Martin Green, Author at Watchisthis

01Sep 2015 by Martin Green No Comments

Defakto nominee for German Design Award!

News

Defakto has been nominated for the prestigious German Design Award 2016. This can not come as a complete surprise because with their "less-is-more"-design philosophy this was bound to happen. The nominee is the Akkord Modular Bronze, a watch that combines a black pvd coated bezel, with a bronze center part of the case. This contrast of colors is amazing by itself, and it makes you wonder why other manufacturers have not thought flocked to take over the idea. The dial of the Akkord Modular Bronze is elementary, my dear Watson. However as straight forward as it seems, it's the hands that makes all the difference. They offer a playful element, that makes all the difference! We, at Watchisthis?!, congratulate Defakto on being nominated and will keep our fingers crossed so…

27Août 2015 by Martin Green No Comments

We live in a « Dog eat watch » world?!

News

We are used to live in a dog-eat-dog world, but a dog eat watch? Meet Mocha, a dog with an appitite because a few months ago she ate three wristwatches, stap and all. Shocked owners took her immidiately to the vetrenarian, where they made X-ray's from here stomach, revealing the remains of the watches. She was actually able to chew the watches into tiny little pieces. At the animal hospital an lengthy and extensive endoscopic procedure had to be preformed to get all the tiny bits and pieces out of Mocha. Fortunately she made a full recovery. When Timex heard about the story they where very happy that Mocha made a full recovery, but being a watch company, they felt sorry for the watches that didn't made it. So to…

24Août 2015 by Martin Green 1 Comment

Kickstarter keeps kicking @$$; Nezumi Voiture

News

We said it before, and we say it again; Kickstarter keep kicking @$$ when it comes to affordable watches that offer a great bang for your buck. Calvin Jr. recently completed a succesful campaign on Kickstarter and also Straton and Stuckx will be heading that way, since they already have reached their goals for succesful funding, several times over. Why they are such a success? Original designs combined with great build quality for prices that are hard to beat. Undoubtfully heading that same way is the Nezumi Voiture, which will be launched on Kickstarter this September. As the name already indicates is this watch inspired by (race) cars from the 1960's and 1970's. The result is a design that looks comfortably familiar. It is by no means an copy of…

19Août 2015 by Martin Green No Comments

Pick a Mido, Win a Mido

News

Three top watch designers going head-to-head in a contest about what should be the design for the new Mido limited edition, with the public picking the winner! Eric Giroud, Sebastien Perret and Lorenzo Vallone, made each a design inspired by the Big Ben in London. All designers took a radically different approach, with Perret combining elements from the Big Ben into what could very well be a vintage piece by Mido. Vallone comes with a design that holds the middle between a dress watch and a sports watch, while Giroud goes all in with a rectangular dress watch that seems to have come right out of one of the sides of the Big Ben. Voting is open for everybody until the 30th of September 2015, when the design with the…

18Août 2015 by Martin Green No Comments

Certina DS Podium Big Size; Does size matters?

News, Opinion

Not too long ago watches seemed never to be big enough. Monstrous diameters were strapped around the wrists of men and women all around the world, yet the last few years people seem to have come to their senses and favor smaller, more sensible watch diameters, but does that mean the death of large diameter watches? Certina offers their DS Podium also in a "Big Size", meaning that it is "super sized" from 41mm to 44mm. This is quite a substantial increase in size, but what matters is what do you do with this extra space? It is going to be wasteland on the dial, a thicker bezel, or are you actually going to use it to enhance the looks of the watch? With the DS Podium Big Size Chronograph…

17Août 2015 by Martin Green No Comments

Tissot celebrates its connection to sports

Uncategorized

While many brands don't know how loud to shout their connection to sports and athlete's, Tissot is rather modest with its connection to sport. Especially when you think that they are the Official timekeeper and partner of MotoGPTM, FIM World Superbike, basketball with FIBA, the Australian Football League AFL, RBS 6 Nations Rugby and the World Championships of cycling, fencing and ice hockey. Next to that they also have basketball player Tony Parker, as well as NASCAR-driver Danica Patrick amongst their ambassadors. But Tissot engagement with sports started already at the end of the 19th century, and by 1938 they where also the timekeeper of such events. To celebrate this rich history Tissot has setup a exhibition in one of Geneva's landmark, the Cité du Temps. The exhibition lasts until…

14Août 2015 by Martin Green No Comments

Swatch goes into Tech-mode

News

32 years after the launch of the very first Swatch, the brand is still an innovative force not to reckon with. Their latest addition is called "Tech-mode" and is highly influenced by hard core industrial design. However the result is quite subtle, and the more extrovert Swatches in the new collection are that only due to their use of color. [gallery type="rectangular" link="none" size="medium" ids="113,112,114"] Many of the "Tech-mode" Swatches feature textures that really play with the light, making the watches even more interesting to look at. The new collection features a very complete range of options; a time-only quartz, a day-date quartz, a quartz chronograph and even an automatic. Prices are, as is another of Swatch trademarks, modest. The time only quartz models start at 65 euro's, and the…

13Août 2015 by Martin Green No Comments

Calvin Jr.; Why Kickstarter kicks @$$

News, Opinion

Can start-up watch companies threat the major brands? Not too long ago that answer would be a definitive NO!, but things seemed to have changed. The watch industry is known to have high entry barriers, and the decision of Swatch-group to stop supplying ETA-movements didn't make them any lower, yet this hardly seems to affect start-up watch brands. Many of them pursuit a global sourcing strategy that is focused on quality, rather than the origin of the parts. The results are watches that actually ooze a quality that most people will associate with a much higher price-point. So it is no wonder that start-up brands like Straton, and the more established Stuckx, are celebrating huge success. But what is perhaps the most threatening aspect of these startup brands, is the…

12Août 2015 by Martin Green No Comments

Swiss Independent Watchmaking Pavilion in Hong Kong

News

In September 2015 Hong-Kong is hosting the first edition of SIWP exhibition to promote independent watchmaking brands based in Switzerland in order to present “a different face of watchmaking” from the one displayed by the industry’s giants. During this prestigious event, 8 independent luxury watch brands from Switzerland will present their creations to the specialist press, retailers and distributors from all over the world, but also to all visitors of the most important trade fair in Hong Kong – The HKTDC. Scheduled to be held on 08 to 12 September 2015 in the Salon de TE, only independent brands established in Switzerland may exhibit, and will feature brands like Rebellion watches, WatchE, Pierre Thomas, David Van Heim, Traser, Montre Etoile, and the well known Pilo & Co and Philippe Charriol.…

12Août 2015 by Martin Green No Comments

Kim Chambers completes Farallones to Golden Gate Bridge swim with Timex

News

17 hours and 12 minutes; that is how long it took Kim Chambers to become the first woman to completed the Farallones to Golden Gate Bridge swim. A brutal, 30 mile swim through cold, shark infested waters, that has only been succesfully completed by four men before her. What is of course intersting for Watchisthis, is the watch she was wearing to accompany her on this incredible accomplishment. It looks like a Timex Sports Ironman, and altough it is a bit difficult to make out the exact model, we suspect it is a version of the 50 laps, after some debate. Which model do you think it is?

Auteur/autrice : Martin Green