In a photo taken on December 11, 2024, by U.S Marine Corps Lance Corporal Conor Ragland, Rear Admiral Nirat Tagoodruar of the Royal Thai Marine Corps is seen extending a handshake with U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Mark F. Schaefer during the USMC-RTMC Future Engagement Planning Conference in Sattahip, Thailand. Tagoodruar wears a G-Shock watch which […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
It’s a fact of the watch industry that there’s a lot of cross pollination between watch styles and designs. Not least because lots of brands take inspiration from each other. Creating something that feels completely unique and distinctive is therefore incredibly difficult. And yet there’s nothing quite like Mauron Musy out there. The 100% Swiss-Made independent brand places their focus squarely on what they describe as ‘exterior complications’, which in practical terms means unusual and eye-catching case and dial design. At Time to Watches in Geneva we were introduced to their latest releases, the Mauron Musy MU05-106 Architect and MU06-921 Mayura.
When it comes to modern architecture there’s one arena that is push boundaries further than all the rest, algorithmic and generative design. That’s the specialty of architect Arturo Tedeschi, who worked alongside Mauron Musy to create the MU05-106 Architect. The goal was to design an asymmetrical dial that goes beyond human creative capacities – where humans always seek logic and patterns in a design, Tedeschi’s computational techniques are able to create an organic, flowing architecture that is appealing to the eye and yet seemingly random and chaotic. The dial is made from brass with a black ruthenium coating and is finished by hand.
The watch measures a broad 44mm in diameter in grade 5 titanium with a sweeping brushed finish across the bezel and many facets of the case. It’s also equipped with Mauron Musy’s signature nO-Ring technology, a method of ensuring 300m water resistance without the use of a gasket as is the norm. Protected by this technology is the calibre MM01-SK, an automatic movement with a 55-hour power reserve.
Between the 100% Swiss craftsmanship, hand finishing and exclusivity of a 10 piece limited edition, the Mauron Musy MU05-106 Architect is priced at CHF 28,000 (approx. £24,600).
The Mauron Musy MU06-921 Mayura is eye-catching for a completely different reason to the Architect above. Instead of having an incredibly complex and intricate dial, it’s all about the case finish and colour. It’s made from titanium with a carbon-based coating applied with Advanced Arc Technology (AAT) which provides exceptional scratch and thermal resistance. It’s also exceptionally smooth, which means it picks up on the brushed finishing of the metal beneath incredibly well.
However, its signature feature is that it reacts to gases in the air creating an iridescent shine across its surface, ensuring that no two watches are the same. It’s seriously impressive, shifting in hue and shade from pinks to purples, to oranges, yellows and greens. It’s hard to believe that it wasn’t artificially patterned or coated with a range of materials.
The dial has a stylised sector design with a grained centre that also looks great with a matching rainbow gradient. Beneath the dial is the calibre MM02 with 40-hour power reserve. As you can see from the exhibition caseback, it’s a micro-rotor movement.
As for price, the Mauron Musy MU06-921 Mayura is fractionally lower than the Architect at CHF 21,000 (approx. £18,500) but that’s not likely to change the type of buyer who can afford one. It’s also a limited edition with 13 pieces available.
More details at Mauron Musy.
Oracle Time
In case you’ve not been keeping track of your big budget film trailers, F1 will be launching in cinemas soon. Not the actual grand prix mind you, but the Brad Pitt and Damson Idris starring big screen spectacular. So far, it’s promised insane driving stunts, a gruff Brad Pitt and dubious dialogue. But more importantly lots of IWC watches built exclusively for the movie, such as the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 and 43 APXGP.
APXGP, in case you were wondering, is the fictional racing team in the F1 movie, standing for Apex Grand Prix. That’s about all I know on that front, other than they apparently have great taste in watches. There are two different watches in the line-up (well technically three, but we’ll get onto that). The first is the Pilot’s Watch Performance Chronograph 41, a rose gold heavyweight with a black lacquered dial, worn by Damson Idris in the film. It’s certainly the splashier release, but for me, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 APXGP is the superior.
The main difference between these and the standard pilot’s watches is that half what would normally be high-contrast white indexes – specifically, the minute markers and subdial scales – are now in rose gold. That sounds like a very small change but by god it has an impact. Rather than glaring in black and white, the entire dial is softened and has much more of a vintage gilt feel, hurried along by the lume-filled, rose gold handset.
The Pilot’s Watch Chronograph is actually available in two different sizes, 41mm and 43mm, but I’m personally counting it as one watch. By this point, it’s probably not worth rehashing my dainty wrists, but needless to say I much prefer the smaller model. The chronograph subdials are pared-back enough that it’s still perfectly readable and the chunky case, measuring a relatively hefty 14.7mm thick, has plenty of wrist presence.
The only reason you’d be able to tell at a glance that this is a film-specific watch is the strap, which has been printed with the APXGP logo. It’s black-on-black so it’s not too bold and the strap’s comfortable in the way only chunky rubber can be. But I’d still probably swap it to something a bit more vintage. It’s a good thing that they’re satisfying quick-change numbers.
Inside is the IWC calibre 69385, as is the case with all the film inspired chronos. It’s a column-wheel chronograph with 46-hours of power reserve and a standard bi-directional rotor. It’s basically IWC’s entry-level chronograph calibre, but it’s good at what it does.
Honestly, there’s not much more to say about the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 APXGP. And in a week of intensely hyped launches orders of magnitude more complicated from across the Watches & Wonders spectrum, sometimes it’s nice to see something that just, well, nice. Here’s hoping the film is as good. If you’re still more interested in the Ingenieur releases, there’s also a movie tie in there with the racing green edition.
More details at IWC.
Oracle Time
With the sheer number of haute horological creations on display at Watches & Wonders including the most complicated wristwatch in history from VC, it’s actually nice and refreshing to look at something more straightforward. But straightforward doesn’t mean boring. What we have here is the Laurent Ferrier Classic Auto Horizon.
After seeing previews of this watch before the event, this was the watch I most wanted to get hands on with. It’s a beauty plain and simple. Featuring a 40mm stainless steel case with a smooth, polished bezel and round design leading into equally refined lugs. The crown at 3 o’clock is a pleasure to use with its thin fluting and round onion style giving it a retro flair while remaining practical and nicely tactile.
The dial is sky blue, hence the name Classic Auto Horizon, and it’s a lovely shade. It’s produced using a thin layer of blue lacquer over a silver galvanic base and finished with vertical satin brushing. It has a cross hair pattern in the centre that leads down to the snailed small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock and across to the recessed date window at 3. It also features the signature spear hands from the Classic collection and matching hour markers.
Interestingly, the appellation Auto has now become the official designation for this particular dial arrangement, named after its original use in the Sport Auto. It’s therefore also a name intrinsically linked to the movement as well, the calibre LF270.01. An automatic, self-winding movement with a platinum micro-rotor and 72-hour power reserve. It’s visible through the exhibition caseback where you can really admire the detailed finishing of the Geneva stripes and rhodium plating.
It’s presented on a goat leather strap with Alcantara lining that’s very comfortable. The taupe colour is an interesting choice because it feels quite dark in comparison to the steel case and blue dial. Though of course it’s lighter than a full blown brown or black. I do wonder what it would look like on a light grey strap, or even pale blue to match the display.
Sadly it’s not likely that I’ll ever own one because with a price of CHF 45,000 (approx. £39,350) it’s very exclusive. That also feels particularly expensive considering the case is steel. Yes the rotor is platinum so it’s not as if there’s no precious metals in the watch, but still. It does put a slight dampener on what would otherwise be a perfect watch.
More details at Laurent Ferrier.
Oracle Time
We spotted actor Wagner Moura wearing a G-Shock watch in the official sneak peak video (embedded below) for the Apple TV+ series Dope Thief. The watch appears to be a 5600 series and the face seems to match the G-Shock GWM5610-1, a solar-powered model with Multi-Band 6 automatic radio time adjustment in the continental U.S. […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
G-Shock U.S. just released the summer-themed GA-2100BM Bright Metallic series earlier than expected, which includes three skeleton-style (translucent resin) watches with metallic vapor-deposited dials in light blue, bronze, and silver. Each watch has a price of $130. Casio.com is also now selling the full analog GMCB2100D-1A ($800, black dial) and GMCB2100AD2A ($800, blue dial) directly, […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
I must admit that as someone who has grown in the age of digital calculators, I have never had to use a slide rule. While they were common in classrooms and engineering workshops of the 60s and 70s, they’ve mostly been superseded by technology. However, one place you can still find them are slide rule bezels on watches. The most famous example of which is the Breitling Navitimer. However, another popular vintage slide rule watch was the Ollech & Wajs Selectron Computer, which OW have now revived in the form of the Ollech & Wajs P104 ‘Selectron’.
The specific vintage reference that the new watch is based on is the 1969 ‘Selectron Calculator’ Ref 004, which they produced for General Electric Co.’s aerospace engineers and test pilots. The modern ‘Selectron’ uses the same bi-directional slide rule bezel with a logarithmic scale that enables it to be used for a wide variety of calculations including ratios, percentages, unit conversions, multiplication, and division.
In terms of design, the bezel itself has quite chunky proportions in steel that gives the watch quite a utilitarian vibe that matches the tool watch vibe of the whole piece. The case measures 39.5mm x 15.8mm, making it a very tall watch on the wrist. In fact, it’s actually thicker than Vacheron Constantin’s world record 41 complication Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication La Première, which is pretty crazy. Thankfully the Ollech & Wajs P104 ‘Selectron’s robust appearance is backed up by the specs with a 300m water resistance rating.
Leaning into that good water resistance, the dial has a strong elements of dive watch design too with oversize hour markers coated with Super-LumiNova. The use of different shapes such as the triangle at 12 o’clock is also a classic element of dive watches as it allows you read the watch in any orientation by always knowing where 12 is. Adding to the readability is the fun alternating orange and black squares on the minutes hand that makes it stand out from the single block colour of the hour hand, so you instantly know which hand is which.
Beneath the dial is the Soprod Newton P092 automatic movement with 44-hour power reserve. There’s actually two versions of the movement on offer in the Ollech & Wajs P104 ‘Selectron’ as you can choose to have the standard version or upgrade it to the COSC chronometer edition. The first 56 watches in the production series will all be COSC editions and on top of that they’ll be numbered, making them an extra bit special.
Priced at CHF 1,656 (approx. £1,450) it’s actually solid value, especially the COSC version. At this level of thickness I would probably suggest trying before buying if you can, but if that’s not a problem for you, you can reserve one of the first 56 numbered editions now via the website. There’s a lot to love about the OW renaissance across the past few years.
More details at Ollech & Wajs.
Oracle Time
Last year, after consolidating their collection to the Tonda PF and not much else, Fleurier-based independent watchmaker Parmigiani reintroduced the Toric, a revamped version of their first ever watch. And it was perfect. True to Michel Parmigiani’s obsession with the golden ratio of mathematical beauty, it brought back the Grecian column-esque bezel in a slightly off-kilter sage green. Now, Parmigiani is properly ramping up the Toric collection for Watches & Wonders 2025 with the new Toric Quantième Perpétuel – or Parmigiani Toric Perpetual Calendar to you and me – a watch that proves less is more.
The most striking thing about the new watch is just how minimal it is. Other than the Patek Phillipe in-line calendar, I’ve not really seen any perpetual calendars quite this reserved, with all the information distilled across two relatively small subdials. On the left-hand subdial, the outer ring shows the date while the inner ring shows the day. On the other side, you have the month and the leap year.
You’ll notice that there’s no year, which might disqualify it as a genuine perpetual calendar for some people, but if you need your watch handy to remember what year it is, you probably have bigger problems at hand. As long as it knows which Februarys to add a day to, it’s covered. More importantly, the streamlining of the information across those two subdials gives the grained dial much more room to breathe. That space is emphasised by incredibly sharp, elegant hands across the board and diminutive applied hour markers.
Speaking of the dial, it’s available in two versions, Morning Blue, which offers a sky-blue dial in a platinum case, and golden hour which is in rose gold monochrome. Both are gorgeous, but if I had to be pinned down, I’d have to opt for the-all gold version, which feels more glamorously vintage. I particularly like that it matches the movement, which also happens to be made from rose gold.
The PF733 calibre manual-wind movement is a beauty – and not just for the material. Côtes de Fleurier (Parmigiani’s hometown specific geometric guilloche), a sand-blasted mainplate and no rotor to get in the way make it an absolute stunner. Though aside from the finishing, the reverse is also as restrained as the dial, with nothing showing through but the barrels and balance. It’s almost as fantastic technically, with a 60-hour power reserve and no need to adjust every four years.
On the wrist the 40.6mm case has some serious presence and doesn’t wear too large. Although because the dial is so open and because of the Toric’s ornately stepped bezel, it looks slightly larger than it actually is. Could they have made it bigger for a touch more legibility? Sure. Should they have? Not at all. At 10.9mm thick, it’s also reassuringly svelte, perfect for a flash of horological flexing from under a shirtsleeve.
Honestly, perpetual calendars are starting to become as common as tourbillons, which yes shows a healthy appetite for the pricey grand complication but means that it’s started to lose some of its glamour. The Toric Perpetual Calendar is one of the few recent perpetual calendars I genuinely love. It’s just a shame that with 50 of each version available and a price tag of CHF 92,000 (around £80,500) in platinum or CHF 85,000 (around £74,000), I’ll need to keep dreaming. Perhaps I can afford the new Frederique Constant Perpetual Calendar instead.
More details at Parmigiani Fleurier.
Oracle Time
G-Shock published a video interview with Tomohiro Hamaue, designer of the new and innovative GA-V01 series. Hamaue discusses his first G-Shock as a child, upholding G-Shock’s identity, the GA-V01’s unique structure, and G-Shock creator Kikuo Ibe’s “Never Give Up” ethos. Hamaue was also responsible for the Rangeman GPR-H1000 (an iF Design Award 2025 winner) and […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
Favre Leuba is a name with heritage arcing all the way back to the 18th century. Though in the 21st century, like so many brands it struggled to gain traction and eventually disappeared. However, in 2024 the brand was revived by a new crack team including Patrik Hoffmann, the former CEO of Ulysse Nardin. Another key player in the project is watchmaker extraordinaire Jean-François Mojon whose Chronode atelier have produced the movement for the new Favre Leuba Chief Tourbillon.
The headline for this release is that it’s the first Favre Leuba watch in history to feature a tourbillon, bringing the brand to a new level of haute horology. It’s housed in the revamped Chief case, one of the revived brand’s new core models, measuring 41mm in stainless steel. It has a very distinctive case design with a cushion bezel but a curving case body in a tonneau style reminiscent of the Seiko turtle. Though perhaps I should say tortoise as the Chief is not a diver.
However, while the case is eye catching, it’s nowhere near as captivating as the dial. The Favre Leuba Chief Tourbillon has a black dial with a tessellating triangle pattern with a multi-layered structure that has certain triangles recessed into the dial. It’s the type of display you could study for hours, finding the intricate patterns within the overall motif, such as the fact that each pair of triangles represents an hourglass to match the brand’s logo.
Speaking of which, the tourbillon at 6 o’clock also has a custom hourglass cage. The movement is the FL T01 based on the Chronode C502. It’s decorated with Côtes de Genève and an anthracite finish that you can admire through the exhibition sapphire caseback. Plus, as it’s a manual winding calibre with 60-hour power reserve there’s no rotor to obscure the view.
In terms of price, the Favre Leuba Chief Tourbillon is outside of Favre Leuba’s typical range of CHF 2,200 and CHF 4,400 by quite a margin. Which is not unexpected due to the involvement of Jean-François Mojon and the addition of a haute horological movement. It’s CHF 24,800 (approx. £21,700) and a limited edition of 25 pieces.
More details at Favre Leuba.
Oracle Time