⌚Longines Best Release Ever is Here!

Watch News

Longines releases a modern favorite - in titanium!

Building on one of their most popular lines, Longines is now adding a full-titanium version of the Spirit Flyback to the collection.

This may not be the watch we need, but it certainly is one we deserve - a 42mm fan favorite made lighter and more sturdy by the exclusion of steel. The L791.4 caliber has a power reserve of 68 hours and is COSC certified, for your peace of mind, while above the inner workings, gilt hands and lime-filled numerals contrast the anthracite face well. Something about the tone of titanium works better with this color palette than stainless steel, too, so you’re not just paying for a less heavy metal.

An exhibition caseback rounds off the build, and helps me justify the $4,850 price tag to my wife, who probably still won’t let me buy the damn thing.

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WatchTime NY 2023 is here soon and we’re so ready!

2022 was a big year for watches and for WatchTime in particular.

Their collector’s event last year was one of the biggest to date and the excitement surrounding this year’s bash is utterly palpable - I can already see hordes of hairy-back, middle-aged men drooling over fine Swiss complications and even finer Japanese finishing. Yes, that’s me - I’m that drooling hairy-backed man. With that aside, we can expect to see some very interesting bits at the gathering, with some intriguing brands on the roster; Bovet, Parmigiani Fleurier, Louis Erard, A. Lange & Söhne, and Bell & Ross, among others. The ticket includes a series of discussion panels and the freedom to ask as many strangers as you want what watch they’re wearing.

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Watch Fact

Originally, Swiss watch giant Rolex was based in London, England, before moving to Geneva in 1920.

3-Watch Collection

3 Watch Collection: GMT Edition

3 Watch Collection Mini Description: A sport, dress, and everyday watch, all with a GMT complication. This one’s for the jet-setters! This week, a well-known Rolex, a quirky IWC, and a secretly baller entry from H. Moser.

Rolex GMT Master II 126710BLRO (Sport watch) - Some watches require no introduction and the GMT Master II is certainly one of them. 40mm of prime Osytersteel, with a Pepsi bezel, cyclops date window, and black face, this iteration of the modern classic is utterly wearable and as eye-catching as any watch ever made. A slender red arrow hand points to the second time zone and as if by design magic, most of the time it doesn’t even feel like it's there. That’s what you get for $11,500. If you can get it!

H. Moser & Cie. Heritage Dual Time 8809-1200 (Dress watch) - Remarkably simple, the Heritage Dual Time will make you wonder where all of the $22,000 that it costs actually goes. Well, as most watch geeks know, simplicity ain’t cheap. The HMC 809 caliber movement ceaselessly jogs hands over an elegant fumé dial, punched up with bold Arabic numerals and protected by a perfectly-polished steel case. This is a sleeper hit, for sure.

IWC UTC Spitfire MJ271 (Everyday watch) - This bronze-cased IWC is special in more ways than one. Instead of a GMT hand, a 2nd time zone is denoted on a rotating disk window, making the dial altogether more intriguing than a ‘normal’ GMT dial. Also, the UTC Spitfire is limited to just 271 pieces, adding a sense of ‘you can’t touch this’ to a watch that, for just $5,300, is relatively approachable.

Total Collection Cost (USD): $38,900

Watch News Bites

Quick Bites

• Covered in last week’s edition, Only Watch 2023 was an absolute winner and in retrospect, some of the watches unveiled there are even more captivating than they were at first glance. From F.P. Journe’s weird-metal (Tantalum) sports offering, to Rexhep Rexhepi’s stunning antimagnetic number that may well have stolen the show if he got it there on time. Although, if anyone’s allowed to be late, it’s Rexhepi. Check out more watches here.

• Some seriously sexy watches have been released by smaller brands this week and it would be criminal not to mention them. AnOrdain’s new Model 3 evokes the spirit of Grand Seiko with its hand-carved and enameled water-inspired dial, while Baltic quietly announced the release of their new Hermetique Tourer line. The beige and green versions have got to be some of the most stylish tickers released at this price point in years. Finally, Vario’s Empire watch takes some fairly obvious cues from the Art Deco movement and in doing so, represents something unique among modern watches.

• Have you ever looked at a Cartier and thought ‘This is nice but it needs to be skeletonized for maximum effect’? No, neither have I… But apparently, the good people over at LMVH (Cartier’s sugar daddy) believe that’s just what the generally modest fans of Cartier need right now. Thus, the Santos Dumont Micro-Rotor Skeleton was born and aside from being altogether unexpected, it’s a lot less busy than you’d think. At 31mm across and packing Cartier’s 9629 MC movement, this is an altogether wearable watch, if aviation-themed square skeleton tickers happen to be your thing.

• Californian firm Collective Horology have teamed up with Montblanc to develop and release the 1858 Minerva Monopusher Chronograph, an endearing nod to vintage pilot chronographs. Defined by its striking blue meters and a rather long seconds hand, this Montblanc has 2 sub-dials on a boldly designed face, which are surrounded by a white gold fluted bezel. This is a thing of beauty and for $34,500, you can get one soon-ish.

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