Watch News

Welcome to WatchTime’s watch news section. Here you will find the latest breaking news about watches, watch industry updates, watch auction results, clock news, watch quizzes, technology coverage and more watch news.

Clockwork Orange: Wallpaper From the WatchTime Archives

Back in our December 2006 issue, we ran a photo feature called “Clockwork Orange,” showcasing watches with orange dials, straps, and other elements. Now we’ve selected a half-dozen of these striking still-life images, shot by our faithful watch shutterbug Nik Schölzel, for you to download to decorate your computer screen. Simply click on the photos...

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May 3, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Sponsored: E.C.Andersson Watch Co Releases the Last of the Calypso II’s Featuring a Brand New Bracelet

The Calypso is one of E.C.Andersson Watch Co’s most recognizable watch lines, attracting collectors with its sporty elegance. Following the original design’s lead, the Calypso II was released earlier this year as a follow-up, and sold out its first series shortly after. Priding themselves in creating only a few pieces of each model, E.C.Andersson is...

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Dec 1, 2022 by WatchTime

Sotheby’s to Auction Rare Patek Philippes Owned by Henry Graves Family

In December 1999, Sotheby’s made watch-auction history. The auction house sold the so-called Henry Graves Supercomplication — a pocketwatch originally commissioned from Patek Philippe by noted watch collector Henry Graves, Jr., and which featured 24 complications — for an astounding $11,002,500, still the world record for any timepiece at auction. Last week, Sotheby’s announced that...

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May 1, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

IWC Opens its Flagship New York Boutique with VIP Gala, Limited-Edition Watch

Some would say that IWC Schaffhausen opening its first U.S. flagship boutique in New York City is long overdue; after all, the brand, which was established in 1868, has the distinction of being one of the very few Swiss brands to be founded by an American, Florentine Ariosto Jones. This week, IWC cut the ribbon...

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Apr 27, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Sponsored: Introducing the Citizen Promaster Skyhawk A-T Blue Angels JY8128-56L

The Promaster collection from Citizen has garnered wide renown since its 1989 debut, since becoming known as a hardy and innovative line of reliable, professional-grade timepieces. Expanding the notable collection is a novel special edition, now seen via the Promaster Skyhawk A-T Blue Angels JY8128-56L . Like previous Skyhawk iterations, the new model features an...

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Nov 25, 2022 by WatchTime

Breguet Birthday Bash: Exhibit Celebrates Bicentennial of the Wristwatch

The discussion about what was the first timepiece for the wrist, and what watchmaker produced it, has typically involved a handful of well-known contenders, chiefly Cartier, with its Santos-Dumont from 1904, and Patek Philippe, with its Countess Koscowicz watch from 1868. Breguet, however, has the historical documents to make a compelling case for the honor....

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Apr 25, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Panerai Breaks Ground on New Manufacture in Neuchâtel

Ten years after opening its manufacture in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Officine Panerai has announced that it will be breaking ground on a new factory at Pierre-à-Bot, on the hills above Neuchâtel. All the company’s development, production and assembly of watches and movements will be transferred to the new production facility, set to open by the end...

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Apr 24, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Hydromechanical Horology: Inside the New HYT H1

One of the most talked-about timepieces of the 2012 Baselworld watch fair was the HYT H1, an unusual-looking watch that indicates the time by means of two liquids — one green, one clear — that flow through a tiny tube along a peripheral hours scale. WatchTime technical editor Mike Disher explores the technology behind the...

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Apr 23, 2012 by WatchTime

Video: WatchTime’s Interview with Jerome De Witt

At the 2012 Baselworld watch fair, Katharina Moeschl, online editor for WatchTime’s German sister publication Chronos and its website, www.watchtime.net, met with Jerome De Witt, founder of Montres DeWitt, to conduct an interview about the growth of his his boutique watch brand and its worldwide strategy, along with an up-close preview of the new watches...

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Apr 20, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Welcome to the new Watchtime.com!

If you have been to this site before, you may have noticed some significant differences this week. Yes, Watchtime.com has undergone a major facelift, with numerous upgrades that we feel will make it more useful, informative, interactive, and user-friendly. As those of you who read the print edition of WatchTime may already know, I have...

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Apr 20, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

New F.P. Journe Book and Exhibit Celebrate Historic Gunmetal Watches

Most of the watches that Francois-Paul Journe produces for his independent brand are anything but “proletarian:” most come in gold or platinum cases and have movement parts made of 18k rose gold. However, Journe’s newest publishing project, “Steel Time,” celebrates the classic burnished steel “gunmetal” watches of the mid- to late 19th century and how...

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Apr 19, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Ulysse Nardin Acquires Ebel’s Chronograph Caliber 137

Ulysse Nardin has taken another step toward manufacturing independence by purchasing the rights to Ebel’s proprietary Caliber 137, a chronograph movement originally developed for that brand in 1995 and recently used in Ebel’s 1911 BTR collection of men’s watches. WatchTime talked about the new acquisition with Ulysse Nardin CEO Patrik Hoffman, who elaborated on the...

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Apr 13, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Play Ball! Graham Signs MLB Pitcher C.J. Wilson

To many Americans, the start of the new baseball season is a long-awaited rite of spring, and to Graham — a Swiss watch company with British roots and a reputation for distinctively masculine sport watches — it also provides the perfect opportunity to introduce its newest “brand ambassador” and its first from the world of...

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Apr 10, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Glashütte Original Unveils Redesigned Pano Collection

“Don’t mess with success” is a mantra to which many watch brands subscribe; German luxury watch brand Glashütte Original, on the other hand, has adopted another piece of advice: “Don’t rest on your laurels.” As proof, witness the company’s subtle, yet significant, redesigns in its popular Pano Collection of timepieces, from which four new models...

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Apr 10, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Romain Jerome Limited Editions Mark 100-Year Anniversary of the Titanic

One hundred years ago this month, the RMS Titanic set off on its legendary, ill-fated voyage across the Atlantic. And while moviegoers across the world file into theaters this week to view the 3-D re-release of James Cameron’s 1997 smash-hit film Titanic, which dramatically portrays the events on that legendary vessel in April 1912, Swiss...

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Apr 10, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Hublot Chosen as Swiss Watch Partner for World Expo 2012

Hublot has announced that it has been selected by Presence Switzerland in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) to be the watch partner of the Swiss Pavilion at the World Expo 2012, which will take place over 3 months, between 12th May and 12th August 2012, in the South Korean coastal city of...

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Apr 10, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

New Ball Watch Honors 100 Years of New York’s Grand Central Terminal

New York City’s iconic railroad hub, Grand Central Terminal, reaches its Centennial in 2013, and now Ball Watch, a brand indelibly linked to the history of railroading, is releasing a commemorative timepiece specially suited to the Big Apple’s homesick travelers and expats: the Engineer Master II GCT, whose second-time-zone function uses Grand Central Time (GCT)...

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Apr 10, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Rare Patek Philippes on the Block at Antiquorum Auction in April

Antiquorum Auctioneers will hold part one of its “Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces” auction at its U.S. headquarters, on Madison Avenue in New York City, on April 25. Included in the spring auction will be an exceptional lineup of collectible Patek Philippe wristwatches, including a Patek Philippe Ref. 3974 in platinum as well as a...

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Apr 10, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

IWC Auctions Off Unique Muhammad Ali Watch at Celebrity Fight Night Gala

A unique timepiece by IWC Schaffhausen went under the hammer at the 18th annual Celebrity Fight Night gala last Saturday, held in Phoenix, Arizona. The star-studded event was established to raise funds for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, founded by the legendary boxing champ. The watch, a special Big Pilot’s model in white gold made...

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Apr 10, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

TAG Heuer to Increase Movement-Manufacturing at New Site in Jura

TAG Heuer has announced that it is doubling its mechanical-chronograph movement manufacturing capacity by building a new site in Chevenez, in the Swiss Canton of Jura, which will create 100 jobs and be operational by the end of 2013. The site will produce the in-house Caliber 1887 mechanical chronograph that was launched two years ago,...

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Apr 10, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

New York Exhibit Celebrates 40 Years of Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

Audemars Piguet’s iconic sports watch with the octagonal bezel, the Royal Oak, turns 40 this year, and the Swiss watch firm plans to celebrate the milestone in style, kicking off a touring exhibit of 100 rare Audemars Piguet watches, set against an artistic multimedia presentation showcasing the brand and its history, with an opening engagement...

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Apr 10, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Hublot Launches New Big Bang Ferrari

Hublot chairman Jean-Claude Biver’s appreciation for speed is evident not only in his choice of partner for the Swiss watch brand’s latest collaborative venture — the Italian sportscar icon Scuderia Ferrari — but in the astoundingly short time it has taken to produce the first Ferrari-branded Hublot wristwatch: the Hublot Big Bang Ferrari Magic Gold....

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Apr 10, 2012 by Mark Bernardo