Watchisthis

16Mar 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Stowa embraces the Apple watch

News

There are watch brands that fight the smart watch, others mock it, while some even ignore it all together. Stowa decided to embrace it, and introduces a fully interactive app for the Apple watch. The small, German brand has always had an innovative approach, from design, to complications, as well as presenting and positioning itself in the world of watches. With the new app on the Apple watch, it brings an interactive and highly entertaining brochure to your wrist. It is a combination of fun facts, the companies extensive history and a catalog all in one. Of course this can very well the best place for a watch catalog to be; on the wrist! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX1k3wsRRm0 The app also has the ability to show different watch faces on your Apple watch,…

15Mar 2016 by Jonathan Kopp No Comments

Raymond Weil in harmony with The Beatles

News

Raymond Weil has unveiled the biggest musical collaboration in its history with its new limited edition maestro watch that honours The Beatles. This new watch partnership in the music icons series marks Raymond Weil's 40th anniversary and celebrates the greatest music band. At first sight The Maestro Beatles Limited Edition is a really classic timepiece, but when looking more closely we distinguish a multitude of little details. Indeed, we can see that it features the 13 Beatles’ album titles written around the bespoke dial, including a reference to the Help album cover at 4 o’clock. Moreover, the dial and the caseback both feature the official Beatles logo. The watch features a mechanical, self-winding movement inside a 39.5mm stainless steel case. Priced around 1200€ the watch released with the agreement of The…

08Mar 2016 by Jonathan Kopp 1 Comment

Sea Monster Art Piece by Augustin Matei

News

Watchmaking is the high-precision world. The production of a gear train of a watch or the finesse of a polishing requires a steady hand and a strong mind. Watchmakers have an exceptional creativity that they can put in the service of their dream. To create the dream some watchmakers love to use métiers d’art in their creations. Métiers d'Art are the heritage of know-how carefully developed over the centuries. Professionals are first and foremost men and women of passion. They can work for the conservation and restoration of patrimony, but they can also work in the field of creation. Métiers d'Art are essentially a manual techniques, implemented by highly qualified professionals, that's why the production is limited to unique…

26Fév 2016 by Jonathan Kopp No Comments

New Mondaine “Contactless” with PayChip prototype

News

Mondaine enhancing the watch functionality with Oberthur Technologies’ contactless payment system- PayChip ™ with NFC. Blurring the lines between technological innovation and horological excellence, Mondaine has once again excelled with a fresh update to its outstanding Mondaine Helvetica No1 Smart watch. Mondaine continues to innovate and has updated its smart watch offering by adding Near Field Communication (NFC) contactless payment technology. A number of the Swiss-made brand’s watches will be imbued with a Mondaine PayChip, designed to offer convenient and efficient transactions at contactless payment points. We already know the Mondaine Helvetica Smart watch, which was inspired by the world’s most used font Helvetica (Latin for ‘Swiss’) which encases modern technology in a design that feels fundamentally grounded in Swiss watch-making. In fact, the only indication that it is…

17Fév 2016 by Jonathan Kopp No Comments

Presenting Areion Black Chronograph

Advertorial, News

For more than 250 years, Birmingham has been a hallmark of watch-matching quality. The city’s famous Jewellery Quarter has been described as a national treasure. But Birmingham is not just about the past and present, it’s a city moving forward in the 21st century, and it’s the birthplace of Areion Watches. As we have seen in the recent years, many young brands start with quartz movements, because they are easy to source but also because they help the brands to keep things more affordable. Many times, those watches are simply three-hands, or sometimes with the addition of a date display. Areion decided to go further with their first product and propose a chronograph which is driven by a Miyota OS20 movement. Passionately designed in Great Britain the watches are encased…

04Fév 2016 by Jonathan Kopp No Comments

WATCHe turns your Apple Watch in a skeleton mechanical watch

News

If you have an Apple Watch but you love Swiss mechanical movement, the new WATCHe application may interest you. The latter indeed offers the ability to display the time on your Apple Watch in the manner of a mechanical movement. Indeed the brand from Geneva offers today a kind of bridge between connected watches and mechanical watches thanks to its new app for Apple Watch. After several years of development of smartphones hulls integrated with mechanical movements, Luc Pellaton decided to give a new dimension to the trend of connected watches.With the launch, of a mobile application designed for the Apple Watch, the spirit of a mechanical movement can now be found as an indicator screen on your smartwatch. For the moment the app is free in the App Store…

28Jan 2016 by Aurelien Payet 2 Comments

Griffin Emblem – An Indiegogo success

News

Griffin Emblem has a straight forward brand concept; it wants to create watches by crowdfunding campaign in small quantities, but with a very careful design and materials of superior quality. The brand has a logo that represents a griffin, a mythical creature, half eagle and half lion, symbolizing both power and agility. The name of the brand Griffin Emblem is more focused on the treasure than on the griffin in question. Creators have been captivated for long time by the stories exposing the griffons as heroes and protectors of wealth such as gold. When we observe the logo, we see the creature touch a diamond with his paw. This diamond is a reference to the treasure Griffins were fighting for. The word "Emblem" therefore refers here to the protected treasure…

18Jan 2016 by Martin Green 1 Comment

V for Valachio

News

Affordable watches come in many shape and forms, and even with different price tags. In our experience the closer you get to the zero, the tougher it will be to still offer a high quality timepiece. In those regions you often find only watches by larger companies that are able to balance price and quality to a satisfactory level. Can a new, small brand that is launching through Kickstarter do this as well? Valachio think they can. With a price around US$135,- for their stainless steel model and US$145,- for their gold-plated Pantiam model, they are inexpensive, but don't look the part. Their minimalist design is not only a crowdpleaser, but also give the watch an air of understated luxury, without adding to…

05Jan 2016 by Martin Green 2 Comments

Photographers, make your dreams come true in the new year!

Magazine, News

Most people start the new year with new year resolutions, and we might be able to help you make one come true! For Watchisthis?! Magazine we are having a contest to for photographers who think they can shoot some nice pictures of high-end watches priced $2.500,- and below! Think you are up for the challenge? Email your photo's to photo contest at watchisthis dot com to participate! Of course you are not doing this only for the glory! The wining photo's will be featured in the Spring issue of Watchisthis?! Magazine with full credits, we give you US$50,- to go out and celebrate, and a custom-made watch strap by Jean Rousseau to do so in style! For the exact rules and regulations, please check page 62 of Watchisthis?! Magazine! We…

04Jan 2016 by Martin Green No Comments

Mojoptix; a digital sundial for free?

News

Clever design can make a simple object turn into true magic. That is what Mojoptix did with his design for a sundial. By calculating exactly at what time the sun would hit the sundial under which angle, Mojoptix created pure magic! His design displays the time in a digital format from 10.00 until 16.00 hours in 20 minute increments. Especially when you look at the time lapse below you see the sheer genius of his design. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoGVb82uCnA The concept is actually half a tube with holes in them at a specific angle. They catch the rays of the sun as earth is circling around it and display the time on the area below it. A holder allows you to set the angle of the sundial. This holder can be screwed…