Watch Features

Welcome to WatchTime’s watch features section. Here you will find watch feature stories, watch reports, interesting watch technology coverage, interviews with watch brands, background articles about watches, watch brands and technical stories.

What Makes Patek Philippe Watches so Valuable? Seven Reasons for the Brand’s Success

Patek Philippe is generally regarded as the top brand among all major Swiss watch manufacturers. Why is this true? Rüdiger Bucher, Editorial Director of WatchTime's German sister magazine Chronos, lays out seven reasons for Patek Philippe's success.

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Oct 4, 2021 by Ruediger Bucher

Sponsored: The Return of the Legendary Hanhart 417 ES

The reissue of the Hanhart 417 ES marks the return of a legend among wristwatches. More than 60 years ago, the original model served as the first pilot’s chronograph for the German armed forces. Today Hanhart combines the watch’s iconic historical design with the most modern production techniques to produce a robust chronograph suitable for...

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Oct 20, 2021 by WatchTime

Inevitably Square: Our Century’s Roaring ’20s are Taking Shape, but Will Art Deco Come with It?

If you can believe it, it’s the 2020s. With this new decade and its familiar historical parallels of global turmoil like that seen a century ago in the times of the Spanish Flu, a rising, not-so-quiet chorus of whispers have been circulating about a collective cultural recall for the good times that followed then, and with...

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Oct 2, 2021 by Caleb Anderson

Faces of Nature: Five Watches with Dials Inspired by the Natural World

Watch dials have undeniably gotten more colorful in recent years, but even beyond expanding the palette of tones and textures, some watchmakers have turned to the flora and fauna of the natural world for inspiration. Here are five watches that bring organic and environmental motifs to the wrist. CHOPARD ALPINE EAGLE CADENCE 8HF Chopard’s Alpine...

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Oct 1, 2021 by Mark Bernardo

Destination Moon: Introducing Two new Hakuto-R Eco-Drive Chronographs from Citizen (with Live Photos)

Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. and space start-up Ispace Inc. have recently joined forces. As corporate partner of Ispace’s planned commercial lunar exploration program, the 100-year-old Japanese watchmaker and pioneer in the use of titanium has now released two limited-edition chronographs dedicated to the upcoming missions that should also bring parts made of the brand’s Super...

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Oct 13, 2021 by WatchTime

Borrowed Time: Glashütte Original Sixties Chronograph Annual Edition With Glacier Blue Dial

Blue dials on watches have gone from novelty to mainstream; it’s rare these days to find any popular watch model, or family, that doesn’t offer at least one option in blue — some even in an array of shades, from powdery pastel to shiny cerulean to bold navy all the way to moody indigo. There...

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Oct 1, 2021 by Mark Bernardo

Edge of Tomorrow: Building the Bulgari Octo Finnissimo Collection

For 2021, Bulgari has introduced three new versions within its Octo Finissimo range, the highly anticipated Chronograph GMT in stainless steel (S), the Octo Finissimo S in a new monochrome style with a silvered dial, and the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Titanium with a new black dial and rubber strap. Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo immediately had...

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Sep 30, 2021 by Roger Ruegger

PORTFOLIO

Stopwatches at the Top: 7 Chronographs with In-House Movements

Looking for a chronograph with a completely in-house-manufactured movement? In this feature from WatchTime's June 2017 issue, we showcase some of the industry’s top picks, from seven power brands, from Breitling to Rolex to Zenith.

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Sep 29, 2021 by Alexander Krupp

Customizing Time: The Art of the Personalized Watch

As more and more of today’s consumers look for watches that make a truly personal statement, the art of customization is in rising demand. In this feature from the archives, WatchTime contributor and author Roberta Naas offers one of the most comprehensive looks at customizing time. It’s been a centuries-old trend in clothing: bespoke tailoring...

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Sep 27, 2021 by WatchTime

REVIEW:

Borrowed Time: The GPHG-Winning Seiko Prospex 1968 Diver’s Re-Creation SLA025J1

In 1968, three years after the brand’s first dive watch was released (the 62MAS or Reference 6217-800x with 150-meter water resistance), Seiko’s engineers managed to raise the bar with a Hi-Beat divers’ watch with 300-meter water resistance (Reference 6159-700x). This model was not only the first Japanese dive watch to be equipped with a 10-beat...

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Sep 27, 2021 by Roger Ruegger

Striking Simplicity: Spotlighting the Patek Philippe Ref. 6301P Grande Sonnerie

Patek Philippe’s new 6301P features not only a grande sonnerie with a petite sonnerie and a minute repeater, it also comes with a patented “seconde morte” jumping subsidiary seconds. We delve into its many complexities in this feature from our archives. In the world of haute horlogerie, hardly anything is as exclusive and alluring as...

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Sep 26, 2021 by Roger Ruegger

Inspired by Ancestry: Exploring the Blancpain Villeret Collection

Blancpain’s Villeret collection channels the haute horlogerie roots of the world’s oldest watchmaking brand and continues to innovate with an array of grand and practical complications. We explore the collection’s origins, as well as its historical and modern highlights, in this feature from our October 2020 issue. The author Thomas Wolfe is often credited with...

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Sep 26, 2021 by Mark Bernardo

What Makes Rolex so Successful? Here Are Nine Reasons

Rolex is viewed by many as the Number One among major Swiss watch manufacturers. Why? Rüdiger Bucher, Editorial Director at WatchTime's German sister magazine, Chronos, lists nine reasons for the success of Rolex.

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Sep 26, 2021 by Ruediger Bucher

Showing at WatchTime New York 2021: Norqain Adventure Neverest GMT

With the countdown to WatchTime New York 2021 now standing at exactly one month, we are excited to return for the sixth time to Midtown Manhattan’s Gotham Hall on October 22-24, along with more than 25 participating watch brands set to display their newest timepieces. Among these is Norqain, which will showcase a variety of...

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Sep 24, 2021 by Caleb Anderson

FEATURE

Flying Ace: Tracing the History of the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch

IWC's Big Pilot’s Watch became an instant classic when it was re-released in 2002. But its history stretches much further back in time. In this feature from the WatchTime archives, we explore the Big Pilot and its many evolutions over the decades.

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Sep 24, 2021 by Jens Koch

Borrowed Time: Longines Spirit Ref. L3.810.4.53.0 Three-Hand Date

Longines’ major release in 2020 was its Spirit collection, which it described as drawing “traditional features from pilot’s watches and combin[ing] them with contemporary lines and codes.” All of the watches pay stylistic tribute to the vintage models worn by adventurous, early 20th-century aviators like Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes, with standout features including an...

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Sep 24, 2021 by Mark Bernardo

Rarefied Air: The History of the Breguet Type XX Collection

The Breguet family revolutionized watchmaking in the 19th century and aviation in the 20th. The modern Type XX collection is the culmination of its multi-generational savoir faire in both fields. We explore the history of this storied watch model in this feature from our July-August 2020 issue.

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Sep 23, 2021 by Mark Bernardo

FEATURE

Seiko: A Chronograph Chronology

We survey Seiko’s half-century-plus of mechanical chronographs in this comprehensive historical feature from the WatchTime archives. Discover the Japanese brand's contributions to the world of chronograph wristwatches.

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Sep 22, 2021 by Gisbert Brunner

Showing at WatchTime New York 2021: The Grand Seiko Elegance GMT 4 Seasons Collection

WatchTime New York 2021 is just over a month away, returning for the sixth time to Midtown Manhattan’s Gotham Hall on October 22-24. Among the more than 25 participating watch brands set to display their newest timepieces is Japan’s Grand Seiko and one of their most prominent nature-inspired launches of the year in the new Elegance GMT...

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Sep 20, 2021 by Caleb Anderson

WATCH REVIEW

Into the Blue: Reviewing the Rolex Deepsea D-Blue

When writer, director, and adventurer James Cameron reached the beginning of the “deep sea” at a depth of 1,000 meters on March 26, 2012, safely inside his submersible craft Deepsea Challenger, all the remaining light disappeared. But at that point, he hadn’t yet completed one-tenth of his journey. At 10,908 meters, he landed softly on...

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Sep 20, 2021 by Jens Koch

A Brief History of the Mechanical Watch’s Fight Against Magnetism

From our sister website, WatchTime Middle East, a look at how watchmaking has countered the threat of magnetism over the years, from using metals like palladium in 1915 to silicon in 2015. Magnetism has been the mechanical timekeeping’s nemesis through the years. It is to the mechanical watch what Prof. Moriarty is to Sherlock Holmes. Though the...

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Sep 20, 2021 by WatchTime

WATCH LIST

Splendid Splitters: 5 Noteworthy Rattrapante Chronograph Watches

Rattrapante chronographs, also referred to as split-seconds chronographs, are a type of chronograph with two seconds hands that allow for the ability to time multiple simultaneous events, such as runners during a race. It can also time a series of events, such as the laps a single person makes on a track. One of the...

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Sep 17, 2021 by WatchTime

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