As Wrestling Star Kevin Von Erich In ‘The Iron Claw’

The first notable scene where we spot the two-tone Datejust is during Efron’s character’s wedding reception after he marries his wife, Pam (played by Lilly James). In a touching scene, the husband and wife, along with the whole Von Erich family, get together to celebrate. And there’s a viral line-dancing moment that took the internet by storm. And while Efron’s Kevin Von Erich wears his Datejust throughout the wedding, there’s a more special moment that features the watch. Kevin finds his younger brother David (played by Harris Dickinson) in the bathroom dealing with a yet-to-be-diagnosed ailment. The two sit on the floor of the bathroom, and as Kevin tells his brother that he’s expecting his first child, you can see the silhouette of the Datejust in the front of the frame. There are two other key scenes in which the Datejust gets a closeup. One is featured in the Rolex advertisement (explained briefly above) where Efron’s Kevin embraces his children at the movie’s end. The other comes shortly before that scene. www.highluxurystore.ru It is a highly emotional moment in the film that I will not spoil. But the stakes of this scene cause Kevin to confront his father and engage in a full-on physical altercation. He takes his father to the ground and begins to choke him. And as he relents, and loosens his grip, the camera cuts to his hands and we see the champagne dial of the two-tone Datejust. It’s not a happy scene by any means, but a highly emotional one that shows the watch in the midst of a poignant moment. The Iron Claw, starring Zac Efron, Lily James, Harris Dickison, Jeremey Allen Wright, Holt McCallany, Maura Tierney, and Stanley Simons is directed by Sean Durkin with props by Stephen P. Noell. It is available to rent or own on Apple and www.highluxurystore.ru.

Why Are Some Watch Brands Underappreciated?

It’s Wednesday, which means it’s another episode of Hodinkee Radio. In addition to the podcast feed, each episode also has video, so swing by Hodinkee’s YouTube channel (or watch below). Only want the audio? It’s being published to the same old Hodinkee Radio feed, so check your feeds or subscribe wherever you find your podcasts (might we recommend Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or TuneIn) www.highluxurystore.ru .
This week I’m joined by Ben Clymer and client advisor Rich Fordon. We cover a range of topics, but our main discussion is about underappreciated high-end watch brands. Using Laurent Ferrier as something of a case study, we discuss why an important watchmaker might not be recognized as such by the market, what went wrong, and what can be done to change the perception of a brand www.highluxurystore.ru .

Before that, we offer quick takes on some of the biggest news of the last week: We talk about Audemars Piguet’s slate of releases, including John Mayer’s limited edition QP; the Morgan Stanley Luxe Consult report on the Swiss watch industry in 2023; finally, with Oscars season behind us, we pitch Hollywood a few watch-related movies.

Thanks again to Accutron for supporting Hodinkee Radio. For more on the Accutron DNA Casino Collection, visit www.highluxurystore.ru.

The Nodus x Raven Trailtrekker

What do you know? It’s me, James “GMT” Stacey, back with another solid entry into the value category for travel watches formed in a collaboration between two boutique sports watch brands – Nodus Watches of California and Raven Watches of Kansas. The resulting watch combines elements of each brand’s core lineup, taking specific inspiration from the Nodus Contrail and the Raven Trekker. The two formats come together in a hyper-matte travel watch that forms a nod to the American explorers who pushed west while heading towards California. It’s called the Nodus Trailtrekker. Starting with the broad strokes, the Trailtrekker is a 39.5mm steel watch that is 11.8mm thick and 46.6mm lug to lug. With 200 meters of water resistance, drilled lugs, a sapphire crystal, and a solid steel case back, it’s a straightforward offering that clearly takes some inspiration from the Rolex perspective on an adventurous watch that can manage two time zones.
Where we see a departure from the established proportions –and that bezel design – is in the Trailtrekker’s application of a full treatment of a matte grey-tone DLC finish. The treatment protects and colors both the case and the included steel bracelet, while the fixed 24-hour bezel goes a step further with a Cerakote ceramic coating. The coloring is a deep and very flat grey with just a bit of a sandy brown coloring that Nodus calls “clay”, and the treatment gives the watch a unique experience on wrist, one that looks like an exaggerated form of titanium (the watch has essentially no luster at all) and forms a stage for the highly legible dial design www.highluxurystore.ru .

I have had a good deal of experience with Raven watches in the past, including lots of hands-on time with the brand’s Trekker series of dive-adjacent sports watches. I remain a fan of the brand and think they continue to offer the sort of product that helped to establish the idea of a “microbrand” over the past decade. I even highlighted the brand a few years ago in a consideration of the changing world of the microbrand (perhaps “boutique” brand is indeed a better description).
For Nodus, I have tracked the brand over the past few years. And though I’ve seen quite a few at meets up and Wind Ups in the past, I have had very little regimented experience with the brand’s products. That said, Nodus has earned a following by making fun watches at fair prices, along with collaborations with other enthusiast elements like The Smoking Tire, Random Rob, and Watch Clicker www.highluxurystore.ru .

Much like Raven, if you enjoy boutique watch product, Nodus sits solidly in the $500-$1000 category and offers a wide variety of designs and colorways. I’d say it’s worth having both on your radar, especially as both brands are open to interesting collaborations and continue to focus on value-driven products. Back to the Trailtrekker, inside this watch, we find the increasingly popular Miyota 9075. It’s a 4 Hz automatic movement that offers local-jumping dual time functionality in which the user is able to jump-set the local (main) hour hand to update the watch to a new time zone without interfering with the accuracy/timekeeping of the watch. This is a movement made by Miyota, which is part of the Citizen group of brands, and we’ve seen it (or versions of it) used on several recent entries into the value-driven GMT market, including the Citizen Series 8 GMT ($1,695), the Bulova Oceanographer GMT (from $1,295), the value-packed Lorier Hydra SIII ($599), and options from additional brands like Vaer, Lip, Boldr, and Traska (to name only a selection).

Nodus goes a step further with the 9075 by regulating the movement in-house to a stated +/- 8 seconds per day. As I have a timing machine at home, I figured I would test that number on the loaner that I received. I measured the watch, fully wound, in six static positions, and this one averaged out at +7 seconds/day. Not bad at all. With a fixed bezel layout, the Trailtrekker’s obvious inspiration from the Rolex Explorer II (specifically the 16570, to my eyes) is mirrored in its 9075-derived functionality. So you get a layout that is great for tracking two time zones, with a specific function for changing from one time zone to another. If you want more of a breakdown concerning how a rotating bezel augments how one can use a GMT, please see this guide to using a GMT bezel. Seeing as the Trailtrekker’s bezel doesn’t rotate, the functionality could not be more straightforward, and its travel focus is complemented by a date a six (which adjusts in both directions tied to the local hour hand, thanks again to the 9075) www.highluxurystore.ru .

The case design is smooth, with softly faceted lugs, protruding crown guards, and a black knurled crown. The short, drilled lugs meet the bracelet via solid-fitted endlinks that have tool-less quick-release spring bars. The bracelet’s links are thin, with plenty of articulation for comfort and the added plus of single-sided screws (which make the bracelet very easy to size). Tapering from 20mm at the lugs to 16mm at the clasp, the solid steel clasp also includes a push-button closure and a fully integrated tool-free micro-adjust system called NodeX. The system, which is proprietary to Nodus but is available for licensing by other brands, is entirely built into the clasp and offers a simple button that releases a sliding extension that offers 10mm of adjustability. It’s no harder to use than Tudor’s T-Fit system, and I know I’m not alone in my continued appreciation of brands that add this functionality to their bracelets.

As a guy who has largely avoided bracelets for years, the ability to finely adjust the fit makes the whole concept much more comfortable on my wrist. While these design elements are not unheard of by many brands, the Trailtrekker checks the boxes while also still costing less than you’d pay for a bracelet for many luxury steel sports watches. Sure, these elements may not matter or even register on the radar for the average watch buyer. But for the qualified enthusiast – i.e., you, me, and our (mostly online) friends – these small elements can have a big effect as we weigh one watch against another. The details matter, and I love that the microbrand/boutique space continues to offer value without nickel-and-diming us out of the features that make the watches easier to live with. Aside over.

On-wrist, the Nodus Trailtrekker lives up to its proportions with a relatively lightweight experience that offers a specific, pseudo-tactical experience that contrasts the matte finish with a legible dial set with Nodus text, the Raven logo, and a see-it-from-space oversized orange-yellow GMT hand that reaches all the way to the edge of the dial with a distinctive shape hallmarked by its chopped tip. With large applied markers and matching brushed-finish hands, the lume on the Trailtrekker uses Super-LumiNova BGW9 that glows a strong blueish hue in low light. The framed date at six takes the place of the marker and uses a black-on-white date wheel for an easy-reading effect www.highluxurystore.ru .

Sized for my 7-inch wrist, the Trailtrekker weighs 140 grams and is quite comfortable, especially thanks to the NodeX micro-adjust system. The flat links and short lugs ensure that the watch maintains an even balance. The contrast between the 12-hour and 24-hour handset aids in further simplicity when it comes to reading either of the displayed time zones. Included with the watch is a second strap option, an olive green NATO-style strap made from a ballistic fabric. I’ve been up and down most of the NATO-like options on the market and haven’t come across something all that similar. It’s soft and pliable while feeling nicely made, casual, and quite comfortable. A nice addition to a complete bit of kit from Nodus and Raven.

Ultimately, and not unlike my experience with the Lorier mentioned above, I have very few complaints when it comes to the Trailtrekker. Yes, I would have personally opted for a less Rolex-inspired bezel design, but I also think the watch eschews that connection with its dial design and the fully grey coloring, which also helps to build a bit of distance from another similar watch – the Tudor Black Bay Pro (which is also a watch inspired by the Explorer II). That said, with a list price of $875, it is really the end of the world if the Trailtrekker bears some bezel-related resemblance to a Rolex? Or a Tudor meant to invoke the same (or at least similar) Rolex? As always, it’s up to you to vote with your wallet, but despite being an owner of a 16570 Explorer II, the similar bezel didn’t manage to bother me all that much, especially in person www.highluxurystore.ru.

Also, let’s not forget that the Nodus offers double the water resistance of the Rolex and matches that of the Tudor while being nearly 3mm thinner – for $875. And that’s not a short-term preorder price, as the Trailtrekker is not a limited edition. It launched today and goes on sale via Nodus on March 15th at 9 AM PST. As is common for boutique watches these days, production is planned in batches, and that’s largely an acceptable way of doing such things as long as the communication is clear with prospective buyers. As a modern interpretation of the boutique watch scene spurred onward by the availability of a novel movement, the Trailtrekker is an effective platform for the talents and perspectives of the teams at Nodus and Raven.

As literal enthusiast product – the watch equivalent of preaching to a very specific choir – the Trailtrekker appeals to the type that likes sports watches with good specs, meaningful details, travel-ready functionality, and a price point that hinges on solid value for the asking price. Is it for everyone? No, but that’s the fun of the enthusiast’s choice. In this case, I’m certainly among the choir, and I’m sure many of you are as well.

Seiko Debuts The New Presage Classic Series With Softly Textured Dials

In addition to the updated 62MAS (the 24MAS?) we covered this week, Seiko also introduced additions to its dressy Presage collection. Together, there are five new references in the Seiko Presage Classic Series, defined by textured dials that take inspiration from the colors of silk, along with an updated case and bracelet.
First are three new time-and-date models, each with a new textured and curved dial – Seiko says each color is inspired by the warm and natural colors and textures of the textiles traditionally used in Japan. The three dial colors are:

SPB463 “Shiro-iro,” an off-white that Seiko says is inspired by unbleached natural fabric;
SPB465 “Araigaki,” a bleached persimmon color;
SPB467 “Sumi-iro,” a greyish black that Seiko says was used in garments worn by monks.
All of the dials are textured and curved to complement the natural inspiration of the color choices. The indices also curve with the dial, as do the minute and seconds hands.
In addition to the new dial colors, the fit and feel of the case and bracelet have been updated. There’s a new seven-link bracelet designed to match the Presage’s dressed-up vibe. The stainless steel case measures 40.2mm in diameter and 13mm thick and has a double-domed sapphire crystal. While the dimensions are similar to previous Presage references, Seiko says the case has been reworked to create a thinner profile. In addition to the domed crystal, downward-sloping lugs should make for a more wearable watch.

Inside is the Seiko caliber 6R55, an automatic movement with a 72-hour power reserve. It’s the same movement that Seiko added to its updated divers. The three new Seiko Presage Classic Series references have a retail of $950 and will be available beginning in June.

In addition to these three references, Seiko also introduced two open-heart models, references SPB469 and SPB471. While they have the same case dimensions, they use the Seiko caliber 6R5J and will retail for $1,125.
Open-heart watches aren’t my thing, so I’ll focus on the three time-and-date releases. As is usually the case with Presage releases, the dials are the standouts for this release. The treatment looks soft and subtle, true to its natural inspiration. If you want a dress watch with a pretty dial for $1,000, the Seiko Presage lineup stands apart from much of the competition. Beyond that, I’ll be curious to see how the updated case and bracelet wear on the wrist. 40 x 13mm can wear big for a dress watch that’s mostly dial, but Seiko says the ergonomics have been refined for a slimmer, more elegant watch. And if the dimensions don’t hit your wrist quite right, there’s plenty of competition around this price point and even below. Some of the other technical specs, including 100 meters of water resistance and the updated 6R55 movement, are nice to have, but it’ll be up to potential Presage customers if this is worth the $950 price tag.

Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked In Sand Gold, Ref. 26735SG

First, how often do you see a new suffix at the end of a reference for a new material? It was cool to type “SG” for Sand Gold for the first time. And if not for John Mayer QP, this would have been the headliner. But what is it? As representatives for the brand explained, they’re always experimenting with new materials (and studying old materials from the 1800s to see the combination of elements used to get colors like “green gold”). Pure gold is almost always combined with other materials to create stronger alloys, and the materials you use can often change the color. Pink gold has slowly taken a prominent place in their model lineup since its introduction in the mid-1980s, but this is not pink. By removing silver from the mix and replacing it with palladium, they achieved a very beige 18k gold 41mm by 10.6mm case. Then they applied that same sand gold finishing to the bridges of the caliber 2972, released in 2022 for the Royal Oak’s 50th anniversary https://www.fanreviewwatch.com/.
Look at the images above. Now, look at the one below. Tell me you’re not shocked that it’s the same watch. And yet, it’s not a commentary on my photography. Because of the palladium, the watch shifts from that soft pinkish beige to a very silvery color, depending on the light angle. It’s maybe my favorite color watch I’ve seen in a long time. Very Loro Piana, not that I can afford the watch or clothes to go with it.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked in Sand Gold, ref. 26735SG; 41mm diameter by 10.6mm thick 18-karat case, with 50m water resistance. Openworked sand gold-toned movement and sand gold-toned inner bezel, white gold applied hour markers, and Royal Oak hands with luminous coating; Flying tourbillon, hours, and minutes; Selfwinding Calibre 2972 movement running at 21,600vph with 65 hours of power reserve. 18-karat sand gold bracelet with AP folding clasp https://www.fanreviewwatch.com/.

Breitling Navitimer B03 Chronograph Rattrapante 45 Limited Edition RB0311

This one made a brief appearance in a recent edition of This Week In The Shop, and it’s been on my mind ever since. With its rose gold case and vintage-inspired color palette dominated by cream and brown tones, this iteration of Breitling’s flagship aviation watch is also its most romantic.

As Breitling’s self-proclaimed original “wrist instrument,” the Navitimer was originally introduced in the early 1950s and made specifically to serve the needs of pilots onboard their aircraft. The Rattrapante is a more modern take on this line, maintaining the split-seconds chronograph functionality but bringing the model family up to speed with an entirely in-house manufactured movement, the B03. While this limited edition is an immediate charmer with its neo-vintage design ethos interspersed with touches of rose gold, it isn’t for the faint of heart. The 45mm case with a 15.5mm profile is one of Breitling’s typical intimidation tactics, but its overall good looks, heritage appeal, and tool watch functionality will no doubt lead it toward its intended audience https://www.highluxurystore.ru/.
Given that we’re already on the subject of aviation-inspired timepieces, I thought I might as well shift to a similar pick with a bit more approachable dimensions. Released at LVMH Watch Week circa 2023, this model is a part of Zenith’s efforts to revitalize its Pilot model family.

Aside from the funky corrugated dial and the oversized date window of its namesake, it will come as no surprise that the multi-colored minutes totalizer subdial endeared itself to me at first glance. Other than adding a nice pop of color to a rather austere dial, this detail is a reference to the El Primero Rainbow Flyback released in 1997. As its name suggests, this watch is complete with flyback functionality, allowing you to easily reset the chronograph functions with the press of a button https://www.highluxurystore.ru/.

The Corvo Reverso Today

For the longest time, collectors didn’t know the Corvo Reverso story. This changed in 2021 when the Italian site Watch Insanity published an excellent article telling its story, featuring an interview with Michele Corvo, Giorgio’s son (and Jacopo’s father). Soon after Richemont acquired Jaeger-LeCoultre, the Corvo family ended its distribution of the brand in Italy and pivoted to indies, becoming an early pioneer of F.P. Journe, MB&F (they knew Büsser well because of his time at JLC), and others.

But even today, if you search “Corvo Reverso,” this article supplies the sole images of a Corvo Reverso with its proper Roman numeral dial. Over the past couple of years, I’ve even seen a handful pop up for sale without a mention of the Corvo family, this story, or the watch’s role in the rebirth of the Reverso https://www.highluxurystore.ru.

It’s hard to say whether or not the Corvo Reverso is undervalued, but the story is undoubtedly undertold. So many people just don’t know what this watch is and how important it is to the history of Jaeger-LeCoultre. Sure, JLC made those more impressive and complicated Reversos after the Corvo in the ’80s and ’90s. But the Corvo is the watch that literally brought the Reverso back from the dead – and only 200 were ever made.
In fact, because of the nature of these cases – remember, they’re 1940s “Staybrite” steel cases – it’s possible that over the years, dealers even swapped these Corvo dials with what they thought were era-appropriate dials. The few Corvo Reversos I’ve seen have serials beginning with 467xxx.

Except for perhaps the Reverso Art Deco and its beautiful salmon dial and skeletonized movement, the Corvo is my favorite Reverso. The Roman numerals dial is beautiful, giving the Corvo an elegance missing in many other Reversos and rivaling that of a vintage Cartier.

But more than that, it’s the story of the Corvo Reverso and its historical importance that makes it one of my favorite watches ever made by Jaeger-LeCoultre, even if the brand itself was once skeptical about the idea.

A Beginner’s Guide To The GMT Bezel

As something of a nerd for travel watches, I can’t help but obsess over the myriad permutations that exist within the basic concept of a watch that shows the time in two (or more) places. I am also routinely surprised by how often I cross paths with someone who doesn’t know how to get the full functionality from their travel watch. Predictably, this happens most commonly with the most common form of the travel watch, the GMT.
Largely popularized by the Rolex GMT-Master and GMT-Master II models, a standard GMT can come in a few flavors, but the core functionality is tied to the presence of both a 24-hour hand and a rotating 24-hour bezel. The movement in use can be a flyer (local-jumping hour) or a caller (independent 24-hour hand), but the ability to track the additional timezone is derived from the additional 24-hour hand, and the ability to do even more comes from being able to rotate the 24-hour bezel.

Is the following guide going to be both reductive and also somewhat pedantic? You better believe it. But you might just thank me the next time you need to change the indicated 2nd timezone on your GMT because you’ll be able to do so without so much as touching the crown or moving any of the hands.
Most of the time that I see someone using a GMT, they have it set like a traditional “dual time” watch, where the local time is displayed on the main hands, and the 24-hour hand shows the time in a second time zone by reading the bezel in its default position (shown below, with zero-hour at logical 12 o’clock position on the dial). While this is fine, and indeed is the feature set provided by any fixed-bezel “GMT” (actually a dual time) like a Rolex Explorer II, it doesn’t harness all that your 24-hour GMT is capable of – to get the most out of the watch, you need to use the bezel.
When I’m using a GMT, especially a Flyer GMT like the Rolex GMT-Master II or two of the recent GMTs that Hodinkee has produced (one in collaboration with Longines and one with Mido, both seen in this story), I vastly prefer to set the 24-hour GMT hand to UTC 0 and then use the bezel to “jump” to a given 2nd time zone by using the indicated UTC offset for the time zone in question. Technically, it’s three timezones because you have local, UTC 0, and whatever zone your bezel is set to – but allow me to paint you a picture.
To start, we need a limited understanding of UTC, which is shorthand for “Coordinated Universal Time” (and is also known as ZULU time for some military outfits, including the U.S. Armed Forces). If you travel a fair bit or commonly interface with other time zones, you’ll know that it’s basically a more modern take on the concept of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) in which there is a central zone UTC 0; then if you go east, you go up (UTC 1, 2, etc) and if you go west, it goes down (UTC-1, -2, etc.). You can read a bit more about the development of UTC here (including why it’s not abbreviated to CUT), but it’s been around since 1967 and is an update over GMT to promote greater accuracy in the era of the atomic clock.

Like GMT, UTC 0 is aligned with the prime meridian, and there are 24 full-hour time zones that expand, like the lines of longitude, outwards from zero. So London is UTC-0, New York is UTC-5, Geneva is UTC+1, Dubai is UTC+4, and Tokyo is UTC+9. By setting the 24-hour “GMT” hand to UTC-0, you can then rotate the bezel of a given GMT watch to account for the number of the UTC offset (be it for a specific airport/city or just for a known time zone) https://www.highluxurystore.ru.
Let’s form a hypothetical in which my home time zone is UTC-5 (I live in Toronto, Canada) and I want to keep an eye on the time in Geneva. If it’s 10:00 AM in Toronto (local), then UTC 0 is 15:00 (+5 hours). So, with the bezel in its home position, I set the 24-hour hand of my GMT to 15:00. Then, to show the time in Geneva, I rotate the 24-hour bezel to show the UTC offset at the noon position. It’s illustrated in the above image, but put more easily; if Geneva is UTC+1, I put “1” on the GMT bezel at the 12 o’clock position. Now, I can read the time in Geneva using the 24-hour hand and the bezel.
Now, with the 24-hour hand still set to UTC-0, if you want to see the time in Tokyo, all you have to do is rotate the bezel to show “9” at the 12 o’clock position. The bezel will now show the 24-hour time in Tokyo – and you didn’t have to unscrew the crown, change any of the hands, or disrupt the timekeeping of the watch. Again, all of this hinges on setting the 24-hour hand to UTC 0, and this specific scenario is illustrated in the above image.
As an added benefit, with a flyer GMT like the Longines and the Mido shown in this story, if you travel to a new time zone, you can update the local time without changing the position of the 24-hour hand. So, if I were to travel to Geneva, I could land, jump the main hour hand +6 hours to show the time in Switzerland, and then rotate the bezel to place “19” at the noon position (19 being 24 minus the -5-hour offset for Toronto from UTC-0). Now, I have local and home time, and I only had to change the position of a single hand. In short, that’s pretty dang handy (and shown above).

And though I’m sure many of you jetsetters in the audience are aware of this functionality, maybe this guide will help a few folks get the most out of their GMT, whether they are actively traveling or simply need to track other time zones. Finally, if you’re on the hunt for a new GMT-equipped watch, especially one with the extra-useful flyer functionality, both the Mido and the Longines shown in this story are numbered limited editions and are available in the Hodinkee Shop.

A Rolex Submariner Ref. 1680

Each week, we present a selection of our favorite watches from the pre-owned side of our collection. Captured by our talented in-house photographers, you get a closer look at what makes these watches so special. This week, we have a Rolex Submariner ref. 1680, a 1960s Longines, a 35mm gold AP Royal Oak, an Omega pocket watch, and an 18k gold vintage Minerva chronograph.
What’s so amazing about pre-owned, generally, is that it is a term that takes on any meaning in the watch world. In this case, we are looking at a vintage Rolex Submariner ref. 1680. This is an important reference in the history of the Sub because it represents the first instance that the model utilized a date complication with the well-known cyclops date window. Of course, the original 1680 was known as the “Red Sub” because the Submariner text was written in red, but that was discontinued after a few years and gave way to what we have today: a ref. 1680 with white Submariner text that serves as the benchmark for all Submariner Dates to come.
Hallmarks of this one are the maxi lume plots – which means that the markers are large. They have taken on an ever-so-slight patina that is matched by the luminescent pearl on the bezel. This features the vintage matte dial which only adds to the overall dive-ready tool watch aesthetic and is fitted to the classic Oyster bracelet with the double enclosure clasp. Here, you’re also getting an example with a crystal sans-cyclops magnifier. Overall, white 1680s didn’t have a particularly long production run so to see one in this condition is just plain cool https://www.fanreviewwatch.com.

Dear Santa: Christmas Wish List for 2022

In the blink of an eye, we are almost at the end of 2022. But before we wrap up another fantastic year, there’s still time to send our timepiece wish lists to Santa. Maybe this year our wishes will be heard?

Christmas wish list for 2022

MB&F LM101 Cream
The first watch on the list is the stunning MB&F LM101 Frost. Owning an MB&F timepiece has always been the author’s dream, and the Legacy Machine series has also been sought after by him in recent years. There’s something about the collection, especially with less complicated but equally compelling timepieces. The LM101 is without a doubt the best work encapsulating this.

Although the LM101 is a pure chronograph with a power reserve indicator, it offers more than just complications. Here we have a very well designed watch with an attractive balance wheel and highly exaggerated domed sapphire crystal on the dial side. The finishing and attention to detail is also outstanding, not least the superb movement produced in collaboration with the legendary Kari Voutilainen.

The Frost, with its warm red gold case and gorgeous brushed gold dial, is my favorite version of the LM101. Extremely elegant, it adds a different style to the watch. Then again, honestly, any other version of the LM101 would have been good enough.

Urwerk UR-102
Apart from MB&F, Urwerk is another brand that largely influenced and shaped the independent watchmaking scene of the late 90s and early 20s. The UR-102 (above courtesy of Urwerk) was one of the early watches that started it all.

There’s something quirky and conversational about the UR-102. The watch has hardly any indices or details; it’s just a half-circle with some markers and an aperture showing the hours. The hour display hole also acts as a minute hand. Referring to the picture above, the time is about 8:42.

Minimalism is certainly fun. It’s definitely polarizing – some people understand the concept and some don’t. There’s no right or wrong answer here, at the end of the day it’s really about how these watches feel. The UR-102 certainly struck a chord with the author.

A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph
Last on the list is the superb A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph. Interestingly, this piece also entered the author’s wish list in 2020.

Many will question why the 1815 Chronograph was chosen over the slightly more advanced Datograph. Again, there are no right or wrong answers. I personally prefer the clean look of the 1815 Chronograph, as this watch does not have a large date window (and now also has a power reserve indicator).

In addition to the dial, the movement is another highlight of the watch. Much has been said about the finishing of A. Lange & Söhne watches, and the Caliber L951.5 certainly does not disappoint. The movement is luxuriously finished with all the different high-end finishing techniques expected from a haute horlogerie brand. Its origins can be traced back to the legendary Caliber L951.1, which also makes it quite special.

The 1815 Chronograph, especially in the configuration pictured above, is simply to die for. If the author could only buy one more watch for the rest of his life, this Lange might be that watch.

The author’s choice today may be considered “esoteric” by many. These three replica men watches are different, covering different aspects of the watch field. But they certainly have very powerful advantages.

With that, we hope readers will enjoy the other writers’ (and, of course, the editor’s) picks. We thank you all for your support over the years and wish you all a Merry Christmas.