Watchisthis

01Août 2016 by Martin Green 7 Comments

Jubileon Superellipse: Not Only Mathematical Correct

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What is it with Singapore and watches? Just like The Netherlands is it a small dot on the world map that produces a disproportional amount of great watches. At Watchisthis?! we are for instance a fan of Regia, which comes from Singapore, just as Jubileon. Jubileon's first model is called the Superellipse, which is a term used in mathematics. They used superellipse to mathematically represent the cushion shape of the case. I must say that this intellectual approach is quite refreshing, especially when it results in a great design as the Superellipse. Actually when I first saw the watch, I thought "that is a great aviation watch!". The tonneau case gives the watch a slight vintage touch, although its thickness and the screws indicate that it is purpose build, like…

29Juil 2016 by Martin Green 1 Comment

Ticwatch 2: The Nightmare From China

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Raising US$50.000,- in 10 minutes sounds insane, but that is exactly what the Ticwatch 2 accomplished. Meet the nightmare of the affordable Swiss and Japanese watch industry, a smartwatch with a price tag of US$199,-. And this price is not an early bird special, but the full retail price of the Ticwatch 2 once it hits the market. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax7QKR3DiM4 Impossible? A scam you say? Highly doubtful since Ticwatch 2 is produced by Mobvoi. Founded in 2012, this Chinese company is an expert on voice recognition, semantic analytics, and search technologies, and has been making them for WeChat, as well as the Android Wear devices in China, since Google is by law not allowed to use their own. And Google is exactly who is backing Mobvoi now, with the release of…

28Juil 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Wright Gets It Right

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It's funny that when you swear a product is from Great Britain, it in fact comes from Cyprus! Now, the island was a Crown colony for 35 years, so my ego is somewhat spared, yet the new Wright Noctua on Indiegogo has an undeniable British flair to it. Modern Britain that is, like Soho, vibrant yet with character, stylish yet not too stiff. Now Wright is not the only brand out there that makes time only dress watches, that you can also wear casual. But as I have said before, most of these watches are very plain, which they hide under the term "minimalist design". Wright obviously get that the difference between a good watch and a great watch is in the details. With the Noctua that starts with the…

27Juil 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Balticus Star Dust: Staring At The Dial

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The beauty about today's world is that watch companies are now not limited anymore to countries that produce its movements. Meet Balticus, a small brand from Poland, that is best known for a charming diver that they named "Grey Seal". That is until now, because they just opened the pre-order for their new watch, the "Star Dust". I often have it that I check my watch, and that people ask me afterwards what time it is. I couldn't tell them because I wasn't checking the time, but admiring my watch! The Star Dust will definitely offer the same problem, yet more on a "Pokemon Go" level. Total distraction, thanks to a deep blue/black dial with little sparkles in it, that makes it look like you are staring into the depths…

26Juil 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Archimede Expands The Outdoor

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No, the people at Archimede are not getting a bigger yard, but they did expand their Outdoor collection with two new watches: the Schwarzwald and the Kalahari. As their names might already indicate: they are referring to dial colors, a deep green for the Schwarzwald and a sandy beige for the Kalahari. They join the white dialed K2, red dialed Stromboli, and the classic black dial, which Archimede strangely didn't gave another name. The cool thing about the Outdoor collection it that it really seems to be a watch made for the outdoors. It is really a mechanical watch that can accompany you on your hikes. The case is part 70's styled, part sports watch, which results into something unique. It is not an attention magnet, unless you go perhaps…

25Juil 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Vortic Journeyman: Less Vintage, Equally Exciting

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Vortic made quick work of their latest Kickstarter campaign for the Journeyman series. With this watch Vortic leaves its usual approach, but not its usual charm. For the first time is a Vortic not powered by restored pocket watch movements crafted decades ago by American watch manufacturers like Waltham, Hamilton, Elgin, and Illinois. Instead, the Journeyman series treats its owners to brand new movements, but equally special ones. Vortic is launching the Journeyman series on Kickstarter, with not one model, but three! The first two are housed in a 41mm titanium case in true Vortic style, with the crown at 12 o'clock. One is manual wind, while the other has an automatic movement. The movement that Vortic uses in these two Journeymen is one that doesn't come around that often,…

22Juil 2016 by Martin Green 2 Comments

Tempest Carbon2: Forged Carbon Perfection

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Kickstarter is picking up speed again with some pretty impressive watches, and one of them is the Tempest Carbon2, the brands second watch crafted from forged carbon. An impressive accomplishment, especially from a microbrand like Tempest, and even more so given the quality of the watch. Saying that a watch is perfect goes very far, but given what Tempest presents with the Carbon2, it comes close, very close. Of course there are not many watches available in forged carbon, especially not at this price level, but Tempest doesn't cut any corners to get there. The case is shaped like a dome, and topped of with a domed Sapphire Crystal. To avoid distortion and reflections Tempest fitted it also with an inner Anti-Reflection Coating, double domed for reduced distortion. The forged…

21Juil 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Longines Heritage 1969: Too Cool For School

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Longines is one of the Swiss brands with an incredible rich history. In fact I think that even very critical, high-end collectors can be completely satisfied when they can collect nothing but Longines for the rest of their lives. Fortunately Longines sometimes digs in their archives and re-issues one of their treasures. This time a beauty from 1969! I wasn't around yet in 1969, but it was a year in which the cold war could turn hot at any minute, Nixon became president, Led Zeppelin launched their first album and Jennifer Lopez was born, and Longines made a simple, yet stunning cushion shaped watch. For the re-edition Longines stayed very close to the original, but only beefed up the case slightly. As a result the re-edition can fit easier with…

20Juil 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Christian Valentin: How Low Can You Go?

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$52,- for a watch on Kickstarter. Needless to say that it made all my alarm bells go off. Because a watch at this price point is usually ordered in bulk from Alibaba, stamped with a logo, and sold as the next big thing through crowd funding. But not this time..... $52,- buys you this time a charming watch with a wooden dial and a case crafted from bamboo. Personally I am a big fan of bamboo. It grows very fast, it is environmentally friendly, while you still get a natural product that is also very strong, and it also happens to have a unique texture. $52,- worth of watch, doesn't mean that there isn't a designer behind it. In this case it's Christian Valentin. Normally I am not a fan…

19Juil 2016 by Jonathan Kopp No Comments

Be a Tennis Champion with Pulse Play Smartwatch

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Wither you are a tennis amateur, office ping pong champ, squash aficionado, or badminton weekender, until today when you played with your friends you had to keep the score in the head or write everything on a piece of paper… But stop, Here is Pulse Play ; An innovative approach of a successful newcomer on the sport technology market. Pulse Play developed a smart watch that is an all-in-one wearable for racket sports. It offers complete game history, an accurate ranking system, live scorekeeping announcements, a social community, and opponent matching, and all with just an easy click between points. Pulse Play is made specially for racket sports. It has three main functions : 1.As a scorekeeper and announcer that doesn’t interrupt gameplay, it helps players stay on track…