Zenith’s Recycled Box Set: 100K Watches For The New Roman Elite

The word from Zenith as they launch a box set of four Defy Extreme E models. The Defy Extreme is a skeleton dial model, with all its impressive engineering on show, powered by the famous El Primero movement. Not a battery in sight, all gears n cogs. Beautiful. Can we say those recycled straps are beautiful as the watch movement? Hmm, not sure. Zenith makes … Continue reading Zenith’s Recycled Box Set: 100K Watches For The New Roman Elite

Ball Engineer Master II Chronometer: COSC Utility, Dive Ability

Ball have a revamped Chronometer on their site, with their trademark gas tube lume, a healthy 300m of depth resistance and a 42mm case width. It’s a limited edition too. The movement is COSC level, and at this price level you don’t find that many Swiss rivals with COSC certified movements plus 300m of range underwater. Formex springs to mind as a Swiss dive watch … Continue reading Ball Engineer Master II Chronometer: COSC Utility, Dive Ability

Armin Strom Resonance: More Ltd Edition Genius At Play

Armin Strom has another limited edition on their site and as ever, it’s a technical tour de force. Beautiful details and finishing, twin balance wheels and that magic ingredient, resonance. What’s that you ask? We were baffled too, is it like a Bulova tuning fork? No, it’s a clutch spring set between the two balance wheel assemblies, which we reckon acts as a kind of … Continue reading Armin Strom Resonance: More Ltd Edition Genius At Play

Grey Dial Defy Skyline Joins the Zenith Line-Up

There’s a new addition to the Zenith Defy range, called the Skyline Boutique Edition. The dial has a grey hue, with some yellow cross-like symbols set in a pattern. Same 41mm case, El Primero movement, steel bracelet. Not really our thing, we prefer the Skyline with the blue dial, which is slightly cheaper by the way at £7100. This latest iteration retails at £7900. Quite … Continue reading Grey Dial Defy Skyline Joins the Zenith Line-Up

Blancpain Gombessa: Luxury Tool Watch For Pro Divers

The Blancpain Gombessa has an unusual name, it’s actually a type of super brightly coloured fish – Wikipedia educated us on that score. The latest variation on Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms gets a few tweaks to make it stand out too. This watch has been extensively tested underwater with dives lasting three hours and that time-frame is marked out on the bezel. So yeah, this is … Continue reading Blancpain Gombessa: Luxury Tool Watch For Pro Divers

Vacheron’s Overseas Chronograph Ltd Edition

If you’ve won the lottery, inherited a fortune or just claimed your monthly expenses from the Houses of Parliament, then a Vacheron Constantin Overseas chronograph at £37,700 is a worthwhile investment. It’s a straight rival to a Rolex Daytona, Patek Grand Complications or perhaps a JLC Polaris, a true luxury watch, with an in-house movement (twin barrels btw) and that cachet of rarity too. Just … Continue reading Vacheron’s Overseas Chronograph Ltd Edition

Things To Do in Leeds: See The Vintage Vacheron Watch Collection

If you’re in Leeds, Yorkshire during February then checking out the Vacheron Contstantin Vintage collection is something that fits the bill, especially on a rainy day. Marvel at the 222 models from the 1970s, or the Royal Chronometer from 1976, which has a touch of Seiko about its square case design. That’s a compliment by the way. There are a couple of Overseas models in … Continue reading Things To Do in Leeds: See The Vintage Vacheron Watch Collection

Oris Big Crown, With New In-House Calibre 473

It’s a rare thing when a Swiss brand launches a new Calibre of movement. Mostly the entire Swiss watch industry tends to update and tweak their movements, which largely resemble the same mechanical and auto movements – as regards the fundamental engineering – from say 25 or even 55 years ago. There is a good reason for this approach; one, it keeps R&D costs down … Continue reading Oris Big Crown, With New In-House Calibre 473