a very nice price / pleasure ratio: the Frederique Constant Manufacture Classics Moonphase. The style of the watch is clearly identify in its name and this watch even adds an officer caseback, to complete the package. However, this watch has an also desirable sister, more modern, however ver close: the Frederique Constant Slimline Moonphase Manufacture, which comes now with an elegant ivory dial. Same movement, same display, different pleasures.
Inspired by their iconic 6309, Seiko’s new SRP777 diver is an excellent dive watch, but does it have what it takes to stand out among Seiko’s impressive range of tool divers?
The Joel Wade men’s fashion accessories brand has announced the commencement of their Kickstarter Campaign (bit.ly/joelwade) with the aim to bring their new watch collection one step closer to launching. The campaign features early-bird specials of up to 60% off the retail prices, offering consumers worldwide to take advantage of this limited-time opportunity. The funds […]
Last weekend we were invited to join Tudor again at the circuit in Zandvoort. Burning rubber, historic power horses and of course… Tudor watches! After we entered the Paddock Club we were welcomed by a Spitfire air act. Soon after this 3-litre engined Formula One cars fired up and the Fia Masters race begun. We had sight […]
Tanaka Hisashige was a genius of epic proportions, perhaps Japan’s greater inventor ever. He built the country’s first steam locomotive, steamship, and telegraph, but is best known as the founder of electronics giant Toshiba Corporation. Often cited as the Thomas Edison of Japan, Tanaka was a remarkable figure whose career spanned a crucial era in Japanese history – […]
For most of us, Panerai is a company we imagine (whether we realize it or not) largely in terms of what it’s become since it was acquired by the Richemont Group in 1997. Though a lot of us know the pre-Richemont history of Panerai mostly in the context of their provision of diver’s watches and other gear to Italian commandos looking to wage asymmetrical warfare against the British Home Fleet, there is actually a continuity of involvement in the maritime world going all the way back to the beginning of the 20th century (and which continued after the end of World War II as well). It’s not often, however, that a landsman like myself gets to see how a Panerai looks and feels in the natural environment of a Panerai watch: that of the nautical world. Panerai isn’t a military supplier any longer, but 2016 marks its 12th year as a partner with yacht clubs and regattas in the Mediterranean, North America, Antigua and Britain in the sport of classic yacht racing – a great context in which to find out (again) that a watch that may seem inappropriate or even faintly ridiculous in one context seems completely natural in another.
When vintage-inspired watches are designed, the result can be a timepiece that looks removed from its history and context and feels lacking in substance. Not so with the IWC Hand-Wound Eight Days 75th Anniversary edition, which is a subtle mix of original styling and accurate sizing combined with improvements that don’t detract from the soul of the watch.
