With its 1960s-1970s television format, the (almost) square watch with its softened angles returns to the forefront, this time dressed in a rose gold finish and offered in dimensions perfect for the thinnest of wrists.

A screen that generally broadcasts black-and-white images and a very limited number of channels that can be changed by pressing the buttons placed on the frame: these memories awaken a certain nostalgia for those who grew up between the Sixties and Seventies. In 1973, this TV format inspired Mido, which reinterpreted the (almost) square silhouette with its softened angles to shape a watch case. The Swatch Group brand used it twice, in 1980 and 2000, before abandoning it for a few years to concentrate on other projects. In 2023, like a phoenix, the geometric piece resurfaces, and in the face of its success, the Le Locle-based company now offers a smaller version, the Multifort TV 35.

Measuring 35 x 34.2mm for a thickness of 9.3mm, the steel case is water-resistant to 30m and features a rose gold PVD coating, as do the links of the bracelet, and is topped by a curved bezel housing a punched pastille at 12 o’clock. This frames a face in warm shades of chocolate to ebony, curved with a graduated flange. A trio of central dauphine-style hands – hours, minutes, seconds – fly over three trapezoidal hour-markers coated with white Super-LumiNova® with blue emission, eight brilliant-cut diamonds and, at 12 o’clock, a date window. These displays are punctuated by the Calibre 72, designed on an ETA basis and fitted with a Nivachron^TM balance-spring offering enhanced resistance to wear and magnetism. Beating at a frequency of 25,200 vibrations per hour, this automatic movement delivers a three-day power reserve when fully wound.

The post MULTIFORT TV 35 appeared first on Watches News.

This mysterious-spirited 200-piece limited series offers a well-known French artist a one-of-a-kind medium on which he delivers a somewhat enigmatic scenescape.

Laurent Grasso fashions an eclectic world where anachronism and mystery reign supreme. His works of art spark the imagination to unveil the invisible. His personal notion of time fascinates with its subjective abstraction. The Rome-based firm’s Executive Director of Watch Design, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, wished to create “a watch that speaks of time not as a measurement but as a space shaped by a metaphysical concept”. For the French artist, the dial of a watch lends itself as such to exploring this virtually-philosophical approach. The Octo Finissimo x Laurent Grasso was born out of this partnership with Bvlgari. This creation stands out through the presence of a delicate, metallic-pigment-enhanced, screen-printed cloud floating in a sky shimmering with rainbow-hued glints.

The sculptural 40 mm, and just 5 mm high, sandblasted titanium case coated with blue PVD becomes a backdrop for this enigmatic masterpiece. It hosts the ultra-slim selfwinding movement that meticulously drives the pair of hour and minute hands. The BVL 138 caliber boasts traditional hand-crafted adornments and finishes including Côtes de Genève patterns, circular-graining and chamfering. This device also dazzles through its performance as it features a comfortable power reserve of 60 hours. And, as Bvlgari states, “Laurent Grasso sees each of his creations as a “machine” that allows him to observe the world in a new and poetic way”. This exceptional timepiece perfectly conjures up this train of thought.

The post OCTO FINISSIMO X LAURENT GRASSO appeared first on Watches News.

With this watch, worn as a necklace and complemented by a pair of headphones, the Parisian maison reverses the ubiquitous “wireless” trend and reinvents the art of disconnection/reconnection.

A jackhammer piercing the sidewalk. A group of friends laughing out loud on a café terrace. A woman so engrossed in her animated telephone conversation that she forgets the rest of the passengers on the bus. In this urban jungle, submerged by its shattering noise and deafening fauna, the only way to keep your footing is to cling to your Première Sound in the hollow of your ears, to find, thanks to Chanel, inner peace through the gentleness of music. With this watch, worn as a necklace to which a pair of headphones is attached, the Parisian maison reinvents the art of disconnection/reconnection and provides a means of being literally connected to oneself, far from the “wireless” trend.

Faithful to the silhouette of the original Première, created in 1987 after the geometry of a N°5 bottle stopper, itself inspired by the design of Place Vendôme as seen from the sky, the watch features an octagonal steel case (26.1x20x7.65mm) clad in yellow gold, whose winding mechanism is punctuated by an onyx cabochon. It sits on a long chain to be wrapped around the neck, made of golden links and a black leather lace, modeled on the braided handles of a Chanel bag. Two studs are used to plug in the removable earphones stamped with the double C, while a standard jack plug, supplemented by an adapter if required, can be inserted into the phone or any audio device. Through the silicone ear-tips, the chosen melody spreads its benefits, and by manipulating the on-board remote control on the cable, it’s possible to skip to the next track, return to the previous one, adjust the volume, or take a call through the included microphone. While the high-quality sound insulation immerses the ears in sounds and voices, the small stick-shaped hour and minute hands scroll across the black-lacquered dial, stirred by a quartz movement.

The post PREMIÈRE SOUND appeared first on Watches News.

The manufacture unveils an astounding three-piece limited edition bringing together the elegant design imagined by Philippe Delhotal in 2015 and an incredibly-exacting enameling technique.

Effervescent creativity enjoys the fertile expressive playground of the Parisian firm’s silk scarves. Dutch illustrator Viktor Hachmang’s futuristic world was honored during the Grand Prix du Carré Hermès international scarf design competition.

His graphic fusion inspired by elegant Japanese art and comic-book pop culture has brought a mysterious rider to life astride a flamboyant motorbike set off with geometric patterns enhanced by vibrant colors. The backdrop depicts a storefront conjuring up Hermès legendary and historic flagship boutique in Paris on 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré. This composition is center staged this year on the champlevé enamel cover of the Slim d’Hermès Pocket Mysterious Rider. And, as Hermès reminds us, “this demanding métier d’art involves carving small cells into the metal, filling them with colored glass powders mixed with natural oils and firing them several times in a kiln at over 800ºC to fix the pigments”.

This pocket watch boasting a 45 mm-diameter case crafted in white gold embraces an ever-so pure enamel dial. Cut-outs highlight stylish numerals and the logo created using exquisite typography. Their vermilion hues go wonderfully well with this watch’s overall tone.

On top, the pair of hour and minute hands is driven by a selfwinding movement. The ultra-slim H1950 caliber delivers a power reserve of some 42 hours. And, to ensure visual harmony, the Slim d’Hermès Pocket Mysterious Rider is complemented by a matte red alligator strand.

The post SLIM D’HERMÈS POCKET MYSTERIOUS RIDER appeared first on Watches News.

Faithful to its attachment to the ocean since its first marine chronometers created nearly two centuries ago, the Le Locle-based watchmaker turns to the land to borrow a mineral with bluish, verdant hues to dress the face of a watch.

At the end of each summer, when the sun’s rays become less intense, temperatures drop gently and the sky is covered with graying clouds, vacation nostalgia resurfaces. We swap our bathing suits for fluffy sweaters, replace our beach sandals for closed-toe shoes, and yet, for Ulysse Nardin, the ocean is never far away. The Le Locle-based watchmaker, which built its reputation by developing marine chronometers right from its foundation, continues to solidify its powerful link with nautical and underwater activities, as demonstrated by the new Diver [Atoll] watch to be worn on the wrist 365 days a year.

The fascinating dial of this limited edition of 100 pieces is covered with a disc of chrysocolla, a mineral discovered in antiquity and richly pigmented in intense hues. Streaked with ochre marbling resembling sandbars, these turquoise, marine and emerald hues evoke the waters bordering a coral reef. Eleven brilliants illuminate this oceanic face, swept by a trio of central, silvered, luminescent hands, while a porthole at 6 o’clock reveals the date in black on a white background.

The hours, minutes and seconds are driven by the UN-816 caliber, a 4hz automatic movement that delivers a 42-hour power reserve when fully wound. It is housed in a case that is water-resistant to 300m, measures 39mm in diameter and is machined from steel, 80% of which is recycled. A unidirectional rotating bezel trimmed with diamonds and blue-engraved Arabic numerals indicating the quarters tops this set. Depending on the adventures for which the Diver [Atoll] is destined, Ulysse Nardin suggests wearing it with a textured white rubber strap or a subtly pearly alligator leather strap.

The post DIVER [ATOLL] appeared first on Watches News.

Known for its dials that sometimes blend intense shades without moderation, the young Saxon brand is expanding its exploration of color by creating original combinations to dress a series of limited editions.

The use of color, usually in dashes, is one of Nomos‘ great specialties. Indeed, the young German company has made it a trademark, a visual signature that has delighted its admirers for almost 35 years, in addition to the pure design of its watches. In 2024, she continues this exploration of rich hues, and in particular of joyful combinations of these hues, to dress the face of her Tangente 38 Date. Each of these combinations, all presented last spring at Watches and Wonders in Geneva, is offered in 175 pieces.

They are called Bubblegum, Poporange, Pompadour or Super Sardine, and are adorned with one, two or three colors, arranged in “levels”, i.e. on the central disk that occupies most of the dial, the minute track towards the flange, the skinny Arabic numerals and hour markers, the date window and the small seconds counter both at 6 o’clock, allowing quick and easy reading of time information.

The hours and minutes, indicated by two elongated baton-type hands, are set by the DUW4101 caliber, a hand-wound mechanical movement developed by Nomos that provides a 42-hour energy reserve and is housed in a steel case 37.5mm in diameter and 6.8mm thick. Water-resistant to a depth of 30m, the Tangente 38 Date is worn on the wrist with a grey textile strap, light or dark depending on the model, and a pin buckle.

The post TANGENTE 38 DATE appeared first on Watches News.

With two pairs of timepieces, Vacheron Constantin celebrates Japanese folk graphics and draws on its tradition of craftsmanship to offer two interpretations, one classic and the other modern, of a motif rich in symbolism.

Once again, Vacheron Constantin transcends its role as watchmaker to take on those of artist, explorer and historian. In fact, the Geneva-based manufacture is traveling back in time to the rich folkloric culture of Japan, which it translates and transcribes onto its watches, as with Eternal flow and Moonlight slivers, the models that make up the Métiers d’Art Tribute to traditional symbols series. These two pairs of timepieces, each produced in white or pink gold and limited to 15 pieces per reference, reinterpret the Seawater Cliff motif, a design long reserved for the Japanese imperial family and today synonymous with good luck.

Seawater Cliff, representing a tide-beaten mountain rising to the sky, embodies the stability of territorial strength. For the more classical Eternal flow, the Vacheron Constantin workshops used cloisonné enamel (on the dial) and engraving (on the 38mm-diameter case), while for the more modern Moonlight slivers, they used Grand Feu enamel, enamel engraving and gem-setting. At the center of these Geneva Hallmark-approved miniature paintings, a pair of leaf-style hands discreetly display the hours and minutes under the impulse of caliber 2460, a 4hz movement that winds itself automatically by the to-and-fro motion of its engraved gold oscillating weight and delivers a power reserve of around 40 hours.

The post MÉTIERS D’ART TRIBUTE TO TRADITIONAL SYMBOLS appeared first on Watches News.

With its incredible slimness obtained thanks to its one-of-a-kind caliber, this reference whisks the independent brand off to the ever-so demanding exclusive club gathering together makers of flat watches.

Less is more. With the Ripples Skeleton, the famous principle has once again proved just how relevant it is. Thanks to this model, Speake Marin joins the inner circle of brands which are able to offer ultra-slim timepieces. To achieve this, its SMA07 caliber takes on new dimensions, namely a height of just 3.25 mm. And, even though it’s smaller in size, it’s still as high-performing as ever. The selfwinding movement boasts a bidirectional micro-rotor and a balance wheel that beats at 5 Hz an hour. This device enjoys a variation of just -/+ 5 seconds a day, and offers the watch a power reserve of some 52 hours.

The Ripples Skeleton becomes more slender and takes on the 40.30 mm-diameter case designed by Stéphane Lacroix in 2022. This holder, with a height of 9.20 mm for the collection’s previous models, now stands out with its thickness of just 6.30 mm and it’s still waterproof to depths of 50 meters. The independent brand opted for 904L steel instead of the usual 316L. With its higher percentage of nickel and chrome, this alloy boasts greater resistance to corrosion. On top of that, the metal dazzles even more when it’s adorned with a polished finish. Moreover, every single detail is enhanced with outstanding adornments. On the openworked dial, the inner workings in action help create a kinetic scenography. We discover the small seconds offset towards 1:30. To date, Speake Marin is the only brand that rolls out this one-of-a-kind layout. As a nod to the other models from the collection, the counter dressed in a black hue obtained using PVD takes on signature relief-style waves.

The post RIPPLES SKELETON appeared first on Watches News.

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of its collection devoted to underwater adventure, the brand rolls out an upgrade of its dive watch in a brand new size.

As summertime comes around in the northern hemisphere, time surfs wonderfully-textured waves on the dial of MIDO‘s Ocean Star 39. On gradient hues ranging from abyssal black to a blue that’s inevitably navy, a two-toned swell hosts the hour chapter made up of circular and triangular markers adorned with Grade X1 white Super-LumiNova^®. This powerful luminescent substance, which also enhances the hour and minute hands as well as the disc poised on the direct-drive, delivers excellent readability to the time-data scenography under any conditions, be it in the sea or on dry land. Data displays are completed by a practical date aperture featured at 3 o’clock.

Caliber 72, designed on an ETA A31.111 base offers a generous power reserve of 72 hours. Its Nivachron^TM balance spring makes this selfwinding movement, which beats at 25,200 vibrations an hour, insensitive to the negative effects of magnetic fields. Everything nestles in a 39 mm-diameter stainless steel case, waterproof to depths of 200 meters. This container is set off with a unidirectional rotating bezel boasting a two-toned aluminum insert decorated with a scale that’s ever-so handy for excursions into the deep blue. A metal bracelet attached by a butterfly clasp and which can be extended to fit a thick wetsuit emphasizes the versatility of this diver even more. Its built-in interchangeability system means it can be swapped for an optional rubber strap.

The post OCEAN STAR 39 appeared first on Watches News.

Because time has a philosophical dimension to it, depending on the sensibility of each individual, the Parisian maison turns it into a reflection of the self, a new thought to be deepened to the rhythm of the hours.

Providing new arguments to stimulate cogitation, to build thought, to philosophize on the inexorable passage of time, is a sweet hobby horse for Cartier. However, with the Reflection watch, the Parisian maison is combining another of its specialties: shapes. This combination not only develops the mind, but also awakens the senses, like a game that links imagination and touch, brain and fingertips.

At Watches and Wonders, in Geneva, a few months ago, the French jeweler-watchmaker presented five fine cuffs that display the time, two versions in colored gold, yellow or rose, and three in white gold lined with diamonds, alone or accompanied by stones in elegant hues (emerald, chrysoprase, turquoise tourmaline, obsidian, opal, spessartite garnets, amethyst and tiger’s eye).

Each of these thick rods freely reinterprets the rigid vocabulary of geometry, offering a body that’s at once full and openworked, angular and rounded, smooth and rough. One end reveals a clear dial with black Roman numerals or covered in brilliants, and a duo of small sword-style hands, while the other is covered with a highly polished surface. Time is thus reflected in this mirror, upsetting landmarks and suggesting that we follow its normal course or, if we’re feeling poetic, rewind it. The Reflection watch measures 18.4 x 17.5mm for a height of 8.9mm and houses a quartz movement that powers the hours and minutes indication.

The post REFLECTION appeared first on Watches News.

The ever-so demanding world of equitation embraces a natural creative extension embodied by the Parisian saddler, as illustrated through these two precious and elegant newcomers.

To try and harness time that’s galloping by, Hermès infuses the watches in its collection with a dash of fantasy. Its latest-to-date Arceau Grand Tralala brides et mors models showcase this desire for lightness. Inside a 34 mm-diameter rose gold case, encircled with a bezel set with 64 diamonds, a one-of-a-kind, elaborate time-display scenography invites our imagination to break free from convention, through details inspired by the equestrian world. 110 diamonds add dazzle to a graphical portrayal of a bridle and the circle fringing the small seconds on a glittering white or galvanic black dial. This feature’s hand is shaped like a loop, a twin for the bit hooked at 1 o’clock.

This composition takes its cue from the Grand Tralala silk scarf designed by French artist Virginie Jamin, which in turn was inspired by the mounts of Royal Hungarian Bodyguards who protected Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria back in the 19^th century. Here, the ensemble is center staged through the signature case created by Henry d’Origny in 1978, complemented by an alligator strap in a shade that matches the dial. The delicate hour and minute hands adjusted via a stone-set crown are driven by the in-house H1912 caliber. This selfwinding movement delivers a power reserve of 50 hours to this reference which straddles everyday life stylishly and gracefully.

The post ARCEAU GRAND TRALALA BRIDES ET MORS appeared first on Watches News.

With these new references presented for the 70th anniversary of the emblematic collection, the winged-hourglass brand is a reminder of the importance of size.

Launched in 1954 with a 35 mm model, the Conquest range by Longines has always been anchored in its time, with relevant aesthetic and technical developments. They all display their time information elegantly. The variations unveiled this year retain this DNA. On a silver, green, blue, black or champagne-colored dial, slender hour and minute hands point to an hour chapter made up solely of markers. The Super-LumiNova^® paint applied to some of these elements ensures excellent readability in all conditions.

This minimalist composition is completed with a discreet date window at 6 o’clock. All of these versions have a stylish and sporty personality enhanced by their metal strap perfectly integrated into the steel case, water-resistant to a depth of 100 meters, which is now available in a diameter of 38 mm with a thickness of 10.90 mm. These compact dimensions accentuate the versatility of the watch, which can be worn by both men and women. Inside this case sits the caliber L888.5. This self-winding movement with a silicon monocrystal balance spring is insensitive to the negative effects of magnetic fields. In addition to its accuracy, this mechanism, whose oscillating weight can be seen through the sapphire crystal back, also boasts a power reserve of at least 72 hours. Ideal for wearing a Conquest for every occasion. And that’s what matters!

The post CONQUEST 38MM appeared first on Watches News.

This watch duo, with its delicate face and robust body, embodies the brand’s heritage, in particular its founder’s role as Horloger de la Marine (watchmaker to the French royal navy), which it reinterprets through emblematic codes.

Four decades after opening his workshop on the Quai de l’Horloge in Paris, Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) was appointed Watchmaker to the Royal Navy by Louis XVIII (1755-1824). This prestigious title, combined with unrivaled expertise, gave birth 175 years later to the Marine collection, a range of sporty-look watches recently modernized. In 2024, Breguet, the current company based in the Vallée de Joux, unveils two new versions of the Marine 9518 which, like their predecessors, reinterpret the legacy of the Neuchâtel-born grand master through emblematic codes.

Each watch in this graceful pairing features a 33.8mm-diameter steel case extended by a bracelet with links machined from the same metal. The case, fitted with a diamond-trimmed bezel, features a fluted caseband and, on its right-hand side, two wave-shaped elements framing the crown. It houses the 591A caliber, a 4hz self-winding movement with a 38-hour power reserve. Regarding the dial, available in ultramarine blue or silver-grey, the Marine 9518 displays several layers, starting from the center towards the flange: a sunray disk holding a pair of luminescent Breguet-style hands and a second hand with the silhouette of a nautical pennant as a counterweight, a ring decorated with circular brushing bearing brilliant-cut diamond hour markers and Roman numerals and opened at 6 o’clock for the date window, and, finally, a circle on which the minute track is installed.

The post MARINE 9518 appeared first on Watches News.

The emblematic sports watch from the Vallée de Joux watchmaker wraps its gold or steel bezel in a coat of tinted rubber for an even more robust and dynamic look on two models.

As a brawny, modern and sporty version of the emblematic model designed by Gérald Genta (1931-2011) in the 1970s, the Royal Oak Offshore imagined by another designer, Emmanuel Gueit, two decades later continues its adventure through time by embracing all the technical innovations developed by Audemars Piguet. In fact, this summer, the manufacture based in Le Brassus presented a pair of “three-hand” watch references that play with textures and colors, always with the dynamic elegance that characterizes this collection.

Vibrating under the impulse of the caliber 4302, a 4hz automatic movement that delivers a 70-hour power reserve, the largest piece – measuring 43mm in diameter and 14.4mm thick – boasts a steel body whose famous geometric bezel is trimmed with blue rubber and punctuated with silver screws. The Grande Tapisserie motif on the dial is a beautiful smoky-blue hue, matching the grooved bezel and strap, which is crossed by a trio of rhodium-plated hour, minute and seconds hands, while a window at 3 o’clock displays the date in white. With a diameter of 37mm and a height of 12.1mm, the second half of this duo combines the rose gold of its case with the pearl-gray rubber that covers its bezel and composes its bracelet, to frame its guilloché face in ivory-colored checkerboard. Time and calendar indications are provided by the self-winding caliber 5900 (60 hours of stored energy).

The post ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE appeared first on Watches News.