Winding Back the Years

Winding Back the Years

Vintage
The vast majority of wrist watches, from their very conception, have a crown on the right hand side of the case, at 3 o’clock. Most crowns protrude from the case, where they are grasped for setting and winding of the watch, if the watch is of the mechanical variety. However in 1953, Jaeger LeCoultre released the Futurematic, with the technically impressive calibre 497 bumper automatic movement. What was different about the Futurematic, lies in how the watch was set – there was no crown to be found at 3 o’clock. This watch was the first ‘back-set’ wristwatch, a true innovation where the tiny coin-like crown was located flat against the back of the case, in contact with the wrist when worn. The crown would slide one way to be rotated…
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The new Moduco watches

The new Moduco watches

News
The name Moduco comes from the abbreviation of « Modern Urban Company ». This new brand is a collaborative vision of two good friends - One who is an American watch designer, the other a Swiss product manager. Together they have a combined experience of more than 10 years in the watch industry. With this first collection they tried to create a watch inspired by the urban environment, modern aesthetics and industrial elements. A strong yet clean timepiece with some nice details. The first one that directly caught our eyes is the 3 dimensional roman numeral XII, that is more thick than the other numerals and on which there is a vertical brushed finishing. This special detail could remind us some skyline that you can find around Central Park in…
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The 40’s still amaze us with some treasures

The 40’s still amaze us with some treasures

Vintage
The 1940s are indisputably one of the golden decades for watch design. Benefitting from being preceded by both the hugely influential Bauhaus design school and the Art Deco eras; watches from the 1940s developed an identity of their own, becoming recognisable for their simplicity, style and class. This decade in particular is known for its outstandingly beautiful chronographs, which are highly sought after by many collectors (with increasingly deep pockets). Quite remarkable really, that so many fine watches were conceived in the 1940s; for half of that period Europe was embroiled in the resource-draining effects of World War II, where both materials and of course labour were under stress. Although the fact that neutral Switzerland avoided widespread bombing (unlike Germany and France), probably helped its watchmaking industry weather the storm…
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The Boldr Expedition watch

The Boldr Expedition watch

News
Here at Watchisthis ?! we have the chance to see and try a lot of watches and what came to the HQ some days ago is really really nice. This piece is the new Boldr Expedition Fuji. Boldr is a small watch brand from Singapore selling watches primarly through Kickstater. Once again they had a great success with the launch of their new models. For the record the campaign will end on the 9th of December 2017, so hurry up if you want to pre-order this pretty cool piece. The new Expedition watch is available in 6 colours variations. We tested the Fuji… A grey-on-grey watch with beige indexes and numbers, and a touch of orange on the second hands and in the top crown at two which controls the…
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From New-York with Love : The Martenero Kerrison

From New-York with Love : The Martenero Kerrison

News
Today I decided to write about a new successful Kickstarter project. This one is from Martenero Watches. A young company based in New-York City and founded back in 2014 by John Tarantino. I follow their work from a long time right now and for one main reason – The originality which is one of their core value. Their design philosophy revolves around creating clean and modern designs that stand apart through subtle details and unique colorways. I admit that I’ve been a fan of their Edgemere collection for a long time, so when I heard about this new campaign I was quite excited. And finaly I had the chance to try the new Kerrison during Wind’Up watch show in NYC some weeks ago. This one takes the same design code…
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Kickstarter – The Jubileon Superellipse

Kickstarter – The Jubileon Superellipse

News
So now this is your last chance to get this pretty cool automatic watch. Indeed, the Kickstarter campaign of Jubileon will end on the 8th September. For the moment, they have not reached their goal ... Well, no matter, they will be able to try again later and I am convinced that it will be a success. Honestly I don’t really understand why this campaign is not a big success right now... Because the watch is affordable, it has good specs and more than this, it has contemporary and classic design suitable for everyday use. I had the chance to try one and seriously the piece is really cool and it fits perfectly any wrist thanks to it size of 41 mm wide and 11.9 mm thick. The case is…
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Presenting the Brellum Duobox Classic Havana

Presenting the Brellum Duobox Classic Havana

News
The Duobox Classic Chronometer collection was officially revealed in December 2016 and it was a directly a great success. It's the start of a new school year here, and Sebastien Muller (owner of the brand) decided to propose us a new version of the already iconic Duobox. This time the Duobox adorns the Havana style with brown hues whose finish is done using a sunshine pattern. One may say this colour reminds them of Havana’s cigars, some other may compare it to the rich colour of a whisky or a bourbon. Brellum’s team thinks that it reminds correctly the beautiful colours of Jura’s forest in autumn. For this piece the ingredients are still the same than for the other versions: a high-performance movement, a vintage design, quality finishes, the whole…
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Aurochronos – Microbrands Festival in Poland

Aurochronos – Microbrands Festival in Poland

News
We are thrilled to present to you an interesting and still quite an “exotic idea” of a festival that promotes micro brands and independent watch producers. The International Festival of Independent Watch Manufacturers Aurochronos originated in Poland, a country in the central part of Europe. In our opinion this one has a good chance to fill a niche which really need exposure. It's a good initiative to promote uncommon and less-known watch brands. The event will take place from September 30th to October 1st, 2017 in Łódź, Poland, at the modern venue of Expo-Łódź; the largest exhibition center situated in the heart of the city. We believe that this will be a fantastic and unique experience with a chance to meet a wide group of independent watch manufacturers both from Poland and from…
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Calvin Jr – Commander Series Watch

Calvin Jr – Commander Series Watch

News
Crowdfunding has become a primary source for new watch products and Calvin Jr is not at his first attempt. Indeed, the brand based in Hong Kong has already achieved two campaigns with great success. (You can discover them here : Velocita and Airspeed. Today they are back on Kickstarter with a new outstanding timepiece inspired by aircraft. Before I start to describe the piece I must confess something to you ... I'm a fan! I love its design and I really love having it on my wrist. This is, I think, a watch with originality / sportiness / quality and price ratio that is excellent. So now let’s have a look the watch. The Commander series offer you the possibility to get a statement watch without breaking the bank as…
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Perlon straps for the summer

Perlon straps for the summer

Uncategorized
As summer is there it’s now the time to put some colors on your wrist and we think that the Perlon strap is a good solution. Stop wearing your heavy steel bracelet and choose something a bit more lightweight. I must admit that when I first saw a perlon strap I was not sure what to think about. But, I’m a watch enthusiast and so I love different kind of straps and bracelets… So why not a Perlon? The pattern of the perlon strap is really nice and makes it very attractive; It adds texture and character to the strap and it’s ultra breathable. I personally choose the strap from WatchBandit to enhance my style during this hot season. Perlon watch straps are 100% water proof, so they are ideal…
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