Cartier Santos Review: The Luxury Sports Watch You Might Not Have Considered
Until recently, Raman Kalra appreciated the Santos from afar, but lately, something has clicked, and this watch has jumped up towards the top of his wish list. By sharing his impressions and feelings, he is hoping that it may do the same for you.
Bell & Ross BR 05 for a Week on the Wrist: How it Measures Up – Reprise
Bell & Ross turns its aviation watch “DNA” toward the urban man. Chris Malburg spent a week with the BR 05 with gray dial in stainless steel and has a lot to say about this everyday city-dweller’s timepiece.
Montecristo Churchill Añejados Limited Edition Cuban Cigars: Serious Complexity, but Mixed Results
Ken Gargett thought that his Montecristo Churchill Añejados cigar was stunning. But things could never be that simple. His fellow video smoker had a completely opposite experience, so variation is the name of the game.
The Golden Age of Rolex Movements Part III: Branding vs. Breakthroughs in Recent Years – Reprise
The last two decades have witnessed regular Rolex engineering advances, often in plain sight and in rapid succession. Despite these developments, Rolex remains a brand defined not by movements but by continuity, model families, and the Rolex image itself. Tim Mosso thinks that the root of Rolex’s soft-pedaled reputation for movement virtuosity lies in the company’s own branding strategy. That and more in this third installment of Rolex’s history of movement technology.
30th anniversary of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore: ROO F1s, High Octane Fairy Tales of Super Star Racing Drivers
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore limited editions dedicated to the world of Formula 1 are one of the most interesting chapters in the history of the Offshore collection, which turns 30 this year. The release of such Offshores did not last long, from 2004 to 2012. Many of us were there, but for many everything was somehow forgotten and it is worth refreshing memories.
Akrivia Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain II (RRCC II): Despite Looking Similar to its Predecessor, Everything is New – Reprise
The classic design of the Akrivia RRCC II’s dial has roots in founder Rexhep Rexhepi’s vision of high-quality nineteenth-century pocket watch dials adorned with high-fire enamel and combined with a modern twist based on “sector” dials of the 1930s and ’40s. But there’s much more to this brand-new watch than that as Elizabeth Doerr explains.
The Golden Age of Rolex Movements Part II: Rolex gets Complicated with Innovations and Patent Registrations – Reprise
From the public’s perspective, Rolex’s surge into its movement revolution began with the now anachronistic-sounding Basel 2000 World Watch, Clock, and Jewelry Show. But the evidence of a long-term engineering campaign was mounting at the patent office and in the dealers’ showrooms as this article by Tim Mosso highlights.
Patria Brigadier Tourbillon Subscription Edition: A Beautifully Hand-Finished, Swiss Made Tourbillon for 18,000 Swiss francs is the Bargain of the Year, perhaps the Decade! – Reprise
Love them or hate them, one thing that most collectors know is that tourbillons are very expensive. That’s all changed with Patria’s Brigadier Tourbillon Subscription Edition costing ‘just’ CHF 18,000 for a beautifully hand finished Swiss Made tourbillon.
Why I Bought It: Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Black Matte Ceramic – Reprise
The first time Bhanu Chopra strapped a borrowed BR 03-92 Black Matte Ceramic on his wrist, he thought that it was the perfect Bell & Ross watch for him, checking all the boxes for the characteristics he expected from an aviation-style instrument watch. He bought one and it has been part of his core pilot’s watch collection ever since. This is why.
Zenith x Kari Voutilainen x Phillips Calibre 135 Observatoire: 10 of the World’s Highest Precision, Competition-Winning Chronometer Movements Ready for the Wrist – Reprise
After seven decades carefully stored away in the Zenith archives, ten of the original chronometry competition-winning movements find their way into a limited set of new watches thanks to Phillips, legendary independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, and Zenith’s current management.