— In addition to preparing for the SIHH we have spent the holidays working hard on the migration to a brand-new version of WorldTempus.
WorldTempus – Swiss Watch Authority
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As much as you might expect some passive-aggressive snark judging from the title, I am not at all implying that our readers never make interesting observations. As much as all of us here at HODINKEE never start looking through the comments without just a little trepidation, we also find them to be a great source of often useful feedback from readers, and also a great source of information. One of the nice things about watches is that it’s such a huge field that whatever subject we happen to be covering, chances are there is someone out there who specializes in it. And, of course, you, our readers, make interesting philosophical observations from time to time too.
In this case it was in the comments on a quick news story we ran on the fact that Richard Mille, despite the general industry downturn, seems to be continuing to do rather well (Richard Mille being a company perhaps likelier than others to encourage philosophical observations). The comment was by user Josh, who observed, in amongst several other remarks on who is and isn’t interested in horology, that, “I am gonna say that many of these places have people in their 20s interested in WATCHES but not horology. I know many people interested in the prestige that a pricey watch conveys, but nothing about the pieces contained therein, which comprises the ‘horology’ interest.”
Now for all the years I’ve been inflicting my views on watches and watchmaking on people, I don’t think I ever really formulated the question of horology to myself in exactly that way, but I think Josh is onto something. There are really two things this brings up: the first is that there is, in fact, a difference between being interested in watches and being interested in horology; the second thing it brings up is that there are a lot of different ways in which you can be interested in watches, and watches vs. horology is just the beginning.
Horology, in terms of understanding how a watch works, can be a pretty heavy lift. A simple watch isn’t a complicated machine, but aside from situations like working on your own car or bicycle (which not many people do) we don’t have much direct interaction with machines these days. Moreover, watches don’t work like other machines with which we might be more familiar. On top of that, if you want to understand how complicated watches work – calendars, high-precision moonphase displays, chronographs, and the really challenging stuff like sonneries and repeaters, and so on – it can get really hairy. The display aspect of an interest in watches, an engagement with the aesthetics or the social status side of it, is undoubtedly less taxing.
This is not to say that being mainly engaged with the exterior – dial, case, hands, and so on – is wrong; not everyone is interested in mechanics, or the applied physics problems that the technical evolution of watchmaking involves. It’s just a different thing. What does help, though, is having a sense of what you know, and what you don’t know – one of the nice things about working at HODINKEE is that we all benefit from a chance to interact every day with people who are interested in watchmaking on different levels.
It never hurts to bear in mind that watchmaking is around 500 years old, that clocks are significantly older, and that sophisticated mechanics relevant to timekeeping much, much older than that (the Greeks had the tech necessary to make a very complicated mechanical astronomical calendar over 2,000 years ago, which we know about now, mostly through sheer luck). A comprehensive understanding is impossible for any one person.
If you really want to have the kind of context necessary to understand watchmaking technically, culturally, and aesthetically, here’s a wish list of subjects to understand. You’ll want to have a reasonable grasp of mechanics; you need to understand the basics of what an escapement does, and how the most important ones work; having a grasp of basic classical physics is a big help and if you want to understand things like quartz timekeeping, GPS, and atomic clocks, knowing something about special and general relativity and even quantum mechanics doesn’t hurt either.
A smattering of chemistry and metallurgy would be great; a solid reading knowledge of English, French, German, and Italian would be a huge asset. Knowing something about celestial navigation is terrific; a grasp of fine arts history and design history is super; having an understanding of decorative arts like engraving, gem cutting and setting, engine-turning, and enameling is indispensable. It’s really useful to understand the contexts in which traditionally, watches have been used – general civilian and military aviation; naval history; manned space flight; yachting; and of course the automotive world (an incomplete list but it will do to start with).
Probably you should know how a watch actually works; probably you should also understand how, and why, magnetism and temperature changes and alterations in position can affect rate stability (and, of course, you’ll need to know the difference between accuracy and rate stability). This sets you up to understand things like the remontoire d’égalité and the fusée, but you’ll need a grasp of basic acoustics to understand repeaters; and of astronomy and orbital dynamics to understand the perpetual calendar and the equation of time. (You probably don’t need to understand more arcane stuff like lunisolar cycles although, god bless Vacheron Constantin, the subject does come up from time to time). And then, of course, you probably ought to know as much as possible about the history of watches and watchmaking, from the earliest, balance-spring-less one-hand portable clocks, down to today’s bewilderingly varied horological landscape.
Watch writers like to talk about how so many of our non-watch loving friends wonder how we can spend our lives writing about watches, but the answer is that while the subject may seem narrow, it’s really very deep and you can come at it from so many different directions, you never run out of things to write about, or stop learning. So yeah, there’s a difference between being into watches for the cosmetics (and I don’t mean that as a put-down) and being interested in horology, but watches are such a vast subject that you’ll never want for something new to get into. And thank God, or places like HODINKEE wouldn’t be here. Best wishes to our readers for the New Year and keep the comments coming!
Watches shown in the story:
Top image, an amazing early 20th ultra thin repeater by Jaeger-LeCoultre
The Richard Mille RM 67-01 Ultra Thin
The A. Lange & Söhne Grand Complication
The 36mm yellow gold Rolex Day-Date
The Longines Lindbergh Hour-Angle navigation watch
A pocket watch by Girard Perregaux under three platinum bridges, 1890
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James D. Malcolmson
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With only a day to go, 2016 has come to its end. It was a very interesting year for the watch industry and for watch collectors. The watch industry is currently going through a rough time, but still managed to come up with some very interesting watches this past year. State of the watch industry […]
The post 2016 Watches – A Recap appeared first on Fratello Watches.
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Well, it’s that time again. The end of the year. To say that 2016 has been a big one for HODINKEE would be something of an understatement. We launched two limited edition watches, one with Zenith and one with NOMOS Glashütte, we ventured The Road Through Britain, and we brought you countless hands-on looks at watches, continued analysis of the watch industry, and offered insight into the future of horology. Here is a countdown of the 20 most popular posts from this year, including some obvious appearances and a handful of welcome surprises.
So what do you do when you have $ 5,000 to spend on a watch? Read HODINKEE of course. We’ve got four of our editors to consider the question for you: what’s the best buy in mechanical watches under $ 5000 – and what’s your new prize, once you have it on the wrist, going to make you want to save for? Well, read on, friends. We have listed our top mechanical watches for under $ 5,000 and a similar (more expensive) watch that you’re going to start to yearn for once you’re hooked on watches.
Read the full story here.
I haven’t wanted a watch this badly in a long time. Sure, there are grails and dream watches out there that might get my blood pumping harder, but no watch that is both so appealing and so close to possible reach as the A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Thin 37mm. Beyond my personal affinity, this new entry-level watch from Lange has a lot going for it, from design to finishing to market positioning. Buckle up, we’re going deep on this one.
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One of the most popular videos we ever did here on HODINKEE was Talking Watches With John Mayer. It was, in actuality, supposed to be a one-off – a look at a well known watch lover’s favorite pieces. That video aired all the way back in October of 2013, and to be totally frank, we were just winging it – two guys talking about a few watches with Will there to film it. Now, 22 episodes later, it’s safe to say Talking Watches is one of our benchmark editorial products; and so we thought it might be kinda fun to bring back our original guest – Mr. John Mayer – to pick up the conversation and focus on just one of his many horological passions – IWC.
Read the full story and check out the video here.
The Dirty Dozen is the name of a movie from the 1960s, depicting the misadventures of 12 fictional soldiers during the Second World War. It is also, in watch collecting circles, the name given to a group of 12 watches worn by those who actually fought in it – specifically, British soldiers. They were commissioned by the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) during World War II, and while they may not be as highly rated as other military watches when they are presented individually, as a set, they become some of the most collectible – specifically (but not exclusively), by British collectors.
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This could be the Cartier many of us have been waiting for. In fact, earlier today, when CNN asked each HODINKEE team member to pick one watch that they really liked from the day’s presentations, it was the new-shape men’s watch from Cartier – the Drive – that I chose. Why? Because I’ve been dying to find a modern day men’s Cartier that fits me, and my taste. The Calibre Chronograph was a step in the right direction, the Calibre Diver even more so, but they were still a little bulky, a little sporty for me. I mean, I own great sports watches from Rolex, Omega, and others, so why buy a Cartier sports watch? That’s not what Cartier is to me, but the Drive is exactly what Cartier is to me. It’s beautiful, it’s refined, it’s masculine, and its movement is made in-house! And the price? You’re gonna like it.
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We saw a lot of watches last week – A LOT of watches. So after a much needed weekend off from writing and taking pictures, we have pulled together a list of our favorite watches from six different categories: Best Value, Most Unexpected Watch, Best Everyday Watch, Dream Watch, Guilty Pleasure Watch, and Most WTF Watch. Some are more surprising that others but all in all this is a comprehensive list of our favorites from SIHH 2016.
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If you’re a fan of vintage watches, and you happen to be on Instagram, then you likely know the username “HKendrick47.” You might not, however, know who this vintage-watch-loving, Leica-shooting man really is. Howie Kendrick, or Howard Kendrick, as his friends call him, is truly one of the friendliest guys you’ll ever meet, inside or outside of watches. After spending nine years with Major League Baseball’s Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels, he moved across town to join the Dodgers in 2014. He’s a fan favorite in Los Angeles for his always-positive disposition, family-first mentality, and his genuine interest in interacting with baseball, photography, and watch lovers all over the world. Howie Kendrick is also, as far as we know, the only professional baseball player to truly collect vintage watches. This is your official HODINKEE Talking Watches with Howie Kendrick of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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On a certain level, after wearing the Vacheron Constantin Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955 almost every day for a week, my feelings are as uncomplicated as “I like it. A lot.” On another level, to leave it at that would be to do the watch, and the history it represents, a disservice. The Cornes de Vache is a watch that challenges a tremendous number of assumptions many of us have about what exactly it is that makes a watch important. Though in its own way it’s a definitive, and even final, statement about a certain kind of classic watchmaking, it’s also the opening line in a whole new conversation about originality, design fidelity, and authenticity.
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It was one of the most talked-about watches of SIHH 2016 and with good reason: the IWC Mark XVIII is both a great looking instrument watch and a return to long-wished-for clarity and simplicity in the Mark series of wristwatches from IWC. We went hands-on with them in Geneva; read on to find out what impression they made “in the metal.”
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If it wasn’t for the beautiful coastline that appeared as we drove up the Mountain Course, or the evidence of the island’s most famous race, the legendary and sometimes-fatal Isle of Man TT, found in the form of warning signs at every narrow bend, it would have been easy to think we were driving towards La Vallée de Joux. The road that leads to Roger W. Smith’s remote workshop is not so different from the one that leads to Philippe Dufour’s. It is solitary, cutting through fields that stretch as far as the eye can see, and appears to be going in the direction opposite civilization. But while the Swiss can blame tradition for their isolation, this Brit’s exile appears to be self-imposed.
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Shopping for a vintage Rolex can be an intimidating task – frightening, even – given the number of fake and “Franken” watches lurking all around. We even showed you a bad one earlier this week. You’ve likely heard the advice “buy the seller” a million times before, and just as likely dismissed it. I wouldn’t blame you, because in most cases a transaction doesn’t scream shady business at first, leaving you to discover much later that your watch may not be as original as you were led to believe, hurting its collectibility, and thus its value. Therefore, this article aims to equip you with the key points that you should always check when hunting for your dream vintage Rolex.
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The so-called Seiko “Turtle” diver’s watches – new, and larger, versions of the famous cushion-cased 6306/9 diver’s watches, made from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s – were released earlier this year, and we got our hands on them in late February. I’m a pretty big longtime Seiko fan, and the watches looked terrific to me, and to a lot of other people, but as with every watch, liking the idea of a certain kind of watch is one thing, and being able to live with it for days, weeks, and months is another thing – sometimes another thing entirely. We all wish we could know before buying a watch how we’d feel about it weeks, or months, down the road, and any Seiko dive watch ought to have the potential to be a watch you really can live with. So what’s it like to live, day in and out, with the Turtle?
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This is the best watch I have seen so far at Baselworld – there, I said it. You may have read about the new Tudor Heritage Black Bay 36 yesterday – well, I just had a chance to see it in person, and I can absolutely confirm that in the metal, and on the wrist, it’s just as awesome as it looks in the official press images – maybe more so.
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In April of last year, Apple launched the Apple Watch, with a design by Jony Ive and Marc Newson. Ever since Apple first announced the existence of the Apple Watch, there has been considerable speculation about what effect it might have on the health of mechanical horology, and whether or not it, and smartwatches in general, might actually pose the sort of existential threat to mechanical watches that quartz watches posed in the 1970s and ’80s. Having worn an Apple Watch almost exclusively for the last month, I feel absolutely confident that mechanical watches aren’t going anywhere for now. But the Apple Watch isn’t either. It’s almost improbably well done, and it shows a willingness to think creatively that ought to be heeded by the luxury watch industry – and it also suggests to me that underestimating its impact, and Apple, is dangerous.
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This is a story I’ve had in the back of my mind for a long time now – a quick reference guide on a few things I often see young or new watch guys get wrong. I am writing this because I was there once (not all that long ago), and I wish something like this had been there when I was just getting going. Now this isn’t a complete list of mistakes commonly made by new watch guys, and not everyone falls prey to every one of these, but I think many of you might pick up a thing or two that you may not have fully understood before. Here are 12 mistakes that new watch guys often make, and how to avoid them, from someone who has made many of them himself.
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The most interesting, or I should say curious, introduction from Rolex this year is the Air King reference 116900. First, I never really expected to see an Air-King at all ever again after the new Oyster Perpetual was brought out last year, but here it is. And on top of that, the Air-King is back in, frankly, a semi-foreign form as a 40 mm, anti-magnetic aviator’s watch with a multi-color logo. We’ll get to that, so let’s first talk about the brand new Explorer, which is a really similar watch, also introduced this year, that, in my opinion, will be often compared to the new Air-King.
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This year we’ve got two new additions to the Seiko family of entry and mid-level diver’s watches. These are the new-to-the-Prospex line, cushion-cased-shaped dive watches, which for the U.S. market, currently consists of two references: SRP775 (with bracelet) and SRP777 (on a silicon rubber strap). Seiko’s entry level dive watches have probably been the first automatic mechanical watch for more future watch enthusiasts than any other type of watch (except possibly the Seiko 5) and with good reason: they represent a combination of honesty, practicality, durability, and history that, along with a price that puts them in reach for anyone with an interest in mechanical watches, makes them a no-brainer. So how well do the new models measure up to the classics? Let’s take a look.
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Ever since I found out that a steel 1518 was to be sold publicly this year, I wondered how best to cover it. We’ve called so many watches “grails,” and several even “the holiest of grails,” that you guys probably don’t even take us seriously any more. But the steel 1518 is special – I know it, and I wanted to come up with something that transmitted that message to you.
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These are the stories you love to hear. Unsuspecting man – a pilot – because of course he’s a pilot – needs a watch for navigation purposes in the early 1970s. So he stops into his local watch shop, picks up a watch. Maybe that gold one, with the weird dial that nobody seems to want? Sure. He pays $ 543.38 for it, wears it for a few years, then puts it away. Decades pass. He hears that Antiques Roadshow is coming to town, and think his little gold Rolex might be worth $ 500, or maybe a little more. Yeah, he was right.
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Now that Baselworld is three weeks behind us, we can take a minute to answer the questions you all have about this – the most talked about watch of 2016, and the one that you’ve been told already has a very, very long waiting list – you know, the brand new Rolex Daytona. We announced the watch’s release on Wednesday, March 16th, and three weeks and 80+ comments later, it is still pulling in a ton of traffic. This watch is hot, and in this post we will cover the specs, the details, and give you our own thoughts on it after spending a brief moment with it in the Rolex booth. What’s more, we’ll give you an idea of when the first batch will hit stores, how many an authorized dealer might hope to get it in calendar year 2016, and how many people are currently on the wait list.
Read the full story here.
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