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.

Richard Mille Partners with Natalie Portman and Free the Children Charity

Richard Mille has added to its already impressive roster of celebrity “friends of the brand” — a lineup that includes tennis ace Rafael Nadal, golfer Bubba Watson and racecar driver Felipe Masa — by welcoming award-winning actress Natalie Portman into the fold at an exclusive dinner at New York City’s St. Regis Hotel.

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May 16, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Hard Timers: How Hublot Conjured its Magic Gold

The Hublot brand is known for its use of unusual materials, including cermet (a mix of ceramic and metal), tungsten, and something the brand named “Hublonium” (an alloy of magnesium and aluminum). Now the company has unveiled one more: a very hard and therefore scratch-resistant alloy of gold Hublot has dubbed “Magic Gold.” Click here...

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May 14, 2012 by Gisbert Brunner

WatchTime’s May-June Issue Is On Sale Now!

WatchTime’s May-June issue is on newsstands now, featuring a cavalcade of new watches introduced at the Baselworld watch fair and a triple-feature cover story focusing on the Omega Moonwatch, including a detailed history and a comparative watch test. Click here for highlights from the issue…

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May 14, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Youth Movement: Girard-Perregaux Brings Young Watchmakers to New York

Recently, I learned firsthand to never again take for granted the faithful functionality of my mechanical watches. Given the opportunity to sit down at a watchmaker’s bench and use the tiny tools to painstakingly and precisely attach wheels and jewels to a stripped-down baseplate, it became extremely clear just how much concentration, dexterity, and patience...

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May 11, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Elegant Accessories: The Gucci Time Box by Scatola del Tempo

Gucci has teamed up with Scatola del Tempo, an Italian manufacturer specializing in watch winders and boxes, to produce the Gucci Time Box, a luxuriously appointed watch winder that bears the design influence of Gucci’s renowned creative director, Frida Giannini.

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May 10, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Celebrity Wrist Watch: Samuel L. Jackson Sports Piaget in “The Avengers”

In Marvel Studios’ new blockbuster film “The Avengers,” Samuel L. Jackson plays Nick Fury, leader of S.H.I.E.L.D., the top-secret government agency behind the formation of the world’s mightiest super-hero team. But the watch he’s wearing in the movie is no longer a secret: it’s a decidedly masculine model from Piaget’s iconic Polo collection.

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May 8, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

Video: WatchTime Interviews Chopard’s Karl-Friedrich Scheufele

At the Baselworld watch fair in March, the online media team from our German sister site, www.watchtime.net, caught up with Chopard president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele for an exclusive video interview.

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May 4, 2012 by Mark Bernardo

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

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

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