Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

To be honest, until recently Ocean7 wasnt brand that had watch models that I could mention from the top of my head, except for the LM-7. The Ocean7 LM-7 has probably been the watch model that people will know this brand for, it is a homage to dive watch watches of the 1970s according to the official Ocean7 website. People will immediately recognize the LM-7 being a homage to the famous OMEGA Seamaster Plo-Prof of course. To be honest, Ocean7 did a pretty good job in creating an alternative for the vintage OMEGA Seamaster Plo-prof. This was in the period before OMEGA re-introduced their own homage to this watch a few years ago with their new in-house caliber 8500 movement.Anyway, Ocean7 is a [...]

The quarter-finals are here and we still have a bunch of Speedies in this game. But have no fear, the Zenith El Primero A386 Revival is here. Will it push the Speedmaster Apollo 8 off the track like Lewis did to Max (or vice versa), or will we see only Speedies in the finals? Today, Andreass Zenith goes up against RJs Speedmaster Apollo 8.RJ: This is going to be interesting. And truth be told, I would have a hard time making a decision between this classic Zenith El Primero A386 Revival despite being a re-edition or a modern interpretation of a classic, like the Speedmaster Apollo 8. A watch with a Zenith El Primero movement is still high on my wish list, but which one?Speedmaster Apollo [...]

This weeks MotoringExposure article on watches is about Omegas Speedmaster Missions case. There is one ( 34) up for sale on eBay for $145,000.- USD and as this is a very rare occasion, I thought it might be well worth blogging about. Of the 50 cases produced in total (in three batches of 40 and another 5 in 1997 and yet another 5 in 1998), this Missions case belongs to the first batch. These cases consist of 22 Speedmaster Mission models (with NASA mission patch at 9 oclock) and 1 Speedmaster Replica to honor the first Speedmaster CK2915 of 1957. So, in total, $145K USD will bring you 23 timepieces, a loupe, a spare caliber 1861 movement and a nice case.Click here to go to my more in-depth a [...]

Prince Bernhard (1911-2004), member of the Dutch Royal Family, was an avid Rolex wearer. Dutch magazine Quote published an article in their March edition about the auction of this particular Rolex Date. Christie?s in Amsterdam will auction this Rolex Date on the 3rd of April 2007. Maarten van Gijn, Public Relations Marketing of Christie?s, mailed me the picture below and stated that I could use it for this blog. I am curious why the Royal Family is auctioning this watch, in my opinion it should be on one of the wrists of his grand childeren. Anyway, according to Quote Magazine, it will fetch around 3000 Euro. [...]

Friend of the show Lawrence Larry McGlynn has a website called Space Artifacts, which is worth a visit if youre into space-related topics.Larry is also known for his role in the Space Dealers TV show (Discovery channel) where he hunts down valuable items that were used in space (and on the Moon). He also loves the Speedmaster, and he has helped us on a few occasions to sort out topics and enabled us to have a little interview with Apollo astronaut Dave Scott (click here). For this weeks instalment of Speedy Tuesday, he contributes a report on this visit to the Sothebys auction Omega Speedmaster: To the Moon and Back | Celebrating 50 years since Apollo 11. It was hosted on July 19 in New York [...]

The Bulgari Octo Finissimo line has received a lot of praise for its impressive list of industry firsts including the thinnest tourbillon movement, the thinnest minute repeater movement and the thinnest automatic movement. Secondly, watch media and watch enthusiasts alike have praised the unique design of the Octo Finissimo as one of the most remarkable new watches out there.Like many, I also love the fact that Bulgari had the guts to start making incredibly thin in-house movements to break a number of industry records and I also appreciated the design of the first few watches that were introduced using a combination of shapes that define the unique character of the Octo Finissimo.The Octo F [...]

Heres our selection of pre-owned picks for the 2nd week of 2020. Last week we had a watch planned that was sold just before we published, so were making up for that.Every week we pick a few pre-owned watches from the largest market place for wristwatches in the world, Chrono24. Watches that we love ourselves, or think they will be interesting to you. So to be clear, we picked the watches, Chrono24 only sent us the images without their watermark and in a proper resolution.Pre-Owned Picks Of Week 2Last week I wrote about this Rolex GMT-Master II 16710, but it sold before we published this article. To make up for this, Ive picked two GMT-Master watches this week: Two different references, a GMT [...]

I must say, I'm a bit overwhelmed by writing this article. I'm someone who likes to understand everything that he writes about. But when you get asked to write an article on a watch by A. Lange Sohne, you almost certainly know that it'll involve a complicated piece. The word piece, of course, refers to not only the watch but also to the article at hand. When I saw the first pictures of this new A. Lange Sohne Richard Lange Minute Repeater, I thought I got lucky. Not a single complication, just the hours, minutes, and sub-seconds. But then someone pointed out that bulge on the left side of the caseIndeed, when you slide that bulge, it releases the minute repeater mechanism. A minute repeate [...]

Patek Philippe not only surprised us by introducing white dial versions of the Nautilus collection, they also made us gaze at this other white dialed watch. The Patek Philippe Grand Complication 5402P, a split seconds and perpetual calendar in platinum.The 5402P is the successor of the 5004P, a rattrapante chronograph? with perpetual calendar in a 36.7mm case, also available in other case materials than platinum. Not only the dimensions of the watch case and the dial lay-out changed, Patek also did some innovations regarding the rattrapante mechanism. A number of technical measurements (a.o. a new isolator system and a new split-seconds lever) improved the reliability of the split seconds ch [...]

Is there such a thing as the end of your horological journey? I used to believe that there wasnt. But after wearing the Omega Seamaster Professional Diver 300M Chronograph in Sedna Gold, now I am tempted to think that there is. This started out as a story about my favorite model from the Seamaster Professional Diver 300M range. But it turned into an experience of answering questions and ticking boxes with regards to my personal journey with watches. Let me explain why this Seamaster Professional Diver 300M Chronograph in 18K Sedna Gold stole my heart.This story actually starts out pretty randomly. One afternoon not too long ago, Robert-Jan and I were discussing our favorite models of the Sea [...]

When we first saw the new Rolex Datejust II presented at BaselWorld 2009, we werent very enthusiastic about it. We were not ready for a leap from a 36mm to a 41mm diameter. In all honesty, we feel we might be a bit too Rain Man-ish when it comes to sudden changes in product design. Especially when it comes to products that we love so much. For example, it takes us ages to like a new BMW car when it is being introduced, because we love the current or former models so much. The same goes for new Rolex watches. Perhaps you recognize this?behavior? (please do)Last summer, we were visiting a Rolex boutique in Orlando?(who also had a lot of pre-owned watches for sale) and tried the Datejust II for [...]

The Oyster Perpetual is the distillation of the three core criteria for every Rolex: The Oyster case for water resistance, the Perpetually winding rotor and the Chronometer rating for timekeeping. With a solid platform, Rolex can go wild with crazy dials for a more personal touch. For this week's Pre-Owned Picks, I select some standout OP configurations from Chrono24.A few weeks back, Rob and I went toe-to-toe over the best beater watch from Rolex and Grand Seiko. The term beater, otherwise known as the go anywhere, do anything watch, may seem a misnomer for a circa 4,000 luxury object, but in this wild and wacky watch world it isnt so insane.The sporty Oyster Perpetual is designed to be tou [...]

For the past few years, there's been one thing you can bank on: Breitling nailing its new releases. Under George Kern, the brand has gone from strength to strength, leaving a rocky start to the relationship that saw the startling redesign of the Navitimer in its rearview mirror. Now, the focus is on the AVI collection, which has, over the past couple of years, defined its own design language with aplomb. Today, we're taking a look at five of the new Breitling Super AVI B04 Chronograph 46 GMT watches. But be warned they are not for the faint-hearted.Using the original 1953 Co-Pilot ref.765 AVI as its base, Breitling has released five chronographs inspired by four iconic fighter planes. There [...]

Some collectors or watch afficionados will tell you that the only good Omega watches are vintage Omega watches. In my opinion, they do have a point in terms of looks and value. Vintage Omega watches are the rising stars on watch auctions and who doesnt want to own a very early Speedmaster?As for the modern Omega watches, a lot of eyebrows are being frowned, but the fact that Omega is stepping up the ladder cant be denied. Creating their own in-house movements (again), making watches with complications and spending huge amounts of money on their marketing machine. They want to be or perhaps are already in the league where they wanted to be for a long time, stepped away from brands like Long [...]

This is what happens if you put 5 fans of G rald Genta designs in one room. Yesterday, our very own watch photographer Bert invited us over to his crib for the perfect BBQ (no vegetables) and show all our Genta stuff while enjoying good food and drinks.As you can see, we brought the usual suspects. 2x Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700/1A, 2x Nautilus 5711/1A, 1x Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 5402ST, 1x Royal Oak 14802 and 2x a Royal Oak 15202ST. All considered to be the Jumbo models as designed by G rald Genta. On top of that, there were some deviations of the original models such as the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph 26300, the Royal Oak Lady and an IWC Ingenieur SL Automatic in gold. All the [...]

Its time for This Week in Watches on October 17, 2020 the crisp edition. Depending on where you live, its getting chilly Lets see if we can warm the cockles of your hearts with some new watch news.The Panerai Luminor Logo and Base Logo ReturnI was excited to see that the newest Panerai Luminor Base Logo models debuted this week. These have always been some of my favorites with their manual movements and crisp clean dials. Best of all, the Base Logo models are the most affordable of the 44mm Luminor range. Many of us recall the early PAM000 and 005 models and the newest PAM01084 (Luminor Logo) and PAM01086 (Luminor Base Logo) look nearly identical. They feature matte dials with printed Super- [...]

Back in 2018, I wrote an article about why stainless steel Rolex watches are so hard to come by, in reaction to a readers question. Since then things have gotten worse. If anything the steel sports models from Rolex have become ever harder to come by. How come? In this article, I dive into the problem that many watch enthusiasts face, but also the problems that the Rolex brand faces.We didnt know the answer back in 2018 (you can read that article here) and made some assumptions (leading to a few heated discussions below the article) on fighting the grey market, etc. According to readers, it was about limiting supply to make them hold value (not sure exactly what Rolex stands to gain from thi [...]

I am a big fan of the Rolex GMT-Master, not only because it is one rock solid watch that has this neat feature of being able to display multiple timezones (3 in total, using the bezel), but also because of its history. We probably all know the historic Pan-Am GMT-Master models, with the white dial, given to pilots of that company. Jake Ehrlich even claims it was the unofficial Moon Watch. I dont know about that (well, I do), but at least it was favored by a lot of NASA astronauts as well.Sometimes, I regret selling the ref.1675 I had a few years back, but thats only because its value doubled ?? The ref.16710 remains my favorite model of GMT-Masters anyway. However, the only downside of this [...]

When most people think of Cartier, the Fine Watchmaking collection might not be the first thing that come to mind. Their Santos and Tank models are more famous amongst the crowd. Due to our friend Geo (owner of the Troisanneaux website and moderator of the Cartier forum over at Revolution) I became a bit more knowledgeable about this collection myself.In short, the Fine Watchmaking collection is Cartiers showcase for their watchmaking skills. This collection was introduced in 2008 (as a successor to the Collection Privee Cartier Paris (CPCP) collection) and since then a lot of new in-house developed movements and complications have been presented to the watch loving crowd. The focus of the F [...]

Ladies and gentlemen, we are finally there. The end of a long, long road weve traveled together over the past month is now in sight. At the end of this bloody royal rumble that saw 96 watches lineup on March 1st, we have just two remaining. The surprise 2 seed from Jorgs group, the Czapek Antarctique Terre Ad lie, and the irrepressible top seed from Berts crop, the A. Lange Sohne Datograph Lumen. From a neutrals perspective, it could hardly be a better match-up. An up-and-coming modern classic look set to mesmerize watch lovers for decades, versus an irrefutably impressive slice of the Hautest?Horlogerie going.?This Grand Final vote will remain open for seven days, so youve got plenty of t [...]