To celebrate G-Shock’s birthday (April 12, 1983), G-Shock Japan is hosting the Iconic Styles Campaign and giving away 412 prizes, including two new watch display stands. The Bridge of Time display stand (2 winners), made of steel, acrylic, and synthetic leather, holds four watches and has a tray for holding accessories. The Watch Gallery (10 […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
The world of online watch shopping can be an intimidating place. Scrolling though countless listings of watches in search of the one that you’re looking for, cross referencing reference numbers against catalogues and trying to demystify whether ‘slightly used’ and ‘like new’ mean different things. Life would be so much easier if you could say “This is the watch I want” and have a group of trusted and reliable retailers present you with a selection of offers for that watch, putting the power in your hands to simply say, “yes please, I’ll take this one”. Well, you’re in luck because Chrono Hunter does just that.
Founded in 2018 with the goal of streamlining and simplifying the online watch retail process, Chrono Hunter is the project of Sam Rayner and Max Nordigian. Chrono Hunter essentially facilitates the interaction between you, the buyer, and a network of over 100 trusted and approved retailers. Simply enter the details of the watch you would like to buy and this will be communicated to the network and any retailer with a matching watch can present you with an offer. These offers are often exclusive to Chrono Hunter and may even include off-market watches not available anywhere else.
It’s an extremely efficient way to cut down on all the labour involved in trawling the internet for your dream watch. Plus, it makes life easier for sellers as well, putting their watches directly in front of collectors specifically interested in buying that particular watch. Additionally, by facilitating the process from start to finish, Chrono Hunter can complete a transaction in the span of a day, ensuring a speedy process that’s beneficial to both buyer and seller. In fact, you can even register to sell your watch with them as well.
Of course, a platform like Chrono Hunter is only as good as its network, which is why they go to exceptional pains to make sure their collection of approved retailers only offers high quality watches from a wide range of popular brands. In terms of brands, they have all the big names covered like Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Richard Mille, Audemars Piguet, Omega, Breitling, Tudor and more. They also cover extremely sought after independent brands like F. P. Journe and Grönefeld.
Since their launch they have facilitated over £50 million worth of watch transactions, seeing customers find their desired watches time and time again. If they’re not your go to for luxury watch buying online, they should be.
More details at Chrono Hunter.
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While Switzerland retains its prestige as the most prominent watchmaking country in the world, the next most prestigious country below them is a lot more contentious. With the heritage of Glashütte it could be Germany, or if we’re talking historical importance it could be Britain. But I would argue that it’s Japan. Between the immaculate work of independent watchmakers like Hajime Asaoka to the flawless finishing of Grand Seiko and the insane popularity of accessible brands like Citizen, the Japanese influence on international watchmaking is undeniable. So much so that the country forms the latest inspiration for Jean-Claude Biver’s eponymous brand with the launch of the Biver Automatique Japan Edition.
There are two watches in the Japan collection, both featuring brand new enamel dials. The first is a black enamel dial version with rose gold applied hour markers and a matching rose gold case. While the second has a white enamel dial paired with white gold hour markers and a platinum case. The idea behind creating white and black versions stems from both Japanese and Swiss traditions. In Japan the concept of light and shadow is very important, in fact a few years ago it was the central theme for one of Grand Seiko’s European exclusives. Meanwhile in Switzerland, black and white are two of the most traditional dress watch colours in existence. Together these traditions make for a natural partnership that works incredibly well.
One of the significant difficulties in creating enamel dials for the Automatique is the use of applied indexes. Enamel is by its very nature a fragile material prone to cracking and shattering if here is any flaw in its creation. Attaching gold indexes to its surface would likely be disastrous and risk destroying already completed dials. As such, Biver took extra pains to ensure this wouldn’t happen by leaving gaps in the enamel, allowing the indexes to be attached to the gold dial plate below directly. This presented its own issues as the tolerances involved to ensure that there are no gaps between the enamel and indexes are tiny. Fortunately Biver worked with Les Émailleurs de la Cité, one of Switzerland’s top enamel brands, to create the dial.
Looking at the cases, they are just as superbly crafted as the dials. Measuring 39mm in diameter they’re svelte and sleek with a combination of brushed and polished surfaces. The way the lustre of the platinum and rose gold interacts with the light as it moves across the alternating finishes is captivating. It also has 80m water resistance, which is higher than the usual 30m-50m you’d expect from a dress watch.
Protected by that water resistance is the Calibre JCB-003, an automatic movement with a 65-hour power reserve that’s supplied by a 22k gold micro-rotor. You can admire the insane level of finishing on the movement through the exhibition caseback, which reveals the circular graining, satin brushing and guilloché that’s been used. There isn’t a single surface that hasn’t been decorated.
Considering that the Biver Automatique Japan Edition is so heavily influenced by Japan, it’s just right that it’s exclusively available in that country. It’s being sold through The Hour Glass Japan, a prominent retailer and boutique over there. If you’re curious though, the prices are CHF 92,000 for the platinum and CHF 89,000 for the gold (approx. £80,500 / £78,000).
More details at Biver.
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What defines a racing chronograph? Don’t worry, it’s not a trick question. You could say, well, the chronograph as it’s in the name. But a pulsometer, other than a pulse racing now and then, doesn’t fit the bill. Nor does a military-style monopusher or even a rather large cross-section of bi- and tricompax stopwatches. No, what actually defines a racing chronograph is the bezel – specifically, the tachymeter bezel.
You’re almost guaranteed to be familiar with tachymeter bezels if you’re reading these pages, but just to take things back to horology 101, a tachymeter is a scale that allows you to gauge how fast something is going. You do that by timing something – let’s say for argument’s sake, a classic racing car – as it travels a set distance. Start the chronograph when the car starts, stop it when it hits your set distance, let’s say a mile. The tachymeter scale then converts the stopped time into miles per hour. Nice and simple.
The problem however is that set distance. It generally needs to be a mile or kilometre, otherwise you need to do a bit more mental maths (65 times 1.2 miles, for example), but no real-life racetrack is exactly a mile long. The solution then is to have a marker on the track at precisely the mile mark, which gets you the average speed for that single stretch of track. If you pick a straight or hairpin, that’s not really going to be representative of what really matters: the average speed of a whole lap.
So, what’s the solution? Until now there hasn’t really been one, you either take a random sampling of speed or you need to do enough mental maths that you’d be better off with a computer doing the work. I say until now, because Brooklands have just come up with a solution.
The classic racing aficionados among you will already have heard of Brooklands. The historic racetrack was the world’s first banked circuit and, while it hosted its last race back in 1939, it hosted the first British Grand Prix in 1926. It was home to numerous racing records (the Bentley boys were particular fans) and was timing some of the most influential early races until World War II shut it down. It’s not just a history of racing; it’s a history of timekeeping.
In the modern era, Brooklands is best known as a museum to racing and aviation. But it’s also a watch brand, who back in 2023 launched the gorgeous, Sir Terence Conran designed Triple-Four chronograph, a heritage bi-compax number. Now though, they’ve designed something that’s definitely not a heritage throwback: the Brooklands P1 Racing Bezel.
The idea behind the new bezel is simple: cut out the guesswork. Rather than timing the nebulous concept of a single known measurement, each version of the P1 is designed for a specific racetrack. This means that you can sit trackside at Silverstone, start your chronograph when your driver passes you and stop it when they buzz past again. You’ll then have their actual average lap speed, no approximating markers needed.
It’s an elegant solution that mirrors how most people will actually use their racing chronograph, one that can be applied to hundreds of different tracks and series. As you may have suspected therefore, the P1 bezel is built to be interchangeable, allowing you to swap between Silverstone, Nürburgring or Monaco. It’s not just tracks either; the tachymeter scale can display km or mph and can be tailored for F1, endurance racing, anything where a lap’s going to take under 60 seconds.
At present, the Brooklands P1 Racing Bezel is available on Brookland’s own P1 Veloce chronograph, a more modern, black-dialled take on their vintage-styled Triple-Four. It comes fit with a standard 60-second, non-tachymeter bezel, but it’s a watch that suits a bit of colour around the edge. Just turn the bezel 30 degrees anticlockwise and it’ll unlock, allowing you to slot one of the colourful, track-specific numbers on in its place. It’s satisfying enough that you might find yourself choosing a track of the day to go with your outfit.
You may have noticed that I said ‘at present’ in the paragraph above. That’s because Brooklands have big plans for their shiny new racing bezel concept. The idea isn’t to keep it to themselves, but offer it to anyone that wants to, I don’t know, build a F1 specific limited edition. Or commemorate a particular racing series. Or to pay homage to a specific track. Straightforward a concept as the P1 Racing Bezel is, the opportunities are vast. The only limits are the size of your chronograph and storage space. After all, you’ll want more than one, right?
More details at Brooklands.
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The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech Ocean Commitment IV (aka BOC IV) is the next generation of Fifty Fathoms watch dedicated to scientific marine research. It follows in the wake of the 2023 Tech Gombessa which was dedicated to an ocean research initiative from a decade ago. The BOC IV in contrast is dedicated to an active initiative taking place right now in partnership with Sulubaaï Marine Research Center in the Philippines.
While the BOC IV takes the Gombessa as its starting point, there have been some significant changes. Especially when it comes to the case. The diameter has been reduced by 2mm and the thickness is down by 0.71mm, leading to new dimensions of 45mm x 14.1mm. So it’s still very, very large but it’s not quite the 47mm behemoth it used to be. Though that size is offset in terms of weight by its lightweight grade 23 titanium construction.
It’s also well adapted for life underwater with its black ceramic diving bezel and ‘absolute black’ dial that absorbs 97% of light (not quite as intense as the 99% of Musuo black. Black is the most common dive watch colour because it provides the strongest possible contrast to the luminescent hour markers and hands, ensuring a high level of readability even in the oceanic depths. Speaking of depths, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech Ocean Commitment IV has a water resistance rating of 300m, standard for a professional dive watch. It also has a helium escape valve for saturation diving.
On the aesthetic front the biggest change between the Gombessa and the BOC IV is the swap from orange accents to white and blue ones. Instead of coloured numerals and hour markers, the BOC IV has plain white lumed appliques. The only hint of colour is now the seconds hand and the Tech inscription at 6 o’clock. I actually quite like the new design, it feels more restrained than the Gombessa while also having enough vibrancy to attract attention. Particularly when you consider that the model is dedicated to marine research in the Philippines and the colours match the deep blue of the ocean there and the white, sandy, tropical beaches.
Below the surface of the dial is housed the calibre 1315A automatic movement with 5-day power reserve. It’s also equipped with a silicon balance spring for improved protection against magnetic fields. You can admire the movement through the exhibition caseback, where you can see that the rotor is decorated with the Ocean Commitment logo.
Speaking of the Ocean Commitment, €1,000 from the sale of each watch will be donated to the Sulubaaï Marine Research Center. As a limited edition of 100 pieces, that means the total donation will be €100,000. The Center acts as a hub for the sustainable management of local marine environments and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) around Pangatalan Island and in Shark Fin Bay. As to the watch’s price, it’s £19,900.
More details at Blancpain.
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Christopher Ward have been producing sapphire dial watches for more than half a decade at this point, with the C60 Sapphire from 2020 having a special place in the brand’s history as the first watch they ever advertised on television. Now they’re revisiting the sapphire dial concept by combining it with all the C60 upgrades from recent models like the immensely popular Trident Lumière. The resulting timepiece is the Christopher Ward C60 Sapphire Edge.
The most significant change, from which all other changes stem, is that they’ve upgraded the movement to the Sellita SW300-1 as opposed to the previous Sapphire model that housed the SW200-1. The 300 is approximately 1mm thinner than the 200, which has a knock on effect when it comes to the case of the C60 Sapphire Edge as the movement now fits inside their signature Light Catcher case, reducing the thickness by 2.25mm (or 3.4mm depending which C60 Sapphire edition you compare it to). That’s a significant reduction, leaving the watch with a thickness of 10.7mm, which is great for a 42mm diameter watch.
You can admire the Christopher Ward C60 Sapphire Edge’s updated movement through the dial due to said dial being made from sapphire. Sapphire is one of the core materials in watchmaking due to its extreme scratch resistance, making it ideal for watch crystals as they’re incredibly durable. In fact, they’re more likely to shatter completely before they ever scratch, such is their hardness. The material’s use as a decorative element is much rarer, though not unheard of, and one such use is as a replacement of a traditional dial. Here the sapphire dial has been tinted blue to fit the aquatic theme of the dive watch (it has 300m water resistance).
It’s fun to see all the inner workings of the watch exposed below the dial, such as the distinctive date disk that runs around the periphery of the display. The closest analogy I can think of is when you’re in a glass bottom boat and pass over a wreck at the bottom of the sea, a glimpse into a forgotten mechanical world. In terms of specs, the Sellita SW300-1 has a 56-hour power reserve and an accuracy of +/-20 seconds per day with functions of hours, minutes, seconds and date.
For keeping the Christopher Ward C60 Sapphire Edge secured to you wrist you have two options. Christopher Ward’s classic Bader steel bracelet or a brand new rubber strap, which is blue on top and lumed along the edges and bottom so that it glows in the dark. It makes for quite a cool aesthetic though I’m not sure what the practicality of it is in day to day life. I suppose if you were to take it diving and the worst came to the worst and the watch fell off your wrist, having a lumed strap would make it easier to find.
On bracelet the watch is priced at £1,095 and on strap it’s £995. For a 300m diver with a Swiss movement that has a power reserve of more than 2-days, that’s pretty solid value, especially when you throw in the difficulties of producing a sapphire dial into consideration. On a personal level I would take one of CW’s cool dials like the Atoll or Lumière but there’s definitely room for a sapphire edition and the Sapphire Edge ticks all the boxes you could possibly want from it.
More details at Christopher Ward.
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Ever since Seiko revived the King Seiko permanently in 2022, they’ve slowly been expanding the range and introducing new collections. Currently the range consists predominantly of the KSK line, such as the Ukiyo-e editions from the end of last year and then the 1969 with its turtle-like flanks. Now a third collection is being added to the range with the launch of the King Seiko VANAC, based on the angular designs of the 1970s.
Considering that the VANAC is a niche model within a somewhat niche sub-brand of Seiko, you’ll have to excuse me for needing to google what the original 1970s models look like. Answer: they were an extravagant and eclectic mix of shapes ranging from facetted squares to tonneau-esque hexagons with rounded corners and then also, more commonly, round designs with sharply angled lugs and integrated bracelets, which is what forms the basis for the 2025 revival. If I were to draw comparisons to other watches that have been recently revived, I would describe the new King Seiko VANAC as the love child of the Piaget Polo 79 and Zenith Defy Revival.
The 41mm steel case has a brushed finish with a broad, arching curve from lug to lug. It then has another flat facet leading into the equally angular bracelet. Interestingly it has a bezeless design that leads straight into the sapphire crystal, giving it a certain similarity to Grand Seiko’s 62GS. Below the crystal is the dial itself, which features a retro gadroon style horizontal pattern across the centre surrounded by a radial hour scale with wedge-shaped indexes.
There are five versions of the dial available, each named after aspects of the Tokyo skyline. Meaning there’s Tokyo Twilight, Tokyo Midnight, Tokyo Sunrise, Tokyo Horizon and Tokyo Brilliant Sunlight. The Horizon version is a 700 piece limited edition and the Brilliant Sunlight is a boutique exclusive (which in the UK means their Bond Street location in London). In actual colour terms, the Brilliant Sunlight is the pale blue with silver edition, Horizon is golden brown, Sunrise is white gold, Midnight is black and Twilight is the purple/blue and gold version.
Inside, all of the King Seiko VANAC watches is the 8L45 automatic calibre. It’s the same movement as found in the Marinemaster ‘Shinkai’ 60th Anniversary model that’s also being launched today. It’s one of Seiko’s most accurate with a deviation of +10/-5 seconds per day. It also has a 72-hour power reserve, making it nice and weekend proof. Seiko describe it as their top grade movement for good reason.
Though with a top grade movement comes a higher price and the King Seiko VANAC is £2,900. Although that’s not too shocking as King Seiko is Seiko’s mid-range brand sitting between the Presage and Grand Seiko, prices in the high 2,000s are not unusual. What do you think of this third collection in the King Seiko range, let us know in the comments below..
More details at Seiko Boutique.
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I’m willing to admit that it might be hyperbole, but one of the most significant changes in modern horology is Seiko adopting 300m water resistance as the standard for their top end Prospex dive watches. For years it was a constant criticism that their watches had lower resistances than the general standard for professional dive watches despite having the aesthetic down perfectly. Ever since the 1965 Heritage Diver and 1968 Heritage Diver the specs have finally lived up to collectors’ expectations. Just in time for Seiko to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their first ever dive watch with the launch of a 60th Anniversary collection that includes new versions of the aforementioned 1965 and 1968, as well as a Prospex Marinemaster ‘Shinkai’ 60th Anniversary 600m Saturation Diver.
If you do the maths, 1965 was 60 years ago, so it’s only right that the 1965 Heritage Diver is the first of the 60th Anniversary models we look at because it’s a direct tribute to the very first Seiko diver. It has the updated case and 300m water resistance rating of its modern revival collection, measuring 40mm in diameter with a black unidirectional dive bezel. It’s finished nicely as well with brushed lugs and angled facets.
While the case is great thanks to the improved specs of the 2024 revival model, what makes the 2025 edition for the 60th anniversary special is the dial. It features a motif known as ‘The Great Wave’, a reference to the famous woodblock print by Hokusai. It’s a captivating, geometric pattern with layered waves across the silver display with a strong, stylised visual. The pattern is mildly disrupted by the bar indexes and small, circular date window but thankfully that’s not too severe.
Inside, the Seiko Prospex 1965 Heritage Diver 60th Anniversary houses the 6R55 automatic movement with 72-hour power reserve, one of Seiko’s higher spec movements. That’s the same movement as the revival models and the price is similar to those watches too at £1,270. It’s also a limited edition of 6,000 pieces, so there is some exclusivity but most people who want one should be able to get one.
The Seiko Prospex 1968 Heritage Diver GMT 60th Anniversary is technically the counterpart of the 1965 as it features the same ‘The Great Wave’ motif on its dial. Though here it’s a dark blue colour rather than silver-white. That’s paired with a blue diving bezel to complete the aquatic ensemble. There are also the added details of this being a GMT model so there’s a 24-hour scale around the peripheral edge of the display – this is actually the first 1968 GMT model to receive the improved 300m water resistance rating.
Structurally the watch has a 42mm diameter case made from steel, which is very standard for a dive watch. Large enough to be easily legible underwater and robust enough to survive a couple of knocks against rocks on the sea floor. Or, you know, scrapes against the office doorknob which is probably the biggest danger most of the people who buy one will face on a regular basis.
Just like the 1965 above, the Seiko Prospex 1968 Heritage Diver GMT 60th Anniversary is limited to 6,000 pieces, though the price is understandably a higher at £1,600. Due to the increased size and the additional GMT complication present on the 6R54 automatic movement with 72-hour power reserve.
If, as a basic rule of thumb, a 300m water resistance rating classifies a watch as a professional diver, then doubling that to 600m makes a watch a saturation diver. Saturation diving involves spending up to 28-days underwater and living in pressurised chambers that mean you don’t have to decompress between dives. Saturation diving is used for underwater construction, maintenance and exploration, all activities that require your watch to be extra robust.
As such, the Seiko Prospex Marinemaster ‘Shinkai’ 60th Anniversary 600m Saturation Diver has, as its name indicates, a 600m water resistance rating. Resisting that level of pressure for an extended period of time requires incredibly solid construction, which is why saturation divers are larger still even than normal dive watches. The Marinemaster measures 45.4mm in diameter, frankly so that the titanium can be thick enough not to collapse in on itself. Fortunately, the lightweight property of titanium (with super-hard coating for scratch resistance) helps to alleviate some of the weight that would make it difficult to wear.
Aesthetically it has a textured wave pattern dial like the 1965 and 1968 but without the Hokusai stylisation. Instead showing small ripples in the surface of the water on a clear day rather than the stormy Great Wave. The colour is a dark, dark, dark blue inspired by the deep sea, which is what the name Shinkai translates to.
Below the dial is the 8L45, which is even higher spec than the 6R range with an accuracy of +10/-5 seconds per day rather than the +25/-15 of the 6R55 and 6R54 in the 1965 and 1968 editions. It has the same 72-hour power reserve, which is the gold standard of power reserves as it hits the perfect weekend-proof mark, letting you put it down on Friday evening and pick it up on Monday morning without needing to reset it. The 8L45 and the Marinemaster ‘Shinkai’ are both produced in Seiko’s Shizukuishi studio, their highest-end manufacture.
This model is much more exclusive than its 60th anniversary brethren, limited to 600 pieces at a price of £4,130. Jumping it right to the top of the list as the most expensive Prospex in the existing range, though only by a margin of £30 ahead of the £4,100 1968 ‘Antarctic’ limited edition. As a celebration of Seiko’s 60-year history of dive watches, it’s a fitting tribute.
More details at Seiko Boutique.
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Fred Meyer Jewelers currently has the full metal G-Shock GMB2100D-1A available for $330, which is nearly 40% off the list price of $550. The GMB2100D-1A, one of the launch models for the GM-B2100 series in 2022, has been discontinued in favor of the GMB2100SD-1A. Although we would recommend the GMB2100SD-1A over the GMB2100D-1A for its […]
G-Central G-Shock Watch Fan Blog
With a name like Rocket, the debut watch from Ember Watch Company feels like a stylish ode to all things sci-fi. The 40mm diameter stainless steel case is deeply facetted with sharp angles and lines featuring a bead-blasted matte finish that contrasts with the smooth, polished bezel. Combine that with the bright, colourful dials, such as1 white with mint green, and it almost wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi film. A fusion of concepts that are simultaneously retro and modern. Powering the piece is the Seiko NH38A with 41-hour power reserve.
Available at Ember Watch Company.
There’s a level of detail and intricacy to handcrafted watches that other forms of production simply cannot match. Take for example the Justin Richardson Tank, inspired by iconic Art Deco watches like the Cartier Tank and Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso. The facets of its angular case are immaculate and the dial is so incredibly precise. Plus, by virtue of each piece being made by hand in their Canterbury studio, they’re totally bespoke and customisable, giving you the chance to consult on case materials, dial design, finishing and more.
Available at Justin Richardson.
Finding what inspires you is always the foundation of a good microbrand and Primitive Haus are clear on where their inspirations lie. Influenced by the German minimalist movement spearheaded by Bauhaus, they aim to bring colourful watches to life that blend style and function seamlessly. Recently with the TimeKeeper Type-A they’ve been exploring fresh colours and designs such as fumé blue, vibrant purple and a gorgeous dimple dial variant that looks like freshly fallen snow. They house the Miyota 82S5 with 42-hour power reserve.
Available at Primitive Haus.
Wayforth’s Voyager is designed to keep up with you on your travels wherever they may take you. In that endeavour, it’s equipped with a chronograph function and a dual time zone display. A chronograph can be used to measure your speed or even distance travelled with a quick calculation, while the dual time display, consisting of an inner rotating bezel with 12-hour scale, lets you track local time and home time while globetrotting. There are eight colours to choose from, each housing the Seiko VK64 meca-quartz movement.
Available at Wayforth.
If you’re going to invest in an homage watch, you may as well look for something with quality and class. Zanuti produce an extensive range of homage watches that capture the styles and vibes of some of the world’s most famous watches at a fraction of the price. The GMT for example features a colourful two-tone GMT bezel available in numerous iconic colourways such as brown and black or red and blue. It’s also available housing either a quartz or automatic movement, giving you plenty of choice as a collector.
Available at Zanuti.
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