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.

WatchTime’s Holiday Gift Guide for the Watch-Collecting Renaissance Man

The holidays are close, and while a new watch or two (or three or four) might be on the minds and lists of many WatchTime readers, most of us are also interested in other accessories of the good life outside of watches proper. Over the course of the year, we have come across a number...

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Dec 21, 2020 by WatchTime

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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Dec 21, 2020 by Mark Bernardo

List vs. Ask: Comparing Steel Rolex Prices at Retail to Prices on the Secondary Market

It is no secret that many watches within Rolex’s steel range can be difficult to come by at retail prices. With wait lists stretching for weeks to months to even years, depending on the dealer and the model reference, many collectors are now turning to watch resellers and the grey market to cut their wait...

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Dec 18, 2020 by Caleb Anderson

WATCH REVIEW

Borrowed Time: Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon

When we think of Hublot, we tend to picture ruggedly stylish chronographs, avant-garde materials in eye-catching color combos, and sporty design influences ranging from soccer to motor racing. Rarely do we think of classical dual-time functionality, and that’s a shame because Hublot’s Big Bang Unico GMT models — introduced in 2017 in titanium and carbon...

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Dec 18, 2020 by Mark Bernardo

WATCH REVIEW

Deep 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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Dec 16, 2020 by Jens Koch

FEATURE

The New Breed: How Bremont, Christopher Ward and Farer are Redefining British Watchmaking

The British won the war but lost their watchmaking. Though watchmaking had existed in Switzerland as a cottage industry since the Age of Enlightenment, the Swiss did not truly dominate commercial watchmaking until World War II when the neutral country freely used resources – from metals to skilled labor to capital – that other countries...

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Dec 16, 2020 by Allen Farmelo

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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Dec 15, 2020 by WatchTime

Borrowed Time: Bulova Archive Series Chronograph A “Surfboard”

Bulova’s Archive Series revisits some of the historical brand’s most cult-classic pieces from the mid-20th century, from digital-era pioneers like the Computron LED to distinctive deep-sea divers like the Oceanographers. Recently, I had the opportunity for an extended session with one of the most colorful, playful, and defiantly retro of the lot, the Chronograph A...

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Dec 11, 2020 by Mark Bernardo

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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Dec 10, 2020 by WatchTime

WATCH REVIEW

Borrowed Time: Chronoswiss Sirius Flying Grand Regulator

The regulator dial is one of those niche styles in the wristwatch world. It never really had a “moment” but it’s been around for quite a while, and many watch brands have at least one in their portfolios in the interests of broadening their appeal. However, none have embraced the regulator style more than Chronoswiss, the maker of the watch reviewed here, the Sirius Flying Grand Regulator.

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Dec 9, 2020 by Mark Bernardo

FEATURE

Anything But Ordinary: 8 Watches Made from Extraordinary Materials

Is gold too precious and stainless steel too commonplace for you? Several watch manufacturers are experimenting with case materials that add even greater excitement to unconventional timepieces. From the WatchTime archives, here are eight timepieces that incorporate these out-of-the-ordinary materials.

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Dec 9, 2020 by WatchTime

FEATURE

Progress Through Technology: 10 Tourbillon Watches with High-Tech Designs

Audi’s "progress through technology" motto also applies to the importance of the tourbillon for watch design, because this eye-catching complication greatly enhances a timepiece’s visual appeal. From our Special Design Issue, here are 10 highly technical tourbillon watches.

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Dec 8, 2020 by Alexander Krupp

Hands-On: Code41’s “Unisex” Day41 Model

To create its recently launched Day41 model, the community of watchmakers at Lausanne-based Code41 solicited the input of an often-overlooked constituency: the thousands of female watch enthusiasts who populate online forums and discussion groups along with their male peers. The intent of the Day41 Project was to develop a watch for ladies, a companion to...

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Dec 7, 2020 by Mark Bernardo

PORTFOLIO

Eternal Time: 6 Modern Perpetual Calendar Watches

In modern watchmaking, a perpetual calendar indicates the date, and corrects automatically for months with less than 31 days, as well as leap years. Unless the movement takes into account century years that are not leap years, a perpetual calendar will need manual adjusting in 2100, 2200 and 2300. Usually, a perpetual calendar combines additional complications (a moon-phase, for example). From WatchTime's February 2018 issue, here are six watches that are (almost) ready for eternity.

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Dec 7, 2020 by WatchTime

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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Dec 7, 2020 by Mark Bernardo

Stop, Reset, Start: Five Noteworthy Chronographs to Usher in 2021

Let’s face it: 2020 has been a challenging year in just about every regard and most of us are more than ready to give it a full stop and start over in a new year that offers (fingers crossed) more positive developments on the horizon. What better time to delve into five new and distinctive...

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Dec 4, 2020 by Mark Bernardo

TIMEPIECE TIMELINE

The Evolution of the Men’s Wristwatch: A Decade-by-Decade Guide

World War I coincided with the breakthrough of the wristwatch. New and trailblazing designs followed in each subsequent decade. From the WatchTime archives, here are our highlights, from the beginning of the 20th Century to the present day.

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Dec 4, 2020 by Ruediger Bucher

FEATURE

Double Time: Eight GMT Watches For Travelers at Work and Play

A second time zone can be shown in many ways, offering a wide range of options for watch designers. As the summer travel season winds down, we showcase some notable timepieces with second-time-zone (GMT) displays in this article from our 2019 Special Design Issue.

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Dec 3, 2020 by Jens Koch

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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Dec 2, 2020 by Ruediger Bucher

FEATURE

The Dial as Canvas: Six Watches From Artistic Collaborations

With these six timepieces created in collaboration with, or in tribute to, contemporary and historical artists, watch manufacturers get highly personal in the time-honored tradition of using applying miniaturized artistic masterworks to their dial.

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Dec 1, 2020 by Mark Bernardo

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