British indie brand Farer was founded in 2015 by four friends with backgrounds in watch retail. Using Swiss-made mechanical movements, Farer offers a portfolio of confident designs with an eccentric British twist and competitive prices, thanks to the brand’s direct-to-consumer approach that eliminates intermediaries. The name Farer, derived from Old English terms like seafarer and […]
Origin StoryThere are two origin stories for Niton: the original and the revival. The brand originated in Geneva in 1919, founded by watchmaker Auguste Jeannet and former Vacheron Constantin employees Alfred Bourquin and Edouard Morel. The name comes from the Pierres du Niton, the rocks in Geneva's harbor that serve as a national geodetic reference point for navigation. With their work, the brand became known for ultra-thin watches, shaped movements, artistic creations, and yes, jump hours. By
Launched in 2021, the Tonda PF collection introduced a new vision of contemporary haute horlogerie built around restraint, proportion and what CEO Guido Terreni calls “private luxury”, watches designed to be lived with rather than constantly replaced. Among the first models was the Tonda PF Micro-Rotor, a slim automatic watch with a date display. The […]
What We KnowIf you don't know Adrian Barker, you should. He's the guy behind the strap and accessories online shop Bark & Jack, but more importantly, an influential voice in the watch world via his eponymous YouTube channel and The Movement podcast with Britt Pearce. Barker grew up around military watches and has a penchant for well-built, purpose-driven, toolish watches that value minimalist aesthetics and get the job done. So it's a notable event that today, for the first time, Barker ha
British driver George Russell, currently racing for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, joined IWC’s paddock of ambassadors in 2022. Exchanging the steering wheel of his F1 for the design board, Russell worked alongside IWC’s creative team to design the new limited edition Pilot’s Watches, emblazoned with the F1 pilot’s signature blue colour featured on his […]
The revival of a long-dormant watchmaking name always sparks our curiosity at MONOCHROME. Born in 1919, the Manufacture des Montres Niton S.A. became known for its watches and movements featuring jumping hours. Niton supplied movements to Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Cartier, Gubelin and many more… Today, the brand returns with the Niton Prima, an elaborate […]
Breitling has struck a deal with Aston Martin and the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team to be their official watch partner, vaulting the Swiss brand, better known for its strong links to aviation, into the crowded field of F1 and motorsports watch sponsors. The Grenchen, Switzerland-based watchmaker says it signed a multi-year agreement with the U.K. auto company and its racing teams that will see its logo visible on the Aston Martin Aramco car and team apparel when the new livery is reveal
In recent years, Audemars Piguet has decisively refined the Code 11.59 collection, transforming it into a serious platform for contemporary haute horlogerie. For 2026, the brand unveils a fresh interpretation of the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon, now with an ivory-toned signature dial and a sophisticated mix of white gold and black […]
Audemars Piguet introduced the Code 11.59 in 2019, emerging as a contemporary AP-style expression of classic watchmaking. Over the years, the line has matured, expanded and reviewed its proportions. Introduced in 2023, the 38mm case offered a more compact and versatile interpretation of the Code 11.59 design. In early 2026, the brand presents two new […]
British Watchmakers' Day is widely regarded as one of the leading watch events in the UK. You see, for many years, numerous attempts have been made to host watch events this side of the pond (specifically in London), and very few have not only stuck around, but also captured the soul and spirit of domestic watch collecting.There's a thriving community of watch collectors here at every touchpoint, and like the city itself, it's a melting pot of tastes, preferences, styles, and influences. This
Urwerk’s mechanical ingenuity and sci-fi vessels have propelled the brand into the realm of cosmic watchmaking. Renowned for their wandering hour and satellite indications, founders Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner captured the three dimensions of time, rotation and orbit with the UR-100 SpaceTime of 2019. An evolution of the UR-100, the UR-100V returns to Earth […]
The trend for stone dials has had a bandwagon effect in the watch industry, with players, small and large, succumbing to the temptation of adorning their models with exotic stones and even slivers of meteorite. However, like Piaget, Audemars Piguet got a head start in the field, with stone dials on its ultra-thin dress watches […]
On this week's episode of The Business of Watches, a brand that's very much in the news. We're in Meyrin, just outside of Geneva, to talk to the head of Baume & Mercier, the near-200 year old brand that's just been sold by Richemont to Italy's Damiani Group. Michael Guenoun speaks passionately and with conviction about the pressures the brand faces due to the strong Swiss franc, rising costs, and its commitment to remaining in the approachable-priced segment of the watch market. The Baume
What We KnowLaunched in 2024, the Royal Oak Mini was a welcome nod and a hat tip to the teeny-tiny Oaks of the past, most notably the Mini Royal Oak (ref. 67075) from 1997, still the smallest Royal Oak ever made at just 20 millimeters in diameter. Like the OG '90s Mini, the newer models used high-end quartz-powered movements but updated the case finishing with a sparkly and textured treatment the Le Brassus-based brand called 'frosted' (first utilized in jewelry designer Carolina Bucci's Royal
Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas luxury sports watch family is now in its third generation, but its roots trace back to the 222 model of 1977. A well-represented collection with complications and straightforward time-and-date models, the Overseas is widely acclaimed for its attractive design, high-end finishings, in-house movements and versatility. In 2019, a tourbillon was added to […]
Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Offshore, also known as The Beast, muscled its way onto the scene in 1993 as a beefier and bolder version of its famous sibling, the Royal Oak. Drawing its inspiration and name (offshore) from the world of powerboat racing popular in the 1980s, the ROO family expanded, and in 2010 surfaced […]
Since its debut in 1993, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore has served as the brand´s most expressive, aggressive, and experimental platform. Bigger, bolder and much more muscular than the original Royal Oak, the Offshore quickly proved its “Beast” nickname, while becoming a showcase for material innovation and colour exploration. The 2021 redesign marked an […]
We closely and thoroughly examined the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked when it was introduced in steel (16204ST) for the RO´s 50th anniversary, for the model has become a reference for how Audemars Piguet approaches skeletonisation within an icon. Since then, it has been followed by precious-metal executions in white gold (16204BC) and yellow gold […]
Launched by Audemars Piguet in 2019, the compact Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph 38mm was welcomed by men and women alike. Fitted with a modified Frédéric Piguet 1185 ébauche, the big news for the most compact RO chronograph is the introduction of a brand new in-house calibre with a longer power reserve and a 4Hz frequency. […]
For its 150th anniversary, Audemars Piguet has chosen a format that predates the wristwatch yet remains central to the brand’s most ambitious technical expressions: the pocket watch. The new 150e Héritage pocket watch directly references the Manufacture’s historic ultra-complicated pocket watches of 1899 (L’Universelle) and 1921 (La Grosse Pièce). It is also connected to milestones […]