When you receive an announcement about a new watch from A. Lange & Sohne you know you can expect something stunning. It's not often you actually get to see the watch before the official launch, which is today in Dresden, but on this occasion we did. And amazing it is in all its facets. Let’s have a look at the new limited edition A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Up/Down Lumen.About the Dat

We usually don't find an NDA document in our mailbox. I can't remember having to sign a nondisclosure agreement before any event. So when you receive one from A. Lange & Sohne, you know something big is about to happen.A. Lange & Sohne invited us to Dresden last week, to meet up with Anthony De Haas (Director of Product Development). He talked us through the latest family member of the Gla

The tender to become NASA’s chronograph for astronauts wasn't the only breath-taking watch race in history. The underrated and often overlooked Swiss brand Tourist was the first brand to market a mechanical watch with a light function. No need to rub your eyes twice, you read that correctly. Forget about the 1980's backlit displays. Imagine we are in 1956, and somebody dreams about a mechani

As always, a lot happened this week in the watch world. COVID-19 ain't gonna stop us! Some cool watches launched, and it's challenging to pick just a few things. We did get some colorful releases, so I'm christening this the colorful edition. Here are some of my favorites from the past week.Zenith Pilot Type 20I'm a big fan of Zenith and what they've been doing lately. As ever, watch design is ver

It’s been a long time coming but in the best of ways. I first saw the prototype for this bracelet more than six months ago and it got me pretty excited. Why? Because it looked to me to be a perfect reproduction of the bracelet many of us Speedy fanatics miss so dearly. I personally call it the Omega POTUS because of its similarity to the “President” bracelet. Welcome, one and al

China Lake is a dry lake in the scorching hot Mojave Desert in California. It's also the place where Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake is situated. This immense 51,000 km2 base 240 kilometers north of Los Angeles is home to many pilots. Pilots that don't wear green flight suits, but beige ones. This color better blends in with the desert sand of the Mojave Desert. As does the sand-colored ceram

Welcome back to A Brief History of Time. Our spotlight this week is on the story and watches of Bvlgari. In Part One, we saw the founding of the brand by Sotirio Bulgari as a Greco-Roman silver specialist in 1884. We learned about its rise to international acclaim in the early 1900s examined its first important watch design, the Serpenti, in the 1940s. We looked at the release of several high-fash

Last Friday, we held our Fratello Grand Seiko event in the Paris boutique at Place Vend?me. For approximately 20 readers of Fratello, Grand Seiko organized touch-and-feel sessions with the latest collections as well as a workshop on watch photography. This marks the second time that Fratello and Grand Seiko have hosted an event at the flagship boutique in Paris.Breaking a sake barrel as part of th

The Seamaster Diver 300M is one of the most popular watches in Omega’s entire collection. Not only that, but did you know that the Seamaster Diver 300M and the Constellation ’95 also saved the company in the 1990s? Like most other watch companies, Omega wasn’t in the best shape. The brand’s 1980s catalog was as thick as a phone book, and Omega even considered dropping the S

The launch of a pocket watch from Hamilton… Who would have imagined we’d see that in 2022? On second thought, maybe it shouldn’t be the least bit surprising given the now-130-year-old brand's history. With a tagline The Railroad Timekeeper of America” at the turn of the 20th century, it is almost Hamilton's birthright to bring us a remake of its Railway Special pocket watch

How accurate do you want your watch to be? Try a margin of error of one second every 100,000 years. Citizen has just launched in Europe a new design for its Radio-Controlled watches touting such precise timekeeping. The CB594 trio features a perpetual calendar, world-time function, and auto-correction. On top of that, the sleek instruments boast the Japanese giant's core patented technologies with

Whenever I think of James Bond - any version of him - I don't think about the watches he wears. Instead, I think about the watch that Ian Fleming was known to have worn, the Explorer ref. 1016. To me, the 1016 exemplifies versatility in an everyday watch. It was capable, small, and elegant. In my personal quest to find a similar watch, I've come across many models at many price points. But none o

The A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk is one of my favorite models from the high-end brand from Glashutte, Germany. I’ve had the pleasure of handling it a few times, and it never failed to amaze me every time I put it on my wrist. It’s a charming and quirky piece with a distinguished way of integrating a mechanical digital display into a luxury watch. Since its release in 2009, there have

Zenith is a brand on the up and one that I have followed for quite some time. The brand’s famous El Primero movement is a beautiful piece of horological history and makes a fascinating point of entry into collecting Zenith. That said, I’d never quite found “the model” for me. True enough, there have been several releases over the past year or two that I would love to add to

Do you like Lamborghinis? Come on, admit it. As a kid, you probably had a poster of a Countach in your bedroom. If you're older, you desired a Miura, and if you're younger, it was perhaps a Diablo or a Reventon. Isn't it strange that saying you like a certain Lamborghini model is frowned upon in certain circles, but declaring your love for, let's say, the Ferrari Testarossa isn't? It's like statin

I am all eyes and ears when A. Lange & Sohne announces a new timepiece. Even if it’s “just” a new version of a current model, there is more than enough reason to pay close attention. First of all, the Glashutte-based brand never misses the mark in finding striking combinations of colors and materials for cases, dials, and straps. And second, each release is a great reminder o

One of the most overlooked Speedmaster models is the Mark II. Whether it’s the original from the late 1960s/early 1970s or one of the re-editions from 2014 or later, watch enthusiasts love to ignore this model. Omega introduced it as a modernized Speedmaster Professional in 1969, but it never gained the same iconic status as the original Moonwatch. The brand tried again in 2014, introducing

After a sea of complex and intricate releases from Panerai this year, the brand’s latest unveiling is a refreshing nod to its heritage. The new Panerai Radiomir Officine PAM01385 in stainless steel harks back to Panerai’s 1935 prototype with vintage touches, a sparse layout, and oversized Arabic numerals. While it’s not a 1:1 remake of the prototype, it takes heavy inspiration fr

The Seamaster Planet Ocean is an often-overlooked collection within Omega's catalog. Perhaps it lacks the legend of the Speedmaster or the universal appeal of the Seamaster Diver 300M. But there are some true gems in the Planet Ocean lineup, so we felt it was about time to look at the different generations and write a compact buying guide.Omega is known for releasing many versions and occasional s

The 1980s were a decade of brilliant style. Yes, some will debate that statement, but I’ll stand behind it wholeheartedly. When it comes to watches, the 1980s were mainly the era of cheap, new quartz pieces. Some of them were forgettable, while others brought us many great memories. If you are over 40, you will probably feel an instant sense of nostalgia when seeing the incredibly popular Ca