Watchmakers

News and information about watchmakers, watchmaking technology, watch manufacturers and other watchmaker related topics.

Return of the French Skin Diver: Introducing the New Jacques Bianchi JB 200

Marseille-based master watchmaker Jacques Bianchi began providing models of the JB 200, a distinctively designed, quartz-powered divers’ watch that he developed for his eponymous brand, to the French Navy in the mid-1980s. Now 80 years old, Bianchi has partnered with a small team of French watch-industry players to resurrect the JB200 for a modern audience,...

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Jul 4, 2021 by Mark Bernardo

COUNTDOWN TO WTLA:

WatchTime Los Angeles: Meet the VIP Watchmakers

WatchTime Los Angeles, the West Coast’s biggest watch-collector extravaganza, kicks off on May 3, boasting more than 25 luxury watch brands as well as several of the watchmaking world’s rock stars and creative visionaries. Here are five of the boldfaced names of horology that you’ll have a chance to meet this weekend during the two-day...

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May 1, 2019 by WatchTime

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

A Scot and Her Skulls: Talking Watch Design with Fiona Krüger

Fiona Kruger, a young Scottish artist, has earned recognition from the Swiss watch world – and earned it, oddly enough, with skull watches. What better a subject to tackle on Halloween? Excerpted from the upcoming WatchTime Special Design Issue 2018, here's our conversation with Kruger, in which she reveals what inspired her distinctive motif and how she views her place in the watch industry.

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Oct 31, 2017 by WatchTime

MB&F Teams With Alain Silberstein for New Legacy Machine

MB&F collaborated with renowned French watch designer Alain Silberstein in 2009 on the HM2.2 "Black Box," the first MB&F "Performance Art" timepiece. Today, the brand announces the latest in the series — and one imbued even more deeply with Silberstein's distinctive design DNA — the MB&F LM1 Silberstein.

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May 25, 2016 by Mark Bernardo

Tourneau Trains Students for Careers in Watchmaking

When the average person thinks “watchmaker”, they picture an older man in a white lab coat working in the mountains of Switzerland. Watch retailer Tourneau is challenging that image with a program that gives disadvantaged kids in New York City a chance at a watchmaking career. Company executives gathered recently to recognize the program’s newest...

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Jul 3, 2014 by WatchTime

Audio: Excerpts from our Interview with Arnold & Son Watchmaker Sébastien Chaulmontet

In WatchTime’s March-April 2014 issue, on sale March 18, technical editor Mike Disher gives you the skinny on Arnold & Son’s Ultra-Thin tourbillon watch, the UTTE, in an in-depth watch test. Click below for audio excerpts from Disher’s one-on-one interview with the man behind the watch, Arnold & Son’s head of movement development, Sébastien Chaulmontet.

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Mar 7, 2014 by WatchTime

Louis Moinet: Rewriting Chronograph History

The Swiss watch brand Louis Moinet has unveiled an artifact that may change how we look at the history of timekeeping — a timekeeping device from the early 19th century, invented by the brand’s namesake, that may be the first chronograph ever created.

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Mar 27, 2013 by Jay Deshpande

Bonus Audio: Excerpts from WatchTime’s Interview with Peter Speake-Marin

In WatchTime’s February issue, on sale next week, executive editor Norma Buchanan profiles Peter Speake-Marin, the British watchmaker who has been plying his trade as an independent for a decade. Click below for audio excerpts from Buchanan’s exclusive interview with Speake-Marin.

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Jan 8, 2013 by Mark Bernardo

North American Institute of Swiss Watchmaking Celebrates First Graduating Class

The North American Institute of Swiss Watchmaking celebrated its first graduating class on April 2. The Class is comprised of students who have completed a two year program and will receive a North American Institute of Swiss Watchmaking Watchmaker Certificate.

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Apr 7, 2011 by WatchTime

Kobold Launches Program to Train Sherpas as Watchmakers

Kobold has announced a program in which its U.S.-based watchmakers will train a group of Sherpas in the art of watchmaking. The former high-altitude mountain guides from Nepal’s Himalaya region will begin learning how to assemble mechanical wristwatches in March. The one-year-long program also includes a basic course on managing a luxury business.

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Feb 18, 2011 by WatchTime

Seiko Watchmaker Receives Top Award

The government of Japan has just announced that Kazuo Takeoka has been awarded the “Medal with Yellow Ribbon” in recognition of his services to watchmaking. The award is given to individuals who, through their diligence and perseverance while engaging in their professional activities, become public role models.

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Nov 3, 2010 by WatchTime

Zenith Honors Watchmaker’s Milestones With Limited Edition Watch

On November 30, Zenith celebrated a famous caliber and the 100th birthday of the watchmaker who created it. Ephrem Jobin was the brains and hands behind Caliber 135. Introduced in 1948 at the height of a battle to achieve increased precision fought among several watch manufacturers, Caliber 135 included several innovative technical features that enabled...

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Dec 4, 2009 by WatchTime

Master Watchmaker Derek Pratt Passes Away

Derek Pratt, one of the world’s leading watchmakers, has passed away following a long illness. Derek was a watchmaker’s watchmaker and a true scientist of horology. He was often cited as among the greatest living watchmakers, his name mentioned in the same breath as George Daniels, Philippe Dufour, and other modern legends. Derek is also...

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Oct 5, 2009 by WatchTime