Are There Any Affordable Watches At The SIHH 2017?

Are There Any Affordable Watches At The SIHH 2017?

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With the SIHH 2017 in full swing, many watch enthusiasts follow the news just to see what kind of new masterpieces will hit the market. For many this will be especially a visual spectacle, because even after vigorous saving, many of the new watches are still out of reach. But between all these expensive watches there was all of a sudden one that was not only affordable but even dips below the 1.000 euro (on a leather strap): the Baume et Mercier Classima. For long the Classima has always been Baume et Mercier's backbone. An elegant watch made for everyday use, perfect for any event. That has not changed with the new Classima, which Baume et Mercier offers in three different diameters: 40mm, 36.5mm, and 31mm. This makes the watch…
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Affordable at Auction: Longines La Grande Classique

Affordable at Auction: Longines La Grande Classique

Affordable at Auction
La Grande Classique, has there every been a more promising name? The great thing is that this Longines even lives up to its name. Although the majority of them are round, the brand also made a charming tonneau version, and Fellows is auctioning one off that comes complete with the original bracelet which features very fine links. According to the description, the watch is just over nine years old yet still good looking. This might be because it wasn't worn so often, but also remember that these watches were made very well, because Longines still is an insider secret for people who want a very well made watch, for a fair price. The La Grande Classique has a unique lug construction, in which they come from underneath the case and…
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Tangramatic Launches The Hyperion

Tangramatic Launches The Hyperion

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Tangramatic takes the next step in the development of the brand with the Hyperion. Where the previous models were quite minimalist, the Hyperion takes on a more extrovert approach. Very loosely based on the B-type pilots watch, the Hyperion goes crazy on SuperLuminova, and we love it! The dial makes for a very expressive watch, and despite being different from the previous Tangramatic's there is some familiar DNA visible in the way this watch is designed. The Hyperion is available with a black dial, powered by a Ronda quartz movement and hexa hour makers. Next up is also a black dial, yet now with axis hour markers and a Miyota automatic movement. The final version also features the Miyota movement, only sports a blue dial and is also the only…
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Mondaine Helvetica No 1 Light: A Swiss Icon

Mondaine Helvetica No 1 Light: A Swiss Icon

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Watches are often dedicated to specific events, persons, or car races, yet hardly ever to a font. But Helvetica is not just any font. It is probably the most used, most recognized font around, and just like Mondaine, it is Swiss. But how do you design a watch that is an ode to a font? Mondaine did this by following the same rules as the typography of the font: clean cut legibility. This is actually where Mondaine feels at home anyway because the famed Swiss railroad watch follows the same design concept. The Helvetica collection comes in four flavors: Bold, Regular, Light, and Smartwatch. The version that we have here is the light, meaning that it shows less and lighter numerals. This makes the watch very clean cut, and although…
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Introducing the MAEN Classic Moonphase Watch

Introducing the MAEN Classic Moonphase Watch

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Moon phases play an important role in the natural world, so it’s quite logical that they are also important when it comes to the watch market. A friend of mine recently told me: “My next watch will definitely be a moon phase watch” and then, it was exactly at the same moment that the guys from MAEN Watches contacted me. The brand was launched by two Dutch guys living in Stockholm and the brand name “MAEN” is taken from an old Dutch word meaning Moon and is inspired by the Dutch ship, Halve Maen (Half Moon), that discovered what is known today as New York City back in September 1609. So in tribute to this ship, the founders of the brand decided to debut their collection with a classic moon…
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Affordable at Auction: Rarities from Swatch

Affordable at Auction: Rarities from Swatch

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Something special for Swatch collectors just before the holidays. Squiggly.com auctions 190 Swatch limited edition and early prototype in an online auction. The lots contain some very rare items. Based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Squiggly is a specialist dealer of vintage Swatch watches. They sell watches with official warranty, instructions, and original packaging. Although Swatch is in general quite an affordable watch, you can find at this auction some pieces going for more than what you are probably used to, which is the proof that a Swatch is a collectible item. At this auction, you can also buy some rare posters. In the 80’s Swatch was extremely active to get the name of the brand known everywhere. The marketing strategies were different on every continent. Something that was completely abandoned…
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Undone Urban Chronograph: Customizable Retro

Undone Urban Chronograph: Customizable Retro

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It seems to become a trend on crowd funding: customizable watches. Not too long ago Memomem introduced their concept of it, and now it is time for Undone to show theirs. With their Urban Chronograph, they focus on the great watches on the past and offer you the opportunity to recreate a vintage styled chronograph. That is of course if you want to since there are enough customization options to also create quite a modern chronograph or some with a crazy color dial. In fact, it is all up to you but to help some indecisive customers a bit they also made a collection of pre-composed watches. These carry names like "Speedy," "Navi" and "Killy" making it quite obvious to see where their inspiration comes from. It is important to…
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X-Frame Seer Chronograph: A Bold Statement

X-Frame Seer Chronograph: A Bold Statement

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On of the great things about microbrands is that they have much more artistic freedom than more established brands. Their design language is often more fluid, and there is also room for this. They are far more customer involved, and many of them have daily contact with people who wear their watches or are just watch enthusiasts. This is also what the people at X-Frame did when they developed the Seer Chronograph. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48w0iCZtVY4 https://vimeo.com/183590770/c8abfd8e21 X-Frame already had a nice run on Kickstarter with the X-Frame Vulcan, so they have some experience in making successful watches. This shows in the Seer Chronograph. It is a large watch, and weighing 179 grams, you do have something substantial around your wrist. Some might argue that the Seer Chronograph has some design cues from…
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FreakishWATCH!: Get Your Freak On!

FreakishWATCH!: Get Your Freak On!

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Clever design meets elegant execution. Unlike its name might indicate, the FreakishWATCH is elegant and sophisticated, and far from a freak. In fact, it is one of those watches that makes you wonder what they were thinking when they made up the name. Fortunately, are names easily forgotten (especially when they are not engraved in the case or printed on the dial) and the design stays. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1220569765/freakishwatch The design is for sure the strong suit of this watch. The way it displays time is somewhat reminiscent of the MOTION I wrote about earlier. A disc covers most of the dial and shows only the hour that it is. The minutes are shown by a regular hand. It works quite nicely and looks great. When it is the full hour, the…
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Defakto Goes For Purity With New Dialog

Defakto Goes For Purity With New Dialog

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Defakto has always been a brand that believed that less was more. It challenged itself on how to be creative by using only as fewer lines as possible, not only when it came to their case designs, but also their dials. Now they have added another dimension to this with their new watch, named Dialog. With this watch, Defakto also applies the less is more philosophy on the price of their watch. Now, Defakto has always offered value for money watches, and of all their watches that I reviewed, I never felt that they were even the slightest inflated. With a price tag of 210,08 euros (without VAT) the Dialog is the least expensive of all Defakto models, yet it still offers all the characteristics. The Dialog is available with…
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